Translator: Dreamscribe
He’s going to die. For real. Kang Woojin, or rather, ‘Juan Gonzalez’, was running like his life depended on it. The squelching ground beneath his feet, the giant trees obstructing his view, there were countless obstacles. But none of that mattered.
“Ughh! Huhh! Kuuugh!!”
The dinosaurs he was vividly witnessing in reality, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex right behind him, made everything else insignificant. The camera he had brought in was long forgotten. It was probably stuck somewhere in the ground by now, but survival came first.
-Splash!
The scorching heat remained intense, and the rough grass scratched at Woojin’s arms and face. But Kang Woojin didn’t care about that. He kept his eyes on the path ahead, running as if he’d gladly throw everything else away.
Run. Run like your life depends on it. Even if your bones break, don’t stop moving.
And then,
-Thud! Thud!! Thud!!!
The tremors from behind continued. Woojin, who was running like a madman, glanced back.
“Aaaaaahhhh!!!”
-Boom!!!!
The ground behind him caved in. The footprint left behind was big enough to crush ten people at once. It was the footprint of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. The colossal beast was snapping the towering trees like toothpicks as it pursued him relentlessly. Right now, Kang Woojin was nothing more than prey. No, to this T-Rex, he was probably less significant than a fly.
-ROAAAAAR!!!
The creature, its mouth filled with countless sharp teeth, opened wide and let out a deafening roar. The world itself seemed to shake. Whether it was furious or excited, Woojin had no way of knowing. The pain in his ears was excruciating, as if they were bleeding. His eyes, nose, and mouth began to leak fluids uncontrollably. His legs, which hadn’t stopped running, were tingling with exhaustion.
This was as real as it could get.
-Crunch!!!
A crushing sound came from behind the running Woojin. The creature had snapped its jaws open, trying to bite him, but Woojin, too busy running, hadn’t noticed. Luckily, it had missed.
At that moment,
-Thud!
Woojin’s feet made a fatal mistake.
He tripped on the low grass tangled across the ground. His body, already running at full speed, collapsed forward helplessly. With a loud splat, his face slammed into the wet, sticky ground. His entire body was drenched. Maybe he even peed himself. Not that he had the time to care.
-Huuuuuump
Hot breath swept across his back. The T-Rex was sniffing Kang Woojin’s back, its nose pressed against him.
It was over.
“…Da-damn it.”
Now, all that was left was for that colossal beast to bite him to death. To die, torn apart by a T-Rex? Maybe that wasn’t the worst way to go. Who else in the world could claim such a fate? Kang Woojin’s mind was teetering on the edge of madness.
-Thud!!!
As the creature took another step, the ground shook, causing Woojin, who was lying flat, to bounce slightly into the air before slamming back down. His face was already caked in mud. Fine. If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well get a good look at this bastard’s face. Half-resigned to his fate, Woojin turned his battered body around.
“!!!”
His eyes widened to their limits. The reason was simple: the massive face of the beast was directly in front of him. Its yellow, blood-stained teeth were each twice the size of a human. With a loud huff, the creature sniffed Woojin again. It felt as if he would get sucked into those enormous nostrils. Then, the Tyrannosaurus Rex opened its mouth wide once more.
Woojin’s trembling intensified, growing uncontrollably.
-Bang! Bang!! Ratatatatatat!!
Suddenly, loud gunfire erupted. The creature, which had its mouth wide open, jerked its massive head to the side, visibly annoyed.
-Screeeeeech!!!
But the gunfire didn’t stop. At the same time, with a screeching noise, a jeep skidded to a halt in front of the fallen Kang Woojin. It was an open-top vehicle. And then, a voice rang out. It was in English.
“Hey!!! Get in! Right now!!”
Woojin, his face a mess, jerked his head up. A muscular man was reaching out his hand. Reflexively, Woojin used all his strength to stand and clamber into the jeep. The three men who had been firing at the creature quickly jumped into the vehicle as well.
-Screeeeech!
The jeep’s tires screeched as it took off at full speed.
-Thud! Thud!! Thud!!! Thud!!!!
Of course, the creature was chasing them relentlessly. Kang Woojin shouted at the muscular man driving the jeep.
“Step on it!! Faster!!”
“Shut up!!”
“It’s right behind us! It’s right there!!”
“I said shut up!!”
At this moment, the jeep roared vroom! as its engine scattered a deep exhaust sound, speeding out of the forest. Soon, an vast plain stretched out before them. And as Woojin gazed at the plain, he was left utterly speechless.
-Wooooo!
-Cawk! Cawk!!
-Roaaaaar!!
Whether it was the sky or the ground.
“…my god.”
Dinosaurs were everywhere.
Inside the black van.
Kang Woojin, who until just moments ago had been in a world teeming with dinosaurs, had returned to his own reality.
“……”
His face was solemn. Of course, nothing on this side had changed. The van was cruising down the road, and the dozen or so team members inside were busy with their respective tasks. Who could have possibly guessed?
‘Damn. That was insane.’
That Woojin had just returned from the age of dinosaurs. His excitement level was through the roof, but he managed to recollect himself and reminded himself to stay in character. Then, he checked the state of his body. Both of Woojin’s hands, which were holding the script for Jurassic Land 4, were trembling slightly.
Well, of course, they would be. Just a little while ago, a Tyrannosaurus Rex had been breathing down his neck.
-Swoosh.
A silent Kang Woojin discreetly glanced behind him. Thankfully, there wasn’t a dinosaur in sight. That alone showed just how insanely vivid the experience had been. He could still feel the rough, hard texture of the Triceratops’s skin that he had touched.
‘Damn. That was epic.’
Giant movie screens? VR? Those were child’s play compared to the Void Space. Woojin was more than satisfied. He had seen, felt, and touched actual dinosaurs, not fabricated ones, not models, but the real thing. An experience that only Kang Woojin could have in the entire world.
‘Even if they make this movie, it’s going to be nothing but CG slapped everywhere.’
How should he describe it? The experience of Jurassic Land 4 felt like entering a theme park. Other movies had their share of challenges, but Jurassic Land 4 was exhilarating. This was undoubtedly because the screenplay came from Hollywood rather than domestic sources.
Thanks to the immense scale.
Smirking inwardly, Kang Woojin muttered to himself.
‘At this rate, I absolutely have to visit space too.’
There were too many things he couldn’t resist. Dinosaurs, space, the deep sea, and so on. Ah, right, fantasy and superhero genres wouldn’t be bad either. For a moment, Woojin pictured numerous blockbuster Hollywood films before shifting his train of thought.
From French and now Spanish engraving into his mind.
It wasn’t necessary right now, but,
‘If I learn it, I’m 100% going to need it someday. No matter what, it’s a huge advantage for me.’
There was no downside to engraving the languages from around the world into his memory. That’s why he had chosen a character like ‘Juan Gonzalez’. Well, that aside, Woojin lowered his gaze back to the Jurassic Land 4 script in his hands. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t shake the thought: “Do I really need to do this?”
The film was rated at an ambiguous B-grade, and the role they were offering him was merely a supporting one.
‘No matter how much they want me, do I really have a reason to take it??’
Then, Kang Woojin let out a small laugh inwardly.
‘Wow- damn, I’ve really leveled up.’
He was referring to his own reputation. After all, he was now at the point where he could pick and choose Hollywood films to his liking. Regardless, Kang Woojin’s interest in Jurassic Land 4 was fading. He had already reaped the benefit of practicing Spanish, and as long as he held onto this script, he could go see dinosaurs anytime he wanted, like a casual visit.
That was the extent of it.
There was no reason to cling to it or get impatient. Today wasn’t the only day, and there were countless other works in the world.
‘Haha, maybe I’ve developed some composure and poise as an actor.’
Right now was the time to cut down the hellish schedule and tasks in front of him while carefully evaluating his options. That said, it would still be necessary to check the grades of the remaining four scripts aside from Jurassic Land 4. Two French films, one Hollywood film, and one American TV series. Soon, Kang Woojin put down the Jurassic Land 4 script and picked up another one.
-Puk!
Once again, his reality came to a halt.
Two days later, Wednesday, the 20th. Tokyo, Japan.
It was around 11 a.m. Near Tokyo Station, inside a large multiplex cinema. Despite it being a weekday morning, the largest screening hall in the theater was packed. Over 500 seats were completely filled with an audience. However, the main focus in this screening hall wasn’t just the film itself. A major event was taking place.
On the giant screen at the front of the hall, visible to all 500 audience members, the event’s title was displayed in Japanese.
-[‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ Audience Preview Screening]
This was the audience preview for the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger, and it included members of the general public. Although less than a week remained until its official release, the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger hadn’t eased up on its promotions or marketing. In fact, it had doubled down. With reporters who had attended the media preview flooding the internet with articles, and the recent buzz surrounding Kang Woojin’s Best Actor Award at Cannes, the attention on the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger had reached a nuclear level.
In any case, the 500 attendees at the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’s audience preview came from various walks of life.
Some were drawn by the hype or had won tickets through SNS events and came without much thought, others were die-hard fans of the original Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger novel, some harbored negative feelings toward the movie, while others were Kang Woojin’s Japanese fans or fans of the Japanese actors in the film.
Because these 500 audience members had such diverse perspectives, the conversations before the screening varied wildly.
“Oh~ I’m so excited, I wonder how Kang Woojin acted in this.”
“He won Best Actor at Cannes, after all. I’m sure he’ll completely surpass our expectations, right? I mean, this is a totally different character from Male Friend, so I’m even more curious.”
“I reviewed the original novel of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice’ before watching… and reporters are going crazy. Saying it betrays the original fans and such.”
“Ah, I saw that too.”
While Woojin’s fans were brimming with excitement, the die-hard fans of the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger or those with negative feelings about the adaptation were full of complaints.
“How badly did they ruin from the original? I read a few articles, and they said it was shocking. Ugh- so annoying.”
“Why are they even releasing this?”
“Well, probably because Kang Woojin made a name for himself at Cannes, so they’re trying to ride the hype.”
“Kang Woojin, Kang Woojin. I’m so sick of hearing about him. I mean, does it even make sense for the lead in the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger to be a Korean actor?”
“And I heard Kang Woojin didn’t even show his face once during the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger promotion period?”
“Well, I guess that’s because he’s now a global star.”
“Hmph, I admit his status rose dramatically, but this is too irresponsible.”
The hundreds of audience members continued to chatter endlessly as they waited for the screening of the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger to begin. Though their words were varied, they all had one common denominator: Kang Woojin.
“Wasn’t there supposed to be a stage greeting with the cast of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice’ today? Is Kang Woojin really not coming?”
“He’s a global star now. Do you think he’d bother coming here?”
At that moment,
-Swoosh.
The lights in the large screening hall dimmed.
-♬♪
And the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger began to play in earnest. The expressions of the 500 audience members changed by the second. Their eyes widened, brows furrowed, some were shocked, others horrified, some shivered with chills, while others covered their mouths. Throughout the more than two-hour runtime, there wasn’t a single calm reaction.
“……”
“……”
The film ended with a close-up of Iyota Kiyoshi, aka Kang Woojin’s face, on the massive screen. The story denied karma and consequences, completely diverging from the original Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger novel. As the movie came to a close, the majority of the 500 audience members were visibly shaken.
“…Does this even make sense? What the hell was that?”
In particular, the die-hard fans of the original the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger were reaching a boiling point.
“No way! That’s not the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger! That’s not it!!”
“This is absurd. There’s something wrong with this movie!”
The brightly lit screening hall grew noisy and chaotic. While about a hundred viewers who had come without much thought or were fans of Kang Woojin remained quiet, the remaining 300-plus audience members were in an uproar. At this point, several large-bodied guards appeared near the massive screen at the front of the hall.
-Swoosh.
Following behind was Director Kyotaro, his hair streaked with gray, along with the Japanese cast members. While notable actors like Mana Kosaku and Mifuyu Uramatsu joined them, Kang Woojin was not present. He wasn’t expected to attend in the first place. Soon, Director Kyotaro and all the Japanese actors stood in a single line before the 500 audience members. Facing the crowd, Director Kyotaro let out a low hum.
“Hmm.”
The expressions staring back at him were utterly cold. But even with the unfavorable atmosphere, there was no reason to avoid this moment.
At least, that was what Director Kyotaro and the Japanese cast of the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger believed. After all, perspectives on films could vary from person to person, and accepting that was part of their responsibility. Moreover, walking away here would be akin to denying the entirety of the film The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger.
Thus began the stage greeting for the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger audience preview.
The first person to grab the microphone was the legendary Japanese filmmaker, Kyotaro Tanoguchi.
“Hello, I am Kyotaro Tanoguchi, the director of The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger.”
But the moment his greeting ended, a woman seated in the middle of the audience abruptly stood up and shouted aggressively.
“You call this a movie?! You’ve completely butchered the original work!!”
The angry woman continued to scream at the top of her lungs, but she was soon politely escorted out by two guards. However, her outburst only served to escalate the already tense atmosphere. The woman’s eruption had been the spark, and the remaining die-hard fans of the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger began shouting one after another.
“That’s not the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger!”
“Why did you change the ending however you wanted?!”
“There was nothing wrong with sticking to the original! What is this supposed to be?!”
“This can’t be released! You can’t let this movie out into the world!”
The chaos only grew. Some members of the audience began leaving their seats to get away. But whether they stayed or not, the voices of the outraged fans grew louder and louder, to the point where guards and theater staff began gesturing to Director Kyotaro and the cast to retreat from the stage.
At that moment,
“Ah.”
“……Huh?”
“Over there.”
Most of the shouting audience members suddenly stopped mid-yell. Then, as if drawn by an invisible force, they all turned to look toward the entrance at the front of the screening hall. Their faces shifted to ones of surprise. The hundreds of audience members, who had been flushed red with anger just seconds ago, now had slightly agape mouths or widened eyes. Director Kyotaro, puzzled by the abrupt silence, tilted his head.
“Hmm?”
The Japanese actors of the Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger also turned their heads to follow the gaze of the audience.
A man with a strikingly cynical demeanor, clad in a black trench coat, was walking toward them.
Soon, Director Kyotaro and the Japanese actors flinched in shock.
“W-Woojin?”
Kang Woojin had suddenly appeared.
Meanwhile, Woojin, who had been walking with an indifferent air, gave a small bow to the stunned Director Kyotaro and then,
“Director.”
He extended his hand. A clear gesture asking for the microphone. Director Kyotaro, still in a daze, handed it over without hesitation. Kang Woojin then turned to the hundreds of audience members and addressed them.
“Hello, I am Kang Woojin, and I played Iyota Kiyoshi in The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger.”
His voice, deep and smooth, delivered fluent Japanese with a lowered tone.
But none of the hundreds of audience members who had been raging just moments ago could open their mouths.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The presence and aura of ‘Cannes’ man’ Kang Woojin,
“…Wow. Damn, Kang Woojin really is on another level.”
Had silenced everyone’s lips.