Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 225

225. Uphill (2)

2022.06.13.

‘Just as I thought, he was nothing special.’

That was Yeon-woo’s reaction after hearing the whole story.

“Anyway, Yeon-woo, thank you so much for earlier. But I’m still worried. Now that that guy is back… I’m afraid he’ll find another excuse to cause trouble.”

“I just did what was natural.”

“Wow…”

“Who else would take care of my people if I don’t?”

It was a very obvious thing for Yeon-woo to say.

But it seemed like that wasn’t the case for the people who were listening.

‘What is it? Why is everyone staring at me like that?’

He had never felt burdened by attention before, but this time he was starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

Those sparkling eyes.

They were shining immensely, like brilliant-cut diamonds.

“Still, be careful just in case.”

“Yes.”

In the awkward atmosphere, the scheduled time quickly approached.

“Live streaming in 10 minutes.”

“Broadcast filming in 10 minutes!”

Meanwhile.

Reporters arrived one after another to cover the script reading and took their seats.

In response to the notification, the staff from both broadcasting stations moved in perfect order.

The tense atmosphere, which had felt like walking on thin ice, had long disappeared as if it had never been there once the reporters arrived.

“Starting the filming!”

Click!

With the cheerful sound of the slate [a board used to synchronize audio and video], the red light on the camera turned on.

“Hello. I am Gil Sang-jun, the director of Dramatic Tempest…”

The first part was introductions.

A brief introduction to the drama, the staff, and the cast followed.

One by one.

The camera followed each actor as they stood up and greeted.

“Now. Before we get into the reading, we’ll have a short interview session.”

Originally, it should have led straight into the reading, but today was a little different.

Broadcast filming was also involved, and live streaming was in progress.

The interview order proceeded in the order they were seated.

“Please introduce the role you will be playing in this drama.”

“Yes. Hello. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a drama. I’m Gu Jun-wook, playing the role of the police chief. I’m also Seok’s immediate superior…”

The broadcasting station’s camera and the reporters turned to Gu Jun-wook.

Part of the interview would be broadcast, and part would be published in articles.

“It’s more mundane than I thought.”

The invited reporters also asked questions, but they were all within the scope of the prepared questions.

Starting with Gu Jun-wook, the other actors were also able to give mundane answers to mundane questions.

“If they have any sense, they won’t act recklessly. It’s not just us here; the reporters are all here too.”

And there are also subscribers watching the live stream.

Judging from the expressions of the staff who are monitoring, the streaming response doesn’t seem bad.

Looking at that mouth moving, spelling out seven with its fingers…

‘Already 70,000, the trend is definitely good.’

The numbers are rapidly increasing in real-time.

Another finger was raised by the staff.

At this rate, it might reach close to 200,000 when the main broadcast starts.

Everything was going smoothly.

As if the initial feeling of walking on thin ice was just a delusion.

However.

“Hello. I’m Kim Si-hyuk, playing the role of the main character, Kang Seok.”

Do Dong-ju seemed to be even more clueless than Yeon-woo had expected.

It was a fleeting moment.

The interview, which had been proceeding smoothly, began to feel strange.

It was the moment when the spite that Song Jin-joo had warned him about exploded.

*

“Come to think of it, I heard that someone else was originally slated for the main role. Was Kim Si-hyuk aware of this?”

“Yes, yes?”

It was a question that was not on the questionnaire at all.

Kim Si-hyuk, who had been answering calmly despite being nervous, was suddenly at a loss for words.

“That question is irrelevant to the current situation, so we will move on.”

The staff member in charge of the proceedings tried to quickly smooth things over, but Do Dong-ju was experienced.

He wasn’t foolish enough to let go of prey he had already bitten.

“Yes, then I’ll rephrase the question. Kim Si-hyuk, are you really confident that you can do well in the main role?”

“Of course, I’m confident…”

“Many people are curious about the relationship between the two of you, especially since the actor who was originally slated for the role has joined in a different role. Do you have anything to say about this?”

Who exactly are these people who are so curious?

Do Dong-ju knew, Gil Sang-jun knew, and Yeon-woo knew that such people didn’t exist.

And now, even the other reporters in this place realized it.

The reporters keenly noticed that an unusual atmosphere was developing.

Tap, tap, tap!

The sound of the reporters’ fingers moving across their laptops grew faster and faster.

“Um… Yeon-woo and I are very close. I receive a lot of help from Yeon-woo. He’s a very good friend.”

A seemingly mundane answer.

But it was the perfect wrong answer.

“Does that mean you’re receiving acting guidance from Kang Yeon-woo?”

“Yes? No. No! That’s not what I meant.”

“So, does that mean you think you’re more suitable for the main role than Kang Yeon-woo?”

“What?! I didn’t say that!”

The headlines of the articles that would be published as soon as this script reading was over were clear.

They would probably be something like this.

[Kim Si-hyuk, “I’m the main character, no matter what.” …… Confidence or arrogance?]

[“Being compared is an insult to me.” …… Kim Si-hyuk expresses displeasure.]

It doesn’t matter whether that’s the fact or not.

Once they succeed in attracting attention, that’s the end of it.

As long as the number of views is good and the advertising revenue is good, the truth doesn’t matter.

‘It’s going well.’

A sly smile formed on Do Dong-ju’s lips, hidden by the camera.

Do Dong-ju had set a trap.

The fact that he only mentioned ‘an actor who was originally slated’ was exactly that.

Fortunately, Kim Si-hyuk, who was the easiest and most foolish, readily took the bait.

‘He’s taken the bait.’

A faint smile appeared on Do Dong-ju’s lips.

It was as if Kim Si-hyuk had directly admitted to the rumor with his own mouth.

He even kindly revealed who the other person was.

‘I heard they’re doing a live stream on YouTube? I’ll use that too.’

What are the advantages and disadvantages of live broadcasting?

The fact that you can’t arbitrarily cut it off in the middle.

There is no such thing as an editing point, and there can be no re-shooting in a live broadcast that is not pre-recorded.

‘They’ve made a blunder. Stupid bastards.’

“The reaction isn’t good. Some people are complaining to the PD [Production Director], but the prevailing opinion is that the drama won’t be good if the main character is like that.”

The assistant director, who had been monitoring YouTube in advance, quietly approached and whispered.

“It seems like articles have already been posted.”

It was worth mentioning the rumors on purpose.

Do Dong-ju’s fishing was a great catch.

‘You should have tried to get on my good side. Who told you to be so stiff-necked?’

In the broadcasting industry, it is not uncommon for items to overlap.

If one thing becomes a hit, similar formats often spring up like mushrooms.

‘Why is he so high and mighty? Is he going to bury someone with just one item?’

Gil Sang-jun, who quickly rose to become a star PD by creating various types of entertainment shows that had never existed before.

Shouldn’t he have shared some of that with the people around him if he was doing so well?

If Gil Sang-jun had just kept his mouth shut, there would have been no problem.

‘He’s so greedy. If you try to eat everything yourself, you’ll burst like this!’

Stealing someone else’s idea in the first place is wrong, but Do Dong-ju didn’t feel any guilt.

Instead, he boldly burned with revenge towards Gil Sang-jun.

Besides, look at this situation now.

Doesn’t it seem like they’ve set the stage for him to take revenge?

‘If this drama fails, Gil Sang-jun, you’ll fail with it!’

The day that would happen soon seemed to unfold before Do Dong-ju’s eyes.

“……Next, we will proceed with the interview of Kang Yeon-woo, who plays the role of Kim Sun-woo.”

That was only until Yeon-woo was just about to sit down on the chair.

*

The evaluations of Yeon-woo that Do Dong-ju had confirmed were all very good.

-Kang Yeon-woo? He’s good. He’s a good actor, and he’s handsome. I heard he has a good personality too?

-He’s diligent, unlike most kids these days. He’s never caused any problems on set. Everyone who’s worked with him wants to work with him again?

-He’s a deep person. He’s calm and doesn’t act like his age. He takes great care of the staff. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone so thoughtful.

So, Do Dong-ju arbitrarily judged Yeon-woo to be sincere and full of affection.

‘Those kinds of people are easy to handle. They have a gentle personality that doesn’t like to say unpleasant things to others.’

He seemed to have quite a temper earlier.

‘But he’s just a rookie who hasn’t even been in the industry for very long!’

Kim Si-hyuk, the main character, had actually debuted earlier than Yeon-woo.

No matter how good Yeon-woo is at acting, there’s still the experience that comes from seniority.

Do Dong-ju thought that he could treat Yeon-woo the same way he treated Kim Si-hyuk.

But that was Do Dong-ju’s delusion.

“Kim Si-hyuk boasted about his friendship with Kang Yeon-woo. I heard that the two of you are getting along so well on set these days.”

Do Dong-ju threw out the bait.

“Yes. Kim Si-hyuk approached me without hesitation, so we were able to become friends.”

Yeon-woo replied.

“Aren’t you envious of the main character’s position? If it wasn’t for Kim Si-hyuk, Kang Yeon-woo might have been the main character. Is there any discord between the two of you regarding that? There are also rumors that you’re saying you’re on good terms to deliberately cover up any discord.”

He wouldn’t be able to avoid this.

Do Dong-ju smiled inwardly with victory.

Even if he had slipped away like an eel earlier, the pressure of being on an official platform and in a private setting is a clear difference.

‘It doesn’t matter if there’s discord or not! The important thing is the acknowledgement of the rumor!’

Once the source becomes clear, the rumor is no longer a rumor but a tangible entity with credibility.

In such a burdensome situation, they would instinctively deny it.

Of course, that was also one of the traps that Do Dong-ju had set.

However.

“I’ve been wondering since earlier. Where exactly did you hear about that discord or the main character rumor?”

A third answer, neither affirmative nor negative, popped out.

“Yes?”

“I asked where you heard about the discord or the rumor about the main character being replaced.”

“……I think that’s the item I asked about.”

“Yes. So, I was curious. It’s the first time I’ve heard about it, so I’ve been curious since earlier.”

“The first time……”

What kind of lie is he telling? What about what he said earlier?

Do Dong-ju reflexively closed his mouth, about to say that.

It was because he realized that he was almost caught up in it.

‘What kind of rookie is he……?’

“Yes. As you said, it’s the first time I’ve heard about it. Well…… thankfully, I did receive the script, but after reading all the synopses, I was drawn to a different role and auditioned for the role of Kim Sun-woo instead. Could it be that you’re talking about discord or replacement rumors because of this?”

Yeon-woo shrugged his shoulders.

It was a very nonchalant attitude.

“As you know, not everyone takes on the role just because they received the script, right? If that were the case, someone like Kwon Seong-hyun would need a thousand bodies.”

A small burst of laughter erupted among the reporters at the casually thrown words.

“In the first place, I was never slated to be the main character, and I never signed a contract like that. I just found out that such rumors were circulating. If there’s a fact, it’s that the script came. Yes. The script came. Along with other roles besides the main character.”

Yeon-woo spoke with a soft smile.

That virtuous smile, overflowing with credibility, washed away even the slightest remaining doubt.

“The rumors about discord…… are probably because of the first rumor about the main character, right? The strange rumors about the main character were wrong in the first place, so the discord is also nonsense.”

That refreshing answer was more than enough to turn Do Dong-ju into a sensitive person who was worried about strange rumors.