小火星

To understand why Kang Woojin chose the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’, it was necessary to retrace what he did in the void. It began, of course, when Woojin checked the white rectangle of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ in the void.

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

-[*This is a drama script with a very high degree of completion. 100% reading is possible.]

Standing alone in the endless dark void, Woojin crossed his arms and stroked his chin.

“Grade A-”

The short film ‘Exorcism’ floating next to him was Grade B. This was his first time encountering Grade A. Woojin then uttered the question that came to mind.

“Hmm- If it’s Grade A… Is that the highest grade? Or is there so mething higher than Grade A?”

Even if there were higher grades than Grade A, Grade A was still in the upper tier. In other words, the new work ‘Profiler Hanryang’ by writer Park Eunmi had a promising future.

“‘Gangster Prosecutor’ with Grade C had a rating of about 7%, right? Then since Grade A is two levels above… It should exceed roughly 10%? 15%?”

He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t tell how much difference there was between those grades. Thanks to that, Woojin swiftly changed the subject.

“Well, anyway, this work will also serve as an experiment. For the clarity regarding these grades.”

A judgement on whether this ‘grade’ really gives a hint for the future or not. For now, it seems likely to be a hint for the future, but it’s not for certain.

Next, Kang Woo-jin’s gaze moved to the title.

“‘Profiler Hanryang’. I’m not sure, but if it’s a profiler, is it a crime genre or something like that?”

He recalled the words thrown by the big-shot director Song Manwoo who was outside.

‘I want to cast you as an actor, Woo-jin.’

At that time, his mind had stopped, but now, having entered the virtual space, Woo-jin was relatively composed. This allowed him to come up with a suitable answer.

“It’s probably just a minor role.”

He didn’t know much about the entertainment industry, but Woojin did know that rookies or unknowns usually started as extras. Especially if it’s a production created by big shots like director Song Manwoo and writer Park Eunmi.

Of course, minor roles in the production were extras. That is, there are many minor roles such as supporting roles or image-only characters, but Kang Woo-jin had no way of knowing this.

“Well- thinking about it, it’s not bad.”

A positive mindset blossomed. This was his second time since experiencing the ‘Scared Man’ in the void. It would be nice to be properly evaluated by the big shots.

Soon.

-Swoosh.

Woojin poked up the white rectangle floating in front of him. He chose ‘Profiler Hanryang’. Then, familiar characters were printed under the white rectangle.

-[You have chosen the 5/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1).]

-[Listing characters available for reading (experience).]

-[A: Yu Ji-hyeong, B: Jung Sang-min, C: Bae Se-jun… E: Park Dae-ri]

What Kang Woojin focused on here were the listed characters. Roughly about 6.

“Hmm- The ones in the front are the lead roles or ones with a lot of lines. Park Dae-ri? Let’s go with this. It has the least lines.’

Kang Woo-jin, who knew through experimentation that the parts toward the end had fewer lines, therefore, chose the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’.

-Thunk.

He touched ‘Park Dae-ri’ from among the listed characters. Soon, a familiar woman’s voice echoed throughout the void.

[“‘E: Park Dae-ri’ reading preparation in progress······”]

The wait wasn’t long.

[“······Preparation complete. This is a very high-quality script or scenario. The implementation rate is 100%. The reading will start now.”]

In an instant, a vast gray covered Kang Woo-jin.

Someone’s loud voice rang out.

“Hey! Park Dae-ri!! What are you doing? Come on!”

At this moment, the gray that filled Kang Woo-jin’s sight slowly cleared. Little by little, the front began to come into proper view.

The location was in front of a park bench.

The weather was warm. Is it spring? The sunlight was touching the skin but it wasn’t harsh. It’s actually a pleasant temperature. Short sleeves. I’m wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

Around this time, Kang Woo-jin’s view broadened.

Around him, there were flower beds in bloom and people jogging. Two men were waving at Woo-jin from ahead.

He shouted to them.

“You guys go ahead!”

His immersed mind told him to say so. As soon as the shout ended, Kang Woo-jin felt it. He is currently smiling a friendly smile.

However, everything he says and does is superficial, showing absolutely no sincerity.

His heart is very cold and rational.

However, the degree of his rationality was severe. Yes, it was as if the only thing missing among his possessions was emotion.

No, there’s none.

Kang Woo-jin had already become Park Dae-ri. Kang Woo-jin had everything that belonged to Park Dae-ri. That’s how he knew.

‘Expression is a means.’

To Park Dae-ri, facial expressions and expressions are merely packaging. He usually practices his facial expressions whenever he has time. He memorizes lines to appear ‘like a good person’.

It was the same now.

Despite a smile on his lips, Kang Woo-jin, whose eyes hid madness, twitched the corners of his lips. He was practicing about laughing.

Real joy, forced laughter, soaked in ecstasy, etc.

It was his routine. Practice that he usually does before returning to the office. Kang Woo-jin, who had been murmuring like that, suddenly turned expressionless.

It was a very odd time.

He had finished practice and returned to his default state. Just like that, Kang Woo-jin took a step. In his heart, there was still silence without a ripple.

It was then.

“Ah.”

Kang Woo-jin, who had a faint smile on his lips before he knew it, looked down at his shoe.

“I stepped in dog poop.”

“It wasn’t hard but squishy, it seemed like recent dog poop. Woojin, who stopped at this moment and looked down at his shoe,

“Dog poop…”

A hint of madness flickered in his eyes. Because a target appeared. He was harmed. By a mere puppy. With that, Kang Woojin slowly turned his head and looked around.

“Oh, there it is. The puppy.”

The puppy came into his sight quickly.

Because a puppy was pooping in the nearby flowerbed. Whether the owner lost it or not, it was a pup with a leash around its neck. Kang Woojin, who had been watching the puppy quietly, then…

Suddenly, colors started to spread in the world Woojin was seeing.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. His ordinary world had transformed into a fairytale. The ground is purple, the trees are green. The sky is black, the clouds are blue, and all the people are different colors. It felt full of childhood innocence.

However, it wasn’t a bright fairy tale. It felt alien. A feeling of something being off, like a twisted innocence.

“······A dream?”

Yes, it was as if he was in the world of a dream. On top of that, emotions that were not in Woojin began to emerge. His mood also changed.

Excitement.

Kang Woo-jin, who had been silent without anything, was now excited to the point of madness. Quickly, quickly, quickly, it felt like he had to do something quickly. That was the sensation.

And then.

-Whoosh.

The puppy, who had been pooping in the flowerbed, came and rubbed against Woojin’s foot. In Woojin’s eyes, the puppy was yellow.

“You’re cute. Fluffy. Makes me want to pop you.”

Woojin looked around. There were a lot of people. In other words, there were a lot of eyes watching. Therefore, Woojin grabbed the leash of the puppy and moved.

Fortunately, the puppy followed.

A public bathroom was visible nearby. The place Woojin was headed was behind that bathroom. Soon, Woojin pulled the leash and held the yellow puppy to his chest.

The puppy licked Woojin’s cheek.

“You’re cute. But you shouldn’t poop on the path where people walk.”

Woojin, who was smiling, lightly tapped the yellow puppy’s nose. Then a red firecracker burst from the place he tapped. Of course, only in Woojin’s view.

That further amplified Woojin’s excitement.

A kind of euphoria to the point of restlessness. Quickly, quickly, quickly, he wanted to pop more. So Woojin, holding the yellow puppy, disappeared behind the restroom.

A few minutes later, when Woojin came out again, his face was calm.

“Ah- I’m a bit late.”

He was empty-handed.

Afterward.

Kang Woojin, who had finished reading for the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’, returned to the meeting room. At the same time, Woojin spat out a deep, vexing curse in his heart.

“Ah, shit.”

Because he felt a firmly established disgust. Everything about Park Dae-ri and his world felt slightly annoying. However, Park Dae-ri was already engraved in Woojin.

‘I feel disgusting.’

Well, the experience or reading of Park Dae-ri in the void felt about 20 minutes to Kang Woo-jin, but he now felt as if he had endured motion sickness for about 5 hours.

Park Dae-ri was both strange and familiar to Kang Woo-jin.

Now they were both like Kang Woo-jin himself, but for some reason, Woo-jin had a strong desire to get rid of Park Dae-ri.

At that time.

‘What is it? No, no, don’t come out.’

Kang Woo-jin barely held back the emotions of Park Dae-ri that suddenly popped up. It was instinctive. A defensive instinct.

At that moment, Kang Woo-jin was slightly dumbfounded.

“Do you understand the entire context?”

The voice of author Park Eun-mi, sitting opposite him, rang in Woojin’s ears. It was then that Woojin’s view slowly widened. In the meantime, the words of author Park Eun-mi continued.

“You don’t have to feel burdened. You can act any role or even just a few lines of dialogue. I just want to see Woo-jin’s tone.”

Woo-jin, who had been slightly flustered, barely managed to keep his composure.

‘Ah, right. That was the situation.’

He looked down at the bundle of paper in his hand. The script for part one of ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

‘It’s a bit much to start without reading it.’

Although he had already learned everything about Park Dae-ri through the lines, Kang Woo-jin lowered his voice for the sake of those sitting in front of him.

“I’ll read it for a moment.”

Of course, he did not read the script.

-Flip, flip.

He was pretending to read. Just for about 5 minutes. Then, one phrase in the script caught Woo-jin’s eye.

-[S# 14]

-The world as seen by Park Dae-ri was covered in colors. It’s like it’s depicting a crazy dream garden.

So that’s why I saw those crazy colors. Woo-jin, who was murmuring to himself, let out a small sigh.

-Swish.

He looked up and spoke calmly to everyone.

“I’ll do the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’.”

What was interesting was that as soon as Woo-jin finished his answer.

“!!!”

Everyone on the other side opened their eyes wide. Are they surprised? Why? Especially, the reactions of PD Song Man-woo and author Park Eun-mi were strong.

“…Park Dae-ri??”

But Woo-jin reaffirmed with a serious tone.

“Yes, the role of ‘Park Dae-ri’.”

At this, PD Song Man-woo with a goatee stared at Woo-jin and then turned his head to look at author Park Eun-mi. Author Park Eun-mi was already looking at him.

“…”

For a brief moment, the two exchanged glances. Woo-jin found this a bit strange.

‘What’s going on? Are they communicating with their eyes?’

They were indeed big shots. They were communicating just by their eyes. Then, PD Song Man-woo, who had turned into a stern face, locked eyes with Woojin again.

“Which scene of Park Dae-ri’s role?”

Is there any point in going to the end? The role of Park Dae-ri becomes more complex as it goes on. Therefore, Woo-jin chose a relatively lighter scene from the front.

“I’ll do the scene where the puppy appears.”

Author Park Eun-mi, who had put on glasses at some point, asked PD Song Man-woo.

“PD, please handle the camera perspective, and Woo-jin, please act as if the PD is the camera.”

In fact, there was already a camera in this conference room. Behind where Kang Woo-jin was sitting and in front of him near the window. Anyway, Kang Woo-jin, acknowledging this, handed over the script he was holding.

-Swoosh.

to author Park Eun-mi on the other side. Then she asked with a frown.

“Can you… do it without looking?”

It seemed more inconvenient. This was something that Kang Woo-jin did unconsciously. Rather than maintaining a tough act, it came out unconsciously. Because for him, who already embodied Park Dae-ri, reading the script was more cumbersome.

“Yes. It’s fine.”

However, this act amplified the misunderstanding of everyone, including author Park Eun-mi.

‘Does he understand the dialogues, stage directions, and emotional lines in just a few minutes…? That’s impossible, isn’t it?’

It was possible. Of course, it was only possible for Kang Woo-jin. But for everyone including author Park Eun-mi, it was an incomprehensible act.

‘Is he bluffing… No, he seems too nonchalant for that.’

At that point.

“Alright, let’s go with that. Let’s start right away.”

PD Song Man-woo, leaning forward, threw the first line to Kang Woo-jin. A line that signaled the start of the scene.

“Hey! Park Dae-ri!! What are you doing? Come on!”

Following that, Kang Woo-jin, who had been staring intently at Song Man-woo’s goatee, blinked once. At the same time, the corner of Song Man-woo’s eyes twitched.

Why?

‘His gaze changed. So did the personality.’

Because a faint madness that wasn’t in Kang Woo-jin’s previously calm eyes had sparked. The difference was clear before and after closing his eyes. He brought out emotion in that brief moment.

At least, that was what Song Man-woo’s eyes saw.

Regardless, Woo-jin, who had been staring at Song Man-woo, lifted the corners of his mouth. There was a small tremor. However, the faint intensity in his eyes remained the same.

“Go ahead first!”

As soon as the line was delivered, the smile that had spread on Woo-jin’s lips disappeared. It was as if watching the process of becoming expressionless in slow motion.

“…”

Before long, a complete expressionless face. Then a smile reappeared. Back to expressionless. Then a smile again. This process was repeated several times on Kang Woo-jin’s face. Psychopath. The scent of a psychopath emanated strongly from Kang Woo-jin.

For some reason, actress Hong Hye-yeon, a top star, got goosebumps.

‘Each smile has a different texture.’

It was creepy. Because Kang Woo-jin was now attributing different meanings to each smile. By small tremors in the muscles near the eyes, slight head tilts, the degree of raised corners of the mouth, and so on.

‘Was that… was that expressed only by facial expression?’

Then Kang Woo-jin, wearing the chosen smile, slowly stood up from his chair. Then he paused. He looked down at his own feet. A brief silence.

About 10 seconds.

That short silence swallowed the air in the entire conference room. Woo-jin’s silence and indifference morphed into an ambiguous sense of fear. At this point, Kang Woo-jin twisted his shoe to check the sole.

“I stepped in dog poop.”

Looking around. Kang Woo-jin, who was moderately scanning the vicinity of the conference room, glanced at author Park Eun-mi once.

-Swish.

Finally, he met eyes with PD Song Man-woo. Suddenly, his eyes were gleaming with excitement as well as madness. Soon, a voice was heard from Kang Woo-jin’s spine-chilling laughter.

“Ah, it’s over there. That son of a bitch.”

That was it. Kang Woo-jin, who had stood up, sat back in the chair. Then he cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

“It’s over.”

A low and cool tone of voice. He had returned from being Park Dae-ri to being the cool Kang Woo-jin again.

‘So- how will the evaluation be?’

That’s when it happened.

-Tap.

Suddenly, across from Woo-jin, author Park Eun-mi, who had her long permed hair tied up, stood up. Her gaze was fixed on Kang Woo-jin. She approached Woo-jin with a mesmerized expression.

Slowly, slowly.

At that, Kang Woo-jin slightly pulled his head back.

‘Why is that lady acting like that? She’s a little scary?? Is she possibly angry?’

Suddenly, author Park Eun-mi, who was standing in front of Kang Woo-jin, abruptly grabbed his hands.

“Woo-jin.”

Of course, Kang Woo-jin was internally disgusted.

‘Why, why is she doing this!’

However, writer Park Eun-mi, known as a star writer in Korea, she didn’t care about the surrounding gazes and leaned into Kang Woo-jin and pleaded. Her tone was filled with desperation.

“Please take on the role of Park Dae-ri. It has to be you, Woo-jin.”

*****