Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 224

224. Obstacle After Obstacle (1)

2022.06.12.

To cut to the chase, it didn’t seem like they were cursing him out.

“How can the hair be such a perfect fit…?”

“The size is perfect too…!”

“We have to take pictures, pictures!”

Only after awkwardly taking several photos was Yeon-woo able to leave the waiting room.

Of course,

“Wow… I praise myself. I’m so proud. I ran around like a dog for this… Seeing this, everyone will be desperate to sponsor us. Hahaha. After daring to refuse so many times, they’ll kneel and beg when they see Woo-yeon!”

There were still some incomprehensible parts.

Ah. But he did understand one thing.

It seemed like he would be able to get sponsorships more easily.

It was a silver lining.

‘What was that just now…?’

Anyway, if it was a relief, it meant there wasn’t something wrong.

Thinking about it again, it sounded like praise.

‘I hope other people think so too.’

When he arrived at the set where the script reading was scheduled, the atmosphere was chaotic.

It was far from the pleasant tension before filming.

The answer wasn’t hard to find.

“Are you perhaps the broadcasting team here for filming?”

“Who… Yeon-woo?”

People with cameras and other equipment were gathered on one side.

“Sunbae-nim [senior colleague]…?”

Min Ye-rin, who had called his name, suddenly went silent.

He looked at her, puzzled, and saw her staring at him, her already large eyes wide and frozen.

Fortunately, after he called her once, Min Ye-rin seemed to snap out of it, clearing her throat and quickly nodding.

“Ahem. Yes. That’s right. They’re the filming team that was supposed to come today.”

She seemed to be trying to change the subject.

“The atmosphere doesn’t seem very good. Is there a problem?”

Promotional filming usually takes place in a friendly atmosphere.

Those asking for promotion want to make a good impression.

And those receiving it don’t need to create a hostile atmosphere when the other party is already being accommodating.

Whatever thoughts may be going on inside, that’s how it appears on the surface.

But…

‘This isn’t like filming; it’s like they came to fight…?’

First of all, even PD [Production Director] Gil Sang-jun’s expression wasn’t good.

The other staff and writer Song Jin-joo standing next to him also looked uncomfortable.

“The PD from that filming team… apparently has a bad history with our PD-nim.”

A staff member passing by secretly told him.

It was hard to say more, but they asked him to understand even if the atmosphere was a bit strange.

‘Just how bad is their history?’

This was PD Gil Sang-jun, who was even willing to cater to the president of A Entertainment for the success of the drama.

But for PD Gil Sang-jun to reveal such unconcealed discomfort…

“Ah, Yeon-woo.”

Writer Song Jin-joo cautiously acknowledged Yeon-woo as she approached.

She was barely moving her lips.

And for good reason.

‘It’s more serious than I thought?’

The atmosphere was much more tense than expected.

On the surface, they were smiling amiably, but it felt like a hair-trigger situation.

It felt like a precariousness, as if someone could accidentally ignite a fuse and cause an explosion.

“Oh… I didn’t hear that you moved over there?”

“I’m not at a level where I have to report every move to you, am I? Haha. Anyway, you need to make a good impression on me today? That’s how things will go smoothly. It would be troublesome if your first drama got caught up in rumors, wouldn’t it?”

There was a hidden dagger in the words exchanged with a smile.

‘Obstacle after obstacle.’

After removing the obstacle of the A Entertainment president, another unexpected foe appeared.

He couldn’t allow someone to ruin the meal he was putting so much effort into.

Yeon-woo felt the need to defuse the situation.

“Hello.”

“Oh. Oh, Yeon-woo, when did you get here?”

“I just arrived, Director.”

“Wow. Yeon-woo, you look really great today! Our people said they worked hard, and it’s true.”

PD Gil Sang-jun’s face bloomed like a flower as he said that.

Behind PD Gil Sang-jun, writer Song Jin-joo was secretly giving him a thumbs up.

Clear eye contact and a firm nod.

I know without you telling me.

He could almost hear the OST [Original Soundtrack] playing in the background.

‘This person’s transformation is incredibly dramatic.’

“Ahem!”

A disapproving cough immediately interrupted.

The smile on PD Gil Sang-jun’s face cracked.

“Ahem. Yeon-woo. This is PD Do Dong-joo from the C program who will be filming our script reading today.”

“Ahem! So you’re Kang Yeon-woo? I’m Do Dong-joo. I’ve been hearing a lot about you lately, and you’re even more handsome than I thought?”

It was an ambiguous greeting, neither praise nor criticism.

“Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to working with you today.”

He mentioned ‘rumors,’ so he probably wanted to provoke him…

Unfortunately, he had an S+ grade poker face.

It was nothing to pretend otherwise.

“Haha. You’re a very sociable friend? Well, you need that kind of guts to take the lead role and even audition for a supporting role. And to give that arrogant production company a good lesson. I’m surprised that there are so few young people with that kind of guts these days.”

Do Dong-joo greeted him with a hearty laugh.

He continued, raising his voice even louder, seemingly interpreting Yeon-woo’s faint smile in his own way.

He didn’t care that the faces of the production company people, including Gil Sang-jun, who was standing next to him, were turning sour.

“These days, production companies have become very arrogant. They think that if they choose an actor, the actor will come running and grovel at their feet. In that respect, I highly respect Kang Yeon-woo’s choice. Haha!”

It was necessary to cut off his runaway imagination at this point.

Yeon-woo tilted his head, still wearing a gentle smile.

“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but I asked the director very earnestly to let me audition because I liked my role… It seems the rumors have been strangely distorted.”

He didn’t make any earnest requests.

If you looked closely, it was no different from a notification.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“…Really? You even asked? Why?”

The corners of Do Dong-joo’s mouth twitched as he continued speaking cheerfully.

He seemed to notice that Yeon-woo’s answer wasn’t to his liking.

“Why? Of course, it’s because this work is so appealing.”

Of course, that was none of Yeon-woo’s business.

“…So, Kang Yeon-woo didn’t have confidence in playing the lead role?”

He could see the favor in Do Dong-joo’s eyes gradually fading.

Regardless,

Yeon-woo replied nonchalantly.

“I was just drawn to a role that seemed more appealing to me.”

“I don’t understand. But you still insisted on the supporting role…”

“It was so appealing that I couldn’t leave out a single supporting role.”

What are you going to do if you don’t understand?

As he stared at him with that thought in mind, Do Dong-joo’s smiling lips began to tremble.

But perhaps because of his years of experience, Do Dong-joo managed to compose himself.

“You’re a very ambitious young man. Jumping in without considering the consequences is just like a moth flying into a flame… Haha. You have to be like that when you’re young. That’s what youth and ambition are all about.”

In short, he was saying, ‘What do you know, you’re still young.’

He nicely packaged it with the words ‘ambition’ and ‘passion,’ but there was no one in this place who couldn’t understand the hidden meaning.

“I think you’re still young and don’t know much, but can I tell you one thing?”

“Yes, please do.”

“If you want to work in this industry for a long time, you should develop an eye for people. It’s nothing to ruin someone for no reason. That’s how scary this world is. There’s also a saying that you should be careful about who you associate with, right?”

“I see.”

Yeon-woo nodded.

“That’s right. Having an eye for people is very important.”

“Yes. You’re a very understanding young man…”

“That’s why I’m like this now, I guess.”

The meaning of his words, shrugging his shoulders once, was very clear.

A brief, cool silence flowed.

He glanced over and saw Song Jin-joo raising both thumbs behind Do Dong-joo.

It was a thumbs-up with a slightly different meaning than before.

‘There’s no need to make an enemy unnecessarily…’

But there was also no need to avoid a fight that was coming his way.

It was true that making enemies was tiring, but this kind of person wouldn’t last long anyway.

The kind of person who would disappear before he even got tired was right in front of him.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to speed up that time a little.’

Yeon-woo knew very well how to deal with these kinds of people.

People with high self-esteem but lacking the skills to back it up.

These people always parasitize on others and steal their self-esteem.

In Do Dong-joo’s case, the only difference was that he had actually stolen something.

‘To think he actually stole something.’

The story between Gil Sang-jun and Do Dong-joo was secretly told to him by Song Jin-joo, who approached him before filming started.

“Yeon-woo is our savior, really.”

It was cumbersome in many ways to have a relationship where they had to laugh and joke on the surface.

Even if Do Dong-joo subtly provoked him, he had to pretend not to notice.

But Yeon-woo had scratched that itchy spot for them.

“I really wanted to slap that slick face of his, but, sigh. Seeing his face contort, I felt so relieved… But are you okay, Yeon-woo? That guy is a real piece of work… What if you get hurt because of us?”

“I’m fine. It’s not like I made up anything.”

At Yeon-woo’s nonchalant answer, Song Jin-joo’s eyes changed to an expression that said she would die of happiness.

“I’m sure you’ll do well because you’re so good, but still, be careful. Dong Dong-joo is a really nasty piece of work, even more so than he seems.”

“Yes, well… I’m used to it. That kind of person.”

The funny thing was that Dong Dong-joo, or rather, Do Dong-joo, didn’t even recognize his own faults.

“But why did you two fall out like that?”

“That guy, get this… stole one of our programs. And he did it openly.”

“A program?”

“He was always like that. He would secretly take ideas from his juniors and put his name on them. There was already a lot of talk about him stealing other people’s things… He just took our Gil PD-nim’s idea and ran with it.”

He had taken the format that Gil Sang-jun had already planned and laid out the framework for.

He somehow managed to win over the director and get the program scheduled first, completely ruining the program.

“It was a complete mess back then. Our Gil PD-nim had been agonizing over creating and launching a new entertainment style for months, and he just took it and ran with it… So when we called him out on it, do you know what he said?”

“He definitely didn’t apologize, at least.”

“That’s right. He just said it was just an idea, and it could overlap, so why were we making such a fuss?”

He knew it.

Why?

‘Because he doesn’t even think he did anything wrong.’

He took Gil Sang-jun’s idea, but he didn’t feel any guilt.

He probably thought that anyone could come up with that kind of idea.

“Eventually, the whole story came to light, and he was almost forced to retire, but I don’t know when he crawled back in. Anyway, if you just look at the surface, his career is good… but he stole everything from others.”

He harbored resentment because he felt he was unfairly forced to retire due to Gil Sang-jun’s fame.

That was the situation that had continued until now.