Chapter 140: Sincerity

TL: Aniea

“Welcome. Woo-ju... huh!?”

The moment Kang Woo-ju stepped into the filming set, everyone’s gaze turned to him as if it had been prearranged.

At the same time, everyone opened their mouths and widened their eyes because Kang Woo-ju’s right hand was tightly wrapped in bandages.

“What on earth happened!?”

Director Park Hee-seok, startled, threw down his megaphone and rushed over. Kang Woo-ju cautiously spoke with an awkward expression.

“I’m sorry. I overdid it a bit while working out....”

Because the matter related to Kim Hee-tae was practically confidential, Kang Woo-ju couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth.

Director Park Hee-seok was not someone who would miss such a detail, but he did not hastily point out anything suspicious.

‘Looks like he got into a huge fight with someone.’

His right hand was completely wrapped in bandages. However, there was no sign of a cast to hold it in place. That at least meant the bones were intact.

In such cases, it usually happened when someone struck an opponent barehanded, and the skin got scraped along with it.

Director Park Hee-seok, who mainly worked in the action noir genre, was able to figure that out quickly.

‘...But with whom?’

However, even he, who was well-versed in every kind of scenario, couldn’t easily guess who Kang Woo-ju’s opponent might have been.

Kang Woo-ju, who was now too well-known to be called a rookie actor. Moreover, his girlfriend was the youngest member of the Mirae Group.

Either way, he was someone whom ordinary people couldn’t treat carelessly, and if he had gotten into a brawl with someone, it would have dominated SNS by now.

‘The problem is, there hasn’t been a single word about it.’

He only found out about Kang Woo-ju’s injury after seeing it with his own eyes. In other words, the fight must have occurred in an unofficial setting.

He hadn’t heard of Kang Woo-ju learning martial arts. Even if he had, he probably wouldn’t have gotten into a barehanded fight.

‘...I have no idea.’

Recalling Kang Woo-ju’s usual conduct, Director Park Hee-seok decided not to escalate the matter unnecessarily. However, as a director, he felt he had to say something.

“Kang Woo-ju ssi. It’s troubling if this keeps happening. I personally rescheduled the shooting dates for you, but now things are getting delayed again, aren’t they?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you don’t have to bow that deeply....”

At the sight of Kang Woo-ju suddenly bowing his waist, Director Park Hee-seok was instead caught off guard.

Based on his past behavior, he expected a slight nod at most. He didn’t expect him to go overboard like this.

“No. The filming schedule was already moved up as much as possible because of me, and now I’m showing up like this. I truly feel ashamed.”

“Ah, please, lift your head first. If anyone sees this, they’ll think I’m abusing my actors. Anyway, you’re able to shoot, right?”

“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with my body otherwise.”

“Hmm. Considering the schedule, it’s hard to postpone any further, so for now we’ll proceed and later edit your right hand with CG....”

“Director.”

Just as Park Hee-seok was organizing his thoughts, Kang Woo-ju, who had raised his head, called out to him in a rather serious tone.

When the director blinked, Kang Woo-ju slowly opened his mouth and shared his thoughts.

“It may be inappropriate for me to say this since I’m the one who caused the trouble, but how about just going with it as is?”

“As is? You mean without CG?”

“Yes.”

Kang Woo-ju nodded firmly with a confident expression. In response, Director Park Hee-seok’s eyes gleamed as if telling him to explain further.

“The character I’m playing, [Kang Ba-ram], has the image of a ‘gangster prosecutor’, right? I was thinking maybe we could go with the idea that he got injured while interrogating a criminal.”

“Hmm.”

Director Park Hee-seok crossed his arms and fell into thought. Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t such a bad idea visually.

‘...But it’s tricky to add a new scene.’

The first scene had already been filmed without the bandages. Since they couldn’t reverse that, they needed an event to fill the gap in the middle.

“There may be no need to add a new scene.”

“Huh?”

As if he had seen right through the director’s dilemma, Kang Woo-ju hit the nail on the head without hesitation.

At some point, his face was already adorned with his usual confident smile.

“Rather than explaining, it’ll be quicker to show you directly.”

“.......”

Was he saying he’d improvise on the spot? No matter what, it’s basic etiquette to consult with the director before filming.

Even if it were Kim Min-jae, an actor known for pulling in tens of millions at the box office, or another senior actor, such a statement would be considered arrogant enough to be flatly rejected.

However, despite all that.

Director Park Hee-seok nodded.

“...Are you confident?”

“Of course.”

“Then give it a try.”

“Director!?”

Because of that, all the cast and crew, including actors and staff, widened their eyes at the director’s bold decision.

They all seemed to have plenty to say, but seeing the unusually serious expression on Director Park Hee-seok’s face, they all bit their lips.

‘...He’s seriously going to let this slide?’

‘...Director, you can’t be doing this!’

‘...No matter how much of a parachute he is, this is too much!’

Regardless.

Director Park Hee-seok focused solely on Kang Woo-ju, organizing his thoughts.

He didn’t allow it just because he was afraid of Kang Woo-ju’s background. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have survived in this tough film industry until now.

‘I’m getting a feeling.’

The reason he permitted Kang Woo-ju’s ad-lib was due to a sort of “intuition”. That same instinct that had brought him this far.

It was that very instinct shouting at him to trust Kang Woo-ju. He had never seen such a strong self-assertion before.

Naturally, it was something that couldn’t be explained logically. Therefore, it couldn’t convince others either.

‘That’s up to Kang Woo-ju.’

There were plenty of people who were dissatisfied with him. If it hadn’t been for the impact and dessert from the first meeting, everyone would have raised their voices.

Though no one voiced their complaints out loud. These kinds of things usually build up inside until one day- bang!- they explode.

It was something that had to be addressed at some point anyway. It might feel a little too early, but this was also Kang Woo-ju’s decision.

“We’re going right in. Get ready.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving behind Kang Woo-ju, who bowed once again, Director Park Hee-seok rallied the cast and crew, full of discontent, and got them ready.

Since he was dragging everyone along without proper explanation, the backlash would be even greater if it failed.

Even knowing that, Director Park Hee-seok had no choice but to trust his gut and keep moving forward.

‘What is he planning to show this time?’

Bzzzz-

The director’s hand, holding the megaphone, trembled. Whether it was from anticipation or anxiety, even Park Hee-seok himself wasn’t sure.

“Ready-!!”

With the director’s booming voice, the cameras lit up all at once. Their cold gaze fixed on Kang Woo-ju.

“Action!”

At the director’s cue, Kang Woo-ju’s expression changed instantly as he slowly began to speak.

***

‘...He breaks common sense every time.’

Actor Kim Min-jae clicked his tongue inwardly as he watched Kang Woo-ju before him. It had been a long time since he’d seen someone so shameless.

He could understand rescheduling the shooting. He himself had once had to ask for understanding from the production team due to unavoidable circumstances.

But to take it a step further, showing up with an obvious external injury and then even suggesting an ad-lib to incorporate it?

‘Where does he even get that kind of confidence?’

Kim Min-jae himself wasn’t the type to bow his head easily, but compared to Kang Woo-ju, he was like a child showing off in front of adults.

He had hoped the director would step in and cut it off appropriately, but instead it looked like he was going along with Kang Woo-ju’s request.

‘Well, I guess the director’s in a tough spot too.’

No one here was unaware of Kang Woo-ju’s backing. Who knows what could happen if he got upset?

Thanks to that, Kim Min-jae also went along with the shoot without complaint, but he couldn’t help feeling annoyed inside.

‘Well, whatever. I’ll do what I have to do.’

Regardless of the situation, he was a professional.

Regardless of personal feelings, once you’ve been paid, you need to work accordingly. Kim Min-jae opened his mouth with that thought in mind.

“You’re going to ad-lib?”

“Yes. It turned out that way.”

“Even a rough outline is fine, but could you give me some idea of the direction? I’ll try to match it as best I can.”

“There aren’t any major changes to the lines, despite it being an ad-lib. Sunbae-nim, please act according to the existing script.”

“...Will that really be enough?”

“It’s more than enough.”

Kang Woo-ju, exuding not just confidence but complete certainty. Seeing this, Kim Min-jae tilted his head in doubt but couldn’t bring himself to ask more questions.

‘...I don’t even know anymore.’

If the other side says there's no need to adjust, what more is there to ask? At this point, it might be a good idea to take this opportunity to put Kang Woo-ju in his place.

‘Fine, ad-lib or whatever, go ahead.’

To this junior who doesn’t seem to know his place, he was about to clearly show why people called him a box office actor in the tens of millions.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was planning to enforce some old, barbaric senior-junior power dynamic.

He would simply,

Compete as an actor.

With pure acting skill.

“Hoo....”

Ready–!!

Having reached that conclusion, Kim Min-jae closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Soon after, he heard the sound of the cameras rolling in sync with the director’s command.

Action!

Opening his eyes to match the timing. There was no longer any Kim Min-jae here. Only the psychopathic serial killer [Jang Woo-cheol] remained.

“We meet again, don’t we? Prosecutor Kang Ba-ram.”

Ooh-

Just that one line brought admiration from the surrounding staff.

Of course, they didn’t make a sound during the shoot, but the atmosphere on set changed completely. Riding that momentum, Kim Min-jae continued with his lines.

“Why call me in and then not say a word? I may not look it, but I’m a very busy man, you know. Interview requests from SBC, MBS, all over the place....”

“Jang Woo-cheol.”

“......!!”

Just one word.

The moment Kang Woo-ju, who had been sitting with a blank expression, spoke, his line pierced everyone’s ears like an arrow.

The staff watching the two were startled, and even Director Park Hee-seok flinched.

But none of them could compare to Kim Min-jae, who was sitting directly across from Kang Woo-ju.

‘...What, what the hell!?’

Shiver-

The moment he locked eyes with Kang Woo-ju, goosebumps spread across Kim Min-jae’s body. A gaze that felt entirely different from their previous shoots.

Even back then, he thought Kang Woo-ju’s acting was impressive, but it had never given off this kind of presence.

“Looks like you’re enjoying this situation.”

“.......”

Gulp-!

Kim Min-jae instinctively swallowed dryly. He almost lost his poker face.

That was how intense Kang Woo-ju’s gaze was, so scorching it felt like his skin was being seared wherever those eyes landed.

‘...He doesn’t look that different from usual.’

If he had to point out anything, it was the bandage wrapped around his right hand. That clearly had some visual impact, but there was no way that alone could create this atmosphere.

As countless theories spun through his mind in a flash, Kim Min-jae was thrown into confusion.

“Jung Woo-cheol.”

At that moment, Kang Woo-ju suddenly rose to his feet. That action wasn’t in the script. From this point on, it was all ad-lib.

However, everything Kang Woo-ju did was so natural, it didn’t feel improvised at all.

“......!?”

Sllrp-

Everyone stared blankly as Kang Woo-ju began unwrapping the bandage from his right hand.

The bandage fluttered to the table, and soon, a bloodstained fist emerged from within.

The massive scar that had raised suspicions that he’d been in a fistfight, now visually confirmed everyone’s assumptions.

“I hate bastards like you.”

“......!!”

Bang-!

Kang Woo-ju slammed his fist down on the table with all his strength. The sound was so loud, it echoed throughout the entire set.

‘...So this was it.’

Only then did Kim Min-jae realize what had changed since last time, why he had flinched under Kang Woo-ju’s gaze.

‘This guy....’

He’s truly angry.

No- this was closer to hatred.

Kang Woo-ju wasn’t acting anymore. He was pouring out raw emotion from deep within his soul.

‘Crazy bastard.’

Hah-

Roughly piecing together what Kang Woo-ju had done while postponing the shoot, Kim Min-jae let out a silent, hollow laugh.

*****

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