“A lot of garlic?”
“And two more servings of pork neck please.”
As soon as their unfriendly server walked away, Park Yeon-Ah lowered her voice and chided Woo-Jin, “We’ve already ordered five servings and we haven’t grilled two of them yet.”
“I felt bad that we kept asking for more garlic and nothing else since it’s rather expensive these days,” Woo-Jin responded.
“Garlic really is expensive these days. Honestly, when the part-timer asked ‘Just garlic?’ I flinched a little too. Mr. Kang Min-Ho, please eat in moderation.” Park Yeon-Ah was very aware of the food prices because she cooked her own meals. She seemed to share the same sentiment as Woo-Jin as she glared at Kang Min-Ho.
“Garlic isn’t that expensive,” responded Kang Min-Ho.
“Its price has gone up so much these days! I went to the grocery store yesterday and was so shocked after seeing the price,” added Woo-Jin.
“Do you think it’s just garlic? Everything except for our pay has gone up..” A bond of sympathy developed between Park Yeon-Ah and Woo-Jin as they looked at each other and nodded grimly over the prices of groceries.
“Well, Mr. Kang Min-Ho, you’re one of the top supporting actors these days so you must be getting paid more and more. That’s probably why you’re not bothered by little things like that, right?”
“Hey, I live with my parents. Why would I still need to go grocery shopping? I just eat whatever they buy for me; how would I know how much anything costs? And let’s get this straight – Woo-Jin is the most well-paid actor out of the three of us.” Kang Min-Ho felt what they were saying was unfair and pounced on Woo-Jin.
It was true that in the first place, Woo-Jin was the most well-paid actor out of the three of them. Kang Min-Ho and Park Yeon-Ah had not been the production team’s top choices. In terms of appearance and acting skills, the two of them had been the best options in the limited pool of actors, but since the casting was still unsatisfactory, they were naturally paid less.
On the other hand, Chae Woo-Jin was an actor that the writer and production director had wanted to cast by all means. Fortunately, the role had piqued Woo-Jin’s interest and he ended up liking the character, so it worked out. However, the problem was CEO Jang. He did not want his artist to waste his time on a less than ideal role, so he actively opposed Woo-Jin’s decision. But because of that, the production team took Woo-Jin’s school schedule into account and was very flexible with the shooting schedule, as well as paying him well for the drama.
“The reason why I’m paid well is because the CEO of my agency is good at negotiating. I have nothing else to say about it.”
“Well, it’s also because the writer really wanted to cast you in the drama. I heard that the moment she saw you in Death Hill, she exclaimed that you were exactly what she imagined Louie to be. I wonder exactly what kind of Louie she had in mind. “
Kang Min-Ho shook his head as if saying that no matter how much he thought about it, he could not understand it. In the movie Death Hill, Woo-Jin’s character had been a depraved and very emotional person. On the other hand, in the City of Shadows, Louie was, at a glance, a soft-hearted and weak-looking murderer. Because he learned nothing and knew nothing about the world, Louie was a naive person who lacked emotions with child-like cruelty. So, even when Louie was obsessed with love, he was not someone who was emotionally passionate in nature. There were no similarities between the two contrasting characters Woo-Jin had played before. Kang Min-Ho was curious what Writer Yoo had seen in loan shark A because he could not tell what it was at all.
“It’s not that complicated – she just liked his face. His face was the only thing that appealed to her,” said Park Yeon-Ah.
“Ah…” Upon hearing Park Yeon-Ah’s simple explanation, Kang Min-Ho nodded, and Woo-Jin covered his face with both hands. Woo-Jin became serious as he wondered where this image of a killer was hiding in his face.
“Oh, by the way, I heard a piece of confidential information,” Kang Min-Ho whispered in a soft voice, as he suddenly leaned his upper body towards them.
“We are the only ones in this room. You can say it out loud.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
Kang Min-Ho straightened his body back up as he said that it was a huge piece of information from the production team. “As you already know, Choi Joon’s younger brother is appearing from episode 5 onwards. They said that an idol will be playing that role.”
“That can’t be right! Our drama isn’t one for idols. Taking acting skills out of the equation, the type of drama we’re doing isn’t suited for idols at all. What nonsense!”
Kang Min-Ho lightly patted the back of the agitated Park Yeon-Ah’s hand as he continued to speak solemnly. “It can’t be helped since there’s a connection between the huge agency and the broadcasting company. Also, the drama production company doesn’t know what will happen from now on, so they have no choice but to comply with both their demands. Presently, it seems like the production team is the only one that’s suffering. They didn’t say who it was, but they must have cast him before they cast us.”
At Kang Min-Ho’s words, Park Yeon-Ah chugged the glass of Coke, as though she was chugging alcohol, and slammed it against the table. “They cast him first, but seeing how there aren't any articles published and haven’t they told us anything about it, it’s so obvious that it’s because the person sucks at acting. Darn it, if you’re an idol, you should use your talent and focus on singing. Why are you trying to steal other people’s jobs? I really put in all my effort into this drama!”
Park Yeon-Ah had started performing on stage from the age of 20 because she liked theater. However, reality was harsh. Regardless of how great her acting was and how many praises she had gotten for it, she only made a name for herself in the theater industry. When actors who had become famous through movies or drama, or actors who got caught up in scandals and decided to act in plays as a way of self-discipline, entered the theater industry, they were automatically given the leading roles.
It was because these popular and well-known actors had the ability to draw in a bigger audience, so no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t win against them. Since she was still too young to give up on her dream, she decided to do this drama and use it as a stepping stone.
“Why is this X of an X trying to get in my way? If he ruins the drama, I will set his agency on fire.”
Woo-Jin poured Park Yeon-Ah another glass of Coke as consolation, while she was swearing with her own filter turned on. Woo-Jin himself used to be an idol trainee, so he could have been cursed in the same way if he became an actor after debuting as an idol. Although it seemed like it could have happened to him, it ultimately did not, so Woo-Jin shared Park Yeon-Ah’s sentiment.
“Here’s your pork neck.” With perfect timing, the part-timer slid open the door and entered with a slightly flushed face, before placing the meat and garlic on the table.
“We only ordered two servings though?”
It was a huge amount of meat that definitely looked like it was more than two servings. Woo-Jin clarified with the part-timer as he wondered if it hadn’t been sent to the wrong table.
“It’s on the house. Please let me know if you need anything else.”
The three of them lost their composure for a moment. They felt overwhelmed as they looked at the two servings of meat that looked more like four servings, along with the soup bowl that was filled to the brim with garlic. They were not familiar with such excessive hospitality and were not accustomed to such a situation. Furthermore, The attitude of their server who smiled coldly while emphasizing the words ‘need’ and ‘anything’ was very suspicious and questionable.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
Looking at what was written on the check, it seemed like the extra servings were indeed on the house. Park Yeon-Ah carefully speculated and replied to Kang Min-Ho’s question, “Do you think that maybe she’s a fan of both of you?”
Seeing as it was unlikely for anyone to recognize her as a stage actress, Park Yeon-Ah speculated that it was likely for the server to recognize both men, especially Woo-Jin. If she was a fan, it would be understandable.
“At the very least, she’s not my fan. I’ve only done unconventional supporting roles so far; I doubt anyone would be able to recognize me if I walk down the streets in casual clothes,” Kang Min-Ho answered firmly as he slowly shifted his gaze towards Woo-Jin. Even though Woo-Jin was only a rookie who had recently started becoming popular, he was the most popular actor out of the three of them, and there were more people who recognized his face.
“If she’s a fan, wouldn’t she have asked for an autograph or at least acted like she knew me? She looked very calm and a little hostile.”
“That’s true. Even my very few, almost non-existent, fans would at least give a small scream of admiration when they see me. Her reaction earlier was a little…cold, right?”
Although the two of them were talking like this, they had almost never met their fans in person before. Kang Min-Ho had only recently started to be known as one of the top supporting actors, however, he only played supporting characters with strong and tough personalities while in reality, he looked unexpectedly gentle and meek. Because of this mismatch between his true self and the image his fans had of him, there were very few people who could recognize him in his daily life.
Nonetheless, Kang Min-Ho had observed the famous actors he had worked with in films and was accustomed to the interactions between celebrities and their fans. Even if fans did not make a huge fuss, it was hard for them to hide their happy faces. However, the server had not displayed that kind of happiness. Instead of acting like a fan, she gave off tense and hostile vibes.
The same held true for Woo-Jin - he had barely met any fans of his own. Kang Ho-Soo was always by his side and since the huge majority of Woo-Jin’s fanbase was female, they would not readily approach Woo-Jin because of Kang Ho-soo’s intimidating appearance. Even Woo-Jin, who could adapt faster and more easily than other people due to the experiences he had from his past lives, had been nervous the first time he met Kang Ho-Soo, so it would have been a lot worse for the other people.
But more importantly, the members of Wish Baragi were passionate fans of Woo-Jin who did their best not to bother him. Whenever they chanced upon him engaging in personal activities or spending time with his friends and family, they completely pretended not to know who he was. They would follow him but kept a reasonable distance from him. That was the code of conduct of the people who had repented their past mistakes as former sasaeng fans.
This was largely attributed to the interview he did with Biltman. his fans had sensed his desire to still be able to enjoy the freedom of going out in public as a not-so-well-known actor, so they had decided to grant him his wish.
On the other hand, the other people, who were not his fangirls, would more often than not simply walk past Woo-Jin in real life. Quite a few of them had stopped in their tracks and realized that it was him after he had already walked quite a distance away from them. In truth, unless they had a proactive personality, it was difficult for most people to chase celebrities unconditionally and talk to them or get an autograph. The ones who happened to recognize and approach him had a very proactive personality and had huge reactions. Woo-Jin was only accustomed to these over-the-top reactions and could never imagine the part-timer to be his fan.
“It’s all because of you, Kang Min-Ho.” Having concluded that the part timer was not a fan of anyone, Park Yeon-Ah looked at Kang Min-Ho.
“Ah, why me again?”
“She got so annoyed that we kept calling her to ask for more of this and more of that, that she just gave everything to us all at once. Didn’t you see the look on her face when she told us to let her know if we need anything else?”
“Then, what about the meat?” In other words, he was trying to say that it was clearly more than two servings of meat, and she could not possibly have given extra meat all at once just because she was too lazy to get it.
“Could it be because I’m too good-looking?”
Park Yeon-Ah looked at the proudly beaming Kang Min-Ho who was supporting his chin with his thumb and index finger. She decided to chug her glass of Coke instead of responding to him while Woo-Jin started grilling in silence. When they had finished eating all the meat, the depressing conclusion that the three of them had come to was that their server wanted them to just eat up and get lost.
That was as confident as the two actors, who had spent years trying to make it big but to no avail, and the rookie could get. Their conviction was further strengthened by the fact that nobody had asked any of them for an autograph when they paid for their food and left the restaurant. Ultimately, that was how a very shy fan’s feelings for her idol, which she failed to express, were kept hidden from him. And later that day, a credible story about how Chae Woo-Jin loved garlic surfaced within Wish Baragi. For a long time after that, the gifts Chae Woo-Jin’s fans had given him always included black garlic extract.
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