Chapter 130: Departure (4)

Chapter 130: Departure (4)

Kang Woojin was flustered. In an instant, he forgot the concept he had been maintaining and his eyes turned blank in disbelief. What am I looking at right now?

“......Crazy! What is this?!”

His eyes dazzled by the flash of cameras, something he had experienced before.

The most recent instance was the press conference for ‘Male Friend,' where Woojin's straightforwardness had been a highlight. But this was different; the scene here was several times more chaotic.

-Papapapapak!

-Papapapapapapak!!

There were far more cameras than before. To the right of the arrival hall where Kang Woojin appeared, a line of fences stretched to the end, crowded with reporters. Roughly a hundred of them. Behind them were ordinary Japanese citizens, covering the area. The reporters held cameras, while the onlookers all held up their phones.

And what was the purpose of all this?

Over 500 people were frenziedly taking photos of the newly arrived Kang Woojin and Hwalin. What was interesting here was...

“They must be crazy!! Kyaa! Did all these people come to see our oppa?!”

Among the hundreds of spectators, a familiar woman stood out. It was Woojin's younger sister, Kang Hyun-ah. Naturally, she wasn't alone but with her friends. As representatives and managers of the fan club ‘Kang's Heart,' they had come.

“Hyun-ah!! Hold hands, hands!”

“Did you take a picture of Woojin oppa?!”

“It's too far! Can't see well!”

“Just take it! We need to share it on the fan cafe!”

“People from ‘Kang's Heart' are also here!”

It was difficult to spot them, but members of Woojin's fan club ‘Kang's Heart' were also among the thronging crowd. Including them, the onlookers were like raging waves.

“Is that man over there Kang Woojin?! What! He’s cute?”

“Please look here once!!”

“Korean actors are really handsome!!”

“Isn’t he much better in person??!”

“They look great together, Woojin and Hwalin!”

Kang Woojin's eyes hurt from the flashing lights, and his ears felt like they would fall off from the mixed screams in Japanese.

“Over here! Over here! Mr. Kang Woojin!”

“How do you feel about coming to Japan!!”

“Mr. Kang Woojin! Will you be meeting with Director Kyotaro Tanoguchi during your schedule in Japan?!”

“Could you and Ms. Hwalin pose together?”

“When were you cast for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger'?!”

“Did you learn Japanese separately!! When is the recording for Ame-talk Show, Mr. Kang Woojin!”

“Is ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger' your first leading role as a newcomer??!”

“Will this be the start of your active career in Japan?”

“Please give us a brief comment about ‘Male Friend'!!”

The near-screaming questions were almost overlapping, making them hard to hear. Judging by the intermittent Korean among them, some Korean reporters were mixed in with the hundred or so Japanese journalists. Momentarily, Kim Dae-young, standing to the right of Woojin, thought:The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

‘......Crazy. I've never seen anything like this. Who knew the Japanese would be this enthusiastic too. Insane.'

His mind wandered off at the jaw-dropping sight, and then he looked at his friend Woojin’s face. It dawned on him just how famous this guy had become.

‘This guy's really a star now?'

He wanted to shout, “That's insane, you bastard!” But Kim Dae-young held back. Instead, he decided to make a fuss about it later in their private group chat.

Meanwhile, Woojin was thinking:

‘I feel nauseous, I really want to run away!'

He was starting to feel dazed from the overwhelming pressure.

From another perspective, this meant that the name value and interest in Director Kyotaro and writer Akari Takikawa, and ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger,' were incredibly high. For Kang Woojin, this was a first-time experience, and such attention to a newcomer in the entertainment industry was unprecedented.

‘Wow – insane.'

Woojin had somewhat expected this. After all, CEO Choi Sung-gun had given him a heads-up on the plane.

‘Woojin, there might be quite a few reporters at the airport. There's been some news about you and Ms. Hwalin's schedule in Japan. It might be a bit noisy, but just act as you normally do. Just wave your hand calmly or something.'

But Woojin hadn't expected it to be this intense. He glanced back at Choi Sung-gun and internally screamed.

‘A bit??! Is this what you call a bit? ‘

Woojin wasn't the same as before. He had seen and learned, albeit subtly. Moreover, he didn't want to overexert himself with so much on his plate.

‘Don't stretch yourself too thin chasing too many things.'

Yet, showing weakness didn't fit with his established concept. Thus, Woojin expressed his opinion with a bit of his characteristic ‘damn-my-way' attitude.

“For now, I'll focus on the projects already planned. Please keep the incoming ones on hold.”

“Alright, let's do that. I was thinking the same. Honestly, your current schedule is not normal. Others wouldn't be able to handle it. But you've been managing it so effortlessly, I thought I should ask.”

“It's not too hard for me.”

“I know, I know, buddy. It's obvious just by looking.”

But Woojin was wrong. Even with the void space, his energy was at its limit. Still, he had to maintain his concept. Indeed, every day felt overwhelming for Kang Woojin.

‘Perhaps humans grow only when pushed to their limits?'

As Choi Sung-gun, who was holding his phone, spoke again.

“Let's discuss the projects after ‘Male Friend' and ‘Drug Dealer' are out. Anyway, from October onwards, it's going to be busy with year-end stuff.”

Ah- is it already the end of the year? The entertainment industry usually gets hectic from October. Up until the end of the year, there are numerous event-type broadcasts, events, award ceremonies, film festivals, and so on.

“It's been a while since I've felt this way after Hye-yeon's debut. Woojin, from ‘Hanryang' to movies, you're going to be called everywhere – looking forward to it.”

Woojin was bound to be involved in all of it.

Several hours later.

After having a meal at a hotel near Tokyo Station, Woojin stopped by a salon and then arrived at Netflix Japan, located near Tokyo Tower. The interior of Netflix Japan was similar to that of Netflix in Korea.

However,

“Nice to meet you, I'm John Craig from Netflix Japan.”

The Executive Director of Netflix Japan was a foreigner. After shaking hands with him in the meeting room, Woojin found it a bit interesting. But that was short-lived as they soon had to proceed with the event-related meeting.

“Alright, shall we get moving?”

The Netflix Japan team, along with Kang Woojin and Hwalin's team, moved to a nearby event location. The schedule was tight and well-organized, with no unnecessary detours. The venue for the ‘Male Friend' event, organized by Netflix Japan, was a building full of event-specific studios.

“Mr. Kang Woojin, Ms. Hwalin! We'll start with a photo session on stage first!”

The event, which also served as a press conference, began with a commemorative photo shoot. The studio wasn't particularly large, but the setup was decently arranged. There were about 30 journalists invited by Netflix Japan, a poster of ‘Male Friend' at the back of the stage, and a hired MC, among other things.

Regardless.

-Papapapapak!

-Papapapapapapapak!!

Even though it was his first international schedule, Kang Woojin just mechanically went through the motions. There wasn't much room for any other thoughts. Occasionally, he glanced at the refreshments laid out for the journalists, thinking,

‘What's that? Looks delicious.'

He did salivate a bit, but that was it. On stage, Woojin wore a casual suit, while Hwalin was in a checkered two-piece. Their photo session, posing together, lasted about 10 minutes.

Then, they both,

-Swish.

sat down on chairs set up on the stage. The seating arrangement was the MC, Kang Woojin, Hwalin, and the interpreter. Woojin was relatively calm.

‘Luckily, it's smaller than the ones I've done in Korea.'

Apart from the Japanese language, it wasn't much different and seemed manageable. Soon, the MC, a hired Japanese announcer, began.

“Shall we start? First of all- hello, Mr. Kang Woojin and Ms. Hwalin.”

“Hello, I'm Kang Woojin.”

“I'm Hwalin – nice to meet you.”

As the event for the Japan Netflix launch of ‘Male Friend' officially commenced, the Netflix Japan staff at the back of the venue began to murmur softly. Some were subtly pointing at Woojin on stage.

Meanwhile, Choi Sung-gun, standing a bit apart from them, thought,

‘Hmm- maybe we should have dressed Woojin in something other than a suit.'

He was only concerned about Kang Woojin's attire. At that moment, an excited team leader from Netflix Japan, looking at Woojin, exclaimed in Japanese. These words naturally reached Choi Sung-gun's ears.

“What? Over a million subscribers in just a week?!”

*****

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