小火星

Chapter 315: Autumn (16)

“……”

He just stared blankly at Cara’s face— for at least 10 seconds. In response, Cara tilted her head slightly and cleared her throat.

“Ahem.”

She avoided Kang Woojin’s calm gaze. At the same time, Cara questioned herself.

‘Why did I just avoid his eyes?’

Even though she had done it, she realized her own puzzlement a little too late. Miley Cara was known for having a strong personality. Well, standing at the very top of this cutthroat Hollywood industry justified that. However, the current Cara felt strangely different from her usual self. At least, that’s how she felt.

‘Why can’t I look this man straight in the eye?’

When she first met Kang Woojin, when she was utterly astonished by his various abilities, and even when they reunited in LA, Cara had never shown this kind of behavior. Her heart, which had somewhat calmed down over time, now began to beat faintly again.

As she was lost in her own confusion for a while.

‘Hmm.’

Woojin, with his expressionless face, was actually somewhat worried about her, contrary to his outward appearance.

‘Is she alright? No, no, she’s not.’

Anyone, not just Woojin, would have thought the same.

‘Whew— there’s no way she’d be okay. After such a crazy thing happened.’

It seemed odd to ask if she was okay in such a situation. Kang Woojin pondered for a moment. Was there anything he could say to comfort Cara while still maintaining his persona? Then something came to his mind, and Woojin suddenly lowered his voice. His English came out in a fairly deep tone.

“Do you like Korean food?”

Cara, who had been momentarily lost in thought, blinked her blue eyes.

“……Sorry?”

“Korean food.”

Cara tilted her head slightly again and answered.

“Uh— yes. I often eat it. You saw how much I enjoyed the food you cooked when we were filming in Korea, remember?”

“That’s right.”

“Why Korean food all of a sudden?”

“Can you handle spicy food?”

“I… like it.”

Woojin crossed his legs leisurely. It was a deliberate act.

“After we finish our work together, before I return to Korea, I’ll make you one of my favorite Korean dishes. It tastes best when it’s spicy.”

For a moment, Cara’s eyes widened. She was full of interest.

“Really??”

“Yes. Sometimes, I relieve stress by eating spicy food.”

Stress? Here, Miley Cara let out a small laugh. She had realized why Kang Woojin was suddenly talking about Korean food and spicy things. The man in front of her was, in his own way, worried about her. Since Woojin usually appeared so cold, Cara felt the faint warmth from him even more clearly.

‘Worrying in such a way— really, what a peculiar man.’

Her tension quickly dissolved, and Cara let out a small sigh as she responded.

“If you’re going to make it, make it really spicy. So spicy I can barely think.”

“You’ll regret it.”

“It’s fine, it has to be that spicy for me to relieve my stress.”

“As you wish.”

After hearing Woojin’s short reply, Cara brushed her blonde hair back from her forehead and got back to the main topic.

“Thank you. But more importantly, about the debt. I owe you a huge debt, Woojin.”

“I’ve heard.”

“If it weren’t for you, I would have lost a lot. I could’ve even lost my life… Hoo— Even if it didn’t go that far, if I’d been injured, it would’ve taken a lot of time to recover.”

That was true. Even a minor injury for someone like Miley Cara, a superstar of her caliber, would require complete recovery before anything else. That meant her ongoing album work, as well as her numerous scheduled activities, would come to a halt. If it had been a major injury, it could’ve taken years to recover.

Kang Woojin had prevented all of that.

Knowing this, Cara spoke to him.

“I can’t live with debts, but this one is so big that I think I’ll have to repay it over quite a long period.”

“There’s no need to. I didn’t do it expecting anything in return.”

“I know, but I’d like you to tell me. I’m going to repay you in some form, but that’s separate. Is there anything you want right now, Woojin? Honestly, I’d like to do something for you immediately.”

Kang Woojin, with his poker face, gazed at the serious Cara. She was determined. He couldn’t brush this off lightly. Well, even under normal circumstances, Woojin wasn’t the type to refuse when something was offered. Woojin’s thoughts deepened.

‘Hmm— Should I say something, so Miley Cara can feel a bit more at ease?’

Money? No, money wasn’t a good idea. He was already making plenty, and asking for money in this situation seemed a bit tacky. Connections in Hollywood? With Cara’s level of influence, she was already well-connected, and from what she had said, her network was solid.

Then.

‘Ah.’

A decent idea suddenly flashed in Woojin’s mind. But he wondered if it would work.

‘Is this a bit much? Ah— whatever, let’s just go for it.’

Woojin’s no-hesitation personality kicked in again, and he lowered his voice as much as possible. He had to appear sincere.

“If that’s the case, how about this?”

“Huh? What?”

Cara perked up her ears.

Two days later, on the 19th, in Bangkok, Thailand. Early morning.

The location was a 4-star hotel in Bangkok where the ‘Beneficial Evil’ team was staying for location scouting and other overseas shoots. The restaurant, visible after passing through the lobby, was crowded with people. The hotel’s breakfast buffet was in full swing. The spacious restaurant was lined with various dishes, and among the guests enjoying their meals, some ‘Beneficial Evil’ staff members were mingled throughout.

Soon, a group of muscular foreigners appeared in the humid restaurant.

“Oh— I like the food prepared today.”

“Haha, lucky us. If we had dry sausages like yesterday, I might have cried.”

It was Ethan Smith, the leader of the stunt team, who was busy with the CQC scene upgrades and location scouting, along with his team members. Due to the hot weather, they were dressed lightly, making their muscles stand out even more. Soon, Ethan, who was leading the group, picked up a breakfast tray.

-Swish.

He scanned the inside of the restaurant, looking for the familiar faces of the ‘Beneficial Evil’ staff among the many guests. He found some of them, and they seemed unusually excited for this early in the morning. Ethan, with his big nose, spoke as his hand hovered over the tongs.

“Hmm— What’s going on?”

The answer came from the man with a bear-like build standing right behind him.

“It’s probably because of Kang Woojin.”

“Kang Woojin?”

“I heard the project he did in Japan turned out well.”

“Ah— was it the animation one?”

They didn’t know the details, but they had heard that the ‘Male Friend: Remake’ anime had been successful.

“But wasn’t that news from a few days ago?”

“It seems like it’s still a hot topic in Japan and Korea.”

“Oh-ho— I see. That’s why the staff are so excited.”

“Because if Kang Woojin does well, it’ll have a good influence on ‘Beneficial Evil’ too. I’ve heard his recognition level is now comparable to top-tier Japanese actors.”

Another team member chimed in.

“That might be part of it, but it could also be purely because Kang Woojin’s existence is so fascinating.”

The big-nosed Ethan, who was putting other food on his plate, nodded.

“You’re right. While working on a major Korean drama, he had a project in Japan blow up. Meanwhile, Kang Woojin himself is in Hollywood. And he’s even working on an album with Miley Cara. It’s incredible and amazing even from our perspective.”

“He seems busier than most Hollywood actors. It’s a wonder he’s able to keep up with that stamina.”

“Well, he is ex-special forces.”

“Ah—”

Ethan let out a small sigh and said.

“At this rate, we’ll be seeing Kang Woojin in Hollywood very soon.”

Ethan vaguely knew that Kang Woojin had already been offered a chance. The opportunity related to ‘Last Kill 3’.

‘Why did Kang Woojin turn that opportunity down?’

At the same time.

-♬♪

A ringtone rang out from the phone in Ethan’s shorts pocket. Casually pulling out his phone, he was slightly surprised.

“……Joseph Felton?”

The caller was none other than the famous Hollywood producer, Joseph Felton. Ethan, recalling the face of the towering Joseph, quickly put the phone to his ear.

“Joseph?”

Joseph Felton’s voice started to come through the phone. After talking with him for about 5 minutes, a thought crossed his mind.

‘…Wait, Hollywood? No, Joseph Felton is after Kang Woojin??’

He was quite shocked.

‘Is he really thinking of coming to Bangkok personally? With his team?’

Ethan, who had paused for a moment, suddenly chuckled.

‘I see, Hollywood has already been keeping an eye on Kang Woojin.’

After a few more minutes of conversation, Ethan lowered his phone. The stunt team members immediately asked him.

“Joseph Felton? Was that Joseph on the phone just now?”

“…Yeah.”

“That’s pretty sudden. Is it about casting? But considering Joseph Felton’s stature, there are plenty of other stunt teams besides us.”

“No, he’s not looking for us.”

“Huh? Then—”

“But, in this case, it could still serve as a resume boost for us.”

Ethan’s smile deepened as he muttered quietly.

“There’s going to be a party here in Bangkok where we’ll be filming ‘CQC’.”

Several hours later.

It was late evening on the 19th in Bangkok, Thailand. The time was about 10:30 PM. The ‘Beneficial Evil’ team members, dripping with sweat, entered the lobby of the 4-star hotel en masse.

They had just returned after finishing the day’s schedule.

The dozen or so key staff members, clearly tired, exchanged brief greetings in the lobby before heading off to their respective rooms. Among them was PD Song Man-woo.

“Ugh— I’m dead tired.”

They had already been staying in Bangkok for over a week. Though the schedule had been grueling, they were now nearing the final stages. Over this short but intense week, many things had been revised and decided. PD Song Man-woo, the overall decision-maker, turned on the air conditioner as soon as he entered his room and took off his sweat-soaked black tank top.

“It’s tough, really tough.”

PD Song Man-woo, whose skin seemed to have tanned a bit, sprawled out on the bed. Even though he was a big name in the drama industry and had done overseas shoots frequently, the work was always exhausting. Tomorrow, they had to move early in the morning as well. Lying on the bed, zoning out, he stared at the painting of a palace on the wall, then barely managed to move.

‘First, I should wash up, check today’s work, and then— maybe have a beer.’

He was craving a cold can of beer. As he slowly lifted himself up from the bed.

-Buzz, buzz.

His phone, placed on the bedside table, vibrated loudly. PD Song Man-woo quickly shot up. A call this late at night? There was a high chance that something had gone wrong.

But.

“Huh?”

When he checked the caller ID, PD Song Man-woo tilted his head.

“Woojin-ssi?”

The caller was none other than Kang Woojin, who should be in LA.

Wait, what’s the time difference between Bangkok and LA again? After some quick calculations, he realized it was early morning in LA. Feeling a bit curious, PD Song Man-woo put the phone to his ear.

“Oh, Woojin-ssi. Haha, it’s been a while! How’s LA? It’s killing us here in Bangkok.”

From the other side of the phone, Kang Woojin’s cynical voice came through.

“Same here, nothing special.”

“Really? But isn’t it morning over there?”

“Yes.”

“What’s going on so early? Did something happen? No, wait, I heard things are going great with ‘Male Friend: Remake.’”

“PD~nim, is it possible to add one more actor to ‘Beneficial Evil’ right now?”

“…Huh? An actor?”

“Yes. Whether it’s a special appearance or a cameo.”

For a moment, PD Song Man-woo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Kang Woojin’s words sounded oddly familiar. It was a common tactic used by entertainment companies and production agencies.

Casting an actor at the last minute. Sometimes referred to as ‘actor stuffing’.

It was a scene frequently witnessed in the entertainment industry, something very familiar to a heavyweight like PD Song Man-woo. But what felt strange and puzzling was that the request was coming from Kang Woojin. The timing was also sudden.

‘Woojin-ssi should know that all casting for the project has been finalized— then why is he trying to insert an actor now?’’

If it were Choi Sung-gun, the CEO of bw Entertainment, it would make more sense, but Kang Woojin wasn’t that kind of person.

‘Hmm, it’s sudden, but bw Entertainment has been expanding aggressively recently… Could it be a request from CEO Choi?’

Would Woojin-ssi easily grant someone a favor just because they asked? Either way, it was hard to understand. Whatever the case, PD Song Man-woo couldn’t simply ignore Woojin’s request. After all, it was Kang Woojin.

‘There’s no choice, huh.’

In fact, there was a bit of a dilemma. No matter who the actor Woojin was trying to insert was, adding a new actor at this stage would increase the workload. There were the directorial aspects to consider, and Writer Choi Na-na would also be forced to adjust the script based on the added role. Whether it was a supporting role, an unknown, or a rookie actor, the difficulty level would be the same.

The entire production schedule would get slightly disrupted.

However, the PD Song Man-woo somehow managed to smile.

“Haha, alright. If it’s a request from Woojin-ssi, we’ll have to make the impossible possible. So, who’s the actor? Ah, but you know, if they’re too much of a no-name, we’d need to confirm their acting skills, right?”

“It’s an actor you know too, PD-nim.”

“Really? Who? Is it someone good enough to give some lines to?”

At his follow-up question, Kang Woojin’s low voice responded from the other side of the phone.

“It’s Miley Cara.”

PD Song Manwoo nodded nonchalantly at first.

“Ah- Miley Cara? I know her, I know her. If it’s someone of that caliber…”

He stopped mid-sentence. Then, he blinked several times, wondering if he had heard correctly.

“Wait, wait a minute. W-who?”

Once again, Kang Woojin’s answer was short and clear. There was no excitement in his voice.

“Miley Cara.”

****

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