Chapter 326 - Bangkok (2)

Chapter 326: Bangkok (2)

Translator: Dreamscribe

In the video, a bald foreigner – no, the current director of the Cannes Film Festival in France – announced the final film title at the very end.

[“The 20th film selected for the ‘In Competition’ section. From Republic of Korea, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s ‘Leech.’”]

Of course, it was the last invitation announced in French, but Woojin, already familiar with the language, understood it immediately without any difficulty. Besides, there were English subtitles below the video.

‘It’s here!! We made it! Woo- damn, this is insane.’

Coincidentally, the fact that ‘Leech’ was announced at the very last moment gave an extra thrill. Woojin almost broke his poker face and shouted “Whoa!” but he held it in. Externally, his current appearance was the epitome of composure. However, internally, he was jumping for joy.

‘Ah- this feeling, right here.’

In the past, Director Ahn Ga-bok had already gained significant fame at Cannes, so his entry was a sure thing, but Kang Woojin was still somewhat nervous because it wasn’t clear in which section the film would be featured. He figured that if they were going to Cannes anyway, it’d be a hundred times better to be on the main stage, right?

This was a reality even the void space couldn’t change.

That’s why he had been even more anxious. In any case, fortunately, ‘Leech’ was confirmed for the main ‘In Competition’ section of the Cannes Film Festival.

In other words, ‘Leech’ would be competing against 19 other films from around the world in the ‘In Competition’ section. Starting with the top prize, the Palme d’Or, second prize the Grand Prix, the Best Director award, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and so on-all the highest honors of the Cannes Film Festival come from the ‘In Competition’ section, and ‘Leech’ now had a chance at winning any of those awards.

In front of some of the most renowned filmmakers in the world.

Woojin, with his solid poker face, hid his excitement within.

‘Good shot!!’

Choi Sung-gun in the passenger seat and the rest of the team expressed it for him.

“They called us, right?!! Just now, they called ‘Leech’!”

“Yes, CEO-nim!! Look here, here, the English subtitles also say ‘Leech’!!”

“Ahh!! This is insane!! I was seriously panicking since we weren’t called until the very end!!”

“For real! I was so pissed when two Japanese films were called! But then, bam, at the last moment, ‘Leech’! Goosebumps!!”

“It was the movie! Ah, this is a film festival! What am I even saying?! Anyway, I’m so happy!!”

Except for the calm Kang Woojin, the rest of the team was beyond excited, even borderline ferocious.

“That bald guy really knows how to build suspense!! No wonder he’s the Cannes Festival Director!”

“Whoa! Wait a minute! Does that mean ‘Leech’ is the only Korean film in the ‘In Competition’ section at Cannes?!”

“Looks like it! Hold on, hold on, let me check Cannes’ official website! They should have posted the full list of invited films!”

The stylists were busy fiddling with their phones. Some were checking the latest news, while others opened SNS or the official Cannes Film Festival page.

“This year, the only Korean film in the ‘In Competition’ section is ‘Leech’! But there are quite a few Korean films in other sections! About four in total!”

“Phew! What would’ve happened if ‘Leech’ didn’t make it?!”

“I mean, just getting into Cannes is a huge deal... but still! It’s so much better to be in the main competition!”

“Of course!! The impact in the Korean media alone would be miles different! Not to mention the attention from Cannes and foreign media! The difference would be like night and day!!”

The team’s wild excitement didn’t calm down easily. Well, even Woojin was jumping with joy on the inside, so it wasn’t surprising. Anyway, this year, ‘Leech’ would represent South Korea at the Cannes Film Festival, with big actors like Sim Han-ho and Oh Hee-ryung, and at the center of it all stood Kang Woojin.

Because the ‘Leech’ poster itself was designed that way.

While chatting excitedly with the team, Choi Sung-gun, sitting in the passenger seat, re-tied his ponytail and turned around. Naturally, Kang Woojin remained calm without any emotional outbursts. Smiling broadly, Choi Sung-gun muttered to himself.

‘We’ve made it to this moment, finally.’

He recalled a line Kang Woojin had nonchalantly said to him some time ago.

‘Let’s do our best until next year’s Cannes, CEO-nim.’

It was when Kang Woojin’s contract renewal issue arose. The excitement he felt now was multiplied several times by the emotions from that time. Choi Sung-gun spoke to Woojin, his voice slightly trembling.

“We’re finally standing at the real starting line. It all begins now, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“Let’s turn the world upside down.”

Woojin answered in a very low tone.

“We should, since we’re going anyway.”

Meanwhile.

In contrast to the early afternoon of the 17th in Korea, it was late night on the 16th in LA. At this time, a serious meeting was being held in a conference room of a major agency, with Miley Cara and several other foreigners in attendance.

“Okay, then next week.”

“Yeah, I think that would be best.”

After all, it was time for the release of Cara’s new album, which had been in the works for quite a while, with the title track that Kang Woojin had participated in creating. The major parts of the album were already completed, and despite some minor incidents, the music video editing had also been finished.

So now they just had to finalize the release schedule.

“Let’s release it while you’re in Bangkok, Cara. Pick a date you like. What do you think?”

Cara, with her hat pulled down over her blonde hair, crossed her arms and muttered after a moment of thought.

“The 24th at noon. When I’ll be in the middle of filming the Korean project.”

“The 24th at noon? Alright, got it.”

The release of her new album was set for noon on Friday the 24th, next week. LA time, of course.

At that moment.

-Swoosh.

Jonathan, Cara’s main manager, who sat beside her, leaned in close to her ear.

“Cara.”

Then he whispered some freshly confirmed information to her.

“Kang Woojin’s ‘Leech’ has been confirmed as one of the 20 films invited to the Cannes Film Festival’s ‘In Competition’ section. It’s up on the official page.”

There was a noise from the forest to the man’s right. His expression turned serious. He was just about to take a step forward when-

“Mmff!”

A hand suddenly reached out from behind, covering the man’s mouth. A soft sound followed. A blade pierced the man’s throat. The knife was pulled out immediately. Blood spurted out. Standing behind him was Woojin. The man let out a faint groan as he dropped to his knees, but the expressionless Kang Woojin naturally twisted the man’s neck.

The man’s earpiece emitted a voice. It was also in English.

“Derek, how’s it looking on your side?”

By then, Woojin had already disappeared. The radio buzzed again.

“Derek? Hey, Derek. Damn it!”

Soon, four armed men who had been guarding other areas rushed over. After checking the corpse, they immediately raised their rifles, heightening their vigilance. Then, among them-

-Thud.

With a dull noise, something fell to the ground. One of the men, upon noticing it, widened his eyes.

“Grenade! Grenade!!”

The men moved swiftly. One of them should have covered the grenade to minimize the damage, but instead, they were too busy trying to run away. However, the grenade exploded faster than they could escape.

-BOOM!!

With a deafening roar, the men’s limbs flew through the air. Arms, legs, and heads scattered amidst a spray of blood, creating quite a spectacle. In an instant, the lives of five men were extinguished. But their comrades still remained. Thanks to the grenade’s explosion, at least eight more men started moving from the flowerbed area, the mansion’s entrance, and the inside of the mansion.

The first to move were two men in the flowerbeds on the right side of the mansion.

“There!! By the pool’s flowerbed!!”

“Fire!! Fire!!”

In the shadows, they caught a glimpse of someone in military uniform. The two men, who had been communicating over the radio, opened fire toward the flowerbeds by the pool. Bang bang bang! The deafening gunfire echoed across the entire mansion. Soon, all eight men began shooting in that direction.

-RATATATATA!!

-BANG BANG BANG!!

The wall of the flowerbed began to crumble. After a while, the eight men stopped firing for a moment. One of the men signaled to the others with hand gestures. Two of them slowly approached.

At that moment-

-Whoosh!

Woojin, who had been lying at the edge of the flowerbed, suddenly appeared, swiftly raising his shoulder-mounted M4 carbine. Thanks to the suppressor, the gunfire was muffled.

-Pew pew pew pew!

Four shots were fired. The heads and faces of the two approaching men exploded. The remaining six men immediately returned fire at the spot where Woojin had been lying, but he had already disappeared again. Then, he reappeared. The sounds of both loud gunfire and muffled shots alternated. Two more men’s foreheads and the backs of their heads were blown apart.

The remaining men cursed as they hid behind the flowerbed wall.

“Who the hell is that bastard!!”

“Where is he! Where the hell is he!!”

-BANG BANG BANG!

The men fired blindly, without even peeking out from their cover. Suddenly, someone was standing over them. It was Kang Woojin. The men noticed him too late and tried to move, but-

“Kugh!!”

After the muffled gunshots from the silencer, they collapsed like puppets. The once chaotic courtyard of the mansion now fell silent.

“......”

Woojin, sitting beside a corpse with a shattered face, wiped the blood off his cheek, his expression unchanging. Soon, he grabbed a body that was still relatively intact.

A short while later.

-Squeak.

The front door of the mansion opened. Two armed men inside raised their rifles, their eyes wide in shock. Bang bang bang bang! Someone collapsed in the doorway. The one riddled with bullets and falling apart was not Woojin-it was the corpse he had thrown in first.

-Thud!

The two men briefly shifted their attention to the torn-apart body. In that instant, Woojin swiftly emerged from the right side of the doorway. Four muffled gunshots followed. The two men’s heads exploded in succession. The men collapsed immediately. However, Woojin, with his cold eyes, wasn’t satisfied. He calmly brushed past their bodies, firing a few more rounds into them as he passed.

Finally-

-Swoosh.

Woojin, his entire body covered in blood, entered the mansion. The rifle was still mounted on his shoulder, but much of the tension had left his face. Nevertheless, the cold composure in his heart remained.

“S-spare me! Please spare me!!”

In the chaotic living room, a foreign man was lying on his stomach, trembling. When he spotted Kang Woojin, he clasped his hands together and begged.

“Please, I beg you!!”

But-

“Money! I-I can give you money! As much as you want!”

-Pew pew pew!

Three holes appeared in the foreign man’s face as he was speaking.

Several tens of minutes later.

A group of armed people, about five in total, entered the corpse-filled mansion with rifles at the ready. Lastly, a woman holding a handgun in both hands followed them inside. She had her blonde hair rolled up. The woman and her group searched the mansion thoroughly. After a while, the blonde woman lowered her handgun and looked at the others before asking.

“Where’s J?”

****

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