Chapter 139: Counterattack (2)
Translator: Dreamscribe
The start of the ‘Ame-talk Show!’ featuring Kang Woojin was similar to other episodes. The set was familiar, and the MC, Karamatsu Soyo, who resembled a beaver, opened the show with a simple opening remark.
[“It’s mid-September and still hot, but our guest today is so exceptional that you’ll forget the heat for a while!”]
Then, MC Soyo introduced the guest.
[“The hottest man in Japan right now! Korea’s monstrous rookie actor, Kang Woojin!”]
The long-standing entrance music of ‘Ame-talk Show!’ started to play.
-♬♪
Kang Woojin made his entrance through the guest door set up on the stage. Woojin and MC Soyo exchanged simple handshakes and then sat down on their respective sofas.
[“Welcome, Kang Woojin-ssi. Please say a brief hello to the viewers.”]
[“Hello, viewers of the ‘Ame-talk Show!’. I’m actor Kang Woojin. It’s an honor to be on this traditional Japanese talk show. I’ll try my best to be lively.”]
[“Wow- But you’re really good at Japanese, aren’t you? If I close my eyes, I’d be confused.”]
[“I get that a lot, but I’m still better at Korean.”]
Kang Woojin on the ‘Ame-talk Show!’ was calm yet gentle. There was no hint of awkwardness.
[“Ah! Is this your first talk show appearance since your debut, Woojin-ssi?”]
[“Yes, it’s my first time on ‘Ame-talk Show!’. So, I’m quite nervous.”]
[“Ah? You don’t look nervous at all! Haha, but it’s your first talk show, so it must be overwhelming.”]
[“I don’t look nervous at all?”]
[“Eh? You’re joking, right?”]
[“It’s a joke.”]
After the greetings, they talked about various topics – his schedule in Korea, how busy his current schedule was, and his feelings when he first joined ‘Profiler Hanryang’.
[“How did you feel when you were first cast in ‘Profiler Hanryang’?”]
[“I wondered if it was the right choice.”]
His thoughts when ‘Hanryang’ became a hit in Japan, the upcoming ‘Male Friend’, the explosive increase in followers on Kang Woojin’s SNS, and even his ‘Kang Woojin’s Alter Ego’ channel that surpassed a million subscribers in just a few weeks.
Then, MC Soyo made a request to Kang Woojin.
[“I took a peek at your youtube channel, Woojin-ssi. You don’t have many videos, but you’ve already crossed a million subscribers. Your skills are more than just a hobby. Plus, your content is unique, covering KPOP in Japanese or English.”]
[“Soon, I plan to cover JPOP and pop songs in Korean too.”]
[“Even a casual listen would blow up the view count. Are you planning any other content?”]
[“I’m considering it.”]
[“Hmm! Could you give us a short, very brief sample of a song? The viewers would love it.”]
[“Of course.”]
-♬♪
The request was for a single verse, but Kang Woojin sang almost the entire first verse. Interestingly.
-Swish.
Around the second verse, an unexpected guest appeared out of the blue. It was Hwalin, holding a handheld microphone. She passionately sang the second verse of ‘Ballerina’ by ‘Elani’.
A tightly packed performance.
Following that, Kang Woojin and Hwalin sat side by side and continued with promotional talk about ‘Male Friend’, and midway, MC Soyo shifted the topic to ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. Discussions included his relationship with Director Kyotaro, the inside story of his casting, the content of the movie, and his mindset.
However, unfortunately, ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was still in a situation where details couldn’t be disclosed, so the answers weren’t very detailed.
At this point in the ‘Ame-talk Show!’,
[“Alright! Let’s change the atmosphere a bit, shall we?”]
The mood was refreshed. They moved on to the Q&A session with the hundreds of audience members participating in the recording. The first question came from,
[“······”]
A silent young boy. More precisely, a child using Japanese sign language. Of course, subtitles were running at the bottom. But suddenly.
-Swish.
Kang Woojin, seeing the question in Japanese sign language thrown by the child, stood up from the sofa and strode forward. He walked right up to the young boy and naturally communicated with him using Japanese sign language.
On the broadcast of ‘Ame-talk Show!’, various special subtitles were added to this scene.
And watching this scene.
[“Grandpa! Look! I’m on TV!”]
Chairman Hideki Yoshimura, deeply moved, watching with his grandson Shingo. Even as he stroked Shingo’s hair, he focused intently on Kang Woojin on the TV. He assessed everything from Woojin’s appearance and physicality to his demeanor. Then, his attention was drawn to Woojin’s fluent use of Japanese sign language.
He was more impressive than Hideki had anticipated.
Above all,
‘He catches the eye. Excellent performance. Approaching Shingo to show sign language – was that the production team’s idea? No, it must be his own. Only someone familiar with sign language would think of that. It’s important for the eyes and expressions to be clearly visible.’
Kang Woojin had a knack for making his presence felt. Though there might have been some stage direction or adaptation.
‘He knows how to capture attention well. Good use of the stage. The highlight is his cool composure. Truly, he is no ordinary person.’
Woojin’s appeal grew even more in the eyes of Chairman Hideki.
Meanwhile,
As the ‘Ame-talk Show!’ was nearing its end, everyone gathered in the main control room of the private broadcasting station TBE was wildly celebrating.
“We’ve surpassed 20.5%!”
Even if it wasn’t the overall ratings, it was sufficient. Even though it was just a real-time rating for reference, the number had far exceeded expectations. Consequently, PD Shinjo, with a flushed face from the excitement, was showered with congratulations.
“Shinjo! Well done, you did great!”
“PD~nim! Congratulations!”
“We were worried about the bad public opinion, but who would have thought it would turn around like this?!”
“When was the last time we hit a 20% viewership rating?! Hey! Shinjo! Snap out of it!”
“Hahaha, Director, this guy’s lost his soul!”
PD Shinjo’s spirit, which seemed to have left his thin body, wasn’t returning anytime soon.
‘20%?! Did we really exceed 20%?’
This over-20% viewership rating was unprecedented except for the early days. Even for the long-standing ‘Ame-talk Show!’, an average 10% viewership rating and a peak of 23% was reached only once, eight years ago, in an episode featuring a popular Hollywood actor. Since then, there had been no episodes reaching 20%.
But Kang Woojin had managed to pull it off again. Of course, it wasn’t solely due to Kang Woojin’s influence. It was the result of many factors, including Director Kyotaro and various other issues.
Nevertheless, at the center of it all was,
“Shinjo! We must contact that Korean rookie. No! Kang Woojin!”
Regardless of what anyone said, it was Kang Woojin.
At that moment, in Korea.
The location was the production company of ‘Freezing Love’. In the company’s large conference room, about a dozen people were gathered. They had already finished the script reading for ‘Freezing Love’, and were now in their last production meeting during the pre-production phase.
Naturally, the PD and key staff from various teams were present, as well as the jewelry-adorned writer Lee Wol-seon.
‘Freezing Love’ was now only left with the shooting phase.
Major decisions such as set construction, location scouting, casting, and scheduling had already been finalized. And at this last production meeting, they were planning to fix the first day of shooting.
Interestingly,
“The atmosphere around ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ is getting worse, isn’t it? The public opinion is much worse than a few days ago.”
For some reason, the production manager and the PD were deeply engrossed in talking about Woojin and ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. Writer Lee Wol-seon was no different. The news about ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ shaking up Japan had spread far and wide to Korea.
“Well, whether it’s Japan or Korea, film or drama production is always a precarious venture. Everyone knows that.”
“But the director was that famous Master Director Kyotaro, and the frenzy started when Woojin-ssi was cast as the lead, right? But suddenly, the situation has changed so drastically.”
“How many times have we seen the media and public opinion shift like this? The bigger the issue, the larger the backlash.”
“Is it true that investors of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ are pulling out because of Kang Woojin? I heard they are still dropping out.”
The team of ‘Freezing Love’ felt a sense of regret, although it wasn’t directly their concern, because Kang Woojin was involved in the incident. The more Woojin soared, the more ‘Freezing Love’ would benefit from the ripple effect.
“It seems like it might fall through, what a pity. Just when it seemed like Woojin-ssi was going to make history.”
“Will Woojin-ssi be affected if ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ falls through?”
“There would be some impact, but in the grand scheme of things, it might even be beneficial for Woojin-ssi. The hate comments are temporary, and right now, his popularity in Japan has skyrocketed.”
“Still, there’s a risk of tarnishing his image, and it would be best if ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ proceeds rather than collapses. It’s also about setting a precedent.”
“Hmm, then I guess the viewership for the talk show he’s appearing in might be low.”
“Oh, that one? ‘Ame-talk’? It’s a national talk show in Japan, but currently, it’s getting a lot of flak from the public.”
At that moment, writer Lee Wol-seon, who was scrolling through her phone, refocused the topic of the production meeting.
“We’ll know the outcome in time. For now, we need to finalize the first day of shooting, right?”
The PD and key staff refocused on the task at hand.
“Ah, right. Let’s see – writer-nim, you suggested starting with a scene featuring Jang-hwan-ssi and Woojin-ssi, right?”
“Yes. It’s one of the most important scenes in the beginning, and it would be easier for Jang-hwan-ssi to get into the emotional flow. It’s also better to match it with Woojin-ssi’s schedule this month.”
“Yes, I heard the same from CEO Choi.”
Writer Lee Wol-seon, nodding her head, asked the production manager.
“I heard Woojin’s filming for ‘Island of the Missing’ is coming up soon. When does it crank in?”
“Ah, it’s confirmed for the 25th. They’ll be going on an overseas location a week later.”
“Then, it would be better for us to schedule our first shoot around the 20th, right? What do you think, PD-nim?”
The PD, stroking his chin, looked down at the tentative shooting schedule in front of him and replied,
“Today is the 16th – roughly a week from now.”
“It’s a bit tight, but it’s doable, right? Everything that needs to be set up is already in place. Jang-hwan~ssi said he’s free except for our schedule.”
“The props and sets are a bit behind, but… we can make it if we hurry.”
“Then, shall we finalize it?”
“It seems better this way. Woojin-ssi’s shooting will only take a couple of days at most. If he leaves for ‘Island of the Missing’ overseas shoot, we might have to wait for months.”
As opinions were converging, the PD continued,
“We need to check Woojin-ssi’s schedule first. Ah, Writer-nim. What do you think about that matter? The actors want to observe Woojin-ssi’s shooting day.”
Soon, writer Lee Wol-seon nonchalantly agreed.
“It shouldn’t be a problem, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the shooting. They might want to see it with their own eyes. It could be stimulating for them.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“I’ll go watch it too.”
Just as the meeting was nearing its conclusion.
“Uh?!”
An assistant director exclaimed in surprise.
“‘Ame-talk Show!’ just released an article, saying it surpassed a 20% viewership rate??”
The shock spread to everyone, including writer Lee Wol-seon.
“What, how much did it surpass??!”
Thus, the record-breaking viewership rating of ‘Ame-talk Show!’ quickly spread to Korea as well.
『’Monstrous Rookie’ Kang Woojin’s Appearance Boosts Japan’s National Talk Show ‘Ame-talk Show!’ Surpasses 20% Viewership!』
Given Kang Woojin’s widespread popularity, domestic reporters in Korea had been closely monitoring the situation in Japan. This meant that, like in Korea, the turnaround in ‘Ame-talk Show!’ was being quickly reported in Japan.
『[Issue Check] ‘Another 20% after Hanryang?!’ Kang Woojin’s Solo Appearance Boosts ‘Ame-talk Show!’ Viewership』
『’Barkeeper, a shot of national pride, please!’, Kang Woojin Records a 20% Viewership on Japanese Talk Show / Photo』
As a result, the previously negative public opinion in Japan was beginning to shift slightly.
-Wow! Ame-talk Show surpassed 20% viewership?? Everyone said they wouldn’t watch it!
-(Laugh) Everyone must have been curious about Kang Woojin
-I don’t get the fuss about Kang Woojin? Didn’t see much charm, wish he’d stop coming to Japan!
-↑ Comments like yours are what harm people
-I saw Kang Woojin’s Youtube!! Totally shocked!! He sings so well!! Incredible!!!!!!!!
-Hwalin and Kang Woojin… their chemistry was good…
-His Japanese is really good? You can tell he put in a lot of effort.
-Yeah, he would sound natural even delivering lines in Japanese
-Oppose!! Oppose Kang Woojin!!!
-I’ve started to like Kang Woojin, especially the scene where he does sign language. Going up to the boy and using sign language… isn’t that cool?
.
.
.
.
Of course, not all opinions had turned positive, but many changes were evident. The most influential aspect was.
-Guys, am I the only one wondering why Kang Woojin speaks Japanese so well, and even knows Japanese sign language????
Indeed, his fluent Japanese and sign language skills had made a strong impact. The next day, on the 17th, the official viewership rating for ‘Ame-talk Show!’ was announced in Japan.
『Kang Woojin’s ‘Ame-talk Show!’ Episode Hits Official Viewership of 20.4%』
Indeed, the impact of a 20% ‘Ame-talk Show!’ episode was significant. The influx related to Kang Woojin surged several times over.
The situation was similar in Korea.
For about two days.
Even in Korea, the ‘Ame-talk Show!’ episode featuring Kang Woojin was illegally uploaded on websites.
However,
『Film Industry Expert: “It Seems About 70% of the Investment for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ Has Been Pulled Out”』
The crisis surrounding ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ in Japan remained.
21st, morning. Suwon.
Located in Suwon was KBC’s drama production center, essentially a large filming set. The KBC Production Center was divided into internal and external areas, indicating its considerable size. Inside the center, various sets were visible in each section, with numerous lights hanging from the ceiling.
At one of these sets, cameras and various audio equipment were already being set up.
“No!! Not that light! The one at the back!!”
“Ah! I’ll correct it right away!”
“Set team! There’s a creaking noise from this door!”
“That’s intentional! The PD wants it to sound like that!!”
Over 50 staff members were bustling around. The set resembled the hallway of a luxurious apartment.
At that moment,
“Art team! The PD is looking for you!!”
The PD called for the art team. The familiar-looking PD had a script titled ‘Freezing Love’ tucked into his back pocket.
So, this was the set of ‘Freezing Love’.
At that very moment,
-Creak!
Outside in the parking lot, a foreign car, a red one, pulled up. A woman with eye-catching earrings stepped out of the car. It was the star writer, Lee Wol-seon.
Interestingly,
-Thud!
As she closed the car door and turned her head, she caught sight of a van that had just parked nearby and smiled broadly.
Specifically,
“Woojin-ssi, you’re here early?”
“Ah- yes. Hello, writer-nim.”
From the van stepped out ‘Mysterious Man Next Door’. Or rather, Kang Woojin, who would be participating in the filming of ‘Freezing Love’ for about the next two days.
Meanwhile, in a somewhat dim editing room.
Numerous monitors, various equipment, and audio gear hung on the walls. The scene in the editing room was as usual, but the atmosphere was generally subdued. The room seemed to lack energy.
There were about a handful of people in the editing room. Among them, a familiar man stood out.
“Phew- Ah, finally.”
It was director Shin Dong-chun with dark circles under his eyes. As he leaned back in his chair, he then patted the shoulders of the surrounding editors and pulled out his phone to make a call, reaching out to Netflix Korea.
“Ah- Executive Director-nim.”
It was Executive Director Kim So-hyang, and Director Shin Dong-chun spoke with a slight smile on his lips.
“It’s all done, the post-production.”
The editing had just finished. In other words, ‘Male Friend’, which included the intense first scene, various OSTs, and scenes involving ‘Han In-ho’, was now complete.
“Please set the date.”
It meant that only the launch was left.
*****
