As a Hollywood stunt coordinator, Ethan Smith handled a wide and varied range of work in film production. Action storyboard planning, revisions, and development, martial arts sequence creation and design, stunt doubles, partner work, extra casting, training, rehearsals—his responsibilities stretched across all of it.
Even that simple-looking list seemed endless.
Anything related to action was discussed with him long before the script was even finalized, and directors and actors did not merely consult with the stunt team in depth but with him personally as well. The art department and the special effects team also maintained a close working relationship with the stunt team.
In other words, when it came to a film's action scenes, everything had to pass through his hands.
Ethan, who worked primarily in Hollywood, usually took part from the beginning of production to the very end, though there were also cases like Beneficial Evil, where he handled only part of the action direction. Whether it was Hollywood, Asia, or anywhere else, he never turned down work as long as the timing lined up. Of course, he still considered the scale of the project. Since he was essentially a freelancer, that kind of approach was only natural. Besides, Hollywood was full of well-known stunt coordinators like Ethan.
In any case, he had built up broad experience in Hollywood.
And the same was true of his network.
From Ethan's point of view, the close-combat martial arts storyboard sent over by the Beneficial Evil team was lacking. To be honest, very few storyboards ever truly satisfied his eye. In the end, storyboards were based on scripts and scenarios created by directors or writers. Out of a hundred, perhaps only one would satisfy a professional like Ethan.
The same was true of Beneficial Evil.
It was not that it was bad. The writer seemed to have done thorough research. But because practical experience was lacking, there were many parts that caught at him. Ethan Smith would have to refine those parts, but he could not do so however he pleased. All he could do was make the best choices possible while considering the circumstances and the reality of the production.
Things like the production budget and the actors, for example.
No matter how brilliant the direction was, if the budget was insufficient, filming could not happen in the first place. And no matter how flashy or intricate the techniques were, they were meaningless if the actors could not execute them properly. Most of the time, enormous amounts of time were wasted just on getting actors up to speed physically. So although Ethan felt that Beneficial Evil's storyboard fell short, he had no choice but to compromise.
Getting the actors' physical ability up to the level required by the storyboard was more urgent than raising the storyboard itself.
But when he arrived in Korea, an astonishing reversal had been waiting for him.
The CQC storyboard provided by Beneficial Evil was not especially long. According to the script, it was meant to be inserted into Episodes 1 and 2, and more than eighty percent of it was to be filmed on overseas locations.
Quality mattered more than quantity.
It was meant to be sharp and fast in impact. The moment the big-nosed Ethan began shaking up the storyboard, that much became obvious.
"When I first received this storyboard, I was disappointed overall. Boring would probably be the most accurate word. The action design could be corrected, but if the lead actor is weak in close combat, then there would be a limit to what any revision could achieve."
The bear-like team member nodded in agreement.
"Even if we redesign the storyboard, an actor who has only just begun basic training won't be able to execute the role properly. We'd have to pour an enormous amount of time into training alone."
"Exactly. But yesterday, Mr. Kang Woojin was highly proficient in close combat."
"His martial arts fundamentals were already well above average too."
"Of course, CQC is a comprehensive close-combat skill set. You don't reach that level without a foundation in martial arts. In any case, when I first looked at the storyboard, I felt Kang Woojin's skill level might be insufficient, but I let it pass after considering other factors like training time. However, if Kang Woojin's level is what we saw yesterday, then the storyboard needs to become far more dynamic."
With a soft flap, Ethan spread the storyboard open.
The members of the stunt team immediately picked up the same storyboard as well, and Ethan Smith spoke again.
"First, I'd like each of you to describe what it felt like to exchange movements with Mr. Kang Woojin yesterday."
The team members went around one by one, offering their thoughts and impressions.
"Kang Woojin's situational judgment was at a level that would still hold up in actual combat."
There should have been room to point out flaws, but strangely, no one mentioned any problems at all. Instead, the conversation filled almost entirely with praise for Woojin's movements.
"His firearm handling was at a professional level. Of course, one day alone is not enough to make a final judgment, but the fact that he is skilled is undeniable."
As Ethan listened to their opinions, he picked up a pen and began writing notes all over the Beneficial Evil storyboard. He wrote down the ideas that came to mind, as well as various factors beyond pure choreography.
"…Firearms. The original storyboard mostly uses pistols, but it might not be a bad idea to diversify the weapon types. Rifles, for instance. The AK series comes to mind."
"Those would suit the protagonist well."
"We also need more cases where he uses everyday objects as weapons, not just bare hands or knives. Things people use daily without ever thinking of them as weapons."
Ethan stroked his chin and muttered for a moment before speaking again.
"Forks? No. In Korea, chopsticks are more common than forks."
After throwing out a few more ideas, Ethan shifted the subject.
"This storyboard already has decent speed, but it needs to be faster."
"I agree. The premise, from the beginning, is that the protagonist is an expert in close combat."
"The test cut we ran with all of you yesterday was a scene involving a mid-level boss, so we heightened the detail and slowed the tempo. But the most important thing is still speed."
Ethan firmly believed that the essence of CQC lay in speed. Naturally, every member of his team thought the same.
"In terms of tempo control, this storyboard should be at least twice as fast."
"Twice as fast, yes. Even faster than that could work. Most of the scenes involve the protagonist taking down dozens of enemies in an instant anyway. We can't neglect the action design just because we're increasing the speed."
Before long, all sorts of words began spilling from Ethan and his team.
Action design. Artistry. Dynamism. Impact. Rapidity. Destructive force. Car chases.
Little by little, the Beneficial Evil storyboard in Ethan's hands began filling with writing.
His ambition, skill, and experience were all being laid bare on the page. Of course, none of it would mean anything if the condition of having Kang Woojin in hand were not met. But now Ethan was working with full freedom.
Which meant that Beneficial Evil's close-combat storyboard was being upgraded to a Hollywood level.
Right at that moment—
-♬♪
The phone in Ethan's jeans pocket began to ring while he was still writing. It was a call. After checking the caller, Ethan gave a faint smile. Then he gestured to his team and stood up to take it.
"Hey, Gary."
The person calling was none other than Gary Peck, the famous Hollywood stunt coordinator who had once met Kang Woojin during the Last Kill 3 screen test.
"Hahaha. Ethan, how's Korea?"
"Not bad. Other than the heat."
"Really? So you met Mr. Kang Woojin?"
At that question, Ethan gave an entirely different answer.
"Did you know he used to be special forces?"
On the other end of the call, Gary fell silent for a moment before replying.
"…Special forces?"
This time, Ethan had become the one operating under a misunderstanding.
Meanwhile—
while Ethan was spreading that misunderstanding around Hollywood, Kang Woojin, who had left first, was busy with his schedule.
'I'm wearing a coat first thing in the morning.'
His first schedule was a luxury brand photo shoot. It was summer by season, but the clothes he had to change into were autumn and winter coats. He had already changed five times into coats with different designs. It was a tight schedule, but this was only the beginning.
He still had more than four things to get through that day.
He was even busier than usual.
The reason was simple. In a few days, Kang Woojin would be heading to LA because of the project with Miley Cara. Because of that, multiple schedules had been pushed forward so he could clear them out in advance.
The Korean media had already begun covering Woojin's upcoming departure for LA.
『[Star Photo] Kang Woojin, just before album work with Miley Cara, warmly greets fans / Photos』
Of course, there were plenty of other matters being reported too, but most of them still revolved around Kang Woojin. His collaboration with Cara, in particular, had become a huge issue because it was unprecedented. It was the first time a Korean actor, rather than a singer, had taken part in something like this. By the time Kang Woojin finished the photo shoot, lunchtime had already passed by a good margin.
When Woojin got back into the van, his next destination was a hotel.
A fairly large-scale fashion event was being held there, and Woojin had been invited as a guest.
Soon enough—
"Woojin."
Choi Sunggeon, seated in the passenger seat, handed him a tablet.
"The trailer for Boy Friend: Remake has been released."
The official trailer for the upcoming drama Boy Friend: Remake had finally been revealed. The trailer was in Japanese, but of course Kang Woojin had no trouble watching it.
'Nice. The quality's good.'
He looked satisfied. Above all else, he liked that part of the song he had sung was included as the OST in the trailer. On top of that, the voice he had provided as a voice actor was scattered throughout it as well. Without changing his expression, Woojin murmured in a low voice,
"It's good."
What was interesting was that word of mouth about the animation Boy Friend: Remake was spreading through Korea at quite a fast pace as well. The search results Kang Woojin pulled up proved it.
『Boy Friend: Remake, featuring Kang Woojin's voice acting, officially unveils trailer in Japan!』
Thanks to the influence of Kang Woojin, the so-called king of controversy, the animation Boy Friend: Remake had drawn considerable attention even in Korea. Japanese animation had long maintained a large fanbase in the country, and the enthusiasm was being pushed even further by the aggressive promotions and events of a Japanese-animation-focused OTT platform.
The reason was obvious, wasn't it?
The day after Boy Friend: Remake aired officially in Japan, the Korean animation OTT platform would begin offering it as well.
In other words, Korean viewers would be able to watch Boy Friend: Remake too.
With that in mind, Kang Woojin calmly browsed various online communities on his phone. Boy Friend: Remake had been made primarily with Japan in mind, but he was curious about how Korean fans were reacting as well.
[Can't believe I'm living to see the day a Korean actor voices a Japanese anime lolololol]
Damn… do I seriously have to renew my anime OTT subscription just for this?
[Already renewed mine lol]
[I only want to watch the first episode. Does anyone know where it'll be streaming?]
[Seriously, I want to watch it so bad I'm going crazy!!]
But what if Kang Woojin's voice acting is completely terrible?
[That'd honestly be kind of funny too lol, imagine the people trashing it the next day lol]
I'm really curious about the anime plot lol. I want to see how they adapted it.
·
·
·
The anticipation was much bigger than he had expected.
Of course, not everything being said was positive. There were plenty of negative comments as well. But so what? Woojin did not care in the slightest.
There was, however, one thing that caught his attention.
[10 / Script (Boy Friend: Remake), SS-grade]
It was the result tied to the SS-grade Boy Friend: Remake.
'Hmm. I guess it depends on the viewership. How high will the ratings go?'
──────────
July 7th, noon.
DM Production.
Familiar faces had gathered in the large conference room of DM Production, the company producing the drama Beneficial Evil in co-production with Netflix. The conference room of the company where Song Manwoo PD served as the nominal CEO was packed with people.
About twenty of them.
Song Manwoo PD, the martial arts director, several core staff members, and across from them sat the Hollywood stunt coordinator team led by Ethan Smith, four of them in total.
The atmosphere around the U-shaped table was not especially bright.
The somewhat dim lighting of the conference room only contributed to that impression. The reason was simple. Every person in the room had their eyes fixed on the front. A screen was spread out there, and footage was being projected onto it.
Kang Woojin appeared on the screen, dressed in a white T-shirt and slacks.
That was right. The footage everyone in the room was watching was the recording from a few days earlier, when Kang Woojin had come to the action school and demonstrated the CQC storyboard. The test had happened at the suggestion of stunt team leader Ethan Smith, and everyone in this conference room had seen it with their own eyes.
Even so—
"..."
"..."
"..."
Kang Woojin in the footage—or rather Jang Yeonwoo, the protagonist of Beneficial Evil—moved with ruthless precision. As they watched, no one spoke. On the screen, Jang Yeonwoo's movements were cold, calculated, and backed by unwavering judgment. To anyone watching, he was obviously a man specialized in close combat.
Meanwhile, the stunt team was utterly overpowered.
While watching the footage, Song Manwoo PD quietly glanced at Ethan Smith's expression from across the table. After all, the reason they were suddenly rewatching this footage was because Ethan himself had asked for it.
'Why did he suddenly want to watch this again?'
Was he about to raise some kind of complaint? Or suggest heading back to Hollywood? There was something undeniably serious in the air.
A few minutes later—
as the footage was nearing its end—
Ethan Smith suddenly addressed Song Manwoo PD across the room. Naturally, he spoke in English, and his tone was serious.
"There's something I'd like to discuss with you privately. Would that be all right?"
He was asking for a private conversation somewhere without the key staff present. A moment later, the interpreter relayed Ethan's request, and Song Manwoo PD asked the staff to leave. Everyone hurriedly filed out of the conference room. Soon, only Song Manwoo PD, Ethan, Ethan's team, and the martial arts director—who had remained at Ethan's request—were left behind.
And then—
"After meeting Mr. Kang Woojin,"
Ethan began speaking to Song Manwoo PD across from him.
"I found myself wondering why we had been called here in the first place."
Song Manwoo PD's brows narrowed slightly.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that we felt unnecessary. Mr. Woojin's CQC is already close to perfect."
"That…"
"But now I understand. Our main role was never training. It was enhancement."
Leader Ethan suddenly raised one finger and pointed toward the paused image of Kang Woojin on the front screen. Then Ethan Smith continued.
"I've been told he came from military special forces. When you said that Mr. Woojin was unfamiliar with CQC, you meant that not as an actor, but in terms of real combat conditions. Actual CQC and choreographed CQC obviously differ in terms of balance and execution."
For a brief moment, both Song Manwoo PD and the martial arts director simply blinked.
They looked blank.
Neither of them said a word, but inwardly both were screaming like mad.
'W-What the hell is this?! Special forces?! Don't say ridiculous things!'
'Woojin was ex-special forces??!!'
What Ethan was saying made absolutely no sense to them, but they were not even given a chance to question it.
Ethan, the stunt team leader, slid a clear file folder toward Song Manwoo PD.
"We've upgraded the existing storyboard. If we make use of Mr. Kang Woojin's CQC skill, I think we can raise the tension considerably."
"Already? That fast?"
At the sudden shift in topic, Song Manwoo PD recovered his composure. He was a heavyweight in the drama world, so he opened the clear file folder without hesitation.
"…!!"
The moment he saw the first page, his eyes widened. What seized his attention was not the storyboard itself, but the explanation attached to it for reference.
'A ten-minute long take?'