Chapter 3

Misunderstanding (3)

A 50-year-old man with a beard. No, Song Man-woo, a veteran drama PD at SBC, had an excellent eye for talent. He was also very picky.

He had the experience to back it up. Having directed in the drama industry for nearly 20 years, he had produced at least 15 works, many of which were hits. When he first received the request to be a judge for the first round of 'Super Actor,' he didn't have high expectations.

Out of a thousand, maybe one or two would be worth watching.

Even those would be as good as garbage when they hit the market. Sure enough, the first contestant was a spectacle. It was Kang Woo-jin.

Song Man-woo's first impression of Woo-jin was:

'What a face, like a screw is loose.'

He seemed like an idiot. Top actress Hong Hye-yeon, sitting to his left, commented:

"PD, isn't he a bit dim-witted?"

The casting director from a famous production company, sitting to his right, shared a similar opinion:

"Indeed. He's quite intense from the start."

Kang Woo-jin looked like his soul had left his body. To Song Man-woo, he seemed lifeless, the type whose acting would be meaningless.

Moreover,

"Senior, can I have a word?"

The whisper from the main PD of 'Super Actor,' a short-haired woman, amplified Song Man-woo's sigh.

"That person isn't an official contestant. He just came with a friend, but his friend is in the bathroom and hasn't come back yet."

"So?"

"If the first contestant is eliminated, the atmosphere will be off. Let's just have him act to kill some time?"

"Kill time?"

"Yes. It would be nice to get at least one funny moment. We need material for the YouTube previews and teasers anyway."

In other words, this idiot wasn't even an official contestant.

"Are you going to use him as bait for the hook?"

"Ah, 'bait' sounds too harsh. Let's just give it a try."

"......Well, as the main PD, you decide. But we should definitely ask the guy's opinion, right?"

"Of course. It's not the 1980s anymore."

Kang Woo-jin, a civilian or bait for the hook. That was the conclusion of the three judges, including Song Man-woo. Thus began Kang Woo-jin's performance.

The atmosphere changed drastically in just 5 seconds.

"Whoa! Cough!"

The screw-loose Kang Woo-jin shocked Song Man-woo. The expression on actress Hong Hye-yeon's face was also worth seeing.

And 1 minute later.

All thoughts in the room came to a halt. The judges, including Song Man-woo, and the dozen or so 'Super Actor' staff were all frozen.

Kang Woo-jin's acting was that powerful.

In just 1 minute, he captivated the eyes of the veterans in the room.

"Ugh! Huh-"

It was realistic, vivid, and intense. Without even looking at the script, it was clear that Kang Woo-jin was in the mountains, being attacked by a hooded figure.

Song Man-woo, who witnessed this firsthand, thought:

'This isn't just luck or talent. This is at least 5 years, maybe even 10 years of honing.'

Kang Woo-jin's evaluation was completely overturned. It was a skill that even top actors, who make a living from acting, rarely display.

'Emotions become attitudes, and moods become postures.'

Concerns become expressions, and smells become delusions. All of these elements blend to form a character's expression, and that expression must be meticulously chewed to produce a single line of dialogue.

This process must be repeated endlessly to barely get a single shot.

Many actors in the country dedicate their lives to this work, including top stars and veteran actors.

Yet, he did it.

'He just looked at the script for a moment and did this?'

Kang Woo-jin did it as easily as blowing his nose. It wasn't just that he acted well; he was the character in the script. But the shock didn't end there. It was due to his calm response to the question.

"I studied on my own."

Self-taught? This insane acting was self-taught?

'......How lonely a path must he have walked.'

Kang Woo-jin, who had just stunned the top actress, the veteran drama PD, and everyone else in the industry, left the room with a calm demeanor.

-Click.

No one tried to stop him. They just stared in disbelief.

After that,

"Sorry!!"

Kang Woo-jin's friend, the real first contestant, entered. Kim Dae-young, who looked guilty, was quite burly. The first question Song Man-woo asked him was:

"Your friend who came with you, what's his job?"

"......What? Ah, I design. Why do you ask?"

"Always?"

"Yes, I've always been a designer..."

This confirmed that everything Kang Woo-jin had said was true. His self-taught skills and the aura of a hidden master.

Then, with his mind filled with the image of Kang Woo-jin, he said:

"Understood, Mr. Kim Dae-young. Let's see your acting."

"Sure!"

However, unfortunately, Kim Dae-young's acting was:

"Cut. That's enough. Thank you for your effort."

It ended in 15 seconds.

10 minutes later, at the bus stop in front of the SBC building.

There were quite a few people around. Family and friends who had come for the preliminary round. Among them, Kang Woo-jin, who had fled the building, was visible.

"Damn..."

He sat on a bus stop bench, pressing his temples. He had a headache, but he was also processing the shocking events that had just occurred.

'A black rectangle appeared next to the script? When I touched it, I was sucked into a strange space.'

An endless, dark subspace.

'The script I had was floating there, and when I grabbed it, I was suddenly transported to a crazy mountain. I definitely died there, right?'

He was sure. In that dark mountain, Kang Woo-jin had died once, killed by a hooded figure with a black face. It wasn't a vague imagination, dream, or memory.

His body had clearly moved, and he had experienced it 100% firsthand.

Even now, it felt vivid. He could show the emotions and appearance of that mountain at any moment. It was as if it was firmly rooted in his body.

'This feels like I've actually traveled through time.'

What the hell was that subspace? Why did it make a normal person experience death?

"But why is this even possible?"

At that moment,

-Vroom, vroom.

Kang Woo-jin's phone, hidden in his jacket, vibrated. It was a call from Kim Dae-young.

Five minutes passed.

From a distance, the burly Kim Dae-young came running.

"Hey! Kang Woo-jin!"

As soon as he saw his friend, Kang Woo-jin grabbed him by the collar.

"You crazy bastard. Did you go to the bathroom and save the country?"

"......Haha. Sorry. I kept feeling the urge. I thought I was going to die."

"Shut up. I really died."

"What?"

Kim Dae-young, tilting his head, soon saw the shame in Kang Woo-jin's eyes, who let go of his collar with a long sigh.

"Ah, never mind. So, the preliminaries?"

"Yeah, I did. Oh! But did you go in for me?"

"Why?"

"The judges kept asking about you. What did they say? Who are you?"

Here, Kang Woo-jin, recalling his shame, quickly changed the subject.

"Tsk, I didn't do much. So, did you pass?"

"No? Acting cut after 15 seconds. Out immediately."

"Congratulations, you crazy bastard."

"Whatever. I didn't have high hopes anyway. By the way, did you see Hong Hye-yeon? You did, right? Amazing, right?"

Mentioning the top actress, Kang Woo-jin's face showed genuine admiration.

"She's an angel. No, she really is an angel."

"How can someone be so beautiful? I've never felt the urge to curse because of beauty before."

"I agree. When do we get to see Hong Hye-yeon up close? We even had a conversation."

"Even if we never see her again, it will be a memory for life."

"Yeah. Seeing Hong Hye-yeon today was good, even if everything else was trash."

Then,

-Swoosh.

Kang Woo-jin noticed a piece of paper tucked into Kim Dae-young's side. It was the three-page script he had seen earlier. As he looked down at it, he suddenly reached out his hand.

"Hey, let me see that script."

"Uh? Ah, sure."

The script in Kim Dae-young's hand was just a script. There was nothing special about it. However, as soon as it was in Kang Woo-jin's hands, the situation changed.

'Ah, damn.'

A black rectangle appeared next to the script. It looked like a swirling mass of gray and black, almost like the shadow of the script.

'Really, this is insane.'

The black rectangle appeared as it did before. This meant that if he touched it with his index finger, he would be sucked into that crazy space. But he didn't want to do that now.

-Swoosh.

Kang Woo-jin, with a calm face, unfolded the script. It was the first time he was reading it. As soon as he read the first line, he was certain.

'Sure enough, it's the same... content as what I experienced.'

The content of the script matched what Kang Woo-jin had experienced in the mountains.

A man in a brown windbreaker, his emotions, the indistinct figure of the attacker, the mountains, rustling leaves, eerie wind, being stabbed, the man's scream, begging for his life, and being stabbed again.

'I chose to be the scared man? So, in the end, the role and situation in the script become me...'

Who would believe such a crazy story? But Kang Woo-jin was sure. So, for now,

'I need to do some checks.'

He needed to test his ideas. Then he could decide whether to ignore it or not.

Soon,

"Hey."

Kang Woo-jin turned his head and asked Kim Dae-young, who was looking at him strangely.

"Your place is in Pangyo, right?"

"Yeah. Why the sudden question about my place?"

"Do you have any scripts at home? Preferably recent ones. Any type will do."

"......I do. I've received a few. But why the sudden interest in scripts? You don't usually watch TV."

"Never mind."

Kang Woo-jin took out his phone and opened a taxi app.

"Let's go to your place, right now."

About two hours later, at Kim Dae-young's house.

The burly Kim Dae-young lived in an apartment near Pangyo Station with his parents. However, his parents were not home, and Kang Woo-jin immediately entered Kim Dae-young's room.

Kang Woo-jin frowned immediately.

"Wow, do you shit in your sleep? What's this smell?"

A pungent odor filled the room. However, Kim Dae-young shrugged nonchalantly.

"Men's rooms are supposed to be like this. Your place smelling nice is abnormal."

"Damn, you're full of it. Open the window."

The window was opened. Then, Kang Woo-jin extended his hand to Kim Dae-young.

"Scripts?"

"Ah, just a moment. I'll find the recent ones I've seen."

Kim Dae-young started rummaging through his bookshelf. Kang Woo-jin watched with a slightly disdainful look. After 3 minutes, Kim Dae-young showed him the scripts.

"Found them. Two drama scripts and one movie script. Three should be enough, right?"

"Sure."

Two clean script books and a stack of paper for the movie script. Three in total were now in Kang Woo-jin's hands. And,

'Sure enough.'

Black rectangles appeared next to the two scripts and the movie script. They were slightly different in size, but the effect was the same. Having completed the first check, Kang Woo-jin sighed.

"Phew."

He checked the current time. It was 11:41 AM. His slightly trembling index finger extended. Kim Dae-young, sitting in front of him, laughed.

"Are you crazy? Are you ET? What are you doing?"

Kang Woo-jin, with a serious face, replied to his friend.

"Watch closely, okay?"

"I'm watching."

At that moment,

-Poke!

Kang Woo-jin's index finger strongly pressed the black rectangle next to one of the script books. Then,

"Ugh!"

A tingling sensation spread through his body as the subspace pulled him in. Feeling a vague sensation for a moment, Kang Woo-jin laughed in disbelief.

"Here again."

His vision was filled with an endless, dark space. He had entered it again. The ambiguous, floating sensation was the same.

However,

"Let's see-"

Thanks to his previous experience, Kang Woo-jin was relatively calm. He had a bit more composure. Still, fear and anxiety remained. But he needed to steady himself.

-Swoosh.

He turned his body to check behind him. As expected, it was there. A white rectangle floating at chest height. The interesting part was:

"It's grown?"

There was a difference from before. There were two white rectangles instead of one.

So,

"It seems they keep adding up."

This meant that the number increased with each new script or screenplay. Although he hadn't checked closely yet, the second white rectangle was likely from the script book Kang Woo-jin had just touched.

However, Kang Woo-jin didn't approach the floating white rectangles.

"Let's try this first."

He needed to do another experiment.

"Exit!"

He shouted loudly, but nothing changed.

"Out! Log out! Outside!"

Kang Woo-jin continued to shout similar words.

"Back! Hey! Woman! Let me out! Turn it off!"

About 5 minutes passed.

At that moment,

"Damn! Exit!"

With the word "exit," grayness enveloped Kang Woo-jin. It happened instantly.

"Ah!"

He involuntarily gasped. Soon, he heard Kim Dae-young's voice.

"Hey! What happened? Are you okay?"

Kang Woo-jin slowly turned his head and saw the burly Kim Dae-young. He was back in the room. He was slightly dazed but clearly out of the subspace.

This led to one conclusion.

'Exit. That's the command to come out.'

Kang Woo-jin immediately checked the current time. It was 11:41 AM, the same as when he entered the crazy space.

'I was in there for at least 5 minutes, but the time is the same.'

Entering the vast subspace stops external time, or it runs much slower. Having reached a reasonable conclusion, Kang Woo-jin asked Kim Dae-young.

"How did I look just now?"

"What? You were just waving your finger around like ET."

"Next time."

"You paused for a moment and then gasped. Hey, are you really okay?"

Kang Woo-jin stroked his chin, considering his friend's reaction.

"This is interesting. So, next-"

Just as he extended his index finger again,

-Vroom, vroom.

Kim Dae-young's phone, placed on the desk, vibrated. Concerned, he picked it up.

"Hello?"

Soon, Kim Dae-young, who was on the phone with someone, made eye contact with Kang Woo-jin, who was sitting in front of him.

"Okay, okay, ah! Yes? Ah, okay. Just a moment. He's right here."

Kim Dae-young handed the phone to Kang Woo-jin, whispering:

"The 'Super Actor' PD wants to talk to you."

Kang Woo-jin frowned but took the phone.

"Hello."

A slightly excited female voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Mr. Kang Woo-jin? Oh, I was surprised when you suddenly left!"

Hearing her voice, Kang Woo-jin's bravado and pretense kicked in again. The shame from earlier was creeping back.

"Ah, yeah."

"Mr. Woo-jin, would you consider coming back to 'Super Actor'?"

"Why?"

"You passed! You passed the first round! It would be great if you could come to the second round! The story is interesting, right? You came with a friend, but you ended up passing? It's funny, isn't it?"

Trying to make a laughingstock of me? You're barking up the wrong tree. Kang Woo-jin replied to the excited PD on the other end of the phone in a low, heavy voice. Maintaining his image was important.

"No, I don't want to."

His bravado, which was a passive trait, also served as an excuse to neutralize his shame.

"It was just a way to pass the time."

It was a meaningless act to kill time, so he hoped they would forget about it. However, the 'Super Actor' PD on the other end of the phone seemed to interpret it differently.

"That acting... was just to pass the time?"

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