322

< Bomb (3) >

This answer that Kang Woo-jin calmly gave.

"I think it will be easy for the audience to reach over 20 million."

It started with a fairly light heart. Well, I'm not saying I'm going to overturn this press conference or declare war. All he did was reply without any serious intentions.

'I have to maintain the concept book anyway. But it's not anything particularly bad, is it?'

It was true.

'It's natural that it will be successful, but it's unclear how many audiences it will attract. Still, it is certain that it comes out higher than Island of the Missing.'

Currently, the rating of 'The Stranger' is higher than 'Island of the Missing', which exceeded 20 million.

-[7/Scenario (Title: Strange Sacrifice of a Stranger), SSS Level]

That means the number of viewers is at least 20 million. Of course, since 'The Stranger' was released in Korea and Japan combined, it could have received more than 20 million viewers in both countries combined. So what? Anyway, it was a big hit, right? In this hall filled with hundreds of reporters and other people, Kang Woo-jin was the only one who was able to get a glimpse of the future of the 'The Stranger'.

That's why it's so calm.

On the other hand, the hectic barrage of flashes slowed down for a while. Hundreds of reporters started buzzing at Kang Woo-jin's answer.

"Well, what did Kang Woo-jin just reply?"

"20 million? You said 20 million."

"Are you talking about 20 million viewers?"

"Then what can there be?"

That's because when asked if he thought 'The Stranger' would be successful, Woojin answered without any hesitation that it would be easily over 20 million. Many Japanese reporters were a little embarrassed, but expressed their opinions internally.

'Aren't you too confident? How many people are gathered here?'

'You can say that without even changing your facial expression?'

'I can't tell if it's confidence or arrogance.'

Reporters were not the only ones watching the production presentation, which had a strange atmosphere; tens of thousands of Japanese viewers logged on to the live streaming.

-['A Stranger's Bizarre Sacrifice' production presentation live streaming!]

-[Live Broadcast]

-[49872 people watching]

The number of people has already reached 50,000, and as soon as they heard Woojin's line, they started chatting like crazy.

-Hehe??? 20 million?!!

– Kang Woo-jin, didn't you go too far??

-wwwwwww I think I just answered without thinking.

-I really hate Kang Woo-jin's incoherent behavior.

-It's good to be confident, but…isn't it taking 20 million too lightly??

-So what?

-Kang Woojin!! stylish!!

-By the way, it's random, but doesn't Kang Woo-jin's all-black suit look good on him? I definitely think Korean actors have excellent physical skills.

·

·

·

However, it is so fast that it is impossible to check them individually. The facial expressions of the Japanese actors standing with Kang Woo-jin, who had indifferent faces, were also worth seeing. Everyone looked at Woojin and widened their eyes slightly.

'Wow… he just screams.'

'I knew there was no one behind Mr. Woojin, but I never thought he would go straight like this.'

The same was true for author Akari.

A small smile appeared on Director Kyotaro's face as he stood first. Because he was witnessing what he expected. Anyway, the reporter who asked Woojin the first question was overbearing.

"······More than 20 million is easy?"

Kang Woo-jin answered lowly.

"Yes, I said so."

From here, the flash of light that had faded for a while exploded again.

-Pababababak!!

Of course, it was aimed at Woojin, and several dozen of the hundreds of reporters were quickly typing on their laptops. Even in Japan, 20 million viewers was an incredible achievement. Historically speaking, there have been about three works so far, and even those three works were all theatrical animations. The highest rating for a Japanese film was 19 million. That was quite a long time ago.

Recently, the Japanese film industry has shrunk to the point that even 10 million viewers are difficult to find.

But suddenly, Kang Woo-jin, a Korean actor and not a Japanese actor, proudly announced 20 million viewers at the production presentation of 'The Stranger'. Although it is a position to show ambition, it is better not to make absurd comments such as 20 million. Because there will be a lot of noise later. The criticism you get if you don't achieve it is a bonus.

More than anything else, the reporters focused on Kang Woo-jin's line, 'It's easy.'

'Having a good time means that you'll easily reach 20 million viewers, right?'

In other words, it means that the number of viewers can easily exceed 20 million and more are being watched. A Korean actor comes to the Japanese market and talks about the future of writing a legend. It was a truly strange picture, and Woojin's response similar to this declaration of war was good fodder for the media and public opinion.

At this moment, in the minds of hundreds of reporters.

'Kkeuk, good, good. There must be a lot of things to write about.'

The main title of the article to be published within a few hours had been decided.

Behind the scenes, the production press conference for 'The Stranger', which was somehow organized, continued. Starting with director Kyotaro, greetings from all actors beyond Kang Woo-jin, a brief 'Stranger' briefing from director Kyotaro and writer Akari, the actors answering questions set by the host, etc.

An hour passed quickly.

Following.

"Reporters, I have a question for you."

Free question time from hundreds of reporters. Naturally, all the reporters raised their hands. However, since it was not possible to hear everyone's questions, the moderator randomly selected someone. It was a chubby male reporter sitting at the far left of the first row.

The selected reporter is.

-Sigh.

They focused their gaze on the cynical actor sitting third on the podium. It was Kang Woo-jin.

"Kang Woo-jin, as a Korean actor, it must have been a burden to participate in 'The Stranger.' Now that filming is complete, what kind of movie do you think 'The Stranger' is?"

Woojin's answer came quickly.

"I think this is the first film that will have a huge impact on the Japanese film industry. A lot of things will change."

This was also an answer that would widen the eyes of hundreds of reporters. A second bomb was dropped. Viewers watching the production presentation at this point.

-[60021 people watching]

There were over 60,000 people, and Chairman Hideki, who was watching it without even noticing it from the back of the hall, laughed.

'Kang Woo-jin, he feels like a star. If you mess up the game like that, even if you curse, your curiosity will explode.'

Kang Woo-jin seems to like Nopakku bombs. But even after this.

"I'll take the next question, yes, the reporter with the glasses."

"Me too, to Kang Woo-jin!!"

The bombing continued.

Two days later, Monday the 23rd. Korea.

Kang Woo-jin, who completed a short three-day schedule in Japan, returned to Korea last night. And as of the early morning of the 23rd, he was just getting into the elevator to go to work.

'Ugh, it's sore.'

If it weren't for the fact that there was sub-space, he would have died long ago, right? Kang Woo-jin mutters such words to himself. He pulled his hat down tightly and picked up his cell phone while yawning unnoticed thanks to the veil he was wearing. While trying to check his accumulated contacts, he changed his direction and accessed his portal site.

Main articles visible immediately.

Kang Woo-jin's face was plastered on the door.

『[Star Photo] 'The Stranger' production presentation, Kang Woo-jin declaring war in front of more than 200 reporters/Photo』

The bombs dropped by Kang Woo-jin in Japan were also being introduced in Korea.

'Why are you making such a fuss?'

However, the sense of presence was lacking. That's right, most of the articles that broke out in Korea came from Japanese SNS or communities. The best they could do was to quote a Japanese article. Woojin moved his fingers again. He turned off the domestic portal site and accessed the Japanese search site.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin let out an internal sigh.

'Wow – hasn't it gotten worse than yesterday??!'

In fact, it was safe to say that the Japanese media was already in a state of turmoil. By whom? As Kang Woo-jin.

『「Kang Woo-jin」 confidently declared at the production presentation of 'Familiar Parasite' that 'the number of viewers will easily exceed 20 million'!』

『"Is it confidence or arrogance?", 'Kang Woo-jin's view of 'A Stranger's Bizarre Sacrifice' scores over 20 million』

The news ranking of Japan's No. 1 search site was dominated by Geojin Kang Woo-jin. In fact, it's been like that since the 'Familiar Gisaeng' production presentation ended. Japanese reporters who were present immediately published the article, and it continued to spread for about two days, attracting enormous aggro.

『「"The first film to have a great impact on the Japanese film industry"」What is the 'influence' mentioned by Kang Woo-jin?』

Everyone from Japanese broadcasting stations, the film industry, production companies, and agencies focused on Woojin. Many Japanese people did the same. This atmosphere was maintained even after one day had passed on the 24th.

No, maybe it was amplified? The Japanese media continued to produce rice cakes.

『Kang Woo-jin's powerful declaration at the press conference for "The Strange Sacrifice" was a huge hit on social media!』

Public opinion also joined in and encouraged hooking. Along with facts, gossip and abusive rumors are rampant. The remains of the bomb dropped by Kang Woo-jin spread throughout Japan.

-You have too much confidence.

-I think it will be quite a hit since the original has the power, but Kang Woo-jin is doing it alone.

– Stranger Things have calmed down a bit now… but the controversy has intensified again…

-What on earth did you say that it was such a great movie that it had a huge impact on the Japanese film industry?wwwww

-I'll watch it once it's released!

-Anyway, Kang Woo-jin in all black was the best at the production presentation!! You're so handsome…

·

·

·

What's interesting is that the more aggro Woojin is attracted to in Japan, the more attracted he is to the Japanese public.

-I'm curious about what kind of acting Kang Woo-jin did in Stranger.

-I don't really care about Kang Woo-jin, but I'll endure it for now. Even if I swear, I'll do it after watching the movie.

-Anyway, I had a bad feeling about it, but my curiosity exploded. How on earth did they film 'The Stranger' so that Kang Woo-jin appears like that?

-I guess you were just bluffing?

In this way, it was Kang Woo-jin who brought ruin to all of Japan, but he himself.

'Look at this, there's no real damage from moving to Korea, right?'

He was going about his schedule without paying much attention. Time melted away so quickly. Starting on the 26th, Woojin began filming the main poster for 'Leech'. This was the poster officially delivered to Cannes. Because it was conducted in great secrecy, only essential staff participated in the filming.

Poster shooting took place both on set and outdoors. It was completed in about two days.

A total of two concepts were taken as poster candidates, and even in those concepts, the composition and background were changed in detail to give a different feel. Whatever it was, hundreds of pages of results were produced.

It is director Ang Bok's job to choose just one poster among them.

Kang Woo-jin thoughts there was no less important than what he thought.

'I heard there was something special about sending it to Cannes, but it's just like shooting any other movie poster??'

The man who muttered his inner thoughts, saying things like, "I was nervous for no reason," or "I'm a bastard." Woojin was then immediately put into the next schedule. Well, as always, there were numerous schedules.

『Martial arts practice cut released by 'Beneficial Evil' side, are you preparing for action that will challenge the world?』

Among them, the martial arts practice of 'good evil' was the main one.

About a week later.

A few days have passed since August ended and September began. Now the weather was heading toward full fall, and people on the streets were starting to get dressed up.

Today is Monday, September 6th.

The location was the editing room of a large film company. A slightly gloomy editing room. Many monitors and a lot of work equipment. In the back, there is a resting area with a sofa, and on a circular desk are two familiar posters attached to a thick plastic board.

In both posters, Kang Woo-jin was the main character.

Several edited articles were visible in the editing room. Among them, an old man sitting at the end, operating a work machine, caught my eye.

It was veteran director Anga Bok.

In other words, this was the editing room for the movie 'Leech'.

"······"

"······"

There wasn't much conversation. Editing simply continued with director Angabok, with short white hair, at the center. Director Ahn Ga-bok, who handled the entire process, had no unnecessary movements.

"Play some music."

It's like a person who knows everything and moves on.

"Cut, next one."

About ten people, including director Ga-bok Ang, stayed in the editing room almost all the time, except when they were eating. Nevertheless, my hands and feet work well without any signs of fatigue. Perhaps director Ang Bok's veteran charisma and experience became the foundation.

Then late that night.

At around 11:45, director Gabok Ang, who was sitting in the center of the editing machine, was looking intently at the monitor in front of him and suddenly.

-Sigh.

He leaned his back against the back of the chair and muttered briefly. It was a rough yet hoarse voice.

"it's okay."

Soon, several editors sitting around Director Ang Bok turned their gaze to him. Although they didn't really open their mouths, everyone's wide eyes were expressing the same meaning.

'Say it again!'

Director Anga Bok, who had probably noticed this or not, even scrubbed his rough cheeks and forehead, muttered lowly to himself again.

"This is enough."

Several editors suddenly stood up and screamed. Some of them run around. Meanwhile, Director Ang Bok, who was looking at the many monitors in front, chuckled slightly.

"It ended sooner than I expected."

The second half editing of 'Leech' has been completed. The sound was that the sortie was complete.

Two days later, the 8th.

Around 9 a.m., a huge black van stopped in the underground parking lot of a large movie studio. A familiar black-haired man got out of the parked van.

"······"

Today too, Kang Woo-jin was equipped with indifference. The outfit worn was a cream-colored jacket. Woojin got out of the van and controlled himself while waiting for Choi Seong-gun and the team. On the outside, he looked different, but on the inside, he was busy controlling his mind. Because his tension was currently very high. No, is it closer to anticipation?

The reason was simple.

In about an hour, they will be heading to Cannes, one of the world's top three international film festivals.

'Wow, is it because it's a movie to send to Cannes? Why do I get more nervous than other movies?'

Because there was going to be a test of the finished product of 'Leech'.

< Bomb (3) > End