Chapter 20

Reading (1)

Expressionless? Indeed, Kang Ujin's face was very indifferent. He merely stared intently at the goddess laughing in front of him. No, the top actress Hong Hye-yeon.

“......”

His mind was also calm. Utterly still. However, this was not true peace. It was just that his thoughts had stopped due to the unexpected situation.

‘......Huh?’

Kang Ujin had been frozen since Hong Hye-yeon's appearance, and his expression had stiffened at that moment. This naturally helped maintain Ujin's concept. Who wouldn't have their thoughts stop? It was surprising enough that a goddess had suddenly appeared.

“Not surprised at all? Anyway, can I do the ‘Private Eye’?”

She wants to do a short film.

‘Ah—Wait. Wait a moment. What... How is this happening, exactly?’

Why would a leading actress in a major drama come here to do a short film? If there had been any hint, it would have been understandable, but Hong Hye-yeon had provided no such clue. Moreover, Ujin had not had much conversation with her in the first place.

‘Is this situation getting weird again?’

Kang Ujin finally got his brain moving. The situation was getting bigger. Much bigger than when he had overturned the board that Director Shin Dong-chun was running. At this moment, Hong Hye-yeon's voice, laced with laughter, was heard.

“Mr. Ujin, aren't you too calm? Did you maybe expect that I would do the ‘Private Eye’?”

No, not at all. Kang Ujin was still in shock and couldn't speak, worried that his voice might crack. So he just shook his head.

-Swoosh.

Hong Hye-yeon, slightly tilting her face, asked again.

“But why are you so calm? It's boring. I thought you'd be surprised this time.”

He was surprised. Extremely. This was something he could say with all honesty. Soon, Ujin managed to let out a low voice.

“I am surprised.”

“Funny, with that completely unimpressed face.”

At this moment, Kang Ujin was struggling to think. Why was this goddess here? Then, something flashed through his mind. He murmured.

“By any chance, did PD Song Man-woo tell you?”

Director Shin Dong-chun and PD Song Man-woo were close. If there was any connection to Hong Hye-yeon, this was it. Whether it was the right answer or not, Hong Hye-yeon smiled and swept her long hair back.

“Half right.”

It smells good. Ah, no. Kang Ujin suddenly came to his senses. First, he needed a clear confirmation.

“...So, are you really going to do the ‘Private Eye’?”

“That's what I said, isn't it? Can't I?”

“If you're joking.”

“No, I'm not. I might seem like I'm always playing around, but I'm busy. When do I have time to joke?”

Even her whiny, innocent act was that of a goddess. Whatever it was, if she did it, it would be great for him. He was extremely grateful. Although Kang Ujin's reputation was soaring, he was still just an ordinary person at heart.

But this ordinary person was going to work on a project with Hong Hye-yeon.

‘Combat power increased a million times.’

Instantly, Kang Ujin's passion and drive soared.

“If you want to do it, there's no problem.”

“Yeah, it's a deal.”

In the midst of this, Shin Dong-chun, who had been standing there dumbfounded, watching the conversation between Ujin and Hong Hye-yeon, finally spoke.

“...Ah.”

Director Shin Dong-chun, covering his face with one hand, opened his mouth.

“Miss Hye-yeon, please sit down first.”

But Hong Hye-yeon shook her head.

“No, I have to go soon because of my next schedule. Ah, PD Dong-chun. It's been a while. I'm greeting you now.”

“Ah... Yes. It has been a while. Miss Hye-yeon, are you really, truly going to do the ‘Private Eye’? I'm sorry, but it's hard to believe.”

“Yes, I want to do it.”

Hong Hye-yeon, giving a short answer, placed a bundle of papers she had brought with her on the desk. It was the script for the ‘Private Eye’.

“I've already read the script several times. If the director is okay with it, I want to play the role of the wife.”

“Miss Hye-yeon... Do you understand exactly? The role of the wife is not the lead, but a supporting role, and this ‘Private Eye’ is just a short film.”

“Yes, I know. And this film is going to be submitted to the ‘Mijangsen Short Film Festival,’ right?”

“...Eh? How did you know that?”

In response, Hong Hye-yeon smiled and shrugged.

“Our capable CEO told me.”

“Wait, wait a moment.”

Perhaps because so many things were happening at once, Director Shin Dong-chun weakly sank into his chair. At this moment, something flashed through his mind, and he met Hong Hye-yeon's eyes again.

“Oh! But Miss Hye-yeon, the production fee... I can't match it.”

“I know that too.”

Quickly muttering, Hong Hye-yeon pulled a business card from her blazer pocket and handed it to Director Shin Dong-chun. Her smile deepened.

“But we are the investors, so you don't have to worry.”

“Huh? Investors?”

Director Shin Dong-chun, trailing off, checked the business card.

-bw Entertainment.

-CEO Choi Sung-geun.

The business card had Hong Hye-yeon's agency and CEO written on it. Seeing this, Director Shin Dong-chun raised his head again.

“Oh, CEO Choi.”

“You know him?”

“I do. It would be strange not to know him. But are you saying bw is also handling the investment?”

“Yes. The details will be handled when you contact the CEO directly.”

The situation was rapidly advancing. Kang Ujin, maintaining a poker face, just watched. He didn't understand what was happening, but he decided to just go with it. Around this time, Hong Hye-yeon, perhaps ready to leave, turned and paused.

“Oh, and Director Dong-chun. Please keep my joining and any other related matters secret from the outside. If possible, until the film is submitted.”

She grabbed the door handle of the temporary office and suddenly turned to look at Kang Ujin.

“But why ‘Private Eye’?”

He had heard a similar question before. Because of this, Ujin gave a solemn answer similar to the one he had given then.

“By instinct.”

“...Instinct? Ha! You really are a pain. Mr. Ujin, you know you're a bit unusual, right?”

“Maybe.”

Hong Hye-yeon, making a slightly exasperated expression, muttered as she left the office.

“Well, you'll see. I'll contact you.”

-Click.

As soon as the door closed, Director Shin Dong-chun immediately turned to Kang Ujin.

“What is this! Mr. Ujin! You didn't know anything about this either?!”

However.

“......”

Kang Ujin maintained a firm expression and remained silent. This was not to maintain his concept.

Just.

‘...Contact me??’

He was intrigued by Hong Hye-yeon's request to contact her.

Later that afternoon, in Kang Ujin's one-room apartment.

Due to the chaotic events that had started in the morning, Kang Ujin was now sprawled on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Various thoughts crossed his mind, but the most significant was Hong Hye-yeon from the morning.

Of course, it was good. Director Shin Dong-chun felt the same way. Still, it felt like walking in a dream.

“Does this mean I'll be working on two consecutive projects with Miss Hong Hye-yeon?”

At this moment, Kang Ujin thought of his friend Kim Dae-young. What would he think if he heard this? Would he be genuinely amazed? For a moment, Kang Ujin indulged in such pointless thoughts before suddenly sitting up.

One thing was certain.

“I can't just sit around.”

Kang Ujin's enthusiasm and drive were burning fiercely compared to yesterday. With this renewed energy, he picked up the official script of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Part 1 that he had received yesterday. The cover was light purple, and the title was in white, written in a brush-like style.

“This is the official script—definitely looks more professional.”

Unlike the bundle of papers, the official script had a power to make one feel excited. Kang Ujin felt this way.

“Ah—Just looking at this, I feel like I'm on the set.”

His imagination ran wild. Seeing himself with this script on a bustling film set, he felt a sense of genuine excitement.

-Swoosh.

With a small smile, he casually touched the black square attached to the script. Immediately, Ujin was sucked into a void.

An endlessly dark space.

The feeling of the infinite void was still the same. However, Kang Ujin was now very composed, except for a slight fear. He had been in and out of this space many times, so it was natural.

“Let's see—”

Kang Ujin turned his body and moved toward the floating white square. Interestingly, the number of white squares had become quite sparse.

Now, only three were visible.

Originally, there should have been more than three. The reason was simple. Ujin had discovered the ‘delete’ function through his experiments in the void. The method was simple: select the unnecessary white square and say ‘delete’ out loud, and it would disappear.

Similar to the ‘exit’ command to leave the void.

Kang Ujin, who had always liked tidiness, was quite pleased with this function. It looked neat and clean.

Regardless.

-Swoosh.

Ujin checked the three remaining white squares.

-[1/Script (Title: Private Eye), B-grade]

-[2/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), A-grade]

-[3/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), A+ grade]

Soon, he muttered, as if he had expected it.

“Of course. The rough draft and the official script are recognized separately.”

He was talking about ‘Profiler Hanryang.’ Until yesterday, there were only two white squares in Ujin's void. But just now, one more was added, making it three.

In other words, the official script of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Part 1 had been listed.

This made the answer simple. The rough draft and the official script were recognized as separate entities. This was natural, as they were the same in content but the official script had some adjustments and a different atmosphere.

At this point.

“Huh?”

While looking at the white squares, Kang Ujin noticed something different about the newly added one.

-[3/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), A+ grade]

The grade marked at the end.

“A+? It has a plus?”

The original rough draft was just A-grade. But this official script had a plus added. In other words, the grade had improved.

“A+ above A? Then, is A++ above that? Or S-grade?”

Regardless, it was a new discovery. The first time he saw the A+ grade, he was surprised, but Kang Ujin focused on something else.

“This grade is not fixed.”

It meant there could be changes. Well, it wasn't strange. Creating a work involves many processes and changes. So why did the grade of this official script improve?

Because the quality was higher? Or because there were some adjustments?

Either way, the improvement in grade was a good sign. If it had decreased, there would have been a problem, but an increase was fine. Kang Ujin, muttering this, turned his attention to what he wanted to do.

“Let's try to read (experience) all of them if possible.”

Experiencing the characters in the official script of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Part 1. If possible, all of them. Of course, including ‘Park Da-ri.’

In a way, this was practice for Kang Ujin.

“My goal is to understand all the characters.”

Not just Park Da-ri's perspective, but the perspectives of all the male characters in ‘Profiler Hanryang.’ This would increase his understanding.

“I'm already lacking in this area, and to maintain my concept among the top actors, I need