Chapter 71:
Chapter 71
“Wow.”
As the sentimental voice falls like snow outside the window, the women’s hearts are piled up with fluff.
His singing is beyond words, and his deep eyes that occasionally look at the camera make the camera director swallow his saliva unconsciously.
As the song ends, there is a burst of admiration.
“Hello, I’m actor Jang Young-guk. Thank you for listening to my song, even though it’s not good enough.”
As Young-guk bows deeply to the cast and the camera, applause pours out from everywhere.
Lee So-yeon, a singer who is active in the women’s team, can’t erase her sparkling eyes as she looks at Young-guk.
She was also proud of her singing as a singer, but as soon as she heard Young-guk’s song, she felt her heart flutter.
As a proof, her heart still seems to beat hard.
Gulp.
They said it was a variety show where young men and women gathered to play games and chat.
She didn’t want to appear at first because it was a pilot.
She didn’t know if it would be a regular program or not. But as soon as she saw Young-guk’s first appearance, she realized.
‘Hit.’
This is it. Not only her, but everyone in the shooting team seemed to think so.
Especially, Jung Ji-yong PD, a rookie director, clenched his hands and smiled with joy.
From his first appearance, he shook the women’s hearts so much that he was called the nation’s first love.
“Okay, now that both the men’s and women’s teams have finished their self-introductions and charm time, we will proceed with the first vote. Since it’s a competition based on first impressions, I’ll give you a chance to say one last thing each!”
The women’s eyes are blatantly directed at the last man, number 4, Young-guk.
The male celebrities who preceded him were also handsome or humorous enough, but Young-guk had an aura that drew people’s attention even without knowing it.
As Young-guk’s turn approaches, the women lean forward.
“Sister, you did well today, right?”
The audience flips over at Young-guk’s bold remark.
Young-guk decides to do it properly while helping PD Jung. His daring and novel comment makes the female celebrities pay attention to him.
“Well, the results are in.”
The MC receives the results of the voting paper and makes a meaningful expression.
“I’ll announce the women’s team first. Woman number 4, Lee So-yeon, 2 votes. Woman number 1, Kim Ji-min, 1 vote. And 1 vote is abstained?”
The women’s eyes widen.
They didn’t expect an abstention. But the surprise doesn’t end there.
As the men’s team announcement follows, the male cast members react differently with expressions of expectedness, disappointment, and shock.
“The men’s team is, uh, this is, unanimous. Man number 4, Jang Young-guk, 4 votes.”
The reaction is more lively from the female celebrities.
They look at each other with a look of you too? You too?
It seems that a sense of competition has been created unconsciously.
Interview.
“Man number 4, how many votes did you cast?”
PD Jung becomes an interviewer and interviews man number 4, Young-guk.
Young-guk sits in a chair facing the camera and scratches his head.
Fortunately, there are only the camera director, PD Jung, and himself in the room where the interview is held.
“I abstained.”
“Sure enough, the owner of the abstention vote was number 4. Is there no one you like among the female cast members who came today?”
“Of course not.”
Young-guk adds cheekily.
“I didn’t know the concept of the shooting very well today. If I knew it was a program where young men and women gathered, I might not have appeared. I’m more shy than you think. They are all beautiful people, so it’s hard for me to pick one. Rather, I think it’s rude to vote as a junior. Anyway, I’ll just do my best as the youngest in this shooting.”
***
Click.
The axe grazes the wood like a mouse making a sound, and the frozen wood doesn’t budge, let alone split. The male model, number 3, makes an awkward expression. Then, man number 1 steps up.
Chop.
But the axe didn’t listen to him either.
As part of a reality show in the countryside, they had to make their own meals and light a fire in the fireplace to keep warm at night. It was practically a documentary of self-reliance.
This time, the second male contestant, a former comedian, stepped up.
“Believe it or not, I majored in physical education before I became a comedian. Leave anything that requires strength to me!”
He showed off his biceps and his masculinity. The female celebrities responded positively. But.
Chop.
It was not as easy as it looked to split wood with an axe.
The third male contestant tried several times, but it seemed like the wood and the axe were repelling each other.
The only thing that got damaged was the chopping block. That’s when it happened.
“Guys, can I try for a moment?”
Young-guk had no intention of volunteering. He had said in the interview that he was only there to be a bridge between the others. But if things went on like this, they would have to sleep in a cold room with blankets, let alone eat.
“Young-guk, can you do it?”
The male celebrities looked at him with disbelief. How could a young lamb who hadn’t even served in the army do anything? He probably had never chopped wood in his life. At that moment.
Crack!
The axe plunged into the wood, splitting it apart as if they were magnets of opposite poles.
Young-guk, wearing gloves, swung the axe with ease.
There were exclamations of admiration from all around.
‘It’s not something you can do with brute force.’
He had done a lot of hard work when he filmed a historical drama in his previous life.
Maybe it was because of the harsh atmosphere, but he often played the roles of servants or slaves.
Thanks to that, he learned how to use a rake and an axe.
The trick to chopping wood was simple. He had to follow the direction of the grain and strike from a narrow end to a wide end in one go.
Crack!
Jung-ji-yong, the PD, was as stunned as the female celebrities.
Young-guk succeeded where all the male celebrities failed.
And to make it worse, the camera captured their repeated failures as well.
‘He’s really different.’
He had been different since he filmed The Man of August three years ago.
He was a novice actor then, but he blended in well with the extras and had a unique sense of what the scene needed.
He was like an actor who had gone through years of trials and tribulations.
And now.
‘He’s become a real man.’
He couldn’t find any trace of his former child actor self. He had portrayed the transition from boy to youth with the title of nation’s first love. But now he looked like a mature man.
“Okay, now you have to prepare your own meal. And the result of the draw is, number four male and number four female are a team!”
Lee So-yeon, the singer, was delighted to be on the same team as Young-guk. She thought this was a golden opportunity to show her charm. But she was hopeless at cooking. The only thing she could do was chop or wash vegetables.
“Unni, I’ll do it.”
Young-guk stepped in, seeing that she was struggling.
He had planned to just do the dishes and help out, but the main chef was clearly incompetent.
If they continued like this, they would end up eating sugar stew instead of soybean paste stew.
Compared to her, Young-guk had lived on his own for more than twenty years, counting his previous life.
He had no choice but to take charge of the kitchen. He dazzled the camera with his knife skills as he sliced the vegetables.
Courage training.
They were trying to get a thrill out of it, or maybe it was because the shooting schedule was so tight.
It was like a documentary that followed them for 24 hours.
This time, they had to do courage training in a closed space.
‘I should have asked before I came.’
Young-guk regretted it bitterly, but it was too late. The bus had already left.
He walked the courage training course, relying on a flashlight. Behind him was Lee So-yeon, his teammate.
A VJ followed them, capturing their expressions.
The staff members hid and played the role of ghosts, making it hard for them.
It was a dark mountain path, but it was a course designed for courage training, so I had no problem walking.
That’s when it happened. A ghost in a white dress suddenly popped out in front of me. I looked at its face.
‘Ji-yong hyung?’
It must have been the PD in charge of the show, who took on the role of a ghost with a heroic attitude. But no matter how much he disguised himself, he couldn’t escape the keen eyes of Young-guk. On the other hand.
“Ahh!”
Lee So-yeon, the singer, screamed as if she was in charge of the sound.
That’s when it happened.
The PD, Jung Ji-yong, was startled by Lee So-yeon’s scream and stumbled backwards, almost falling over.
It all happened in a flash, but before I knew it, I lunged forward. I wrapped my arms around the waist of the falling ghost.
Jung PD, who was wearing a virgin ghost costume, struggled to not fall and hugged me back.
The camera captured the scene of me saving a ghost in the middle of courage training.
I saw Jung PD’s frightened face and tried to hold back my laughter.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
Jung PD looked at me with sincere concern and thought.
What’s with him? Why is he so sweet?
***
Interview.
“How do you feel about getting zero votes in the first impression, night, and final votes?”
Jung PD asked me, and I made a slightly awkward expression.
“I didn’t expect that result.”
It was true. I never thought I would get zero votes in three consecutive votes. But Jung PD seemed to have known it. That’s because I stood out alone throughout the filming.
I didn’t act out to get attention, but every little action I did was like an actor. My aura was different from the others.
“Number 4, is there anything you regret about the filming?”
“I regret that I couldn’t do the bridge role properly. And I’m sorry to the unnies for abstaining from the three consecutive votes. They all did so well that it was too hard to pick just one person.”
My bridge role was a failure.
The female celebrities were only interested in me.
I acted like the youngest brother, taking care of the unnies and hyungs first, and even being friendly to the filming crew.
They felt a humanistic attraction from me.
‘He can’t be eighteen.’
I had the same feeling when I met him at the filming site of Yeong-do three years ago.
He had a young face, but he was street smart and had better social skills than Jung PD.
The camera director signaled that he had to change the tape.
“Ji-yong hyung, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with the pilot.”
“What are you talking about? I think this will be a hit when it airs. I wanted to draw a fun picture with young male and female celebrities, but I got a better picture than that. It worked out well.”
A good picture.
‘The courage training scene.’
It would be a sensation when it aired. It had a scene that fit the entertainment show. I could say that I nailed the fun part.
After two days of filming,
“Phew.”
I came down from the mountain village in Gangwon-do and headed to my agency.
I had a lot of questions.
I entered the president’s office, and Kim Seong-hwan, the president, was waiting for me as if he knew I was coming.
“President, why didn’t you tell me the concept of the filming properly?”
“You didn’t ask.”
“That’s true, but you could have mentioned it. Do you know how embarrassed I was?”
“Did you enjoy the filming? How about it, Young-guk? Do you think it will be a regular show since it’s a pilot?”
“It’s a new format of entertainment show that hasn’t been seen in Korea before, so I think it will be quite a hit.”
“Really?”
Kim Seong-hwan, the CEO, said with a smirk.
“Why do you think I asked you to appear on that variety show, Young-uk?”
Young-uk was not oblivious to Kim Seong-hwan’s intentions.
In fact, he had been puzzled when he first arrived at the cabin.
Why did he insist on having him join a program where young men and women gathered?
There were plenty of other variety shows to choose from.
The reason was simple.
“I know, you want me to shed my child actor image.”
Kim Seong-hwan, the CEO, gives me a faint smile. He’s more focused on helping me break out of my child actor image than on helping the PD. I can tell that right away.
“He told me the concept of the show. It’s a dating format, but it’s pretty wholesome. And since it’s a gathering of young celebrities, I thought it would be a natural opportunity for you to transition from a child actor to a youth. It’s not easy to break an established image, you know. You’re the only one who understands me, Young-uk.”
Yeah, right. How much do you make from this business?
“True, Youth was a work that depicted the romance of high school life. So it was hard to completely get rid of my child actor image. Besides, you look like an adult, Young-uk. How can anyone call you a kid? We have to gradually change your image before the premiere of The Priest’s Confession.”
I knew what Mr. Kim Seong-hwan was worried about.
There were countless child actors in South Korea. But not all of them could make a living as actors.
Most of them failed to shed their image as child actors and struggled to deliver good performances as adults. This hindered their chances of being cast in adult roles.
“Young-guk, and this.”
Mr. Kim Seong-hwan suddenly handed me a white envelope.
“What is this?”
“It’s Lunar New Year soon, right? You should go back to your hometown with something nice. This is for you to buy a warm coat for your mother.”
“Mr. Kim, you don’t have to. I earn money too, you know.”
“I’m not giving this to you, but to your mother as a token of gratitude. She trusted me, Kim Seong-hwan, with her only son and sent him all the way to Seoul. I have to repay her somehow.”
Kim Seong-hwan, the CEO, gets up from his seat and forces a white envelope into my hands.
He seems different from the agency heads I met in my previous life. Meeting someone like him is a blessing for an actor.
***
Namhang is bustling with people preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year.
Fishing boats and meat boats are bobbing on the water, cutting through the waves to catch the best fish and meat.
The market is packed with people buying ritual supplies. My mother’s stall is also full of customers.
She is busy cleaning fish when she sees her son and is startled.
“Son?”
Even though I wore a hat to avoid being recognized, my mother knows it’s me right away.
That causes a commotion among the people in the store. After a brief disturbance, I reunite with my mother in the quieted stall.
“You must be busy, why did you come down?”
“I came to see you, Mom. How can I stay alone in Seoul on a holiday?”
“What about Mr. Baek Jang-hoon?”
“Grandfather is preparing for a movie shoot, so he’s always in the countryside. It’s so lonely to be by myself in that big mansion.”
“Well, when you go back, I’ll pack some food and other things for you to give to Mr. Baek, so make sure you take them.”
“Okay, oh a customer is here.”
I haven’t cleaned fish in a long time, but my skills haven’t rusted.
The customers who visit the stall are surprised by the unexpected appearance of an actor, and they buy fish and get autographs as well.
My mother watches me with a warm smile on her face.
‘Good.’
I also greet the market vendors, including Mrs. Yang, the fishmonger.
I notice that there was a placard hanging at the entrance of the market before I arrived.
‘The pride of Namhang, the nation’s first love, Jang Young-guk, Excellence in Acting Award!’
He said.
I close the shop and head home with my mother.
As we walk on the white snow piled up under the moonlight, old memories come to mind.
“Mother, aren’t you tired when there are so many customers?”
“Tired? No, I’m happy when there are more customers. It’s because of the festival. It’s not usually like this. But thanks to you, Young-uk, today was easier.”
“I’m glad you came down, son.”
I hold my mother’s hand and enter the apartment. While my mother prepares dinner, I go to my room for the first time in a long time and sit down by the bed. Then I open the play that the playwright Jung Yong-dae gave me.
“The Greatest Casanova of Joseon.”
I was worried. I wondered if I could do well in this role. But I wanted to do it. As proof, my eyes were captivated as soon as I saw the first paragraph of the play.
-Joseon is changing rapidly. The swords and guns that fought against Japan’s invasion are gone, and now you can meet Japanese people who act as if they own the place wherever you go. In this situation where the nation’s fate is fading, what can I, a mere playboy, do?
As I was about to read the next paragraph, my mother called me that dinner was ready.
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