As soon as Leech made its official announcement on the 6th—
『[Official] Leech finalizes its cast lineup! Following Shim Hanho and Kang Woojin, Oh Heeryeong, Jin Jaejun, and Han Sojin join the film』
The film industry press immediately followed behind.
『Oh Heeryeong, Jin Jaejun, and Han Sojin join Director Ahn Gabok's 100th film, Leech』
『[Movie Talk] Leech boasts a dazzling lineup! Shim Hanho, Kang Woojin, Oh Heeryeong, Jin Jaejun, and Han Sojin confirmed』
It was already a project loaded with significance. Director Ahn Gabok's 100th film in Korean cinema history, the casting of top star Shim Hanho and the unpredictable Kang Woojin, its planned submission to Cannes—there were many factors tied to it.
And uniquely enough—
『Leech audition, every additional cast member passed through the selection process?』
Rumors that even top stars had gone through auditions only pushed the attention higher.
The lineup Leech had announced was rather unusual.
Following Kang Woojin and Shim Hanho, top actress Oh Heeryeong, Jin Jaejun, and Han Sojin, who was being named one of the best rookie actresses of the year, had all joined. Calling it groundbreaking would not have been an exaggeration. The inclusion of two rookie actors felt like a fresh attempt.
Of course, the treatment of Kang Woojin and Han Sojin was starkly different.
『Actors who were nominated for Best New Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards through the film Leech』
『Han Sojin overshadowed by Kang Woojin's 8-award sweep, can she shine in Leech?』
But taken as a whole, the lineup completely overturned what the film press had expected.
"So the actors chosen later were Heeryeong, Jaejun, and Han Sojin? Wow, Heeryeong really does look powerful."
"Right? But Jaejun and Han Sojin feel a little unexpected. Especially Jaejun. It feels like Drug Dealer only just ended and he jumped right into this."
"Wow, Han Sojin is seriously amazing. Right after winning Best New Actress at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, she's in Director Ahn's film?"
"Well, since they said there was a Leech audition, I guess they must have shown something there."
"I'm sure countless famous stars sent in love calls, so how did she pull it off?"
"Who knows. Maybe something unexpected happened during the auditions."
"But when you look at it like this, Kang Woojin really is something else. He didn't even need an audition. Director Ahn picked him right away."
"Honestly, just looking at market value alone, Kang Woojin and Han Sojin aren't on the same level."
The public, who had shown deep interest in Leech, were busy typing away too.
[Wow, the lineup is finally out! Shim Hanho, Kang Woojin, Oh Heeryeong, Jin Jaejun, Han Sojin? It's unusual, but it looks like it'll work really well.]
[Shim Hanho and Oh Heeryeong… this is insane… I'm so curious about the film itself…]
[Jin Jaejun is really shooting another movie with Kang Woojin right after Drug Dealer??? Seriously, trouble never seems to leave Kang Woojin alone.]
[↑Agreed hahaha and on top of that, the story about Kang Woojin playing piano in Japan caused a huge stir over there hahaha he really feels like a top star now hahaha]
[Will we get to see it after Cannes? Ah… when does it come out…?]
At that moment, Kang Woojin, who had heard the news about Leech, was inside a van on the way to his next filming location. Since he had not received a direct call from Director Ahn Gabok, he had checked the news through the articles instead. Beneath Kang Woojin's usual emotionless face, various worries flickered through his mind.
'Hmm, so does that mean Hyeyeon and Hwarin didn't make it? Same with the others. Should I at least send them a message or something? Like, "Cheer up"? Would that be too much?'
It would have been unnecessary. Even if there had been no bad intention behind it, Kang Woojin had been the one who set the acting standard at the Leech audition. For someone in that position to offer comfort to the actors who had failed felt a bit awkward.
And besides, Kang Woojin was not particularly good at those kinds of things.
More importantly, weren't they all professionals anyway?
Meanwhile, one of the stylists beside him asked Choi Sunggeon, who was sitting up front with his ponytail tied back,
"Ah… should we contact sunbae Hyeyeon?"
"Right. I think it would be good to send her a message of encouragement."
But Choi Sunggeon, seated in the passenger seat, looked rather cold.
"It's fine. Hong Hyeyeon didn't get into this field yesterday or the day before. You all just focus on your work."
"Ah! Yes!"
"Woojin, you don't need to say anything to Hyeyeon either. Same with Hwarin. They're both pros. Well, you're not really the type to worry about things like that anyway."
"······"
Kang Woojin, who chose not to answer, erased the passing concern from his mind and kept his face expressionless. Then Choi Sunggeon continued.
"Anything like comfort or that kind of thing will've been handled by each team already. What matters more is dealing with the Japanese side."
As he brought up the piano incident—
"If you were still in Japan, the reporters would've gone crazy. The situation there is seriously intense right now. Anyway, articles are still being pushed out in both Japan and Korea through our channels. What do you want to do? Are you going to react on social media like Sayaka Asami did?"
Was that really necessary? Woojin had not played the piano with any of that in mind. Taking action now felt like it would only cheapen the meaning of what he had done. More than that, it felt excessive.
So Woojin made his choice.
"No. I'll just leave it as it is."
He chose silence.
"That's what you want?"
"Yes."
"That's fine. It doesn't matter much. The Japanese media is already handling it well enough. It wasn't something meticulously planned in the first place anyway. Alright."
Choi Sunggeon nodded and began listing today's schedule. Aside from minor things, there were two important items. The first was filming a character interview for the drama Island of the Missing, which was currently in post-production. It was the sort of shoot used for teaser videos tied to promotions and marketing.
The second was recording content for Woojin's Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel.
For reference, this was the current status of Kang Woojin's Alter Ego.
[Channel name: Kang Woojin's Alter Ego]
[Subscribers: 12.03 million]
[Videos: 45]
The subscriber count had surpassed twelve million, and recently the number of Japanese subscribers had increased noticeably. A lot of domestic fans had joined too, but because the growth in Japan was so explosive, they could not afford to neglect uploading videos.
Also, following Hwarin and Kara, Ryu Jungmin had been confirmed as the third guest.
The next guest under discussion was a famous Japanese actor.
In any case, while going through the schedule, Choi Sunggeon moved on to the next item. He handed a tablet to Kang Woojin, who was standing there in silence. The screen was packed with material sent over by the production company A10 Studio regarding the animated Boy Friend: Remake.
It included the script for the animation Boy Friend: Remake and guide recordings for the OST.
Everything had to be reviewed.
For most actors, that would have been an overwhelming schedule, but for Kang Woojin, it posed no real problem. After a script reading, he could grasp the contents quickly enough. If another actor might need ten hours, Kang Woojin needed only about one. After that, filming could begin.
"Woojin, A10 Studio asked for piano performance as part of the role. Did you expect that?"
"Ah, yes."
"They probably had no idea you could play piano. But once your piano performance became a major issue in Japan, they contacted us right away. They've got eyes and ears too, and they obviously wouldn't want to miss something like this. It'll help a lot with promoting Boy Friend: Remake."
Up to now, Boy Friend: Remake still had not been officially announced. But if Kang Woojin's participation as a voice actor, his OST involvement, and even his piano performance were all included in the first reveal, Japanese fans would undoubtedly go wild.
"The terms will naturally improve, but it's still optional, so if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. Still, you're already the lead voice actor for this project, and you were also the male lead in the original Boy Friend, so doing it wouldn't be a bad idea. It'll raise your brand recognition a lot too."
In that case, there was no reason not to do it. It was not especially difficult for Kang Woojin either.
"Understood. Tell them I'll do it."
"Ah, alright. I'll handle the contract revisions properly."
Once he said that, Choi Sunggeon suddenly smiled broadly.
"And Baeksang has started showing interest too."
Baeksang? Ah, he means the Baeksang Arts Awards.
When Woojin gave a calm nod, Choi Sunggeon's smile deepened.
"You know Baeksang covers both film and TV. Think of it as the place that wraps up last year's performance. Looking at the momentum you had last year, one or two trophies won't be enough."
The Baeksang Arts Awards were scheduled to be held in mid-March.
──────────
After that—
the frantic 6th ended, and Sunday the 7th began. Of course, the entertainment industry in Korea was still noisy on the 7th as well. It was the same everywhere, whether it was film or variety.
And Kang Woojin, naturally, had no time to catch his breath.
Just like that, time disappeared in an instant.
By late afternoon—
『Our Table at Home hits a new record with a 19% rating… can it break 20% this week?』
『[Variety] As expected of PD Yoon, the terrifying momentum of Our Table has seized the attention of the variety world!』
Our Table at Home aired again.
Having already passed 19% viewership, the program had built huge anticipation for today's results thanks to Yoon Byeongseon PD's aggressive promotion throughout the week.
This week's episode of Our Table dealt with the end of the food truck operation and the opening of the restaurant.
What stood out most, in particular, was Kang Woojin's cold adaptability and his attitude as both leader and chef.
With Our Table ending, Sunday also came to a close, and the workweek began again.
Monday the 8th.
From early morning, a large number of people were gathering inside a big conference room at Netflix Korea. Not a single seat was empty around the U-shaped table. It looked like more than thirty people had assembled. On one side, near the windows, sat Netflix executives including Representative Kim Sohyang. Across from them sat PD Song Manwoo and his team.
In other words, this was also the Beneficial Evil team.
DM Production and Netflix Korea. The two companies had come together with the goal of entering the global market, and this meeting was the first major production meeting after the large-scale restructuring of the team.
"It looks like everyone's here, so let's begin."
Overall, there were not going to be major changes to the production process of Beneficial Evil. However, many things were going to shift in the details.
"First, this is related to the revised budget calculated on our side."
The most noticeable point was that the budget had increased significantly. In other words, funding had been expanded. The number of staff had gone up, and so had the amount of equipment. Naturally, this would speed up production. When more people were brought in, work moved faster. That was only obvious.
On top of that, the strength of promotion and marketing had multiplied several times over.
About an hour later—
"Alright, then let's start with the important announcement."
"Yes, PD-nim. We're already prepared, so just give us the signal."
Beneficial Evil finally revealed its true face to the entire nation.
The new drama created by acting monster Kang Woojin and heavyweight PD Song Manwoo would be titled Beneficial Evil, with writer Choi Nana, who had written the short drama Boy Friend, serving as the screenwriter.
And not only that—
『[Exclusive] Beneficial Evil, born from the collaboration between Kang Woojin and PD Song Manwoo, to launch globally through Netflix!』
The fact that Beneficial Evil was targeting the global market was made public immediately.
Meanwhile, inside the general programming division of HTBS, this was happening—
the variety department office was in complete chaos.
"PD Yoon! It's finally out!!"
"Good! Let's see it."
To be more precise, the busiest team there was the Our Table at Home team. Because of that, even the surrounding PDs were focused on them. Then the ratings chart from the day before was handed to Yoon Byeongseon PD, who wore glasses. And soon enough, Yoon Byeongseon found Our Table at Home on the chart.
Not long after, his eyes locked onto one number.
Our Table / 20.4%
At last, Our Table at Home had broken past 20% viewership.
With that, the assistant directors and writers gathered around Yoon Byeongseon PD burst into cheers.
"Waaaah!! We did it! We really did it!!"
"Ah! How—how did we really break 20%?!"
"Wow, this is the first time!! Twenty percent viewership!!"
"Seriously! Nineteen percent was already an insane number, but once the first digit changes, the impact is huge!!"
Congratulations poured in from the nearby department heads as well.
"Hahaha, PD Yoon, congratulations!"
"Wow, that's seriously incredible! Twenty percent in this day and age!"
"As expected of Yoon PD!!"
It was a remarkable achievement. Even for a veteran of variety like Yoon Byeongseon, 20% was a major milestone. At the same time, executives like the head of the variety division and the general manager came flooding into the department. Naturally, they were busy praising Yoon Byeongseon PD, but he looked somewhat awkward and pushed the credit back onto the cast.
"What did I do? It's all thanks to the members doing so well."
"Hahaha, is that so?"
Everyone agreed in unison. Among them, the head of variety brought up Kang Woojin's name.
"Kang Woojin was the key, the real key! That casting was a genius move."
"That's right. Because of Mr. Woojin, Our Table found perfect balance."
"And his skill as a chef is seriously outstanding too!"
"He's a genius, a genius, I'm telling you. There's nothing Mr. Woojin can't do."
And right at that moment—
Swish.
The head writer of Our Table arrived late to the variety department, pushed through the crowded atmosphere, and approached Yoon Byeongseon PD. Her expression was a little unusual.
"PD-nim, I just got a message."
"Huh? What kind of message?"
"It's from the marketing team at a food company."
Then the head writer leaned toward Yoon Byeongseon PD's ear and whispered,
"I think it's about commercializing Woojin's Kimjaban Makguksu."
Yoon Byeongseon PD's eyes widened.
"Commercializing Kimjaban Makguksu?"