Kang Woojin climbed into the black van parked at the entrance of Incheon Airport. A dozen or so of his team members boarded right after him, and the inside of the van quickly turned lively and chaotic. Even in the middle of it all, Woojin sat down with the Cannes Best Actor trophy case still in one hand and, the moment he got in, turned his calm face toward the window.
Outside, hundreds of half-crazed reporters were packed together behind a wall of huge security guards.
The shutter bursts still had not stopped, even though Kang Woojin was already inside the van. There were shouts too, all mixed together into something impossible to make out. Zombies, maybe. Woojin let out a small sigh inwardly.
'Ah, this is seriously thrilling. Anyway, I'm finally back in Korea. My home. It's been forever since I rode in this van. I'm finally home.'
On the outside, he looked as solemn as ever, but inside, Kang Woojin was practically bouncing his shoulders with excitement. To everyone else, it was a glorious return after an overwhelming victory. To Woojin, it just felt like he had come back home.
He had landed in Korea around three in the afternoon, but it was already close to five now. The reason was simple.
"Honestly, I never expected the interviews to go on for almost two hours."
His flashy return had been followed by nearly two full hours with the press. Of course, it was not just the hundreds of reporters. There were countless spectators too. If it had only been Woojin, maybe it would have taken less time, but director Ahn Ga-bok, who had won the Palme d'Or with Leech, along with Shim Han-ho and the rest of the Leech cast, had all been there as well, so everything dragged on longer.
'Whew, what exactly did I even answer back there?'
An endless barrage of questions had poured in from the hundreds of reporters. Most of them were about Best Actor, his French, Miley Cara, and the hidden meaning behind his bold acceptance speech, but he barely remembered any of it. There was no reason to think too hard about it anyway.
Just then—
Click.
Choi Sung-geon and Jang Su-hwan, along with the rest of the staff who had been handling the wrap-up, got into the van. Choi Sung-geon immediately gave the signal to leave, and the idling van finally began to move smoothly. Outside, as if they had entered one final frenzy, the hundreds of reporters surrounding the van unleashed an even more savage storm of flashes.
About ten minutes later, the black van had finally escaped the airport and was now speeding along the highway. The inside of the van was still buzzing.
"Wow, Woojin oppa is all over the front page of every search site!"
"That was obvious! His photos are all over social media and community boards too! But doesn't it feel like there were actually fewer reporters at the airport than expected?"
"It looked that way from inside, but apparently there were hundreds more out in the outer parking area. They just couldn't get in because the access roads were blocked."
"Oh my gosh! The comeback articles are pouring out!"
Up front, Choi Sung-geon grinned as he checked his phone and added his own thoughts.
"Heh, Woojin. I expected this would blow up, but wow, it really exploded. Look at this. It'll probably keep going for at least two weeks. Ah, anyway, let's rest today and tomorrow, Woojin."
"Yes."
"I wish I could let you rest even longer, but the schedule is too backed up. And after Cannes, everything got pushed around even more."
"It's fine. I rested a lot in Cannes."
After answering simply, Kang Woojin quietly stared back out the window. He had returned after achieving something that went beyond national honor, yet his head was filled with thoughts that had absolutely nothing to do with any of it.
'What should I eat when I get home? I want something insanely spicy. Kimchi jjim? Ah, but jokbal sounds good too. Or maybe ramen? No. First, ramen. Definitely ramen first.'
As he sat there choosing what he would eat when he got home, Woojin suddenly seemed to remember something. Still keeping his expression blank, he pulled out his phone. He started sending out the photo he had already taken of himself with the Cannes Best Actor trophy.
He sent it to everyone he had kept in touch with.
Family. Friends. Colleagues.
A short message to let them know he was back in Korea.
Soon—
Buzz. Buzz.
Replies began flooding in. Korea, Japan, Hollywood. They were coming from everywhere.
Right at that moment—
After finishing a call, Choi Sung-geon turned around with a somewhat serious look on his face and met Woojin's calm gaze.
"Woojin, I got a message from our main investor."
He was talking about chairman Hideki.
"Putting the small details aside… it looks like you've got a private jet now."
In an instant, the eyes of the dozen or so team members inside the van widened all at once. Everyone except Kang Woojin. He asked again in a voice that was almost a whisper.
"…You mean a private jet?"
"Yes. Starting with your next Japan schedule, you'll be using a private jet."
Kang Woojin was completely shocked.
Only on the inside, of course.
'What is he talking about?! A private jet, out of nowhere?! The kind of private jet you only see in movies?!'
To him, the words private jet might as well have meant a hang glider he had built as a child.
Meanwhile, on a plane somewhere in the sky—
A few familiar faces were dozing in the business-class cabin of a plane flying high above the clouds. Among them were several executives from Universal Movie, the Hollywood distributor that had attended Cannes, as well as Megan and a few others. Only one man sitting by the window was still awake.
It was none other than the famous powerhouse producer Joseph Felton.
He had one hand against his chin as he looked out the window, and unlike Kang Woojin, he had remained in France for a few extra days after Cannes ended. Now they were on their way back to LA. After a moment, Joseph finally lowered his gaze from the window and looked down at his lap. Four thin stacks of paper rested there.
They were the synopsis drafts, or rather the concepts and ideas, from four different Hollywood screenwriters.
Joseph picked up one of the drafts. Each one belonged to a different genre—thriller, noir, crime action, comedy—but all of them were inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and dealt with dissociative identity disorder.
"This is the right choice."
He had been thinking it over since before Cannes, and now he had finally made up his mind. Once he got back to LA, he intended to start developing the screenplay in earnest. The pace of the project, however, was moving at twice its usual speed. Megan and the rest of the core team had already been assembled early on, and in addition to top candidates like Danny Landis, they had also prepared a list of directors with the possibility of casting Kang Woojin in mind.
Then—
"Hm."
Crossing his long legs, Joseph suddenly found himself thinking of Miley Cara. More precisely, he remembered the conversation they had had at the Cannes after-party. It had started when Miley Cara approached Joseph while he was watching Kang Woojin, who had been surrounded by famous international figures.
"Joseph, I heard you're preparing a project with Universal Movie."
Joseph had been a little surprised by how suddenly she brought it up.
"It's rare for you to start talking about a project first, Miley."
"I looked into it a little, but there isn't much information. It seems like it's still in the early stages."
"You could say that. But the team is about seventy percent built already."
"The director too?"
"The final shortlist is ready, and we're especially interested in director Danny."
A faint smile touched Cara's usually cool tone.
"Danny Landis… But isn't he the type who only directs scripts he wrote himself? With his reputation, anyone would throw money at him to get him on board."
"We're trying. We raised the odds a little at Cannes."
"Hm. If Danny takes the project, it'll definitely make waves in Hollywood."
Cara muttered that almost to herself, then met Joseph's gaze with her blue eyes.
"If the official synopsis or the first draft comes out, send it to me too."
Joseph's eyes widened slightly.
"Are you serious?"
Miley Cara was famous in Hollywood for commanding enormous fees and having extremely demanding casting conditions. This was the first time she had ever personally asked for a script. Joseph asked her directly.
"…Is this because of Kang Woojin?"
Cara frowned.
"Are you crazy? It's because of his acting. I saw Leech and Beneficial Evil. It's the first time I've ever felt fear from someone else's performance. I thought I was pretty good at acting too, but after seeing Kang Woojin, I felt distance. It even turned into respect."
"Kang Woojin's acting doesn't feel like acting. It feels like a living character moving around in reality. What he does isn't method acting. It's something beyond that."
"I don't want to see him in a short piece like Beneficial Evil. I want to see that in something longer. That's all."
Joseph smiled faintly.
"Understood. If a script worth sending comes out, I'll send it to you right away. Other than Kang Woojin, you'll be the second actor to receive it."
Cara nodded and lowered her voice slightly.
"Casting Kang Woojin is non-negotiable. If you can't secure him, don't send it to me."
Back in the present, inside the plane, Joseph's smile spread a little wider.
"For some reason, it feels like the success or failure of this film depends on a single actor."
Soon, he looked down at his phone and quietly murmured as he took in what was on the screen.
"With this kind of influence, it's worth trying."
What he was seeing was Kang Woojin's name spreading not just through Hollywood, but across the entire world. It was not only through articles and videos. His name was being repeated in countless conversations and online discussions as well. Because of his overwhelming presence at Cannes and his acceptance speech, Kang Woojin's name had begun appearing on the lips of major figures from many countries.
And of course, that included France, the birthplace of Cannes.
"So he's a Korean actor who won Best Actor at Cannes and also speaks French that fluently? Has Kang Woojin already gone back to Korea?"
"We've confirmed he arrived in Korea already."
"I keep thinking about his performance in Leech. Send a script to Kang Woojin immediately, as fast as possible. Other directors have probably already started moving."
"Understood."
Most of the respected directors from various countries who had approached Kang Woojin at the after-party were reacting in similar ways. It was not only his powerful presence at Cannes that had captivated them. The fact that he spoke French and English fluently made him even more appealing in their eyes.
Hollywood, on the other hand, was more divided.
"So he's aiming for the Academy next year? Hm. This Korean actor is a bit arrogant."
"Haven't there always been actors like that? None of them lasted, though. Winning Best Actor at Cannes is impressive, sure, but the Academy is on a completely different level."
"I heard director Danny praised him very highly."
"Danny? Hm. That must have been some experience. Even Cannes broke its own rules for this."
"I'm curious what kind of actor he really is."
Woojin's acceptance speech had been quite provocative, and it had clearly touched the pride of some people in Hollywood. At the same time, however, interest in Kang Woojin was rising sharply. Many directors evaluated him positively. Some wanted to ride the wave of his popularity, some were sincerely moved by his acting, and others had their own reasons entirely.
"Contact his agency and find out if anything is possible."
"We already sent an email, and I heard they even have a branch in LA."
"Ah, then can we contact them directly?"
"I'll look into it."
Among world-famous directors, Kang Woojin had become one of the hottest topics around.
The next day, Wednesday the 13th, in the morning—
It was Kang Woojin's house.
While both Korea and the rest of the world were still making noise over him, Woojin was lying motionless in bed. His home was completely quiet.
Even though it was already past nine in the morning, there was still no sign of him waking from his deep sleep. It was as if he were trying to throw off all of his accumulated fatigue in one go. Of course, during all that time, every kind of message had continued piling up on his phone, but it remained on silent.
About an hour later—
"Ugh—"
With one side of his hair completely flattened, Kang Woojin slowly sat up from the bed with a groan like a zombie. The rigid public image he always maintained was nowhere to be found. What showed instead was his completely unpolished real self.
"…I really slept hard."
Who would believe this was the same man who had just won Best Actor at Cannes?
Anyway, after pushing himself upright, Woojin sat there blankly for a moment before reaching for his phone. Missed calls, texts, messages, DMs—there were countless notifications waiting for him. He decided to check only the missed calls first. Fortunately, there was nothing urgent. Without a second thought, he tossed the phone back onto the bed, stretched, and headed into the living room.
The very first thing that caught Kang Woojin's eye was this.
"Ha. This is seriously amazing."
The trophies he had won were displayed on the table in the living room. Among them, of course, was the Best Actor trophy from Cannes that he had received only a few days earlier. Seeing its grandeur, Woojin broke into a broad smile and spoke softly.
"Why does it still feel like this isn't really mine?"
Kang Woojin was in an excellent mood.
Then suddenly, something came to mind.
"Ah, Miley Cara's new album."
He had briefly forgotten it in the middle of all the chaos. Miley Cara's new album had been released worldwide just yesterday. Woojin quickly returned to his bed, grabbed his phone, and opened YouTube. He assumed the official music video had been released along with the album.
And then—
"Wow. That's incredible."
He did not even need to search for it. The video he was looking for was already there, sitting at number one in real time.
[Alcoholism (feat. Woojin) | Miley Cara]
It was the music video for the title track of Miley Cara's new album, the one Kang Woojin had featured on.
Viewed 60,012,802 times / 22 hours ago
It had surpassed sixty million views in less than twenty-four hours.