nycdaug Chapter 183: Opportunity (2)
Chapter 183: Opportunity (2)
The variety show filmed this time by ‘Vanguard’ was the core content of a YouTube channel with 2 million subscribers. Only popular singers appeared on it, and it was so popular that it easily garnered 1 million views every week.The overall format was that, regardless of the location, department stores, busking spots, pubs, etc., a singer would suddenly appear and hold a mini concert. It had a bit of a hidden camera vibe.
Of course, the intro filming, movement check, simple rehearsal, and basic training were all completed a day before.
‘Vanguard’ was no different.
Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung entered the pub in advance and received simple training as part-time workers.
“It’s my first time working part-time at a pub.”
“Do-kyung, don’t trip and spill the drinks, okay?”
“Kang-min hyung, have you done it before?”
“No. But I have worked at a gukbap restaurant.”
“What? A gukbap place and a pub are totally different.”
“Still better than you who’s never done any serving, right? Si-hoo hyung, have you ever worked part-time at a pub??”
“Me... besides a clothing store, I haven’t. I’m really nervous right now. What if I mess up? Like, trip and break a bottle or spill the snacks.”
“If you do, we’ll just deduct it from your part-time pay. Rojun hyung?”
“Hmph, rookies.”
“Oh- you’ve done it?”
“No.”
"What's with this hyung."
“I wanted to try too.” Rojun muttered to himself, swallowing the fact that it had been impossible because of his grotesque face. Still, with a mind forged through manual labor, it seemed doable enough. And when he actually tried learning, it wasn’t that difficult.
Later, they also filmed the intro in a space near the pub.
“The ones who will light up today’s ‘Surprise Live’ are none other than the hoooottest ‘Vanguard’!!”
“Hello! We’re ‘Vanguard’!”
“You know what our program is, right?”
“Yes! I’ve watched it often. It’s an honor to be here!”
“Hahaha! Thank you. So, do you think you can pull this off without getting caught by the customers??”
“I don’t know, but I’ll try my best!”
Thus began the pub part-time job. Naturally, small cameras were discreetly set up all over the pub, and although Rojun and the members were a bit nervous at first.
“One more bottle of soju, please!”
“Yeees!!”
Because it was so busy, they quickly adapted to the part-time job. Even while carrying bottles and snacks, Kang Rojun felt a strange thrill surge through him.
‘What is this? This is super fun.’
Meeting customers packed in right in front of him, and aside from a few customers looking at Rojun strangely, few people recognized him, so he thought it would come out well on the broadcast.
‘Ha, did I just think about how I’ll look on camera?? You’ve come a long way, Kang Rojun.’
The other members probably felt similarly.
They wondered how shocked the customers would be once they revealed their faces. Imagining that moment, ‘Vanguard’ did their best to maintain their undercover part-time roles. Meanwhile, at the filming room where monitors were installed, they were watching the situation in real time.
“Wow, the ‘Vanguard’ is working way harder than I thought?? Oh! This woman! Did she recognize Rojun-nim? Whew, that’s a relief. Even with a mask, he’s so handsome that she might’ve just been staring.”
Finally.
-♬♪
The pub, heated with Friday night energy, had its background music change from ‘GreenBee’ to ‘Flying Bell’. That was the signal. Time for ‘Vanguard’ to reveal their identities.
First was Si-hoo, who had been the most nervous but handled it best.
“Hello!”
Following Kang-min and Do-kyung, Kang Rojun also took off the mask he had been wearing.
“Enjoy your food.”
At first, customers froze with question marks on their faces or covered their mouths with one hand. But the atmosphere quickly shifted.
“Kyah!! Wh-what?!”
The pub, packed with over 40 tables, quickly filled with shrieks of shock.
“Whoa!!! Si- Si-hoo?! Are you Si-hoo-nim?!”
“Kyaaaah! ‘Vanguard’!!!”
“Oh my god!!”
“Crazy! I love this!!”
With every customer’s eyes widened to the max.
-Pak!
The cameras and lights waiting outside swooshed in. Due to the limited space, it was a compact filming team, but the pub instantly transformed into a filming set.
“What’s going on there? Are they filming something??”
"Where? Huh?! It really is!!"
“Ah!! No way!! It’s ‘Vanguard’ inside!!”
“What?! ‘Vanguard’?!!”
People walking outside the pub also rushed in all at once.
Meanwhile, inside the pub.
“One, two!”
“Hello, we’re ‘Vanguard’!!”
Standing in the pre-prepared space, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung lined up and greeted the crowd. The frenzied fans all had their phones out, filming ‘Vanguard’, their reactions caught between confusion over whether this was a dream or reality.
Whatever it was, the buildup had worked and the stage was perfectly set.
The first to speak was the leader Kang Rojun, who had just taken off his apron.
‘This is kinda nerve-wracking. Totally different vibe from showcases or music shows??’
He picked up the handheld mic and flashed a smile at the customers.
“Were you really surprised?”
“Yes!!! Oh, but it’s fine!!”
“We seriously love this!!”
“Thank you- We've been working part-time all this time, but did anyone notice?”
The camera angle shifted to the customers. The pub patrons looked around. No one raised a hand. A quiet murmur spread among them.
“No freaking way, did I just drink soju served by Rojun-nim?”
“Take that bottle home, quick.”
“No wonder the side dishes were insanely good, it’s because Kang-min brought them over.”
Now just an arm’s length away from ‘Vanguard’, they began to fall into a state of bliss. Then, behind Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung each said a few words, before the leader Rojun took the mic again to get to the main point.
“We’re going to sing a few songs for you- Is that alright?”
Everyone packed inside and outside the pub screamed at the top of their lungs.
"Yesssss!!!!!!!!!"
“Kyaaaaah!!!”
“Yes, yes!!!!!”
After a polite bow, Kang Rojun gave a signal with his eyes to the members.
“The first song is the one that just played- ‘GreenBee’.”
And so, the mini performance officially began. ‘GreenBee’ played immediately.
-♬♪
Compared to ‘Gocheok Dome’ or music shows, the space was cramped and inconvenient, but Kang Rojun and the ‘Vanguard’ members poured their passion into the live performance. Everything was captured by the filming cameras and the countless phones of the audience.
The surprise stage ended in the blink of an eye.
However, Rojun and the members had to leave the pub quickly.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Waaaahhh!!”
The crowd had swelled to the point where it was hard to control.
Later.
It was nearly midnight by the time Kang Rojun and the members finished filming the closing.
“Thank you for your hard work!!”
“Yes! Great work, ‘Vanguard’! The footage came out legendary! We’re expecting huge views.”
‘Vanguard’ bowed repeatedly and got in the van heading to their dorm, still radiating excitement from the shoot.
It started with the eldest, Si-hoo.
“That was seriously so much fun!!”
The younger ones quickly joined in.
“From the part-time gig to the short and intense performance, it was such a rush!”
“There was a moment when a customer looked at me weird and I got so nervous! Rojun hyung even changed his voice, so thorough, seriously.”
“If you’re going to do it, do it right. But yeah, that was such a cathartic experience.”
“The filming time was short too. Almost makes me want more.”
“Ah- I get what Do-kyung’s saying. Public broadcast variety shows usually take at least 8 hours to film, it’s so grueling. But this one was just pure fun!”
Right after arriving at the dorm, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung knocked out immediately. As usual, Kang Rojun moved separately and went to the company. But the members also showed up by 4 a.m. It was time to start preparing for the next ‘FlyingBell’ activities and get ready for the upcoming Japan concert.
So, by the time ‘Vanguard’ members gathered in the practice room early that morning.
《[Star Photo] ‘Vanguard’ appears at outdoor tent pub- Why?/ Photo》
《Pub goes wild at the sudden appearance of ‘Vanguard’/ Photo》
《Thought they were part-timers, but it was ‘Vanguard’? ‘Vanguard’s’ surprise appearance throws Hannam Station into chaos!》
Articles about the variety show filmed yesterday were spreading. It wasn’t surprising. They had been seen by a huge number of people and were captured on many phones. By now, they were probably being shared across all kinds of social media.
In fact, ‘Vanguard’s’ pub performance quickly went viral and many online communities were ablaze.
-Crazy.........so jealous..........
-Where is this pub!! Where!! Where on earth did ‘Vanguard’ work part-time AND perform?!!!
-ㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠ I want to eat the side dishes Rojun brought me too.......
-Excuse me? ‘Vanguard’ was working part-time? Excuse me? Is this pub in heaven??
-Is this that YouTube surprise live thing? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Looks like this time’s guest is ‘Vanguard’
-I’m absolutely watching the ‘Vanguard’ episode this time!!!
-Those customers hit the jackpot ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-A pub where Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung are working part-time ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m going there every day seriously!!!
-To drink alcohol served by ‘Vanguard’ and watch a performance prepared by ‘Vanguard’.....I’m so fucking jealous
-I passed by and saw it from outside ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Huh? How was it??
-They looked insane in real life ㅋㅋㅋ Especially Rojun… his physique, his face, he’s just on another level.
.
.
.
.
‘Vanguard’ stirred up the crowd once again, and several hours vanished in a flash.
Before they knew it, it was past 11 a.m.
Around that time, with it being the weekend, Netflix Korea had barely any staff present.
-Swish.
Just then, Culture Drawer CEO Heo Ki-tae arrived. Greeting him were the smart-looking Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin and a few team leader-level employees from Netflix Korea.
“Hello, CEO nim.”
“Hahaha! Hello, Executive Director nim. Sorry for dragging you out to work on the weekend.”
“Oh, I told you I didn’t mind. Please, have a seat.”
On Heo Ki-tae’s side, there were also two employees accompanying him, and everyone took their seats in a fairly spacious meeting room. A bit of small talk followed to ease the atmosphere. Heo Ki-tae was the first to start.
“Have you met with a lot of writer agencies? Are we last in line? Hahaha.”
“No way. Just a reasonable number.”
“Any good works among them?”
“There were some interesting ones. But the one we’re most excited about is definitely Culture Drawer. You shared such a compelling pitch.”
“Ah, Writer Rojun? Haha, I was just in a hurry to bring it up first.”
Lim Hyun-jin smiled faintly and glanced around Heo Ki-tae’s side. At the same time, she pictured Kang Rojun’s face.
‘Writer Rojun- didn’t come with them? Well, I expected that. ‘Vanguard’ is insanely busy. Still, I was kind of hoping he’d show.’
She hid her thoughts well, but there was some disappointment. It wasn’t a big issue with just Heo Ki-tae present, but this project was massive even for Netflix as a whole. Having the writer personally explain the work would make things go more smoothly.
‘Oh well.’
Suppressing her disappointment, Executive Director Lim brought up the main topic.
“Then shall we take a look at the synopsis you prepared, CEO? Oh! You mentioned there’s also an unexpected gift?”
“Haha, that’s right.”
With a hearty laugh, Heo Ki-tae received something from the employees to his right.
“First, here’s the synopsis.”
The synopsis of ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’ was handed over to Lim Hyun-jin. She let out a soft breath and picked it up.
‘This is the synopsis written by Writer Rojun.’
In fact, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin had deeply regretted something before. Even after launching Produce That 100!, she hadn't grabbed Writer Rojun quickly. At that time, Netflix Japan had snatched up Kang Rojun first.
In any case, she flipped to the first page of the synopsis.
‘......The title is ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’?’
Just as she was about to lower her eyes.
-Swish.
From across the table, Heo Ki-tae, smiling warmly, pulled out another bundle of papers. This one was thicker than the synopsis.
“Executive Director nim, this is the unexpected gift.”
“...Yes?”
He held the stack of papers up next to his face for everyone to see. The cover was immediately visible.
-Title: Tale of the Strange Moon
-Episode 1
-Writer: Rojun
The moment she saw the text, Lim Hyun-jin’s eyes widened. Internally, she was shouting, ‘Episode 1? Did he really write Episode 1 already?!’ Keeping her widened eyes, she opened her mouth.
“Episode 1... Don’t tell me, you’re saying you brought the actual first episode script??”
Heo Ki-tae slowly lowered the script and confidently nodded.
“Yes. That’s right. We have the synopsis and Episode 1 of the script.”
“My god, a full script in such a short time... And you’re saying Writer Rojun wrote it himself?”
“Yes.”
“How is that even possible?? Honestly, I was already surprised at how fast the synopsis and character sheets came out... but a full first episode script?”
Lim Hyun-jin’s voice mixed with shock and disbelief. It was understandable, the writing speed was faster than most veteran writers.
‘And on top of that, ‘Vanguard’ is exploding in popularity right now??!’
Just then.
-Knock knock.
A knock spread through the meeting room.
-Swish.
Another person from Culture Drawer entered. A familiar woman with a face blending warmth and composure, her long hair tied back. It was Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa.
And behind her was a man with a radiant face.
“Hello, Executive Director nim.”
The moment she saw the man, Lim Hyun-jin jumped to her feet and exclaimed.
“W-W-Wait, Writer Rojun?!”
The man was none other than Writer Rojun, wearing his cap pulled down low.