"...He subdued a thug?"
The man with the round belly, who looked like Santa Claus, took off his sunglasses as if he could not quite believe what he had just heard. Across from him, the foreign woman with short brown hair answered calmly in English, her tone flat and unbothered.
"Yes. It wasn't staged. It was a real incident."
"And there's a video of it on YouTube?"
"There is."
The man who had been lying back on the beach bench slowly sat up. Then he remembered the Korean actor the woman had mentioned, Kang Woojin. It had already been more than half a year ago. He had seen The Private Investigator at a well-known Korean short film festival.
'When you looked at the festival as a whole, that actor really was the standout, wasn't he?'
The Santa-like man had taken an interest in the rookie actor Kang Woojin. Woojin had beaten out countless other actors at the Mise-en-scène Film Festival and won the grand prize. Technically it had been a rookie acting award, but to him, Kang Woojin had been the most memorable actor there.
'His acting... it was breathtaking. Especially his facial expressions in the basement scene.'
It had been quite a while ago, but Kang Woojin's performance was still vivid in the man's memory. That was why, after returning to Hollywood, he had mentioned Kang Woojin to the casting director in charge of his project and suggested that she keep an eye on the promising Korean actor.
But that was as far as it had gone.
The world was big, and there were too many actors in it. There were even more rookies like Kang Woojin. So the Santa-like man had forgotten about him, and now the female casting director, who handled actor management, was reminding him of Kang Woojin all over again.
Then—
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The woman in the suit, the casting director, handed her phone to the man with the bulging stomach. A paused YouTube video was displayed on the screen, and the Santa-like man pressed play with his index finger.
The video was around two minutes long.
It was familiar dashcam footage.
The scene showed Kang Woojin effortlessly subduing a man who had been attacking a woman with an awl. Even to an ordinary person, it would have looked almost miraculous. So how did it look to the Santa-like man, who had already taken an interest in Kang Woojin?
He replayed the video several times, his eyes widening more and more each time. By the time he had watched it four times, he finally let out a small exclamation.
"Hah. That's a very interesting video."
The short-haired woman smiled.
"Isn't it?"
"So you're saying this wasn't staged. It was real?"
"That's right. It turned out to be an actual incident, and it was even covered by the Korean news. Mr. Kang Woojin saved a Korean actress, and because of that, it's become a fairly big issue in Korea right now."
"If it was this major, it'd create a lot of buzz in Hollywood too."
Just then—
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Two foreign women in bikinis passed by them. One of them, slightly chubby, glanced at the man sitting on the beach bench and whispered,
"Isn't that George Mendes?"
"Huh? Who?"
"Come on. Don't you know him? He's famous as both an actor and a director."
"Ah, now I know who you mean."
A moment later, the two women offered the Santa-like man a warm greeting with bright smiles.
"Hello."
When they waved, the Santa-like man smiled back as though he was used to it.
"Nice to meet you. Want to have lunch with me later?"
"No?"
The Santa-like man was rejected instantly. As he stared at the women walking away, he tried to deny reality.
"Haha. They were probably just flustered."
The woman in the suit, the casting director, shook her head.
"They weren't embarrassed, Director. They just weren't interested."
"Really? Is that so."
Contrary to his appearance, the man who looked like Santa Claus was actually Director George Mendes, a fairly well-known director in Hollywood. He had first made a name for himself as an actor, then suddenly shifted into directing after appearing in several successful projects.
Of course, the beginning had not been smooth.
After several projects ended in failure, Director George Mendes finally found some success with one particular film. That became the starting point for his next work, Last Kill.
It had been a massive hit.
After the success of Last Kill, the sequel Last Kill 2 also became a box office success, and George Mendes succeeded in making a real name for himself in Hollywood. He was currently preparing the next sequel in the series, Last Kill 3. As the title suggested, the Last Kill series was packed with action.
A retired killer wiping out an entire assassin organization for some reason.
The series focused less on story and more on action, with its strengths lying in fresh progression and flashy combat choreography. Because of that, martial arts skill was essential, and they badly needed actors who could handle it. For Last Kill 3, they were even planning to expand the universe, which meant bringing in Asian actors as well.
And while they were actively searching for Asian actors skilled in martial arts, Kang Woojin's name came up again.
Of course, the role they were considering was not a major one. It was supporting at best, maybe even a minor role. But it still had dialogue, and more importantly, it included action scenes with the lead, so it was not exactly insignificant.
Anyway, as the women walked away, Director George turned his gaze from them back to the phone in his hand.
"Hmm."
His expression suddenly turned serious. Then he studied Kang Woojin's movements on the screen.
"He's trained. And for quite a long time, too."
The short-haired woman agreed.
"I think so too. Movements like that don't happen by accident."
"The moment where he twists the attacker's hand in particular is remarkable. The motion is so clean that it means he wasn't tense at all. It's not easy to do something like that, not in real life and not even on set. Don't you find his nerve impressive?"
Director George, absentmindedly rubbing his full cheek, muttered to himself before lifting his head to meet the casting director's eyes.
"We have that screen test in a few days, right?"
"Yes. You're meeting the Chinese actors that day."
"What do you think about bringing Kang Woojin in too?"
The screen test Director George referred to was a test carried out almost exactly like a real shoot. It was very different from an ordinary audition. The point was to see how the actor would actually look on camera. Some screen tests were simple, but many were staged to resemble a real production as closely as possible. A scene from a pre-selected script would be tested with the environment, scene partner, dialogue, and direction all taken into account.
In Hollywood, it was practically a required process.
It was basically like a real shoot. The only difference was that the word "test" was attached to it. Not only the director but often a large number of staff would attend as well. And now Kang Woojin's name had come up as a possible participant in that kind of important test.
"Ah, would asking him to do a screen test in just a few days be too sudden?"
Director George asked with his arms crossed, but for some reason the casting director shook her head.
"No, I think it's a good idea. Mr. Kang Woojin is in LA right now, not Korea."
"Oh, really? Why?"
"I think he came to film a TV program."
"I see."
Director George answered shortly, then added,
"Then call him that day."
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A few hours later, around late lunchtime, at Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles.
It was a famous beach located just below LAX. Even though it was close to lunchtime, plenty of foreigners were still relaxing along Hermosa Beach, probably because of its reputation. Near the beach, one sign in Korean stood out.
Our Table
It was not a particularly large restaurant, but it stood out anyway. It was a Korean restaurant. There was already a long line of foreigners in front of it.
That was right.
This was the place the Our Table team would be running. It was quite far from North Hollywood, where they had been operating the food truck, and they had already moved accommodations as well.
It was already their third day in business.
Naturally, the place was packed with customers. The reputation they had built during their food truck days, along with the word of mouth calling it a must-try spot, had already spread everywhere. On top of that, social media and the influence of Korean wave culture had played a part.
In any case, Our Table was crowded in the truest sense of the word. Dozens of customers were lined up outside, and the inside of the restaurant was full of foreigners.
It had to be several times busier than when they were operating the food truck.
And because of that, Kang Woojin was stuck in the kitchen.
"More bulgogi, spicy pork, and laver flakes, please!"
"Got it!"
"Ah! Make the spicy pork less spicy, please!"
He had long since forgotten about concepts or anything else. At this point, he was just a machine that made food. His colleagues, like Hong Hyeyeon and Yeon Baekgwang, were equally busy, too swamped to even laugh. Ahn Jonghak, Hwarin, and Ha Gangsu ran back and forth through the dining area, taking orders, serving food, and clearing tables. Even in the middle of that, they still had to answer questions.
"Where can we watch this TV show? On Netflix or something?"
"No, it's not on Netflix."
The lives of top actors in Korea were always exhausting. But right now, the only people smiling were PD Yoon Byeongseon and the production crew filming Our Table. And even they were not exactly taking it easy. They were busy from morning to night with customer interviews, shots of nearby attractions, promotional work, and everything else.
Only the staff outside the cast managers were a little less busy.
Once the cast started filming, there was not much for them to do, and as a result, some of them ended up spending time around nearby Hermosa Beach.
But Choi Sunggeon was the exception.
-♬♪
His phone kept ringing without pause. Of course, more than seventy percent of it had to do with Kang Woojin. Choi Sunggeon had taken a seat at a café with an outdoor terrace near the Our Table restaurant and continued answering calls one after another.
"Ah, yes, Director. Haha. It's been a while. Yes, yes. Woojin's schedule for early next year? Hmm... I'll check and get back to you."
About an hour passed like that.
Finally, when his phone fell quiet for a moment, Choi Sunggeon set it down and stretched deeply.
"Ugh! I'm dying."
But then—
-♬♪
His phone rang again. Choi Sunggeon took a sip of coffee and let out a long sigh.
"Ah, I really can't ignore this."
After muttering to himself for a moment, he checked the caller. It was BW Entertainment. A second later, Choi Sunggeon answered casually.
"Yes— Hm? Ah. What?!"
As he tried to continue speaking, his pupils suddenly widened.
"So, so you're saying they said that themselves? Ah... all right. Then I'll hang up now."
Choi Sunggeon lowered his phone and stared into space as if he had been hit by a spell.
'Miley Cara?'
It was the kind of news that deserved exactly that reaction.
'Cara wants to collaborate with Kang Woojin's Alter Ego?'
Apparently global star Miley Cara, who was currently in Korea, wanted to appear on Kang Woojin's Alter Ego. And on top of that, the suggestion had come from her side first. Choi Sunggeon had known that Miley Cara was visiting Korea, but he had never expected something like this.
"Could it be that she saw the video uploaded to Kang Woojin's Alter Ego?"
He thought back to the cover of Cara's song that had appeared on Kang Woojin's Alter Ego. At this point, it was no longer unusual for Hollywood stars to appear on Korean YouTube channels. It was not just Cara. Several Hollywood stars had already done it.
Cara's condition was simple.
They wanted Kang Woojin's Alter Ego to pitch content ideas that would include promoting Cara's new film. Her schedule in Korea lasted until the 18th, and filming had to be completed within that window.
Everything was possible.
Choi Sunggeon immediately started calculating.
"But there's no need for us to go out of our way to accommodate them. We should make full use of Kang Woojin's Alter Ego. A duet with Woojin, conversation, cooking, maybe even avatar cooking... why not roll it out as a full gift package?"
Then Choi Sunggeon pictured Miley Cara's face.
'If we bring Miley Cara in as a guest... just how big would the ripple effect be?'
Well, it was Miley Cara, after all. The Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel was already pulling in millions of views, and with Miley Cara joining, that influence would multiply several times over.
More than anything else—
'I'm really curious about this matchup.'
Choi Sunggeon wanted to know what the chemistry between Kang Woojin and Cara would be like. How would Kang Woojin act in front of a Hollywood superstar?
But soon enough, he came to a conclusion.
"Haha. It probably won't be that different."
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The next morning.
The sun was rising over LA.
At that moment, Choi Sunggeon, his hair hanging loose, stepped out of the boarding house not far from the Our Table cast accommodations.
"Ugh."
He yawned deeply. In one hand, he held a steaming cup of coffee. His tied-back hair had come loose, making it look almost like a bob cut. He sat down at the small table in the front yard.
Then—
──────────
Even while taking a sip of coffee, he checked his phone. Because of the time difference, it was overflowing with text messages, KakaoTalk notifications, and missed calls.
Among them, the first thing Choi Sunggeon checked was the article a BW Entertainment staff member had sent him.
『[Exclusive] Global superstar Miley Cara confirmed as guest on Kang Woojin's Alter Ego!』
Fortunately, the issue of casting Miley Cara had gone through without any major problems. The finer details, like the exact content and filming schedule, were still under discussion, but her appearance itself had been confirmed. Korean media had probably already started reporting on it too.
"The atmosphere's good."
Smiling with satisfaction, Choi Sunggeon reached up to tie back his loosened hair.
-♬♪
His phone rang on the table. It was an unknown number. But it looked like an LA number, not a Korean one. He tilted his head in confusion and answered.
A calm female voice came through the receiver.
In English.
"This is Winner Movie Pictures. Am I speaking to the CEO of BW Entertainment?"
Choi Sunggeon frowned instantly.
"Winner Movie Pictures? The film studio?"
It was a name that carried weight even in Hollywood.
Winner Movie Pictures was not unfamiliar to Choi Sunggeon. Among the countless film studios and production companies scattered across Hollywood, Winner Movie Pictures was considered a solid mid-sized company. Recently, it had even expanded into television content as well.
But film production was still its main focus.
While holding the phone to his ear, a movie title suddenly came to mind.
'If we're talking about one of their recent successes, that would be Last Kill 2.'
Of course, they had hits before that as well, but among their recent works, the Last Kill series stood out the most. In any case, establishing yourself as a respected mid-sized studio in Hollywood, where giant production companies were everywhere, was no easy feat.
Why would a place like that be calling me?
In somewhat awkward English, Choi Sunggeon answered the woman on the other end.
"Yes, I'm the CEO of BW Entertainment. May I ask the purpose of your call?"
The calm woman responded immediately.
"We'd like to meet with Mr. Kang Woojin, the actor under your agency."