Chapter 412: Damang (1)

Translator: Santos

Around noon on the 13th, Korean time, Kang Woo-jin slowly awoke. Although he had briefly woken up at dawn, he’d fallen back asleep. Now, as he groggily checked his phone with his hair a mess, he was stunned.

“Noon? Damn, I haven’t slept in this late in forever.”

It was his first time sleeping until noon since he became an actor. Although he’d been exhausted, the comfort of being at home had allowed him to truly relax, something he hadn’t experienced in a while. But Woo-jin didn’t regret it one bit.

“Whatever. It’s my day off anyway.”

With three full days of rest ahead, Woo-jin moved to the living room, gulped down some water, and stretched to fully wake up. Picking up his phone from the bed, he started checking the numerous messages that had piled up. Among the countless messages from friends and colleagues, one, in particular, caught his eye.

“What the…?”

It was a direct message from Chris Hartnett, the Hollywood star. The message was brief, with Chris expressing excitement to work together on *Piero: Birth of a Villain* and wishing him luck on the project. Woo-jin scratched his head, puzzled.

“Didn’t this handsome guy give up on the audition?”

He was confused about why Chris would say something like that. Then, as he scrolled through a lengthy message from Choi Sung-geon, it all made sense. It contained information about Chris, explaining that he’d joined *Piero: Birth of a Villain*. Woo-jin was genuinely surprised and decided to look up the Hollywood news online. By then, articles about Chris’s involvement were already circulating widely.

**Hollywood Headlines:**

- *LA Times*: “Columbia confirms Chris Hartnett joins *Piero: Birth of a Villain*.”
- *ABY*: “Chris Hartnett joins *Piero: Birth of a Villain*. Didn’t he originally audition for the lead role?”

The announcement had been made early that afternoon, LA time, and Hollywood media were buzzing over it. Reading the articles, Woo-jin couldn’t help but feel genuinely surprised.

“Wow, that’s big news.”

He hadn’t expected this at all, especially since Director Ahn Ga-bok hadn’t mentioned it.

“I thought our connection ended with the audition.”

To the press, Chris’s involvement in *Piero* was irresistible. After all, he’d competed with Woo-jin for the lead role but had ultimately stepped back. However, some media outlets framed it as if he had “lost.” Now that he was joining in a different role, the press couldn’t resist speculating.

**Media Speculation:**

- *NT*: “Chris Hartnett, who lost the lead role to Kang Woo-jin, joins *Piero* in another role. Is it regret, determination, or revenge?”

After scrolling through these stories for a bit, Woo-jin grew tired of the rumors and dismissed them.

“Whatever, I’ll find out when I meet him.”

He replied to Chris’s message briefly and then began getting ready to head out. He planned to visit his parents in Jinju, taking advantage of his break to spend some time with them.

---

Despite the media frenzy surrounding him, Woo-jin enjoyed a peaceful day. Reuniting with his parents, they caught up over good food and conversation.

“Nothing like being home. So relaxing,” Woo-jin thought, enjoying a rare chance to fully unwind. His parents, amazed at his new status as a “world star,” quickly settled into their usual way of treating him as their son. His sister, Kang Hyun-ah, however, was a different story.

“Oppa! Are you really filming *Piero* with Chris Hartnett?”

Late into the night, Woo-jin shared stories from Hollywood—about the people he’d met, the projects he was working on, and more. It wasn’t until late that night that he finally had a chance to lie down. Scrolling through his phone, Woo-jin checked social media and ended up on the official *World Disney Pictures* page. The most recent post, only a few days old, confirmed Miley Cara as “Belle” in *Beauty and the Beast*, drawing hundreds of thousands of comments from fans.

**Fan Comments:**

- “Miley!! She’s perfect for Belle!”
- “I always thought Maria Armas suited Belle, but Miley was the right choice!”
- “Finally, the cast is set! Can’t wait, Disney!”
- “Why get excited? As soon as they cast Kang Woo-jin, this movie was doomed!”
- “Miley is fine, but I wish they’d recast Woo-jin as the Beast.”
- “Enough with the negativity! Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s bad.”
- “Disney, is this another mistake?”
- “I’m curious about Woo-jin as the Beast; he was great in *Beneficial Evil*.”
- “Disney! Do you hear the fans’ complaints?”

Woo-jin chuckled as he read through the mixed responses. Internally, he thought, “The buzz is only getting bigger.”

He imagined that the comments on other sites must be even more intense, and he was right. Global communities, social media, and video platforms were all buzzing with talk about the film.

Naturally, Korean fans were no different.

- “Can’t wait to see Woo-jin and Miley as Beauty and the Beast! 😂”

Korean media was in a frenzy, and public interest in Woo-jin’s every move was relentless. To the Korean public, he represented something miraculous, a new era.

**News Headlines:**

- *“Worldwide recognition and controversy for *Beauty and the Beast*. When will filming begin?”*

A few days later, Woo-jin’s break came to an end, and he was back to a packed schedule. The first item on his agenda was:

“Hey, look who’s here! Our world star!”

“Applause! Applause!”

“Congrats on everything in Hollywood, Woo-jin! I’m so happy for you!”

“Haha! With *Beneficial Evil* blowing up too, Hollywood must have been crazy!”

Woo-jin was at a pre-production meeting for *Beneficial Evil Part 2* at Netflix Korea. The spacious meeting room was filled with familiar faces, including Director Song Man-woo, General Director Kim So-hyang, Netflix executives, and writer Choi Na-na. They erupted in applause the moment they saw him, and the excitement was palpable.

With *Beneficial Evil Part 1* still a global favorite, their enthusiasm was understandable. While Woo-jin kept a neutral expression, he couldn’t help but feel as excited as they were inside.

Amid the cheers, Director Song Man-woo finally called the group to order.

“Everyone, I hate to interrupt the celebration, but we need to get down to business. Woo-jin, we’ll start shooting *Beneficial Evil Part 2* next week.”

---

Before the intense filming schedule kicked off, Woo-jin had a mountain of obligations to tackle. Interviews, ads, photoshoots, events, fan signings, and meet-and-greets flooded his schedule. He was constantly shuttling between Korea and Japan, but the demands didn’t faze him. Unlike before, when just keeping up his “persona” was exhausting, Woo-jin felt at ease, even though he was busier than ever.

“Funny, I don’t even feel that overwhelmed. Guess I’ve grown without realizing it. I feel like I could handle even more.”

Of course, using his personal “storage space” to assist with time management helped, but he’d found he didn’t need it as often.

Meanwhile, a YouTube video featuring Woo-jin and Miley Cara discussing *Beauty and the Beast* had gone viral, amassing over 70 million views—a truly global phenomenon.

But beyond the hype around *Beauty and the Beast*, Woo-jin’s real global impact lay in *Beneficial Evil*.

**News Highlights:**

- *Issue Pick*: *Beneficial Evil* sustains #1 spot worldwide for six consecutive weeks. With the buzz around *Beauty and the Beast*, viewership climbs even higher.
- *Netflix’s CEO*: “*Beneficial Evil* might be our best work yet.”

With its record-breaking success, *Beneficial Evil* had gone viral on international platforms like Reddit, where Woo-jin’s name appeared frequently.

**Speculation about the Emmys:**

- “Could *Beneficial Evil* bring Korea its first Emmy?”

With *Beneficial Evil* continuing to dominate, the likelihood of it being nominated for a Primetime Emmy became a hot topic, although no official announcements had been made yet. Secretly, however, *Beneficial Evil* was already in the running for the Emmy nomination list.

---

A few days later, March 22nd, late morning. Incheon Airport.

Around 11:30 a.m., a large crowd had gathered, with dozens of reporters and over 200 fans wielding phones and cameras. The reason was simple: a popular girl group was returning from Japan. As the fans and journalists prepared to capture their arrival, the airport doors opened, revealing a group of foreigners—a party of six.

Most reporters ignored them, assuming they were tourists, but a few sharp-eyed journalists focused on a tall black man among them. A plump, Hollywood-savvy journalist recognized him.

“Isn’t that Joseph Felton?”

He hesitated, uncertain, and took a quick photo of the group to verify. Shortly after, a message confirmed his suspicions: it was indeed Joseph Felton, a renowned Hollywood producer.

“But why is he in Korea?”

The journalist’s intuition sensed something significant. As he received another message, his eyes widened. It was a detail that

 confirmed the connection:

“Joseph Felton’s currently working with Universal Movies?”

Universal Movies was one of Hollywood’s “Big Five” studios, on par with Columbia Studios and World Disney Pictures. This revelation sparked an idea in the journalist’s mind.

“Columbia, Disney, and… Universal? Could this be about Kang Woo-jin?”