小火星

Oh? It’ll be done today? Although his face was indifferent, Kang Woojin silently gave a thumbs up inwardly.

‘He definitely has remarkable ability. Our CEO.’

He did subtly rush him, but there were over four works that needed to be arranged. Even though there was no time, he thought it would be okay even if it was by tomorrow, but Choi Sung-gun’s answer was refreshingly clear.

Kang Woojin sincerely bowed to Choi Sung-gun.

“Thank you.”

On the other hand, Choi Sung-gun waved his two hands as if it was nothing.

“No, no, no. What’s there to thank for? If you ask for it, I could even arrange up to 100 works, you know.”

“Really?”

“…Yeah. No, I was joking, but I think you’re serious, so I’ll retract that.”

While briefing today’s schedule, Choi Sung-gun was busy making calls somewhere, and the van Woojin was riding sped toward the first schedule. His first schedule of the day was a meeting with an advertiser.

Additional advertising related stuff.

The meeting, which began around 1 PM, took about 2 hours. Kang Woojin, who had finished the meeting with the company, re-entered the van around early 3 PM. He sighed slightly at the meeting that went longer than expected.

‘Clothing - I’ve only ever bought a ton of them, never thought I’d be shooting one. So, is this like a sponsorship? Do I get free clothes too? That would be sweet.’

The outcome was clear. Now Woojin was set to shoot his second , and there were quite a lot of scheduled advertising meetings ahead.

‘Wow, really.’

Indeed, Kang Woojin’s popularity was soaring in all entertainment sectors at the moment. If he could also conquer the advertising world as well, it was hard to even estimate how big he would be by the end of the year.

At this point.

“Oppa.”

Han Ye-jung, who was checking her schedule book in the next seat, showed her phone to Woojin.

“The media has already started making a fuss.”

On the phone screen, an article was displayed.

『[Star Pick] Ultra-class Rising ‘Kang Woojin’, Showing Signs of Sweeping This Year’s Rookie Award』

However, there was no change in Kang Woojin’s cynical expression. Though part of it was his persona, he genuinely felt no thrill.

‘Rookie award? Me?’

It just didn’t feel real yet. It was a bit different from the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’. At that time, he unexpectedly received the Grand Prize, and more importantly, it was a minor awards show after all.

But Kang Woojin’s team was almost certain.

“Isn’t it obvious??! If Woojin hyung doesn’t get it, who will?! Right, CEO?!”

“Su-hwan. Watch the road.”

“Agreed. Though there’s about half a year left, honestly, Oppa should receive it. Otherwise, it’s absurd.”

Perhaps because of this?

‘If I were to- give an acceptance speech at such a large-scale awards ceremony-’

Woojin unknowingly started to daydream. His heart was pounding intensely.

‘Wow- shit, there are so many reporters and that, what is it, the long red carpet? I’d walk on that too.’

His expression was stoic, but his mood was quite high. Choi Sung-gun chimed in at this moment.

“Would Woojin be swayed just by a rookie award? Look at that expression, he’s already confident that he’s going to get it.”

“Oh- true.”

No, it’s not. Nevertheless, since he has a built-up character, Kang Woojin confidently pretended to be cool.

“…I’ve already prepared my acceptance speech.”

“Heh, look at that. There’s half a year left, and he’s already prepared his acceptance speech.”

“Hyung! I envy that confidence!”

As Choi Sung-gun, who was shaking his head vigorously, opened his diary, he swiftly changed the subject.

“Anyway, let me inform you a bit about the fan signing event we’ve organized.”

Ah- right. The fan signing event. Kang Woojin, who had momentarily forgotten, recalled it. He hadn’t paid much attention earlier as he was caught up in the ‘Island of the Missing’ issue. Either way, Choi Sung-gun began the briefing.

“We will hold it in two days, on Friday the 26th. It’ll last about 3 hours. The location is the ‘Mxdonald’ corporate building event hall. It’ll be in the morning. Since it’s sponsored by ‘Mxdonald’, we have to take care of advertising. So, there will be reporters present on that day and our PR team team will be filming it.”

Han Ye-jung, slowly nodding her head, chimed in.

“We absolutely have to film it, it’s Oppa’s first signing event.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Woojin, you’re holding a signing event much faster than Hye-yeon did.”

Now, Woojin, who slowly began to feel a little nervous, recalled the short autograph session he had held in front of a convenience store in the past. Will many come? How many will come? Will 100 people come? Choi Sung-gun timely spat out the answer to these questions.

“The signing session itself is unofficial, and about 300 fans will come. It won’t exceed 400 even if it’s overcrowded. I want to make it bigger, but there’s a limit. Your schedule doesn’t allow for more time either.”

“······”

Woojin, with no change in expression, shouted internally.

‘400??! 400 people??!’

Is that so many? Choi Sung-gun, who had no way of knowing this, continued to explain.

“About half of them will be from the fan club. Oh, did you hear that your fan club exceeded 10,000 members?”

“Ah- yes.”

“This time, the executives of the official fan cafe, or shall we say, the general managers and operators will all come. They are people you will continue to see for a long time, so it’s good to get friendly with them during the signing session. You know, actors exchange DMs with fan club members, right?”

“Was the general manager’s username ‘BloodSister’?”

“Yeah. You remember? Do you visit the fan cafe often?”

“Not often, but occasionally.”

Woojin, who answered, indifferently continued.

“‘BloodSister’, I remember because the username is unique.”

He laughed inside.

‘I should appreciate them even though the username is cheesy, They’re the fan club president after all.’

Late afternoon. A famous hotel in Seoul.

Kang Woojin was in the middle of an interview with a major media outlet in the lounge. Around this time, Choi Sung-gun, Han Ye-jung, and Jang Su-hwan were having a late lunch in the hotel restaurant. Of course, the meal was paid for by the media outlet. Jang Su-hwan, with his large frame, laughed heartily.

“Haha! This is great! Our actor is doing so well that we get this kind of treatment!”

Han Ye-jung, who was twirling spaghetti as if in agreement, answered coldly.

“That’s right. Everywhere we go these days, they treat us incredibly kindly. Normally, they tend to be a bit dismissive of newcomers.”

“It’s all because Woojin hyung is hot right now!”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s exactly like Hye-yeon unnie.”

While the two were singing praises for Kang Woojin, for some reason, Choi Sung-gun was constantly tapping on his phone. Obviously, it was to get something that Kang Woojin had requested.

“Uh-uh, Director.”

Choi Sung-gun, who had been on a call with someone, suddenly stood up.

“Oh, thank you. I’ll buy you a meal next time. Uh-uh, sushi it is, of course, fine. Haha yes yes. Right, please send it by quick service to bw Entertainment. Yes. Thank you!”

After finishing the call, Choi Sung-gun issued instructions to the two looking up at him.

“I’m going to drop by the office for a bit, so take care of Woojin after you finish eating.”

“Oh! Then the car keys.”

“No, if I take them and Woojin finishes early, the timing will get messed up. I can just take a taxi. The next schedule is visible radio, right? If anything happens in between, call right away.”

“Yes-”

“Got it!”

“It won’t take long. Let’s join again at the radio studio.”

Choi Sung-gun, who hastily left the restaurant, hailed a taxi parked in front of the hotel. At the same time, he was calling the office. Choi Sung-gun, opening his mouth immediately as the other party answered quickly.

“Uh-uh, three quick deliveries came today, right? Yeah, one more will come in a few dozen minutes, okay? Please gather all 4 and put them on the desk in my office.”

Having said everything he needed, Choi Sung-gun hung up the phone and mumbled to the taxi driver.

“Sir, please hurry.”

A few hours later.

Night had arrived. The location was a public broadcasting radio station. After finishing a four-part guest appearance on the visible radio, Kang Woojin greeted the host and staff.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes! Thank you for your efforts, Woojin!”

Woojin, who received the host’s greeting, exited the booth. Writers rushed to him immediately, paper and marker in hand.

“Woojin, could you please sign this?”

“Yes, of course.”

Inside the booth, there were many autographs from celebrities who had participated as guests. Woojin, feeling somewhat accustomed, swiftly signed. But it wasn’t just one piece.

“Me too, please!”

“Me too! I’m a fan, and my younger sister is a real die-hard fan.”

“Yes yes, hand it over.”

“Thank you! Oh, did you see Woojin, today the listeners were all over the place saying your voice is so good?”

Woojin, trying hard to hide his embarrassment, silently finished signing a total of five times. Only after that could he leave the booth.

In the corridor, Choi Sung-gun was smiling.

‘You were gone because you were busy, but you’re back already?’

For some reason, Choi Sung-gun hurried Kang Woojin.

“Others are in the car, the next schedule was canceled so you can go home. Let’s hurry up and go.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Woojin, who answered in a low voice, giggled inside. He’s not usually like this, right? Then, he had a hunch.

“Ah.”

The reason for this CEO’s overflowing confidence.

“Did you manage to get them all?”

Asked if he had gathered all that was requested. Then, perhaps feeling a bit excited, though a hint of disappointment also showed on Choi Sung-gun’s face.

“Hehe- I was going to give it to you as a surprise in the car. You’re Quick-witted. Yes, I got them all.”

You made it too obvious, didn’t you? Whatever the case, Choi Sung-gun’s capability was real. To think he actually collected all 4 works in one day. Inside, Kang Woojin silently cheered “nice”. But he couldn’t show it.

“Thank you, CEO.”

Instead, he bowed in thanks. Of course, Choi Sung-gun refused the gratitude.

“Don’t, don’t mention it, I told you this morning. I didn’t do anything big. This is a piece of cake compared to what you’ve done, so feel free to ask for anything, alright?”

Woojin was utterly relieved.

A few minutes later, Woojin boarded the van parked in the broadcasting station parking lot. Next to his usual seat, four script scenarios were stacked. Kang Woojin immediately picked up one of them. Choi Sung-gun, sneakily watching Woojin through the rear-view mirror, asked with a satisfied face,

“Oh my, are you going to read it right away? That’s so like you.”

He signaled to Jang Su-hwan to start driving.

“Let’s go, just take Woojin home.”

“Yes!”

The van smoothly started moving. Similarly, Woojin, glancing at Han Ye-jung to his right, lifted his index finger.

– Thump!

He poked the black square attached to the script. Then, he entered the void space, yelling exit right away. He did this about four times. Quite a lot was happening, but naturally, nobody noticed.

‘All done, next.’

Kang Woojin, who had listed up all the works, went inside the void space again. Woojin, who found it a bit strenuous, took a small deep breath and turned his body. The floating white rectangles expanded increased.

“Let’s see- what are the results?”

He didn’t need what was originally there. What Kang Woojin needed was the things he just listed up.

-[8/Scenario(Title: Natural Encounter), F grade]

-[9/Scenario(Title: Prosecutor’s Usage), F grade]

-[10/Script(Title: Royal Company Episode 1), C+ grade]

-[11/Scenario(Title: Again Man), C grade]

The results were instantly confirmed. Only two works were precisely F grade. The rest were average. And those two works were.

“They’re both Seo Chae Eun’s work?”

They were movies of Seo Chae Eun. Quickly, a smile spread across Kang Woojin’s lips.

“My intuition was right.”

It was merely a guess, but whether by chance or not, it was spot on. In other words, the likelihood that Seo Chae-eun was the suspect had greatly increased. The reason was simple. No matter how much a movie fails, it was inconceivable for two movies to both be rated F.

Seo Chae-eun was a top actress.

Moreover, other top actors and actresses also appeared in the two works. But F grades from the start? Such a rating was definitely odd. Moreover, he had grasped what an F grade meant through Director Woo Hyun-Gu’s incident.

‘It’s either when the production itself stopped or it’s a complete failure.’

An F grade essentially meant rock bottom. This meant these two films featuring Seo Chae-eun would either have an audience count below 100,000 or would be total disasters. And coincidentally, both films starring Seo Chae-eun received an F rating?

“Seo Chae-eun confirmed.”

She was most likely the suspect. Because of Seo Chae-eun, two productions, no, including ‘Island of the Missing’, a total of three movies were downgraded.

“Was ‘The Island of the Missing’ only a D because Seo Chae-eun joined later?”

The other two works had either already finished filming or were near wrapping up. Therefore, the damage would have been tremendous. Anyway, the suspect was narrowed down to Seo Chae-eun. Of course, what she did exactly was still unknown, and moreover, time was of the essence to figure that out.

At this point, Kang Woojin thought.

“What can I do? I should delegate it.”

He had to pass the conclusion of the matter. How? By relying on his misunderstanding and persona, of course. Soon, Kang Woojin exited the void space and returned to the van.

It took an hour to arrive at Woojin’s apartment parking lot.

-Screech!

“You worked hard, Hyung!”

“Oppa, you worked really hard-”

“Woojin, get some good rest!”

Greetings poured in. However, Kang Woojin, with an indifferent expression, called out to Choi Sung-gun.

“CEO, a moment.”

“Huh? Hmm, what is it? Need more scripts?”

“No. I have something to tell you, outside.”

“Outside?”

Choi Sung-gun’s expression turned curious, but he got out of the van anyway. Kang Woojin did the same. A few steps away from the van, Woojin was the first to speak.

“CEO, about senior Seo Chae-eun. It’s harsh. It’s a bit tricky, but I have a bad feeling.”

“What?? What are you talking about?”

Kang Woojin utilized his misunderstanding. And he wore a poker face, thicker than ever, to amplify the seriousness of the situation.

“It’s similar to the time with Director Woo Hyun-goo.”

Could it be because of that?

“······Huh?”

Choi Sung-gun’s eyes bulged, seemingly about to pop out.

*****