Chapter 65: Many (4)

Chapter 65: Many (4)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The name Kang Woojin was shouted to the world from the tables in front of a convenience store. Four women were seated there, and one of them, seemingly in her mid-20s, stood up hesitantly. With wide eyes, she pointed her index finger at a man wearing a hat who was about to enter the convenience store.

Who could it be?

“...Huh?”

It was Kang Woojin, who had just taken out his wallet. Woojin, looking slightly surprised, was genuinely taken aback. It was the first time in his life he’d heard his name called out so loudly.

In any case.

-Whish.

A brief eye contact between the woman and Kang Woojin. Soon, the woman who shouted Woojin’s name and her friends were all staring at him. Their gaze was contagious.

“What, what’s going on?”

“Did something happen? Who is he? I can’t see because of the hat.”

The people at the nearby tables also became interested in Kang Woojin. The total number of onlookers was about 15. Groups of women, groups of men, mixed groups, elderly, etc.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Woojin.

At this moment, Woojin slowly put down the hand holding his wallet.

‘Who is she? Do I know her? She looks unfamiliar.’

He wondered if the woman who recognized him was an old acquaintance. But no matter how he looked, she was a total stranger. Why was she acting as if she knew him? It was a bit awkward to ignore and walk away.

Woojin had forgotten that he was now an actor.

He’d never encountered fans in real life before.

‘Why does she act like she knows me? I guess I should greet her first.’

With a hint of confusion, he greeted the woman.

“Hello, but who are you?”

He maintained a composed demeanor. In response to his casual greeting, the woman lowered her finger and said,

“...I can’t believe it. What do I do?”



She covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes filled with admiration.

“Oh, wait. You’re really Kang Woojin, right? Why are you here? No, I mean. Wow, I’m a huge fan. Ah! I just watched your drama here. And right after it ended, you appeared in front of me... Is this real?”

From her perspective, she had just watched the fourth episode of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ at a table in front of the convenience store. Then, just ten minutes after it ended, Kang Woojin appeared before her. It was enough to make her flustered.

And only then did Woojin realize.

‘Ah.’

This woman recognized him as an actor. Wait, I’m an actor, right? Seriously? They’re so excited to see me? Woojin was astounded.

‘This is so fascinating.’

It was a funny situation. Both the fan and the actor seemed to be experiencing a surreal feeling. Soon, Woojin asked the still dazed woman in a indifferent tone,

“Are you okay?”

The woman fidgeted with her feet as if she were feeling chills.

“Ahhh, I’m okay. I’m really okay. I don’t know! What do I do-!”

As her excitement peaked, she hid behind her friends. They all approached Woojin.

“Wow, you look amazing in person.”

“Are you really Kang Woojin?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Amazing. Why are you here?”

Why? To buy ramen. But they seem out of stock. Woojin decided to act cool.

“I’m here to buy chicken breast.”Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

“Chicken breast?! At this hour?”

“I ran out, so I came urgently.”

“You must work out a lot!”

There was a commotion. About ten people nearby noticed him too. They seemed to realize that the man was a celebrity. They all took out their phones and approached Woojin, making his heart race as he saw the crowd coming closer.

‘Wow. What should I do? Should I just run away? Isn’t that a bit too much?’



In the midst of this, the first woman who recognized him shouted to the others,

“Hey! It’s rude to take pictures without permission!”

A few reluctantly put down their phones. However, some women who were already close to him softly requested,

“Could you... give us an autograph?”

An autograph? Kang Woojin hesitated for a moment, but then nodded.

“Ah, yes. But I don’t have a pen.”

“Just wait a second!”

“Hey, hurry up!”

“Wait!”

Two women quickly ran into the convenience store and came back with a pen and paper. Soon, an impromptu autograph session began in front of the store.

“Please write Jo Eun-joo! That’s my name!”

“I’m Nam Hee-jung!”

“Can we also take a picture together??!”

Kang Woojin complied with the flurry of requests, as if he were in a daze. His sense of self was blurry, simply carrying out tasks with a blank expression. Meanwhile, the crowd continued to grow.

“Is that really Kang Woojin?”

“I watched Hanryang just yesterday!”

“Bro, that drama is so good!”

“Wow! Isn’t that Kang Woojin?”

“Where? Where?”

Those who were already there, passersby who were attracted by the commotion, and people who were going to the convenience store all stopped. The crowd that was originally ten had now grown to at least 20, a testament to Woojin’s rising popularity.

At this point, Kang Woojin was,

-Whoosh-

hugging each person, regardless of gender, as if he were offering free hugs.

-Director: Act like a likable jerk! (Huh? It actually worked?)

·

·

·

From dawn, YouTube was flooded with Hanryang videos, from regular videos to shorts. Everyone was jumping on the trend.

『[Issue Check] YouTube is currently obsessed with ‘Profiler Hanryang’.』

Perhaps because of the impact of Park Dae-ri in episodes 3 and 4, Kang Woojin’s name was everywhere. It felt like a ‘Park Dae-ri Syndrome.’

Soon, the public had started using ‘Park Dae-ri’ as a meme.

『[Photo] ‘Park Dae-ri’ phenomenon. His lines are starting to spread like catchphrases.』

By Sunday afternoon, the focus shifted.

『Beyond rising to typhoon level, what’s next after ‘Hanryang’ for ‘Park Dae-ri’ Kang Woojin?』

Among all this:

-Brrrr, Brrrrrr.

As expected, Kang Woojin received numerous calls. Congratulations from his parents, friends, and even distant acquaintances who suddenly remembered him. The new chat group for ‘Profiler Hanryang’ actors was also buzzing about Woojin.

-Ryu Jung-min: Seriously, should we ask the writer to bring back Park Dae-ri?

-Jang Tae-san: The response is insane lol.

-Ryu Jung-min: There’s more talk about Woojin than about me

-Hong Hye-yeon: Jealous?

-Lee Do-jung: Seems like he is

-Kang Woojin: Thank you.

-Jang Tae-san: Out of the blue??

In this way, Woojin spent his entire Sunday in a surreal state. The fervor continued well into Monday.

But the good news didn’t stop. The first piece of news came from CEO Choi Sung-gun of bw Entertainment.

“Woojin, let’s start preparing to move. I’m more worried about you staying in that one-room apartment.”

“Moving? But it’s still early.”

“I’ll get you a leased apartment near the company, so pack up as soon as possible.”

Near the company, so near Samseong station? A house in Seoul? Kang Woojin was stunned. It was something he could never have dreamed of. But from the company’s perspective, Woojin was now a valuable actor worth the investment.

Why refuse when they’re offering? Hiding his excitement, Kang Woojin agreed with a stern tone.

“Yes, CEO.”

At that moment, the head of the PR team rushed into the CEO’s office.

“CEO! Woojin has an official fan club!”

It was true.

-[Official/Kang Woojin’s official fan cafe ‘Kang’s Heart’ welcomes you!]

-Members: 1,209.

-Chief Manager: BloodSister.

Kang Woojin’s official fan club was established.

On Tuesday morning, the 26th, in an editing rooms.

In one of the numerous editing rooms, it was the editing room for the YouTube channel ‘Sports Day.’ The space was a bit cramped. Here, PD Yoon Byung-seon, wearing glasses, was giving instructions to a junior PD while looking at the main monitor.

“Ah, right there, right there. Keep the cut where Woojin first appears. Emphasize it with a caption saying, ‘His entrance has a different aura.'”

“But wouldn’t that make it seem overly bland?”

“We need to start off lukewarm so that Woojin’s charm can explode later on. I thought he’d be super serious, but he unexpectedly gets the name wrong and reacts a bit sloppily. That’s the twist, isn’t it?”

“Haha. True, Woojin gets funnier as time goes on. He’s trying so hard and seriously, but that intensity becomes the comedic point.”

They were editing the episode that they had filmed a few days ago with the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team. Since the fourth episode of ‘Hanryang’ received over 25% in viewership ratings, they had to speed up their work.

“First, pick out the preview by tomorrow. Right now, the trend is focusing on Woojin, so make sure the content revolves around him.”

“Yes, senior.”

“How many main episodes do you think we can produce?”

“Given the content we have, I think at least 3 episodes?”

“Can we get one out by the end of this week?”

“... If we pull an all-nighter, sure.”

“Let’s push for it no matter what. We need to ride the current momentum for a surge in views.”

PD Yoon Byung-seon, after encouraging the junior PD, left the editing room and picked up his phone. He was so busy that he couldn’t solely focus on this. He called the writers from HTBS.

“Hey, I’m heading over to the station now, let’s have our final meeting. Did we narrow down the foreign language actors?”

“Ah- yes, about three.”

“Okay, set up the meeting immediately. Add one more person.”

“Who?”

“Kang Woojin.”

“Huh? Kang Woo-jin?”

“Yes.”

Soon after, PD Yoon Byung-seon chuckled.

“His proficiency is good enough that he could pass as an American or Japanese.”

Meanwhile, outside Kang Woojin’s house.

Exiting his messy one-room apartment due to moving preparations, the poker-faced Kang Woojin got into the waiting minivan.

“Hello.”

The members inside the van were the same, but for some reason, including Choi Sung-gun, everyone smiled when they saw Kang Woojin. Even the cold Han Ye-jung. Woojin tilted his head in confusion.

Simultaneously.

“Woojin.”

Choi Sung-gun in the co-driver’s seat closed his diary with a snap and gave a thumbs up.

“You’ve got your first commercial, a hamburger .”

*****