Chapter 274: All Time (5)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Kang Woojin, still lying face down while sobbing, realized as soon as he shed off Kiyoshi that his face and mouth were covered in snot and saliva.

‘Damn. How much of this stuff came out?? I’m going to get dehydrated at this rate.’

Well, to be honest, he knew it while acting out the sobbing scene, but reality is different from acting. Even though he knew no one would criticize him for having some snot on his face.

‘But isn’t it better to leave no gaps?’

This was a realm including self-management within the concept. There was no need to overdo it, but once you start letting things slide, it becomes easy to give up on everything. Kang Woojin emphasized to himself once again while lying down.

Carelessness is the enemy.

Thanks to that, Woojin quietly wiped away the snot and saliva while still lying down. Not frivolously, but calmly and softly. The shaking was minimal. At this point, he heard the sound of applause from the staff behind him.

-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!

What is this? Why the sudden applause? It can’t be praise for wiping off snot. It’s probably applause for the acting from a moment ago. Anyway, he had to get up before the applause ended. Because of kneeling for a long time and losing a lot of fluids, Woojin’s strength had significantly decreased.

Still, he managed to successfully remove the snot and other residues.

-Swish.

He stood up smoothly with a nonchalant poker face as if nothing had happened. It took longer than expected. Everyone must have noticed Woojin getting up after wiping his snot. At least Kang Woojin thought so. In times like these, having a brazen attitude is important.

‘I don’t care, just walk confidently.’

Woojin made his usual coldness even more intense. It was a reflexive action to neutralize the embarrassment, even just a little. Then, while roughly brushing off his pants, he saw the Japanese actor right in front of him. The actor who had played the corpse of ‘Tsuzuki Itsuma’ until a moment ago was still standing in front of Woojin.

Their eyes met.

“……”

“……”

They exchanged a brief, silent stare.

The Japanese actor, seeing Woojin’s face, which had become more rigid and intensified than usual, was convinced.

‘……He hasn’t completely settled his emotions yet. But he’s a pro, to return to himself this quickly.’

Kang Woojin flinched inside.

‘What’s with that look? Do I still have snot remnants on my face??’

While their conflicting thoughts clashed, the Japanese actor spoke first in Japanese, with a very serious tone.

“I was moved. By both your acting and your demeanor afterwards. You don’t have to push yourself. Take all the time you need to collect your emotions before moving.”

What kind of nonsense is this? Woojin had expected something like ‘You still have snot on your chin’.

‘But what’s this about being moved and collecting emotions? What is this guy talking about?’

All traces of ‘Iyota Kiyoshi’ had long since disappeared from Kang Woojin’s body. He was a master at switching in and out. But the Japanese actor’s reaction was strange.

“……”

Maintaining his cynical look, Woojin slowly turned his head back. He saw dozens of staff members standing among the cameras and lights. They all had serious expressions. Some were even covering their mouths with one hand, looking touched.

Not a single face showed any sign of noticing any ‘snot’.

Even.

‘Why does the CEO look so serious?’

Even Choi Sung-gun had a very firm expression. At this point, Kang Woojin was certain.

This scent, this atmosphere, this disorganized air.

‘Something’s gone off-track again.’

Misunderstanding or misconception. It matched situations Woojin had experienced somewhere before. Well, it’s a win for me. Kang Woojin didn’t bother to correct the situation by bringing up the snot. He was definitely a pro, a master of maintaining his persona.

-Swish.

Kang Woojin slowly ran his hand through his black hair and lowered his voice while looking at the Japanese actor.

“I wasn’t settling my emotions.”

“……Then, what?”

“I was just remembering the feeling.”

At that moment, the Japanese actor’s eyes widened. Kang Woojin’s extreme posturing had worked, and Woojin calmly greeted him before turning and walking toward Choi Sung-gun. Along the way, he heard various restrained praises and encouragements from the staff. Of course, Woojin only responded in a low tone. Soon, as Kang Woojin arrived in front of him, Choi Sung-gun, looking serious, asked,

“Are you alright? It was your first time doing such a weeping, wailing scene, and I was a bit worried because you had to control it. Since you usually perform such intense method acting. But still… wasn’t that kind of acting uncomfortable, even for you? To the point where you can’t recover immediately.”

No, I just wiped off my snot. Woojin couldn’t say that, so he opted for arrogance.

“Recovery was easy. What’s important is the memory.”

“Memory?”

“Yes, so that I can use it later combined with other things.”

“……Crazy bastard.”

“Thank you.”

Choi Sung-gun, shaking his head as if he was appalled, soon raised his thumb.

“But well, that scene was truly killer. Only you could have brought it to life and handled it so well; any other actor would have racked up countless NGs. The audience will be blown away when it premieres.”

Indeed, the weeping and tearful performance Woojin had just shown required deep emotions and was difficult. If an actor couldn’t handle the scene, it would lead to numerous NGs. Ideally, it’s best to nail it in one shot, but such actors are rare. No, practically non-existent.

It was possible and achieved only because it was Kang Woojin.

Naturally, a few steps behind Woojin, Director Kyotaro, whose hair was pressed down by his hat, thought.

“……That last cut was more than enough.”

He had no intention of shouting for a re-shoot. No change in angle either. What he saw was the best and the highest quality. He murmured in Japanese.

“Sometimes, directors deceive actors.”

The assistant director and staff beside him tilted their heads.

“What?”

Director Kyotaro continued speaking without taking his eyes off Woojin.

“Even when an actor’s performance is lacking, even when it’s excessive, or even when it’s mediocre, there are times I encourage them and give an OK sign.”

He was talking about compromise. Relying on the implicit rules of the market.

“It doesn’t look like much, but in fact, it’s deception and delusion. The illusion of looking down on the actor from above, just a broken idiot who no longer acts. Such things are quite frequent on set.”

“Ah- I see. We also need to adjust the actor’s condition.”

“But today, I realized there is a different kind of compromise.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kang Woojin-ssi. The performance he just showed… I couldn’t judge it as art. I couldn’t recklessly choose whether it was an NG or an OK.”

Not because the acting was lacking, but because the performance was so overwhelming that it induced an error in judgment. A compromise he had to make because his mind went blank.

Director Kyotaro moved.

-Thud, thud.

Then he stood before Kang Woojin and said seriously and firmly,

“Because of the scene just now, the ending of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ that reaches the audience will be explosive.”

He meant it was the fuse.

Later.

The filming on Monday, the 24th, wrapped up only at midnight. It was natural to push a bit hard as the filming schedule for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was nearing completion.

The next day, the 25th, dawned.

With about three days left until the crank-up of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger,’ Kang Woojin participated in the filming on the 25th without any urgency. It was early in the morning.

“Action!!”

The pace on set gradually intensified. The spirits of Director Kyotaro and the hundred or so staff members also amplified. Maybe it was because they had seen Woojin’s performance yesterday. Whatever the reason, the filming continued with insert shots to fill in the gaps of ‘Iyota Kiyoshi’s’ arc and the overall scenario.

Meanwhile, Kang Woojin thought.

‘Wo- Damn!!’

During breaks, Woojin inconspicuously looked at his phone. In Korea, there was currently a boom around ‘Island of the Missing,’ and news articles were being released in torrents daily. Not only that, SNS and YouTube were also dominated by ‘Island of the Missing’.

It was fair to say that the ‘Island of the Missing’ wave had completely engulfed Korea.

‘It’s blowing up! This is seriously going to explode big time!’

Though Woojin was internally brimming with excitement, he turned icy cold the moment filming began. That day, the schedule wrapped up late at night.

The standby time for the next day, the 26th, was around noon.

Even though the filming of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ was nearing its end, there was no room for complacency. On the contrary, the tension had multiplied several times over. It was hard to even notice how the time passed.

Two days later, on Friday the 28th, dawn broke.

The location was Tokyo. The time was around 6 a.m.

Ordinarily, this would be the time many people start their day, but some were already moving busily. It was the ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ team. They had gathered at a large set where the team had been staying recently. It was an outdoor space set up to resemble various characters’ homes or shops. The exterior of the set, frequently used, had been constructed.

From the scale alone, it was easy to see that a lot of time had been invested in building this set.

In the midst of this,

“Lighting test!!”

“Got it!”

“Camera will roll after the lighting!”

“Director~nim! Please check this side!”

Around a hundred staff members were busy in their respective parts. Of course, Director Kyotaro, wearing his hat, was no exception. He was bustling around. The set they were meticulously preparing was a two-story mansion. It was a corridor-type mansion with an iron staircase attached to the end of the second floor. The exterior walls of the mansion were gray but had a lot of black stains, giving it an old feel at a glance.

According to the scenario, this mansion was ‘Iyota Kiyoshi’s’ house.

Today, the ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ team was scheduled to shoot several scenes, but two were key. The first meeting between Kiyoshi and Detective Mochio in this mansion, and the changed ending scene of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ to be shot at a different location.

As a result, the eyes of the hundred or so staff members were filled with determination.

Or more precisely,

“Haha, this day has finally come.”

“Indeed. It feels like we just started the crank-in yesterday.”

“I want a cold beer, let’s have a nice cold one once we finish the final shoot and wrap up today.”

“Agreed!”

Today was the last day of filming for ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’.

Even though it was the last filming day, not a single staff member had relaxed. They wouldn’t have normally, but especially today, because many guests were expected on set.

“I heard not just the scheduled actors, but even those who have already finished are coming. Is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s true. Plus, people from the film company and the distribution company are coming too.”

“Wow- everyone’s coming.”

“I heard Author Akari is coming too?”

“Not sure, but Chairman Yoshimura Hideki might come too.”

“Ehhh?? Really??”

Judging by the staff’s predictions, the set was expected to be filled with various people today. In fact, many were already preparing to head to the ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ set at that very moment.

Including Kang Woojin, who had just woken up.

“Ah- so damn tired. But well, it’s the last shoot today. Still, it’s kind of a sad.”

Mana Kosaku, who would act as Detective Mochio alongside Woojin, the other actors of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger,’ the original author Akari, and even Chairman Hideki—all were looking forward to the last day of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’.

The standby time for today’s shoot was 7:30 a.m.

It would start with Kang Woojin, followed by Mana Kosaku. After the solo shots of the two were done, the scenes that today’s guests would see were to be filmed.

Though it wasn’t certain, it was expected to be around 10 a.m.

As time passed,

“Kang Woojin has arrived!!”

Kang Woojin was the first actor to arrive on set. His poker face was intense.

“Welcome, Woojin-ssi.”

“Hello, Director~nim.”

“How are your condition and mood?”

“The same as usual.”

“As expected.”

Although there was a slight internal tension due to it being the final shoot, his persona only solidified further because of it. After a few tens of minutes, filming began with Kang Woojin. Meanwhile, Mana Kosaku arrived. Preparation and filming alternated.

Eventually, around 9 AM.

Gradually, the actors of ‘The Eerie Sacrifice of a Stranger’ started appearing on set.

“Hello!”

“Ah, Mifuyu-ssi, welcome.”

Various actors, including Mifuyu Uramatsu, who played ‘Horinochi Amie’ and had already died in the storyline, began to show up. Naturally, all of them had left the scene since their characters were dead. The set, already bustling with over a hundred staff running around, started to become several times more crowded. Executives from the film and distribution companies were also arriving one after another.

And by around 10 a.m.,

“Director~nim, as expected, the set is chaotic since it’s the crank-up day.”

“Welcome, Author~nim.”

Author Akari Takikawa appeared. She chatted with Director Kyotaro and greeted various actors. Among them, her longest conversation was with Kang Woojin, who was practically indistinguishable from Kiyoshi.

“Work hard on today’s shoot. I’m looking forward to it even though I pretend not to. Is this too much pressure?”

“No. I’ll do my best.”

“Likewise.”

At this point,

“Eeh, hey- he really came! Over there!”

A few staff members from the lighting team who were setting up for filming made a fuss and pointed towards the entrance of the set. Soon, dozens of staff members’ gazes followed.

“……Chairman Hideki Yoshimura- he really came??”

Chairman Hideki, accompanied by his secretary, was the last guest to arrive.