Translator: Dreamscribe
Kang Woojin, who had groggily risen, let out a hollow laugh. Was this what they called passing out? Just hours ago at dawn, he thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all, but surprisingly, the time now had passed 9 AM.
‘This is a strange feeling.’
Kang Woojin, having shed his concept, felt an odd mix of emotions. Calm yet anxious? He wanted to lie still, but his heart was starting to beat faster.
Whatever it was.
-Swoosh.
He had to get up and start moving. Woojin slid out of bed, wearing comfortable clothes with his hair a mess. But for some reason, the first thing he grabbed was one of the scripts for ‘Beneficial Evil’ piled on the table.
“For now, first let’s go the Void Space.”
It was in preparation for taking a rest in advance. The grace of the Void Space. Didn’t he have to head into the battlefield in the afternoon? Today especially, he needed to replenish his stamina several times over.
How much time had passed?
When Kang Woojin emerged from the void space into reality, he quietly stared at the white-toned tuxedo hanging on the wall. It was, in a way, his battle suit for the day.
Just as Woojin picked up the tuxedo,
-Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on his room door. It took only a moment for Woojin to pull on his concept again. Kang Woojin’s expression turned cynical in an instant as he opened the door. There stood Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail, smiling and giving a thumbs-up.
“Let’s eat, Woojin. Koreans run on rice power, right?”
“Yes, CEO-nim.”
Kang Woojin strongly agreed, though inwardly.
And so, a few hours later.
The time in Cannes, France, soaked in a festival atmosphere, had reached the late afternoon. Specifically, 5 p.m. At this hour, around the massive main venue of the Cannes Film Festival, the ‘Palais des Festivals’, there was a crowd beyond description.
The red carpet was laid out once again.
Just like at the opening ceremony, the red carpet was rolled out from the entrance to the far end, stretching wide on either side, flanked by thousands of reporters. Dressed in tuxedos, they were packed in even more densely than at the opening.
Camera equipment stood out noticeably.
Alongside small cranes, drones were flying through the sky. There were thousands of cameras of various sizes. Vans with broadcasting station logos and broadcasting teams from various countries were lined up, and the spectators surrounding the ‘Palais des Festivals’ easily numbered in the tens of thousands. On the nearby beach, a large screen had been set up, also gathering tens of thousands of people.
The procession had already started.
-Pabababababak!
-Pababababababababak!
Top actors, directors, and other stars from various countries were making their way towards the Cannes Film Festival’s closing and awards ceremony, and thousands of reporters in tuxedos clicked their shutters every second. Dozens of broadcasting teams were providing live coverage on-site as well.
Familiar faces passed by here and there.
Japanese directors and actors with two films in the ‘In Competition’ section, Hollywood figures like Joseph and Megan, Director Danny Landis, Miley Cara, and others. Globally renowned figures from the film industry marched with pride, and as time passed, the heat on the red carpet only intensified.
Then, it happened.
-Thunk!
From a limousine at the end of the red carpet, Director Ahn Ga-bok with his short white hair and Sim Han-ho stepped out. In other words, the ‘Leech’ team had arrived. Since they were quite a hot topic at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as soon as the ‘Leech’ team emerged, hundreds of reporters nearby bombarded them with flashes.
Then.
-Swoosh.
A man with black hair, dressed in a white-toned tuxedo, stepped out of the limousine.
‘Hoo- don’t get nervous, dammit. Just go without hesitation.’
It was Kang Woojin.
About an hour later, around 6:50 p.m.
The location was the largest hall inside the ‘Palais des Festivals’. It was a hall that could easily accommodate 5,000 people, and currently, it was showing off its majestic appearance decorated for the Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony and awards.
-♬♪
Gentle classical music playing, towering ceiling, countless lights hanging from it, over 5,000 seats divided between the first and second floors, and those seats filled with prestigious figures from various countries. Thousands of attendees who had graced the Cannes Film Festival were all dressed in tuxedos and gowns. The Hollywood top stars, normally as rare as stars in the sky, were also plentiful.
A festival of international filmmakers in itself.
The sight in front of these thousands of attendees was even more dazzling.
A large stage, black floor, and a giant monitor set up to the left of the stage.
Right in front of the stage, the broadcasting teams were busy. It was something arranged by the Cannes officials, and thanks to their work, the Cannes Film Festival was being broadcast live on French television. Of course, it was also on YouTube. Behind the stage, towering columns over five times the height of a person were set up from the left to the right end. The massive columns were gold-colored.
At the far right was a section with a total of ten seats.
This was the seating area for the official Cannes jury, and right behind the jury seats was a large emblem. It was the palm leaf logo of Cannes, painted in gold.
If one were to view all of this from above, they would naturally say something like this:
It was grand and magnificent.
With the caliber of the attendees being so formidable, this enormous hall appeared even more impressive. At this time, thousands had also gathered on the beach outside the ‘Palais des Festivals’. Tourists and thousands of journalists were watching the closing and awards ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on the gigantic screen that had been set up.
And our Kang Woojin could be found somewhere in the middle of the first-floor seats in the hall.
“……”
Dressed in a white tuxedo, he wore a solemn expression. Director Ahn Ga-bok and Sim Han-ho were seated to Woojin’s right, while Jin Jae-jun and Han So-jin sat on his left. They all had visibly tense expressions, but Woojin remained calm. Since he had entered this damn enormous hall, he’d been engaging in extreme mental control.
‘Hoo- damn it, it’s nothing. Just think of it as watching a slightly big event. Yeah, that’s all.’
He had to concentrate his mind to maintain his concept act.
The more he did so, the deeper his indifference became.
At this point, it was 3 a.m. in Korea. Naturally, most people were asleep. Yet, the YouTube live broadcast provided by the Cannes officials had attracted quite a number of viewers. Amidst the English and other foreign languages, the noticeable presence of Korean comments was proof of this.
-Aaaah!!!! I’ve been waiting!!!!
-Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ the awards ceremony is huge AFㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Finally!! ㄷㄱㄷㄱㄷㄱㄷㄱ (TL: ㄷㄱ this one means drum roll music)
-Why are they just showing the stage?? Show us some actors or people!
-Where is Kang Woojin!!!
-Oh man can’t wait
-What the heck ㅋㅋㅋㅋ it hasn’t even started yet??
-Why are you all overreacting when the Leech team there to fill the seats, they’ll probably just leave soon anyway ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Wow… just the net worth of the people attending must be huge…
-Nahㅋㅋㅋ Leech was just thrown in to make up for Cannes’ mistake last yearㅋㅋㅋ
-Not hoping for 1st or 2nd! Just getting a Screenplay Award would be huge!!
-Can’t Sim Han-ho or Oh Hee-ryung win an acting award?
At that moment.
-♬♪
There was a slight change in the angle on the YouTube live broadcast. The gentle music that had been playing also changed. This meant that the Cannes Film Festival’s closing and awards ceremony was about to begin.
Soon, an elderly foreign man in a tuxedo entered from the left side of the large stage.
He was the head of the Cannes Film Festival. In other words, the chairman.
“Good evening, and thank you for joining us for this exciting journey at Cannes.”
A spotlight shone on the center of the stage, and the chairman announced the beginning of the closing and awards ceremony in French. Of course, the English interpretation could be heard through the headphones provided to the audience.
“I believe everyone had a great time, and I hope you’ll stay with us until the end of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.”
After his brief remarks, he raised a cue card and called out the host for the closing and awards ceremony. It was a Belgian actress. As she walked onto the stage in her green dress, the audience of over 5,000 people burst into grand applause.
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Standing at the center of the stage, the Belgian actress gave a brief greeting. Soon, applause filled the hall once more, and, glancing at the cue card in her hand, she began the proceedings for the closing and awards ceremony.
“Shall we start by calling up these esteemed guests? The jurors of this year’s Cannes Film Festival!”
Once again, thunderous applause erupted. From one side of the stage, the ten official jurors in tuxedos and dresses ascended. Their seats were located on the right side of the stage, in front of the golden palm leaf emblem. Once seated, each of them introduced themselves one by one, and after all the introductions, the host and the jurors exchanged light-hearted jokes.
The heavy atmosphere lightened.
In the meantime, Cannes’ broadcasting team captured a few of the 5,000-seat audience members on camera, Hollywood actors, French directors, Japanese actors, and even Miley Cara, with her blonde hair neatly tied back, made a brief appearance.
Then,
-Swoosh.
The Belgian actress on stage began her remarks for the first award presentation.
“Oh, it’s time to start the awards. The first award is for ‘Best Screenplay’. I’ve heard that choosing among the 20 films in the ‘In Competition’ section was incredibly difficult. How was it for you all?”
The microphone was passed to the ten jurors. Two of them gave playful responses.
“It was hell. I never want to be a jury member again.”
“It was such a tough process. To me, every work was excellent.”
At the Cannes Film Festival, if one were to rank awards, the ‘Best Screenplay’ award would be fourth place after the acting awards. But such rankings were meaningless. Just receiving an award at the Cannes Film Festival was the greatest honor for any work.
Soon, the host standing at the microphone spoke.
“Please announce the winner of the ‘Best Screenplay’ award.”
One of the jury members, an Iranian film director, picked up a handheld microphone. A cue card for the announcement was handed to him, and with a slight smile, he announced loudly.
“‘Best Screenplay’ award goes to ‘Sacred House’! Congratulations!”
Out of the 20 films in the ‘In Competition’ section, ‘Sacred House’ was a French film. Naturally, the person who stood up from the audience was a French director, and the cameras at the front of the stage immediately zoomed in on him. The massive hall was soon filled with thunderous applause.
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Seated or standing, 5,000 audience members clapped their hands tirelessly. Kang Woojin joined in as well.
‘Goosebumps… Could I even handle going up on that stage in this situation?’
Before he knew it, the French director had ascended the stage. He was handed the award. The trophy was in the shape of a palm leaf, the Cannes Film Festival’s mascot, enclosed in a case. The French director, seemingly overwhelmed, stood speechless for a moment.
-Swoosh.
“I truly didn’t expect this.”
With some difficulty, he began his speech. Though he briefly choked up and paused as his eyes grew teary, he managed to finish. Applause resounded once again in acknowledgment, and the Belgian actress hosting the event returned to the stage. She conducted a brief interview with the French director. By the time the director was stepping down from the stage, the host announced the next awards.
“Now we move on to the awards for our actors. Best Actor and Best Actress. Let’s start with Best Actor.”
It was the actors’ turn. Soon, expressions changed on the faces of many actors from various countries scattered among the 5,000-seat audience. Some showed nervousness or excitement, others determination or ambition. In contrast, Kang Woojin maintained the same calm expression he’d had from the beginning. At this point, Jin Jae-jun, with his sharp gaze, glanced at both Kang Woojin and Sim Han-ho.
‘Neither of them looks expectant. I think they definitely have a shot, though.’
Then he scanned the top international actors spread out across the room.
‘Still, winning an award here is really… damn difficult.’
The Belgian actress, serving as host, directed a question to the jurors in the back.
“Judges, how was it making your choices among the actors?”
The first response came from a Swedish actress, dressed in a gray gown with her shoulders exposed, one leg crossed over the other.
“Up until the night before the final decision, we hadn’t been able to make a choice. I completely agree with what Jeff said earlier about it being ‘hell’. In the end, we did make a choice, but all the actors were outstanding.”
Next was the Italian director seated beside her, notable for his prominent mustache.
“Unlike her, I made my choice quickly. Throughout the Cannes Film Festival, that actor’s performance kept echoing in my mind. It was the first time in my career as a director that I watched something in a state of complete awe.”
Soon, cameras installed throughout the hall captured close-ups of the actors. Naturally, they focused on the lead actors from films in the ‘In Competition’ section.
Murmurs arose from the audience near the front of the stage.
Small murmurs spread here and there in the audience. Everyone had their own guesses or predictions about which actors might win.
“I think the Iranian actors will get it. Their performances were really impressive.”
“I don’t know, I still think the French were great. There were so many French films too.”
“Wasn’t the Japanese side pretty good too?”
“I didn’t watch any of the Japanese films.”
The opinions were varied.
“America was a bit disappointing this time, don’t you think?”
“Not at all. I think the Best Actor award will go to the American side. Kelly’s performance was amazing.”
“Really?”
“How about Korea? There were quite a few rumors.”
“Ah- right, Korea had an entry too.”
It was inevitable. After all, everyone had watched different films. There were cases where people couldn’t see all the films if the screenings were full. In the end, only the ten jurors watched every single movie.
At that moment.
“Please announce the winner.”
All eyes of the 5,000 audience members in the hall, along with the broadcasting team cameras, as well as the tens of thousands of tourists on the nearby beach, turned to the jury seats on stage. The mustachioed Italian director who had been interviewed earlier was now holding the cue card. In other words, he was about to announce the Best Actor award for this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
-Swoosh.
The Italian director looked down at the cue card, raising the handheld microphone in his right hand. Then, he gave a slight smile.
“My eyes didn’t deceive me.”
He softly announced the monster to the audience of 5,000 gathered from around the world.
“The 74th Cannes Film Festival ‘Best Actor’ Award goes to… Kang Woojin from ‘Leech’.”
In an instant, thousands of eyes and cameras in the hall swiveled to the black-haired Korean actor, sitting calmly with an indifferent expression that hadn’t changed.
Kang Woojin, dressed in a white-toned tuxedo, was
“……”
Utterly still, not even a hint of movement. Though inwardly, he was cursing fiercely.
‘…No way, fuck. Me?’