Chapter 334 - Bangkok (10)

Translator: Dreamscribe

A loud roar reverberated through the entire set. A vehicle had exploded. The car, bursting into flames, shot into the air before landing back on the ground. Naturally, it flipped over from the impact.

The camera continued to capture the flaming, overturned car.

Then, a brief moment of silence.

Only the sound of the burning vehicle filled the scene. That went on for about several tens of seconds. Suddenly, a loud signal from PD Song Man-woo echoed across the entire set.

“……Cuuuut!!! OOOK!!!”

The first OK of the long-take scene, which had been retaken several times, was given. In other words, it was completed. As soon as he heard PD Song Man-woo’s signal, the cinematographer holding the camera let out a long sigh and sat down on the ground.

“Phew-”

The cinematographer had probably moved the most after Kang Woojin in this long take. Simultaneously, dozens of staff members rushed towards the burning vehicle. All of them holding fire extinguishers.

-Sswwwiiiishhh!!

The flames engulfing the car were quickly extinguished by the multiple fire extinguishers. But since they needed to double-check, they even sprayed water on it. Of course, while the staff in charge of the vehicle handled it, others were inspecting the abandoned building. Numerous Thai actors and props were around. PD Song Man-woo patted the exhausted cinematographer on the shoulder.

“Good job.”

The panting cinematographer asked.

“I didn’t do anything but run with the camera. Woojin-ssi did all the work. Did the shot come out well?”

“Of course, thanks to you.”

Kang Woojin was surrounded by staff. Of course, it was the makeup team. They had to clean off the blood and soot. Woojin, who had his eyes closed, remained calm. Even though there had just been a shootout and explosion, he was calm as if nothing had happened. Naturally, that was only on the outside.

Internally, his adrenaline was at its peak.

‘Wo- damn, my heart’s still pounding.’

Even though he had experienced the world of ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ through void space, the quality of ‘Beneficial Evil’ implemented through acting wasn’t bad at all.

At this moment.

“Woojin!”

Several people approached Kang Woojin, who was getting his makeup touched up. The first to arrive was the ponytailed Choi Sung-gun. His face, which had been full of worry that Woojin might get hurt from the start of the filming, finally showed a smile.

“You killed it, absolutely killed it! I really thought I was watching a Hollywood movie.”

Following him, other members of Kang Woojin’s team, including Han Ye-jung, also appeared. Their energy was almost identical to that of their CEO, Choi Sung-gun, and even Writer Choi Na-na and Executive Director Kim So-hyang gave thumbs up.

“Woojin-nim!! That was truly amazing! I was holding my breath the whole time! Thank you so much! The result is dozens of times better than I imagined!”

“That’s right, I’m not just saying this—it was genuinely incredible.”

Kang Woojin responded in a low voice.

“Is that so?”

Soon, applause erupted from the staff that had gathered. It was understandable. While there were some staff members who had experience with long-takes, they were very few. The long-take scene they saw for the first time was truly overwhelming.

At that moment.

-Swoosh.

A blonde woman approached. It was Miley Cara. As she appeared, the people around Kang Woojin slightly stepped back. Cara spoke to Woojin, with a faint smile spreading across her lips, of course, in English.

“That was fantastic! I felt like I was in Hollywood.”

Woojin, maintaining his indifferent demeanor, lowered his English tone.

“Thank you.”

“You’re lying when you say this is your first time with action or long-takes, right?”

“It’s really my first time.”

“No way. Who would believe that this kind of tension on the first try is possible? No matter how perfect the practice was beforehand, achieving a long-take scene like this in less than half a day is a miracle.”

Well? If that globally famous superstar Cara said so, it must be true, but to Kang Woojin, who didn’t particularly have a sense of Hollywood, it didn’t matter much. As always, there was only one thing to do here.

Act tough.

“It wasn’t particularly difficult.”

“……Unbelievable, really.”

Then, PD Song Man-woo, who was organizing the scene, joined in. Next to him were the stunt director and Ethan Smith as well.

“Woojin-ssi! That was incredible!!”

Among the excited crowd, PD Song Man-woo led Kang Woojin to the monitor area. Since the scene was filmed, he suggested they take a quick look. The long-take footage, captured on the camera monitor held by the cinematographer, began to play. A swarm of people gathered around Woojin, whose face remained rigid, though inwardly he was filled with awe.

‘Oh— seeing this footage gives it a completely different vibe??’

The scene where he had performed wildly felt different when watched on screen. It was, well, flashy yet elegant in a way. Also, it was raw and violent. But it was stylish as well. Woojin suddenly felt the urge to see this on a large TV screen rather than just a small monitor.

Around him, people seemed to share Kang Woojin’s sentiment as they burst into applause and voiced their admiration.

At that moment.

“Woojin-ssi.”

The satisfied PD Song Man-woo asked Kang Woojin.

“How does it look to you? Does it seem okay?”

Woojin, keeping his eyes on the monitor, answered briefly.

“Do you feel it’s lacking?”

“No, no, no. Not at all. But, I’d like to try one more time. The shot came out great, but as a director, we are creatures who never truly feel satisfied. How about it, if you don’t mind, one more take? Of course, it’s entirely up to you, Woojin-ssi.”

Kang Woojin responded cynically.

“No problem, as many times as needed.”

Later that night, in the mountains.

Darkness was beginning to spread across the mountain. The sound of animals crying echoed from somewhere. In that eerie forest, a small storage shed stood out. It seemed old enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if it collapsed at any moment.

Inside, it was about 5-pyeong in size. (TL: approx. 16.5 square meters)

The only visible things were darkness and a single human figure. It was small and lying on the floor.

And then.

“……”

In the forest behind the shed, among the trees, another human figure could be seen. It was Kang Woojin, hidden in the darkness.

Around that time.

-Crunch!

The sound of movement came from somewhere. Kang Woojin crouched down even further. Soon, more human figures appeared in front of the shed. About four of them. While he was carefully observing them,

“J.”

A woman’s voice quietly called out from the front of the shed. At this moment, Kang Woojin, who had been lying in wait, moved his feet. The camera followed him closely. As Woojin got closer to the woman, he shone the light in his hand towards them. Three large men, and one blonde woman in a bulletproof vest.

‘L’. No, it was Miley Cara.

As Woojin approached, L, who had a pistol in her hand, holstered it at her waist and asked.

“What about the target?”

Woojin pointed his index finger toward the inside of the shed.

“Inside.”

The men and L entered the shed. They shone a light on the girl lying on the floor. L, who had tied her blonde hair again, nodded her head.

“It’s her, right? Is she dead?”

Woojin, who entered the shed last, answered in a low voice.

“No.”

“Still in this state?”

“It must be the drugs. If left like this, she’ll die.”

“We can’t just let that happen. Do you know how much she’s worth?”

“What’s the situation?”

L approached Woojin and said.

“The area is swarming with their men. We’ve blocked off the bridges and roads leading out of the village. The key is to get out of here. Once we’re out, there’ll be a helicopter waiting.”

As she muttered, L or Cara tugged on Woojin’s blood-soaked gray t-shirt.

“Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“……Going alone was reckless.”

“It’s easier that way.”

She sighed and then, as the leader, issued commands to everyone.

“You two, provide sniper support from the designated positions. Jack, you stand by at the rendezvous point.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Got it.”

The large men lifted the girl and left the shed. Then, L said to Kang Woojin.

“J, you move with me.”

“I told you, you are just a burden.”

L growled.

“Shut up. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

The next day, Wednesday, the 22nd. Tokyo, Japan.

The location was near Tokyo Station, in a mid-sized editing room of the Toega Film Company. This was where the editing of the movie ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was taking place, and currently, for some reason, Director Kyotaro was there along with the original author, writer Akari.

“……”

“……”

The CEO and executives of the Toega Film Company, employees from the distribution company, and the cast of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ except for Kang Woojin were all gathered. All the actors except Kang Woojin were present. There were roughly more than 30 people in attendance. All of them were intently watching the largest monitor among the many screens in front of them.

A powerful sound echoed throughout the editing room.

-♬♪

The monitor displayed not only Kang Woojin but also the Japanese actors who had gathered in this editing room. Everyone’s expression, from Director Kyotaro to Writer Akari, was serious and focused.

The reason was simple.

They were currently conducting a final screening test of the completed version of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’. The problem was that as the content of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ became more intense, the expressions of everyone except Director Kyotaro gradually showed shock. At this point, the original author, Akari Takikawa, glanced at Director Kyotaro sitting next to her.

‘The quality is top-notch. The best among all the adaptations of my work. But… isn’t this edited a bit too boldly?’

The Japanese actors couldn’t take their eyes off the monitor.

‘Wow, they really went all out.’

‘Is this okay? Especially with the media and public opinion already in a frenzy—if we release it like this… ha— I don’t know.’

Among them, Mana Kosaku, who played Detective Yoshizawa Mochio, a character who directly confronted Woojin’s character ‘Iyota Kiyoshi’, was smiling slightly. It was a smile of satisfaction.

‘Detective Mochio is impressive, but— they really nailed the Kiyoshi character.’

At least in the eyes of Mana Kosaku, one of Japan’s top actors, it was on another level.

Meanwhile.

With the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival about a week away, there was, as always, a commotion all over the world. Particularly for those connected to the Cannes Film Festival. Since the festival was right around the corner, everyone involved was in a frenzy.

International news frequently covered the Cannes Film Festival.

『The Cannes Film Festival kicks off on the 30th! This year promises to be more intense than ever, with a lineup full of star directors heading to Cannes!』

Even in Hollywood, often considered the peak of the global film industry, the Cannes Film Festival was a frequent topic of conversation.

“This year’s Cannes seems quite noisy.”

“I heard there are even more entries than last year, with a lot of prominent directors participating. Plus, it seems like the Cannes organizers put a lot of effort into their guest list, inviting not just star actors from all over the world but also many influential directors and industry figures.”

“Haha, looks like they’re trying to make up for last year’s mishaps. There were plenty of controversies too.”

“They probably don’t want to lose the top spot as one of the top three international film festivals.”

“Is that why they picked such a diverse lineup for the main ‘In Competition’ section? I heard there’s even an entry from Korea.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. It’s a work by Director Ahn Ga-bok. He’s a director who’s often made waves at Cannes.”

Naturally, from France, the home of the Cannes Film Festival, to Germany, the UK, and other countries nominated for this year’s Cannes, presented a picture almost identical to Hollywood.

“You should book a hotel in advance. Last year, I underestimated it and ended up sleeping in my car for a night because all the hotels near Cannes were fully booked.”

“That’s right. We need to be more careful this time, especially since we have to be there two days before the opening.”

“Especially since this year, there will be even more countries participating at Cannes than last year, which means the number of attendees will absolutely explode compared to previous years. India, Japan, Korea, and a lot more from Asia too.”

“Korea made it into the ‘In Competition’ section this year, right? That surprised me. They’ve been quiet for a few years.”

“There’s a lot of talk, like Cannes forcibly including a Korean film into the lineup just for the sake of diversity.”

“Well, who knows. Korea has historically had solid showings at Cannes every year—it’ll all become clear when the results are revealed whether it was just for show or if there’s real talent behind it.”

Directors from Japan, who had two films in the ‘In Competition’ section, were more wary of Director Ahn Ga-bok than anyone else. In this way, not only Korea but the eyes and ears of filmmakers around the world were focused on the southern French city of Cannes. Hundreds of people, including world-famous star actors and directors, as well as celebrities from other industries, were expected to flock to Cannes.

At this level, Cannes’ neighboring Nice Airport was sure to be packed with private jets carrying numerous stars.

In other words, the economic ripple effect of the Cannes Film Festival was enormous.

That’s why France itself puts a significant amount of effort into the Cannes Film Festival. There are over 4,000 journalists from around the world expected to attend, and more than 20,000 official invitees. But the real deal is the number of tourists highly interested in the Cannes Film Festival. Although it’s hard to estimate accurately, when you add up the spectators from all over the world who flock to Cannes every year, the total easily reaches hundreds of thousands.

It is truly a grand global festival.

Therefore, the competition among global corporations to become an official sponsor of Cannes is incredibly fierce. Just being listed as an official sponsor would have a nuclear bomb-level global promotional effect.

What if you become even a small issue at Cannes?

Whether it’s the director, the movie, or the actor, whoever it might be, the impact would undoubtedly be beyond imagination. Hence, many of the official invitees to the Cannes Film Festival, the festival of global filmmakers, had already begun to arrive. Especially Hollywood’s top actors and world-renowned celebrities were among the first to arrive. The reason being that they could use the Cannes Film Festival as an excuse to take a vacation in Cannes, France.

And then, on the morning of the 24th, two days later, at Incheon Airport, Director Ahn Ga-bok of ‘Leech’, the only film from Korea to be ranked in the ‘In Competition’ section, made an appearance.

『Director Ahn Ga-bok, who submitted ‘Leech’ to the Cannes Film Festival’s ‘In Competition’ section, spotted at Incheon Airport heading to Cannes before the opening / Photo』

He was on his way to catch a flight to France, to be more precise.

“Phew— let’s go, to Cannes.”

“Yes, Director-nim.”

He was heading to the global battleground that is the Cannes Film Festival.

****