The moment Kang Woojin appeared in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport arrival hall with his usual indifferent expression, he was met by an enormous crowd.
-Pababababababak!!
Dozens of Thai reporters were furiously hammering their camera shutters, and behind them, countless onlookers had their phones out, shouting Kang Woojin's name. Most of them were Thai reporters. Lined up along the pre-installed barriers, they had even climbed onto small ladders so they would not waste a single second photographing Woojin.
-Pababababak!
Even by a rough estimate, the crowd numbered well over several hundred people.
"Kyah!!"
"%)%(#% Kang Woojin!! Woojin!!"
The arrival hall was filled with a chaotic mixture of screams and shouts. Thanks to the frenzied reporters and onlookers, the traffic flow inside the arrival hall became even more congested. The crowd swelled visibly, while security guards and airport staff desperately tried to keep them under control.
But the shouting that echoed through the arrival hall only kept getting louder.
"..."
Even in the middle of that horrifying scene unfolding in an instant, Woojin remained calm. His serious expression barely changed. He simply swept his eyes quietly over the Thai reporters and onlookers. On the surface, he looked unbelievably composed, but in truth, Kang Woojin was in total shock inside.
'My god!! That seriously scared me! I almost screamed out loud!'
He was already used to being surrounded by reporters and crowds, but he had never imagined something like this would happen in Bangkok, Thailand. It was completely beyond anything he had expected. In other words, Kang Woojin was so stunned that, rather than maintaining his concept, he had practically frozen in place.
'W-what the hell is going on?! Did some other celebrity arrive too??'
If it had happened in Korea or Japan, he would have understood. But seeing a scene like that in Bangkok, Thailand left Kang Woojin utterly baffled. For a split second, he wondered if maybe it had nothing to do with him, but when he looked more closely, dozens of reporters were unmistakably photographing him. And the same went for the hundreds of Thai people gathered there.
'My name? They're shouting my name, right?'
They were yelling Woojin's name at the top of their lungs. Some of them were even enthusiastically waving placards with his name written in Korean. At that point, it was obvious the crowd had gathered because of Kang Woojin. But why? Just then, the supporting actors following behind Woojin cried out in amazement.
"Wow, this is incredible."
"All these Thai reporters and people came here because of Kang Woojin-nim?"
"This is seriously unbelievable!"
"No wonder there were so many guards!"
Their voices were loud enough for Kang Woojin to hear, but he barely registered them. At that moment, the security guards from the Beneficial Evil team rushed to his sides and front, while Choi Sunggeon, his ponytail tied back, stuck close beside him and muttered something.
"My god, this is total chaos. It looks like there are at least twice as many people as the line PD predicted, don't you think?"
The line PD was the key staff member responsible for the overseas filming portion of Beneficial Evil. It seemed Choi Sunggeon had been briefed in advance about the scene by the Bangkok line PD.
"Woojin, there are definitely more people here than we were told earlier. Let's just wave, greet them briefly, and get out of here."
You told me? When? Choi Sunggeon spoke as if he had informed Kang Woojin beforehand, but Woojin had absolutely no memory of it. Had he been so busy that it slipped past him? With how insane his schedule had been, it was impossible for him to remember everything. In any case, under the protection of the security guards, Kang Woojin slowly pushed his way through the sea of hundreds.
The piercing screams and shouts only climbed higher in volume.
'Damn it, this is insane!'
Keeping his poker face by sheer force, Kang Woojin finally made it out of the arrival hall. Even after leaving behind the blinding flashes and the Thai fans thrusting gifts toward him, the massive crowd continued to follow him. In the middle of the chaos, Woojin spotted several vehicles parked along the roadside.
'I have to get into one of those?!'
Several vans and minibuses were already waiting by the road in front of the airport, and Kang Woojin climbed into the black van at the very front together with a few team members and security guards. The moment the door shut, the van carrying Kang Woojin pulled away immediately. Only after he had left did the frenzied crowd finally begin to disperse.
-Vrooom!
Even while the Beneficial Evil team was still at the airport, Choi Sunggeon already knew which hotel they were staying at, and the local driver they had hired seemed to know the route well, smoothly taking them away. Kang Woojin stared silently out the window, keeping his face blank, but inwardly he was completely bewildered.
'What the hell just happened?'
It felt as though some enormous force had brushed past him in the blink of an eye. Because of that, he had not even properly taken in the scenery of Bangkok, which he was seeing for the first time in his life.
Soon, Woojin turned his head to the right.
-Whoosh.
He quietly asked Choi Sunggeon, who looked as though he had just finished a phone call,
"CEO-nim, you said more people showed up at the airport than expected."
Choi Sunggeon, still wiping the sweat from his forehead, met Woojin's gaze and answered immediately.
"Hm? Ah, yes. I just spoke with PD Song, and it seems there was a bit of a communication error with the line PD. It's being handled without any real problems, so don't worry."
"I see?"
"Yes. We were expecting a decent crowd, but we had no idea this many would come. Like I told you before, Profiler Hanryang and Boy Friend both did really well in Thailand. That's probably why. On top of that, your social media and the Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel definitely played a role too."
Only then did Woojin let out an inward ah of understanding. In truth, Kang Woojin had not thought much about it, but the Korean wave had been strong in Thailand for quite a long time. The fact that multiple Korean dramas consistently ranked in Thailand's Netflix Top 10 proved that. Among them were dramas like Profiler Hanryang and Boy Friend, and Woojin himself had already become a full-fledged influencer with millions of followers and subscribers.
In other words, what had just happened at the airport was not strange at all.
It was all the result of Kang Woojin's influence.
Meanwhile, Han Yejung, who had recently switched to a short red bob, commented in her usual cool tone.
"Was the crowd really that big? Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Especially since we even posted an announcement on social media before coming to Bangkok."
Choi Sunggeon, who was undoing his hair tie, answered her.
"We didn't see it ourselves, but apparently there were hundreds more people gathered outside by the airport. They arrived too late, so the airport staff stopped them."
"Ah, I see. Then I accept it."
"And so."
Choi Sunggeon smiled a little and lightly tapped the side of Kang Woojin, who was still wearing a stiff expression.
"You don't look all that impressed, but how does it feel seeing your Thai fans in person? Like you know, unless they're idols, there are barely any actors who get this kind of turnout. Feels good, right?"
"Yes."
"Heheh, you really are no fun."
Woojin calmly turned his gaze back out the window. From Korea to Japan and now all the way to Thailand, his first visit there. Facing all those fans, Kang Woojin suddenly realized something.
'This is seriously insane.'
His influence was steadily spreading across the world.
A little while later,
the van carrying Kang Woojin had already entered downtown Bangkok. It was about ten more minutes to the reserved five-star hotel. Outside the van window, a huge park came into view. It was Lumphini Park. Soon, Woojin's team members crowded around the windows, taking in the Bangkok scenery.
Naturally, Kang Woojin did not show much outward excitement, but he did occasionally glance outside with obvious curiosity in his eyes.
'Ooooh—Bangkok!'
Today, after arriving in Bangkok, Kang Woojin and the Beneficial Evil team would check into the hotel and, following PD Song Manwoo's lead, visit the filming locations that had already been scouted in advance. Woojin would go along with them too.
The truly exciting part would begin tomorrow.
At that very same moment, in Japan, where the time difference from Bangkok was almost nonexistent, the stage being prepared for Kang Woojin was growing larger and larger.
The location was Toega Film Company near Tokyo.
More precisely, it was the company's large editing room. It was where the editing work for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, the film that had thrown all of Japan into chaos through its production presentation, was currently underway. Quite some time had passed since Kang Woojin had dropped that bombshell at the production event, but the countless suspicions and controversies surrounding The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice had not died down in the slightest.
In fact, they had only grown more intense than they were a month ago.
It felt as though, once the film was finally released, the public would pounce on it like wild animals and tear it to pieces.
The first reason was that the production team for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice had thrown themselves into marketing and promotion with an intensity several times beyond that of a normal film.
It was almost close to madness.
The second reason was that Japanese public opinion itself had become a self-sustaining engine of hype. Expectations were climbing higher with every passing day. Naturally, at the center of it all was Kang Woojin.
"...Hoo."
Inside the editing room for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, a white-haired man surrounded by several editors wiped his face with one hand. It was none other than Japan's legendary director, Kyotaro. Until just a moment ago, he had been staring at the many monitors in front of him. On the screens, footage of a single actor was playing. It was Iyota Kiyoshi. Alone on a subway staircase crowded with people in suits and citizens rushing up and down like ants, he stood there staring directly into the camera.
After staring at the monitors for a long moment, Director Kyotaro slowly nodded. The various editors who had been watching him closely turned their attention back to their work.
All of them had dark circles deeply carved beneath their eyes, and every editor carried a different kind of tension. Some swallowed hard. Others held their breath.
Then—
"…Good."
Director Kyotaro nodded slowly. Then, in a low, rough voice, he muttered in Japanese,
"For The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, let's go with this cut."
It was the signal that the long editing process for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice had finally come to an end. At that very moment, applause suddenly broke out behind Director Kyotaro, who was still seated.
Clap clap clap clap clap!
When he turned around, he saw the film company CEO and several executives, who had gathered to witness this very moment, clapping enthusiastically. The CEO inclined his head toward Kyotaro.
"You've worked hard, Director."
"Thank you. But the real war is only beginning now."
"...That's true, but—"
After exchanging words of thanks with the surrounding editors, Kyotaro resumed speaking with the film company CEO.
"When is the audition schedule for all of us, including the actors?"
"Within two days."
"And the preview screenings?"
"We had to move the schedule forward significantly and increase the number of screenings quite a bit. Time is tight before the release date, but of course, all the preparations were already completed beforehand. We're planning to start with the press screening."
A press screening was a preview shown to reporters and film critics. The film company CEO continued.
"The first screening will be next week."
That would be while Kang Woojin was already filming Beneficial Evil.
That very night, in Bangkok.
It was around nine in the evening. The place was one of Bangkok's five-star hotels, the Kempinski Hotel. It was close to where Kang Woojin and the Beneficial Evil team were staying, though it was not the same hotel. The grand hotel had a wide swimming pool, trees arranged to recreate a natural atmosphere, and two luxury vans parked outside its lavish entrance. Naturally, the hotel staff waiting at the entrance hurried forward.
-Thump!
Soon, a group of foreigners stepped out of the vans. The most striking figure among them was a large black man. He was none other than the famous Hollywood producer Joseph Felton. Because he was wearing a fitted black short-sleeved shirt, his sturdy build stood out even more. Behind him appeared a familiar woman. It was the casting director Megan Stone, with her brown bob haircut.
In other words, this was the team Joseph had assembled.
Excluding Joseph and Megan, there were about twenty people in total. The rest consisted of Joseph's team members, the stunt team he had already hired, and several executives from Universal Movies, the distributor and film studio. Naturally, they had come to Bangkok to observe the filming site of Beneficial Evil. In any case, the foreign group led by Joseph got out of the vans and entered the luxurious five-star hotel.
Inside the hotel, everything was even more dazzling.
Beige marble covered the floor in every direction, and the ceiling soared to a tremendous height. Thick pillars stood all around, and in the center of the vast lobby was a huge fountain. The foreign group led by Joseph headed toward the check-in counter. Of course, the practical matters were being handled by Joseph's bald subordinate, Robert.
As they looked around the hotel, the foreigners let out satisfied sighs.
"Not bad."
"Right? I especially like this huge lobby. There are plenty of waiting sofas over there too."
"Should we take a short break while we wait?"
Those not involved in the check-in began walking toward the large waiting sofa area at one side of the lobby. Since the lobby was so vast, it took a bit of time to get there. Joseph and Megan were in the middle of a deep conversation, and just as they were reaching the sofas—
"What?"
one of the Universal Movies executives, a man with a slight belly, widened his eyes a little. The reason was a woman who had just entered the hotel. She had blonde hair tied up, a cap pulled low, and a white mask covering her face. Even though most of her features were hidden, the man felt there was something strangely familiar about her, and before he even realized it, he murmured her name.
"...Miley? Miley Kara?"
At once, the entire foreign group froze. Every gaze turned toward the slightly pot-bellied executive. Giant Joseph did the same.
"Hm? What are you talking about? Did you have some weird dream?"
Joseph laughed as if the idea were ridiculous.
"There's no way Miley would be here."