Become a Star

“Why did that woman…?”

“Having a sponsor is the easiest and quickest way for a celebrity to attain success, but it can also become a shackle that holds them down for the rest of their lives. It could become the worst sex scandal for a celebrity, causing them to fall from grace. Or people could use it to threaten and manipulate them for life. Regardless of her intentions, it seems like that woman wants to completely destroy you. From what I’ve heard, she had actively recommended you.”

Because of that, she had now become more famous as a broker for having a good eye as she had the foresight to recommend Chae Woo-Jin before he made it big. She was currently scouring through the entertainment industry, smearing dirt on promising celebrities wherever she went and dragging them through the mud.

“That seems to be the case judging from what she’s doing right now. Back then, she probably didn’t do that for the sake of helping you either.” In truth, in Kim Hye-Ryeong’s case, she became very successful after getting a sponsor, but it was evident that she wasn’t trying to help Woo-Jin become successful by recommending him.

“I don’t get it. We cut off all contact with those people. Am I a thorn in her side or something? It would make sense if I kept appearing on TV like I do now, annoying her, but that wasn’t the case then. Is there any chance she did that without knowing who I am?” Woo-Jin felt that this conjecture was more convincing. He wanted to believe it was a situation that had happened by chance. To put it bluntly, they didn’t know any details about each other’s lives, so Woo-Jin was doubtful that something like this could even happen.

“You’re saying Kim Hye-Ryeong doesn’t know who you are? Don’t hold your breath. Also, do you really need to understand why she’s doing this? That’s how she chooses to live; what can we do about it? In fact, it would be even more of a problem if you understood her. I’m only telling you about it because I think you need to be careful.”

If she had attempted it once, there was no way she wouldn’t do it a second time. Even though it wouldn’t be easy for her because Woo-Jin was currently in a much better place than when he was still in TM, one should never underestimate how low a malicious person would stoop. Since it seemed as though Woo-Jin didn’t know why Kim Hye-Ryeong had something against him, Park Yi-Yeon had no choice but to tell him everything that was going on in that family.

“I had a younger brother?” Woo-Jin had only known about Chae Woo-Ra; it was his first time hearing about a younger brother he didn’t even know existed. The belated news of his younger brother’s death gave him mixed feelings. And as soon as Woo-Jin heard about how his biological father had been after the death of his son, he felt bitter. It was not something that would easily blow over. In order to hide his shaking fingers, Woo-Jin lowered his hands and placed them under the table.

“I think aunty[1] doesn’t want you to know about it, but I think it’s something you should know. It’s only a matter of time before everyone knows about our grandfather and your relationship. And by then, that person[2] will recognize you too. Who knows, he might stop doing his terrible deeds and obsess over his wonderful son, who’s all grown up? That woman, Kim Hye-Ryeong, had put in so much effort to do all those things to you back when you didn’t mean anything, so it makes me wonder what she’ll do to you if that happens.”

“I probably still don’t mean anything to him now. It’s just a matter of whether I’m useful or not.” Woo-Jin was fully-aware of what he meant to his biological father; he couldn’t help but smile cynically.

“Why did that woman even become a broker in the first place? I mean, his wife is doing such a thing, and yet that person isn’t doing anything about it?” That was the most questionable thing Woo-Jin simply could not wrap his head around. Even though there was no way that person, whom Woo-Jin refused to call ‘father,’ didn’t know what Kim Hye-Ryeong was doing, it didn’t make sense for him to condone her actions either.

“Kim Hye-Ryeong became a broker approximately three years after aunty got a divorce while being active in the entertainment industry at the same time. And your biological father was the one who benefited from the connections she built as a result. Moreover, your father’s family became so wealthy in such a short period after Kim Hye-Ryeong became a broker, so there’s no reason for him to oppose it.”

Woo-Jin’s father’s family originally owned quite a number of hotels and resorts domestically and internationally. On top of taking over these hotels, Chae Mu-Seok had also founded a food company that dominated the distribution network and was currently on a roll. From business expansion and permits to loans, anything that had to go through institutions always went smoothly without a hitch.

The couple had a mutually beneficial relationship. Kim Hye-Ryeong’s status as Chae Mu-Seok’s wife played a huge part in increasing her value as a broker. Compared to low-level brokers who could stab them in the back at any moment, being from the same social class, Kim Hye-Ryeong was a trustworthy ‘friend’ these sponsors could share secrets with. They had a lot to lose if either side betrayed the other party, so their relationship was bound to become more solid and discreet. Even though the price of providing private entertainment was not very high initially, their business relationship turned into a friendship over time, which then eventually turned into a strong connection.

“Maybe they loved each other in the beginning, but it seems like it’s been a long time since their romantic relationship had completely turned into a business one.” The current situation had been created as a result of the woman’s fight against abandonment and the man’s self-centered desire to take advantage of the woman’s struggle.

“How dirty.”

“You think this is dirty? It’s nothing. Work with me for a month. You’ll never say that.”

“They’re playing dirty.”

Woo-Jin didn’t know how disappointed he should be; he was in distress. If those two people had been genuinely deeply in love with one another, he would have acknowledged that it resulted from his parents’ incompatibility. However, if this was nothing more than the result of their made-up love, it was so dirty that it made Woo-Jin feel sick.

Park Yi-Yeon was right — not being able to understand them was a normal and fortunate thing. Woo-Jin felt so sick that he ended up lowering his head. The current situation was so disgraceful and tragic that Woo-Jin felt too embarrassed to face Park Yi-Yeon.

***

The day after Woo-Jin met with his cousin, he went to see Rayford and Hugh to talk about the movie. Nothing could lift Woo-Jin's spirits because of the lingering emotions from the day before, but he was calmer and more rational than anyone else. Thus, Rayford mistook it as him having a serious attitude towards work, thereby creating an even deeper sense of affection for this trustworthy young man.

They discussed Woo-Jin’s shooting schedule, and the lawyer and staff from America had taken care of the contract for his compensation and remuneration. They managed to sign the contract without a hitch before Rayford and Hugh returned to the United States.

{I’ll see you in December then!}

The movie's production would be starting in December, but Woo-Jin’s shoots were scheduled in January and February next year. However, Woo-Jin decided to be at the filming site earlier in December to get used to the training of the action scenes and the ambiance of the site.

That was the outcome of Rayford’s impatience to introduce Woo-Jin to the other actors and production crew as early as possible. The other reason was that he wanted Woo-Jin to get to know and build a friendship with them before he started shooting, allowing him to quickly adapt to the unfamiliar environment. But, more importantly, since Chae Woo-Jin was a rookie and a nobody in Hollywood, he figured it would be advantageous for him to show his face on set often, regardless of whether he had to shoot a scene or not.

Even though Woo-Jin had already signed the contract, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan postponed publicizing the articles about him expanding into Hollywood for the time being. While LL-Studio did have a solid capital and reputation because of the success of their previous movies, as compared to the other production companies with a long history, it was still relatively new. Since there had been many cases where production companies not lacking in capital or experience ended up canceling their production, it would be too rash for them to celebrate. Moreover, it was too risky to promote a movie that hadn’t started its production.

CEO Jang Soo-Hwan kept ‘Chae Woo-Jin’s entry into Hollywood’ a secret for the time being as making a fuss about it could potentially lower Chae Woo-Jin’s value. However, even though it wasn’t the right time for that, there were many ways of promoting Chae Woo-Jin, one of which was the announcement of the candidates that had passed the second round of the bar exam.

“You really passed!”

Even though Woo-Jin was confident, CEO Jang Soo-Hwan still had a great deal of uncertainty and doubt. However, when he saw Woo-Jin’s name on the list of candidates that passed, he was dumbfounded.

“When did you even study for it?”

“There are people who are even more capable than me.”

When Woo-Jin saw Kim Tae-Hwa on the list of names, all he could think about was how incredible she was. He became more capable because he had remembered the memories of his past lives, but Kim Tae-Hwa passed the first and second round on her first attempt while working part-time at the same time. In other words, she was truly a capable person.

Woo-Jin had recently given Kim Tae-Hwa a movie ticket for Red Enemy with the help of Hyun-Min, but he didn’t know if she had seen it or not. Even if she had seen it, nobody could guess what she felt or thought about it. Even though Woo-Jin hoped things would change for the better, there was nothing he could do if that weren’t the case. Woo-Jin just hoped that she wouldn’t make the wrong choice because of her family in the future when she was in a position where she had to use the law fairly.

“Woo-Jin? What’s on your mind?”

“Ah, what did you say?”

“I asked if you were going to go for the interview.”

“I’ll prepare for it for the time being.”

Even though Woo-Jin wasn’t going to go to the training institute, not going for the interview after coming this far would be a pity. In the second round of the bar exam, they had passed eight more people than the original quota, so nobody could say he had wasted another person’s opportunity just because he chose not to pursue law.

Woo-Jin desired to have the honor of being the number one successful candidate. As soon as they had released the list of candidates who had passed the exam, people who knew he had taken the test kept calling and texting him. Meanwhile, he immediately called his parents. The joy he could sense in his mother’s cheerful voice made him feel at peace for the first time in a while.

“I’ll send you the details.”

“Please do as you wish, sir.”

A couple of journalists had published favorable articles about Woo-Jin going to see Lee Hyung-Jin’s performances. The articles looked at Lee Hyung-Jin from a new perspective, quelling any criticisms about Woo-Jin and DS engaging in buzz marketing[3]. Of these reporters, one had maintained a good relationship with DS, and the other regarded Woo-Jin favorably.

CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had planned to inform them of the news about Chae Woo-Jin passing the second round of bar exam first. CEO Jang was well-aware of the concept of giving and taking — he had sent the materials he had already prepared to the journalists at the same time. The journalist who published it first would become the star of the scoop.

<Chae Woo-Jin passes the second round of the educator exam!>

The first journalist, who published the article as soon as they had gotten the materials from DS, was in such a hurry that they made the mistake of typing ‘educator’ instead of ‘bar.’[4]. However, their impressive speed was unmarred by the typo. On the contrary, people wondered how surprised they must have been to make such a typo, and it continued lingering in their minds for a long time.

There was also a huge difference in the number of views between that article and the rest published a few minutes later. The journalists that had published just the title without any content started posting follow-up articles with all the details. Regardless, it was only natural for the journalists with materials from DS to publish a more detailed report with substantial content.

<Chae Woo-Jin (23 years old) has done it again this time around. He took the bar exam for the first time this year and passed the first two rounds. He’s currently only left with the interview stage. If he passes the final round, it would mean he has passed all three rounds of the bar exam in less than a year.

Additionally, it was his first attempt. As we all know, he had shot two movies just before taking the exam. Of course, he had only appeared as a guest star in one of them, so he didn’t have a lengthy shooting schedule, but Red Enemy is his best movie thus far. People who have seen the movie would know that he had to do so many things in the movie, from geonmu to calligraphy, not forgetting his final action scene. However, he had done his part perfectly. He had once said in an interview that he worked as hard as he could, sacrificing his sleep, in order to play the part well.

It’s hard to estimate how much effort he had put in for the second round of the bar exam while juggling all of that at the same time. More importantly, while he was preparing for the first round, he had appeared on The King of the Masked Singers just before the exam. Frankly, I couldn’t understand why he dropped out of the competition at that time. I simply thought he was just creating an excuse to quit The King of the Masked Singers.

However, it was not until today that I could clearly accept his reason, which was to be filial to his parents. There is no better reason than this.>

1. Woo-Jin’s mother. ☜

2. Woo-Jin’s biological father. ☜

3. Publicity stunt where any publicity is good publicity even if it elicits a negative response. ☜

4. Both characters are very similar to one another – 사범 and 사법. ☜