"Expressionless?"
Kang Woojin's face was definitely expressionless right now.
He was simply staring blankly at the goddess standing in front of him.
No—
The top actress Hong Hyeyeon.
…
His mind was calm.
Unbelievably calm.
But it wasn't real peace.
His thoughts had simply stopped for a moment because of the unexpected situation.
'…What?'
From the moment Hong Hyeyeon appeared, Kang Woojin had frozen stiff.
In a way, it was just his usual face.
Who wouldn't freeze when a goddess suddenly appeared right in front of them?
"You weren't surprised at all? By the way, can I do The Private Investigator?"
She wanted to take the role in the short film.
'Ah, wait. Wait. What exactly is happening right now?'
Why had the female lead of a hit drama come all the way here for a short film?
If there had been even a small hint beforehand, he might have understood.
But Hong Hyeyeon hadn't explained anything at all.
More than that, Woojin had barely even had a proper conversation with her before.
'Is something weird happening again?'
Kang Woojin forced his frozen brain to start working.
The situation kept getting bigger.
It felt thousands of times more serious than when Director Shin Dongchun had overturned everything before.
Then—
Hong Hyeyeon laughed.
"Woojin, aren't you being a little too calm? Did you expect I'd do The Private Investigator?"
No.
Absolutely not.
Kang Woojin was still too shocked to answer properly.
Afraid he might say something wrong, he simply shook his head.
Hong Hyeyeon tilted her head slightly.
"Then why are you so calm? This is boring. I thought you'd be surprised this time."
He was surprised.
Very surprised.
He could honestly say that much.
A moment later, Woojin managed to answer in a low voice.
"I am surprised."
"That's funny. Your face doesn't show it at all."
At that point, Kang Woojin was still trying to understand why this goddess was here.
Then a thought suddenly struck him.
"Did Song Manwoo PD mention something, maybe?"
Director Shin Dongchun and Song Manwoo PD knew each other.
If there was any link connecting Hong Hyeyeon to this situation, that had to be it.
Whether he was right or not, Hong Hyeyeon smiled and brushed back her long hair.
"You're half right."
A faint fragrance drifted over.
She smells nice.
Ah—no.
Kang Woojin abruptly pulled himself together.
The first thing he needed to do was confirm it.
"…So you really want to do The Private Investigator?"
"I already told you I do. Is that not okay?"
"If it's a joke—"
"It's not. I may look like I'm always joking, but I'm actually busy. Where would I find time to joke around?"
Even while complaining, she still looked like a goddess.
In any case, if she really wanted to do it, that alone meant success.
Kang Woojin felt genuinely grateful.
His reputation with the people around him had risen sharply, but deep down he was still just an ordinary guy.
And now that ordinary guy was about to include Hong Hyeyeon in his project.
'Combat power increased by a million.'
At that moment, Kang Woojin's motivation surged.
"If you want to do it, then I think it'll work."
"Really? Good?"
Meanwhile—
One person had been blankly watching the entire conversation.
"…Ah."
Director Shin Dongchun covered his face with one hand.
"Um, Hyeyeon, sit down first."
But Hong Hyeyeon shook her head.
"No, I have another schedule right after this, so I need to go. Ah, Dongchun PD, it's been a while. Let me greet you properly."
"Ah… yes. It has been a while. But Miss Hyeyeon, are you really appearing in The Private Investigator? I'm sorry, but it's a little hard to believe."
"Yes. I want to."
With that brief answer, Hong Hyeyeon placed the stack of papers she had brought onto the desk.
It was the script for The Private Investigator.
"I've already read the script several times. If the Director is okay with it, I'd like to take the role of the wife."
"Hyeyeon… do you really understand? The wife isn't the lead. It's a supporting role. And The Private Investigator is only a short film."
"Yes, I know. And this film is being submitted to the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival, right?"
"Huh? How did you know that?"
Hong Hyeyeon shrugged with a smile.
"My capable CEO told me."
"Wait a second."
Perhaps because too many things were happening at once, Director Shin Dongchun sank into a chair.
Then suddenly, as if something occurred to him, he looked back at her.
"Ah! But Miss Hyeyeon, your appearance fee… it's far too high for me to afford."
"I know that too."
Hong Hyeyeon spoke quickly as she pulled out a business card from the pocket of her blue jacket and handed it directly to Director Shin Dongchun.
Her smile deepened.
"But you don't need to worry. We're the investors."
"…Huh? You're the investors?"
Director Shin Dongchun stared at the card.
BW Entertainment
CEO Choi Sunggeon
It was the name of Hong Hyeyeon's agency and its CEO.
Director Shin looked up again.
"Ah, CEO Choi."
"You know him, right?"
"Of course. It would be stranger if I didn't. But BW handles investments too?"
"Yes. Just contact the CEO directly."
Everything was moving at breakneck speed.
Kang Woojin simply watched with a blank face.
He couldn't fully grasp what was happening, but for now he decided to stay quiet.
Realizing it was time to leave, Hong Hyeyeon turned toward the door.
Then she stopped.
"Oh, and Director Dongchun. Please keep the fact that I joined—and anything related to me—secret. If possible, at least until right before submission."
Her hand rested on the doorknob.
Then she suddenly turned back toward Kang Woojin.
"By the way, why The Private Investigator?"
Woojin had heard a very similar question before.
So just like then, he answered firmly.
"Intuition."
"Instinct? Ha. You really are strange, you know that? You kind of seem like a weirdo."
"Probably."
Still looking unconvinced, Hong Hyeyeon stepped out.
"Well, I guess I'll know once I see it for myself. I'll contact you."
Bang!
The door closed.
The instant it did—
Director Shin Dongchun rushed over to Kang Woojin.
"My god! Woojin! You didn't know about this either, right?!"
But—
…
Kang Woojin said nothing.
Not because he was trying to act cool.
It was simply—
'She said she'd contact me?'
He was still stunned by Hong Hyeyeon's final words.
Later that afternoon.
Kang Woojin's small studio apartment.
Because of the sudden chaos that morning, Kang Woojin lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.
Countless thoughts passed through his mind.
But one stood above the rest.
Hong Hyeyeon.
He was definitely happy.
Director Shin Dongchun was probably the same.
Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was walking through a dream.
"So that means I'll be working on two projects in a row with Hong Hyeyeon?"
At that moment, Kang Woojin thought of his friend Kim Daeyoung.
What would that guy do if he heard this?
Would he completely lose his mind?
While drifting through those pointless thoughts, Woojin suddenly sat upright.
One thing was certain.
"I can't just sit around."
Kang Woojin's drive burned even hotter than before.
In his hand was the official script for Profiler Hanryang Part 1, which he had received the day before.
The title was written in white brush lettering across a pale violet cover.
"So this is the official script. It really does look different."
Unlike a random stack of papers, an official script carried a certain weight.
At least, that was how Kang Woojin felt.
"So this is what I'll be holding on set."
He imagined himself standing in the middle of a filming set packed with staff, looking down at this script.
That alone made everything feel real.
Tap.
With a faint smile, he lightly touched the black square beside the script.
Instantly—
Woojin was pulled into the air.
The endless darkness.
The vast emptiness of the void space.
The sensation of floating through an infinite void was still the same.
But now, aside from a faint trace of fear, Kang Woojin felt calm.
Naturally.
He had already been here several times.
"Let's see."
Kang Woojin walked toward the floating white squares.
What caught his attention was the number.
There were only three now.
Originally, there had been many more.
The reason was simple.
Woojin had discovered the Delete function.
The method was simple too.
If he selected an unnecessary white square and said Delete, it vanished.
Just like the Exit command he used to leave the space.
Since Kang Woojin liked things neat and organized by nature, he liked this feature.
Everything looked cleaner now.
Still—
Woojin examined the three remaining white squares.
[1 / Scenario (Title: The Private Investigator), B-Grade]
[2 / Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), A-Grade]
[3 / Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), A+ Grade]
Soon he muttered quietly.
"Just like I thought. It separates the draft from the final version."
This was about Profiler Hanryang.
Until yesterday, there had only been two white squares.
Now there were three.
That meant the official script for Profiler Hanryang Part 1 had been released.
The explanation was obvious.
The draft script and the finalized official script were treated as separate entries.
Naturally.
Even if most of the content was similar, small differences in tone and atmosphere existed.
Then—
"Hm?"
Kang Woojin noticed something.
[3 / Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), A+ Grade]
The rating had changed.
"A+? There's a plus sign?"
The draft had originally been A-Grade.
But the official script now had a plus.
In other words—
The grade had increased.
"So A+ is better than A? Then what comes next? A++? Or S-Grade?"
Whatever the answer, this was a new discovery.
Kang Woojin had never seen an A+ before.
But his attention soon shifted elsewhere.
"So the grade isn't fixed."
That meant it could change.
And honestly, that wasn't strange.
A project could evolve a lot during the creative process.
Then why had the score gone up?
Because revisions improved the script?
Either way, a higher score was good news.
A lower one would have been a problem.
After thinking it through, Woojin returned to what he had originally come here to do.
"If possible, I want to experience all of it."
He wanted to experience every character in the official script of Profiler Hanryang Part 1.
If possible—every single one.
Of course, that included Assistant Manager Park.
To Kang Woojin, it was simple.
This was practice.
"My goal is to completely master every character."
If he could understand not only Assistant Manager Park's perspective but also the viewpoints of all the other male characters, his understanding would deepen dramatically.
"I still don't know enough about this field. If I want to stand shoulder to shoulder with those great actors, I need to learn."
Kang Woojin didn't know that understanding character relationships was a core part of script analysis.
Nor did he know that it would improve his acting.
It was simply the conclusion an ordinary person had reached.
And so—
[You have selected 3 scripts (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1)]
[List of readable characters (experience)]
[A: Yoo Jihyung, B: Jung Sangmin, C: Bae Sejun… E: Assistant Manager Park]
First—
Kang Woojin selected the male lead.
[Preparing to read "A: Yoo Jihyung"…]
Soon—
[…Ready. This is a highly complete script or scenario. Execution rate: 100%. Beginning reading.]
Kang Woojin was pulled not into Assistant Manager Park's world—
But into Yoo Jihyung's.
Two days later.
Late morning.
Kang Woojin, his hair a mess, rubbed his eyes and walked toward the bathroom.
♬♪
His phone rang loudly.
At first he thought it was his alarm.
But it wasn't.
It was a call.
Director Shin Dongchun.
Woojin tilted his head and answered.
"Yes, Director."
Director Shin Dongchun sounded cheerful.
"Woojin! Hahaha, come with me somewhere in a few hours. Let's grab a late lunch!"
"Where?"
"You'll see when we get there! Ah, do you have plans?"
Plans?
Not really.
But sounding too available might hurt his image.
So Woojin pretended to think.
"Hmm. Lunchtime might be tight. How about around three?"
"Sounds good. Let's meet then."
A few hours later.
Even though the weather had warmed up, Woojin still wore a padded jacket as he walked out of his building.
Director Shin Dongchun was waiting beside the road.
"Woojin! Get in!"
Behind him sat a black van.
"Hahaha, I rented it long-term because I needed it."
Oddly pleased about getting a ride, Woojin climbed in.
Director Shin took the driver's seat.
Vroom.
The van started moving.
As they drove, Director Shin continued talking.
"Thankfully the investment wrapped up cleanly, hahaha. Hyeyeon is seriously a benefactor."
The new investor was BW Entertainment.
After that, everything moved quickly.
The production company was secured.
Casting accelerated.
Woojin simply nodded.
About two hours later—
Skrrt.
The van arrived in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
The moment Kang Woojin stepped out—
He froze.
Because in front of him stood a large villa.
"Ah."
The moment he saw it—
He understood.
"That villa."
"It looks exactly like the one from The Private Investigator."
Director Shin Dongchun beamed.
"That's right. This villa is the main filming location for our movie, The Private Investigator."
A two-story house.
Through the large windows, the living room was visible.
A quiet road ran nearby.
Behind it stood a forested mountain.
The eerie atmosphere matched the villa from the script perfectly.
After taking a few steps toward it, Director Shin added,
"The production budget is tight, so we can't build sets. Most short films are like this."
I see.
But how did he find such a perfect match?
As Woojin wondered that, Director Shin turned around.
"I happened to find this place while writing the first draft. The moment the investment was confirmed, I reserved it."
He added that the elderly couple who owned the villa had happily agreed.
Then suddenly—
Director Shin stepped closer and held out a white briefcase.
His expression turned serious.
"Woojin. The investor and production company are set. The rest of the cast will probably finalize soon. Hyeyeon too."
"That's good to hear."
"It's all thanks to Kang Woojin."
What did I even do?
Unlike Woojin, who genuinely felt he hadn't done anything, Director Shin's eyes were slightly red.
He handed over the briefcase.
"Now there's only one key step left before the contract is finalized. We're entering formal contract negotiations."
Kang Woojin accepted the briefcase calmly.
Even if it was only a short film—
He had officially secured his debut as a film lead.
Director Shin continued.
"However, we're short on time. The script reading and filming schedule may overlap. Filming begins March 10. We're planning a five-day shoot."
Today was Friday, February 28.
That meant there were only ten days left.
Reality had suddenly arrived.
Because of that, Kang Woojin kept his usual calm expression while thinking—
'Wow… now that it's real, I'm actually a little nervous.'
Right then—
Bzzzz.
His phone vibrated.
A message.
He checked it.
From Song Manwoo PD.
[Script Reading and MT Schedule Notice]
[Saturday March 7 – Sunday March 8 / 1 night 2 days]
The script reading for Profiler Hanryang would take place one week later.
And before he knew it—
March 7 arrived.
[Star Talk] Top Actors Join Profiler Hanryang… Attending MT for Script Reading… Departure Tomorrow
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.