Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 107

댁이 거기서 왜 나와? (2) [Why are you here?] (2)

107 댁이 거기서 왜 나와? (2) [Why are you here?] (2)

2022.02.15.

“That’s true,” Woo Do-gyeom readily admitted. “You need to properly apologize for this incident.”

“If I apologize, will you let it go?”

“You need to apologize not only to me but also to those who suffered because of you, Mr. Woo Do-gyeom.”

“Hmm… Let’s do this. I’ll invest properly in this movie. How about I cover all the expenses until it hits ten million viewers?”

“That’s not for me to decide, is it? More importantly, does that mean you’re not going to apologize?”

“I don’t think we necessarily need to know the truth. Sometimes, it’s better not to know when a supernatural, mysterious event occurs.”

‘I want to punch him…’ Would he let me if I did it now? Yeon-woo seriously considered it. “So, the apology?”

“Hmm. Rather… you seem too thin.”

“……?” Woo Do-gyeom said something out of the blue. “I was sure I fed you well. Although Kwon Ga’s [Kwon Family] young master interfered, I thought I made sure you ate three meals a day. Tsk.”

A large hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Yeon-woo’s wrist, turning it this way and that. ‘I’m speechless.’ “Whose fault do you think that is?”

“Is it my fault? I see. It’s my fault.” Yeon-woo stared at Woo Do-gyeom nodding with an absurd look.

“Now that you know, let go of this, please?”

“Kwon Ga’s young master was so protective; there was a reason.” Tsk. Woo Do-gyeom clicked his tongue once more and called his secretary. “Secretary Kim. Take care of this one first.”

Instantly, people approached and wrapped thick blankets and shawls around him, and before he knew it, he was holding a warm, sweet cocoa in his hands. “Drink this first, and then we can talk. There’s research that shows sugar eliminates fatigue.”

“……I think most of that fatigue is because of the person in front of me, though?”

“I’ll compensate you for this incident bit by bit. I doubt you’d accept if I offered you the company right now.”

“Who are you trying to pass that tiresome thing onto?”

“You’re probably the only one who would call Cheongwang [Blue King; Woo Do-gyeom’s company] tiresome, Yeon-woo.”

Someone once said that there’s no point in arguing with him because he doesn’t understand what you’re saying.

“Haa…….” Because the movie is involved, it’s very difficult to just cut this guy off right away. What if the movie gets scrapped if I act on my temper? The cast and staff involved would all suffer tremendous losses. The actors would have had their schedules canceled, so they would have missed out on other opportunities they had turned down in the meantime. The staff would be financially strained because they wouldn’t be able to get paid properly for the work they had done.

Besides…….

‘Director Ji might shed tears like chicken droppings with that huge body of his…….’ It’s a dizzying sight just thinking about it.

‘……Might he just give up on the movie altogether?’ A man who’s already huge trying to film a ticklish romance. Director Ji had been subjected to all sorts of abuse and taunts for filming a romance that deviated from mainstream sensibilities. It feels like just yesterday that he was so happy to finally get to film this time, with that huge body and stoic face. But what if it gets scrapped?

‘It’s going to be difficult to lose a talented film director like this.’

Perhaps sensing Yeon-woo’s conflict, Woo Do-gyeom smiled and said, “Drink this first, and then we can talk. It’s not too late to talk after you’ve washed up and rested well. After that, I’ll do whatever you want, okay?”

A tone as if coaxing him gently. From the side, Woo Do-gyeom’s secretary was looking at him with a shocked expression. Judging from the look in his eyes that said, ‘My boss must be crazy!’ it seems Woo Do-gyeom is coming out quite humble.

‘He says he’ll do whatever I want, but he probably already knows that he can’t act completely as he pleases…….’ No matter how I think about it, he’s a bad person.

“T, this way, please. The stove and food are prepared.” The secretary led Yeon-woo. Anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to fill his stomach first. As he took a seat, Director Ji, who had been sitting on one side, quietly got up and approached him. “Yeon-woo… Are you okay……?”

A question asked timidly, sitting a subtle distance away. Compared to the very shy early days, this is truly a remarkable development.

‘Tsk. I can’t do something that would make someone like this cry again.’

I think I know why Woo Do-gyeom sent not just Yeon-woo alone, but the entire movie team here. At the same time, I also had a belated realization that Woo Do-gyeom was never a good person from the start. Come to think of it, wasn’t he the kind of person who would kidnap someone right away when asking for a favor?

‘Maybe it’s better now that he’s properly compensating…….’ Well, when you think about it, Yeon-woo hasn’t exactly suffered any losses either. The spiritual power that had been depleted because of Woo Do-gyeom could be said to have been fully replenished thanks to Woo Do-gyeom. And that’s not all.

‘Worship for the Forgotten God.’ A whopping S-rank stat.

Yeon-woo activated the stat window. [Worship for the Forgotten God][S] – An ability manifested by a god who has gradually lost followers and fallen into ruin in an attempt to regain his former glory. It contains the power to make people feel attracted to oneself and worship them in some form. However, as it has degenerated into a thought form, and the people who worship the old god have completely disappeared, only a little of the power to make people feel attracted remains.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much. For an S-rank stat like Worship for the God, the explanation itself explicitly states that it is a ‘remnant.’ In a way, you could consider it insignificant for an ability gained from a fallen god. Attraction. Isn’t that a very vague and abstract concept?

But.

‘No matter how I think about it, this has to be a jackpot.’

If Yeon-woo had been an ordinary person, this stat might not have been very useful. However, for those who have jumped into the entertainment industry, the existence of this ‘attraction’ could not be taken lightly.

‘Come to think of it, Kwon Seong-hyeon had a similar stat, didn’t he?’

A whopping S-rank atmosphere control and presence domination. On top of that, a very specialized stat called charming people. If you look for the commonality of these stats, there is only one thing. They are all stats related to ‘presence.’

Doesn’t the name itself say so? What this means is very simple. For actors, singers, and other entertainers, this ‘presence’ item is very important.

Once, manager Lee Gyu-han showed him an article like this.

* [Actor X, ‘Risky Exposure’ in Movie… Audiences Anticipate]

* [Idol Singer X, Controversy Over SNS Post! …Fans, ‘There Are Things You Shouldn’t Say’]

* [Celebrity X at Fashion Show, Controversy Over Personality… What Happened?]

“What is this?” Lee Gyu-han explained to Yeon-woo, who asked that question. “Do you know the names of the people in here, Yeon-woo?”

“No? Should I know them?”

Yeon-woo had nothing to do with the entertainment industry until just a few months ago. Now that he’s slowly getting to know it, there’s no way he would have learned unfamiliar names.

“Right? You’re hearing them for the first time, right? Then what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you see articles with these titles?”

“Well, I’m curious about what the content is……?”

Titles that clearly make you curious about the content. Titles that you can’t help but click on as if you’re possessed once you’ve seen them.

“That’s right. They deliberately choose provocative titles to induce users to click. Advertising revenue and the like vary depending on how many clicks you get, so it’s good to choose provocative titles in many ways.”

That’s a plausible story. Manager Lee Gyu-han’s questions continued. “But to write these provocative articles, you need to have at least a minimum source, right? If reporters just make up the content, they’ll be sued for defamation or insult.”

“That’s true.”

“So, even if you take into account that the content of the article is exaggerated, there is a base fact, which is very complicated in many ways.”

Lee Gyu-han explained that these articles are not the result of reporters’ coverage, but rather provided by the celebrity’s agency. Or, the act of deliberately causing controversy to attract attention with the aim of being reported is made into an article. Of course, there are also real incidents and accidents caused by some ignorant celebrities. But the entertainment industry isn’t some lawless jungle, and it’s difficult for incidents and accidents to happen every day, right?

“They deliberately publish those articles? Why do they do such useless things?”

“Well, it’s not a useless thing for them. Noise marketing. Have you heard of it?”

I’ve heard of it.

“These articles are part of noise marketing. It’s a way to attract public attention in the most provocative form.”

“Yes……? Do they go that far? Isn’t it a loss for them? I don’t think that kind of image would be helpful…….”

It was something Yeon-woo couldn’t understand well.

“They’re forcibly creating buzz. They have to do that to attract attention, and they have to do that to be noticed by the public even a little bit. Why else would there be a period of obscurity? You debut, but no one knows you, so you don’t get any work, so your recognition is still at rock bottom, so you don’t get any work…… This vicious cycle repeats itself.” Lee Gyu-han continued. “Of course, there are definitely stars who succeed after years or decades of obscurity. There can always be pearls in the mud. There are also people who steadily build up their recognition by gaining experience during their unknown days.”

Yeon-woo nodded.

“But those people are in the minority. That’s why there are celebrities who try to increase their recognition by even putting out noise articles like this. But Yeon-woo.”

“Yes.”

“Sometimes, when I see you, you have an even heavier presence than Seong-hyeon. This is a very, very special ability.”

“Yes……?”

Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? Still, to compare him to Kwon Seong-hyeon, the difference in experience alone is enormous. Sensing that expression, Lee Gyu-han said. “This isn’t a matter of how long you’ve debuted. Yeon-woo, what do you think is most important to a star?”

“Well, acting ability? Looks?”

Those are all important items for entertainers. But Lee Gyu-han shook his head. “Of course, those are also important factors, but there’s something even more important than that.”

“What is it?”

“It’s presence. Some people call it talent, and others call it aura.”

“Yes……?”

“It may sound out of the blue, but most people who have been in this industry for a while will agree. No matter how pretty you are, no matter how good you are at acting, people who don’t have ‘something’ are just there. In short, they can’t become ‘stars.’”

“Aha……?”

It’s something I kind of understand. Yeon-woo thought of the actors he had worked with on the drama. There were supporting actors who had twice as much acting experience as Kwon Seong-hyeon. However, they were only actors with some recognition, and it was difficult to call them ‘stars’.

“In that respect, Yeon-woo, you’ve overcome the biggest hurdle. You have a unique atmosphere that’s hard to find in other people. Having this presence is a much more important part than acting ability or looks.”

Even if you do the same acting, there’s a subtle difference between people who have a unique atmosphere and those who don’t. And that subtle difference leads to a difference in the results. People tend to flock to those who have more attractive charm. That’s what Lee Gyu-han was talking about.