< Overwhelming (5) >
Kang Woo-jin, who joined hands with a top Hollywood actress who is on par with Miley Cara in terms of popularity. No, it was a single word he said in English without forcing himself to let go.
“By the way, what is your name?”
Thanks to that, the foreigners around him were making a lot of noise. The staff of Columbia Studios, the guests visiting the film company, the team members of Hollywood’s top actors. The number of people, well over a dozen, opened their eyes wide in different colors.
“Hey, what did Kang Woojin just say?”
“Did you ask for my name?”
“Oh my god, you don’t know him?”
“No. You must be joking.”
“No way- a fight?”
Of course, Choi Sung-geon, who was standing next to Kang Woo-jin, was a little surprised. But he also felt relieved. Although he didn’t hear exactly what the Hollywood top actor whispered to Woo-jin, Choi Sung-geon was a little offended by the lines he uttered when he first asked for a handshake.
‘When did Woojin ever disrespect the Academy Awards? And what? It’s good to be confident, but if it’s too much, it looks excessive? That’s ridiculous.’
That’s why Choi Sung-geon didn’t stop Woo-jin. It was a spirit that only Kang Woo-jin could show, and a situation that only he could create. It was a strangely flowing flow, but he thought it would be okay to leave it alone.
‘······I think I should mediate- but no. This kind of thing can happen at any time in Hollywood, so it wouldn’t be bad to experience it first. Especially when the other person is an actor like me.’
In Hollywood, since Kang Woo-jin was an unknown, something similar was bound to happen. Therefore, CEO Choi Sung-geon chose to just sit back and watch. However, the expressions on the faces of the Hollywood top actors’ team members were serious. They were all squashed as soon as they heard Woo-jin’s lines. Among them, a fat man who seemed to be the main manager, standing right behind the Hollywood actor, took a step forward.
“Hey, hey. What did you just say?”
however.
-Ugh.
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The Hollywood top actor who was still holding hands with Kang Woo-jin stared at him. He didn’t say anything, but it implied that he was telling him not to come forward. Soon, the manager shut his mouth and the Hollywood actor turned his face to the front again and asked Woo-jin. His relaxed tone changed 180 degrees.
“···What did you just say?”
It felt like a warning. But what can I do? Kang Woojin let go of his hand and answered right away. His voice was dry and firm.
“I asked your name.”
“······”
The noise of the foreigners around them grew louder. But Woojin’s dignified English did not stop.
“You seem to know my name, but I don’t know yours. I think that’s rude.”
A counter-tactic. Ignoring is exactly like ignoring. And it was a sincere ‘Noppakku’.
‘I really don’t know this handsome guy’s name.’
Kang Woo-jin really didn’t know his name. To be exact, he couldn’t remember it. It must have been incredibly absurd for him. He was saying that he didn’t know himself, a monster known not only here in Hollywood but also in the entire United States, and even in Korea and the world.
In other words, Kang Woo-jin committed an act of ignorance that buried his true feelings.
But now, with the addition of the ‘beast transformation’ concept.
Who could possibly know Kang Woo-jin’s true intentions? It was impossible for anyone in the world, and the Hollywood actor who faced Woo-jin had no way of knowing either. All he could think was that Kang Woo-jin was attacking him because of the words he had said.
“Woojin, did what I said make you uncomfortable?”
Woojin answered dryly.
“Not at all. I thought it was advice, but I don’t think it will help much.”
“······But why are you acting like that?”
“Is it weird to ask your name?”
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The Hollywood top actor was confused. Of course, Woojin was aggressive, but his eyes were devoid of emotion. It didn’t seem fake at all. But how could he not know me? He stared at Kang Woojin, who had an indifferent face, for a moment.
‘It’s hard to read what he’s thinking… But it’s the kind of eyes that wouldn’t be strange if he were to pounce on me at any moment.’
I don’t know about anything else, but one thing was certain. Woojin’s eyes were closer to danger than menace. At that moment, the fat manager standing behind him whispered.
“There are more eyes watching, so I think it would be better to get out of the way for now.”
In fact, the number of onlookers continued to increase. Even without that, Hollywood was a place where a horse without legs could travel a thousand miles, and the speed was also in an instant. Soon, a Hollywood actor who exhaled softly spoke to Kang Woo-jin while going down a single step of the stairs.
“I am Chris Hartnett.”
As soon as he heard the name, Woojin shouted inwardly.
‘Ah! That’s right, Chris Hartnett!’
A Hollywood top actor that you only see in movies. Even though he is in person, Kang Woo-jin’s cynicism remains.
“This is Kang Woo-jin.”
Chris Hartnett looked at Woojin for a few seconds and then smiled faintly.
“See you later.”
He hurried down the stairs. His team did the same. Of course, they glared at Kang Woojin. Regardless, Woojin’s expression didn’t change. At this point, Choi Sunggeon pushed Woojin’s shoulder.
“Let’s go too, we’ll have a headache if we stay any longer.”
It was because of the crowd of onlookers. Woojin and Choi Sunggeon also climbed the stairs and when they reached the entrance.
“But Woojin.”
Choi Sung-geon asked quietly.
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“You really didn’t know Chris Hartnett’s name? You didn’t?”
Cynical Woojin answered with a mixture of sincerity and toughness.
“I didn’t know, if I hadn’t seen you today, I would have kept doing that.”
A few dozen minutes later, inside a large van.
A van carrying several foreigners was driving through downtown LA. The foreigners in the van were excited for some reason.
“Kang Woojin? That’s ridiculous. So arrogant.”
“That’s what I’m saying. He must be really proud of himself after winning the Best Actor Award at Cannes.”
“Let’s ignore it. If you’re going to do that because of that one thing, you won’t be able to survive in Hollywood.”
“But when I asked Chris’s name, he almost exploded with anger.”
The fat man turned his head to the figure with naturally flowing brown hair sitting by the window.
“Chris, forget about that idiot.”
It was Hollywood’s top tier actor Chris Hartnett, who had previously encountered Kang Woo-jin. He opened his mouth with his chin resting on his hand and his gaze outside the window.
“Well, it wasn’t an impact you’d forget.”
“He’s just a conceited guy.”
“Hmm- I got a good hit.”
“what?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way. I think it’ll be fun.”
“······fun?”
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Chris Hartnett, who had been rolling around as an actor in Hollywood for over a decade, met the gaze of a fat manager as he looked out the window. His face was filled with genuine interest.
“Yeah, fun. Honestly, I didn’t know he would hit this hard. I thought he’d be a little nervous because of the rumor that he only debuted recently- Haha, what do you know? He just bared his teeth right away, as if it didn’t matter who he was facing?”
“Hey, wasn’t that a bad feeling?”
“It’s mysterious. I’m confused about which one it is, but it’s exciting. I haven’t seen ‘Leech,’ but if you have that kind of guts, I can’t help but look forward to your acting. Well, there must be something about it that made it to Cannes.”
The fat manager shook his head as if he didn’t like it.
“You must have been lucky. When I saw you today, the atmosphere was so dry that you couldn’t really see your emotions, so your acting was also obvious. Why on earth did you get nominated as the male lead for ‘Pierrot’?”
Chris Hartnett smirked as he swept his brown hair back. Then he remembered the image of Kang Woo-jin that he had seen earlier.
“Did no one see it?”
“Huh? What?”
“Kang Woojin, you said. At first, you were quiet, but as soon as you heard what I said, your eyes changed. Like······a beast? A wild beast? Either way, it happened in an instant. That must have been intentional, you showed me your free-spirited emotions.”
“Not at all.”
Chris shrugs.
“A warning given with emotion, not words. Luck? No, whatever his personality, he’s a very good actor. There aren’t many actors in Hollywood who have such quick emotional switches.”
He took out a bundle of papers that were tucked away at his side. The title ‘Pierrot’ was printed in English on the cover. Soon, Chris Hartnett opened the scenario and began to chant.
“If I lose my mind, I’ll get hit again. I’m looking forward to the audition.”
Meanwhile, in the medium-sized conference room of ‘Columbia Studios’.
Kang Woo-jin was found in a conference room with posters of past hit works hanging on the wall. He was sitting in the center of a T-shaped desk. Of course, Choi Sung-geon was sitting next to Woo-jin.
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and.
“I wanted to meet you, Woojin.”
Across from Kang Woo-jin, sitting with their backs to the window, there were a total of six foreigners and one Korean. Executives from Columbia Studios, the general producer of Pierrot, the caddy team, and director Ahn Ga-bok.
Kang Woo-jin, who had already finished greeting people, answered appropriately.
“Nice to meet you.”
The female producer responded with a small smile.
“I heard you met Chris outside. He had a pre-meeting too, but you had something to do with him before you came here?”
It seems the rumor has already spread here. Woojin is secretly surprised.
‘Wow – the news is coming so quickly here too.’
He nodded absentmindedly.
“Rather than talking about work, we just exchanged greetings.”
“Just a quick hello? You really didn’t know Chris’s name?”
“Yes, that’s why I asked.”
“······You are definitely unique.”
A female producer with a faint smile. She seemed to like Kang Woo-jin. On the other hand, the executives of ‘Columbia Studio’ narrowed their eyebrows. Well, first impressions are different for everyone. Soon, the male caddy of ‘Pierrot’, who was sitting next to the executives, joined in.
“But Woojin, this might be your first time in a situation like this, but you don’t seem nervous at all.”
Kang Woo-jin, who was indifferent, looked at him and immediately answered in English.
“Should I be nervous?”
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“···No, rather than that- I was wondering if you had visited any other Hollywood film studios before coming here.”
“This is my first time here.”
“Ah- I see. How are you feeling?”
“It’s no different than usual.”
Kang Woo-jin answers right away without a second of hesitation. In fact, he had decided to go straight ahead with this attitude before coming here. However, he heard from Choi Sung-geon that this preliminary meeting would also affect the audition and screen test that will take place next month, in January.
‘I don’t have any experience with Hollywood pre-meetings, and I’m more confused if I act ambiguous. Yeah, I’ll just go with what I’ve been doing. But still, uh- I’m a little nervous, man.’
Since I had no experience in Hollywood, I decided to keep it simple.
The caddy who asked the question, on the other hand, looked a little embarrassed.
‘What, what is it? Why are you so calm?’
It was because there was not even a speck of nervousness. In fact, the male caddy of ‘Pierrot’ was asking a set question. He had asked the same question to Woojin’s former timer, Chris Hartnett. It was ordinary, but you could figure out the other person’s current state of mind based on their answer.
But what about Kang Woo-jin?
‘···Chris was relaxed, but there was a slight sense of anxiety mixed in. But this man- I don’t know? I can’t see anything.’
There was no sign of tension, anxiety, or joy. Then the caddy turned his gaze. It was toward the executives of Columbia Studios and the female producer. They too were staring at Kang Woo-jin quietly.
Everyone’s expressions are varied.
In particular, the faces of the executives of ‘Columbia Studios’ were worth seeing. I felt bewildered and embarrassed by the characters I was seeing for the first time.
‘Confidence? No, arrogance? No matter how great the results were at Cannes······the feeling is too simple.’
In their eyes, Korean actor Kang Woo-jin was just like a swindler. No matter how much he was nominated as the male lead for ‘Pierrot’, if he was filtered out at this preliminary meeting, he would not be able to make it to the final audition or screen test. In a way, it is like a final interview for an audition.
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But Kang Woo-jin shows no signs of longing at all.
Yes, I know that he won the Best Actor Award by turning Cannes upside down, and that he is flying high as an actor with an unprecedented filmography in Korea. However, Woojin was unknown in Hollywood. Even the place he is sitting now is ‘Columbia Studios’, one of the top Hollywood film studios. It is a place where even top actors line up, so why is that Korean actor so boring?
‘As if it doesn’t matter at all that we don’t work with them.’
Of course, they didn’t know about the Hollywood offers that Kang Woo-jin had. Joseph Felton’s side or ‘World Disney Pictures’ side. But even if they had known, it would have been hard to understand Woo-jin’s current behavior. Soon, the executives frowned and muttered to themselves.
‘Nervous? Not only are you nervous, but you seem to be lacking interest.’
‘······It doesn’t seem like there’s any burden at all. Rather, it looks comfortable.’
All the executives glanced at Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had been quiet since earlier. It was because they remembered what he had said about Woo-jin.
‘Weird. Kang Woo-jin is a weirdo.’
Weird. Yes, that Korean actor was literally a weirdo. But isn’t that a bit too much? But the executives were a little offended. They didn’t see much enthusiasm in his bland appearance.
‘Are you not greedy? Or maybe you have an offer from another film company. Surely- you’re not ignoring me.’
Around here.
“Mr. Kang Woojin.”
The female producer, who was crossing her legs, asked a question.
“Director Ahn Ga-bok gave you a response as soon as I sent him the script for ‘Pierrot.’ Why did you make a decision so quickly?”
Woojin answered quietly.
“It felt good.”
“···Huh? You mean the feeling?”
“yes.”
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At that moment, Director Ahn Ga-bok coughed in vain and lowered his head. He was hiding his laughter.
‘You just throw away what you said to me without any embellishment.’
The female producer, who didn’t notice this, blanked out for a moment before opening her mouth again.
“You don’t seem to have any reservations at all. As you know, Woojin-ssi is in a position where he could be excluded as a candidate in this preliminary meeting. Do you have any regrets?”
Woojin looked at the female producer for a moment and answered dryly.
“I don’t mind, but ‘Pierrot’ will regret it.”
What I’m saying is that it’s you who will regret it, not me.
