When I Opened My Eyes I Was a Superstar - Chapter 107
# 107
A song sung alone (3)
***
A cafe near Yeouido.
Located about 10 minutes away from the KVS broadcasting station’s main building, the franchise cafe, which is quieter than the one right in front, was a cafe that officials often visited when they could sit down and talk.
Seok Ji-hoon was sitting in a cafe wearing his usual attire, a colorful patterned hoodie and black skinny jeans that he purchased directly from Tokyo during a previous visit to Japan.
Seok Ji-hoon’s fashion, even wearing limited edition sneakers, was similar to the fashion of popular young models commonly seen on Garosu-gil.
It looked quite different from the stage where he emphasized sophistication, wearing a silk shirt and ripped jeans.
KK’s fashionista is undoubtedly Do-wook, but Do-wook can be said to be a ‘professional’ fashionista who goes well with any style and wears even casual clothes according to the concept of each occasion without hesitation.
However, Seok Ji-hoon was the type that clearly showed his own style when it came to plain clothes fashion.
“Well… the manager said I could wear it the way it was, so I wore it like this. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
Seok Ji-hoon nervously asked Director Oh Baek-ho, who was sitting next to him.
Unlike his free-spirited fashion style, Seok Ji-hoon was the type of person who was polite enough to still call Director Oh Baek-ho “Chief.”
Even though he made the other members angry by saying the right things to them, he always called them “hyungs” and the relationship between superiors and subordinates was absolutely followed.
In that respect, he was similar to Dowook and we got along well.
“okay. Anyway, reality entertainment is… You know it because you’ve done it. There are some parts that just can’t be decorated no matter how much you decorate them. “You have to show yourself as you are.”
Seok Ji-hoon nodded at Director Baek-ho Oh’s words. Because of his mature behavior, there were times when the youngest member of the team looked like Park Taehyung, but Seok Jihoon’s nodding face definitely looked more youthful.
“If I were to do it for real, I would be filming with a camera all day. And I think there is merit in showing your true self.”
“Is that so?”
“then.”
Seok Ji-hoon composed himself after Oh Baek-ho’s words.
Today was the day I met with producer Eom Woo-seok and had a casting meeting. Through today’s meeting, it was decided whether Seok Ji-hoon would appear on ’48 Hours Camping’ or not.
Director Oh Baek-ho calmed Seok Ji-hoon, who was nervous, and took a sip of the Americano he had ordered in advance.
In internal discussions at Hit Entertainment, Seok Ji-hoon’s appearance on ’48 Hours Camping’ was approved without any problems. The idea was to actively push it.
Anyway, if plans proceed normally, with Dowook’s solo album activities starting and OK’s 2nd album coming out, the other members had no other schedules other than the concert.
Lee Dae-hyung, head of the fan-marketing team, expressed his admiration for Oh Baek-ho for moving so quickly, saying, “If ’48 Hours of Camping’ is really looking for actors, it is a good opportunity for KK at the right time.”
Of course, Director Oh Baek-ho revealed that it was not the appearance itself or the topic I brought up as a member, and Team Leader Lee Dae-hyung was able to confirm once again why Manager Joanie advised him to get a lot of help from Do-wook.
After the internal discussion was over, Director Oh immediately spoke to the entertainment director. When a close associate of the entertainment director let out that KK was looking for a professional to appear on a personal entertainment show, the ’48 Hours of Camping’ department contacted the Hit Entertainment department.
Director Cho Myung-guk already had a positive image of KK.
As the director of the entertainment department, he may not know all about idols like other young people, but he knows who the popular celebrities are and what the top idol groups are.
Even his own daughter was a fan of KK. I also knew that Dowook was the most popular among them.
Therefore, Manager Cho Myeong-guk, who always shouted for ‘name value’, said when K-K, a popular idol, said that he wanted to anchor a variety show, he said, ‘I will definitely go to Kang Do-wook!’ He shouted and pushed Dowook.
As producer Eom Woo-seok, the conditions that he wanted for each of the rapper-turned-celebrities and KK’s Kang Do-wook that Manager Myung-gook Cho had originally recommended were a little different from what he wanted.
‘One of them is too old and the other is too famous… It’s a bit difficult to give a friendly image… But if you ask to use a younger rookie, Director Cho won’t even look at you and will get angry.’
As if they knew Producer Uhm Woo-seok’s thoughts, Hit Entertainment responded that they wanted to replace Do-wook with a member named Seok Ji-hoon.
Seok Ji-hoon was a person that neither Manager Cho Myung-guk nor Producer Eom Woo-seok had any memories of hearing about, but did not really know.
However, the name ‘KK’ had value.
Producer Eom Woo-seok, who had briefly researched Seok Ji-hoon, thought that it would be better to push for him because it met the conditions he wanted. So Seok Ji-hoon was chosen as a compromise.
Of course, Director Myung-guk Myung-guk was still of the position that ‘If anything, we have to bring in Kang Do-wook,’ but he also thought that it was a compromise solution anyway.
That was the meeting that took place.
Producer Eom Woo-seok, dressed in shabby clothes, entered the cafe. The main writer of ‘48 Hours Camping’ was also there.
Director Oh Baek-ho and Seok Ji-hoon stood up to greet the two people.
“Ah, PD Um. “It’s here!”
“Oh Baek-ho… Manager?”
“Yes, that’s right. This friend here is Jihoon. Seok Ji-hoon.”
With Director Oh Baek-ho’s introduction, Producer Eom Woo-seok and the main writer’s eyes turned to Seok Ji-hoon.
“hello.”
Seok Ji-hoon bowed his head and said hello. Seok Ji-hoon was purely surprised by Producer Eom Woo-seok’s big face.
When watching ’48 Hours Camping’, producer Eom Woo-seok would often appear, and his face looked much bigger than when he saw it on TV.
“This is Eom Woo-seok.”
Producer Eom Woo-seok held out his hand as he looked at young Seok Ji-hoon looking at him.
Producer Eom Woo-seok had to properly figure out whether Seok Ji-hoon would be a suitable character for ’48 Hours Camping’ through today’s meeting. Bringing in a new cast was no easy task. The future of the ‘48 Hours of Camping’ program depended on it.
***
A few days later, the KK members were at the final fan signing event to wrap up their activities.
It was also the worst place for an autograph session for fan page masters who took pictures of members during a fan autograph session held at a movie theater in Wangsimni.
“The lighting is so bad…”
“Look at this. “Even though I raised it as high as I could, it still looks like this.”
“Oh, the picture quality will be ruined.”
“I guess I should just film it on cam. It’s awesome. “Of course, the last autograph session.”
“Why did they choose a place like this….”
“I don’t know. “I heard this always happens once in a while when you’re doing a good job.”
“But how many did you buy this time?”
“Me?…….”
Before the fan signing event started, the master of Do-wook’s fan page ‘Shining Do-wook’ and the master of Park Tae-hyung’s fan page ‘Visual Suspect’, who were sitting next to him, were chatting excitedly.
“I bought 42 tickets. “Please don’t say you only bought a little.”
“What are you talking about! I bought 45 tickets and won. “Looking at it, it looks like 40 chapters were cut this time.”
“really? Wow, our number of cuts has increased like no joke.”
“It’s getting so popular… I don’t know if I’ll be able to go on with my next activities because I don’t have money.”
“It’s hard even for kids to wear shoes.”
“That’s right.”
In order to come to KK’s fan signing event, you now had to buy about 40 albums, unless it was a complete lottery system. This was because there were many overseas fans who bought a hundred tickets.
While the fan page masters were complaining, the surrounding air became busy.
“Wonah-! “I love you, Won-ah, Minji is here!”
“Jung Yoon-gi! “Oppa Yoongi!”
“Oh, my brother, here!”
KK members started to come in. While some fans were screaming, the fan page masters were busy taking pictures of the members with their cameras. Even before the members said their greetings, the sound of the shutter being clicked was loud without stopping.
“Please be quiet. Then, I will come out and line up with numbers 1 to 10.”
After the KK members said their greetings, fans began to flock out and line up under the guidance of the fan signing event host.
“Oppa Do-wook, today’s outfit is crazy! “I want to dedicate my life to you.”
“What are you talking about when you already gave it up, sister?”
The ‘Visual Suspect’ master shook his head at the ‘Shining Do-wook’ master who was busy praising Do-wook while frantically pressing the shutter button. Do-wook wasn’t even her ‘brother’. And the camera and lens they were holding alone cost 1 million won.
As usual, the members listened to the fans and did their best to schedule the fan signing event.
Since it was the last fan signing event of my activities, I was paying extra attention.
“This…”
Seok Ji-hoon signed the album jacket and looked closely at the post-it note attached to it.
[Who is your favorite brother among the members?] This
was one of the questions that Seok Ji-hoon, the youngest member, frequently received. If it were normal, he would have checked all the members except Ahn Hyeong-seo as a joke.
In fact, Seok Ji-hoon liked all of his older brothers.
First of all, Taehyung Park was really nice. It’s not that the other members aren’t good, but they are really good at being around me and taking good care of me, even though I can’t say much about whether I was born a purebred or not.
Jung Yoon-gi was the eldest brother and leader, and although he was blunt, he was the type of person who led the team by occasionally giving encouragement.
Kim Won always radiated positive energy with a bright and cheerful appearance. Seeing Kim Won like that seemed to brighten Seok Ji-hoon’s heart.
Ahn Hyeong-seo is the older brother, but Seok Ji-hoon is also the member he is closest to. Although his immature side was like that of a friend and he joked around a lot, his true feelings were sometimes revealed and were very deep.
Dowook didn’t need to say anything. He was the de facto leader of the team and a spiritual supporter. All of the members believed that without Dowook, KK would not be where it is today.
Seok Ji-hoon felt such deep affection for all the members, but today, after a moment of deliberation, he checked on Do-wook.
“Do-wook oppa? “Are you best friends with Do-wook?!”
Seok Ji-hoon and Do-wook were not often seen together. Seok Ji-hoon was mainly with Park Tae-hyung or Ahn Hyeong-seo.
Therefore, when Seok Ji-hoon checked Do-wook, the fan was surprised and asked. Seok Ji-hoon, who was trying to answer something, was cut off and the fan manager passed the fan to the next member. The fan was disappointed that he did not hear an answer, but it could not be helped.
Seok Ji-hoon briefly glanced towards Do-wook, who was sitting in front.
Seok Ji-hoon thought about the ‘48 Hours Camping’ meeting that took place not long ago. The meeting went more smoothly than expected. Producer Eom Woo-seok really liked Seok Ji-hoon, saying that considering Seok Ji-hoon’s age, personality, current position, and previous stories, he was the perfect character he was looking for.
In the case of the main author, he said that he would be happy if only one person with such a warm appearance was present on ’48 Hours Camping’.
The problem was Manager Cho Myeong-guk. Director Myung-guk Cho tried to somehow bring in a more famous person. This was because I thought that was where ‘48 Hours Camping’ fell short compared to competing programs.
The battle of nerves with producer Eom Woo-seok, who tried not to ruin the purpose and atmosphere of the program, became severe over the past few days.
In the end, Seok Ji-hoon became a member of ’48 Hours Camping’ with one condition.
It was planned to be kept hidden until the first filming and later revealed as a surprise.
The conditions were no different.
‘Do-wook’s appearance…’
Seok Ji-hoon was given a great opportunity to become a regular member of ’48 Hours Camping’ thanks to Do-wook from beginning to end. I was very happy because I received a lot of congratulations yesterday, but I also felt a growing sense of pressure not to tarnish the names of Dowook and K.K.
***
After the fan signing, Dowook took a different car from the members and headed to Sinsa-dong instead of the dormitory.
I was tired because I hadn’t even removed my makeup yet, but since I was making an appointment with the other person, I was more nervous than tired.
In front of a studio in Sinsa-dong, Do-wook almost lay down in a comfortable position in the car, straightening his disheveled clothes from sitting down.
“hello teacher.”