The woman from the production staff refused to give up hope.
Surely it had to be a joke.
Just something he said to lighten the heavy atmosphere in the reading room.
But Kang Woojin's answer was low and certain.
"Yes, I'm self-taught."
"Really? You mean that?"
"Yes. I am."
For a moment, the woman covered her mouth with one hand.
She was genuinely stunned.
She had never expected the word self-taught to come out of his mouth.
The dozens of people still left in the hall felt the same way.
Industry insiders, production staff, and reporters all began murmuring loudly.
"What did he just say?"
"Self-taught? He learned acting on his own?"
"Is that even possible? He has to be joking. We saw his acting, didn't we? There's no way someone can act like that if he's self-taught."
"But doesn't he look too serious for it to be a joke?"
Of course, the actors, including Ryu Jungmin, were no different.
Among them—
'Self-taught? No, seriously, self-taught???'
Ryu Jungmin, the male lead of Profiler Hanryang, looked completely stunned.
After seeing Kang Woojin's crazed performance, the shock hit even harder.
The veteran actors seated around him had also gone stiff.
Naturally, none of them could believe it.
Except for one person.
Swoosh.
The one who pulled out her phone was Hong Hyeyeon.
Out of all the actors there, she alone looked calm.
Because she already knew.
'Everyone must be shocked. I get it. Even I already knew, and it's still hard to accept.'
Meanwhile, Song Manwoo PD and writer Park Eunmi sat side by side at the U-shaped table.
The two giants simply watched the scene unfold without stepping in.
The atmosphere in the large hall had reached its peak.
The phrase self-taught had been short.
But the moment Kang Woojin said it, it triggered a flood of misunderstandings and wild assumptions.
There was no way to explain them one by one.
And the man at the center of it all, Kang Woojin, was thinking this:
'Calm down, Kang Woojin.'
He did his best not to show any emotion.
Since he had said he was self-taught, he needed to create an aura cool enough to match it.
'Control your expression. Control your expression.'
At first, it had just been smoke and mirrors.
An excuse to cover his embarrassment.
But now self-taught had become Kang Woojin's trademark, and he had completely accepted this terrible persona.
Song Manwoo PD and Park Eunmi already knew that.
'It might sound arrogant, but whatever. I already said it.'
Consistency was essential if he wanted to maintain the character.
At least, that was how Kang Woojin saw it.
If he wavered now, he would only look ridiculous.
Maybe he had made the wrong choice from the beginning.
But he had already come this far.
What else could he do?
Besides—
'It's not even a lie, right? Sure, I had a cheat key, but I still learned it by myself. So technically, I'm safe.'
In a way, Kang Woojin hadn't lied.
The time span had been absurdly short, but it was true that he had done it on his own.
Repeating that thought to comfort himself, Woojin looked around the hall packed with top stars.
At this point, it almost felt like it would be easier if someone just came at him.
But—
'Ugh, this is nerve-racking. I need to get out of here.'
The sharp stares from the veteran actors and senior figures were far too intense.
For Kang Woojin, who was still an ordinary man at heart, it was overwhelming.
His whole body was already tense, and keeping the act up in front of them was becoming impossible.
He had been maintaining this persona for more than half a day already.
He was exhausted.
In the end, he chose to run.
Scrape.
Keeping a blank expression, Woojin slowly stood up and gave a slight bow toward the production staff in front of him.
"I'm sorry. I'm not very good with words."
The production staff reacted awkwardly and stepped aside for him.
At that moment, only one thought filled Woojin's head.
'Keep moving.'
The people left in the hall could only watch him leave.
Right then—
"Hey, Hong Hyeyeon."
Ryu Jungmin rose from his seat with a serious look and spoke to Hong Hyeyeon.
"You knew too, didn't you? Kang Woojin came with you."
Hong Hyeyeon, who had been getting ready to leave, brushed back her long hair and answered,
"Yes. Sorry. The PD asked me to bring him."
"Who exactly is Kang Woojin? Is he with an agency?"
"No."
"Do you know what he did before this? Being self-taught doesn't explain anything."
"I don't really know either. It's like he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Ask the PD at dinner."
After answering smoothly, Hong Hyeyeon picked up her script and walked over to CEO Choi Sunggeon, who was nearby.
Once she had put a little distance between herself and Ryu Jungmin, Choi Sunggeon whispered excitedly to her.
"Hong Hyeyeon, was what he said earlier really true? About being self-taught?"
"It is. Even if you dig through the entire theater scene using connections, you won't find anything. Acting is just his hobby. He even went on Super Actor for fun."
"Can... can that really happen? Acting isn't something you just memorize. And what about overseas performances?"
"I told you, his past is unclear. Who knows what kind of life he's had... Anyway, let's talk in my room."
At that moment, everyone still in the hall was talking heatedly about Kang Woojin.
Meanwhile—
Kang Woojin, who had left the large hall a few minutes earlier, walked down the hallway with the same expressionless face.
Quite a few staff members were passing by.
In a place that felt almost like a battlefield, he couldn't let his guard down.
Still, the tension had piled up so badly that every step felt heavy.
'Ah, I'm tired. I need to get back to my room and lie down as soon as possible.'
Kang Woojin had maintained the persona from morning until now.
He was drained.
His entire body felt unbearably heavy.
He wanted meat, but honestly, it felt like he needed at least another hour of sleep in his room first.
As he crossed the first-floor lobby—
"Woojin-ssi."
Someone called out to him from behind.
It was a man's voice.
When Woojin turned, a slightly chubby man with a vague smile was standing there.
"Hello. I was really impressed by your acting as Assistant Manager Park. You had overwhelming presence at the script reading."
"Thank you."
Who is this guy?
Kang Woojin answered indifferently while trying hard to remember.
There had been too many people.
He had no idea who this man was.
Fortunately, the chubby man handed him a business card.
"I'm Manager Kim Namgoo from BHM Entertainment."
Ah. Someone from the entertainment industry.
At today's script reading, there had been more than twice as many industry insiders as actors.
Manager Kim Namgoo smiled and continued.
"We're very interested in you, Woojin-ssi. Are you signed with an agency?"
"Not yet."
"Oh, really?!"
Woojin gave a cool nod, though inwardly he felt a little spark of excitement.
'Wow, is this one of those scouting offers? That's kind of amazing.'
Of course, Kim Namgoo had no idea what was going on in Woojin's head.
He leaned in even harder.
"Please, I'm asking you. Definitely contact us. After the reading, I'd love to have a proper conversation with you at our company. Woojin-ssi, you're genuinely fascinating. Your unique aura, and the acting you showed earlier, were incredible."
"Ah, yes."
"Haha, as you know, our BHM Entertainment is..."
The chubby manager went on at length about his company.
It sounded like a fairly big entertainment agency.
Of course, to Woojin, who knew next to nothing about the industry, it was a dull speech.
Thankfully, the manager quickly read Woojin's face and wrapped it up.
"Let's talk in more detail at the company. Please make sure to contact us. If it's you, Woojin-ssi, we can offer even better conditions."
Kang Woojin didn't really know what better conditions meant, but he nodded and slipped the card into his pocket.
"Yes, I'll think about it."
The moment he finished speaking, Woojin started moving again.
He wanted to get to his room as quickly as possible.
But when he reached the elevator, things changed.
"Kang Woojin-ssi!"
Someone stopped him again.
This time, it was a woman.
"Do you happen to run your own agency?!"
A few dozen minutes later—
Ordinarily, it was a distance that would have taken no more than five minutes.
But Kang Woojin only made it back to his room after more than thirty.
The moment he shut the door—
Thud.
He leaned against it.
Then slowly slid down to the floor.
The strength drained out of his legs, and he collapsed right there.
"Ha... I'm going to die."
An unfamiliar place.
Famous actors he had never been around before.
More than a hundred strangers.
And on top of that—acting.
From morning until well past noon, his nerves had been stretched to the limit, and he had been forced to keep his composure the entire time.
He was utterly exhausted.
Kang Woojin rested the back of his head against the door and stared blankly ahead.
"...What did I even do today?"
It felt like he had just survived a war.
But he could barely remember what had happened or when.
Then Woojin pulled something from the pocket of his flight jacket.
Shff.
There were several stacked business cards.
Kang Woojin casually set them down in front of him.
There seemed to be around eight.
He hadn't properly checked any of them.
Everyone had shoved a card into his hand while explaining something, but he barely remembered any of it.
"Were they all from agencies? Ah, I think one was from a production company."
He didn't know.
Right now, the only thing Kang Woojin wanted was to collapse onto the bed.
He needed to wash up too.
But his mind was filled with nothing except rest.
So then—
Flop.
Woojin threw himself onto the bed.
He nearly fell asleep instantly.
Damn.
That was dangerous.
Just before his eyes closed completely, Woojin managed to set an alarm for an hour later.
Soon—
"Ah, I'm so tired..."
Kang Woojin sank into a deep sleep.
About two hours later.
Around 7 p.m.
A lively barbecue party was in full swing in the fairly wide open area of the outdoor parking lot behind Venue No. 1.
Naturally, it was for the Profiler Hanryang team.
Temporary tables and chairs had been set up on the artificial grass, along with grills for beef, pork belly, and more.
Around half of everyone invited had shown up.
Most of the production staff, including Song Manwoo PD, were there.
But writer Park Eunmi was nowhere to be seen.
Quite a few entertainment industry insiders had come as well.
Some of the actors had already left the venue because of their schedules.
Others had gone off to rest.
The veteran actors had briefly shown their faces at first, but most of them had stayed in their rooms.
So in the end—
around fifty people remained.
The problem was that Kang Woojin, who had badly wanted to eat beef, was nowhere to be seen.
The reason was simple.
At that very moment, Kang Woojin was fast asleep, completely unaware of what was happening outside.
Meanwhile, Ryu Jungmin, seated at a table with eight other actors, was deep in thought.
His mind was filled entirely with Kang Woojin.
"Kang Woojin is the kind of actor I've never seen before. Even after seeing him in person, I still can't figure him out. And on top of that, he says he's self-taught... What exactly is he?"
Ryu Jungmin was one of the top-ranking actors even among top stars.
He had seen countless actors throughout his career.
But Kang Woojin was impossible to assess.
He was strange.
His unreadable expressions and behavior.
Those empty yet unwavering eyes.
That overflowing self-confidence.
And even that unexplainable acting ability.
Everything about him stood apart.
There was only one thing Ryu Jungmin felt sure about.
"Right. Self-taught is probably just something he says. There's no way someone could create a character like Assistant Manager Park through self-study alone."
Right at that moment—
"But still, it's kind of strange."
A female actor at Ryu Jungmin's table muttered with mild irritation.
"Shouldn't Kang Woojin-ssi be here for the dinner party? He turned the whole script reading upside down, and he's still just a rookie."
She looked displeased.
"Just because he can act a little, does that mean he gets to be arrogant? People like that make me uncomfortable. He always looks indifferent, and honestly, he doesn't seem to have a very likable personality."
A few of the actors at the table seemed to agree, at least to some extent.
Surprisingly, the first one to respond was Ryu Jungmin.
"Well, to me, his acting didn't feel simply good. It felt monstrous. And from the beginning, PD-nim said the dinner party was optional. This isn't the 1990s. If someone is too exhausted, it's fine not to come."
"But still!"
"And besides."
Ryu Jungmin brushed back his long hair and continued calmly.
"Didn't you see Assistant Manager Park earlier? After pulling out that level of deep emotion, there's no way it disappears in a matter of hours. From Woojin's perspective, attending dinner probably feels like a burden too."
"Mm..."
"As the story progresses, our characters build their emotional flow gradually. But psychopath Assistant Manager Park is already a fully completed character from the very start. He had to show that from the opening of Part 1. The emotional intensity is on a completely different level."
At that, one or two of the actors began to understand.
"Woojin really did pull up those deep emotions in an instant."
"Right. He must've spent hours mentally locking himself in before the reading."
"It was so incredible it left me speechless, but he himself must've taken a massive emotional hit too."
Ryu Jungmin picked up the thread again.
"He recovered surprisingly quickly afterward, but appearances can be deceiving. Inside, he's probably still in turmoil. In that kind of state, even talking to people would be difficult."
"I've had experiences like that too. When emotions get too intense, I snap at the people around me without even meaning to."
"Kang Woojin-ssi did seem a little sensitive. He always looks emotionless. He probably has to be very careful with emotional control."
"I thought it looked a little dangerous too, didn't you? Woojin's acting really did feel like method acting, maybe even beyond that."
"The role itself is delicate, because he has to portray antisocial personality disorder. Even if he can clearly separate reality from performance, it still won't be an easy role."
As expected, the opinions of acting professionals poured out one after another.
Then Ryu Jungmin delivered the decisive conclusion.
"You may not realize it, but right now he's probably struggling alone, trying hard to recover emotionally."
They were wrong.
That was the funniest part of the entire conversation.
"We've all been through that, haven't we? Recovering from heavy emotions is difficult."
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin was sleeping peacefully without a single worry in the world.
The next morning.
Inside Kang Woojin's room.
Kang Woojin had fallen asleep wearing the same clothes from the previous day.
Then the phone by his pillow started ringing.
-♬♪
Startled awake by the loud ringtone, Kang Woojin's eyes flew open.
The second he woke up, he wiped the drool from his mouth.
"Huh? I fell asleep? What time is it?"
Muttering to himself, he picked up the phone.
It was an incoming call.
The caller was top actress Hong Hyeyeon.
He checked the time as well.
"Seven o'clock?? Wow, did I sleep for two hours?"
Woojin hurried to answer, but hesitated briefly so he could steady his voice.
"Yes, hello?"
On the other end, Hong Hyeyeon sounded amused.
"You're awake? Come out to the restaurant."
"Understood."
Click.
As soon as Kang Woojin hung up, beef immediately came to mind.
Dinner was at seven, so he shouldn't have been that late.
Hong Hyeyeon was only heading out now too, so it should be fine.
Then Woojin suddenly froze.
"Huh? Why is it so bright?"
Bright light was spilling through the crack in the curtains.
But it wasn't evening light.
Because of that, Woojin pulled the curtains open.
"Ugh!"
Blinding sunlight flooded over him.
At that exact moment, Kang Woojin had a terrible realization.
"No way."
He quickly checked his phone again.
Then he covered his face in dismay.
"It's 7 a.m., not 7 p.m. Ah, I screwed up."
He had missed the beef because he overslept.
About an hour later—
the outdoor parking lot in front of the venue was crowded with people.
Staff members were packing up.
Actors were boarding vans.
Among them was Song Manwoo PD, who had greeted Kang Woojin just a few minutes earlier.
Of course, writer Park Eunmi, still wearing her headband, stood beside him.
The two of them were looking at a large white van parked ahead.
It was Hong Hyeyeon's van.
Kang Woojin and Hong Hyeyeon were inside it.
And in the passenger seat sat BW Entertainment CEO Choi Sunggeon.
Watching them, Park Eunmi crossed her arms and spoke.
"The two of them came separately, but after seeing Woojin's acting, CEO Choi decided to leave with him."
Song Manwoo PD chuckled.
"Hong star is very interested in Woojin. CEO Choi and Hong star are practically on the same side, so I'm sure they have a lot to talk about. I expected as much. Ah, and wasn't Hyeyeon both part of BW Entertainment and one of its investors?"
"I heard Woojin-ssi got a lot of business cards from different agencies yesterday. In all my years as a writer, it's the first time I've seen an unknown actor collect business cards at a script reading."
"Woojin isn't just some ordinary unknown actor. His impact is different, isn't it? No matter which company Kang Woojin signs with, won't he become the first unknown actor to receive a signing bonus?"
"A signing bonus?"
At that, Song Manwoo PD broke into a wide smile.
"After giving him time to figure out his own value, he negotiated with me and raised his appearance fee. He's a smart guy."
Remembering the day he signed Kang Woojin, Song Manwoo PD explained with confidence.
"He's got enough nerve to deserve a signing bonus."