When I Opened My Eyes I Was a Superstar

Hearing Do Wook call out to her, the woman who had been hurriedly running looked back.

The woman approached Do Wook with a surprised expression when he held out the red beret.

Do Wook forgot that he was in New York, America and realized after the fact that he had spoken Korean. The woman had black hair and looked pretty Korean so it had confused him even more.

The woman who accepted the beret Do Wook was holding out thanked him.

“Thank you, I am in a hurry…oh?!”

The woman, who was speaking fluent Korean, had an even more surprised expression when she saw Do Wook’s face.

“Kang Do Wook?”

“Yes?”

The woman was Korean, just as she appeared. She was speaking in Korean fluently. Do Wook was surprised that the woman recognized him and felt even more dazed.

“Huh? Yes.”

The woman asked as she held the pile of clothing that kept leaning to one side higher,

“By chance, are you participating in the fashion week?”

Do Wook nodded as he scratched the back of his head. The woman exclaimed, “oh my gosh”.

“I didn’t know. At all. Ah ha! Are you attending Lucas’s fashion show?”

“Yes. I am.”

“Wow. That’s great. I’d love to talk to you more, but my chief editor is waiting for me downstairs. Ah, I never introduced myself. I’m fashion magazine editor Sara Jeong. I’ll most likely see you at the show, so I’ll give you my business card then. I don’t have a free hand at the moment…”

The woman spoke a mile a minute. Because she was talking a lot and quickly, there was a little awkwardness in her fluent Korean.

Feeling it to be a little unfortunate, Sara said to meet again soon.

“Uh…I’ll carry some of that for you until the elevator.”

“Ah, I’d be grateful if you would do that. You really are gentle.”

Do Wook took about half of the load Sara had been carrying. He had time anyways so he wanted to take the items to the lobby for her, but there might still be fans downstairs.

“Thank you. Then, goodbye.”

After Sara got on the elevator and headed down, Do Wook was even more confused.

****

Dinner time.

While eating with the staff at a restaurant near the hotel, Do Wook brought up meeting Sara in the hotel hallway.

She was a fashion magazine editor so he asked Han Jung Ah, thinking that as a stylist she might know her.

“Sara Jeung?”

“Yes. I think she’s from Korea, I was wondering if you know her.”

Do Wook asked while taking a bite of his meatball. Han Jung Ah’s expression looked like she was thinking it over very hard.

“Mmmm. I’m not sure. There’s more people from Korea here than one might think.”

“I see.”

“Although she’s probably just one connection away. She must not be someone too famous.”

Do Wook nodded his head.

“Seeing how she was carrying luggage I think it’s very likely that she’s a floor staff. Not everyone that says they’re an editor is an editor,”

Han Jung Ah added in passing.

“Yes. I asked just in case. It seemed like she’s coming to Lucas’s fashion show so I’ll know if I end up meeting her.”

Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung, who was sitting across the way and twirling his spaghetti with a fork, added in response to what Do Wook said,

“This is near where the fashion show is being held, so there will be a lot of participants staying at the same hotel.”

Do Wook turned his head towards Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung.

“Still, it’s nice that she knows Do Wook. If I happen to meet her tomorrow I’ll ask her to write a nice article.”

He was definitely an amiable guy. Do Wook smiled lightly at what Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said.

While he was resting in the hotel room alone, Do Wook thought about Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung whom he would be spending the next few days with. He couldn’t treat him too differently from how he treated the other staff.

In general, Do Wook didn’t have the personality to approach someone first, and for the most part, he came across as someone who was nice to pretty much everyone and became close with people easily. He acted the same with the staff.

Therefore, he couldn’t be wary of Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung forever just because he came from Ara Entertainment. People would be able to tell easily, and from Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung’s or an outside perspective, he was being wary for no reason.

So Do Wook decided to change his attitude towards Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung.

Rather, he wanted to become close to and understand Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung.

“So, what’s our schedule like?”

Do Wook, who had finished his meal for the most part, asked about the specifics for tomorrow’s schedule.

“Ah. First our team will get to your room by 10 am, Do Wook. Please just have basic preparations done before then.”

Han Jung Ah replied first.

Tomorrow’s show was at 2 pm. Tomorrow, they planned on styling according to the outfit Lucas had sent.

Do Wook was assigned a VIP seat, the best seat among the places where guests could sit to watch the show. They had to impress the attendees coming to Lucas’s show.

Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung announced the next event.

“The show is at 2 pm, but you’ll have to take some pictures in the streets before that. And once the fashion show is over, there’s a simple interview scheduled with a Korean magazine company. They’ll ask you things like how it feels to be in New York or thoughts about the fashion show.”

“I guess we should prepare responses.”

Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung added to what Do Wook said,

“I’ll give you the expected questions and responses I wrote down tomorrow, but it would definitely be better if you gave your own thoughts.”

“Ok. I’ll make sure to refer to it if you give it to me.”

“Ok. Ah, Do Wook. How good is your English?”

“Speaking English?”

Do Wook had a slightly strange expression when he heard “English”.

Of course Do Wook knew how to speak English to some extent, but he hadn’t studied abroad or anything so all he’d done was study for the SAT and TOEIC* exam when joining the company.

(TL Note: TOEIC stands for Test of English for International Communication)

There was no way he could say he was fluent. If they were in Korea, he would answer that he knew a reasonable amount, but this was New York. People in the restaurant were also all chatting in English.

Do Wook was Korean so he inevitably was hesitant about it.

“I just understand a little…Do I need to know how to speak it?”

“Ah, no. Don’t get too nervous. As you travel you might have to do on-the-spot interviews. You also might get a request for a photo. As long as you know some simple things, you’re fine.”

Do Wook relaxed his expression, very relieved. Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung laughed lightly.

“I’ll be next to you anyways, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Also, the day after tomorrow you’re scheduled to attend the ‘Mark Ross’ show. It’s considered the main show for the New York fashion week…”

“The Mark Ross show?”

Do Wook asked in response to what Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung said. ‘Mark Ross’ was a brand a New York designer launched and one of the most loved brands by American people for the last decade or so.

There was no mention of attending the ‘Mark Ross’ show even up to when they were leaving for New York, so Do Wook couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Attending the Mark Ross show?!”

“Oh…”

Gu Chul Min, who had been sitting next to Han Jung Ah, was also surprised. Actually, Gu Chul Min didn’t realize just how amazing of a brand Mark Ross was, so he was surprised at the sudden new addition to the schedule.

“I only found out when I received a call earlier. I was told that Yoo Sung Fashion President Lee Yoo Min specially arranged it.”

Do Wook nodded his head when he heard it was done by President Lee Yoo Min.

“I’ll have to make sure to thank her.”

“Yes. I think it’d be good to do that. Ah, the seats for the Mark Ross show aren’t front row, but the seats behind it.”

“Being able to attend is already good enough,”

Do Wook said as he laughed. Han Jung Ah said as she pretended to clap,

“Of course~ It’s nice just to be able to watch. I went during last fall’s Fashion Week and it was really nice.”

Han Jung Ah was smiling as if just thinking about the memory of attending the Mark Ross show was enough to make her happy.

“You also have an interview scheduled with two or so fashion magazine teams from Korea.”

“Ok. Please take care of it. Thank you.”

“Well, this is my job.”

Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung replied, smiling.

***

The next day, Do Wook, who was there for Lucas’s successful New York debut, felt very proud.

Aside from their personal relationship, he was of course happy to see a Korean confidently succeed in the vast New York.

Also, he was able to see a familiar face at Lucas’s show.

It was the model Joo Hye Jin, who Do Wook remembered as a very active model in the entertainment industry with a mature image. Joo Hye Jin, who recently started her career with a background on the world stage, had a youthful face. Still, she was exuding charisma.

As he watched the fashion show, Do Wook felt a different passion from the K-pop stage.

It was a calm and hot passion rather than an exploding one. There was a passion that was visible from the model walking down the well-organized runway and the clothes they were wearing.

For Do Wook, it became another big motivator.

When Lucas came out at the end to take a bow, he was showered with applause.

It was definitely a successful show. Do Wook was applauding, full with sincerity, when he saw President Lee Yoo Min sitting across from him.

‘I should go and say hello.’

However, President Lee Yoo Min quickly started to leave with her secretary as soon as the show was over. He didn’t get a chance to say hello.

Additionally, Do Wook also had an interview scheduled, so he had to leave the show venue after saying a simple goodbye to just Lucas.

Outside of the show venue, there were numerous photographers in the crowd. Do Wook, who had been looking around for Gu Chul Min and Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung who should be nearby, was a little surprised.

‘Oh, that person is…!”

If you turned your head and looked at a noisy area, there was always an overseas celebrity whom even Do Wook would recognize waving their hand.

“Hey!”

Do Wook turned his head back to the front where someone was calling out to him.

Before he knew it, several photographers were standing in front of him too and taking pictures of him. Street photographers highly valued naturalness so they had already taken pictures of Do Wook walking and looking around.

This time he was even asked to pose properly.

Do Wook stood facing forward so that the clothes were visible as much as possible and posed with his hands in his pockets.

Today, Do Wook was wearing a large sweater with a bright blue coat over it that Lucas had sent over. He had pink hair as well, so he stood out even amongst the colorful fashion people.

It was successful in drawing people’s attention. Furthermore, Do Wook’s appearance was exceptionally good. Pulling off the outfit, his face, his physique. Even in New York he was flawless.

Once Do Wook struck a pose, there were shutter sounds going off everywhere. Even the people who were on the other side gathered and started to take pictures of Do Wook.

There were already a lot of photographers who had taken a picture of Do Wook on his way to the fashion show venue.

“Do Wook, over here.”

Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung, who had determined that he had taken enough photos, called Do Wook. The Korean magazine reporter was waiting for Do Wook for the interview.

“Those people probably don’t know who you are, but the response is already good.”

“Haha, It’s thanks to Team Leader Jung Ah picking out the clothes well.”

“I’m not just saying that. Pictures of you taken before entering the show are already on the internet.”

“Already?”

“Yes. A famous fashion blogger posted it as a preview on their social. Once the Korean fans find out, the response is going to be substantial.”

Team Leader Lee Dae Hyung showed Do Wook the page he had found.

There were a lot of comments from Korean fans in English saying this person was a famous singer in Korea, and many foreigners said, “Who is this pink haired young man? He’s very hot.”

“That’s good.”

“At this rate you might make it onto a foreign magazine too. There will probably be many people among those photographers here who will sell it to a magazine.”

There was nothing more he could ask for if that were to happen.

***

The next day. Before attending the Mark Ross show, Do Wook was able to meet Jeong Sara whom he wasn’t able to meet the day before.

It was at Park Avenue Armory. As a military base transformed into a gallery, it boasted a peculiar atmosphere and modern grandeur.

Jeong Sara was able to easily spot Do Wook with his pink hair among the invited celebrities and staff.

Do Wook was wearing a blue shirt and a three-piece suit to match the Mark Ross show.

Sara was wearing high heels that looked like they’d break soon and a red two-piece dress. Even her bright red lips were perfect. Seeing her again like this, she was very sophisticated and elegant, fitting of a fashion magazine editor.

And next to her stood a short-haired white woman wearing sunglasses with a cold expression and arms crossed.

He could see Sara explaining something to the woman.

Carefully looking towards Do Wook, the white woman, who had already looked Do Wook over from behind her sunglasses, turned around without saying anything in particular. Embarrassed, Sara winked at Do Wook then followed the woman.

He could feel most of the people inside glancing after the white woman.

Do Wook furrowed his brows and tried hard to remember who the white woman was. He felt he had seen her in a movie.

‘Is she an actor? No…could she be the ‘Bombe’ chief editor ?!’

—