Chapter 172: Congratulatory Stage
Chapter 172: Congratulatory Stage
At Flash Entertainment headquarters, anticipation among the agency staff was soaring through the roof as the Baeksang Arts Awards drew closer.
“Team Leader, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves with how excited we are right now, are we?”
“Of course not. If we can’t even get excited at this level, then we might as well spend the rest of our lives practicing silent meditation.”
“Heh, that’s true. Just look at Doctor Princess’s ratings. Fifty-one percent isn’t some random dog’s name. And Vacuum State passed 15 million viewers too. At this point, aren’t they basically the national drama and the national film?”
“And all the leads are from our company too. Mr. Sunho, Mr. Ganghyeok, Ms. Yoonha. And Mr. Juwon held his ground well with Bling Bling Island too.”
“This year’s awards ceremony might as well just be a Flash company outing.”
Expectations ran high throughout the company that Flash Entertainment would be the star of this year’s Baeksang Arts Awards.
Amid that excited atmosphere, there was one person wrestling with a phone by himself, unable to join the conversation.
“Ah, yes. Thank you for the offer, but I’ll need to discuss that with Actor Ryu Sunho a bit more and get back to you later. Yes, thank you. Goodbye.”
These were all the love calls pouring in for Ryu Sunho.
Dramas, films, advertisements, variety shows, and more.
Proposals had piled up like mountains regardless of genre.
The scale had grown even larger.
Now it was not just Korea. Scripts were coming in from Japan, China, and other parts of Asia, and even Hollywood had begun testing the waters.
His form as an actor was at its peak.
But there was no room for carelessness.
Because Team Leader Jo Sehun knew better than anyone that, at times like this, projects had to be chosen even more carefully.
If he stumbles here, everything he’s built so far could collapse in an instant.
People said to strike while the iron was hot.
But the current speed was already enough.
If they rowed harder, the boat would capsize.
Now was the time to take the helm and set the boat firmly in the right direction.
How many actors had overworked themselves with too many projects, burned through their image, and ended as nothing more than a brief flash in the pan?
The public’s expectations were scraping the sky, so if he faltered even slightly, the disappointment would return doubled.
Well, that doesn’t mean I’m especially worried.
Because he trusted Sunho’s eye and skill.
He was the kind of guy who could pull off any kind of acting and who instinctively knew how to gather people’s attention.
There was no doubt.
♬♩♪-
The phone rang noisily again.
“Yes, this is Jo Sehun from Flash Entertainment.”
He answered in a friendly voice, but before long, he let out a deflated sound.
“...Excuse me? A congratulatory stage?”
His eyes gradually widened as he listened to the explanation from the person on the other end.
After ending the call, Jo Sehun checked the detailed proposal that had arrived by email and let out an incredulous laugh.
“...They’re really doing this? Were they high or something?”
“A congratulatory stage?”
On the way back after finishing a photo shoot, I heard about Baeksang’s proposal from Team Leader Jo Sehun.
It was a sudden offer, but rather than feeling burdened, I found myself thinking, ...This sounds fun.
I liked that it was not predictable.
It had a story, and it had wit.
“I’ll do it. It sounds like it’ll be fun.”
“I figured you would. I thought you’d like it.”
Team Leader Jo Sehun grinned.
I read through the proposal carefully again.
If they pulled this off properly, they would definitely seize control of the awards ceremony atmosphere.
It might even become something people talked about every awards season.
It was definitely a good opportunity.
“But does Ms. Yoonha know about this too?”
“She probably doesn’t. I casually tried sounding out Team Leader Heo Jeongseok, and he acted like he had no idea.”
“Then it’d be better not to tell Ms. Yoonha in advance.”
To complete the picture in a more entertaining way, they needed Seo Yoonha’s real and natural reaction.
Team Leader Jo Sehun seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he nodded.
“Got it. I’ll make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut.”
After accepting Baeksang’s proposal, Ryu Sunho went right back to his packed schedule.
During the day, he handled the flood of filming and interview commitments, and at night, he locked himself in a practice room and rehearsed for the stage.
If I’m doing this, I have to show them the real thing.
And so the breathless days passed until at last the day of the showdown arrived.
From early morning, the Flash Entertainment staff were moving busily.
Out of all the teams, the one under the greatest strain was naturally the styling team.
Ryu Sunho’s styling team in particular steeled themselves with grim resolve.
“If we make a mistake today, it’s over. It has to be perfect no matter what.”
They were trying to style Ryu Sunho, who was highly likely to be today’s star, to the absolute maximum.
But Stylist Woo Minha’s expression did not look very good.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just... the outfit...”
She pointed at the suit hanging on the rack.
“I’m wondering if it’s too flashy... or is it just me?”
The other staff slowly tilted their heads.
Their reaction was ambiguous, neither yes nor no.
No, to be exact, it leaned closer to no, but they could not bring themselves to say it out loud.
Everyone knew how much effort Stylist Woo Minha had put into this outfit for today’s ceremony.
She had changed planes multiple times and flown all the way to Milan, Italy, to personally request it from a famous designer.
But when the actual outfit arrived and they saw it in person, there was a problem.
The decorative details and embroidery pattern had turned out more excessive than in the design sketch.
“It does feel a little overwhelming...”
“If we’re not careful, the outfit’s going to hog all the attention...”
“Under the lights, it’s going to stand out a lot...”
Stylist Woo Minha felt like she could cry.
“Seriously, why would they add extra embellishments without consulting me...”
Just then, Ryu Sunho entered after finishing his makeup.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“You’re already done with hair and makeup?”
“Yes, just now. But what’s going on?”
Stylist Woo Minha explained the situation in a shrinking voice.
But Ryu Sunho only gave the outfit a quick once-over and spoke as if it were no big deal.
“I’ll try it on first. We can decide after I put it on.”
A little later, the fitting room curtain was drawn back and Ryu Sunho walked out.
““......!””
For a moment, silence fell.
Flashy embellishments? Excessive patterns?
None of that even registered.
If anything, his overwhelmingly striking features were almost making the clothes disappear.
“Well... his face is the flashiest thing there, so of course the outfit wouldn’t stand out.”
“Actually, now that it’s like this, the outfit is at least holding its own. It feels balanced.”
“If he’d worn something plain, the outfit would’ve looked too dead. Nice choice!”
Around the same time, the square in front of COEX in Seoul was boiling with excitement.
A crowd stretched endlessly along the safety fences.
It was a spectacular sight, as though a giant human belt had surrounded COEX.
Fans who had stayed up all night to secure good spots, and the telephoto-camera squads who had even brought ladders, were all tangled together.
Watching this while setting up equipment, one reporter clicked his tongue.
“Wow, there are seriously a record number of people today. It feels like an idol Dream Concert venue.”
“I’ve been covering Baeksang for ten years, and this is the first time I’ve seen a scene like this.”
The senior reporter wiped his sweat and looked around.
Normally, crowds only started pouring in when red carpet time was close.
But today, it had been near paralysis since morning.
“Well, it makes sense. There’s never been a lineup of works this strong before, right?”
“Still, these days offline turnout has fallen off a lot, so I thought there’d just be a decent number of people on-site. I figured everyone would just watch comfortably from home on YouTube.”
“Look over there. Why do you think those people came out?”
The senior reporter jerked his chin toward the other side of the fence.
Colorful placards and slogans were rippling like waves.
Amazingly, seventy percent of them, no, more like eighty percent, were all aimed at a single name.
[Ryu Sunho, Baeksang belongs to you!]
[Ryu Sunho, the man of Cannes, today the man of Baeksang!]
[Acting genius, face genius, we love you, Ryu Sunho!]
The fandom’s age range was diverse too.
From students in school uniforms, to office workers in their twenties and thirties, and even the occasional middle-aged fan.
It was a scene that proved Actor Ryu Sunho had become an icon spanning every generation.
“At this point, isn’t today’s Baeksang basically a Ryu Sunho fan meeting?”
“This really is Ryu Sunho’s year. Anyone who disagrees just doesn’t know entertainment.”
Just then, while the reporters chatted and loosened up, the security guards holding radios began moving busily.
“Vehicles coming in! Please clear the way!”
Carnival vans started pulling in one after another.
The reporters cut off their chatter and switched into work mode.
Click-click-click-click-!
Every time a famous actor got out, shutter sounds burst like machine-gun fire, and the fans’ cheers filled the square.
But something was still missing.
The main figure everyone was waiting for had not appeared yet.
In the middle of frantically pressing their shutters, a wave of screams on an entirely different level from before began surging from the distant entrance.
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“Aaaaaaaah!!!”
The cheers were so loud the ground seemed to shake.
The reporters wiping down their camera lenses instinctively exchanged looks.
“He’s here.”
“He is. At this point, just from the screams alone, I can tell who arrived.”
“The decibel level is different.”
Just as they said, Ryu Sunho, wearing a perfectly fitted tuxedo, stepped out of the car and strode down the red carpet.
The atmosphere of the entire site changed in an instant.
Every time he waved, cheers erupted from all sides.
“Ryu Sunho!!!”
“Wow!! You look amazing today!!!”
“Are you human or a sculpture?!!!”
“Oppaaa!!!”
“That outfit looks so good on you!!!”
Not a single person there thought Ryu Sunho’s outfit was too much.
Instead, they were only overwhelmed by Ryu Sunho’s visuals, which completely devoured even that flamboyance.
Inside the awards ceremony hall, actors dressed in tuxedos and gowns sat here and there in small groups, chatting.
“Sunbae! Hello!”
“Oh my! Long time no see!”
Warm greetings with colleagues they had not seen in a while.
Tension over the awards.
Excitement at enjoying the festival.
All of it mixed in the air, creating a buzz of conversation.
Among all of them, the place with the warmest and liveliest atmosphere was the Doctor Princess table.
Because it was where the stars behind the 51 percent peak ratings had gathered.
“Oh wow, Actress Seo, you look like an actual goddess today.”
“Thank you, Director. But you look different too, all dressed up like this after so long.”
“Hahaha, thanks even if it’s just talk. By the way, where’s Actor Ryu? I saw him earlier on the red carpet.”
“I’m not sure. Maybe he went to the restroom?”
“I just came back from there, and he wasn’t there.”
“Ah, then he must’ve gone over to the Vacuum State side. He’s a lead there too.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Since it was such a massive hit, he probably has a lot to talk about with Director Baek Junbong.”
The Doctor Princess team nodded, accepting the explanation.
But the situation on the Vacuum State team’s side was not much different.
“Where’s Sunho?”
“Wouldn’t he be sitting with the Doctor Princess side? After all, a lot of Flash actors are gathered there.”
“Ah, that must be it. It’s probably more comfortable for young people to stick together. At times like this, it’s better for us to give way.”
Both teams were absolutely convinced that Ryu Sunho was sitting with the other side.
Then the house lights dimmed, and the host’s voice rang out.
“The grand curtain now rises on the 63rd Baeksang Arts Awards!”
Hot applause poured out.
“Before we begin the awards in earnest, we are told that a very special guest has prepared an opening stage just for today.”
Who is it?
That reaction burst out from all around the audience.
Soon, a sweet piano melody began to flow.
“Huh?”
“This song?”
It was a familiar intro that everyone there knew.
The OST of this year’s national drama, Doctor Princess.
A spotlight shone on the center of the stage.
There sat a grand piano.
And in front of it was a man immersed in playing.
A man wearing a white doctor’s gown.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“It’s Han Jusin!!!”
Gasps and cheers exploded from the audience at once.
Ryu Sunho gave a light smile, then brought his lips close to the microphone.
His soft, low voice filled the hall.
—Your name quietly spreads
And my heart trembles on the breeze
As he sang Pieona, the OST of Doctor Princess, sounds of people swooning could be heard everywhere.
At the same time, Ryu Sunho’s gaze slowly moved.
Then it stopped precisely somewhere in the audience.
That place was where Seo Yoonha, who had played the female lead Alicia Yun in Doctor Princess, was sitting.
“Ooh!!”
“What is this, what is this!!!”
Just like that famous scene in the drama where Han Jusin confessed to Alicia Yun, he continued singing while looking only at her with eyes dripping honey.
—This can’t be a coincidence
My heart recognized you first
When her face appeared on the big screen, Seo Yoonha clapped a hand over her mouth in surprise.
But she quickly grasped the situation and, with a shy smile, slipped into method acting as Alicia Yun.
A sweet pink atmosphere filled the entire awards hall.
The piano performance surged toward its climax, and Ryu Sunho rose from his seat.
Pulling the microphone free, he slowly came down the stage steps.
One step, then another.
Toward Seo Yoonha.
—You spread through me
And soak into me warmly like light
Ryu Sunho approached right in front of Seo Yoonha and politely held out his hand.
Naturally, people who had been fans of the drama let out scream after scream of amazement.
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!!”
“This is insane!!!”
Even the actors themselves were immersed, watching with pleased expressions.
Just as the sweetness was about to exceed a lethal dose—
Bzzzt—
The music suddenly cut off.
Then, from somewhere, a sinister background score began to play.
At the same time, rough, heavy footsteps rang out with a thud, thud.
“......?!”
Was this a broadcast accident?
Just as everyone’s minds went blank from the sudden turn of events, loud laughter burst from the people seated in the audience.
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
“Why? Why?”
“Look at the stage!!”
A fierce-looking man in a leather jacket was glaring at Ryu Sunho from the stage.
With his voice blocked off, only his mouth moving soundlessly.
Gu Sunwoo...
It was Moon Ganghyeok, perfectly possessed by Detective Seon Minho.