Kang Woojin realized, the moment he shed Kiyoshi, that his face and mouth, which had been crumpled as he sobbed face-down on the floor, were a mess of mucus and saliva.
'Damn. How much came out? At this rate, I'm going to get dehydrated.'
To be honest, he had known it while he was acting out the sobbing scene, but reality was different from acting. He knew no one would say anything just because there was a little mucus on his face.
'Still, it's better not to leave any openings, right?'
This was one of those areas that fell under self-management. There was no need to go overboard, but once you started letting things slide, it became far too easy to give up on everything altogether. Lying there, Kang Woojin repeated it to himself once more.
Carelessness is the enemy.
Because of that, Woojin quietly wiped away the mucus and saliva while remaining sprawled on the floor. Not playfully, but calmly and gently. His body barely trembled.
At that moment, applause from the staff rang out behind him.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!
What was this? Why was there applause all of a sudden? It couldn't be because he had wiped off his mucus. It was probably for the acting he had just done.
In any case, he needed to get up before the applause ended. He had been kneeling for so long, and after losing so much moisture, Woojin's strength had weakened quite a bit.
Even so, he managed to remove the mucus and every other trace successfully.
──────────
He rose smoothly with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened. It took a little longer than he had expected. Everyone must have seen him wiping his mucus and standing up again. At least, that was what Kang Woojin thought.
At times like this, shamelessness mattered.
'It's fine. Just walk with confidence.'
Woojin deepened the coldness he usually wore. It was an instinctive reaction meant to erase even the slightest trace of embarrassment.
As he brushed the dust off his pants roughly, he noticed a Japanese actor standing right in front of him. It was the actor who, just moments ago, had played the corpse of Tsuzuki Itsuma.
Their eyes met.
"..."
"..."
They exchanged a brief, silent look.
Seeing that Woojin's face was stiffer and more tense than usual, the Japanese actor became certain.
He still hasn't completely pulled himself together emotionally, but since he's a professional, he can return to himself this quickly.
Kang Woojin flinched inwardly.
'Why is he looking at me like that? Is there still mucus left on my face?'
As completely different thoughts collided between them, the Japanese actor spoke first in Japanese, his tone incredibly serious.
"I was moved. Not only by your acting, but by your attitude afterward as well. You don't have to force yourself. Please take all the time you need to gather your emotions before acting."
What kind of nonsense was that?
Woojin had expected something more along the lines of, You've still got mucus on your chin.
'But what is he talking about? Being moved? Gathering emotions? What the hell is this guy even saying?'
Any trace of Iiyota Kiyoshi had vanished from Kang Woojin long ago. He was extremely good at switching in and out of character. But the Japanese actor's reaction was bizarre.
"..."
Keeping his cynical expression intact, Woojin slowly turned his head. Between the cameras and lights stood dozens of staff members. Every one of them looked serious, and some of them even covered their mouths with one hand as if they had been deeply moved.
Not a single one of them showed any sign of having noticed the mucus.
Even—
'Why does the CEO look that serious?'
Even Choi Sunggeon's expression was unusually grim. In that instant, Kang Woojin became sure of it.
This scent. This atmosphere. This messy air.
'Something got messed up again.'
Was it another misunderstanding? It felt similar to situations he had gone through before. Well, it worked in his favor. Kang Woojin didn't bother trying to correct it by bringing up the mucus. As expected of a professional, he was well practiced in maintaining his image.
──────────
Kang Woojin slowly ran a hand through his black hair, looked at the Japanese actor, and lowered his voice.
"I wasn't able to control my emotions."
"...Then what should I do?"
"I was recalling what it felt like back then."
At that moment, the Japanese actor's eyes widened. Kang Woojin's exaggerated act had done its job. Woojin greeted him calmly, then turned and walked toward Choi Sunggeon.
As he made his way over, he could hear cautious praise and encouragement from the staff, but of course he answered only in a low voice. Finally, when Kang Woojin stopped in front of him, Choi Sunggeon asked with a serious expression,
"Are you okay? That was your first time doing a full-on sobbing scene, wasn't it? I was a little worried since you had to regulate your emotions so carefully. Your method acting is always so intense… but didn't that kind of performance feel uncomfortable for you too? It looked hard enough that it wouldn't be easy to recover from quickly."
No, I just wiped off some mucus.
Woojin couldn't say that, so he answered arrogantly instead.
"Recovery was easy. What matters is memory."
"Memory?"
"Yes. So I can use it later together with other things."
"...You crazy bastard."
"Thank you."
Choi Sunggeon shook his head as though he was dumbfounded, then soon gave a thumbs-up.
"But that scene really was incredible. Only you could have brought it to life that vividly and handled it that well. If it had been another actor, there would have been countless NG takes. The audience is going to be genuinely shocked when it releases."
In truth, the sobbing performance Woojin had just shown was difficult acting that required deep emotion. If an actor couldn't carry that scene properly, NG takes were inevitable. Ideally, it should be completed perfectly in one shot, but actors capable of doing that were rare.
No, it would be fair to say they were practically nonexistent.
It was possible only because it was Kang Woojin, and it had been accomplished because it was Kang Woojin.
Naturally, Director Kyotaro, who had been standing a few steps behind Woojin with his hair flattened under his cap, was thinking to himself.
That final cut alone was enough.
He had no intention whatsoever of calling for a reshoot. There was no need to change the angles either. What he had seen was the best. The highest quality. He muttered in Japanese,
"Sometimes, directors deceive actors."
The assistant director and the nearby staff tilted their heads.
"What?"
Without taking his eyes off Woojin, Director Kyotaro continued,
"There are times when an actor's performance is lacking, excessive, or even just average, and yet I encourage them and signal that it's fine."
He was talking about compromise. About relying on the market's unspoken rules.
"It may look like nothing, but in truth it's deception and delusion. It's the illusion of looking down on the actor from above and treating them like a broken fool who can no longer act. That sort of thing happens quite often on set."
"Ah, I see. You have to manage the actor's condition too."
"But today, I realized that there is another kind of compromise."
"What do you mean?"
"Kang Woojin. The acting he just showed… I couldn't even judge it as art. I couldn't carelessly decide whether it was an NG or an OK."
It wasn't because the acting was lacking. On the contrary, the acting was so overwhelming that it caused a failure in judgment. His mind had gone blank, leaving him no choice but to compromise.
Director Kyotaro moved.
Thud, thud.
Then he stood in front of Kang Woojin and spoke in a serious, resolute voice.
"Because of the scene just now, the ending of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice that the audience will see is going to be explosive."
What he meant was that the fuse had now been lit.
──────────
Later.
Filming on Monday the 24th only wrapped at midnight. As the schedule for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice entered its final stage, it was only natural that they pushed through a bit aggressively.
The next morning, the 25th, dawned.
With about three days left before the filming of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice would end, Kang Woojin joined the shoot without rushing, moving with a relaxed ease. It was early in the morning.
"Action!!"
The pace on set kept accelerating. The morale of the hundred or so staff members, including Director Kyotaro, was also running at its peak. Maybe it was because they had witnessed Woojin's performance the day before.
Whatever the reason, filming for the insert scenes that would fill in the gaps in Iiyota Kiyoshi's story and the script as a whole went on without pause.
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin was lost in thought.
'Wow—damn!!'
During a break, Woojin discreetly checked his phone. In Korea, Island of the Missing was drawing an enormous amount of attention, and related articles were pouring out day after day. Not only that, but social media and YouTube were also overflowing with content about Island of the Missing.
It would not have been an exaggeration to say that the Island of the Missing craze had completely swept across Korea.
'This is going to be a massive hit! This really feels like it's going to explode!'
Inside, Woojin was thrilled, but the moment filming resumed, his whole body turned cold again. That day's shoot didn't end until late into the night.
The waiting time on the following day, the 26th, was around noon.
Even though the filming of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice was nearing its end, there wasn't even a second to relax. If anything, the tension had increased several times over, making it hard to even notice how the time was passing.
Two days later, dawn broke on Friday the 28th.
The location was Tokyo, and the time was around six in the morning.
Normally, this was when most people would be just beginning their day, but there were already people moving around busily. It was the production team of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice. They had gathered at the large outdoor set where the team had been staying recently. It was an exterior space designed to look like the homes and shops of various characters. The facades of the commonly used sets had already been completed.
Even at a glance, it was obvious that a huge amount of time had been poured into building it.
And in the middle of all that—
"Lighting test!!"
"Got it!"
"As soon as lighting is done, the cameras roll!"
"Director! Please take a look over here!"
Around a hundred staff members were moving frantically at their stations. Of course, Director Kyotaro, cap on his head, was no exception. He too was in constant motion. The set they had spent so much effort preparing was a two-story mansion. It had an open corridor design, and at the far end of the second floor was a metal staircase. The outer walls of the mansion were gray, but stained here and there with black marks, which gave it an old, weathered air at first glance.
According to the script, this mansion was Iiyota Kiyoshi's home.
The production team of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice planned to film several scenes that day, but among them, two in particular were of the greatest importance. One was the scene where Kiyoshi and Detective Mochio first met in this mansion, and the other was the revised ending scene of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, which would be shot at another location.
As a result, the eyes of the hundred or so staff members were filled with determination.
To be more precise—
"Haha, the day has finally come."
"That's right. It feels like we only just got started yesterday."
"I want an ice-cold beer. Once we finish the last shoot and wrap today's schedule, let's go have one."
"Agreed!"
Today was the final day of filming for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice.
Even though it was the last shoot, not a single member of the staff relaxed. That was true on any normal day, but especially so today, since many guests were expected to visit the set.
"I heard not only the actors scheduled for today, but even the actors who already finished filming are coming. Is that true?"
"Yes, that's right. And people from the production company and the distributor are coming too."
"Wow, everyone's coming."
"I heard Akari is coming too?"
"I'm not sure, but Chairman Yoshimura Hideki might come as well."
"What?? Really??"
If the staff's expectations were correct, the set today was going to be packed with all kinds of people. In reality, a great many people were already preparing to head to the set of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice at that very moment.
That was true for everyone, including Kang Woojin, who had just woken up.
"Ah, I'm exhausted. But well, today's the last shoot. Still, it's kind of a shame."
Along with Woojin, Kosaku Mana, who played Detective Mochio, the other actors of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, the original author Akari, and even Chairman Hideki were all looking forward to the final day of filming.
The call time that day was seven-thirty in the morning.
Starting with Kang Woojin, solo scenes would be filmed first, followed by Kosaku Mana's solo shoot. Once those were done, they would begin filming the scenes the guests would be watching that day.
It was expected to be around ten in the morning, though nothing was certain.
As time passed—
"Kang Woojin has arrived!!"
Kang Woojin was the very first actor to reach the set. His expressionless face was as intense as ever.
"Welcome, Woojin."
"Hello, Director."
"How are your condition and your mood?"
"The same as always."
"Just as expected."
Because it was the final shoot, there was a slight tension inside him, but if anything, it only made his character feel even more solid. Several dozen minutes later, filming with Kang Woojin began. In the meantime, Kosaku Mana arrived as well. Preparations and filming alternated one after the other.
Eventually, it became around nine in the morning.
One by one, the actors of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice began to appear at the set.
"Hello!"
"Ah, Mifuyu, welcome."
Actors whose characters had already died in the story, especially Uramatsu Mifuyu, who played Horinochi Amie, began showing up. Since their characters were already dead, they had naturally left the set earlier. The filming location, which had already been bustling with over a hundred staff members, became several times more crowded in an instant. Personnel from the film company and the distributor also continued arriving.
Then, at around ten in the morning—
"Director, just as expected, the set's chaotic since it's the first shoot of the day."
"Hello, Akari."
The original author, Takikawa Akari, appeared, chatting with Director Kyotaro and greeting the actors. Among them, she spent the longest time talking with Kang Woojin, who looked almost indistinguishable from Kiyoshi himself.
"Work hard today. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm not even going to pretend otherwise. Is the pressure too much?"
"No. I'll do my best."
"That figures."
At that moment—
"Oh my God, look over there! He really came!"
Several members of the lighting team, who had been preparing for filming, started murmuring and pointed toward the entrance of the set. Soon, the eyes of dozens of staff members followed in the same direction.
"...Chairman Yoshimura Hideki really came??"
Chairman Hideki had arrived with his secretary as the final guest.