Chapter 54: Countdown (4)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The 9th was Kang Woojin’s day off, which passed at the speed of light. Normally, rest days go by quickly without even knowing what was done, but it was also because the internet that Woojin was browsing was so bustling.

“Woah- there’s so much stuff?”

Lately, Kang Woojin’s time spent browsing on his phone had increased. It’s not like his name was directly mentioned, but.

“Oh! This was when the closing ceremony happened? What’s wrong with my face, why does it look so strange?”

Most of the news currently buzzing on the internet was deeply related to Kang Woojin. The film industry was still experiencing the aftermath of the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’, which had made a lot of noise a few days ago.

『Finally, the ‘Best Film’ announced, this year’s Mise-en-scène Film Festival, successfully concluded [Summary]』

The festival committee continued to promote the festival as it had been successful this year in terms of issues and attention, and also because the festival itself was quite traditional.

『<Exorcism> won the Best Work award at this year’s Mise-en-scène Film Festival! First Best Film award in 4 years』

『[StarTalk] The Short Film Festival Was a Hit! ‘Hong Hye-yeon’ Makes a Surprise Appearance and Wins Best Actor Award/ photo』

The public should have a good impression so that they will watch it again next year. Moreover, it had been a few years since the best film award was given out, and the best film award-winning ‘Exorcism’ even won the newly established actor awards.

『The Mise-en-scène Film Festival, this year, especially overflowing with movie industry ★s, the 3-time winner ‘Exorcism’ draws attention』

『[Photo] ‘Exorcism’ Director Shin Dong-chun, on the 3-wins “It was a great honor, I will continue to contribute to the film industry.”』

The committee and film industry media continued to highlight ‘Exorcism’. Any industry needs a superstar. Especially in the non-mainstream sector like short films. A clear example can be seen in sports. Even if it’s a sport with no popularity, people will watch if there’s a star player.

In other words, ‘Exorcism’ was a superstar encompassing various issues.

Meanwhile, Park Jung-hyuk, who had tried to use the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’ for his own whitewashing purposes, was quietly buried. He was only briefly mentioned at the beginning of the award ceremony, and that was all.

『Where is Park Jung-hyuk who declared ‘to start from the bottom’? No response from Park Jung-hyuk’s side on not attending the award ceremony』

What’s interesting is…

『Who is the protagonist of the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’ acting grand prize? Judges “He is the future of Chungmuro (TL: Korean version of Hollywood)”/ photo』

Even Kang Woojin, who was unknown and overshadowed by Hong Hye-yeon, started to draw a little attention even though he won the grand prize but had little recognition.

Why? Why is it quiet after this actor, Kang Woojin, beat Hong Hye Yeon and won the Grand Prize? Not all film media highlighted this, but a few reporters began to cover Kang Woojin.

『[Movie Talk] Unknown actor Kang Woojin, unanimously chosen for the Grand Prize by the judges, in conversation with Japanese master director Kyotaro in Japanese / Picture』

The entertainment section was naturally heated due to the drama war.

[@__19yy__]

[(Article link) Ah…what should I watchㅜㅜㅜ I want to watch all three! But I don’t think all three are simulcasting on Netflix….ㅜㅠㅜ]

With the premiere of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ imminent, SBC, MBS, and TVM seemed desperate in their promotion, and the media also responded to this.

『[Drama IS] Premiere Imminent, SBC, MBS, TVM in a Crazy Promotional War!』

Public opinion also joined the excitement. Ads were everywhere people could see or hear, not just on portal sites.

『Public opinion has already changed, netizens advertising their desired dramas on various communities / picture』

Among them, yesterday’s news about the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ production announcement was the most stimulating. Of course, the production announcement was made by SBC, MBS, and TVM, but the winner was ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

『[Star Talk] Ryu Jung-min, who attended the production announcement, says “Drama war? I acted diligently and am confident”』

『Starting with Writer Park Eun-mi, the entire ★-studded cast, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team, is all ‘brimming with confidence’』

They had the most delicious, mouth-watering news, and reporters seemed to be stimulated by the appetizing scent, increasing the number of articles on ‘Profiler Hanryang’. Thus, the day passed with the internet in a frenzy.

However, the next day was not quiet. It was even noisier than the day before.

『★ Writer Park Eun-mi, “My chosen scene stealer actor will overpower everyone”』

Especially today, there was a lot of talk about the scene stealer actor that was mentioned at the end of the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ production announcement and the argument between Hong Hye-yeon and a reporter.

『Who is the ‘all-time greatest’ scene-stealer actor highly praised by PD Song Man-woo and Writer Park Eun-mi? Will they demonstrate acting befitting of the hype?』

『[Photo] Top Actress Hong Hye Yeon Responds Sharply to Reporter’s Question: “Go and Watch ‘Exorcism’/ Picture』

Indeed, looking at the overall picture, the articles being spread contain more exaggerations than truth. So what? It’s all smoke and mirrors that make for enticing clickbait. This is the mindset of pouring out articles. Well, of course, it was a desperate effort by the reporters themselves for clicks, but for the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team, it wasn’t a bad situation.

No, it was exactly the picture they intended.

In this way, after two days of sparking flames in the media until the 10th, starting Monday, the 11th, public opinion started adding fuel to the fire everywhere.

-Hong Hye Yeon overpowering the reporter at the production announcement.jpg

Dozens of edited videos of the production announcement were uploaded to YouTube, and there was heated discussion on SNS and various online communities. Initially, the focus was mostly on ‘Profiler Hanryang’, which seemed to be dominant, and naturally, the drama teams of SBC and TVM were also aware of this.

“PD! It seems that Hanryang team put out a lot of hints at the production announcement, so the community reaction is mostly about Hanryang!”

“I know! I’ve been monitoring it too!”

“Hong Hye-yeon’s fight with a reporter is one thing, but the scene stealer actor bait mentioned by PD Song and Writer Park. Is this really true??”

“No way, it’s a lie! Didn’t think Park Writer would be like that, but pulling viewers this way?”

“But, what if a really top-tier scene stealer actor appears??”

“Hey, do you know how high Hanryang’s production budget is? It’s definitely a lie! Hey! We also need to throw out anything! Even if we get cursed later!”

Therefore, other drama teams quickly joined the clickbait war.

Then, the 12th.

With exactly 4 days left until the premiere on the 15th, the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team and other drama teams thought it was time.

『’Drama war’, each drama releases their official trailers almost simultaneously! How’s the quality?』

They almost simultaneously released their main trailers. Although several teasers had already been released, but the trailers uploaded this time were over a minute long, which was enough to raise the public’s expectations.

In some ways, it seemed to be a life-or-death battle.

Meanwhile, in Kang Woojin’s van.

At the time the main trailer for ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was released, Kang Woojin was heading to the studio. He was there for an interview filming that will be in the latter part of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ related trailers.

“……….”

He had a cynical expression as usual. However, his team including CEO Choi Sung-gun were not calm.

“Wow- The quality of the main trailer is really good. PD Song must have put everything in to create it?”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s a bit of a shame that Woojin isn’t in it though.”

“Haha! Isn’t it more painful to get hit when you weren’t expecting it at all?!”

Everyone was busy praising the main trailer. Thanks to his persona, he couldn’t dance with joy like other team members, but Kang Woojin was watching the trailer.

‘Wow- That scene looks like this on the video. It’s interesting.’

Comparing the cuts he shot himself with the edited video, he couldn’t help but feel amazed. Well, Woo-jin, who had some experience with video editing while working at a design company. But,

‘This is on another level.’

He realized that what he had done was just the tip of the iceberg. At that moment,

‘Ah, right.’

Kang Woojin, who was watching the trailer, abruptly remembered something, turned off the video, and logged into his mobile banking. His face was expressionless, but there was a faint hint of anticipation mixed in.

– Tap, tap.

A few touches. Soon, the sight of his bank account balance made Kang Woojin’s poker face slightly waver.

‘······Crazy. It came in.’

The sharp-eyed stylist Han Ye-jung asked Kang Woojin,

“Bro, what’s wrong? Don’t you feel well?”

In response to her question, Woojin solemnly shook his head.

“No, I’m fine.”

Kang Woojin, who answered appropriately, turned his gaze back to the mobile phone screen. He was already almost dancing with joy inside.

The reason was simple.

’60 million, 60 million in one go!’

Tens of millions of won had been credited to his pathetic account balance. It was the payment of the agency contract fee and the first appearance fee for ‘Profiler Hanryang.’ In fact, the signing fee from the agency had come in a bit earlier, and the drama’s first appearance fee was paid today. Kang Woojin had checked it late.

He had been busy after all.

Anyway, he started acting, and in two months, his first salary of over 60 million won had been deposited into his account. Moreover,

‘They said Hanryang’s money would continue to come in after the first time, right?’

There was still quite a bit of appearance fee to be paid. Of course, he was going to get an even bigger appearance fee in the future. Kang Woojin himself was still in disbelief, but still, 60 million won was a lot of money. To be honest, it was an amount Kang Woojin, an ordinary citizen at heart, had never seen before.

‘Wow- Shit. What should I do with this?’

Therefore, there was a strange smirk on Woojin’s poker face. He tried hard to suppress it, but his joy was leaking out. Han Ye-jung, who was glancing at this, whispered to the CEO, Choi Sung-gun,

“CEO, Woojin is a bit strange right now.”

Choi Sung-gun, who quickly checked Kang Woojin, had seen this state of Woojin before.

“Let him be, he’s probably practicing his role again.”

“Ah-”

“Just don’t disturb him when he’s like that.”

“Yes.”

Kang Woojin, who didn’t notice this, was

‘What should I do with this? Shit, I’ve never handled this amount of money, so I don’t know. I should give some to my parents first.’

He was pondering what to do with this large amount of money he was seeing for the first time.

‘Ah! Should I save up a bit more and move??’

The next day, Wednesday the 13th. Kang Woojin’s studio apartment.

It was morning. Around 9 o’clock. Kang Woojin, dressed in a comfortable sweatshirt in the warming weather, stood in front of the shoe rack. But he didn’t put on his shoes right away.

“Hmm- It’s shiny.”

He was contentedly looking at the trophy placed on the shoe rack. What else could it be? It was the Grand Prize trophy from the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’.

“Bro, I’m going out.”

For some reason, Woojin was carefully cherishing the grand prize he had ever received. It was understandable since it was the first award he received only two months after becoming an actor.

Soon.

-Thunk.

After bidding farewell to the trophy, Kang Woojin left his studio apartment. Today as well, a black van was waiting in front of the house. However,

“Brother! Good morning!”

“Bro, hello.”

The ones who came to pick up Woojin were only Jang Su-hwan and Han Ye-jung. Choi Sung-gun was nowhere to be seen.

“Yes, hello.”

“Oh! Brother! Can you please speak more comfortably?!”

“That’s right, bro. We feel uncomfortable.”

“Alright, got it.”

The reason was simple.

“Brother, we’re going straight to the company! Ah! You know the company is in chaos now, right?!”

Kang Woojin’s agency, bw Entertainment, was currently a battlefield. CEO Choi Sung-gun, was so busy that it was hard for him to leave his seat. It was a busy season. Indeed, when Woojin got in the minivan, all employees of bw Entertainment were busy without a break.

“Yes, yes, it’s bw Entertainment! Oh, Hong Hye-yeon’s interview? I’ll check!”

“Huh? No, reporter. What are you talking about? Is it a problem to ask for the article to be taken down because it’s a false rumor?”

“Ah- There is nothing decided yet for Kang Woojin. Yes, yes. Will you send it quickly then? A meeting? Then I’ll ask the CEO.”

“Would you please send inquiries about Hong Hye-yeon’s advertising through email?”

Actually, this started right after the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’. It was never quiet due to Hong Hye-yeon’s star power, but the workload increased with the recent issues and Kang Woojin joining. Naturally, inquiries for Hong Hye-yeon were overwhelming, but there were also inquiries related to Kang Woojin.

Thanks to this, the PR team of about six people had to answer the phone like crazy.

“Quick Mail Service! Where should I put it??”

The quick mail came quite often to the chaotic bw Entertainment. Most of the contents were scripts or scenarios. Quick mail service was used when it was difficult to have a meeting, but looking at the amount piled up on the operation team’s desk, it seemed to have increased a lot lately.

At this point, CEO Choi Sung-gun said.

“Okay, then let’s keep Hye-yeon in spotlight and hide Woojin as much as possible for a while.”

He was in a brief meeting with staff.

“And since Woojin had joined, I think we need to increase the staff: Which team needs members most urgently?”

“I think the PR team is in the most urgent need.”

“Hmm.”

“The management team is also a bit overwhelmed.”

“Let’s increase the staff as quickly as possible after figuring out the number of people.”

After 30 minutes, Kang Woojin, the newcomer at bw Entertainment, entered the company. There were quite a few people looking at Woojin curiously because he was still unfamiliar with the employees.

Anyway, Woojin soon sat face to face with Choi Sung-gun in the executive office. Choi Sung-gun started the conversation.

“Woojin, as you can see the situation at the company. Things are chaotic everywhere. Especially, the number of scripts or scenarios coming in for you have increased drastically, and there are quite a few interviews coming in. What do you think, do you want to do it?”

Interviews? Ah, not yet. Kang Woojin, who was silently looking at Choi Sung-gun, was not sure. Well, someday he would have to handle such interviews, but.

‘I’m not ready yet.’

To be honest, it was still a bit uncomfortable. Thanks to that, Woojin answered with a low voice.

“It feels a bit premature.”

“Right? Honestly, I think it’s better for you to maintain a sense of mystery for now. After all, the response won’t be that big even if you go through several rounds of YouTube or press interviews. It would be a waste of your image.”

“I think the same.”

“What I’m thinking of is to maintain a sense of mystery even after Hanryang is over.”

Choi Sung-gun, who leaned towards Woojin, put sincerity in his briefing.

“First of all, the public and media are curious about you. But there is almost no information, and then the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’ award and Hanryang. More question marks will arise, right? Then, boom, with Director Kwon Ki-taek’s work. Well, roughly like that.”

‘I see, hmm, I don’t know’. Although he heard it, Kang Woojin mostly didn’t understand what was being said. However, he could tell that Choi Sung-gun was setting up a proper plan.

“Yes, it seems fine.”

“There are only two days left until the first broadcast of Hanryang, so let’s hide as much as possible. Be careful with what you say to your close friends.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Choi Sung-gun, who was smiling satisfactorily, got up and moved to the desk, picked up dozens of books and put them in front of Woojin. Woojin flinched inwardly at the fairly large amount, but calmly looked at Choi Sung-gun.

Choi Sung-gun, who chuckled, shrugged his shoulders.

“These are the scripts and scenarios that have come for you. It also includes melodramas and rom-coms that I looked for separately.”

In other words, the dozens of books piled up in front of Woojin were scripts and scenarios. Are there so many? Woojin, who was surprised inside, managed to maintain a poker face.

‘Wow- that’s crazy. All these came for me? There are so many. When am I going to read all this??’

At that time, Choi Sung-gun drew the wrong conclusions from Woojin’s expression.

“Are you disappointed? Haha, don’t be. The company has already filtered out the meaningless ones in the first round. But well, it’s less than expected. Probably because there’s not enough information about you.”

Woojin slowly nodded his head and turned his gaze back to the stacked scripts and scenarios. Of course, all of them had a black square attached to them. Woojin casually picked up the one on top and unfolded it, and Choi Sung-gun added an explanation with a smirk.

“You’ve got a divine touch, so go through them once and choose. It doesn’t have to be a melodrama or rom-com. Or if you’re not okay with it, you can go for anything other then rom-com. There is some time. The project with Director Kwon Ki-taek is in the pre-production stage, so there’s time to fit in a few short ones? Well, it’s your choice anyway.”

“Isn’t this not the time to take a break?”

“That’s right, it’s best to go all-out without any break right now.”

Kang Woojin, who was listening to the explanation calmly, suddenly paused. Of course, his index finger was secretly held up and Choi Sung-gun did not notice. So, Kang Woojin.

‘Oh- this one.’

He quickly went to the void space and came back.

‘A B+ came out from the start?’

Pointing at the scenario in his hand, Woojin asked Choi Sung-gun.

“CEO, what is this?”

“Huh? Ah- I think that was a cameo.”

“A cameo?”

“Yeah. I didn’t have a long talk with the director, but I heard they are already filming, and they saw you at the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’. They also talked about speaking Japanese. They really want to meet and talk with you.”

At that moment.

-Knock, knock! bang!

The door to the CEO’s office swung open. It was the team leader of the management team. His face looked strange with his eyes wide open.

“CEO, you need to come out.”

Choi Sung-gun, narrowing his eyes, sighed and stood up.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Um… someone came to see you.”

“Who?”

Immediately, Choi Sung-gun left the CEO’s office. At the same time, he noticed a group of people standing near the entrance of the office. Among them, he was surprised to see a man with head full of gray hair at the forefront, even Choi Sung-gun opened his mouth slightly as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Huh…?”

The gray-haired man approached with a smile and offered a handshake. The words that came out were in Japanese.

“I’m sorry, did I come too suddenly?”

The master director from Japan, Kyotaro, unexpectedly appeared.

“I came to meet actor Kang Woojin.”