Become a Star
chapter-40

Wish Baragi increased their membership count to 30,000 in just a span of three weeks after DS recognized them as Chae Woo-Jin’s official Fancafe. Since they started with 5,000 members and already had photos of Woo-Jin back when he was with TM, Wish Baragi naturally stood out amongst the newer Fancafes.

As the saying goes – ‘You have to spend money to make money,’ it was only natural that the Fancafe, which had plenty of members and materials, attracted more people. This naturally led to the continuous cycle of posts and materials being uploaded in earnest every day. Quite a number of people signed up because they were interested in Woo-Jin, even though they were not exactly fans.

The most surprising thing was that DS had been quick to recognize Wish Baragi as Woo-Jin’s official Fancafe, which was a very unusual move. Normally, after a DS artist debuted, there would be several Fancafes made for them. Only after at least two years of observation would DS then pick out one of the Fancafes to be their official one. In comparison, the speed of recognition of Wish Baragi as the official Fancafe was unprecedented.

Needless to say, DS’ CEO Jang Su-Hwan had become a very popular figure among the members of Wish Baragi. However, ‘Mr. Kang’ and ‘Fashion Coordinator Hwang’ were the runner ups behind Chae Woo-Jin in terms of popularity because Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young had joined the Fancafe on behalf of Woo-Jin, and they served as the fastest and most accurate sources of information for the members of the cafe. In other words, the members of Wish Baragi acknowledged them as the unofficial admins of the group.

The day after Woo-Jin had done the photo shoot with Biltman, Hwang Yi-Young had subtly advertised it in the Fancafe, spreading the news to his fans. She had also posted a couple of candid photos of Woo-Jin such as the one that was taken when he was getting his makeup touched up after changing into a suit, as well as the one that they took of him while he was focused on putting on the cufflinks.

To his fans, who had been thirsty for more information about Chae Woo-Jin’s activities after Death Hill, this was akin to rain after a drought, and it became the center of discussion amongst fans. The members of Wish Baragi, who could not contain their excitement upon seeing just a couple of photos of Woo-Jin in a suit, had almost passed out when they watched some of the behind-the-scenes videos that were uploaded on Biltman’s website.

In particular, the behind-the-scenes video, which was only accessible to people who had verified their age, elicited the biggest reactions from viewers. One of those videos looked akin to a scene straight out of a movie. In that video, Woo-Jin took on the role of a romantic yet badass guy which gave off a mixed variety of charms. Although Woo-Jin had already shown the macho masculine side of him in Death Hill, his fans could not help but lose their minds over his well-groomed classy appearance, which gave off an entirely different vibe.

As a result, people ended up pre-ordering copies of the magazine and eventually, they were all sold out. Even people who were not Chae Woo-Jin’s fans pre-ordered it after watching the behind-the-scenes video. Since there were a lot of photos from the shoot that had made the cut, the magazine company decided to publish a supplemental booklet containing the additional photos. Because of that, the publication date got pushed back by two days. Nonetheless, it was a good call on the magazine company’s part.

After the magazine was published, word about the perfectly captured photos in the magazine spread like wildfire amongst fans and non-fans alike. Additionally, they had also praised Kwon Eun-Mi, who had shown an unexpected side of herself. It was the first time they had seen the woman, who was only known for being sexy, look so lovely and sad.

There were several voices who wished that they could see Chae Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi act in the same movie or drama. A few talented people combined the behind-the-scenes footage of both versions and uploaded them as one video, which told a story.

Among those fan-made videos, the most popular video was one that was titled ‘Lovers of Death’, which had included various scenes of Death Hill in which Woo-Jin had appeared in. It was about the love story between Woo-Jin and Kwon Eun-Mi, where the former had married another woman due to his family’s disapproval of their relationship. But he had continued to see her in secret after his marriage. At the end of the video, the man could be seen struggling with overwhelming regret as he still loved Kwon Eun-Mi, even though his actions towards her were cold. Naturally, this video was made by one of the members of Wish Baragi.

- Please shoot a movie with Kwon Eun-Mi!

└ That can’t happen! I’m only 16 now. Somehow, I have a feeling that if Genie were to shoot a movie with her, it would be rated NC-19, so I’m against it.

└ Ah, to the person who thinks it’ll be rated NC-19, I know how you feel, However, I’m an adult, so I’m in favor of the movie.

- For some strange reason, whenever our dear Genie is paired with a woman, there would be an insane amount of chemistry between them, causing viewers to have dirty thoughts. As a fan, I have mixed feelings about it, but on the other hand, I’m a girl who loves looking at sexy men.

└ Since he’s a man we can’t have anyway, it’d be nice for him to be everyone’s lover as an actor, and to show us different sides of him… I mean it from the bottom of my heart, but why am I crying? T_T T_T

- Glooming Day will be released soon. Let’s be patient for now.

└ A lot of people have already said that it would be a terrible movie.

└ There’s no such thing as a good G&C romance film. I mean, why did Genie have to be in a movie like that? I get that he had to strike while the iron is hot, but of all times, he had to shoot it before he joined DS. Now there’s nothing they can do about it. It’s really upsetting.

└ Judging from the fact that Song Jae-Hee, who’s also one of DS’ actors, had acted in the movie as well, the agency probably couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. This might just be Genie’s unavoidable fate.

- Nevertheless, Glooming Day has a solid production crew and amazing main leads. Is it really going to become a flop?

└ The production crew and actors are perfect, but every G&C romance film has become a flop thus far. It’s almost like they’re cursed.

└ I pray that it’ll be different this time, please… Chances are slim, but as his fan, I’m still going to watch it.

- By the way, does Genie like it when we pretend to ignore him? It felt that way to me when I was watching the interview.

└ I guess he is enjoying his freedom. Honestly, what he said is true – celebrities have their private lives too. There’s nothing good about people following you around as you go about your day, bothering you.

└ Surprisingly, he is kind of slow in that regard. There was one time I screamed when I saw him in front of TM's headquarters. However, when he looked around and saw an idol behind him, he had assumed I was screaming at that idol instead and just walked away. If you don’t explicitly yell his name, he wouldn’t know that you’re calling out to him.

Woo-Jin’s answers in the interview had given his fans a lot to agonize over. They had a great desire to protect the wishes of the young Chae Woo-Jin, who mentioned that he still wanted to use public transportation and hang out with his friends with ease. Additionally, most of them wanted to respect his privacy and refrain from excessive fanaticism because of what he had said. As a fan, the least they could do for him was to respect his wishes. They decided to do just that, but in return, they paid close attention to Jin-Woo’s activities, claiming that they had to pursue their interests.

However, just as their curiosity and anticipation for his next work were peaking due to the photos from the photo shoot, the news about his next film being a romance film by G&C was enough to flip these expectations into concerns. Naturally, all his fans would be worried about his next film, which had a 100 percent chance of becoming a flop, being released immediately during a time when he was just starting to gain popularity.

However, the negative atmosphere was lifted when ‘Fashion Coordinator Hwang’ posted the backstory of how Song Jae-Hee and her manager recommended Woo-Jin to CEO Jang. The members found out that Woo-Jin had the opportunity to sign a contract with DS because he had a role in Glooming Day. The members then reassured themselves that Woo-Jin would still succeed because he was a talented man. Even though Glooming Day might not be good for Woo-Jin’s career, it did change his fate.

Just like what a fan had said, they had to accept that it was Chae Woo-Jin’s destiny to act in Glooming Day. Thereafter, there were no more complaints about Glooming Day. Ultimately, worrying about a movie that has yet to be released would not change anything. Perhaps being a worrywart was a ‘disease’.

Even if they did not talk about it, there were many other topics to talk about in Wish Baragi. Even though they were just talking about Chae Woo-Jin, they constantly had new topics to talk about, sometimes creating disputes on conversational topics that were triggered by talks from outside the Fancafe.

<Barag friends! Did you know that M Site has been mocking us and kicking up a big fuss about how we had claimed that ‘The Slipper Young Man’ is Genie? Of course, in the beginning, we talked about how their back views looked similar, but we stopped talking about it because there was no evidence.

So, when I investigated the source, I found out that it started with site B. I don’t know if it’s one of our members, but when people were discussing ‘The Slipper Young Man’, there was a comment talking about how his back view looks like Genie’s, and some comments were agreeing with them. Ever since then, comments have been popping up on several sites talking about how it looked like him, but that’s all there is to it.

There weren’t any strong arguments over it, and nobody had insisted that it was Genie. Aren’t they completely treating us like we’re crazy fangirls and mocking us? Honestly, when I saw the photo, I also thought ‘Oh, that looks like Genie!’. But since there isn’t any conclusive evidence, I didn’t think much about it. Maybe many of you guys may have shared the same thoughts as me. But if we make an unsubstantiated claim, we are all well aware that we will get flack for it.

Additionally, if we wanted to confirm the facts, we could’ve asked Mr. Kang and Fashion Coordinator Hwang, but there was no need for that. If they said yes, people would think that they are trying to manipulate the masses via the media, and if they said no, people would say ‘who asked?’ and call Genie an attention seeker. I doubt that the two of them wouldn’t have said anything either.

I feel that when our dear Genie becomes a big star in the future, this will be one of the many stories of his past which will be revealed. However, the fact that people are trying to bury this has fired up my fighting instincts. So from now on, I’m determined to gather evidence. They probably think that we’re easy to mess with because we are not doing anything about it.

We will be gathering the evidence and dealing with them on our own. I don’t want to bother Manager Kang and Fashion Coordinator Hwang with this. Keep in mind that this is a response to the defamation targeting our members, not Genie. If it’s not him, then so be it. And if it’s him, then let's tell the world the truth!

Additionally, I’ve taken screenshots and videos of the people who tried to defame us without any evidence, and I’ve noted down their IDs and IP addresses. Even though it has only happened once, if something similar happens in the future, it’s no longer a mistake – it’s intentional on their part, and so, I think that we should deal with it thoroughly. Hence, please write down your suggestions.>

- After I read the posts, I was taken aback too. When I looked at the screenshots, the only thing that was said in those posts was that they looked similar, and nothing else. But they’re treating us like we’re crazy fans. I’m truly speechless! We’re not even talking about it anymore and yet they’re bringing it up on their own and blowing things up. There was one person among them who was particularly aggressive. I had also taken a screenshot of it as evidence.

- I tried overlapping the photos of ‘The Slipper Young Man’ and Genie’s back profile in Photoshop after adjusting their proportions, and it was a perfect match. Will that be considered as evidence?

- After looking it up, I found out that it happened on the day he was returning from the final shoot in Busan. They had taken photos for Glooming Day and wrapped up the shoot. By any chance, did any of the staff on set remember what Genie wore?

- Come on you guys, even without evidence, we should know the truth! Just like how our family members can recognize us from our silhouettes from far, we should be able to do it too! In the past, when there’s a turncoat in an activist group, they were able to identify the people at the rally in the photo even though the students were wearing hats and masks. Even if you try to hide everything from the people you’re close to, they’re bound to find out.

└ Activist groups, turncoat… Judging from the words you’ve used, you are revealing your age. ^^;;

- There was a navy stain on the left sleeve of the white T-shirt which ‘The Slipper Young Man’ was wearing at that time. Furthermore, there was a drawing of a cat on his suitcase that looked like a British Shorthair. It’s not a sticker – it looks like he had drawn it himself.

- Genie’s younger sister is in the same class as my younger sister! Should I ask my younger sister to ask her if she knows anything?

└ Let’s get along with one another.

└ Are you talking about his pretty younger sister who was a hot topic of discussion on the Internet a while ago? The same girl who was seen at the cafe with Genie, who looked like him? That girl who flailed her arms when Genie was pulling her cheeks?

└ His younger sister was said to be the top student in school and people have been talking about how pretty she is since a long time ago. She’s known as ‘the pretty girl in this district’. Is that really true?