For Kang Woojin, taking on multiple roles within a single work helped him understand the piece more deeply. In truth, it probably would have been enough for him to simply read and experience the role he had been given, then repeat it exactly as it was. Even that alone would have been enough to amaze directors and fellow actors.
But Kang Woojin was the kind of person who liked things neat.
From the moment he first experienced the void space, he had been reading and experiencing every role in a single work, not just the one assigned to him. There was no special reason or information behind it. At first, it had simply started out of curiosity.
In some ways, it might have been more efficient to focus only on the role he had been given.
But in the end, Woojin's choice had been the right one. By experiencing the other roles besides his own, his understanding of the world inside each work had widened tremendously. He was no longer seeing it only from the perspective of the role he was playing, but from the viewpoints of the surrounding characters as well. It was the same world, yet each role viewed it from a clearly different angle.
All of that soaked into Kang Woojin.
Naturally, the world of the work itself could not help but expand. And that led directly to a higher quality in the role Kang Woojin eventually played. 'Ah, so that's how it works.' Step by step, Kang Woojin came to that realization and continued moving forward, repeating the same process in every work.
In any case, time inside the void was almost limitless. If a little extra fatigue could raise the quality of a work, then it was a hundred times better of a choice.
Even though Kang Woojin had the void space, he still had a particular weakness when it came to experience.
And that applied to Leech as well.
When he first received the Leech script, he had carefully read and experienced every role, starting with Park Haseong and moving through Chairman Yoon Jeongbae, Yoon Jaho, and the rest. On top of that, he had gone over the script once again recently. It was because of the Leech audition. Since he would be serving as a judge, and because it was something he had never done before, it was more of a preventative measure to make sure he would not make a mistake.
That was how he had appeared before everyone as Park Haseong and Chairman Yoon Jeongbae.
How clear would it be? How vivid?
But Kang Woojin had a few concerns about acting characters other than Park Haseong. For some reason, it felt inappropriate to reveal their original selves exactly as they were. So he decided to make changes to them. He also thought it would be better to lower the intensity a little. One overpowering character like Park Haseong was enough. Around seventy percent felt about right.
"Mr. Woojin, I will definitely beat you and surpass you."
When Han Sojin said that, Kang Woojin let it go in one ear and out the other. Of course, part of him did think, 'What is she talking about?' but his own concern came first.
'Ah, I see. Should I combine Chairman Yoon Jeongbae with Iyota Kiyoshi?'
Role fusion.
He kept Chairman Yoon Jeongbae as the base and filled in the empty spaces with Kiyoshi. That was how another version of Chairman Yoon Jeongbae was born.
"My daughter, my beloved daughter."
To Chairman Yoon Jeongbae, who had been blinded by power and the desire to dominate, love and affection were merely tools for maintaining authority. To him, his children were nothing more than the final safeguard that protected his relationship with the wife who truly held the real power behind the scenes. He had prepared everything in advance for any possible crisis.
That was why he displayed paternal love through action.
"My daughter, my precious daughter. That is how it looks in my eyes. Isn't that right?"
There was no path for real love to exist.
That was precisely why Woojin had chosen Kiyoshi for the role fusion. Just as Kiyoshi in The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice regarded the grim sacrifice as nothing more than a task, without any emotion at all, Chairman Yoon Jeongbae viewed his son and daughter as no different from possessions. Still, they were possessions so important that losing them would be disastrous.
That was exactly the kind of gaze reflected in Woojin's eyes.
Han Sojin stood in front of him. No, Yoon Jimin was his daughter, but that affection had already become rehearsed. I love my daughter. I value you. This is for your future. Once again, I love you. I am your father.
But then why?
If I love and treasure you that much, why do you insist on doing things that irritate me?
At that gaze, Han Sojin froze.
It felt as if time had stopped.
'What is this? What is he doing?'
Han Sojin stood directly in front of Kang Woojin, meeting his eyes. In Woojin's pupils, there was something beyond coldness. They were hollow. Yet there was a smile spreading faintly at the corner of his mouth. His expression was strange, but it did not feel discordant. That was because his eyes were filled with a perfect lie.
Daughter?
No. A possession.
And even the act of cherishing a possession had its limits. His lips spoke of love, yet his eyes were lifeless and empty.
It was nothing more than control disguised as affection.
You are important, but if I lose you, then that is simply how it is. That was the way Kang Woojin interpreted Chairman Yoon Jeongbae's mindset.
And it happened in that very moment.
Cut.
Facing Han Sojin, Kang Woojin slowly straightened his back and reached a hand toward her. Flinch. Yoon Jimin, no, Han Sojin trembled slightly. It was not acting. Her confused mind had only just snapped back into place.
Even so, Kang Woojin opened his mouth.
Once again, he spoke in a low but cunning tone.
"My daughter, I treasure you. So let me give you one piece of advice. Understand? You are part of the ruling class. Rather than sympathizing awkwardly, you should dominate. Instead of obsessing over that servant, that parasite, simply possess him."
Woojin's hand, wearing that faint smile, touched Han Sojin's cheek, then slid to her shoulder.
"If you do that, then in the process of cherishing him, you might end up hurting him. Isn't that right?"
That came from experience.
And the proof of it was you, my daughter.
Chairman Yoon Jeongbae's snake-like smile.
The scene had not ended yet. Even so, perhaps because the play had already reached its peak and the acting from the two performers was as intense as theater itself, the small theater had gone silent. Yet many people were watching the stage.
And the most striking among them was the veteran actor Shim Hanho.
'A new interpretation of Chairman Yoon Jeongbae. But that one feels even more... realistic.'
Even for someone with over thirty years of acting experience, this was a first. Watching Woojin's performance, he had risen from his seat without even realizing it. It had been unconscious. He had not even noticed he was standing. The tiger-like charisma that had once radiated from him was nowhere to be found. All he could do was stare at Woojin.
No, his eyes were wide, as though he were trying to pierce straight through Kang Woojin's acting.
'How is this even possible? It was already shocking enough that he performed Park Haseong's Ripley syndrome so perfectly, but to handle Chairman Yoon Jeongbae like that too... that's almost impossible.'
But Kang Woojin on stage looked completely undisturbed. Up until just now, he had been Park Haseong, yet he was moving into Chairman Yoon Jeongbae so naturally. Was that even something that could still be called the ability of an actor? Meanwhile, Shim Hanho was dissecting Kang Woojin's performance down to the smallest details.
Using his own interpretation of Chairman Yoon Jeongbae as a standard, he weighed everything in front of him.
And he felt that something was missing.
Regret grew heavier and heavier in his chest. The gaps in his own interpretation stood out too clearly.
'Yes. That kind of angle is possible too.'
Shim Hanho accepted it without resistance. It was not the version of Chairman Yoon Jeongbae that he himself had built, but at this point, he had no choice but to acknowledge it. Ignoring something that could be learned from was no different from being an amateur.
At that exact moment.
"My daughter, do you understand?"
Kang Woojin's chillingly gentle voice echoed through the small theater. Only then did Han Sojin come back to her senses, breathing hard.
'I don't know. I really don't know. It feels like the Chairman Yoon Jeongbae I know, but it's also confusing. What kind of interpretation did he just bring out?'
Han Sojin's mind had gone blank. Kang Woojin's acting had gone far beyond anything she had anticipated.
Still, Han Sojin somehow managed to stay grounded. The poisonous stubbornness rooted deep inside her gave her strength.
"Ah, I understand cherishing something. But why does that end in breaking it?"
"Because possessions become troublesome. And sometimes they break. Solving those kinds of problems is the ruler's responsibility. Do you understand?"
"...No, I told you I hate it. Stop talking about that disgusting servant. If you keep going, I'll tell Mother."
"This isn't about that parasite. I'm simply reminding you of something. Remember it well. You are a ruler. There will come a time when you must destroy what belongs to you."
Chairman Yoon Jeongbae was the one who had planted in Yoon Jimin the idea that cutting off a parasite who crossed the line was her duty, and in that sense he was her perfect match. Yoon Jimin had always been a daughter-like existence with a blurry and confused heart, and sometimes that affection and obsession revealed themselves through unexpectedly aggressive impulses.
Kang Woojin gripped Han Sojin's shoulders.
The emptiness that had vanished from his eyes returned.
"You are my daughter, Jimin."
Woojin's face shifted through several expressions in an instant. Han Sojin suddenly felt as though she had stepped into Yoon Jimin's world. And she wanted to escape it.
Not as an actor.
But as Yoon Jimin.
From the monster called father standing before her.
"Uh..."
At that point, Director Ahn Gabok felt a sense of awe.
"..."
He could not even speak properly. He could not organize his thoughts. All he could do was enjoy the world of Leech unfolding in front of him. At this moment, he was no longer a director. He was merely one of the audience members, watching an actor who would one day shake the world spread his wings.
'How thrilling. This is the true joy of being a director.'
It no longer mattered why Kang Woojin was able to digest different roles so completely, or how he managed to draw out such interpretations.
'It's unfortunate. If only I had met you a little sooner.'
Here, evaluation had no meaning. It was enough simply to remember the thrill that actor Kang Woojin had directly delivered. Once this play ended, he would praise this insane performance with words like bravo.
Meanwhile, the staff and assistants watching Leech were not able to simply enjoy it the way Director Ahn Gabok was.
"...Wow."
"H-how is that even possible?"
"How would I know?"
The staff had forgotten their own duties and had become completely absorbed in the audition performance. Choi Sunggeon's eyes were wide, as though he had just been struck in the back of the head.
'He can even handle those completely different roles perfectly? When would he have had time for that? No, he didn't. There's no way. Woojin, what the hell are you?'
Because Choi Sunggeon was with Kang Woojin almost all the time, he was even more shocked than anyone else. More than anyone in the theater, he was trembling the most. Just being able to digest multiple roles in that hellish schedule was already something incredible. No other actor could possibly have done it.
But that was not even his limit.
It was impossible to tell how much of those characters he had absorbed and made his own, but even that alone was enough for him to step into the role of Chairman Yoon Jeongbae immediately and without any difficulty.
The assistants around the other actors were just as bewildered.
"Something changed again just now."
"Why does he keep switching roles like that?"
"He isn't even looking at the script."
"Can someone like that really be an audition partner?"
"Unbelievable."
And then.
"Wow..."
At the very back of the small theater, an unfamiliar woman with her arms crossed was watching with stunned eyes. The woman in the hat was Oh Heeryeong. She had dropped by the audition venue for a moment. In the drama Leech, she had been cast as Yoo Hyeonji, the wife. Since Kang Woojin was the actor she would have to face most often in the future, she had come to take a quick look at what kind of person he was.
'I came without thinking much, and I ended up witnessing something unbelievable.'
Later.
The audition performance chosen by Han Sojin on stage came to an end. As soon as it did, Kang Woojin, who had been filled with Chairman Yoon Jeongbae, instantly returned to himself.
'Whew, that was seriously exhausting.'
After that, he gave a light nod toward Han Sojin, who was standing in front of him.
"You did well."
Caught off guard by his sudden greeting, Han Sojin quickly replied.
"Ah, yes, you too."
At the same time, Kang Woojin thought to himself,
'This should be enough, right? It won't look like I'm being lazy just because I skipped giving an audition evaluation.'
He felt fairly satisfied.
'Since I'd already built up other roles besides Park Haseong, there wasn't any overlap at all.'
That was the extent of his thoughts.
But the audition was not over yet.
In the tense atmosphere, Director Ahn Gabok continued leading the audition. After Han Sojin, it was Hwarin's turn.
"Please take good care of me, Mr. Woojin."
"Yes, same here."
She too had been competing for the role of Yoon Jimin, the same role Han Sojin wanted, but the role she chose for this round was different. This time, her counterpart was not Chairman Yoon Jeongbae, but Yoon Jaho.
And once again, Woojin transformed into Yoon Jaho in an instant.
The small theater fell into chaos all over again.
But it seemed that was still not the end of it. As soon as Hwarin's audition ended, Kang Woojin quickly stepped onto the stage again as Park Haseong, this time as Hong Hyeyeon's counterpart.
In truth, this entire place had already fallen completely under Kang Woojin's influence.
Amusingly enough,
'...He's insane. Or else he's definitely possessed by some evil spirit.'
That was the common reaction throughout the theater. It was hard to describe, but the atmosphere gradually shifted away from pure shock and toward acknowledging him. At that point, no one was looking at Kang Woojin as a rookie actor anymore. From the very beginning, the whole thing had been utterly ridiculous.
It was something none of them had ever experienced before.
A first in their lives.
And because of that, none of them could even make a proper judgment. Their thoughts had come to a complete standstill.
And like that, several hours passed.
"Cut."
With Director Ahn Gabok's signal, the audition finally came to an end.
But even after the performance was over, the small theater remained steeped in silence.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The thoughts of everyone who had watched Kang Woojin until now had completely changed from what they had been at the beginning.
'Now I understand why Director Ahn was so adamant about making him a judge. With that level of skill, not making him one would have been stranger.'
'This is a warning. If you approach this project carelessly, you're going to suffer for it.'
'Damn it. That's not just a stimulant. It's poison. What actor could possibly endure that?'
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin maintained his indifferent expression as he casually greeted the audience.
"Thank you for your hard work."
He then walked back to his seat as if nothing had happened.
Naturally, all eyes followed him.
Director Ahn Gabok, Shim Hanho, the ten or so staff members and managers—every one of them tracked Woojin's movement with their eyes. Kang Woojin naturally noticed those stares. They were burdensome, but he remained composed.
Soon.
"..."
Once Woojin sat down with his usual cold expression, Director Ahn Gabok, who had been watching him, glanced sideways at Shim Hanho seated to his right. Then he turned his gaze back to Kang Woojin, seated farther away.
'So that's why Mr. Kang Woojin suddenly volunteered to act as the counterpart instead of simply judging.'
The seasoned Director Ahn Gabok arrived at a new conclusion.
'He established the acting standard for every role in the film Leech, and in doing so, became a model for every actor here.'