Chapter 103: Short Drama (3)
Translator: Dreamscribe
As soon as it launched on Netflix Japan, ‘Hanryang’ took the number one spot. Upon hearing this news, Choi Sung-gun, sitting in the co-driver’s seat, turned toward Kang Woojin.
-Swish.
He locked eyes with Kang Woojin in the back. Before he knew it, a smile had spread across Choi Sung-gun’s lips. In contrast, Kang Woojin’s face was indifferent, but inside, he was quite elated.
‘Oh- number one? Awesome. It climbed up so fast??’
Honestly, he didn’t understand how the system worked, but whatever it was, being number one was good news, right? Some reporters had recently spewed doubts about the show’s prospects these past few days, but surely those doubts were dispelled now? As Woojin wondered internally, Choi Sung-gun spoke to him.
“You can be more excited, you know. Let’s do a high five.”
Woojin, feeling like he could high five dozens of times, but acting enthusiastic didn’t fit his concept. So, he calmly high-fived Choi Sung-gun’s outstretched palm. At the same time, Choi Sung-gun gave an instruction to someone over the phone.
“Okay, got it. Please gather some reactions from Japan about Hanryang and send them over. Mm-hmm.”
When Choi Sung-gun ended the call, Han Ye-jung, with her newly dyed purple hair, showed her phone to Woojin.
“It’s real. Number one.”
On Han Ye-jung’s phone screen was a blogger’s page. The blogger, who updated the Netflix Japan rankings every week, had just posted a fresh chart, and ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was prominently displayed in first place.
[Japan’s Real-time TOP 10 Contents]
1) Profiler Hanryang
2) Tokyo Flood 2
3) Cyberpunk Spy
4) Detsuya-san’s Dining Table
5) Steel Road
...
..
.
Seeing the actual rankings, Woojin’s amazement doubled. People from another country were watching a drama he was a part of? And it was number one? His curiosity grew.
‘How are the reviews like? Are there many negative comments?’
How did the Japanese audience perceive Hanryang? What did they think of Woojin’s character, ‘Park Dae-ri’?
At that moment.
“Well, it might have been a shot in the dark, but it’s pretty successful for a first overseas expansion, isn’t it?”
Choi Sung-gun’s smile deepened as he looked at something that had just arrived on his phone.
“The reactions from Japan are amazing, Woojin.”
Simultaneously.
Just as Choi Sung-gun had mentioned, Profiler Hanryang’s popularity in Japan was no joke. In fact, there had been buzz on social media even before Hanryang launched in Japan.
A Korean drama that was a huge hit is coming to Japan, and so on.
It started primarily among Japanese fans who were big fans of the Hallyu. But word of mouth spread fast, partly thanks to well-known actors like Ryu Jung-min and Hong Hye-yeon.
As a result, it hit number one upon launch.
There had been many Korean contents on Netflix Japan, but Hanryang was the first to achieve number one in such a short period. And this wasn’t just for dramas; it was across all content.
Reviews of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ were also explosive.
Most of the noise was on various Japanese community sites and portals.
-Profiler Hanryang! I watched the new Korean content on Netflix, and I loved it!
-The villains’ acting... I think I won’t be able to sleep...
-Clearly, Korea is ahead in the content market compared to Japan. You see the difference in many aspects when you watch Hanryang, especially the acting!
-Ryu Jung-min’s baby permed hair is so cute!
-Hanryang is so fun! As expected, Hong Hye-yeon was pretty even in a detective role. But who’s the villain at the beginning? So impressive.
-Not as fun as I expected... But the acting was fantastic, as always!
-Does anyone know the name of the Korean actor who played Park Dae-ri?
-I looked it up out of curiosity; he’s a newbie named Kang Woojin!
-I didn’t like it much...
-Are you talking about your face? Maybe you should look in the mirror.
-I love mystery shows! It was 16 episodes, so a bit long, but I stayed up all night watching!
-All the villains were scary, but especially Park Dae-ri from episodes 1 to 4 was really, really... handsome.
-Does anyone have more info about this new actor Kang Woojin?
...
..
.
On social media, there was a lot of talk about Hanryang.
[@rrruu_45652]
[The new show on Netflix! Profiler Hanryang! Everyone must watch (link) It’s really fun! Especially up to episode 4, you can’t take your eyes off it.]
The drama styles of Japan and Korea were distinctly different. Yet, the Japanese fell deeply for ‘Hanryang.’ There could be various reasons, but the most influential factor was the ambiance of the work. It was structured into four episodes with four villains, focusing on themes of mystery-solving and detectives.
It wasn’t intentional, but ‘Hanryang’ had a flavor familiar to the Japanese audience.
In Japan, ‘detective’ or ‘mystery’ dramas were still popular every quarter. The exploding Hallyu added momentum. It would have been strange if it hadn’t succeeded.
What was peculiar:
– The first villain in Hanryang, he’s terrifying when he smiles. Why why am I shivering?
– I felt the same. I watched it multiple times even though it’s scary.
Instantly, all eyes were on her.
Upon entering the reading room, Hwalin greeted several people.
‘This is- awkward.’
Perhaps because they were practically strangers, a bit of awkwardness was unavoidable.
‘The atmosphere is also a bit heavy. But where is Woojin?’
Scratching near the mole under her eye, Hwalin immediately started looking for Kang Woojin.
– Swish.
At that moment, she sensed a presence behind her. Soon, a man’s deep voice infiltrated Hwalin’s ears.
“Hello, Miss Hwalin.”
Startled, Hwalin swiftly turned her head. There stood Kang Woojin, expressionless. Unconsciously, a faint smile formed on her lips.
“Ah- ahem.”
She struggled to calm her fan’s heart as she greeted Kang Woojin.
“Have you arrived?”
For the record, Hwalin had recently fallen hard for Kang Woojin’s voice. To be precise,
‘Ah, his voice sounds like music to my ears!’
She was smitten with Kang Woojin’s vocals, especially since the day of the OST recording. As a result, her fangirling only deepened. Then, Hwalin congratulated Woojin on something else.
“I heard ‘Hanryang’ hit number one on Netflix in Japan?”
“Yes.”
“That’s great. Suddenly you’re gaining popularity in Japan as well...”
Soon, her voice trailed off. The reason was simple. She realized that all eyes in the reading room were fixed on Kang Woojin.
“Oh. I’ve been talking too much.”
“No.”
With a cynical tilt of his head, Kang Woojin took a step and swept his gaze over the entire reading room.
“......”
His face was impassive. However, Woojin’s heart hadn’t been calm since he arrived at the reading room.
‘Ah, shoot. Why are they all looking at me? Let’s see. A strong overall greeting would be appropriate, right?’
Turning his rising nervousness into a burst of energy, Kang Woojin bowed slightly to everyone in the reading room.
“Hello, I am Kang Woojin.”
His deep, calm voice resonated throughout the reading room. However, there wasn’t a significant reaction. It wasn’t that they were ignoring Woojin. They were momentarily stunned by Kang Woojin’s heavy impact, especially the actors who had reflexively stood up.
‘...He’s so imposing.’
‘He definitely feels different, I don’t know why, but he is.’
‘What is that? His aura is just insane?’
On the other hand, Kang Woojin was slightly perplexed.
‘Their reactions seem lukewarm?? Why?’
The one who broke the tension was a familiar man with a square jaw.
“Hey, why is everyone standing?”
It was Director Shin Dong-chun, overseeing the production of ‘Male Friend.’ Beside him, with a shy expression on her face, was the writer, Choi Na-na. With Director Shin Dong-chun’s arrival, the awkward tension in the reading room lightened a bit.
“Did all the actors arrive? Woojin and Hwalin, please take your seats. Let’s get started.”
Director Shin Dong-chun moved towards the table’s head seat, followed by writer Choi Na-na and Hwalin. Hwalin sat on the first seat to the right of Director Shin Dong-chun.
-[Role of Lee Bo-min: Ms. Hwalin]
Kang Woojin took the first seat on the left. However, he paused for a moment when he saw the nameplate on his spot.
-[Role of Han In-ho: Mr. Kang Woojin]
He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he felt a sudden surge of emotion.
‘In ‘Hanryang’, Ryu Jung-min sat here.’
Among many actors, he was the first. The main lead actor’s primary seat. Of course, ‘Hanryang’ had twice the number of actors, but the lead role remains the lead role. And Kang Woojin would be sitting in this spot many times in the future.
Anyway.
– Swish.
As Woojin took his seat, trying to contain his emotions,
“Um- Woojin, Hwalin, before we start the reading, there’s something I’d like to convey.”
Director Shin Dong-chun suddenly spoke up.
“You know our ‘Male Friend’ starts with a kiss scene, right? Not in the shooting, but in the script. We’re thinking of making some adjustments to that.”
Huh? What’s he talking about? Woojin’s stern demeanor twitched slightly. At the same time, Hwalin from across the table chimed in.
“What?! Why??”
Oops. Realizing she had raised her voice, Hwalin sneaked a glance at Woojin, trying to gauge his expression. It was hard to read.
‘Does he not mind? Ugh- I overreacted.’
Clearing her throat, Hwalin turned her gaze to the slightly surprised Director Shin Dong-chun.
“Um... Why? It’s so sudden. Are you deleting the scene or something?”
In response to her question, Director Shin Dong-chun looked at writer Choi Na-na beside him and then replied,
“No, to be precise, we’re thinking of emphasizing the characters’ emotions more and making it more detailed.”
He met Hwalin’s gaze again as he continued.
“I’m considering a deeper concept.”
***