Chapter 388: Overwhelmed (17)

Translator: Santos

 

Choi Na-na was the first to react to PD Song Man-woo’s announcement.

“What?!”

Her eyes went wide with surprise. The same reaction spread across the faces of Kim So-hyang, the general director, and the Netflix staff.

“Really?”

“Can we actually see it now?”

“Wow—I didn’t expect this.”

With a chuckle, the bearded Song Man-woo PD responded teasingly, “Yeah, why? Don’t want to? Then forget it.”

Startled, Choi Na-na rushed forward, exclaiming, “No way! I want to see it!”

In the end, everyone agreed. It made sense: Choi Na-na was excited to see a portion of her script brought to life, and Netflix Korea had the chance to preview a part of the high-stakes project *Beneficial Evil*. Soon, everyone gathered in a large editing room inside DM Productions, led by PD Song Man-woo.

The room, dimly lit and filled with monitors and equipment, had several editors seated at their stations.

- Swish -

PD Song Man-woo sat down in a central chair, with Choi Na-na, Kim So-hyang, and a dozen others standing behind him. There was enough space for everyone to stand comfortably, as the editing room was quite spacious. After fiddling with the controls for a moment,

- Swish -

he pointed to the largest monitor.

“It’ll play from here.”

Everyone’s gaze followed his finger, and as he pressed a few more buttons, the video began to play on the monitor.

It was Kang Woo-jin—appearing as Jang Yeon-woo from *Beneficial Evil*.

Bound with zip ties inside a shabby building.

What Song Man-woo had started playing was the 10-minute long-take scene shot in Bangkok—a critical early moment for *Beneficial Evil*, which was aiming for global impact.

And then…

- [“Bang bang bang bang!!”]

As soon as Kang Woo-jin on the monitor began moving,

“Wow…”

“Whoa—”

“...This is insane.”

“Holy—”

The awestruck reactions spilled out of Choi Na-na, Kim So-hyang, and everyone else watching, their eyes glued to the screen, unable to look away.

It was only natural.

“This… this looks completely different from what it felt like on set.”

The footage was stunning, with a vivid intensity and glamour that far surpassed the atmosphere on the Bangkok set. At the center of it all was, naturally,

“Wow… Woo-jin is truly amazing.”

Woo-jin’s performance as Jang Yeon-woo took center stage, his action, close-quarters combat, and acting filling the screen and capturing everyone’s attention. Coupled with PD Song Man-woo’s meticulous direction, it left them speechless.

Then, the head of Netflix Korea spoke up.

“What is this—”

Kim So-hyang, who had reviewed countless domestic and international projects, muttered in awe.

“This is several times better quality than I expected.”

She was utterly entranced.

---

January 10, Los Angeles.

Hollywood, too, was steeped in the New Year spirit, with news of upcoming film releases and production announcements filling the air. Yet, two films stood out the most, dominating the headlines.

Columbia Studios’ *Pierrot* and Walt Disney Pictures’ *Beauty and the Beast*.

Hollywood’s “Big Five” film studios were pouring their resources into these projects. *Pierrot*, which had recently announced the date for its official auditions and screen tests, was especially drawing attention.

『LA TIMES: “Columbia Studios’ *Pierrot*: Pre-production Set Photos Released!”』

『CNM: *Pierrot*, the movie with no revealed plot, brings on top-notch key staff along with director Ahn Ga-bok.』

『BBX: With *Pierrot*’s upcoming auditions, all eyes are on Kang Woo-jin, the only Korean actor among the candidates.』

Updates about the cast, set, and pre-production progress kept pouring in, ramping up the early marketing. The more teasers were released, the more intrigue *Pierrot* generated.

While the title, director, and lead candidates were known, no details of the plot had been disclosed.

Instead, Columbia Studios dropped a hint on their official SNS.

-[“Our movie *Pierrot* will be the beginning of a grand project from Columbia Studios.”]

They left a tantalizing clue, suggesting that *Pierrot* would be the starting point of something much larger.

Meanwhile, unlike *Pierrot*, *Beauty and the Beast* was somewhat quiet. Since the live-action adaptation had been confirmed and the leads had been decided, there had been little news.

But that only fueled the media’s curiosity.

『NT: “With *Beauty and the Beast* confirmed for live-action, fans wonder who will play these beloved characters from Walt Disney Pictures.”』

『ABY: “Speculations on who will play the roles of Beauty and the Beast are trending across social media and internet forums. Who fits best?”』

Fans around the world, particularly in the U.S., were abuzz with excitement, filling SNS and communities with discussions on *Beauty and the Beast* casting, speculating in various languages. Their hopes and concerns primarily revolved around casting.

And it was similar in Korea.

- "Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie… Please make it good…"

- "Overseas forums are all over this, and the casting guesses are spot on lol."

- "Disney, please don’t mess up my Beauty, Belle. I'm serious. Promise?"

- "Most of the guesses are musicians lol. I’m voting for Miley or Cara."

- "Riley’s name keeps coming up for Belle too."

- "Yeah, some international singers are rumored to be in the running."

- "Disney, you screwed up the last live-action… Do it right this time, okay?? We’re counting on you."

- "Oh really? You’re trusting Disney?? Hahaha!"

- "Honestly, Beast could be played by anyone, but Belle has to be spot-on."

- "They better not half-ass the Beast casting lol. He has to be handsome."

- "Even if they load up on CGI, the Beast still has to turn into a prince later."

- "Plus, the Beast should be great at piano and vocals, right?"

- "If he can sing, play piano, and roar, he’s a total fit."

---

Two days passed.

January 12, Wednesday.

In Los Angeles, at Columbia Studios, in one of their stages. Columbia Studios, practically a city in itself, had over 20 stages as large as any mega-set. Stage 7 was bustling with familiar faces from the *Pierrot* production team.

Among the foreigners was an older Korean man—director Ahn Ga-bok.

*Pierrot* had officially entered pre-production, and Ahn Ga-bok was on a tour of the set with the key crew members. As he moved through the various areas with the foreign staff, he appeared more determined than ever, his wrinkled face exuding a fiery resolve.

He was also adapting *Pierrot* to be *Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain*.

The initial process had been challenging, but after hearing Columbia Studios’ grand plans, he felt the weight even more. Consequently, Columbia executives and officials frequently visited the stage. But Ahn Ga-bok remained unfazed.

He was focused solely on the task at hand.

His conversation with the key staff was clearly about the set construction, given the script for *Pierrot* he held. Before the final shooting storyboard was ready, they needed to differentiate between set and location scenes. While *Pierrot* was set-heavy, there were also outdoor scenes to consider.

At that moment,

“Director!”

A Korean man approached briskly. It was the assistant director from Ahn Ga-bok’s Korean team. The foreign key staff turned to look, and Ahn Ga-bok furrowed his brow slightly as he turned.

“Why the rush?”

Surrounded by foreign staff, the assistant director hurried over and addressed Ahn Ga-bok in Korean.

“Director, did you see what Walt Disney Pictures just posted on their official SNS?”

“Walt Disney Pictures? No, what’s going on?”

The assistant director, still wide-eyed, showed his phone and replied.

“They announced the confirmed candidates for *Beauty and the Beast*, and for the role of the ‘Beast’…”

“For the Beast, what?”

Ahn Ga-bok, impatient, grabbed the assistant’s phone. As he read the newly posted message on Walt Disney Pictures’ SNS, his mouth opened slightly.

“What?”

The foreign *Pierrot* key staff gathered around him, eyes widening with curiosity.

---

Meanwhile, in Korea.

Though it was morning in Korea, a massive crowd had gathered at a major department store in Seoul. The department store was usually busy, but today, the scene was on a different level.

Easily more than several hundred people.

The location was the department store’s first-floor lobby. A designated event area had been set up on one side of the lobby, and four long lines of people stretched from there, filling the lobby and extending all the way outside the building.

“#%*&%(*#&%*(%!”

“&*%(#%**!*!”

“&())$#%##%!#()*(%!_”

The lobby was filled with an unintelligible chorus of shouts and cheers. From the balconies on the second floor and above, onlookers leaned over, taking pictures and videos with their phones.

“Oh my god, he looks even better in person! The camera doesn’t do him justice!”

“Right? His physique is amazing!”

“Ugh—I should have lined up sooner!”

Hundreds of fans in the lobby had their eyes locked on a well-dressed actor in a gray double-breasted coat

 with a stoic expression. Among the constant cheers, one name was repeatedly called.

“Oppa! Woo-jin oppa!!”

“Kyaaa! Kang Woo-jin!! Look this way, please!!”

“Just a wave, oppa!!”

It was Kang Woo-jin.

Today, Woo-jin was hosting a casual fan signing at the department store. Fans had flocked there early in the morning upon hearing the news. Among the crowd were members of Woo-jin’s official fan club, *Kang’s Heart*, Japanese fans from *KWJ Aishiteru*, and fans from various other backgrounds.

Surrounded by his fans, Woo-jin continued signing.

“Oppa! I’ll support you in *Pierrot*! I hope you get the role!”

“Thank you, I’ll do my best. What’s your name?”

“Ara! Jo Ara!”

“Thank you for coming.”

“Of course! I had to be here!”

While Woo-jin’s demeanor remained composed, his tone with fans was noticeably softer. After finishing a signature, he glanced at the line of hundreds waiting.

‘Geez—Can I even finish this in half a day? I might need to extend the time.’

Despite signing furiously, the line didn’t seem to shorten. His fingers were starting to ache. Still, he couldn’t show any weakness. Just as he prepared to signal the next fan,

“…Huh?”

“Could it be… no way.”

“Seriously? Could this be true…?”

“Oh my…”

Suddenly, murmurs spread through the crowd. Woo-jin raised an eyebrow in confusion.

‘What’s going on?’

The air around him was thick with questions as hundreds of fans stared at him in shock.

Sensing that something was off, Woo-jin tensed.

Then,

“…Oppa?”

A familiar voice from his right called out. Woo-jin turned to see his sister, Kang Hyun-ah, the representative of *Kang’s Heart*, standing there, looking dazed as she tapped her phone with her index finger.

“Oppa… were you just announced as a candidate for the Beast role in *Beauty and the Beast*?”