Become a Star
chapter-52

“I’ve been attached to a wire a couple of times before during training, but it’s going to be my first time doing it during a shoot. I’d rather work without them if I could, but that’s impossible.”

As soon as Woo-Jin entered DS, he had been doing stunt training consistently. And after the decision to accept this role for City of Shadows, Woo-Jin had been doing the necessary training needed for the drama at the stunt school. However, wearing the stunt vest was already suffocating, and when he was hanging in the air, the wires tugged against his skin and it hurt.

“Everything is tough at first.”

“So you’re used to working with wires now?”

“There’s one thing in this world that I absolutely cannot get used to, and that is working with wires.”

“Thanks for the consolation.”

“I’m not consoling you. You should have become a third-generation chaebol scion like me, then you would never have to work with wires.” Kang Min-Ho laughed teasingly as he walked away. Woo-Jin looked at the back of his head and came to a realization that this was the reason why people got into fights on set.

“Ah, I’ll put up with it for tomorrow’s sake.” That said, it was almost midnight. Even though Woo-Jin had to get sufficient sleep to recharge for the shoot that starts at dawn, he had a lot of things to do. His schedule was so tight that he would have probably collapsed long ago if he did not use the cultivation technique daily to relieve his fatigue.

There were many people who stayed at the filming site, but both Kang Min-Ho and Woo-Jin had the luxury of staying in single rooms. However, they shared a common bathroom. Woo-Jin, who had changed into a set of comfortable clothes, removed his makeup there before leaving.

“Woo-Jin, you’re already heading to bed?”

“What do you mean ‘already’? I have been shooting since dawn, I’ll barely get enough sleep as it is.” Even if he went back to his room now, he would not be able to sleep right away because he had to complete his report. However, he had not bothered explaining that to others.

One of their co-stars, Lee Dan-Woo, pointed to one side of the set and said wistfully, “Time…it’s never enough. It’s been a while since we’ve all had a drink together, but I don’t think you’re able to join us.” The actors who had been on set today had been gathered over there. Everyone else apart from Woo-Jin will either only start shooting in the afternoon, or they barely have any scenes to shoot. Hence, they decided to get together for a drink.

Even though they were shooting the same drama, they would have no chance to interact if they did not have any scenes together. However, several of the actors had to shoot their scenes today, and so they decided to have a get-together. Soon after, Park Yeon-Ah and Kang Min-Ho had also sat down in their respective seats.

“One drink is fine.”

Even though he had a lot of work to do, Woo-Jin felt that joining them for a few hours would not hurt, so he decided to join them. He was not a huge fan of drinking, but he had subconsciously learned a lot of new things when he spent time with his seniors. However, Kang Min-Ho yelled at him sternly, “What are you doing here! You need to sleep so that your skin will glow on camera tomorrow.”

“That’s right~!” Park Yeon-Ah immediately agreed with him, indirectly showing off that they were close friends.

“My character is not a third generation chaebol scion, so I need to look disheveled. I can’t have glowing skin.” Woo-Jin snorted after hearing the word ‘glowing’. It did not fit the image of Louie, who had dull and disheveled hair, dark circles under his eyes which gave him an ashen look.

“But still, you can’t drink.”

“Yes, sir…” As soon as veteran actor Go Young-Hoon, who had a major role in the drama, shook his head disapprovingly, Woo-Jin immediately became submissive.

Woo-Jin knew that Go Young-Hoon was concerned about him because he had to start shooting at dawn the next day, and he could not insist anymore. All he could do was briefly look at his fellow actors with a gaze that was full of envy. His shoulder dropped, and just as he was about to head back to his room to sleep, Woo-Jin heard a voice calling out to him from behind.

“Woo-Jin.”

“Yes!”

Seeing how Woo-Jin turned around immediately with enthusiasm and twinkling eyes, everybody burst out laughing.

“I’m sorry for disappointing you, but even though you can’t drink, can you buy some alcohol for us?” Go Young-Hoon held out his credit card and got Woo-Jin and Lee Dan-Woo to run an errand for them. Naturally, the two youngest people were selected.

The staff had been busy cleaning up the set. It was late, so they had either gone home or were resting somewhere. Go Young-Hoon felt bad for asking them to run an errand, so he picked the two young men in front of him instead. As Woo-Jin thought about how he would be able to go out to get some fresh air, Woo-Jin happily took the card from Go Young-Hoon despite not being able to join the drinking party. Since they had been shooting on set for the entire day, Woo-Jin wanted to go outside. Perhaps Lee Dan-Woo shared the same sentiment as well and he nodded without hesitation.

“He looks like a puppy who’s going out to get some fresh air.”

Even though Woo-Jin was a rookie, he was fairly well-known, and he was also one of the main characters in this drama. It was rather nice to see that he was willing to run errands. Go Young-Hoon, who had experienced the arrogance of young stars several times before, hoped that Chae Woo-Jin’s innocence would last for a long time.

“He still hasn’t realized that he’s a celebrity himself. How could he go outside looking like that? I told him not to wear that T-shirt because one of its sleeves was stained by dark blue paint, but he didn’t listen. He said it was the most comfortable T-shirt he had.”

Kang Min-Ho held his stomach and laughed when he saw Woo-Jin leaving the set with no makeup while wearing a stretched out T-shirt and sweatpants with knee bags. As a celebrity, even if they were going to a store nearby, regardless of whether or not anybody recognized them, they should always wear some makeup and leave the house after coordinating their clothes. However, that had not been the case for Woo-Jin at all.

“He’s still handsome nonetheless.”

“Huh?”

“His skin looks more radiant without makeup, and even though he’s wearing a stretched out T-shirt, his face is still handsome, so what’s there to worry about?”

“Ah~!”

“Woo-Jin looks good in anything.”

After hearing Park Yeon-Ah’s explanation, Kang Min-Ho had come to a huge realization that ordinary celebrities like himself were the ones who cared about their image and made sure that they looked presentable whenever they left the house. Chae Woo-jin’s extraordinary appearance had surpassed that of ordinary celebrities, so he should not be compared with them. Woo-Jin, who had unknowingly become the victor of their conversation, went to the convenience store with his head held high in his getup. Woo-Jin usually went to a nearby grocery store, but it closed at midnight. So, he ended up going to a nearby convenience store. Woo-Jin had never been there before, but he knew that the shop was there.

“Wow~! You are Da-Young and Cho-Hee from Berry Rose, right?” exclaimed a young man. He had swung by the convenience store in the middle of the night, and chanced upon a girl idol group who had disguised themselves as part-timers.

“I’m a big fan. I really like the song Catch Me, Catch Me.”

After seeing the young man’s strong reaction, the Berry Rose’s members, Da-Young and Cho-Hee, smiled brightly. They brought their hands to their mouths and made a cute gesture while exclaiming, “Yes! This is Da-Young from Berry Rose!” “Yes! This is Cho-Hee From Berry Rose!”

They were shooting the new pilot program for Do You Know Us?. It was a variety program where a rookie or actors that were relatively unknown hid among the general public to see the reaction of the people whom they had interacted with. The guests of the first episode were two Berry Rose’s members, and they had dressed up as part-timers who were working at a convenience store.

Berry Rose was a girl idol group that had debuted three months ago, but they had managed to top the charts soon after their debut, which was uncommon amongst rookies. They deserved to be the trending girl idol group with their amazing singing abilities and beautiful looks.

Regardless of how they tried to disguise themselves as part-timers in a convenience store, they would still stand out. Naturally, the customers who had visited the convenience store recognized them immediately. The customers were filled with joy by this unexpected encounter, and praised them, saying that they looked better in person.

“Are you in the midst of shooting right now?”

“Yes! So please keep it a secret. We’re broadcasting it next Sunday, but all you have to do is to pretend that you don’t know about it for the next few hours until the recording is over.”

The young man took a photo with Da-Young and Cho-Hee, and the staff interviewed him about how he felt after meeting them, etc. In order to ensure that the recording would go smoothly, they had also gotten him to promise to keep this a secret as it would not be fun if people were to flock towards the convenience store after hearing about it.

However, word of mouth was also important as this was the pilot episode of the program that would be aired on TV. Hence the staff told him that after the recording was over, it would be okay for him to spread the word without revealing any spoilers.

After the young man left wistfully, the staff reorganized the shelves in the convenience store once again. They had chosen to do the recording at night because the low human traffic would allow them to record the customers who showed up by chance, one by one. They would also have enough time to tidy up the store after each recording.

In truth, the production team wanted another member of Berry Rose to be a part of this program, but since she was a minor, it would be impractical for her to have a part-time job at a convenience store at midnight. More importantly, she was on an entirely different level from the rest of the members, so she was too arrogant to even consider taking part in the pilot episode of a new program. Hence, they had casted the second and third most popular members of the group. Even though it was a shame, the outcome had been rather good.

“Someone’s coming again. Two men this time!” After getting tipped off by the staff who was acting as the lookout, the rest of the staff hurriedly evacuated to the storage area. One of them had disguised themselves as a customer and sat down by the table, pretending to eat cup noodles.

Da-Young and Cho-Hee moved to the counter and waited for the arrival of the customers. They were more laid back this time around as compared to the first time. They thought about the reactions of the customers, and the compliments that they were about to receive. They did not think that it would be this hard to imagine the positive reactions of their fans. After three months of doing TV programs and debuting as a girl idol group, they had become accustomed to the acclamation and reverence from the public.

“Hyung, which brand of beer should we get?” asked one of the men who had opened the door, looking at the person behind him.

“I wanted to drink something light. I don’t know much about the different types of beer either. I only drink what I like. What should we do?”

“I’ll just call them and ask.”

The men who had entered the convenience store went straight to the liquor section without paying any attention to the Berry Rose members at the counter. Their actions were quite different from the previous customers. Most of the customers usually looked around when they entered the store, and that would be when they noticed the members of Berry Rose.

Since this was their first time encountering customers who came into the store with a purpose, Da-Young and Cho-Hee felt momentarily embarrassed. They were curious and stretched their necks over the counter to catch a glimpse of the two men. When they saw the man who was picking out beers, they lost control of their facial expressions momentarily and their jaws dropped. The man, who had slightly wet tousled hair and was dressed in casual clothes, wearing flip-flops, was the most good-looking man they had ever seen thus far.

Da-Young came to her senses first and tapped Cho-Hee on the arm. “Doesn’t he look familiar?”

“Yeah, I think so too…” Cho-Hee answered in a trance-like fashion as she nodded mindlessly.

On the other hand, the staff who had been monitoring the situation from the storage area had kicked up a big fuss as well.

“That guy is Chae Woo-Jin, right?”

“Yes, that's him. Our production director was very fussy about casting the actors as he wanted the show to be a success, and Chae Woo-Jin was the person he picked first!”

When they had decided on the concept of Do You Know Us?, the first person the production director had thought of was Chae Woo-Jin. He was a rising star that had been trending recently, but had yet to appear in any variety shows yet. If Chae Woo-Jin had been casted in their program, it would without a doubt become the talk of the town.

However, DS’ CEO Jang was not in a rush to have his artist appear on a mere pilot episode of a new program. They had tried to cast him several times, but they had been rejected every time under the pretext of shooting a drama and studying. They were surprised to see him here, and thought about how they had lucked out.

“But why did Chae Woo-Jin come here at this hour dressed like that?”

“Umm… Ah! There’s a studio nearby that’s often used as a set for shooting dramas! I’m guessing that they’re shooting a drama right now.”

Just then, the owner of the convenience store, who had been watching the recording, interrupted, “My daughter is a fan of Mr. Chae Woo-Jin, can I get an autograph from him?”

“I’m sorry but please be patient. This is truly a coincidence, so it’s a golden opportunity for us.”

The production director put a finger to his mouth in a bid to shush both the owner and the staff member. “Shh! Let’s listen to what he’s saying.”

As Woo-Jin was talking on the phone and picking out the beer, the staff kept their mouths shut and focused all their attention on him. With the help of the cameras and sound equipment installed at every corner of the store, all of his actions, including his soft voice, were captured and heard clearly.