Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Once Again, Writer
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Lee Woo-hyung widened his eyes and asked.
It was just a vibe that made him think she wouldn't give it.
"Even if I wanted to, there are no plans for a print edition yet. The market's shifting toward paid serialization."
"Oh, got it."
"I'll definitely send you one when it comes out."
"As expected of my friend!"
Lee Woo-hyung grinned brightly and threw his arm around Woo Ji-hyun's shoulders.
But Woo Ji-hyun utterly despised physical contact between guys, so he put on a stern face and shoved Lee Woo-hyung away.
"Oho. The composition looks pretty good."
"The chemistry's solid too. Truth is, this ad campaign kicked off with just this one photo."
Choo Seong-gwang muttered to himself, framing Woo Ji-hyun and Lee Woo-hyung in a rectangle with his thumbs and index fingers, a surprised look on his face.
It was better than he'd expected.
Then Oh Young-seok, sitting beside him, gave a faint smile and spoke up.
"You can really feel the bromance. But have you two been friends for a while?"
"From what I heard, they first met when that photo was taken."
"Huh."
Choo Seong-gwang looked shocked.
Twenty-eight wasn't exactly young.
Unlike friends from elementary, middle, or high school, ones you made in the working world weren't easy to bond with purely.
Yet these two looked genuinely close.
"It's pretty rare, that's for sure. A sports star and a genre novelist being buddies."
"Definitely."
"And the visuals aren't bad either? Neither's a total heartthrob, but they've got this quirky charm. Both in solid shape too."
"I figured Lee Woo-hyung would have great proportions as an athlete, but Woo Ji-hyun the writer? That's a surprise."
Truth be told, Choo Seong-gwang hadn't worried much about Lee Woo-hyung.
Athletes were bound to be in good shape, after all.
So he'd been concerned about Woo Ji-hyun specifically.
Because of the stereotypical image people had.
"Didn't you see the photos on Insta or Facebook?"
"Those only showed upper bodies. And angles can cover a lot anyway."
"Fair point. You're the expert on that stuff, Director."
"But we don't need to worry about the visuals."
Choo Seong-gwang said with a satisfied smile.
Luckily, it wasn't the worst-case scenario.
No, this was above average.
"Pleasure working with you."
"We'll do our best."
Woo Ji-hyun got his first-ever makeup done.
Skincare and lotion—maybe a moisturizer at most—that was his entire lineup of face products, yet here he was slapping on stuff he'd never even heard of.
"How's it look?"
"Whoa..."
"Even just basic work changes the impression completely, right?"
"Yeah."
Woo Ji-hyun's eyes went wide at the coordinator's words—she looked about his age.
Just thirty minutes in the chair, and he was practically transformed.
Jo Jin-gu seemed to feel the same; sitting nearby, his jaw dropped.
"Guys do makeup these days too. Plenty subtly line their eyes without realizing. And procedures are on the rise."
"If it makes this much difference, guys who care about grooming won't be able to resist."
"Botox is just shots, so your jawline could handle it. You'd look way sharper."
"Yeah, if I'm fixing anything, I've got a lot to work with."
The coordinator covered her mouth and laughed at Woo Ji-hyun's dead-serious tone.
She shook her head slightly.
"Nah, it's not that bad. You've got that soft, pretty-boy vibe going."
"That 'got that' part stings."
"Hoho! I don't do empty flattery."
"Figures."
Woo Ji-hyun flashed a grin and fired back.
But it was all in good fun, so the coordinator just laughed.
"Makeup's done. Head straight to the set."
"Thanks."
"Change into the uniform later and come back for touch-ups—don't forget!"
"Got it."
Woo Ji-hyun headed to the set, sincerely thanking the coordinator who'd polished his flawed canvas this much.
First, to check out Lee Woo-hyung's shoot.
Jo Jin-gu shadowed him like a ghost.
Click-click-click!
The camera shutter sounded nonstop as soon as they neared the set.
Choo Seong-gwang was shooting with a serious face Woo Ji-hyun had never seen.
"Oh."
"Nice expressions."
Woo Ji-hyun looked surprised watching Lee Woo-hyung nail dramatic poses up front.
The goofy sidekick was gone; in his place stood the sports star the public craved.
Even Jo Jin-gu muttered in quiet admiration.
"He said stuff like lower leagues and minor teams were all he'd known—this is his first real spotlight and shoot."
"Probably from all that promo since coming back. Heard he rolls in at dawn every day."
"Even came home at 5 a.m. once. Called me at the crack of dawn to report it."
"Hahaha."
Jo Jin-gu laughed.
He could imagine that call.
He glanced around casually.
Looking for Lee Woo-hyung's agent, David.
'Where'd he go? Busy guy?'
David was as swamped as Lee Woo-hyung.
He handled every schedule for his client.
"Hmm."
Meanwhile, Woo Ji-hyun silently watched Lee Woo-hyung's shoot.
As today's model too, he had to pick up whatever he could from his friend.
Better to hear "great job" than "can't act."
'No newbie perks here.'
This wasn't school or a classroom.
Everyone was paid pros.
They'd teach basics as newbies, but don't expect more.
"Yes! Perfect! Great!"
Click-click!
The shoot went on while Woo Ji-hyun zoned out.
Just switching angles, snapping nonstop.
One setup done, change clothes, repeat.
"Won't wrap up quick."
"Yeah. Woo-hyung's the star, after all."
"Said it was co-leads, though."
Jo Jin-gu ventured carefully, eyeing Woo Ji-hyun's face.
Didn't want to bruise his pride.
But Woo Ji-hyun looked unfazed.
"Haha. Makes sense. Even if I worked at Kakao Page, I'd center it on him. Recognition, impact—night and day. Rising sports star and all."
"Things'll change later. Not just talk—I'm serious."
"He said the exact same."
"Lee Woo-hyung said that?"
Jo Jin-gu looked stunned.
He knew from chats the guy loved genre lit, but forecasting the future? No way.
Regular readers were just consumers.
Unless industry folks, people rarely thought ahead.
"He really digs genre stuff. Early on, language barrier and all—his main downtime was reading. Dorm had internet, but low-tier team spot was rough—no good Korean shows, so books filled the time. Way better after Ligue 1 move to France. But happiest? When smartphones hit."
"Hahaha. True diehard."
"That's how I see it."
"Alright, next setup!"
Lee Woo-hyung's solo shoot wrapped; Choo Seong-gwang yelled.
A brief break followed.
Time for Lee Woo-hyung to change and touch up makeup.
Staff tidied the set.
"Whew, tough."
"You nailed it."
"Got better as I went. No wonder they say experience counts."
"Hurry and prep. I'll wait."
Lee Woo-hyung's face filled with guilt at Woo Ji-hyun's casual tone.
Woo Ji-hyun had arrived first, yet kept waiting.
And he knew exactly why.
"I'll rush."
"Don't sweat it. Builds character for a writer. And my head game's tougher than this."
"Heh! Knew it."
Woo Ji-hyun insisted he was fine, so Lee Woo-hyung smiled and headed to the waiting room.
To change and fix makeup.
'But can't deny I'm just dead weight here.'
Woo Ji-hyun glanced at Choo Seong-gwang, deep in serious talk with Oh Young-seok, then pulled out his notebook.
Rare chance—time to capture the scene properly.
Snapping set and staff pics on his smartphone in between.
'Amazing, as expected.'
He could've been pissed, but Woo Ji-hyun calmly documented it all.
Jo Jin-gu thought it was impressive.
Lee Woo-hyung might edge him out here, but in genre lit, Woo Ji-hyun was top-tier.
Count better writers? Under ten.
Sales were the harsh yardstick.
But readers defined great writers—unchanging truth.
No readers, no writers.
'My instincts are spot on. Woo Ji-hyun's blowing up soon. As the market grows, so will his status.'
Jo Jin-gu watched Woo Ji-hyun's focused back, eyes gleaming.
No way this guy fails.
"Lee Woo-hyung's ready!"
"Good! Let's shoot!"
At the staff's call, Choo Seong-gwang grabbed the camera again.
This time, calling Woo Ji-hyun too.
Duos from here on.
Woo Ji-hyun held a mug, aiming for natural.
Bromance theme—relaxed gaze at Lee Woo-hyung.
"Perfect! Light smile's fine, chat if you want. I'll pick A- and B-cuts, so just be yourselves!"
Choo Seong-gwang was mildly surprised at Woo Ji-hyun's calm but snapped fast.
Photography captured moments—shoot good angles on sight.
"You're a natural."
"First and last time. Not a pro model, so no-pressure, go-with-the-flow vibe."
"What if ad offers roll in? Solo Kakao Page model while I'm abroad."
No lines in the storyboard, so casual chat.
It worked great.
That easy same-age-friend energy.
"Not a bad gig."