Chapter 130
Chapter 130
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Again, Writer
-----------------------------------------------------------------
# 130
Again, Writer Chapter 130
“Ji-hyun hyung!”
No sooner had he stepped out of the car than Lee Jang-hu came rushing over, panting.
He was the oldest among them aside from Woo Ji-hyun, and his face lit up with delight as he ran up.
“Long time no see? You’ve been well?”
“Yeah, I’ve been grinding away at my writing.”
“Must’ve been a tough drive from Pohang all the way here.”
“Heh heh! When it’s an idol trainee coming, of course I had to show up. Truth is, the competition was fierce.”
Lee Jang-hu, whose skin was strikingly pale for a guy, lowered his voice and sneaked glances at the female trainees.
His expression betrayed uncontainable joy.
Just as expected, the five stunning beauties were right there in his line of sight.
“I heard. Tons of writers were dying to come here. But they automatically cut anyone over thirty, right?”
“That’s how we ended up with this dream team of five. It’s not easy rounding up five like this. Hyung’s got a limited pool of successful juniors he knows.”
“You’d be surprised how many there are once you look. Cha Won-hyung’s just too nice, with all his connections.”
“But even among them, the really good ones are few and far between.”
Lee Jang-hu grinned and rubbed his face with his palm.
A crude way of saying they were all masks—stunners.
Meanwhile, the rest of the members approached Woo Ji-hyun to greet him.
They were all juniors in terms of experience and age, so their greetings were impeccably polite.
“Hello, sir!”
“Great to see you again!”
He’d seen Lee Jang-hu a few times at the rental shop market, but the three greeting him now were faces he barely knew—maybe once or twice.
Acquaintances at best, faces he recognized.
Perhaps because of that, Woo Ji-hyun’s response to them was a touch more formal than with Lee Jang-hu.
“Long time no see, everyone. I’ve been hearing good things about all of you. You’re all killing it.”
“Haha, not like you, hyungnim.”
“Hyungnim?”
The maknae, Kim Seon-woo, flashed a cheeky grin as he spoke up.
But the honorific was a bit off.
They were only four years apart, yet he was calling him hyungnim.
Tap tap.
Just then, Lee Jang-hu lightly elbowed Woo Ji-hyun’s side.
“Hey, four years is plenty for hyungnim. You telling me late twenties on the cusp of thirty is the same as early twenties by Korean age?”
“Seon-woo, aren’t you twenty-five?”
“Twenty-three by Korean age! Haha!”
“Twenty-three’s definitely early twenties.”
Lee Jang-hu grinned at Kim Seon-woo’s perfectly timed quip.
What was funny was that Park Seong-il and Kang Woo-hyuk nodded along in agreement.
“I’m twenty-seven by Korean age too, you know? Birthday hasn’t passed yet.”
“Late twenties are still late. And that first digit’s about to change soon.”
“Shut it, Lee Jang-hu.”
“Yes, sir!”
Lee Jang-hu snapped to attention at Woo Ji-hyun’s low, gravelly tone.
Woo Ji-hyun got prickly as sandpaper when he was in a mood—even pricklier than usual.
Besides, Lee Jang-hu wasn’t in any position to test him, rank-wise.
“Hey, hyung.”
“The star always makes the grand entrance at the end, huh?”
After reuniting with the juniors, Woo Ji-hyun headed straight for Kang Taek-jin and Yeo Woo-jin.
To greet them first.
They were also the ones he felt most at ease with here.
Woo Ji-hyun then met Seoul Planning’s director Heo Gwang-su and the staff, introduced by Kang Taek-jin.
“Hello! I’m Nam Hee-gyu from Curve Entertainment! These are the kids debuting next month.”
“Hello!”
“Nice to meet you!”
“Haha, they have a team name, but it might change, so I haven’t mentioned it. But if you want to know, I can tell you!”
Woo Ji-hyun tilted his head.
They were being overly friendly—almost excessively so.
The others seemed to notice too; the writers and staff were cocking their heads.
“Oh, sure. But you don’t need to go that far.”
“Come on, let’s have the kids greet you properly first.”
Nam Hee-gyu pushed the members toward the puzzled Woo Ji-hyun.
A silent nudge for one-on-one introductions.
What was amusing was that the five girls showed no delight or annoyance at Nam Hee-gyu’s prodding.
Instead, their eyes sparkled as they shook Woo Ji-hyun’s hand.
“It’s an honor, Writer Woo Ji-hyun! I’m Green Hye-jeong, the leader!”
“I’m Soo-ryun, handling the cool blue vibe!”
“Hot red, A-rin here.”
“Black Jung-in.”
“I’m Pink Si-ha, in charge of cute, fresh, and lovable!”
Woo Ji-hyun could only smile awkwardly as the five girls introduced themselves one by one while shaking his hand.
The color-coded intros reminded him of those sentai shows he’d watched as a kid.
Especially since each wore an item in their signature color.
“Hahaha. Nice to meet you.”
“We added colors to our names to match our personalities. In this world, you get buried if you’re not special.”
“The industry’s cutthroat, yeah.”
Nam Hee-gyu’s eyes lit up the moment Woo Ji-hyun mentioned the entertainment world.
He whipped out a business card from his pocket like lightning.
“Haha! Here’s my card.”
“Oh. I don’t have one. As a freelancer, I hardly ever need them.”
“I know. Just in case you ever need to reach me—it’ll make it easy.”
“Huh?”
Woo Ji-hyun blinked in confusion.
He couldn’t grasp the intent at all.
But Nam Hee-gyu just smiled innocently.
“Alright, let’s start shooting!”
With everyone arrived, Heo Gwang-su bellowed.
It was a one-night, two-day schedule, but time was tight.
They had to cram all the planned activities within budget, so hustling was key.
Plus, outdoor shoots meant unpredictable variables.
“But don’t we get a storyboard or briefing?”
“Yeah, we haven’t heard anything.”
Unlike the staff and trainees scrambling at Heo Gwang-su’s shout, Woo Ji-hyun and the writers just stood there blankly.
They’d only been told to come—no prior details.
“Just follow us.”
“More precisely, support those girls. They’re the main focus.”
“You’re saying we’re just glorified gophers?”
Woo Ji-hyun glanced between Kang Taek-jin and Yeo Woo-jin.
The juniors shot looks at the two seniors too.
“No way. If it was just that, we wouldn’t have called you. Our company could handle it, and plenty of our staff wanted to come.”
“Tons.”
“Just watch for now. We’ll explain step by step. When else are you gonna get to hang with trainees like this?”
Lee Jang-hu and the juniors’ eyes sparkled.
That was the whole reason they’d trekked out to this remote Ganghwa Island.
Some were even harboring wild fantasies.
Especially Lee Jang-hu.
“But Ji-hyun, why’re you so nonchalant? Not even fazed by the girls?”
While the other four couldn’t tear their eyes from the fresh, feminine quintet, Woo Ji-hyun showed no big reaction.
Just mildly intrigued?
Unlike the other writers scrambling to get friendly, he watched the trainees from a casual distance with a neutral gaze.
“I’ve seen a girl group once. After goddesses, trainees don’t really hit the same.”
“Whoa.”
“No way.”
“Hyungnim, who’d you see? Which girl group?”
Any awkwardness forgotten, Kang Woo-hyuk and Kim Seon-woo pounced.
They grabbed his arms, urging him on.
“PriOs.”
“W-whoa!”
“That’s insane! PriOs?!”
The trainees, who’d been smiling prettily for the camera, glanced over at the commotion.
But Kang Woo-hyuk and Kim Seon-woo, oblivious, stared up at Woo Ji-hyun with wide eyes.
They’d joined the hotshot writer ranks lately and drove foreign cars despite their youth, but celebs were still rare.
Top girl groups? Forget it.
“If I blow up like hyung, I can meet PriOs-level groups too!”
“Dunno. Doesn’t always work that way. I got lucky.”
“But I’ve got an edge over you, hyung. ‘Cause I’ve got you!”
“That’s one impure glint in your eye, Jang-hu.”
Woo Ji-hyun shook his head at Lee Jang-hu’s golden-ticket stare.
The guy was chugging fantasy soup while the source had zero such thoughts.
“PriOs!”
“As expected of a mega-hit writer!”
But the juniors weren’t the only issue.
Kang Taek-jin and Yeo Woo-jin—proud owners of seats among the nation’s hundreds of thousands of uncle fans—rushed over too, eyes bulging.
Sidelining the promo shoot entirely.
“Got their number or what?”
“Come on, even he wouldn’t have idol contacts. Just got lucky seeing them once. Huge even for that. Girl idols in private...”
“If only I got that blessing once...”
Woo Ji-hyun shook his head at his two hyungs lost in their worlds.
He approached the writers nearby, checking their schedules.
To sneak a peek at the scripts in their hands.
“Haha, you look real curious.”
“Kinda have to, with zero info.”
“It’s nothing big, really. Think of yourselves as helpers. Plenty of time before you fully join, though.”
Heo Gwang-su spotted Woo Ji-hyun and smoothly covered it up.
With tonight’s mission in mind, he couldn’t let him know the schedule yet.
Q&D Management had agreed beforehand.
“Sounds like there’s stuff we’re not supposed to know?”
“Ahem! Can’t say a word. Realism’s key for this promo vid. That’s why we scouted active writers like you.”
“Got it. We’ll stand by.”
“Won’t be long.”
Heo Gwang-su eyed Woo Ji-hyun anxiously.
Felt like he’d caught on to something.
And oddly, Woo Ji-hyun didn’t seem twenty-something.
His speech, his vibe—felt like a peer.
‘Weird.’
Rare webnovel writer? Or just quirky? Heo Gwang-su couldn’t tell.
But one thing was clear.
No divas among the writers.
If anything, they were refreshingly humble despite their success.
‘Maybe ‘cause of Woo Ji-hyun.’
He’d seen countless young celebs act entitled after blowing up.
So he’d worried when the meeting was set.
Even if Q&D picked for personality, it didn’t always pan out.
Relief: no red flags so far.
“Good.”
“Feeling good too, Director.”
Heo Gwang-su muttered at the unexpectedly positive set vibe.
The assistant director nearby, having overheard, grinned too.