The live broadcast of the Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony and awards suddenly cut to a close-up of Director Ahn Gabok's face. The Korean executives and staff from the production and distribution side of Leech could only stare blankly at the screen. There looked to be at least twenty of them, and not one of them seemed able to process the reality of what they had just heard on television.
"What??"
"What???"
"...Didn't they just say Leech*?"*
"Right? That's what I heard too."
"No way."
Their reactions made it seem as though they had either misheard, or the very thing itself was impossible. That response was only natural. Cannes was famous for being a strict international festival that followed its own rules, and Leech had already won Best Actor. Under the rule of "one award per film," there was no reason for Leech to be called again.
But—
"Then why are they showing Director Ahn on the screen?"
At that moment, everyone's eyes locked onto the large television, where Ahn Gabok's face was still being shown.
Then—
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!
From the television broadcasting the Cannes Film Festival's highest honor, a deafening wave of applause erupted as countless distinguished guests rose to their feet. The cast of Leech, including Kang Woojin, was also standing and clapping.
And only then did it truly begin to sink in.
"Gasp!!"
"W-what?! Our Leech won the Palme d'Or?!!"
"T-this is insane!!!"
"It really is the Palme d'Or! It's real!!"
The executives and staff from Leech's production and distribution side fell into outright panic in front of the television.
"My god! What on earth is happening in Cannes right now?!"
The countless Korean newsrooms that had been broadcasting Cannes live reacted in much the same way.
"Focus only on Kang Woojin! Keep pushing articles out!"
"Yes! Huh? Wait, chief!"
"What is it now?! If you have time to talk, get one more article up!"
"No!! Right now... it looks like Leech has been named for the Palme d'Or?!"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Do you not know Cannes rules?"
"No, seriously! Look! Watch the live feed!!"
"Why are you making such a fu—huh???"
All the media outlets that had been pumping out article after article about Kang Woojin suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"Leech won the Palme d'Or??!!!"
"I-is this real?! Was there some kind of mistake in the announcement?!"
"I don't know! But it looks like everything's continuing as normal?!"
"Was it an error? No, forget that!! Just publish it! Push the article out first!"
But after the initial shock, the Korean media quickly regained their composure and rushed to slap breaking-news headlines onto everything, whether it had been an error or not. Every second mattered.
The same was true for the news teams at various broadcasters that had been monitoring the live feed and staying in constant contact with the scene.
"Has it been confirmed that Leech really won the Palme d'Or?! Did the people there confirm the same thing?!"
"Yes! Yes! Cannes is in complete chaos right now!"
"...Then what does that even mean? Leech won both Best Actor and the Palme d'Or this year?! That's literally history being made!!!"
At that moment, the host on the Cannes stage added a few words.
["This unprecedented Palme d'Or was awarded by the unanimous decision of all ten jurors this year..."]
An explanation was being given, but no one on the news teams, drunk on shock and excitement, could make sense of it. There was only one thing in their heads.
Best Actor.
And the Palme d'Or.
"This means Cannes broke its own rule!!"
"A single film winning both Best Actor and the Palme d'Or in the Competition section... and a Korean film at that."
"Has something like this ever happened in Cannes history? When was the last time?"
"I'm checking!! Ah—there was a film called The Black Piano back in 2002. It won the Grand Prix, Best Actor, and Best Actress."
"So then this is the first time in more than twenty years that they've broken that rule?"
"Yes! And winning both the Palme d'Or and Best Actor at the same time? I think this is the first time in Cannes history..."
"That's an insane record, isn't it?!!"
The moment they grasped the scale of what had happened, news teams across Korea broke into frantic motion.
"Rewrite everything we prepared!! Hurry up!!!!"
Everything scheduled for the morning broadcast had to be changed immediately.
Among the articles already lighting the internet on fire were headlines like these:
[[Breaking News: Kang Woojin achieves the dazzling feat of winning Best Actor at Cannes!]]
[[Star Talk] Kang Woojin wins Best Actor at Cannes only two years after debut! In his acceptance speech, he declares, "Next year is the Academy Awards."]
[[Cannes Live] Kang Woojin wins Best Actor at Cannes! Declares in fluent French, "Next year belongs to the Academy Awards."]
And then, in real time, articles announcing that Leech had won the Palme d'Or began pouring out.
[[Cannes Film Festival] Leech wins both the Palme d'Or and Best Actor... Cannes breaks its own "no double-win" rule, creating a first for both Cannes and Korean cinema]
Put simply, Leech was making history.
──────────
Back in Cannes, France.
The enormous hall of the Palais des Festivals, where the awards ceremony was still underway, thundered with the applause of thousands standing on their feet.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!
All eyes were fixed on Director Ahn Gabok in his tuxedo and short white hair. He stood in the center of the first floor, receiving congratulations from the cast of Leech. Around him, many of the famous guests in the audience were murmuring to one another.
"It won two awards at the same time? Has that ever happened before?"
"Not that I can remember."
"Then Cannes has broken its own rules. What does that mean? Is Leech really that extraordinary a film?"
"The fact that the jury praised it unanimously is enough to say the quality must be exceptional."
Those who had already seen Leech at Cannes applauded with expressions of understanding, but naturally, most of the people in the hall had not seen it, so confusion lingered.
The applause swallowed most of it, but the murmuring only grew louder.
"Leech... what kind of film is it that Cannes broke its own rules to award both Best Actor and the Palme d'Or?"
Curiosity exploded among distinguished figures from all over the world. What kind of film was Leech that it had achieved something so unprecedented?
Meanwhile, the live broadcast watched by countless people worldwide was already flooding with Korean comments.
[What??!! Is this real???]
[Congratulations!!!]
[This is insane lol, unbelievable]
[I can't believe I lived long enough to see a Korean film win the Palme d'Or at Cannes...]
[Seriously???????????]
[This is nuts lol, it won both the Palme d'Or and Best Actor???]
[Japan's about to collapse lol]
[Wait... what the hell is happening?! Damn lol wait I need to change my underwear lol]
[Cannes: and we are still not done]
[Congratulations!!!!]
[This is absolutely crazy lol]
Anyway, the 74th Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or had gone to Leech, and Director Ahn Gabok had left a monumental mark on the Cannes stage with his 100th film.
A wave of congratulations poured over him.
"Director, congratulations!!!"
"Hehehe—director, congratulations, I'm so, so happy!! Ah, I'm crying."
"Congratulations, director."
There were the cheers of the Leech team, including Kang Woojin. There was Woojin himself, a man who normally did not show his emotions easily, congratulating him with complete sincerity. There was the praise from the distinguished audience around them, the explosion of camera flashes, and even the Cannes broadcast team hurrying over with their cameras.
The atmosphere turned chaotic in an instant.
But Ahn Gabok remained surprisingly calm. A smile etched with fine wrinkles spread across his face as he thanked each person congratulating him one by one. Then, all of a sudden, he quietly whispered something to Kang Woojin.
"Mr. Woojin, could I ask you for one favor?"
Woojin answered calmly.
"Go ahead."
Director Ahn Gabok rose from his seat, pointed toward the front, and continued.
"I'd like you to translate my acceptance speech into French."
Huh? Me?
Inside, Woojin tilted his head in confusion, but on the outside he only wore a serious expression and said nothing.
"..."
Director Ahn repeated himself.
"This year's Cannes truly belonged to you and Leech*. Shouldn't we finish it properly? I think that moment should be captured well on camera."*
"...Understood."
"And just in case, bring the Best Actor trophy with you too."
It was exactly the kind of idea only a veteran like Ahn Gabok, someone who had spent decades making films, could come up with.
An ending that would leave a definitive impression.
After their brief exchange, Director Ahn Gabok and Kang Woojin began walking together toward the stage. The audience members who had been applauding looked at them curiously, wondering what was happening, while the hundreds of reporters from around the world captured the confident figures of Woojin and Director Ahn with their cameras.
Just then, the chairman of the Cannes Film Festival, standing on stage, took the microphone.
"After long deliberation and by the unanimous decision of the jury, it was determined that Leech was truly deserving of this prize."
An explanation for why Cannes had broken its own rule for Leech.
Not long after—
Director Ahn Gabok stepped up onto the stage, and Kang Woojin followed behind him. A moment later, Director Ahn received the trophy from one of the actresses on the jury. The award was shaped like a palm leaf enclosed in a case. The golden palm on the Palme d'Or trophy was nearly one and a half times larger than the Best Actor trophy Woojin was holding.
Director Ahn looked quietly down at the Palme d'Or.
"..."
There was no intense emotion on his face. He did not look particularly joyful or sorrowful. He simply looked peaceful, as though he were reflecting on the years he had spent in cinema since the earliest days of Leech.
"This astonishing result was only possible because I met Mr. Woojin in the early days of Leech*."*
Only after thinking that did he move.
"Hoo."
He let out a short breath and stepped up to the podium. Then he turned and gave a wrinkled smile to Kang Woojin, who stood to his left in a white tuxedo.
"I'll leave that to you."
Woojin nodded without a word.
Director Ahn smiled faintly and leaned toward the microphone. Thousands of audience members, hundreds of reporters, and the entire Cannes broadcast crew focused their attention on the stage.
Soon, Ahn Gabok's aged voice rang out.
"Hello. I am Ahn Gabok, the director of the film Leech*."*
This, too, was an unprecedented sight at Cannes.
The Best Actor winner was translating the director's acceptance speech.
"It is a night filled with overwhelming emotion. The film Leech*, completed through the efforts of myself, my staff, and our brilliant actors, has created a tremendous echo."*
The instant he paused, Kang Woojin, standing right beside him, stepped forward. His low French voice spread through the entire hall.
This scene between the two of them was destined to be recorded in Cannes history.
After that.
Several dozen minutes after the close-up of Ahn Gabok winning the Palme d'Or and Kang Woojin winning Best Actor, the huge hall of the 74th Cannes closing ceremony and awards filled with grand music.
Music swelled through the space.
As everyone rose, thunderous applause broke out once again. The ceremony had officially ended, but the fever created by the deafening cheers did not die down. The Leech team in particular remained at the center of an especially heightened atmosphere. Not only the broadcast teams and reporters from various countries, but the distinguished audience members around them had all crowded in.
That vast hall had, in every sense, become a Leech party.
Flash flash flash flash!
Flash flash flash flash flash!
Camera flashes burst nonstop toward the Leech team, especially Director Ahn Gabok and actor Kang Woojin. Cannes officials and the ten jurors onstage called the two men back up. Holding their trophies, Ahn Gabok and Kang Woojin returned to the stage. Of course, they were not the only ones there.
Ah, this must be for the group photo.
All the winners from the Competition section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival gathered together in one place. The group photo session lasted around fifteen minutes. After that, the jurors and winners exchanged a few words, and then they posed for smaller two- and three-person photos.
Kang Woojin, who maintained his composure on the outside, grumbled inwardly.
Ugh, I'm exhausted.
The reason was simple.
"Mr. Kang Woojin, you were truly magnificent. May I take a photo with you?"
There was no end to the handshakes and photo requests. The stage felt less like an awards platform and more like a fan-signing event for Kang Woojin and Director Ahn Gabok. Once the photo session with the globally influential jury ended, thousands of distinguished audience members, including Hollywood stars, filed in one after another.
An overwhelming crowd.
Directors, actors, industry figures, celebrities.
All of them wanted to shake hands with Kang Woojin and Director Ahn, and take pictures with them. This continued for at least an hour, and by then Kang Woojin had easily gone through hundreds of handshakes and photos.
In the middle of all that—
"Congratulations, sincerely. Somehow, I felt like you would win, and I'm really happy."
"Thank you."
Cara was there, along with Joseph, Megan, Hollywood studio executives, and even the Hollywood master director Danny Landis.
"It was truly impressive."
But Kang Woojin did not even bother trying to remember all those encounters.
Ugh, I feel sick.
To be honest, it was not just because he lacked interest. He was mentally exhausted. Simply maintaining his true self in the middle of all this overwhelming chaos already felt like too much. But even that was nothing compared to what came next.
At last, after finishing everything, Kang Woojin, Director Ahn Gabok, and the Leech team emerged from the great hall and reached the entrance of the Palais des Festivals.
Ahhh!!
Inside his head, Kang Woojin screamed.
Red carpet below.
Metal barriers on both sides.
Thousands of reporters in tuxedos from all over the world hammering their shutters nonstop. The reporters who had attended the closing ceremony were now mixed together with those who had gathered outside. The moment Kang Woojin and Ahn Gabok appeared, a tremendous roar erupted.
Their voices crashed together from every direction, impossible to understand.
All he could hear was the sound of deafening camera flashes. Mixed in among the reporters were broadcast crews from Cannes and every corner of the world. Their races and nationalities were different, but they all had one thing in common.
Every one of them was focused on the Leech team.
And especially on Kang Woojin.
At that exact moment—
Woojin lifted his hand solemnly toward the thousands of reporters. The Leech team, including Ahn Gabok and Shim Hanho, looked slightly surprised. Kang Woojin's cynical expression radiated perfect composure. Then Director Ahn let out a short laugh and whispered something to him.
"At Cannes, and in Leech*, you are the main character."*
Their positions shifted.
Director Ahn moved into second place.
In other words, Kang Woojin, dressed in a white tuxedo, took the lead at the front of the Leech team. The flashes exploded so fiercely they were blinding, all aimed at Woojin's Best Actor trophy and Ahn Gabok's Palme d'Or.
While the celebration continued, it was already past eleven at night in France.
In Korea, it was seven in the morning.
By then, Korea was already completely covered in Leech news.
[[Breaking News: Director Ahn Gabok wins the Palme d'Or at Cannes!]]
[[Leech's Director Ahn Gabok wins the Palme d'Or and Kang Woojin wins Best Actor, carving a new line into Cannes history!]]
[[Breaking News: Leech crowned with the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Director Ahn Gabok claims the top prize!]]
At the same time, the nickname Leech spread internationally at tremendous speed. Naturally, most overseas headlines and articles placed heavy emphasis on the name Kang Woojin.
[[CNM / Cannes twist! Korean film Leech becomes the first in history to win both the Palme d'Or and Best Actor at the same time! First for Asia, first for Cannes]]
[[LA Times / Director Ahn Gabok makes new history at Cannes! First Palme d'Or win promises a special night for Korean cinema]]
[[BBX / Korean actor Kang Woojin becomes the first Korean ever to win Best Actor at Cannes, declares in his acceptance speech: "Next year, I'm aiming for the Academy Award for Best Actor!"]]
It was obvious that Kang Woojin's name would spread across the entire world.
In Hollywood especially, interest in him was rising fast.
[[ABY / Warning to the Academy! Who is Kang Woojin, this year's Best Actor winner at Cannes?]]
[[NT / Cannes Best Actor winner Kang Woojin sets his sights on next year's Academy Awards, revealed to be the Korean actor who also participated in Miley Cara's new album]]
It was as if the whole world were saying:
Just wait and see.