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Chapter 316: Autumn (17)
Chapter 316: Autumn (17)
Chapter 316: Autumn (17)
Miley Cara. A superstar with enormous influence even among Hollywood’s top actresses. Not only was she a successful actress, but she also achieved massive success as a singer. Her YouTube channel had jaw-dropping subscriber numbers, and she had millions of followers on social media.
Why is Miley Cara’s name suddenly appearing here?
This was the state of mind of PD Song Man-woo, who was holding his phone to his ear, his blinking eyes filled with question marks. Even after hearing it twice from the calm Kang Woojin on the other end, he still couldn’t quite understand it.
“…Mi-Miley Cara?”
However, Woojin’s answer was once again simple.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Uh—so, um, Miley… Cara is currently working on a new album with you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you get the name confused?”
“No, I didn’t.”“Or maybe you meant a similar Hollywood actress? Like Maillie Kara or Miley Kirara?”
“No. It’s definitely Miley Cara.”
“…The Miley Cara that I know, no, the one the whole world knows, you’re talking about her?”
“Yes.”
PD Song Man-woo, who had frozen for a few seconds, opened his mouth wide. And then he screamed. But only inwardly.
‘Miley Cara???!!!’
He thought an actor was being inserted into ‘Beneficial Evil’, but suddenly, Miley Cara was thrown into the mix. He had heard it, but he couldn’t believe it. Why would that Hollywood star be in ‘Beneficial Evil’? PD Song Man-woo scratched his head and asked again.
“Woojin-ssi. Look, you’re not joking, right? Are you serious?”
“I’m 100% serious.”
“But that- why on earth would Miley Cara want be in our production?”
“That’s just how it happened. Oh, and for now, please keep this matter top secret.”
The explanation was too short. But even with just that, PD Song Man-woo’s brain felt like it was going to explode. He was beyond shocked; his mind had stopped working. This was something that might happen once in a blue moon in Korea’s past or future.
‘This is absurd—but Woojin isn’t the type of character to make such blatant jokes.’
No, it wouldn’t be strange to call it impossible.
‘Ah, but how can he mention something this bombshell-level so casually, like flipping a coin!’
Despite the situation of inserting someone with a global following like Miley Cara into ‘Beneficial Evil’, Kang Woojin’s voice over the phone was calm, low, and extremely composed. That only made PD Song Man-woo more fired up. However, PD Song Man-woo was also a veteran director with decades of experience. First, he did his best to calm his chaotic thoughts.
‘Stay calm, even though I don’t know what’s going on.’
‘This is undoubtedly an earth-shattering event.’
PD Song Man-woo, stroking his beard, tried to suppress his excitement as much as possible before speaking again.
“So—Woojin-ssi, could you explain a bit more? How did this happen?”
“I can’t tell you everything about the situation. But things went well with Miley Cara.”
Kang Woojin conveyed only the key points to PD Song Man-woo. The debt that Cara owed Woojin, Woojin’s proposal, and so on. Of course, he didn’t mention the fact that she had been attacked. As PD Song Man-woo listened to the gradual explanation, his shock slowly turned into a sense of awe.
“So, in short, Woojin-ssi made a proposal to Miley Cara? And she accepted to pay off a debt?”
“Yes. I threw it out there just in case, but she readily agreed.”
“But why did you have her repay the debt with such a proposal?”
“I thought it would be fun.”
“Fun?”
“’Beneficial Evil’ is a challenging work aiming for a global audience. This kind of event seems appropriate, don’t you think?”
“……”
Hearing Woojin’s response, PD Song Man-woo made a serious face. But in his heart, a warm sense of admiration was building up.
‘He cares about the project this much.’
Kang Woojin had always given his all to filming the project, but PD Song Man-woo hadn’t realized he cared this deeply. All with that indifferent face, pretending he didn’t. Soon, Director Shin Dong-chun of ‘Exorcism’, popped into PD Song Man-woo’s mind.
‘So this is the indescribable feeling of emotion he was talking about.’
It was a moment of admiration born from a misunderstanding, but PD Song Man-woo, who had no way of knowing this, found a smile spreading across his lips.
“Thank you, Woojin-ssi. For giving me an experience—no, an opportunity—that I would never have encountered in my lifetime.”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Well, I’ve ended up in your debt now. Miley Cara is someone even Hollywood’s top directors would struggle to cast. I’ll have to put my life on the line for this.”
For PD Song Man-woo, this truly was a cosmic-level opportunity. Perhaps even after a lifetime, no other Korean director would ever face a situation like this—Song Man-woo might be the first and last.
“Ah—by the way, Woojin-ssi. Has Miley Cara’s screen time been discussed?”
“I’ll leave that to you. She said she’s fine with even a minor role or cameo.”
In other words, she was okay with not just a passing cameo but even a significant role.
“So, you’re saying it’s fine to give her lines and even assign a character name?”
“Yes. I think it would be best if her appearance was tied to the overseas location shoot in Bangkok, which will be featured in the first and second episodes of ‘Beneficial Evil’.”
“You mean the ‘CQC’ shoot. So, you’re suggesting she be linked to ‘Jang Yeon-woo’s’ past?”
“That would keep things clean.”
“So, I can consider this confirmed?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
PD Song Man-woo, who had been secretly clenching his fist, suddenly hit a wall of reality. Securing an ultra-class superstar was a miracle, but the cost of such a miracle was something beyond imagination.
“But about that—if it’s Cara… how much would her fee be, approximately?”
Kang Woojin’s response was quick.
“It’s already been paid.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“But out of courtesy, it would be good to provide the basics—lodging, travel expenses, and such.”
“Well, of course.”
“I’m sorry, PD-nim. I’ll have to hang up for now.”
Seemingly busy, Kang Woojin gave a quick goodbye and ended the call. PD Song Man-woo slowly lowered his phone and spaced out for a moment. Come to think of it, earlier in the morning, stunt team leader Ethan Smith had said something equally shocking.
‘Didn’t he say a famous Hollywood figure was coming to observe this overseas shoot in Bangkok for Woojin-ssi? And now Miley Cara too?’
Wherever Cara went, her large team would follow.
‘Why are all these Hollywood figures gathering around? And all of them are connected to Woojin-ssi.’
It was all thanks to Kang Woojin.
Morning of the 20th, in Los Angeles.
Monday had passed, and it was now Tuesday. Kang Woojin could be found inside the familiar large studio dome. It was the same location that had been used for Miley Cara’s music video a few days ago. After the temporary halt due to the attack, the shoot was resuming once again.
However, the security at the site was extremely tight this time.
The number of big-bodied guards had tripled, and the staff involved were checked thoroughly. Naturally, the same applied to Kang Woojin’s crew. The resumed music video shoot began under strict security.
Even so, the process was quite similar.
Kang Woojin had to wear the same clothes he’d worn before. At one point, Woojin genuinely gave a thumbs up while watching Cara synchronizing choreography with the backup dancers.
‘She’s a pro, a real pro.’
Perhaps it was out of consideration for Woojin’s schedule, but restarting the shoot right after such a serious attack was by no means an easy feat, neither mentally nor physically. In any case, this time, the music video shoot proceeded smoothly without any major issues.
Even though it was his first time, Kang Woojin handled the shoot naturally.
‘Hmm, there’s nothing particularly difficult about this. I mean, I don’t have any lines or choreography anyway.’
With the morning shoot wrapping up, a break was given as they prepared to move to a different set. Kang Woojin also changed his outfit, taking off his tuxedo and putting on a shirt and jeans.
Around that time.
—Ssssk.
Choi Sung-gun, with fatigue written all over his face and his ponytail slightly disheveled, approached Woojin and showed him his phone.
“’Male Friend: Remake’ Episode 2’s ratings are out.”
At some point, the second episode of ‘Male Friend: Remake’ had aired, and the ratings from Japan were now being announced.
-[Viewership Ratings]
1. Male Friend: Remake / TBE / 15.5%
2. Magic Revolutions / Fuji ETV / 9.3%
3. Strongest Spy / Tokyo ETV / 7.1%
4. Detective Conan / NHM / 5.9%
·
·
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Choi Sung-gun, showing the results, smirked.
“The ratings went up again.”
In fact, the second episode of ‘Male Friend: Remake’ had higher ratings than the first episode. Of course, the opening theme song sung by Woojin, which was currently number one on the Oricon chart, was also solidly holding its position. Kang Woojin reacted with a calm expression, giving a simple response.
“That’s great.”
But inwardly, he was giving himself a big round of applause.
‘Good! Good, good!!’
Although he hadn’t checked, Japan and Korea were probably abuzz with articles about ‘Male Friend: Remake’ right now.
The filming of Cara’s music video wrapped up late at night. By the end, both Cara and the hundred or so foreign staff were completely exhausted. Woojin, however, was the only one who remained fresh. Cleaning up also took quite some time.
Around two hours?
The cleanup wasn’t finished until after 11 p.m., but Kang Woojin and Choi Sung-gun didn’t head straight back to the hotel. There was an after-party at Miley Cara’s house.
“Everyone really worked so hard!”
Expensive champagne was the highlight of the party. While they didn’t drink excessively, everyone except Woojin and Cara thoroughly enjoyed the after-party. The food was made by Kang Woojin himself. The menu was bulgogi, and there were two versions: one with a soy sauce base and one spicy.
The spicy bulgogi was for Cara.
As per her request, it was very spicy, and as she ate, the blonde Cara’s eyes welled up with tears.
“Ha—it’s spicy, way too spicy!”
“You said you wanted it to be strong enough that you can barely think.”
Cara, overwhelmed by the spiciness of Korean food, eventually drank too much champagne and quickly fell asleep.
This marked the end of Kang Woojin’s LA schedule.
‘Well, a lot happened. But it wasn’t too bad, all things considered.’
Woojin boarded a flight back to Korea a few hours later, in the early hours of the morning.
The morning after Kang Woojin left LA.
The place was Miley Cara’s luxurious home. She groggily opened her eyes in bed, blinked a few times, and then suddenly sat up.
“Ah!”
Her long blonde hair was slightly tousled, but without bothering to fix it, she, now wearing a hoodie that reached down to her hips, headed downstairs. In the spacious living room on the first floor, her main manager, Jonathan, was sitting on the sofa, looking at a tablet. When he raised his head and smiled, he said,
“You’re alive.”
Cara asked urgently,
“Jonathan, where’s Kang Woojin?”
“He’s already left for Korea.”
“Ah- oh no.”
Only then did Cara run her fingers through her blonde hair, scolding herself for falling asleep while drunk.
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
“Can’t you just send him a message?”
“Well, yeah, but… we worked hard together for almost 10 days. It’s kind of sad.”
At the same time, a thought flashed through Cara’s mind, ‘When will I get to see him again?’ However, she didn’t say it out loud, and Jonathan, standing up smoothly, reassured her by patting her on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I saw him off on your behalf.”
“……”
Cara, who had been fidgeting with her lips, suddenly said to Jonathan out of the blue,
“Actually, I’ve decided. The main title track for this new album will be the song Woojin participated in.”
Several hours later.
On the morning of the 21st, after spending a long time on the plane, Kang Woojin finally arrived back in Korea. The press hadn’t been informed, and because there had been some changes in his LA schedule, no reporters were waiting at the airport. Still, a crowd of several hundred people gathered upon his arrival.
His arrival photos were already being uploaded to Instagram.
At this point, Kang Woojin was inside a black van speeding down the highway. The interior was silent. Thanks to the long LA schedule, the team members had fallen into a deep sleep. Of course, only Choi Sung-gun and Woojin were still awake, and Choi Sung-gun, yawning widely, retied his ponytail before turning his head.
“The reporters are starting to catch on that you’ve returned to Korea. Articles are starting to spread.”
“Is that so?”
“Heh, they’re going wild with speculation. Well, they must be dying of curiosity. But honestly, I’d be the same. The chemistry between you and Cara in that song or music video.”
Choi Sung-gun’s grin deepened.
“Anyway, once the album work is done, Miley Cara’s side has agreed to announce it first, before we release anything. The music video teaser will be revealed on Cara’s YouTube channel first, and then we can use it afterward.”
“Yes, CEO~nim.”
“There’s that, but what I’m really looking forward to is Cara’s special appearance in ‘Beneficial Evil’.”
Choi Sung-gun rubbed his hands together with a broad smile.
“The announcement will come later, but once that’s out, not only Korea but also Hollywood… no, the whole world might be turned upside down?”
Considering the global influence of someone like Cara, it wasn’t an exaggeration. Even at that moment, it was clear that Korea, Japan, and Hollywood were going to be buzzing about this.
Suddenly, instead of replying, Kang Woojin moved his index finger.
-Puk!
He picked up the script lying nearby and entered the Void space. The reason was simple.
“Ah—shit, I was about to yawn.”
Caught in the middle of maintaining his cool facade, he was on the verge of yawning. It was understandable, given that nearly ten days of fatigue had built up in Woojin’s body. Soon after, Woojin tossed aside his facade, yawning and stretching a few times.
Then.
-Ssssk.
He walked toward the row of white rectangles. In fact, the reason Kang Woojin entered the Void space wasn’t just because he was about to yawn. There was another reason—no, perhaps it would be better described as a hunch or a prediction.
“Oh!! Yes, there it is! Amazing!”
Kang Woojin, looking at one of the white rectangles, in particular, the white rectangle for ‘Beneficial Evil’, began to do a small celebratory shoulder dance with his shoulders.
And for good reason. The rating for ‘Beneficial Evil’, which had been SSS+, had now been upgraded.
-[9/Script (Title: Beneficial Evil), EX grade]
A new grade he hadn’t seen before was marked on it. EX grade, it was clearly an upgrade.
“As expected! There was a higher grade.”
He couldn’t even begin to imagine how destructive it might be.
****
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