thenovelthief Chapter 335: Cannes (1)
Chapter 335: Cannes (1)
chapter 335: cannes (1)kang woo-jin also read the news that director ahn ga-bok had boarded the plane to attend the cannes film festival. of course, he was in bangkok. it was early in the morning, in the car moving for the shooting of 'beneficial evil'.
today was friday, the 24th. as soon as woojin saw the news of ahn ga-bok's departure, the forgotten tension surged up.
what would the grand cannes film festival, the festival of global filmmakers, actually look like? he had seen photos and youtube videos beforehand through
they had managed to secure the mansion, but they could only film the overall picture without causing any damage. therefore, they were filming on a similar yard created in the forest near the mansion.
“cut cut cut!! ook!!”
the same scene was being filmed from multiple angles and perspectives. kang woojin's actions and martial arts while in his military uniform were shining, but what also caught attention was the aura of miley cara, who had joined the shoot a few days earlier. even though it wasn’t her own project, she gave her all to the filming of 'beneficial evil'. she showcased her top-level hollywood skills without holding back.
for ponytailed choi sung-gun, who was watching the shoot, it was an emotional moment.
it was fascinating to see that the entire crew of over a hundred members of 'beneficial evil' felt the same way.
“wow...... a two-shot of woojin-ssi and miley cara- this is absolutely insane.”
“but don’t you think woojin-ssi and cara-nim look really good together? they seem like they’re really close.”
“they worked on an album together, right? cara even appeared on woojin-ssi's youtube channel.”
“no, seriously, just seeing miley cara captured by our cameras feels like a dream to me.”
“i’m dying to spill the beans— if people see this shot, they’ll absolutely freak out.”
and that night.
as the schedule for the overseas shoot of 'beneficial evil' passed its midpoint, joseph, megan, and a group of foreigners who had come from hollywood met with kang woojin. they didn’t engage in any serious conversation. it was just a simple greeting.
“hello, i work for universal movies.”
“yes, hello. i’m kang woojin.”
“we’re the stunt team. we were really impressed by mr. woojin’s long take scenes.”
“thank you.”
there was a hint of a deep misunderstanding in the air.
“the action overall was- incredible. the ‘martial arts’ and ‘cqc’ were beyond top-notch. i heard you were in the special forces.”
kang woojin glanced at ethan, who was among the foreigners. so that guy was the host. but his poker face didn’t waver. he was used to this kind of situation.
silence was the answer in times like these.
“......”
as expected, they completely misinterpreted woojin's stiff silence.
“ah, i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to pry, if there’s a reason you’d rather not talk about it, that’s okay.”
“yes.”
“i’m looking forward to cannes, we’ll watch your work there first. let’s meet again at cannes.”
that was how most of their conversations went. however, hollywood’s famous producer joseph quietly made an offer to woojin.
“this team consists of people involved in a movie i’m currently preparing. i wanted to show them kang woojin. of course, i was also curious about your action scenes.”
“is that so?”
“haha, really- woojin, every time i see you, you defy expectations. the energy i saw in ‘last kill 3’ now feels like child’s play. woojin, i’m setting up the stage to give you a leading role. that stage will probably be completed at cannes. surely, many big names will be after you, but when the script for my upcoming project is ready, would you look at it first?”
joseph and megan had been incredibly dedicated to kang woojin, following him from korea to japan and now to bangkok. woojin was well aware of their persistence.
“yes, that shouldn’t be too difficult.”
the giant joseph didn’t forget to smile.
"i look forward to the day when i can produce a work with you."
the following morning, on the 25th. the team led by joseph left bangkok, heading not to hollywood but to cannes, france.
later that afternoon.
-bang bang!!
inside a specially designed car, miley cara was shot in the abdomen.
“ugh!”
according to the scene, the car was supposed to be speeding away, but the special vehicle containing woojin, cara, and the camera only appeared to accelerate. however, thanks to the vibration devices attached to the wheels, a violent shaking effect was created. the van shook wildly, almost out of control.
-crash!!
the front window shattered as bullets hit it. they were being ambushed during their escape, and woojin, who was driving, clenched his teeth and pressed his hand firmly against cara’s abdomen in the passenger seat.
“stop the bleeding!”
the blonde cara, her expression gradually softening, placed her trembling hand on woojin’s forearm. she didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping the gushing blood.
“j, when i found you, i was happy.”
“shut up and stop the bleeding!”
“it’s a shame. i wanted to enjoy my time a bit more with you. please take care of the rest. you can have the money i was supposed to receive."
"just shut your mouth!"
“don't live foolishly, j. whatever it is, do what you have to do. being more evil than evil suits you."
the car shook even more violently. the camera focused on cara's blue eyes as she let go of woojin's arm, turning her gaze outside the window.
"i'll take your guilt with me."
she lowered her head. but the intense vibrations of the car continued. like that, for a few seconds. as the dialogue stopped, pd song man-woo's shout rang out over the loudspeaker.
“cuuuut!! oook!!!”
that marked the end of miley cara's role in 'beneficial evil'.
kang woojin immediately thanked her in a low voice, speaking in english.
“thank you for your hard work, and for participating in the shoot.”
cara shook her head lightly and shrugged her shoulders.
“i had fun. i’m looking forward to the release of ‘beneficial evil’.”
about an hour later, after saying a casual farewell to pd song man-woo and the rest of the crew, miley cara prepared to catch her night flight. of course, her destination was the same as joseph and megan's-cannes, france. before leaving the set, cara called out to kang woojin.
"here."
-swish.
standing in front of the van, cara swept her blonde hair back and handed woojin a card key.
“i wanted to give this to you in person. it’s the key to your house that i’ve prepared in la.”
woojin accepted the key with a calm expression.
“...thank you.”
“hmm? no need to thank me, i’m just giving you what i should.”
internally, though, he was filled with intense excitement.
‘i-is this really the key to that mansion!! do i really have a house in la now??! for real??!’
of course, cara couldn’t possibly know his thoughts.
“you like it, right? anyway, see you in cannes.”
a few days later, on friday, september 29th, in japan.
at a large movie theater in tokyo, a crowd of people had gathered to watch a film. on closer look, the audience members all held cameras in their hands. the reason was simple. the hundreds of people in the audience were all japanese reporters. among them were some film critics as well.
a billboard was set up towards the large screen in front.
-‘first press screening’
it seemed to be a press screening for a movie set to be released soon.
what stood out was.
“......”
“......”
the eyes of all the reporters watching the giant screen widened dramatically. their faces showed a look of massive shock. at that moment.
-♬♪
a grand piece of film music filled the theater, and on the giant screen, the movie title in japanese appeared.
-[eerie sacrifice of a stranger]
the names of the cast members began to roll up in the ending credits. an immediately recognizable name appeared at the very top.
-[role of iyota kiyoshi / kang woojin]
-[role of yoshizawa mochio / mana kosaku]
-[role of horinochi amie / mifuyu uramatsu]
·
·
·
soon, among the hundreds of reporters, a journalist sitting in the middle, who struggled to adjust his thick glasses, muttered to himself while still staring at the screen.
“wh-what is this? is this the ending?”