I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 0

“I’m resigning.”

In the cramped CEO’s office, a rather tall man stated definitively.

“I’ve made sure everything I was in charge of is properly organized. I’ll stop here.”

The man declared his intention to resign very calmly. He had short hair and a rather strong impression. His name was Kang Woo-jin. Looking at him, the toad-like CEO chuckled in disbelief.

“Ha! You’re quitting? You! This design industry isn’t some vast land. It’s incredibly small. If you quit so recklessly? Do you think it’ll be easy to find another job? Huh?”

The CEO spewed out a mix of annoyance and sarcasm. However, Kang Woo-jin, standing there blankly, didn’t respond.

‘Finding another job or whatever, it’s none of your business anymore, you toad.’

Right now, he just wanted to go home quickly. The company Kang Woo-jin was resigning from was a typical design firm with about 20 employees.

It was a terribly awful company, even among small businesses.

Kang Woo-jin, who had been designing his entire life from high school through university, had been working at this cursed company for four years. He was 27 years old now.

‘When I think about it, I only have terrible memories.’

It was called a design company, but like most small businesses, there was an abundance of miscellaneous tasks besides design work. There were also frequent late nights. And what about overtime pay? It was given to the dogs, and weekend work was common.

Annual leave? What’s that, ah—a tea to boil and drink?

That’s how Kang Woo-jin reached his limit. And today. Monday morning. As soon as Woo-jin saw the toad CEO, he snapped.

‘Screw it, I’m just going for it.’

To be honest, Kang Woo-jin had written his resignation letter two years ago. Everyone must be similar. Anyway, the toad CEO, who had been glaring at Kang Woo-jin, waved his hand.

“Ha… I can’t believe this. Okay, fine, get lost. There are plenty of guys who can do what you do. Don’t come in from tomorrow.”

Kang Woo-jin replied as if he had been waiting for this.

“Yes, I understand. And please make sure to send the overtime pay and severance pay I haven’t received properly.”

“…Hey, you.”

“I’ve already roughly calculated it. I don’t want to make a big deal out of this, CEO. Then.”

Once he made up his mind, the words flowed smoothly. Kang Woo-jin, after giving a casual greeting to the toad CEO, left the office. Soon, cheers and encouragement poured out for Kang Woo-jin. It was the employees. ‘Good job,’ ‘I’m jealous,’ and so on. Among them, a colleague who was close to Kang Woo-jin stuck by his side.

“I’m jealous of your escape. But what are you going to do now?”

What am I going to do? Well. Honestly, he was worried. How would he make a living? Still, Woo-jin, who decided to put off his worries for today, moved to his desk and replied casually.

“Honestly, I don’t want to do design anymore. Well—I have a working holiday thing, so I might go for that.”

“Working holiday? Where?”

“Australia.”

Several tens of minutes later.

Kang Woo-jin stared blankly at the monitor, his chin propped up. Now that his resignation was confirmed, a wave of lethargy washed over him.

Then.

—Swish.

Kang Woo-jin, with a listless face, picked up his phone. The phone screen displayed unread messages and the time.

-February 3, 2020

-10:22 AM.

Only 30 minutes had passed? Time was moving so slowly. It was then.

—Thud!

The CEO’s office door suddenly burst open, and the toad, his face flushed, yelled.

“Hey!! Kang Woo-jin!”

The shout was, of course, directed at Kang Woo-jin.

“You just get out of here now! I don’t want to see your face!!”

At the same time, Kang Woo-jin cheered inwardly.

‘Sweet, I’m all for it.’

One week later, around noon, in Kang Woo-jin’s studio apartment.

Kang Woo-jin lived in Suji, Yongin. Inside his studio, the clothes hanging on the wall were neatly arranged, making it look surprisingly tidy. It gave the impression that he was usually well-organized.

In the center of that studio.

“……”

A bum was sprawled out, fast asleep. Of course, it was Kang Woo-jin. Unlike the tidy studio, his appearance was that of a bum. He was still wearing the padded jacket he had worn out the previous day, and his hair, which he had styled, was now a mess.

Moreover, every time Kang Woo-jin exhaled, the smell of alcohol was strong. It was because he had drunk heavily with his friends the night before to celebrate his resignation.

About an hour passed in this state.

“……Ugh- damn it.”

The sleeping bum, no, Kang Woo-jin, groaned and squirmed while lying down.

“Ugh… my head is splitting.”

Woo-jin, clutching his head with both hands, looked around. Huh? Home? How did I get home?

“Yesterday, I definitely… remember up to the second round.”

After that, it was completely blank. His memory was erased. He tried to recall the shattered pieces of yesterday, but it was futile. Was it because it had been a long time since he had drunk so much? Kang Woo-jin let out a long sigh mixed with the smell of alcohol. He gave up on trying to remember.

“Hah—I don’t know, I must have gotten here somehow.”

Woo-jin immediately opened the delivery app. From the moment he opened his eyes, he had been craving cold noodles. A hangover cure, that was the priority.

At that moment.

—Vrr, vrr.

The phone with the delivery app open vibrated loudly. It was a call. The caller was one of Kang Woo-jin’s close friends. He was also a member of last night’s drinking party. His friend’s name was Kim Dae-young. Kang Woo-jin answered the phone, lying on his side, with the phone to his ear.

“Hey—”

Kim Dae-young chuckled on the other end of the phone at Woo-jin’s dying voice.

“Listen to your voice? You’re on the verge of death? Hehehe, but you did make it home alive?”

“Hey, how much did we drink yesterday? My insides are paralyzed right now.”

“You don’t remember??”

“Nope. My memory is completely gone.”

Upon hearing the answer, Kim Dae-young immediately cursed.

“You idiot. You suddenly disappeared while drinking yesterday. For about 30 minutes. I was seriously about to report you to the police. What were you doing then?”

“Seriously? How would I remember? But why are you calling?”

“Ah—damn it. Then you don’t remember what we talked about yesterday either? You agreed to come with me to my audition.”

Audition? Kang Woo-jin slowly scratched his chin. He had no memory of it at all.

“What audition all of a sudden? You’re doing well at your company. Are you trying to change jobs? Are you crazy? That’s a mid-sized company, isn’t it?”

“No, wow—this guy, seriously. It’s not a company audition, it’s the ‘Super Actor’ preliminary screening!”

The ‘Super Actor’ that Kim Dae-young mentioned was a recently produced entertainment program. The broadcasting station was the public channel SBC. As the title suggested, it was an audition program to discover hidden stars, and it had been heavily promoted for a month already.

Whatever it was, Kang Woo-jin, tilting his head, asked back into the phone.

“‘Super Actor’? Hey, are you going to be on that? Did you completely change your route to become an actor?”

Kim Dae-young cursed again on the other end of the phone.

“No! You idiot! Aish, this is frustrating. I said yesterday… Hah—so, I was just joking around, thinking about submitting my documents and a video? But I passed the first round.”

“Oh—really?”

Kang Woo-jin’s friend, Kim Dae-young, had acting as a hobby. On weekdays, he worked at his company, and on weekends, he went to a theater club. Of course, Kang Woo-jin knew this as well.

“They must be accepting anyone. Seeing that you passed.”

“Shut up. Anyway, the first screening and interview are tomorrow morning, and even though it’s not an official shoot, I’m nervous, so I asked you to come with me.”

“So, my answer yesterday was okay?”

Ah, such a crazy thing. Here, Kang Woo-jin immediately changed his words.

“I was drunk, my friend. The me of yesterday was not me. Hey, and why would I go there? What am I supposed to do there? Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“That’s for me to figure out. You just need to be by my side and share your warmth. They said family or friends can come. Just wait outside while I’m in the interview.”

“……I’m not feeling it today.”

“Aish, come on! Hey! You’re unemployed right now anyway! After it’s over, we’ll have pork belly and soju! As much as you want!”

“Hmm—”

Kang Woo-jin hesitated slightly. At that moment, Kim Dae-young shouted additionally.

“Hong Hye-yeon is among the judges tomorrow!!”

—Pause.

Kang Woo-jin’s eyes, which had stopped moving for a moment, flashed.

“…What? Who?”

“Hong! Hye! Yeon! You might even see Hong Hye-yeon.”

“Seriously?”

“For real. I’ll bet my hand on it.”

Hong Hye-yeon. She was a currently popular top actress. The undisputed actress in every man’s imagination. And Hong Hye-yeon was a judge? Soon, Kim Dae-young added an explanation on the phone.

“The ‘Super Actor’ has different judges for each episode, and among them, who was it? Anyway, it seems she agreed to do it because of some famous drama PD [Production Director]. Hong Hye-yeon is working on a project with that PD. It’s just a one-time thing anyway.”

“How do you know that?”

“You idiot, you can find it if you just search the articles a bit. Anyway, that’s that, but we also have our friendship, right? Huh? Come with me.”

At this point, Kang Woo-jin, who had gotten up groggily, replied with a firm face.

“You should have mentioned friendship earlier. So, my friend, what time is it tomorrow?”

It was a crazy change of attitude.

The next morning, Wednesday, February 12th.

The time was around 10 AM. The place was the SBC headquarters’ Art Center in Mokdong. Kang Woo-jin and Kim Dae-young, wearing padded jackets, entered the 5-story building that felt like an annex. For reference, Kim Dae-young was burly. He was about the same height as Woo-jin, who was over 180 cm, but his upper body was solid.

Anyway.

“Wow—there are so many people.”

Kang Woo-jin was impressed. It was understandable. The Art Center lobby was already packed. Dozens of staff members were stationed from the entrance, and participants were swarming in. There must have been at least over 200 people? But this was just the beginning.

Kim Dae-young muttered the reason.

“I heard that this is only about 30% of the people who came. Today’s ‘Super Actor’ first screening is divided into time slots.”

“So, at least 600 people are coming today?”

“Of course. Watch some TV.”

“I don’t know, it’s not my business.”

Anyway, after completing the information verification process with the staff, Kang Woo-jin and Kim Dae-young walked down the hallway filled with participants, following the signs and the staff’s gestures. Then, they entered a room with the sign ‘Waiting Room 1’ on the door.

—Creak.

Inside, there was a large space with plastic chairs densely arranged, and more than half of them were occupied. It was at this moment that Kang Woo-jin pointed to an empty chair with his index finger.

“Hey, let’s sit there.”

“Okay.”

Immediately after taking their seats, Kim Dae-young touched the number tag attached to his chest and took a deep breath.

“Hoo- hoo- ah, damn it. I’m so nervous??”

Regardless, Kang Woo-jin, as if it were someone else’s problem, crossed his legs, pulling his padded jacket tighter.

“Hey, you’ve been doing that theater club thing as a hobby for quite a while, haven’t you? It’s been over three years, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But you’re nervous? What’s up with your club, you guys even do free performances, right?”

“Come on! Hey, is that the same level as this?”

“What’s the difference? It’s the same acting. I don’t know anything about it, but you have to feel like it’s the same level, even if you have to force it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll become a top actor with this show?”

Soon, Kim Dae-young began to imagine or fantasize.

“Damn… I just thought about it for a second, and I got goosebumps.”

Kim Dae-young, who was chuckling like that, suddenly looked around at the dozens of participants and covered his abdomen.

“Ah—hey, I need to take a big one. And a wet one at that.”

“You’re crazy, man. When does this audition or screening start?”

“I don’t know, I heard that you go in when the staff calls your name.”

“Then ask and go quickly, don’t wet yourself while acting.”

As if he couldn’t tolerate such a scene, Kim Dae-young jumped up and ran to the female staff member standing at the entrance of the waiting room. After a brief conversation, he immediately ran out into the hallway.

Watching his friend, Kang Woo-jin muttered quietly.

“What a waste.”

He sank deeper into the plastic chair. About 10 minutes passed. Kang Woo-jin, frowning, checked the time on his phone. Kim Dae-young was taking too long to return.

“Why isn’t that crazy guy coming back?”

It was then.

“Kim Dae-young, Kim Jun-soo, Kim Tae-jung!”

A male staff member shouted to the participants filling the plastic chairs at the front of the waiting room.

“Kim Dae-young, Kim Jun-soo, Kim Tae-jung!!”

Was it in alphabetical order? His friend Kim Dae-young’s name was called first. Thanks to that, Kang Woo-jin was slightly flustered when other participants moved forward.

Soon.

“Excuse me.”

Kang Woo-jin raised his hand and called the staff member.

“I’m sorry, I’m Kim Dae-young’s friend. He went to the bathroom right now… I’m sorry. I’ll go get him right away.”

“Ah—the bathroom? Hmm, just a moment. You’re his friend?”

“Yes.”

The male staff member then spoke into the intercom hanging around his neck. Interestingly, he smiled slightly after hearing some response. It was like a mischievous smile unique to the entertainment team. It seemed like he had something up his sleeve.

That male staff member answered Kang Woo-jin, who had approached him.

“Then, would you like to go in first?”

“Huh?”

Was he crazy? Kang Woo-jin frowned.

“Me?”

“Yes. Your friend is first, and if it’s like this, Kim Dae-young will just be eliminated. If he’s coming soon, go in and just take a seat. We’ll guide Kim Dae-young when he comes.”

Was he saying to fill the seat with anyone rather than leaving it empty? Well, he didn’t know well, but Kang Woo-jin, thinking of his friend, let out a small sigh.

“Where do I go?”

Shortly after.

Kang Woo-jin arrived at the end of the hallway. Two other participants were sitting on the makeshift chairs in front of the door, and Kang Woo-jin was guided into the room.

Soon.

‘Oh—’

Woo-jin inwardly exclaimed after checking the inside. Unlike the previous waiting room, this place was somewhat decorated. On the straight desk in front, the ‘Super Actor’ logo was engraved. There were two large cameras to the left of the desk, and small cameras were placed on the ceiling and here and there.

There were also about a dozen staff members.

Among them, a woman in her late 30s with a bobbed haircut approached Kang Woo-jin. The mischievous smile was a bonus.

“Kim Dae-young’s friend? Is that right?”

Soon, Kang Woo-jin, who had been looking around the room, nodded casually.

“Yes. I’ll call my friend right now.”

“Okay. Take this and sit in that chair over there.”

The woman handed Kang Woo-jin a thin stack of papers and pointed to a chair placed alone in front of the straight desk.

“That’s a script? Today’s task is impromptu acting, so read the script briefly and show us your acting right away. If you’re bored while waiting for your friend, read it for a bit.”

“Ah—yes.”

“And the judges will be here soon.”

Here, Kang Woo-jin asked quite confidently.

“By the way, is Hong Hye-yeon among the judges?”

The woman’s smile deepened.

“Yes, she is. But no autographs or photos are allowed.”

Jackpot, Kang Woo-jin’s anticipation exploded for a moment. He even smiled as much as he could without showing it, and Kang Woo-jin sat in the chair that was placed alone.

And then.

—Swish.

While calling Kim Dae-young, he looked down at the script on his lap. It was an unconscious action. Looking at this piece of paper had no meaning for Woo-jin.

However.

“Why isn’t this guy answering… huh?”

Kang Woo-jin, who had been looking down at the script, paused.

“…What is this.”

To be precise, Kang Woo-jin was looking at the empty space next to the script. Why? Because he saw something strange. What should he call it? It was a rectangle the size of an A4 sheet of paper, with black and gray swirling together. It was clearly strange.

Thanks to that.

“……”

Kang Woo-jin, as if possessed, slowly moved his index finger. He wanted to poke this strange thing. Then, Kang Woo-jin dipped his index finger slightly but deeply into the center of the swirling rectangle.

The problem occurred next.

“Ugh!”

Kang Woo-jin was sucked into that something.