Translator: Dreamscribe
The terrifying numbers before Kang Woojin’s eyes.
[All-time Box Office in South Korea]
[All-time Movie Rankings (Combined)]
-1. Leech / Total Audience: 20,483,558
-2. Island of the Missing / Total Audience: 20,321,451
-3. Sea Battle / Total Audience: 16,715,955
-4. Unstoppable Force / Total Audience: 15,557,118
.
.
.
It hadn’t been like this until yesterday. But within just one day, everything changed. ‘Leech’, which had been in the 19 million range, surpassed 20 million and confidently rose to first place in Korean movie history. Naturally, ‘Island of the Missing’ was pushed to second.
This marked the appearance of two 20-million movies in a single year.
However, Woojin’s expression as he watched this extraordinary situation unfold remained calm. He even appeared cold. Thanks to the recently acquired ‘Beastification’ ability, he appeared even more chilling.
But that was only on the surface.
‘Wow- shit!! This picture is really coming together?! This is insane!’
Inside, he was setting off fireworks in celebration. And rightfully so. Two years into his debut. Of course, as he was now stepping into his third year, he had managed to get two of his movies to the 20 million mark before the year ended. As a bonus, he had completely overturned the all-time movie rankings within just one year.
Kang Woojin was the only one to achieve this unbelievable feat.
It was something that hadn’t happened in the past and would never happen again. This was an undeniable truth. So it wouldn’t have been strange for Woojin to do a celebratory dance, but being someone whose entire persona relied on his detached attitude and pretending to be cool, he had to remain indifferent at times like this.
But the ponytailed Choi Sung-gun holding his phone couldn’t hold back.
“You bastard!!”
Suddenly, he grabbed Kang Woojin in a hug and started bouncing up and down. Woojin simply matched his rhythm appropriately.
“Double 20 million! Double 20 million!! Does this even make sense?!! No! It doesn’t make sense!!”
“……”
“Not to mention within a year! And both first and second place in Korean movie rankings are your leading roles!! This is crazy! This is absolutely crazy!!”
To be fair, ‘Leech’ had experienced a slight slowing down in audience numbers midway. But it quickly recovered. No, it would be more accurate to say it rebounded explosively. The issues surrounding Kang Woojin besides Miley Cara, and Director Ahn Ga-bok’s advance into Hollywood gave it significant momentum in the mid-to-late run.
Of course, ‘Leech’ box office success was still ongoing.
Compared to the beginning, it had lost a lot of steam, but for a movie to be doing this well more than a month after release? That was more than enough to call it a monster. Still, the real monster was Kang Woojin. He had managed to handle such an intense film schedule and, as a result, completely changed the history of Korean cinema.
“Hahaha! ‘Island of the Missing’! ‘Leech’! What actor could ever break this first and second-place record?! Other than you, no one can! You’ll just have to break your own records!”
“…CEO-nim, calm down.”
“Calm down? Caaalm down?? How can I?!!”
Choi Sung-gun’s outburst, or frenzy, of hugging Woojin continued for over three minutes.
Then.
“Wow- I never thought I’d see something like this.”
Finally calming down, Choi Sung-gun picked up his phone again as if to show that this wasn’t the end. Then, his lips curved upward like a bow.
“The really insane part is that there’s still another nuclear bomb left.”
He tapped the screen of his phone a few times. Soon, the display started showing Japanese instead of Korean. The numbers on the screen were equally astonishing.
-[Audience Numbers for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ as of November 24, 2021]
-[‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ / Release Date: October 26 / Cumulative Audience: 21,091,784]
It was the result of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. Released just one day before ‘Leech’, ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ also surpassed 20 million. No, it hit 21 million. Though it had lost considerable momentum compared to ‘Leech’, it was still maintaining its position in Japan’s top 5 advance ticket sales rankings, showing its strength.
Moreover, ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ had settled in the upper ranks of Japan’s all-time movie rankings as well.
The rankings were filled with animated films, and while it didn’t surpass them, the result was still symbolic and great. ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ stirred up winds of change in the Japanese box office, which was dominated by the animation market, and it was the first time a pure film reached 20 million in Japan as well.
Choi Sung-gun gave a thumbs-up.
“It’s not just double 20 million.”
Kang Woojin replied in a low voice.
“It’s triple.”
“Exactly!! A triple 20 million!!”
Starting with ‘Island of the Missing’, ‘Leech’, and ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’, all had surpassed 20 million viewers. That made three movies at 20 million. When considering both Korea and Japan, there was no actor other than Kang Woojin who had achieved such a feat within two years.
“Hey, hey, but this still isn’t the end, is it?”
“Right.”
With an expression that suggested there were still a few bullets left in the chamber, Choi Sung-gun muttered.
“’Leech’ will be released in Japan next month, and ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ will open in Korea next month.”
As if passing the baton, each movie would take its turn.
“If ‘Leech’ surpasses 10 million in Japan, and ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ surpasses 10 million in Korea…”
Because their releases were scheduled to alternate between Korea and Japan.
“Then it won’t be 20 million but 30 million. 30 million.”
A few days later. Saturday, November 27th, early afternoon, LA.
In the heart of the bustling LA city, inside one of the massive headquarters of a major film company, a large meeting room was packed with foreigners. There were at least 30 people. Among them, sitting at the front of a ㄷ-shaped conference table, was the only Korean present.
An old man. No, it was Director Ahn Ga-bok with his face full of wrinkles.
Director Ahn Ga-bok had arrived in LA two days prior. In other words, this was Columbia Studios, one of Hollywood’s ‘Big Five’, and the foreigners gathered in the meeting room were the key staff for the movie ‘Pierrot’. In front of Director Ahn Ga-bok and all the staff were tablets and transparent files.
And then.
-Swish.
At the front of the meeting room, where a small screen was set up, stood a foreign woman with slightly longer-than-bobbed hair and sharp features. She was the executive producer of ‘Pierrot’. Similar to Joseph Felton, she was quite famous in Hollywood and commanded a hefty price tag.
Then she.
“Next, the candidates for the male lead.”
When she pressed the remote, the screen changed. The faces of Hollywood’s top male stars appeared. The woman quickly flipped through the actors’ profile screens, seemingly just to show their faces. One, two, three actors. In the end, a total of five top male actors appeared, and for the sixth, the face of a Korean actor most familiar to Director Ahn Ga-bok appeared.
‘There he is, Kang Woojin.’
It was Kang Woojin.
With him as the final candidate, the female producer turned to the dozens of staff members.
“These six.”
The staff murmured. While there had been rumors circulating about many Hollywood actors, this was the first time the actors had been openly revealed like this.
“They’re all big names.”
“We can only pick one among such actors? It’s terribly disappointing.”
“How much would their fees alone amount to?”
“The screen test will be a battlefield.”
“But– Kang Woojin at the end? He’s that Korean actor, right? The one who caused a stir at Cannes.”
“Yeah. During his acceptance speech, he said something about aiming for the Academy Awards. He did pull off quite a feat but- still, he feels a bit out of place here.”
“There were rumors among actors. Hmm but… in terms of caliber, he seems lacking, don’t you think?”
“Director Danny praised him quite highly.”
“Oh? You mean Director Danny Landis?”
Regardless of their murmurs, the female producer continued her briefing.
“Let me remind everyone, at this stage, actor information must not be leaked outside.”
For reference, Columbia Studios had only officially announced the production of a major new film and that Ahn Ga-bok would be the director. Everything else, including the fact that the project was ‘Pierrot’, had been kept under wraps.
Soon, the female producer looked directly at Director Ahn Ga-bok.
“And Director, we’re hoping to schedule the actors’ audition tests for January. Does that work for you?”
Meanwhile, back in Korea.
While it was afternoon on the 27th in LA, it was morning on the 28th in Korea. The location was Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. On the ‘Beneficial Evil’ set complex, over a hundred staff members bustled around busily. Of course, PD Song Man-woo was in charge of overall handling, and various actors like Hwalin could also be seen standing by here and there.
At that moment.
“Kang Woojin has arrived!!”
Just then, Kang Woojin in a long padded jacket entered the set. Today as well, he had his signature poker face on, and PD Song Man-woo, who was directing the set, ran toward Woojin. In one hand, he held the ‘Beneficial Evil’ script.
“Woojin.”
PD Song Man-woo’s skin looked rough from constant all-nighters and hellish struggles, and his dark circles were so heavy they looked like sunglasses. Woojin greeted him calmly.
“I’ll be in your care today too, PD-nim.”
PD Song Man-woo, forcing a faint smile, whispered quietly to Woojin.
“We should be able to crank up within ten days.”
The end of ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 1’s filming was right around the corner.
The shooting of ‘Beneficial Evil’ would end in ten days. Woojin showed no change in his expression after hearing Song Man-woo’s words, but internally, he thought to himself, Already?
‘It feels like we were just shooting that long take in Bangkok yesterday. Time is melting– it’s just disappearing.’
Of course, it was only Part 1, and there was still Part 2 remaining, but the pace was undoubtedly fast.
‘Well, it was aggressive.’
It was a filming schedule that could be best described as shooting like crazy. The over one hundred staff members, including PD Song Man-woo, actors, the actors’ staff, and even Kang Woojin, all shot tirelessly according to the tight schedule.
A grueling march that could kill everyone.
Woojin alone remained perfectly fine. Without the blessing of the Void space, even he would have been exhausted. Whatever the case, with the crank-up of ‘Beneficial Evil’ imminent, PD Song Man-woo, who had relayed this news, exhaled briefly and spoke to Woojin again.
“Of course, depending on the situation, there might be slight changes to the schedule, but if we wrap up Part 1 within ten days, the launch of ‘Beneficial Evil’ will proceed as planned.”
Still, is PD-nim okay? Wasn’t he on the verge of collapsing? To Woojin, PD Song Man-woo looked like he could faint at any moment. He had lost a lot of weight, too. Always in his composed persona, Woojin quietly asked Song Man-woo.
“Yes, PD-nim. But are you okay?”
“What?”
“You need to be alive to see the launch and the filming.”
PD Song Man-woo blinked a couple of times, pointed a finger at himself, then chuckled.
“Ah– me? Wow, Woojin, you’re worrying about me now. Haha. Don’t worry, this much is nothing after decades of directing. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. You saw me during ‘Hanryang’, didn’t you?”
“……”
“To be honest, it’s a bit tougher now than it was back then, but there have been works with even tighter schedules. Back in the day, you know? The shooting environment was so terrible.”
After briefly recounting the hardships of the past entertainment industry, he cleared his throat and got back on topic.
“Anyway, discussions with Netflix are done, and normally, it’ll be January, or at the latest, February when we launch it to the world. You’re the only one who looks perfectly fine here, but let’s hang in there just a bit more.”
In other words, ‘Beneficial Evil’ Part 1’s official launch was expected between January and February. A timeline only made possible by PD Song Man-woo pouring his blood, sweat, and tears into it.
“And before the launch, I’ve scheduled a solo shoot for promotional and marketing purposes with you. Is that okay?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Miley Cara’s side also agreed to do it. Phew– we’ll soon start releasing character introduction videos, teasers, and trailers. Oh, and I adjusted the filming schedule a bit. Since you’ll have some overseas commitments and year-end events coming up.”
It was about Kang Woojin.
“We’ll prioritize scenes focusing on you as much as possible.”
Wrapping up his briefing, PD Song Man-woo gave Woojin double thumbs-up and walked off, telling everyone to get ready. Watching him leave, Woojin thought to himself. How would the world react when ‘Beneficial Evil’ was released globally?
Woojin briefly recalled the rating.
-[9/Script (Title: Beneficial Evil), EX-Grade]
The first deployment of an EX-Grade project.
‘Since it’s EX-Grade– it’ll probably be chaos on a whole new level.’
To be honest, he couldn’t quite grasp it, nor predict what would happen, but nonetheless, he was looking forward to it. In a way, ‘Beneficial Evil’ was like Kang Woojin’s first challenge thrown at the world.
Thirty minutes later.
Over a hundred staff members fell completely silent, and from the seat with the monitor, PD Song Man-woo shouted toward Woojin, who was on set.
“Hi- Action!!”
December 4th.
Before he knew it, November had ended, and December had begun. The first snowfall had already fallen in between. During this time, Kang Woojin could be found on an airplane. He was sitting by the window with his hat pulled low. However, this airplane was not an ordinary one. There were far fewer passengers. Aside from Choi Sung-gun, only Woojin’s team could be seen.
The reason was simple.
This was Kang Woojin’s private jet. Outside the window of the private jet, there was nothing but a sky full of clouds instead of land, and Woojin, carrying an air of dignity on his face, muttered quietly to himself with a hint of excitement.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to LA– but it feels a little different. Maybe because the scale of what’s planned is just so big?’
Of course, he wasn’t nervous at all.
‘What can they even do? They’ve already lost.’
It was Kang Woojin’s first flight on his private jet bound for Hollywood.
And at that very moment, fresh news about him had just broken in Korea.
『[Exclusive] Kang Woojin flies to LA in a private jet, sudden trip to LA ahead of year-end! Is this a flight for his Hollywood debut?』