Become a Star

Park Eun-Soo had commented about Chae Woo-Jin’s outfit, which was still a mystery to everyone. Thus, the members of the design team inevitably got excited and curious.

“What fabric was used for the suit?” Ryu Na-Ye asked.

“Vicuna fabric,” Park Eun-Soo responded.

“Vicuna? No wonder it’s so expensive….”

Vicuna was known as the world’s most expensive fabric. If a craftsman did the cutting and sewing by hand, a single outfit could easily cost far more than a car.

These days, many clothes were made in factories with blended Vicuna fabric, but from Park Eun-Soo’s attitude, it didn’t appear to be the factory-made kind.

Even Ryu Na-Ye thought that putting pins or flowers on clothes of such incredible quality was a crime against humanity.

“I guess we’ll have to give up on the boutonnière.”

“It’s unfortunate, but let’s do that next time. I don’t have the courage to alter that suit.”

Park Eun-Soo shook her head in dismay and fear as she remembered when she first saw the suit.

“Let’s just go with cufflinks and a watch for him.”

“A watch? Even if Chae Woo-Jin is our model, hasn’t he received plenty of sponsorship offers from famous luxury watch brands?”

Accessories and ornaments were the main goods produced at Brisingamen, while watches were only a second priority. So unless the company collaborated with a proper watch brand, their watches weren’t good enough to be worn by someone of Chae Woo-Jin’s caliber.

Although they could ask him to wear their watches in his daily life, the team members thought it would be unreasonable to request him to wear their watch at a famous film festival. Thus, they voiced the idea of removing watches from the list of accessories for Chae Woo-Jin.

“He’ll wear what he’s given, so no need to worry about that.”

Park Eun-Soo answered with conviction, and the other team members started clapping subconsciously. Just now, she was overflowing with charisma as her aura as a team leader, and a mother merged into one.

So this was what it meant to call a mother for help.

Soon, the meeting ended, and everyone started packing up when Park Eun-Soo called Ryu Na-Ye.

“There were a few leftover copies, so I brought them here. You can share these with those who want one in the team.”

Park Eun-Soo handed over a few copies of the photobook Woo-Jin and Hyun-Min had made the other day. Back then, all four hundred copies were sold at the booth in front of the coffee shop. However, the people in their surroundings also wanted one, including Woo-Jin’s family, so they reprinted fifty photobooks later on.

Park Eun-Soo brought five of those copies to work and handed them over to Ryu Na-Ye, telling her to share them with their team members. In fact, it was the exact number of Chae Woo-Jin’s fans on the team, including Ryu Na-Ye.

“Really?! Are you really giving these to me?”

“You can’t take them all.”

As she accepted the photobooks and held onto them, a shining star fluttered in Ryu Na-Ye’s eyes.

The day the photobooks were being sold, she happened to be away in the countryside. Ryu Na-Ye couldn’t wait to go back and buy a copy herself, but the photobooks had been sold out by the time she returned to Seoul.

To rub salt into the wound, the process of the photobook’s creation aired on Life Depicted the previous week. Seeing how it was produced, Ryu Na-Ye couldn’t help but feel upset, frustrated, and regretful.

These photobooks had a different meaning and value compared to magazines or other photobooks. Those were all about choosing a concept and writing a story through the photos as the model played an act. However, these photobooks contained the real Chae Woo-Jin in his purest, unedited form.

Chae Woo-Jin’s personality was clearly visible in each and every picture, creating a friendly and warm atmosphere.

The fans could easily imagine how the actor behaved in real life through the photos, and they were ecstatic as the photobook also contained old, faded pictures of Chae Woo-Jin from his middle and high school days.

Although Ryu Na-Ye didn’t actually get to see the pictures in person, she could easily sense the atmosphere conveyed through the photos she saw online and the message behind them.

Fans could sense how much Chae Woo-Jin trusted his friend through his relaxed smile toward the camera, his annoyed expressions, as well as his lack of awareness of the camera at times.

In any case, the process of how these two friends made the photobook was aired on TV, so Ryu Na-Ye was able to appease her disappointment a little.

The way Woo-Jin was told to play the piano by his friend but gave up and let his emotions explode while playing a world-famous piece and lamenting his own fate was like a scene from a movie.

Similar to how people wanted Woo-Jin to act in a historical film when he was revealed to be Hanryang Doryeong, his fans now wanted the actor to play a pianist next.

However, the scene that shocked the fans the most was the one where Woo-Jin wore a bear costume and sold the photobooks.

The broadcast from the previous episode only showed a vendor in a bear costume selling soap bars, but that was more than enough to make assumptions. They were assuming that the bear, who was zealously gathering customers’ attention while selling photobooks this time, was actually Chae Woo-Jin himself.

Ryu Na-Ye also saw that bear a lot in posts on the fancafe. The bear was dancing so earnestly to attract people that it kept drawing in people’s gazes. Moreover, it was said that the bear listened to all the customers’ requests when taking photos together and even acted all cutesy!

People didn’t know where such a funny bear had come from and posted their thoughts and photos on the fancafe. They expected it to be another of Woo-Jin’s friends helping out with the assignment, but only through the broadcast did they learn that it was actually Chae Woo-Jin himself.

The fans who missed the sale started panicking and felt regretful, but so did those who did, in fact, manage to get a copy in person.

The only people who were somewhat content were those who had taken pictures with the bear. Those who had been distracted by the photobooks and totally ignored the bear had to lie down and take deep breaths to calm themselves. They all felt deeply regretful for being unaware that they had shared the same air and space with Chae Woo-Jin, albeit for a short instant.

“I now have a photobook of my own… It even has an autograph!”

Ryu Na-Ye exclaimed while stroking Chae Woo-Jin’s signature on the bottom right of the front cover.

“Team leader, let us work together for eternity. I will bury my bones inside the company building!”

“That’s a bit… Gosh, you made me imagine it.”

Park Eun-Soo then tried to take back the photobook she had given Ryu Na-Ye with a troubled look. Knowing that the team leader was messing around, Ryu Na-Ye grinned cheekily and held onto the photobook tightly before turning around and running away.

Thus, the newest celebrity on Wish Baragi had gained another special item and a fun story to tell today.

***

The first day of the Golden Dragon Film Festival, one of the biggest events in the film industry, finally dawned. All kinds of journalists and people of the press gathered at the Cultural Center alongside fans who had come to see their favorite actors in person.

As the actors got off their cars and walked down the red carpet, their fans loudly shouted out their names, losing their voices in the process.

Although it would be nice to make eye contact with their idols, they simply wanted to show their support and instinctively wanted to express their feelings out loud.

Whenever a new car arrived in front of the red carpet, people also enjoyed guessing who would exit the door.

“It’s a black sedan this time. They probably came alone.”

Actors who starred in the same movie often came in the same vehicle, usually in a van. However, considering it was a single black sedan this time, it was highly likely for only one actor to be inside.

“Who hasn’t arrived yet?”

“Around two-thirds of actors are here already…. Ah~! It’s Chae Woo-Jin!”

As soon as the fan realized that Chae Woo-Jin had stepped out of the car, they simply screamed out loud as their instinct told them to. In fact, all kinds of shouts and cries reverberated from all over the place.

The moment he took his first step on the red carpet, bright bursts of light flashed in front of him, and reporters from various entertainment channels called out to him louder than anyone else.

As he walked forward, Woo-Jin greeted everyone he made eye contact with. Kim Woo-Hyung, whom he had met on Street Date two months ago, was among them. Being the first familiar face Woo-Jin saw, he gladly took the initiative to approach the reporter first.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Chae Woo-Jin. You look exceptionally handsome today.”

As Kim Woo-Hyung stated, Woo-Jin was wearing a deep black suit today. The outfit nicely clung to his body and created a beautiful yet stoic silhouette while making his long legs stand out even more. Furthermore, the line that descended from his shoulders to his waist created a very sexy ambience.

“Thank you very much.”

“First of all, congratulations on being nominated for Best Actor. How do you feel today?”

As Woo-Jin returned the greeting, Kim Woo-Hyung did not let go of the opportunity and handed the actor a rose while asking a question.

Woo-Jin cheerfully received the rose and stood in place to converse with the reporter.

“I’m not the only one with great news. I heard you’re getting married.”

Kim Woo-Hyung was embarrassed when Woo-Jin returned the congratulations but also brazenly invited the actor to his wedding.

“If I win the Best Actor award tonight, I will definitely attend that wedding, no matter where I am that day.”

“Oh….”

“Should we make a promise with these conditions?”

“Hahaha, can’t we change the condition to Red Enemy winning the Best Picture award instead?”

It was common knowledge that Chae Woo-Jin was unlikely to win the Best Actor award. No matter how successful a movie was, no matter how perfect the actor’s performance was, there was no way they’d give the Best Actor award to someone who had only been acting for two years.

On the other hand, there was a great chance that Red Enemy would win the award since it had already won the Best Picture award at the Great Eastern Film Festival the previous week.

“Then it’s no fun. I’d rather change it to if I win a prize at all in the second half of the award ceremony.”

Woo-Jin was nominated for both the Best Actor and Most Popular Actor awards in the second half.

But he believed that he didn’t stand a chance at winning either of them. The Most Popular Actor award wasn’t decided by the judge but rather by the general public. They could vote online or by calling the festival planning team.

However, 60% of the votes came from overseas, so no matter how many votes Woo-Jin got from Koreans, it would be pointless if the fans overseas didn’t vote for him.

Thus, the system was advantageous to hallyu stars who already had fanbases internationally.

Woo-Jin had no fans abroad who would vote for him as he had yet to enter the international market. Therefore, the Most Popular Actor award was just as out of reach for him as the Best Actor award.

“All right, deal!”

“Really?”

Kim Woo-Hyung unexpectedly agreed to the new conditions pretty quickly, so Woo-Jin asked back in surprise.

However, he realized that they had to go this far, at least to become a topic of conversation and start some gossip, so Woo-Jin readily accepted the deal as well.

He then continued walking down the red carpet with Kim Woo-Hyung behind him when he recognized more reporters.

Because of the recent incident, Woo-Jin treated reporters indifferently and apathetically for a while. As they flinched in fear at his gaze, Woo-Jin held out his hand first to reconcile and mend their relations.

It was strategically advantageous to make peace with journalists at the right time rather than staying hostile for too long.

In the recent incident, the reporters were in the wrong, while Woo-Jin looked like a powerful, authoritarian figure to them, which was why they were cautious around the actor. But it wasn’t good for this situation to continue for long.

The strength of reporters lies not in their impartiality but in the pen they hold. The power of the words they write is far scarier than the actual truth.

So, when maintaining a slight advantage in a power struggle against the press, it was good to start reconciliation and show a generous, forgiving behavior.

As Woo-Jin approached them first and greeted them with a smile, he could hear a sigh of relief among the nervous reporters.

Thanks to Woo-Jin’s smile, they were able to capture some good pictures. Thus they had no reason to refuse the hand of peace and compromise.

Consequently, the bloody feud between the actor and the press came to an end.

After shaking hands with them, Woo-Jin turned to his fans and waved as they cheered for him. Coincidentally, the petals of the rose in the hand he was waving started falling, creating an impromptu rain of flower petals.

Unaware of the red petals in his hair, Woo-Jin stood in front of the step-and-repeat[1].

But as soon as he saw the Bareunjeong logo on the backdrop, Woo-Jin barely managed to hide the displeasure on his face.

He controlled his facial muscles as much as possible while recalling the film festival from last year. He clearly remembered Bareunjeong not being one of the sponsoring companies for last year’s Golden Dragon Film Festival.

The logo was positioned right next to Woo-Jin’s face. If one looked at the photos taken at the step-and-repeat, one would see Woo-Jin and Bareunjeong’s logo side by side.

Those who didn’t know the backstory wouldn’t think much of it, but those who knew of Chae Woo-Jin’s circumstances would interpret it in a completely different manner.

Woo-Jin was greatly annoyed by things like this.

There was no sincerity at all, and the company was blatantly making thorough, calculated actions with the intention of spreading gossip and bringing the scandal back up naturally.

Woo-Jin was surprised by the sudden ambush in this situation where he could not complain or react about it as he would stand out.

Nevertheless, he maintained his calm with an indifferent expression.

1. a backdrop on which a promotional logo is displayed in a repeating design, used as a background against which people, especially celebrities attending an event, are photographed. ☜