Cars were busily moving all over Bangkok for the filming of Beneficial Evil. Inside the gray van that had just left the hotel, chatter about Kang Woojin filled the air. The passengers were Netflix Korea staff, and among them, Executive Director Kim Sohyang and writer Choi Nana stood out.
Wearing a safari hat, Choi Nana had looked flushed and excited ever since yesterday.
"Ah, what do I do!"
It was not because of the heat. The real problem was Choi Nana's mood. As always, Kim Sohyang tried to calm her down.
"I'm too nervous. I can't calm down."
"Please calm down, writer. Filming won't stop for us. The most important thing is that we enjoy this moment."
"But still, they're going to shoot the long-take scene the moment we arrive on set!"
"Then Kang Woojin must be under even more pressure than we are… though maybe not. I honestly can't imagine Woojin struggling with something like that."
"Even yesterday, during rehearsal, he didn't bat an eye and looked completely comfortable. Of course, the rehearsal was done by breaking down each movement slowly and piece by piece."
"Even so, he must feel some pressure inside. It's his first action film, and on top of that, it's a long take. If the scene runs for more than ten minutes… anyone would find that difficult."
"If there's a mistake in the middle, do they start all over again from the beginning?"
"Of course. The whole point of a long take is to preserve that sense of momentum and realism through continuous shooting. If you split it into several parts or stitch it together in editing, the meaning fades. That's why even directing teams tend to avoid long takes."
At that, writer Choi Nana adjusted her round glasses and muttered while picturing Woojin.
"...I really can't imagine Kang Woojin making a mistake."
A few hours later, around noon.
Under the blazing sun, about an hour outside central Bangkok, the Beneficial Evil team had once again set up near an abandoned factory on the outskirts of a fairly large town. The entire structure had once been painted brown and beige, but with half the paint peeled away, it was obvious it had been left neglected for a long time.
In the open lot in front of the abandoned factory, many of the vehicles used by the Beneficial Evil team were parked, and dozens of staff members ran around in a frenzy.
Still, the number of people gathered there looked smaller than expected.
The reason was simple.
The key members of the filming team, including PD Song Manwoo, were stationed in a building attached directly behind the abandoned factory. It was a five-story apartment-like structure, and it too looked badly worn from abandonment. The broken windows and crumbling brick walls had actually been deliberately created by the art team of Beneficial Evil.
About 150 staff members were gathered on the first floor of that empty apartment building.
"Stunt team!! Over here!"
Even Miley Cara, who had just finished her makeup, was among them, but the Beneficial Evil production staff did their best to hide their curiosity and continued working.
"PD-nim!!! Please confirm the final props!"
"Director of photography! Please double-check the camera framing one more time!!"
"Supporting actors!! All the prop guns are ready! Wait, where did the interpreter go?!"
The local Thai crew and the Korean staff of Beneficial Evil moved quickly and accurately under orders as they bustled around preparing for the first shoot. Some of the Thai extras, who were about to participate in a long take lasting more than ten minutes, wore visibly tense expressions as they listened to instructions.
While a few Thai extras were being handed prop AK47 rifles, they glanced toward PD Song Manwoo's side.
More precisely, they were looking at the male lead of the drama.
"I heard this is also Kang Woojin's first time doing a long take."
"Do you have experience with them?"
"Yes. Not as long as ten minutes like this, but I once did a five-minute take before. It was for a Hollywood film."
"How long did it take?"
"Just filming that one scene took more than five hours. If there are too many mistakes, you keep reshooting until the actors and staff line up perfectly."
"...Then today will probably be the same."
Most of the Thai extras were watching Kang Woojin. He was talking with PD Song Manwoo, Cara, stunt director Ethan Smith, and others. It was obvious they were discussing things like shooting prep, martial arts, close combat, and the long take.
One of the Thai actors, looking at Kang Woojin, made a speculative remark.
"If the lead actor isn't used to action or long takes, filming will take even longer."
Dozens of minutes later.
Kang Woojin stood at the center of the first floor of the abandoned building. He wore a fitted gray short-sleeved shirt and faded black jeans. His skin looked slightly darker overall, and his slightly tousled black hair had been cut a little shorter. His appearance was already impossible to distinguish from Jang Yeonwoo's.
But inside, he was still Kang Woojin.
'All right, time to start.'
He pushed aside his lingering thoughts and steadied his mind. Then he began summoning everything he needed. First, he called up the imprinted image of Jang Yeonwoo from Beneficial Evil. He drew out every part of it, and the image of Jang Yeonwoo spread smoothly through Woojin's entire body.
"..."
He was calm. He was bold. He was cold. He was vicious. He was cruel. He was skilled. He was flexible. He was meticulous. And he was exhilarated.
'A good bastard.'
Jang Yeonwoo was a villain.
But Kang Woojin, the owner of Jang Yeonwoo, summoned one more monster. It was Assistant Manager Park from Profiler Hanryang. He did it to add madness to that "good bastard." And so the current Jang Yeonwoo was completed.
Still, Kang Woojin wanted something one layer beyond that.
'Something rougher. Something raw.'
The technical side belonged to Jang Yeonwoo. The unpolished edge belonged to Assistant Manager Park. Woojin pictured a slightly crazy veteran. He followed no one's advice. It was purely Woojin's own choice. What did it matter? Even if it turned out wrong, he could simply strip away the Assistant Manager Park part on the spot.
The names Jang Yeonwoo and Assistant Manager Park blended together in just the right way.
'Next.'
After finishing his preparation, Kang Woojin called up the weapons he needed. Martial arts. Close combat.
At that moment—
-Zzt!
A thick cable tie bound Kang Woojin's wrists, and two Thai extras stood beside him. One held an AK47 rifle. The other held a Glock 17 pistol.
Standing among several monitors with Miley Cara and Ethan Smith, PD Song Manwoo picked up a megaphone.
"Camera!!"
Soon, a cameraman with a shoulder rig took position in front of Kang Woojin. One assistant and one sound crew member stood with him.
This was the beginning.
The beginning of a ten-minute long take.
"Stand by!!!"
At PD Song Manwoo's loud shout, many of the staff gathered around Kang Woojin quickly cleared out. The Thai actors who would appear in the scene moved to their designated positions. By then, Kang Woojin was already completely immersed in the character of Jang Yeonwoo.
'This place stinks.'
The camera in front of him had long since vanished from his awareness. The countless staff surrounding him were gone as well. Only the world of Beneficial Evil remained. There was a moldy smell in the air. Cigarette smoke mixed with another unfamiliar odor.
'Drugs?'
He was tied up right now, but he could break free easily. Analyze. Analyze. The building had five floors. He was being led by two men. Assume there would be more people on every floor.
'This might actually be fun for the first time in a while.'
Jang Yeonwoo had come here because of a proposal from his former colleague, L. The mission was to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Bangkok drug lord. The kidnappers were a rival drug cartel, and because both organizations were large, it had been judged highly likely that the daughter was hiding here. At the moment, Jang Yeonwoo was posing as a drug broker.
Meanwhile, in front of the monitors, PD Song Manwoo spoke again.
"Quiet—"
Many of the people on set fixed their eyes on Kang Woojin. Not only the staff, but also Joseph, Megan, the twenty or so foreign crew members, Cara and her team, Kim Sohyang, writer Choi Nana, and many others were watching. Altogether, more than 200 people were observing the shoot.
And then it happened.
"Action!!"
The first cue of Beneficial Evil was called.
At the moment of crank-in, Kang Woojin appeared on camera and on the monitors. His hands were bound, his expression blank, but there was a faint trace of playfulness on his face.
-Thud!
The two gang members standing on either side of him, acting as the broker's escorts, slapped his shoulders.
"Move."
It was Thai.
Woojin briefly glanced at the AK47 rifle in the man's hand, then stepped forward. The camera backed up and followed behind him. Kang Woojin climbed the spiral staircase. Past the second floor. Past the third. Finally he reached the fifth floor. Their final destination was the room at the very end of the fifth floor. Thick cigarette smoke and loud, incomprehensible music filled the room.
-♬♪
The two gang members shoved Woojin inside. Kang Woojin offered no resistance. Standing at the center of the room, expressionless, his eyes moved quickly.
Two in front. One at the back table. Two near the entrance. One in front of the TV.
Six in total.
Any more? He sharpened his senses, but there were only six in this room. There might be more in other rooms, but now was not the time to care.
'The one in the back has a knife. Four guns and two blades. I'll clear this room first.'
The camera slid to Woojin's side. A mustached man who looked like the leader blew cigarette smoke directly into Woojin's face.
"..."
Woojin remained calm and expressionless. Smirking, the mustached man said something in Thai and burst out laughing.
"This bastard looks tense as hell. Feels like he's about to piss himself."
Kang Woojin answered in English.
"I don't understand Thai."
"Shut your mouth!"
The mustached man suddenly flared up and roughly shoved the gun in his hand under Woojin's chin. Even then, Kang Woojin stayed composed.
For about five seconds.
Then the mustached man sneered once more and turned back toward the other gang members.
"I'll admit it. He's got guts."
Soon, the camera zoomed in and framed the two men from the waist up. It looked like something was about to happen.
Kang Woojin spoke again.
"I don't understand Thai."
This time, the mustached man answered in English, though his English was rough and broken.
"How much you want?"
"The more, the better."
"Money?"
"As much as you've got."
"Heh. Fine. I'll show you the goods first."
Just as he was about to show the drugs, Woojin asked another question.
"Do you also sell kids?"
"What?"
"I heard rumors you sell children too."
"...You want?"
"If you have them, show me."
"Boys? Girls?"
"Doesn't matter."
As the mustached man snickered and turned his head to signal the two gang members near the entrance—
-Snap.
Kang Woojin raised his bound hands, then brought them sharply down. The thick cable tie split with a crack. The camera naturally moved behind Woojin, and the gang members, realizing his sudden movement, shouted in shock.
"That crazy bastard!!"
"He's dangerous!!!"
The moment the mustached man turned his head, he caught only a glimpse of it.
-Thud!
A short knife pierced his throat. The one holding the blade was Kang Woojin. He had drawn the knife he had hidden at his waist. At the same time he caught the collapsing man, Woojin snatched the gun.
-Bang! Bang!
Two shots rang out. Bright muzzle flashes burst from the barrel, and shell casings scattered in every direction.
"Ugh!!"
The bullet hit its target and tore into the chest of the man near the entrance. Blood streaming, he collapsed limply. The AK47 rifle fell to the floor beside him.
-Bang!
One more shot rang out. Blood and brain matter exploded from the back of another gang member's head.
Three of the six were dead in an instant.
The man in front of the TV sprang up in shock and grabbed his AK47. Another gang member with a knife charged at the still-fallen Kang Woojin.
"Aaaah!!!"
"Move! Move!!!"
That turn of events worked in Woojin's favor. It blocked the TV-watching man's line of sight. But the knife-wielding thug was faster.
-Whoosh!
He slashed with the long blade. Lying on the floor, Woojin tilted his head to the right to avoid it, then rolled and grabbed the AK47 that had fallen near the entrance. In one motion, he brought the rifle to his shoulder. At that moment, the camera swung behind Woojin. The thug with the long knife rushed him.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets punched through the man's chest. Blood sprayed in every direction. Woojin fired once more into the fallen thug's head as a confirming shot.
-Bang!
A dull sound followed as a hole burst through the skull. Kang Woojin immediately raised the rifle again and opened fire with the AK47 in his hands.
-Bang! Bang!
The face and head of the terrified man in front of the TV exploded. Dark blood droplets splattered across the television screen.
"Aaaah!"
The final remaining gang member swung his long knife at Kang Woojin. A dull clash rang out. Woojin blocked the blade with the barrel of the AK47, then aimed again.
-Bang! Bang!
The gang member's arm twisted grotesquely, and his face was mangled beyond recognition.
$@&(%&@(@!!!
%&(@%&(%@@@$((!!
Shouts erupted from below. More gang members were rushing up. The camera captured Kang Woojin in profile. Woojin loaded more rounds into the AK47 and grabbed a pistol as well. Then he stood beside the door, listening to the approaching footsteps while quietly counting under his breath.
-Dadadadada!
They were close.
At that moment, Kang Woojin suddenly burst out.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
The heads of the two gang members who had just stepped from the stairs into the hallway exploded. Woojin rolled down the corridor in one swift motion. The camera followed his movement roughly. Then Woojin kicked open a closed wooden door. Two gang members with knives rushed him. Four shots rang out, and their hearts and brains burst apart in sprays of blood.
The camera moved smoothly around to the front of Kang Woojin's face.
Both of his cheeks were splattered with blood.
'More will come.'
He was smiling.
But there was madness in that smile.
'This feels amazing. I'm really glad I took that break.'
He was the pure embodiment of evil.
But his frenzy was far from over. Barely five minutes had passed in the long take. At that moment, PD Song Manwoo, watching through the monitors, was completely overwhelmed with excitement.
'This is insane!! It's like Jang Yeonwoo himself came to life and started rampaging! This speed! This impact!'
The blonde Miley Cara had one hand covering her mouth. The sight unfolding in front of her was beyond anything she could have imagined.
'W-what is this?? This is the first scene, the very first take. He's that good already?! And while shooting a long-take action scene, how is his close-combat skill even better than the Hollywood actors I've seen!! How is that possible!!'
Shocked to her core, she turned her head to the right. There stood giant Joseph, Megan, the stunt team, and the Universal Movies executives. They had all gone perfectly still, without even blinking. Their faces seemed to be saying the same thing.
'What exactly am I witnessing right now?'
Cara felt a deep sympathy for them.
'It feels like their brains have stopped. Like their basic understanding of reality has been shattered to pieces. If you witness something that simply cannot be explained, of course that's how it feels. I know that feeling very well too.'
Hollywood's top people, all those deeply respected figures, stood there with their mouths slightly open. Not one of them moved even a little.
"..."
"..."
"..."
That monstrous display of CQC had crushed every last one of them.