Director Ahn Ga-bok? That Director Ahn Ga-bok? Choi Sung-gun, with his phone pressed to his ear, had his thoughts momentarily freeze. It was understandable since it was so sudden.
‘What’s this now? Out of nowhere, Director Ahn Ga-bok?’
Moreover.
‘Why would that Ahn Ga-bok be interested in our Woojin-’
Just the mention was surprising enough, and the purpose of Director Ahn Ga-bok on the other end of the phone was Kang Woojin. It was surprising that Ahn Ga-bok, a living history of the domestic film scene, wanted to meet Woojin. It was difficult to understand why such a heavyweight, Director Ahn Ga-bok, would personally call for a newcomer like Kang Woojin.
It was a first even for Choi Sung-gun, who had been in the entertainment industry for a long time.
‘······What in the world is going on here.’
The brain of Choi Sung-gun, known for his excellent capabilities and divine-level problem-solving, had stopped. However, Choi Sung-gun forcefully reconnected his halted brain circuits. Somehow, it started to work again.
‘Let’s grasp at least the minimum. Director Ahn Ga-bok knows my number and called directly, which means he must have managed to dig up something suitable from somewhere.’
Whether it was Kang Woojin or something else, Director Ahn Ga-bok moved with certainty. The fact that the legend called personally meant it was a gesture of sincerity.
‘Or greed.’
In other words, Director Ahn Ga-bok was currently highly valuing Kang Woojin.
‘Still······how on earth did Director Ahn Ga-bok get involved?’
Yet, Choi Sung-gun’s mind was still full of question marks. Well, even so, probing too much into Director Ahn Ga-bok for details now would be idiotic, as would be dealing with a legend like him without any information. He was someone who couldn’t be treated lightly or casually.
‘I need to buy some time while being polite.’
Especially since he also needed to pass clear information to Kang Woojin. Woojin, even after knowing the stature of the person involved, would flatly refuse if he wasn’t interested, regardless of their reputation. Therefore, Choi Sung-gun engaged in a negotiation based on truthful bluff.
“Hello, Director~nim. I would have contacted you directly had you given me a heads-up before calling······”
“No need to beat around the bush, it tires both of us.”
“Then, are you saying you want to meet Woojin in relation to a project?”
“That’s right. What other reason would there be for a director to look for an actor?”
“Ah- Yes. Sorry, it’s a bit hard to believe.”
“Ha-ha. So, can we meet?”
Responding to the question, Choi Sung-gun let out a tense sigh in response.
“I’d run to meet you this instant if I could, Director~nim, but could you possibly give us a little time? Woojin’s schedule is a bit tight at the moment.”
“Hmm?”
“Woojin is currently in the middle of shooting a variety show. It’s PD Yoon Byung-seon’s ‘Our Dining Table’. As you know, the end time for variety show filming is not precise. There’s a high chance it could be delayed by 2 hours or even 3.”
It was a valid point. Expected filming schedules meant little. Variety shows, in particular, were unpredictable. There was a risk of having director Ahn Ga-bok wait if they scheduled a meeting and the shooting ran long. In the worst case, it could even lead to a fallout.
“Moreover, it’s not just today; ‘Our Dining Table’ has a shoot scheduled for tomorrow as well, and after it ends, the next morning he has to catch a flight to Vietnam.”
“That sounds tight.”
“Yes, Director~nim. I’m sorry. This domestic schedule was squeezed in amidst the overseas location shooting for ‘Island of the Missing’. And it wouldn’t be right to wrap up our meeting in just 5 to 10 minutes. Would it be too difficult to schedule after the overseas location shooting is over?”
After a brief silence on the phone, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s aged voice was heard again a few seconds later.
“Let’s do that. Since I called you out of the blue, it’s on me. What’s the schedule like for that overseas location?”
“It’s a little over 2 weeks.”
“Got it, it’s not that urgent then. Let’s get in touch again.”
“Thank you, Director~nim. I will call you.”
“Alright, then.”
-Click.
The call ended, but Choi Sung-gun immediately dialed another number.
“Director Ahn Ga-bok, huh? huh- Has the script for his 100th project come out?”
He was digging for information from his extensive network.
Meanwhile, inside the restaurant.
Regardless of Choi Sung-gun’s presence or absence, the filming of ‘Our Dining Table’ was bustling within the restaurant.
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
Applause poured out, coming from dozens of staff members including the smiling PD Yoon Byung-seon. Of course, it was a celebration directed at Kang Woojin and Hwalin seated at the filming zone table.
“From Korea to Japan! Just conquer the whole world!!”
“Hahaha, won’t that happen soon?? Congratulations to you, Woojin-ssi, and Hwalin-ssi-”
“But really, ‘Male Friend’ was fun! It deserves to be number one in Korea and Japan!”
Since ‘Male Friend’ topped the charts not just in Korea but also in Japan. They were talking about Netflix Japan. It officially released yesterday, on the 22nd, achieving number one status in just a day, just like in Korea. Anyway, amid the applause and congratulations, Kang Woojin was thinking.
‘What??! It took the number one spot in Japan too??! Crazy, I really didn’t see this coming.’
Rather than maintaining a poker face, he was internally cheering in his frozen state.
‘Wow- shit! So, does this mean a lot of people in Japan watched me too? This is amazing!’
What stopped his giddiness was Hwalin, who was smiling with her eyes. She managed to control her excessive joy while speaking to Woojin.
“We filmed and even promoted in Japan. It was worth the hard work. That’s good, right?”
Clearing his throat, Woojin responded in a low voice.
“It’s thanks to Hwalin-ssi.”
“Me?”
“Hwalin-ssi’s fandom is also big in Japan.”
“It’s not nonexistent, but in my opinion, it was all thanks to Woojin-ssi’s ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ and ‘Ame-talk Show!’ It’s still causing a buzz.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Honestly, in terms of hooking the audience, it was all Woojin-ssi.”
Huh, my shoulders are rising on their own. Woojin was trying to cool down his rising spirits when Hong Hye-yeon, seated to his right, joined in with a soft clap.
“Congratulations to both of you. Thanks to you, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ must have dropped in the rankings, right?”
Hwalin chuckled and exchanged glances with Kang Woojin.
“The actor who starred in both works is right here.”
“Ah, right? What about it, Woojin-ssi? You must not be that thrilled about ‘Male Friend’ being number one, right? You expected it? You have that look.”
No? I’m actually thrilled? Despite wanting to jump for joy, Woojin maintained his persona due to the situation.
“I didn’t expect it.”
After about several minutes of ‘Male Friend’ related congratulations, ‘Our Dining Table’ cast members began to arrive one by one. The fourth to arrive was Yeon Baek-kwang, the leader of a top-tier boy group, who greeted everyone with a 90-degree bow, true to his early 20s and idol-like overflowing energy.
“Ah! Hello, Kang Woojin-nim!! I really enjoyed watching ‘Hanryang’!”
“Ah, thank you.”
“And you are so cool!”
What, is this handsome guy making fun of me? For Kang Woojin, his energy was slightly uncomfortable. Or rather hard to adapt to?
‘Typical social butterfly, huh? Are all idols these days this good-looking?’
Yeon Baek-kwang had the face of a male protagonist from a romance comic book. His skin was fair, and there was something about his aura. After greeting Woojin and his direct senior, Hwalin, and finishing with Hong Hye-yeon, he whispered to Woojin before heading to his seat,
“Woojin-nim! I really want to get close to you, like, a lot.”
“Ah- Yes, that’s fine.”
“Yay! Can I call you hyung?”
“Yes.”
The handsome guy was extremely sociable, breezing through interpersonal barriers with ease. Next to arrive was Ha Gang-su, a top actor with a tall stature and a dinosaur-like face, not often seen on variety shows.
This possibly explained his overall awkwardness.
Even his greeting was tinged with embarrassment.
“It’s been a while, Hye-yeon-ssi.”
“What’s with the sudden honorifics, oppa?”
“Can I just speak informally? Is that okay? PD-nim?”
“Hahaha, just be comfortable, be comfortable!”
“Ugh- I think I have a phobia of variety shows.”
Even he, after greeting the other cast members, gave Kang Woojin a thumbs-up.
“The vibe around you has been really good lately, right? I’ve wanted to meet you for a while. I’ve heard a lot from Jung-min too.”
“Hello, sunbae-nim.”
The last to arrive among the cast members was,
“Ah! Sorry! My apologies! There was an accident up front due to which the traffic was congested?”
It was An Jong-hak, who would be playing the role of the boss of ‘Our Dining Table’. Despite being in his late 40s, he was very youthful-looking and a clean-cut handsome type. As a top versatile entertainer in acting, variety, and music, he was also close with PD Yoon Byung-seon. They had worked together on several variety shows before and had created hits.
Thanks to this, PD Yoon Byung-seon immediately teased An Jong-hak, who was putting on his microphone, with a smirk.
“Hey, hyung. Why are you so late? Are you trying to act all senior? So old-fashioned.”
“Hey. Find me an old-fashioned guy who cares more about his juniors than I do. And I’m only 5 minutes late, 5 minutes.”
“Being late is still being late. Especially when your juniors, who are doing better than you, are waiting like that.”
An Jong-hak coughed lightly and glanced at the table.
“You should’ve started without me, sorry everyone. Since I’m late, let’s skip the greetings and get started right away.”
Kang Woojin, with his indifferent face, found An Jong-hak interesting.
‘Wow- An Jong-hak sunbae. Just as cool as he is on TV? The coolness is killing me.’
Regardless, with An Jong-hak’s arrival, all the cast members were now seated at the table. The shooting had already begun, but it seemed like the real start was just now, as PD Yoon Byung-seon, seated at the front of the table, made his opening remarks.
“Alright! Finally, all the cast members who will shine on ‘Our Dining Table’ have gathered. I’m reassured by the presence of such remarkable people! So, An Jong-hak-ssi, as the boss leading ‘Our Dining Table’, please say a few words.”
PD Yoon Byung-seon’s cheeky comment made An Jong-hak furrow his brows.
“Why am I the boss? Any of these remarkable people could do it.”
“Is that so? We’ll go by popularity then. But Jong-hak, you’d be an intern, is that okay?”
“Hey, hey, I’m old, isn’t that a bit too much?”
“See, you’re an old fart after all.”
Laughter erupted throughout the restaurant, including from the writers and staff. Indeed, PD Yoon Byung-seon was a veteran. He eased the atmosphere with banter before moving on to the schedule.
“Well, out of respect for the old fart, An Jong-hak-ssi will take on the role of the boss.”
“Ah shit. You’re trying to typecast me as the old-timer again.”
“Shh, shh. And as the boss, you’ll be overseeing the overall management of ‘Our Dining Table’, right? The directors will be two people. Ha Gang-su and Hong Hye-yeon-ssi. Ha Gang-su-ssi will be the main in the hall, and Hong Hye-yeon-ssi in the kitchen.”
At this point, An Jong-hak, who was crossing his legs, joined in.
“Hye-yeon, are you good at cooking?”
Hong Hye-yeon, brushing her long hair aside, calmly shook her head.
“No, just simple snacks to go with wine? I do like making snacks.”
“That’s vague.”
“What? Then you do the kitchen, oppa.”
“I don’t even have the vaguest idea to judge that vagueness.”
Taking the baton back, PD Yoon Byung-seon continued.
“The employees will be Woojin-ssi and Hwalin-ssi. Woojin-ssi in the kitchen and Hwalin-ssi assisting in the hall. And Yeon Baek-kwang-ssi will be the intern, doing dishes and overall support!”
Teams were quickly formed. An Jong-hak and Yeon Baek-kwang, Ha Gang-su and Hwalin, Kang Woojin and Hong Hye-yeon made up one team, and this time, An Jong-hak asked Kang Woojin.
“Woojin-ssi, are you good at cooking?”
Woojin responded calmly.
“I can do a bit.”
An Jong-hak sighed and looked at PD Yoon Byung-seon.
“Let’s just buy food and sell it. The kits these days are pretty good.”
PD Yoon Byung-seon lightly ignored his comment.
“Today, we’ll have a simple meal here first, then split up into teams to receive training from mentors. As you all know, tomorrow you’ll be deployed into the ‘One-Day Restaurant’!”
At the mention of the ‘One-Day Restaurant’, the first question came from Hong Hye-yeon.
“Where will the ‘One-Day Restaurant’ be?”
“We’ll tell you tomorrow. It’s definitely not in Seoul.”
An Jong-hak snorted.
“Hmph, I can tell it’s going to be somewhere far away with good air and scenery. But you’re just giving us food? What’s the catch?”
Responding to the rhetorical question as if it were the correct answer, PD Yoon Byung-seon called out to the staff on his right.
“Ingredients! Please bring them in!”
Then, a low table with about ten ingredients for tteokbokki appeared. At this, An Jong-hak laughed in disbelief.
“See, I knew it would be something like this.”
Ha Gang-su and Yeon Baek-kwang tensed up.
“Ah! Are we playing a game?? Right now? I’m really bad at games.”
“Wow! To witness this scene in person!”
Pleased with the reaction, PD Yoon Byung-seon pushed up his glasses and smirked mischievously.
“It’d be boring to just eat, and it’s a chance for everyone to get closer, so how about a quick game of guessing famous people to start off?”
Soon, the writers handed PD Yoon Byung-seon papers with photos of celebrities, and Hong Hye-yeon, slightly furrowing her brows, tapped Kang Woojin on the shoulder.
“If you get mine wrong today, just you wait. I’ll flip the table for real.”
It seemed the wounds from the ‘sports day’ were still fresh. Kang Woojin, reminded of that day, felt a surge of tension but kept his expression firmer than ever.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Ah! That makes me nervous.”
Then Hwalin chuckled, covering her mouth.
“Ah, you mean Woojin-ssi getting unnie’s photo wrong. That was really funny.”
Hong Hye-yeon smirked at Hwalin, warning her not to let her guard down.
“What’s so funny, that might be you today, Hwalin.”
“Ah, no, right Woojin-ssi? You’ll get mine right, right?”
Kang Woojin found it hard to give a definitive answer. Just maintaining his facade was enough of a challenge.
“…I’ll try my best.”
About an hour later, inside a strange van.
In the van driving down the road, a rather chubby man was looking at a thin stack of papers. The cover read:
-<Our Dining Table>
It was the shooting script for ‘Our Dining Table’. So, why was this chubby man looking at the script for ‘Our Dining Table’? The reason was simple.
He was Chef Lee Yang-woo, the mentor for the ‘Our Dining Table’ kitchen team.
In the culinary world as well as in broadcasting, Chef Lee Yang-woo held a significant influence. He had participated in many cooking shows and had high recognition. The same was true in the Youtube market.
In other words, he was a well-known figure among chefs.
Chef Lee Yang-woo was currently on his way to the shooting location of ‘Our Dining Table’, and his pimply-faced manager asked him.
“Hyung. But do we really need to delay our own shooting schedule for this?”
Then, Chef Lee Yang-woo shook the script in his hand.
“Of course, we do. Man, it’s PD Yoon, PD Yoon. Have you even imagined how much our restaurant’s sales will jump just by getting a mention in his variety show?”
“But we’re already appearing on enough shows, aren’t we?”
“It’s a different level of power. Plus, I don’t know who’s in the kitchen team, but top actors fumbling around with cooking. That sort of thing is surprisingly stress-relieving? Killing two birds with one stone.”
Chef Lee Yang-woo then laughed heartily.
“I’ve adopted the critic concept, so there’ll also be the fun of teasing those haughty top actors.”