CRANK 1

“Hello, Sunbae. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’ve really wanted to meet you.”

The giant in front of me bowed his head deeply. It wasn’t hard to figure out the man’s identity. Could you find anyone in South Korea these days who didn’t know this man?

Woo Dobin. A rising rookie actor and the trend of the moment. A male actor in his 20s who, for the first time in years, had captured both acting ability and visuals.

Was it said that he was both sexy and somehow sorrowful? I could finally understand why the media was full of nothing but praise for him.

He clearly looked like a beast ready to devour someone, but a beast with a backstory. How should I put it? The feeling of someone who had caught a baby rabbit for dinner, only to get lost in their own emotions and end up adopting it instead?

Anyway, he said he used to be a model, and he certainly had the physique for it. 187… 190… could it be even more? It wasn’t enough to just lift my eyes; I had to tilt my head back just to meet his gaze.

“…Nice to meet you.”

I gave a short nod and walked past him. I had no hobby of chatting in the waiting room hallways. It was a place where anyone could walk by. Furthermore, if you asked me whether I liked or disliked the man in front of me, I disliked him. He was a turn-off. I felt a crummy sense of jealousy.

“Um, excuse me. Sunbae!”

Grab. My wrist was caught. It wasn’t painful, but it felt unpleasant.

“Let go of this before we talk.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

He bowed his head deeply. Still, I couldn’t really see the top of his head. I was a bit annoyed. I hated tall people. It was always those who were average-looking anyway who snatched up lead roles just because they were tall and had good bodies. For an actor like me, the space to stand was gradually shrinking. If I were just as tall as him, I would have eaten up Cannes and then some.

Of course, the Woo Dobin in front of me would have snatched up a lead role with just his face even if he were short. No, maybe he snatched it up with that acting ability everyone was praising him for?

“Um, Sunbae. Actually, I am, really, a fan.”

So what? I looked up at him with indifferent eyes.

“Yes.”

“Uh… so maybe a photo, or even an autograph. Or… uh….”

“Or what?”

If it wasn’t a photo or an autograph, what else was there for me to do?

“Or… could you at least shake my hand?”

A handshake? I couldn’t help but let out a puff of air and laugh. It was a laugh bordering on a sneer, but the man smiled back as if he were happy.

“Fine.”

I held out my hand. Woo Dobin looked down at my hand as if he couldn’t believe it, then grabbed it with both of his.

“I don’t think this is a handshake.”

Only then did he pull his hands away with a start. The back of his neck was slightly flushed. I guess he really is a fan. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a man react this way, nor was it the first time I’d seen an actor react this way. It was just the first time the two were combined. Well, does it matter?

“Then.”

Just as I was about to go on my way again:

“Hey, Sunbae!”

He’s persistent, isn’t he?

I furrowed my brow, then smoothed it out in an instant. I didn’t know where there might be a camera. I also had to assume the possibility that the man in front of me was a madman who hid a voice recorder inside his clothes.

“Yes.”

When I answered bluntly, the man’s eyebrows drooped. For someone so huge.

“Really, a photo… no, an autograph… is it not possible? Actually, I…”

He fumbled in his chest and pulled out a CD and a marker.

“I’ve carried this around every single day for a year, thinking maybe I’d run into you. I know you’re busy, but….”

Haa, I swallowed a sigh. Even lies have their limits. The news that I would be an award presenter at today’s ceremony was already widespread. The man probably heard that rumor and brought it with him.

What could he possibly gain from getting close to me in this way? Perhaps it was because of Director Cheon Sahyeon. Director Cheon and I ended things after our last movie—is this kid slow on the news?

“…Give it here.”

But I couldn’t ignore the hands trembling while holding the CD to the end. Not because I felt bad for him, but because there was a strong chance it could be edited with malicious intent.

‘[Exclusive] At the SAW awards ceremony, Park Hoyoon rejects the hand extended by Woo Dobin….’

‘Park Hoyoon, the synonym for idol-turned-actor, suffering from a recent case of “actor syndrome”?’

Countless article titles like those flashed through my mind.

“Thank you, Sunbae. Thank you so, so much.”

He handed me the CD with trembling hands. What could it be? Is it a DVD of Director Cheon’s movie? Ah, maybe he really did bring the Blu-ray of my first drama to prove he’s a true fan. I’m past the point of being moved by things like that. I indifferently took the CD and reached for the marker with my other hand, but—

“This.”

As soon as I saw the CD, the words slipped out before I could stop them. Snap— I glared at the man.

“Th-this….”

“I am, really a fan.”

“…You want me to sign… on this….”

“Yes, please. I’m begging you.”

Now it wasn’t him trembling, but me. …Fuck. Should I not do it? Should I say this isn’t right? Should I get angry? He said he was a fan. He said he really wanted to meet me. That he carried this CD around every day, seriously?

I gritted my teeth. Let’s endure, let’s endure. Think about the cameras. What if this is actually a variety show? Right, it’s a hidden camera show. …Fuck. Who does a hidden camera show as a real surprise? It’s all scripted. Ah, ah, fuck! The curses were playing on a loop in my head.

I had no choice. Trying not to let my hand shake, I opened the marker cap.

“Um, the autograph, below that…. Please avoid the face. This is a hard-to-find item, you see.”

“…Yes.”

Just as he said, I signed below, avoiding the face. No matter how tightly I gripped the marker, I couldn’t stop the horizontal stroke of the final character from trembling.

“…Here.”

“Thank you. I will really treasure this for generations.”

Generations, my ass.

“I’ll be sure to watch your presentation today as well. Thank you so much, Sunbae. If it’s alright with you, I hope there’s another opportunity to see you again.”

“…Yeah.”

This time, I finally turned my back on him. Fuck, fuck. The curses that couldn’t leak out were roiling inside my body. Fuck….

What he had handed me was none other than my 1st album.

Back when I was an idol—no, let’s be accurate. When I was a hopelessly failed idol—with ridiculous pink hair, glitter plastered all over under my eyes, and even a heart-shaped pin stuck on, that photo was plastered right there on the album jacket.

It was the 1st album of ‘Sunset Beach Angel,’ which is impossible to find now.

I am handsome. It was something I’d heard until I was sick of it since I was born. Let me correct that. I was beautiful. Up until now, at twenty-eight, I have been beautiful my whole life. – Although I had a very slight transition period in middle school, I blossomed again from high school onwards. –

So, I thought I was destined to make a living with my face. It wasn’t that I was particularly bad at studying. I had the grades to at least get into a national university, what people commonly call a local flagship university.

But I was the type of person who felt a lot of skepticism about life from a young age. Even if I went to a local flagship university and somehow managed to get into a mid-sized company, would I ever even be able to see an apartment with a Han River view? The answer was, ‘Impossible, unless you win the lottery.’

So, I started going to auditions when I was in high school. If I had to be precise, I wanted to act rather than sing, so I went to actor auditions, but I failed every one. The reason for most was that I was too handsome.

They said I didn’t have a compelling mask for the screen. That I was handsome, but that was all. …Of course, the fact that I was a bit short probably played a part as well.

Naturally, it would have been fine if I had been good enough at acting to offset that, but I was just a high school student who had never learned how to act. Someone who had brought a few pennies and come to Seoul headlong, determined to audition.

It was when I had been to about fifty auditions. With the mindset of “go big or go home,” I applied for an audition at an absurdly large agency.

And I passed. As an idol, not an actor.