Episode 447 – Villain (4)

Director Bill Lautner called out, signaling the team to begin applying the Beast makeup.

Dressed in an opulent banquet suit, looking every bit the aristocrat, Kang Woo-jin stepped away from the filming area. Around him, a hundred staff members instantly sprang into action, seamlessly resetting the scene.

As he walked, Woo-jin's sharp gaze swept across the massive castle set, though he kept his awe well-hidden.

'Crazy. I was amazed the first time, but seeing it again? Still just as spectacular.'

The sheer scale of it was staggering. This wasn't just a set—it felt like an actual kingdom, a world brought to life. They had even constructed an entire castle wall, adding to the breathtaking realism.

And yet, within the sprawling 50,000-pyeong SPT Studio, this grand castle was merely a small fraction of the larger world they had built.

'This set alone feels like an entire country.'

It wasn't just the scale that left him speechless—it was the atmosphere.

The town, the castle, the intricate details—it all blended seamlessly, forming a fully immersive fantasy realm. The sheer level of craftsmanship was staggering, especially to someone like Woo-jin, who had already lived within the actual world of Beast and the Beauty multiple times.

Even so, seeing it recreated so perfectly in reality was nothing short of astonishing.

'Of course, the quality here is on another level.'

A surge of excitement welled up inside him.

A live-action adaptation of a legendary story.

And he—the Beast—stood at the center of it all.

He kept his expression neutral, but deep inside, his pride soared to the heavens.

As he moved through the bustling foreign crew, his gaze lingered on the towering castle walls—taking it all in, absorbing every detail.

Because soon, he would become the Beast.

Everywhere he looked, there was green.

The tops of the castle walls, the rooftops, even scattered throughout the set—it was all covered in green cloth.

Kang Woo-jin muttered under his breath as he took in the sight.

'So this is what a green screen setup looks like.'

Green screens were a staple in VFX-heavy films, and with Beast and the Beauty relying so much on CG, the sheer number of green screens was overwhelming—easily double what a normal production would use. He had seen them in countless movies, but never on this scale.

Combining reality and CG would undoubtedly make the final visuals breathtaking.

As Woo-jin turned his head, a familiar voice chimed in beside him.

"That noble look suits you pretty well, don't you think?" It was Miley Cara.

Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, her attire casual—just a simple white short-sleeved outfit. Since it wasn't her turn yet, she was just observing for now.

Woo-jin, aware of the many watchful eyes on them, responded in a dry tone.

"It's hot."

Miley smirked. "After all that, you don't even feel cool?"

"You'll understand once you try it yourself."

"Yeah, I'm third in line. Just had my own photo taken. Don't you feel left out?"

"Not really."

Miley stepped a little closer, lowering her voice just enough so only Woo-jin could hear.

"I took the picture without knowing."

Woo-jin remained silent, his expression unreadable.

She chuckled softly before stepping back and raising her voice again.

"Shall we start the 'Beast' makeup?"

"Yeah."

Miley gave him a small thumbs-up. "I don't think you've ever done full-on prosthetics before. You'd better brace yourself."

Then, she turned and walked away.

Woo-jin, watching her retreating figure, tilted his head slightly in thought.

'Brace myself? Do I really need to mentally prepare for makeup?'

He was curious.

The most intense makeup experience he'd had so far was playing the Joker—which took about an hour each time.

The Beast was on another level, sure, but how much longer could it possibly take?

'Director Lautner did mention it would take a while... Maybe two hours?'

With a surprisingly lighthearted mindset, Woo-jin began moving toward the trailers at the entrance of the set.

There, he ran into Maria Armas.

She had already finished her makeup—her hair now curly brown, dressed in a beige dress with a white apron. She looked exactly like a servant working in the prince's castle.

The funny part?

'She's holding a teapot.'

A white porcelain teapot, intricately patterned.

The poster hinted that Maria's character would transform into a teapot, and now, seeing her like this, Woo-jin found it oddly amusing.

As they passed each other, their gazes briefly met.

Maria said nothing.

"......"

Woo-jin didn't react either, but a mischievous thought flickered in his mind.

'I should let out an extra loud roar when we film later. She is my servant, after all.'

Smirking inwardly, Woo-jin finally stepped inside the makeup trailer.

He had been in here once before—for his prince look—but this time, he was far more shocked.

Of course, he kept it hidden.

'What the hell is all this? You're putting that on me?!'

The massive horns. The endless brown fur.

Leather, prosthetics, and bizarre-looking props that he couldn't even identify.

Woo-jin instinctively stopped in his tracks.

For a brief second, he wanted to turn around and walk back out with a casual "Whoops, wrong trailer, haha."

But of course, he had to keep his composure.

As he stood there contemplating his fate, the foreign makeup artists—all professionals in their craft—spotted him and smiled warmly.

"Take a seat, Woo-jin."

Woo-jin, pretending to be unfazed, sat down in the chair they directed him to.

The moment he did, a makeup artist gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Get comfortable. The 'Beast' makeup will take three to four hours."

Woo-jin blinked.

"...Four hours."

"Yes, it's a bit long," the makeup artist admitted with a shrug. "Since it's not a full setup, it'll take about four hours. Not too bad, I guess? If you feel uncomfortable at any point, let us know."

Woo-jin barely reacted on the outside.

"No, that won't happen."

But on the inside?

'FOUR HOURS??!! Are you serious?! How is that even possible?!'

It was possible.

In Hollywood, some prosthetic makeups take twice as long. Still, for Kang Woo-jin—who was experiencing this for the first time—the shock was real.

As the makeup team swarmed around him, prepping their tools, Woo-jin suddenly made a request.

"Can you hand me the script?"

It was a lifeline. A trick to keep himself distracted.

With the script in his hands, Woo-jin gritted his teeth as various materials were plastered onto his face.

One of the lead makeup artists smiled as she explained, "Don't worry, you won't have to do this often during filming. Just a few times—mainly for the poster shoot and key scenes."

Woo-jin barely heard her.

His entire face felt heavier by the second.

The staff kept talking.

"For about 80% of the filming, you'll actually be in special effects costumes—oh, you've seen those, right? The tight-fitting motion capture suits?"

Woo-jin, who had not seen them yet, responded dryly.

"Yeah, I know."

And so, four grueling hours passed.

Each time the weight became unbearable, Woo-jin escaped into his subspace—a trick no one else knew about—giving himself brief moments of relief before returning to endure it all over again.

By the time they were finished, it was already 2 PM.

The other actors, including Miley Cara, had wrapped up their shoots.

But no one had left.

The reason was obvious.

They all wanted to see 'The Beast.'

Finally, the moment arrived.

"The Beast is coming in!!"

The set—packed with filming equipment, over a hundred staff members, and dozens of Hollywood actors—fell into a hushed anticipation.

Then, he stepped in. Or rather, staggered in.

The makeup was so heavy that Woo-jin had to be supported on both sides by staff members.

Director Bill Lautner, who had been eagerly waiting, reacted immediately.

"Ooooh! This is insane!"

Then, out of nowhere—he started clapping.

The crew joined in.

The sound of applause erupted throughout the set.

Inside the beastly suit, Woo-jin internally protested.

'STOP! Don't clap! Don't hit me on the back! This thing is HEAVY!!'

But his expression remained unchanged.

Not that he had a choice—his entire face was encased in layers of prosthetics.

His new skin was rough and grotesque.

Brown fur covered his head, stretching from his forehead to his back.

Curved, razor-sharp horns protruded from his skull.

His eyes, nose, and mouth were larger, sharper, beast-like.

Even his teeth had changed—an entirely new set had been attached.

At this moment, Kang Woo-jin wasn't just playing a monster.

He was a monster.

And the road to becoming 'The Beast' had been brutal.

The surrounding crew members whispered in awe.

Even Hollywood veterans looked genuinely impressed.

"It suits you well!"

"Right? But Woo-jin seems calmer than I expected. Isn't it heavy?"

"Yeah, it must be. But it looks light, right?"

Inside, Woo-jin was screaming.

'Ugh!! I swear, I'm gonna throw up!'

It felt like ten pumpkin cans had been glued to his head.

Still, he endured it, standing with great difficulty in front of the camera, while the cast and crew clapped and cheered.

His vision was limited.

He could see ahead, but not completely.

A familiar blonde figure stood near the director.

Miley Cara. She was casually snapping photos of him with her phone before suddenly bursting into laughter.

"But why is only the upper body a beast?"

Because only his upper body had been transformed.

Below the waist?

It was still just Kang Woo-jin.

Half-beast, half-man.

The director chuckled.

"The lower body won't be in the poster anyway."

"Oh—so that's why."

Miley grinned and took another photo of Woo-jin's half-transformed body.

Then, muttering to herself, she smirked.

"Half-Human, Half-Beast. Perfect title."

Columbia Studios – The Next Morning

Inside a large conference room, dozens of executives sat around an immense oval table.

The atmosphere?

Heavy.

This wasn't just any meeting. It was about 'Perriot: The Birth of a Villain'—

And more importantly—The Academy Awards.

Director Ahn Ga-bok had proposed pushing the film for an Oscar run.But most executives weren't convinced.

"That's ridiculous," one scoffed. "This isn't about money—it's about risking the film's entire momentum."

"Exactly. The hype is already sky-high. If we go for it and fail, international distributors might back out. I disagree."

"We all know what happens when you push too hard. Something always breaks. I'm against it too."

As expected, opposition dominated the room.No one wanted to take an unnecessary risk.

But then—A man who had been tapping his index finger on the desk finally spoke.

The room quieted.

It was the bald executive.He had been involved with Woo-jin from the beginning.

And right now—He was remembering the past.

His meetings with Director Ahn Ga-bok. The surprising support from Producer Nora Foster.

And his recent conversation with Kang Woo-jin.

'Damn it... I need to shift the momentum.'

Letting out a small sigh, he made up his mind. He raised his hand.

"I wonder—"His voice cut through the noise."—if we're just too scared."

Silence. The room turned to him. Some frowned. Others exchanged curious glances.

But the bald executive remained calm. Slowly, he crossed his legs and continued.

"We're worried about the schedule. Worried about failing at the Academy Awards."

His eyes scanned the room.

"We're worried about losing investments, theater slots, international buyers..."

A pause. Then, he leaned forward.

"If we're gonna keep making excuses, then why the hell did we start this cinematic universe in the first place?"

"Are you in favor?"

The bald executive leaned back slightly, eyes sharp. "It's not about being for or against."

He let the words hang for a second. "It's about realizing that we're paralyzed by fear."

The room was dead silent.

"The die has already been cast for our cinematic universe. We all made that choice—with conviction."

No one spoke.--He pressed on.

"Failure is everywhere. It's in Ahn Ga-bok's vision. It was in our initial blueprints. Whether we take the safe or risky route, there's no such thing as failure-free. Right?"

The tension in the room shifted. The bald executive caught it immediately.

"So I ask you this—"

He swept his gaze over the executives.

"Isn't our cinematic universe supposed to be bold? If we back away now, if we start playing small, this entire universe we built will be nothing but a shallow, timid attempt."

Silence.

"And isn't 'Perriot: The Birth of a Villain' just the beginning of it all?"

No one disagreed. He let that truth settle before delivering his next line.

"We're retreating—before we've even truly begun."

One executive exhaled sharply. Another shifted uncomfortably.

Then—

"But precisely because it's the beginning, it can't fail," someone countered.

The bald executive nodded.

"I understand."

Then, after a pause, he hit them with the question no one could ignore.

"Does Kang Woo-jin believe that his 'Joker' isn't enough to shake Hollywood?"

The weight of the question dropped like a bomb.

No one answered. Because they all knew the truth. Woo-jin's Joker was unlike anything Hollywood had ever seen.

"We've all seen it," the executive continued. "His acting isn't an imitation. It's the real thing."

He let that sink in— Before twisting the knife.

"Or have you all forgotten? Kang Woo-jin made Chris Hartnett quit."

The room grew even heavier. The executives had been making decisions based on what they saw. Well, they'd already seen Woo-jin's performance.

Now—They had to decide whether to bet on it.

"So, I say we do what makes the most sense." His voice lowered.

"We give them what they want—" A slow pause.

"And we just watch."

A few executives exchanged glances. Someone swallowed hard.

The bald executive saw the doubt cracking.

That was his moment. He leaned forward.

"Kang Woo-jin said—" His voice was calm, but deadly precise.

''Winning next year's Academy Award is not in my plan.'"

That caught everyone's attention.

"Not in the plan?" someone muttered. "He never aimed for next year's Oscars."

The bald executive exhaled.

"He was aiming for this Academy Award. To be precise—Since Cannes."

A sharp intake of breath. Maybe even before Cannes, he thought. Casually, he shifted his crossed legs and went in for the kill.

"The first villain of our cinematic universe is standing there, oozing confidence—"

He scanned their faces.

"And we're going to run away?" His voice grew colder.

"If we back out now, we don't just lose the Oscars."

His next words struck like a hammer.

"We will lose Woo-jin."

The room froze. That was the real cost. Their contracts for future films with Woo-jin? Dead.

Because they failed to back him.

Then, finally— He spelled it out.

"Are you willing to give up Kang Woo-jin's Joker?"

Not a single person dared to breathe.

The room had never been so quiet.