Joseph Felton, who stood over 190 centimeters tall, arrived at the shooting range for the first time just as Kang Woojin was listening to the heavyset owner's explanation. His car came to a stop right beside the van Woojin's team had already parked there. The people who got out were Joseph Felton and Megan Stone, with her short brown hair tied back.
The reason those well-known Hollywood figures had come all the way to this shooting range was simple.
They had come to see Kang Woojin.
Joseph and Megan had met at the café that morning and made their final decision there. True to the old saying about striking while the iron was hot, Megan had contacted Choi Sunggeon. Surprisingly enough, Choi Sunggeon's reply had come back quickly.
'He has some time until this afternoon.'
What was unusual was the fact that they had heard Kang Woojin was heading to a shooting range. Joseph had suggested they stop by around lunchtime, and Megan had naturally agreed. That was how the visit to the range had come about.
In any case, Joseph and Megan got out of the car. Of the two of them, Joseph was the first to spot Kang Woojin through the window. Then he stopped Megan just as she was about to move.
"Wait."
Tall and long-limbed, Megan tilted her head, curiosity in her eyes.
"Why?"
"Let's not interrupt him right now."
"Ah."
They were nothing more than unexpected visitors. Out of courtesy, Joseph decided that they should wait until Kang Woojin was done with what he was doing before showing themselves. Megan nodded in agreement. A little later, while watching Woojin's team through the window, Megan spoke.
"Still, a shooting range out of nowhere? That's unexpected."
The giant Joseph shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess it would seem that way. But there's probably no grand reason. Maybe he just wanted to try it once because of filming."
"Ah, I see. That probably wouldn't be easy to do in Korea."
While they were talking, they saw Kang Woojin walk toward the range. Joseph and Megan quietly headed inside so they would not stand out. Joseph Felton gestured to the heavyset owner that he had come with Kang Woojin. After that, he spotted Woojin beyond the entrance to the range.
The gun Woojin chose was a Glock 17.
There was not the slightest trace of awkwardness in the way he handled the pistol. If anything, he looked extremely familiar with it.
'Just as I thought—'
Joseph's misunderstanding only grew stronger. Then, beside Woojin as he was getting ready to shoot, a few foreigners mocked him.
"Is he Chinese?"
The moment Joseph heard those voices, his brow furrowed immediately.
'What a bunch of idiots.'
Just from overhearing them, Joseph could tell that the three foreigners were making fun of Woojin. But what Kang Woojin suggested back to them was something fresh.
"Let's make it a game. You against me. Whoever gets the higher score wins."
It sounded like a casual challenge thrown out without much thought. Joseph's interest flared up immediately, and Megan was no different.
And then—
"I'll go first."
With the earmuffs on, Kang Woojin was the first to raise the Glock 17.
The first shot rang out, followed by four more in rapid succession.
The expressions of not only the three foreigners who had looked down on Woojin, but also Joseph and Megan, hardened on the spot. Their eyes widened on their own. It was only natural. The bullets Woojin fired struck the red circle in the chest of the human-shaped target so precisely that it looked as if the target itself were swallowing them.
To hit like that immediately, without any warm-up?
That was not beginner's luck.
But it did not end there.
Five more shots rang out one after another. This time, Woojin aimed for the red circle on the head. Once again, the red mark disappeared completely. Not a single round went wide.
At that moment, Joseph muttered unconsciously,
"Jesus…"
Megan wore the same baffled expression. Joseph suddenly remembered the conversation he had had with Megan at the café early that morning. More specifically, he remembered the moment when the words special forces had come up while they were talking about Kang Woojin.
Megan had been the one to bring it up first.
"...Did you hear? Apparently Kang Woojin used to be in special forces."
"Special forces? What are you talking about?"
"Gary told me."
She was referring to Gary Peck, the stunt coordinator who had worked with them on Last Kill 3.
"He said he finally understood why Kang Woojin had looked so natural during the martial arts screen test for Last Kill 3*."*
The giant Joseph's eyes had widened.
"That's way too sudden. Where did Gary hear something like that?"
"Ethan is currently handling the stunt team for a Korean drama. The one Kang Woojin is starring in. Gary said he got the information from Ethan."
"...Ethan? Ethan Smith?"
Joseph knew Ethan. He had worked with Ethan Smith in the past.
"So Ethan and Kang Woojin are on the same project in Korea right now?"
"That's right. It's probably just a coincidence."
"And Kang Woojin used to be in special forces?"
"Gary said he pulled off CQC perfectly."
"...CQC?"
The misunderstanding and false assumptions had begun snowballing through Hollywood, and Joseph's widened eyes showed no sign of shrinking back down. Even in Hollywood, CQC was treated as one of the highest-level skill sets. It had appeared in countless Hollywood films, and an untold number of Hollywood actors had gone through brutal training just to master it.
In reality, there were only a handful of actors who could use CQC freely.
And now a Korean actor had suddenly mastered it?
Joseph, who had spent a long time in Hollywood, could not hide his curiosity. What kind of CQC would Kang Woojin be capable of showing? Caught in his own misunderstanding, Joseph had met Megan's brown eyes and muttered,
"I really want to see Kang Woojin's CQC."
That had been all.
Now, having returned from that memory, Joseph fixed his gaze once more on Kang Woojin, who had just erased every target mark with ten shots. Woojin was lowering the Glock 17 as though it meant nothing. Joseph ran a hand over his slightly parted lips.
'His posture and marksmanship are incredible. More than that, there wasn't even a trace of hesitation when he fired. It was only a brief glimpse, but you can definitely feel that close combat is already in his body. Special forces... honestly, I doubted it at first, but now it really does seem convincing.'
Megan's widened eyes carried much the same meaning. Kang Woojin had already finished shooting and turned his head toward the three men, who were still standing there in a daze.
"Your turn."
The three foreigners remained frozen.
"..."
"..."
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, they traded uneasy looks but said nothing. The man in sunglasses was only barely able to move. At last, with a slightly trembling hand, he raised the pistol he had been given earlier. His face had gone stiff, as if the tension had reached its peak.
Soon, a string of gunshots rang out loudly. He fired a total of ten shots, but when the human-shaped target was automatically reeled back in, there were only five holes.
In other words, half of his ten shots had missed completely.
Kang Woojin's victory was obvious.
But the foreigner who had just fired refused to let it go.
"All right, let's do it again!!"
Kang Woojin gave a calm nod.
"Fine. This time, you go first."
The foreigner clenched his teeth and took off his sunglasses, pushing them up over his head.
Only then—
silence fell for a moment. About ten seconds passed. Soon after, he fired again.
Another ten shots.
This time, the result was better than before. He landed eight, and six of those hit the red target marks. Now it was Kang Woojin's turn.
Once again, Woojin fired the Glock 17 without the slightest hesitation. But this time, something about it was unusual.
His first shot did not hit the head or chest of the target. Instead, it pierced the number 7 printed off to the side of it. Naturally, it looked like a mistake. The faint smile that appeared on the face of the foreigner in sunglasses was proof enough.
'Got him. I knew that first round was just luck!'
But his smile did not last long.
Woojin's follow-up shots began erasing the number 7 itself from the target. In other words, that seven-point shot had not been a mistake at all.
All nine of his next bullets went through the exact same place. In an instant, the number 7 on the target was completely gone. Only his last shot remained.
It pierced the red dot on the head.
The target automatically moved back in. There were only two holes on Woojin's target. One was in the head, and the other was a thick, ugly hole torn through the number 7 at the side. Lowering the gun, Woojin said quietly to the foreigners,
"Five hundred dollars."
After that, the three foreigners pooled together five hundred dollars and handed it over to Kang Woojin without protesting at all. Anyone could see that Woojin had won. His skill was so overwhelming that even the range staff applauded. But after taking the money, Kang Woojin handed it straight back to them.
"Buy yourselves some beer with this. My treat."
Their expressions twisted even more. Their pride had been trampled flat. On the other hand, the unfazed Woojin turned away without showing even the slightest emotion. In front of him stood Choi Sunggeon and the BW Entertainment staff, all with their mouths hanging open. Maintaining his blank expression, Woojin regretted it a little inwardly.
'Ah, damn it. Those idiots pissed me off, so I went too far. I was only planning to play around for a few rounds and leave it at that.'
He decided to keep acting tough on the outside. As Woojin approached, Choi Sunggeon hesitated before asking him,
"...Hey, Woojin. You really shoot like a pro. Did I actually just see that right??"
Of course, the technique came from the CQC he had acquired, but Woojin answered as casually as possible.
"I've done some shooting a few times before."
"..."
Faced with Woojin's consistently calm answer, Choi Sunggeon simply shut his mouth. The staff, however, kept blurting out things like That's insane! and Unbelievable! in open amazement.
It happened right then.
"Mr. Kang Woojin."
A huge black man approached Woojin, who had been standing there facing Choi Sunggeon. It was Joseph Felton, and beside him stood Megan Stone. Since Choi Sunggeon had already told him they were coming, Woojin stayed calm.
"Hello. It's been a while."
Joseph and Megan returned the greeting in kind. Soon after, the towering Joseph glanced once at Woojin, then shifted his gaze. He looked toward the place where Woojin had just fired the Glock 17. The thrill of what he had witnessed was still hanging in the air.
"..."
Joseph desperately wanted to ask something, but he held it back for now. Too many people were watching them, and this was not the right place for a conversation.
"Woojin, if you have time, would you like to have a meal with us?"
At that question, Kang Woojin looked toward Choi Sunggeon. When Choi Sunggeon gave him a nod, Woojin answered simply.
"Sure."
──────────
Several dozen minutes later.
Kang Woojin could be found inside a place near the shooting range with Diner written on the sign outside. It was the sort of place that felt a bit like a Korean highway rest stop, a chain restaurant with branches all over LA that sold all kinds of food.
Their table was by the window. Joseph and Megan sat across from Woojin.
Choi Sunggeon was outside taking a phone call, and the BW Entertainment staff were seated at a nearby table. A waiter came over and placed cups of coffee in front of Woojin, Joseph, and Megan. After they ordered roughly enough, Joseph Felton took a sip of his coffee and began speaking to the expressionless Woojin.
"...I watched you shooting earlier. It was impressive."
Megan nodded energetically in agreement.
"It really was. Honestly, I was shocked."
Woojin answered in a low voice without changing his expression.
"It wasn't that impressive."
Joseph stared for a moment at Kang Woojin's blank face. Then, at last, he smiled and ran a hand through his hair.
"Woojin, the more I see you, the more you feel like some kind of alien. I can say this much with confidence. There isn't a single Hollywood actor I've seen who feels quite like you."
"Really?"
"Yes. One hundred percent."
Muttering that almost to himself, Joseph lifted his coffee cup again and spoke.
"How much time do we have to talk?"
"It won't be very long. About an hour, I think."
"Hmm. All right."
Instead of jumping straight into the project he was preparing, Joseph brought up something else first.
"I heard you're working on a project with Ethan Smith right now."
At that, Woojin was slightly startled.
No, more than slightly. He was genuinely caught off guard.
'Wow. News really travels fast.'
He had not expected to hear Ethan's name the moment he arrived in LA.
'That big-nosed guy really is pretty well-known in Hollywood, huh?'
A strange sense of awe washed over Woojin, but he had to keep his poker face intact.
"Yes."
"He's one of the most capable stunt coordinators in Hollywood. He's also very close with Gary. I think you'll get great synergy with him."
I think so too.
"Does the work involve CQC?"
Details like the exact direction of Beneficial Evil or the storyboard were still under wraps, but the fact that CQC was involved was not some absolute secret. The Korean media had not used the term CQC directly, but they did know Ethan was participating, and quite a few people had already witnessed Kang Woojin's CQC firsthand. There was no realistic way to hide it completely anymore.
So Woojin answered without much concern.
"Yes. Not all of it. Just part of it."
"Even here, Ethan is famous for his CQC design work. Hmm, that makes me look forward to it."
At that moment, Joseph swallowed hard. In his mind flashed countless CQC scenes he had seen in Hollywood, along with the shooting Woojin had shown earlier.
"I did a little looking around, and I heard the project you're participating in includes overseas filming. Is the CQC part being shot abroad too?"
"More or less."
"Would you mind telling me where?"
That location was not really secret either. It had already been made public by the press.
"Bangkok, Thailand."
"...Bangkok."
Right then—
Choi Sunggeon, who had just finished his call, approached Woojin and said,
"Woojin, just a second."
Since it sounded like something he wanted to say in private, Kang Woojin excused himself to Joseph and Megan and stood up from the table. After he left, silence lingered between the two of them.
"..."
"..."
About fifteen seconds passed. The first person to break that silence was him.
It was the giant Joseph Felton.
"Bangkok. That's worth going to."
No matter what, this was Kang Woojin's CQC they were talking about.
Which meant he could not resist it.