Chapter 47: Projection (5)

    Translator: Dreamscribe

    In the movie on the big screen, Kang Woojin, their friend, appears. What is this crazy situation? Sometimes it happens, if you’re too taken aback, your actions and thoughts come to a halt.

    That’s exactly what happened to the trio who were watching ‘Exorcism’.

    Starting with the Kim Dae-young.

    ‘No way, Kang Woojin?! What are you doing there?!! Seriously, why are you there?! What the hell is this?!’

    Lee Kyung-sung, dropping the popcorn he held in his hand.

    ‘Crazy! Are my eyes playing tricks? They look fine! Kang Woojin? Seriously, Kang Woojin??!’

    Na Hyeong-gu, with his mouth wide open and eyes bulging.

    ‘Is this a dream??! No way it’s a dream?! So, Woojin, what the hell are you doing there??’

    The trio, although motionless, were internally panicking. They were on the verge of losing their sanity. If there weren’t people around, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them slapping each other’s faces.

    That’s how shocking Kang Woojin’s face on the big screen was.

    ‘Whoa – I’m going crazy!!’

    ‘Hey, Kang Woojin, answer me, you bastard!! What are you doing there!’

    ‘Ah, right. They probably look alike, don’t they? Yeah, someone who looks like him. Yeah. Or... Is it really someone who looks like him?’

    It was a mental assault for the trio.

    At this point, Kang Woojin, who was watching the backs of his buddies from the back, was,

    “hup!”

    desperately holding back his laughter. He had no intention of doing so, but seeing them made it hard to hold back.”

    The reason was simple.

    The trio at this moment was.

    ‘Are they meerkats- Ah, I’m going to die.’

    They looked like seated meerkats. They stretched their heads out to look up at the screen and then glanced at each other’s faces. How could he resist laughing? For Woojin, it was quite a scene.

    ‘I didn’t expect watching the back of their heads would be so entertaining.’

    Among the trio looking up at the screen, Na Hyeong-gu, slowly lowering his head, whispered to Lee Kyung-sung next to him.

    “···Hey. Slap my cheek once.”

    Lee Kyung-sung, still holding the popcorn container, frowned and whispered back.

    “Shh... shut up. I can’t do that right now.”

    “That’s Kang Woojin, right?”

    “You don’t think so? If that’s not Kang Woojin, then who is it?”

    “Right, right?”

    Kim Dae-young momentarily zoned out and finally managed to speak up.

    “Wait···a minute, guys, let’s calm down first.”

    “You calm down. Your eyeballs are going to pop out.”

    The trio once again turned their attention to the screen. Kang Woojin was still giving a passionate performance as Kim Ryu-jin. Yes, it was definitely Kang Woojin. At first, they didn’t believe it, but by now the trio had accepted that the character in the movie was Kang Woojin. Well, they accepted it, but they still couldn’t digest it.

    They were denying reality.

    If a friend you’ve seen naked at a bathhouse suddenly appears on a movie screen, anyone would react the same way.

    Soon, Kim Dae-young raised both his arms to rub his eyes. The remaining friends also expressed their disbelief in their own ways. From this point on, the trio began to watch the short film ‘Exorcism’ with Kang Woojin’s acting. Yes, let’s say he appeared in the movie. But why its only him?

    Kim Dae-young, who enjoyed acting as a hobby, soon realized.

    ‘······He’s even the main lead??’

    That Kang Woojin was not just a supporting role but the protagonist in the film. Kang Woojin had been on screen since ‘Exorcism’ more than 5 minutes ago. ‘Exorcism’ was a short film, not a commercial film. This meant that Kang Woojin, appearing from the beginning, was definitely the male lead.

    At this point.

    “···Hey, hey.”

    Na Hyeong-gu, who was sitting at the end, whispered to his friends in a hushed voice.

    “Let’s go out for now, and once we’re out, let’s call Kang Woojin.”

    He seemed unable to concentrate any further due to the shock. However, the remaining friends, Kim Dae-young and Lee Kyung-sung, shook their heads with stern faces.

    “No. Let’s just watch it. We’ll talk after it’s over.”

    “I agree.”

    In the end, Na Hyeong-gu, who had suggested the idea, followed his friends’ decision and turned his head back towards the screen. At that moment, Kang Woojin, or rather Kim Ryu-jin, was in the car.

    -??

    A trot song echoed throughout the cinema. Kim Ryu-jin naturally turned down the volume. Thanks to that, the characters’ lines sounded even clearer.

    [“Can you kill those bastards? How much does it cost to kill?”]

    Kim Ryu-jin responds indifferently to the angry client.

    [“500 million per person.”]

    [“That’s expensive.”]

    [“It’s a joke, man. I wouldn’t do such a thing.”]

    [“No discount? Like a telecom or credit card discount.”]

    [“Hey, are you listening to me? Do I look like I make pizzas or burgers?”]

    No doubt, ‘Exorcism’ had impressive quality for a short film. The sound was particularly realistic and meticulous. The characters’ breathing, the noise of touching objects, dialogues, and sound effects. It was clear to anyone that they had put a lot of effort into the sound.

    ‘I’m going crazy, for real.’

    Among the trio who were increasingly getting absorbed into the movie, the disbelief of Kim Dae-young, who had relatively abundant knowledge about acting, was escalating.

    ‘Not only is that Kang Woojin bastard there, which is crazy, but why is his acting crazy?? Why is he good at acting?’

    Because Kang Woojin’s portrayal of Kim Ryu-jin was absurdly good. To say that it was natural would be an understatement. Kang Woojin on the screen could only be described as Kim Ryu-jin. His acting was that vivid.

    “Understood.”

    “Watch out for any derived controversies. Jung-hyuk will have to take all the flak. If the issue gets hot, keep it rolling until the award ceremony. Eh? Anyway, If only nobodies are buzzing around, the reporters will only cover Jung-hyuk.”

    As soon as the orders were given, the employee bowed his head.

    -Knock, bang!

    The door of the CEO’s office suddenly opened, and another employee rushed in. Seeing him, CEO Seo Gu-seob raised an eyebrow.

    “What’s going on? Manager Park.”

    Manager Park, catching his breath, immediately got to the point.

    “CEO, um... we just got a call from the ‘Exorcism’ side.”

    “Ah, forget about that trashy movie. Just focus on pushing our narrative.”

    “I don’t think we can ignore this.”

    “What?”

    With a cold tone, CEO Seo Gu-seob asked, and Manager Park hesitantly reported.

    “Hong Hye-yeon appeared in ‘Exorcism’.”

    There was a moment of silence. After glaring at the employee for about five seconds, CEO Seo Gu-seob suddenly stood up.

    “What?! Hong Hye-yeon? Hong Hye-yeon appeared in ‘Exorcism’?!”

    “...Yes.”

    “No, shit! What kind of bullshit are you spouting? Hong Hye-yeon just joined PD Song’s drama, right?! And she’s appearing in ‘Exorcism’?!!”

    “She just appeared as a main supporting role.”

    “........”

    For a moment, CEO Seo Gu-seob, felt a headache. Hong Hye-yeon appeared? If true, all the hype they prepared for Park Jung-hyuk’s whitewashing would be in vain. It was Hong Hye-yeon, one of the top actresses in Korea.

    They can’t compete with her in terms of making headlines.

    Grinding his teeth, CEO Seo Gu-seob angrily threw the cigarette pack he was holding onto the floor. Then he remembered a certain person.

    “...Choi Sung-gun, that bastard was the investor.”

    Meanwhile, on the same day at lunchtime.

    While the ‘Mise-en-sce?ne Short Film Festival’ was in full swing, the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team uploaded a video. It was on their YouTube channel, other video platforms, and the official website.

    -[15 seconds Official 1st Teaser] He may be a lazy goof-off, but he’s a genius!

    Premiering on 5/15(Fri)! Profiler Hanryang

    -[SBC]/ENG SUB

    -2020. 5. 2

    It was the official 1st teaser trailer of ‘Profiler Hanryang’. Unlike the teasers that had been released so far, this one included actual content from the drama. Unfortunately, it was only 15 seconds long, but it included key points.

    Narrated by Ryu Jung-min.

    The teaser, which began with his deep voice, quickly crossed over several scenes and showed various characters. Yu Ji-hyeong crouching at a murder scene, Jeong Yeon-hee chasing someone, tense main and supporting actors, a massive car explosion, and more. As it approached the end, numerous scenes rapidly replaced each other. The background music also picked up pace.

    Eventually, the teaser faded to a black screen, and Ryu Jung-min’s narration echoed faintly.

    [“Everything”]

    At the same time, a wicked smile from a man whose face is covered above the nose filled the screen.

    [“Started from this distorted smile.”]

    It was an eerie smile. Viewers wouldn’t know, but the actors of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ recognized the smile instantly.

    Because it belonged to Park Dae-ri.

    As soon as this teaser was uploaded, the first comment appeared.

    -Crazy... who’s the actor with the last smile? It was brief, but the impact is tremendous....

    In a university cafeteria, four girls gathered in a university cafeteria. One of them, who had seen the teaser, was excited. She was excited enough to show the teaser to her friends sitting nearby.

    “Check this out! The quality of this teaser is insane! Wow- who’s the actor smiling at the end?? So creepy!”

    It was Kang Woojin’s sister, Kang Hyun-ah.

    “Ah! I can’t wait to watch it!”

    Meanwhile, in a park 10 minutes away from COEX.

    If you go through the busy streets and into the alley, you’ll find an ordinary park.

    -Swish.

    Kang Woojin, who just arrived, was seen. His dark denim jacket and hat were the same, but he had taken off his mask. His expression was quite solemn. He had just finished watching ‘Exorcism’ and immediately came here.

    Anyway, Woojin scanned the park over the flower bed.

    “There they are.”

    He noticed three familiar faces sitting on a bench. They were his friends who had just seen Kang Woojin on the screen a few minutes ago. Kim Dae-young had called Kang Woojin as soon as ‘Exorcism’ ended, and Woojin, who had no intention of putting things off, immediately agreed to meet.

    Soon.

    -Swish.

    Kang Woojin, who had been discreetly scratching his chin, took steps towards the park entrance without a second thought.

    At that moment.

    “Hey!! Crazy! Kang Woojin!”

    “That bastard!!!”

    “Shit! Catch him, catch him!!”

    The waiting trio all spotted Woojin and.

    -Thud!

    They came running fiercely. Their momentum was like that of a charging mad bull. If you collided with them, at least one arm would seem to break from their speed. For some reason, Kang Woojin also turned and ran.

    “Ah- Shit!”

    He was running away.

    *****