What just happened? What on earth just happened?
Kang Woojin sat in his studio apartment, staring blankly into empty space.
It felt similar to the first time he had stepped into the void space.
"…This is insane."
He looked at reality with his own eyes, yet it felt like he was dreaming.
Of course, after obtaining the void space, the concept of "reality" had already begun to lose meaning. Still, in a situation this absurd, it was only natural that his thoughts would freeze.
A few minutes later—
"Hm—"
With his brain still frozen, Kang Woojin suddenly started speaking in English.
Naturally, it was simply his shock spilling out aloud.
"What the hell just happened to me?"
The words flowed out smoothly.
His pronunciation was unbelievably fluent.
Woojin continued speaking, blurting out different phrases. They were all English, yet they came out effortlessly.
It was comparable to the level of a Korean-American who had lived in the United States.
Woojin had known basic English before, but it had been nothing more than Konglish. The kind of English anyone could manage after graduating high school.
Speaking English didn't make him anxious, but it certainly wasn't comfortable either.
But now—
Kang Woojin sounded fluent enough to be mistaken for a native speaker.
"Wow…"
He was genuinely astonished.
To suddenly acquire a foreign language that should have taken years to learn—
It felt like he could move to the United States tomorrow and live without any problems.
Praising such an ability excessively wouldn't even be strange.
The power of the void space had already far surpassed imagination.
Soon—
"Okay… first, calm down."
Under normal circumstances, Kang Woojin would have panicked.
Instead, he began checking his condition, mentally and physically examining himself.
It felt as if his brain were filled with English.
Everything felt incredibly natural.
No different from Korean.
He didn't even need to think about which English words to use.
The words he wanted appeared instantly and flowed from his mouth.
In other words—
It felt as though the language had been engraved into his body after memorizing it thousands of times through role-playing inside the void space.
Woojin continued speaking English.
Smoothly.
Naturally.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Gradually, a chill spread through his entire body.
"Just being able to memorize lines was already shocking… but even foreign languages?"
"The power of the void space is truly insane."
To be honest, Woojin had wondered whether something like this might be possible.
After all, when he experienced a role inside the void space, the character's lines were engraved in his mind.
So he had thought—
If he played a role that spoke a foreign language, perhaps he could memorize those lines as well.
That was the limit of his imagination.
But—
"…It implants the entire language."
The void space was not narrow-minded.
It felt like a massive mountain.
What? English? You need it?
Why are you making such a big deal out of it?
Hold on, I'll just teach you English.
That was the kind of feeling it gave him.
Money?
What's that?
It's free.
Completely free.
Woojin's lips slowly curved into a smile.
Then—
Does that mean I could even go to Hollywood someday?
It was entirely possible.
Of course, Hollywood still felt like a distant world.
Somewhere he had only ever heard about.
But fluent English was an essential skill for Korean actors who wanted to advance into Hollywood.
And not just actors.
English was useful in countless ways.
Kang Woojin's smile grew wider as he imagined the golden future unfolding before him.
Then he suddenly paused.
"Ah."
You have to be able to read scripts too, right?
Woojin was confident he could read them without any problem, but just in case, he opened his laptop.
He searched for an English-language newspaper.
It wasn't difficult to find one online.
And the result was exactly what he expected.
"Perfect."
Reading was no problem at all.
He read as easily as if it were Korean.
For Woojin, who had lived his entire life relying on interpreters whenever English was required, it was an unbelievable experience.
At that moment, his thoughts expanded even further.
If he had the void space—
"I could speak not only English, but the languages of other countries as well."
Any country's language.
Of course, he would still need written material in that language to bring into the void space.
But now that seemed trivial.
"Hm… after English, what language should I learn next?"
Right then—
Bzzzzzz.
The phone lying nearby vibrated for a long time.
Thanks to that interruption, Kang Woojin checked the caller with a faint smile.
It was Song Manwoo PD.
Although Woojin felt excited, he deliberately tried to hide it.
If he answered the phone too enthusiastically, he might accidentally sound arrogant.
So before answering, he took a small breath.
"Yes, PD."
It worked.
A cool voice came out of his mouth.
Soon, Song Manwoo PD's slightly excited voice came through the phone.
"Woojin, the first filming date has been confirmed."
"It's next Wednesday—the 25th."
Two days later.
The morning of the 20th.
Box Movie, a film production company located in Nonhyeon-dong.
The elevator doors on the seventh floor opened.
Director Woo Hyungoo stepped out first, his wrinkled face framed by thick gray eyebrows.
Behind him followed Team Leader Choi Dumin, a short man who looked visibly nervous.
The situation was rather interesting.
"So that unknown guy passed the audition?"
"I'm sorry, Director."
"What is this? What are we supposed to do now?"
"I'm truly sorry."
Team Leader Choi looked like a criminal begging forgiveness.
And it made sense.
He had just delivered the news that Kang Woojin—the unknown actor he had strongly recommended—had rejected the audition.
Meanwhile—
Director Woo's expression was cold.
His eyes were even colder.
In other words—
He was furious.
As Director Woo glared at Team Leader Choi as if sentencing him to death, he grumbled while walking down the hallway.
"See? What did I say? The unknown will always remain unknown."
"Look at this mess. Your reckless decision has tarnished my reputation."
"I'm sorry, Director. I have nothing to say."
"…Why did that nobody refuse the audition?"
"Speak."
"Well… he said his schedule didn't match."
"What schedule?"
"It doesn't align."
Director Woo suddenly stopped walking.
His gray eyebrows shot upward.
"That nobody rejected my film audition because of a scheduling conflict?"
How could an unknown actor even have a schedule?
Even if he did—
Was that really the reason?
Director Woo Hyungoo was furious.
Naturally, Team Leader Choi shrank even further.
"…That's what I was told."
"That bastard is incredibly rude."
"Scheduling conflict?"
"What was that nobody's name again?"
"Kang Woojin from BW Entertainment."
"BW Entertainment? A startup company?"
"The CEO is Choi Sunggeon. You've probably seen him a few times."
"I know him. The man who raised Hong Hyeyeon."
"He has quite a network."
"But Choi Sunggeon is a very cunning man."
"He's good at his job. But this unknown actor Kang Woojin… is a bit problematic."
Director Woo licked his lips irritably.
"So that mysterious guy must be an idiot."
"Didn't I say so?"
"He must think he's something special."
"What should we do now? If this gets out, people will laugh at me."
He was right.
If reporters found out, headlines like:
Director Woo Rejected by Unknown Actor
would inevitably appear.
And among actors, it would quickly become a joke.
Director Woo glanced down the hallway to make sure no one was nearby.
Then he muttered coldly.
"That nobody dared…"
"Kang Woojin, was it?"
"I'll make sure other directors know how rude he is."
"I'll make sure he never sets foot in this industry again."
Team Leader Choi bowed again.
"I'm truly sorry, Director."
Director Woo looked at him coldly.
Then gave a simple order.
"Fine."
"Make sure this never leaks out."
"Handle the articles scheduled for release today."
"And never mention that man in front of me again."
"Understood?"
"Yes, Director."
An hour later.
Box Movie launched massive publicity.
Investment had already been secured.
Nearly a hundred staff members were in place.
The filming set construction had begun.
[Film Talk] Director Woo Hyungoo of Master Begins Production of New Project with Box Movie
Public reaction exploded.
After all—
This was the comeback project of a renowned director.
The article hinted that top stars would likely be cast.
Simply appearing in Director Woo Hyungoo's project could elevate an actor's status dramatically.
It was deliberate publicity.
Top Actors Kwak Hamin and Go Sungyeon Rumored for Director Woo Hyungoo's Next Film
Entertainment media began heating up rapidly.
At the same time—
Inside a YouTube studio.
IssueKingTV.
A major channel with over 900,000 subscribers.
As the name suggested, it covered major social issues.
Sometimes politics.
But mostly—
Entertainment industry scandals.
The channel's owner was a former reporter.
Through IssueKingTV, many scandals had been exposed.
Recently, they had reported a scandal involving a famous actress who had since disappeared from public view.
Inside a small meeting room in the studio—
Two women sat facing each other.
One had short hair and a stern expression.
The other wore a hat and stared down at the table.
Her face looked dark and exhausted.
The short-haired woman—the owner of IssueKingTV—spoke first.
"It's safe here."
"You can speak freely."
The woman in the hat stayed silent.
About ten seconds passed.
Then she finally spoke.
Her lips trembled.
"It happened about a week ago."
"The entire company gathered for dinner."
"Where?"
"A beef restaurant in Cheongdam-dong."
"The place was called Beef Palace."
"Alright. Continue."
"I was part of the directing team."
"I was sitting at the director's table."
"At first we were just eating meat and talking."
"And then?"
"After about an hour people started getting drunk."
"I was tipsy too."
"Then the director sat next to me."
"And?"
"I was really surprised."
"He's extremely famous in the film industry."
"So it was unexpected that he suddenly sat beside me."
The woman in the hat took a deep breath.
"Then…"
"He started touching me."
"At first it looked accidental."
"So others wouldn't notice."
"But gradually…"
"He touched my chest."
"My thigh…"
Her voice stopped.
Tears filled her eyes.
Then she continued.
"He forced me into his car and said he'd drive me home."
"But when we arrived…"
"It was a large motel."
"There were no staff."
"…Continue."
"I ran away the moment I got out of the car."
"I ran like my life depended on it."
"And after that?"
"He kept calling me."
"But I ignored every call."
"The next day…"
"I was kicked out of the directing team."
The short-haired woman nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry to ask this."
"But do you have evidence?"
The woman in the hat nodded slightly.
"I started recording as soon as I got into the car."
The short-haired woman comforted her.
"There's more than one victim."
"That's enough."
Hearing that, the exhausted woman asked quietly—
"…There are others besides me?"
The owner of IssueKingTV nodded.
"Yes."
"…So there were more."
The short-haired woman gently patted her shoulder.
"As you know, that director is extremely famous in the film industry."
"It would be strange if there were only one victim."
"But I've been investigating this case for a long time."
"And now I have enough evidence."
Her voice was filled with confidence.
The woman in the hat lifted her head.
"How many victims are there?"
"About five."
"That director is already known in the industry as a womanizer."
"Yes… I've heard rumors."
"At parties he always has actresses beside him."
"And he touches female staff unnecessarily."
"But because he's a brilliant director…"
"Everyone stays quiet."
"That's right."
"In the film industry, directors are basically apex predators."
The short-haired woman spoke again.
"I understand."
"May I listen to the recording you mentioned?"
"Yes."
The woman in the hat took out her phone.
She played several audio files.
After listening for a few minutes, the short-haired woman asked—
"You were threatened too, weren't you?"
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
"The day after I ran away from the motel…"
"He sent me a message."
"He said no one would believe me anyway."
"And then I was fired."
"I understand the situation."
"Would you be willing to do an interview without showing your face?"
"We'll modify your voice."
"You only need to tell the facts."
"I can do that."
"Thank you."
A moment later, the woman in the hat asked quietly—
"When… will it be released?"
The short-haired woman tapped her phone.
"I saw an article saying he's preparing a large-budget film."
"Yes."
"Investment is secured."
"Actors are being cast."
"Filming schedules are being arranged."
"Set construction has started."
"Then next week."
The short-haired woman lowered her voice.
"The fall of Director Woo Hyungoo."