Chapter 433: Beast (2)

Translator: Santos

 

The mountain is a mountain, and the river is a river. Me, Kang Woo-jin—when was the last time a woman confessed to me? I honestly don’t remember. I used to lead a pretty ordinary life. Now, in this surreal world with my "Subspace," everything feels ridiculously different.

Wait, why am I thinking about this now?

Woo-jin’s mind began to clear, the jumbled mess of thoughts gradually falling into place. He’d technically been seeing things clearly the entire time, but mentally? He was anything but lucid.

“…”

Woo-jin managed to grab hold of his wavering thoughts, and with that, he replayed the ridiculous response he’d just blurted out.

“Did I say… ‘What?’ Or was it ‘Huh?’…No, it was ‘What the heck?’”

Why? Why did he say something so ridiculous? Looking ahead, he saw Miley Cara, the global superstar, staring at him with those piercing blue eyes. He remembered her soft confession from just moments ago.

*“I think I like you.”*

Right, Miley Cara, this international icon, had just confessed to him. Hah, yeah, that definitely blew his mind. His brain had only been on pause for a few seconds, but to Woo-jin, it felt like he’d been processing for hours.

Suddenly—

“!!!”

A million exclamation points filled his mind as he rebooted, emotions flooding through him.

*What?! No, hold on. Wait, wait!*

But his brain couldn’t fully snap back to normal. He had no room for his usual controlled image, nothing to keep him grounded. It felt like a broken computer trying to reboot, only to crash again. Woo-jin was effectively blanked out, just staring at Miley Cara, one of the world’s biggest stars, standing right in front of him. His mind would flicker between consciousness and complete overwhelm.

Meanwhile, across from him, Miley was no less flustered. She, too, was in shock from her own words.

*What the hell did I just say?!*

She hadn’t planned to say it, hadn’t even realized it until the words slipped out. But with the slightest touch from Woo-jin, her heart had started racing uncontrollably, pushing her to confess her feelings. And, honestly? It wasn’t a lie. She liked him. But this wasn’t how she’d intended to express it—just spilling her feelings without any buildup.

*No! No! I want a do-over!*

For Miley, this was her first real confession, and now she wanted to kick herself a hundred times over. But keeping her composure, she looked back at Woo-jin. His expression hadn’t changed; he was as calm and cold as ever. Her regret surged.

*Seriously? Even if it was impulsive, I just confessed! And he’s that calm?!*

But she had it wrong. Woo-jin wasn’t calm—he was totally malfunctioning, his usual stoic facade shattered. If Miley knew how close he was to crumbling, she might have pushed him even harder.

*Wait, did he say something weird just now? Or did I mishear?*

With Woo-jin’s stone-cold face, Miley felt a pang of dread.

*That unchanging face. He’s going to reject me, isn’t he?*

Oddly, this realization made her feel a bit better. *Fine, the words are already out there, and I’m Miley Cara. Backing down isn’t my style.* Her mind settled, and just then—

“Miley.”

Woo-jin finally spoke, his voice low.

“Did you…just say you like me?”

“…”

Miley took a deep breath, brushing her blonde hair behind her ear with a slight, awkward smile. She nodded, half resigned.

“Seems like I did.”

“Is this a joke?”

“I’m impulsive, sure, but I’m not crazy enough to joke about this.”

She lifted the hand that had brushed against his.

“I only touched your hand, but my heart is still racing. So no, I’m definitely not joking.”

“…”

Woo-jin glanced at her trembling hand. If he weren’t trying to keep it together, he might’ve smacked his own forehead by now.

*Is this for real? Miley Cara—a global superstar—just confessed to me?!*

Fragments of memories from his past flashed before him. A confession? Yeah, maybe once, back in middle school? But ever since his military service, he’d had zero experience with this. He’d never expected to hear a confession here, in Hollywood, let alone from someone like Miley Cara.

Forcing himself to focus, Woo-jin stalled by letting out a pointless hum.

*Why does my usual front even matter right now? When a woman comes at you this directly, the least I can do is be honest. No use overthinking it.*

He opted to be straightforward.

“You surprised me, honestly.”

“Did I?”

“Yes. Your courage…your directness. It was impressive.”

“I couldn’t help it. Sometimes emotions come out on their own. But it was sincere.”

“…”

“Though I’m a bit afraid to hear your answer…what do you feel?”

How did he feel? Of course, Woo-jin liked her too. It was Miley Cara! Who wouldn’t? There was no point in denying it. He hadn’t thought much about it because he figured it was out of his league. But feelings were there, even if he wasn’t obsessively in love.

However, there was something else holding him back.

*Hah. Would dating really work out?*

The Miley standing before him didn’t know the real Woo-jin, the regular guy behind his acting persona. After a short sigh, Woo-jin steeled himself.

“Miley.”

Without hesitation, he dropped the act. Gone was his imposing aura; he showed her his true self, without pretense. After all, when a woman bares her heart, wouldn’t it be wrong to keep hiding? So, he began with an explanation, his tone softer than usual.

“This is hard to explain. But I kind of froze up when you confessed, and…my response, the ‘Huh?’ or whatever—that’s the real me.”

“What?”

“I mean, I’m not exactly who you think I am. You know what a persona is, right? In Korea, we call it a ‘concept.’ The way I present myself as an actor, it’s just a persona I created since my debut. The real me is…different.”

Miley squinted, trying to understand, and Woo-jin scratched the back of his head, continuing.

“Publicly, I’m this cool, cynical, sometimes reckless guy, but that’s not my actual personality. I don’t have a split personality or anything, it’s just a front. You…probably like the version of Kang Woo-jin that you see on screen.”

He put it all out there. The first time he’d said this was to his CEO, Choi Sung-geon. The second was at his audition for *Piero: Birth of a Villain*. And now this was the third time. Just in case, Woo-jin added more context.

“People don’t usually believe me when I tell them this, but it’s the truth. It’s a long story.”

“Woo-jin.”

Miley interrupted him, her voice carrying a faint smile and a touch of frustration.

“If you’re not interested, just say so. Why the roundabout explanations?”

No, no, no—don’t misunderstand! Woo-jin responded quickly.

“No, it’s not that. It’s because I’m telling the truth. I don’t dislike you at all.”

Miley’s blue eyes lit up.

“So, you don’t dislike me?”

Sensing something slightly off, Woo-jin nodded.

“…Right.”

“Then you’re interested in me, aren’t you?”

“Of course. But as I was saying—”

“Alright, I believe you about the ‘concept’ thing, whatever that is.”

She clearly didn’t, and Woo-jin wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. *Please believe me!*

“Miley, look at me. Don’t you see I’m different right now?”

“Yes, you do seem different. But that’s fine. Whatever you say—whether it’s the truth or an excuse—I’ll tell you what we should do.”

Miley glanced down the hallway before turning back to him.

“We have to start filming *Beauty and the Beast* soon. I admit I blurted out my feelings, but we’re professionals, and I don’t want anything to affect the production. I assume you feel the same?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s talk again after the filming is done.”

She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper.

“And by then, you’ll definitely be thinking of me more.”

Then, Miley suddenly pulled away. Woo-jin instinctively wanted to stop her but couldn’t.

“Miley, we’re not done talking—”

But some of her team members had approached them, cutting the conversation short. Woo-jin realized this wasn’t the right time to continue, so he gave her a farewell, back in his usual persona.

“See you at the script reading, Miley.”

She brushed back her golden hair, nodding.

“Yes, see you then. I’ll be in touch.”

Miley’s simple “I’ll be in touch” stirred something within him. If he had been alone, he might have grinned. But his expression remained fixed, his jaw tight.

“Woo-jin!”

As Miley’s team joined her, so did Woo-jin’s, including Choi Sung-geon and the rest. Miley’s manager, Jonathan, glanced at her with a curious expression as they walked down the hallway.

“Miley, what were you and Woo-jin

 talking about for so long?”

She shrugged it off, maintaining a casual tone.

“Oh, just the project.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, what else would we talk about?”

Jonathan looked at her skeptically, but Miley just smiled. Her heart, though, was still pounding, no matter how nonchalant she tried to appear. She glanced back down the hall where Woo-jin stood.

*Alright, I bought myself some time.*

As Miley and her team entered the elevator, she broke the silence.

“Jonathan, isn’t Woo-jin’s public image taking a bit of a hit lately?”

“It is. Things have really blown up.”

She was referring to the *Tonight Show* incident, the Emmy-related drama, and the uproar surrounding Woo-jin’s supposed comments about his fellow nominees. A week had passed, but Hollywood, and the global media, still hadn’t let up. This level of public backlash was unusual.

It wasn’t surprising, though. Ever since Woo-jin’s provocative speech at Cannes, the media had pounced on every word he said, fueling rumors and criticisms that only intensified with each appearance. Miley wasn’t happy about it.

“If this continues, my album, *Beneficial Evil*, and *Beauty and the Beast* might suffer too. Everything’s connected to him, after all.”

“Hmm…”

“We need to do some damage control. How about this?”

She leaned in to whisper something to Jonathan.

Meanwhile, back in the hall, Choi Sung-geon asked Woo-jin, “What were you two whispering about?”

Woo-jin, still slightly dazed, paused before answering honestly.

“Honestly? I don’t even remember.”

And he truly didn’t.

The next morning.

Though yesterday’s encounter had been startling, Woo-jin’s schedule remained the same. He woke up early, getting ready for another day on the set of *Piero: Birth of a Villain*. As he washed up, memories of Miley drifted through his mind.

“…Still can’t believe it.”

While Woo-jin was busy getting ready, a major Hollywood news outlet was publishing an exclusive scoop.

**[LA Times] Last Year, Miley Cara Nearly Lost Her Life on a Music Video Shoot—Her Savior? The Current Media Sensation, Kang Woo-jin.**