小火星

The post about Kang Woojin was uploaded in the early hours of the morning today on a community forum that mainly talked about celebrities.

-[I graduated from the same high school as Kang Woojin, and his personality is completely different nowㅇㅇ]

Although it wasn’t a highly popular community, the number of views quickly surpassed 100, given Kang Woojin’s recent popularity.

-I graduated from the same high school as Kang Woojin. I can’t be bothered to prove it, so if you don’t believe me, just hit back lololol

The post didn’t seem entirely trustworthy.

-Anyway, I wasn’t exactly friends with Kang Woojin, but you know how it is, right? In three years of high school, you get to know everyone’s faces. I wasn’t close to him, but I knew his personality and basic stuff. First of all, his debut as an actor was totally shocking lol. He never talked about acting, and he was into design lol. He was decent-looking.

Despite this, it didn’t feel like a complete lie.

-If you watch recent videos of the ‘sports day’ or interviews with Kang Woojin, it’s weird lol. His way of speaking, his tone, everything lol. It’s not just a slight change in personality; it’s like he’s a completely different person ㅇㅇ. You know how Kang Woojin seems a bit cynical now, like a cool city guy, right? But in high school, he used to be really cheerful and laughed a lot, kind of sassy but in a likable way lol.

There were quite a few comments on the post.

-lol, aren’t celebrities just products? Maybe he’s just crafted a personality that sells.

-I saw a comment on a YouTube video about this too, that Kang Woojin wasn’t like this before.

-Did you just realize that celebrities have different real-life personalities???

-What if he has a dual personality? lol

-That was at least 7-8 years ago since high school, right? lol People can change, can’t they? lol Despicable, really despicable lol Stubbornly clinging on to this lol

-↑ The point is not that he’s changed slightly, but that he’s acting like a totally different person, you moron.

Around 11 AM, the head of bw Entertainment’s PR team noticed this while monitoring online activity. He focused on reading the content and comments of the post.

-Swish.

He immediately captured screenshots of the post and comments. The captured images were saved in a file on his laptop, which contained various other materials, not just this one, all related to Kang Woojin.

There were quite a few similar screenshots to the one just saved.

The reason was simple.

‘Hmm, it’s not exactly a major issue, but it’s concerning if similar posts keep coming up.’

This wasn’t the first post of its kind.

Ever since Kang Woojin began to stand out in the entertainment industry, there had been several similar posts. These included various community posts, comments under articles, on community boards, and under YouTube videos. This time it was a high school classmate, but last week, someone claimed to have worked at the same company as him.

The source was a community for office workers.

Moreover, it was the second time from someone claiming to have worked with him had spoken up. Those posts got the most reactions, probably because these people had seen Kang Woojin up until recently. Nonetheless, the sentiments in the posts and comments were similar: ‘He’s like a different person, his personality has changed drastically, there’s something off about his demeanor, he seems almost like he has a dual personality.’

Each time, the PR team leader went through the same process.

Capturing and saving any potentially problematic material. Initially, it seemed like something that could easily be dismissed.

‘If there are 100 comments, maybe 5 are like that.’

However, as time went on, these comments seemed to be gradually increasing. Not explosively, but the numbers were steadily growing. And with that, the PR team leader’s concern began to rise.

‘It seems like it’s time to address this properly.’

The entertainment industry is a treacherous jungle or like a battlefield. It’s a place where anything and everything can happen.

That’s why it’s always necessary to be vigilant and prepared. Fixing the barn after the horse has bolted is too late. Because you never know when and where some bizarre incident might occur. Above all, these strange rumors are one thing, but what the PR team leader focused on the most was:

‘The reporters. It’ll be troublesome if any of them pick up on this.’

The entertainment media is like hyenas. Even if the general public might overlook something, it becomes a different story if it gets turned into an article. Of course, the titles and contents will be sensationalized.

Then.

-Swish.

The PR team leader made a call. It was to Choi Sung-gun, the CEO.

“Yes, CEO. I have something to report.”

Meanwhile, inside Kang Woojin’s van.

Kang Woojin had already visited the salon and was on his way to his next schedule. He had a brief interview in the morning, and the rest of the day was dedicated to filming ‘Male Friend.’

Thus, Woojin was,

“······”

-Thud.

He was reading the ‘Male Friend’ script with an indifferent face. The scene to be filmed today was from episode two. He had already been to the void space a few minutes ago and done some reading (experiencing).

That’s when,

“Huh, a report? All of a sudden?”

Choi Sung-gun, sitting in the passenger seat with his phone to his ear, raised his voice slightly. The person on the other end was obviously the PR team leader.

“You seem too serious? It’s slightly scary. Go ahead, report.”

Despite saying so, Choi Sung-gun, unconcerned, supported the phone with his shoulder, meanwhile, with both hands, he loosened his ponytail only to tie it up tightly again. Then, having heard something from the PR team leader over the phone, Choi Sung-gun reacted.

“······Hmm?”

For a moment, the smile disappeared from his face. Meaning he had become serious. Then, he glanced up through the rearview mirror at Kang Woojin.

“Yeah, I’m listening. Keep talking. It seems there’s no immediate problem? Continue, please?”

Choi Sung-gun, who had been quietly listening to the report for a while, opened his mouth to the phone again.

“So you’ve collected it – how much is there? Yeah? Hmm, okay. I’ll handle the verification, so, you just send me the data and deal with other matters. Yep, okay.”

With that, Choi Sung-gun ended the call.

-Swish.

However, Choi Sung-gun, having put down his phone, did not turn to Kang Woojin in the back. Clearly, what he had heard was related to Woojin, but Choi Sung-gun simply peeked at Kang Woojin through the rearview mirror and did not call him.

He didn’t want to disturb his focus, with filming right ahead.

At that moment.

-Brrr.

The phone in Choi Sung-gun’s hand vibrated briefly. It was a message from the PR team leader, with an attached file. Upon opening the attachment, several captured screenshots were visible.

“······”

Choi Sung-gun began to check the content seriously.

Meanwhile.

The ‘Male Friend’ shooting had already entered its seventh day. The ‘Male Friend’ team was gathered inside in a high school classroom. The current scene being filmed was an interview segment with ‘Han In-ho’ and ‘Lee Bo-min’. ‘Male Friend’ had several shots where the characters subtly revealed their true feelings through their interviews.

The questions were to be added as subtitles.

-What is your relationship?

Against the backdrop of an empty classroom with Han In-ho sitting alone.

“Relationship. Just enemies.”

That was the picture of Lee Bo-min answering separately.

“We’re friends, just friends. Male friends! We used to bathe together when we were kids. We’re almost like family.”

Sometimes, Han In-ho would retort directly to Lee Bo-min’s interview.

“Family? What are you talking about? What family? I’m sorry, but can you tell her that if you reverse ‘family’ it becomes ‘shitty friend’? Huh? It sounds like a curse? That’s right, it is.”

Thus, Kang Woojin and Hwalin, dressed in school uniforms, continued shooting, answering while looking at the camera.

-Please introduce your friend.

Lee Bo-min had a strong, cheerful, and bright vibe.

“Han In-ho? Uh-umm- First of all, he has no passion. He’s stubborn. Ah! He’s incredibly, incredibly, incredibly lazy. He’s just a bit- dumb, I guess?”

The one full of reluctance was, as expected, Han In-ho.

“An introduction? Ah- well, it’s a hassle. That’s the answer. But how long do we have to do this?”

The ‘Male Friend’ shooting was smoothly progressing and picked up speed. The high-quality acting of the two actors was the biggest reason. Along with the staff’s coordination, Director Shin Dong-chun’s handling, and more, there were no obstacles. Thanks to this, they could shorten the original shooting schedule by a whole day.

Around this time.

『[Issue Talk] Star Writer Lee Wol-seon’s New Work ‘Freezing Love’, Script Reading Imminent』

News of the script reading for ‘Freezing Love’, which had surpassed the mid-stage of pre-production, came in. It was when Kang Woojin was in the midst of his passionate performance as ‘Han In-ho’. Of course, the person who received the call was Choi Sung-gun.

“Yes- Manager, haha. The cast of ‘Freezing Love’ is solid. Is it because Lee Wol-seon is the writer?”

“That’s right, well. The script was good too. But more importantly, CEO Choi, we are setting the script reading schedule now.”

“Oh, when is it?”

“It’s confirmed for Friday, August 21st, but- would Woojin be available? He’s the busiest these days.”

“Hold on, the 21st? If it’s the 21st-”

“Additionally, it’s okay if Woojin is too busy to attend, but the writer expressed that she would really like him to be there.”

“The writer?”

“Yes, yes. And the other actors are also very curious.”

In the film “Freezing Love,” Kang Woojin’s role only had a few days’ worth of shooting at most. Although his role had some significance, it wasn’t unusual for actors to sync up on the day of shooting for such roles.

However, Kang Woojin was a total newbie.

For a newbie, skipping the script reading wasn’t a good look. Well, this was something CEO Choi Sung-gun, a veteran in the field, had already calculated.

“Haha, thank you. We would have attended regardless, even without your request. See you on the reading day.”

“Okay! Oh, and a sign language expert will be there on the reading day.”

Interestingly, later that afternoon, news came through about another script reading.

It was for ‘Island of the Missing.’

Choi Sung-gun knew that director Kwon Ki-taek had recently gone location hunting in Vietnam. After that, the script reading was confirmed. This meant,

“Hmm, seems like they’ll be doing some filming in Vietnam as well.”

‘Island of the Missing’ would be shot back and forth between South Korea and Vietnam. Director Kwon Ki-taek himself had reached out, having found some great locations in Vietnam.

Anyway, the confirmed script reading date for ‘Island of the Missing’ was,

“August 3rd, huh.”

It was a Monday. This accelerated CEO Choi Sung-gun’s task of organizing Kang Woojin’s tight schedule. The same news was also shared with the other actors of ‘Island of the Missing.’ Ryu Jung-min, Ha Yu-ra, Kim Yi-won, Jeon Woo-chang, and Hong Hye-yeon, among others.

What was unique here was the venue for the script reading, as announced by ‘Island of the Missing.’

『【[MoviePick] Amidst the jungle of sets, ‘Island of the Missing’ confirmed for script reading at a filming set?】』

A massive set had been chosen as the script reading venue.

Monday, July 27th.

The high school filming set for ‘Male Friend.’ Today was the last day of shooting at the high school. The project was swiftly moving from the early to the middle phase.

The next location was a university.

Of course, not all scenes were to be shot at the university. Outdoor scenes would be appropriately distributed according to the script. The shooting pace was fast. If it continued this way, they could wrap up sooner than the initially anticipated schedule.

Regardless,

“Cut!! Okay!! Let’s change the angle and go again!”

The energy on set was intense. Amidst that, Kang Woojin, Hwalin, and the other actors kept their passionate performances throughout. At this point, Choi Sung-gun was busy on a call somewhere. Well, his phone had been ringing non-stop these days.

Soon after,

– Swoosh.

After finishing the call, CEO Choi Sung-gun stretched with a long yawn.

“Ah! I’m exhausted.”

But his phone gave him no break.

-Brrr, brrrrr.

The ringing resumed. Sighing softly, CEO Choi Sung-gun checked the caller. It was Kim So-hyang, the Executive Director of Netflix Korea. With a wry smile, he answered the call.

“Yes, Director Kim.”

Moments later,

Seemingly having received a standby call, Kang Woojin with an indifferent face returned to his seat. Choi Sung-gun, offering him a bottle of water, spoke up.

“Woojin. Have you ever heard of the ‘Ame-talk show!’? It’s a talk show from Japan.”

What was that? Kang Woojin hardly watched TV in the first place. There’s no way he would know about Japanese shows. Well, most people wouldn’t.

“No, I’m not aware of it.”

“Well. It’s kind of like a national talk show in Japan. They’ve reached out to invite you.”

“···An invitation?”

An invitation from a Japanese talk show for him? Why? For what reason? Kang Woojin was silent, slightly confused, while Choi Sung-gun continued.

“It looks like ‘Hanryang’ has become quite popular in Japan since its launch on Netflix Japan.”

Japanese talk show, more than he had anticipated.

“If you agree, they said they would come to Korea.”

It felt serious.

Coming to Korea in person? Kang Woojin’s cynical expression didn’t change much upon hearing Choi Sung-gun’s words, but internally, he was quite surprised.

‘Is this normal? Going to this extent?’

Then, Director Kyotaro came to Kang Woojin’s mind. Considering the flow of events, he began to understand slowly. After all, hadn’t Director Kyotaro visited Korea several times just for Kang Woojin?

‘But how popular is ‘Hanryang’ in Japan? I did a quick search, and it seems to be continuously ranked first.’

Here, Choi Sung-gun quickly showed his phone with search results related to the ‘Ame-talk show!’.

“Look, being on the ‘Ame-talk show!’ isn’t bad. No, given the current situation, it’s definitely good to go. ‘Hanryang’ is doing well in Japan, and your popularity is rising because of that. Plus, you’re about to launch ‘Male Friend’ in Japan, and you have a YouTube channel.”

“Hmm.”

“If you go, it will be a significant topic in both Japan and Korea. I need to do more research, but from what I remember, almost all the guests are usually top stars on the ‘Ame-talk show!’. You might be the first newcomer, Woojin. It’s symbolic.”

It seemed like there were many benefits, but at that moment, Kang Woojin was more concerned about other things. The ‘Sports Day’ shoot was tough, and now a Japanese show? And it’s not even for YouTube but a regular broadcast.

‘Is this okay?’

Communication won’t be a problem. Thanks to the void space, his proficiency in Japanese is at the native level. However, for his first experience, especially outside of Korea, there was a mixture of excitement and slight apprehension in Woojin’s heart.

‘I feel like it’s going to be fun, but also a bit nerve-wracking.’

Naturally, anticipation and vague fear rose up. If he did this, his concept and misunderstandings would spread beyond Korea to Japan. But then again, having come this far, what was there to be afraid of?

More importantly.

‘It’s not even confirmed yet. If it’s just a meeting, then whatever.’

Lately, Kang Woojin decided to face the situations right in front of him rather than worry about the future. Because it had been challenging to handle the widespread misconceptions and delusions. Just then, Choi Sung-gun, tying his ponytail again, asked,

“So, what do you think? Want to meet with ‘Ame-talk show!’ team?”

With a nonchalant expression, Woojin nodded.

“Yes, it seems like it wouldn’t be bad.”

With a light-hearted intention to just give it a try, soon, Choi Sung-gun, smiling more broadly, picked up his phone.

“Got it. I’ll contact them right away to sync up our schedules for their visit to Korea.”

A question popped into Kang Woojin’s head at that moment.

“Will I be doing this alone?”

Choi Sung-gun, shaking his head as if he wasn’t sure either, replied.

“Well, I haven’t heard about the plan yet. Since it’s related to ‘Hanryang,’ there’s a possibility for Jung-min or Hye-yeon, but there hasn’t been any contact with Hye-yeon yet. Normally, if Hye-yeon is involved, they should contact her before you, given her status. But since they contacted only you—”

He trailed off, pondering, and then speculated.

“They might be inviting only the villains. Including you, four people.”

Hearing that he would have colleagues, Woojin felt somewhat relieved.

‘Ah, those people I saw at the wrap party? We’re not close, but if we do it together, I’ll be less nervous, right? Then it’s fine.’

However, he didn’t show his happiness outwardly. Kang Woojin put on a serious face and closed his mouth.

“……”

Seeing his expression, perhaps thinking he was contemplating, Choi Sung-gun suddenly asked.

“You don’t like the package deal either?”