Chapter 307: Autumn (8)

Chapter 307: Autumn (8)

Inside the airplane.

About an hour after the plane bound for LA took off from Incheon Airport. Perhaps because it was a night flight, the interior of the plane was quiet. The lighting was generally dim. Over 70% of the passengers were asleep, while the rest were doing their own things with their personal lights on.

The atmosphere was the same in the business class.

In particular, Choi Sung-gun, who was almost buried in his seat, stood out. With his ponytail let loose, he was in such a deep sleep that he looked almost dead. He, too, had been on a tight schedule lately. Kang Woojin could be found in a window seat in the business class.

“......”

Maybe due to a malfunctioning air conditioner, he was not asleep, draped in a black cardigan. Although most people were asleep, Woojin’s poker face remained firm. There was no room for complacency. Woojin was looking down at a tablet under the personal light of his seat.

Overseas news articles were being displayed.

『Miley Cara’s New Post on SNS: “Looking forward to working on the album with Kang Woojin”』

『Miley Cara begins work on a new album with a Korean actor』

Of course, compared to the frenzy in the Korean media, the attention was minimal, but still, finding his name in foreign news made Kang Woojin feel a bit amazed.

‘Seeing my name in English articles feels so weird. Did this news leak from Cara’s side??’

He was used to seeing his name often in Korean and Japanese media, but it was unfamiliar to see it in English. Some articles even introduced Woojin’s Instagram.

‘As expected of Miley Cara, her influence is insane.’

Currently, Kang Woojin’s momentum was sky-high, but in Hollywood, he was almost unknown. Well, he did manage to get his name out there bit by bit. As proof, the number of English comments on ‘Kang Woojin’s Alter Ego’ channel or SNS had significantly increased.

But in the grand scheme of things, his recognition was still as small as a grain of rice.

However, just the mention of Miley Cara was enough to get the foreign media moving. They were talking about Kang Woojin’s name and researched to introduced him. This was purely due to the global superstar power of Cara. After checking the foreign news articles for a few minutes, Woojin checked the time.

It was already past midnight.

Even though the time would change when they arrived in LA, Kang Woojin cracked his neck from side to side and swallowed some water. He was trying to stay awake moderately resisting sleep. It was also preparation to adjust to the time difference, but it wasn’t like he was particularly sleepy.

‘Is it because I often rested in the void space?’

Soon, Woojin inserted wireless earphones into his ears. Then he played a music track stored on his tablet.

-♬♪

Soon, a song seeped into Woojin’s ears. It was the guide version of Miley Cara’s new song. Of course, it was a song in which Kang Woojin would participate in the production. He had listened to it enough to be familiar with it, but there was no harm in listening to it more. At the same time, Woojin manipulated his tablet with his index finger.

-Swipe.

The music video storyboard he had often seen was displayed. This too was sent from Miley Cara’s side. The music video storyboard was similar to the movie and drama storyboards Woojin often saw. However, for Kang Woojin, a music video was a new experience.

‘It seems like it’ll be fun, but I’m subtly nervous about this.’

In fact, when Woojin first received this storyboard, he was just indifferent. But now that he was on the plane, his heartbeat was subtly increasing. It wasn’t so much that he was nervous about shooting his first music video, but more that he was looking forward to it. Moreover, his counterpart was none other than the global superstar Miley Cara, a star both as an actor and a singer. Wait, Miley Cara? Is this for real? Woojin suddenly felt a sense of unreality.

‘......Damn, I never thought the day would come when I’d appear in Miley Cara’s music video.’

And he was even participating in the album. This news had already spread widely in Korea, and Woojin was receiving a flood of contacts from those around him. Especially, his childhood friends had gone wild. If it was astonishing for Kang Woojin himself, how much more so for them. Woojin lowered his gaze back to the tablet. While looking at the music video storyboard being displayed, he muttered to himself.

‘But- it’s a bit disappointing that the void space isn’t appearing.’

Of course, there was no black sqaure appearing in the music video. This meant that the music video shoot would be done without the void space, meaning Kang Woojin would have to handle it on his own.

‘There doesn’t seem to be much acting involved, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but-’

Still, it wasn’t completely devoid of acting. When you think about it, this was almost the first time Woojin would proceed with a shoot involving acting without the void space. As Woojin was briefly lost in thought, his fearless nature kicked in.

‘Whatever, damn it. If it comes to it, I’ll just pull out any random role.’

Saturday morning, the 10th. Japan.

Around the time Kang Woojin’s flight was nearing LA, a promotional war was unfolding across Japan.

『”Promotions for 3rd Quarter Anime Begin” – Many anticipated works catch the eye this year!』

These were promotions spread by numerous anime production companies. In Japan, this was a common sight every quarter. This time, it was for the 3rd quarter. Since the market sees at least 30 works released every quarter, it was only natural that these companies would push their promotions aggressively to catch the eyes of the Japanese public.

Otherwise, they would get buried without a trace.

Of course, there were some anime that didn’t need much promotion to generate buzz. These were the ones based on best-selling manga whose popularity was already sky-high. Every year, best-selling manga were turned into anime, and there were such works in this 3rd quarter as well.

Whatever the case, the Japanese anime market was a battlefield filled with bloodshed, only without weapons.

『「The Strongest Spy」 Anime Adaptation! Can it continue the popularity of the original manga?』

『「Spy Daddy」 Holds Large Event in Akihabara! Voice Actors’ Fan Signing Event』

『Finally, Season 2 is Here, 「Magic Revolutions」! Fans are already buzzing about the news of the second season』

‘Damn, I left at night and arrived at night.’

Kang Woojin silently praised himself for managing to stay awake on the plane. It was his first time back in LA since filming ‘Our Dining Table’. Following behind him were Choi Sung-gun and a dozen or so others. Woojin’s YouTube channel team, ‘Kang Woojin’s Alter Ego’, was also among them. After clearing immigration, they passed through the spacious lobby and exited the airport. Waiting by the curb outside were two large vans.

Large? No, they were even bigger than that.

‘Did CEO~nim arrange this?’

Woojin naturally assumed Choi Sung-gun had arranged it, but that wasn’t the case. The answer came when Choi Sung-gun muttered.

“Wow- Miley Cara’s team is really treating us like VIPs. Sending us vans this late at night.”

It turned out the vans were provided by Miley Cara, and they were meant for Woojin to use during his stay in LA. Soon, a burly foreigner stepped out of the driver’s seat to help Kang Woojin and his team with their luggage. Kang Woojin, Choi Sung-gun, Han Ye-jung, and a few others got into the front van. Once inside, the interior was even more spacious than expected.

‘Wa-shit, this van is huge!’

Although Woojin maintained his poker face, he was internally startled. Meanwhile, Choi Sung-gun, sitting next to Woojin, smirked and said.

“You know Miley Cara’s team arranged our accommodations too, right? A 5-star hotel in the heart of LA. All suites. Well, considering they invited us, it’s only natural.”

Meanwhile, the burly foreigner who had finished organizing the luggage climbed into the driver’s seat. Another similarly large person sat in the passenger seat. They were bodyguards. Among them, Choi Sung-gun leaned towards the driver’s seat, showing something on his phone and saying something. Woojin was curious, but he didn’t ask.

And so.

-Vroom!

The two large vans exited LA Airport side by side. Woojin started to take in the nighttime view of LA through the window.

‘I saw this before when we were shooting Our Dining Table, but LA’s night view is seriously impressive.’

At this moment, Choi Sung-gun, who was tying up his ponytail again, yawned widely and stretched.

“For now, we’ll go to the hotel and rest tonight. We’ll meet Miley Cara tomorrow around noon for a meeting. She’ll be coming to the hotel.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. And before we head to the hotel, there’s one place we need to stop by first.”

Where at this hour? Though Woojin wondered inwardly, he simply nodded with his poker-faced expression.

“Yes, CEO~nim.”

After that, the van carrying Woojin entered a part of the city lined with tall buildings. Despite the late hour, there were still many cars on the road, and the brightly lit buildings made it feel like it was daytime rather than night.

After driving for about five more minutes,

-Screech!

the two vans pulled over to the side of the road. Choi Sung-gun got out immediately, and Woojin followed him. In front of them was a beige-toned, rectangular building. Choi Sung-gun gestured toward the entrance of the building, a smile on his face.

“Let’s go in.”

In the end, Choi Sung-gun, Woojin, the foreigner guards, and a few others—about six people in total—got into the elevator. Once they stepped out of the elevator that was oozing with LA vibes, Choi Sung-gun walked down the hallway. Soon, they arrived in front of an office, and Choi Sung-gun turned to Woojin and said,

“This place, the one next to it, and the one beside that are all ours.”

What? Choi Sung-gun pointed to the office right in front of them and the two adjacent ones. Then, suddenly, he opened the glass door of the office in front. He turned on the lights. There were no people inside, but dozens of desks were arranged, and they were all empty.

Overall, it gave off the strong impression of a place that had just been moved into.

-Swish.

Kang Woojin, who had stepped inside the office after Choi Sung-gun, saw him point to one of the walls with his index finger.

“Look over there, Woojin.”

Following his finger, Woojin turned his head.

‘Ah.’

A familiar face was visible. More precisely, it was a large poster from a photo shoot. The poster of Woojin in a stylish suit, striking a pose, was proudly displayed on the wall. As Woojin felt both embarrassed and puzzled at the same time, Choi Sung-gun, whose smile had deepened, spoke.

“This is bw Entertainment’s overseas branch. Naturally, you’re the main star here.”

This place was the starting point of Kang Woojin’s Hollywood base.

****

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