Become a Star

“Excuse me, please.”

Since he was at Woo-Hee’s school, Woo-Jin moved around campus without Kang Ho-Soo accompanying him. Hence, he didn’t have anyone to clear the path for him.

“Woo-Jin oppa, did you know that Woo-Hee is the last one standing?” As soon as one of the girls in the same school uniform and similar hairstyle yelled, Woo-Jin nodded and explained that was the reason why he was here.

“So please let me through. I have to get to the auditorium. I’m here today as a guardian.” Since Woo-Jin was at his younger sister’s school, he had to be mindful of his actions and be respectful, so Woo-Jin tried his best to show that he was having a hard time trying to move through the crowd. The students probably found it to be rather hilarious, so they burst out laughing when they heard Woo-Jin call himself Woo-Hee’s guardian. They followed closely behind him every time he took a step.

“Have you ever been on Golden Ball?”

“No, they didn’t shoot it at my high school back then.”

“You seem to have lost some weight. Are you on a diet? Or are you preparing for your next production?”

“You’re wearing the latest Armani suit this time around. Are they sponsoring you?”

The questions got harder with each passing step. Fortunately, the production crew members noticed the commotion and went out to greet him. However, there was a particular person other than the production crew whom Woo-Jin had to impress. Woo-Jin recognized Woo-Hee’s homeroom teacher as he had seen Woo-Hee’s class photo the other day.

“Hello. I’m Chae Woo-Jin, Woo-Hee’s oppa. She’s under my care for the time being, that’s why I’m here.”

“Hello. There’s no need to be so nervous. Whenever I meet my student’s guardians, their reactions are mostly the same.” The teacher in their[1] mid-forties stood up straight and burst out laughing as they watched Woo-Jin greet them. Regardless of how old or what the guardians’ occupations were, when they met the homeroom teacher for the first time, their responses were by and large the same, save for a few arrogant ones.

“Both you and Woo-Hee resemble your mother a lot.” Remarked the homeroom teacher in admiration as they brought Woo-Jin to meet the principal. The teacher had met Park Eun-Soo a couple of times before because of career counseling.

As soon as Woo-Jin entered the auditorium, thunderous cries erupted. When rumors about Chae Woo-Jin visiting the school started circulating, students immediately filled the auditorium. Prior to this, none of them showed up even when their teachers urged them to go to the auditorium to show their support.

Woo-Hee turned around and looked at him; she looked like she was having mixed feelings – she seemed happy to see her older brother as she wasn’t expecting him to come, but at the same time, she looked a little embarrassed too.

Woo-Hee mouthed to Woo-Jin, ‘What are you doing here?’ As expected, she chided him.

‘I do what I want!’

‘It’s embarrassing!’

‘Just think of it as fate.’ Woo-Jin remarked that it was fate that their parents went on a business trip abroad, leaving behind her older brother to take care of her, and chuckled to himself.

Woo-Jin rarely watched Golden Ball, but he knew that the family members of the last person standing would show up to give their support. Since their parents couldn’t make it, he couldn’t let Woo-Hee appear on the program alone. Their parents would definitely be very upset after watching the episode when it was aired. Woo-Jin didn’t want to see that happening on TV either. Even though it was embarrassing, it made him feel better to be able to turn up and support his younger sister.

The Chae siblings openly communicated with one another by mouthing words to each other in front of all the students, teachers, and production crew. Woo-Jin didn’t know why the female students were hitting their friends on their shoulders. It was because Woo-Jin was acting like an ordinary older brother, a side of him they had only seen on TV.

Woo-Jin greeted the principal and sat down next to them.[2] He clenched his fists rigidly and placed them on his knees. One by one, the students took photos of him and posted them on their social media accounts in real-time. Whichever way Woo-Jin turned, there was a camera. However, Woo-Jin had already gotten used to it, so he didn’t find it strange at all. On the contrary, if they hadn’t given him such attention or looked at him with friendly gazes, he would have felt strange and uneasy.

Woo-Hee had been on her own ever since she got to the 45th question. As Woo-Jin watched her solve the problem, he was not too worried. The problems weren’t difficult and he felt that she was capable enough to solve them. However, the fact that he was sandwiched between the principal and the homeroom teacher made him nervous.

When Woo-Jin was in high school, he never had a hard time around his teachers. But now that he was sitting here in capacity as Woo-Hee’s guardian, his mind went blank. Aside from being a celebrity, all he could do right now was worry incessantly about how he might put his younger sister at a disadvantage if he made a mistake or acted disrespectfully, and she might even be negatively assessed as a result.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Woo-Hee is a very bright girl, so she’s not nervous and will do well.” The principal spoke to Woo-Jin in a courteous manner. They seemed to have mistaken Woo-Jin’s nervousness for him being worried about Woo-Hee. Woo-Jin smiled awkwardly and said to himself: It’s all because of you!

Woo-Jin could sense the cameras around him constantly taking pictures of him, so he had to be extra mindful about managing his facial expressions. Woo-Hee solved the 48th question with ease; it was her last chance to ask for help. Woo-Jin looked at the answer his younger sister had written on the blackboard and grinned. The host hadn’t announced the correct answer yet, but Woo-Jin was certain she had gotten it right and relaxed.

“What’s your goal for the future, Chae Woo-Hee?” Before revealing the answer, the host asked Woo-Hee a question.

“I want to become a prosecutor.”

Unlike Woo-Jin who had taken the bar exam only to meet his mother’s expectations, Woo-Hee had been dreaming of becoming a prosecutor for a very long time. It wasn’t anybody’s will – she wanted to pursue it. It was her own desire. Hence, Woo-Jin was very proud of his younger sister’s goal for the future.

“In that case, am I currently speaking to a future prosecutor? What kind of prosecutor do you want to be? Do you have any other dreams by any chance?”

“I just want to be a prosecutor. Are there different types of prosecutors? I just want to be a prosecutor that observes the law religiously.” Woo-Hee firmly expressed that there was no need for other types of prosecutors. A slightly bitter look flashed through the host’s eyes since he knew what the reality was, but his back was facing the camera.

“Do you have any role models?”

“Yes! My maternal uncle!” Woo-Hee answered immediately and glanced at Woo-Jin. She was wondering if it was okay for her to reveal details about their family relations like that. Woo-jin gently nodded his head.

Since Woo-Jin had become a celebrity, and they had already reconciled with their maternal side of the family, this was something that would be revealed one day. Additionally, everything that had happened between them was already water under the bridge. Nonetheless, Woo-hee seemed to feel burdened by the fact that she was the one who exposed it. Putting their relationship aside, Woo-Hee did objectively look up to her maternal uncle as her role model since a long time ago. There was no reason for her to feel burdened by this and lie about it.

“Your maternal uncle must have been a very admirable prosecutor. It’s rare for nieces to look up to their uncle like you do.”

By talking about Woo-Hee’s maternal uncle, it was also implying that they were talking about Chae Woo-Jin’s maternal uncle as well. In truth, apart from his younger sister, not much was known about Chae Woo-Jin’s family. Thus, a lot of people in the auditorium were interested in this topic and waited for Woo-Hee to continue with her story.

“He’s a lawyer now.” As someone who was obsessed with prosecutors, Woo-Hee responded sullenly. Her maternal uncle used to be a prosecutor, and Woo-Hee thought he was very cool, but now that he had become a lawyer, Woo-Hee didn’t think he was as amazing as he used to be. Instead, her prosecutor cousin, Park Yi-Yeon, had replaced her uncle as the focus of her care and affection.

“Hahaha, so that means you don’t think your brother is that cool.”

“That’s right!” Woo-Hee answered immediately without any hesitation. Aside from her love for her brother, there was never an instance where Woo-Hee thought Woo-Jin was particularly cool, especially since she had recently seen him cooping himself up at home, with dark clouds hanging over his head.

“Right now, what do you think of your brother, who is here today on behalf of your family?” As soon as the host mentioned Chae Woo-Jin’s name, everyone in the auditorium cheered loudly, asking him to go on stage. When the host called his name, Woo-Jin got up from his seat and walked over to Woo-Hee.

As Woo-Jin stood right next to Woo-Hee, everyone exclaimed in admiration. The pair of siblings resembled one another so much that it was hard to hide the fact that they were related. It was also difficult to say which one of them was the better-looking one. The beautiful siblings stood side by side; while they resembled one another, they each had their own personality. The crowd felt as though their eyes had been purified by just looking at them.

“It seems like everyone here knows who Woo-Hee’s brother is without him introducing himself, but please introduce yourself anyway.”

“I’m Woo-Hee’s oppa, Chae Woo-Jin.” Facing the camera, Woo-Jin bowed and said his greetings. Then, he proceeded to bow and greet the students and teachers alike, one by one, looking as if he was telling them to take care of his younger sister. Woo-Hee poked Woo-Jin in the ribs and told him to stop.

“It seems like the oppa somehow got stuck with the duty of taking care of his younger sister, but seeing you standing here next to each other makes people happy. Your parents must be very proud. Why aren’t your parents here?” Even though the host had already known the reason, they still asked Woo-Jin in order to explain the situation to the audience.

“My parents had to go on a business trip out of the country yesterday, so I came here on their behalf.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes, they work in the same company.” The students clapped in response to Woo-Jin’s answer. Because their parents went on a business trip together, they were lucky enough to get the opportunity to see Chae Woo-Jin in person.

“However, Woo-Hee doesn’t seem too happy about the fact that her brother’s here. I saw Woo-Hee mouthing to you, asking why you’re here.” As soon as the host said that, the other students yelled that they saw it too.

“It’s strange but seeing him here makes me feel embarrassed.”

“You’re embarrassed of me?” When Woo-Jin placed his hand on his chest and asked, Woo-hee nodded vehemently. Woo-Jin then expressed his disappointment by tapping against his sister’s heel with his foot. They look so affectionate that nobody believed Woo-Hee’s words.

“Nevertheless, we got to see how you normally behave around one another, so it was really amusing. Chae Woo-Jin, do you think that Woo-Hee will be able to throw the golden ball?”

“I think she will do her best regardless of the outcome. She’ll do well. I don’t know what it feels like since I’ve never experienced anything like this back when I was in school. But now that I’m here, I can see that it’s a very unconventional experience that will become a fun memory for the students here to look back on in the future, so I’m very envious.”

Woo-Jin stroked Woo-Hee’s head; she was wearing a hat with her friends’ name tags on it. All Woo-Jin remembered about his school life was that he studied, so he was somewhat regretful about it. If he had known he was going to pursue acting, he wouldn’t have joined TM and would have just enjoyed his student life. As such, he wanted Woo-Hee to experience and enjoy everything, including the things he didn’t get to enjoy back then.

Woo-Hee understood how he felt more than anyone else; she grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked at him. Their biological parents’ divorce and difficult family situation after the divorce hadn’t impacted Woo-Hee as much as it did Woo-Jin. The absence of a paternal figure was not a big issue to her. Her father didn’t have a huge presence in Woo-hee’s life, so she didn’t have any lingering feelings or attachment to him, nor did she long to see him. Even though life became increasingly difficult for them, the young Woo-Hee didn’t feel it that much. She was just happy to spend every day with her mother and brother.

Her older brother was the one who went through hard times with their mother. Because Woo-Jin took care of her, their mother was able to work peacefully. Woo-Jin claimed he hadn’t done anything for them, but he spent his childhood making sacrifices for his mother and younger sister. Woo-Jin made eye contact with his sister and smiled, telling her he was fine, and lightly flicked her forehead.

1. The gender of the teacher was not specified ☜

2. The gender was not specified ☜