'Did I hear that right? Did I mishear it?'
Kang Woojin stood still, replaying the moment in his head.
No matter how many times he went over it, the words were clear.
'She definitely said she's a huge fan of mine. That part—I'm sure of it.'
Hwarin had just said she was his fan.
It wasn't like he had been eavesdropping on purpose. He had only been trying to return the bracelet she dropped, and just as he was about to call out to her, he heard her voice.
Woojin blinked several times.
But it still didn't make sense.
'How is that even possible?'
Hwarin was the leader of the famous girl group Elani. Their fandom was massive, and even among the members, she was overwhelmingly the most popular.
Even Woojin—who knew almost nothing about girl groups—knew that much.
By any standard, Hwarin was a top star.
She was on a completely different level from Hong Hyeyeon.
'There's no way someone like her would be my fan.'
If it were someone like Ryu Jungmin or top star Jin Jaejoon, sure—that would make sense.
But Hwarin?
Still—
One fact didn't change.
She had said it.
And before he knew it, a strange feeling bubbled up inside him.
A little… giddy.
Of course it did.
It was practically a confession, wasn't it?
Without realizing it, the corners of his lips began to lift.
'Ah, stop. Don't smile, you idiot.'
The composure he had worked so hard to maintain cracked in an instant.
He tried to force his expression back into place, but the emotion kept pushing through.
Was he losing it?
Smack.
He lightly slapped his cheek.
'Get it together.'
For now, he slipped Hwarin's bracelet into his pocket.
Leaving it there felt wrong, and returning it now would only make things awkward.
It would be more natural to give it back later and simply say he found it.
Woojin turned and began walking, his face carefully blank once again.
He headed toward the meeting room.
On the way, he thought back to his previous encounters with Hwarin.
'The first time was at Netflix… right?'
From the start, she had seemed uncomfortable. She wouldn't even make eye contact.
Cold.
Distant.
But—
What if that wasn't dislike?
What if she had just been flustered?
Woojin paused for a moment.
Then recalled all the misunderstandings his "concept" had caused so far.
'…That's definitely possible.'
He didn't know why she liked him.
And honestly, he didn't want to overthink it.
There were only two possibilities.
Either she was hiding the fact that she liked him—
Or things had gone wrong from the start and turned into this awkward situation.
Woojin thought about himself.
From the past to now.
'Misunderstandings really are a pain. I'm living proof.'
He needed to stay calm.
Hwarin was probably just shy.
Even so, he felt a strange sense of kinship.
'I should protect her secret, right?'
Whatever the case, he decided to keep it to himself.
Running around talking about it would just be ridiculous.
If the time came, she might tell him herself.
Or maybe she never would.
Either way, it didn't matter.
'Still… this feels nice. Hwarin's my fan? …Yeah, but I can't brag about this.'
His lips twitched again.
Right then—
"Ah! Mr. Woojin, over here!"
An employee called out to him at the Netflix Korea entrance.
Woojin suppressed his excitement and responded calmly.
"Hello."
He followed the employee inside.
The moment he stepped into the meeting room—
A familiar face came into view.
"Oh my, Woojin. Long time no see."
"…Director Shin Dongchun?"
It was Director Shin Dongchun.
His square jaw looked just as firm as ever.
Why was he here?
Before Woojin could figure it out—
Hwarin entered behind him.
Avoiding his gaze, she greeted the staff instead.
Woojin called out to her.
"Ms. Hwarin."
She flinched slightly.
Woojin, expression unchanged, held something out.
Her bracelet.
"You dropped this."
"…Ah."
Only then did Hwarin realize it was missing.
She took it, trying to keep her face neutral.
"Ah, thank you."
"Sure."
Then—
She quickly turned away, as if escaping.
Nearby, Netflix staff whispered quietly.
"They seem even more awkward than last time."
"Maybe they're still not comfortable yet."
"…I hope that's all it is."
Woojin kept a blank face while desperately holding his lips in place.
'Get it together. Seriously.'
Because Hwarin was giving off—
An unexpectedly cute kind of awkwardness.
Meanwhile—
The Sports Day episode was exploding in popularity.
『Episode 1! The Hanryang Team's Passion Explodes! Total Chaos… | Sports Day X Profiler Hanryang』
Views: 10,465,008
In just one week, it had surpassed ten million views.
And it was still climbing.
The channel already had over three million subscribers, and the buzz around Profiler Hanryang and Kang Woojin overlapped perfectly.
The result—
An explosion.
『Episode 2! Angry Hong Hyeyeon… Did Kang Woojin Survive?? | Sports Day X Profiler Hanryang』
Views: 1,155,146
Episode 2 had already crossed one million views within hours.
And the comments?
They flooded in.
[Online reactions]
[Woojin why did you change so much LOL you feel kinda weird now]
[their chemistry is insane]
[upload episode 3 already I'm dying LOL]
[Hong Hyeyeon is seriously way too pretty]
[Ryu Jungmin and Woojin chemistry is unexpectedly good lol]
[Jang Taesan's angry eyes LOL and Woojin tsundere at 11:05]
[everyone was shy but tried so hard, loved it]
[Assistant Manager Park form is crazy good]
[their teamwork is perfect]
[Woojin's cold but cute vibe is dangerous]
[why do my eyes keep going to Woojin LOL]
[he was popular in college too? but now his vibe feels darker lol]
English comments were everywhere as well.
Naturally—
Kang Woojin's popularity continued to surge.
The media began circling him more aggressively.
After all—
A new face always sold better than a familiar one.
"What happened to Kang Woojin in just a few months? He's already doing ads."
"We're digging, but nothing's coming up."
"Is his past really that clean? Look deeper."
His growth was undeniable.
@wooji_n
Posts: 29
Followers: 403,000
Following: 4
His followers had surpassed 400,000.
『Official | Welcome to Kang Woojin's fan café, Kang's Heart!』
Members: 8,008
Even his fan café had crossed 8,000 members.
Unheard-of growth for a rookie.
But fame always came with shadows.
The public loved him.
The media—
Could turn into hyenas at any moment.
『The rising Kang Woojin — what lies beneath the hype?』
『Why does top rookie Kang Woojin only choose minor roles?』
Still—
The positive outweighed the negative.
But then—
Rumors began to surface.
For now, it was manageable.
80% positive.
20% negative.
At this stage—
Even controversy became fuel.
GGO Entertainment. Nonhyeon-dong.
Three men sat in the CEO's office.
Bang!
Seo Guseop slammed his tablet down.
"Damn it. That rookie Kang Woojin is really getting on my nerves."
"…Does this make sense? The Private Investigator, Hanryang, now even Sports Day?"
"It's… abnormal."
"He already signed ads. Even has a fan club."
"Do you think I don't know that?!"
"I-I'm sorry."
Seo Guseop lit a cigarette.
"For now—watch him."
"Yes, sir."
"Spread rumors. Push the 'small roles' angle harder."
"Understood."
Harmony Film Company. Near Sinsa Station.
A production meeting was in full swing.
At the head sat Director Kwon Gitaek.
On his tablet—
『Star Talk | Kang Woojin… no major film yet?』
Kwon Gitaek spoke calmly.
"Why are there so many gossip articles?"
"It's just media noise."
"I still don't like it."
Silence fell.
Then—
"Let's start promotion early."
Eyes widened.
"Announce his casting first."
"Understood."
Ten minutes later—
『Exclusive | Director Kwon Gitaek casts Kang Woojin as lead』
The news spread instantly.
Like a bomb dropped across the industry.