Become a Star

Two hours went by in a flash. Apart from the few customers who had put him in an awkward situation, Woo-Jin found the whole experience relatively enjoyable. He shook the hands of every customer that was still waiting in line and gave them his autograph, reducing their disappointment.

“Oh, the cup of coffee I was drinking is gone.”

Woo-Jin looked around the counter after the event ended. The cup of coffee he drank from time to time while serving the customers had gone missing. The coffee was also one of the products Woo-Jin was endorsing – he had signed a contract with them a few days ago. Thus, he had intentionally brought it with him. From what Woo-Jin could remember, it seemed like there were a few sips left, so he was rather bewildered when he found out it went missing.

“I’m guessing one of the customers took it.”

“There was some coffee left though. Could they have thought it was trash and just threw it away?”

After hearing Chae Woo-Jin’s naive remark, the store manager smiled awkwardly and told him that could have been the case. Woo-Jin turned down the dinner invitation with the department store executives by using his tight schedule as an excuse; he was very exhausted and drained.

“Fansign events must be even more tiring than this, right?” Woo-Jin had never attended an official fansign event. Just imagining it made him speechless. Right now, he only had a Fancafe, but they were in the process of creating another fan club next year, so it was only a matter of time before he had to attend his first fansign event.

“Even if it makes you physically tired, it would not be as emotionally taxing. The event today was aimed at advertising, so there were a lot of ordinary people.”

“Aren’t fans ordinary people too?”

“Of course not. They’re absolutely different.”

People who simply liked Chae Woo-Jin, and fans who came together to form their own fan club were completely different – Wish Baragi members in particular would never pull the same act like some of the obnoxious customers had done today. Believing that, Kang Ho-Soo comforted Woo-Jin and eased his concerns.

***

The latest movie Woo-Jin acted in had been released. Even though it was just a guest appearance, Woo-Jin had outshone the male lead. And the surprise event held in Gaon today caused chaos to ensue within Wish Baragi. It had been a drought for the barags for almost six months and it was finally raining after the drought.

<As you guys already know, there was a surprise event held at Gaon in XX Department Store today. It seems like a lot of you guys have missed the event, so I figured I’d write down my experience. If I had been a few minutes late, I wouldn’t have been able to see Genie.

I was about to leave the department store after work, but thanks to a certain lady screaming, I managed to see Genie in person. After coming to my senses, I found myself standing in line in front of the counter… ;; I bought a pair of earrings and Genie personally put them on for me. I’d wear these earrings for the rest of my life if I could but that’s not possible. T_T

He also personally processed the payment by card for me. But for some reason, I didn’t want to look poor in front of him, so I told him I’d pay in full in a shaky voice. But Genie apologized and said he had accidentally pressed the option for a three-month payment. He didn’t cancel the transaction and just gave me the receipt. Ahh, he’s so observant and considerate!

There was nobody in the other boutiques during those two hours – Gaon was the only boutique that was poppin’. Perhaps because the department store is well-known for holding celebrity events, the staff were very well-organized and there wasn’t any ruckus.

Genie’s new hairstyle looked so good. Even though he was just wearing a white shirt and black pants, it was simple yet sexy. Don’t even get me started on his dazzling face; I was a perv who kept ogling at his slim waistline and legs. Genie, I’m sorry for doing that as your fan. T_T

Nonetheless, I’m a saint compared to the people who kept asking Genie for a hug despite his repeated rejections. And there was also that crazy bitch who threw out her chest (she wasn’t even wearing a bra!) and asked Woo-Jin to pin a brooch there? Genie has become so sexy these days, so these vermin have been throwing themselves at him. Am I being too sensitive for thinking that way?>

After a couple of people consecutively posted about their experience at the event along with photos on the Fancafe, the barags were delighted and infuriated at the same time.

– Barag, we were there at the same time. I saw that crazy bitch too. She was behind me and I didn’t expect her to do that. I’ve seen a couple of people who go out without a bra because it’s summer, so I simply thought she was one of them, but oh my goodness! She was so determined to get Genie to touch her chest. Surely that crazy b can’t be one of the barags, right?

└ No way, I doubt that’s the case. Could the person who asked Genie to sing Im Tae-Kyung’s Mark be a barag by any chance?

└ Yes, Genie sang the song while putting the hairpin on my hair. I’ll never wash my hair ever again.

The customer who acted meek and shy in front of Chae Woo-Jin was actually a bubbly barag.

– I only heard about it towards the end of the event and ran over. I almost made it but I was too late. Gaon should have announced they were holding such an event in advance.

└ If they had done that, the department store would have been filled with people and they wouldn’t have been able to manage. Even though it was a surprise event, there were still so many people flocking to the boutique to the point where it was terrifying.

└ The company posted a video of it on Gaon’s homepage. The marketing team posted a video of the situation during the event – the speed at which people flocked there was incredibly terrifying. Our dear Genie has become so famous. I’m so proud!!

–– One of Gaon’s designers is a member of our Fancafe. The luck fan has updated us whenever Genie collaborated with them for a commercial or photo shoot. I wonder if she was present at the event today. I want to hear her story.

└ I’m that designer! But I wasn’t a lucky fan today. The marketing department held the event, so I didn’t hear about it until later on. Besides, our team leader gave us too many tasks today.

└ *pat pat* Your team leader is so mean.

└ Ah! I can’t believe Jin-Hee’s Mom is consoling me. Nevertheless, our team leader is a great person. Wah~! As I’m typing this comment, my team leader just sent me a gifticon [1] for a cake for working hard today. Hehe. //ᄆ//

– The barag who commented above has a good boss. It seems like the CEO of the company I recently joined (I’m a secretary) is a fan of Genie. He’s over 70 and is known for being a level-headed and intimidating figure in the industry. But oh my goodness – the wallpaper of his phone is the photo Jin-Hee’s Mom posted the other day.

└ I think Genie is secretly popular among men too. Recently, I’ve been seeing someone, and he would often say that he looks like Genie. But he would do it secretly and subtly as if it wasn’t true. I found out he was a fan because he was angrier than I was over the Blue Fit incident previously. I remember going, ‘Ah, so he’s a fan too’. Apart from his name, everything about him is perfect so I found him to be rather attractive and mysterious since a long time ago. Well, ever since then, I started to be interested in him, and I think he’ll confess to me soon.

Not all the posts and comments on Wish Baragi were about Chae Woo-Jin – there were also a few happy and sad anecdotes about things that happened at work, or stories about barags dating and getting into relationships while being a fangirl.

– The videos of Genie serving the customers are being posted one by one. They’re extremely hilarious. Oh my god, someone told him to say Crazy Honey’s lines, and so he said ‘Pretty crazy bitch!’ His vibe and the way he said it was exactly like Crazy Honey in the movie.

└ Crazy Honey is seriously the greatest character of all time. It’s such a pity that he barely got any screen time. He had so many great lines. My favorite part was when he said ‘I can’t stop looking at the mirror every morning!’ while being sad. Ah, this narcissistic person…you crazy beautiful bastard.

Because Chae Woo-Jin was the one who played the character – and not anyone else, people sympathized with him, creating a bigger impact. It would have been a ridiculous comical figure if a mediocre actor had played that character, but instead, Chae Woo-Jin had turned him into an incredible character. Without Chae Woo-Jin, the movie would have only been moderately successful, but it was currently one of the top movies in the box office thanks to the ‘Crazy Honey Syndrome’ created by Woo-Jin.

– When are they releasing Red Enemy? I can’t get enough of him in Finding the Lion so I’m anxiously waiting for it.

└ It’s going to be released on Chuseok [2]. The director has been making preparations since a long time ago, so most of the things that have already been prepared were carried out, so I think they’ll finish editing it fairly quickly.

– From what I can tell, it seems like the actresses in Red Enemy are pretty close to one another. Genie must have been very lonely.

└ I know, right? Judging from their social media accounts, they seem really close to one another. In that case, the rumors must be false. Initially, there were rumors circulating about how both of them weren’t on good terms, no?

Hwang Yi-Young sighed softly as she read the comments on Wish Baragi.

“They seem close to one another? Oh please, they’re basically Tom and Jerry…” Kang Ho-Soo shook his head after hearing what Hwang Yi-Young said and refuted her.

“It’s more accurate to say they’re the female version of Park Kwang-Heon and Lee Chae-Ryeong. Of course, Kwon Eun-Mi isn’t a crazy person like Park Kwang-Heon.” Hwang Yi-Young couldn’t hold back her laughter when she heard Kang Ho-Soo’s words and started laughing.

The relationship between the two parties was very subtle. Oh Ha-Na had continued to stay on set even after she had finished shooting Queen Yoon’s parts. She scrutinized Kwon Eun-Mi’s portrayal of Seol-Ha, intimidating her by saying she would assess her acting. Even when Oh Ha-Na tried to criticize her with all her might, it didn’t affect Kwon Eun-Mi. Kwon Eun-Mi’s lukewarm reaction made Oh Ha-Na even more furious.

Oh Ha-Na was loved and sheltered by the public and the adults around her while growing up, while Kwon Eun-Mi had been participating in fashion shows all over the world since she was in her late teenage years, and worked hard to get to where she was today. Thus, Oh Ha-Na couldn’t put up with Kwon Eun-Mi’s steadfast nature.

As Oh Ha-Na continued to be hostile towards Kwon Eun-Mi, one day, she had finally acknowledged Kwon Eun-Mi’s portrayal of Seol-Ha. Seol-Ha looked so beautiful as she performed the geonmu alongside Prince Myeong-Hwan, and it finally hit Oh Ha-Na that she couldn’t act out such a scene. Oh Ha-Na couldn’t comprehend Seol-Ha’s maturity and deep sorrow; her life was too smooth-sailing and rosy to express Seol-Ha’s han.

It was the same with Prince Myeong-Hwan and Seol-Ha’s friendship, which transcended gender and difference in social status. Kwon Eun-Mi was very feminine and full of sex appeal so it made Oh Ha-Na wonder how she managed to act out Seol-ha’s innocent friendship with Prince Myeong-Hwan. Both of them did a remarkable job portraying their platonic friendship. Thus, Oh Ha-Na had no choice but to acknowledge that she wasn’t cut out to portray Seol-Ha.

“You were pretty good. But it’s not because I’m not good at acting – it’s because I’m young and inexperienced. I hope you keep in mind that I’ve never lost to you!” Oh Ha-Na could have given Kwon Eun-Mi a short and sweet compliment, but she spoke in circles. Kwon Eun-Mi slowly started to pay attention to her.

“You’re so cute!” Nobody knew what Kwon Eun-Mi saw in Oh Ha-Na. Perhaps, she saw the sheltered Oh Ha-Na as an intriguing and interesting character as they belonged to two different worlds.

Thereafter, Kwon Eun-Mi started adoring Oh Ha-Na and started spending more time with her. Oh Ha-Na was like a young animal that was caught by Kwon Eun-Mi, squirming and struggling to be released from her grasp. Even though Oh Ha-Na didn’t like her, she gave in to Kwon Eun-Mi’s charisma and she was occasionally fascinated by her. Thus, Oh Ha-Na had been stuck with Kwon Eun-Mi to this day.

“Fortunately, this allowed Woo-Jin to be at ease.”

Because of Kwon Eun-Mi, things didn’t go according to the wishes of the CEO of Oh Ha-Na’s agency.

1. Kakaotalk, a mobile messaging app mainly used in Korea, could be used to send gifts to friends. ☜

2. Korean Thanksgiving Day (October) ☜