小火星

Kim Dae-young squinted his eyes. Despite his imposing stature, his expression was incredibly cute. Almost instinctively, Kang Woojin nearly poked Kim Dae-young’s eyes with his index and middle fingers. He just barely stopped himself. Woojin’s headache grew worse, and he glared intensely at Kim Dae-young.

‘Stop it. You bastard, just stay quite for once.’

However, Kim Dae-young, having no clue about his friend’s intentions, misinterpreted Woojin’s glare.

‘Yeah, yeah, dude. You’re thankful, right? I noticed it because I’m sharp. Ha. This guy, he’s having so much fun.’

The two had completely different understandings of the situation. Regardless, Kang Woojin glanced at Hong Hye-yeon and Choi Sung-gun behind Dae-young’s head. Both looked back at Woojin with slightly surprised expressions.

‘Do they believe him?’

Indeed, both seemed to believe what Kim Dae-young said. While Woojin wasn’t entirely sure why Kim Dae-young started this whole mess, he sighed in relief, feeling that the situation wasn’t too bad.

‘Because of this bastard, Kim Dae-young, things got a bit more complicated, but everything’s still under control.’

Just then.

“Mr. Kim Dae-young?”

From behind, the ponytailed Choi Sung-gun called out to Dae-young.

“You’ve become more cheerful… meaning, Woojin used to be…”

“Yes, CEO.”

Turning his head, Kim Dae-young nonchalantly elaborated on Woojin’s past.

“Woojin was intense. He was colder and more stoic than now. He was overwhelmingly domineering, charismatic, but also very arrogant and cynical.”

“Enough.”

Kang Woojin quickly interrupted Kim Dae-young and whispered in his ear.

“That’s enough, just shut up.”

Then Woojin, acting like nothing happened, asked Choi Sung-gun.

“CEO, why is he here?”

“Oh? Didn’t you hear from your friend? We are hiring new employees, and Dae-young submitted his application. Since he said he’s friends with you, I was just talking to him.”

“… Hiring?”

What the hell? Woojin’s gaze returned to Kim Dae-young, who again squinted his eyes. ‘Should I kill him?’ Woojin barely held back his erupting emotions and quietly spoke to Choi Sung-gun.

“CEO, give me a moment.”

“Hm?”

“I need to talk to my friend privately.”

“Ah, okay, go ahead.”

At that moment.

“Wait.”

Hong Hye-yeon, taking off her hat, spoke up.

“You said your name is Kim Dae-young, right?”

“…I’m Touched. No, yes, that’s my name. Thank you.”

“Huh? Anyway, why did you bring Woojin to the audition that day? With his personality, he wouldn’t have proposed it first.”

She was almost right. Indeed, Woojin had gone to the ‘Super Actor’ audition venue at Kim Dae-young’s request, all because of a full-course pork belly meal and Hong Hye-yeon. However, the now-serious Kim Dae-young glanced at Woojin and said,

“Although he’s good at design, in my eyes, it was a waste for him to just act out of boredom, alone.”

Woojin, feeling it was getting out of hand, forcibly pulled Kim Dae-young’s arm.

“Let’s go.”

Woojin then dragged Kim Dae-young out of the CEO’s office, leaving Choi Sung-gun and Hye-yeon behind. The two remained silent for a while, looking at the door.

“Oh my.”

Hong Hye-yeon, brushing her long hair, spoke first.

“If he’s this cheerful now, how gloomy was he in the past?”

Choi Sung-gun chimed in.

“Exactly. Even now, Woojin’s cynicism is on the edge. If we had met him in the past, he might have been intolerable.”

“…Perhaps Woojin’s unknown past or circumstances weren’t so good.”

“Probably. And during all that, he nurtured his self-worth and diligently self-studied acting… It’s impressive.”

“His self-taught acting is now dominating the domestic acting scene. It’s just so incomprehensible… Anyway, it’s clear he’s brightening up, right?”

“Yes. After all, his friend proved it.”

Hye-yeon crossed her arms, thinking of Woojin.

“Did acting, which he started out of boredom, save him?”

The misunderstanding in this place had already built a fortress.

Meanwhile.

Kang Woojin and Kim Dae-young arrived at the emergency exit stairs at the end of the corridor. As the imposing Kim Dae-young continued to chuckle, Woojin checked the hallway outside the metal door.

-Swish.

Upon ensuring no one was around, Woojin cursed at Kim Dae-young, albeit quietly.

“Are you crazy? What the hell were you doing here? You should’ve called me first.”

“Shut up. Did you tell us? You totally blindsided everyone, from movies to dramas. I just wanted to surprise you once. How did that feel?”

“Ugh. I almost threw up. Come this way for now.”

Woojin grabbed the imposing Kim Dae-young by the collar, and Dae-young pushed Woojin’s shoulder, leading to a brief scuffle. But no words were spoken. A silent fight, almost like a dance without music.

After about a minute.

Kim Dae-young, who had barely swallowed his anger, suddenly chuckled.

“Why were you acting all high and mighty in front of Hong Hye-yeon? Trying to show off now that you’re an actor?”

“Ha- No, it just happened that way. Just think of it as that.”

“Heh, I noticed it and played along. You should be grateful to me. But you’re not really normal either; you are acting and maintaining a concept.”

“It’s not like I wanted this. I can’t even backtrack now. Because of you, I now have to grit my teeth and keep maintaining it. By the way, what was that acting comment you made to Hong Hye-yeon?”

“Huh? Oh- I took you to that audition. It would’ve been strange if I said I didn’t know you could act, right? So, I just played it off.”

At this point, Kang Woojin was somewhat resigned. Whatever, the results aren’t bad. Let’s move on. So, Woojin changed the subject.

“What about our company interview? What about the company you’re working at?”

“Oh- I was thinking of changing jobs, and the timing just worked out. Actually, I was also interested in the entertainment industry.”

“So?”

“I thought I’d work with you since you’re an actor. The CEO said they already have a manager for you, right? So, he suggested I start as an assistant manager or guard, and I thought it was a good idea.”

“When are you starting?”

“I’ll wrap up things at my current job this month and start next month.”

Kang Woojin narrowed his eyes, looking at his friend who was so nonchalant.

“Are you serious?”

“Really true.”

Indeed, Kim Dae-young’s eyes were full of determination. Woojin briefly imagined the future with Kim Dae-young and another colleague, Jang Su-hwan. Two imposing bears.

‘At least, no one would dare mess with us.’

It seemed okay. Having a friend by his side could provide a sanctuary amidst the challenges of the entertainment world, the misconceptions, and all the misunderstandings.

It was then that Kim Dae-young spoke.

“So, are you going to keep up with this concept?”

“Yes. There’s no turning back now. If you’re going to work with us, make sure you keep up.”

“Hehe, sounds fun. It’s kind of like real-life acting, right? Leave it to me.”

“And-”

Kang Woojin trailed off. He was about to talk about all the misunderstandings he’s had during his career, but he held back. Dae-young would gradually come to understand.

‘Dae-young will eventually catch on since I’ve mentioned the concept.’

Kim Dae-young checked the time on his phone and asked another question.

“But now that your popularity is skyrocketing, aren’t your acquaintances starting to notice? I saw one comment.”

It was something Woojin had thought about.

“….Elementary school is fine. I moved a lot and changed schools frequently. So I don’t even remember that time.”

For reference, Kang Woojin and his close friends had been friends since middle school.

“I also transferred in the second year of middle school. But does it matter? Middle school and high school kids wouldn’t know about my personal life.”

“Yeah, I guess. People from my previous job might find it strange. Just be careful with that concept?”

Woojin scratched his head in a ‘whatever’ manner.

“I don’t know.”

He muttered.

“It’ll work out somehow. It always has.”

Friday, 29th morning. Japan.

The location was the ‘Toega’ film company near Shinjuku station. By size, it was one of the largest in Japan. Many people gathered in the large conference room of the ‘Toega’ film company.

At least 20 people, maybe more?

They were seated around a ㅁ-shaped desk, and a man in his 50s with gray hair sitting near the entrance had a familiar face. It was Kyotaro Tanoguchi, the master director from Japan. The rest were figures from film companies or distribution companies.

What was interesting was…

“······”

“······”

Everyone, including Director Kyotaro, was staring at a middle-aged woman in her 60s. As a result, the conference room was silent, and the middle-aged woman with glasses perched on her nose was just reading a bundle of papers silently.

-Flip.

In fact, she was Akari Takikawa, a super-popular novelist in Japan. Akari was not only well-known in Japan but also in Korea, and recognized worldwide as a mystery novelist. She had been active for over 30 years and had authored dozens of works.

Among them, easily more than five were bestsellers.

The reason Akari was present was simple. The original work for Director Kyotaro’s next film was one of Akari’s works. The adaptation of that work was just completed yesterday, and today was the presentation of the adapted script to Akari.

At that moment,

-Flip.

It seemed Akari had finished reading the entire script as she closed the bundle of papers. She then gave a warm smile to Director Kyotaro sitting beside her.

“I like it, Director. I really like the adaptation.”

Director Kyotaro also smiled and nodded.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“I can see that you tried to stay true to the original work. There are some parts missing, but I appreciate how faithful you’ve been to the source material.”

“I regret not being able to include everything. I’ll do my best.”

Hearing their conversation, the members from the film and distribution companies seemed relieved, and a senior-looking man from the film company asked Director Kyotaro.

“Director, do you really intend to cast a Korean actor in this film?”

Once again, all eyes in the conference room turned to Director Kyotaro. But instead of answering, he posed a question to Akari.

“I’m considering working with a Korean actor for this film. What do you think, ma’am?”

After a brief pause, Akari, who had been looking at the script, met eyes with Director Kyotaro.

“I’m in favor. Honestly, isn’t Korea’s actor scene far ahead of Japan’s? Not to mention KPOP, and the same goes for Korean dramas. Korean culture is becoming more and more dominant.”

“Regrettably, that’s true. Japan is currently stuck in its old ways.”

“Do you want to wake up our actors?”

“That’s part of it, but not the whole reason.”

At that moment, an executive from the distribution company intervened.

“I understand that intent. But if it’s a work by both the director and the writer, top Korean actors would be willing to participate. But the Korean actor you mentioned is still relatively unknown, right?”

Director Kyotaro responded immediately.

“Why choose an actor with low recognition? Because I have to. A top actor won’t serve as a wake-up call for our actors.”

“But… I checked that actor, and he’s been gaining some traction recently.”

“I’ve checked too.”

“Isn’t it too risky?”

“To be honest, I was surprised to see that actor’s popularity rise recently. There wasn’t any talk about him. There must have been some issues with the drama producers. But aside from that, I don’t understand why such a talented actor is only now getting recognition.”

The conference room began to buzz. There was an actor whom Director Kyotaro praised so highly. And he was a Korean actor. Kyotaro turned to Akari, the writer, and said:

“In my eyes, that Korean actor seemed to have honed his skills for at least a decade. I haven’t seen many actors deliver such a performance. He has a unique acting style; it was impressive.”

“You rate him that highly?”

“Words can’t express. I got chills the moment I saw his movie. But,”

At this point, Director Kyotaro turned his gaze to everyone in the room.

“That actor, who remained hidden for over a decade, finally did a short film and shined through a drama. And it wasn’t even a major role. The standards for acting in Korea are much higher compared to Japan. But how about Japan nowadays?”

“…”

“Powerful agencies monopolize, broadcasters keep using popular actors, and when a new actor emerges, their skills decline rapidly. Because the market is already saturated.”

Soon after,

“That’s why we need that actor. I hope everyone sees it. When I was shocked by his acting, I had to tell everyone. In Korea, such a talent is merely featured in a 30-minute short film.”

Director Kyotaro sighed deeply.

“Of course, I’ve considered that Korean actor’s skills, demeanor, charm, and ultimately, his impeccable Japanese. His Japanese language skills are equally important.”

Writer Akari, crossing her arms, asked,

“Can I see the actor’s information? I’ve never seen you so captivated by an actor. I’m curious. Has the actor expressed any interest in participating?”

“No, not yet. We plan to send the script and officially proceed with a casting meeting.”

“I see.”

After a brief reply, writer Akari pondered for a moment and looked back at Director Kyotaro.

“If you’re planning to go to Korea again, why not align with my schedule in Korea? I have work in Korea in June.”

She smiled lightly.

“I’d love to meet that actor too.”

Back in Korea, same night.

It was around 9:50 PM. The place was Hong Hye-yeon’s luxurious house in Cheongdam-dong, adorned in black and white. Sitting in the living room on a rug was Hong Hye-yeon.

Next to her,

“Wow, what’s this wine? It’s delicious!”

Was Hwalin with a mole below her eye. Both were casually dressed, with snacks and wine on the table, catching up after a while.

But there was a reason.

“By the way, sis, can we watch today’s episode 5 of ‘Hanryang’ together? What about the shooting?”

The 5th episode of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ would start in 10 minutes.

“It’s okay. I don’t have any shoot today. I’d love to watch it with you, Hwalin.”

“Touching- Cheers!”

Hwalin, sipping her wine, sneaked a glance at Hong Hye-yeon. Then, she subtly brought up the topic she was really curious about.

“By the way, sis. Will Park Dae-ri not appear from episode 5?”

The target, of course, was Kang Woojin. But suddenly, Hong Hye-yeon smiled and nudged Hwalin’s shoulder.

“Why? Ah! You- you like Kang Woojin, who played Park Dae-ri?”

Hwalin, who had secretly become a fan, fervently agreed in her heart.

‘Yes, totally. He’s cool and acts so well. Especially his unique acting tone, I’m so curious.’

But with what Hong Hye-yeon added,

“Surprising? Our Hwalin, falling for a male actor, and a rookie at that?”

Externally, Hwalin blurted out something entirely opposite.

“What, what are you saying? I don’t care for him at all.”

She started off on the wrong foot.

*****