pappabearbooks Chapter 191: Activities (4)
Chapter 191: Activities (4)
Still sitting in his chair, Kang Rojun sensed that something strange was going on.‘Isn’t this a bit hectic? What's going on? What problem came up??’
First of all, the makeup teams who were supposed to do his makeup looked at his face, went to the PD, and didn't come back. Rojun picked up a hand mirror nearby, just in case. He checked his face reflected in the mirror.
There didn’t seem to be any particular issue.
‘My face looks great today.’
Ever since he obtained the ‘Vitality Booster’, he no longer felt tired or fatigued. He was full of energy and vitality, and even his skin texture and condition were much better. Not to mention, his Appearance stat alone was 150 points. With the passive ‘Overwhelm’, he had also elevated his aura.
However, perhaps precisely because of that. Kang Rojun hadn’t expected that being absurdly handsome might become a problem.
Well, rather than a problem, maybe something else is happening?
Still, the makeup team clustered around the PD looked serious, and PD Noguchi Ken blinked in confusion after hearing their reason.
‘...Because the actor is too handsome, it’s intimidating to touch his face??’
Noguchi Ken spoke briefly with the makeup teams, then turned his head. Toward where Rojun was seated. He could see Kang Rojun sitting and looking into a mirror. Even though he wasn’t doing anything in particular, his looks simply captivated attention.
“......”
Soon, PD Noguchi Ken understood how the makeup team felt.
‘I’ve never had this experience before, so I didn’t even consider it.’
Before the filming of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, PD Noguchi Ken and the key staff had naturally held several production meetings to confirm the concepts and costumes of the characters. The same went for the legendary No. 1 host ‘Murata Sho’ whom Rojun was playing. At the time, they had added all kinds of eye-catching settings.
‘But seeing Rojun on set... it’s like none of it matters.’
Everything felt meaningless.
This situation quickly spread among the cast of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ through the staff.
“Huh? Because Rojun-nim is too handsome?? Wow... This is the first time I’ve seen something like this, I’m in shock!”
“You wouldn’t find visuals like Rojun-nim even in Korea, and among Japanese actors... definitely not. So of course, there’s no precedent for this.”
Among them was Suzuki Rie, who had also attended the script reading, had rosy cheeks, was an avid fan of ‘Produce That 100!’, and a fan of ‘Jung-woo’. She sneaked a glance at Kang Rojun.
‘If ‘Jung-woo’ is like a handsome prince out of a comic... then Rojun is... ha, I don’t know, I honestly can’t even come up with a comparison.’
And she fully empathized with the makeup team’s feelings.
‘I get the makeup team’s dilemma. He’s ridiculously handsome, so it must feel overwhelming not knowing where to even begin, right?’
It’s similar to hesitating to touch a beautifully plated dish because it looks too perfect.
‘On top of that, there’s this subtle decadent vibe he gives off, and the aura in his gaze is no joke either. Honestly, he doesn’t even need makeup or costume. Wouldn’t it be fine to just start filming him as is??’
Soon, Suzuki Rie let out a quiet, incredulous chuckle.
‘A ridiculously handsome actor getting filmed just as he is without any makeup, this is going to go down in the history of Japanese acting.’
At that moment, PD Noguchi Ken approached Kang Rojun, who was seated. In his hand was the character profile containing the concept and costume details for ‘Murata Sho’, the role Rojun was playing. PD Noguchi Ken alternated between looking at Rojun and the character profile for a moment.
Then.
“Rojun.”
He spoke in rather serious Japanese.
“I’m sorry, but could you give us a bright smile?”
Smile? That wasn’t difficult. For Kang Rojun, who had spent time in the idol industry, this was an easy request. Soon, Rojun flashed a bright smile. A natural smile that lit up his eyes. At that, PD Noguchi Ken weakly lowered the ‘Murata Sho’ profile.
“This character profile is useless.”
Letting out something like a dry chuckle, PD Noguchi Ken explained the current situation to Kang Rojun. Now that he finally understood everything, Rojun smiled faintly, both outwardly and inwardly. It was a strange feeling, but a pleasant one.
‘Being handsome is the best, yeah. What a thrill.’
Come to think of it, during ‘Rental Lover’ too, he’d heard similar comments from the makeup team. Even when his Appearance stat was 100 points, it had been a burden, how much more now that it was 150? Anyway, Rojun responded in a slightly uplifted tone.
“Then, shall we try shooting as is?”
PD Noguchi Ken nodded.
“Yes. For now, we’ll roll the camera without touching anything.”
In the end, Kang Rojun stood up without having touched a single strand of his hair or any makeup and moved toward the costume team. Then, a makeup team member spoke up with a slightly worried expression.
“Uh- PD-nim, should we at least do some basic makeup?”
PD Noguchi Ken shook his head immediately, as if to say it was fine.
“No.”
Inside, however, curiosity surged strongly.
‘It’s flustering because it’s never happened before, but now that it has, I’m curious.’
Somehow, the set was organized, and about forty minutes later.
The actors, staff, and filming equipment were all in place. Then, one man walked in. It was Kang Rojun, dressed in a suit-style costume. PD Noguchi Ken, seated in front of the monitor, couldn't take his eyes off Rojun.
‘He looks good. He already fits perfectly with ‘Murata Sho’.’
He called out to Rojun on set.
“First! We’ll start with a camera test!”
It meant they’d start by filming Rojun’s visuals, similar to a rehearsal. Even before Kang Rojun could settle into the mood of Like a Kaleidoscope’s first shoot.
-Ssss.
He gathered his emotions. To properly portray ‘Murata Sho’ of Episode 1 of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, titled ‘The Vanished Women’. Before he knew it, cameras surrounded Kang Rojun, and behind PD Noguchi Ken, who was at the monitor, actors including Endo Takuto had gathered.
Soon, Kang Rojun’s front and side visuals were displayed across multiple monitors.
Quiet murmurs of amazement spread among the actors.
“Oh-”
“Wow……”
The corners of PD Noguchi Ken’s mouth curved upward.
‘Even if we start filming just like this, it’s more than enough.’
Endo Takuto, the male lead of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, muttered roughly to himself.
‘How does someone with a crazy face like that also write so well, and act well too?? Unless he’s some kind of cousin of God, how is this even possible!’
It was something akin to admiration.
Meanwhile, in Korea. The first floor of GN Entertainment.
It was the lobby of GN Entertainment, bustling with heavy foot traffic. Waiting sofas were scattered around, and the ceiling-mounted screens were broadcasting GN Entertainment’s proud achievements. Of course, ‘Vanguard’ was also playing.
In a fairly large cafe on one side of the lobby.
Two familiar individuals were seated across from each other. Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin and CEO Heo Ki-tae. Executive Director Lim had just finished a meeting with GN Entertainment’s CEO Ha Seo-hwan, and bear-like Heo Ki-tae had been waiting for her and had just met her.
Heo Ki-tae stirred his iced Americano and spoke.
“Executive Director Lim, you personally came to GN Entertainment, and it seems like it’s for something important, right?”
Executive Director Lim nodded with a businesslike smile.
“It was an important matter. CEO Heo should know too, but I’ll let you know once it’s finalized. For now, it was just a proposal, and nothing’s been confirmed yet.”
At the word ‘proposal', CEO Heo Ki-tae picked up on something.
‘If she came directly to GN to make a ‘proposal’, it has to be related to Rojun.’
He was curious, but CEO Heo Ki-tae didn’t press further. If it was related to Rojun, he’d find out eventually. There was no point in pushing here. Then, laughing heartily, he changed the subject.
“Haha, got it. Um, the reason I stopped you before your return is because I also have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“Yes. To be exact, it’s something that came from Writer Rojun.”
Hearing Kang Rojun’s name, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin’s interest shot up instantly.
“Go ahead.”
CEO Heo Ki-tae pulled out a notebook he had taken notes in.
“It’s about ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’. Netflix Korea suggested doing it as a seasonal series, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re probably thinking twelve episodes per season. If it’s two seasons, that’s roughly twenty-four episodes.”
As Lim fell silent as if to say ‘go on’, CEO Heo Ki-tae got to the point.
“Instead of that, what if you treat the 24 episodes as four seasons, with six episodes per season?”
“...Six episodes per season. So instead of two seasons of twenty-four, you're saying to go for four seasons?”
“Yes. It seems Writer Rojun prefers it that way. And the more I think about it, the more it seems like six episodes per season is better. Compared to twelve-episode seasons, it drastically shortens the launch date, and the gap between seasons can be tightened too. Additionally, and this is just my opinion…”
The bear. No, CEO Heo Ki-tae continued his briefing, but Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin was already calculating in her head.
‘Six episodes per season. It’s definitely not bad. The biggest concern with Writer Rojun was that, due to his busy schedule, the script for all twelve episodes might be delayed, but this would offset that to some degree.’
Of course, she thought positively.
‘It also speeds up production, allowing us to conduct promotions and marketing more aggressively, without gaps.’
The most enticing part was the “'shortening of time". Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin’s rough prediction was that, realistically, this project would be unveiled to the world around early next year. But if they rolled with Kang Rojun’s idea.
‘It could even be possible in the second half of this year.’
There was a chance it could launch before the year was over. Of course, the proposal she had made to CEO Ha Seo-hwan today could be a factor, but it wasn’t finalized yet, and if GN accepted it, and also pushed things forward quickly, it could be integrated without issue.
Soon, CEO Heo Ki-tae closed his notebook and continued speaking.
“Writer Rojun has now started writing Episode 2, and we need to decide this in advance so he can structure the ending of each season accordingly. So a quick decision would be...”
“That sounds good.”
Before he could even finish speaking, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin made the decision.
“Let’s go with 6 episodes per season.”
A few hours later, back in Japan.
It was already past 6:30 p.m. Kang Rojun had completed the first shoot for 'Like a Kaleidoscope', and he was now in the van again to head to the next location.
‘That was fun. The filming here isn’t that different from Korea. If there is a difference, maybe the air feels a bit stuffier?’
This was Kang Rojun’s first time filming a project in Japan. But the atmosphere wasn’t much different from Korea, and he wrapped up the first shoot without any major issues. The next destination was a recording studio not far from the set. After that, he had to move quickly and board a flight back to Korea.
‘So I have to go back and forth like this, right?? It’s totally doable, but under normal circumstances, it’d be pretty brutal.’
Film in Japan, then go back to Korea to handle 'Vanguard' schedules, then return to Japan to film again. Repeat that at least five times. For anyone other than Kang Rojun, it would be an exhausting schedule. But Rojun somehow felt even more energized than when the filming started.
-Vroom!
The van took off. For reference, this was the end of the entire 'Like a Kaleidoscope' shoot for the day, and in the van ahead of Rojun’s were PD Noguchi Ken and others. For some reason, a few Japanese actors were also with them.
About 30 minutes passed like that.
Kang Rojun’s van came to a stop in the parking lot of a fairly large building. Naturally, the other vehicles had arrived too. There was PD Noguchi Ken, the sound director, a few key staff members, Netflix Japan’s Executive Director Tom Cavill who had joined midway through the shoot, and about five actors including Endo Takuto and Suzuki Rie.
Soon, as Rojun got out of the van carrying things besides his laptop, Kim Ki-baek called out to him.
“Rojun.”
“Yes??”
Kim gave a tired gesture and tapped the side of his neck.
“Don’t overdo it. Once you’re back in Korea, there’s a YouTube shoot and vocal practice too.”
“I know.”
Rojun replied with a smiling gaze. PD Noguchi Ken then led the way.
“This way.”
A few minutes later, Rojun and everyone else gathered in a recording studio. The lighting was slightly dim, there was a soundproof booth with a mic, audio equipment, and instruments including a keyboard. Though this recording studio was unfamiliar, the overall vibe felt very familiar to Rojun. Whatever the case, PD Noguchi Ken spoke to Kang Rojun.
“Then, we’ll leave it to you.”
Rojun nodded and walked toward where the sound director was seated. PD Noguchi Ken, Executive Director Tom Cavill, and the others stepped back. The Japanese actors did the same. Endo Takuto, with his arms crossed, quietly stared at Rojun.
‘He is the leader of 'Vanguard', right? I actually forgot he was an idol while acting with him. But wait, he’s good at composing and writing lyrics too? Good enough to be in charge of the OST?’
The actors here were more familiar with Kang Rojun as a writer or actor, his idol background was relatively unfamiliar. Like Endo Takuto, some weren’t interested in idols, or simply lacked information. Only Suzuki Rie, who had watched 'Produce That 100!', was sharp on that front.
‘...To hear one of Rojun’s songs before it’s even been released. T-this is kind of rare.’
Just then, after finishing a brief conversation with the sound director and finishing setup, Kang Rojun turned his head and spoke in Japanese.
"Um, I did record it lightly in Korea, but I'll just perform it for you directly."
In the eyes of Tom Cavill with his yellow curly hair, PD Noguchi Ken, Endo Takuto, and the other Japanese actors, anticipation, and other similar kind of emotion, began to rise. Manager Kim Ki-baek quietly swept his gaze across them all.
‘Their expressions are basically spelling out their thoughts.’
In contrast, Kang Rojun entered the recording booth casually. Wearing headphones, he nodded to the sound director outside the booth. Immediately, the ending main theme OST of 'Like a Kaleidoscope', composed and written by Kang Rojun, began to play in the recording studio.
After the short intro ended, Rojun opened his mouth to the mic.
-♬♪
Along with the lyrics in Japanese, Kang Rojun’s calm vocal tone gently soaked into everyone’s ears outside the booth.
No one, literally no one, said a word. Or more accurately, no one could move.
Even Endo Takuto.
“......”
He simply listened, dazed and spellbound.