Become a Star

With an indifferent look on his face, Chae Woo-Jin ignored the logo and smiled at the camera with his most beautiful and brightest smile. It was one of his lethal moves taught by Hwang Yi-Young, which he had practiced countless times in front of the mirror. Hwang Yi-Young had once told Chae Woo-Jin that if he smiled like that, people would focus on his face while ignoring his surroundings. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Woo-jin did his best to put on an act, in the hope that people wouldn’t notice the logo in the backdrop. He hoped it was effective, even if it was just for a moment.

***

After the first segment of the event was over, Woo-Jin went to the bathroom during the short break. Someone next to him tapped him on the shoulder while he was washing his hands, so Woo-Jin turned his head to the side. It was Yoon Seong-Hwan; he looked glad to see a familiar acquaintance for the first time in a while. Woo-Jin bowed and greeted him, while shaking the water off his hands.

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah it has truly been a while.” When Yoon Seong-Hwan held out his hand, Woo-Jin hurriedly wiped his wet hands on his pants. He suddenly remembered what Hwang Yi-Young had told him before, and paused for a moment. She had emphasized that he should be careful when wearing this outfit, but it was already too late.

“Congratulations on winning the award earlier.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s a pity you didn’t get the Best New Actor Award, but at least you won it during the Great Eastern Film Festival. And more importantly, you were nominated for the Best Actor Award.”

Woo-Jin won the Best Supporting Actor Award for Finding the Lion in the first segment. His character, Park Kwang-Heon, was such a hit that he won the award even though he had barely appeared in a few scenes. On the other hand, Woo-Jin wasn’t nominated for the Best New Actor Award in the Golden Dragon Film Festival. This was in contrast with him winning the Best New Actor Award for his role as Prince Myeong-Hwan at the film festival a week ago. Woo-Jin wasn’t nominated at all for the same award category at the Great Eastern Film Festival.

If Woo-Jin had been nominated, he would certainly win that award, so it was somewhat disappointing. Woo-Jin was really looking forward to it as well because his seniors had mentioned that it was an award which actors could only receive once in their lifetime, which made it all the more precious. Since Woo-Jin was invited to both film festivals, he had the huge desire to win the Best New Actor Award at both festivals.

Interestingly enough, Woo-Jin was nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Golden Dragon Film Festival, instead of the Best New Actor Award. Since the criteria for the Best New Actor Award in each film festival every year was rather vague, there were cases where actors were nominated after participating in a few movies. Thus, there were several actors like Woo-Jin, who had been nominated for the Best New Actor Award two years in a row.

On the other hand, the Golden Dragon Film Festival gave Woo-Jin the honor of being nominated for the Best Actor Award instead of the Best New Actor Award. It was an honor as an actor in the second year of his career, but it was a nomination without any actual benefits, because he was the perfect candidate for the Best New Actor Award with his level of acting experience.

Regardless of how unprecedentedly well-received his rendition of Prince Myeong-Hwan was, or how impressed the film critics were, realistically speaking, it was impossible for Woo-Jin to win the Best Actor Award. It wasn’t a matter of his acting skills – his age and the lack of experience were obstacles preventing him from getting the award. Acting skills and the film itself were not the only criteria for determining the winner at film festivals.

Several reviews in the newspapers had mentioned that Chae Woo-Jin would definitely win the Best Actor Award if he had filmed Red Enemy three or four years from now, so it was a pity. He didn’t get nominated for the Best New Actor Award, and he wouldn’t be getting the Best Actor Award either, so Woo-Jin was left with nothing. Hence, that was why Yoon Seong-Hwan said it was a pity he didn’t get nominated for the Best New Actor Award. However, despite being a relatively new actor, Woo-Jin had already been nominated for the Best Actor Award, and that was definitely an achievement worth celebrating.

“Nevertheless, the Best Picture Award will go to Red Enemy. This is an indisputable fact.” Kim Woo-Hyung [1] didn’t blindly declare that they would be getting the Best Picture Award for no reason.

“Thank you for your kind words.”

“I’m not just saying that – I mean it. When I was watching Red Enemy, my heart started pounding really hard. It’s been a while since I felt that way while watching a movie.” Yoon Seong-Hwan tapped against his chest with his hand, as he relished in the afterglow of his movie experience once again.

Perhaps he had seen his own reflection in the life of Prince Myeong-Hwan – a person who was crazy about the arts. This was because the fundamental mindset of people who lived their lives being crazy about a particular thing was always the same, regardless of the era and circumstances. Hence, Yoon Seong-Hwan was very fond of Woo-Jin, who had been called a ‘monster’ ever since he debuted.

Yoon Seong-Hwan put his arm around Woo-Jin’s shoulder. He whipped out his phone and said, “Since we ran into each other like this, let’s take a photo. My daughter is a fan of yours.”

“Ah, Ji-A?”

Woo-Jin thought about Yoon Seong-Hwan’s daughter and smiled. Yoon Ji-A was currently in elementary school; she was a very lively and cute child.

“Taking selfies in the bathroom is the best after all!” Yoon Seong-Hwan was satisfied with the photo taken against the white tiles in the background with the bathroom lighting. He looked good in the photo, considering the fact he had taken it with Chae Woo-Jin. He remarked that the dignity that came with age stood out in the photo, and was secretly pleased about it.

“Let’s have a meal together someday.”

“Really? I’m really looking forward to it, so please keep your word.”

“Of course! I’ll contact you soon. You didn’t change your phone number, right?”

“Yes, I didn’t!”

“In that case, I’ll call you in a few days. By the way, why are you so tense? We…” Yoon Seong-Hwan paused mid-sentence.

Woo-Jin was baffled by his reaction, but he gradually came to a realization that there was something strange between them, and instantly blushed.

“We…”

“I think this is the first time we’ve met each other in person.”

“Of course, I don’t have your mobile…”

“I’ve never given it to you, so you don’t have it.”

They just met each other for the first time today, and didn’t even have the chance to exchange phone numbers.

“But why are we so familiar with one another?”

They had never met each other before, but since they had both appeared on Life Depicted, it seemed as though they had become a lot more familiar with one another than they would with other people. The reason Woo-Jin knew about Yoon Seong-Hwan’s daughter, Ji-A, was because he had seen her on TV. Since they kept seeing each other on TV, and were cast members of the same show, both of them ended up being under the illusion that they were closely acquainted, without actually seeing each other in person.

“Shall I give you my phone number?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Yoon Seong-Hwan held back his laughter as he passed his phone to Woo-Jin. This was a common occurrence among celebrities. Even though they had never met, they would often mistakenly act like close friends, before turning around and doing a double take.

Woo-Jin keyed his number into Yoon Seong-Hwan’s phone and laughed as well. When he attended the Golden Dragon Film Festival last year, he remembered looking around, feeling amazed by the actors he had seen for the very first time. Today however, he felt a sense of familiarity, as though he had known Yoon Seong-Hwan for a long time. Hence, Woo-Jin was amazed at how much things had changed.

Yoon Seong-Hwan and Chae Woo-Jin said their goodbyes; the former went into one of the stalls, while Woo-Jin left the bathroom as he was done. They were currently taking a break after completing the first segment, so a lot of people were going to the bathroom. Woo-Jin saw a couple of familiar faces, as well as people he hadn’t seen before, but he greeted everyone he met. Hence, he took longer than expected to get into the hallway from the bathroom.

Woo-Jin picked up the pace and this time, he ran into someone he actually knew. The other party noticed Woo-Jin as well, and stopped in his tracks while frowning. Woo-Jin wanted to say a brief hello before walking off, like what he usually did, but Park Min approached him slowly before standing in front of him. He glared at Woo-Jin from head to toe with an angry look in his eyes.

“Hello.”

Since Woo-Jin couldn’t avoid him any longer, he decided to take the initiative and greet Park Min. He tried his best to be polite to avoid getting criticized by Park Min, but it created a rather tense ambience. Everybody in Korea knew that Park Min spared no effort to hide his hatred for Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin had more presence and displayed better acting skills as compared to Park Min in the movie they had shot together. Additionally, Woo-Jin’s drama had superseded his drama, which was aired at the same time slot on a different channel. Thus, it was only natural for Park Min to hate him.

People would normally hide these feelings, but it was a shame that Park Min couldn’t do it. Even during interviews, whenever Woo-Jin’s name was mentioned, he would react negatively. Journalists often instigated these reactions by baiting Park Min, and he always ended up taking the bait without considering his image, even though they were minor remarks that could easily be disregarded. Park Min was already acting that way in front of journalists and reporters, so how much worse would he be when it was just the two of them?

Park Min was known for openly swearing in public after a couple of drinks. Hence, there were several occasions where Park Min’s acquaintances ended up becoming the informants of the articles written about him. Hence, it was hard for Woo-Jin to be oblivious about Park Min’s hatred towards him.

Even right now, Woo-jIn was conscious about the gazes around them, so he didn’t forget to smile gently and straighten his back and shoulders. He shouldn’t look dispirited, but he shouldn’t look too arrogant either. In any society, seniors and juniors within a field were both co-workers and rivals. Being regarded as rude wouldn’t do Woo-Jin any good, but he had to fight for himself too.

“So you were the one they gifted it to.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

There were two fern leaves intersecting one another on the collar of Woo-Jin’s suit. It was Louis D.L.’s logo. Since Park Min had never seen this design before, it was evident that it was newly launched. Even though many people felt that most suits looked similar regardless of design, the designs of suits were as trendy as women’s wear, and there were distinct differences across brands.

As soon as Park Min saw Woo-Jin’s suit, he noticed it was the suit that Louis D.L. had recently gifted someone. Park Min wasn’t aware of it, and had even asked his stylist to swing by Park Si-Yeon’s place to request it. Thinking about that made him infuriated. He had no choice but to attend the film festival because of the awards, but this humiliation made Park Min feel extremely awful.

Park Min brushed against Woo-Jin and deliberately tried to shove Woo-Jin with his shoulder. However, Park Min got pushed aside instead. Chae Woo-Jin had been constantly working out, so his body was made up of firm muscles despite looking slim and lean. A shoulder nudge couldn’t do any damage to him, and Park Min was the one who suffered instead. When Woo-Jin asked if he was okay after seeing him lose his balance and stumbling backwards, Park Min became furious.

“Watch where you’re going!”

“I’ve been standing still ever since I saw you though.” As soon as Woo-Jin casually tilted his head and responded, Park Min shut his mouth and pointed a finger at him. Regardless of how snobby he was, he couldn’t help but notice the gazes of the people passing by in the hallway.

Additionally, Park Min’s sponsor owed Woo-Jin’s maternal grandfather a great deal, so she told him to get along with Woo-Jin. Park Min turned around and left in a huff without saying a word, and walked towards the elevator. He came to the festival for the sake of the award, and his category had already ended. He didn’t have a reason to stay here any longer.

Woo-Jin said a simple goodbye to Park Min, while facing back. Anybody looking at them would naturally think that Park Min had picked a fight with Chae Woo-Jin again. Even though it was true, it didn’t help that Park Min had a bad track record. People were quick to assume the worst, and looked at him in a bad light. It was no secret in the entertainment industry that Park Min was indeed jealous of his successful junior. It all boiled down to his character as to whether or not he could hide that jealousy.

“What took you so long? Don’t tell me you cried because you won the Best Supporting Actor Award?” As soon as Woo-jin sat down, Oh Ha-Na asked him softly out of curiosity. Perhaps Kwon Eun-Mi, who was sitting to the left of Woo-Jin have heard Oh Ha-Na’s words – she frowned and glared at Oh Ha-Na.

“Is that directed at me too?”

Today, Kwon Eun-Mi won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her role as Seol-Ha. Although they acted in the same movie and won the same award, the movie they had won the award for was different, so they laughed it off together while giving the acceptance speech. The crew members of Red Enemy had even beaten the crew members of Finding the Lion to it and gave Woo-Jin flowers first.

“You know that’s not the case.”

Oh Ha-Na grumbled in a cute manner about how jealous she was of the two of them for winning an award.

“Still, I told you to watch your mouth in crowded places. You still can’t hold yourself back from shooting your mouth off.”

Kwon Eun-Mi looked to her left and right before chastising Oh Ha-Na as softly as possible.

“Okay, understood. You always single me out.”

“That’s because I care about you. I’m afraid you’ll slip up one day.”

“There you go again. I’m an experienced actress~!”

“I told you to stop bringing that up!”

Kwon Eun-Mi asked Oh Ha-Na how her years of experience as a sheltered actress would help her in difficult situations in the future, and clicked her tongue. Oh Ha-Na thought about how she had shot herself in the foot by bringing it up, and kept quiet. She smoothed out the creases at the hem of her dress for no particular reason, and sighed after looking at Kwon Eun-Mi.

1. Reporter of Entertainment Report ☜