"All right, I got it. I just have to turn it down—…Hm? Wait a second."
Choi Sunggeon paused at Kang Woojin's reply, then leaned in and whispered into his ear.
"Woojin, did you just say turn it down? Did I hear that right?"
He wondered if he had heard him correctly.
Or maybe he was just rejecting reality.
Right?
Surely he had misheard.
But Kang Woojin remained calm.
No.
He had heard him correctly.
In a low voice, Woojin repeated himself for emphasis.
"Please decline it."
…
Choi Sunggeon's eyes widened behind his rimless glasses.
It was such a completely unexpected answer.
But Kang Woojin looked absurdly composed right now.
Especially his eyes.
They did not waver in the slightest.
"No, I mean… that's not…"
For a moment, Choi Sunggeon blankly stared at Woojin.
Then he suddenly came back to himself.
A weirdo.
Right.
Hong Hyeyeon had said that.
Kang Woojin really was an unpredictable person.
First, Choi Sunggeon forced a smile toward Chief Choi Domin, who was seated across from them.
"Haha, Chief, please give us a moment."
He leaned even closer toward Woojin and whispered again.
"You're rejecting it? But you only read a few scenes from the scenario. What do you mean, reject it?"
"I think it would be best not to attend the audition."
"Absolutely not. No, Woojin, wait—calm down."
"I am calm."
"Take it easy, take it easy. Seriously? Chief Choi Domin wants this so badly, and you're just going to let the opportunity go?"
Choi Sunggeon desperately tried to stop him, but Kang Woojin's expression did not change at all.
"Yes. Even so, I'll decline."
He was resolute.
It was not the face of someone who could be persuaded.
There was no room whatsoever for negotiation.
Watching the stubborn Woojin, Choi Sunggeon suddenly felt dizzy.
Still, he did his best to stay calm.
After all, they were inside the headquarters of Box Movies.
For now, it was better to preserve the relationship with polite words.
So Choi Sunggeon turned away from Woojin and looked at Chief Choi Domin with a forced smile.
"Ah, Chief Choi, haha."
"Yes, yes, Woojin said the scenario is very good."
"Really? Haha, of course it is. It's Director Woo Hyungu's work. But then why are you saying that, CEO?"
At the same time, Choi Sunggeon subtly jabbed Woojin in the side.
Ow.
What was that?
Ah, I'm supposed to match the response?
That was more or less the right answer.
Regardless of whether he planned to decline, Choi Sunggeon was signaling him to maintain his image.
Woojin calmly nodded.
"I'd like to continue reading the scenario."
"Right, haha. But it wouldn't be good to hand over the full scenario immediately. If an audition participant knows the work beforehand, it could look like too much of an advantage."
At that point, Choi Sunggeon jumped in.
"That's right, of course. If rumors spread that we gave special treatment, it'd be a headache."
He started steering the conversation elsewhere.
"Anyway, Director Woo Hyungu really is incredible. I don't think I've ever seen him rest. He's going into his next project soon, right?"
"That's just his personality. He's not good at resting. CEO Choi, you've met him a few times before, haven't you? Because of Hong Hyeyeon."
"Of course."
To be honest, the meeting had now become filled with meaningless small talk.
They were just killing time.
Leaving immediately after reading the scenario would have felt awkward.
There was also the matter of Kang Woojin having joined BW Entertainment.
Anyway, after about thirty minutes of casual conversation, Choi Sunggeon said,
"Ah, yes, yes. Then, um… we'll adjust the schedule and contact you as soon as possible."
He stood up quickly.
Naturally, Kang Woojin stood as well.
Chief Choi Domin did the same.
"So I have to wait again?"
"Well, the schedule is a bit tight because of the filming for Profiler Hanryang and preparations for other projects. I'll contact you, so don't worry."
"Please contact us quickly. I'll get absolutely chewed out by the Director."
"Of course. Then thank you for your time."
After exchanging brief farewells, Choi Sunggeon and Kang Woojin left the meeting room, crossed the hallway, and headed for the elevator.
Then they pressed the button for Basement Level 1.
Up until then, neither of them had said a word.
…
…
There was no conversation.
Only a slightly awkward atmosphere.
But—
Thunk!
The moment they got into the van, Choi Sunggeon lunged at Woojin, who was seated in the passenger seat.
Apparently, he had decided this place was safe.
"Woojin! What on earth are you doing?! Why are you trying to reject it? You have some reason, don't you?!"
Wow.
He's really shocked.
A reason?
Yeah, I do.
Because Choi Sunggeon was leaning in so close, Kang Woojin slightly pulled his face back and answered inwardly.
'So what? That project is F-grade.'
In truth, during the meeting earlier, Kang Woojin had secretly gone into the void space.
And what he found there confirmed everything.
-[3 / Scenario (Title: Negotiable), F-Grade]
-[This is a highly completed film scenario. Readability is 100%.]
Director Woo Hyungu's next project was F-grade.
The moment Kang Woojin saw that rating, he was stunned.
Not E-grade, but F-grade?
Even E-grade wouldn't have been great, but F-grade?
It was the exact same F-grade as the very first scenario he had ever read.
The absolute lowest rank.
Naturally, Woojin was reluctant to appear in it.
'It's not even E-grade, it's F-grade, so why would I do it? How can this movie be so bad that it got an F-grade?'
Did it flop?
Or was there some other reason?
There were countless possibilities, including the possibility that it never even made it into production.
Still, Woojin found it a bit strange.
'Isn't that Director supposed to be an incredible master? And it still got F-grade? Why?'
But there was no point dwelling on that.
Whatever the cause of failure was, the film Negotiable held no value for Kang Woojin.
Other people might see him as someone who had studied acting on his own for a long time, but the real Kang Woojin had only been living as an actor for barely a month.
If possible, wouldn't it be better to join works that were already successful?
'People say that even if a project fails, it's fine as long as it has artistic value, but I can think about that later.'
Kang Woojin sank into thought for a moment.
He couldn't exactly tell Choi Sunggeon, who was staring at him wide-eyed from the driver's seat, "Didn't you know the whole movie is F-grade?"
Then suddenly, Woojin thought of a word that worked anywhere and sounded weighty enough to bluff with.
'Right, that's a cheat code.'
He had used it once before with Song Manwoo PD.
"It was just a feeling. The atmosphere felt off somehow."
Kang Woojin answered calmly, without changing expression.
It was brazen to the extreme.
In any case, Choi Sunggeon seemed to grasp what he meant immediately, but that only made him even more confused.
"…What? A feeling? Instinct? Did you just say instinct?"
"Yes."
"So you rejected Director Woo Hyungu just because you had a bad instinct?"
"I didn't reject him. I'm declining."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
Choi Sunggeon stared at Woojin's impassive face.
There was a trace of worry in his eyes.
"Woojin, you're not sick or anything right now, are you? Like a severe headache or something?"
"I'm perfectly fine."
"Then what exactly is this instinct you keep rambling about?"
"It's real."
"If that's real, then this is a much bigger problem."
Even in this situation, Kang Woojin remained completely unchanged.
Now there was even a hint of bluff layered on top of it.
"But please decline the audition."
…
Choi Sunggeon was nearly speechless.
He almost cursed at the unbothered Kang Woojin.
He was, truly, unbelievably insane.
'This isn't just fearlessness. Why is he doing this to me?'
Hong Hyeyeon was something else too, but Kang Woojin completely surpassed her.
He existed outside common sense.
No, instinct?
What kind of lunatic even was he?
Choi Sunggeon felt dazed.
'He's not just hard to handle… he's completely nuts.'
And from now on, he had to support this madman.
Around early afternoon.
Kang Woojin, who had transferred from Box Movies to BW Entertainment, was wandering the streets.
He had even refused Choi Sunggeon's offer to drive him home.
Ever since he had started focusing on maintaining his persona, personal time had become more precious than anything else.
"I'm so tired."
Kang Woojin muttered that to himself, then stopped for a second.
And then he laughed in disbelief.
Because even when he was alone, he had spoken in a stern voice.
"Am I crazy? Why am I acting like this even when I'm by myself? Ah, it's been so long since I laughed like this."
Woojin smacked the back of his neck, almost as if he were scolding himself.
People passing by gave him strange looks.
Whether they stared or not, Woojin headed down the subway stairs.
There were a lot of people there.
And right then, Kang Woojin felt a new kind of wonder.
'Could these people really recognize me someday?'
He had been an ordinary citizen.
Then he joined an agency.
On top of that, he had received a huge signing bonus of 40 million won and favorable contract terms.
One way or another, he had filmed The Private Investigator, and now he was about to shoot Profiler Hanryang.
'I even had a meeting with a major film company tied to a famous Director.'
The situation kept escalating, and the misunderstandings kept snowballing.
Despite how burdensome it all was, Kang Woojin—the one causing all of it—was astonishingly calm.
'Is it because none of it feels real?'
And then it happened.
-Bzzzz. Bzzzz.
The cellphone in Kang Woojin's back jeans pocket vibrated for a long while.
The caller was the top actress Hong Hyeyeon.
Kang Woojin grinned again.
"How did my life turn into the kind where Hong Hyeyeon calls me like we're friends?"
He cleared his throat and regained his composure.
"Yes."
Over the phone, Hong Hyeyeon laughed.
"I heard you signed with us. That you decided to join."
The CEO moves fast.
Leaning against the wall, Woojin replied,
"Yes, that's right. I'm glad to be working with you."
"I'm glad too. Now we're one family. But I'm curious. What was the biggest reason you chose our company?"
A reason?
Woojin thought about it for a moment, but no single concrete reason came to mind.
It had been a cool-headed decision built on many small factors combined.
Things like contract terms or the signing bonus sounded too materialistic and didn't fit his calm image.
'Should I just say it was because of Hong Hyeyeon? That was one of the reasons anyway.'
Soon, Kang Woojin answered flatly.
"A bit of everything. And because Hong Hyeyeon is there."
…
Hong Hyeyeon fell silent for a moment on the other end.
A few seconds later, she answered,
"Do people often call you a tsundere?"
Meanwhile, the news that Kang Woojin had signed with BW Entertainment spread quickly.
Not just to Hong Hyeyeon.
Choi Sunggeon immediately contacted every place connected to Kang Woojin.
Song Manwoo PD of Profiler Hanryang.
"BW Entertainment's star Hong was really worried about that. Well, it's not a bad thing. The real question is how CEO Choi Sunggeon handles Kang Woojin."
Of course, the same went for Director Shin Dongchun of The Private Investigator.
"Oh, BW Entertainment? CEO Choi really does have good connections and quite a bit of influence. But did Mr. Woojin receive a signing bonus?"
At that moment, Director Shin Dongchun was in the editing room of the production company with two editors, working on post-production for The Private Investigator.
Editing had only just begun.
There was strong determination in Shin Dongchun's eyes.
"Good, let's begin! We absolutely have to make it into the finals of the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival. Our work is really good, so we can definitely do it!"
He looked completely determined to get Woojin into a stylish suit somehow.
The next morning, the 17th, at Kang Woojin's studio apartment.
Kang Woojin had just finished showering and came out of the bathroom, shaking out his wet hair.
He grabbed a banana milk from the fridge and gulped it down, letting the cool drink slide through his throat.
Soon, Woojin let out a refreshed sigh.
"Ahh, nothing beats banana milk after a warm shower."
Standing there in only his underwear, chugging banana milk, Woojin looked completely different from his usual tense self.
Well, naturally so.
After that, he started getting dressed.
In fact, Kang Woojin had just come back from a morning jog as part of building stamina for filming.
It was just an ordinary jog, though.
'Well, starting is half the battle.'
Anyway, he had no special schedule today.
Choi Sunggeon probably had plenty of things to prepare, but Kang Woojin only had to wait.
Right around then—
"Oh, right."
Something suddenly came to mind, and Woojin picked up one of the scripts lying on the table.
It was Profiler Hanryang Part 3.
No—
more precisely, he pressed the black square attached to the side of the script.
-Poof!
He was immediately pulled into the void space.
Inside the endlessly stretching darkness, Woojin looked around with the comfort of someone entering his own home and noticed that the floating white squares had increased to three.
-[1 / Scenario (Title: The Private Investigator), B-Grade]
-[2 / Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), S-Grade]
-[3 / Scenario (Title: Negotiable), F-Grade]
Director Woo Hyungu's scenario Negotiable had been added yesterday.
The reason Kang Woojin had suddenly entered the void space to check Negotiable was simple.
"It's been a while since I got the scenario, and since it was written by a master Director, it wouldn't hurt to read it once."
His curiosity had been stirred.
He couldn't actually read the scenario itself, but that didn't matter.
Woojin could read—experience—the psychology of every male character who appeared in Negotiable.
Maybe he would even be able to tell why it had received an F-grade.
Soon, Kang Woojin selected the white square labeled Negotiable.
Immediately, another line of text appeared.
-[3 / Scenario (Title: Negotiable) has been selected.]
-[List of readable characters (experiencing).]
-[A: Lee Dojun, B: Park Daehyun, C: Kim Wangwoo ... G: James]
As he scanned the text, Kang Woojin tilted his head.
"James? Is he a foreigner?"
His curiosity deepened.
This was the first foreign character he had ever seen.
So Woojin immediately selected James.
At that moment, the familiar robotic female voice rang out.
[Detected a language other than the default language. 'English' will be acquired first.]
But what it said was slightly different from usual.
[Preparing to read English...]
[...Ready. Beginning to read 'English.']
The moment he heard that, Kang Woojin frowned.
"What? 'English'? Hey, miss! What are you suddenly talking about?"
But—
"Wh—what?!"
There was no response to Kang Woojin's outcry.
Instead, he was swallowed by a vast grayness.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the dark void but floating in a completely gray space.
He felt a faint chill against his skin, and along with a ticklish sensation in his stomach, he could clearly tell he was floating.
"What is this? Exit!"
Woojin shouted the command to leave the space, but all that came back was an echo.
At that moment, panicked, Woojin could not understand what was happening.
Right then—
"Huh?"
Something was approaching from far away.
No—
it was flying straight at him.
It was closing the distance rapidly, and it was fast.
Soon, Kang Woojin recognized its form.
"…A?"
It was the letter A.
White, and as large as Woojin himself, it came flying at him at high speed.
The strange part was—
"What the—!"
When the rapidly flying A latched onto Woojin, it seeped into his body.
But that wasn't the end of it.
As if it had been waiting, B flew toward him next.
Then C.
In other words, the alphabet letters were flying at him in sequence.
They poured into Woojin one after another without pause.
And finally, even Z.
The problem was that it still didn't end there.
Now an enormous army appeared.
"What are those?"
In front of Woojin, hundreds—no, thousands—of white English words were flying through the air.
How much time had passed?
By the time Woojin was completely exhausted, he heard the woman's voice again.
[Completing the reading of the new language, 'English.']
When Woojin came to his senses, he was back in his studio apartment.
But the chilling sensation of letters and words seeping into his body still felt vivid.
Yes.
It was eerily similar to what he had felt during the audition.
And on top of that, one more thing stood out clearly to the dazed Woojin.
English.
He had never studied English beyond the most basic level in his life.
"What happened?"
It was unbelievably clear, as if he had studied it for decades.
"My god…"
His pronunciation was fluent.
"…Am I going crazy? Is this real?"
The word English had been engraved into Kang Woojin's body.
TL Note:
In the original, the line spoken in English was left in English and italicized to distinguish it. The Korean translation in parentheses that followed it in the raw was also omitted here.