get-shopping Chapter 197: Activities (10)
Chapter 197: Activities (10)
Currently, 'Blood Hunt' was undergoing massive promotion and marketing.《[Issue Pick] Script Reading Completed for 'Blood Hunt', Fans Curious About What Kind of Role ‘Rojun’ Will Play》
《'Blood Hunt' Packed with Top Stars Nears First Shoot, Male Lead ‘Jung Tae-soo’ Says, “The Reading Atmosphere Was Good, I’m Looking Forward to the First Shoot”》
《Writer ‘Rojun’s’ First Movie Work 'Blood Hunt'... Will It Be a Mega Hit Like 'Rental Lover'?》
The first shoot was imminent.
At BG Pictures, the production company behind 'Blood Hunt', director Yoo Ji-heon and the production team were holding a final production meeting. Since the core milestone, the script reading, was already completed, the atmosphere was largely about final checks. Among these, coordinating the first shooting date and actors’ schedules was key.
“Then, we’ll confirm the first shoot for Monday, May 24.”
“Mm.”
Since today was the 11th, there were roughly two weeks left until the first shoot. For reference, 'Blood Hunt' also included an overseas location shoot in the Philippines. The beginning to middle part of filming would proceed first at domestic sets, and the overseas shoot was scheduled for the latter half.
So, there was a strong possibility that filming would conclude in the Philippines.
Anyway, in 'Blood Hunt', Kang Rojun was...
“How’s Rojun-ssi’s filming schedule coordinated?”
“As you know, Rojun-ssi has an extremely packed schedule outside of 'Vanguard'.”
“I know.”
“For now, he’ll join on the first shooting day. After that, Rojun-ssi’s filming schedule is spaced out with a day or two between shoots.”
“We can’t help it. The fact that the schedule has been coordinated at all is already fortunate.”
“Exactly. It was possible thanks to a lot of consideration from the other actors, and most of Rojun-ssi’s scenes will start in the morning.”
“Thankfully, since the scenes for the character ‘Hook’ are short, we can somehow manage.”
It was going to be a schedule that required shooting in a solo-combat style, just like 'Like a Kaleidoscope'. He had to participate in 'Blood Hunt' filming, handle 'Vanguard' schedules, and still take care of his side jobs without neglect. Still, compared to 'Like a Kaleidoscope' which was in Japan, 'Blood Hunt' being domestic made the situation more manageable.
“Alright, then let’s start promoting the first shoot as May 24 and begin preparations.”
This was conveyed to Kang Rojun inside the van returning from the filming of 'A Tranquil Day'. Of course, through Manager Kim Ki-baek’s mouth.
“Mm- We’ve coordinated the schedule well with the 'Blood Hunt' team, and the first shoot is on May 24. Rojun will join from that day.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. It seemed like the 'Blood Hunt' side was really considerate of Rojun. Well, it's probably because you're both the screenwriter and actor, right? Anyway, it looks like the very first scene of 'Blood Hunt' will be Rojun’s.”
Not long after wrapping up 'Like a Kaleidoscope', the first shoot of 'Blood Hunt' was already here. Kang Rojun felt like everything he had planted was finally starting to rev up.
‘It’s going to get even crazier, though I’m happy about it.’
The next day, quite a few topics were thrown into the media. Some matters that had begun in Japan had now crossed over to Korea.
《[Star Talk] Rojun Handled Not Just the Script but Also the OST for 'Like a Kaleidoscope'!》
《'Like a Kaleidoscope' to Launch on Netflix Korea Approximately Two Weeks After Its Japan Netflix Debut》
Works related to Kang Rojun were enthusiastically being marketed.
《'A Tranquil Day' Team Says, “Filming with Rojun and Do-kyung is Complete. Expect Explosive Chemistry”》
《Writer Rojun’s First Film 'Blood Hunt', First Shoot Confirmed for May 24!》
《'Vanguard' to Hold a Japan Concert at ‘Saitama Arena’, We Went There Ourselves… Jaw-Dropping Scale / Photos Inside》
Thanks to this, fans of 'Vanguard' were thrilled. On SNS, community sites, YouTube, and more, people were busy sharing stories about Rojun.
At this point, Kang Rojun and the members of 'Vanguard' were participating in a pre-recording for a music show.
-♬♪
'GreenBee' echoed across the stage, and once again, fans who had waited since dawn screamed in excitement for 'Vanguard'.
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
Having gained quite a bit of experience with pre-recordings, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung handled the stage with calm confidence. After finishing the pre-recording, Rojun, dripping with sweat, still waved to the fans who were jumping and cheering. Of course, the other members did the same. On their way back to the waiting room, Si-hoo murmured with slight regret.
“Wow, it’s already the last week of 'GreenBee' promotions.”
Walking alongside him, Kang-min and Do-kyung joined in.
“Huh? You’re right? Time flew by.”
“We’ll take a short break and move straight into 'FlyingBell', but it’s still kind of sad.”
As they said, once this week’s music show schedules ended, 'GreenBee' promotions would be over. After about a week of rest, they would begin their second round of promotions with 'FlyingBell', which had a concept completely opposite of 'GreenBee'.
However, 'FlyingBell' was planned to have a shorter promotion period than 'GreenBee'.
The last promotion track, 'Windveil', still remained, but if they dragged out the promotion for every track, Vanguard's condition would obviously fall apart. Sweeping back his black hair, Kang Rojun felt once again how fast time was flying.
‘Is it already the second track’s promotion? Come to think of it, the Japan concert is only a month away too.’
At that time, over at Netflix Korea, which was actively pushing the production of 'Tale of the Strange Moon', they were briefing PD Jung Soo-ryeong, who had been confirmed as the director.
“'Tale of the Strange Moon' will launch not just in Korea but worldwide on Netflix.”
They were relaying the overall status of the series.
“The production company will be finalized within this week. Currently, the script for 'Tale of the Strange Moon' has been completed up to Episode 1, and Writer Rojun-nim is working on Episode 2. It will proceed as a seasonal series, with 6 episodes per season.”
“Six episodes per season. That’s quite a fast pace, both for launch and production.”
“Exactly. And here’s one of the key points, the main theme song of 'Tale of the Strange Moon' has been confirmed as a collaboration with GN Entertainment’s 'Vanguard'. The details of the collaboration are……”
Upon hearing the collaboration plans between 'Vanguard' and 'Tale of the Strange Moon', PD Jung Soo-ryeong opened her eyes wide.
‘A global launch was already impressive… but a collaboration? This is a much bigger scale than I expected??’
Regardless, the main theme OST of 'Tale of the Strange Moon' would be handled entirely by GN, from composition to music video production. PD Jung Soo-ryeong and Netflix Korea were in a position to wait for now.
‘The main theme track for 'Tale of the Strange Moon'. Probably. No, almost 100% it’ll be a Korean-style song. With a historical drama vibe and 'Vanguard'… What kind of song will come out of that……’
Kang Rojun received the news that PD Jung Soo-ryeong had been confirmed as the director of 'Tale of the Strange Moon' in the afternoon of the same day. Jung Soo-ryeong personally called him.
“Writer Rojun? I’ve been confirmed as the director for 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.”
Kang Rojun, who heard the news while in a moving vehicle, was a little surprised but genuinely happy.
“Wow, really? That’s great!”
After that.
Even while working on his side jobs in between, Kang Rojun focused on Vanguard's 'GreenBee' promotions. Interviews, music shows, variety programs, livestreams, and more.
Thanks to that, time melted away.
Eventually, 'Vanguard' scored first place again with their final music show schedule.
《[Star Photo] 'Vanguard', Achieves 6 Consecutive Weeks of 1st Place on Music Shows! / Photo》
《Runaway Train 'Vanguard' Wraps Up 'GreenBee' Promotions… Members Say, “See You with the Next Song!”》
'GreenBee' promotions had come to an end.
-[You have achieved the hidden mission ‘First Place Streak with Debut Song!’ has been achieved! 50 Coins have been given as a reward.]
The first thing the members and Rojun, who had received a gift from the 'AI Simulation', did was to send a message to fans. Through official SNS channels, they expressed their gratitude and informed fans about future schedules.
From this point, the 'Vanguard' members were given about ten days of rest.
There were no official 'Vanguard' schedules like music shows or variety filming. They could go home to see their parents or take care of personal matters. However, the 'Vanguard' members didn’t seem to have any intention of doing that.
“Now we can focus on practice more comfortably.”
“When is the Japan concert cue sheet coming out? I should ask the manager.”
“Let’s match the revised 'FlyingBell' choreography, hyung.”
All they could think about was practice.
Especially for Kang Rojun, since the first shoot of 'Blood Hunt' was scheduled during those ten days of break, he had no intention of resting. On top of that.
‘Starting tomorrow, the 'Tale of the Strange Moon' collaboration will officially begin, right?’
There was still a mountain of work to do.
And so, Monday morning, May 17, the first day of Vanguard's break, arrived. After working through the night, completing his daily mission and strengthening his stats, Rojun could be found in the main conference room of GN Entertainment.
“Then we’ll begin the concept meeting regarding the 'Tale of the Strange Moon' collaboration.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan, Manager Kim Ki-baek, and other key executives from each team were in attendance, and the atmosphere was intense. It was only natural. Before they could begin composing, writing, choreography, styling, and producing the music video for Tale of the Strange Moon’s main theme song, they had to first finalize the concept. Interestingly, Si-hoo was participating as well.
Here, Kang Rojun was, of course, the central figure.
Of course, more than anyone present at the meeting, including the Netflix Korea team, ‘Writer Rojun’ was the one who knew everything about 'Tale of the Strange Moon' inside and out. In any case, various materials were displayed via the PPT. Things like the ‘gat’ (traditional Korean hat), hanbok and other costumes, palace and Joseon-era backgrounds, pansori and traditional Korean instruments, etc.
From time to time, Kang Rojun added,
“'Tale of the Strange Moon' isn’t a traditional historical drama but a fantasy-fused fusion sageuk. So I think it’d be better to incorporate some modern reinterpretations into the visuals and everything, while still keeping the Korean essence without making it too unfamiliar.”
He spoke helpful comments as the writer of 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.
“In terms of choreography, I think it would be fun to include movements inspired by pungmulnori or spinning ‘sangmo’. Of course, the vibe would need to be adapted to fit 'Vanguard'.”
Kang Rojun was envisioning a blend of Joseon-era settings and the modern world, and since GN Entertainment also needed 'Vanguard' to stand out, their opinions aligned with Rojun’s.
The meeting went on for quite a while, and it wasn’t until noon that Kang Rojun and Si-hoo moved to the studio.
As soon as they arrived at the studio, which was equipped with keyboards, guitars, and more, Rojun and Si-hoo took their seats. They discussed the contents of the earlier meeting, and naturally, the flow shifted to composing the main theme song for 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.
Si-hoo started.
“Those traditional instruments you mentioned earlier, Rojun, I think that’s a great idea.”
Next was Kang Rojun.
“Right? Mixing traditional instruments into the intro or overall rhythm gives it a strong core feeling.”
They were now united in composing the main theme song for 'Tale of the Strange Moon'. Of course, GN Entertainment, while requesting songs from Rojun and Si-hoo, also planned to reach out to various famous domestic composers. Given the size of the project, that was only natural. They would review all submitted tracks later and choose the final song. There was a lot to do for the 'Tale of the Strange Moon' collaboration, but the song had to come first.
Soon, Si-hoo asked again,
“What about the rap part?”
Rojun responded right away.
“Of course there should be one. This came to me during the meeting, but if we lay down a gayageum solo under the rap part, it’ll be killer.”
“Oh- using the gayageum as the beat under the rap. That’s nice, really nice.”
The two quickly dove into composition work, and a few hours later.
-♬♪
Kang Rojun and Si-hoo even played the musical ideas they had come up with on the keyboard. After that, they joined the practice session for the upcoming Japan concert.
Practice went on until late at night, and instead of returning to the dorm, Kang Rojun returned to the practice room again.
Sometime past midnight, in the early morning hours, as he was typing continuously on his laptop, Kang Rojun stretched out wide.
“Ahhh- Part 2 complete!”
Because he had finished writing Part 2 of 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.
About a week later.
Noon on May 24. The location was a massive movie set in Paju. Several logistics warehouses were arranged in a ㄷ-shape, and in that huge film set, over a hundred crew members were busily running around.
“Director-nim! Please come check the set here!!”
“Props! Start setting up the props!”
“Cinematographer! Something’s off with the rail here!!”
“Where’s the youngest?! I told you to bring the reflector, did you go home?!”
“Actor Jung Tae-soo is almost here!!”
It was the 'Blood Hunt' film crew, for which Kang Rojun had written the screenplay.
The energy among the hundred-plus staff members was sky-high.
It wasn’t surprising.
“Whew, no matter how many times I go through a first shoot day, I never get used to it.”
“Same here. It’s hectic, but I’m sure it’ll get sorted out soon.”
Today was the 'Blood Hunt' crank-in day.
The first shoot always brings anticipation or nerves to everyone. Even for the prominent director Yoo Ji-heon, who was conversing with key staff like the lighting director, it was the same.
‘Whew- today’s the day. Let’s hope everything goes well without any issues.’
Then, in a slightly hoarse voice, Director Yoo Ji-heon asked the assistant director about the actors’ whereabouts.
“Have the actors arrived?”
The assistant director, having checked beforehand, replied immediately.
“Actor Jung Tae-soo will be here in about 10 minutes. The other actors are also almost here.”
“What about Rojun-ssi?”
“We’ve been contacted, Actor Rojun-nim is nearby as well!”
Indeed, inside a moving van, Kang Rojun was about five minutes away from the 'Blood Hunt' set. Sitting by the window, he had been reviewing the script up until a moment ago, and now, after checking something on his phone, his eyes widened in surprise.
《[Official] ‘Powerhouse Ticket Seller’ 'Vanguard', All 35,000 Seats for First Japan Concert at Saitama Arena Sell Out Immediately... “A Monster Has Landed in Japan!”》
“Whoa, insane.”
It was Vanguard's second sold-out record.