小火星

-Swish.

Alternating between a tablet and thin piles of paper, Danny, with his half-balding head and round glasses perched on the tip of his nose, focused on the materials in front of him. The tablet contained files sent by Joseph, while the thin stack of papers was the result of Danny\'s own research. They all chronicled the career of one particular actor.

"......Kang Woojin- How absurd."

The man who wrote a legend at Cannes and won Best Actor, the only one to receive acting praise from Director Danny. These were details about Kang Woojin, the Korean actor. Ever since Danny had returned to Hollywood after Cannes, thoughts of Kang Woojin had lingered in his mind.

His presence, his acting, his aura, they refused to leave Danny\'s head.

And yet.

“Truly an outrageous filmography.”

Looking at Kang Woojin’s data, Danny\'s peculiar interest only grew. Having spent at least several decades in Hollywood, Danny had crossed paths with countless impressive Hollywood actors, but in his experienced eyes, the path Kang Woojin had walked felt deeply unconventional.

"Being a 2-year rookie was true- but what are all these abilities?"

Compared to before, Kang Woojin’s profile had many new additions.

He had only debuted two years ago, yet not a single project he’d been involved in had failed. And that wasn’t all. Within a year, he had landed lead roles alongside South Korea’s master filmmakers, swept Best New Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards in his first year, and even debuted in Japan. His YouTube channel, social media activities, and countless videos and articles circulating about him also spoke volumes about his multilingual abilities.

“...Not just French and English, but Japanese and sign language too.”

His vocal, piano, and cooking skills also stood out. Besides these, Kang Woojin was a monster in too many ways to list. He even recently took Cannes by storm. This alone was well beyond alien-level, but what Director Danny saw as Woojin\'s greatest trait was still his acting.

The way he made characters created by writers break free from their molds and make them feel alive in the real world.

‘One step beyond method acting.’

Danny Landis put down the materials he had been reviewing and recalled the past.

Back at Cannes.

Before the closing ceremony and awards event, Danny had been dining with executives from the film company ‘Universal Movies’. The conversation had been initiated by a potbellied executive from ‘Universal Movies’.

“The movie we just saw was high-quality, but I can’t get ‘Leech’ out of my head.”

The other executives agreed.

“Because it was a work that completely defied expectations. On top of that, the acting was outstanding. In my opinion, it’s the best among the ‘In Competition’ section films so far.”

"Though there are still many films to watch- I also favor \'Leech\'. Joseph was right. Method acting is Kang Woojin\'s main strength, \'action\' was just one of his secondary abilities."

“Kang Woojin’s ‘action’ was also incredible.”

Danny had perked up at the mention of ‘Kang Woojin’ and ‘action’.

“‘Action’? From the way you’re talking, it sounds almost as if you’ve seen Kang Woojin shoot on set?”

"Ah yes, that\'s right. We went to see Kang Woojin\'s filming site before coming to Cannes."

"...Is that actor capable of action too?"

"It\'s beyond just being capable, he could be considered a veteran."

The potbellied executive continued.

"It makes sense since he\'s ex-special forces."

Danny Landis furrowed his brow, his expression turning incredulous.

‘Wait a second. Special forces? What are they even talking about?’

Special forces? That Kang Woojin?

Danny Landis snapped back to the present, his thoughts returning to his office. After several minutes of deep contemplation, he had finally decided to call Joseph Felton. Danny’s face was filled with a clear conviction.

“Hello, Director. I was just about to call you.”

Without any preamble, Danny got straight to the point with Joseph on the other end of the phone.

“Joseph, I’ll direct that project. But there’s a condition.”

“......A condition?”

The condition was very simple.

“The premise is that Kang Woojin has to be in the project. If you can’t bring him, I’ll have to decline.”

Later.

On the set of \'Beneficial Evil\', Kang Woojin, who had been bringing out the character of \'Jang Yeon-woo\', took a break. It was already lunchtime. From here, the staff of over a hundred, including Woojin, began to eat. Meanwhile, a few hours had passed since \'Leech\', which had announced its premiere earlier that morning, had been released nationwide.

Sitting in an actor’s chair on the outskirts of the busy filming site, Kang Woojin leaned back.

-Swish.

‘After eating, I’ll rest in the void space for a bit, then go crush the next shoot.’

At that moment, the bulky Jang Su-hwan approached him.

“Hyung! Great work out there!”

With a bottle of water in hand, Su-hwan also handed over a tablet. The tablet was something Woojin had requested. Why? He wanted to check the responses to \'Leech\', which premiered today, and \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\', which had premiered yesterday. Although he could’ve used his phone, the smaller screen required more effort. Woojin responded quietly.

“Ah, thanks.”

At that moment, a familiar female voice chimed in from the side.

“Woojin-ssi.”

Looking over, it was Hwalin. Her usual long hair that reached her chest was gone, replaced with short hair that barely reached her ears. Moreover, they was messy and disheveled as if struck by lightning. Though it was a wig, it looked so natural that it was hardly noticeable.

While maintaining a stoic poker face, Woojin politely responded.

“Yes, Hwalin-ssi.”

Internally, however, he was taken aback.

‘Wo- damn, I saw her earlier, but even seeing her again, it’s absurd. How does her face pull off that hairstyle and still look stunning? How is that possible?\'

Hwalin, who was known for her top-tier girl group image, had completely shattered it. Her current styling featured a darkened skin tone and a worn-out jacket, making her look somewhat like a vagrant. A radical transformation, one might say. Yet, thanks to her inherent beauty, the word “pretty” still suited her perfectly.

Hwalin, now seated next to Kang Woojin, asked casually.

"Have you checked how the released movies are doing?"

Without letting his guard down, Woojin held up the tablet slightly.

“I was just about to.”

“Hmm- mind if I watch with you? There’s still some time left before lunch is ready.”

“No problem.”

“Okay.”

Although she replied nonchalantly, Hwalin’s heart raced every time she got close to Kang Woojin. It had been similar in the past, but lately, Woojin’s growing prominence, which she had been fangirling over, made it even worse.

\'Should I- ask to eat together too? It was natural enough. Yes, well done.\'

Praising herself inwardly, Hwalin pulled her chair closer and sat next to Kang Woojin. Then, as she fixed her gaze on the tablet in his hand, she subtly asked a question.

"Oh, by the way Woojin-ssi. Are you- close with Miley Cara?"

Out of nowhere? Though slightly puzzled internally, Woojin gave a rough answer.

"Moderately. Why do you ask?"

“...Huh? Ah, just wondering. You’ve been linked together a lot lately. Like, do you two exchange DMs often or anything?”

"She does send them."

"That\'s interesting."

“What is?”

“No, nothing. Let\'s look at the movie reactions."

Though it left him feeling slightly uneasy, Kang Woojin brushed it off and tapped the tablet a few times. Instead of \'Leech\', he first checked the reactions to \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\', which had premiered a day earlier. The movie had drawn an astounding 850,000 viewers on its opening day. The Japanese media was practically in a frenzy.

『\'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' draws 850,000 viewers on opening day』

『How long has it been since a live-action film achieved such results? \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' starts strong with 850,000 on its first day』

『The「Kang Woojin」 effect, \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' sets a record with 850,000 viewers on its opening day!』

『Despite controversies, \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' debuts strongly, defying industry concerns with 850,000 opening day viewers』

As the leader of the girl group \'Elani\', which was active in Japan, Hwalin had a decent grasp of Japanese. As she comfortably read through the articles all written in Japanese, she commented aloud.

"Wow, it\'s causing quite a stir, isn\'t it?"

However, not all articles praised \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\'s\' first-day record. There were many that thoroughly criticized it.

『\'Iyota Kiyoshi\', the protagonist of \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' movie, has his character destroyed - the original novel\'s protagonist almost disappears... Novel fans full of complaints』

『Director Kyotaro Tanoguchi sends a sharp message to Japan’s content market? The shocking ending of \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' leaves audiences bewildered.』

While looking at the extremely negative articles, Hwalin glanced at Kang Woojin\'s expression. His face was stiff as a rock, completely unshaken. Hwalin always felt reassured and stable when she saw Woojin’s imperturbable demeanor.

‘He doesn’t seem affected at all. Well, of course, there’s no way Woojin-nim would get worked up over something trivial like this.’

She was wrong. At that moment, Kang Woojin was fuming internally.

‘These bastards just spout nonsense. Fuck, how does my acting ruin a movie? You lunatic idiots! Go eat shit!’

But that was all. Woojin quickly shifted his mindset, as if it didn’t concern him at all, and moved his fingers again. He pulled up a page on a Japanese review site where feedback for \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' was pouring in. At a glance, it was clear that praise and criticism were fiercely clashing.

-I shouldn\'t have watched it! I didn\'t like that Kiyoshi was a Korean-Japanese from the start!!

-Exactly, the director killed off the original Kiyoshi just to cast Kang Woojin.

-I watched both the original and the movie and enjoyed them both? Kang Woojin\'s acting was spine-chilling

-They butchered the original work! There were too many adaptations and changes! And it was more brutal and violent than I expected.

-I don’t know. Honestly, parts of the original \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' felt a bit plain. On the other hand, the movie feels like it starkly exposes Japan’s social issues.

It was a mess.

-The movie The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger is trash!!!

-Director Kyotaro has lost his mind! He denied all of Japan\'s content! No matter what, the protagonist should have faced consequences!

-Let’s be real, wasn’t Kang Woojin the only actor worth watching in the movie? The early multiple personality-like acting and piano scene were really masterful

-Why...why did they cast a Korean actor for \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\'? I still don\'t understand even after watching the movie...

-\'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' will probably do better in Korea than Japan.

-What the hell was that ending? It’s completely different from the original!

-The ending of \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' was really....scary... It was a justified murder, but the fact that he walked away unscathed...

·

·

·

·

It was a disaster, almost apocalyptic online. Although there was plenty of high praise, the flood of backlash, objections, and extreme criticism was even more prominent. This wasn’t just limited to Japanese portal sites, it was the same across popular social media platforms and numerous communities. If this was how it looked from here, then hardcore fans of the original \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' must have been raising hell on that side, probably dozens of times worse.

As a result, many Japanese media outlets followed up with headlines like:

『\'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' sets an opening day record with 850,000 viewers, but the strong backlash from audiences reaches a boiling point... Predictions of a steep drop in audience numbers.』

More than half of the public opinion offered similar evaluations.

-It’s just the beginning. Interest is high due to controversies, including Kang Woojin, but \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' will flop in no time!

The general consensus was that \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' would fall apart more and more as time passed.

At this point, Hwalin once again glanced at Kang Woojin, concerned about the hostile Japanese media and public opinion. Yet, once again, Kang Woojin remained calm. His gaze even exuded a sense of composure.

This time, it was genuine.

‘Tch, bullshit. Let’s see how much you bark.’

The strong reactions from Japan were harsher than expected, but they didn’t shake Kang Woojin. He lowered the tablet and spoke softly to Hwalin.

“Let’s eat.”

“Huh?”

“Lunch.”

After all, \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' was rated higher than Korea’s record-breaking \'Island of the Missing\'.

-[7/Script (Title: The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger), SSS grade]

It was SSS grade.

The next morning, Thursday, the 28th.

Director Ahn Ga-bok was traveling somewhere in a van. His expression was quite solemn as he looked out the window, his face full of wrinkles.

“......”

At that moment, the CEO of the film company sitting next to him spoke politely.

“Director, the announcement just came out.”

"Is that so? Let me see.

A phone was handed to Director Ahn Ga-bok. Soon, the numbers of the film that had earned him the Palme d’Or appeared before his eyes.

[Audience Count as of October 27, 2021]

[Daily Domestic Box Office]

1. Leech / Release Date: October 27 / Audience Count: 780,521 / Screens: 1,354 / Cumulative Audience Count: 780,521

\'Leech\' had also surpassed the opening-day audience count of \'Island of the Missing\'.

At the same time.

As if taking the baton from \'Leech\' in Korea, an official announcement appeared in Japan, causing a stir as if a nuclear bomb had just dropped.

『\'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' sees total audience count rise to 880,000 on the 27th, surpassing yesterday!』

Strangely enough, as if telling all the condemnation and concerns from much of Japanese media and public opinion to go to hell.

『Hot \'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' Second day audience count rises from 850,000 to 880,000, surpassing 1.73 million in two days』

\'The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger\' had managed to increase its audience count compared to its opening day.

Meanwhile, in New York.

Unlike morning in Korea, it was afternoon in New York. It was rush hour, and the streets of New York City were packed with people and cars heading home. Among the many towering buildings in the city, the lights of a massive media corporation that occupied an entire skyscraper were still glowing brightly. While many foreigners could be seen exiting the building at the entrance as they finished their workday, a large number of reporters were still hard at work inside the company’s office.

In the culture and entertainment department, one of many sections filled with countless desks, a female reporter seemed to be wrapping up her work, tidying up her desk as if preparing to leave for the day.

-Swish.

Just as the female reporter with long permed hair stood up, leaving behind her messy desk.

“Peggy.”

A male voice called out from the side. When she turned to look, a man with a square jaw and a cap was approaching her. He suddenly leaned against the edge of her desk and spoke.

“Did you hear that Miley Cara is appearing in a Korean production?”