Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 87

Top Star Blessed by God 087. What is a Homma? (1)

087. What is a Homma? (1)

2022.01.26.

‘What is that?’ I was puzzled by the unfamiliar word when a staff member shouted, “Let’s move!” Following behind, we arrived at… “…A memorial service?” “Huh? Right. It’s Yeonwoo’s first time, isn’t it?” Various foods were laid out on the widely spread table. Several kinds of fruits and pancakes, dried pollack, and rice cakes. And in the very center, a pig’s head was placed prominently. “These days, it’s becoming less common… but traditionally, we hold a large-scale memorial service like this before starting a project, to wish the project success.” “You hold a memorial service to wish the project success?” “It’s superstition, but that’s just how people’s minds work, right? It’s just to get in the mood. You stick some money in the pig’s nostrils and bow a little. Then you feel like it’s going to be a success!”

It was obvious that a lot of care had been put into the memorial table. But it looked different in Yeonwoo’s eyes, who could see a world that others couldn’t. ‘There’s always a reason for holding a memorial service.’ A memorial service is no different from an offering to the deceased. If the target is clear, there’s no problem, but if you’re making a ‘wish’ to an unspecified number of people like now, things get a little different. ‘Even the wandering spirits who haven’t eaten anything will naturally gather.’ It would be troublesome to show interest and settle down unnecessarily. Far from being helpful, they’ll only cause all sorts of annoying things. Yeonwoo narrowed his eyes as he watched the wandering spirits eagerly filling their bellies on the memorial table. At the same time, he released the spiritual power he had tightly hidden within his body.

[Hieeek!]
[Aish! I was finally going to get a full meal!]

The wandering spirits, who had been drawn to Yeonwoo by the sweet spiritual power and turned their heads as if possessed, were immediately terrified. The energy emanating from Yeonwoo was unusual. He was too much of an opponent for the wandering spirits, who were faithful to their desires and devoured the weak. As the wandering spirits scattered in panic, Yeonwoo’s expression returned to normal. Manager Lee Gyuhan, who saw Yeonwoo’s face, cautiously approached and asked, “Uh… do you perhaps dislike memorial services? Are you perhaps Christian…?”

“Pardon?”
“Ah, that can’t be. Whew. I was mistaken for a moment…”
“There was something there. I took care of it.”
“There? All that’s there is just a memorial table…”
The color drained from Lee Gyuhan’s face as he said that. Actors gathered one by one, and the first official event began. A brief introduction of the movie, the production team, and the cast followed. Every time each person greeted, flashes burst from the gathered reporters. Following that, the memorial service proceeded immediately.

“Please… be a hit…”
“Please make our movie a hit and let the filming go smoothly without any accidents!” The assistant director, on behalf of Director Ji, shouted loudly as the producer and staff representative bowed.

‘There’s no wandering god to listen to the wishes, so it won’t be effective. But there’s also a placebo effect, so, well…’ Following that, the cast and staff bowed in a row. The short memorial service ended with people inserting rolled-up 50,000 won bills [approximately $40 USD] into the pig’s nostrils. After a brief promotional interview, the first filming began immediately. It seemed to be an event to show off, so it was conducted in the form of a promotion, taking only a few scenes. But perhaps the formal emotional lines would be in the next filming.

‘Hmm? Those people are still here?’ Since it wasn’t a famous movie, most of the few reporters had already left. But strangely, there were some who had been there since the beginning.

“Those people? They’re probably fans.”
“Fans?”
“Yes. They must have come to take pictures of Yeonwoo. There are a lot of fans taking pictures here… Wow. It’s not easy to see this from the start.”
“What Yeon Dohee said was a little different, though.”

Did she say they weren’t fans but ‘homma’ [dedicated fans who often take high-quality photos]? Just by looking at them, they had enormous cameras like professional reporters, not ordinary fans.

“What did Yeon Dohee say…?”
“She said they were ‘homma’. Is that different from fans?”
“Ah. Ah, homma. Homma are fans too.”
“Are they the same?”
“We usually call those big cameras ‘cannons’ in this industry. It’s a nickname because the camera lenses are so huge, like cannons. Anyway, equipment aside, taking pictures takes quite a bit of time and effort, so they don’t move easily.”
“I see.”
“Those people’s photos are works of art, works of art. They can’t even be compared to reporters’ photos. They come out better than most studio photos. So Yeonwoo, you can be proud.”
“…?” Why does it come to that conclusion? I didn’t know exactly what ‘homma’ was, but I could roughly guess. ‘For now, it must mean they’re my fans.’ There were lenses that had been following me so persistently since earlier. So that’s what it meant. Among them, Yeonwoo looked at the most noticeable one. ‘I heard he’s a male fan.’ If Yeon Dohee said it was ‘amazing,’ it must not be a common occurrence. Yeonwoo turned his gaze to the man who was wearing black sunglasses, a mask, a black hat, and all black clothes, crouching down with his large body. ‘Isn’t he hot wearing that?’ He was even wearing gloves, so there wasn’t a single place where his skin was visible. At first glance, he looked a little scary rather than like a fan. But according to Yeon Dohee and Lee Gyuhan, that man was Yeonwoo’s fan. A very precious fan who was interested enough to invest his time and effort. It was amazing that he was interested enough to bring such heavy equipment and suffer under the scorching sun. Yeonwoo deliberately met the gaze beyond the lens. He smiled slightly and even waved his hand.

‘Ah. I guess it’s real.’ I can see the camera shaking. I can also see him taking a deep breath, hastily taking his face away from the camera as if surprised. The same was true for the people holding other cameras. When Yeonwoo made eye contact with each lens and acted like he knew them, various reactions came back. ‘I should respond better when I see those cameras in the future.’ Repayment should always follow for those who are grateful. “We need to do something like this too.” Lee Gyuhan, who was muttering that the agency should also do something, rummaged in his pocket and took out his cell phone. Then he tapped something on the screen and suddenly held it out in front of Yeonwoo. “What is this?” “Ah, this is X-App. The one I told you about yesterday.” Come to think of it, that’s right. While the movie side was asking for permission to use a promotional video for YouTube, the company side also asked for permission to use Yeonwoo’s personal X-App. Yeonwoo’s exposure was the same as the movie’s exposure, so it was a win-win situation. “Are we doing it already?” “Of course! How many fans are looking for Yeonwoo these days? I’ve been getting so much pressure since the last ‘TV in My Hand’ because you haven’t been on anywhere. Oh, and a fan page officially linked to the agency was launched recently. It would be perfect to post news about Yeonwoo and say hello to commemorate that.” Dozens of posts are piling up on the fan page every day. “I even created an account yesterday for this time. When you start, fans will come in. Then you can say hello and tell them about your recent activities. If possible, it would be nice if you could introduce the movie, but I don’t think it’ll be easy…”

“Is it hard? Is there something difficult about it?” When I heard about X-App yesterday, I thought it was just communication with fans.

“Wouldn’t it be? There are hundreds to thousands of fans, and Yeonwoo is just one person, so the chat room will just be incredibly full? You won’t even be able to read it with ordinary dynamic visual acuity.” Lee Gyuhan clicked his tongue, saying that when Kwon Seonghyun turned on X-App as an event once, it was a complete mess. He said that even though the things that were going up were letters in the form of a chat, it was so fast that it just looked like something was whizzing by. “So in the beginning, you don’t have to try to communicate. Just say hello and give occasional reactions.” “Is there a separate chat room? That seems a bit similar to ‘My TV’.” “‘My TV’? Ah. ‘TV in My Hand’? That’s right. You can think of it as similar to that. That’s right. Yeonwoo, you were on that, right? Then it’ll be a little better. Anyway, it would be good for us to hit X-App around this time, so get ready…” Lee Gyuhan fiddled with his cell phone. A cute logo loaded on the screen. And after a while. Yeonwoo’s face appeared on the screen. “Am I doing this right?” It feels a little awkward. ‘My TV’ at least had someone filming with a camera, and Yeonwoo just had to look at the monitor, but X-App was a little different. ‘I feel like I have to babble into my cell phone by myself…’ Well, that was a familiar thing. Talking alone to the empty air that no one could see was Yeonwoo’s daily life and specialty. ‘By the way, will anyone come in?’ When you turn on X-App, people who have bookmarked it in advance will receive a notification. The fans come after hearing that notification. ‘I heard you created an account yesterday. Well, if few people come in, I’ll just do it as few people come in.’ You can’t be full on the first try. That’s what Yeonwoo thought as he stared blankly at the screen. [?? Is this real?] [Guys, I just got a notification and came in, is this really broadcasting?] [??? Is the person I’m seeing Yeonwoo right now?] [Oh my gosh;;; My heart almost stopped as soon as I came in;;;] [I came after receiving the notification, thank you God, Buddha, Allah…….] As if it had never been quiet with no one there, the chat room started to go up quickly on one side of the screen. My eyes were dizzy from the chat room that was suddenly going up all at once, as if there had been a lag for a while. “Hello. You didn’t come in wrong. You came in correctly. Nice to meet you. How have you been?” Is this real? Is it real? Is someone lying? Is this broadcasting? etc. Yeonwoo, who didn’t miss the suspicious questions, pointed them out and greeted them, and there was another explosive reaction in the chat room. [Praise me for quickly following after hearing the news on the official website yesterday ㅠㅠㅠ] [That news was real;;; Awesome;;;] [I knew I wanted to slack off at work today!] [I haven’t seen you for a while, but you were planning this surprise ㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Yeonwoo, what’s wrong? Are you sick ㅠㅠ?] [I didn’t know when I only heard your voice, but what’s wrong with our Yeonwoo!?] [Our Yeonwoo ㅠㅠ Why does your face look so haggard? Is the agency overworking you ㅠㅠㅠ?] [No, what’s wrong with our Yeonwoo, who made our Yeonwoo like that?!] “Does my face look too bad? Am I ugly?” When I asked, stroking my cheek with one hand, the answer came back immediately. [No, you look great now too] [Even haggard Yeonwoo has a haggard charm ^^] [Our Yeonwoo looks good in any way, but I’m worried that you might be sick ㅠㅠ] [Yeonwoo, if the agency is exploiting you, shake a carrot] “I don’t have a carrot, so I can’t shake it. Um. The agency isn’t exploiting me. I lost a little weight because of the role.” Since I couldn’t tell the truth, Yeonwoo chose to make excuses. Who would believe it? The truth that I was coughing up blood and my spiritual power was running out because of the bad luck. Some truths shine even more when they are sometimes hidden. “Ah, what role is it? I think the article has already been released… I will be playing the main character in Director Ji Woonjae’s work this time. I know I’m still a rookie and it’s an undeserved position, but I will work hard, so I hope you will watch over me with generosity.” As soon as Yeonwoo finished speaking, the chat room became a mess again.