Chapter 67

< Multi (6) >

In front of him, Kim Daeyoung winked. Despite his burly build, his expression was very cute. Jang Ujin almost poked Kim Daeyoung's eyes with his index and middle fingers. He barely managed to hold back. Ujin's headache grew worse, and he glared intensely at Kim Daeyoung.

‘Stop it. Big guy, please just stay still.’

However, Kim Daeyoung, who couldn't understand Ujin's thoughts, interpreted Ujin's gaze differently.

‘Yeah, yeah, man. Thanks? I did it because I'm quick-witted. Hehe. This guy, he's really living it up, isn't he?’

Their interpretations were completely different. Regardless, as Jang Ujin looked at Kim Daeyoung in front of him, he glanced at Hong Hye-yeon and Choi Sung-geun behind Kim Daeyoung's head. Both were looking at Jang Ujin with slightly surprised expressions.

‘They believe it, don’t they?’

Indeed, both looked like they trusted Kim Daeyoung's words. It wasn't clear why Kim Daeyoung suddenly did such a crazy thing, but the situation wasn't too bad, so Ujin let out a small sigh.

‘Because of this guy, the concept has been intensified several times, but at least the status quo is maintained, so whatever.’

At that moment.

“Mr. Kim Daeyoung?”

Choi Sung-geun, with his pompadour, called out from behind.

“By 'cheerful,' you mean... Ujin in the past.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kim Daeyoung, turning his head, casually altered Ujin's past.

“Ujin, he was intense. More ruthless and heavier than he is now. His presence was overwhelming. It was cool, but he was too arrogant and cynical.”

“Stop.”

Jang Ujin quickly stopped Kim Daeyoung, whispering in his ear.

“Enough, just shut up.”

Then, Ujin pretended to be calm and asked Choi Sung-geun.

“Sir, why is he here?”

“Huh? Oh, didn't you hear from a friend? We're hiring new staff, and Mr. Kim Daeyoung applied. Since he's your friend, we were talking separately.”

“...Hiring new staff?”

What kind of nonsense is this? Jang Ujin's gaze returned to Kim Daeyoung in front of him. He winked again. Should I kill him? Ujin barely managed to control his exploding emotions and spoke to Choi Sung-geun in a low voice.

“Sir, can I have a moment?”

“Huh?”

“I need to talk to my friend alone.”

“Ah, sure, go ahead.”

At that moment.

“Wait a moment.”

Hong Hye-yeon, who had been taking off her hat, spoke.

“Mr. Kim Daeyoung, right?”

“...Impressive. No, yes, that's my name. Thank you.”

“Huh? Anyway, why did you bring Ujin to the audition that day? Given his personality, he wouldn't have suggested going first, right?”

It was a close guess. In fact, Jang Ujin went to the 'Super Actor' audition at Kim Daeyoung's request. However, it was for a full course of pork belly and Hong Hye-yeon. But the now serious Kim Daeyoung glanced at Ujin and said.

“Although he's good at design, I thought it was a waste for him to act just for fun.”

Feeling it was going too far, Jang Ujin pulled Kim Daeyoung's arm.

“Then, a moment.”

Ujin dragged Kim Daeyoung out of the office. Now, only Choi Sung-geun and Hong Hye-yeon were left in the office. They looked at the door in silence for a moment.

“Wow.”

Hong Hye-yeon, who had brushed her long hair, spoke first.

“If this is cheerful, how dark was he in the past?”

Choi Sung-geun agreed.

“Exactly. Even the current Ujin is a bit cynical. If I had met him in the past, I would have been speechless.”

“...The past or circumstances of Ujin that we don't know about. It seems he didn't have it easy.”

“Probably. The fact that he built his self-esteem and learned acting on his own despite all that... it's amazing, isn't it? It's overwhelming.”

“His self-taught acting is dominating the domestic acting scene. It's hard to understand... Anyway, it's clear that he's getting brighter, right?”

“Yeah. His friend proved it.”

Hong Hye-yeon crossed her arms, thinking of Jang Ujin.

“His acting for fun saved him, didn't it?”

The misunderstanding here was already a fortress.

Meanwhile.

Jang Ujin and Kim Daeyoung arrived at the emergency exit stairs at the end of the corridor. The burly Kim Daeyoung was still chuckling, and Ujin, after checking that no one was in the corridor outside the metal door, cursed at Kim Daeyoung in a low voice.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing here? You should have contacted us.”

“Shut up. Did you tell us? You pulled a fast one on us with movies and dramas. I just wanted to surprise you. Does it hurt?”

“Yeah, I almost threw up. Let's talk about work.”

Jang Ujin grabbed the collar of the burly Kim Daeyoung, and Kim Daeyoung pushed Ujin's shoulder, leading to a brief scuffle. However, they didn't make any noise. It was a silent physical fight, almost like a dance without music.

After about a minute.

Kim Daeyoung, who had managed to calm down, suddenly smiled.

“Why do you try to maintain your image in front of Hong Hye-yeon? Do you think you need to look cool because you're an actor now?”

“- No, it just happened that way. Just go with it.”

“Ha, I caught on and played along. You should thank me. But you're not normal either, how can you think of maintaining a concept while being an actor?”

“No, it wasn't by choice. Now it's too late to change. Thanks to you, the situation has become more intense, and I have to grit my teeth to maintain it. Hey, what was that last thing you said to Hong Hye-yeon about acting?”

“Huh? Oh, if I hadn't known you were good at acting, it would have been strange to bring you to the audition. So I just made something up.”

At this point, Jang Ujin was somewhat resigned. Whatever, the result isn't bad, so let it go. Therefore, Ujin changed the subject.

“But why are you applying for a job at our company? You're already working at a mid-sized company, right?”

“Oh, I was thinking of changing jobs, and the timing worked out. Actually, I'm also interested in the entertainment industry.”

“So?”

“I wanted to work with you since you're an actor. The pompadour CEO said they already have a road, so I thought I could start as an assistant manager and a bodyguard.”

“When are you starting?”

“This month, I'll wrap up my current job, and I'll start next month.”

Jang Ujin, watching his friend speak casually, furrowed his brow.

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

Indeed, Kim Daeyoung's eyes were full of determination. Ujin briefly imagined a future with Kim Daeyoung joining. Jang Soo-hwan and Kim Daeyoung. Two burly bears.

‘No one will dare to mess with us.’

It might not be bad. Having a friend by his side would be a unique haven amidst the harsh concept maintenance, misunderstandings, and the cutthroat entertainment industry.

Kim Daeyoung spoke at this moment.

“So, are you going to keep up with the concept?”

“Yeah. Now it's really impossible to change. If you want to work, you have to fit in.”

“Hehe, it'll be fun. It's kind of like realistic acting, isn't it? Leave it to me.”

“And-”

Jang Ujin, who was about to speak, trailed off. He had wanted to talk about the numerous misunderstandings during his activities but swallowed his words. It was impossible to explain everything. It was better to let it unfold gradually.

‘I've reminded him about the concept, so he'll figure it out when the time comes.’

Kim Daeyoung, checking the time on his phone, asked another question.

“But what about our friends? Now that your recognition is exploding, aren't your acquaintances starting to notice? I saw one comment.”

This was something Jang Ujin had also thought about.

“...Sigh. Elementary school is fine. I moved around a lot and changed schools frequently. I don't even remember that time.”

For reference, Jang Ujin and his close friends had been friends since middle school.

“In middle school, I transferred in the second year. But it doesn't matter, does it? Middle and high school students don't know my personal life.”

“Well, that's true. People I met in society might be curious. Just be careful about the concept, right?”

Ujin scratched his head, as if saying, "I don't care."

“Whatever. It'll work out somehow. It always has.”

Friday, June 29th, morning. Japan.

The location was the 'Toega' film company near Shinjuku Station. It was one of the largest in Japan. Many people gathered in the large conference room of the 'Toega' film company.

At least 20 people, if not more.

They were seated around a U-shaped table, and a 50-year-old man with a receding hairline, familiar to everyone, was sitting near the entrance. He was the renowned Japanese director Tanoguchi Kyotaro. The others were from the film company and distribution companies.

What was interesting was that.

“...”

“...”

Everyone, including Director Kyotaro, was looking at a middle-aged woman in her 60s. Therefore, the large conference room was quiet, and the woman, wearing glasses perched on the tip of her nose, was reading a stack of papers silently.

-Flip.

In fact, she was the super-popular novelist Takikawa Akari in Japan. Akari was well-known not only in Japan but also in Korea and internationally for her mystery novels. She had been active for over 30 years and had written dozens of works.

Among them, at least five were bestsellers.

The reason Akari was here was simple. The original work for Director Kyotaro's next film was Akari's novel. The adaptation had just been completed, and today was the day to introduce the completed script to Akari.

At that moment.

-Flip.

Akari, having finished reading the script, closed the stack of papers and smiled kindly at Director Kyotaro.

“It's good, Director. I really like the adaptation.”

Director Kyotaro also smiled and nodded.

“I'm glad you like it. Thank you.”

“You tried to maintain the essence of the original work. Although some parts were cut, it's still faithful to the original.”

“I'm disappointed that I couldn't include everything. I'll do my best.”

The people from the film company and distribution companies, hearing their conversation, breathed a sigh of relief. A man who seemed to be a senior executive at the film company asked Director Kyotaro.

“By the way, Director, are you really planning to cast a Korean actor in this film?”

The attention of everyone in the conference room returned to Director Kyotaro. However, instead of answering, Director Kyotaro asked Akari.

“I plan to cast one Korean actor for this film. What do you think, Ms. Akari?”

Akari, who had been looking at the script, met the eyes of the receding-haired Director Kyotaro.

“I agree. Honestly, isn't the current acting scene in Korea several times ahead of Japan? Not just K-pop, but Korean dramas as well. Korean culture is becoming more and more influential.”

“It's unfortunate, but that's true. Japan is trapped in a rut and struggling. I want to highlight this point.”

“Do you want to awaken our actors?”

“There is that aspect, but not entirely.”

At that moment, a senior executive from the distribution company interjected.

“I understand your intention. However, with a film by you and Ms. Akari, top Korean actors would be interested. The Korean actor you mentioned is still relatively unknown, isn't he?”

Director Kyotaro responded immediately.

“Why choose an actor with low recognition? It's necessary. A top actor wouldn't serve as a catalyst for our actors.”

“But... I checked, and he's recently gained some popularity.”

“I also checked.”

“Isn't it too risky?”

“To be honest, I was surprised to see his recent rise in popularity. There was no prior talk about it. There must have been some situation with the drama side. Regardless, it's hard to understand why such a talented actor is only now getting recognition.”

The conference room began to buzz. The fact that Director Kyotaro was so highly praising an actor was surprising. And a Korean actor, at that. Regardless, Director Kyotaro continued, looking at Akari.

“In my eyes, the Korean actor has the demeanor of someone who has honed their acting for at least 10 years. I've rarely seen an actor who can deliver such a performance. He has a unique acting style, and it's impressive.”

“...To the extent that you praise him so highly