[CNN Highlights Korean Actor: “Who is the Angel of Desiderio?”]
[Famous Photographer Giovanni Sponza’s High Praise: Mr. Jang is the Model of the Century!]
[Jang Youngguk’s ‘Confession of a Priest’ Tops Italian Box Office.]
[Korean Wave Starting in Japan Begins to Sweep Through Italy!]
Is this what a presidential election feels like? The movements of journalists are breathless. Numerous articles are pouring out non-stop every day, and the feast for headlines has begun.
What’s even more surprising is that this wave didn’t start domestically. The wave that started from faraway Italy has become a huge flow, making the media frenzy.
“How did the Songwon Entertainment press conference go—!”
“They said it’s not scheduled yet!”
“Even if it’s not scheduled, we have to make it happen. It’s heating up so much overseas right now. We have to get Songwon somehow, even to write just one line of an article! And what did Desiderio say about the interview request?”
The editor’s voice grows louder. And it’s no wonder, the scene in the editorial office is no different from a chaotic market. Everyone is holding the receiver, talking to reporters on field assignments, exchanging information. Every minute and second is urgent.
They are struggling to publish articles even a little faster than other media outlets. The cause of all this commotion was none other than actor Jang Youngguk.
‘Was there ever such chaos since the ‘88 Olympics?’
The editor was having a headache. To exaggerate a bit, during the ‘88 Olympics, they were at the center of the festivities. The authorities provided countless topics for articles as they poured in.
But now it was different. The storm had started from foreign news.
If it were just a simple foreign news report, it could have been overlooked, but it was at an undeniable level.
Starting with the high praise from Giovanni Sponza, the living legend of photographers, the chairman of the Rossellini family, who dominates the Italian business world and is the founder of Desiderio, personally praised Jang Youngguk. And that wasn’t the end of it.
Movies and dramas by Jang Youngguk began to be exported to Italy and other parts of Europe.
It was unbelievable. The scale of the wind blowing from foreign news was so strong that it seemed like a new typhoon ‘Jang Youngguk’ had emerged, just like weather forecasters name typhoons.
“Editor! Desiderio said they will decide on the interview after discussing with Mr. Jang’s agency.”
“Mr. Jang?”
“They mean actor Jang Youngguk.”
This is driving me crazy.
From the chief editor to the high-ranking officials of the media company, there was pressure to write new articles related to Jang Youngguk.
But after returning to Korea, Jang Youngguk did not respond to any interviews. According to his agency, he was taking a break.
In the past, this would have been unthinkable. No matter how famous an agency was, those in the entertainment industry had to be mindful of the media.
But the situation had changed. Foreign media were pouring out articles related to actor Jang Youngguk, and even CNN in the U.S. was paying attention to him.
The response from the domestic public was also hot. The fervent popularity of actor Jang Youngguk was skyrocketing, as if he had won MVP in the World Cup finals or swept gold medals in the Olympics.
To exaggerate a bit, there was even talk that if actor Jang Youngguk ran for mayor of Seoul, he would be elected.
At that moment, a sentence flashed through the editor’s mind.
“Writing a Legend! Yes, this is the headline—!”
It wasn’t wrong. Starting with the drama “Youth,” he was the first to spark the Korean Wave in Japan. That alone was an incredible achievement and a milestone in the Korean entertainment industry.
Now, this young man in his early twenties was beginning to step onto the world stage, starting with Italy. How could this not be described as writing a legend!
“Hehe, great actor!”
Actor Ahn Junghyun teases. Youngguk shows a troubled expression. He had already told him several times to stop, but Ahn Junghyun’s playful nature showed no sign of diminishing.
Instead, he reads out the headline as if he were an elementary school student giving a speech.
“The Korean actor highlighted by CNN! Who is the Angel of Desiderio! Wow, Youngguk, even the headline is amazing!”
“Ah, uncle, please stop joking around.”
“Youngguk, I’ve never seen a Korean movie actor get this much attention in the U.S. And an angel? Are you hiding wings on your back? Brother, we didn’t even know we had an angel among us! Instead of going to dawn prayers, shouldn’t we be praying while looking at Youngguk?”
“Haha, should we?”
Director Baek Janghoon joins in the joke. It’s no wonder, as the Korean media seemed to be pouring out articles about Youngguk as if they had made up their minds. The phrase “returning home in glory” fit perfectly.
The articles all featured photos taken in Italy, with one even showing an Italian grandmother praying while looking at Youngguk’s photo at Mr. Sponza’s exhibition.
With foreign agencies flooding his agency with contacts, domestic reporters were already letting their imaginations run wild.
Actor Jang Youngguk, Hollywood debut imminent?!
Not Hollywood, but love calls from the French film industry!
Jang Youngguk’s appearance in the sequel to The Godfather, produced in Italy, highly likely…!
The continuous stream of nonsensical rumors. Since he wasn’t giving interviews, they were writing their own stories.
He had no intention of entering Hollywood or the French film industry. There were no talks of a sequel to The Godfather after the third one, yet they were making up non-existent productions.
‘Sigh.’
It was fortunate that his agency was blocking interviews. If he had done any interviews, they would have added more and more to their imaginations.
Moreover, because he was staying at Director Baek Janghoon’s mansion, even reporters couldn’t easily come to the mansion to interview him. It was then.
“Youngguk, what’s this?!”
Actor Ahn Junghyun shouted with wide eyes as he read another article. With so many articles pouring out from various newspapers, he didn’t even expect what kind of fiction was being written now. But his head turned at Ahn Junghyun’s next words.
“Youngguk, you weren’t doing ad shoots but having an international romance!”
“What are you talking about now.”
“Look here, there’s a photo of you drinking wine with some woman in a huge headline. Uncle may not look like it, but I was a dating expert back in the day. This woman looks completely enchanted by you! You said you’d tell me first if you get a girlfriend. You’ve become so sly after coming back from Italy.”
The article featured a photo of Youngguk and Monica. It seemed someone had taken the photo near the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
In the photo, Monica was leaning forward with a wine glass towards Youngguk. Even to a stranger, it was clear the woman was very interested in the man. The headline was even more ridiculous.
- Actor Jang Youngguk receives a love confession from a wealthy Italian?!
“Sunghoon, you don’t need to help today.”
At Yeongdo Namhang Market, in a small shop, live fish were energetically flapping their tails. Kim Sunghoon was struggling to move a live fish as big as his forearm.
He was cleaning the fish tank. Although he used a net, the fish was so strong that it almost shook Kim Sunghoon.
“Hyesook, how are you going to move these heavy fish by yourself? Just trust me…!”
But before he could finish, the live fish jumped out of the net. Kim Sunghoon lost his balance and kicked a red basin, falling to the ground. An octopus in the basin fell on his head.
He ended up with an octopus on his head, looking like a soaked rat. Lee Hyesook hurried out with a towel and started wiping his head.
“Oh dear, what a mess. Are you okay?”
Kim Sunghoon awkwardly scratched his nose bridge. After putting the runaway fish and octopus back into the red basin, they met each other’s eyes and couldn’t help but laugh. Just looking at each other made them so happy. The octopus in the red basin squirted ink as if in jealousy.
“By the way, Hyesook, I read that Youngguk has a girlfriend now. Is it true?”
“Eunji, I was curious too and called him, but he said no. He said they only met a couple of times while working overseas.”
“Really? I thought the photo was so beautiful and they looked good together. It looked like a scene from a movie. Jisoo was so curious that she asked me to make sure to ask you before she went to school today.”
“Youngguk said he might come down for a short visit. It would be nice if he could see Jisoo this time.”
“Youngguk is coming down?”
A brief look of tension flashed across Kim Sunghoon’s face. In fact, compared to Kim Sunghoon, Youngguk could be considered a son, but he somehow found him difficult to deal with.
It wasn’t just because of his fame as an actor. It was more because, in occasional conversations, it felt like talking to someone of the same age or even older.
“Why?”
“It’s nothing. I want to treat Youngguk to something delicious when he comes down. He treated me last time in Seoul.”
“I ate with you too.”
“How can you compare yourself to me? I want to earn some points with Youngguk this time.”
At that moment.
Kim Jisoo, who was preparing to leave school, didn’t look too happy. Her long hair was tousled as if she had just woken up. There were faint traces of a nosebleed on her uniform sleeve.
The homeroom teacher was giving a few students a warning. One of them was Jisoo.
‘Damn it, I should have made sure he couldn’t say a word.’
The reason Jisoo had a fight with a classmate at school was simple. One of her classmates had badmouthed Youngguk. The more popular he became, the more anti-fans naturally increased.
Angry at the boy’s jealousy and badmouthing of Youngguk, Jisoo threw a punch at him. She got hit once too, but the boy ended up with panda eyes, so she was satisfied.
- You’re not even Jang Youngguk’s sister, why are you going crazy! And wasn’t it all a lie that you’re close to Jang Youngguk?
But despite his swollen eyes, the boy’s badmouthing didn’t stop. Even though Jisoo’s friends testified for her, he just covered his ears and kept mocking her. He was still glaring at Jisoo.
Then her friends stopped her.
“Why avoid poop, not because it’s scary, but because it’s dirty. And it’s not the first time that guy’s badmouthing anyone. Jisoo, you should put up with it.”
Jisoo calmed down and finally picked up her school bag. She wanted to beat up the boy right now, but she had to hold back. The homeroom teacher had threatened to call her parents if another fight broke out at school.
“Hey.”
Just as she was about to leave the school gate.
“Liar.”
The boy she had fought with earlier started mocking her again. He looked like an unchewed bone, and it seemed she would only feel better if she hit him a few more times.
‘Alright, today you’re going to get thoroughly beaten.’
Jisoo rolled up her sleeves and started walking towards him.
Huh?
The boy’s pupils suddenly started shaking.
At that moment,
“Jisoo—!”
At the sudden sound of her name, Jisoo turned her head quickly. And she understood why the unchewed bone was so startled. Even the girls who were holding her back were speechless. It was because of Youngguk’s smiling face approaching from beyond the school gate.
