<Episode 74>
News of Kang Woojin’s drama casting was published.
[Kang Woojin, taking on a daily comedy drama?]
[Kang Woojin attempts image transformation with the drama “Hansoo and Soohan.”]
[Is Kang Woojin abandoning his “Director-level executive” image?]
In an instant, articles with similar titles poured out.
That was the level of influence actor Kang Woojin had.
I clicked on one of the articles.
[Actor Kang Woojin revealed that while he had been troubled by being typecast and receiving only limited scripts, he had an in-depth conversation with CEO John Raid Lombardi of Ramos Entertainment and decided to take on a new challenge.]
Why was my name being mentioned here again? I had no idea.
‘…This is going to get noisy.’
I immediately closed the article.
Now, Kang Woojin was no longer something I needed to worry about. After doing this much for him, if he still developed depression or panic disorder, that was beyond what I could handle.
Bzzzt.
At that moment, I received a call from Kim Jawook.
‘Did something happen?’
I answered right away.
“Hello.”
[Yes, sir. Are you available to talk?]
“Yes. What’s going on?”
[Nothing bad.]
It didn’t seem like anything serious. His voice sounded the same as usual.
[We came to a restaurant to eat, and we happened to run into PD Yoo.]
“Really?”
It made me think how Korea could feel both small and large… you run into acquaintances even at a random restaurant.
[And he made a proposal.]
“What kind of proposal?”
[He asked if Spade Joker would like to film a variety show where they run a restaurant overseas during their break period.]
There had been no mention of anything like this the last time we met.
“Where overseas?”
[The United States.]
I tried to recall if there had been such a show.
There had been something similar.
But the difference was that, in what I remembered, one member from multiple idol groups joined together.
“First, I’ll need to see the proposal. I’ll consider it positively, but the members’ opinions matter, and we need to check schedules too. What did the members say?”
[They’re completely fixated on ‘America.’]
That was understandable.
Ever since their trip to Thailand, they had been talking about wanting to travel more… so hearing “America” must have excited them a lot.
“Cain can speak English, so filming shouldn’t be a problem…”
Still, I couldn’t accept immediately. There were things that needed to be properly reviewed.
Filming dates, what kind of restaurant it would be, whether only Spade Joker would appear… There were many factors to consider.
And honestly, having only Spade Joker members appear carried risks.
If a general variety show, not self-produced content or a program designed solely for one artist, featured only one group, it would feel out of place.
There were almost no shows structured that way.
And from a ratings standpoint, it would be better for production to attract multiple fandoms.
‘If it’s only one group, that sounds more like original content or a special project, not a general variety show. It’s surprising this proposal even got approved in the first place.’
Since it was PD Yoo’s project, I would normally want to participate… but this didn’t feel right.
I would receive the proposal, but I likely wouldn’t be able to give a positive answer.
“Tell them that for now. Don’t confirm anything yet, we need to review it.”
[Yes, understood.]
With that, I ended the call with Kim Jawook.
***
“Let’s talk about the details later. We’re in the middle of filming right now.”
“Yes.”
PD Yoo told them to enjoy their meal and returned to his shoot.
The members of Spade Joker were excited at the mention of America.
“America…”
“Canada would be nice too. Since we’re going, I could visit my family.”
At Juseok’s comment, manager Kim Jawook tilted his head slightly before speaking.
“I’ve been wondering… Cain, you’re from Canada, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you say Thailand was your first overseas trip? Wouldn’t Korea be your first? I mean, it might not fully count as a ‘trip,’ but you must’ve traveled a bit.”
It was the first time Kim Jawook voiced a question he had been curious about.
“Ah, to me, Korea doesn’t feel like a foreign country. I’ve lived here so long, and thanks to my parents, my identity is strongly Korean… so I don’t perceive Korea as ‘abroad.’”
Cain had Canadian nationality but was raised by Korean parents.
Having lived in Korea for a long time, his identity had simply aligned with being Korean.
Kim Jawook nodded, finally understanding.
“What did the CEO say?”
“He said he’d review the proposal first before deciding. It didn’t seem like a negative reaction… he’s close with PD Yoo.”
The members’ faces brightened.
“But none of us can really cook. Would it be okay to sell Korean food?”
“Maybe we could sell ramen?”
“Oh, we’re actually really good at making ramen.”
Even though nothing had been decided yet, they were already discussing what food to sell in America.
Worried they might be disappointed if it fell through, Kim Jawook quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, the sportswear brand you filmed with just released a teaser ‘Who is the next model?’ showing only silhouettes first.”
As he spoke, he showed them the image.
“Wow.”
“Isn’t that our ending pose from the last album?”
As Heeseo said, the silhouette was indeed Spade Joker’s previous album’s ending pose.
If they had used the current promotional pose, people would have recognized them too quickly… so they intentionally chose an older one.
“Do you think people will figure out it’s us from just this?”
“It’ll be hard, it’s just a silhouette. We recognize it because it’s us. And how many idol groups even use similar poses?”
“Should we check?”
The manager immediately opened social media.
[It’s our boys. I knew it the moment I saw the silhouette… it’s Spade Joker. There’s no way not to recognize it. How could I not recognize them? They even wore this brand’s tracksuits in the choreography video. It has to be them. No other possibility. Spade Joker. Case closed. No objections allowed.
(Attached: overlay of Spade Joker photo and silhouette)]
↳ That’s amazing. How did you know?
↳ I love this; people always guess right from silhouettes.
↳↳ It’s like how you recognize someone you know instantly even among similar people. If you think of it that way, it makes sense.
↳ I’ve seen that pose so many times… how could I not know?
↳↳ Same. The moment I saw it, their ending pose overlapped in my head.
[LOL it’s definitely Spade Joker. Great model choice. The marketing team did an amazing job. Isn’t the brand motto something like “If you don’t give up, you can achieve it”? That’s literally Spade Joker. They went through hard times but succeeded by never giving up.]
↳ Perfect match.
↳ They fit the brand image so well.
↳ Guys, this ad was made for you. Just keep taking all the ads, okay?
↳↳ I agree. Take all the other ads too. Become rich, Spade Joker! Please!
Contrary to expectations, Clover identified them immediately.
“People figured out it was us just from this?”
Leejoo stared at the phone, completely shocked.
[LOL they probably tried to hide it by using an old stage pose… but if they really wanted to hide it, they should’ve used a neutral standing pose. Though honestly, fans would’ve figured it out anyway. The power of love is amazing. Even if faces are covered with hats, masks, and scarves, we recognize them by clothing, body shape, posture, everything.]
↳ So true. Fans always know.
↳ That’s incredible.
↳ Even from far away, I can recognize my idol instantly.
↳↳ I don’t stan anyone, so it’s honestly fascinating how that works.
“Fans are really amazing. Recognizing us from just that.”
“Seriously. We should memorize our fans’ faces better too.”
At Cain’s words, the other members nodded.
“Then let’s do a live stream today.”
“Even if fans kind of guessed, the brand hasn’t officially revealed it yet, so don’t say anything. And also about the America thing.”
“Yes.”
The members answered confidently.
They were the type who handled things well without needing reminders, so Kim Jawook didn’t say more.
If he kept talking, it would turn from advice into nagging.
At that moment, Kim Jawook didn’t know… that during the live stream, the members would end up revealing both that they had filmed an advertisement (without naming the brand) and that they had been offered a variety show in the United States.
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