Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 303
[Title: Did you see the paparazzi photos of Lee Yeon-jae?]
Looks like he went to the Lily Sweetie concert.
But the person with him was Mia Brown (the female lead he shot a music video with).
It's blowing up on TikTok right now, with everyone saying they're dating, lol.
It’s Mia Brown’s first dating rumor, so it’s even crazier.
―I was going to ask who Mia Brown was, but then I recognized her face.
└lol She's probably the hottest teenage celeb in the U.S.
―I saw it too, lol. They were holding hands, are they really dating?
―I thought Mia’s fans would hate it, but they love it. Open-minded foreigners, I guess.
└They do look good together.
[Title: Reasons why Mia Brown's fans welcome the dating rumor]
It’s because Mia Brown never hangs out with boys her age, lol.
Whenever paparazzi shots come out, she’s always with her family or walking her dog.
Then, this time, there’s a photo of her holding hands with Lee Yeon-jae.
Mia's fans are like, "Finally, our girl is dating!" lol.
But if you watch the full video, they’re not actually holding hands.
Lee Yeon-jae just caught Mia when she almost fell.
Plus, Mia immediately said they weren’t dating, so the fans are a bit disappointed, lol.
(+) Adding this based on comments
They didn’t go together, they were with another friend, making it three of them.
―It was such a random dating rumor, lol.
└(ㄱㅆ) I thought “what?” when I heard the news, but the moment I saw the photo, I understood. They look great together.
―I think he suits Han Se-young better than Mia.
└Who asked you? ㅇㅅㅇ
└Just saying.
―I wish they were dating, they looked so good together in the music video. Date in real life, kids!
└Stop prying into others' love lives, let the young ones figure it out themselves.
└But gossiping about others’ love lives is the most fun, lol.
[Title: Was shocked to see Korean on Lily Sweetie's story]
I was scrolling through stories on my account that only follows international celebs,
and suddenly Korean text appeared, lol.
(photo)
This was on Lily’s story yesterday.
The fact that Lee Yeon-jae’s name is written in neat Korean is so funny, lol.
―What’s this? A contract? Except for Lee Yeon-jae’s name, everything’s in English, so I don’t get it.
└Yeah, someone translate this.
―I’m not the original poster, but I’ll translate. It’s like a playful declaration, lol. ‘I, Lee Yeon-jae, will work with Lily Sweetie first if I ever collaborate with another singer.’ Something like that.
―Lily just posted a long explanation on her story! She said she made Lee Yeon-jae write it because he kept refusing her collab proposal, lol.
└There’s also a photo of Lee Yeon-jae taken at the party. Why does he look so fed up, lol?
[Title: Is Lee Yeon-jae some kind of celebrity charm magnet?]
Thinking about it, even when he first appeared as an extra in a drama,
Lee Jung-hyun was the first to take him under his wing.
Not to mention Choi In-joon from Space;;
At first, I thought it was just a coincidence,
but then you have Lily Sweetie, Tom Washington, Mia Brown.
Seeing all these big Hollywood names flocking to him,
I start to think there really might be something in his destiny.
―I think it’s just that perceptive people recognize his potential. Has anything he’s done ever failed? Look at this now. He goes to one concert and the top trending topic is all about Lee Yeon-jae.
└Right? I thought a teaser had dropped or something.
―He’s only about to enter high school, so imagine how famous he’ll get.
└The comment above smells like Biyeon. Don’t pretend you’re not a fan.
└No, they’re probably not Biyeon. There’s no crazed vibe.
―Thanks for the post XD Please support our little genius Bambi a lot :)
└The real Biyeon is here.
└As expected, the real Byeon is different.
* * *
As soon as I returned to Korea, I sought out Team Leader Woo.
"You're back?"
“Yes. What’s going on with the dating rumor with Mia?”
Team Leader Woo shrugged.
“It’s hardly even a dating rumor. All you did was hold hands.”
“We didn’t even hold hands.”
“Journalists are experts at making mountains out of molehills. Seeing the reaction overseas, they must have thought it was their chance and posted it all at once. Don’t worry about it. It’s turned into viral marketing anyway.”
Even with his clear response, the uneasy feeling didn’t go away.
When I asked if I could post on the fan café, he told me to do whatever felt comfortable.
“By the way, I heard Lily’s going to teach you guitar.”
“Oh.”
I couldn't help but make a tired face.
I was pestered so much by Lily at the concert after-party.
I tried to compose my expression but decided there was no need to in front of him.
“She said she’ll do a collab with me someday. I told her I wasn’t ready now, so she made me sign a contract.”
It was a contract saying that if I got the chance to work with another singer, I’d work with Lily Sweetie first.
In exchange, Lily agreed to teach me how to play the guitar.
‘It’s not even legally binding.’
It was just a meaningless piece of paper, but after hours of being pestered by Lily, I signed it quickly.
Otherwise, I felt she wouldn't let me go home.
After hearing my explanation, Team Leader Woo laughed.
“Still, consider learning the guitar. I’ll make time for it.”
“Why?”
“It’s good to have many skills. It could be a chance to shoot a music-related project.”
“Then I’ll learn from another teacher when the time comes.”
I didn’t see the need to learn from Lily, who lived so far away.
My doubts were cleared by Team Leader Woo’s amused response.
“Learning from a famous star can be used as marketing, you know.”
Aha.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
‘How deep into work must one be to think like this?’
While I marveled inwardly, Team Leader Woo continued speaking.
“Anyway, give it some thought. Do you need anything?”
“Yes. Do you have any spare scripts?”
“What?”
Team Leader Woo frowned slightly.
“You took three last time.”
“I’ve read them all.”
“All of them?”
What was he talking about? It had already been two weeks.
When I gave him a puzzled look, he tilted his head in confusion as well.
“Didn’t we agree to discuss the next project after you finish your stage activities?”
“Yes. I meant practice scripts, not the next project.”
To rid myself of the misfortune factor, two hours of acting practice a day were essential.
This required a lot of characters and scripts to practice with.
‘The more, the better.’
With a weary expression, Team Leader Woo pulled several scripts from a drawer.
“You’re quite the workaholic.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you, Team Leader.”
“I’ve only ever heard it, never said it to anyone before. Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
I accepted the scripts and bowed.
Just as I was about to leave the room.
“Oh, Yeon-jae. Do you remember agreeing to appear on a variety show?”
“Yes. Has it been decided?”
Team Leader Woo nodded.
“I purposely excluded terrestrial TV shows and picked one of the YouTube variety shows. It targets a younger audience. Let’s keep the music activities within the established target.”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
For actors, image was one of the most crucial aspects of their career.
As a job where you had to appear before the public as different characters each time, you couldn’t be fixed in one image.
The most avoided image was the ‘funny’ one.
Since it was the hardest to escape from, Woo-yeon Entertainment, my agency, strictly limited appearances on variety shows.
‘But I can’t avoid them altogether.’
I understood CEO Jang's stance, but we couldn’t completely disregard the influence of variety shows.
Especially since it was my first time releasing music.
‘How actively will we promote the song?’
The key was to emphasize the music activities without damaging my actor image.
After a meeting that lasted over three hours, we finally decided on appearing on just one variety show.
‘I left the choice of the show to the staff.’
I wondered which one they chose.
“You’re going to appear on―.”
I had to hold my breath at Team Leader Woo’s next words.
* * *
“Sir, we’ve arrived. You can get off now.”
“Yes.”
A week later.
The day of the much-anticipated variety show shoot was finally here.
I arrived at an unfamiliar building and took the elevator.
Standing expressionless, looking ahead, Jin-bae hyung glanced at me and smiled.
“Are you that happy?”
“…Of course.”
As I answered, the corners of my mouth lifted.
I grinned unintentionally and quickly lowered my lips again.
‘I never thought I’d meet Biyeon this way.’
Since the day Team Leader Woo told me, I’d been looking forward to today.
The variety show I was filming today was a famous program called ‘Finding the Hidden ㅁㅁ in ㅇㅇ.’
People sat between partitions and exchanged messages on their phones, and the goal was to find the hidden ㅁㅁ during this process.
For example, finding an extrovert hidden among introverts or a student hidden among office workers.
Today’s concept was ‘Finding the Real Lee Yeon-jae among Lee Yeon-jae Fans.’
‘Isn’t it usually the other way around?’
I found it a bit strange.
Other celebrities usually disguised themselves as their fans during the filming.
The highlight was the moment when they revealed their identity and surprised their fans.
‘I can’t help but notice from the title.’
Since the title blatantly said ‘Finding Lee Yeon-jae,’ the fans coming to today’s shoot must already know I was coming.
My doubts about the plan were resolved when I met the production team.
“Since so many celebrities have appeared on our program, the fans usually expect it nowadays. It’s become a bit predictable.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Lee Yeon-jae’s fans are known for their… intense… I mean, passionate love, right? We thought it’d be fun to see your fans mimicking you.”
They continued to say that watching the actor’s fans acting could be quite entertaining.
‘It does sound fun.’
Would Byeon be able to mimic me well?
Suppressing the urge to tap my feet in anticipation, I calmly proceeded with the pre-interview.
“Are you confident you’ll do well?”
I just smiled in response to the PD’s question.
“Since I’m the real Lee Yeon-jae, I just need to be myself. I’m more worried about the fans. I don’t have any particularly distinctive features.”
The PD smiled meaningfully.
“Good. If that’s what you think, we’re happy. Now, let’s start the filming. Yeon-jae, please step outside for a moment.”
Why is he smiling like that?
I wondered, but didn’t have time to ask.
Following the staff’s guidance, I moved to a different place and returned to the studio a few minutes later.
The people sitting between the partitions wore blindfolds.
I quietly took the seat in the middle, and the PD spoke up.
"Okay, everyone, please take off your blindfolds."
I heard the quiet rustling of fabric from both sides.
This made me feel oddly nervous.
"Please do not speak, and from now on, communicate only through your phones."
Taking a deep breath, I picked up my phone.
I entered the group chat we were informed about beforehand.
Announcement: Please start with your self-introduction and greeting!
The beginning was the same as other contents.
I typed out the prepared message, ‘Hello. This is Lee Yeon-jae. I look forward to working with you today.’
And as soon as I pressed the button.
Lee Yeon-jae 1: Hello. This is Lee Yeon-jae. I look forward to working with you.
Lee Yeon-jae 2: Hello. This is Lee Yeon-jae. Nice to meet you.
Lee Yeon-jae 3: Hello. This is Lee Yeon-jae. I look forward to working with you today.
Lee Yeon-jae 4: Hello. This is Lee Yeon-jae. I look forward to working with you.
Lee Yeon-jae 5: Hello. This is Lee Yeon-jae. I will work hard during the shoot.
I stared ahead with wide eyes.
I could see the PD and staff trying to stifle their laughter.
‘What is this?’
Is this my surprise camera?