Become a Star - Chapter 192

Chapter 192

—What on earth! How could they end the article here? Hurry up and release the stories about Chae Woo-Jin and Dustin. Let us know about their tight-knit friendship!

└Kim Woo-Hyun’s wedding was exclusively filmed by Entertainment Report, so there are no photos circulated online yet, and the reporters who didn’t enter the ceremony don’t have any details either. All we can do is watch the show.

—Why would two guys even go to a wedding together? Are they dating each other? Disgusting.

└You’re the disgusting one! You don’t even have a single friend to go out with and here you are, writing troll comments from the corner of your tiny room.

—The people who attended Kim Woo-Hyung’s wedding are posting photos of Dustin on their social media. Go check those out.

└I just saw them. The only thing I could see was a tragic scene where Dustin’s beauty completely overshadowed our Korean celebrities. Thankfully, Chae Woo-Jin was there to counterbalance Dustin, so we were able to keep our pride as Koreans.

└Honestly speaking, when looking at the photos, Chae Woo-Jin and Dustin seem to be complete nuisances to the wedding. In the group photo, they stood on the groom’s side and the bride almost seemed disappointed they weren’t next to her. Let’s not even mention the groom’s face…

└Still, the bride was smiling so brightly at though she was the queen of the world. Even I would react like that.

—Again, they’re making a fuss again. Why did the article have to say that the movie is a strong candidate for the award? They could have just written that it was nominated and left it at that. If it doesn’t receive the award, will they comment on the limitations of Korean films or something like that?

└They always lift you sky-high when praising you, but also trample on you with all their might when they find the chance to. Even if they can’t openly look down on Chae Woo-Jin, they can always word things differently to convey the same meaning.

Kim Woo-Hyung got married on the evening of Valentine’s Day. If one got married on such a special day, it seemed like they would never forget their wedding anniversary for the rest of their lives.

Dustin seemed quite impressed by the idea of having a wedding on the day of love and even started planning his future wedding.

“I’m going to get married on Valentine’s Day as well.”

“That means you won’t be able to get married for the rest of this year.”

“Come to think of it, I think Christmas is a better day for a wedding.”

“True, it’s better to hold a wedding on a day that celebrates someone’s birth instead of another’s death[1].”

“I know, right?! And I bet you still won’t have a girlfriend by then[2], so come hang out at my wedding instead of worrying about finding a date.”

When Woo-Jin first saw the date of Kim Woo-Hyung’s wedding, he thought it would be quite problematic for people with a significant other to attend. They probably had plans to spend that day with their lover, so having to attend another person’s wedding in the evening would make it quite awkward for them.

In particular, celebrities who were dating someone in secret probably cursed Kim Woo-Hyung quite a bit behind his back.

However, with no lover to be with on Valentine’s Day, Woo-Jin attended the wedding with a very light heart.

Dustin alluded to that and rejoiced ‘innocently’, saying that Woo-Jin didn’t have to worry about anything on his wedding day, which was planned to be on Christmas.

Woo-Jin glared at him from the side. His eyes were questioning whether Dustin was cursing him with misfortune, but the latter was too busy swimming in happiness while imagining his wedding with Selena that he didn’t notice the piercing gaze.

But when Woo-Jin actually went to the wedding, there were actually many guests who had come with their spouses or lovers. It was quite a shameful situation to be standing with another man among all the couples.

Moreover, since Woo-Jin was with Dustin Evan, they were attracting a lot of attention from their surroundings.

But as someone who was accustomed to such gazes and enjoyed interacting with people, Dustin alone had a great time. He even worked his personal interpreter, Woo-Jin, to the bone as he couldn’t communicate with the other guests.

Thus, the two of them had to stick together throughout the wedding and were described to have a ‘tight friendship’. As opposed to the depressed Woo-Jin, his fans were happy and ecstatic after reading the article.

Although the two actors showed a close relationship on social media, many people doubted and wondered whether if it was purely a contractual relationship for the sake of the movie.

However, the fact that Dustin was staying at Woo-Jin’s house rather than a hotel and attended private events with the Korean actor was proof that the two were actually close.

While Woo-Jin’s fans cared about his career becoming international, they cared more about Woo-Jin having genuine friendships with people rather than dry, business relationships.

In fact, the fans especially liked how Woo-Jin was being himself and how comfortable he was around his friend in Life Depicted and always wished for the actor’s happiness. Somehow, they didn’t mind if he didn’t succeed as an actor. They simply wished that Woo-Jin would grow up healthily and happily from now on.

{Why is it so cold here?! Oh, it’s a photo of me. What does the article say?} Dustin asked.

After spending the beginning of February in LA with moderate and lukewarm weather, Dustin had yet to get used to the cold weather in Korea. He wrapped a scarf tightly around his neck as white puffs of air escaped through his lips. Nonetheless, he quickly noticed his picture and begged Woo-Jin to translate the article he was reading.

{It’s about the wedding we attended yesterday. Many people are surprised that we went there together.}

{Aah, I’ve never been to a wedding that was as fun as yesterday’s.}

Dustin was so happy and entertained the whole time that it was pointless of Woo-Jin to worry that the actor would be bored during the wedding.

And even Woo-Jin burst out laughing when he saw the groom carrying a microphone around, interviewing his guests. He had also enjoyed the wedding as the venue was beautiful and the food was delicious.

{By the way, who was the man we met in the elevator yesterday?}

After the wedding, Woo-Jin’s mood took a nosedive because of a middle-aged man he met in the elevator on their way home.

Considering the atmosphere as they conversed and how Woo-Jin didn’t introduce him, Dustin clearly felt that his friend was in a bad mood.

Woo-Jin had been considerate of Dustin throughout the event. Whenever they met someone, Woo-Jin always introduced them to Dustin as he didn’t speak Korean. Although Woo-Jin sometimes mumbled to himself, he never conversed with people fully in Korean while ignoring Dustin.

But on their way out, Woo-Jin didn’t even introduce the man to him and even exuded a cold and indifferent atmosphere.

Yet, seeing how Woo-Jin politely bowed to the middle-aged man as they got off the elevator, it didn’t seem like he was someone the actor could flat-out ignore.

Although Dustin was curious, the atmosphere around Woo-Jin was so dreary that he wasn’t able to ask about it yesterday and only managed to bring it up now.

{Someone I knew when I was younger,} Woo-Jin answered.

{Was he acting like you two were close even though you really aren’t?}

{Something like that.}

{That sounds really tiresome.}

{Yeah.}

Despite his curiosity, Dustin instinctively stopped asking questions. He understood Woo-Jin’s feelings to some extent as he himself also had met such people and had such relationships in his life.

A staff member called Dustin to check his makeup. He got up and patted Woo-Jin on the shoulder before leaving.

{Thanks, that makes me feel better.}

Woo-Jin expressed his sincere gratitude to Dustin. As a global star, Dustin had more experience than him at being used and betrayed by others.

Even if they didn’t talk for long, they could understand each other through their gazes and expressions, which was comforting.

In truth, the person who Woo-Jin had met in the elevator yesterday was an acquaintance from his biological father’s side.

The man served as his biological father’s right-hand man in the business department and was currently the Korean branch manager of Garam Hotel. In fact, Kim Woo-Hyung had chosen Garam Hotel as his wedding venue.

Halfway through the after-party, Woo-Jin and Dustin were on their way back when a staff member led them to an elevator for VIP use only. Since Dustin immediately got on the elevator without hesitation, Woo-Jin had no choice but to get on as well.

But when the elevator stopped on its way down, the person who got on was CEO Lee Seok-Woo.

He pretended to have waited for the elevator and got on, and acted as though he had only just recognized Woo-Jin. Woo-Jin had no choice but to greet Lee Seok-Woo since he once called the man ‘uncle’.

What Woo-Jin found funny and ridiculous as he bowed to him was that he had met Lee Seok-Woo at an event the previous year.

At the time, Lee Seok-Woo hadn’t recognized Woo-Jin at all. The way he arrogantly looked at Woo-Jin as they shook hands was his typical way of looking at celebrities whom he considered lowly.

But yesterday, the old man acted as though that had never happened and patted Woo-Jin on the back, encouraged him, and acted as if they were close.

“Have you heard of what happened to your grandfather? You should contact him more often since he’s not feeling well. Even if you were quite young back then, you still remember how he used to care for you, right?”

Lee Seok-Woo cunningly mentioned Woo-Jin’s paternal grandfather. Since he had mentioned Woo-Jin’s blood-related grandfather who was recuperating in France after collapsing, Woo-Jin couldn’t openly ignore or refute the middle-aged man.

Although Woo-Jin hadn’t heard the news when he was still out of touch with his paternal family, Woo-Jin had recently learned from the people around him that his paternal grandfather could no longer freely move the right side of his body after a stroke.

Woo-Jin’s paternal grandparents never behaved terribly to their grandchildren. Although they were strict and had very traditional mindsets, they cared for both Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee without showing favoritism, unlike their biological father.

However, they made their daughter-in-law, Park Eun-Soo, take responsibility for their son’s affair. They scolded their daughter-in-law while saying that their son wouldn’t have cheated on her if she had properly fulfilled her duties as a wife.

Woo-Jin’s grandparents were generous people, but only to their blood relatives. Even when Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee followed their mother and left the house, they were cynical and scornful, saying that it wouldn’t change the fact that the children belonged to the Chae family in the end.

After their parents got divorced, Woo-Jin and Woo-hee went to visit their grandparents several times.

Park Eun-Soo had no intention of severing the relationship between her children and their grandparents just because she hated her ex-husband.

However, after several visits, Woo-Jin refused to go see his grandparents anymore. He felt that if he continued to visit them, the good memories he had in his mind would disappear and he would start hating them.

Just like how his grandparents cared more about their son than their daughter-in-law, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee cared more about their mother than their grandparents. His grandparents had made a choice, and so did he.

Thus, they each lived out their own lives without contacting each other for a period of time. But now that the situation had developed like this, Woo-Jin’s paternal family was now trying to reconnect and fix their broken relationship.

Until Woo-Jin got off the elevator and parted ways, Lee Seok-Woo never brought up Woo-Jin’s biological father. He only talked about his grandparents and the good old days. The man was behaving exactly like his biological father and approached Woo-Jin in the same manner.

Well, it wasn’t so surprising considering that Lee Seok-Woo had worked with his father for decades.

Birds of a feather really did flock together.

In that sense, Woo-Jin looked back on himself and his relationships. Kang Ho-Soo had once judged that Woo-Jin liked bright and cheerful people, and Woo-Jin’s close friendship with Dustin proved it.

{Are you ready, Genie?}

Woo-Jin got up at the sound of a staff member calling out to him.

The production team had arrived a few days before Woo-Jin and Dustin, and had been preparing for filming. Meanwhile, the actors were only able to start filming today due to jet-lag and interviews.

The first scene they were going to film in Korea was where Jin and Robert got attacked by monsters suddenly while they were walking in the city center of Seoul.

1. Some theories say that Valentine’s Day originates from when Saint Valentine was executed back in the Roman Empire. Look it up for more information. ☜

2. Christmas is considered a holiday for couples in Korea, sort of like Valentine’s Day. ☜