Masih duduk di kursinya, Kang Rojun merasakan sesuatu yang aneh.
‘Bukankah ini agak ramai? Apa yang terjadi? Apa yang bermasalah??’
Pertama-tama, tim makeup yang seharusnya menyiapkan dirinya melihat wajahnya, pergi ke PD, lalu tidak kembali. Rojun ambil cermin kecil di dekatnya, sekedar untuk jaga-jaga. Dia cek wajahnya di cermin itu.
Sepertinya tidak ada masalah khusus.
‘Wajahku keren banget hari ini.’
Sejak dia mendapatkan ‘Peningkat Vitalitas’, dia tak pernah lagi merasa lelah atau lemas. Penuh energi dan kehidupan, bahkan tekstur dan kondisi kulitnya jauh lebih baik. Belum lagi, statisik Penampilan-nya saja sudah 150 poin. Dengan kemampuan pasif ‘Overwhelm’, ia juga berhasil meningkatkan auranya.
Namun, mungkin justru karena itu. Kang Rojun tidak pernah menyangka bahwa tampak sangat tampan justru bisa menjadi masalah.
Atau lebih tepatnya, mungkin bukan masalah, tapi sesuatu yang lain terjadi?
Masih saja, tim makeup yang berkumpul di sekitar PD tampak serius, lalu PD Noguchi Ken menatap kosong setelah mendengar mereka.
‘...Karena aktris ini terlalu tampan, jadi menakutkan untuk menyentuh wajahnya??’
Noguchi Ken sebentar dengan tim makeup, lalu menoleh ke arah Rojun yang duduk. Ia bisa melihat Kang Rojun duduk sambil melihat cermin. Meski tidak melakukan apa-apa, tampilannya memancingkan perhatian.
“......”
Tidak lama kemudian, PD Noguchi Ken mengerti perasaan tim makeup itu.
‘Ini pertama kalinya aku mengalami ini, jadi aku bahkan tidak memikirkannya.’
Sebelum syuting ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, PD Noguchi Ken dan staf kunci sempat mengadakan beberapa pertemuan produksi untuk mengonfirmasi konsep dan pakaian karakter. Hal yang sama juga terjadi pada legendaris No. 1 host ‘Murata Sho’ yang dimainkan Rojun. Pada saat itu, mereka menambahkan segala macam pengaturan yang mencolok.
‘Tapi melihat Rojun di lokasi syuting... rasanya semua itu tidak penting.’
Segalanya terasa sia-sia.
Berita ini cepat tersebar di kalangan pemain ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ melalui staf.
“Hah? Karena Rojun-nim terlalu tampan?? Aduh... Ini pertama kalinya aku melihat hal seperti ini, aku terkejut!”
“Kau tak akan menemukan visual sekeren Rojun-nim bahkan di Korea, dan di antara aktris Jepang... pasti tidak ada. Jadi tentu tidak ada precedent untuk ini.”
Di antara mereka adalah Suzuki Rie, yang juga hadir di pembacaan naskah, kini mempunyai pipi yang tertawa, penggemar berat ‘Produce That 100!’, dan penggemar ‘Jung-woo’. Dia sembari melirik Kang Rojun.
‘Kalau ‘Jung-woo’ seperti pangeran tampan dari komik... maka Rojun adalah... ha, aku tidak tahu, jujur aku bahkan tidak bisa membayangkan perbandingannya.’
Dan ia sepenuhnya merasakan perasaan tim makeup.
‘Aku mengerti dilema tim makeup. Dia berat setwan tampan, jadi pasti merasa kewalahan tidak tahu harus mulai dari mana, kan?’
Ini mirip seperti ragu untuk menyentuh hidangan yang indah karena terlalu sempurna.
‘Di atas segalanya, ada juga aura yang agak dekadent dan tatapan matanya yang tak main-main. Jujur, dia tidak butuh makeup atau pakaian sama sekali. Apa pun, tidak apa-apa-apa untuk langsung syuting tanpanya??’
Tidak lama kemudian, Suzuki Rie melepas sebuah tawa kecil yang penuh keheran.
‘Aktris yang berat setwan tampan ini, disyot langsung tanpa makeup, ini akan masuk sejarah akting Jepang.’
Saat itu, PD Noguchi Ken mendekatkan diri ke arah Kang Rojun yang duduk. Di tangannya adalah profil karakter yang berisi konsep dan detail pakaian untuk ‘Murata Sho’, peran yang dimainkan Rojun. PD Noguchi Ken beralih antara melihat Rojun dan profil karakter itu sejenak.
Lalu.
“Rojun.”
Dia berbicara dengan nada serius dalam bahasa Jepang.
“Maaf, bisakah kamu memberi kami senyum cerah?”
Senyum? Itu bukan hal sulit. Bagi Kang Rojun yang pernah bekerja di industri idola, ini adalah permintaan yang mudah. Tak lama kemudian, Rojun melepaskan senyum cerah. Senyum natural yang menerangi matanya. Saat itu, PD Noguchi Ken melemahkan profil ‘Murata Sho’-nya.
“Profil karakter ini tidak berguna.”
Dengan tawa kering yang seperti kelapa, PD Noguchi Ken menjelaskan situasi ini kepada Kang Rojun. Setelah akhirnya memahami semuanya, Rojun tersenyum tipis, baik dari luar maupun dari dalam.
‘Tampak tampan adalah hal terbaik, ya. Ini mendebarkan.’
Akhir pikirnya, selama ‘Rental Lover’ juga dengernya komentar serupa dari tim makeup. Bahkan ketika statisik Penampilannya 100 poin, itu sudah menjadi beban, berapa pun sekarang 150? Apa pun, Rojun membalas dengan nada agak mengangkat.
“Lalu, apa kita coba syot langsung saja?”
PD Noguchi Ken mengangguk.
“Ya. Untuk sementara, kita on-kamera tanpa mengganti sesuatu.”
Akhirnya, Kang Rojun berdiri tanpa menyentuh satu helai pun rambutnya atau sebarang makeup, lalu berjalan menuju tim pakaian. Tiba-tiba, salah seorang tim makeup berbisik dengan ekspresi yang agak cemas.
“Uh- PD-nim, apakah kita harus melakukan makeup dasar setidaknya?”
PD Noguchi Ken langsung menolak seolah-olah mengatakan tidak.
“Tidak.”
Di dalam dirinya, ingin tahu muncul dengan kuat.
‘Ini membuatkan gila karena belum pernah terjadi, tapi sekarang terjadi, aku penasaran.’
Beberapa momen kemudian, setnya terorganisir, sekitar empat puluh menit kemudian.
Pemain, staf, dan peralatan syuting semuanya siap. Lalu, seorang pria masuk. Itu adalah Kang Rojun, mengenakan costume mirip jubah. PD Noguchi Ken yang duduk di depan monitor tak bisa mengalihkan pandangannya dari Rojun.
‘Dia tampak bagus. Dia sudah pas dengan ‘Murata Sho’.’
Dia memanggil Rojun di atas panggung.
“Pertama! Kita mulai dengan uji kamera!”
Artinya, mereka akan mulai dengan menyanyikan visual Rojun, mirip dengan latihan. Bahkan sebelum Kang Rojun bisa fokus pada atmosfer Like a Kaleidoscope pertama.
-Ssss.
Dia mengumpulkan emosinyanya. Untuk dengan benar memerankan ‘Murata Sho’ dari Episode 1 ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, berjudul ‘The Vanished Women’. Tak lama kemudian, kamera-kamera menyelimuti Kang Rojun, dan di belakang PD Noguchi Ken yang di monitor, para pemain termasuk Endo Takuto berhimpitan.
Tak lama kemudian, visual depan dan samping Kang Rojun ditampilkan di banyak monitor.
Bisikan keagungan menyebar di antara para pemain.
“Oh-”
“Wow……”
Sudut mulut PD Noguchi Ken melengkung ke atas.
‘Meskipun kita mulai syut seperti ini, sudah lebih dari cukup.’
Endo Takuto, pemeran pria utama ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, berkata sambil kepalanya agak menurun.
‘Bagaimana seseorang dengan wajah gila seperti itu juga bisa menulis dengan baik, dan berakting dengan baik juga?? Kecuali dia adalah sepupu Tuhan, bagaimana ini mungkin!’
Ini seperti kagum.
Di samping itu, di Korea. Lantai pertama GN Entertainment.
Ini adalah lobi GN Entertainment yang ramai dengan lalu lintas berat. Sofa tunggu tersebar di sekitar, dan layar di atas langit-langit mengumbar pencapaian gemilang GN Entertainment. Tentu saja, ‘Vanguard’ juga sedang diputar.
Di sebuah kafe yang cukup besar di satu sisi lobi.
Dua orang yang sudah dikenal duduk menghadap muka. Direktur Eksekutif Lim Hyun-jin dan CEO Heo Ki-tae. Direktur Eksekutif Lim baru saja selesai bertemu dengan CEO GN Entertainment Ha Seo-hwan, dan Heo Ki-tae yang sudah menunggu dan baru saja bertemu dengannya.
Heo Ki-tae mengacaui air mineral dinginnya dan berkata.
“Direktur Eksekutif Lim, kamu datang sendiri ke GN Entertainment, dan sepertinya ini penting, ya?”
CEO Heo Ki-tae mengangguk dengan senyum profesional.
“Ini urusan penting. CEO Heo juga harus tahu, tapi aku akan memberi tahu saat sudah selesai. Untuk sekarang, ini hanya proposal, belum ada kepastian.”
Ketika ia mengatakan ‘proposal’, CEO Heo Ki-tae mulai mendengarkan.
‘Jika dia datang langsung ke GN untuk membuat ‘proposal’, ini pasti berkaitan dengan Rojun.’
Ia penasaran, tapi CEO Heo Ki-tae tidak mendorong lebih jauh. Jika ini berkaitan dengan Rojun, ia akan tahu entah kapan. Tidak perlu memaksa di sini. Kemudian, tertawa keras, ia mengganti topik.
“Haha, mengerti. Um, alasannya aku menghentikan kamu sebelum kamu kembali adalah karena aku juga punya proposal untuk kamu.”
“Proposal?”
“Ya. Lebih tepatnya, ini datang dari Writer Rojun.”
Mendengar nama Kang Rojun, Direktur Eksekutif Lim Hyun-jin langsung tertarik.
“Lanjutkan.”
CEO Heo Ki-tae mengeluarkan notesnya.
“Ini tentang ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’. Netflix Korea mengusulkan untuk membuatnya sebagai seri musiman, ya?”
“Ya.”
“Kamu mungkin berpikir dua belas episode per musim. Jika dua musim, sekitar dua puluh empat episode.”
Lim terdiam seolah mengatakan ‘silakan’. CEO Heo Ki-tae kemudian pergi ke inti.
“Bagaimana jika kita perlakukan 24 episode sebagai empat musim, dengan enam episode per musim?”
“...Enam episode per musim. Jadi, daripada dua musim dua puluh empat, kamu katakan untuk empat musim?”
“Ya. Sepertinya Writer Rojun lebih suka cara ini. Semakin aku berpikir, semakin terdengar logis. Dibandingkan dengan 12 episode, ini jauh mempersingkat waktu peluncuran, dan jeda antar musim bisa diperketat. Selain itu, ini hanya pendapatku…”
Beruang itu. Ya, CEO Heo Ki-tae melanjutkan presentasinya, tapi Direktur Eksek
Still sitting in his chair, Kang Rojun sensed that something strange was going on.
‘Isn’t this a bit hectic? What's going on? What problem came up??’
First of all, the makeup teams who were supposed to do his makeup looked at his face, went to the PD, and didn't come back. Rojun picked up a hand mirror nearby, just in case. He checked his face reflected in the mirror.
There didn’t seem to be any particular issue.
‘My face looks great today.’
Ever since he obtained the ‘Vitality Booster’, he no longer felt tired or fatigued. He was full of energy and vitality, and even his skin texture and condition were much better. Not to mention, his Appearance stat alone was 150 points. With the passive ‘Overwhelm’, he had also elevated his aura.
However, perhaps precisely because of that. Kang Rojun hadn’t expected that being absurdly handsome might become a problem.
Well, rather than a problem, maybe something else is happening?
Still, the makeup team clustered around the PD looked serious, and PD Noguchi Ken blinked in confusion after hearing their reason.
‘...Because the actor is too handsome, it’s intimidating to touch his face??’
Noguchi Ken spoke briefly with the makeup teams, then turned his head. Toward where Rojun was seated. He could see Kang Rojun sitting and looking into a mirror. Even though he wasn’t doing anything in particular, his looks simply captivated attention.
“......”
Soon, PD Noguchi Ken understood how the makeup team felt.
‘I’ve never had this experience before, so I didn’t even consider it.’
Before the filming of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, PD Noguchi Ken and the key staff had naturally held several production meetings to confirm the concepts and costumes of the characters. The same went for the legendary No. 1 host ‘Murata Sho’ whom Rojun was playing. At the time, they had added all kinds of eye-catching settings.
‘But seeing Rojun on set... it’s like none of it matters.’
Everything felt meaningless.
This situation quickly spread among the cast of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ through the staff.
“Huh? Because Rojun-nim is too handsome?? Wow... This is the first time I’ve seen something like this, I’m in shock!”
“You wouldn’t find visuals like Rojun-nim even in Korea, and among Japanese actors... definitely not. So of course, there’s no precedent for this.”
Among them was Suzuki Rie, who had also attended the script reading, had rosy cheeks, was an avid fan of ‘Produce That 100!’, and a fan of ‘Jung-woo’. She sneaked a glance at Kang Rojun.
‘If ‘Jung-woo’ is like a handsome prince out of a comic... then Rojun is... ha, I don’t know, I honestly can’t even come up with a comparison.’
And she fully empathized with the makeup team’s feelings.
‘I get the makeup team’s dilemma. He’s ridiculously handsome, so it must feel overwhelming not knowing where to even begin, right?’
It’s similar to hesitating to touch a beautifully plated dish because it looks too perfect.
‘On top of that, there’s this subtle decadent vibe he gives off, and the aura in his gaze is no joke either. Honestly, he doesn’t even need makeup or costume. Wouldn’t it be fine to just start filming him as is??’
Soon, Suzuki Rie let out a quiet, incredulous chuckle.
‘A ridiculously handsome actor getting filmed just as he is without any makeup, this is going to go down in the history of Japanese acting.’
At that moment, PD Noguchi Ken approached Kang Rojun, who was seated. In his hand was the character profile containing the concept and costume details for ‘Murata Sho’, the role Rojun was playing. PD Noguchi Ken alternated between looking at Rojun and the character profile for a moment.
Then.
“Rojun.”
He spoke in rather serious Japanese.
“I’m sorry, but could you give us a bright smile?”
Smile? That wasn’t difficult. For Kang Rojun, who had spent time in the idol industry, this was an easy request. Soon, Rojun flashed a bright smile. A natural smile that lit up his eyes. At that, PD Noguchi Ken weakly lowered the ‘Murata Sho’ profile.
“This character profile is useless.”
Letting out something like a dry chuckle, PD Noguchi Ken explained the current situation to Kang Rojun. Now that he finally understood everything, Rojun smiled faintly, both outwardly and inwardly. It was a strange feeling, but a pleasant one.
‘Being handsome is the best, yeah. What a thrill.’
Come to think of it, during ‘Rental Lover’ too, he’d heard similar comments from the makeup team. Even when his Appearance stat was 100 points, it had been a burden, how much more now that it was 150? Anyway, Rojun responded in a slightly uplifted tone.
“Then, shall we try shooting as is?”
PD Noguchi Ken nodded.
“Yes. For now, we’ll roll the camera without touching anything.”
In the end, Kang Rojun stood up without having touched a single strand of his hair or any makeup and moved toward the costume team. Then, a makeup team member spoke up with a slightly worried expression.
“Uh- PD-nim, should we at least do some basic makeup?”
PD Noguchi Ken shook his head immediately, as if to say it was fine.
“No.”
Inside, however, curiosity surged strongly.
‘It’s flustering because it’s never happened before, but now that it has, I’m curious.’
Somehow, the set was organized, and about forty minutes later.
The actors, staff, and filming equipment were all in place. Then, one man walked in. It was Kang Rojun, dressed in a suit-style costume. PD Noguchi Ken, seated in front of the monitor, couldn't take his eyes off Rojun.
‘He looks good. He already fits perfectly with ‘Murata Sho’.’
He called out to Rojun on set.
“First! We’ll start with a camera test!”
It meant they’d start by filming Rojun’s visuals, similar to a rehearsal. Even before Kang Rojun could settle into the mood of Like a Kaleidoscope’s first shoot.
-Ssss.
He gathered his emotions. To properly portray ‘Murata Sho’ of Episode 1 of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, titled ‘The Vanished Women’. Before he knew it, cameras surrounded Kang Rojun, and behind PD Noguchi Ken, who was at the monitor, actors including Endo Takuto had gathered.
Soon, Kang Rojun’s front and side visuals were displayed across multiple monitors.
Quiet murmurs of amazement spread among the actors.
“Oh-”
“Wow……”
The corners of PD Noguchi Ken’s mouth curved upward.
‘Even if we start filming just like this, it’s more than enough.’
Endo Takuto, the male lead of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, muttered roughly to himself.
‘How does someone with a crazy face like that also write so well, and act well too?? Unless he’s some kind of cousin of God, how is this even possible!’
It was something akin to admiration.
Meanwhile, in Korea. The first floor of GN Entertainment.
It was the lobby of GN Entertainment, bustling with heavy foot traffic. Waiting sofas were scattered around, and the ceiling-mounted screens were broadcasting GN Entertainment’s proud achievements. Of course, ‘Vanguard’ was also playing.
In a fairly large cafe on one side of the lobby.
Two familiar individuals were seated across from each other. Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin and CEO Heo Ki-tae. Executive Director Lim had just finished a meeting with GN Entertainment’s CEO Ha Seo-hwan, and bear-like Heo Ki-tae had been waiting for her and had just met her.
Heo Ki-tae stirred his iced Americano and spoke.
“Executive Director Lim, you personally came to GN Entertainment, and it seems like it’s for something important, right?”
Executive Director Lim nodded with a businesslike smile.
“It was an important matter. CEO Heo should know too, but I’ll let you know once it’s finalized. For now, it was just a proposal, and nothing’s been confirmed yet.”
At the word ‘proposal', CEO Heo Ki-tae picked up on something.
‘If she came directly to GN to make a ‘proposal’, it has to be related to Rojun.’
He was curious, but CEO Heo Ki-tae didn’t press further. If it was related to Rojun, he’d find out eventually. There was no point in pushing here. Then, laughing heartily, he changed the subject.
“Haha, got it. Um, the reason I stopped you before your return is because I also have a proposal for you.”
“A proposal?”
“Yes. To be exact, it’s something that came from Writer Rojun.”
Hearing Kang Rojun’s name, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin’s interest shot up instantly.
“Go ahead.”
CEO Heo Ki-tae pulled out a notebook he had taken notes in.
“It’s about ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’. Netflix Korea suggested doing it as a seasonal series, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re probably thinking twelve episodes per season. If it’s two seasons, that’s roughly twenty-four episodes.”
As Lim fell silent as if to say ‘go on’, CEO Heo Ki-tae got to the point.
“Instead of that, what if you treat the 24 episodes as four seasons, with six episodes per season?”
“...Six episodes per season. So instead of two seasons of twenty-four, you're saying to go for four seasons?”
“Yes. It seems Writer Rojun prefers it that way. And the more I think about it, the more it seems like six episodes per season is better. Compared to twelve-episode seasons, it drastically shortens the launch date, and the gap between seasons can be tightened too. Additionally, and this is just my opinion…”
The bear. No, CEO Heo Ki-tae continued his briefing, but Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin was already calculating in her head.
‘Six episodes per season. It’s definitely not bad. The biggest concern with Writer Rojun was that, due to his busy schedule, the script for all twelve episodes might be delayed, but this would offset that to some degree.’
Of course, she thought positively.
‘It also speeds up production, allowing us to conduct promotions and marketing more aggressively, without gaps.’
The most enticing part was the “'shortening of time". Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin’s rough prediction was that, realistically, this project would be unveiled to the world around early next year. But if they rolled with Kang Rojun’s idea.
‘It could even be possible in the second half of this year.’
There was a chance it could launch before the year was over. Of course, the proposal she had made to CEO Ha Seo-hwan today could be a factor, but it wasn’t finalized yet, and if GN accepted it, and also pushed things forward quickly, it could be integrated without issue.
Soon, CEO Heo Ki-tae closed his notebook and continued speaking.
“Writer Rojun has now started writing Episode 2, and we need to decide this in advance so he can structure the ending of each season accordingly. So a quick decision would be...”
“That sounds good.”
Before he could even finish speaking, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin made the decision.
“Let’s go with 6 episodes per season.”
A few hours later, back in Japan.
It was already past 6:30 p.m. Kang Rojun had completed the first shoot for 'Like a Kaleidoscope', and he was now in the van again to head to the next location.
‘That was fun. The filming here isn’t that different from Korea. If there is a difference, maybe the air feels a bit stuffier?’
This was Kang Rojun’s first time filming a project in Japan. But the atmosphere wasn’t much different from Korea, and he wrapped up the first shoot without any major issues. The next destination was a recording studio not far from the set. After that, he had to move quickly and board a flight back to Korea.
‘So I have to go back and forth like this, right?? It’s totally doable, but under normal circumstances, it’d be pretty brutal.’
Film in Japan, then go back to Korea to handle 'Vanguard' schedules, then return to Japan to film again. Repeat that at least five times. For anyone other than Kang Rojun, it would be an exhausting schedule. But Rojun somehow felt even more energized than when the filming started.
-Vroom!
The van took off. For reference, this was the end of the entire 'Like a Kaleidoscope' shoot for the day, and in the van ahead of Rojun’s were PD Noguchi Ken and others. For some reason, a few Japanese actors were also with them.
About 30 minutes passed like that.
Kang Rojun’s van came to a stop in the parking lot of a fairly large building. Naturally, the other vehicles had arrived too. There was PD Noguchi Ken, the sound director, a few key staff members, Netflix Japan’s Executive Director Tom Cavill who had joined midway through the shoot, and about five actors including Endo Takuto and Suzuki Rie.
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