Kang Woojin traveled overseas frequently.
Not just Japan and LA, but France as well whenever Cannes called.
And every single time, there was always a distinct reason that drew media attention.
His trip to Japan for filming The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice.
Filming Our Table.
Working on a new album with Miley Cara.
Attending the Cannes Film Festival.
Every overseas departure had always come with a clear headline.
Because of that, whenever Kang Woojin left Korea, the domestic media and public always had an obvious focal point.
But this time was different.
『Kang Woojin secretly departs for LA? Has the endlessly rumored Hollywood debut finally become reality?』
Neither his agency, bw Entertainment, nor Kang Woojin himself had made any announcement.
There had been no SNS post, no teaser, no warning.
He simply boarded a flight to LA in complete silence.
The news only broke because people at the airport suddenly spotted Kang Woojin and uploaded sightings, photos, and posts onto social media and online communities.
Maybe that was why.
『Kang Woojin suddenly leaves for LA! Is he meeting with Hollywood film company officials?』
This confidential LA departure stirred even greater chaos in Korea.
No advance notice.
No official statement.
A perfectly secretive trip.
It was the ideal setup for rumors, speculation, and endless assumptions.
『The Man of Cannes, Kang Woojin—finally advancing to Hollywood? The reason behind his sudden LA departure』
The media had believed they already had a rough grasp on Kang Woojin's year-end schedule.
After filming Beneficial Evil, he was expected to attend various film festivals and public events.
And technically, that information wasn't wrong.
Those schedules were real.
But Kang Woojin shattered everyone's expectations and boarded a plane to LA instead.
The timing only amplified the impact.
At the time, 'Kang Woojin's Hollywood debut' was already one of entertainment's hottest pieces of gossip.
[Hahaha, seeing Kang Woojin secretly fly to LA really makes it seem like his Hollywood debut is real, doesn't it???]
[Did he get offered a Hollywood project?]
[No, he's probably going to see Miley Cara.]
[Ah... Cara? Honestly, that's possible too. Maybe he's attending some Billboard-hosted event because the new album exploded?]
[There are already rumors that Hollywood studios made him casting offers.]
[But the timing is kind of... suspicious, isn't it? Leaving exactly at year-end.]
[With Kang Woojin's level, even landing a small or supporting role in Hollywood seems possible.]
[Supporting role might be pushing it a little. He has zero Hollywood experience.]
[People are getting way ahead of themselves. What if this is just Leech-related?]
[It'd honestly be hilarious if Kang Woojin just says he went there for vacation.]
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Whatever the truth was, Kang Woojin's secret LA trip sent domestic media and public opinion into upheaval.
[Damn, even getting a tiny role in Hollywood would already be insanely impressive, right?]
The rumor alone was enough to create enormous waves.
And right now—
Kang Woojin was naturally aboard that very plane.
To be precise, a private jet.
Since this was the first time their private jet's destination was LA, Woojin's team was visibly excited.
"This is incredible!"
"This is seriously insane! I absolutely need pictures!"
"Of course! When are we ever going to experience something like this again?!"
They busily snapped photos with their phones.
The private jet interior.
The scenery outside the windows.
Everything.
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin maintained his usual expressionless composure.
With that same indifferent face, he sat beside Choi Sunggeon, who was currently briefing him.
"Two films. The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice and Leech."
Kang Woojin listened to the explanation while quietly assessing the bigger picture.
With December beginning, both films had already begun naturally losing box office momentum.
But there was nothing strange about that.
No matter how explosive a movie was, reality always had limits.
And with new releases arriving every week, decline was inevitable.
Choi Sunggeon first showed him Leech's current performance on his phone.
[All-Time Korean Box Office]
[Overall Film Rankings]
-1. Leech / Total Viewers: 22,311,417
22 million.
Even considering Leech still had some final momentum left, timing no longer mattered.
It had surpassed 22 million.
An unprecedented number in Korean history.
Kang Woojin was internally stunned.
'22 million… Seriously, even now it doesn't feel real. This is unbelievable.'
But outwardly, his face remained as cold as ever.
Unaware of Woojin's inner shock, Choi Sunggeon casually flipped to the next result.
This time—
The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice.
Its final numbers had already been heavily covered by Japanese media.
『The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice surpasses 23 million viewers! Despite numerous controversies, it achieves legendary record』
23 million viewers.
If Kang Woojin's blank expression hadn't been part of his concept, he might have cheered and danced on the spot.
After all, he had simultaneously conquered both Korean and Japanese cinema.
It was a monstrous achievement.
Just two years ago, he had known absolutely nothing about acting.
And now, he stood firmly at the summit of both industries.
But Choi Sunggeon was already looking beyond that.
"And now, regarding Hollywood."
He shifted topics quickly.
Kang Woojin had been waiting for exactly this.
"You know Columbia Studio, right? Director Ahn has already joined their side. Anyway, within two days of arriving in LA, there'll be a preliminary meeting. The exact time is still being adjusted. After that, they're planning an audition—well, more accurately, a screen test—in January. It feels a bit fast… what do you think?"
From Kang Woojin's perspective, even doing it immediately would've been fine.
"I'm fine with it."
"Yep. That's exactly the Kang Woojin I know. Once we arrive at Columbia Studio, I'll explain everything in detail. You already experienced Last Kill 3, so you know this, but Hollywood auditions are a little different from Korean ones. They're unpredictable. Obviously, you'll need to fully master the script too… Well, enough about auditions. Since this is the first meeting, it'd be best if the atmosphere stays comfortable."
In Hollywood, auditions and screen tests only happened after prior verification stages were passed.
Sometimes, actors could land a role from a single line.
Other times, even the most perfect performance could lead to immediate rejection.
It was a truly unknown territory.
"And World Disney Pictures already sent immediate feedback too. There's still no mention of auditions or screen tests yet. Unlike Columbia Studio, Disney hasn't officially announced their live-action Beauty and the Beast project. But they do want a preliminary meeting as quickly as possible."
Kang Woojin calmly replied.
"So after Columbia Studio, we meet World Disney Pictures too?"
"We have to make that happen somehow. None of these places are close together, so during this LA trip, we need to handle as much as possible."
"Makes sense."
"Mm. Since both are preliminary meetings, they probably won't take too long."
Soon, Choi Sunggeon, who had been writing something in his planner, let out a small laugh and shook his head.
It was all related to Kang Woojin's December schedule.
"Whew… December is seriously no joke. After meetings with film companies in LA, we'll immediately head back to Korea for multiple film festivals and events. You'll probably be fine. Me? I need to mentally prepare."
A schedule beyond hell itself.
Even with the void space, it wouldn't be easy.
Still, Kang Woojin had already decided to think of himself as basically dead anyway.
And despite that, he didn't feel burdened.
'The faster this all gets sorted out, the faster the results will come.'
If anything, his fighting spirit had only intensified.
Then, Kang Woojin remembered something he had briefly forgotten.
'…Ah, right. This is actually my first time visiting my LA house.'
Meanwhile—
Even though Kang Woojin had temporarily stepped away, the Beneficial Evil production team continued filming smoothly.
Recently, Beneficial Evil had been progressing at terrifying speed.
The reason was simple.
"Good! Stand by!!"
『[Issue Talk] Kang Woojin gains international recognition through Beneficial Evil with Miley Cara… release approaching soon!』
Part 1 filming was nearing its final stages.
Rumors had already spread among staff and actors, so naturally, media attention followed.
As a result, Song Manwoo PD's dark circles only deepened as he reviewed scripts in front of monitors.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had slept properly.
Song Manwoo was simultaneously wrapping roughly six episodes' worth of filming while relentlessly pushing post-production editing whenever time allowed.
Naturally, the staff and cast were pouring everything they had into the production.
The reason Kang Woojin could leave at this point was simple.
They had already prioritized filming nearly all of his scenes in advance.
Strictly speaking, Kang Woojin's portion in Beneficial Evil Part 1 was almost entirely complete aside from a handful of scenes and later-stage production work.
Meanwhile, domestic media was still fiercely consumed by another issue.
『Hollywood debut director Ahn Gabok arrives in LA to join Columbia Studio… what kind of film will he create?』
Since BIFF, the heat surrounding Ahn Gabok had never faded.
And now that he had physically entered Hollywood, the excitement had reached near madness.
[Director Ahn is a veteran, but he has style. He's definitely going to make it big in Hollywood.]
[This genuinely feels historic… the first Korean director to truly break into Hollywood…]
[This is insane. Columbia??!! A Korean director making a Hollywood blockbuster?! This is overwhelming!!]
[Since Director Ahn is directing in Hollywood, maybe Korean actors could get cast too. He'll probably bring Kang Woojin.]
[My patriotism is overflowing… Director Ahn!! Please conquer Hollywood!!]
[Hollywood superstars being directed by Ahn Gabok?! This already feels legendary. It'd be even better if Korean actors joined too… though maybe that's just a dream.]
On top of that, the Beneficial Evil team continued nonstop promotion and marketing using Miley Cara.
『Netflix releases 3 Bangkok filming photos featuring Miley Cara』
But this wasn't only spreading in Korea.
As Miley Cara's album promotions approached their conclusion, she frequently mentioned Beneficial Evil on SNS.
Kang Woojin also regularly uploaded filming photos in support.
The more they did, the more desperately overseas fans awaited Beneficial Evil's release.
『Even before release, Beneficial Evil spreads across global SNS platforms… can it achieve explosive success?』
With year-end rapidly approaching, anticipation in Korea and Japan only grew more intense.
So many major issues were erupting simultaneously that it felt like a giant fireworks display exploding right before everyone's eyes.
This December was expected to shine unusually brightly.
For Kang Woojin, currently aboard that plane, this was his second year-end within the jungle-like entertainment industry.
Once December ended, he would already be entering his third year.
『[Special Feature] Kang Woojin enters his third debut year—after receiving global attention in year two, what path will he walk next year?』
Whether in Korea or Japan, year-end entertainment was essentially a train ride to hell.
No—
Probably every industry was.
And so, more than ten hours passed.
By the time Woojin arrived at LA International Airport, it was early morning.
Just past 7 AM.
He appeared inside the massive arrival hall, crowded with people of every race.
Despite the early hour, the airport was already bustling.
But unlike Korea or Japan, his arrival caused no immediate commotion.
Of course, a few foreigners glanced at Kang Woojin and his group.
Anyone could tell they stood out.
But beyond mild curiosity—
Nothing.
And Kang Woojin wasn't disappointed.
'Same as always.'
After multiple prior experiences, he had already adapted to this environment.
America.
Hollywood.
It was vast.
Here, Kang Woojin was essentially no different from an unknown newcomer.
At that moment, Choi Sunggeon approached and lightly patted his shoulder twice.
"A little disappointing. My expectations were high. It's quiet now, but starting next year, we'll make enough noise that people start running toward you."
Maintaining his concept, Kang Woojin quietly replied.
"I'm satisfied with how things are now."
"Haha, really?"
Not long after, around ten more people joined them.
They were bw Entertainment's overseas branch employees waiting in LA.
Several large bodyguards joined as well.
With the group now considerably larger, Kang Woojin began moving.
Then—
"Huh? That guy—"
A small murmur.
"Isn't that the actor from Cara's music video?"
"Really? I think you're right!"
Among the crowd in the arrival hall, several foreigners began pointing at Kang Woojin.
"I saw him in an article!"
"An article? Is he famous?"
The murmuring slowly spread.
"Oh my god, that's the actor from Cara's music video!"
"Huh? Really? Where??"
"Over there! The guy in the hat! One of that group!"
Dozens of foreigners simultaneously pulled out their phones and started taking pictures.
"What's going on??"
"Why is everyone taking photos of him?"
"He's definitely some kind of celebrity!"
For the very first time—
This was happening to Kang Woojin in LA.