The robotic female voice echoed through the endlessly dark void. It was a voice Kang Woojin had heard many times before, but this time, there was an unfamiliar word mixed into it.
["A skill exceeding the base specifications has been detected. 'CQC' will be acquired first."]
'CQC?'
It was something he had never heard before.
Whether it was learning a foreign language or picking up skills like singing or cooking, Woojin had always been able to anticipate it to some extent. Those were things that existed, in one way or another, within everyday life.
But this time was different.
"CQC?"
What the hell was CQC?
Woojin frowned and shouted toward the woman in the void, but as expected, she did not respond.
"Hey!! What is CQC?! What the hell is that?!"
Still—
["..."]
There was no answer.
Kang Woojin already knew that would be the case, but it still left him feeling frustrated. Cold and merciless, just like always.
'Right. Even if I don't know what it is, I just have to charge in first.'
The thought steadied him slightly, but there was also something he needed to be cautious about. This was the first time an unexpected ability had been engraved into him.
'Since it came from Beneficial Evil, it's probably related to action.'
The woman's voice rang out again.
["Preparing CQC reading materials…"]
["…Preparation complete. Beginning CQC reading."]
In that instant, a massive gray form appeared before Woojin's eyes, as if the void itself was about to swallow him whole. In that brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, though they were closer to predictions than anything else.
'CQC isn't just a word. It has to be an abbreviation for something longer.'
The huge gray shape slowly transformed and began wrapping itself around Woojin's body. It would only take a few seconds for him to be completely pulled in.
Soon—
"It sounds like the name of some kind of technique."
As the gray mass wrapped around him, Woojin's low mutter spread through the void.
"Damn it, is this some kind of killing technique?"
And just like that, Kang Woojin was swallowed whole by the enormous gray mass.
How much time had passed?
Once again, the robotic female voice reached Kang Woojin's ears.
["CQC reading (experience) complete."]
In an instant, his view changed.
He was back in the meeting room surrounded by glass walls, posters plastered here and there, people seated around the table, and PD Song Man-woo continuing his briefing.
"It's true that the action scenes have become more difficult than the deleted parts, but since Mr. Woojin's martial arts skills are already top-tier, it should be more than manageable."
Yes, this was the meeting room at Netflix Korea.
Woojin had just returned to reality after experiencing CQC. His face was stiff, as always expressionless, yet something about him now was slightly different.
"..."
He was extremely calm.
Cold and detached, yet at the same time, his senses felt unusually heightened.
But Choi Sunggeon, PD Song Man-woo, Executive Director Kim Sohyang, writer Choi Nana, and the production manager did not notice anything.
Not one of them realized.
The Kang Woojin sitting in front of them right now was a real monster. It was not a figure of speech, and at this moment, he truly was one.
'This is insane.'
Right now, he was certain he could neutralize everyone in this room. Not just certain—he knew it.
Whether it meant knocking them out or killing them did not matter, because he no longer saw the people around him as individuals, only as targets.
Even the weak air conditioner that was barely functioning made his mind feel colder.
His field of vision had widened, his sense of smell had sharpened, and every sound came through loud and clear. Goosebumps spread across his body, and every inch of him felt primed and ready.
Calculations came instantly, judgments were concise, and there was no hesitation left.
Act.
Just do it.
It was the lingering afterimage left behind by CQC.
Martial arts had formed the foundation, and now close combat had layered itself on top of it. To everyone else, only a few seconds had passed, but Kang Woojin had spent a long stretch of time inside that void.
'Stay calm and control the situation. I'm the one in charge, so I give the orders.'
First, Kang Woojin suppressed the presence of CQC that was wrapping around his entire body. It was a process he had gone through many times before.
Whether it was a language or any other skill, each new engraving left behind a powerful afterimage, and every time, Kang Woojin had to take control and establish mastery over it.
CQC was just one of the many skills he possessed, and the one who controlled those skills was Kang Woojin himself.
It was the process of taming an ability.
In the end, the reason the void space could exist at all was because Kang Woojin continued to remain himself within it. That mindset was what mattered most.
It was unclear exactly when he first developed that way of thinking, that stubbornness. Perhaps it had begun the very first time he underwent a reading experience, something that belonged entirely to the realm of the unconscious.
Because of that—
Hoo.
Kang Woojin was able to control this newly engraved ability as well. Just like when he first obtained martial arts, he had been overwhelmed at first, but the moment he took control, it became something he could handle freely.
Then—
'Good. This should be enough.'
Woojin realized that most of the aftereffects of CQC had faded, and he began testing the switch, turning it off and on again.
Just like acting and every other skill engraved into him, CQC was no exception. In an instant, his inner state shifted from ordinary to grim, then back again, proving the switch was functioning properly.
Still—
'One more time.'
Even as conversation continued around him, he repeated the process once more, because this newly engraved ability warranted that level of caution.
It was the most dangerous thing he had obtained since martial arts, but CQC had already been subdued by Kang Woojin, and the switch operated normally.
At the same time, he maintained an even more expressionless face.
The intense image Kang Woojin had been presenting recently was part of reinforcing his identity. On the outside, he appeared serious and composed, but on the inside, he was honestly shaken.
'What the hell did I just get?'
'This is insane.'
He recalled the CQC he had experienced in the void.
Rather than an ability, it felt like a technique, and not just any technique, but a lethal combat system. It encompassed hand-to-hand combat, firearms, weapon usage, and situational judgment, covering every aspect of battle.
In some ways, it was even more systematic and brutal than martial arts.
'This isn't something an ordinary person could ever encounter.'
That much was certain.
It was not something a normal person could experience. It was the kind of skill only special forces soldiers could learn, and even they required years of training to wield it freely.
These were techniques used in real combat.
And Kang Woojin had just had them engraved into him through the void.
'This is on a completely different level from the bayonet training I learned in the army.'
Just moments ago, inside the void, Woojin had killed dozens of people, or more precisely, the human-shaped figures that had appeared there.
Normally, after gaining a new ability, Woojin would immediately return to the void to continue reading and experiencing it, but this time, he needed a bit of space.
He wanted to rest.
He did want to read the Beneficial Evil script, but if he entered that world in this state and started killing people there as well, it felt like it would leave a bad aftertaste.
Right then—
"Mr. Woojin."
Writer Choi Nana, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
"Have you ever heard of something called CQC?"
Woojin answered almost immediately, his expression unchanged.
"I've heard of it."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
Choi Sunggeon, standing beside him, glanced at him with a slightly serious look, and Song Man-woo joined in.
"Since you're already skilled in martial arts, I figured you might have come across the term CQC at least once."
"Yes."
Writer Choi Nana hesitated briefly before continuing.
"Broadly speaking, CQC refers to a comprehensive close-quarters combat technique or combat system, and this skill has been included in the newly added portions of Beneficial Evil."
"I see."
"If you check episodes 1 and 2, you'll clearly see the restored sections. They focus on the male lead Jang Yeonwoo's past."
"His past?"
"Yes. They're flashback scenes meant to highlight his abilities and build anticipation. Once viewers see his proficiency in close combat, they'll naturally begin to imagine what kind of past he must have had."
It was a common storytelling device—show the protagonist's abilities first, then gradually reveal fragments of the past.
'People will probably assume Jang Yeonwoo has a special forces background.'
Around that moment, Song Man-woo, who had been quietly watching Woojin, leaned forward slightly.
"Mr. Woojin, pre-production was delayed somewhat due to large-scale auditions and set construction, but that was expected. Since it's a pre-produced drama, our priority is quality."
He continued calmly.
"Starting with today's character shoot, we'll wrap up pre-production. By the end of July, we plan to complete overseas scouting and script readings. During that time, the actors, including you, will undergo intensive training centered on martial arts."
This had already been discussed.
Aside from his other schedules, Woojin would dedicate most of his time to action training.
"We haven't finalized whether the first shoot will take place in Bangkok or domestically, but either way, filming will begin within August."
──────────
The next morning, at Kang Woojin's officetel.
His home was clean and neatly organized, and the time was around 5:30 a.m.
Woojin lay on his bed, looking almost lifeless at first glance, but the steady rise and fall of his chest showed he was simply in a deep sleep.
About five minutes later—
"...Ugh—"
He suddenly let out a low groan and sat upright.
Although he had to leave early at 6:30, work was not what occupied his mind.
Swoosh.
Scratching his messy hair, Woojin stepped into the living room, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and drank it down in one go.
After refreshing himself, he stretched lightly and turned his gaze.
On the table over the gray rug lay two scripts—the revised episodes 1 and 2 of Beneficial Evil.
He had read them between schedules the day before and again late at night after returning home, focusing only on the newly added scenes since he already knew the original content.
His conclusion had been simple.
'This is insane.'
It was far more intense and daring than he had expected, to the point that he questioned whether it was really a drama, as the scale felt closer to a blockbuster film.
And above all, it was surprising that the reserved writer Choi Nana had written something like this.
Anyway—
Swish.
Kang Woojin picked up the episode 1 script.
As expected, the black square was swirling on its surface.
He had already made his decision.
This morning, before leaving for work, he would read—experience—the newly added material.
In other words, he would continue living alongside CQC, which also meant inheriting the past of Jang Yeonwoo.
Woojin tilted his head slightly, then raised his index finger without hesitation.
Poke.
He was calmer than expected.
Before he realized it, he was already back inside the pitch-black void, walking toward the white rectangles lined up before him.
He selected Beneficial Evil.
-[You have selected Script 9 (Title: Beneficial Evil).]
Soon, the robotic female voice followed.
["Preparing to read A: Jang Yeonwoo…"]
["…Preparation complete. The quality of the script is extremely high. Implementation rate is 100%. Beginning reading."]
This time, the massive gray form swallowed Kang Woojin instantly, meaning he had entered the world of Beneficial Evil.
Time in reality nearly stopped, but for Woojin, countless hours and days would pass.
Then—
Sss.
The world he saw began to change, not exactly distort but sink into darkness, and everything he perceived through his senses began to shift.
The first thing he heard was—
"$$(&(!(%&(!%"
Words he could not understand, spoken in a crude, careless male voice that was not his own.
Kang Woojin was walking, and he was not alone.
Two men were gripping his arms and dragging him forward.
'There are two more ahead.'
No—four in total.
His vision gradually cleared, though his face was covered with a filthy cloth that reeked of blood, saliva, and breath.
'Humid.'
The heat was suffocating, likely over thirty-five degrees, and the ground beneath his feet shifted between soft dirt and mud.
His hands were tied in front of him, most likely with a thick cable tie.
That was not a problem.
Escaping and subduing them would not be difficult.
A hot wind brushed against his body, making his worn shirt flutter, and even while being dragged, his mind had already made its decision.
All that remained was timing.
'Left side. First target.'
The man on his left was limping, but the reason did not matter.
Woojin's mind turned cold as he stilled his body and lowered his gaze.
A handgun was tucked into the man's waistband.
'Glock 17.'
The sound of a truck approached rapidly, growing louder with each second.
Just as it drew near—
Woojin lifted his left foot.
At the same time—
Vroooom!
The truck roared past right beside them.
He brought his foot down hard on the man's foot.
"Aaaagh!!"
The man's posture collapsed instantly, and his grip loosened.
Woojin did not miss the moment.
As the man tilted, Woojin swiftly pulled the gun from his waistband.
His hands were tied, but his fingers were free.
Thud.
He threw himself against the falling man, and in the struggle, the filthy cloth covering his head slipped off.
The gun rose immediately, pressing under the man's chin, and the man's eyes widened in terror.
Then—
Bang!!
The top of his skull exploded, scattering blood and fragments into the air.