I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 479

Late July, Los Angeles.

We found Kang Woo-jin on the sprawling set, a miniature city in itself. Dressed in tattered short sleeves and jeans, he was in the middle of an action sequence with several men in an alley.

“Huh!”

“Cook!”

With controlled movements and precise strikes, the burly men fell one after another. Woojin, with his impassive expression and exceptional skills, was the last man standing.

“…Ugh!”

The last man scrambled away, fleeing in terror. Woojin didn’t bother to chase him. Instead, he searched the pockets of the fallen men, retrieving their cell phones. Kang Woo-jin then made a call. Several cameras captured him in the perfect composition.

The silence lingered for about ten seconds.

Then…

“…Cut!”

Danny Landis, a renowned director with round glasses perched on his nose, who had been intently watching the monitor, jumped up and shouted.

“OKAY!!!”

As if on cue, about a hundred staff members around him erupted in cheers and applause. Director Danny Landis rushed over to Woojin, explaining the reason for the celebration.

“You’ve worked incredibly hard. I plan to focus on post-production to ensure Woojin’s efforts are not in vain.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Director.”

“There are still a few steps left, including post-production recording, but as of today, the entire filming schedule for ‘John Persona’ is complete.”

The filming of ‘John Persona,’ which had begun in February, was finally finished. The original crank-up date was around June, but it had been postponed due to Kang Woo-jin’s numerous commitments. With this, only editing remained for Kang Woo-jin’s third Hollywood film, ‘John Persona.’

Soon, Kang Woo-jin greeted many key staff members, including director Danny.

As usual, his face was a mask of indifference, but inside, he felt light and happy.

‘Finally! I can get some rest now. Even if it’s just for a little while.’

Just then.

“Mr. Woojin.”

Someone called out to Kang Woo-jin, who was surrounded by staff. Turning around, he saw the towering figure of Joseph Felton smiling. Had he gained more muscle? The black t-shirt clinging to his body emphasized his masculine physique. Joseph Felton, holding a stack of papers in one hand, asked Woojin Kang for a handshake.

“As always, today’s filming was the best. It was an honor to be with you throughout the filming of ‘John Persona.’”

Woojin, inwardly embarrassed by the praise, gave a low, nonchalant reply.

“Thank you.”

Joseph Felton, glancing around at the noisy surroundings, said to Woojin.

“Could I have a moment of your time?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Yes, that’s enough.”

The two moved to Woojin’s trailer.

In a flash.

Kang Woo-jin’s team members were already in the trailer, but Choi Seong-gun, noticing the situation, quickly ushered them out. Soon, only Kang Woo-jin and Joseph Felton remained in the trailer. Joseph was the first to break the silence.

“Actually, I’ve wanted to propose this to you for several months, but I held back because I knew what your answer would be if the script wasn’t up to par.”

Joseph placed the stack of papers he had brought with him on the table. The title ‘John Persona 2’ was emblazoned on the cover. Kang Woo-jin immediately recognized it.

‘Ah! This is the script for ‘John Persona 2’!’

Joseph, presenting the script, smiled and continued.

“You mentioned it once during filming, right? ‘John Persona’ is confirmed to be a series, and ‘Universal Movies’ has plans for up to three films. The script for ‘John Persona 2’ has been released.”

“Okay.”

“Of course, ‘Universal Movies,’ the director, myself, and everyone involved in this movie desperately want you to reprise the role in ‘John Persona 2.’ Auditions are meaningless for you, Woojin, and all the actors in the sequel will be chosen after discussions centered around you.”

“Is that so?”

“…Yes! First of all, here are the conditions we’re considering.”

“Joseph.”

Kang Woo-jin interrupted Joseph Felton, who was about to launch into the conditions.

“Before hearing the conditions, I want to review the script first.”

If the conditions and the script were terrible, it would all be pointless. The first film had a great script, but there was a chance that ‘John Persona 2’ could be a disaster. Joseph Felton, with a smile, nodded as if he had anticipated Woojin’s reaction.

“Of course, please review the script and contact me anytime.”

“Alright.”

After saying goodbye, Joseph left the trailer. Now, Kang Woo-jin was alone. Woojin picked up the ‘John Persona 2’ script from the table. As expected, there was a black square next to the script. He instinctively poked the swirling black square with his index finger.

*High-*

In an instant, Kang Woo-jin’s world transformed into an endless, dark subspace. He immediately relaxed, abandoning all pretense.

“Ah, since I’m here, I should get some rest.”

He walked towards a place where several white squares were floating. The number had increased significantly. Kang Woo-jin first checked the other works, excluding ‘Clierrot: Birth of a Villain,’ which had already achieved the top spot worldwide.

“Wow, a lot of people have climbed.”

Meanwhile, the ratings of other works had improved.

-[12/Scenario (Title: Beast and Beauty), EX+ grade]

-[13/Scenario (Title: John Persona), EX+ grade]

-[14/Scenario (Title: Guest), EX level]

-[15/Scenario (Title: Bat: Birth of a Hero), EX+++ level]

They were all EX level or higher. Of course, this was thanks to Kang Woo-jin’s incredible power or the ‘clown’s’ awesome power.

And the very last one.

-[16/Scenario (Title: John Persona 2), EX level]

The newly updated ‘John Persona 2’ was already at EX level. Kang Woo-jin smiled deeply.

“That’s great.”

At this point, Kang Woo-jin suddenly had a question.

“…But how long will this subspace last?”

The question of how long this absurd subspace would remain by his side. He was prepared for it to disappear at any moment, but if it disappeared too suddenly…

‘Honestly, it would be a bit disappointing.’

Now, it felt like the subspace was a colleague he had been with all along. What would happen to his abilities when the subspace disappeared? Since they were imprinted on Kang Woo-jin, would they remain the same? Or not.

‘Will they disappear along with the subspace?’

Kang Woo-jin, silent for a moment, raised his head and spoke into the dark subspace.

“Hey, subspace, how long are you going to stick around?”

Of course, there was no answer. It wasn’t unusual, as it was always like that. Kang Woo-jin muttered to himself, ‘What am I doing?’

It was at that moment.

*in*

The last white square, the one that hadn’t been updated, appeared out of nowhere. It was translucent at first, but quickly became clear. Woojin blinked as he watched it.

“W-what is it?”

‘John Persona 2’ was supposed to be the last one, but another white square had been added after that. Kang Woo-jin, frowning, took a step closer to the newly created white square. His toes were trembling slightly. He was surprised by the sudden change.

Then, the contents of the newly formed white square appeared before his eyes.

-[17/Scenario (Title: 1 Year Later and 30 Minutes Gone), ∞ grade]

-[*This is the perfect scenario. 100% reading is possible.]

The grades and phrases were subtly different. No, this was the first time he had seen anything like this.

“…‘One year later and 30 minutes gone’?? What is this?”

Kang Woo-jin, still narrowing his eyes, poked the white square with his index finger. Soon, new text appeared.

-[You have selected 17/Scenario (Title: 1 Year Later and 30 Minutes Gone).]

-[List people who can lead (experience).]

-[A: Kang Woo-jin]

Woojin tilted his head slightly as he saw his own name.

“Me?”

He touched his name as if compelled.

Soon, a familiar robotic female voice echoed throughout the subspace.

[“Preparing to read ‘A: Kang Woo-jin’…”…”Completed, perfect scenario.”…”Readiness implementation level is 100%. Reading begins.”]

As soon as her voice ended, a huge gray cloud engulfed Kang Woo-jin.

How long had it been?

Kang Woo-jin, who had been silent, began to hear a loud voice in his ears. His dark vision also began to clear. Gradually, Woojin’s five senses were activated. He smelled something pleasant.

‘…Familiar scent.’

A perfume he often smelled. In an instant, a blonde woman appeared in Kang Woo-jin’s sight as his vision returned. She hugged Woojin tightly.

“Woojin! That’s enough!!”

Kara? It was definitely her. The person who had just hugged Kang Woo-jin was his girlfriend, Miley Kara. The familiar scent came from Kara. Gradually, the number of people Kang Woo-jin could see increased. The space was also familiar.

‘…Here’s ‘World Disney Pictures’??’

The people around him were ‘Beast and Beauty’ actors such as Miley Cara and Myra Armas, director Bill Lautner, key staff, and ‘World Disney Pictures’ executives. All of them were cheering wildly while looking at the screen in front of them.

“Oh my!! It’s 1.5 billion dollars! 1.5 billion dollars!!”

“Hahaha! As expected! I knew everyone would recognize our ‘Beast and Beauty’!!”

“It surpassed 1.5 billion dollars worldwide!! The original work had some influence, but the power of Kang Woo-jin and Miley was also significant!”

“There was some doubt about ‘Beast’ in the beginning! But no one cares about that now! It surpassed $1.5 billion!!”

Kang Woo-jin’s eyes moved as he was hugged by Kara. The release results of ‘The Beast and Beauty’ were being displayed on the screen. What? Looking closely, he noticed that people’s clothes were quite thick. He was also wearing a black and blue jacket. It was definitely summer, but the clothes made it feel like early winter.

It was only at this time that Kang Woo-jin realized.

‘Am I leading (experiencing) myself? This???’

In a scenario called Kang Woo-jin, Kang Woo-jin was leading (experiencing) the main character. Kara, who was still hugging him tightly, whispered to Kang Woo-jin.

“This is the world’s recognition of your ‘beast.’”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“What’s with that reaction? Aren’t you happy?”

“I’m happy.”

Director Bill Lautner shouted excitedly.

“Exceeded $1.5 billion! Ranked 8th in global box office success of all time!!”

The surrounding actors applauded.

“8th place of all time!!”

“Wow, that’s crazy! But it won’t be hard to beat ‘Pierrot’ who is in first place, right??”

“Hahaha, what are you talking about? How can I beat those monstrous numbers!”

Everyone was drunk with joy. At this point, Kang Woo-jin’s eyes turned to the screen again. He saw a list of all-time box office hits from around the world.

[Worldwide box office rankings]
-<1/’Cierrot: Birth of a Villain’/ USD 2.8 billion>

-<8/ ‘Beast and Beauty’/ $1.5 billion>

Among the world’s all-time box office hits, two were by Kang Woo-jin.

This moment.

‘Ugh!’

He felt like something was distorting the surroundings, and the background quickly changed. It was Woojin Kang’s house in LA. The sky was dark. Behind Woojin, who was staring blankly at the house.

“What are you doing? Standing there like an idiot.”

A familiar female voice was heard. When he turned around, blonde Kara came up smiling and wrapped Woojin’s arm.

“Let’s go in, it’s cold.”

“…uh?”

“Why are you surprised? We were supposed to stay together today. We were supposed to celebrate and look at my dress.”

Dress? At this point, the surroundings became distorted again. This time, Kang Woo-jin was looking down at his cell phone. Seong-geon Choi with a ponytail was sitting right next to him, and he could hear his frantic voice.

“Okay!! If this happens, three of Woojin’s works are in the top 10!!”

Woojin was seeing an article about Hollywood.

『NT/Following ‘Cierrot’ and ‘Beast and Beauty’, Kang Woo-jin’s ‘John Persona’ surpasses 1.3 billion dollars, ranking in the top 10 worldwide box-office films of all time!』

The background changes again.

Kang Woo-jin, holding the remote control, was leisurely watching TV, and a foreign anchor was delivering news on TV.

-[“The movie ‘Guest’ starring Miley Cara and Chris Hartnett, which was the main investment by Woojin Kang and his agent BW Entertainment, continues to be a box office hit, pushing out other blockbuster competitors that spent hundreds of millions of dollars on production. We are maintaining our position.”]

At this time, Miley Kara’s laughing voice was heard from the kitchen.

“Are you going to exchange us for a villa in Korea like you promised?”

Miley Kara, with a smile and blonde hair curled up, came up in comfortable clothes and hugged Woojin on the sofa.

“Because I bought the boat you mentioned! Don’t delay this time!”

He didn’t know what it was, but Kang Woo-jin lifted Miley Kara in that condition. But unfortunately, Woojin’s vision became distorted and changed once again. This time it was a familiar filming location. Many cameras and equipment, actors, and hundreds of foreign staff.

And director Gabok Ang.

“Woojin, are you ready?”

“……………………….”

Kang Woo-jin, who was looking at Director Ahn Ga-bok’s wrinkled face, looked down at his own clothes. It was the costume of ‘Joker’. Soon, director Ang Bok placed his hand on Woojin’s shoulder.

“Let’s turn the world upside down in ‘Bat: Birth of a Hero’ like ‘Cierrot’.”

Kang Woo-jin nodded calmly.

“Yes, director.”

Then, director Ga-bok Ang returned to his seat, and hundreds of people all looked at Woo-jin Kang. Soon, Director Ang Bok’s sign rang throughout the scene.

“Action!!”

At the same time, the world is distorted again. However, this time, there was a motion that seemed to be rewinding while people were stopping. The scenes unfolded quickly.

When he was giving his speech on winning the Best Actor Award for ‘Joker’, ‘Emmy Awards’, Cannes Film Festival, filming ‘Leech’, ‘Familiar Parasite’, ‘Island of the Missing’, Blue Dragon Film Festival, ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

The scenario of Kang Woo-jin quickly rewinds.

Yet.

“I will resign.”

At the design company, Woojin announced his resignation.

“I have organized the matters I am in charge of so that there are no problems. I will stop here.”

Soon, Kang Woo-jin saw a president who resembled a broad toad.

“Ha! Are you going to hit me??!”

For a moment, everything stopped. Woojin, who was reading (experiencing) Kang Woojin, just waited. Because there was nothing else he could do other than that. Soon, the world that had stopped changed again. This time it was fast forward, not rewind. Something passed by. The one-room apartment he lived in for a long time and his friends from the drinking party showed up.

Here, the fast forwarding suddenly stopped.

“Hey, drink up Shiba!!”

“Yes! What is there in life?! Drink!!”

“Hey! Kang Woo-jin! Oh-is this guy drunk??!”

“Shut up, what am I drunk on? Raise your glass, you bastards!”

-braided!

Woojin was heavily drunk. Daeyoung Kim, Kyungseong Lee, and Hyeonggu Na were blurry. His stomach was full. Dizzy. His brain couldn’t function properly. He wanted to escape. The air was too stuffy. Kang Woo-jin, who was staggering, sighed and stood up. There was a strong smell of alcohol.

Do you know anything?

Woojin somehow wanted to breathe the cold air. When he got up and moved, his friends shouted where he was going, but Kang Woo-jin just answered something like ‘to the bathroom’ and walked away unsteadily. The sight in front of his eyes was crooked. It was crumpled and distorted.

Ah, where is the bathroom?

It’s nice to get some cold air, but he had no way of knowing where he was. How far had he walked? At that moment, something surged inside Kang Woo-jin. Nausea. Woojin hurriedly ran into an unknown alley, held on to the wall, and vomited out what he had been eating.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

It was strange, spitting it all out made him feel dizzy. The world was spinning. In addition, the worries that had been hidden deep down came out freely.

I resigned.

What should I do now?

He behaved indifferently in front of his friends, but it was just a trick to avoid damaging his relationship with them.

I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m very anxious.

Kang Woo-jin continued to vomit and shed tears. Some of these tears came from vomiting, but they were also tears from fear of the future that turned into emotions.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! What the fuck is life really like.”

He couldn’t remember the past very well. It seems like a lot had been done, but now it’s empty. He tried hard. It was intense, he was focused. It was definitely like that, but for some reason it feels like there’s nothing left.

Kang Woo-jin, who was vomiting, slipped and fell to the floor.

Cold. The floor was cool.

If he closed his eyes like this, everything would be comfortable.

At that time.

“Baby.”

Kang Woo-jin, who was lying face down, heard the voice of an old woman in his ears. It was kind and stable.

“Baby, why are you lying on the floor in this cold weather?”

Kang Woo-jin, whose head was still spinning, raised his head with difficulty. He saw the old woman behind him smiling. Although his face and clothes weren’t accurate, Woojin somehow got up. But then he slipped.

“Pfft!”

He was slippery and fell over again. In the end, Kang Woo-jin placed his butt on the floor and leaned his back against the wall of the building. And then, for some reason, he sobbed. His emotions were overflowing. He didn’t know, his grandmother’s voice was so heartbreaking.

“Huh! No, Grandma, I’m sorry. It’s me. I’m so sorry. I’m wondering why life isn’t working out like this. I feel like shit, life really is.”

The grandmother sat next to Woojin, who was spitting out alcohol.

“What’s so bad about life? What was so hard about it that I drank so much?”

“It’s just that. When you drink, you forget for a while. You can escape from reality. Pooh… ………… I just think I’m an extra in this world. An extra that no one cares even if I drink and throw up like this. ”

“………………………”

“Me. I quit the company I was working for, right? I thought I was cool back then. But it’s still the same, I’m still heavy and scared. I also regret it. I should have just kept going even though I was like a dog. Then I would have felt less like an extra. “It’s not fun. The world is-”

The grandmother, who was looking down at Kang Woo-jin, who was sobbing, asked quietly.

“Do you want it to be fun?”

“That’s good. It’s exciting and fun, and not boring. Sorry, I’m talking nonsense and it’s cold, but thank you for listening to me.”

“…Drink.”

Suddenly, the grandmother handed something to Woojin.

“Drink it, it’ll make you feel better. It’ll be fun too.”

“yes?”

Woojin raised his head. He was dizzy, so he couldn’t confirm what it was, but it was like a hangover cure in a bottle. Kang Woo-jin lowered his head and took a sip of the drink.

“Thank you very much. But Grandma, something seems to be making me even more dizzy.”

“Hey.”

Soon, the grandmother’s kind voice penetrated into Kang Woo-jin’s distorted vision, and

“You are not in the world. This world is just the background of your life scenario. That is all.”

The voice of the grandmother who was stroking Kang Woo-jin’s prone head became slightly muffled.

“Enjoy yourselves, you are the star, baby.”

The world and the background became dark. Soon, the robotic-like female voice was heard again,

[A: The reading (experience) of ‘Kang Woo-jin’ is ending.”]

Suddenly.

“………………uh?”

Kang Woo-jin was back inside the trailer. He slowly looks around. He also touched his own arm. It was definitely the same as before entering subspace. He checked the time. It was still the same.

Moment.

“ah!”

Surprised, Kang Woo-jin checked the ‘John Persona 2’ scenario in his hand. No, more precisely, he saw a black square attached to the side.

But fortunately.

“Are you still there?”

The swirling ‘sub-space’ still existed in front of the owner and protagonist. Kang Woo-jin, whose smile deepened, let out a long sigh.

“Okay, let’s enjoy ‘Noppakku’ like we always do.”

Kang Woo-jin picked up his cell phone. The person on the phone was Joseph Felton, whom he had just met. The connection signal was short, and since he had met Woojin just before, Joseph looked a little surprised on the other end of the phone.

“Woojin? Did you make your decision so quickly?”

Kang Woo-jin, who was laughing, answered ‘Nopaku’ [a term meaning ‘no problem’ or ‘all good’].

“Yes. I will do it, protagonist.”

End