Chapter 69

< Multi (8) >

‘Wow... Hwa-rin? Is it really Hwa-rin? She’s crazy.’

Hwa-rin suddenly appeared in the meeting room. The leader of 'Eleanor,' a top-tier girl group among many, was someone even Woojin, who had little interest in the entertainment industry, knew. After all, she was that famous.

‘Not as beautiful as Hong Hyeon, but still, she’s really pretty.’

Kang Woojin just stared at Hwa-rin, who was standing by the glass door, with a sense of curiosity, as if he had just run into a celebrity. At this moment, the slightly plump Netflix director general murmured as he looked at Hwa-rin.

“Hwa-rin? Why are you in this meeting room? We should have guided you to the next one.”

Ah, did she get the wrong meeting room? Woojin, who had a rough idea of the situation, looked at Hwa-rin again. What was strange was that she was also looking at Kang Woojin. What’s going on? Woojin, slightly startled, needed to remain composed.

So, he lowered his voice and greeted Hwa-rin.

“Hello.”

“...”

However, Hwa-rin, who was staring at Kang Woojin, did not speak. She only slightly frowned. Kang Woojin felt a bit awkward.

‘What, why is she ignoring my greeting? Her expression isn’t good either. Why is she like that?’

On the other hand.

‘I’m... I’m crazy.’

Hwa-rin, who was in a state of extreme confusion, was in a daze after Kang Woojin greeted her.

‘Her voice is amazing! What? Is this her usual voice? It almost made my ears melt!’

It was already a shock to find her favorite actor, Kang Woojin, at Netflix, but his deep voice shook Hwa-rin’s brain and heart. It made sense, considering she had been a fan for a few weeks.

Her thoughts twisted.

‘Why? Why?? Why is Mr. Kang Woojin here? Why? I don’t know what to do all of a sudden? What is it? I don’t know.’

Hwa-rin wanted to jump around.

She wanted to run to the seated Woojin, declare herself a fan, and ask for a photo. She wanted to sit close and have a short conversation, or at least a handshake. She could have even shouted, “I didn’t know I would become a fan of you!”

Her fangirl heart had grown to that extent.

But.

“Hey, Hwa-rin.”

Including the plump manager who had just called Hwa-rin and other Netflix staff, there were too many eyes watching. Therefore, Hwa-rin.

“Ah.”

She cleared her throat softly and turned her gaze away from Kang Woojin.

‘I, I can’t keep looking. My heart is about to burst.’

This made Kang Woojin’s dissatisfaction grow a bit more.

‘Ignoring my greeting is one thing, but did she see something she shouldn’t? Why is she avoiding my eyes so openly?’

The plump manager then asked Hwa-rin.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“...No. No.”

Hwa-rin, who answered in a barely audible voice, glanced at Woojin again. At this moment, she greeted him.

“Hello...”

“Ah, yes.”

A short conversation. Hwa-rin tried to calm her racing heart.

‘Is it over? It’s a bit disappointing! Should I throw in one more line, anything? Damn, I’ll do it!’

However, there were too many eyes watching, so she needed to tone down her enthusiasm.

“I enjoyed your drama.”

She toned it down too much. Her tone was very blunt and lacked soul. It even seemed rude. Naturally, it was the same for Kang Woojin.

‘She has a bad attitude.’

Soon, Woojin, who usually acted a few times heavier, gave a casual response.

“Thank you.”

Hwa-rin’s heart rate increased. Watching Kang Woojin from a distance and seeing him up close were worlds apart. Then, Hwa-rin tugged at the arm of the manager standing next to her.

“...Brother, let’s go.”

“Huh?? Ah, yeah, yeah.”

It was an escape.

‘If I stay any longer, I might jump on him. No, no, no! I need to calm down somewhere else!’

Thus, Hwa-rin, who had suddenly appeared, left the meeting room. The employee who had guided her followed after hearing a word from the director general. At this moment, Kang Woojin asked his neighbor, Choi Sung-geun, in a low voice.

“Is she, Hwa-rin, known for having a bad attitude?”

Choi Sung-geun shrugged and whispered in response.

“Not sure. I haven’t seen her much either. But since she’s close to Hyeon, she must be something special. There’s no particular bad rumor, but she’s not particularly warm? Why do you ask?”

“No, nothing.”

Woojin, who had brushed it off, decided to ignore it.

‘Hwa-rin is a bit rude. Well, celebrities are all polished images. It doesn’t really matter to me.’

It was a stark contrast to Hong Hyeon. At this moment, the plump director general smiled apologetically.

“Mr. Woojin, I’m sorry. It seems our staff made a mistake.”

“It’s fine.”

Behind Woojin, who answered in a low voice, Choi Sung-geun with a ponytail chimed in.

“So, what are you doing with Hwa-rin? Ah, this is just a casual question, so you can ignore it if you want. Haha.”

The director general, who had been looking at the friendly Choi Sung-geun, smiled.

“To be honest, we’re a bit surprised ourselves. Why both Mr. Kang Woojin and Hwa-rin are involved in this project.”

“Huh? You mean this project.”

“Yes. Hwa-rin is here for a meeting related to the one-act drama ‘Nam Sachin.’ It’s not confirmed yet.”

The director general shifted his gaze to the woman sitting next to him. Beside her sat a slender woman with glasses, the writer of ‘Nam Sachin,’ Choi Nana.

“It’s... like a dream. I’m already grateful that Mr. Kang Woojin is here, but I never thought Hwa-rin would contact us.”

The director general, who had caught Choi Nana’s words, turned his gaze to Choi Sung-geun and Woojin.

“We’ve been quite active with this one-act project. We’ve sent the script to many people, knowing it would probably be rejected. Honestly, it was more for show.”

Choi Sung-geun, who had his arms crossed, nodded.

“Well, when you send the script to high-level actors, it does create a good buzz in the industry.”

“True. That was the goal, and Hwa-rin even set up a meeting. But, I think it will just be a casual visit. She probably just wants to get a feel for the project. She won’t do it, I think.”

“Haha. Hwa-rin doesn’t really have a reason to do a one-act drama.”

“Exactly. But it’s fine without Hwa-rin. We’re good with Mr. Woojin. Right, writer?”

“Yes, yes!”

The director general, who smiled, met the eyes of the expressionless Kang Woojin.

“Mr. Woojin, are you really doing it? I just want to confirm again because I’m so excited.”

Kang Woojin’s response was brief.

“Yes. I’ll do it, the male lead in ‘Nam Sachin.’”

Instantly, the director general’s smile deepened, and the woman sitting next to him, Choi Nana, stammered.

“M-Mr. Kang Woojin! So, is there a reason you chose my one-act drama??”

Yes, there is. The kiss scenes are refreshingly good. Of course, the content is good too. But if he said that, he’d be treated like a weirdo. So, Kang Woojin gave a vague answer.

“I liked the straightforward script without any fluff.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Overall, it feels good.”

“F-feels?”

Choi Nana, who was looking at the cynical Kang Woojin, seemed to be captivated by something.

‘Feel. Is this what writer Park Eun-mi meant? The excellent eye for a work? Anyway, this person has a different aura. I don’t know what it is, but... anyway, it’s different.’

Then, the director general leaned towards Kang Woojin.

“But, Mr. Woojin. Do you sing at all?”

What’s with the sudden question? What’s the singing about? The context of the conversation was strange, but Kang Woojin, who was confident in his singing, answered immediately.

“No, I’m not bad.”

“Oh, really?”

“Why do you ask?”

Choi Nana, who had brought several scripts, answered.

“...Actually, the male lead doesn’t show his hidden ability in the first episode, but from the second episode onwards, he does.”

“Is the ability singing?”

“Yes. It’s a scene where the female lead is surprised because she didn’t know about it.”

Although his schedule had gotten busier, Kang Woojin had been reading various scripts and scenarios whenever he had free time recently. Of course, he had read ‘Nam Sachin’ too. However, there was no such content in the first episode. Was it a surprise? At this moment, Choi Sung-geun asked.

“What’s the vibe you’re going for, writer?”

“Ah, like a professional singer?”

“Hmm.”

Then, the director general waved his hands.

“Not too deep. We can adjust the script. Just a normal level is fine. As long as you’re not tone-deaf, we can cover it in editing.”

“Yes, yes! It’s fine!”

It seemed that the director general and Choi Nana were quite eager for Kang Woojin. Whatever it was, Kang Woojin thought.

‘When I go to karaoke, I always shine.’

He recalled the times he went to karaoke with his friends.

“I’m not tone-deaf.”

“Then it should be fine!”

“Writer.”

Soon, Kang Woojin extended his hand to Choi Nana.

“Can I get the rest of the script from the second episode today?”

Choi Nana quickly brought the stack of papers to Kang Woojin.

“Of course! Now that you’re the male lead!”

Meanwhile, in the adjacent meeting room.

Hwa-rin, still excited by her favorite actor, Kang Woojin, had a high heart rate. She couldn’t hear the conversations of the manager sitting next to her or the Netflix team leader on the opposite side.

‘Ah, really! Did I leave too quickly? I should have just gone up to Mr. Kang Woojin and shaken his hand! I was too flustered!’

Her mind was filled with thoughts of her idol, who was close by.

‘But, seeing him in person, the atmosphere was amazing. He wasn’t light-hearted but serious, and his voice was completely deep! His personality was completely different from Shinso and Park Daeri, right?’

The impact of meeting Kang Woojin in person was significant. Hwa-rin’s fangirl heart was accelerating. Then.

“Ah.”

Something dawned on Hwa-rin, and she asked the Netflix team leaders sitting in front of her.

“So, why is Mr. Kang Woojin here?”

“Huh? Ah. Haha, actually, it’s in the same context as you. Writer Choi Nana picked Mr. Woojin for the male lead.”

“...Mr. Kang Woojin?”

“Yes. It’s not confirmed yet, but it’s a bit difficult to say more.”

At this moment.

-Swoosh.

The glass door of the meeting room opened, and the plump director general and writer Choi Nana entered. They seemed to have just finished their meeting with Kang Woojin. Then, the director general, who sat opposite Hwa-rin, spoke.