Become a Star

Someone commented, “This is a nice song,” as they watched Lee Hyung-Jin sing.

“You’re right. I can’t help but listen to it even though I don’t want to.”

“I’ve been coming here for a few days now, and yesterday, I found myself singing this song at home.”

The audience’s scorn towards Lee Hyung-Jin was undeniable, but his singing was so good that it was driving them crazy. Many of them wondered how such a horrible person could be blessed with such incredible talent.

“Well, it isn’t that uncommon. It’s a pain in the ass if you make a fuss about every little issue, y’know?”

“But how can the song be so good when the writer is a piece of shit? I absolutely refuse to separate the art from the artist.”

People began to judge Lee Hyung-Jin’s performance and shared their opinions when Chae Woo-Jin, the person they had hoped to see didn’t show up. In fact, Chae Woo-Jin didn’t show up at the park even when the show ended and Lee Hyung-Jin bowed to the crowd. Thus, the crowd attending his gigs slowly shrank again. However, Lee Hyung-Jin wasn’t completely disregarded like before. His songs were objectively good, incredibly good. Listening to him in a live show for free was a great bargain.

The fans of Lee Hyung-Jin’s songs shared a strong love-hate relationship with the singer. They felt betrayed because of the revelation of his true nature. But if one could forget about the singer and focused on listening to the song, they’d find themselves being transported to paradise.

{Is this where Genie has been showing up lately?}

{They’re not certain if it’s Genie or not.}

Hugh turned to Rayford and clicked his tongue. After they officially proposed to DS to cast Genie in their film, CEO Jang introduced them to a travel guide who also played the role of their interpreter.

Thus, they traveled around Korea with a packed and productive schedule despite their lack of knowledge. Each and every restaurant the interpreter recommended was exquisite. At some point, the main goal of their trip to Korea had changed to become a culinary tour. In fact, they had both gained weight and gotten rounder compared to when they had first arrived in Korea.

However, they had yet to hear a response from Genie even after ten days. CEO Jang’s behavior hinted at an answer, but the actor in question had not said anything. Hence, Hugh decided to go online to gather information about ‘Chae Woo-Jin’ once more in the anxious Rayford’s stead. During his stay in Korea, Hugh learned how to write Genie’s name in Korean. Nonetheless, it was still impossible to read the content on the websites, so he asked their interpreter to look into the recent news related to Chae Woo-Jin.

Needless to say, they were aware that Genie was busy with the premiere of his recent movie. In fact, Hugh had bought a pair of tickets for Red Enemy with the help of a Korean acquaintance in the United States and boldly watched Genie’s movie on the very first day.

Their already big fascination for Genie turned into an obsession once they finished the movie. They had already read the synopsis of the film beforehand, but as expected, they couldn’t understand a single word of dialogue.

Nevertheless, language was not the be-all and end-all of the artistic world. Their worries that Genie might be awkward when acting in English completely vanished. His acting had already transcended the language barrier as they had enjoyed and appreciated ‘Red Enemy’ with no issues.

More importantly, during their conversation Genie had proved that his English skills were unquestionably excellent. And if he couldn’t move people emotionally when acting in English, they were even considering having him speak in Korean and adding subtitles on the screen. That was why they had disregarded holding an audition and had immediately offered the part to Genie.

And after that, the two of them rewatched Red Enemy countless times. They even visited the various historical sites that appeared in the film.

{This movie will get nominated at various film festivals, won’t it?} Hugh asked.

{It’s not guaranteed, but I’m pretty sure that it’ll win at least the Best Picture award at whichever festival it gets nominated.}

{What about the award for Best Actor?}

Rayford hesitated.

{It’s… possible. My gut tells me the possibility isn’t zero.}

{But since it’ll be next year, we will still be first, right?}

Red Enemy would only begin to gather attention at international film festivals the following year. There was still time before Chae Woo-Jin gained international popularity and garnered the interest of countless film directors. Hugh and Rayford would begin filming their movie in December, so they absolutely had to grab a hold of Chae Woo-Jin before that and tie him down with a contract.

Of course, gaining attention at film festivals wouldn’t immediately make him a worldwide movie star. However, Chae Woo-Jin was tall, very handsome, and extremely charming even in the eyes of a foreigner. He truly had the qualities that would make him a global phenomenon. As long as the other film directors had fully functional eyes, they definitely wouldn’t miss a chance at grabbing onto him.

{The world is too connected these days. Once something or someone garners attention, their international popularity skyrockets. And there’s no need to mention how the eyes of the world are already looking at South Korea’s entertainment industry.}

Right now, they were the only ones who were aware of Genie, but Rayford couldn’t help but feel anxious at the fact that the talented actor could gain global popularity at any moment.

{Geez, just who was it that said Korea’s entertainment industry was small and had barely any presence in Hollywood?}

{I don’t plan on taking back my words. It’s true that not many Korean actors are active in Hollywood and that their industry is small. But I’ll admit that they have a large variety of content and their trends change quickly. If they take good advantage of it, the industry could become the heart of their culture.}

However, the people in the industry weren’t taking advantage of its strengths and kept using its weakness: the profit-oriented commercial aspect. Thus, the industry only boosted trends without doing anything substantial.

In Rayford’s eyes, Koreans only knew how to come up with good ideas, get exploited, and later get tossed aside. There was no real substance nor any vision for the future. South Korea was way ahead in trends compared to other countries and the people were brimming with creativity, but they were unable to properly exert their influence over the world. All they could do was provide some variety and maintain their reputation with a few popular celebrities.

Art can bloom with the help of a single genius. However, once the flower wilts, the seeds need to be sown again in fertile soil in an appropriate environment to grow. It would be fine if all it took was a single flower, but creating a cultural phenomenon took an entire flower garden which couldn’t be done with just a single genius. And this was not limited to only cultural activities.

{It’s good to pioneer and guide trends, but the reality is that Korea’s entertainment industry is unable to lead the forefront of cultural trends.} Rayford commented.

{I agree! South Korea will most likely birth a new international superstar next year, but it doesn’t mean their entertainment industry has grown. I really wish they wouldn't make such an assumption, but it’s highly unlikely, isn’t it?}

Occasionally, some people believed that the successes of a singular genius were synonymous to the growth of an entire industry. In doing so, that industry would often fall further behind the times. This was because some assumed that an individual’s success meant there was a foundation for others to be successful as well and stopped investing in the industry. {Genie’s name would have spread around the world by the time our film releases in November next year, right?} Hugh asked.

{It’ll depend on how the marketing for Red Enemy goes.}

{Then I guess there’s the possibility that our movie will be what brings Genie into the spotlight.}

{Yes, if he does appear in our movie…}

Rayford replied dryly and glared at Hugh as they stood in the now empty park. Both the singer and his audience had left long ago. In the end, the man they had waited for never arrived. Rayford blamed Hugh for another one of his wrong leads.

{You and your terrible information gathering skills!}

{This is all your fault!} Hugh exclaimed.

{What? Why?}

{Genie said he greatly respects the director of his new movie in an interview. Apparently, the director helped him to find a new path to follow and grow as an actor, and Genie learned a lot under him!}

{What does that have to do with me?} Rayford asked.

{Look at yourself. Do you think you’re a respectable director?!}

Rayford’s face paled at Hugh’s criticism, but soon turned stern and replied.

{I am an advocate of being a director who is friends with the actor! I’m not some elderly director who needs to be respected?! I’m a director that grows with the actor, that looks towards the same horizon as… Hey! Wait for me!}

Hugh had left Rayford behind and was walking in the distance. The latter quickly ran after him.

Apparently, luck wasn’t on their side as they never came across Genie again since the first fateful encounter. They researched the places Genie frequented and even looked up his schedule with the help of their interpreter. However, the information was either wrong or they were always one step too late. This time, they had come to where Genie was rumored to be as they were unable to wait any longer, but to no avail.

They had taken an extended leave and were enjoying their trip, but because they were so uneasy, they didn’t feel relaxed no matter how much they rested. In the end, they didn’t plan anything the next day and just went back to the park where Lee Hyung-Jin was performing.

The two men stood slightly apart from the rest of the crowd, which got smaller day after day. Even though they weren’t actively listening to Lee Hyung-Jin, his music naturally made its way to their ears.

{I didn’t mention it yesterday, but he’s a great singer.}

Even if they couldn’t understand the lyrics, they could objectively evaluate the songs with only the melodies and the singer’s skills. In fact, they could give the most unbiased opinion as they were unaware of the rumors surrounding Lee Hyung-Jin.

{He’s too good to be singing on the streets.}

{Yeah. But why does the audience’s reaction feel so cold?}

{That is because there is a misunderstanding.}

{Oh~? What do you mean by a misun…} Rayford turned his head towards the familiar voice next to him and saw an even more familiar face.

{I didn’t think I would find the two of you here.} Woo-Jin greeted the two as he lowered the scarf which was hiding his face.

The man Rayford had been greatly excited to meet was finally in front of his eyes. However, he stopped himself from expressing his happiness. If he rejoiced and made a fuss, he would surely look unprofessional.

{Oh, are you not busy these days? I thought that was the case, but it seems I was wrong.}

Woo-Jin chuckled at the words that appeared to have some underlying connotation. He hadn’t purposefully disregarded them or delayed contacting them to act hard to get. He simply prioritized the situation surrounding Lee Hyung-Jin more than his entry into Hollywood right now. Woo-Jin’s mind was filled with that matter, and in the meantime, he was actually busy with the release of his new movie.

He wasn’t planning on sacrificing his career for Lee Hyung-Jin’s problems. Woo-Jin simply realized that he too could be someone’s fan.

Initially, Woo-Jin was upset and worried for Lee Hyung-Jin as he was someone who knew the truth behind the rumors. But in all honesty, Woo-Jin ended up falling in love with the songs Lee Hyung-Jin wrote and composed when he came to see him. The skills, delicacy, and vocal techniques required to create and sing such songs intensified Chae Woo-Jin’s admiration for Lee Hyung-Jin—the human—and made him a fan of Lee Hyung-Jin—the singer.

Prior to this, Woo-Jin couldn’t understand the feelings of his fans. He felt grateful for their love and support but couldn’t truly comprehend their emotions. However, he now empathized with them. Woo-Jin now wished for Lee Hyung-Jin to live a life of happiness and experience success like his own fans wished it for him.

{I am busy. If I weren’t, I would’ve come here every day.}

{...}

Woo-Jin had temporarily forgotten about entering Hollywood because of his activities as a fanboy, but he didn’t plan on letting go of the rare opportunity.

{I’ve carefully read through the script you sent me. It was very well thought out. How can you write so skillfully?}

Woo-Jin admired Hugh Miller as a screenwriter as much as he loved the singer Lee Hyung-Jin. Woo-Jin knew how difficult it was to write excellent scripts and his praise came from the bottom of his heart. Hugh’s gaze met Woo-Jin’s sparkling eyes. He immediately pushed Rayford out of his way and faced the actor.

{I know I’m bragging, but it’s a great script, isn’t it?} he said proudly.

{Of course it is. Every character has depth and it's so vivid they almost appear alive. Such an evocative and detailed script can’t be written without profound knowledge about each and every culture involved. I was in constant awe as I read through it. The character ‘Jin’ you proposed to cast me as was so charming that I didn’t want to give him to anyone else.}

This time, Hugh’s chest puffed out in response to the praise. He proudly turned to Rayford, showing off his status as a praiseworthy screenwriter.

{But why haven’t we heard a response from you yet? I thought you were going to refuse our proposal.}

Hugh asked nonchalantly as if all his worries so far were a lie. One didn’t have to be an actor to put on a carefree and laid-back front.