Chapter 235: Tidal Wave (2)

In fact, Kang Woojin’s piano performance was uploaded online in Japan a few days ago. It was the end of January, on a Friday. In other words, it was the night when Kang Woojin played the piano at the hotel restaurant.

The first place the video was uploaded was YouTube.

The video was all there was at the beginning, but the atmosphere shifted the next day.

Currently, in Japan, the search volume for the name ‘Kang Woojin’ was already quite high, and the number of people checking the video began to increase. At the same time, the videos uploaded to YouTube also multiplied. Some were copied from the original video, but there were also new videos uploaded by people who witnessed Kang Woojin’s performance firsthand.

– The man playing the piano is Kang Woojin?

– If it’s Kang Woojin, isn’t he the Korean actor? Why is that actor playing the piano there?

Interest gradually swelled.

– The video is a bit dark, so the face is not clear, but I think it’s Kang Woojinwww

– Eeeeeee!! Amazing… he plays the piano so well??

– Which restaurant is it?

– According to the description, it’s Kashiwa Tokyo Hotel! He’s playing my favorite song!! Love him!!

– Do Korean actors usually learn things like the piano??? If you look at Kang Woojin’s YouTube, he’s good at singing and cooking too? This actor can’t do anything wrong

– Wow…. I envy the people who were at that restaurant… Seeing Kang Woojin… and even listening to him play the piano right in front of them….

– Isn’t the video edited? Is it really Kang Woojin?

– Super super super!!! Cool!!!

If it had ended here, it might have been quiet. But the momentum continued. Beyond YouTube, it spread to Japanese SNS. Mainly Twitter, Instagram, and other SNS that the Japanese public uses the most.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Here, the topic exploded exponentially.

People who were actually at the restaurant, people who saw the video on YouTube, people who were curious about Kang Woojin and searched for him, etc. Whatever the topic, the sharing increased steeply. Those shares were passed along, and people even added their thoughts to the shared posts, making the size grow endlessly.

It was only two days. It took only two days for a tidal wave to turn into a tsunami.

As a result, Kang Woojin currently dominated the ‘real-time trend rank’ of Japan’s number one SNS that Chairman Hideki was looking at.

[1. #KangWoojinPianoPerformance]

[2. #MerryGoRoundOfLifeKangWoojin]

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[5.#KangWoojin]

[6.#KangWoojinPiano]

Out of the top 10, four were related to Kang Woojin. This rank was similar to Korea’s real-time search rankings. Even the same atmosphere was present on Instagram and other lower-ranked SNS. In other words, many Japanese people were talking about Kang Woojin.

Something was happening even at this moment.

[HJO54_]

[#KangWoojin Found a super cool piano video!!! Actually, I’ve already listened to it five times in a row but it’s okay!! I’ll listen all night!]

[@kyo1533]

[wwwww the #KangWoojin piano video is trending like crazy now, did he play #MerryGoRoundofLife to become more popular??? Because no Japanese person would dislike Merry-Go-Round of Life] (TL: if you are confused with wwwww and other www in between reactions its same as that of korean ㅋㅋㅋㅋ which is in english lol, lamo etc but its the Japanese version of it i.e. japanese people use this in chat etc to represent that.)

[@45642877_gg]

[(Video link) This is too good to listen to alone!!! Do you all know #KangWoojin? He’s a rising Korean actor in Japan these days!! He played the piano himself! Go listen right now!! The song is #MerryGoRoundofLife!!]

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Every second and every minute, posts flooded various SNS. The momentum gradually spread to other areas. Not just SNS, but also the internet and offline. It painted a picture of spreading across all of Japan. Like a trend or a hot topic. Usually, such things align with luck, timing, or some kind of flow.

Kang Woojin was the same now. The current situation was the result of many factors combined.

Kang Woojin was already quite famous in Japan, and the piano he played personally, his incredible piano skills, the vivid realism of the video, the fame of the song, the fact that it happened recently, Woojin’s indifferent face in the video, and the glimpses several actors from ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’.

Kang Woojin was becoming a trend in Japan.

Chairman Hideki, seeing this situation, smiled faintly. Kang Woojin had always been an issue, but this time, the momentum and power were extraordinary. This was a boon like no other. As the owner of a large corporation, Chairman Hideki decided to fuel this wave.

This boon was where his investment went.

“Are the articles coming out?”

“Yes, they are continuing to increase.”

“Let’s join in on our channels too. Spread it to the point it feels excessive.”

‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ as well as bw Entertainment would be greatly affected by this.

Meanwhile.

Inside a van running on the road. It was the van that Kang Woojin was riding in. They were moving to the set of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. Naturally, they were also aware of the current trend throughout Japan. Hence, there was a commotion.

“Wow!! Oppa, really, on Japanese SNS, they only talk about you!!”

“Getting the number one spot on Twitter’s real-time search is amazing!”

“Looks like they really like this song here!!”

The stylists were shouting. Han Ye-jung, who was silently showing various SNS posts, and Jang Su-hwan, who was continually praising Kang Woojin.

And then.

“It’s like a bomb exploded, a bomb.”

Choi Sung-gun, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was laughing.

“Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, search sites, etc., they’re all overflowing with tags of Woojin’s name.”

“······”

Of course, Kang Woojin was deeply cynical.

“Well- the situation is not bad for us. Woojin, you probably anticipated this to some extent and showed your piano playing skills, right?”

“Yes, more or less.”

It wasn’t true.

‘Did it really blow up this much??!’

Kang Woojin was currently unable to contain his astonishment.

‘I just played the piano once, why is there such a big fuss??! Why?? What??’

He had thought it would circulate moderately, but he didn’t expect all of Japan to be abuzz. But what could he do? The wave had already started, and Kang Woojin had to endure it. But it’s okay. Kang Woojin was an expert at hiding his shock and pretending to be nonchalant.

Then Choi Sung-gun, who opened his diary, changed the topic.

“It would be nice to blow this momentum up, but we don’t have time. You know we have to finish shooting today, clear the remaining schedules in Japan, and then go straight back to Korea, right?”

There were still a few left, but after wrapping up the approximately three-week schedule in Japan, Kang Woojin had to go back to Korea. The schedules in Korea were also overflowing. After wrapping those up, he would return to Japan again.

It was at this moment.

“Oh my gosh!! CEO~nim, look over there!”

Almost arriving at the set, one of the stylists pointed forward with her finger. As a result, everyone, including Kang Woojin, looked in that direction. There were dozens of reporters with cameras gathered at the large set entrance.

“What, what is this?? Why are reporters flocking to the set??!”

It was the first time this had happened. Which meant there was only one answer. Choi Sung-gun, scratching his ponytail, murmured the answer.

“What else could it be? It’s because of Woojin. But how did the set location leak out??”

Anyway, when they secretly parked the van in the outside parking lot of the set, a few ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ staff who were waiting nearby ran over. Among them, a male staff member shouted in Japanese towards the open van door.

“Woojin-ssi!! Please come with us as quickly as possible!!”

As expected, the reporters gathered because of Kang Woojin. Soon, Kang Woojin, who had zipped up his padding jacket, quickly moved with the staff to the set entrance.

At the same time.

“Hey!! Kang Woojin!!”

“Woojin-ssi!! Just a brief comment!!”

“Woojin-ssi!!”

The reporters were furiously pressing their shutters.

Afterwards.

It was suddenly February 3rd.

Today, of course, Kang Woojin moved to the filming location. However, it wasn’t the set of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. It was the advertisement shooting location for Kashiwa Group’s food affiliate. As a result, Woojin arrived at a large studio in Tokyo early in the morning.

Woojin’s first impression upon entering the studio was:

‘It’s huge. Is this really a advertisement shooting set?’

‘The scale is significant,’ he thought. If there was no need to maintain a concept, he would have openly expressed his amazement. Of course, he had seen large studios in Korea, but this place felt more like a movie set than a advertisement set.

The preparations were enormous to that extent.

“Ah! Kang Woojin-ssi! Hello!”

“Kang Woojin-ssi has arrived!”

“Nice to meet you, Woojin-ssi. I’m the director in charge of this advertisement.”

Combining the advertisement filming team that welcomed Woojin and the Kashiwa Group employees who came to grease the wheels on-site, there seemed to be at least 70 people. Some asked Woojin about his piano skills. What about the filming equipment? From various types of cameras to small jibs, everything was there. The expensive-looking audio equipment also caught Woojin’s eyes.

Additionally,

‘The sets are crazy. Is that side for CG shooting?’

The studio, divided into four sections, had pre-built sets and green screens set up in each section. It really felt like a movie set. However, without showing any sign of surprise, Woojin silently sat in the actors’ waiting area. Soon, the advertisement director hurried over.

“Woojin-ssi, you must have seen the storyboard, but I will explain it once more.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Today, Kang Woojin was shooting a advertisement for a new ramen product. The brand itself was top-tier in Japan. While listening to the briefing from the director and staff, Woojin felt a mix of curiosity.

‘Wow- but really, I’m actually shooting a advertisement in Japan.’

Although he had shot many advertisements in Korea, doing so in Japan felt new. Meanwhile, Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail and Woojin’s team were looking at the distributed advertisement storyboard, laughing for some reason.

“Wow- this is really ingenious.”

“Right, CEO~nim. Doesn’t it seem like it fits Woojin oppa perfectly?”

“Indeed. The advertisement has a story, comedy, and a twist. When this ad opens, it’ll be a big hit in both Japan and Korea.”

Meanwhile, in Japan, hashtags like #KangWoojin and #KangWoojinPiano were going crazy. The same was true for the articles. The YouTube video had already casually reached 3 million views. His popularity was exploding several times over.

– I’m addicted…. I can’t escape from Kang Woojin’s piano performance… my wish is to see Kang Woojin in person…

– I envy the people who saw his piano performance up close! What would it feel like??

– I wish Kang Woojin’s piano performance gets uploaded on his YouTube too!!!

Therefore, negative comments inevitably increased as well.

– Why are people praising Kang Woojin so much? All he did was play the piano to stand out.

– Choosing the song Merry-Go-Round of Life was on purpose, knowing that Japanese people like it.

Anyhow, even in Korea, where there was a lot of buzz about ‘Beneficial Evil,’ Kang Woojin’s piano skills that turned Japan upside down began to open up.

Starting from communities,

-The current situation in Japan that’s in an uproar because of Kang Woojin.jpg

– I got this from the Japanese side of YouTube ㅋㅋㅋㅋKang Woojin played the piano in Japan and it’s a f***ing hot topicㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Check Japanese Twitter now ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kang Woojin topped the real-time search there ㅋㅋㅋㅋcrazy

Reporters, who caught the scent, also started moving.

『[Star Talk] What’s happening with Kang Woojin’s piano performance rapidly spreading in Japan?』

Kang Woojin’s piano video began to be shared in Korea as well.

Like that, the third day of the two countries being noisy passed.

Followed by the early morning of Thursday, the 4th.

Somehow, Kang Woojin was nowhere to be found at the ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ set. He wasn’t at the hotel where he was staying either. To be precise, he wasn’t even in Japan.

It was natural.

“Leaving secretly was the right answer. I’m glad we were able to board without reporters, right, Woojin?”

“Yes, CEO~nim.”

“Try to get some sleep; we have an hour until we arrive in Korea.”

Kang Woojin was already on a flight to Korea. The plane had long since taken off. In a way, it seemed like he had dropped a bomb on Japan and then ran away to Korea.

So, well.

It wasn’t as if Kang Woojin had planned and orchestrated this situation from the beginning. He hadn’t incited it either. It just exploded because people were talking nonsense on their own and it blew up, right?

‘Once I finish my schedules in Korea and go back, things will have calmed down a bit, right?’

It was common in the entertainment industry for things to quiet down over time. Kang Woojin had seen it often. With that thought, Woojin closed his eyes.

But that was a hasty judgment on Woojin’s part.

He hadn’t even considered that another wave could arise. The starting point of that new wave was right now. The moment when Kang Woojin, on the plane, closed his eyes.

On Instagram, a famous Japanese voice actress posted an article.

[_dadaco8]

[Hello, this is Asami Sayaka. Today, I want to talk about something unrelated to my work. Actually, I was very hesitant about whether to write this post or not. But I felt that I should properly express my gratitude to that person.]

[There’s a Korean actor who has stirred up Japan with an impromptu piano performance, right? Yes, Kang Woojin. I want to talk about Kang Woojin. And the circumstances behind that impromptu piano performance. I’m very happy about Kang Woojin’s rising popularity, but I’ve seen some misunderstandings in a few posts, so I’d like to clear those up. Kang Woojin didn’t play the piano just to show off. That piano performance was for my daughter.]

[My beloved daughter has some difficulty with her legs and uses a wheelchair. Some of you might already know this. My daughter loves KPOP and frequently watches Korean content. Because of that, she became an avid fan of Kang Woojin. Naturally, I did too. Last week was my daughter’s birthday. So, our family decided to have a meal at the Kashiwa Tokyo Hotel restaurant that we had been planning. And, oh my goodness, we met Kang Woojin there.]

The sincerity was deeply imbued in the post.

[As I later learned, Kang Woojin was scheduled to film at the hotel. Anyway, my daughter froze the moment she saw Kang Woojin. Understandable, right? She couldn’t have imagined that the actor she loved would appear right in front of her. Kang Woojin’s energy was amazing. Not only was he handsome, but he also had that aura that made you think, ‘Ah, he’s truly an actor.’ Though my daughter was flustered and rambled, Kang Woojin calmly greeted her, gave her an autograph, and even talked with her.]

The famous Japanese voice actress was Asami Yusako’s mother.

*****

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