Chapter 97: 97

In the beginning, Gam Sung-Joo had asked Woo-Jin to make some guesses without much thought. But Woo-Jin kept guessing every single one of them correctly, so Gam Sung-Joo handed Woo-Jin a sketchbook and told him to write down his guesses in there. Every time a face was revealed, he would match it against Woo-Jin’s answer.

“No way! You have such a good sense of pitch.”

Woo-Jin won by such a huge margin that nobody questioned Choi Hee-Jung’s defeat. As such, the curiosity surrounding Hanryang Doryeong grew even more. There were many speculations about who he could be, but nobody was sure about who Hanryang Doryeong was.

“He sounded really good, but wasn’t his buchaechum[1] so dreamy? On top of that, can you believe that he was the one who personally drew the plum blossoms on the fan? He can sing, dance, and draw! If he takes off his mask and turns out to be a handsome man, I’d find it unfair even though I’m a woman.” As Sung-Joo remarked, ‘Isn’t he so perfect?’ envy and wistfulness flashed across her face.

While Hanryang Doryeong’s second victory on The King of the Masked Singers yesterday was important, there were plenty of other things to talk about. Firstly, a wide sash tied around his dark green robe amplified Hanryang Doryeong’s slender figure which made him stand out even more compared to the previous hanbok he wore. The beautiful outlines of the hanbok could be clearly seen, and Hanryang Doryeong’s movements became sharper, making him look very elegant.

When Hanryang Doryeong danced with the fan which he always carried with him at the request of the judges and audience, his dance was brimming with such precision and energy that it seems as though they were watching a military dance. When he opened up the fan and revealed the plum blossoms painted on it, it created the illusion of them swaying in the wind. When Gam Sung-Joo asked where he had gotten the fan from, Hanryang Doryeong answered by saying that he drew the plum blossoms personally. After that, Gam Sung-Joo took the fan and showed it to the audience; it was by no means a poorly done painting.

“Who exactly is he? Once I find out who he is, I’ll become his fan right away.”

“Didn’t you say Chae Woo-Jin is the best 2 days ago?”

“Of course, Chae Woo-Jin is the best! I get so mesmerized every time I see his commercial. Recently, I’ve been seriously thinking about joining his Fancafe.”

Woo-Jin became so nervous at the sudden mention of his name that he couldn’t even budge. Judging from the ambience, it didn’t seem like he was going to get cursed at or insulted like the previous time, but his heart was pounding hard because he was nervous.

“Ah, that telecommunications company’s commercial? When I first saw it, I was stunned. But when I came to my senses, I wondered what kind of commercial was it. I thought it was a commercial for a game and went to look it up, but it turned out to be a commercial for a telecommunications company. I was taken by surprise and thought it was a little too dramatic, but it was still pretty cool though.” She added that watching the commercial made her believe that if she switched over to that carrier, she would be able to play mobile games with high internet speeds.

“After he killed the birds with his swords, he turned around at the end and smiled before walking to the throne proudly and sitting down. When I saw that, I automatically cried ‘Your Majesty!’ The commercial was so well-made and it was absolutely sensational. When I saw the life-size cardboard cutout of Chae Woo-Jin in my neighborhood, I stood next to it and took a photo. But what’s funny is that when I passed by the area yesterday, there were other people standing in line waiting to take photos with it.”

This time around, the life-size cardboard cutout of Chae Woo-Jin was particularly realistic because it had the exact same measurements as the real deal. When people stood next to it, it was like taking a photo with Woo-Jin himself. Her friend next to her had been quietly listening to her story.

As soon as the girl remarked that everybody had the same mindset and laughed, her friend laughed awkwardly and said, “Somebody stole the cardboard cutout from the branch in our neighborhood…”

“Really? That’s hilarious!” After hearing the absurd story, Woo-Jin almost nodded in agreement. He wondered what was the point of taking that huge cumbersome thing home. Even Woo-Jin himself had rejected their offer by saying that he didn’t need a life-size cardboard cutout of himself, so he found it hard to understand why anybody would want it.

“Who wouldn't want to steal it? Sure, it would be embarrassing to be caught, but that's not why I'm holding myself back. It's because I want as many people as possible to see it. The person who did it isn’t his fan.” The arguments Woo-Jin heard were different from his thoughts, so he felt bewildered.

“I was also a little tempted and examined it. The cutout was attached to a heavy iron pole so it’s hard for anybody to just grab it and go. How did they do it? I acknowledge their passion.”

“Well, the life-size cardboard cutout this time around looked really good. The cutout of Woo-Jin wore a carefree smile on his face while holding a sword in one hand. It looked like something straight out of a manhwa[2]. It’s evident that the people behind the commercial are very familiar with the idea of capitalizing on fandoms. They got it down pat. It’s a crime, but I think it’s worth taking the risk!”

There were also rumors about how a bunch of obnoxious people went to different branches of the telecommunications company to demand for Woo-Jin’s poster. A possible reason behind this phenomenon was that outside of his filming, Chae Woo-Jin rarely did interviews or photo shoots. It was Woo-Jin’s first time hearing that his Biltman’s photos were no longer available and that people have been complaining that they were charged a high premium for them.

“I heard that he shot two videos for the commercial. Why did they only release one! It’s making me dizzy.” Even though it was a one-off commercial, the publicity material had stated clearly that Chae Woo-Jin had shot two different footage for the commercial.

“The public’s response was better than expected, so it seems like they’re trying to make more money off of the first video before releasing the other one. Judging from the CGI of the commercial alone, it must have cost a lot to produce, so they need to make more money.”

“When I watched the behind-the-scenes video, what’s truly amazing about Chae Woo-Jin was that he improvised on the spot and came up with the sword technique to kill the birds. My younger brother practices kendo and he has been doing it every day. He said that it was a very difficult technique. Can you believe a person like him was abused by Blue Fit?”

At some point, the behind-the-scenes video of Chae Woo-Jin’s action shoot became a hot topic amongst the public. Woo-Jin was famous for not using a stunt double, the reason being his extraordinary movements. People could tell that he had great control over his body and his actions were well-connected and looked very natural. They were simply remarkable. Woo-Jin executed moves that could only be seen in Taekwondo demonstration videos. He made his turning kick and the way he rotated his body midair seem so easy, so there were instances where people hurt themselves trying to mimic Woo-Jin’s moves.

It was the same in this commercial; the public was full of admiration after watching how Woo-Jin spun in midair after jumping off the springboard and how freely he wielded the sword, like a true warrior. If Blue Fit had not personally admitted to their acts of violence against Chae Woo-Jin, people would have dismissed it as an absurd rumor. Chae Woo-Jin looked like he had the strength and ability to protect himself. He had an image of a strong person.

“He must have endured it. Min Si-Hoo was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He would probably stir up trouble if anybody were to mess with him.”

“I was speechless after hearing about Lee Min-Soo. I heard that he drove a deep wedge between Woo-Jin and the other blue fit members. That was how he managed to replace Chae Woo-Jin.”

Even though it had been two weeks after the press conference, people were still talking about Chae Woo-Jin and Blue Fit’s bad relationship. The topic did not die down easily because both parties are famous and popular.

“Chae Woo-Jin’s fans must be very upset. It must have come as a huge shock to them.”

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“Me, I’m one of them!”

The girl who said that Chae Woo-Jin was the best was visibly upset as she pointed at herself with both hands. Even though Woo-Jin smiled slightly after hearing that, he started to feel bitter and had a hard time controlling his emotions. When Woo-Jin asked Kang Ho-Soo how his fans reacted to the news, Kang Ho-Soo told Woo-Jin not to worry because they didn’t feel hurt – they were just shocked. Woo-Jin didn’t quite understand what he meant, but when Woo-Jin said that he wanted to take a look at Wish Baragi, Kang Ho-Soo turned pale and stopped him.

“You're rather agitated right now, so it’s better for you if you don’t read it for the sake of your mental health.” Kang Ho-Soo suggested to Woo-Jin some interesting posts to read, such as the ones that gave a logical breakdown on why Chae Woo-Jin was Hanryang Doryeong. Kang Ho-Soo thought it would have been too obvious if he had stopped Woo-Jin.

Woo-Jin felt so ashamed of himself so he made up his mind that he would definitely do fan service[3] for his fans.

“Why aren’t they releasing ‘Shining Star’? Didn’t they clearly state that they would release Chae Woo-Jin’s version for free?”

“They said they would release it after March.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Chae Woo-Jin donated all the compensation money from TM. I wonder if they pushed back the release because it was embarrassing to release it right away under the current circumstances. In any case, they didn’t give us the reason and said that they’d know after March.”

The actual reason was that people could easily guess that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin if they were to release ‘Shining Star’. When CEO Jang secretly sounded them out, he found out that TM had already known that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin. Seol Moon-Young knew Chae Woo-Jin’s singing style better than anyone else in TM. With Hanryang Doryeong singing to his heart’s desire using his actual voice, it was easy for Seol Moon-Young to guess his real identity. Perhaps, it would also be easy for people with good hearing to figure out who Hanryang Doryeong was after listening to Woo-Jin’s version of ‘Shining Star’.

Thus, if they were to release ‘Shining Star’ now, it would be akin to advertising that Hanryang Doryeong was Chae Woo-Jin. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had taken an interest in watching the mystery surrounding Hanryang Doryeong develop, as well as the public’s reaction while they tried to guess who he was. CEO Jang Soo-Hwan actively prevented TM from releasing ‘Shining Star’.

“Right! I heard that Chae Woo-Jin had also shot a commercial for ‘Gaon’ this time around.”

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“Gaon? What’s that?”

“You said you’re his fan yet you don’t even know what that is? It’s a newly launched brand by Brisingamen. Chae Woo-Jin became their exclusive model.”

“I’ve been busy studying these days so I haven’t had time to surf the internet. Speaking of Brisingamen, most of the items in my wishlist are their products. Their products are so expensive.” The self-proclaimed fan of Chae Woo-Jin became crestfallen and looked like she was about to cry. If she could, she would buy all the products that Chae Woo-Jin modeled for, but Brisingamen was a brand that was beyond her financial capabilities.

“It’s a brand targeted at young people, but if it’s by Brisingamen, it’s most likely going to be expensive. Nevertheless, their jewelry is made of the highest quality and their designs are so beautiful.” The girls proceeded to say that it couldn’t be helped that Brisingamen’s jewelry was expensive because customers were ultimately paying for the design. Woo-Jin smiled happily to himself as he heard how the girls felt about the company and their products.

Woo-Hee had overheard the conversation between their parents about wanting Woo-Jin to be the model of their newly launched brand, so she told Woo-Jin about it and that was how he ended up becoming a model for Gaon. He found out from his agency that Brisingamen had indeed been trying to recruit him as a model. CEO Jang said that Brisingamen’s marketing department had actively pushed for Woo-Jin to be their model, but Choi Min-Woo told him to ignore them.

Woo-Jin thought that it was not a big deal and was amused by how his parents were fretting over it, so he accepted the proposal to be their model through the agency without informing them. His parents got a shock when they found out about it. They told Woo-Jin not to worry about it and tried to stop him, but Woo-Jin brazenly said that it’s better for celebrities to land more commercials.

“Ooh, Gaon released the still images a couple of hours ago.” One of the girls listened to the conversation between her friends and searched the internet to get some information. As soon as she informed them about her findings, they quickly began searching for ‘Gaon’ on the internet. In other words, ‘Gaon’ was already included in the real-time search engine, and it was easy for people to look for the still images of Chae Woo-Jin from Gaon’s commercial.

It was a photo of Chae Woo-Jin hugging a woman from behind with her head turned, revealing only her cheek, ear, neck, and shoulders. Chae Woo-Jin looked straight ahead and placed his lips to the woman’s ear with an earring on it; unlike him, her face could not be seen. Looking at the photo of him stroking the necklace with his hand that was wrapped around the woman’s shoulder already gave off a very soft and sensual vibe.

As expected of an for a jewelry company, Chae Woo-Jin wore a ring on his ring and middle finger, and a watch on his wrist. They stood out as men’s accessories and their modern designs were not overdone.

“It’s too risque!”

“This is what I call sexy. You’re a beekeeper!! Honey is dripping from your eyes [4]. Can I make jewels with those eyes?”

“Hey! I was just imagining it. More importantly, this necklace is very pretty. These small square pendants look like sapphires, right?” The necklace in the photo was designed by Woo-Jin’s mother, Park Eun-Soo. He found out about it during the shoot when Ryu Na-Ye from the design team showed up to the set to provide some background information. Thus, when the girl complimented his mother’s design, Woo-Jin felt as though he had been praised, so he smiled with pride.

1. Korean fan dance ☜

2. Korean term for comics and print cartoons ☜

3. Fan service or fanservice in Korea largely refers to artistes or idols reacting to their fans or acting around their co-band members in a manner that is affectionate or lovable to please their fans. In general, it refers to any acts that make their fans happy. ☜

4. 눈에서 아예 꿀이 뚝뚝 떨어지 is a Korean phrase used to describe one's eyes looking at someone else's eyes lovingly or affectionately. ☜

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