As the drama’s release date drew closer, the shooting schedule became more hectic, causing Woo-Jin to skip his classes continuously against his will. Since he had arranged with his professors to make up for the missed classes by submitting reports, it meant that the more classes he missed, the more reports he had to write.

“I must be insane – how bold of me to juggle academics and an acting career at the same time. But noona, doesn’t our CEO hate the idea of his artistes appearing on variety shows?” Woo-Jin asked Hwang Yi-Young, feeling hopeful. Woo-Jin had been hoping that the news he heard was false, but his heart was mercilessly broken.

“I know; I thought it was weird too. Even for a TV program from the same broadcasting company, he felt that appearing on a variety show for publicity was disgraceful. So, he hated that notion entirely. However, recently, there have been rumors about the CEO is becoming more flexible than before. He has permitted a couple of other artistes to appear on variety shows as well, and he’s not as picky about commercials as before. He even told them to go for it if that’s what they really wanted.”

However, that didn’t mean CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had changed dramatically. He had only given the green light to two or three things out of the ten things that he used to be vehemently against, but needless to say, that alone was a major change that had shaken up the entire agency. When Hwang Yi-Young said that she was very curious, Woo-Jin agreed and said that he was also curious about the reason behind this recent change.

Woo-Jin held onto the script even as he suppressed the urge to do whatever it took to pursue and get rid of the reason behind this change. He had memorized and repeatedly studied this script to the point that the cover had worn out. He looked at the worn-out script before putting it away, then began to write his report, feeling depressed. Recently, Woo-Jin had somewhat been able to relate to Woo-Hee’s previous words when she had said that she would ‘get mad at the slightest provocation.’

On the day of Huntsman’s shooting, Woo-Jin’s condition was at its worst. This meant that Woo-Jin kept failing throughout the shoot when it came to drawing lots. However, fortunately, the show’s shooting went smoothly without a hitch and it ended pretty well. It wasn’t necessarily a terrible experience considering that he had fun. Contrary to his dissatisfaction expressed before the shoot, Woo-Jin was now in a better mood after receiving a gold badge with Huntsman’s logo on it. That was the power of a 24K gold badge.

Huntsman’s shooting had been completed on Monday, followed by City of Shadows’ press conference on Friday. After attending a series of events, Woo-Jin could sense that the drama’s release date was approaching.

After Woo-Jin had shot the action scenes with the buildings, DS’ CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had personally invested in City of Shadows. As a result, the filming conditions had improved even more thanks to the significantly higher budget, which was neither too much nor too little.

Even though Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk was someone people either loved or hated, he wasn’t a person to siphon off money meant for the production. On the contrary, he was so passionate about his work that he had even used his personal funds for the drama’s production. Hence, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan’s additional investment had certainly led to an improvement in the production quality and also resulted in the press conference being bigger than originally planned.

Kang Min-Ho showed up to the press conference in a luxurious suit that exuded the vibe of a third-generation chaebol [1] scion, looking very stylish with slicked-back hair. He didn’t look like his usual goofy self at all. Park Yeon-Ah wore a white sleeveless midi dress, looking very elegant. Her hair was sectioned and braided into several small braids before being tied together and adorned with colorful pins everywhere, making her look much younger than her actual age.

“You look very pretty when you’re all dressed up like this.” As someone who regarded his own face as ordinary and average-looking, Woo-Jin had very high standards in terms of aesthetics. And so, that was a huge compliment coming from him.

“I've always been pretty!”

“Hey, look at how speechless Woo-Jin is and how he shut his mouth right away. He’s bad at lying.” Despite looking like a third-generation chaebol scion, Kang Min-Ho was ultimately still the same on the inside. He giggled and waved casually towards the cameras.

Woo-Jin, whose character was a contract killer, was decked in a black suit and a white shirt to match his role. He looked dapper, but his sharp figure was lean and cold. All of them were dressed according to their characters and had their photos taken.

This was Woo-Jin’s second time attending a production press conference – he didn’t get a chance to attend Death Hill’s press conference. People didn’t know him back then and didn’t pay any attention to him, so he wasn’t invited to the press conference. More importantly, Director Moon Seung-Kwon couldn’t invite him because he had to walk on eggshells around the major investor.[2]

As for his first press conference, which was for Glooming Day, Director Choi Yi-Geon and Kwon Sung-Min, the male lead, wanted it to be as simple as possible, especially the latter, who had given the excuse that he was busy shooting a drama. Director Choi Yi-Geon had also said he hated press conferences with a passion, as they were just empty formalities where people acted ostentatiously, so he shared the same sentiment as Kwon Sung-Min. Thus, Woo-Jin only remembered taking some photos at the press conference before it ended with a short interview, as though they hadn’t done anything at all.

However, the press conference for City of Shadows was a grand event that had been prepared with the finest quality things and was held in the banquet hall of a five-star hotel. After the cast and crew had their photos taken, each of them did a long introduction and speech before watching an extended trailer for the drama. The trailer looked very impressive and magnificent, like a movie.

The overall ambiance of the drama was fancy but very dark at the same time. And the scene where Woo-Jin leaped to the building on the other side marked the end of the video. Even though they had used the footage from the rehearsal, instead of his second attempt, which would be used in the final edit, the scene was edited using CGI to remove the wires and looked realistic and very exciting.

“How did you shoot the building scene? From what I’ve heard, is it true that Mr. Chae Woo-Jin shot it personally without a stunt double?” After watching the trailer, the reporters brought up the highlight, the final action scene, as soon as the second part of the interview with the actors began.

“We’ll be releasing the behind-the-scenes clips when the drama airs, so please check it out when the time comes.”

Unsatisfied with Production Director Park Jong Hyuk’s concise answer, the reporters continued to ask questions, but the quick-witted emcee intervened and set the event’s tone.

“Come to think of it, this is the first time the three main leads are acting in a drama, right? I’m sure you must have at least one memory of the shoot where you felt that it was very tough. How was it?”

The three actors smiled awkwardly after hearing the emcee’s question. Regret was written all over their faces. It was their first time acting in a drama, and the production director was Park Jong-Hyuk of all people, so wouldn’t it have been tough? How could it only have been just one memory? There were a lot of things that could not be said out loud.

“It wasn’t easy to adapt initially because I worked in a different field before this.” Kang Min-Ho, an experienced actor, was the first to answer. He talked about the obvious mistakes that stage and movie actors made when acting in a drama. The interviews with the different actors that followed were roughly the same. They shared some fun and light-hearted anecdotes and talked each other up. The interviews ended on a warm note, with the cast and crew emphasizing the great ambiance on set because of the staff’s hard work and the amazing camaraderie among the three actors while also praising the production director moderately.

“But the idol didn’t show up today either. You have filmed everything except for the scene where ‘Choi Kang’ appears in episode 5. Did he say he was coming?” As they were waiting for their cars after the press conference ended, Park Yeon-Ah questioned the idol’s identity, whose name had not even been mentioned up until today. At this point, she was doubtful whether an idol had taken on the role of Choi Kang.

“I was curious, so I asked him, and he told us to wait for a little longer because apparently, he wants to shoot the part after taking proper acting lessons.”

“It’s too late for that now.”

“Well, I guess he must have been dispirited after watching us act. After seeing our looks and our acting, it’s disheartening, right?” Park Yeon-Ah responded to the pompous Kang Min-Ho in a pitiful tone to shut him up, “It’s embarrassing to hear more.”

Woo-Jin had been watching the two argue with each other when his eyes met with someone in the distance. Woo-Jin didn’t know what expression he should have and quickly bowed in greeting to hide his face. Park Yeon-Ah slowly turned her head upon seeing Woo-Jin’s actions.

A man was standing next to an executive of City of Shadows’ production company. She stared at the face of the man, who looked familiar for some reason, before hearing the answer from Kang Min-Ho.

“It’s Seol Moon-Young, the first-generation idol star who became a well-known record producer. I heard he’s the CEO of a certain agency now.”

“TM.”

“Oh~! That’s right.” Kang Min-Ho nodded after hearing Woo-Jin’s answer. Looking at Seol Moon-Young, he wondered if that’s what people meant by a successful person who’s never experienced failures before. He had debuted as an idol at a young age, and later, the group had disbanded without many issues while he was still on a roll. And Seol Moon-Young, who started his solo career then, had maintained his popularity to this day. Furthermore, he was also a very talented record producer. Blue Fit’s debut album, which was considered a masterpiece, was one of his works.

“Do you know him?” Park Yeon-Ah asked after greeting the executive of the production company. She seemed puzzled as she watched Seol Moon-Young approach Woo-Jin.

“Briefly, in the past.” They thought nothing of Woo-Jin’s serious response. Networking was very important in the entertainment industry, where everybody was intertwined with one another. They thought this was one of those relationships.

“Oh, it’s Woo-Jin. How long has it been since we last met?” As expected, Seol Moon-Young approached Woo-Jin, looking happy to see him. Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah looked at each other and slowly backed away. Judging from how they greeted each other, it seemed like it had been a while since they had seen each other, so Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah figured it would be polite for them to leave.

“Yes, sir. How have you been?”

“I’ve always been the same. I enjoyed your movie. I didn’t know you were so good at acting. It’s amazing.” Seol Moon-Young still had his Duchenne smile, which had once captivated the public. Even Park Yeon-Ah, who was standing at a distance, was getting butterflies in her stomach.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“I’ve always cherished you. Do you know how sad I was when you left like that?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course, I couldn’t help but be sad.” The sharpness within Seol Moon-Young’s friendly smile pierced through Woo-Jin’s heart, but Woo-Jin tried not to show it on his face; they simply looked at each other and smiled.

Glancing at Woo-Jin’s face for a moment, Seol Moon-Young sincerely praised him for his acting talent before Woo-Jin could say the same thing. He felt that Seol Moon-Young was incredible for not revealing his true emotions, as though he was constantly wearing a mask, even though Woo-Jin could sense the incongruity of it the entire time.

“Oh, right. You know Min-Soo, right? Lee Min-Soo from Blue Fit, the group you almost debuted in. He’s also joining the cast of City of Shadows this time around. Even though he’s the same age as you, he had acted in a few dramas before. And since he debuted years before you did, he’s your senior in this field, so treat him with respect. Even though you’ve left TM, as long as you’re in the entertainment industry, you have to know your place.”

Woo-Jin smiled in response to Seol Moon-Young’s condescending words and look, before saying, “If he acts like a senior, of course, I’ll treat him accordingly.”

“He won’t let you down.”

“I hope so too. Min-Soo and the others have always only let me down. But, I’m sure there will come a time where he doesn’t disappoint me.”

Seol Moon-Young’s eyes narrowed for the first time as he stared at Woo-Jin after hearing his reply. He noticed that Woo-Jin had included him in the list of people who had disappointed him.

“You haven’t changed much – you’re still the same as back then. Where exactly is your arrogance coming from? Ah, now that you’ve joined DS, you have a reliable backer?”

There was no value in responding, so Woo-Jin kept quiet. Seol Moon-Young seemed to have misunderstood his action and smirked as he gently tapped Woo-Jin on the shoulder.

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1. This is an English transliteration of the Korean word 재벌 which means rich business family <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

2. Park Min’s sponsor. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">