Chapter 130: Departure (4)
Kang Woojin was flustered. In an instant, he forgot the concept he had been maintaining and his eyes turned blank in disbelief. What am I looking at right now?
“……Crazy! What is this?!”
His eyes dazzled by the flash of cameras, something he had experienced before.
The most recent instance was the press conference for ‘Male Friend,' where Woojin's straightforwardness had been a highlight. But this was different; the scene here was several times more chaotic.
-Papapapapak!
-Papapapapapapak!!
There were far more cameras than before. To the right of the arrival hall where Kang Woojin appeared, a line of fences stretched to the end, crowded with reporters. Roughly a hundred of them. Behind them were ordinary Japanese citizens, covering the area. The reporters held cameras, while the onlookers all held up their phones.
And what was the purpose of all this?
Over 500 people were frenziedly taking photos of the newly arrived Kang Woojin and Hwalin. What was interesting here was…
“They must be crazy!! Kyaa! Did all these people come to see our oppa?!”
Among the hundreds of spectators, a familiar woman stood out. It was Woojin's younger sister, Kang Hyun-ah. Naturally, she wasn't alone but with her friends. As representatives and managers of the fan club ‘Kang's Heart,' they had come.
“Hyun-ah!! Hold hands, hands!”
“Did you take a picture of Woojin oppa?!”
“It's too far! Can't see well!”
“Just take it! We need to share it on the fan cafe!”
“People from ‘Kang's Heart' are also here!”
It was difficult to spot them, but members of Woojin's fan club ‘Kang's Heart' were also among the thronging crowd. Including them, the onlookers were like raging waves.
“Is that man over there Kang Woojin?! What! He’s cute?”
“Please look here once!!”
“Korean actors are really handsome!!”
“Isn’t he much better in person??!”
“They look great together, Woojin and Hwalin!”
Kang Woojin's eyes hurt from the flashing lights, and his ears felt like they would fall off from the mixed screams in Japanese.
“Over here! Over here! Mr. Kang Woojin!”
“How do you feel about coming to Japan!!”
“Mr. Kang Woojin! Will you be meeting with Director Kyotaro Tanoguchi during your schedule in Japan?!”
“Could you and Ms. Hwalin pose together?”
“When were you cast for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger'?!”
“Did you learn Japanese separately!! When is the recording for Ame-talk Show, Mr. Kang Woojin!”
“Is ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger' your first leading role as a newcomer??!”
“Will this be the start of your active career in Japan?”
“Please give us a brief comment about ‘Male Friend'!!”
The near-screaming questions were almost overlapping, making them hard to hear. Judging by the intermittent Korean among them, some Korean reporters were mixed in with the hundred or so Japanese journalists. Momentarily, Kim Dae-young, standing to the right of Woojin, thought:
‘……Crazy. I've never seen anything like this. Who knew the Japanese would be this enthusiastic too. Insane.'
His mind wandered off at the jaw-dropping sight, and then he looked at his friend Woojin’s face. It dawned on him just how famous this guy had become.
‘This guy's really a star now?'
He wanted to shout, “That's insane, you bastard!” But Kim Dae-young held back. Instead, he decided to make a fuss about it later in their private group chat.
Meanwhile, Woojin was thinking:
‘I feel nauseous, I really want to run away!'
He was starting to feel dazed from the overwhelming pressure.
From another perspective, this meant that the name value and interest in Director Kyotaro and writer Akari Takikawa, and ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger,' were incredibly high. For Kang Woojin, this was a first-time experience, and such attention to a newcomer in the entertainment industry was unprecedented.
‘Wow – insane.'
Woojin had somewhat expected this. After all, CEO Choi Sung-gun had given him a heads-up on the plane.
‘Woojin, there might be quite a few reporters at the airport. There's been some news about you and Ms. Hwalin's schedule in Japan. It might be a bit noisy, but just act as you normally do. Just wave your hand calmly or something.'
But Woojin hadn't expected it to be this intense. He glanced back at Choi Sung-gun and internally screamed.
‘A bit??! Is this what you call a bit? ‘
What seemed like a scene from TV was unfolding in reality. Woojin felt his legs trembling. However, the guards around him and Hwalin seemed unfazed, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Woojin forcibly pulled himself together.
‘No, I need to focus. Clench your teeth and walk! Kang Woojin, move forward.'
As Woojin was performing this excessive mind control, the guards surrounding him began to move, sensing it was the right time. Kang Woojin, Hwalin, and their entire team started to walk. Simultaneously, fans behind the reporters reached out their hands and threw unidentified gifts.
But Woojin, maintaining his poker face, couldn’t dare approach them recklessly.
‘Something's – scary. Yeah, I'm scared.'
He was intimidated. In hindsight, it was a close to correct response. Approaching in such an overly excited situation could lead to accidents. Therefore…
-Swish.
Kang Woojin glanced at Hwalin and copied her actions, moderately waving towards the cameras and Japanese spectators. All the while, the team including Woojin hastened out of the arrival hall. Then, suddenly.
-Whoosh!
Someone from the throng of reporters and behind the fences quickly leaped forward. It was a man of average build, who charged towards Hwalin. He seemed to be a fan of Hwalin.
“Hwalin!!”
However, he was blocked by the surrounding guards, and Woojin reflexively protected Hwalin on his left. It was almost instinctual, his body moving on its own before his mind. Woojin then muttered internally as he looked at the blocked man.
‘What the, that scared the hell out of me.'
Slowly turning his head towards Hwalin, their eyes met. Unlike Woojin's expressionless face, Hwalin's pupils were dilated, her shoulders seized. Only then did Kang Woojin realize what he had done.
“Ah, I'm sorry.”
As Woojin removed his hand from her shoulder and spoke softly, Hwalin responded in a dazed tone.
“No… it's okay, thank you.”
At that moment, Choi Sung-gun called for Woojin, and Hwalin, glancing at the side of Woojin's face as he turned away, quietly placed her hand on her chest.
‘What was that strength from Woojin? Huh??'
Her heart was pounding several times faster than when she saw the crowd of 500 people at the airport.
‘I almost hugged him! No – should've just casually hugged him.'
Later.
After finally escaping the frenzy of the airport, Kang Woojin boarded a prepared van on the side of the road. There were three vans in total, and a mini-bus was also in sight. Woojin and Hwalin traveled separately in the vans, and as soon as the van started moving, Choi Sung-gun, sitting next to Woojin, opened his diary and chuckled.
“Maybe around 500 people? It was a bit less than I expected.”
What do you mean less? That was already overwhelming. If it had been more than twice that number, Woojin might have actually fainted. Naturally, the stylists, Han Ye-jung, who were unaware of his thoughts, chimed in.
“Yeah, it was a bit disappointing. Should've been more crowded! Since Ms. Hwalin was there, there should have been at least 2000!”
“Maybe the airport had some control over the situation. I saw guards at the end blocking spectators.”
“Still, it was a decent turnout, right?”
“Average, yes. The articles and SNS posts from the reporters and onlookers will start circulating soon.”
“Woojin oppa must have felt a bit disappointed too? That's why his expression was more calm than usual.”
Woojin chose silence in response to these arbitrary assessments. What kind of scene were these people expecting? 2000 people? At this point, Choi Sung-gun, who was looking over the confirmed schedule, let out a long sigh.
“Whew- Woojin. I expected it, but the schedule is hellish.”
Woojin steeled himself internally and feigned toughness outwardly.
“It doesn't matter.”
“You might be fine even after a full day of shooting, but for me and the others, it's exhausting. Anyway, we'll head straight to the hotel, have a quick meal, go to the salon for hair and makeup, and then move to the ‘Male Friend' event venue. Of course, the Netflix Japan team will be joining us too and… ”
Enough. I'll just go with the flow. Listening more will only make things more daunting. After Choi Sung-gun finished detailing the day's schedule for about 10 minutes,
“There's been some changes in the meeting schedule. We've added a few promotional schedules and media interviews in between.”
He swiftly changed the subject.
“Originally, we were supposed to meet Director Kyotaro tomorrow, the 27th, then PD Shinjo on the 28th, followed by recording for ‘Ame-talk show!' on the 30th. But there's a scheduling conflict with Director Kyotaro, so we'll meet PD Shinjo tomorrow and have the recording on the 29th. We've rescheduled with Director Kyotaro for the 30th.”
“Ah, okay. Understood.”
Kang Woojin nodded indifferently. Seeing this, Choi Sung-gun, closing his diary, smiled.
“That's the schedule for Japan. As you know, right now, there are loads of broadcast and YouTube invitations, along with advertisement inquiries coming in for you. Almost double compared to the ‘Hanryang' days. Thanks to you and Hye-yeon, we're even considering expanding the company. Anyway, I'm filtering through these and only picking the major ones, but what do you want to do about the incoming scripts?”
Projects. Kang Woojin was currently a hot topic in the entertainment industry. It was no surprise that scripts and screenplays were pouring in for him. Already, there were dozens of scripts and screenplays sent to bw Entertainment for Woojin.
Wouldn't it take months just to read them all?
Of course, that calculation applied to ordinary actors, but for Kang Woojin, who had access to the void space, it would be a week's work if he set his mind to it. He could just read the highly-rated ones.
But still.
‘Aren't I overdoing it with these additional schedules?'
Woojin wasn't the same as before. He had seen and learned, albeit subtly. Moreover, he didn't want to overexert himself with so much on his plate.
‘Don't stretch yourself too thin chasing too many things.'
Yet, showing weakness didn't fit with his established concept. Thus, Woojin expressed his opinion with a bit of his characteristic ‘damn-my-way' attitude.
“For now, I'll focus on the projects already planned. Please keep the incoming ones on hold.”
“Alright, let's do that. I was thinking the same. Honestly, your current schedule is not normal. Others wouldn't be able to handle it. But you've been managing it so effortlessly, I thought I should ask.”
“It's not too hard for me.”
“I know, I know, buddy. It's obvious just by looking.”
But Woojin was wrong. Even with the void space, his energy was at its limit. Still, he had to maintain his concept. Indeed, every day felt overwhelming for Kang Woojin.
‘Perhaps humans grow only when pushed to their limits?'
As Choi Sung-gun, who was holding his phone, spoke again.
“Let's discuss the projects after ‘Male Friend' and ‘Drug Dealer' are out. Anyway, from October onwards, it's going to be busy with year-end stuff.”
Ah- is it already the end of the year? The entertainment industry usually gets hectic from October. Up until the end of the year, there are numerous event-type broadcasts, events, award ceremonies, film festivals, and so on.
“It's been a while since I've felt this way after Hye-yeon's debut. Woojin, from ‘Hanryang' to movies, you're going to be called everywhere – looking forward to it.”
Woojin was bound to be involved in all of it.
Several hours later.
After having a meal at a hotel near Tokyo Station, Woojin stopped by a salon and then arrived at Netflix Japan, located near Tokyo Tower. The interior of Netflix Japan was similar to that of Netflix in Korea.
However,
“Nice to meet you, I'm John Craig from Netflix Japan.”
The Executive Director of Netflix Japan was a foreigner. After shaking hands with him in the meeting room, Woojin found it a bit interesting. But that was short-lived as they soon had to proceed with the event-related meeting.
“Alright, shall we get moving?”
The Netflix Japan team, along with Kang Woojin and Hwalin's team, moved to a nearby event location. The schedule was tight and well-organized, with no unnecessary detours. The venue for the ‘Male Friend' event, organized by Netflix Japan, was a building full of event-specific studios.
“Mr. Kang Woojin, Ms. Hwalin! We'll start with a photo session on stage first!”
The event, which also served as a press conference, began with a commemorative photo shoot. The studio wasn't particularly large, but the setup was decently arranged. There were about 30 journalists invited by Netflix Japan, a poster of ‘Male Friend' at the back of the stage, and a hired MC, among other things.
Regardless.
-Papapapapak!
-Papapapapapapapak!!
Even though it was his first international schedule, Kang Woojin just mechanically went through the motions. There wasn't much room for any other thoughts. Occasionally, he glanced at the refreshments laid out for the journalists, thinking,
‘What's that? Looks delicious.'
He did salivate a bit, but that was it. On stage, Woojin wore a casual suit, while Hwalin was in a checkered two-piece. Their photo session, posing together, lasted about 10 minutes.
Then, they both,
-Swish.
sat down on chairs set up on the stage. The seating arrangement was the MC, Kang Woojin, Hwalin, and the interpreter. Woojin was relatively calm.
‘Luckily, it's smaller than the ones I've done in Korea.'
Apart from the Japanese language, it wasn't much different and seemed manageable. Soon, the MC, a hired Japanese announcer, began.
“Shall we start? First of all- hello, Mr. Kang Woojin and Ms. Hwalin.”
“Hello, I'm Kang Woojin.”
“I'm Hwalin – nice to meet you.”
As the event for the Japan Netflix launch of ‘Male Friend' officially commenced, the Netflix Japan staff at the back of the venue began to murmur softly. Some were subtly pointing at Woojin on stage.
Meanwhile, Choi Sung-gun, standing a bit apart from them, thought,
‘Hmm- maybe we should have dressed Woojin in something other than a suit.'
He was only concerned about Kang Woojin's attire. At that moment, an excited team leader from Netflix Japan, looking at Woojin, exclaimed in Japanese. These words naturally reached Choi Sung-gun's ears.
“What? Over a million subscribers in just a week?!”
*****
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