I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 1

No sound reached him. His senses were dulled. It felt as if his body was floating. This was Kang Woo-jin’s current state.

“……”

It was hard to explain, but everything was vague. He was conscious, yet his mind was hazy. He couldn’t tell if he was lying down or standing. The temperature around him was also indistinct. Were his eyes closed? Or open? What was going on? What was he even doing?

However, one thing was clear.

‘It’s comfortable.’

In his hazy state, Kang Woo-jin felt incredibly comfortable. He wanted to stay like this forever. Then,

‘Ah.’

Kang Woo-jin suddenly snapped back to his senses. No, it wasn’t his own doing. Something unknown had jolted him awake. That was the feeling.

Soon.

“……Ugh.”

Kang Woo-jin, who had been groaning faintly, slowly opened his eyes. They must have been closed. After a few seconds, he finally regained his senses and stared blankly for a moment.

The reason was simple.

“Where… am I?”

He had no idea where he was. Or was this even a place? Woo-jin had opened his eyes, but it was as if they were still closed.

Because it was pitch black all around.

It was like being trapped in a secret room without a single light. The kind of atmosphere that could easily trigger claustrophobia.

Startled, Kang Woo-jin jumped up and shouted.

“Hey!! Kim Dae-young!!”

“……”

But there was no response.

“Hello!! Hello!!!”

He shouted again, but it was still silent. Not even an echo. What on earth was this place? It was endlessly black, and its size was impossible to gauge. It felt like some kind of limitless subspace.

Anyway, it was at this moment.

“Hey, hey! Kim Dae-young! Damn it, what is this place!”

Immense anxiety and fear washed over Kang Woo-jin. Then, he recalled the events leading up to this.

“I definitely touched some weird rectangle.”

A rectangle with black and gray swirling together. Woo-jin had touched it with his index finger in the empty space next to the script.

“…What is this? Is this a movie? Did I get sucked in here?!”

He ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts racing. No matter how he looked at it, this was real. No dream could be this vivid.

What on earth was this subspace?

Whatever it was, the most important thing right now was to escape, not to figure out what this place was.

At that moment.

“Huh?”

Woo-jin, who had turned around, stopped abruptly. In the darkness, he saw a white rectangle. It was about three steps away. Had it been there before? He didn’t know. But he had to check it out quickly.

He moved towards the white rectangle.

-Swish.

He examined the white rectangle up close. It was about the size of an A4 sheet of paper. It was positioned around his chest level, almost floating. What was interesting was.

“Letters?”

There were white letters imprinted on the white rectangle.

-[1/Partial Script (Title: Unknown), F-Grade (Cannot be Judged)]

-[*The level of completion is very low. It is a damaged script or scenario. 100% reading is impossible. (Approximately 10% can be implemented)]

Kang Woo-jin frowned deeply.

“What is this? A damaged script? A scenario?”

The white letters made no sense. Then, the words ‘partial script’ triggered a memory.

“…Ah, that partial script.”

It was the few pages of a partial script he had received from a female staff member at the broadcasting station. Come to think of it, he had been sucked into this subspace right after receiving that partial script. If so.

“Could it be? This rectangle—is it that partial script?”

The pieces seemed to fit. Kang Woo-jin slowly raised his hand and grabbed the white rectangle. But it didn’t move.

That’s when it happened.

-Swish.

Suddenly, letters that hadn’t been there before appeared below the white rectangle.

-[You have selected 1/Partial Script (Title: Unknown).]

-[Listing characters available for reading (experience).]

-[A: Frightened Man, B: Thug]

What was this now? By this point, Kang Woo-jin was overwhelmed with annoyance and anxiety. He had to do something quickly.

“Ah, damn it, I don’t know.”

He touched one of the letters that appeared. It was ‘A: Frightened Man’, and suddenly a woman’s voice echoed throughout the subspace.

[“Preparing to read ‘A: Frightened Man’……”]

The tone was even and robotic. What did it matter? It was the first human voice he had heard in this place. Woo-jin desperately shouted.

“Hello! Who is it?! There’s someone here!!”

But the woman’s voice gave an unexpected answer.

[“……Preparation complete. It is a damaged script or scenario. The implementation rate is approximately 10%. Starting the reading.”]

Immediately after, a large gray mass engulfed Kang Woo-jin.

It was cold. It was strange. Until just now, the temperature had been vague. But now, Kang Woo-jin felt a chill. Was he outside? Woo-jin looked down. Huh?

“……!!”

Things had changed. The padding he had been wearing was gone, and he was wearing a brown windbreaker. Feeling a sudden sense of incongruity, he quickly looked up again.

His vision had also changed slightly.

It was still pitch black, but he could see silhouettes, albeit faintly. Trees? Were those all trees? And what was he stepping on? Fallen leaves?

Then was he in the mountains?

He wanted to speak, but he couldn’t. It felt like his body was rejecting it. At the same time, he felt sounds and sensations he hadn’t felt before.

-Rustle.

The eerie wind blowing and the sound of it rustling through the tree branches. The atmosphere alone was enough to make his whole body tremble slightly.

And.

‘Run. I have to run away.’

Kang Woo-jin, whose eyes had adjusted to the darkness, was now being bombarded with certain emotions and feelings. Move. Move your feet.

Run without stopping, run away.

Soon, Woo-jin suddenly started running. He didn’t know the direction. He just started running upwards. He ignored his rapidly rising breath. He ignored the tree branches that were just silhouettes scratching his cheeks.

He just ran.

“Huff! Cough!”

Why? Why was he running right now? He didn’t know. But Woo-jin didn’t stop his urgent steps. It felt like he shouldn’t. His heart was pounding faster and faster.

Yes, he was being chased. He was being chased right now.

-Rustle! Rustle!

Woo-jin kept looking back while frantically stepping on the fallen leaves. Fortunately, the scenery behind him was the same. A mountain shrouded in darkness.

It was at this moment.

“Hey.”

A low male voice suddenly came from beside Woo-jin, who had turned around.

“It’s annoying, stop running.”

-Thud!

Before Kang Woo-jin could even react, his leg was tripped, and he sprawled on the ground. It hurt. It hurt like hell. Why did it hurt? This pain was real. The stinging pain of his cheek being scraped on the ground and bleeding was also real.

And then.

“You made me hungry.”

The male voice behind him. No, the thug was also real. All Kang Woo-jin could do was struggle. He had no choice. This was his first time experiencing something like this.

Who would have ever experienced being chased by a thug out of nowhere?

He was going to die. For some reason, he felt like he was going to die. Woo-jin desperately crawled, but it was no use. The thug behind him had pinned him down with his foot.

“Ugh! Hhh-”

Even so, Woo-jin’s struggle didn’t stop. He crawled and crawled again. He was crawling in place, but he kept crawling. The dirt on the ground kept getting into his nose. Conversely, tears were streaming from his eyes and nose.

He was going to die, he was going to die, he wanted to live.

Desperate emotions, his hands frantically scraping the fallen leaves and dirt on the ground, the sensation of his back being pressed down, the snot and tears flowing, his ragged breathing.

Everything was real.

And.

“Yeah, I’ve decided. I’m going to go down and eat pizza.”

The thug who was muttering was also definitely real. At this moment, Woo-jin, who had been lying face down, was flipped over. The thug had done it. Thanks to that, the thug came into view of Kang Woo-jin, whose whole body was trembling.

“……?”

He had no face. To be precise, he had a face, but it was black. A round black thing was attached to his neck. But the silhouette of the thug’s torso was clearly visible. Although it was faint.

At this moment.

-Thud!!

Something was embedded in the side of Kang Woo-jin’s stomach, who was lying sprawled out.

“Aaaah!!!”

He didn’t even know what had been embedded. It hurt like hell. The pain was as if his internal organs had been severed in an instant. An indescribable agony.

Shudder.

Woo-jin was trembling all over. His legs were shaking, and his arms and face were twitching. What was this sensation? Damn it, it hurt so much. It was clearly real.

Beg, yes, beg. Beg him to spare his life.

Woo-jin, with his trembling hands together, begged. He begged the black face with all his might. He would do anything, anything, just to be spared. The thug’s expression couldn’t be seen, but he was still a human, right?

That thug laughed.

Bullshit, his face was just black, but he laughed. Maybe it was because of the hope in his delusion, but that’s how it looked in Woo-jin’s eyes. So Kang Woo-jin forced a smile, and it was after that that something was embedded in his body again.

-Thud!!!

“Ugh!! Aaaah!!”

It was at this moment.

[“Ending the reading of ‘A: Frightened Man’.”]

The robotic female voice echoed.

How much time had passed?

Someone’s voice was faintly heard in Kang Woo-jin’s dazed ears.

“……Yo! Hello!!”

At the same time, Kang Woo-jin, who had a cell phone to his ear, slowly raised his head. He saw three people sitting at a long desk. A man in his 30s, a man in his 50s with a beard, and a pretty woman. It seemed like the man in his 30s had just called out to Woo-jin.

Soon.

‘Oh—this is the same place as before. Ah, I’m back.’

Kang Woo-jin slowly lowered the cell phone he had to his ear. But his expression was a bit strange. He looked a little drunk. With that kind of face, Woo-jin checked his cell phone screen. About a minute had passed. It was strange, it should have been about 30 minutes in the mountains just now.

Whatever.

“……”

Kang Woo-jin had a blank expression, as if he didn’t care. His brain was working slowly. It was at this moment.

“Hello, are you not going to do it? Kim Dae-young still can’t be reached?”

The man in his 30s at the long desk in front of him shook the partial script and asked Kang Woo-jin. Woo-jin, who had been staring at him blankly, thought.

‘……Partial script. Ah, yes, I’ve already experienced that. Are they asking me to show them?’

He slowly got up from his chair.

-Swish.

The man in his 30s was slightly surprised.

“Oh? Are you going to do it? Wow—you and your friend have a strong bond?”

Then, Kang Woo-jin stood in front of the three people sitting at the long desk. The distance was about two steps. Why? The reason was unclear. The current Woo-jin just felt like he had to show them something.

Everything he had suffered in that unknown place just now.

Even to Kang Woo-jin, who was slowly getting into position.

-Swish.

Everything was still vivid. Because he had experienced it himself.

About 10 minutes later.

Kang Woo-jin, who had shown everything in the partial script, was lying on the floor. Both his hands were facing the sky. Why? Because he had been begging just now.

Then.

“Ah.”

His mind, which had been floating, became clear. Actually, his consciousness had been clear all along. It was just that the operation of his brain, which had been a bit slow, had become faster after the showing was over?

Anyway.

-Swish.

The first thing Kang Woo-jin felt as he slowly lowered his raised arms was.

‘Ah, damn it. What did I just do?’

A huge wave of shame washed over him.

And then.

‘Ha—what the hell has been going on? Do I have a mental problem?’

He was trying to grasp the situation. Something had definitely happened, but it also felt like it hadn’t. Everything was jumbled up. He was confused. Whatever it was, even if he had been possessed by a ghost, Woo-jin had just shown it to everyone.

Whether it was an experience or whatever, it was quite passionate.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin, who had been lying down, cleared his throat slightly and slowly got up. Ahem. The conclusion Woo-jin came to was one thing.

‘Act like nothing happened. Naturally. I’ll sort things out after I run away.’

He was extremely embarrassed and ashamed, but he tried to act calm. Cast a spell.

‘I am confident. I am cool. Kang Woo-jin, you are not embarrassed at all right now.’

Let’s try to act as tough as possible.

At this moment.

“……Excuse me.”

A woman’s voice broke through. It was the extremely pretty woman among the three people sitting at the long desk. No, wait a minute. This woman was?

‘Huh? Crazy. Hong Hye-yeon?!’

Long straight hair and clear skin. Right now, Hong Hye-yeon, the undisputed top actress, was sitting in front of Woo-jin. Why hadn’t he recognized her before? Was it because she was too unfamiliar? She was an angel. If angels existed, they would definitely look like that. Maybe it was because her appearance was not human-like.

Thanks to that, Woo-jin was.

‘Wow, I can only admire her. Wow—’

He stopped brushing off his pants and was captivated by Hong Hye-yeon, who was sitting two steps in front of him. It was at this moment that her question, with her brow furrowed, was thrown at him.

“Which university’s theater and film department did you graduate from? Joongseo? Handong?”

What was she talking about? Anyway, Woo-jin wanted to shout that he was a fan right away. But he had to maintain his tough act, along with the shame from just now.

That was the only way to neutralize this crazy shame, even a little, right?

Then, Woo-jin moved his hand, which had stopped, and as he leisurely brushed the dust off his pants, he cleared his throat. As low and heavy as possible. What the heck, let’s add some bravado.

Then, a low tone came out that even surprised Woo-jin.

“No. I just graduated from the design department of a university in the Gyeonggi area [province surrounding Seoul]. I’m good at design.”

Crazy. Why did he say ‘I’m good at design’ at the end? He noticed his mistake, but Woo-jin made his face even more stern. What was funny was.

“Design… department?”

“……?”

All three people, including the top actress Hong Hye-yeon sitting in front of him, were making distorted faces. It wasn’t clear why, but they were definitely surprised.

“Then, where did you learn acting?”

Learn acting? He had never been interested in that field in his life, but Woo-jin just made something up. He wanted to run away quickly.

“I taught myself. Just on weekends.”

“……What?”

That amplified Woo-jin’s bravado. He didn’t know it himself though.

Soon.

“Then.”

The man in his 50s with a beard, sitting in the center of the long desk, widened his eyes and added a question.

“How did you do what you just did? It must have been your first time. But how did you just look at the partial script for a moment… how did you do it?”

What he just did? Shhh. Don’t emphasize my shame. Woo-jin, who was slowly planning his escape, looked back once and then answered. Of course, he had to be tough and solemn this time too.

“It wasn’t that difficult.”

After answering, Woo-jin gave a casual greeting to the three people in front of him.

“Then.”

He walked towards the back door as calmly as possible, though he was in a hurry inside. He kept chanting ‘Don’t call me’ in his mind. Soon, Kang Woo-jin, who was standing in front of the door, said something similar to a warning to the staff.

“Excuse me, but don’t use what I just did on the broadcast. I’ll sue you if you do.”

It was bravado again. He wanted to escape this hell as quickly as possible. Anyway, fortunately, Kang Woo-jin was able to leave the room without any problems.

There were still participants waiting in front.

“……”

As soon as Woo-jin, who had a blank expression, passed them, he started walking faster and faster. It was almost like a light jog.

-Swish.

When he was quite far away, he covered his face with both hands and sighed deeply.

“Ha—damn it. I’m so embarrassed.”

Meanwhile, in the room that Kang Woo-jin had just left.

“……PD-nim [PD is a common abbreviation for Producer]. Did he just say it wasn’t that difficult? After showing that kind of acting??”

The top actress Hong Hye-yeon had her mouth wide open. Of course, her excitement was prevalent here, and the man in his 50s with a beard, sitting in the center, picked up Hong Hye-yeon’s question.

“A design department? He’s good at design? What an absurd guy.”

“Self-taught? That’s a lie! He definitely learned it, that’s for sure!”

“Even if he learned it. Even if he did. He’s not from the theater and film department, and his main job is design, but do you think he could easily show that kind of acting after learning it a little? I’ve been directing for 20 years, and I don’t think it’s possible.”

“……That’s.”

“The composure when he answered, the confidence. That’s real. It was really easy for him. He even looked at the script for a minute and that kind of acting just flowed out. It’s the first time I’ve seen a guy whose past is so hard to gauge.”

Soon, the man in his 50s with a beard looked towards the door that Kang Woo-jin had left through and chuckled.

“A freakish genius. Those kinds of monsters appear from time to time.”

The snowball of misunderstanding had begun to roll.

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