Kang Woojin's offhand answer—
"It'll easily go past twenty million."
—had come from a rather casual place. He had no intention whatsoever of overturning the press conference or declaring war. He had simply answered without any deep intention behind it.
'Anyway, I have to keep up this concept. But it's not like I lied, right?'
That much was true.
"Of course it'll succeed. The only uncertain part is how many viewers it'll pull in. But one thing's certain. It'll be watched far more than Island of the Missing*."*
At present, The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice had a higher projected rating than Island of the Missing, the film that had surpassed twenty million viewers.
[7/Scenario (Title: The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice), SSS Grade]
That meant at least twenty million viewers. Of course, since The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice was scheduled for a simultaneous release in Korea and Japan, it could surpass twenty million with the combined audience of both countries. But what did that matter? Either way, it would be an enormous success. Among the hundreds of reporters and countless people gathered in this hall, Kang Woojin was the only one who could roughly predict the future of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice.
That was why he remained calm.
Meanwhile, the barrage of camera flashes eased for a moment. Hundreds of reporters had begun murmuring at Kang Woojin's answer.
"What did Kang Woojin just say?"
"Twenty million? He said twenty million, didn't he?"
"Is he talking about twenty million viewers?"
"What else would it be?"
In any case, when asked whether The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice looked like it would succeed, Woojin had answered without hesitation that it would easily surpass twenty million. Many of the Japanese reporters looked somewhat flustered, but inwardly they had already begun making their own judgments.
'Isn't he way too confident?'
'How can he say something like that without even changing his expression?'
'I can't tell whether that's confidence or arrogance.'
It wasn't just the reporters watching this sudden and awkward press conference. Tens of thousands of Japanese viewers watching the livestream were following it as well.
[Live Broadcast of The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice Press Conference!]
[Live]
[49,872 watching now]
By then, the viewership was already nearing fifty thousand, and the moment they heard Woojin's words, viewers began furiously spamming the chat.
[What??? Twenty million??!!]
[Isn't Kang Woojin going way too far??]
[lol it sounded like he just answered without thinking]
[I really hate how thoughtless Kang Woojin acts]
[Confidence is one thing… but isn't he taking twenty million viewers too lightly?]
[So what's the problem?]
[Kang Woojin!! You're the best!!]
[By the way, doesn't Kang Woojin look insanely good in that all-black suit? Korean actors really do have amazing proportions.]
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The comments were coming in so fast that it was impossible to read them all. The expressions on the Japanese actors standing beside the impassive Kang Woojin were also worth noticing. All of them had widened their eyes slightly as they looked at him.
'Wow… he just said it like it was nothing.'
'I knew Woojin was straightforward, but I didn't expect him to be this blunt.'
Writer Akari was the same.
At the front, the corners of Director Kyotaro's mouth lifted into a faint smile. He was seeing exactly what he had hoped to see. In any case, the reporter who had taken an aggressive stance toward Woojin with the very first question stammered as he spoke.
"...Are you saying it will be easy to pass twenty million?"
Kang Woojin answered in a low voice.
"Yes. That's what I said."
At that moment, the flashes that had briefly died down erupted once more.
Pababababak!!
Naturally, every question was aimed at Woojin, and among the hundreds of reporters, dozens immediately began typing furiously on their laptops. Passing twenty million viewers in Japan was a monumental achievement. Historically, only around three films had accomplished that record, and all of them had been animated films. The highest record for a Japanese live-action film was nineteen million, and even that was from long ago.
In recent years, Japan's film industry had shrunk enough that even surpassing ten million viewers had become difficult.
And yet, all of a sudden, Kang Woojin—a Korean actor, not even a Japanese one—had boldly declared at the production presentation for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice that the film would surpass twenty million viewers. It showed his ambition, certainly, but twenty million was such an unrealistic number that it was not something one should casually throw around. Otherwise, it would only spark unnecessary controversy later, and if the target was missed, the criticism would be relentless.
More than anything, the reporters fixated on one particular word in Kang Woojin's statement.
"When you say 'easily,' that means surpassing twenty million viewers is not a big deal, doesn't it?"
In other words, he had implied that not only would it easily exceed twenty million viewers, but that he was aiming for far beyond that. A Korean actor had just predicted a legendary future for the Japanese market. It was certainly a bizarre situation, and Woojin's words instantly became the biggest point of focus for both the press and public opinion.
At that moment, the same thought settled into the minds of hundreds of reporters.
'Heh, good, good. Plenty to write about.'
Many of them had already decided on the headlines for the articles they would publish just a few hours later.
Meanwhile, the slightly chaotic production presentation for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice continued. Beginning with Director Kyotaro, all the actors gave their greetings. Director Kyotaro and writer Akari gave a brief introduction to the film, and after that, the cast answered the prearranged questions prepared by the moderator.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Then.
"We'll now take questions from the press."
It was time for the hundreds of reporters to ask questions freely. Naturally, all of them raised their hands first. But since it was impossible to hear from every reporter, the moderator randomly pointed to one person. It was a heavyset male reporter seated in the far left of the front row.
The chosen reporter—
—fixed his gaze on the cynical actor sitting in the third seat on stage. It was Kang Woojin.
"Mr. Kang Woojin, as a Korean actor, you must have felt a certain burden while participating in The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice*. Now that filming is over, how would you like to evaluate this film?"*
Woojin's response was immediate.
"I think this will be the first film to have an enormous impact on the Japanese film industry. A lot will change."
Once again, it was an answer that made the eyes of hundreds of reporters widen. It was like a second bomb had just been dropped. At that moment, everyone watching the press conference was stunned.
[60,021 watching now]
The livestream audience had surpassed sixty thousand, and Chairman Hideki, who had been quietly watching from the back of the hall, let out a low chuckle.
'Kang Woojin really does have star power. If he stirs up this much controversy, then even criticism will only make curiosity explode.'
Kang Woojin seemed to rather enjoy throwing out blunt, cutting remarks without restraint. Even after that, the situation remained the same.
"We'll take the next question. Yes, the reporter with the glasses there."
"M-me too! I have a question for Mr. Kang Woojin too!!"
The bombing continued.
Two days later, Monday the 23rd, in Korea.
Kang Woojin returned to Korea the previous evening after finishing his short three-day schedule in Japan. On the morning of the 23rd, he was riding the elevator on his way to work.
'Ugh, my body feels so stiff.'
If it weren't for the void space, I'd probably be dead by now, right?
Woojin muttered inwardly. With his cap pulled low and his face kept expressionless as he held back a yawn, he pulled out his phone. He was about to check the pile of messages he had received when he changed direction and opened a portal site instead.
The main headlines appeared immediately.
Kang Woojin's face was plastered all over them.
[[Star Photo] At the Production Presentation for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, Kang Woojin's Bold Declaration in Front of More Than 200 Reporters / Photo]
The bombs Kang Woojin had dropped in Japan were now being imported into Korea as well.
'Why are they making such a huge fuss over this?'
But it all felt strangely unreal. Most of the articles making waves in Korea were just excerpts from Japanese social media and online communities. Even the articles that went into greater detail were simply referencing reports from Japan. Woojin moved his finger again. He closed the domestic portal and entered a Japanese search engine instead.
And soon, he let out a sigh inwardly.
'Wow, this is way more chaotic than yesterday, isn't it?!'
Honestly, it would not have been an exaggeration to say that the Japanese media had already descended into full confusion. And who was at the center of that chaos? Kang Woojin.
["Kang Woojin" boldly declares at the production presentation for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice: "It will easily surpass twenty million."]
["Confidence or arrogance?" "Kang Woojin" predicts The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice will exceed twenty million viewers]
The news rankings on Japan's largest search site were effectively dominated by Kang Woojin-related articles. In fact, it had been like that ever since the production presentation for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice ended. The Japanese reporters who had attended the event immediately began pouring out articles, and over the next two days, the number exploded, stirring up enormous attention.
["The first film to have a huge impact on the Japanese film industry" — What exactly does Kang Woojin mean by "impact"?]
Broadcasters, people in the film industry, production companies, agencies—everyone in Japan had turned their attention to Woojin. The Japanese public was no different. That mood continued all the way through the day after the press conference, the 24th.
No, if anything, the situation worsened. The Japanese media only continued pouring out more articles.
[Kang Woojin causes a wave on social media with his bold remarks at the production presentation for The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice!]
Public opinion joined in and fed the flames further. Not just facts, but rumors and speculative gossip began circulating everywhere. The aftershocks of the bombs Woojin had dropped spread across all of Japan.
[He's way too full of himself.]
[I do expect it to do well because the original work is so popular, but isn't Kang Woojin exaggerating a bit?]
The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice had only just started calming down… and now another controversy is exploding…]
[What kind of film is this that Kang Woojin claims will have such a huge effect on the Japanese film industry? lol]
[Yeah, I'm definitely watching it when it comes out!]
[No matter what, Kang Woojin wearing that all-black suit at the press conference looked the coolest!! He's so handsome…]
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The interesting part was that the more interest in The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice and Woojin rose in Japan, the more the public's curiosity exploded as well.
[I'm curious what kind of acting Kang Woojin will show in The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice.]
[I'm not a Kang Woojin fan, but I'll hold off on criticism for now. I'll judge after I watch the film.]
Even the people who had been carrying negative feelings could not hide their curiosity. Just what kind of film had they made for Woojin to talk like that about The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice?
Maybe he's just putting on a little performance.
Kang Woojin had caused a huge wave across Japan, but in truth, the biggest culprit behind that wave was Kang Woojin himself.
'Look at this. Ever since I came back to Korea, the interest in The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice still hasn't died down at all.'
Meanwhile, he was simply going about his schedule as usual without thinking too much about it. Time passed quickly as a result. Starting on the 26th, Woojin moved into the main poster shoot for the film Leech. It was the poster that would be officially submitted to Cannes. Since the shoot was being conducted under strict secrecy, only essential staff were present on set.
The poster shoot alternated between studio sets and outdoor locations, and it wrapped up in about two days.
They shot two main concepts for the poster, and within each concept, they adjusted the composition and background slightly to create a range of different moods. In the end, they shot hundreds of photos.
The task of choosing just one final image out of all those posters was left to Director Ahn Gahbok.
Kang Woojin, for his part, thought it was not as special as he had expected.
'Since it's for Cannes, I thought it'd feel like something huge, but it's basically just the same as any other movie poster shoot, right?'
The thought made him laugh inwardly a little, now that his earlier tension had faded. It had felt like an easy enough job. After that, Woojin moved straight on to his next schedule. As always, there were plenty of things he had to attend.
[Photos Released from the Martial Arts Training Set for Beneficial Evil — Is It Preparing for a Global Release?]
The most important item on his schedule was the martial arts training for Beneficial Evil.
About a week later.
A few more days passed as August ended and September began. The weather had fully turned to autumn, and the people walking the streets had started wearing thicker clothes.
It was Monday, September 6.
The place was the editing room of a famous film production company. The room was somewhat dark, packed with countless monitors and dense equipment. Toward the back was a lounge area with sofas, and on the round table there lay two familiar posters attached to thick plastic boards.
Both posters featured Kang Woojin prominently.
Several members of the editing staff could be seen in the room. Among them, at the far end, sat an old man working the editing equipment.
It was the veteran director, Ahn Gahbok.
Of course, this was the editing room for the film Leech.
"..."
"..."
There was almost no conversation. With his short white hair, Director Ahn Gahbok silently continued the editing work from the center of the room. Every movement he made as he handled the process was precise, with not a single unnecessary action.
"Play the music."
He spoke like a man who knew every inch of the material.
"Cut, next."
Including Director Ahn Gahbok, about ten people in total remained in the editing room almost constantly, leaving only for meals. Even so, none of them showed any sign of fatigue, and their teamwork was flawless. That was probably thanks to Director Ahn Gahbok's seasoned charisma and experience.
Late that night.
Around 11:45 p.m., Director Ahn Gahbok, sitting at the center of the editing equipment and staring intently at the monitors, suddenly—
—leaned back deep into his chair and muttered briefly. His voice was rough and hoarse.
"It's finished."
At once, several of the editing staff around him turned their eyes toward him. No one said a word, but their wide-eyed expressions conveyed exactly what all of them were thinking.
'Say that again!'
Whether he noticed or not, Director Ahn Gahbok, rubbing his roughened cheeks and forehead, muttered again in a low voice.
"This is enough."
Suddenly, several members of the editing team jumped to their feet and shouted in joy. Some even bounced up and down. Meanwhile, Director Ahn Gahbok, still staring at the many monitors in front of him, let out a small laugh.
"It finished earlier than expected."
The final edit of Leech was complete. The preparations for release were now done.
Two days later, on the 8th.
At around nine in the morning, a large black van pulled into the underground parking lot of a famous film production company. A familiar black-haired man stepped out of the parked van.
"..."
Kang Woojin wore his usual indifferent expression. Dressed in a cream-colored jacket, he got out of the van and waited for Choi Sunggeon and the rest of his team, doing his best to maintain a calm exterior. On the outside, he looked composed, but inwardly he was struggling to suppress his tension. His nerves were stretched to the limit.
Or rather, perhaps it was more accurate to call it anticipation.
The reason was simple.
About an hour later, they were about to attend the screening of the completed film that would be submitted to the Cannes Film Festival.
'Damn it, is it because it's a film going to Cannes? Why does this make me more nervous than all the other movies?'
They were about to test the final version of Leech, the film scheduled to be submitted to Cannes, the most prestigious of the world's three great international film festivals.