At around ten in the morning, a familiar van could be seen moving down the road. It was Kang Woojin's vehicle. But while Choi Sunggeon and Woojin's team were inside, Woojin himself was nowhere to be seen.
That was expected.
They were on their way to pick him up. He had gotten off work far too late the night before, so his morning call time had been pushed back a little. Their destination was Woojin's officetel. Even so, his schedule for the day was still packed. It began with a meeting that morning with PD Yoon Byeongseon and the Our Table at Home production team.
There were only four days left before departure for the United States.
After finishing a few interviews, they would head to Buyeo for a late lunch, then continue filming Island of the Missing there.
Right then—
"Ah..."
Sitting in the passenger seat with a tired look on his face, Choi Sunggeon let out a light sigh as he checked his phone. Han Yejung, one of the stylists in the back seat, leaned forward and asked,
"What is it, CEO?"
"Hmm, an article popped up out of nowhere."
"Really? Let me see."
As he answered her, Choi Sunggeon raised his phone. An article filled the screen.
『[Exclusive] Director Ahn Gabok, who had not shown himself publicly, spotted dining with top actor Shim Hanho... Has Shim Hanho been cast as the lead in the legendary director's 100th film? / Photo』
Two major Korean names were there: Director Ahn Gabok and superstar Shim Hanho. There was nothing unusual about the two being photographed together, given how close they were, but the headline the reporter had written immediately caught the eye. Soon the other stylists crowded around Han Yejung to look at the article.
"Wow, no way. Sh-Shim Hanho??!"
"What is this? Is Shim Hanho really joining Leech ??"
"Ah, it looks like the reporter just snapped a photo of them having a meal and slapped on a speculative title."
"Still, the timing is crazy. Director Ahn Gabok already started moving on his 100th project. If Shim Hanho gets cast right after Woojin oppa..."
The stylists buzzed with excitement. Shim Hanho's influence in the acting world was simply that enormous. First Director Ahn Gabok, and now possibly Shim Hanho. Compared to that, Kang Woojin almost looked small.
But Woojin's casting in Leech was still a secret, and while the stylists murmured among themselves, Choi Sunggeon rubbed his chin.
'Actor Shim Hanho? Hm... I didn't see that coming at all. No, should I have? They are close. Right now, this article just looks like gossip. But if it's true...'
Leech was already meaningful in many ways. It was Director Ahn Gabok's 100th film, a project bound to leave a mark on Korean film history, a Cannes submission, and also Kang Woojin's debut on the international film festival stage.
And now Shim Hanho might be joining too?
'That blows the scale wide open.'
Choi Sunggeon turned over every possible scenario in his head. The most important thing was the chemistry between Kang Woojin and Shim Hanho. Shim Hanho was a veteran superstar with thirty years in the field, while Kang Woojin was still a rookie barely one year into his debut. What would the public think of that pairing? What would the industry think? How would their acting mesh?
And then there was the most important question.
'What will Woojin think?'
Woojin always had his own way of doing things and was never easily swayed by others, but Shim Hanho was not a typical top actor. He was in an entirely different league.
'Woojin might feel some pressure.'
Then again, could Director Ahn Gabok really give up Shim Hanho? While Choi Sunggeon turned the matter over in his mind, the van rolling down the road arrived in front of Woojin's officetel.
The vehicle pulled into the underground parking lot as it always did.
As soon as the door opened, Kang Woojin appeared in a cap. Today as well, he looked like indifference made flesh.
"Good morning."
After exchanging greetings with Han Yejung, Jang Soohwan, and the other stylists, Woojin got into the van. As soon as it started moving again, Choi Sunggeon brought up the news.
"Woojin, I sent you an article on KakaoTalk. Check that first."
"Yes, sir."
Woojin replied quietly and checked his phone. He read the article for a moment, but his expression did not change.
But inside—
'Whoa, no way. Is this for real?'
He was shocked. Shim Hanho? That Shim Hanho? He was the kind of superstar every Korean knew. There had been many times in the past when Woojin watched Shim Hanho's films and thought, His acting is seriously incredible.
'Shim Hanho is basically a god-tier actor. And he might be in the same movie as me?!'
The situation abruptly lost its sense of reality again. The pressure mounting on him grew even heavier. Just then, Choi Sunggeon asked,
"Nothing's confirmed yet. But if it's true, what do you think?"
Woojin lifted his head and answered calmly and briefly.
"It doesn't matter to me."
He was crushing down the pressure boiling inside him.
'I don't know, damn it. I'll just think of him as another old guy.'
It was mental control taken to the extreme.
Meanwhile, at the Our Table at Home office—
The team gathered there was swamped.
"PD! Can we take these props with us?!"
"Of course, but take out anything we can buy locally in the U.S. I don't want immigration taking longer than necessary."
"Understood! When we went for the site visit, I saw plenty of Korean markets there."
The writers, the production team, and dozens of staff members were all busy packing. PD Yoon Byeongseon, glasses and all, was no exception. Half his team had already gone ahead to the U.S. The preparations in Korea were being handled by Yoon Byeongseon's side, while the head writers were managing the local setup in America.
"Has the lodging situation in the U.S. been sorted out?"
"Yes! I called, and they said everything's been settled!"
"Check it again, then start contacting the participants. Send them the packing list too."
"Understood!!"
"If things start tangling up with departure procedures on the morning of the fifth, it'll turn into total chaos. And where's Mr. Woojin?"
"He's almost here!"
The reason PD Yoon Byeongseon was meeting Kang Woojin that day was simple. Woojin was the core of Our Table at Home. In other words, the cooking. Without that, the show would be nothing more than an empty can.
"Let's move! We've got a lunch appointment with Mr. Woojin!"
At the same time, in Incheon—
The same kind of frenzy was underway there as well.
Located in Incheon, the massive resort hotel Paradise S City boasted a giant pool, a casino, clubs, and more. Calling it a mere hotel hardly did it justice. It was closer to a full-scale resort.
Inside Plaza, the large hall used for events at Paradise S City, construction was in full swing.
"The stage!! Please check this side of the stage!"
"Hold on a moment!"
"We're testing the lights now! Zone A! Good! Zone B!"
"When is the side screen being installed?!"
"I'll go check!!"
Dozens of facility staff and around ten construction supervisors moved busily about. Despite the large number of people, the space was so vast that it never looked cramped. Then a man wearing a badge around his neck and holding a radio shouted from the front of the stage. Several huge screens hung above his head.
"Let's start with the logo! Put up the prepared logo first!!"
A moment later, one of the dark screens overhead lit up and began playing a video. Black and gold swirled together, and beneath them appeared a trophy and a title.
-[41st Blue Dragon Film Awards, 2020]
That was all.
Paradise S City was this year's venue for the Blue Dragon Film Awards. The ceremony was only a few weeks away.
"Good!! Next, the promo video! Move, move!!"
There was less than a month left before 2020 ended.
Later that afternoon—
Around the same time news about Beneficial Evil was steadily becoming a hot topic, the conference room at DM Production, where PD Song Manwoo served as CEO, was packed so tightly there was barely room to breathe. Since the company had been established, it was the first time the room had ever been so full.
People filled the U-shaped table.
Some faces were familiar, others were not. Among them, the most recognizable figure was seated near the entrance in the place that naturally drew the eye. It was PD Song Manwoo, the heavyweight of the drama world. Surrounded by dozens of people on both sides, he soon slipped off his light padded jumper and declared to the room,
"Shall we begin?"
If Song Manwoo was leading the meeting, then what else could it be?
It was the production meeting for writer Choi Nana's new drama, Beneficial Evil. Since it was the first full working meeting, the attendees were the key staff for Beneficial Evil along with Song Manwoo's own production people. That was why some familiar faces stood out. More than a few had worked with him before on Profiler Hanryang.
Song Manwoo stroked his beard, let out a light sigh, and broke the awkward atmosphere.
"Shall we start with casting?"
The core staff all picked up the tablets in front of them. Then the square-jawed man seated beside Song Manwoo spoke up. He was the casting director.
"Before we begin, PD, has there been any progress with casting Kang Woojin?"
The moment Woojin's name came up, all the key staff turned to look at Song Manwoo. He scratched his chin and gestured for them to wait.
"I sent him the script, and I heard he found it interesting. I think we can take that positively."
A low wave of wow rippled through the room, but Song Manwoo immediately poured cold water on it.
"But I haven't received a definite answer yet. Let's wait a little longer. He reads quickly, so he'll make a decision soon."
The casting director slowly nodded.
"Understood. But as you know, with Beneficial Evil*, we need to lock down the male lead first. The rest of the casting can move after that."*
"I know."
Right then, a heavyset cinematographer cut in. He had also worked on Profiler Hanryang.
"Wow, Kang Woojin really is something else. He was an ordinary office worker the other day, and now he's already in line to lead a Song PD production? He's only been in the business for a year."
The art director from Profiler Hanryang joined the conversation as well.
"What's Woojin's market value these days?"
The answer came quickly from the casting side.
"Going by market evaluation, it's usually estimated around 600 million won, but it could rise further. Did you see what happened with Frozen Love*? The overall ratings were 12 percent, but do you know how sharply they shifted whenever Kang Woojin appeared?"*
"The peak was around 19 percent, right?"
"Exactly. Kang Woojin is now firmly established as an actor with proven box-office and ratings power. On top of that, every project he's participated in so far has been with major production companies."
Arms folded, Song Manwoo began calculating how fast Kang Woojin's price was rising.
'Over six hundred? Maybe seven?'
The casting director glanced down at his tablet and changed the subject.
"What you're looking at now is Plan A, assuming Kang Woojin joins the project. The one beside it is Plan B, in case he doesn't."
"If possible, it'd be better to go with Woojin."
"Right. More than half the people here worked with him on Profiler Hanryang*. The chemistry is already there."*
That was when it happened.
"But what about you, Song PD?"
A broad-shouldered man seated near the center called out to Song Manwoo. He was the action director.
"Will Kang Woojin's action skills be okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Beneficial Evil already has a lot of action scenes. I'm drawing up the action storyboard based on the script right now, and from what I can see, it'll take at least three months of training. Can Woojin handle that? I heard his schedule is already insane."
"Ah... hm."
"As you know, action training isn't something you can squeeze in for a few weeks here and there. You need a solid three months at minimum. Considering how busy he is, can he really manage that?"
Song Manwoo and the other key staff quickly grasped the issue. Song Manwoo answered,
"Would three months be enough?"
"That's the bare minimum. The absolute bare minimum. He wouldn't need to train all day, of course, but it would still take at least four hours a day. And as far as I know, Woojin hasn't done an action-heavy project yet."
"That's true. This is the first time the issue's come up this directly."
"His acting is incredible, but action is a different field altogether. We should check. There are actors who can act brilliantly but are weak at action. Like Jang Jeonghwan from Frozen Love*."*
"Ah, isn't Jang Jeonghwan one of the reasons that movie underperformed? His action was weak."
"We definitely need to confirm this with Woojin's side."
The concern deepened, but Song Manwoo's face remained firm.
"Even if Woojin is a little weak at action, that's fine. He can make up for it with his acting."
Morning of December 2nd.
Inside Kang Woojin's van, the vehicle sped busily through the roads of Seoul. Naturally, Woojin and his team were inside. At the moment, Woojin sat in silence with his cap pulled low, on the way to a shop in Cheongdam-dong. His first schedule of the day was filming new cooking content for Kang Woojin's Alter Ego, and there would be a guest as well.
That guest was Hwarin.
Even so—
Woojin, still in his cap, was quietly reading something.
It was the script for Beneficial Evil, the one Song Manwoo had handed him the week before. He had already finished episode 1 and was now reading episode 2.
And he seemed almost done with that as well.
Exactly ten minutes later, when the van came to a stop in traffic, Kang Woojin closed the script. His face still wore its usual cold indifference, but inwardly he was deeply satisfied.
'This is crazy. Seriously, Choi Nana really wrote this?'
Soon Woojin checked the situation outside the window, then his own condition. It looked like there was still some time before they started moving again, and he still had energy to spare.
'Should I take a quick look?'
Muttering to himself inwardly, Woojin discreetly pressed the black square beside the words Beneficial Evil. His vision changed in an instant. Soon he had stepped into the familiar pitch-black void, stretching his body as he let go of the tension that usually kept his everyday expression locked in place.
Then he walked toward the white rectangles floating before him.
"I'll just check episode one of Beneficial Evil and head back."
Woojin moved his hand.
-[9/Script (Title: Beneficial Evil), S+ Grade]
-(Episode 1)/(Episode 2)
-[*The completion level of this drama script is extremely high. Reading is available at 100 percent.]
Of course, he chose Beneficial Evil. The words in front of him changed.
-[You have selected Script (Title: Beneficial Evil).]
-[List of readable characters (experience).]
Without hesitation, Woojin selected the name of the first male lead.
And after a brief silence—
["..."]
The familiar robotic female voice rang through the empty space.
["An ability exceeding the basic specifications has been detected. Please acquire 'martial arts' first."]
The corners of Woojin's mouth lifted slightly. It was a deep smile, one that never appeared on his face in ordinary life.
"Ah, 'martial arts'?"