<Episode 69>
“Hello. I’m Kang Woojin.”
As soon as they arrived at the script reading venue, Kang Woojin greeted them with a neat posture and steady voice.
“Oh! Welcome! We’ve been waiting for you.”
The drama director welcomed him enthusiastically.
It made sense. Who would dare treat an actor like Kang Woojin poorly?
The director then turned his head and looked at me.
“Huh? But isn’t this CEO John Raid Lombardi?”
I had delivered the script on his behalf before, but I didn’t expect him to recognize me just by my face.
‘How did I end up becoming well-known too, not just Spade Joker?’
This kind of situation was honestly unwelcome.
“Hello. I’m here today in the capacity of Kang Woojin’s manager. Nice to meet you.”
“Huh? Did you change agencies?”
“It’s not that… it just kind of turned out this way.”
Explaining everything would take too long, so I glossed it over with “it just happened.” The director didn’t seem particularly curious either and let it pass without further questions.
“Anyway, please have a seat.”
“Yes.”
At the long table, the director and writer sat on one side, while Kang Woojin and I sat across from them.
“You’ve read the script, right?”
“Yes.”
“To be honest, when Actor Kang Woojin said he wanted to do this project, we were so shocked. We were even joking among ourselves if it was a scam.”
The director spoke to lighten the mood.
“To be honest, your image doesn’t quite match the main character of this work, but since you’re such a good actor, I wasn’t worried.”
“Thank you.”
“Shall we start the reading then?”
“Sounds good.”
The director opened the script.
“Here. Let’s read this part.”
“Yes.”
“Hansoo stands up from his desk and bumps into the corner.”
As soon as the director read the direction, Kang Woojin immediately began acting.
“Ah! Ah… why do I always hit this spot? Maybe I should just file down this desk corner! I hate this so much.”
The sharp and cold image of Kang Woojin that the public knew was nowhere to be found.
“Hey, Kang Hansoo! You hit that spot again?”
The director read the other character’s line.
“Yeah. Somehow it hurts even more than usual.”
“Well, you hurt the same spot yesterday.”
“That’s true.”
“By the way, did you find the wallet you lost yesterday?”
“My wallet? Of course! I left it at the convenience store after paying, can you believe it? The part-timer kept it safe. Apparently, this isn’t the first time I’ve done that. Anyway, thank goodness.”
Kang Woojin showed a cheerful smile.
“Did you find your shoes?”
“No. I think I’ll just give up. What should I tell my mom?”
“You should just tell her honestly. If you lie and get caught, it’ll be worse.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
And just like that, one scene ended.
Since they already knew his acting skills, it seemed they were just lightly checking the feel.
“Good. Then let’s read this part too.”
The director flipped the script.
“Hansoo waits for the signal with a blank expression.”
As another direction was read, Kang Woojin unfocused his eyes.
“He notices that there are only a few seconds left before the light turns green.”
“Ah!”
Kang Woojin scratched his head awkwardly.
“I’ve missed it three times already.”
He pressed his lips together tightly.
“It’d be nice if there were an overpass.”
The director and writer exchanged glances and gave a slight nod.
It seemed like a positive signal.
“Actor Kang Woojin.”
“Yes.”
“For a moment, I really thought Hansoo was here.”
At the compliment, Kang Woojin’s eyes softened.
“I’ve only seen your sharp image before, but you’re not like that at all? Even your outfit today.”
“I dressed intentionally to match Hansoo’s vibe.”
‘There’s definitely a reason why he’s been able to maintain popularity for so long.’
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. It really looks like something Hansoo would wear.”
“I didn’t expect you to prepare this meticulously.”
The director and writer continued praising him.
“It feels like we’ve found an unexpected treasure.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“But what made you suddenly decide to change your image?”
“Well… my real personality is actually closer to Hansoo than the image people know.”
Kang Woojin revealed the truth with courage. I hadn’t expected him to go that directly, so it surprised me a bit.
“What?”
“Really?”
The writer and director reacted strongly in disbelief.
“Yes. Somehow, my image got fixed that way, so it wasn’t easy to reveal it. But now that I’m running my own agency… I thought maybe it would be okay to show it.”
After saying that, Kang Woojin looked noticeably relieved.
“Then what you just showed us… That’s the real Kang Woojin?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, that must’ve been frustrating all this time. You know actress Shin Yujin, right? She’s actually quite lively, but her company forced her to stick to a pure image, so she struggled a lot. Then she appeared on an observational variety show, revealed her real personality, and people loved it. Said it felt human.”
The writer reassured him by giving an example of another actor.
“A role is a role, and an actor is an actor. Shin Yujin played a villain recently, right? People got so angry watching it that they went to her SNS, saw her real cheerful personality, and calmed down.”
“I saw that too.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks to you, Actor Kang Woojin, our drama might become a huge hit.”
The director and writer were already speaking as if his casting were confirmed.
I glanced at Kang Woojin… he nodded as if he had no intention of refusing.
“Then, shall we move on to discussing the filming schedule?”
“Sounds good.”
After revealing his real personality, Kang Woojin signed the contract without hesitation.
On the way back home, the smile on his face showed no sign of fading.
‘Is he really that happy?’
“CEO, thank you.”
“I didn’t really do anything other than sit there.”
That was true.
I wasn’t his manager or agency head, nor did I know his schedule. I had simply stayed by his side.
That was the best I could do.
“Even that gave me strength.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I’m going to work really hard on this project.”
“Go ahead.”
Whether he worked hard or not had nothing to do with me.
“There you go again, answering half-heartedly.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Yes. Actors like me are sensitive not only to our own expressions but also to subtle changes in others’ expressions.”
That made sense. They had to read their co-actors to match the flow.
“Still, it can’t be helped.”
“Yeah. But I know you don’t dislike me, so I’ll let it slide. And I also know that even when you act annoyed, you’re not actually that annoyed.”
The first part was true, but the second wasn’t.
There had definitely been times I found him bothersome.
Still, I didn’t bother saying it out loud. That would just make him noisier.
“CEO.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll give you a gift.”
“I’ll decline.”
I refused before even hearing what it was.
“Why?”
Kang Woojin grabbed my arm as if he couldn’t believe it.
“I’m driving. Let go. It’s distracting.”
Even though he wasn’t doing anything extreme, it was still a disturbance.
“Yes.”
Fortunately, he let go right away.
“Why are you refusing when I’m offering a gift?”
“Because I don’t think I can handle whatever gift you’d give.”
“Hah! I’ve already figured out what kind of person you are.”
He said in a slightly sulky voice.
“If I say it’s something extravagant, you’ll definitely refuse. I know that.”
“Did you ever consider that I just don’t want to accept your gifts at all?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you know I’ll keep bothering you if you keep refusing, right? You’ve figured me out too, haven’t you?”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Did you know? These days, it feels like I spend more time with you than with the Spade Joker members.”
“Really?”
Kang Woojin’s face lit up.
‘Why is that something to be happy about?’
“We’re here.”
While talking, we arrived in front of his house.
“Should I buy you dinner? As thanks for coming with me today.”
“I’ll pass on that too. It’s almost time for Spade Joker’s performance. I need to monitor it.”
I glanced at the clock as I spoke.
“You really care about your artists.”
“Isn’t that obvious? They need to succeed for me to make money. My goal is to move to a bigger company building.”
“Then just merge with our company.”
“Then will you become the CEO? Usually, in mergers, the bigger side absorbs the smaller one.”
Kang Woojin shut his mouth.
Seeing that, I chuckled and sent him off.
“Go on in.”
“Yes.”
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