Capítulo 31: CH30
"Wearing black is the way to go, and you're wearing a Zegna suit to boot."
Hwang Yi-Young looked at Chae Woo-Jin, who had dressed up for the preview screening, with her eyes half-closed. Seeing Woo-Jin dressed completely following her taste, she reacted dramatically because he looked so dazzling. On the other hand, Woo-Jin stood there frozen and could not move.
"Isn't this a little too much?" asked Woo-Jin.
Even though he did not know much about luxury brands, he knew how much an Ermenegildo Zegna suit cost. He was worried about not being able to use the bathroom if he were to wear that.
"It's from their sartorial line, so it's not as expensive as you think. It was specially sponsored by Miss Park Si-Yeon, so all you have to do is look good in it and take good pictures."
"I'm saying I don't have the confidence to look good in it."
Hwang Yi-Young stared at Woo-Jin, who was grumbling. Brimming with confidence, she said to him arrogantly, "Listen up, Chae Woo-Jin. You are worth so much more than some clothes that cost millions of won. In fact, the suit should be very grateful to you for wearing it. And so what if you stain it? It's made of a very high-quality fabric, so even if it gets stained, it will come off if you wash it well. I'm going to wash it before returning it anyway, so what's there to be afraid of?"
Hwang Yi-Young tapped Woo-Jin's arm as she smiled. She was the boss. When Woo-Jin, who had become a little more confident, threw his shoulders back, Hwang Yi-Young laughed out loud in approval.
"But, don't you think I'll be the only one standing out too much?"
Director Moon had personally called him to invite him to the VIP preview screening, but he did not think that he would get noticed by anyone as an actor who played a minor character. Director Moon Seung-Kwon had only told him to dress well and did not say anything else apart from that. Woo-Jin felt very embarrassed for putting a lot of effort into looking good since it looked as though he was expecting to receive a lot of attention.
He was worried about making mistakes so he looked up the preview screening on the internet. He looked at the pictures of the other celebrities who attended the event, but they wore plain-looking clothes that did not look particularly special.
"You don't know this but almost all of them are wearing luxury clothes and accessories. Park Min is also wearing something similar to this line, so you won't be the only one standing out," said Hwang Yi-Young.
"But he's the male lead."
"Woo-Jin, you're a great supporting actor! It doesn't matter whether you're the main lead or the supporting actor, as long as it looks good on you and you mingle confidently. Everything is great about you, but I think that sometimes you lack confidence."
Upon hearing Hwang Yi-Young's criticism, Woo-Jin reflected on himself for a moment. He had never thought that before, so he felt that what she said came out of nowhere.
"I'm just being realistic, no?" asked Woo-Jin.
Woo-Jin had always considered himself to be a realist through and through. As he entered the entertainment industry, he never forgot to keep himself in line to ensure that he did not forget about reality or become pretentious after having big dreams. That was the first time he realized that it could be seen as having a lack of confidence in others' eyes.
"I don't see it as being realistic at all."
From Hwang Yi-Young's point of view, she felt that there were a lot of things Woo-Jin did not know about himself. Additionally, he did not browse the internet much, so he was unaware of the fact that he was currently trending, even though 'The Unknown Actor' was already becoming more and more famous via the help of only a few still cuts and good reviews from critics and journalists who had seen the movie.
"Also, there is an actual difference between being humble and having no confidence. However, right now, it's not the time for you to be humble," added Hwang Yi-Young.
"But I shouldn't be full of confidence either. I get what you are trying to say, but I don't think that I should be wearing these clothes. It's not the time, place, or occasion for it," responded Woo-Jin.
If he was attending an awards ceremony today, he would wear that suit without any hesitation, but that was not the case.
"Do you really not want to wear it?"
"I will wear it next time. I will wear it when it fits the occasion. It's not that I don't want to wear it, it's just that I don't think that I should wear it today."
Since it was Woo-Jin's first official public appearance, Hwang Yi-Young wanted him to look good. It was not like he looked bad in it in the first place – he wore the suit better than anybody else. And if she wasn't dying to show the world how perfect he looked, then she would not be able to call herself a fashion stylist.
However, Woo-Jin was not wrong either. Bluntly speaking, as a rookie who had nothing to show, he would have looked ridiculous wearing a luxury suit to the preview screening of a movie where he was only the supporting character. But because he was Woo-Jin, it felt like he looked good in everything.
"In that case, let's change into something similar. Gentle and sexy."
Hwang Yi-Young patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder a couple of times wistfully before nodding eventually.
"I trust you," said Woo-Jin.
"What, is that how a guy who trusts me behaves?" responded Hwang Yi-Young.
Hwang Yi-Young shook her fist at Woo-Jin as she joked about how she hated him for making things difficult, before telling him to change out of his clothes. As soon as she had given up on getting him to wear the Zegna suit, she started brainstorming clothes that were as similar to Park Min's suit as possible.
Gradually, articles that compared Park Min to Chae Woo-Jin started surfacing. All of them were written by the journalists who had watched the movie at the press preview screening. They predicted that the two men would be competing with one another in a close fight for the title of 'Korea's most handsome man'.
Having seen Park Min in real life before, in Hwang Yi-young's opinion, those articles were ridiculous and absurd.
"How dare they have the audacity to compare Woo-Jin to Park Min."
She could not forget the very first time she laid eyes on Chae Woo-Jin. Although she had met several celebrities, it was the first time she had seen the so-called 'brilliance,' a term that people used to describe stars, when she met Chae Woo-Jin. After his style had been decided, as well as going through skincare treatments, he became even more perfect. In the past, he had been a raw stone, but now, he was a refined gemstone.
"We'll clearly show everyone who is the better one!"
It was a well-known fact that Chae Woo-Jin was now Korea's most handsome man. However, Hwang Yi-Young could not stand him being compared to anyone else. By dressing Woo-Jin in clothes and style that were similar to that of Park Min, she was determined to clearly show everyone who stood out more under the same circumstances. The moment Hwang Yi-Young was burning with determination, Woo-Jin shuddered as he felt a chill go down his back as he took off his shirt.
***
When Woo-Jin arrived at the parking lot of cinema C, where the preview screening was held, he immediately called Director Moon. He was closely following Director Moon's instructions to call him the moment he arrived
- Ohh, Woo-Jin, you arrived?
"Yes, I'm at the underground parking lot right now. Where should I go?"
- Take the VIP elevator and come up to the tenth floor. I'll be waiting for you in front of the elevator, so hurry up.
"VI...ah, I found it. I'm going up now."
There were four guides standing in front of the VIP elevator that Director Moon had mentioned. As soon as Woo-Jin started walking towards the elevator, the two people standing in front of the left elevator approached him.
"For celebrities, this way please."
The guide did not recognize Woo-Jin, but when he saw him, he assumed that he was an actor and immediately guided him to the elevator that was exclusively used by celebrities. When Kang Ho-Soo showed them the invitation, the guide confirmed the details and informed the people upstairs of Woo-Jin's arrival via a walkie-talkie.
"Mr. Chae Woo-Jin is heading up now."
The door was about to close on the waiting elevator when it opened again and a group of three people entered. When they had appeared, Woo-Jin naturally turned his head and Park Min entered Woo-Jin's line of sight. At that moment, their eyes met. The reactions of the two people, who had acted in the same movie but never met each other in person, were quite different. Woo-Jin naturally bowed first since, even though they had never met, Park Min was very famous and had more experience than him in this field. The other two people seemed to be Park Min's managers, so he greeted them by simply nodding. The cold vibes emitting from Park Min made the ambiance awkward for them to exchange greetings.
Meanwhile, Park Min was unable to be as calm as Woo-Jin. He got on the elevator that was about to go up and saw a man he had never met before. Since it was an elevator reserved for celebrities to use, he guessed that Woo-Jin was an actor as well. However, Park Min did not immediately remember his face or recognize who he was. There's no way I don't know an actor who's that good-looking. Who can he be?
Park Min was someone who was well aware of how good-looking he was, and he had never felt threatened or lost to anyone else when it came to the looks department. As such, Park Min could objectively and subjectively evaluate him. All things considered, the other party was more handsome and beautiful than himself. It might be awkward for a man to call another man beautiful, but it was more than fit enough to be called beautiful.
However, even though it was clearly his first time seeing this person, the other party felt somewhat familiar to him. The moment Park Min looked back to ask his managers who that person was, Park Min's face contorted. That was because he could see on both of his managers' faces that they were lost in admiration for the other person's looks, which Park Min could see on their faces. The two people, who had grown accustomed to good looks as they were always by Park Min's side, were pros who would usually not openly reveal their emotions when seeing someone's looks.
Park Min was more concerned about the fact that he should not have gotten on that elevator than finding out who this person was. He knew that from the moment they got out of the elevator, all eyes would be on them. Why did this man have to be next to me? Park Min glanced to the side and unfortunately saw that the man was dressed in clothes that were similar to his.
Just as he tried to force himself to look normal and stop contorting his lips, he heard the bell and the door of the elevator opened wide. Out of consideration, Woo-Jin and Kang Ho-Soo took a step back to allow Park Min and his managers to get off first. Park Min nudged his managers in the back, since they were still in a daze, and pushed them out. Just before he got out of the elevator behind them, Park Min hurriedly pushed the 'close door' button. As soon as he got out of the elevator, he glanced at the guide who was pushing the 'open door' button to prevent the door from closing. Park Min then stumbled slightly while looking as though he was greeting the guide. He moved the guide's hand away from the button, pretending it was an accidental mistake.
Everything happened in a very short span of time. Even though he was bad at acting, he was good at making his earlier actions look very natural. Nobody could sense anything amiss about his intentional series of actions. On a day when there was an event like today, the button of the elevator at the parking lot was constantly being pushed in preparation for the arrival of guests. That's why as soon as the door closed, the elevator would go down. Sometimes, when the guide forgot to push the button and the people inside the elevator did not push the 'open door' button in time, the elevator would go down and come back up again. Park Min, who had made use of his knowledge from his past experiences to his advantage, smiled gently.
"It's…not Woo-Jin, huh."
Director Moon, who had been waiting for Woo-Jin's arrival, stopped in his tracks. He had been about to greet the person, who had just arrived and was coming out of the elevator, with open arms. Director Moon had only seen the guide standing near the elevator writing the name of the actor, 'Chae Woo-Jin', who was about to arrive next; he did not see the signboard with the name 'Park Min' that was put up immediately after.
When Director Moon found out that the man who just come out of the elevator was Park Min, his excitement died down. Instead of welcoming him with open arms, he tapped Park Min on the shoulder and greeted him. That was because he was not that mad anymore with Park Min since he had put in effort into inviting Woo-Jin to the preview screening.
Shortly after, Director Moon shifted his gaze to the back and a smile appeared on his face again. The door of the elevator that was closed had opened once again. Woo-Jin had finally appeared. There was a commotion in the hall before it was shrouded in strange silence.
Park Min, who sensed something strange in the atmosphere, quickly turned around. Just as he had expected, the door of the elevator that should have gone down had stopped and was opened again. Park Min saw that inside the elevator, a burly man with a kind smile on his face was pressing and holding the button. And inside the elevator was the man, who stood out wherever he went, smiling as he made eye contact with Director Moon with his innocent-looking eyes.
Finally, Park Min realized who the man in the elevator was – he was the man who played loanshark A in the movie, a character who was not even given an actual name.
As soon as Woo-Jin got off the elevator, Director Moon slightly pushed Park Min to the side and walked towards him. Even though Director Moon's action drew a lot of attention, nobody cared that much about it. It was because everyone's attention was focused on the man Director Moon was greeting.
There was a joke that had been going around – after looking at Park Min, everyone else would look like a squid. [1] But today, it seemed like it was Park Min's turn to look like a squid, while Director Moon looked like an unknown alien in comparison to them.
"Why does this guy look more handsome every time I see him?"
Director Moon, who had met Woo-Jin two weeks ago to have dinner with him, was blown away by him. He had become more handsome in the span of two weeks. Woo-Jin definitely did not have an ordinary appearance when he first met him, but he was still amazed by how Woo-Jin kept looking better and better every single time they met after that.
It was not surprising since Woo-Jin had met Director Moon for the first time after he had just been discharged from the military. He had been skinny, and his skin had been rough due to lack of care, last but not least, his hair had been shaved into a buzz cut which made him look less attractive. Woo-Jin had only been given a chance because he was naturally good-looking.
And as he recalled the memories from his past lives, and continued to practice the mental cultivation techniques, which gradually purged the toxins and waste products that were accumulated in his body, Woo-Jin's skin began to improve rapidly. As his body became healthier and more balanced, his posture also improved. Most importantly, as he learned how to control and use his effectively, Woo-Jin learned how to act in a graceful manner while maintaining an upright posture at any given moment.
Naturally, even his slightest movements caught people's attention, causing them to be in awe of him. With the help of the beauty treatments arranged by his agency, his skin became brighter each day and started to bring out his natural beauty.
"You've always taken good care of me, Director Moon."
He did not say that out of humility. When they were reshooting the scenes for Death Hill, it had only been a day since he had remembered his past lives, so there had been no changes in his external appearance. Despite that, Director Moon still took good care of Woo-Jin and always complimented his good looks.
"It's only natural for me to think highly of you."
As Director Moon smiled delightfully, he patted Woo-Jin on the back. It made him very pleased that he would forever be the director of the movie in which Chae Woo-Jin debuted. Choi Yi-Geon's second, so I won! Being competitive all by himself, Moon Seung-Kwon grabbed Woo-Jin's hand and pulled him.
"We can't just stand around, we should go to the photo wall and take some pictures."
Leaving the male lead behind, Director Moon led Woo-Jin to the photo wall. However, no one had paid any attention to Park Min, who was left behind, grinding his teeth. What could he do in a situation where even his own managers were captivated and fixated on Woo-Jin?
After arriving at the photo wall where dozens of reporters were waiting, Moon Seung-Kwon introduced Woo-Jin to everyone with confidence.
"The Unknown Actor has arrived."
Woo-Jin flinched for a second when the light from all the cameras flashed at once. Worried that he might have made a weird face, Woo-Jin waited for Director Moon, as well as Park Min, who was following closely behind. Since they were in the same elevator, they had to stand together at the photo wall, and all the other actors who had arrived after them had to wait.
As Park Min walked towards them, Director Moon kindly led two actors to the photo wall – particularly, Director Moon pushed Park Min on his back with strength, as he smiled.
TL/n -
1. In Korean, the term 'squid' refers to ugly people.
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