This was the first time in his life that Chairman Hideki had ever attended a script reading.
Of course, the reason was to see Kang Woojin. The Korean actor who had brought vitality and life back to his grandson,
and allowed him to dream again. He owed him a debt of gratitude. Surely, he too must have lived a difficult life.
He wanted to see him with his own two eyes. That was how Chairman Hideki truly felt.
Kang Woojin stirred a sense of kinship in him and made him reflect on his own past. When Chairman Hideki first saw Woojin
in this hall, his impression was of a beast hiding its fangs. He seemed solid on the outside, yet there was a strange ease
and charisma beneath it. His eyes were filled with force, and his voice carried conviction.
Kang Woojin truly was no ordinary man.
As the head of a major corporation, Chairman Hideki immediately recognized the unusual energy that radiated from
Kang Woojin. It was an aura rarely seen in someone of that age. That alone showed just how formidable Kang Woojin's
commitment to his concept was.
In any case.
'…What is that?'
The moment the script reading began and Woojin entered the performance, Chairman Hideki, standing there with his arms folded,
could not help but twitch his white, bushy brows.
'Acting? Is that what they call acting?'
Even to Chairman Hideki, who had never cared about acting in his life and had been interested in nothing but business,
the change in Kang Woojin was unmistakable.
'Everything that had filled him is gone.'
The aura that had wrapped around him vanished without a trace. Kang Woojin, now showing Kiyoshi, was stripped bare.
Completely empty. His eyes, his voice, his movements, his thoughts. How could someone who had been so full just moments ago
empty himself so completely in an instant? Chairman Hideki found himself focusing more and more on Kang Woojin's acting.
He could not take his eyes off him.
Are all actors really like this?
But the more the reading continued, and the more Kang Woojin's acting built the narrative.
"I don't regret meeting you."
"It's time for lunch."
Chairman Hideki realized it more clearly. He alone was special. Around Woojin, there were many of Japan's most prominent
actors. But it was impossible to see them as being the same as Kang Woojin.
'The other actors clearly have the smell of imitation. But with Kang Woojin, there is no visible gap at all.'
Woojin alone was exceptional. The other actors were acting, but Kang Woojin was showing another life here.
At least, that was how it looked in Chairman Hideki's eyes.
Once again, he asked himself.
Is that acting?
No. That was not acting. The man had changed. Chairman Hideki had seen flames in Kang Woojin's eyes before.
But the Kang Woojin of this moment, no, Kiyoshi, was like water. Colorless and scentless. A being from which
no emotion or sensation could be felt.
'He is simply flowing.'
At that moment, Chairman Hideki suddenly recalled something faint from the past when he looked at Kang Woojin.
Not his own past, but his grandson's. His grandson, whose eyes had died, who had lost all vitality and life and had been left
with nothing but breath. Yes, it was similar to that.
Soon, Chairman Hideki.
Whoosh.
Barely managing it, he pulled his gaze away from Woojin. Around him were the hundred or so people in the hall,
dozens of actors, Director Kyotaro, and writer Akari as well. All of them were looking at Woojin. His presence was extraordinary.
He had an overwhelming power that seized people's attention.
The ability to captivate people and steer a situation. Something beyond mere charm.
It belonged to the category of very rare gifts.
At that moment.
"Not yet."
Kang Woojin began his monologue. After Toka disappeared from the world, he, as the "stranger," began making a list
for the "gruesome sacrifices" he intended to carry out.
"I have to be forgotten."
Kang Woojin, Kiyoshi, withdrew his gaze from Toka at the far end. She was gone now. And his eyes drifted somewhere
into an unspecified emptiness. There was nothing on his face. But his mouth did not stop. The rhythm of his lines was steady.
He seemed like someone floating motionless on the surface of still water.
Then.
"Homework."
Kiyoshi's desolate eyes moved through the air as though searching for a destination. For a brief moment, they drifted
over a few of the actors in front of him. Nine people. He was checking the list of the chosen nine. The actors whose eyes
met Kiyoshi's could feel it with painful clarity.
'There's no trace of reason or instinct in him.'
That was why it was more terrifying. The fear was vague, but undeniable. There was no reason and no outcome. Pleasure? Desire?
Intent? Hatred? Rage? None of them. There was no action mixed with emotion. A system. Yes, it was a system. For him,
there was only what had to be done.
With his gaze fixed on Kang Woojin, Director Kyotaro read out the stage direction.
"Kiyoshi sits in his seat in the noisy classroom, looking at the blackboard straight ahead. His face is still utterly empty."
According to the script, after two students died at the school, the world was thrown into chaos, but that did not last long.
Just as the living had to keep living, the school tried to return to normal. Of course, not a single student's mind
remained unscathed.
Only Kiyoshi's time had stopped.
Exactly at the moment when Toka had smiled from where she sat on the railing.
Still, there had been changes at the school. Among the nine people Kiyoshi had listed, some transferred away,
some dropped out, and some continued attending.
Kiyoshi did not care.
What he had to do now was.
"Study."
He had to accumulate knowledge. This had to be treated as a long game. He already had the basic information on the nine.
There were the records and data gathered up to this point. From here on, Kiyoshi only had to fill in what was missing.
Director Kyotaro passes time through stage direction.
One year, two years, three years. During that span, Kang Woojin's mindset did not change very much. He lived a life
that outwardly looked ordinary.
'Just a little longer. Soon now.'
He was being forgotten by the world, but the plan had already begun moving. Then came four years, and five.
From here, the scene is carried more by Woojin's monologue than by Kyotaro's stage directions. The visuals show the opposite,
but underneath them, Kiyoshi's voice continues to run.
Everyone in the hall stared at "the stranger."
Kang Woojin rolled his eyes with an expressionless face. His posture was stiff. His gaze and breathing were steady,
while the tremor in his hands and the beat of his heart remained calm. But what he had to do was clear.
His entire presence suggested a quiet madness. Woojin's head was filled with calculations.
'Let's begin. Everyone, and the world, have forgotten me.'
A purpose with no clear shape stirred inside him. Then words came from Kang Woojin's flat mouth.
It was a monologue.
"Five years. I spent five years filling in what I lacked. And now, after the first sacrifice, I will begin the second.
One of the nine. Konakayama Kinjo."
A voice that was neither hot nor cold, but perfectly even in rhythm. There was so little in it that one might question
whether it was even a human voice at all. More than anyone else, the actors seated around Woojin could feel it precisely.
'Leaving aside how natural his Japanese acting sounds… how on earth does he do something like that?'
'I've never seen acting like this before. It's like someone who lived without emotion from the beginning—
but then why does it sound so compelling? There's nothing in it, but it's still so powerful.'
Kang Woojin stared steadily at the actor playing "Konakayama Kinjo," a handsome flower-boy type with perfect features.
He took a brief breath. He held his gaze in silence. He made it clear to everyone that he was watching the man from afar.
Only after that did the monologue continue.
"The reason I chose 'Konakayama Kinjo' as the restart of a disaster without warning was because of his appearance.
He is excessively polished, and he knows very well how to attract the attention of others. Of those nine,
he is also the one with the least connection to me. That is why I singled him out. The grotesque sacrifice of
'Konakayama Kinjo' will draw attention instantly, but none of that attention will point toward me."
It was quite a long line. But Kang Woojin completed the monologue without wavering, without standing out,
and without straying from the line he had set. A dreamlike air began to gather around him more and more.
Watching Kang Woojin over the glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, writer Akari felt a shiver run through her.
'I'm seeing Kiyoshi, the one I imagined when I wrote this book, this story, with my own eyes. It's frightening,
but it also makes me greedy. How far can he take Kiyoshi?'
At that moment, Kang Woojin pretended to fumble in his pocket and pull something out. It was the list of nine names
he had written down at Toka's desk five years ago.
"'Konakayama Kinjo' got married. He has a family. But he still likes women. Human habits are frighteningly intricate.
That is why traces of his habits remain in Kinjo. Prostitution. Compensated dating. Affairs. Outwardly he is domestic,
but inwardly he is rotten through and through. He tells his family he is away on business, while committing sexual crimes.
He has many disgraceful secrets."
As Woojin went on reciting the endless design of it all, he tilted his head ever so slightly. His expression remained empty,
and that hollow gaze settled on the Japanese actor across from him.
"What kind of 'grotesque sacrifice' would suit you? Kinjo, you have to become fireworks. That's why I chose you,
because you're flamboyant. The scattered fragments have to splatter onto the remaining eight. I think it makes sense
to begin with the conflict between you and your family. Your wife is not part of what I have to do."
Soon, the Japanese actor who had been sitting there slightly dazed, no, Yasta, the actor playing "Konakayama Kinjo,"
snapped back to attention. After Kang Woojin's monologue ended, his everyday scene came up, and he had to deliver his lines.
He spoke his assigned line as though muttering to himself. It was his company scene.
By this point, even the serious Chairman Hideki could feel it.
'The difference is unmistakable. Even someone like me, who knows nothing about acting, can tell these two actors
are operating on different levels. That actor Yasta is giving a standardized performance.'
The gap between Kang Woojin and Japan's top actors was quite severe. If there were nothing to compare against,
perhaps it would not show. But because Woojin, as Kiyoshi, stood at the center of it all, the difference could be clearly
seen and heard. Right now, the Japanese actors were being overwhelmed by a Korean rookie.
At the same time, Choi Sunggeon, seated behind Kang Woojin, noticed it too.
'You can really tell they're acting. The Japanese actors all give off that "I am acting right now" smell.
The exaggerated emotions, the overly heightened line delivery, the strained eye work.'
Why Director Kyotaro had clung so fiercely to Kang Woojin, what exactly was wrong with the Japanese acting scene,
and why he wanted to shake up the Japanese content market.
'Maybe they couldn't tell when they were all on their own, but once Woojin is tearing through the scene like this
right in front of them, they can't help but realize it. That they're lacking.'
Through the actor Kang Woojin, Director Kyotaro, one of Japan's great masters, wanted to deliver a sharp rebuke
to all Japanese actors. You have stagnated. So watch, awaken, and learn.
In fact, Director Kyotaro glanced over the shocked Japanese actors and murmured inwardly.
'An actor of this level was learning alone only a few months ago, endured a long period of obscurity,
and is only now coming into the light. You all should be feeling something from this.'
The mistaken assumptions in the gaps were merely a bonus.
And so.
"Fade out."
Around the midpoint of the reading, Director Kyotaro quietly spoke into the hall as a whole.
"Let's take a short break."
A few dozen minutes later.
A break of about twenty minutes was given during the script reading for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice. But none of the actors
left their seats. Kang Woojin did not either. The atmosphere was strange. Most of the actors pretended to be looking at the script,
but they kept sneaking glances at Kang Woojin and his impassive face.
The reporters and roughly hundred staff members were busy whispering among themselves.
Meanwhile, Choi Sunggeon, his hair tied back in a ponytail, was outside the hall talking to someone on the phone.
His expression was serious.
"I see. Hmm, understood. I'll review the response to the proposal you sent by email carefully. Yes. Thank you, yes."
Click.
After ending the call, Choi Sunggeon lowered his phone and furrowed his brow.
It seemed it was not the result he had wanted.
In truth, the person Choi Sunggeon had just spoken to was an investor connected to BW Entertainment's expansion.
It was a project that had been underway for quite some time, and Choi Sunggeon had already met with a fair number of investors,
including corporations. BW Entertainment was small and still new, but it had a top actress in Hong Hyeyeon,
and above all, Kang Woojin, whose rise since his appearance had been insane.
That was why there were many investors interested.
Choi Sunggeon had felt the need to expand the company and had been working toward it,
and as a result, investment was now right in front of him.
But the problem was.
'They all want to get their hands in it.'
Every promising investor included management interference in their conditions. Of course, they phrased it indirectly,
but once you peeled it back, it was no different from wanting to turn Choi Sunggeon into a figurehead CEO.
They would not interfere openly from the start, but it was obvious they would gradually reveal their true colors.
There is a saying that too many captains will steer the ship into the mountains.
Choi Sunggeon, who had experienced every kind of upheaval in the entertainment world, knew that better than anyone,
and he had seen and lived through it countless times. That was why he wanted to avoid conditions involving management interference,
but in truth, though the wording differed slightly each time, they all wanted the same thing: control over BW Entertainment.
"Hoo—"
Choi Sunggeon's worries deepened.
'Hyeyeon and Woojin. The current BW Entertainment is too small to hold the two of them. Expansion is essential
if we want to care for them on a larger scale, and we can't keep relying only on those two forever.
Discovering new talent is essential too.'
Then it happened.
"Excuse me."
A firm female voice cut in. Japanese. Slightly startled, Choi Sunggeon turned his head. Behind him stood a woman
in a neat suit with long hair tied back in a straight line. It was Tetsugawa Lily, Chairman Hideki's chief secretary.
Choi Sunggeon remembered her face.
He had seen her standing behind Chairman Hideki a few hours earlier.
Then Choi Sunggeon gave a small greeting and spoke in awkward Japanese.
"Ah—please, go ahead."
Lily's reply was slow but precise.
"Would you have a moment to spare?"
"You mean me?"
"Yes. You are CEO Choi Sunggeon, correct?"
"That's right."
Communication continued, clumsy though it was, and Lily turned slightly and made a polite gesture with her hand.
It meant for him to follow. Choi Sunggeon was a little taken aback, but he followed her nonetheless.
Whoosh.
The place they arrived at, after passing by the The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice script reading hall,
was a staff-only room at the end of the corridor. Lily, walking ahead, knocked and then opened the door.
At once, the room's interior came into Choi Sunggeon's view. Since it was for staff, it looked very much like an office.
Among the furnishings was a five-person sofa set in the center.
"Ah."
Choi Sunggeon's eyes widened slightly. The reason was simple. Sitting in the seat of honor on that sofa
was Chairman Hideki of the Kashiwa Group, his brows thick with white hair. Beside him sat a man in a suit,
and Lily, who had brought Choi Sunggeon here, gestured toward the sofa next to Chairman Hideki.
"Please, sit."
Choi Sunggeon's confusion deepened. It was only natural. He had suddenly found himself face to face
with the owner of a Japanese conglomerate. Even so, he sat down on the sofa while keeping his expression
as relaxed as possible. At the same moment, Chairman Hideki, wearing a wrinkled smile, opened his mouth.
"It was impressive."
A rough-toned line of Japanese. The suited man seated opposite Choi Sunggeon translated it into Korean.
At that point, deciding Korean would probably be acceptable, Choi Sunggeon asked Chairman Hideki in return.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Actor Kang Woojin. The acting I saw just now was something I have never seen before in all my life."
"Ah, thank you."
"It was a fresh shock. Hahaha, if only my grandson would imitate even a little of what Kang Woojin can do."
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing. More importantly—yes. I saw potential in Kang Woojin. Not just in his acting.
His value is also very high."
After leisurely saying that, Chairman Hideki signaled to Lily with his eyes. She then handed a transparent file
to Choi Sunggeon. Chairman Hideki himself explained.
"It's a proposal."
"...What kind of proposal?"
"We would like to bring in actor Kang Woojin through our Kashiwa Group.
As an advertising model for several of our affiliated companies."
Choi Sunggeon's eyes widened further as he opened the transparent file. It was a proposal written in Korean.
At a glance, he could see words like department store and food products. And not just one kind, but several.
What is this? Choi Sunggeon found it rather puzzling. It was not unheard of for Korean celebrities to shoot advertisements
in Japan, but neither was it especially common.
And the one making the offer was the Kashiwa Group.
The degree of suddenness was extreme.
'What on earth is this… out of nowhere, with no context at all??'
Chairman Hideki had only seen Kang Woojin for the first time today, yet he was already moving on a matter of this scale?
It was so abrupt that, for a brief second, Choi Sunggeon even wondered if it might be a prank.
At that moment.
"A few days ago, I read an article from Korea."
As though this were not the end of it, Chairman Hideki's aged voice continued.
"I heard that Kang Woojin's contract period is nearing its end. Is he transferring?"
At that point, Choi Sunggeon came to the conclusion that Chairman Hideki wanted Kang Woojin.
There had to be some linked agency involved. Therefore, Choi Sunggeon responded firmly.
"The part about the contract period is true. But there will be no transfer."
"...Then you mean Kang Woojin will continue with BW Entertainment?"
"That's right."
After hearing the answer, Chairman Hideki stared into Choi Sunggeon's eyes for a moment.
Though his face was full of wrinkles, his gaze was still that of a major power. Then, with a sudden smile,
Chairman Hideki made a quiet but enormous proposal.
"I heard BW Entertainment is aiming to expand."
And then he offered it.
"I would like to invest personally. What do you think?"