Chapter 8

Concept (4)

To understand why Kang Woojin chose the role of "Park Daeri," one had to trace his actions in the subspace. It all began when Kang Woojin confirmed the white rectangle of "Profiler Hanryang" in the subspace.

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

-[*This is a highly polished drama script. 100% reading is possible.]

Standing alone in the endlessly dark subspace, Kang Woojin crossed his arms and stroked his chin.

"A-grade—"

The short film "Detective Agency" floating beside him was B-grade. This was the first time he had encountered an A-grade. Following this, Kang Woojin voiced his curiosity.

"Hmm—If it's A-grade... is it the highest grade? Or is there something above A-grade?"

Even if there were higher grades above A-grade, A-grade was still in the upper tier. In other words, the new work by writer Park Eunmi, "Profiler Hanryang," had a bright future.

"The C-grade 'Gangster Prosecutor' had a viewership of around 7%, right? Since A-grade is two levels higher... roughly 10%? 15%?"

It wasn't certain. Initially, he couldn't know the difference between the grades. As a result, Woojin changed the subject.

"Well, anyway, this work can serve as an experiment. To clarify the meaning of these grades."

To determine whether these "grades" truly hinted at the future. While it was highly likely that they were hints to the future, it wasn't certain.

Then, Kang Woojin's gaze moved to the title.

"Profiler Hanryang. I'm not sure, but if it's a profiler, it's probably a crime drama?"

He recalled the words of the bigwig producer, Song Manwoo, who had said, "I want to cast Mr. Woojin as an actor."

At the time, his thoughts had stopped, but now, having entered the subspace, Woojin was relatively calm. Thanks to this, he came up with a suitable answer.

"Just a small role, probably."

He didn't know much about the entertainment industry, but he knew that newcomers or unknowns often started as extras. Especially in works by bigwigs like Producer Song Manwoo and Writer Park Eunmi.

Of course, there were many small roles, such as supporting roles or cameo appearances, but Kang Woojin didn't know that.

"Well—thinking about it, it's not bad."

A positive mindset spread. This was the second time he had experienced the subspace, after the "Scared Man" he had encountered initially. Being properly evaluated by bigwigs might not be bad.

Soon.

-Swoosh.

Kang Woojin picked up the floating white rectangle in front of him, choosing "Profiler Hanryang." Familiar words appeared below the white rectangle.

-[5/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1) selected.]

-[Listing characters available for reading.]

-[A: Yoo Ji-hyung, B: Jeong Sang-min, C: Bae Se-jun... E: Park Daeri]

Kang Woojin focused on the listed characters. There were about six of them.

"Hmm—The ones at the front are probably the leads or have significant roles. Park Daeri? I'll go with this. The one with the least screen time."

He knew from previous experiments that the further down the list, the less screen time the character had. Therefore, Woojin's choice was the role of "Park Daeri."

-Tap.

He touched Park Daeri among the listed characters. Soon, a familiar female voice echoed throughout the subspace.

["'E: Park Daeri' preparing for reading..."]

The waiting time wasn't long.

["...Preparation complete. This is a highly polished script or scenario. The implementation rate is 100%. Reading begins."]

A large grayness quickly enveloped Kang Woojin.

A loud voice was heard.

"Hey! Park Daeri!! Where have you been!"

At this moment, the grayness in Kang Woojin's vision slowly dissipated, and he gradually began to see clearly.

The location was in front of a park bench.

The weather was warm. It must be spring? The sunlight touched his skin, but it wasn't harsh. It was a pleasant temperature. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

Kang Woojin's field of vision widened.

Flower beds with blooming flowers were visible around him, and people were jogging. Two men were waving at him from a distance.

Kang Woojin shouted at them.

"Go ahead!"

His spirit had made him say that. After such a shout, Kang Woojin felt that he was now wearing a friendly smile.

However, he knew that his words and actions were all superficial, that there was no sincerity in them, and that his heart was very cold and detached.

But the degree of this detachment was extreme. Indeed, it was as if he lacked emotions entirely.

No, he didn't have them.

This was because Kang Woojin had already become Park Daeri. He had taken on all of Park Daeri's traits. Therefore, he knew.

'Expression is a tool.'

To Park Daeri, expressions and expressions were just packaging. He practiced facial expressions whenever he had time, memorizing lines to appear as a "good person."

This was the same now.

With a smile on his lips, but a glint of madness in his eyes, Kang Woojin twitched the corners of his mouth, practicing his smile.

A genuine smile, a forced smile, a smile of joy, and so on.

This was his routine. He practiced before returning to the office. After practicing, Kang Woojin suddenly became expressionless.

It happened very quickly.

Having finished his practice, he returned to his default state. He took a step forward, and his mind remained calm and still.

At this moment.

"Ah."

Kang Woojin, who had somehow put on a faint smile, looked down at his shoes.

"I stepped in dog poop."

It was soft and mushy, like fresh dog poop. At this moment, Kang Woojin, who had stopped moving, looked down at his shoes.

"Dog poop..."

A faint glint of madness appeared in his eyes. He had a target. He had been wronged, and by a mere dog. He slowly turned his head to look around.

"There you are. You damn dog."

The dog was quickly spotted. It was pooping in a nearby flower bed, and its leash was tangled, probably because the owner had missed it. Kang Woojin, who had been staring at the dog, suddenly noticed something.

The world in Kang Woojin's view began to fill with colors.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. His previously ordinary world transformed into something like a fairy tale. The ground was purple, the trees were green, the sky was black, the clouds were blue, and people were all different colors. It felt like a world full of innocence.

However, it wasn't a bright fairy tale. It felt alien. A twisted sense of innocence.

'...A dream?'

Yes, it felt like he was in a dream. Moreover, emotions that Kang Woojin had lacked began to emerge. His mood changed.

Excitement.

Kang Woojin, who had been calm and still, was now excited to the point of madness. He felt an urgent need to do something quickly. It was a sense of urgency.

Then.

-Swoosh.

The dog, which had been pooping in the flower bed, suddenly appeared at Kang Woojin's feet and rubbed against him. The dog appeared yellow in Woojin's view.

"Cute. So fluffy. I want to pop it."

Kang Woojin looked around. There were many people, which meant many eyes were watching. Therefore, Woojin grabbed the dog's leash and moved it.

Fortunately, the dog followed.

A public restroom was nearby. Kang Woojin's destination was behind that restroom. Soon, he pulled the leash and held the yellow dog in his arms.

The dog licked Kang Woojin's cheek.

"Cute. But you shouldn't poop on the sidewalk."

Kang Woojin, who had been smiling, gently tapped the dog's nose. A red firework exploded at the spot he tapped, but only in his view.

This further intensified Kang Woojin's excitement.

An indescribable thrill that made him restless. He wanted to pop more, quickly. Holding the yellow dog in his arms, Kang Woojin disappeared behind the restroom.

A few minutes later, when Kang Woojin reappeared, his face was calm.

"Ah—looks like I'm a bit late."

His hands were empty.

After.

Kang Woojin, who had finished reading the role of Park Daeri, returned to the conference room. At the same time, he inwardly cursed.

"Ah, damn it."

He felt a strong sense of disgust. The world of Park Daeri and everything about him was a bit overwhelming. But Park Daeri was already imprinted on Kang Woojin.

"Feeling dirty."

It was as if the experience or reading of Park Daeri in the subspace, which felt like 20 minutes, had left him feeling seasick for 5 hours.

Kang Woojin found Park Daeri both unfamiliar and familiar.

At the moment, both felt like himself, but for some reason, Woojin strongly wanted to discard Park Daeri.

At this moment.

'What is this? No, no, don't come out.'

Kang Woojin barely suppressed the sudden emergence of Park Daeri's emotions. It was instinct. A defensive instinct.

While Kang Woojin was slightly dazed, he heard a voice.

"Do you understand the context?"

Writer Park Eunmi's voice penetrated his ears. His vision gradually widened, and her words continued.

"You can act out a few lines of any role in the drama without any pressure. I just want to see Mr. Woojin's tone."

Kang Woojin, who had been slightly confused, barely maintained his composure.

'Ah, right. That was the situation.'

He looked down at the paper in his hand. The script for "Profiler Hanryang" Part 1.

'Acting without reading would be overkill.'

Although he had already learned everything about Park Daeri through lines and other details, Kang Woojin spoke in a low voice to maintain the calm of those in front of him.

"I'll read for a moment."

Of course, he didn't actually read the script.

-Flip, flip.

Kang Woojin pretended to read for about 5 minutes. Then, his eyes stopped on a line in the script.

-[S# 14]

-Park Daeri's world was covered in colors, as if expressing a mad dream.

So that's why I saw those crazy colors. Woojin muttered to himself and sighed.

-Swoosh.

He lifted his head and calmly said to everyone.

"I'll take the role of 'Park Daeri.'"

Interestingly, as soon as Woojin's answer ended,

"!!!"

Everyone on the opposite side opened their eyes wide. They were surprised? Why? Especially the reactions of Producer Song Manwoo and Writer Park Eunmi were strong.

"Park Daeri??"

But Woojin solemnly repeated his answer.

"Yes, the role of 'Park Daeri.'"

Bearded Producer Song Manwoo stared at Woojin, then turned to look at Writer Park Eunmi. She was already looking at him.

"..."

The two exchanged glances. Woojin found it a bit strange.

'What is this, communicating with their eyes?'

Indeed, they were bigwigs. They could communicate just with their eyes. Next, Producer Song Manwoo, whose face had hardened, refocused on Woojin.

"Which scene of Park Daeri's role?"

Was there a need to go to the later scenes? The role of Park Daeri became more complex as it progressed. Therefore, Woojin chose a relatively light scene from the beginning.

"I'll do the scene with the dog."

Writer Park Eunmi, who had put on glasses at some point, requested something from Producer Song Manwoo.

"PD, can you take the camera angle? Mr. Woojin, imagine PD as the camera."

In fact, there was already a camera in the conference room, behind where Kang Woojin was sitting and in front of the window. Nevertheless, Kang Woojin, as if understanding, handed over the script.

-Swoosh.

To Writer Park Eunmi on the opposite side. She frowned and asked.

"Can you do it without looking?"

It would be more uncomfortable, wouldn't it? This was an unconscious action by Kang Woojin. It wasn't to maintain a tough act but came from his subconscious. To him, who had already taken on Park Daeri, reading the script was more cumbersome.

"Yes, it's fine."

However, this action amplified the misunderstanding of everyone, including Writer Park Eunmi.

'In just a few minutes... in that short time, he understood the lines, the script, and the emotional tone? That's impossible.'

It made sense. Of course, it made sense to Kang Woojin. But to everyone else, including Writer Park Eunmi, it was incomprehensible.

'Arrogance... but he doesn't seem to be trying to show off.'

At that moment,

"Alright, let's do it that way. Let's start now."

Leaning forward, Producer Song Manwoo threw the first line to Kang Woojin, signaling the start of the scene.

"Hey, Park Daeri. Where have you been?"

Kang Woojin, who had been staring at Producer Song Manwoo's beard, blinked once. At the same time, the corners of Song Manwoo's eyes twitched.

Why?

'His eyes changed. The smell changed.'

A faint glint of madness appeared in Kang Woojin's previously calm eyes. The difference before and after closing his eyes was stark. He had pulled out the emotion in that short moment.

At least, that's how it looked to Producer Song Manwoo.

Regardless, Woojin, who had been staring at Song Manwoo, lifted the corners of his mouth. There was a slight tremor. However, the faint hint of madness in his eyes remained the same.

"Go ahead!"

As soon as the line was spoken, the smile on Woojin's lips disappeared. It was as if he was watching the process of becoming expressionless in slow motion.

"..."

Finally, the expressionless face was complete. Then, a smile. Then, expressionless again. Then, a smile. This process repeated a few times on Kang Woojin's face. Sociopath. The smell of a sociopath strongly emanated from Kang Woojin.

For some reason, top actress Hong Hye-yeon's skin prickled.

'Each smile has a different texture.'

It was enough to make one's skin crawl. Kang Woojin was assigning different meanings to each smile. The slight tremor of the muscles around his eyes, the slight tilt of his head, the degree to which his lips curled up, and so on.

'Just with facial expressions... he was expressing all of this?'

Then, Kang Woojin, with the chosen smile, slowly stood up from his chair. He paused, looking down at his feet. A short silence.

About 10 seconds.

That short silence consumed the air in the entire conference room. Woojin's nameless silence and coldness had transformed into an ambiguous sense of fear. At this moment, Kang Woojin lifted his shoe to check the sole.

"I stepped in dog poop."

He looked around. Scanning the area near the conference room, he glanced at Writer Park Eunmi.

-Swoosh.

Finally, he met the eyes of Producer Song Manwoo. A glint of madness and excitement was already in his eyes. Soon, a chilling laugh escaped from Kang Woojin.

"There you are. You damn dog."

That was it. Kang Woojin, who had stood up, sat back down. He cleared his throat and spoke.

"I'm done."

A low, cold tone. He had returned to the tough act of Kang Woojin from Park Daeri.

'Well, how was the evaluation?'

At that moment.

-Creak.

Suddenly, on the opposite side, Writer Park Eunmi, with her long perm, stood up. Her gaze was fixed on Kang Woojin. She approached him with a trance-like expression.

Slowly, slowly.

Kang Woojin slightly pulled his head back at the sight.

'Why is she like this, this aunt? She's a bit scary... Is she angry?'

Writer Park Eunmi, who was now standing in front of Kang Woojin, suddenly grabbed his hands.

"Mr. Woojin."

Naturally, Kang Woojin inwardly recoiled.

'Why, why is she doing this!'

But Writer Park Eunmi, a celebrated star writer in the country, ignored the surrounding gazes and leaned in close to Kang Woojin, whispering with a heartfelt tone.

"Please take the role of Park Daeri. You have to do it, Mr. Woojin."