Become a Star

In the past, Dwayne had told Robert that the guardians used telepathy to communicate with one another at long distances as they lived on different continents. And so, Robert was offended quite often and would make sarcastic comments about how the other guardians excluded him while they spoke to one another telepathically. Nevertheless, putting aside his personal feelings, Robert worried that if Angelica couldn’t contact Jin, then there might’ve been some sort of interference or problem with their telepathic communication.

{Oh, I was getting a lot of spam messages recently, so I muted it…} Jin said.

{What?} Robert asked, confused.

Robert’s question reminded Jin of something, and the latter took out his phone. Spanning throughout the entire morning, he had received dozens of missed calls from Angelica and the other guardians.

{Come to think of it, it would’ve been faster to ask you telepathically.}

Angelica bumped her right fist on the palm of her left hand, seemingly having forgotten about that option until now.

{Then what about intercontinental telepathy?} Robert asked.

As Robert obsessed over telepathy, Jin shook his phone in front of him and answered indifferently.

{Why bother using that when we’ve got smartphones now?}

In fact, Jin and Angelica ridiculed Robert and called him primitive for not using modern technology. And thus, Robert felt like a complete fool once he remembered that when he first became a guardian, he’d thrown away his phone in the hope of one day using telepathy.

***

{Cut! Okay!}

As soon as the director gave the signal, Woo-Jin ran to the actor he had injured earlier.

{Are you alright?}

{It stings a bit, but it’s fine.}

The actor rubbed his neck and smiled bashfully. Woo-Jin suggested he go to the hospital with Kang Ho-Soo. Fortunately, the actor had no other scenes to film today, so he didn’t resist the suggestion.

{I still don’t know your name even though we’ve been working together. It’s nice to meet you; I’m Chae Woo-Jin.}

{Oh, I’m Lex. Lex Baker.}

Lex grabbed Woo-Jin’s outstretched hand and shook it, smiling a bit more relaxedly this time.

Then, Woo-Jin watched as Lex departed with Kang Ho-Soo to go to the hospital. Director Rayford approached and reassured Woo-Jin, stating that the production crew would take responsibility for the injury so he didn’t have to worry too much.

{But he got injured because of me.}

Woo-Jin didn’t want to become someone who would simply leave a wounded actor to the production team and forget about it, even if the injury wasn’t severe. His parents had repeatedly taught him that a person’s attitude towards their co-workers was what made the foundations of who they were. It appeared as though their teachings had become fully ingrained in Woo-Jin’s mind.

{It’s quite cold here in Seoul.}

Someone approached Woo-Jin and spoke as she wore a blanket over her shoulders, shivering in the cold. It was Irene, the actress playing Angelica in the movie. She was wearing a pure white suit, which made the people watching her feel chilly. Yet, now that she was covered with a blanket, that frigid feeling disappeared instantly.

Due to her weak constitution, Irene’s physical condition often changed alongside the weather. Even though she didn’t even flinch when the crew blew wind in her face to make her hair flutter, as soon as the camera switched off, Irene immediately started shivering as if she were suffering from a terrible illness.

{Cough, cough, I’ll head back to the hotel now.}

With her expression clearly displaying her currently indisposed state, since there were no more scenes left for her to shoot today, Irene left the film set without any hesitation. Although she didn’t have a serious disease, her body’s innate health and stamina were rather weak, so she got ill whenever she went overseas to film her movies.

Aside from Woo-Jin and Dustin, she was the only guardian who had to film in Korea. She didn’t have many scenes to shoot here, so she could shorten her stay significantly by filming them back to back. However, her body would not be able to keep up with such a busy schedule, so her stay was extended.

Irene had still not adapted to the jet lag yet, and she returned to the hotel with a haggard face, entirely at odds with how she appeared while acting just now. The reason why she was able to head back this early was that her schedule was booked quite loosely. Luckily for her, she had no interviews or commercials to participate in until later on during her time in Korea.

In the following scenes they had to film, Jin would chase after their enemies as they attempted to flee in a car. Yet, most shots would be performed by Woo-Jin’s stuntmen, and he only had to take part in a scene where he stood on top of the car and did some stunts.

Since he had some time to spare while the staff members prepared the car, Woo-Jin decided to approach the fans who were watching the film set on the street. As he got closer, the fans grew excited by the unexpected situation. They started waving their hands and cheering for Woo-Jin, shouting his name. On the side, Dustin was already signing autographs for the onlookers there, but as the crowd began to yell, he became startled.

{Geez~! You’re so popular wherever you go.}

Woo-Jin had said that his high popularity in Korea was only natural since it was his homeland, the place where his fanbase was largest. However, in Dustin’s eyes, Woo-Jin’s popularity in the United States was quite monumental as well.

Even though he was new to the scene and most people in the US were unfamiliar with him, more and more people were starting to recognize Woo-Jin thanks to the success of The Red. And for the countless Asian tourists who were visiting Los Angeles, Woo-Jin was already a superstar.

Although Dustin was just as famous as Woo-Jin, if not more, wherever he went, even he started to grow a bit tired of Woo-Jin’s unimaginably immense popularity among Asians. This observation was an obvious one since whenever Dustin and Woo-Jin were together in public, most Asians flocked to the latter. Thanks to this phenomenon, Dustin finally learned what it was like to feel impatient and to be envious of someone.

Above all else, his envy consistently showed itself every time he witnessed Woo-Jin’s acting. Dustin was restless and distressed, as he felt like he was falling behind the Korean actor. While he understood why Woo-Jin was more popular than him among Asians, the fact that he was falling behind as an actor performance-wise filled him with a sense of shame.

Before coming to Korea, Dustin had opened up and confessed these feelings to Selena once. He explained that, for the first time, he was feeling the inferiority complex and jealousy that his previous co-stars had felt towards him.

“That’s because you’re not the greatest actor in the world.”

“I-I guess that’s true.”

“Yes. But that’s okay because you’re the greatest actor in my heart. I like you a lot… as an actor.”

Thanks to that single exchange, Dustin no longer felt any jealousy toward Woo-Jin ever since. It was impossible for all the actors around the world to share the same level of popularity, nor did they act in an identical manner.

They each had their own acting styles, and everyone pursued the path that best fit them as actors. Whether Selena’s comment was truthful or not, Dustin was able to put aside his anxiety thanks to her support. He now watched his Korean friend’s great popularity and excellent acting with a light, joyful heart.

Even if no one showed up to watch, Dustin would happily go up on stage and perform as long as Selena attended the show. In fact, the opposite situation would be a nightmare he didn’t even want to imagine.

After getting acknowledged by Selena, Dustin gained a lot of confidence in his acting. Now that Selena had said she liked him—albeit as an actor—there was nothing in the world that could hold Dustin back.

As Woo-Jin crossed the crosswalk at the filming site and approached the onlookers, people flocked to him like tiny magnets. Although he had security guards around him, Woo-Jin was still approachable since the scary manager Kang Ho-Soo wasn’t around him like he usually was.

When people were about to get on the road, Woo-Jin hurried onto the sidewalk. By spending his days with Dustin, Woo-Jin had honed his fanservice techniques and was now more comfortable and familiar when meeting fans. As he was signing autographs and taking selfies, he noticed a familiar face in the crowd and unintentionally called out to them.

“Oh! Wish Baragi’s lunch box girl!”

Woo-Jin recognized one of the members of Wish Baragi who had delivered lunch boxes to the staff members and actors on the set of City of Shadows. He even remembered their name, but he pretended as if he forgot it so as to not sadden the other fans by calling out to a single person. As expected, the individual involved was delighted when Woo-Jin recognized them, but the people around appeared quite jealous.

“I’m also a part of Wish Baragi!”

A few other people raised their voices, stating that they were also members of the fan cafe. Woo-Jin smiled and asked whether they were having a get-together today. In this way, he continued talking to the group of fans around him instead of one person specifically.

“Did you enjoy watching us film?”

“We didn’t get to see much. There’re too many staff members around the set.”

“That’s true. I also had a hard time getting used to having so many crew members around at first. But aren’t you all cold? Why are you wearing such light clothes today? What if you get sick?”

“But the weather’s really nice today!”

In response to the crowd’s answers, Woo-Jin looked up at the sky.

Indeed, it was considerably warmer than the day he had first returned to Korea from his flight. It seemed Woo-Jin had just gotten used to the warm winter in LA. Moreover, Woo-Jin had apparently gotten brainwashed at some point by the production crew and actors since they constantly stated how cold they felt. Based on the warm sunlight shining down, he could sense that spring was approaching.

“I must return to the set now. Be careful on your way home, and I’ll see you all next time. I will try to remember as many people here as possible next time.”

Woo-Jin felt bad for only recognizing one fan, and he gestured to everyone around him, promising to remember them next time. In fact, he was quickly observing everyone’s faces, trying to memorize them. Interestingly enough, there were already a few faces he recognized, whether for good reasons or bad. Before, he simply pretended as if he didn’t see them.

A wave of regret rushed within Woo-Jin as he turned around and returned to the set after receiving the staff’s signal to resume filming.

“Kyaa! He remembered my face even though it’s been over a year!” The girl exclaimed.

“Yeah, he must have a really good memory,” her friend commented.

She wasn’t the only member of Wish Baragi that went to the set of City of Shadows. Furthermore, back then, she often stood behind the other members because of how shy she was. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that Woo-Jin would remember her.

Perhaps she had gotten too excited, but the girl stepped backward without paying attention to what was behind her.

“Kyaak!”

She was only able to take a few steps back before she tripped over the feet of the person behind her. And maybe her luck was terrible today, but someone even spilled their cold coffee over her head.

“What’s this?”

It wasn’t an Americano but a café latte with syrup, so her hair quickly became sticky. Even though she had stumbled to the ground and had a sticky drink poured on her head, the fan couldn’t hold back her laughter. The joy of meeting Chae Woo-Jin and getting recognized by him seemed to outweigh these minor misfortunes.

“Why are you laughing in this situation? Anyways, the person who spilled their coffee on you disappeared. They didn’t even apologize!”

“There are so many people here. They probably got pushed around, spilled it on me accidentally, and left without even realizing what had happened.”

“You think so? I remember seeing the woman behind you holding a coffee cup right before you fell.”

“If she was right behind me, then I must’ve tripped on her feet. Maybe they also stumbled when I fell.”

The fan treated this situation as a common occurrence and lightly brushed it off since many people were gathered in one area. In fact, she considered herself lucky because the scarf around her neck had caught most of the coffee, so her clothes hadn’t gotten damaged.

As the fan used a handkerchief to wipe the coffee off her hair, a woman watched from afar, holding a coffee cup before throwing it to the ground. The little coffee remaining in the cup spilled out and stained the street, but that was of no importance.

Chae Woo-Jin had crossed to the other side of the street and was no longer visible as the staff members surrounded him. The woman was somewhat happy to have seen his face up close and heard his voice, but their time spent together was far too short.

She was disappointed and upset that she had to share his limited time with so many other people. Nevertheless, it was reassuring that Woo-Jin had recognized and smiled at her during the short instance when their gazes met.

“It’s all because of that stupid bitch.”

She was certain that Woo-Jin had pretended not to recognize her because of all the people watching him. If it were just the two of them, Woo-Jin would’ve definitely hugged her tenderly and caringly. The woman suppressed her anger as she imagined such a scene in her mind.

***

In the next filming session, Woo-Jin performed many detailed action stunts, such as jumping on top of a car while striking a cool pose, breaking the window with his fist, and pulling the driver out of the vehicle, to list a few.

Although each scene was short and brief, the way they connected each element was extremely important as the movie’s quality depended on it. There were many quick shots with close-ups of the actor, so it was important that Woo-Jin immersed himself in his role for short bursts of time.

Once they were done for the day, Woo-Jin got dinner at a restaurant and returned home at an appropriate time with his friend. They were greeted by the sight of Woo-Jin’s sister running up to Dustin.

“Aren’t you supposed to be busy these days?” Woo-Jin asked in Korean.

Woo-Hee had achieved a perfect score on the CSAT, just as she had hoped. However, the exam this time appeared to be easier than it was in the past. As such, there were over a dozen people around the nation who achieved perfect scores.

Her achievement ended up being lessened somewhat, but her true goal was fulfilled when a single article was released in the press, stating that Chae Woo-Jin’s younger sister had received a perfect score on the CSAT. Unfortunately, now that she had become Woo-Jin’s underclassman at his university, there were a lot of gatherings and meetings for freshmen she had to participate in these days.

{You shouldn’t talk in Korean in front of a guest who doesn’t understand the language.} Woo-Hee reprimanded her brother.

She then apologized to Dustin for her brother’s inconsiderate and insensitive behavior. Seeing how she was grinning to herself happily, Woo-Jin started wondering whether she truly was his younger sister or if an imposter had replaced her.