Become a Star

It was only then that Woo-Jin recalled that G&C Entertainment did a romance film once every few years. Their movies failed terribly at the box office every time but were still made for the sake of market diversity, and were known to be the graves of directors and actors. There was a tinge of resignation on Kim Sang-Jin’s face as he sighed. He looked as though he had been through a huge hardship.

Woo-Jin said, “It seems the male and female leads have already been cast.”

“Yes. It was a very difficult feat! Hoo.” Kim Sang-Jin laughed hollowly, saying he had already heard all the curses that would last him an entire lifetime. “But it’s really unfair. I’m the casting director, but ultimately, the one above me is the one calling the shots. She’s none other than the Supreme Witch. All I do is notify the actors who have already been chosen by her. You guys were trapped this time, but I’m the one taking the blame.”

“In that case, she chose me too? Where did she find me?” Woo-Jin asked. If what Kim Sang-Jin said was true, that would mean that he had also been chosen by CEO Choi Won-Hee herself. However, before that, Woo-Jin was curious about how she had known about him in the first place.

“You were chosen, but…” Kim Sang-Jin had been speaking eloquently the entire time, but now, he avoided Woo-Jin’s gaze and became evasive. As Woo-Jin continued staring at him, he eventually caved and revealed the entire story.

“The process of hiring the production staff and casting the main leads went smoothly. This was because they were selected by someone with high authority, hence they were not in a position to decline. However, the role of ‘Cha Hyun-Seung’ was the only one that couldn’t be filled. According to her, he’s someone who has to be absolutely intelligent and handsome. That’s because he has a crush on the female lead, and we’re going to be observing the male and female leads from his point of view. Otherwise, he could be mistaken for a stalker or a loser.”

Perhaps Kim Sang-Jin was feeling thirsty; he apologized to Woo-Jin as he drank his unfinished americano. The drink he had ordered earlier had not been served yet.

“I was thinking about how my abilities would be doubted at the end of the day if all the nominated actors failed terribly, and then I suddenly thought of you. To be honest, when I was on the phone with Director Moon, he kept singing your praises, so I asked him for a favor and received the edited footage.” Kim Sang-Jin looked at Woo-Jin in a meaningful way, and asked, “What do you think?”

“I think I know why I’m here,” Woo-Jin muttered. Director Moon Seung-Kwon. Woo-Jin exclaimed Director Moon’s name in his heart with mixed emotions of gratitude and resentment.

“Bingo! And it was CEO Choi’s decision, not mine. She was also very pleased with the fact that you look just like her son.”

“I guess I look familiar because I look like her son,” answered Woo-Jin apathetically, as he tried to make the best of this situation, while Kim Sang-Jin smiled with a doubtful look on his face.

“Her son is the spitting image of his father,” Kim Sang-Jin continued.

“Is that so?” Woo-Jin asked.

“You don’t know?”

“Am I supposed to know?”

“He’s the chairman of G&C Group.”

“Ah, I don’t know much about businessmen.”

Seeing Woo-Jin blush instantly, Kim Sang-Jin laughed and made a remark about how young people these days did not know much about the corporate world, continuing, “The chairman of G&C Group is famous for looking like a toad. He’s short and has a belly. CEO Choi’s sons look like their father.

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“A toad…”

“Yes, it’s the regular sort of toad you’re thinking of.”

Woo-Jin did not know how to comprehend those words, so he blinked repeatedly for a moment. If he could, he wanted to look for a mirror and look at his face right now. He had always been indifferent about how he looked, regardless of what people said, but the toad comparison came as a shock.

“However, all the actors who look like her son, according to CEO Choi, end up making it big.”

“...?”

“Surprisingly, CEO Choi likes her husband a lot. She says he’s the most handsome man in her life, so she brags about how the most good-looking men in Korea look like her son.”

Perhaps she had a conscience, and so she could not say that they looked like her husband. Thus, she compared them to her son instead. Nonetheless, from CEO Choi’s point of view, that was the best compliment she could ever give.

“She’s still blinded by love. She clearly has a keen eye, but she has the worst taste. Her taste when it comes to being obsessed with romance, as well as her inability to give up on it, is the worst, but as far as the standards of objective assessments are concerned, she’s better than everyone else.”

Kim Sang-Jin wanted to tell Woo-Jin that he had been praised by such a person, but he did not have the heart to do so. Even though in the eyes of the Supreme Witch, her husband and son, were the most handsome men despite looking like toads, getting compliments from a woman with bad taste was not that great.

“So, ultimately, the person who recommended me…” Woo-Jin began. Regardless of who he looked like, the most important thing to Woo-Jin right now was finding out who was the person who had recommended him to CEO Choi.

“It’s Director Moon. He recommended you to me and I put you into the group of candidates, but it was CEO Choi who selected you from the list, not me.”

“Did Director Moon personally recommend me?”

“He… didn’t exactly recommend you, but he complimented you a lot. He said that regardless of the role you got, you would play it well. That was as good as a recommendation in this small industry where everybody knows one another.” Kim Sang-Jin, the master of tricks, smiled at Woo-Jin as he shamelessly defended himself. In other words, Director Moon’s compliments about Woo-Jin had unintentionally landed him in this plight. He added, “There’s no way for you to get out of this as long as you’re under the curse of the witch. Still, you’ll certainly be rewarded, like the other victims who have been in your position.”

All the people who had been involved in G&C’s romance films, which always failed miserably, had been guaranteed their next job after the films ended. Whether they would succeed or not was up to their own abilities and luck, though. Nevertheless, at least in terms of investment and casting, G&C had certainly done everything they could in their favor.

Nonetheless, all the actors wanted to reject those projects because they did not want to tarnish their track records. In most cases, the male and female leads chosen by the Supreme Witch were already at the peak of their careers. There was no reason for them to take part in such a movie. On the contrary, there was a high possibility of getting their reputations ruined. For example, there was an actor who had fallen into a slump after being in one of G&C’s romance films. He had been given the nickname of ‘rice soup actor’ after that. [1]

Woo-Jin sighed and nodded. If he could not escape, it was better for him to face the situation head-on. There was nothing for him to be afraid of as he had no image to ruin, and he felt less pressured knowing that the film was going to be a flop. People would only know that he had acted in such a movie if he got lucky enough to become famous later on. Only then would it appear in his filmography, and it would also be a little embarrassing if people dug up videos of it. But that was a problem that future Woo-Jin would have to deal with.

Furthermore, Glooming Day focused on the story of the male and female lead. The slump and rice soup reputation would not be applicable to Woo-Jin, who was only a supporting actor. In addition, the film’s content would be so boring that people would not even be interested in the male and female leads. Nobody would notice the supporting role without a single line throughout the entire movie. It was just a diary of a jealous, gloomy man who observed the passionate love of a pair of lovers that was akin to midsummer’s blazing heat, hence the name of the movie.

Woo-Jin’s only concern was how to express the youthful passion of a depressed man, as well as the jealousy contained in his love and admiration, using only gestures and facial expressions and not uttering a single word. Even if the movie became a flop, the acting and characters would remain forever. That was the most important thing to an actor.

***

“When is the movie you’re in going to be released?” Woo-Jin’s younger sister asked.

Woo-Jin shrugged in response to the question. He had wanted to hide it from his family as much as he could, but since he had had to stay on set for a few days for the shoot, he also had no choice but to let his family know. After being an idol trainee, he had been embarrassed about wanting to become an actor as he would be losing face, but that was not the reason why he had wanted to keep it a secret. In truth, it was because he had played the role of a merciless loan shark who sexually harassed women.

“Just mind your own business,” Woo-Jin remarked.

The movie would be released in early July, but he wanted to hide it as long as possible. Most importantly, he did not want his family to see his kissing scene with Kang Hee-Joo. Evidently, the genre of the movie was action, but he felt as though he had been shooting an erotic movie.

“Why?” his sister asked.

“Minors aren’t allowed to watch it,” Woo-Jin replied.

The editing had not been completed yet, so it had not received a rating. Regardless, Woo-Jin spoke peevishly. He could not hide it forever, so he wanted to lay the groundwork first.

“Oh my! What exactly did you shoot? Don’t tell me you’ve given up on your life and are going to do whatever you want to do?”

“Don’t go. We’re having curry for dinner tonight, so just peel the potatoes here.”

Woo-Hee took the basket from her brother and sat down before slicing the potatoes obediently. However, she could not stop herself from being troubled over what he said. She put down the potato she was peeling and yelled, “Big brother! No matter how desperate you are, you shouldn’t shoot films like that! I told you that you shouldn't live your life recklessly!”

“There’s some violence in it, that’s why it’s 19+[2]! Also, since I only had a minor role, I only appeared in the movie briefly, so stop being so interested, Miss Underage! Hey, the skin is too thick!”

“In that case, you should have just told me earlier! I was so distraught, do you think I could pay attention to the skins?”

Woo-Hee cleared her throat and quietly examined the potato skins, carefully cutting them off. Woo-Jin looked at her and chuckled before sitting down in front of her and started dicing the carrots for the curry.

“Brother,” Woo-Hee suddenly began.

“Yes?”

“I’ll make a lot of money in the future, and let you do all the movies and music you want, so don’t do anything weird.”

“When?” asked Woo-Jin.

“Life is long. That time will come if you wait slowly.”

Woo-Jin thought about how his youth would be over if he waited for that day to come and smiled. He remarked, “Before that happens, I have a hunch that I’ll have to work really hard to pay for your tuition fees.”

“Ack! Somehow, it seems likely that’ll be the case, so I’m anxious as well.”

“Hey, shouldn’t you be telling me not to worry and that you’ll pay for your own tuition fees?”

Woo-Hee smiled brightly at Woo-Jin, who was taken aback by his sister’s response. She stuck out her tongue, telling him that she would never give up the privileges that came with being a younger sister. However, despite saying that, perhaps she was secretly worried about something else, the tone of her voice subtly became more serious as she asked him another question.

“I’m only a sophomore in high school, but before you worry about my school fees, have you prepared the money for your second semester? You are going back to school, right?” she asked.

Even though Woo-Jin had taken on a minor role, he had still been in a movie. Seeing Woo-Jin step into the entertainment industry, Woo-Hee was worried about his academics. Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee’s mother did not oppose or interfere with anything her children wanted to do. However, her only condition had been that they had to graduate from college. That condition was a warning meant solely for Woo-Jin, as there had been no way Woo-Hee would not go to college. That was their mother’s final show of pride, as someone divorced from her cheating husband and disowned by her family. Hence, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee had been studying hard in any situation and were still getting good results.

“With the money I’ll be getting from the part-time tutoring and the movie shoot, I don’t have to worry about the tuition fees, so relax,” Woo-Jin said.

“That’s because you said you got a minor role. Do you think I don’t know how much you’re getting from that?” Woo-Hee snorted, having done her own research on the internet.

“Ah, I have that previous movie, and an upcoming one,” Woo-Jin explained.

He had only been paid 500,000 won [3] for his first contract for Death Hill, as he had a minor role, but he had later received 2 million won[4] for the additional shoots, which was personally taken care of by Director Moon. Due to the increase in production costs stemming from the reshoot, the budget was tight. Woo-Jin had not been expecting to be paid in the first place, as a rookie in a blockbuster film. However, Director Moon had graciously paid for the additional shooting out of his own pocket.

On the other hand, for Glooming Day, even a rookie was being paid handsomely. The fact that the money had been deposited immediately upon the signing of the contract showed that they had had a hard time casting the actors. Thus, Woo-Jin did not have to worry about his tuition fees for now.

“You’re shooting another movie? This time, by any chance, are you…” Woo-Hee began.

“This time, it’s definitely PG-rated, but it’s going to be a flop anyway,” Woo-Jin replied.

“Why do you think it’s doomed when the movie hasn’t even been filmed yet?”

“It’s definitely going to be a flop. In any case, we’re not going to make it.”

As Woo-Jin pretended to cry and covered his face with both hands, he ended up really crying, as he had begun slicing onions right after cutting the carrots while talking to Woo-Hee. He had rubbed his eye with the hand that touched the onions.

“You’re an idiot,” Woo-Hee teased.

Tears streamed down one of Woo-Jin’s eyes, and he was unable to refute his sister.

“Go and wash your eyes, and look in the mirror. Your eye is really red.”

“Mirror…” As he had felt oddly afraid to look in the mirror lately, Woo-Jin went to the bathroom with a dark, gloomy cloud above his head.

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1. ‘Rice soup actor’ is a Korean term for actors who keep acting in box-office flops. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

2. In Korea, the movie ratings are rated according to age. 19 in Korean age is 18 according to international age. <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

3. ~430 usd <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">

4. ~1715 usd <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">