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Chapter 329 - Bangkok (5)
Chapter 329 - Bangkok (5)
Chapter 329: Bangkok (5)
Translator: Dreamscribe
There was no way global superstar Miley Cara could be in Bangkok, Thailand. Clearly, anyone would think that. Why on earth would she be here when she’s been busy with her new album recently? It was obvious that neither Joseph Felton, the giant, nor any of the foreigners in the group thought differently.
Therefore, Joseph, Megan, and the rest of the group tried to calm down the potbellied man, an executive from the distribution and film company ‘Universal Movies’.
“Hahaha, Miley Cara? That’s so random. This is Bangkok, Bangkok.”
“Exactly. Maybe the flight was too long? I think you should get some rest soon.”
“Are you seeing things?”
“Where? Where did you see Miley?”
Joseph and the group spoke in a joking manner, but the potbellied executive frowned, without a hint of laughter.
“No- I’m certain. That woman.”
His finger pointed in a direction, and everyone’s gaze followed it. However, unfortunately, the woman the executive had seen was already gone.
“Are you really feeling okay?”
“We should hurry up with the check-in, I genuinely feel like this could be dangerous.”
“You alright?”
The mood shifted from jokes to serious concern. Megan patted the executive’s shoulder.
“For now, sit on the couch, take a breath.”
“…Ah, okay.”
“What’s all this talk about Miley Cara all of a sudden?”
“The blonde woman who just passed by- she had an aura similar to hers. It doesn’t make sense, but…”
“Seems like you’ve been wanting to cast Miley Cara so badly that you started imagining things. You must be tired too.”
The potbellied executive glanced up at Megan Stone’s face, then slowly lowered his head. He pressed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
“Phew- I guess you’re right. Miley Cara, really…”
He admitted that what he saw was a mistake. There had been a long flight, and the jet lag was an issue. On top of that, someone of Miley Cara’s caliber would make any Hollywood film company drool. They’d beg to cast her if they had to. If they could, that would be a steal. Soon, the team members surrounding the potbellied executive chimed in.
“Still, it was a bit unexpected, hearing Miley Cara’s name.”
“Haha. Miley Cara is famously hard to cast. Isn’t she busy with her new album right now?”
“Yeah, she must be super busy.”
“If Miley were in Bangkok, both here and Hollywood would be making a fuss.”
The potbellied executive forced a smile.
“Sorry, I need to get some rest.”
Megan quickly responded.
“Alright. We’ll handle the check-in as quickly as possible.”
Then it happened.
“Joseph.”
Someone called out to Joseph Felton from the vast hotel lobby behind them. It was in English, and it was a male voice. The giant Joseph and everyone else turned their heads, and in the lobby, a tall, foreign man with a large nose was walking toward them with a smile.
It was Ethan Smith, the stunt team leader from Beneficial Evil.
Everyone, except Joseph and Megan, reacted immediately.
“Oh, Ethan.”
Everyone knew that Ethan was the stunt coordinator for Beneficial Evil, and as he approached, he shook hands with Joseph, then Megan, and the rest of the group. The peculiar thing was that the people with Ethan weren’t part of his team; they were Koreans. Ethan was accompanied by three Koreans.
Naturally, Ethan introduced them.
“These folks are part of the production crew for Beneficial Evil.”
The Koreans with him were the production staff of Beneficial Evil. Including a translator.
Joseph, Megan, and the other foreigners were there to observe the shooting of Beneficial Evil. Although they had already exchanged some details beforehand, they needed to share schedules and other information again on-site. Of course, it was thanks to the consideration of PD Song Man-woo. The Beneficial Evil crew briefly informed them about the filming, and about five minutes later, they handed out papers to Joseph’s entire team.
It was a non-disclosure agreement.
The document strictly prohibited them from discussing anything related to the shooting or the location. As soon as Joseph received the non-disclosure agreement, he thought to himself.
‘They’ve got some tight security.’
However, it didn’t seem strange. Such situations were common in Hollywood. If any secret about a film shoot leaks outside, regardless of the type of information, it can harm the project. It affects not only the promotion and marketing but also the overall outcome of the production. It was quite a serious issue.
So, if someone were to break the confidentiality agreement, they would be hit with a hefty penalty. The agreement that Joseph and everyone else had just received was of the same nature. Megan, who knew Kang Woojin, understood this.
‘Well, they even brought in a Hollywood stunt team… they must have put a lot of effort into Kang Woojin’s action scenes and CQC, and there are probably key stunts too.’
However, some of Joseph’s team members, the stunt teams, and even a few executives from Universal Movies thought:
‘Going this far? Why?’
‘They’re being really thorough, is there a reason for this?’
‘Having to sign a confidentiality agreement for a drama shoot-seems a bit excessive.’
They wore somewhat puzzled expressions.
Meanwhile, in a suite room at the same hotel.
A blonde woman sat on the living room sofa with her legs crossed. It was Miley Cara. On the table in front of her lay the hat and mask she had just taken off. She spoke to her manager, Jonathan, who was seated across from her.
“Did you see? Joseph Felton was in the lobby.”
Cara’s characteristic slightly cold tone made Jonathan a bit startled.
“What? Joseph?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure, but I saw a lot of familiar faces. I also saw people from Universal Movies.”
“Huh- I heard they were preparing for a movie, maybe it’s because of that?”
“For location scouting, the scale seems too small. There must be another reason.”
“What kind of… don’t tell me, Beneficial Evil?”
“If Joseph’s handling it, that’s quite possible. He’s also captivated by Kang Woojin after all.”
“Joseph came all the way to Bangkok just to see Kang Woojin? That doesn’t make sense. Kang Woojin barely has any recognition in Hollywood.”
Cara shrugged her shoulders and smiled softly.
“Well, we’ll know for sure on the day of the shoot. But if they really came to see Kang Woojin-things are about to get interesting.”
While Kang Woojin’s acting was impressive, his action and CQC scenes-especially if Miley Cara was involved in the filming-what kind of reaction would Joseph and his group have? Cara herself was quite excited, her expectations at their peak, and she also felt quite pleased.
“Maybe the house I bought for Kang Woojin in LA will be used sooner than I thought.”
“Huh?”
“Kang Woojin is getting more and more imprinted on Hollywood figures, isn’t he?”
Cara suddenly shifted the conversation topic.
“Anyway, Jonathan, can you check on the movie Joseph’s working on? Can you check it out for me, what kind of vibe it has?”
The next day, early in the morning.
As soon as the 20th dawned, Kang Woojin left the hotel, mingling with the entire team of Beneficial Evil. Once again, the Bangkok sun was scorching hot. PD Song Man-woo explained to Kang Woojin as they walked.
“Today, we’re mostly going to be doing rehearsals, checks, and practices. We need to sync the action scenes with the local extras here in Thailand, and there are car chases and explosion scenes, so we can’t be too thorough with the checks.”
Their first destination was a village about an hour away from downtown Bangkok. Though it was fairly large, not many Thai people lived there.
‘The atmosphere looks completely different in the morning. It’s exotic, but it feels kind of like South America?’
The village had once thrived, but now it was quiet. As a result, there were many empty buildings, abandoned factories, and derelict structures. However, there were plenty of buildings, meaning the city layout was still well-formed, making it visually appealing. Many scenes were planned to be shot in this village-long takes, car chases, explosions, gunfights, and more.
Of course, they had already secured the location well in advance.
Thailand had a well-established film industry infrastructure.
Therefore, even Hollywood often used Thailand as a filming location. The infrastructure was well-developed, with many local companies, abundant equipment, easy-to-obtain filming permits, and flexible government cooperation. With so many movies shot there frequently, the system was well-organized.
In any case, Kang Woojin, PD Song Man-woo, and the Beneficial Evil team gathered at a large abandoned factory on the outskirts of the village.
The Beneficial Evil crew alone numbered around a hundred.
Though the group was already large, about 50 Thai locals had gathered in the open space in front of the abandoned factory. Woojin had already heard about them.
‘Ah- so those are the Thai staff?’
It’s impossible to run an overseas location shoot with only domestic teams. Local staff and officials are essential. The more than 50 Thai locals were all hired by the Beneficial Evil team. About half of them were part of the filming crew, while the other half were extras. Thanks to Thailand’s well-established infrastructure, casting actors wasn’t difficult.
Moreover, they had been selected primarily for their extensive filming experience.
After all, most of them would be killed by Kang Woojin-no, by ‘Jang Yeon-woo’-so the liveliness of their roles was crucial. Regardless of their roles, PD Song Man-woo had made sure to get non-disclosure agreements from all the Thai staff and extras. The same went for the hundred or so Beneficial Evil staff members.
As a result, the open space in front of the abandoned factory was packed with people.
Easily around 200 people in total.
Soon.
“Shall we begin?”
At PD Song Man-woo’s signal, the hundred or so staff members began to move in unison. Although it was just for rehearsal, they couldn’t afford to take it lightly. The filming crew set up various cameras, and the lighting and props teams followed suit. The making-of team was already filming the surroundings of the abandoned factory and the massive production team.
Various teams began to take root in the open space.
In an instant, the area was filled with the shouts and bustling activity of a massive crowd.
Meanwhile, Kang Woojin was busy.
“Nice to meet you all.”
He was greeting the 50 or so Thai staff and actors. Of course, he spoke in English, and the local actors looked at him with great curiosity.
Naturally. He was already quite famous in Thailand.
Kang Woojin remained calm on the surface. However, inside, he found the large number of Thai locals to be quite new and exciting.
‘Wow- damn, isn’t this the first time I’ve filmed with this many foreigners? And it’s action scenes, too. I feel a bit nervous.’
PD Song Man-woo, unaware of Woojin’s inner thoughts, wiped his sweat as he gave orders. He instructed the Thai staff and actors to get ready. They, too, moved in perfect coordination. Around this time, the costume and makeup team rushed over to Kang Woojin, who was standing next to PD Song Man-woo.
It was time for a makeup touch-up and a costume change.
A few minutes later, Kang Woojin had transformed.
He was now wearing a worn white shirt and jeans, and his overall skin tone had been darkened slightly. His black hair was made to look disheveled. He perfectly embodied the character of ‘Jang Yeon-woo’, who was hiding in Bangkok. Woojin glanced at himself in the mirror that the staff showed him and internally gave a thumbs up.
‘Oh- awesome.’
He looked almost identical to the ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ he had actually lived. This wasn’t just Woojin’s opinion; others who had been watching him from a distance had the same thought. These included Writer Choi Na-na, who wore a safari hat, Executive Director Kim So-hyang, and several others, including ponytailed Choi Sung-gun.
“Wow- he looks exactly like the ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ I imagined! The synchronization is insane… Haha, I’m actually feeling nervous.”
“Writer-nim, didn’t you originally base ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ on Woojin?”
“Well, that’s true, but seeing it like this, it’s even more identical.”
“Hahaha, our Woojin’s face is incredibly versatile.”
“Oh! Woojin’s holding a gun now!”
Just then, Kang Woojin had received a gun from a staff member. It was an M4 Carbine, the rifle frequently used by ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ in the film. Soon, PD Song Man-woo, the stunt coordinator, Ethan Smith, and others from the stunt team gathered around Kang Woojin. Two Thai staff members were included as well. PD Song Man-woo gestured to Woojin.
“Woojin-ssi, feel free to shoot it.”
Woojin nodded calmly, naturally positioning the M4 Carbine against his shoulder and firing forward.
-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, the hundred or so staff members froze, their gazes fixed on Kang Woojin. The gunfire was deafening. Muzzle flashes burst from the M4 Carbine, and spent shell casings flew out. The recoil was intense. It was no different from firing a real gun. Even Kang Woojin, who had just fired it, was surprised. Of course, he kept it to himself.
‘Woah- what kind of quality is this??!!’
The Beneficial Evil team had prepared the guns to be almost indistinguishable from the real thing. This was a critical aspect of the production. Although the prop guns couldn’t fire actual bullets, they replicated the real thing with muzzle flashes and shell casings ejecting, making them nearly identical in appearance. While they were naturally less powerful than real firearms, they were realistic enough to easily cause confusion.
The various prop guns they used had been prepared in consultation with local experts in Thailand.
This was part of PD Song Man-woo’s firm commitment to minimizing the use of CGI.
At that moment-
Screech!
Two vans pulled up at a location some distance away from the open space in front of the abandoned factory, where many vehicles from the Beneficial Evil team were parked. Foreigners stepped out of the vans. It was Joseph, Megan, and around 20 others, including executives from Universal Movies.
As soon as they got out, they were surprised by the scale of the filming site.
“Wow! There are a lot of staff members here.”
“Indeed. Looks like more than 200 people.”
“They’ve got plenty of staff, and look over there-they seem to have combined them with local Thai staff as well.”
“The scale of this shoot is much bigger than I expected. Is this a large-scale production?”
At the same time, another series of loud gunshots rang out.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!
It was Kang Woojin firing again. However, since it was the first time Joseph and the foreigners had heard it, their eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, there must be a gunfight scene!”
“It looks like they’ve done a top-notch job preparing the firearms.”
“Look at the man shooting the gun. His stance looks professional, doesn’t it? Did they hire people like that too?”
“Of course, hiring experts is a must.”
“No.”
The giant Joseph smirked and muttered.
“That man is an actor.”
“…An actor??”
At that moment.
“He’s an actor, indeed.”
A female voice suddenly interrupted from the side. It was also in English. Everyone, including Joseph, turned their heads quickly. A blonde woman wearing sunglasses was approaching with a group of about a dozen people. As she drew closer, Joseph, Megan, and the rest of the group’s eyes widened in shock.
“Oh my god.”
On the other hand, the blonde woman-no, Miley Cara-walked up casually to the group of foreigners, stopping right in front of them and removing her sunglasses.
“That man is indeed an actor.”
Everyone’s jaws dropped as if they had just seen a ghost. Among the Universal Movies executives, the potbellied man was the first to react.
“I knew it!! I was right about what I saw yesterday!”
The short-haired Megan managed to ask Cara hesitantly.
“…Miley, why are you here?”
Cara pointed toward Kang Woojin, who was inside the filming site, with the hand holding her sunglasses.
“Of course, I’m here for the shoot.”
“A sh-shoot?!”
“Yes. Well, I’m 100% here because of that actor.”
In an instant, everyone’s gaze turned to Kang Woojin.
And then.
“Hey, doesn’t that blonde woman look familiar?”
Some of the staff members on the Beneficial Evil set.
“Huh? Where?”
“Over there, near the parking lot.”
They finally recognized Miley Cara.
****
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