Thanks to Taeha’s active role, the first stage greeting, which had been in danger, was finished successfully.
Even the gift presentation prepared for the audience was perfect.
The gift prepared by the promotion agency for < Killer X Killer >.
It was a cute design of a poka holder.
Other actors, including Lee Seok-hyun, seemed flustered when they first saw the poka holder, not knowing what it was.
In Go Dong-pal’s case, he even mistook the poka holder for a card wallet.
It was certainly a situation where that could happen.
The appearance was similar, and there were indeed cases where they were used interchangeably.
Considering Go Dong-pal was in his 40s, it was actually impressive that he could even think of a similar use.
If all the actors didn’t know what a poka holder was, it could have been an embarrassing situation.
Fortunately, Taeha knew about the existence of poka holders, so this also passed without issue.
Taeha even sensibly said,
“Ah. If anyone wants an autograph, please let me know. I’ll do it on the back of the poka holder.”
He even threw out a line like that.
And so, the actors proceeded with an event where they gave autographs on the poka holders on the spot.
Because of that, the time was delayed more than expected, but it wasn’t to the point of causing an issue with the Schedule.
Taeha had also considered this to some extent when he spoke up about giving autographs.
In that way, the remaining fourteen stage greetings also proceeded with the audience’s enthusiastic cheers, the actors introducing themselves, and signing the poka holders.
Naturally, the audience’s satisfaction was high.
Since the actors were actively communicating with them and sharing meaningful gifts.
Just before parting ways after finishing all the first day’s Schedule, Kyung Juncheol gave Taeha a double thumbs up.
“Wow. Taeha’s performance today was amazing. How did you think of quieting the audience there? Is this what they call the experience of being an Idol?”
It wasn’t just Kyung Juncheol.
Lee Seok-hyun also didn’t spare any praise for Taeha.
“I know, right. I was surprised too. Especially every time Taeha appeared in the theater, the audience’s cheers were incredible? It felt like he was more popular than me.”
Feeling the same way, Go Dong-pal nodded and joined in.
“To be honest, Seok-hyun’s face is more my style. But I guess it’s different for fans. They seemed more shocked when they saw Taeha.”
It was a story that could have made Lee Seok-hyun feel a bit bad.
However, Lee Seok-hyun answered without any such sign.
“True. I guess you really can’t beat being young and handsome. I’m washed up now, washed up.”
Since he knew Lee Seok-hyun had this kind of personality, Go Dong-pal had brought it up in the first place.
“We’re definitely all a bit washed up. Except for Taeha, none of us even knew what the gift prepared by the promotion agency was today. I was so flustered when I first saw the gift. I wondered what kind of object it was.”
“The idea of signing the back of the gift was also very good. I could see in real-time that the fans loved it. Although it was a bit tiring.”
“Dong-pal and I weren’t that tired. Not many people asked for our autographs.”
It was exactly as Kyung Juncheol added at the end.
Generally, the audience tended to want Taeha’s and Lee Seok-hyun’s autographs.
In particular, many requests for autographs came to the top actor, Lee Seok-hyun.
It couldn’t be helped.
Although the audience cheered for Taeha due to the influence of his Immersion Ability, Lee Seok-hyun had more objective popularity.
Therefore, Lee Seok-hyun’s autograph was also considered more valuable.
Of course, that didn’t mean only Lee Seok-hyun gave autographs.
Taeha also signed quite a few.
Even contrary to Kyung Juncheol’s grumbling, there were quite a few people requesting autographs from the other two actors.
The atmosphere played a part, but the audience was also familiar with and fascinated by the two actors who appeared frequently in various works.
In the first place, if they weren’t scene-stealers of this level of name value, they wouldn’t have been able to participate in the stage greeting as part of the promotion.
“Anyway, thanks to my brother Taeha, we overcame the crisis well. Oh my, my baby!”
When Lee Seok-hyun made a fuss as if Taeha were adorable, Kyung Juncheol frowned and quickly cut in.
“Hey, why is Taeha your baby? Won’t you take your hands off our action school’s direct disciple?”
“Oh my. And I’m not a direct disciple?”
“You’re not. You learned action from someone else before me.”
“That person was also your disciple, Senior.”
“Right. That’s why you’re not my direct disciple.”
“It’s sorrowful, truly sorrowful. I devoted my body and loyalty, and yet I’m treated as a branch disciple. Anyway, what was tomorrow’s stage greeting Schedule? After Sinchon, Hongdae, and Yongsan, is it Wangsimni, Geondae, and Songpa?”
“Yes. That’s right. Next week is Busan and Daegu.”
At Taeha’s answer, Lee Seok-hyun nodded and spoke.
“It’s a tight one. I’ll be in your care from now on too, Taeha.”
The look in Lee Seok-hyun’s eyes as he added those words was filled with deep trust toward Taeha.
It was a passage that showed how impressive today’s stage greeting had been.
***
Opening week.
< Killer X Killer > succeeded in drawing 3.23 million viewers to the theaters, just as expected.
He thought it might surpass 3 million, but actually doing it felt strange.
It was because he hadn’t imagined it would do this well.
The Director of < Killer X Killer >, Jeong Myeong-hwan, also seemed surprised by the unusual reaction.
– Ah. I should have done a collaborative project sooner.
He even said such a thing during a phone call with Taeha asking about his feelings.
It didn’t even end there.
– Back then. When I was blinded by the action Scene and my mind went haywire. I feel like it would have been a real disaster if Lee Seok-hyun hadn’t raised an issue and if Taeha hadn’t suggested making two versions of the rough Editor and taking a vote. Thank you so much.
Jeong Myeong-hwan even directly expressed his gratitude like this.
They still had to watch the situation.
As mentioned before, there were cases among Jeong Myeong-hwan’s works that drew good responses but failed to break the ten million viewer mark.
However, there was a reason why Jeong Myeong-hwan expressed his gratitude a bit prematurely.
Because in cases like this where the audience exceeded 3 million in the opening week, unless something big happened, they broke the ten million mark.
In the first place, cases like Jeong Myeong-hwan’s previous works were unusual occurrences.
Moreover, in the case of this work, the possibility of something big happening was very low.
One could tell just by looking at the fact that the actual audience rating was 9.21.
In other words, it meant that the audience was proving that the story problem, which had been consistently pointed out as Jeong Myeong-hwan’s weakness, had been completely resolved.
Not only that, Yoo Dong-gyun, the most famous film critic in the Republic of Korea, also left an impressive one-line review along with a generous star rating.
[ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ The taste of a franchise that was always above average has been joined by the taste of fine dining that was completely unexpected. ]
So, even if Jeong Myeong-hwan expressed his gratitude a bit early, it wasn’t strange.
“I’m grateful you think so, but in truth, it was all Director’s decision. Since the story-focused rough Editor could have been pushed aside by the action-focused rough Editor. So it’s right that Director takes all the credit.”
– In any case, our Taeha always says such nice things. This is why I’ll write down Taeha’s name first as the Main Character for my next work.
“Eh.”
– Don’t feel pressured. I only wrote the name down for now. Just know how much I like you, Taeha.
“Gamsahamnida, Director.”
– Right. Let’s discuss the next work slowly. Then, work hard in Daegu and Busan too.
The phone call ended like that.
However, Jeong Myeong-hwan’s story remained in Taeha’s heart.
It couldn’t be helped.
Through Jeong Myeong-hwan’s story, he could see once again how much his name value had risen.
It was a natural story, but Taeha knew it too.
That Jeong Myeong-hwan hadn’t been pleased with his casting at first.
It was a story he couldn’t help but know.
Since an actor who had only been a Supporting Actor once and a Sub-male lead once, and had no experience in Film, was going to appear as a two-top Main Character in his film with Seon Min-gi’s backing.
But now, such a sign was nowhere to be felt in Jeong Myeong-hwan’s tone.
The distrust toward Taeha that had remained slightly until right before the film’s release had completely disappeared.
Now Taeha was definitely a Lead Role level actor.
One could tell just by looking at the articles pouring out praising Taeha and Lee Seok-hyun’s acting along with the praise for the film itself.
Taeha even rose tremendously in terms of recognition.
The fact that < An Ji-yeon’s Salon Trip > drew an unexpected reaction was the proof.
As a result, Taeha had now become a perfect Lead Role actor who was recognized in both acting ability and recognition.
Jeong Myeong-hwan’s story at the end perfectly proved this fact.
The interesting point was that there were other people who were happy about Taeha’s rise in recognition.
It was Mascollum.
In particular, Jeon Sun Young, the Promotion Team leader of Initial and Par, was walking around with a wide smile these days.
Because with < Killer X Killer > becoming a hit, the sales of Mascollum, which used Taeha as a Model, were also rising rapidly.
The sales, which had only been at the level of having a quiet promotional effect from Taeha’s beauty and Yeonhanam vibe in < An Ji-yeon’s Salon Trip > becoming a hot topic, began to stir.
Then, simultaneously with the film’s opening, sales took a complete vertical climb.
Every time people searched for who Ian in < Killer X Killer > was, Taeha’s name and Mascollum’s advertisement appeared.
And so, Ryu Soo-gyeom’s photos finally caught the eyes of many people.
These photos also caused a huge effect.
It couldn’t be helped.
Because Taeha’s photos were the result created by the photographer Ryu Soo-gyeom, who had made Par one of the best cosmetics companies in the Republic of Korea, doing his absolute best.
It wasn’t even just Ryu Soo-gyeom who took the photos well.
Through his Immersion Ability, Taeha also actively performed perfectly as a subject.
Perhaps that’s why a post with the following title rose to the popular posts of a famous community.
[Title: A collection of Kang Tae-ha’s photos that no one can understand why he isn’t filming a Roko.jpg]
(Kang Tae-ha staring wistfully at the front while holding cosmetics.jpg)
(Kang Tae-ha smiling slightly with his eyes closed in a flower bed.jpg)
(Kang Tae-ha laughing refreshingly with an expression more fragrant than cosmetics.jpg)
(Kang Tae-ha who seems more sincere about promoting his own beauty than promoting cosmetics.jpg)
(Kang Tae-ha touching his index finger to his lips with an expression like an Idol visual center during a stage greeting.jpg)
Source – Z
The last photo isn’t a Mascollum ad photo, it’s a bonus photo from a film stage greeting lololol
I saw gifs and fan cams circulating too, those who are going to look it up should definitely take some herbal medicine before searching lololol
Over 200 comments were attached to this post alone.
Most were comments praising Taeha’s beauty.
In conclusion, thanks to becoming a Model for Mascollum, Taeha was inversely able to make his face known once more.
Taeha, who was traveling in Im Chan-hyung’s car for the stage greetings in Daegu and Busan, thought while reflecting on what happened in the opening week of < Killer X Killer >.
“I wonder how things will have changed by the time this film is over?”
It was something Taeha himself was curious about.