293: Chapter 273 It'll freeze to death if you don't turn on the air conditioner

Information spreads faster than imagined in the online world.

On the night that the "Squirrel Mandarin Fish Girl Special Forces" went on a market rampage, Lee Tima declared her "Oscar Manifesto," and Im Yoona was teased by Sunny about "riding a fish to the Oscars," relevant news and blurry images began to circulate quietly in major online communities and on social media.

At first, it was just a few sporadic posts:

"Did I see Girls Generation at the market today? Even though they were wearing masks, their figures looked just like them! Especially Im Yoona! It looked like she was... buying fish? There was a super cute little girl next to her, and she smelled so good!"

Attached image: A blurry, obviously panicked shot of their backs, where the silhouettes of Im Yoona and Kim Taeyeon could vaguely be seen, along with a petite figure bouncing around.

"Daebak! I heard some earth-shattering words! A super cute little girl at the market pointed at a fish and told the young lady who looked like Im Yoona that this fish would take her to the throne of an Oscar Best Actress! I'm laughing like crazy!"

(No image, but a detailed description mentioned the bizarre team name "Squirrel Mandarin Fish Girl Special Forces" and the "Oscar Staircase" meme.)

"Help! Is Im Yoona from Girls Generation learning to kill fish at the market for a new movie role? And she was recognized by a passerby and had to run away? What kind of new promotion tactic is this?"

Attached image: A few clearer side-profile shots or snapshots while running, where Im Yoona and Kim Taeyeon could be identified, with Sunny and Lee Tima nearby (although Lee Tima's face wasn't clear, the text emphasized her "Chinese Little Master" hoodie and unique plum blossom scent).

These fragmented pieces of information, combined with the blurry but discussion-worthy footage taken by passersby, quickly snowballed into several eye-catching keywords:

# Girls Generation Market Fish Killing

# Im Yoona Riding a Fish Oscar (This tag was especially absurd and eye-catching)

# Mysterious Fragrant Little Girl Oscar Manifesto

# Squirrel Mandarin Fish Girl Special Forces (This tag was full of nonsensical humor)

By the next morning, the related topics had already climbed to the middle of the trending charts on several major social platforms in South Korea, sparking wider discussion and teasing.

[Selected Popular Comments]

"Hahaha! Im Yoona riding a fish to win an Oscar? The image is too beautiful for me to imagine! But if it's true, I'll be the first to buy a ticket to support her!"

"Who is that little girl? What she said is so interesting! 'Only it can open the door to the Oscars'? Hahahaha, is she a prophet?"

"Has Girls Generation become this grounded? Going to the market to buy fish? And they formed a 'Squirrel Mandarin Fish Girl Special Forces'? Who came up with the team name? Come out and get praised (or beaten)!"

"Am I the only one who noticed the little girl said she smelled very good? What kind of perfume is it? Someone please dig it up!"

"Isn't the point the fish killing? Does Im Yoona need to kill fish for a new movie role? What kind of hardcore script is this? I'm a bit curious."

"Could it be that rumored movie project from TG Entertainment? Wasn't there a leak before that Jiang Zhiyu was writing a hardcore crime film?"

"TG Entertainment? The ones who are great at variety shows and music? They're going to make a movie? And they asked Im Yoona? Wow, a powerful collaboration?"

"Although it sounds ridiculous (referring to the fish-riding Oscar), I don't know why, but if it's an Im Yoona + Jiang Zhiyu combination, I actually feel like... maybe they really could come up with something different?"

"Regardless, I'm following this! Looking forward to official news!"

The direction of public opinion shifted from initial "curiosity" and "humor" to people gradually connecting the fish-killing experience, the mysterious script, TG Entertainment, Im Yoona, and even the Oscars (though jokingly). Although most information remained at the stage of "hearsay" and "fan speculation," the movie project "the crab," which hadn't even been officially announced or cast, had unexpectedly gained a significant amount of attention and discussion in such an absurd way.

A blessing in disguise, indeed.

Of course, this attention also attracted the notice of more people in the industry. Ordinary netizens and fans might just be watching for fun, but for those in the industry, especially competitors or actors and agencies seeking opportunities, these fragmented pieces of information were worth pondering.

Want to investigate? The most direct way is to naturally probe Im Yoona. But SM Entertainment's confidentiality work and Im Yoona's own professional ethics meant that key information would not be easily revealed.

However, some well-informed companies or artists might have had earlier clues.

For example, Moon Ga-young and Kim Yoo-jung, who had inadvertently heard TG Entertainment's CEO Kim Soo-yeon discussing "the crab" script and "revenge casting" with her assistant at that Italian restaurant in Yeouido.

Both were actresses with great potential and popularity among the younger generation. When they heard "Im Yoona" and "mercenary protagonist" back then, a spark of competition and intense curiosity had flashed in their hearts.

Now, with news suddenly breaking online about Im Yoona learning to kill fish at a market for a "new movie role," and even getting dragged into talk of the "Oscars" and "TG Entertainment"... these keywords instantly matched the fragments they had overheard!

So they really went to approach Im Yoona? And it seems Im Yoona takes it very seriously, to the point of experiencing life by starting with killing fish?

This realization reignited the unwillingness and eagerness to try in the hearts of Moon Ga-young and Kim Yoo-jung. A script from TG Entertainment, written by Jiang Zhiyu, added to the pre-release hype... even just to make a cameo as a supporting character would definitely be a bright spot on an actor's resume, bringing huge topics and possible career breakthroughs.

More importantly, the current Korean film industry is not doing well; projects with big productions, good scripts, and reliable teams are rare. Any opportunity is worth fighting for with all one's might! Let alone a project led by a rising star like TG Entertainment?

The potential and unique model of TG Entertainment had long spread within major agencies. This company doesn't launch its own idol groups, but with amazing creativity and production capabilities, it frequently creates hits in the fields of variety shows, music, and dramas, deeply binding itself to industry giants like SM Entertainment, JYP, and TVN, and now it is ambitiously entering the film market.

Although most large companies were still on the sidelines, evaluating the risks of its film projects, many small and medium-sized agencies and independent artist studios had keenly sensed the opportunity and started trying to contact TG to seek possibilities for music collaborations, variety show appearances, or even film and television roles.

And recently, the rumor that SM Entertainment would reach a "strategic partnership" with TG Entertainment was like a depth charge, further verifying TG's strength and prospects. Even an industry aircraft carrier like SM was willing to be deeply bound to it; its value was self-evident.

Therefore, when "the crab" project surfaced in such a dramatic way, what it attracted was not just netizens watching the fun.

The management teams of Moon Ga-young and Kim Yoo-jung might have already started emergency assessments on how to secure an audition opportunity, even for a supporting role. Other actors and companies who heard the wind might also be acting in the dark.

Im Yoona might still be immersed in the aftermath of learning to kill fish and the subtle emotions of her interaction with Jiang Zhiyu, but what she didn't know was that an invisible and intense battle for "the crab," which had not yet fully surfaced, had already quietly begun following Lee Tima's earth-shattering "Oscar Manifesto" and the heated online discussions.

The absurd farce in the market unexpectedly became the best pre-promotion. And TG Entertainment and Jiang Zhiyu seemed to have stirred up the situation once again in their own unique, unfathomable way.

— —

The Girls Generation group chat completely exploded after Lee Tima's "Oscar Manifesto" and the crazy spread of internet memes.

Since the morning, the notification sound hadn't stopped, and the 99+ unread badge kept refreshing.

Im Yoona had finally calmed down a bit from last night's dinner, which was full of information (fish-killing teaching, Jiang Zhiyu's visit, Sunny's scheming, the conversation in the elevator), and picked up her phone to check the time, only to be drowned by the various images and texts frantically flooding the group chat.

[Sunny]: [Image: A netizen-edited picture, Im Yoona's head pasted onto a huge, sparkling sea bass, with an Oscar statuette perched on the fish tail] Yoona! Your new mount is so cool! Remember to take us along to walk the red carpet!

[Hyoyeon]: [Image: An even more exaggerated composite, Im Yoona wearing a gorgeous gown, but riding on the back of a cartoonish, sunglasses-wearing "Fish Knight," with the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the background] Wow! Is our Yoona starting a new genre of "Ocean Knight"? #YoonaRidingFishToTheOscars#

[Sooyoung]: [GIF: A clip from an animation where a character rides a dolphin jumping, with the face replaced by Im Yoona's expression] Hahahaha! Yoona, I heard you had a fruitful one-day market tour yesterday? Not only did you learn a technique, but you also booked an Oscar shuttle (fish)?

[Tiffany]: Oh my god! What's going on with these pictures in the group? Yoona, are you okay? Do you need me to help you contact PR? Although I think these pictures... are kind of cute? Fighting!

[Seohyun]: Unnies, although these pictures are funny, we should pay more attention to the effort and professionalism Yoona Unnie put into the role. However... [Whispering] Is the team name "Squirrel Mandarin Fish Girl Special Forces" something you all thought of together? It's very creative.

[Yuri]: [A series of laughing-until-rolling emojis] I can't do it, I'm going to die laughing! Yoona riding a fish! Who came up with this meme? Genius! But seriously, Yoona, what's going on with "the crab" script? It's all over the internet.

[Taeyeon]: ... (Silently lurking, only sent a face-covering, laughing-crying emoji, but no one knew she was holding her phone, repeatedly watching the part in the elevator where Jiang Zhiyu said "I'll give it to Noona later," her cheeks burning.)

Im Yoona looked at the increasingly absurd memes popping up on the screen and the merciless teasing from the members, and only felt her vision go dark and the veins on her temple throbbing. Especially when she saw her various twisted, funny, and even fantastic images P-ed onto fish, she finally couldn't help but curse under her breath at the air:

"Ah-shi~! This group of Unnies is really...!"

Shame, helplessness, but also a bit funny. This was the daily life of Girls Generation; they could turn anything, good or bad, into a joke.

Just as she was about to close the group chat and ignore it, Yuri sent another message, her tone much more serious:

[Yuri]: Speaking of which, that script hasn't been officially greenlit yet, right? I heard that Jiang Zhiyu doesn't seem to care about specific actor auditions and casting? It seems like the auditions are entirely up to their very capable CEO, Kim Soo-yeon!

This message slowed down the scrolling speed a little.

[Hyoyeon]: Really? CEO Kim Soo-yeon? The legendary "Han River Bridge Beauty"? She's in charge of casting?

[Sooyoung]: It's possible. It seems like CEO Kim Soo-yeon has always been leading the strategy and external business for TG Entertainment, while Jiang Zhiyu focuses more on content creation. It makes sense to hand over professional tasks like actor auditions, which also involve commercial negotiations, to the CEO.

[Yuri]: Yeah, I've received quite a few inquiries on my end. Looks like the industry is quite interested in this TG movie project. Many people are beating around the bush to probe, or seeing if there's a chance to submit materials or something.

Yuri's words made Im Yoona's heart tighten slightly. Sure enough, many people were paying attention.

Immediately after, Yuri sent another one, with a tone of encouragement and reminder:

[Yuri]: Yoona, regardless of whether Jiang Zhiyu auditions personally or not, this is definitely a good opportunity! You have to seize it! He wrote the script, so he must have a say, and aren't you two... uh, you already know each other and have worked together (even if you were "persecuting" each other on a variety show)? You have the advantage of proximity! You must prepare well; you absolutely cannot let this opportunity slip! Maybe the first movie lead for us Girls Generation depends on you! Fighting!

Other members also followed suit, temporarily putting aside the memes and starting to cheer Im Yoona on.

[Tiffany]: Yuri is right! Yoona, fighting! You are our Girls Generation's visual and acting powerhouse!

[Sunny]: (Finally stopped sending pictures) That's right! Yoona, the Unnies' spirits are with you! If you need a strategist (referring to herself), just ask anytime! [Smirk]

[Seohyun]: Unnie, I believe in your strength and preparation. You will definitely succeed.

[Hyoyeon]: Go for it, Yoona! Get the role, and then ride your Oscar fish (?) back to treat us!

[Sooyoung]: +1! Big meal booked!

Looking at the sincere encouragement and joking support from her teammates on the screen, the shame and annoyance in Im Yoona's heart were gradually replaced by warmth, followed by a stronger sense of responsibility and urgency.

The information Yuri revealed was very important. The audition power was in the hands of CEO Kim Soo-yeon... that teenage CEO who she had only met once, who had a powerful aura and was so calm she didn't seem like a 17-year-old. This meant that even with Jiang Zhiyu's "inclination" and "necessary support," whether she could get the role in the end depended on passing Kim Soo-yeon's test. That was definitely not an easy opponent to deal with.

And, as Yuri said, there must be many people in the industry coveting this opportunity. Although she had the advantage of "proximity" (and that "ill-fated relationship" with Jiang Zhiyu?), she must not take it lightly.

She took a deep breath and replied in the group:

[Yoona]: Got it, Unnies. I will work hard. Thank you everyone. [Heart]

(As for those memes... she chose to ignore them!)

Putting down her phone, Im Yoona's gaze became firm. Killing fish was just the first step; experiencing the character and understanding the script were the core. Jiang Zhiyu said he would provide "necessary support," and she had to make full use of it.

And there was the obstacle of CEO Kim Soo-yeon... she needed to think carefully about how to deal with her.

An Oscar Best Actress might still be far away, but the lead role of Withe in "the crab"—she, Im Yoona, was determined to get it.

The noise in the Girls Generation group chat gradually subsided, but the jokes about "riding a fish to the Oscars" and discussions about "the crab" script continued to ferment quietly online and in the industry. And Im Yoona, who was at the eye of the storm, had adjusted her mindset and was ready to meet the upcoming challenges. She knew that the real competition might have just begun.