小火星

Kang Woojin’s February ended.

Looking back, February was a month of astounding events for ordinary Woojin. Anyway, March has started. It was going to be a busy month, and soon, it was Saturday, March 7th.

Today was the day to leave for the MT and script reading of ‘Profiler Hanryang’. The current time was dawn. The place was Kang Woojin’s studio apartment. Of course, the studio was dark and Kang Woojin was fast asleep.

What woke him was.

-♬♪

The ringing of his cellphone, which sounded even more resounding because it was quiet. After about tens of seconds, half-awake Woojin managed to pick up his phone placed next to his head.

Groggy, he raised the phone to his ear without checking the caller.

“···Hello.”

His voice was hoarse as he was asleep. On the other hand, a clear female voice came from the other side of the phone.

“Oh my? You were sleeping?”

“······”

Taken aback, Kang Woojin checked the phone’s screen as soon as he heard the woman’s voice, squinting his eyes at the screen’s bright light.

-Hong Hye-yeon.

The other party was top actress Hong Hye-yeon.

“!!!”

Kang Woojin immediately got up and checked the time. It was just past 4 in the morning. What? A dream? No, why would Hong Hye-yeon call me at this hour? As his thoughts raced, Woojin quickly collected his wits.

‘Ah- stay in character.’

He barely managed to regain his composure. He had become a little used to faking it, so it didn’t take long.

“What’s the matter?”

“Aren’t you getting ready?”

Getting ready? Ah, ready to go to the MT and script reading?

“I was informed to arrive by 9 o’clock.”

“That’s right.”

“I planned to take the staff minibus.”

“Hey- you won’t be seen as much if you do that. It’s the first appearance of the popular star ‘Deputy Park’. I told you, everyone, actors and staff alike, are really curious about you, Woojin.”

“······”

“Where do you live, Woojin?”

“I live in Suji area.”

“Ah, wait a moment.”

She seemed to be doing something with her phone on the other end, and then Hong Hye-yeon continued speaking.

“Then, can you come to Suji Office station? Be there in two hours.”

What’s this? The vibe feels like she’s making a date. Woojin blinked his eyes and asked.

“Why?”

Through the phone, he heard the laughter-infused reply of Hong Hye-yeon.

“Why? I mean, I’m picking you up. Let’s take my car, not the minibus.”

Fast forward about two hours.

The time was heading towards 6 in the morning, and perhaps because it was early, there weren’t many people on the street. Among them, Kang Woojin, wearing an aviator jacket over his hoodie, was walking.

Seeing his reflection in a shop window, he paused.

“Ah, I should’ve dressed up a bit since it’s the first script reading, right?”

Top actors and many other actors were attending the script reading. Hence, Woojin did ponder over it, but the PD Song man-woo simply told him to come comfortably. Everyone else was coming casually.

So, Woojin dressed as casually as possible.

However, because he had not paid much attention to his appearance, Kang Woojin now looked utterly casual. But the water had already been spilled. It was too late to go back.

“Tsk, Whatever.”

With a nonchalant attitude, Kang Woojin quickened his pace. He soon approached the station area. Two big cars immediately caught his eye. A black minivan and a luxury white Benz were parked by the kerb near the station.

Those must be it. They were obviously unusual cars.

As Kang Woojin approached the crosswalk, he put on a firm poker face. He had been rehearsing his tough act on the way here, so he wasn’t worried. But, he knew he needed to be more determined than usual.

After all, he was about to get into goddess Hong Hye-yeon’s car.

Soon, Kang Woojin arrived in front of the two cars and looked around. The window tinting was so dark that he wasn’t sure which car was which. Then, it happened.

-Creak!

The rear door of the luxury white Benz opened. At the same time, Kang Woojin smelled a pleasant fragrance. Hong Hye-yeon, wearing a cap, appeared, waving her hand.

“Are you here?”

The lady smiling inside the white Benz looked gorgeous, regardless of the time of day. Woojin admired her silently, while responding with an indifferent voice.

“Yes, hello.”

“But… Woojin.”

Hong Hye-yeon, now inside the car, scanned Kang Woojin from head to toe. His appearance seemed to bother her.

“Wow, you really don’t seem nervous at all, do you?”

“I’m nervous.”

“Do you expect me to believe that? Even if it’s just a script reading, there will be actors, staff, and reporters, etc. There’ll be at least 50-60 people, and you’re dressed so casually?”

“I dressed appropriately.”

“You dressed way too casually, didn’t you think?”

Ah, this is not good. Did he dress too casually after all? Just as Woojin was starting to regret, Hong Hye-yeon shook her head as if she was tired of it.

“I knew this, but it seems you really don’t care about others’ gaze, Woojin. You’re an actor now, you know?”

“……”

“For us, the field is a battlefield, makeup is armor, and acting is a weapon. If you decided to reveal your self, you should also manage your image.”

Suddenly, Hong Hye-yeon began to nag. If it was the nagging of a mother, accompanied by a back smashing, he would have run away.

‘Her nagging sounds sweet. Why is it?’

The fact that the other person is Hong Hye-yeon made even this sound sweet to Woojin. Moreover, upon closer look, Hong Hye-yeon seemed unadorned, yet it was evident that she had made an effort. Full makeup and the overall balance of her fashion, etc. Could it be described as the epitome of ‘effortless yet effortful’ nowadays?

At this point, Hong Hye-yeon sighed slightly.

“Get in. People are watching.”

She gestured for him to get into her Benz. As soon as Kang Woojin got into the Benz, both the minivan and the Benz started. While sitting on the opposite side, Hong Hye-yeon folded her arms, looking at Woojin.

“There’s so much to teach you. Why are you wasting your good looks? You have nothing to criticize in terms of acting, but on this side, you’re a blank canvas.”

The nagging started again, but everything just went in one ear and out the other for Woojin. He was too distracted to concentrate.

The situation itself was too stimulating for Kang Woojin.

He was inside the car of top actress Hong Hye-yeon, a situation he couldn’t have even dreamt of a month ago. The distance between them was close enough for him to hear her breathing. Hong Hye-yeon was scolding Woojin while exuding a pleasant scent. And the atmosphere, which could be mistaken as them being close friends, how was that? It felt so surreal.

So, Woojin decided.

“……”

To remain silent. He just had to maintain his image now. Just looking out of the window.

At that moment.

-Swoosh.

Hong Hye-yeon reached out towards Woojin, who was looking out of the window. Woojin, surprised, reflexively moved.

-Click.

“Ah.”

“Huh?”

Kang Woojin had slightly knocked Hong Hye-yeon’s hand away. It turned out she had makeup powder in her hand. After that, there was a moment of silence. It probably lasted about 10 seconds.

Then,

“… I told you I’d do your basic makeup. Didn’t you hear?”

Hong Hye-yeon muttered sulkily, and Kang Woojin, trying his best to hide his surprise, hastily made an excuse.

“I’m sorry, I just don’t like it when someone touches my face.”

There was no such thing. Internally, Woojin was lamenting.

‘Ah- it’s screwed. My image is ruined. She’s going to hate me.’

Meanwhile, Hong Hye-yeon, who was carefully observing Woojin’s stern face, thought.

‘He doesn’t like his face being touched? Does he have some sort of backstory? Related to his past… But this is the first time I’ve been rejected so outright.’

It was the first time she had ever been treated this way.

‘Ha, shit. This is subtly hurting my pride.’

Around 9 AM, Gapyeong, Gyeonggi-do.

They were at a condo in Gapyeong. It was a large condo with a total of five buildings, and many cars were starting to park in the outdoor parking lot in front of the first building. Vans, minibuses, large sedans, etc. There seemed to be at least 30 vehicles.

The reason was simple.

The condo was the site for the MT (Membership Training) and script reading of ‘Profiler Hanryang’. The ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team rented the entire building 1 for two days and one night.

Thanks to this, the outdoor parking lot was crowded with people.

“No, no!! That goes over here! Bring it here!”

“Hey! Rookie! Who told you to carelessly put down the equipment! Don’t you know that the lighting equipment is expensive?!!”

“Alright! First, let’s quickly move the luggage and set up the reading room!!”

“We are short on walkie-talkies!”

Dozens of staff members were unloading luggage from the bus, and actors who were arriving in droves were busy greeting each other.

“Wow- your skin looks great? Is the cosmetic you’re advertising actually good?”

“Of course? Do you want to use it, brother? By the way, I heard you’re doing a variety show?”

There were also many reporters and actors’ managers. If you just count the number of people, wouldn’t there be about a hundred?

The overall picture reminded of a college MT.

All of them had to first unload their luggage in their assigned rooms, and the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ staff had no time to spare due to various setups. Everyone gradually gathered in a large hall on the first floor.

The script reading begins in this hall at 10 AM.

Originally, it was an empty space, but now it was different. The width of the hall was as big as a school auditorium, , and in the middle, desks were laid out in an ‘ㅁ’ shape. Appropriate snacks and drinks were placed on it, and around the ‘ㅁ’ shaped desk, over 40 chairs were arranged. There were also dozens of temporary chairs at the entrance of the hall.

At a glance, it was a large-scale script reading venue.

There were many small cameras set up in various places and large cameras placed all around the hall. Even a filming team of about six people was filming all over the large reading room. It was the making team of ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

The making team was busy interviewing each actor as they appeared.

“What was the biggest reason for you to join ‘Profiler Hanryang’?”

“Hahaha, what is this? Are we really filming right now?”

They just filmed anything they could now, which could later be used for making, previews, teasers, etc. Anyhow, the actors started to arrive slowly at the large hall. Lead actors, supporting actors, etc. Their management teams were sitting on the chairs surrounding the ‘ㅁ’ shaped desk.

A few tens of minutes later.

Before they knew it, the place was filled with people, making it hard to find an empty seat.

The interesting thing here was.

“Did you find the actor who plays ‘Park Dae-ri’?”

“No? Not yet. He’ll come to the reading today, right?”

“I heard he’s from overseas, isn’t he really a foreigner?”

Almost all of the gathered actors were talking about the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’.

“Ah, we can see him today. I was dying of curiosity all this time, really.”

“Me too. I’m curious about how special the actor is that they kept it a secret until today.”

“It seems that all the rumors were nonsense. Considering we don’t see any of the mentioned actors.”

“Why hasn’t he arrived yet?”

The actors repeatedly glanced at the empty seat for the role of Park Dae-ri.

Hong Hye-yeon, wearing a hat, made her appearance then.

“Hello-”

As soon as she appeared, followed by about six staff members, greetings were thrown her way. Amidst this, a tall man slipped in behind Hong Hye-yeon, who was greeting the actors.

“Hong Hye-yeon, are you going to the after-party after today’s reading?”

It was Ryu Jung-min, a top actor who played the male lead in ‘Profiler Hanryang’. He still had long hair, possibly because his hairstyle hadn’t been decided yet. Hong Hye-yeon shrugged her shoulders and answered vaguely.

“I don’t know, depends on the condition? But we’ve come this far, shouldn’t we get involved a bit in the early stages?”

“Ah- is that so. Oh right, hey, have you seen the actor for the role of Park Dae-ri?”

At his question, Hong Hye-yeon smiled naturally.

“I wonder?”

“Ah, when is he coming? I’m so curious, I’m going crazy. Isn’t he not coming today?”

Ryu Jung-min, who was scanning the surroundings, made eye contact with a man in a aviator jacket among Hong Hye-yeon’s managers.

“Oh- This guy looks too good to be a manager? He’s handsome. And his physique is not bad either. Hey, Hong Hye-yeon, it’s a waste for this guy to be a manager, isn’t it?”

Hong Hye-yeon chuckled at the aviator jacket manager.

“Is that so? Should I make him an actor?”

“Hahaha, that’s good. If his backer is Hong Hye-yeon, he’ll be on the fast track from the start as a newbie.”

Ryu Jung-min, who was laughing coolly, spoke to the manager in the aviator jacket. It had a vibe of killing time.

“Really, you should try acting once. It’s a waste of your face not to.”

“……”

But the manager didn’t answer. Besides, he had an indifferent expression. At this, Ryu Jung-min, who was scratching his long hair, turned his gaze back to Hong Hye-yeon.

“This guy is cool. He has an aura. Or, is he nervous? Are you new?”

It was then.

-Swoosh.

Goateed PD Song man-woo appeared at the entrance of the large hall. Of course, writer Park Eun-mi, with her long permed hair down, was also there. Thanks to them, dozens of people who filled the hall moved to their places.

Soon, PD Song man-woo and writer Park Eun-mi, seated side by side at the ‘ㅁ’ shaped table.

At that time, all the actors’ eyes were on PD Song man-woo, and Ryu Jung-min, who was right next to him, spoke out.

“PD, ah- what’s going on. Actor for Park Dae-ri is not here. Are they not coming?”

Dozens of actors nodded as if they agreed. Then, goateed PD Song man-woo and writer Park Eun-mi both smiled. The one who opened his mouth was PD Song man-woo.

“He’s here?”

“……Yes?”

“???”

Soon, the actors tilted their heads and showed question marks in their eyes. Regardless, PD Song man-woo turned his head and looked around the middle of the M-shaped desk.

What can be seen is the role plate placed on the desk.

-[Role of Park Dae-ri]

And for some reason, looking in that direction, PD Song man-woo nodded. Who the hell did he nod to? In an instant, all the actors’ eyes were on the seat of Park Dae-ri’s role. Not only the actors but also all of their managers and the production staff. It was a place that was clearly empty.

But a man in an aviator jacket stood there, who knows when he arrived.

It was the man who Ryu Jung-min had called Hong Hye-yeon’s manager. Thanks to this, long-haired Ryu Jung-min blinked his eyes as he saw the man. However, despite the intense attention, the man in the aviator jacket was indomitable and had a expressionless face. He scanned all the actors gathered in the large hall for a moment.

Soon, the man who pulled out the chair at the position of ‘Park Dae-ri’ role muttered to everyone. His voice was cold.

“Hello, I’m Kang Woojin, playing the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’.”

At that moment.

“……”

“……”

“……”

The bustling huge hall fell silent in an instant.

*****