Become a Star
chapter-43

“It’s not bad to be known to the public as an actor who has been in critically acclaimed films. What about doing commercials?”

“Initially, we’ve gotten offers for products like ramen, detergent, and beverages. Recently, even though it’s a one-off thing, we’ve also gotten offers from grocery stores, telecommunication companies, cosmetic and beauty companies.”

“Choose one of the three among the recent offers and go ahead with it. Don’t accept every offer and burden Woo-Jin with work.”

In CEO Jang Soo-Hwan’s opinion, commercials were a means to tell people ‘I have become famous enough to shoot commercials for these products’. Hence, instead of appearing in multiple commercials, he emphasized that the celebrities should only shoot a couple that would help them boost their image. As a result, Jang Soo-Hwan’s decisions occasionally caused some rifts with the celebrities from the agency.

Unlike Jang Soo-Hwan who was always carefree and relaxed, the celebrities wanted to strike while the iron was hot. There were many realists who felt that good days will not last forever, and they felt that they should not be sitting around idly while taking opportunities for granted. It was often difficult for them to come to terms with Jang Soo-Hwan’s opinion that they should refrain from shooting too many commercials if they wanted to extend those ‘good days.’ because of their opposing views.

Fortunately, Chae Woo-Jin had no interest in shooting commercials. For now, what he wanted was the freedom of choice rather than earning more money. Thus, Woo-Jin was not worried about having to shoot fewer commercials.

“By the way, did Woo-Jin say he’s going to accept that role?” The only thing that Woo-Jin would not budge on was the roles that he wanted to act in.

“Yes, he likes both the storyline and the character.”

“That’s a given. The quality is there because it’s Yoo Soo-Min’s work, but she’s known for her eccentric taste and preferences. On top of that, Park Jong-Hyuk is the production director. He’s known to have a bad temper and is very fussy, and every actor wants to avoid working with him. And, it looks like they are shooting ‘The Blue Castle’s Master’ at the same time. Of all dramas, why did he choose to be in one that’s shooting alongside a major drama with Park Min as the main lead?”

‘The Blue Castle’s Master’ was a drama that was expected to be the best drama in the second half of the year. The production cost had already exceeded 10 billion won and it boasted star-studded casts. From the writer to the production crew, the best of the best were gathered to produce this drama.

Although Park Min paled in comparison to Chae Woo-Jin in the recent movie, he was still a Hallyu star. There were rumors about how some overseas companies had entered into negotiations abroad for the drama rights just because Park Min was starring in the drama. Although Park Min’s acting skills were questionable, the dramas he starred in were still guaranteed to be a hit. In other words, Park Min was more highly sought after in the drama industry than Woo-Jin was.

The female lead and supporting actors were also famous and talented actors. Hence, even though Park Min was not great at acting, there were many people who could make up for his lack of skill. More importantly, because of Park Min’s relatively better performance in the second half of Death Hill, many people said that they were looking forward to the drama.

Hence, a lot of other broadcasting networks bit the bullet and decided not to schedule their dramas too close to ‘The Blue Castle’s Master’. Instead, they decided to replace the dramas in that time slot with low-budget ones, which happened to be SBC’s ‘City of Shadows,’ written by Yoo Soo-Min. Even though she had gained some fans through her unconventional and eccentric work, her work was not as popular.

Nevertheless, the reason why her script ended up being made into a drama was because she was recognized for the quality of her work. Since she had received international awards from time to time, she could not be disregarded. Hence, the broadcasting networks mainly scheduled dramas which were written by people like Yoo Soo-Min in time slots where potentially popular dramas were not aired. Everything was fine up to that point.

Even if the viewership was low, it would still be good for the actor’s career if the public continued to talk about the drama long after the drama finished airing; there was nothing bad about it. However, the biggest obstacle was Park Jong-Hyuk, the production director. From the viewers’ point of view, he was without doubt a talented and excellent production director. However, to CEO Jang, he was just a nutjob whom he had to entrust his actors to..

There was a famous story about how Park Jong-Hyuk spent 10 days creating a 3 minute scene. Naturally, that scene went down in history as one of the best drama scenes, and the actor became a huge star because of that one scene. However, the actor developed a bone disease several years after shooting that scene. Seeing the way Park Jong-Hyuk treated actors and staff members without any consideration, people could tell that Park Jong-Hyuk was a lunatic who valued his work over everything else.

Production Director Park Jong-Hyuk believed in making sacrifices for the sake of creating beautiful works of art. On the other hand, CEO Jang believed that the actors themselves were already a work of art. As such, due to their ideological differences, Jang Soo-Hwan did not like Park Jong-Hyuk.

So, when Chae Woo-Jin said that he was going to work with Park Jong-Hyuk, Jang Soo-Hwan could not help but foam at the mouth. The conditions could not have been any worse. Woo-Jin was given the role of a killer. Even though it was an upgrade compared to a loan shark, he was still a killer. A killer.[1]

A sigh escaped from Jang Soo Hwan’s mouth. The only redeeming factor was that Woo-Jin had acted as an intelligent teaching assistant in Glooming Day. If Woo-Jin acted in City of Shadows right after Death Hill, the public’s image of Woo-Jin might end up being that of a cold hearted brute. So, even though Woo-Jin’s fans did not like Glooming Day, CEO Jang embraced it and eagerly waited for the movie to be released.

As the premiere of Glooming day approached, the two main leads and the supporting actor were being interviewed. It was expected for Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee, but Woo-Jin would have never been included if it was not for Death Hill’s success.

“You’re not going to ask me to choose between the two of them, right?” After hearing what Song Jae-Hee said, the reporter, who was an entertainment insider from MBS, paused for a moment.

“Let’s not ask boring questions like that.”

“Why is it boring? Questions like that are fun and the viewers want to know the answers too, so we have no choice but to ask them.” The reporter, who might or might not be a close acquaintance of Song Jae-Hee, was unfazed and just smiled casually.

“In that case, I’ll give you an answer. As the main character in the movie, I would choose ‘Park Ji-Hyuk’, who was played by Kwon Sung-Min, of course. That’s because she loved ‘Park Ji-Hyuk’ and gave it her all. But personally, I hate both of them. One of them is blind to reality and the other one thinks too much.”

Since it seemed like Song Jae-Hee had given up on resisting his questions, the reporter immediately asked another question. “What about both men in real life?”

“You know my ideal type – someone who is older and mature, and someone who has conviction when it comes to work!”

“Are you saying that both of them are not your type?”

“At the very least, I don’t detect the scent of a mature man from my juniors [2] and younger men.” Upon hearing what Song Jae-Hee said, Kwon Sung-Min lifted his arm and pretended to sniff himself, while Woo-Jin laughed softly as though he was looking at something amusing.

“Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, this is no laughing matter. Mr. Kwon Sung-Min has been chosen at least once. Both you and your character have yet to be chosen by anyone!”

“I guess it didn’t really matter to me because I wasn’t wishing to be chosen by Na Mi-Yeon when I was shooting the movie.” Hearing Woo-Jin’s reply, the reporter laughed meaningfully.

“Do you know what people have been calling you before the release of this movie?”

“Isn’t it ‘The Beauty Slayer’?” answered Song Jae-Hee. She pushed Woo-Jin, who was sitting beside her, aside. It seemed that she was uncomfortable about them being photographed together.

“That’s right, but there have been rumors circulating about how your character’s love went unrequited in Glooming Day as well. People have been saying that you might be crowned as Korea’s poster boy for unrequited love.”

Woo-Jin thought for a moment after hearing what the reporter said before replying with a smile on his face, “In order to qualify for that title, I would need to experience unrequited love at least 30 times. Until then, I’ll respectfully decline.”

“Doesn’t that make you sound kind of greedy?” asked Kwon Sung-Min. Woo-Jin’s reply had piqued his interest. Woo-Jin avoided looking him in the eye and replied bashfully, “It’s still a title on the national level though.” Even though the title was somewhat negative, it was still a title that not everyone could obtain. Thus, Woo-Jin felt that it was not a particularly bad thing. Seeing Woo-Jin’s reaction, Kwon Sung-Min and Song Jae-Hee burst out laughing, and said that they should offer him roles whose characters suffer from unrequited love from now on.

“That’s kind of…” As they made fun of Chae Woo-Jin, who was shaking his head while feeling flustered, the interview continued in a cordial way. The interview ended with them talking about the movie, as well as interesting or funny anecdotes from the movie set, etc. Seeing how well they got along together, the reporter remarked that the ambience on set must have been really nice.

However, as soon as the reporter left after the interview, Kwon Sung-Min stood up and looked at his watch. “Well then, I have a drama to shoot.” Without a single trace of a smile on his face, he left without saying a proper goodbye, ruining the amicable ambience.

“Well, he’s always been rude like that.”

“He’s been busy shooting dramas these days though.”

“I suppose so. To be honest, it’s something that I can relate to, so it feels even sadder.”

The interview was held at Headquarters M, which was also the set in which Kwon Sung-Min was shooting the MBS drama which aired on Mondays and Tuesdays. The way in which Kwon Sung-Min left was somewhat regretful, but Song Jae-Hee somewhat understood his feelings since she knew the fear and frustration one experienced whenever they witnessed their juniors rising rapidly.

The reason why she could be so generous towards Chae Woo-Jin was because he was of the opposite sex and not her competitor. Chae Woo-Jin, a rookie who posed a threat to her position as an experienced actor, did not understand her words. He simply nodded his head, taking it as she meant that she understood Kwon Sung-Min’s circumstance – being busy with drama shootings and whatnot.

“Right! You said that you’re going to be shooting a drama too.”

“Yes, I went to the table read yesterday.”

“From what I’ve heard, I guess you’re the type of person who chooses the difficult path, huh?”

“Not you too. I think the drama is pretty decent.”

CEO Jang reacted the same way, and for some reason, the moment he decided to act in ‘City of Shadows’, people around him were in a hurry to stop him. Even though they were right to question him, Woo-Jin knew this was something he wanted to do from the moment he read the script. This was also the first role that he had chosen on his own accord. However, everyone hated his decision and even Hwang Yi-Young flicked his forehead lightly. Nonetheless, he was stubborn and did not change his decision.

“It’s written by Yoo Soo-Min, so there’s no way it’ll be bad. It’s just that the circumstances are pretty bad.” As she left the interview location, Song Jae-Hee shook her head. As an actress, she also had the desire to work with Yoo Soo-Min at least once in her career. However, the time slot where the drama was scheduled to air and the production director were factors that were too unfavorable.

“Come to think of it, only one person approved of it. Director Choi Yi-Geon praised me for choosing a good drama,” said Woo-Jin.

“Are you still in contact with Director Choi? Isn’t he in France right now?” Woo-Jin looked at Song Jae-Hee, who was rejoicing for a moment, and smiled meaningfully.

“Ho-oh.”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Hey, it’s not what you’re thinking,” responded Song Hee-Jae.

“What am I thinking?”

“Whatever.”

Song Jae-Hee blushed and walked briskly in front of him, unlike her usual cheerful and confident self.

“By the way, the director said that you…”

“What? He talked about me too?”

Song Jae-Hee, who initially wanted to get as far away as possible from Woo-Jin, suddenly approached him and looked at him with gleaming eyes. Looking at Song Jae-Hee, who could not hide the anticipation in her beautiful eyes, Woo-Jin told her what Director Choi had said. “He asked if you’re dating someone right now because your face has been glowing.”

“Wait, what, what. Dating? That’s funny. My skin has become so rough these days and I’ve been so out of it! Tell him that it’s all makeup and that it’s been a million years since I’ve dated anyone! Make sure you tell him that. Tell. Him. Twice. Understood? Did he say anything else?”

Song Jae-Hee, who had calmed herself down, looked at Woo-Jin once again with anticipation in her eyes. Looking at her gleaming eyes, Woo-Jin repeated what Director Choi Yi-Geon said verbatim.

“He said, Song Jae-Hee, why is she annoyingly…”

“No, no, I don’t want to hear anything. Don’t say it, don’t say anything!”

Song Jae-Hee covered her ears and shook her head, refusing to listen to what Woo-Jin was saying. She kept covering her ears repeatedly with both hands, closing her eyes, before turning around quickly and walking away. As Song Jae-Hee was running away, her manager hurriedly ran after her. Behind the retreating Song Jae-Hee, Woo-Jin continued the rest of the sentence even though she was out of earshot.

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1. Repeated it as it was in the raws. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

2. juniors in terms of seniority at work <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">