Kang Woojin stepped out of the makeup room inside the massive Island of the Missing set, dressed in his military uniform with a long padded coat thrown over it. It was a familiar look by now whenever he filmed for Island of the Missing, but there was one noticeable difference in the uniform today.
It was stained with blood and torn in several places.
That alone showed how far filming had progressed. Before leaving the building, Woojin carefully stretched his body.
'Ah, let's go.'
He had to leave behind the dreamlike haze of Hollywood and Miley Kara and return to reality. His schedule was now packed entirely with acting, his actual profession. Before heading to set, Kang Woojin checked his expression one more time and made sure it had settled back into its usual blankness.
Soon the filming location came into view. Reflectors and lights had been set up, several cameras were in place, and boom mics and all kinds of equipment were scattered around. Director Kwon Gitaek stood surrounded by dozens of staff members, watching the monitor intently.
The gunfight scene had already started.
"One, two—cue."
After scanning the set for a moment, Woojin felt oddly as if he had come home.
'Honestly, I feel the most comfortable on set. Huh? Since when did I start feeling comfortable on set?'
It was strange. In the past, just stepping onto a filming location had been enough to make him tense. Now he did not feel that at all. Had his surroundings changed that drastically? Just as Woojin was about to brush the thought away, someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
When he turned, he saw the assistant director smiling at him.
"Mr. Woojin, we just started shooting the current scene. If you wait in the holding tent, we'll call you when it's your turn."
"Ah, understood."
After answering, Woojin headed through the tightly packed set buildings toward the large tent set up at the three-way intersection. He stepped inside the biggest one among the many tent booths.
The tent, which served as both a waiting room and a resting area for the actors, had desks and chairs inside, with outdoor heaters running here and there. As soon as Woojin entered, several staff members, along with Jeon Woochang and Ha Yura, greeted him. Ryu Jungmin and the other actors were still filming.
A moment later, the muscular Jeon Woochang waved him over.
"Mr. Woojin! Over here!"
He had a thick short padded jacket over his military uniform, while Ha Yura was wrapped in a beige long coat. Woojin walked over to where they were sitting with coffee and gave a light bow.
"Thank you for your consideration."
Jeon Woochang responded immediately.
"Huh?? For what?"
Ha Yura, with her elegant image, also tilted her head in confusion.
"Do you mean you think simply calling you over counts as consideration?"
As he pulled out a chair and sat down, Woojin replied in a low voice.
"I'm sorry if my temporary absence from the schedule caused inconvenience for the other actors. I think it affected both the filming schedule and the acting flow."
That was not wrong. In Island of the Missing, Woojin was not just some minor supporting actor. He was one of the central figures. Lance Corporal Jin Seoncheol, the character he played, shared many scenes with the other cast, and at the beginning, most of them were group scenes. While Woojin had been forced to step away for a while, the others had to shoot scenes that did not include him.
That meant the production had to bring forward scenes featuring only the other characters because Woojin was not there.
Normally, filming was never done in script order, and actors were already used to shooting scenes out of sequence. But filming without Woojin and then having to readjust the emotional flow once he returned was not easy. Even if they were shooting scenes after his character's death, for example, they still had to act as if his presence were vividly alive in the story.
That was why Woojin was thanking the actors.
Of course, this had all been discussed at the start of the Island of the Missing project, and everyone already knew about it, but Woojin, the youngest and newest actor among them, still felt the need to show his respect again to his seniors. Naturally, the one who had taught him to think that way was Choi Sunggeon.
In any case, Jeon Woochang burst into laughter as if it were no big deal at all.
"Hahaha! I thought it was something serious! It's fine, it's just work. Besides, it's not like things made huge progress without you anyway."
Ha Yura, laughing softly, joined in.
"Yes, don't worry about it. Honestly, after you left, all kinds of issues blew up and Island of the Missing ended up getting a massive publicity boost. That alone was enough."
"Exactly! Drug Dealer was rated R, and it still hit 7.85 million viewers! And after that, people kept bringing up Island of the Missing. Even Jungmin hyung was saying, 'So I don't get anything out of this?'"
"Woochang, you really are noisy, aren't you?"
"Ah! Noona, I'm just average. The special one is Mr. Woojin."
Apparently tired of the conversation going in circles, Ha Yura took out her hair tie and suddenly asked Woojin a question.
"Which year-end award ceremonies are you planning to attend?"
"The Blue Dragon Film Awards, the Grand Bell Awards, and the SBC and KBC Drama Awards."
"Wow, four events. What about you, Woochang?"
"I'm skipping the Grand Bell this time. I'm only going to the acting awards at MBS. What about you, noona?"
"Just the Blue Dragon and the Grand Bell. I don't need the drama awards."
"Ah, right. Since last year, you've been too busy going back and forth to Hollywood to do dramas, haven't you?"
"Do you want to die?"
Jeon Woochang dodged Ha Yura's threat and pointed a finger at Kang Woojin.
"Why? It's true, isn't it? At this rate, Mr. Woojin might make it to Hollywood before you do. Who knows? Maybe Hollywood's already contacted him."
"Really??"
Kang Woojin flinched inwardly.
'Jeon Woochang… this guy's instincts are disturbingly sharp.'
But because he already had his stance firmly set, he answered with outward humility.
"That's not true."
"Hahaha, maybe not right now, but I've got a feeling we'll see you in Hollywood soon enough."
"...Woochang, you do know you're an actor too, right?"
"Ah, I already gave up on Hollywood. My English isn't good enough for that. But Mr. Woojin, are you really attending four award ceremonies at the end of the year? That's a first, isn't it?"
"It's rare enough for someone to even attend an award ceremony in their debut year. Getting nominated within the first year is even rarer."
Soon, smiling brightly, Jeon Woochang leaned toward Kang Woojin.
"Are we about to witness a scenario where you sweep up five trophies or more in your first year?"
Ha Yura let out a sigh.
"Woochang, how about you work on your acting instead?"
"I know, I know. But this year was a total bust for me. So I'll just live vicariously through Mr. Woojin instead."
"Haah..."
As soon as Ha Yura's eyes met Woojin's, her sigh deepened.
"Still, Mr. Woojin, have you prepared everything?"
Prepared what? Caught off guard for a second, Woojin kept up a dry silence. Jeon Woochang answered instead.
"What does he need to prepare?"
"What else? A tuxedo, for one."
Ha Yura cut in again.
"And an acceptance speech."
An acceptance speech? While Woojin was turning that over in his head, the assistant director rushed into the tent and shouted,
"Mr. Kang Woojin, standby!!!"
Whether he was fully ready or not, Kang Woojin rose as Lance Corporal Jin Seoncheol exactly as he was.
At the same time, elsewhere.
Inside the spacious conference room of the newly established DM Productions, PD Song Manwoo wore an unusually serious expression. Of course, seated beside him were the production manager of Beneficial Evil and the key staff.
"..."
"..."
Everyone's faces were stiff. All of them were staring intently at Choi Sunggeon, who sat alone across from them in a black coat.
"Hm."
But Choi Sunggeon had not come today as Kang Woojin's manager. He was here as the CEO of BW Entertainment. The reason was simple.
He was currently reviewing the official contract that the Beneficial Evil team had proposed. Naturally, this meeting had not just begun. It had already been going on for about an hour. After scanning through the contract, Choi Sunggeon looked up at PD Song Manwoo and asked,
"PD Song, what's the total production budget for Beneficial Evil?"
Song Manwoo's blank-faced response came quickly.
"It'll probably come to around 20 billion won."
"I see."
Choi Sunggeon nodded slowly and muttered inwardly,
'He says 20 billion, but it's probably closer to 30. Production teams always tend to report the initial investment lower than what it really is.'
These days, even the average Korean drama started at around 10 billion won once you included all the technical costs. If top actors were involved and there was overseas shooting, the production budget could easily exceed 20 billion won.
Beneficial Evil was also scheduled to film overseas. And it was twelve episodes, not sixteen. Even so, a production budget of 30 billion won was enormous.
This was a project directed by PD Song Manwoo, the very man who had scored a huge hit with Profiler Hanryang.
'And our Woojin is the lead in a project of this scale.'
Kang Woojin, who had once been nothing more than "Assistant Manager Park," had now become the one and only male lead. Satisfied, Choi Sunggeon reached out a hand to PD Song Manwoo as Kang Woojin's representative.
"I'm looking forward to working with you, PD Song."
"Ah, yes?"
"Yes. Let's finalize the contract."
As Choi Sunggeon stood up, one of the clauses in the contract caught his eye again.
It was Kang Woojin's pay.
80 million won per episode.
Across all twelve episodes, it came to nearly 1 billion won.
Two days later, on the 23rd, at a hotel near Buyeo.
It was just past 9:00 in the morning. Kang Woojin was at the luxury hotel where the Island of the Missing production staff were staying.
"Ah! Wow, I slept really well."
He stretched as he came out of the bathroom. His hair was damp, so he seemed to have just showered. Judging by the ease in his movements, he had probably been awake for a while already. Since he was alone in the room, his usual mask had slipped off. Woojin picked up the hair dryer, started drying his hair, and checked his phone.
As always, there were countless messages waiting for him.
Among them, he checked Choi Sunggeon's first. Choi was currently in Seoul, and the message included today's schedule changes along with several news articles. Woojin's schedule for the day was relatively simple, but it was still packed.
First, he had to film Island of the Missing in the morning.
He had to catch up as much as possible on the delayed filming caused by his earlier absence. Then, around the afternoon, he would return to Seoul and head straight to BW Entertainment for several checkups and meetings.
There was also a very, very important event today.
After getting his styling checked at the fitting studio, he had to go to the salon he had booked and change clothes there. All of that needed to be finished before 7:00 p.m.
The reason was obvious from the articles Choi Sunggeon had sent.
『[Official] The Blue Dragon Film Awards take place today (23rd)... crowds already gathering outside the venue』
『Dozens of reporters and fans have been camped out since morning around the Blue Dragon Film Awards red carpet / Photo』
Today was the day of the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
Tonight, Woojin would be attending the biggest film award ceremony in Korea for the first time in his life. Since his chances of winning were high, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime moment in his career.
"Wow, this is seriously insane."
The heart that had gone wild with nerves the night before started pounding hard again. Trying to calm himself, Woojin checked the rest of his messages.
Then—
"Huh?"
He paused at one particular message. It was from Hwarin. It simply said: If you see this, call me.
Curious, Woojin cleared his throat and called her.
The ringing did not last long.
"Ah, thank goodness."
Hwarin's slightly excited voice came through the phone.
"I was worried I wouldn't be able to reach you."
"What's going on?"
"No, nothing's wrong... Woojin, where are you right now?"
"I'm in Buyeo at the moment."
"Why are you still there? Aren't you getting ready for Blue Dragon?"
"I'll go to Seoul after filming ends this morning."
"Ah, I see."
After a brief pause, she asked again,
"Then once you get to Seoul, could you meet me for a moment?"
Woojin replied in a calm voice, though his expression showed faint confusion.
"I don't think I'll have much time to spare. I have to stop by the agency, then the fitting studio, and finally the salon."
"It's my day off, so could I maybe stop by the fitting studio or the salon for a bit?"
"Why?"
"Well... I had something I wanted to give you before Blue Dragon."
"What is it?"
"A small gift. As a thank-you, and also as repayment for what happened before."
She was obviously talking about the incident with the attacker holding the awl. In any case, Woojin tilted his head slightly and asked,
"A gift?"
Hwarin answered calmly over the phone.
"Yes. A gift. It's a watch."
At that moment, Hwarin was sitting on her living room sofa. She was still in her pajamas, as if she had just woken up, and her long hair was slightly disheveled. Naturally, she was bare-faced, and the mole under her eye stood out clearly. Interestingly, even though her voice sounded calm, tension was written all over her face.
"Would that be okay?"
A moment later, Kang Woojin's answer came through the phone.
"That's fine. Do whatever is comfortable for you."
Hwarin suddenly smiled and answered as calmly as she could.
"Ah, then just let me know the time. I'll adjust my schedule and come see you."
"All right."
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit."
The moment the call ended and she lowered her phone, Hwarin suddenly leaped to her feet.
"Done!"
To be clear, Hwarin was not attending the Blue Dragon Film Awards today. She might go to another broadcasting station's ceremony later, but today was her day off. The smile on her face slowly faded as she turned her head.
Toward the center of the living room table.
There was a very luxurious-looking paper bag sitting there. Inside it was the watch case she planned to give Woojin. Both the paper bag and the case were green.
Staring at it intently, Hwarin muttered to herself,
"Maybe calling it small was a mistake."
A beat later, she covered her face with both hands and regretted the words immediately. But for Hwarin, missing the sight of her favorite actor attending his first film awards ceremony and walking the red carpet felt almost like a crime.
She could not make too much of a fuss over it.
So she had chosen a watch as the gift. One that would suit a tuxedo perfectly. In fact, for the past few days, choosing that watch had mattered more to her than anything else. She was satisfied with the one she bought.
Now all that was left was to give it to Kang Woojin.
"Ah, am I overdoing it? No, it's fine. This much is reasonable as a thank-you, right? Yeah. It'll look so good with Woojin's tuxedo... I'm definitely taking lots of pictures."
But for some reason, Hwarin looked down at the watch and let out a short sigh.
It was because of the price.
"What if Woojin feels burdened by it? Ah, I shouldn't have called it something small."
Calling something worth over 30 million won "small" made no sense at all.