Kang Woojin, who had been effortlessly demonstrating acting skills that seemed almost divine, suddenly delivered a terrible monologue performance.
It was as if he had changed completely overnight.
PD Song Manwoo found the answer in Kang Woojin's eyes.
'He's expressing dissatisfaction through his acting.'
He stopped Woojin immediately.
"Mr. Woojin, may I ask why you're deliberately acting poorly?"
At that moment—
Everyone in the room reacted.
Even Hong Hyeyeon.
"!!"
"Ah."
Realization flashed across their faces.
So he was acting badly on purpose.
Relief spread through the room.
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin remained completely expressionless.
But his thoughts were completely different.
'Acting that can't act? What kind of nonsense is that?'
Earlier, when Woojin asked to go home, Song Manwoo PD had started rambling.
Even though Woojin had clearly shown terrible acting, the PD insisted he couldn't act.
And he didn't look like he was joking.
Song Manwoo's face right now was extremely serious.
Kang Woojin quickly organized the situation.
Once he understood what was happening, the answer was simple.
'That bearded gentleman seems to be misunderstanding something.'
The misunderstanding had started yesterday during the Super Actor preliminary audition.
And it had snowballed ever since.
After watching the recording of his acting, Woojin finally understood.
'They think I'm an incredibly talented actor.'
The misunderstanding had grown into something massive.
But correcting it would be troublesome.
And pointless.
There was only one option.
Control the situation.
The misunderstanding belonged to them.
Kang Woojin was the only one who knew the truth.
'Let's see how far this goes.'
If it eventually turned into some kind of "concept," he would deal with it then.
Woojin suppressed his emotions.
Acting a little arrogant would be fine.
Soon—
A cold voice left Kang Woojin's mouth.
"Because you asked me to act without giving any explanation."
Song Manwoo PD flinched slightly.
"Ah. That's…"
He tried to explain.
Woojin decided to push the bluff a little further.
Thud.
Kang Woojin suddenly stood up.
"To be honest, I'm not satisfied with that treatment."
Everyone looked up at him.
PD Song Manwoo.
Hong Hyeyeon.
The entire production staff.
All of them were startled.
Song Manwoo reacted first.
"Wait—let's calm down first."
He quickly stood up as well.
"I'm sorry. I acted too hastily. Please sit down."
"…."
"I'll explain everything. Please sit and listen."
Kang Woojin stared silently at the PD.
Inside his head—
'One… two… three… four… five.'
Then he calmly sat down again.
Song Manwoo exhaled in relief.
"Whew."
He scratched his head.
Then looked back at Woojin.
"First, I want to apologize again. I never meant to belittle you."
"I understand."
"Good. Then I'll begin the prepared questions."
Song Manwoo spoke seriously.
"During your Super Actor interview, you said you learned acting on your own."
"How long have you been acting?"
Everyone in the meeting room turned toward Kang Woojin.
Hong Hyeyeon included.
Woojin hesitated.
What should he say?
Five years?
Ten years?
He decided to answer vaguely.
"Hmm… quite a while."
Silence filled the room.
But Song Manwoo had already reached a conclusion.
'He's hiding something.'
He nodded slowly.
'For someone to act at that level without long analysis… his body and mind must have accumulated an enormous amount of experience.'
'At least ten years.'
Maybe even more.
Hong Hyeyeon, seated beside him, had reached the same conclusion.
Her eyes stayed on Kang Woojin.
'Where does that calm confidence come from?'
The sloppy acting earlier.
That boldness.
Only top actors could pull something like that off.
Normally, actors gained confidence over years of performing.
Through constant evaluation.
From directors.
From audiences.
But Kang Woojin had skipped that entire process.
Yet he already possessed the aura of a top actor.
At least—
That was how Hong Hyeyeon saw him.
'He practiced alone all this time…?'
Song Manwoo asked another question.
"Then where did you study acting?"
"A small theater troupe?"
"Even self-taught actors usually receive feedback. Acting is difficult to develop alone."
It was a perfectly reasonable point.
Acting required interaction.
Self-evaluation meant nothing.
But Kang Woojin didn't fully understand that.
So his answer was—
"…."
Silence.
Song Manwoo continued speaking.
"If it were a theater troupe, people would have known about you already."
"…."
"Directors and casting staff wouldn't have left you unnoticed."
"Did you perhaps train overseas?"
Overseas?
Woojin was stunned.
'What is he talking about?'
A few days ago he had considered going to Australia.
But what the PD was suggesting was completely wrong.
'This misunderstanding is getting bigger.'
Is this okay?
At that moment—
Hong Hyeyeon intervened.
"If it's something difficult to talk about, you don't have to answer."
Woojin was cornered.
He chose the safest response.
"I'll leave it at that."
The situation grew stranger.
Woojin felt like he was trying to cross an uncrossable river.
Meanwhile—
Song Manwoo grew even more certain.
'He can't say it.'
If Woojin had agreed to appear on Super Actor, then it clearly wasn't a crime.
What mattered now—
Was the actor sitting in front of him.
Song Manwoo leaned forward.
He smiled faintly.
"To be honest."
He pointed toward two men sitting further away.
"That's the studio director and the casting director."
Then he gestured toward the middle-aged woman beside him.
Her long permed hair framed a calm face.
"This is writer Park Eunmi."
"You know her, right?"
Kang Woojin nodded.
He had heard the name.
Not because he watched TV.
But because he had searched Song Manwoo yesterday.
"Yes."
Song Manwoo then gestured toward the woman on his right.
Top actress.
Hong Hyeyeon.
"There's no need to introduce Hong Star."
After introducing everyone, Song Manwoo spoke confidently.
"We're preparing a new drama."
Woojin had heard something about it.
Kim Daeyoung mentioned it once.
Something about major industry figures gathering.
But that had nothing to do with him.
So why—
Then Song Manwoo said it.
"We want Kang Woojin to participate in our new project."
"…Participate?"
"Yes."
"In other words, we'd like to cast you as an actor."
"Ah."
Woojin responded briefly.
His expression barely changed.
But inside—
'WHAT???!!!'
He was so shocked he nearly froze.
'What is that goatee guy talking about?'
'Is he serious?'
Kang Woojin barely managed to stay composed.
Then—
Writer Park Eunmi moved.
She handed him a stack of papers.
"This is the first part of the script."
"It hasn't been shown outside yet."
Then she calmly added—
"Could you show us some acting here?"
Meanwhile—
At a mid-sized food company.
Several employees had gathered in the break room.
They were taking a short break.
Five people.
Coffee mugs on the table.
Among them—
Kim Daeyoung.
"Wow. Hong Hyeyeon is insanely beautiful."
He spoke excitedly about the actress he had seen at the Super Actor preliminaries.
"Her beauty is unreal. When you look at her, it feels like you're getting sucked in."
"Her eyes are huge. Big enough to reflect my face."
"Stop exaggerating."
"You're ridiculous."
"But honestly, when you see her in real life, she's breathtaking."
"Anyway, didn't you fail the audition because of poop?"
"Ah! No! I just got nervous and forgot my lines!"
"If your friend hadn't helped you, you would've just gone there, done your business, and left."
Everyone laughed.
Kim Daeyoung suddenly sighed.
"Still… I wonder who will end up marrying Hong Hyeyeon."
"I'm so jealous."
"Probably a famous actor."
"Or a chaebol."
"Seriously. I'm keeping her autograph forever."
"I'll pass it down to my kids."
"You have to get married first."
"Ah, damn."
Then—
♬♪
His phone rang.
Daeyoung stepped out into the hallway.
"Hello?"
It was a friend from his theater club.
"Daeyoung, are you busy?"
"No, I can talk."
"Did you read the script I gave you? The Private Investigator?"
Daeyoung immediately remembered.
The short film script he had given Kang Woojin.
"Yeah, I read it."
"Then give it back. I need it again."
"Haha, sure. I'll bring it this weekend."
"Why?"
His friend sounded excited.
"It might actually get produced."
"I'm thinking about auditioning."
Daeyoung blinked.
"Seriously?"
"It's actually going into production?"
Back at C-Blue Studio.
The meeting room had gone silent.
Everyone was staring at Kang Woojin.
Woojin quietly looked at the script in his hands.
Park Eunmi's new work.
Fortunately—
His shock had subsided.
But he still couldn't understand the casting offer.
He needed time.
Then he noticed something.
Beside the script—
A swirling black square.
Woojin pretended to examine the script cover.
The script was a stack of pages.
On the front—
Only a title.
Profiler Hanryang
Episode 1
But that wasn't important.
Woojin casually poked the edge of the black square.
Instantly—
A cold sensation spread across his body.
As expected.
His body lifted into the air.
In an instant—
The world turned into endless darkness.
The void space.
Woojin exhaled sharply.
"Ugh… this is insane."
"What just happened?"
He never imagined this chaotic place would feel comfortable.
But now—
He could think calmly.
"Casting?"
"They want to cast me in a drama?"
"With Hong Hyeyeon?"
The project was led by PD Song Manwoo.
Written by star writer Park Eunmi.
Kang Woojin had suddenly stepped onto an enormous stage.
It was completely unexpected.
"Alright."
"Let's organize this."
Woojin crossed his arms.
Floating in the darkness.
"Why do they want me?"
"The only thing they saw was my Super Actor performance."
Then—
"My acting must have looked far more impressive than I thought."
The experience from the void space must have amplified his acting tremendously.
Otherwise this situation made no sense.
Woojin sighed.
"Alright… first…"
He looked toward the row of white squares.
A new one had appeared.
He checked the fifth square.
[5 / Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Episode 1), Grade A]
[This work is a highly complete drama script. 100% readable]
Woojin stared at it.
"Grade A?"
Thirty seconds later.
To the people in the meeting room—
It had only been thirty seconds.
But to Woojin—
It had been much longer.
Among them—
Writer Park Eunmi frowned slightly.
'Why is he staring at the title like that?'
Then—
Woojin slowly lifted his head.
His eyes met hers.
Park Eunmi smiled.
"You understand the situation now, right?"
"PD Song told me you performed after reading the script for only a minute during the Super Actor preliminaries."
"But you don't need to rush this time."
"We can wait ten minutes. Even thirty."
Park Eunmi cared about one thing.
Quality.
"There's no pressure."
"Just perform a few lines from any role."
"I want to hear your voice tone."
In truth—
She already had a role in mind.
But she didn't reveal it.
The atmosphere was tense.
Woojin seemed sensitive.
Woojin nodded.
Then he lowered his gaze to the script.
Soon—
His deep voice spoke.
"I'll read it first."
Flip.
Flip.
He began reading.
The reading didn't take long.
About five minutes.
After scanning the pages—
Woojin looked up.
Then calmly said—
"I'll take the role of Assistant Manager Park."
Immediately—
"!!!"
"…Assistant Manager Park?"
Song Manwoo and Park Eunmi stared at him.
Because—
That was the exact role they hoped he would choose.
Woojin spoke calmly.
"Yes."
"Assistant Manager Park."
Because that role—
Had antisocial personality traits written into it.