Miley Cara's new music video had taken the number one spot on YouTube's real-time trending chart.
-[Alcoholism (feat. Woojin)] | Miley Cara
-60,012,802 views / 22 hours ago
Woojin looked down at his phone and his eyes widened. No, wait. Sixty million views in less than twenty-four hours? For someone with Miley Cara's level of star power, it was not impossible, but to Kang Woojin, it still felt like an unfamiliar and astonishing sight.
Even though his Kang Woojin's Alter Ego channel had enjoyed tremendous popularity domestically—
'Mine looks like a baby. A baby. Wow, this is incredible.'
He had never once broken sixty million views in a single day. Was this really the power of a global superstar? Once again, Kang Woojin was forced to acknowledge Cara's influence.
"Wouldn't this be a complete smash hit at this rate?"
His eyes still slightly widened, Woojin tapped on the video. He already knew a fair amount about the song and the music video shoot, but this was his first time seeing the finished version. The runtime was about four minutes.
-♬♪
As the song played, Kang Woojin scrolled through the flood of comments. Not just English, but comments in a wide range of languages filled the section.
[T/L: All of the comments below were originally written in English.]
[Why is everything she releases a masterpiece? How is this even possible? This is genius. I have no words.]
[This is one of the best songs she has ever written and released. I'm completely obsessed!!]
[I need a ten-minute version of this song!]
[I've been hooked since the first moment I heard it!]
[I love this song so, so much. It's still my favorite. I keep replaying it. Cara, this is such an amazing song!!!!]
[This is insane. The visuals, the vocals, the emotion—everything is perfect.]
[I can't stop listening. This is art.]
[She really did it again. Another masterpiece.]
What stood out, though, was something else.
"Oh. My name's in here too."
Among the countless comments, Kang Woojin's name and words like Cannes kept appearing.
People were asking why a Korean actor had such strong singing skills, what exactly his relationship with Cara was, whether he had really won Best Actor at Cannes, and whether he was truly an actor or actually a singer. Some comments told people to visit his YouTube channel and listen to more of his songs, while others questioned whether he was really the same Korean actor who was causing a worldwide sensation right now.
There were already plenty of overseas fans who had known Kang Woojin before, but there were also many who had only just discovered him through this Cannes Film Festival.
And then.
-♬♪
The piano melody began to play in the music video. It was Kang Woojin's solo performance. The camera angle focused on him alone. Then Miley Cara appeared, her makeup heavily smudged as if she had been crying, her blonde hair a mess. Her hands trailed over Woojin's neck, shoulders, and waist as he played the piano.
But throughout the entire music video, Woojin's composure never wavered in the slightest.
Watching the music video for Miley Cara's new title track, Kang Woojin murmured under his breath.
"The quality's good. No, it's amazing. At this rate, it'll easily pass a hundred million views."
Miley Cara's new album contained a total of fourteen tracks. Three of them were title tracks, and Woojin had participated in the main title song, Alcoholism. At present, the music video for Alcoholism had surpassed sixty million views in less than twenty-four hours. At this pace, not only one hundred million, but several hundred million views seemed entirely possible.
It was a record-breaking number.
Kang Woojin did not know the exact figures, but the all-time record for YouTube views in the first twenty-four hours had been fifty-eight million for years, and today Miley Cara had broken it.
A new twenty-four-hour YouTube record.
A brand-new record.
And Kang Woojin's contribution and presence were embedded in that new record. Woojin had not gone out of his way to verify it, but sixty million views on a music video meant that it had caused an enormous global sensation.
Which meant—
"A hundred million? One hundred million? That's insane."
Kang Woojin's worldwide popularity was climbing even higher. It had already peaked at Cannes, but Miley Cara's new album was like pouring fuel onto the fire. And it was important not to forget that not even twenty-four hours had passed yet.
That meant many more explosive moments still lay ahead.
──────────
Meanwhile...
The internet was overflowing with news about Leech and Kang Woojin.
[["Man of Cannes" Kang Woojin returns to a hero's welcome... "It's all thanks to Korean film fans" / Photo]]
[[Photos] Cannes Best Actor winner Kang Woojin returns home with the cast of Leech]
[[When will the world-shaking film Leech finally open in Korea?]]
[["Kang Woojin goes global," media and fans pack Incheon Airport arrivals]]
[[Kang Woojin returns in dazzling fashion... from The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice to Beneficial Evil, there are still endless bombs left to explode]]
Interest in Miley Cara's new album was also growing by the minute.
[[Issue Pick] Kang Woojin appears in Miley Cara's new music video... breaks YouTube's twenty-four-hour view record!]]
[[Another hit after his Cannes Best Actor win? Kang Woojin poised for even bigger success with Miley Cara's new album]]
As time passed, related articles poured out nonstop. If Miley Cara alone had released it, it would still have been a major hit overseas, but it would not have caused this level of shockwave domestically. The reason was simple: Kang Woojin had participated in Cara's new album, and at that moment Kang Woojin was the hottest name in Korea.
[["Sixty million views in under twenty-four hours!" Find Kang Woojin in Miley Cara's music video!]]
If reporters had ignored a story like this, they would have been treated like fools.
[[Star Issue] Kang Woojin shocks the world as both actor and vocalist! From Cannes to Billboard]]
Because the song had only just been released, Cara's Billboard chart position would not be revealed until the following week. But on YouTube it had already shattered records, and on the major domestic music platforms it had reached number one on the real-time chart.
-[1 (New!)] Alcoholism (feat. Woojin) / Miley Cara
It was not especially rare for foreign songs to enter the domestic charts, but taking first place that quickly was highly unusual. Naturally, Kang Woojin's influence was the biggest factor behind it.
[Wow... the song is seriously so good...]
[Congratulations to world star Kang Woojin on his Billboard debut!]
[No way lol is Kang Woojin's voice actually insane??]
[He's technically just featured on it, but his presence is... seriously overwhelming...]
[This music video is insane!! Cara is so sexy and Kang Woojin looks unbelievably cool!!]
[Did Kang Woojin really practice piano for this? Wow, he's actually so good!! Is there anything he can't do?!?!]
[Aliens: Kang Woojin, come back now.]
[Kang Woojin's voice alone is already pop-star level lol]
[Mr. Kang Woojin, who gave us happiness by winning Best Actor at Cannes... now he's blessing our ears with music too... I love you...]
[This man is seriously incredible.]
[Kang Woojin's vocals were always amazing.]
[Number one on the domestic charts right after release!!! Now all that's left is conquering Billboard lol]
The next morning.
Before even forty-eight hours had passed—
-[Alcoholism (feat. Woojin)] | Miley Cara
-110,000,000 views / 1 day ago
It had soared far past one hundred million views.
Meanwhile, riding the wave of Kang Woojin's explosive popularity, the distributor of Leech began releasing a series of videos. Not just the trailer and teaser for Leech, but also edited footage related to Cannes.
[[Exclusive legendary after-party footage from Leech at Cannes]]
[[In response to overwhelming public demand, the teaser and trailer for Leech have all been released at once!]]
Of course, all of it was for promotional and marketing purposes.
Korea was already fully immersed in the frenzied praise surrounding Leech, the film that had won both the Palme d'Or and Best Actor at Cannes, and that heat had not died down at all. Naturally, public interest in the movie was exploding. On top of that, the official poster for Leech had also been revamped. The image of Woojin staring at the family portrait remained the same, but several new slogans had been added.
-[Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival Competition]
-[Director Ahn Gabok's Palme d'Or-winning film]
-[Kang Woojin, Cannes Best Actor]
Then, that same night, the Leech production team made an announcement.
[[Official] Leech, the film that shook Cannes, confirmed for domestic release on October 27]]
[[Global sensation Leech confirmed for October 27 release... only two weeks until theatrical opening... public anticipation surges]]
They had officially revealed the release date to the world.
──────────
The early morning of October 15.
Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.
It was roughly eight o'clock. The place was a massive film set covering well over 6,660 square meters. There were more than six giant studio buildings that looked like warehouses, each of them containing a different set. On top of that, there were eight more medium-sized studios, making the entire place feel almost like an actual town.
In front of the third studio, which was packed with various sets, familiar filming staff had gathered.
"Alright, let's start setting up the cameras and props!"
"Which set do the props go to first?!"
"Number two! Set two!!"
"Director of photography! Could you check the camera installation zone?!"
"Where are the extras?!"
"To the left! Move left!"
It was the Beneficial Evil team, back from Bangkok after completing the overseas shoot. More than a hundred staff members were still on site, and since a large number of extras were needed for today's filming, dozens of them were waiting in the open space in front of the studio. Some of the lead actors of Beneficial Evil were there too.
One of them was Hwarin.
"..."
Sitting in her chair, Hwarin now wore her hair in a short black bob. She had earbuds in and was watching something on her phone.
-♬♪
It was the music video for Miley Cara's new song featuring Kang Woojin. Though the video had already long surpassed a hundred million views, Hwarin watched it with an outwardly blank face while her heart pounded wildly inside.
'I love this song so much!'
Lately, she had almost fainted on several occasions, and sometimes had actually fainted. The reason was obvious. Her favorite celebrity had won Best Actor at Cannes, the highest festival in world cinema, and on top of that, the album he had participated in with Miley Cara was now tearing through the charts at terrifying speed.
Hwarin's heart pounded even faster.
'I'm so nervous! What do I do? I don't think I'll even be able to look him in the eye properly!'
Sometimes, when the object of your admiration rises too high, you shrink back without even realizing it. That was exactly what Hwarin was feeling right now. It was like the feeling of standing just before meeting a Hollywood star you had admired for years.
Naturally, Hwarin was not the only one.
Everyone on Beneficial Evil was waiting for the same person.
Meanwhile, as the more than one hundred staff members of Beneficial Evil rushed around busily, none of them stopped talking about one man.
Who else could it be?
"Did you see those overseas articles about Mr. Woojin? It was complete chaos."
"And now with Miley Cara on top of that, it's become even worse."
"Honestly, when we first started production on Beneficial Evil*, Woojin already felt huge, but now he feels like he exists on a completely different level. There's no one to even compare him to. Or maybe... he's just a star above all stars."*
"At this point, calling him the top actor in the world isn't even an exaggeration."
"To be honest, Bangkok feels like it happened yesterday, so it all feels kind of surreal."
They were talking about Kang Woojin. As the male lead of Beneficial Evil, Kang Woojin's presence had only grown bigger by the day, so it was no surprise.
Even the dozens of extras gathered outside the giant studio were all talking about him.
"Ugh, I'm nervous. But they really said Kang Woojin is coming today, right?"
"I don't know. The staff never gave us a definite answer."
"Ah, if he doesn't show up today, I'm going to be so disappointed!"
"But seriously, Kang Woojin's on another level these days. Just looking at what he's done in two years... I really hope he comes."
"I only got this extra role through connections. I heard everyone here is from theater troupes or acting academies. And there's also a rumor that Kang Woojin is returning to filming starting today."
Without exception, everyone was talking about Kang Woojin.
"I heard Leech is coming out at the end of this month?"
"Of course I'm going to watch it. That doesn't even need to be said."
"He wins Best Actor at Cannes, and now there's another shock with the Miley Cara dating rumors."
"Doesn't he seem like someone who was literally born to be a celebrity?"
"But I heard his personality isn't all that great."
"Huh? Really?"
"No, it's just a rumor. But honestly, if I were him, I'd probably be the same. The guy is insanely talented, and he won Best Actor at Cannes only two years after debut. At that level, even if he were a little arrogant, people would let it slide."
"Even if he hadn't won Best Actor at Cannes, he already had a bunch of huge box office hits anyway."
The dozens of extras kept glancing toward the huge studio in the back and the hundred-plus staff members while gossiping endlessly about Kang Woojin as they waited for their turn to enter the set.
And then—
Thud.
"Ah."
A woman standing at the very end of the extras' line dropped the copy of the script she had just received from a staff member. She bent down casually to pick it up, but then suddenly froze.
The reason was simple.
Before her hand could reach it, someone else's hand got there first.
A man with black hair in a black hoodie, accompanied by a few team members.
"Here you go."
The moment he handed the script back to her in a calm voice, she froze on the spot. Her eyes drifted up to his face, and she muttered in a daze under her breath.
"...Oh my god. Kang Woojin."
The man was none other than Kang Woojin, the male lead of Beneficial Evil. When the woman still failed to move, Woojin took a small step closer, his face perfectly composed.
"Please take it."
Only then did she come to her senses and accept the script from him in a daze. At that instant, every extra turned to look at Kang Woojin.
A reverent silence fell, though small gasps could be heard here and there.
"Wow—"
"...That's beyond unreal."
"It really is... Kang Woojin."
"Wow... seeing him in person is seriously something else."
"He really gives off such an incredible aura..."
Everyone was staring at Kang Woojin, but all he did was give the extras a small nod with the same calm expression. His voice was low and steady.
"Please take good care of me today."
Yet not a single one of them could answer.
"..."
"..."
They were simply too stunned. Just standing there in front of them, Kang Woojin radiated an indescribable aura.
At that moment—
"Mr. Woojin!!"
A bearded man came running from the front, accompanied by over a dozen staff members. It was PD Song Manwoo. In an instant, Song Manwoo reached Kang Woojin.
"You finally made it. Our biggest star has arrived."
"Hello, PD-nim."
"Right, right! Let's head inside first. We'll talk more there."
Excited, Song Manwoo led him away. Soon, Kang Woojin was walking side by side with PD Song Manwoo, drawing the full attention of the extras and the entire Beneficial Evil team.
"PD-nim, about Miley Cara's role in Beneficial Evil..."
With a serious face, Woojin leaned in and quietly whispered to Song Manwoo.
"I think it's time we made it public."