小火星

How much time has passed?

Kang Woojin, who was living in the world of ‘Lee Sang-man’, had suddenly returned to the minivan. Everything around him was the same. The heavy traffic jam, Jang Su-hwan in the driver’s seat, Choi Sung-gun on the phone with someone, and Han Ye-jung looking at her planner. They had no idea where Woo-jin had just been.

Everything was unchanged.

However, Kang Woojin had lived through the reality of ‘Lee Sang-man’ and retained all of his memories. There weren’t any major changes in Woojin’s world, but the imprinted life of his new character became clearer. And this time, it was far from ordinary.

Therefore, Kang Woojin…

“……”

…kept a blank expression and stared blankly into space for a moment. It wasn’t clear what he was looking at. However, it was evident he was focused.

He was trying to rid himself of the lingering essence of the ‘Lee Sang-man’ he had directly experienced.

‘It’s okay, I don’t feel bad.’

He had to use the character ‘Lee Sang-man’ from the script freely. To do that, he had to intensely focus on his sense of self, Kang Woojin.

‘I am the master of all the roles I read, and you are just my tools.’

Though Kang Woojin looked very serious now, he wasn’t putting on an act. Regardless, his past experiences as ‘Kim Ryu-jin’ and ‘Park Dae-ri’ were helpful. After all, they provided a preview of various hellish experiences.

Kang Woojin’s mind was already strong.

The penalty of the void space was intense, but bearable. At least, that’s how Woojin felt. It wasn’t light, but it wasn’t too heavy either. It felt like his usual self, only slightly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Still,

‘Huuh-‘

He couldn’t help but feel a bit nauseous. He felt like throwing up. While ‘Lee Sang-man’ in the script might have felt pleasure, Woojin felt like he had been sucked into a swamp. An experience he never wanted to relive. A scene he desperately wanted to attribute to acting.

‘I should drink some water.’

The water tasted bad. Perhaps because of the lingering humidity? But this sensation became shorter with repetitive readings (experiences). He had to get used to it.

Kang Woojin then,

-Whoosh.

Lowered his gaze. He looked at the script titled ‘Drug Dealer’ in his hand. To be precise, he was trying to understand the feelings of ‘Lee Sang-man’ he had just experienced. Setting aside everything that was imprinted about Lee Sang-man by the void space, Woojin evaluates him with his own genuine perspective.

This process was similar to the script analysis skills Woojin had mastered.

The content of the script, the life of Lee Sang-man as experienced in the void space, and Woojin’s review. When these three elements combined, his acting reached peak levels, surpassing any other method. The results were already evident in the world.

The character of Park-dae-ri in episodes 3 and 4 of ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

Furthermore,

‘When I go through this process, acting feels several times more enjoyable.’

After completing this process and diving into acting, the pure ‘enjoyment’ multiplies. It’s as if the residual sensations of the imprinted character become more vivid. Kang Woojin was maximizing the ability of the void space in his own unique way. He was evolving further. This was manifested in the vivid quality of his acting.

Just then,

“By the way, Woo-jin.”

Choi Sung-gun, who was in the co-driver’s seat, called out to Kang Woojin.

“You know Kim Dae-young, right? We’re currently discussing him joining the company sometime in mid-June next month.”

At the mention of his close friend’s name, Kang Woojin focused.

“Yes.”

“But, usually managers need training. And you’re still a newbie, right? So, it’s a bit awkward to pair him with you immediately. We’re not short of staff at the moment. So, I’m thinking of pairing him with Hye-yeon.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, but if you want, we can pair him with you.”

No way. Moreover, if it’s Kim Dae-young, he would do anything to be paired with Hong Hye-yeon.

“No, I think your idea is better.”

“Right? For the time being, he’ll be paired with Hye-yeon, whether for managerial duties or as a guard, and will get trained. Only in situations when I can’t be there, he can assist you.”

Currently, Choi Sung-gun was Kang Woojin’s main manager, but he was also the CEO of bw Entertainment. Thus, there were times he was unavailable due to other commitments. In such cases, they would use the trainee Kim Dae-young as a backup.

With a stern face, Woojin replied,

“Understood, CEO.”

But inside, he smirked.

‘Kim Dae-young, that bastard. His lifelong wish has been fulfilled. I wonder if he can even work properly in front of Hong Hye-yeon.’

In the midst of this, Choi Sung-gun’s phone rang.

-♬♪

Quickly placing the phone to his ear, he spoke briefly. After ending the call,

“··· Ah, what now. Woojin.”

He locked eyes with Kang Woojin again. For some reason, Choi Sung-gun had a peculiar expression on his face.

“Something weird is happening again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just talked to the Netflix creative team. They said Hwalin is going to play the female lead role of ‘Male Friend’.”

Huh? Hwalin? That was unexpected. Woojin was a bit surprised internally. Why? Because it didn’t make sense.

‘Does she not know I’m the male lead? What the… I’m sure she won’t do it.’

Clearly, Hwalin seemed indifferent to Woojin during the Netflix meeting. Kang Woojin hesitantly asked again.

“She knows I’m her co-star, right?”

Choi Sung-gun immediately shook his head.

“They said they started the meeting with Hwalin by clarifying that you’re the counterpart.”

“……”

“But why would Hwalin do this? It was unexpected for her to show up at the meeting. It’s a bit surprising. Well, of course, it’s a good thing.”

Even Jang Su-hwan and Han Ye-jung commented.

“I’m a fan of Hwalin! She’s unique! I’ve never seen her do a short series before!”

“Maybe it’s because of Hye-yeon’s influence? Hwalin and Hye-yeon are close.”

It was a plausible guess, but Choi Sung-gun still tilted his head.

“Well, there might be an influence. But when you’re at Hwalin’s level, there’s a clear distinction between public and private. Work is work. Hye-yeon might give some advice, but I doubt Hwalin would pick a role just based on that.”

“Ah, true.”

Amidst all this, Kang Woojin maintained a poker face.

‘Ah- Hwalin. She’s pretty, but her personality seems a bit off.’

He grumbled inwardly.

‘She seemed to slightly disregard me.’

Then suddenly,

‘Ah.’

Something flashed in Kang Woojin’s mind.

-[6/Script (Title: Male Friend), Grade A]-

The grade of ‘Male Friend’ had been elevated from B to A.

‘So it was raised to A because of Hwalin. But does just Hwalin joining raise the grade so much? Hmm- Or is there something else?’

Regardless, Kang Woojin felt a bit discouraged. His first impression of Hwalin wasn’t great.

‘Ugh, whatever. I’ll just act my best.’

Still, he couldn’t turn down an A-grade project. Woojin wondered if this was the life of actors. Even if your co-star is not to your liking, you have to act your heart out.

Around this time, Choi Sung-gun, sitting in the passenger seat, thought,

‘Is something big going to happen again?’

He sneaked a glance at the expressionless Kang Woojin.

‘Every time Woojin takes on a project, something crazy happens, like in Exorcism and Hanryang. And now with Male Friend.’

There was a deep sense of anticipation in his eyes.

‘Hehe. What crazy thing will happen this time?’

Later on,

While Kang Woojin was moving in a van, the internet was buzzing since morning. Many issues were discussed, but the most dominant topic was ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

Because episode 6 was broadcast yesterday.

On top of that, the ratings, which had been exceeding 25%, dropped sharply to 21.7% for episode 5. Both the media and public opinion were keenly focused on episode 6’s ratings.

And the ratings announced in the morning, were:

『Official: ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Episode 6 Ratings 22.3%』

Fortunately, the rating was 22.3%, showing some recovery. But it was still below 25%. The media couldn’t let this slide.

『Issue Pick: ‘Hanryang’ Recovers, but rating still below 25%.』

『Can ‘Profiler Hanryang’, with its 22.3% rating, cross 25% again?』

As soon as the ratings were out, they were under scrutiny. Hence, there were calls for Kang Woojin or Park Dae-ri to return.

『Star Talk: 22% viewer rating ‘Hanryang’, should they bring back the ‘dead’ Park Dae-ri, Kang Woojin?』

All sorts of media and public opinion were becoming insensitive. Even though the show maintained an impressive record-breaking 20% ratings, the media just chewed and tore apart even the slightest issues.

Because negative news sells better than positive news, after all.

Regardless of the type of issue, the buzz around Hanryang continued to grow. Fueled by this, the teaser video of the ‘Sports Day’ episode featuring the Hanryang team, which was uploaded on Saturday afternoon,

-!Teaser! I wish you’d watch this more, it’d be less annoying…?｜Sports Day X Profiler Hanryang

-[SBC]/ENG SUB

-Views: 2,312,335 / 2020. 5. 30

It received over 2.3 million views. And it was still climbing rapidly.

Later in the afternoon.

@wooji_n

Posts: 18

Followers: 196,000

Following: 3

Kang Woojin’s social media saw an explosive increase in fans. Nearly 200,000 followers in just two weeks. The pace was increasing daily.

Meanwhile, at this moment in Netflix Korea.

“…What? Are you serious?”

Among those gathered in the meeting room, the executive director seated at the head of the table widened her eyes in surprise. The head of the creative team just delivered some shocking news to her, who had just returned from an external meeting.

“So, Hwalin really agreed to do ‘Male Friend’?”

Hwalin had reportedly agreed to star in the one-act play, “Male Friend”. Understandably, Executive Director Kim So-hyang found it hard to believe.

“What? Wasn’t Hwalin a bit aloof during yesterday’s meeting? There were many questions, but she didn’t seem interested at all.”

“I, I also couldn’t believe it when I received the call either. I had to ask several times. Hwalin said she would do it herself.”

“…What on earth is happening?”

“I’ve already informed Kang Woojin.”

“What did he say?”

“He said it’s a good thing.”

“Of course, it is. But this situation seems more crazy than good.”

Though Netflix is a global platform, it entrusts all authority to executive directors for each country’s operations.

Therefore, the short series drama project was her decision.

To be honest, Executive Director Kim So-hyang didn’t have high expectations for the short series drama project. She just wanted to show that Netflix Korea was attentive to the market and willing to take risks.

It was close to branded content for the general public.

‘Why are things suddenly going so smoothly?’

Yet, unexpected bombs were dropping one after the other on this project.

‘I planned to cast unknown actors. But now the rising Kang Woojin is on board, and suddenly Hwalin too?’

These were truly unexpected results. It’s not like Netflix Korea took any special actions.

“We’ve only widely distributed the script, right? We haven’t even started proper casting yet. By any chance, have you done any additional work?”

“No, nothing. Moreover, the only ones interested after the script distribution were Kang Woojin and Hwalin.”

“What’s happening? Everything is going so well, it’s making me uneasy. If Kang Woojin and Hwalin had some kind of connection, it’d make sense. They don’t, right?”

“None. They’re from different agencies and aren’t close.”

“They’re complete strangers then-”

Kim So-hyang, the executive director, trailed off, looking thoughtful. Clear judgement was more necessary than just surprise. She quickly became absorbed in thought. Things were turning out oddly well, but they couldn’t just stand by idly.

She needed to make the most of the situation.

Soon, she spoke again, as if an idea had suddenly struck her.

“First, let’s set our priorities. Let’s finalize the contracts with Kang Woojin and Hwalin as soon as possible and start producing ‘Male Friend’ first.”

“So, the first project to be launched is ‘Male Friend’?”

“Of course. Focus the initial promotion on ‘Male Friend’. When the time is right, heavily promote Kang Woojin and Hwalin’s involvement. The production team should also be top-notch.”

“Understood.”

“And.”

Suddenly, Executive Director Kim So-hyang smiled.

“How about we expand the scale?”

“Expand? How?”

“Let’s broaden our horizons. Let’s not limit ourselves to just Korea. Considering Hwalin is on board, it might also do well in Japan, right? ‘Elani’ is quite strong there.”

“Ah.”

“In Japan, dramas are short and intense, unlike Korea. Short series dramas might be more popular there. Currently, more than half of the top-ranked shows on Netflix Japan are our content.”

“Yes, more than 5 out of the top 10.”

Hearing the answer, Executive Director Kim So-hyang voiced her conclusion.

“We should also launch it on Netflix Japan then.”

Monday, somewhere in Yongsan District.

June 1st, early morning. As May ended, June began. May had been a month of significant changes for Kang Woojin, and June was also expected to bring about remarkable changes.

At that moment, Kang Woojin was in a large building.

It was the headquarters of ‘MxDonald’, one of the top 3 fast-food chains in the country. Woojin was sitting roughly in the middle of the wide conference room’s ㄷ-shaped table. Naturally, Choi Sung-gun was with him. The walls of the conference room were adorned with the ‘MxDonald’ logo here and there. Although Kang Woojin didn’t show it, he looked around the room with interest.

‘I never thought I’d be a model here. Maxburgers are so delicious.’

He himself often ate ‘MxDonald’ hamburgers. But now, he sat there not as a customer but as an advertising model for the brand. Of course, Kang Woojin wasn’t going to be the face of the entire ‘MxDonald’ brand. Fast-food brands have various products, and each product has its own model.

In other words, the Woojin would be in charge of was for one of the burger lines.

‘This is crazy, seriously.’

Anyway, one can never predict what life has in store. Suddenly,

“….Woojin!”

“Wow… so handsome…”

“Squeal…!!”

Outside the conference room, ‘MxDonald’ employees were making a commotion upon seeing Woojin. Due to the semi-transparent glass, their movements were visible. It was a scene that truly showcased Kang Woojin’s skyrocketing popularity.

“Phew, after the meeting, I’ll have to give some autographs before leaving.”

“Understood.”

“Look – I’m going to the restroom for a bit, wait here.”

“Okay.”

Perhaps wanting to relieve himself before the meeting, Choi Sung-gun quickly left the room. About a minute later, the glass door of the conference room opened again. Thinking it might be Choi Sung-gun, Woojin turned his head.

“Hello, Mr. Woojin.”

“Have you been waiting long? Where is CEO Choi?”

Employees related to the MxDonald’s advertising came in, like the marketing team and others, totaling about five people. They were carrying tablets and transparent files. Consequently, Woojin instinctively stood up to greet them, lowering his voice.

“Hello, the CEO just went to the restroom.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Should we have a brief conversation before CEO Choi arrives?”

Soon, Kang Woojin and the ‘MxDonald’ employees sat facing each other. At that moment, a female employee from ‘MxDonald’, who had been observing Woojin intently from across the table with her long hair tied back, spoke to Kang Woojin.

“Mr. Woojin, don’t you remember me?”

Who is she? Woojin replied calmly.

“Sorry, who are you?”

The female employee smiled and said,

“We were in the same department in college.”

For a moment, the usually expressionless face of Woojin slightly twitched.

*****