Chapter 20: The Verification Shot

Originally, Tae-ha’s MyStar account was hardly active at all.

1 post

1 following

233 followers

Though it hadn’t been open for long, for a celebrity, it was embarrassingly shabby.

The single post there was only the Profile photo registered on the portal site,

And below it, as the Promotion Team had instructed, was a simple greeting written in a perfunctory manner.

[Actor Kang Tae-ha. Please take care of me from now on! #KangTaeha #AH Entertainment #Critical Point #The Ones Who Were Left Behind]

The only reason about 200 followers had gathered was probably thanks to the hashtagged work titles.

If not for that, Tae-ha’s SNS would have looked even more deserted.

Anyway, that’s how it was.

“When did my followers go up like this?”

Tae-ha tilted his head in disbelief, and Im Chan-hyung, who noticed, asked,

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Take a look at this.”

With that, Tae-ha handed his phone over to Im Chan-hyung, and upon checking the screen, Im Chan-hyung mumbled in surprise.

“Huh? Why are there so many followers now? It was only in the 200s yesterday.”

1 post

1 following

3,091 followers

There hadn’t even been any particular updates.

Yet in just a single day, his follower count had soared past 3,000.

It still wasn’t even ten thousand, but the rapid increase was surprising.

Im Chan-hyung hurriedly opened the MyStar app on his own phone.

He checked the post that previously had no comments and found dozens had been added.

-Hi

-Doesn’t this guy look handsome? ㅎㅋ @kim***

-What’s your relationship with Yun-seong-oppa?

-Probably an actor who appeared in Critical Point together. Cheering you on ><

Maybe there was a clue in the comments.

As Im Chan-hyung hurriedly scrolled through the follower list, he suddenly raised his voice, having found something.

“Han Yun-seong must have followed you!”

Han Yun-seong.

The male lead of , set to be released on Netflix next week.

Having gained considerable popularity both domestically and overseas for his younger-man role, he had now followed Tae-ha.

Perhaps because of this, there were several people among Tae-ha’s followers who seemed to be Han Yun-seong’s international fans.

Tae-ha also spotted Han Yun-seong’s name in his own follower list.

“Oh? You’re right. He really did.”

“Did you let him know about your MyStar?”

“No. How did he know and follow me?”

“Maybe he searched you up? Your Profile is on the portal site, after all. He could’ve looked you up on MyStar too.”

“Is that so.”

“He said he wanted to get closer, so I guess he meant it.”

For a well-known actor to initiate a follow toward a rookie like Tae-ha was a significant show of interest and goodwill.

Some might think it’s just a sociable person making connections, but Han Yun-seong was not that kind of person.

A glance at Han Yun-seong’s following list made that clear.

He had over sixty thousand followers, but was only following 51.

And aside from Tae-ha, all 50 of those were mutual follows.

It was clear he only followed those with whom he had a close relationship.

He hadn’t even followed the other prominent supporting actors from , and yet Tae-ha was someone he had sought out first.

Just this fact was enough to surprise Tae-ha.

Im Chan-hyung felt an odd sense of pride and urged Tae-ha.

“Hurry up and follow him back.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Tae-ha pressed the follow button and, out of courtesy, liked a few of Han Yun-seong’s recent posts.

Then he asked Im Chan-hyung,

“Oh, about posting on MyStar. Can I upload whatever I want? As long as you check it before I post?”

“For now, yeah. If you can show off your charms as a person through MyStar, that’s great.”

For actors, MyStar was a space where the public and the personal were mixed; a place to appeal with qualities outside their work, and shape their image in ways acting alone could not.

Looking at the accounts the Promotion Team had sent for reference—male actors—aside from promotional or advertisement posts, most left short, witty captions with stylish photos.

It seemed to pursue a trendy image that would interest fans and make them want to emulate.

Certainly, those with modeling backgrounds or innate sense stood out even on MyStar.

“It just looks different, you know?”

There’s always a difference between something crafted and something genuine.

Maybe that’s why there were even actors who were more popular on MyStar than as actors.

As he browsed through various accounts, Tae-ha considered how he should run his own MyStar.

Operating it like the other young male actors didn’t seem too difficult.

But if he did that, the account itself might not hold much meaning.

It would just be a dressed-up version, failing to capture his true self.

“Even if people see me positively, I’m not really that trendy a person.”

His appearance was more than fine.

But inside, a man in his late thirties breathed and lived.

So Tae-ha decided to reveal himself in a different way.

Instead of just posting photos with English words or emojis and a short line, he thought he’d try writing honestly.

“Still, I don’t want to come off as trying too hard to look cool.”

Within the bounds of not damaging the image of Actor Kang Tae-ha.

In a direction that would highlight his definite identity.

Tae-ha felt like he was getting a sense of how he should operate his MyStar.

Since it was mainly a photo-based space, he decided to care more about his pictures.

I want to post more shots from filming sites or daily life… but that’s a worry.

“Why? Because of your photography skills? Don’t worry. I can take them for you.”

Tae-ha looked at Im Chan-hyung doubtfully.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine Im Chan-hyung taking good photos.

He figured it would be better to entrust it to Kim Su-jin, the Stylist.

Even if not great, it had to at least be decent.

But Im Chan-hyung seemed to pick up on Tae-ha’s thoughts, and immediately frowned as he spoke.

“You really don’t know. I’m good at taking photos.”

“…Really?”

Still skeptical, Tae-ha asked, and Im Chan-hyung started fiddling with his phone.

He soon showed Tae-ha a few photos.

They looked like shots from the poster shoot.

“What’s all this? Wait… do you like me or something? To have taken so many photos of me?”

“What are you saying, seriously? After all the work I did for you.”

Im Chan-hyung grumbled and smirked as if wondering what nonsense that was.

To be honest, Im Chan-hyung’s photography was quite good.

Not quite at a Photographer’s level, but maybe he’d studied hard, because there were no obvious flaws.

His basic sense wasn’t bad, either.

Now that he thought about it, Im Chan-hyung’s fashion sense was also neat and solid.

“For sure, at Chan-hyung’s level, it’s pretty nice.”

Of course, for a Manager, he sometimes looked a little frail and soft.

“Still, you take pretty decent pictures?”

Even Kim Su-jin showed interest at Tae-ha’s compliment.

“Huh? He’s really good at it!”

“Not bad, right?”

“Yeah. Wow, with these skills, Manager-oppa must be popular with the ladies.”

Im Chan-hyung smiled, his cheeks flushing faintly, pleased by Kim Su-jin’s praise.

Tae-ha sensed something odd about the scene, but soon shook his head.

“No way…”

***

After the morning shoot, it was finally lunchtime.

Arriving at the parking lot at the base of the mountain, they saw a vehicle handing out Lunchboxes and coffee.

And a large Banner stood beside it.

On the Banner was a photo of Seon Min-gi, along with a supportive message.

Tae-ha and his group lined up in front of the vehicle to receive their Lunchboxes.

When Tae-ha’s turn finally came, he bowed his head to accept the Lunchbox.

“Thank you very much.”

At that moment, the staffer who finally saw Tae-ha’s face spoke up.

“Oh, please wait a moment. We have a separate Lunchbox prepared for the actors.”

Im Chan-hyung smoothly took the Lunchbox Tae-ha had received, and Tae-ha was handed a new one from the staff.

“Actor.”

Along with this, he saw the message written on it.

To Tae-ha, who was still not used to life as an Actor, the words felt a bit embarrassing.

“The care put into this is amazing.”

It wasn’t just the message.

The three-tiered Chanhap was packed with a variety of side dishes, from stir-fried sausage and vegetables to beef bulgogi and spicy pork.

Even the Staff’s Lunchboxes were of impressive quality.

“Wow. This is better than what I eat at home.”

“Right?”

Tae-ha was agreeing with Im Chan-hyung, who sat across from him, when—

“Huh? Hey!”

Just then, Tae-ha spotted Seon Min-gi passing nearby and raised his voice.

Startled, Seon Min-gi glanced over at Tae-ha.

With a sly grin, Tae-ha waved energetically.

Before Seon Min-gi could say anything, Tae-ha spoke first.

“Hyung! I’ll really enjoy this meal!”

Seon Min-gi just sighed helplessly at Tae-ha’s energy and gave a casual nod.

As he started to move away, Tae-ha suddenly got up from the table and approached Seon Min-gi.

“What is it?”

“About that Verification Shot we mentioned earlier. How about taking it together?”

“With you?”

“Yes.”

Of course, Seon Min-gi had planned on taking a Verification Shot.

But he hadn’t intended to take it with anyone else.

With his personality, Seon Min-gi found being alone most comfortable.

But after hearing Tae-ha’s suggestion, his thoughts changed.

He remembered back when they filmed , he had posted a solo Verification Shot as usual, and someone had commented, ‘Why are there no other actors? Is Seon Min-gi a loner?’.

“Alright.”

Tae-ha smiled and took his spot at the unexpectedly agreeable response.

Then he asked Im Chan-hyung,

“If we pose together in front of the vehicle like this, that’ll work, right?”

Im Chan-hyung nodded, still a bit dazed.

“Is he just naive, or what?”

He’d noticed it before, but Tae-ha was just too likable.

Seon Min-gi, with his unmistakable aura and personality, was not someone you’d expect people to approach so casually.

Just looking at Kim Nam-sun’s equally surprised face made it obvious this situation was unusual.

‘When did he become like this? Or… have I just never realized this is how he is?’

Thinking that, Im Chan-hyung raised his phone and took the picture.

As expected from actors, the two looked natural on camera.

But Tae-ha seemed dissatisfied with the shot.

After checking Im Chan-hyung’s photo, he commented,

“Ah, but this is too plain…”

Then he turned to Seon Min-gi with a sparkle in his eye.

“How about this? Hyung, how about you hand the Lunchbox directly to me in the photo, like you’re presenting it?”

“Isn’t that too forced? Let’s just take it and move on.”

Embarrassed, Seon Min-gi tried to brush it off, but Tae-ha wouldn’t back down.

“Come on, since we’re doing it, let’s make it fun!”

With a small sigh, Seon Min-gi gave in and played along.

At that moment, Ju Hyo-jin, who had come out of the van to get her Lunchbox, noticed the two taking pictures and approached.

“What are you guys doing? Just taking photos by yourselves?”

“Noona! Come join us!”

So, Ju Hyo-jin joined Tae-ha’s ‘Verification Shot game’, and only after quite a while did the session finally end.

From that day, Tae-ha gained a new nickname—’Kang Art’.

It came from how he took Verification Shots repeatedly, just like Art Ik.

***

A few hours later.

This post appeared on SNS.

[Have you seen this photo? ]