Chapter 32

Master (4)

What is this? What’s happening right now? Kang Ujin, sitting in his studio apartment, stared into space, lost in thought. It felt similar to when he first entered the subspace.

“...Crazy.”

He could see reality with his eyes, but it felt like a dream. Of course, after acquiring the subspace, he had already dismissed the concept of 'reality,' but even so, experiencing such a crazy situation naturally made his thoughts come to a halt.

After a few minutes.

“Uh...”

Kang Ujin, who had stopped thinking, muttered something. It was his way of expressing the current insane state in words. Naturally, it was in English.

“What the heck happened to me?” (Roughly, "What the hell happened to me?")

The words flowed out smoothly. His pronunciation was incredibly fluent. Kang Ujin continued to spout other words. All in English, but they came out without any hesitation.

This was the level of a Korean-American who had lived in the U.S. for a long time.

Of course, Ujin could speak basic English, but it was Konglish. At best, it was the level of what anyone who had graduated from high school could do. He didn’t have a phobia of English, but he wasn’t particularly close to it either.

But the current Kang Ujin could be mistaken for a native speaker.

“Wow...”

Kang Ujin was genuinely amazed. He had instantly acquired a foreign language that he had been struggling to learn. It seemed he could live in the U.S. without any problems. This was beyond mere praise, and the ability of the subspace was already beyond imagination.

Soon.

“First, let’s calm down a bit.”

Kang Ujin, who was flustered without any particular concept, checked his condition. He carefully examined his mind and body. It felt as if his brain was filled with English, very naturally, no different from Korean.

He didn’t even need to think about the necessary English words.

When he thought of a word, it immediately came to mind and flowed out of his mouth. This feeling was similar to the lines he had memorized after experiencing a role in the subspace, thousands of times. Ujin continued to spout English smoothly and softly. As expected, it flowed out without any hesitation.

Gradually, a shiver ran through Kang Ujin’s body.

“Memorizing lines was already amazing, but even a foreign language? The ability of the subspace is insane.”

Honestly, Ujin had thought, “Could something similar be possible?” After experiencing a role in the subspace, the lines of that role were imprinted in his mind. If he read a role that used a foreign language, he could probably get those lines. That was the extent of his thoughts.

But.

“...To completely transplant a whole language.”

The subspace wasn’t petty. It was as vast as a mountain. It felt like, “What? English? You need it? Why bother with a little bit. Wait, I’ll just give you English.” And “Money? What’s that? It’s free, free.” This was included.

Ujin’s lips curled up slightly.

‘If this is the case, I could even go to Hollywood, right?’

It was entirely possible.

Of course, Hollywood was a place he had only heard of, and it was quite a distant story, but for a Korean actor to break into Hollywood, fluent English was essential. Even outside of acting, English was useful in many ways.

Kang Ujin’s smile deepened as he envisioned a golden future suddenly unfolding before him. Then he paused.

“Oh.”

To read a script, he needed to be able to read, right? Of course, he could read it without any problems, but just in case, Ujin opened his laptop. He found an English newspaper. Such things were easily found with a quick internet search.

And the answer was, as expected.

“Perfect.”

There was no problem reading it. It read as smoothly as Korean. For Ujin, who had relied on translation tools all his life, this was an unbelievable experience. Then, Kang Ujin suddenly broadened his thoughts.

If he had the subspace.

“Not just English, but I can acquire other languages too, right?”

The ability to acquire any language. Of course, he would need a script that included that language, but what was the big deal now?

“Let’s see. After English, what next?”

At that moment.

-Vroom, vroom.

Kang Ujin’s phone, placed nearby, emitted a long vibration. With a smile, Ujin checked the caller. It was PD Song Manwoo. Ujin was in a very good mood but had to suppress it.

It would be troublesome if he sounded too excited and casual. Therefore, he took a small deep breath before answering the call.

“Yes, PD.”

It was a pass. His voice was stern. Soon, PD Song Manwoo’s slightly excited voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Mr. Ujin, the first shooting day is confirmed. It’s the 25th, next Wednesday.”

Two days later, on the morning of the 20th, in the Box Movie studio in Nonhyeon-dong.

The elevator that had just arrived on the 7th floor opened. Inside, Director Oh Hyun-gu, with a wrinkled face and white hair in his eyebrows, and the short Chief Choi Do-min stepped out.

The funny thing was.

“So, that unknown guy flaked on the audition?”

“...I’m sorry, Director.”

“What the hell. What’s he trying to do?”

“I’m really sorry.”

Chief Choi Do-min was groveling at Director Oh Hyun-gu’s feet. He looked like he had committed a mortal sin. Indeed, he was a traitor. This was right after he had delivered the news that the unknown Kang Ujin, whom he had pushed hard, had flaked on the audition.

On the other hand, Director Oh Hyun-gu, the master, was so cold that even his breath was chilly. His eyes were the same.

In other words, he was furious.

This furious Director Oh Hyun-gu glared at the traitor Chief Choi Do-min and walked down the hallway, irritated.

“What did I say? I said that no matter how much an unknown tries, they’re still an unknown. What is this? Your arrogant actions have disgraced me.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Director. I have no words to say.”

“...Why didn’t that unknown guy come to the audition? Let’s hear it.”

“Well, he said his schedule didn’t match.”

“What? What schedule?”

“...It doesn’t...match.”

Suddenly, Director Oh Hyun-gu, who had stopped walking, raised his white-haired eyebrows dramatically.

“Did that unknown guy flake on my movie audition just because his schedule didn’t match?”

Where does an unknown have a schedule, and even if he did, is that a reason? Director Oh Hyun-gu was boiling with anger. Naturally, Chief Choi Do-min cowered even more.

“...That’s what I heard.”

“This guy must have been raised on rice and side dishes. Huh? Schedule doesn’t match? What’s the name of that unknown guy?”

“Kang Ujin from BW Entertainment.”

“BW Entertainment? A new company? Who’s the CEO?”

“CEO Choi Sung-geun. You’ve seen him a few times, Director.”

“I know, the one who trained Hong Hye-yeon. He’s quite well-connected, isn’t he? But Choi Sung-geun, though he’s slippery, is usually quite diligent.”

“He’s good at his job. However, that unknown, Kang Ujin, is...in a bit of a...state.”

Director Oh Hyun-gu, irritated, wrinkled his nose.

“Is that unknown guy crazy? I told you, he’s strong. What are you going to do about this? If this gets out, what will people say? Huh? Won’t I just look ridiculous?”

He was right. If the media found out about this, they would definitely write an article titled “Director Oh Hyun-gu Flaked on by an Unknown.” If the news spread among actors, it could become a laughingstock.

Soon, Director Oh Hyun-gu, scanning the surroundings to see if anyone was around, muttered to himself.

“How dare that unknown...Kang Ujin or whatever, I need to tell my fellow directors that he’s a disrespectful guy. I’ll make sure he can’t set foot in this industry.”

Chief Choi Do-min bowed his head deeply again.

“I’m really sorry, Director.”

Director Oh Hyun-gu, who had been looking at him coldly, gave a small instruction.

“Alright, just manage it so it doesn’t get out. And handle the articles we planned to release today well. Don’t mention unknowns in front of me from now on, got it?”

“Yes, Director.”

An hour later, Box Movie launched a major publicity campaign. With the investment completed and over a hundred staff members set up, it was only natural. The sets needed for filming were also under construction.

[Movie Talk] Master Director Oh Hyun-gu Joins Forces with Major Film Company Box Movie to Begin Production of Next Work

Indeed, the public’s reaction to the master director’s return work was not trivial, and the article mentioned top actors as if the casting was almost finalized. Just being in Director Oh Hyun-gu’s next work would elevate the status and image of top actors.

This was a deliberate publicity stunt.

[Guak Hamin, Ko Sung-yeon, and Other Top Actors to Join? Industry Focus on Director Oh Hyun-gu’s Next Work!]

It began to heat up the film industry media.

At the same time, in a YouTuber’s studio.

‘Issue King TV’ was a relatively large channel with over 900,000 subscribers. This was the studio of ‘Issue King TV.’ As the name suggests, it covered various issues. While it also covered political issues, it often exposed entertainment industry scandals.

The owner of the channel was a former journalist.

Through ‘Issue King TV,’ many dirty secrets of the entertainment industry were revealed to the public. Recently, it had covered the infidelity of a top female actor. The actress was currently in hiding.

In a small meeting room in the studio, two women were sitting face to face.

One had short hair and a stern expression, while the other wore a cap and looked down at the table. The owner of ‘Issue King TV’ was the one with short hair and spoke first.

“It’s just me here, so you can speak freely.”

The woman in the cap was silent for a moment.

“...”

About 10 seconds passed. It seemed she had made up her mind, and the lips of the woman in the cap moved.

“It was a week ago, and there was a group dinner for the entire staff.”

“Where was it?”

“A beef restaurant in Cheongdam. It was called Beef Palace.”

“Okay, please continue.”

“I was on the production team and sat at the table with the director. At first, I was eating and talking with people.”

“But?”

“After about an hour, people started to get drunk, and I was a bit tipsy too. That’s when the director sat next to me.”

“And then?”

“...I was surprised. He’s such a big name in the film industry, and he suddenly sat next to me.”

The woman in the cap, who had been hesitating, took a deep breath and continued.

“From then on, the touching started. Unnoticed by others. But it wasn’t intentional; it was more like he subtly touched my chest or thighs...”

The woman in the cap, who was struggling to explain the events of that day, had tears in her eyes.

“He almost forced me into his car, saying he would take me home. But we arrived at a large unmanned motel.”

“Hmm, please continue.”

“I was so scared that I ran out of the car as soon as I got out. I ran for my life.”

“And then?”

“I got a lot of calls, but I ignored them all. The next day, I was fired from the production team.”

The woman with short hair, who had been nodding slowly, asked.

“I’m sorry, but do you have any evidence?”

The woman in the cap nodded slightly.

“I recorded it from the moment I got in the car.”

The woman with short hair comforted the woman in the cap.

“That’s enough. You’re not the only one.”

Hearing that there were other victims, the woman in the cap, with a tired face, asked.

“...There are others besides me?”

The owner of ‘Issue King TV,’ the woman with short hair, nodded.

“Yes, there are.”

“Yes, there are others.”

The woman in the cap, who was speaking softly, had her shoulder patted by the woman with short hair, as if to say, “Don’t worry.”

“You know, the director is such a big name in the film industry that it’s hard to take action with just one victim. But I’ve been investigating and preparing this case for a long time, and now it’s enough.”

Her voice was full of confidence. The woman in the cap, who had been looking down, raised her head.

“How many more victims are there?”

“About five in total. It’s already quite well-known in the industry. The director is known for his fondness for women.”

“Yes, I’ve heard rumors. He always needs a female actor around during gatherings. He often touches female staff members casually.”

“But he’s a master director, so everyone keeps it hush-hush.”

“That’s right. In the film industry, directors are the top predators, even more so than actors.”

The woman with short hair, who understood, spoke again.

“I know. Can I listen to the recording you mentioned?”

“Ah, yes.”

The woman in the cap took out her phone and played several recording files. After listening to the recordings for a few minutes, the woman with short hair asked again.

“Did you also receive threats?”

The woman in the cap nodded.

“Yes. The day after I ran away from the motel, I received a text message. It said that no one would believe me even if I told anyone... After that, I was fired.”

“I understand the situation. Can you give an interview without showing your face? Of course, your voice will be altered. You just need to state the facts of the incident without revealing your identity.”

“I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

Soon, the woman in the cap, who had been looking down at her phone, moved her lips again.

“When will...this be made public?”

In response, the woman with short hair tapped her phone with her index finger.

“I see that he’s starting his next project, and there are quite a few articles about it.”

“Yes, the investment is already secured, and the actors’ casting is scheduled. The set construction has also started.”

“Then it will probably be next week.”

The woman with short hair lowered her voice.

“The fall of Director Oh Hyun-gu.”