小火星

Chapter 307: Autumn (8)

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』

『’Male Friend: Remake’ which「Kang Woojin」voiced, Ranks 1st in SNS Search Rankings!』

Of course, there were quite a few articles about ‘Male Friend: Remake’ as well.

『「Male Friend: Remake」, the only anime based on a Korean Drama and the only rom-com among 3rd quarter works』

Among many anime, ‘Male Friend: Remake’ was the only one not based on a manga. Moreover, the original work was a Korean drama, ‘Male Friend’, and in the recent Japanese anime market, rom-coms had been performing poorly. Therefore, the production company, ‘A10 Studio’, had to double their promotional budget.

In some ways, it might be the weakest among the dozens of anime works. However, ‘Male Friend: Remake’ had a weapon it could wield.

『Voice Actor 「Kang Woojin」, as mentioned by ‘A10 Studio’: “His skills are good enough to switch to voice acting without any issues”』

The issue at hand was Kang Woojin. With his overwhelming popularity and recognition in Japan due to numerous headlines, he was the only breakthrough. In addition, ‘A10 Studio’ took several bold steps that played a role. They adapted a Korean work into an anime, cast a Korean actor as the male lead’s voice actor, and even entrusted the OST to Kang Woojin.

Thanks to that, with just two days left before its first broadcast, ‘Male Friend: Remake’ was the hottest topic across various Japanese SNS and Community Sites.

『「Male Friend: Remake」 Most Discussed on SNS and Community Sites, Currently Ranked No. 1 in Terms of Public Interest』

Of course, not all the comments were positive.

-Male Friend: Remake!! I’m looking forward to it!

-www I’m curious because Kang Woojin is the voice actor www

-I’m not really interested in watching it, Kang Woojin probably didn’t do a good job as a voice actor anyway.

-This anime… it’s finally coming out… I would’ve watched it if the original work wasn’t Korean…

-There are many things I don’t like about it, but since it’s been a while since a rom-com aired, I plan to watch the first episode.

-Japan has so many successful male voice actorsㅠ Why did A10 cast a Korean actor?

-Male Friend: Remake will get a lot of viewers anyway, whether they’re people looking forward to it or those who have a negative view, they’ll probably watch it out of curiosity.

Strictly speaking, there were more negative comments. However, this too was a form of interest. Hence, ‘A10 Studio’ didn’t loosen their grip on the promotional reins, regardless of what the public was saying. As time passed, they intensified their advertising efforts on SNS, YouTube, and community sites.

The recent trend in the Japanese anime market could be described as barren.

Viewership ratings ranging from 3% to 5% were the average, and if a show reached 10%, it was considered a huge hit. Two years ago, there was an anime that achieved a 15% rating, and the Japanese media hailed it as an extraordinary success. A rating in the 3% range would place a show around the 10th spot in the ratings ranking. In the first and second quarters of this year, there were no anime that hit the 10% mark.

That’s why the Japanese media were paying close attention to the third-quarter anime market.

『Will there be a 「10% viewership rating」 anime this 3rd quarter?』

There were indeed many anticipated works. And the abundance of anticipated works meant one thing.

『Many Anticipated Works in the 「3rd Quarter」, At Least 10 Titles! Who Will Be the Winner?』

This meant that ‘Male Friend: Remake’ had plenty of competition.

Meanwhile, in Korea. Incheon Airport.

It was morning, but the airport’s departure hall was packed with people. Because it was the vacation season in July, the crowd was several times larger than usual. Amidst the throng, groups carrying enormous amounts of luggage stood out. They clearly looked like film crews, and among them were some foreigners. Upon closer inspection, the foreigners had familiar faces.

It was Ethan Smith, with his big nose, and his stunt team.

There were also many other familiar faces in front of them. Especially a man with a thick beard.

“Make sure each team keeps track of their luggage! If something’s missing when we get to Bangkok, it’s going to be a disaster!”

It was PD Song Man-woo. Naturally. This massive group was the ‘Beneficial Evil’ film crew. Of course, not the entire crew was present, only those participating in the overseas location shoot in Bangkok.

Their goal was location scouting in Bangkok.

A line PD responsible for the overseas location was already waiting in Bangkok. The trip to Bangkok for ‘Beneficial Evil’ was a crucial part of the schedule. It was during the final stages of pre-production and right before the script reading, and they needed to finalize the ‘CQC’ martial arts storyboard, which was critical to episodes 1 and 2.

Perhaps that was why.

“……”

Ethan and the stunt team’s expressions were firm.

At that moment.

“Immigration! Immigration processing! Let’s go in order!”

With the assistant director’s shout.

-Swoosh.

The ‘Beneficial Evil’ team departed for Bangkok.

LA International Airport.

Kang Woojin and his team arrived in LA. It was night when Woojin set foot in the vast, bustling arrivals hall, teeming with people of various races. To be precise, it was the night of the 9th, one day prior. With an indifferent expression, Woojin gazed out at the dark sky visible through the airport windows.

‘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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