Chapter 40: Speed (2)

Chapter 40: Speed (2)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Kang Woojin, who had received the scenario, nodded indifferently.

“Ah- thank you for getting it.”

But inside, he was dancing a shoulder dance.

‘Nice, Japanese scenario acquired.’

He was literally grinning from ear to ear. If he shown this outside, his image would have been shattered in an instant. Anyway, the reason why Woojin requested a Japanese scenario was simple. He thought of Japanese after English.

‘It’s probably better to go with what’s familiar.’

When Kang Woojin checked the cover of the scenario, the stylist Han Ye-jung next to him asked a little coldly. It’s not that she had a bad personality, but that’s how she usually spoke.

“Oppa, do you also speak Japanese? It doesn’t seem to be a translation.”

“A little.”

“Ah- really? But why a Japanese scenario?”

“I just want to have a look.”

The conversation was generally low due to the coldness and sternness. When Kang Woojin turned a page of the scenario, CEO Choi Sung-gun in the passenger seat looked at Woojin reflected in the rearview mirror and opened his mouth.

“It took a while to get the original Japanese scenario instead of the translated version, Will this do?”

“Yes, this will do. Thank you.”

This was when road manager Jang Su-hwan chimed in.

“Wow! CEO! How did you get the Japanese scenario??”

“Hey, hey, look ahead! How did I get it? I just have some connections in Japan.”



Choi Sung-gun answered casually and glanced at Woo-jin through the rearview mirror again. He looked at Kang Woojin. He then sighed slightly, feeling a bit stuffy.

‘Ah, darn. I can’t even ask about the past because it’s explicitly written in the contract not to. But I’m so curious.’

He was incredibly curious about the monster’s past.

Was he really abroad? ... Was he in Japan? Looking at his sudden request for a Japanese scenario, maybe.’

As Choi Sung-gun was trying to understand something in his own way and glanced at Woojin through the rearview mirror again.

‘So he’s thinking of making a debut in Japan? Japan is good. Knowing Japanese alone is several times more advantageous than other actors. The world opens up with more possibilities.’

For an actor, language is essential. It’s not just about dialogue; to grow globally, fluency in foreign languages is required. Once fluent, the growth rate is tens of times faster. Choi Sung-gun knew this all too well.

‘Japanese? It’s good, but English is still the best for an actor. Can Woojin not speak English at all?’

Around this time, Kang Woojin, who was pretending to read the scenario, moved his index finger so as not to be noticed.

– Swipe.

He moved it to tap the black square that appeared next to the scenario.

– Poof.

As is, Woojin entered the endlessly pitch-dark void space and naturally turned his body to check the listed white rectangles. As expected, one more had been added.

-[1/Scenario (Title: Exorcism), A-grade]

-[2/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), S-grade]

-[3/Scenario (Title: Tokyo Station), C-grade]

The Japanese words were hard to read for now. Regardless, Kang Woo-jin smiled.

“Let’s go for Japanese.”

He was on the verge of mastering Japanese after English. It was a matter of time. He was going to possess two foreign languages in just about two weeks.



Then.

-Swish.

Kang Woojin selected the white rectangle with Japanese written on it. At the same time.

[“A new language other than the base language has been detected. Acquiring ‘日本語(Japanese)’ first.”]

A robotic female voice was heard.

[“Preparing ‘日本語’ reading ......”]

[“...Preparation complete. Starting ‘日本語’ reading.”]

A vast grey covered Kang Woojin.

After a while. When Kang Woojin returned to the real world inside the van, he murmured softly, looking at the scenario in his hand.

“いいね, すごくいい.(It’s really good)”

Since he read the Japanese in the script so smoothly, he didn’t need a translator at all.

‘Japanese Acquired.’

Japanese was engraved into Kang Woojin.

After that.

Yesterday, on March 25th, the filming of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ began, and the staff and actors smoothly followed the schedule. As a result, Kang Woo-jin had to handle the shooting like a madman.

“Cut! OK!! This time it’s Woojin’s solo! We’ll start with the bust!”

The day went by with dozens of switching of Park Dae-ri and Kang Woojin. Acting, acting, acting, eating, acting, acting. Except for occasional breaks, Woojin just kept acting. He seemed like a machine built for acting.

“OK! Next is Woojin’s turn! Huh? Where’s Woojin?!”

“He’s waiting in the car! I’ll bring him right away!”

For the newbie actor Kang Woojin.

“Woojin! Stand by!!”

“Understood.”

“What about inviting the judging directors?”

This time the answer came from a young woman sitting in the middle of the table.

“We have sent out invitations to a total of ten directors, including last year’s judges and some new directors. We naturally invited the renowned ones too.”

“Did you include Director Kwon Ki-taek?”

“Yes. However, one spot has become vacant since the incident with Director Woo Hyun-goo.”

“Hmm. Even if they’re not renowned, include some variety show directors or well-known directors to make it 15. Better to have too many than too few.”

“Yes, chairman.”

The chairman continued, looking down at a transparent file on the table.

“Also, increase the list of honorary judge actors and invited actors. The number has to be greater than last year, no matter what.”

Suddenly, as he remembered, the chairman called the vice chairman.

“Vice-chairman, what about the special invitations? Given to those Japanese directors.”

“Ah- As you have said, we have sent the notice to a total of five people. But we have not received an answer yet.”

“Send the invitation indiscriminately, whether they’re art or commercial directors. It would be great if at least two master directors could come, but if that’s not possible, even moderately famous directors will do.”

Having given his instructions, the chairman suddenly clasped his hands and drew everyone’s attention.

“Alright, I’m sure you all more or less know this, but this year we are going to put more effort in than before. The promotion has to be different from last year. We should also get s from YouTubers or BJs, and invite those who are good. We need to attract as many people as possible.”

By the looks of it, the chairman seemed to be aiming for a significant refreshment compared to last year.

“We’re considering soliciting opinions from top actors who come as honorary judges and also proposing them as ambassadors. The ultimate goal is to get the public to watch more short films, whether online or offline.”

The chairman explained the reason for this.

“With a change of sponsors this year, the new sponsor is putting a lot of effort into it. The requirement is to necessarily make the festival bigger. That way, the sponsor can also get publicity.”

Large corporations sponsor sports teams and film festivals, which are great for brand promotion. It’s for imprinting the image of supporting cultural advancement.

“So this year must definitely be more explosive than last year. Understand? Let’s all stay focused.”

The chairman firmly changed the topic as he closed the transparent file.

“And the sponsor suggested that we add an award for the actors this year. What do you all think?”

A team leader responded quickly.

“I think it’s not a bad idea. Given the nature of our film festival, there are years when there is no Best Picture. That tends to diminish the explosiveness you mentioned.”

“Right.”

“Considering that there may not be a Best Picture, adding a couple of new actor awards would make the festival more vibrant, without feeling empty. It would give the reporters something to write about. Perhaps Best Acting and a Grand Prize would be appropriate.”

“Well, what I’m worried about is, after all, the actors in the short films are mostly unknown, right? Aren’t we creating a situation where we’re forcibly giving awards to actors who lack acting skills?”

“Well, we would be giving it to the better ones among them. Even if the acting is a bit lacking and awkward, it would be like encouragement for the future. After all, participation by top actors or decent actors will increase.”

Most of the committee members in the conference room nodded their heads at his remarks. The executive chairman seemed to agree as well, nodding his head slowly before adding instructions.

“Then let’s prepare to add an actor’s award.”

At the same time, in the ‘Exorcism’ editing room.

A peculiar smell wafted faintly in the editing room. In fact, three ragged-looking people were sitting there.

They were Director Shin Dong-chun and the editors.

Their appearance was far from good. Dark circles under their eyes indicated sleepless nights, their faces full of blemishes, and their hair disheveled. Yes, they resembled zombies. But their eyes were fixed solely on the monitors in front of them.

-Tap!

They occasionally operated the editing equipment, but their gaze was almost entirely on the monitor. On several monitors, of course, the short film ‘Exorcism’ was being displayed.

It was played, rewound, fast-forwarded, and stopped.

Consequently, the protagonist, Kang Woojin, looked somewhat ludicrous on the screen. However, Director Shin Dong-chun’s face was full of seriousness. Although he looked worn-out, his eyes were vivid.

“Extend the sound a bit over there.”

“Yes.”

The editors were the same. Led by Director Shin Dong-chun, the three of them moved in perfect harmony. As a result, the quality of ‘Exorcism’ displayed on the monitor was high.

About an hour passed like this.

One of the editors hit a key on the editing machine.

– Thunk!

The noise seemed to signal a full stop. At the same time, behind the editors sitting side by side, Director Shin Dong-chun sighed and raised his head to the ceiling, covering his face with both hands. A long sigh came from his mouth mixed with relief.

“Finally.”

The editors sitting next to him echoed his sentiment. They jumped up from their seats and shouted.

“It’s over!!!”

“Wow- Si! It’s over, it’s over!”

“Hahaha! Director, you’ve worked really hard!!”

“Yes! Director! You really worked hard!”

And so it was. The editing of ‘Exorcism’, which started in mid-March, ended today on April 10th. A month-long journey.

“No, you two really worked hard. Thank you very much. Really.”

So, at this moment, the short film ‘Exorcism’ was completed. A work that Kang Woo-jin had affection and attachment for. Of course, it was Director Shin Dong-chun’s slight misunderstanding, but he didn’t know that. He picked up his phone.

‘I must tell him right away. He was so passionate about it, he’ll be happy.’

He had to inform Kang Woojin about the completion of his first starring work.

*****