Chapter 259: Storm (9)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The location was Jeonju, where the gigantic set of ‘Leech’ was situated. Even now, there were about a hundred staff members gathered, but for some reason, everyone was enjoying cup noodles before lunch.

It wasn’t one cup noodle per person.

Groups of four or five were sharing one cup noodle. Standing, sitting, in teams, etc. The locations were varied too. Some teams were sitting around the lawn, and some staff were gathered on makeshift chairs.

The commonality was that you could hear slurping sounds everywhere.

“Mmm! What is this! It’s delicious!!”

“Right? It’s crazy delicious! Wow- Is this being sold right now??! I need to buy it right away!”

“You probably can’t. I read an article saying there’s an open run with long lines and chaos. But Woojin-ssi! This is incredibly tasty!”

“Really, how should I put it- it’s a taste that defies expectations. It’s more stimulating than I thought, which I like even more.”

Almost all the staff were showering it with praise. Of course, including top actors like Sim Han-ho, Oh Hee-ryung, Jin Jae-jun, and Han So-jin.

“Mmm- good. I could eat this every day.”

“Sunbae. Is that all you have to say? I find it incredibly delicious. It feels even more so because Woojin-ssi made it.”

“Hahaha. I kept wondering what it would taste like while watching ‘Our Dining Table’! Thank you, Woojin-ssi. But it’ll be hard to taste the real thing instead of the cup noodles, right?”

“Oh my, So-jin. Are you going to drink all the broth?”

“Ah, no······I did it without thinking. Ha- I’m doomed. I’m supposed to be on a diet.”

“Just eat, it’s not that much. Director~nim! How is it??”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, with his head full of white hair, was looking at the cup noodle in his hand with slightly widened eyes.

“······For a cup noodle to have such a deep flavor?”

There was a wave in his eyes. His face was quite surprised. On the lid of the cup noodles being tasted by the entire ‘Leech’ team, as expected, was written:

– ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ Cup Noodle

Kang Woojin’s creative dish was emblazoned as the title. The design of the cover was simple. The image of the real ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ was inserted as is. The most noticeable thing was.

“Did Woojin-ssi come up with this pose?”

“Wow- Woojin-nim strikes this pose too.”

“Woojin-ssi! Can you show us the double thumbs up for real??”

“Looking at it like this, it doesn’t quite match the imagination.”

It was Kang Woojin’s double thumbs up decorating the lid. To be precise, it was a solemn double thumbs up.

“Hahaha! But normally, wouldn’t you do something like this with a smile??? It’s so serious that it’s even funnier??”

“That’s the key point! A expressionless double thumbs up!”

“Is he telling us to eat or not??!”

“Were you mad when you shot this?”

“But doesn’t it grab your attention? Or is it just me?”

The ‘Leech’ set was very lively. Everyone’s eyes were already on Kang Woojin. As usual, he was indifferent as always, to the maximum. He only answered the staff’s questions briefly.

“I took it without much thought.”

However, the real Kang Woojin was in extreme agony.

‘Oh- fuck! Should I run away? Should I just go abroad or something?? This is so fucking embarrassing?!’

Stop it. Don’t bring my solemn double thumbs up to the surface any more. The embarrassment was skyrocketing. Even though he was putting on a poker face with extreme shamelessness, the double thumbs up on the cup noodles kept haunting him. The funny thing was that Nongsin praised that solemn double thumbs up as the best.

They said it perfectly expresses Kang Woojin’s image.

Still, it was a mistake. I should have told them to remove it.

‘Ha, crazy. That idiotic double thumbs up is going to be distributed all over the country???!’

The sales had already started. Considering the intense concept, Kang Woojin seriously contemplated running away abroad for a little while.

Just for a moment.

“Alright-”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, putting aside the amazement of the taste, returned to reality.

“Let’s all get our heads back in the game.”

Break time was over. It was an order to start filming. As always, but especially today, there was no room for leisure.

“Because tomorrow is the Baeksang.”

Meanwhile.

The ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ that had officially started sales caused quite a stir not only among the public but also among Kang Woojin’s acquaintances.

For instance, Hwalin.

Sitting in the living room with her hair pulled back by a headband, she was anxious while looking at the thick script. The script, of course, was.

-‘Beneficial Evil’/ Episode 2

It was ‘Beneficial Evil’, recently received from PD Song Man-woo.

-Flip.

Hwalin was pretending to concentrate on reading the script, but her real focus was elsewhere. While glancing at the script, she kept eyeing the cup noodles placed on the table. It was ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’. Not received from Kang Woojin, but something Hwalin had queued up to buy herself from a convenience store near her home.

Steam was wafting out from the lid, indicating that water had already been added. Hwalin picked up her phone to check the time.

“One minute left, one minute.”

Exactly one minute later, she grabbed her chopsticks and quickly moved to the cup noodles.

“Slowly- carefully.”

The first thing Hwalin did, after taking a long sniff, was to carefully open the lid of the cup noodles.

‘It mustn’t get damaged.’

The reason was simple. How could she bear to ruin the solemn double thumbs up of her absolute favorite? As a fan, she was collecting Kang Woojin’s double thumbs up printed on the lid.

-Swish.

Hwalin slowly peeled off the lid and smiled softly at the inserted double thumbs up of Woojin.

“So adorable.”

Placing the lid gently beside her, she savored the cup noodles. In fact, she had tasted Woojin’s real ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ on ‘Our Dining Table’. Hence, she was able to make a more accurate taste comparison.

“Oh- awesome. It’s actually quite similar? Delicious.”

Soon, she began to slurp it up heartily. Although she was on a diet, she chose to skip meals tomorrow for her fan devotion.

“When things settle down a bit, I need to buy a few boxes.”

With the Baeksang Awards tomorrow, the calorie burn would be extreme, but her fangirling was even more intense. Hwalin’s fighting spirit was stronger than ever.

Kang Woojin’s closest friends were also not quiet.

Lee Kyung-sung, who arrived at the large mart near his company just in time for lunch, was the quickest.

“Woah- holy, shit!”

With his belly even more pronounced, Lee Kyung-sung gaped as soon as he reached the mart. A sign hung in the ramen section.

-‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ Sales Point

There was a line of at least 30 people, and more were joining by the minute. Lee Kyung-sung let out a helpless laugh and immediately took a photo of the situation to post in the group chat. How could he resist this bizarre scene? Then he joined the queue himself. The group chat soon became noisy.

-Lee Kyung-sung: Live situation at D-Mart

-Lee Kyung-sung: (Photo)

-Na Hyeong-gu: No wayㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋseriously??! This is crazyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Kim Dae-young: Same at the convenience store here

-Lee Kyung-sung: Within minutes, 10 people lined up behind meㅋㅋㅋㅋI might not get any at this rate??

-Na Hyeong-gu: I was planning to buy some on my way home after workㅋㅋㅋshit that was a weak plan?

-Na Hyeong-gu: It’s going out of stock as soon as it’s released……Woojin! Kang Woojin! Since it’s yours, don’t you have any leftovers?! Give us some charity!

-Kim Dae-young: (Photo) I succeeded. Kang Woojin’s double thumbs up is very impressive.

-Kang Woojin: Don’t buy it, don’t take photos of the double thumbs up! I said don’t.

-Kim Dae-young: No way, I’ll keep it well preserved and pass it down for generations. Saying this is what my friend looks like.

Naturally, Woojin’s fan club president, his sister Kang Hyun-ah, and her group, as well as actors close to Kang Woojin, and indeed the whole country, were buzzing over ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’.

It was a predictable trend.

The phenomenon created by the 20% viewership rating of ‘Our Dining Table’ and Kang Woojin’s influence. On top of that, the marketing power of ‘Nongsin’ through SNS and numerous Youtubers’ advertisements added to the frenzy.

『[Issue Pick] Kang Woojin’s cup noodles, ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ out of stock as soon as sales begin?』

The media followed suit.

『People lining up at convenience stores to buy ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’, creating an open run even for cup noodles thanks to Kang Woojin』

Public opinion fanned the flames.

-The situation in front of the convenience store near my house is crazy ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-The open run for Kang Woojin’s Kimjaban Makguksu today ㅗㅜㅑ

-Hey wtf I came to buy Kang Woojin’s cup noodles and the line is insane???!!!

-Open run for Kimjaban Makguksu ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Ah fuck all the Kang Woojin’s cup noodles sold out right in front of me….

-Open run for Kimjaban Makguksu is so funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Ah shit are they controlling the initial stock again??

It was a huge hit.

The next day, March 18th. Thursday.

The day of the ‘Baeksang Arts Awards’. It was a late morning. The time was around 11 AM. Kang Woojin could be found in a van on a road in Seoul.

He was currently on his way to the salon.

“······”

Woojin was looking down at his phone with a serious expression. Up until just now, he had been checking numerous congratulatory messages, and now he was checking the situation with the ‘Kimjaban Makguksu’ cup noodles.

‘This is crazy······is this for real??’

The situation was more serious than he had anticipated, and Kang Woojin was purely astonished. Who could have imagined such a scenario?

‘Open run- I thought that only happened in the news.’

However, Woojin had to focus on another schedule today.

He had to deal with everything related to the ‘Baeksang Arts Awards’ all day.

Later.

After arriving at the salon in Cheongdam-dong and finishing his hair and makeup and other preparations to look his best.

“Alright, Woojin. Let’s go.”

Having completed all his preparations, Kang Woojin got into the van.

“Yes, CEO-nim.”

That same day, late afternoon. COEX in Samseong-dong.

The grand ‘Baeksang Arts Awards’ was to be held at COEX. The exact location was Hall D. At COEX’s outdoor plaza, the ‘Baeksang Arts Awards’ logo and the logos of various sponsor companies were already set up like walls on either side, and in the center, a long red carpet was laid out.

Hundreds of reporters were gathered on both sides of the red carpet.

-Pabababak!

-Pabababababak!!

The sound of camera shutters was endless. The parade of stars had already begun. Surrounding the reporters were people from various media, broadcasting stations, and awards ceremony staff, and fans and spectators encircled them.

It was a spectacular scene.

An enormous crowd, easily numbering in the hundreds, filled the red carpet from start to finish.

“Ji-hyun-ssi!! Hello, Ji-hyun-ssi!!”

“Kyahhh!! Unnie!! Please wave at us!!!”

“This way!! This way, please!”

“Please give us a heart sign!!”

The excitement pierced the sky. In terms of scale, it was even grander than the Blue Dragon Awards. It made sense. While the Blue Dragon Awards are a festival for filmmakers, the Baeksang Awards cover not only movies but also TV. Actors, broadcasters, comedians, and entertainers related to movies, dramas, variety shows, and theater all gather.

Naturally, the size had to be several times bigger.

As time went on, the red carpet event of the Baeksang Awards became hotter and more intense. The national MC who shook up last year’s variety show scene appeared, as well as actors who stood out in the theater scene. The blue-chip comedians of the variety scene shyly greeted and marched on.

Everyone was dressed meticulously in tuxedos, suits, or dresses.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of reporters, while filming the arriving celebrities, were also waiting for the actor who had created a huge buzz yesterday and today.

“Ah- damn, when is he coming? Did he already go in?”

“No. I’ve been here since before the red carpet started, and I haven’t seen a hair of Kang Woojin.”

“Are you sure, Reporter Park?”

“Yeah. He’ll be here soon, I bet.”

It was Kang Woojin.

Although many top stars had already graced the red carpet, making reporters salivate, the face the hundreds of reporters were most eager to see was undoubtedly Kang Woojin. Ever since his appearance in the entertainment industry, he had never not been in the spotlight—a monstrous actor.

Even at this very moment, his buzz was exploding.

At that moment.

“Ah!! Kang Woojin-ssi!!!”

The reporters and correspondents at the beginning of the red carpet became excessively busy. The reason was simple. Kang Woojin, wearing a navy-tone tuxedo, had appeared with a calm face, in stark contrast to the excitement-laden scene.

The speed at which flashes went off multiplied several times.

-Pabababababak!!

Shouts and screams, or rather shrieks, began to spread across the entire red carpet.

“Kang Woojin-ssi!! Please give us a wave!! A wave!!!”

“Look this way and wave! Woojin-ssi!!”

“It seems like your cup noodles are a huge hit!! How do you feel!!”

“Wow!! It’s Kang Woojin, Kang Woojin!!”

“Kyaaa! Oppa!! Please look over here!!!”

“Woojin-ssi!! What award do you think you’ll win today!!??”

The decibel level was enough to make your eardrums throb. It was almost frightening. Nevertheless, an enormous number of people were entangled, rushing towards Kang Woojin. The expressions of the burly guards standing in between showed their struggle clearly.

In contrast, Kang Woojin.

“······”

He maintained a poker face while responding appropriately. Enduring the blinding flashes, he waved his hand and briefly responded to the screams by making eye contact with the shouting fans. He appeared calm. However, on the inside, he was excited.

‘My ears are going to burst! Aren’t there way more people here than at the Blue Dragon Awards??! Wow, this is crazy. I can’t see ahead because of the flashes, ahead!’

It was an awards ceremony that he was experiencing for the first time since the Blue Dragon Awards.

Although his heart wasn’t about to explode like during his first experience, Kang Woojin was still extremely tense. The concentrated attention made his heart race even more. The ever-composed Woojin needed to keep his mind sharp. If he tripped over his own feet and fell, he would look foolish.

But that became reality.

-Thud.

In an instant, Woojin’s steps tangled, and he stumbled forward.