Chapter 326: Bangkok (2)
Translator: Santos
The video footage shows a balding foreigner—no other than the head of the Cannes Film Festival currently in France. And just as he finishes, a final title is uttered from his mouth.
> ["The 20th invitation. Republic of Korea, Director Ahn Gabok's *The Leech*."]
Of course, the last announcement was spoken in French, but with Woojin’s near-flawless command of the language, he understood it without any issues. Not to mention, English subtitles were conveniently provided.
> *It’s up! We made it! Wow, damn, that’s amazing.*
The fact that *The Leech* was announced last heightened the thrill. Woojin almost broke character, tempted to yell out in celebration. But he held it in, keeping his outward expression one of perfect composure, though inside, he was over the moon.
> *This is what it’s all about.*
Even though Ahn Gabok was already well-known at Cannes, with the film’s acceptance being a given, there had still been a tense uncertainty regarding which category it would compete in. And though they were bound for Cannes either way, it was a hundred times better to land a spot in the main competition.
This was beyond anything Woojin’s subspace could help with.
That only added to the tension. Fortunately, *The Leech* was confirmed for the main competition category.
This meant *The Leech* would be one of twenty films competing in Cannes' prestigious competition section, vying for awards such as the Palme d’Or, the Grand Prix, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. All the highest accolades would come out of the competition section, and *The Leech* was in the running for all of them.
In front of the world’s greatest filmmakers, no less.
Behind Woojin’s stone-faced expression, his inner voice roared.
> *Good shot!*
His manager, Choi Seong-geon, and the rest of the team exploded in Woojin’s place.
“We heard it, right? Just now! They called *The Leech*!”
“Yes, sir!! Look, it’s even in the English subtitles here! *The Leech* is in!”
“Oh! This is insane! We were getting worried since it wasn’t called until the very end!”
“I know, right? When they called two Japanese films, it was so annoying! But then boom, *The Leech* at the end! Absolute chills!”
“It’s happening! This is happening! Oh wait, this is Cannes, right? What am I saying? Whatever! I’m so happy!”
With Woojin remaining calm, the rest of the team let their excitement escalate to an almost frenzied level.
“That bald guy knows how to create suspense! That’s why he’s the head of Cannes, right?”
“Wait a second! So, *The Leech* is the only Korean film in the main competition?”
“It looks like it! Hang on, let me check the Cannes website! They should’ve posted the full lineup by now!”
The stylists immediately started working their phones, some checking news articles and others opening the Cannes Festival’s official page.
“There’s only one Korean film in the competition this year! But there are four others in different sections!”
“Whew! Can you imagine if *The Leech* hadn’t made it in?!”
“I mean, just being invited to Cannes is already amazing, but still! The main competition is on another level!”
“Exactly! The local media response alone will be several times bigger, and the foreign press will be watching as well! It’s a huge difference!”
The team’s ecstatic cheers didn’t calm down anytime soon. Woojin was internally thrilled as well, so it was understandable. After all, *The Leech* was representing South Korea at Cannes this year, and Woojin was front and center among the cast, alongside renowned actors like Shin Han-ho and Oh Hye-ryeong.
The poster for *The Leech* made that clear.
Seong-geon, seated in the passenger seat, tied back his ponytail as he turned to join the team’s lively chatter. Woojin, on the other hand, remained poised as ever. With a grin on his face, Seong-geon murmured to himself.
> *We’ve finally made it to this moment.*
He recalled something Woojin had said to him some time ago.
> “I’ll count on you to see me through to Cannes next year, Director.”
It was during Woojin’s contract renewal, and that memory only amplified Seong-geon’s excitement. He addressed Woojin with a voice that held a faint tremor.
“We’ve finally reached the starting line. This is where it begins, you know?”
“Yes, I’m aware.”
“Let’s make waves across the world.”
In a low tone, Woojin replied.
“Of course, let’s make it count.”
---
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles.
The time difference meant it was late at night on the 16th, while it was already the afternoon of the 17th in Korea. Inside a major agency’s conference room, a serious meeting was underway with the blonde pop star Miley Kara and several others.
“Alright, next week, then.”
“Yeah, that sounds perfect to me.”
The release date for Kara’s new album, featuring a song Woojin collaborated on, was finally drawing near. All major production was complete, barring minor adjustments, and despite a few setbacks, the music video edit was finished.
All that was left was to finalize the launch date.
“Let’s release it while you’re in Bangkok. Kara, pick a date that feels right to you.”
With her arms crossed and her cap pulled low over her blonde hair, Kara muttered thoughtfully.
“Noon on the 24th. Right when I’ll be in the middle of filming a Korean project.”
“Noon on the 24th? Got it.”
Her album’s release date was thus set for Friday, the 24th, at noon LA time.
At that moment...
Jonathan, her main manager with a close-cropped hairstyle, leaned over and whispered into her ear.
“Kara.”
Then he relayed the latest information he’d just confirmed.
“Woojin Kang’s *The Leech* has been selected as one of the twenty competition entries at Cannes. It’s up on the official site.”
As she listened, Kara’s signature icy smile formed on her lips.
> *I knew it.*
“You knew?”
“Didn’t I tell you? This Cannes season was bound to be full of surprises.”
“It seems like it was close. It was the last film to be announced.”
> *There’s a lot to look forward to.*
Crossing her long legs, Kara smiled deeply as she thought of all the things awaiting her.
> *My album, the filming of *Beneficial Evil* in Bangkok, and Cannes.*
“Your album is the main event, right? You know that?”
“Of course. But now that I think about it, all these exciting things are tied to Woojin Kang. What would I have done if I hadn’t met him?”
It was her first time having such an exhilarating second half of the year in her entire career.
> *So many gifts? It feels like Christmas already.*
---
Two days later, Sunday the 19th.
Inside a plane, mid-morning, around 11 a.m., Woojin could be seen seated by the window in business class. His hair and makeup had been meticulously done, and he wore a thin white shirt and jeans.
The destination? Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport. It would be a few more hours before landing, and for good reason: he was heading there for the overseas location shoot for *Beneficial Evil*.
After gazing out at the clouds for a while...
Woojin reached down to his bag and pulled out a script—a copy of episode one of *Beneficial Evil*.
> *First, I’ll go through this script one more time, then rest in subspace.*
He raised his index finger and pressed the black square attached to the script, and in an instant, his surroundings shifted to the pitch-black world of his subspace. Now fully at ease, Woojin let out a huge yawn, cracking his neck as he made his way to where several white squares were laid out.
“Let’s see...”
Naturally, he selected *Beneficial Evil*.
> -[9/Script (Title: *Beneficial Evil*), EX grade]
> -(*Episode 1*)/(*Episode 2*)/(*Episode 3*)...
Episodes one and two of *Beneficial Evil* had undergone significant revisions recently. After adding martial arts and CQC elements, stunt director Ethan Smith had joined the project, further enhancing the action sequences. Additionally, Miley Kara’s character arc had been integrated, resulting in extensive script updates.
The initial storyline that started in the present now opened with the protagonist, Jang Yeon-woo’s past.
The first episode would now alternate between Jang Yeon-woo’s past and present, revealing critical details through different perspectives.
Woojin, though he had already gone through the final version of the script multiple times, selected episode one once more. Most of the overseas scenes would be in the first two episodes, which were set in Bangkok.
Shortly, a familiar robotic voice echoed in his ear.
> [“Preparing ‘A: Jang Yeon-woo’ readthrough...”]
> [“Ready. This script is highly polished. Implementation rate: 100%. Beginning readthrough.”]
The surroundings shifted into a vast gray void.
---
It was unclear how much time had passed before Woojin’s vision, now seen through Jang Yeon-woo’s eyes, began to focus. The surroundings remained dark even as the gray receded.
> *Darkness.*
A faint moon
light cast a weak glow. It was cold, the winter air chilling his skin. Every sensation felt distinctly like Jang Yeon-woo’s. Now with black hair, Woojin, in Jang Yeon-woo’s form, stood still, taking in his environment.
> *A misty exhalation.*
Gradually, his eyes adjusted to the pitch-black surroundings. In the distance, a faint animal cry echoed. Dense trees and weeds spread around him, indicating he was in a forest or a mountain. Off in the distance, a bright light shone.
The light came from a building.
All around was darkness, but that single area stood out, illuminated. Remaining calm, Woojin lowered his gaze. He saw combat boots, a military uniform, a bulletproof vest with several ammunition pouches, an earpiece, a handgun at his side, and an M4 carbine slung over his shoulder.
Then, a woman’s voice came through his earpiece in English.
> “Proceed.”
Without hesitation, Woojin moved, his stance low and deliberate, every step making his heart colder. His temperature dropped, his head spinning, not from the cold but as various calculations and decisions unfolded in his mind.
As he silently approached the building’s lights, he saw a figure pacing by a pool in the distance—a large man holding a rifle.
Woojin or rather, Jang Yeon-woo, observed him for a moment before fading into the shadows.
The man near the pool, oblivious, let out a yawn. At that moment...
> *Rustle.*
Hearing a sound from the right, the man’s expression grew serious. He took a step forward.
> “Mmph!”
A hand suddenly covered the man’s mouth from behind, followed by a quick stab to his neck. Blood sprayed as Woojin retracted his knife, the man emitting a faint groan as he dropped to his knees. Woojin, expressionless, swiftly snapped his neck.
A voice came through the fallen man’s earpiece, speaking in English.
> “Derek, how’s it over there?”
Woojin was already gone.
The voice on the earpiece continued, filled with impatience.
> “Derek? Hey, Derek. Damn it!”
Not long after, four armed men rushed over, quickly checking the lifeless body. They raised their rifles, tension high, scanning the area.
Just then, something heavy dropped near them with a dull thud. One of the men’s eyes widened.
> “Grenade! Grenade!!”
The men reacted instantly, trying to scatter. While one might have tried covering the grenade to minimize the blast, they instead chose to run. But the grenade exploded before they could escape.
> *BOOM!*
A deafening blast tore through the air, scattering the men’s limbs in a brutal display. Limbs and heads were flung through the air in a spray of blood, as five lives were snuffed out in an instant. Yet their comrades remained inside the building. Thanks to the explosion, at least eight more men began mobilizing from various points—the flower beds, the entrance, and the interior.
First to move were two men near the garden on the building’s right side.
> “Over there! The garden by the pool!!”
> “Shoot! Shoot!!”
They glimpsed a shadowy figure in military gear. The two men by the pool aimed their rifles and fired, the gunshots echoing across the grounds. Soon, all eight guards were firing in the same direction.
> *RATATATATA!*
> *RATATATATA!*
The flower bed wall began to crumble under the onslaught. After firing for a while, the eight men paused. One of them used hand signals to direct two others closer to the target.
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Just then...
> *Whoosh!*
Woojin, lying flat at the end of the flower bed, reappeared, raising his M4 carbine. Thanks to his suppressor, the shots were faint.
> *Pew pew pew pew!*
Four shots rang out, and the heads and faces of the two men exploded as they fell. The remaining six immediately redirected their fire toward Woojin, but he vanished again, reappearing and firing with faint gunshots interspersed with louder bursts. Heads and backs of skulls shattered as two more went down.
The remaining men ducked behind the flower bed wall, cursing.
> “Where the hell is he?!”
> “Where is he?!”
> *BANG BANG BANG!*
They continued to fire blindly while hiding. But as they took cover, Woojin suddenly appeared above them. The men tried to react, but before they could, faint gunfire followed, and one by one, they dropped like puppets with their strings cut.
The mansion’s yard, once filled with gunfire, fell silent.
> *...*
Woojin crouched next to a body, wiping blood off his cheek. He then grabbed one of the more intact corpses.
A little while later...
The mansion’s front door creaked open, and two armed men inside lifted their rifles, eyes wide in shock. They fired at the figure in the doorway, their bullets shredding the fallen body in front of them, thinking it was Woojin. But it was just a corpse he had thrown as a decoy.
> *Thud!*
While they focused on the fallen body, Woojin emerged from the right side of the door and fired. With four muffled gunshots, the two men’s heads burst in sequence, and they crumpled to the floor. Even as they fell, Woojin, with a steely gaze, shot a few more rounds into their bodies to make sure.
Finally...
Covered in blood, Woojin advanced into the mansion’s interior. Though his rifle remained at the ready, his expression had relaxed slightly. But his heart remained icy calm.
> “P-please spare me! Please!”
A foreign man lay prone in the chaotic living room, trembling as he looked up at Woojin, pressing his hands together in a pleading gesture.
> “Please, spare me, I beg you!”
But...
> “Money! I’ll give you as much as you want!”
> *Pew pew pew!*
The man’s face was punctured by three bullets before he could finish his plea.
---
Several minutes later...
A team of armed men entered the mansion, guns at the ready, carefully sweeping through the rooms. They numbered about five, followed by a woman with blonde hair pinned back and holding a pistol in each hand. She was calm and unhurried as her team checked the rooms thoroughly. Finally, the blonde woman lowered her guns and asked her team.
> “Where’s J?”