I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 112

It was around dawn today that a post about Kang Woo-jin was uploaded to a community where celebrities are often discussed.

-[I went to the same high school as Kang Woo-jin, and his personality is completely different now than it was back then ㅇㅇ]

It wasn’t a very popular community, so it didn’t cause a huge stir, but since Kang Woo-jin has been so hot lately, the view count quickly exceeded 100.

-I went to the same high school as Kang Woo-jin. I’m too lazy to prove it, so if you don’t believe me, just click the back button, lol.

It didn’t sound very credible.

-Anyway, I wasn’t very close to Kang Woo-jin, but everyone knows him, right? If you go to high school for three years, you know everyone’s face. That’s about it, but you know their basic personality and stuff, right? First of all, it’s shocking that he debuted as an actor, lol. He never said anything about acting, and he was doing design, lol. He was pretty good-looking though.

Still, it didn’t sound like a lie.

-If you watch recent sports day videos or interviews with Kang Woo-jin, it’s so weird, lol. His way of speaking, his intonation, and stuff, lol. It’s not just a personality change, it’s like he’s a completely different person. When you see Kang Woo-jin now, he seems cynical and cold, right? But in high school, he laughed a lot and was just so-so, lol. He was a bit of a show-off, but you know, half-show-off??

There were quite a few comments on the post.

-lol, isn’t it just that celebrities are products, so they make their personalities marketable?

-But I also saw this in a comment on a YouTube video, that Kang Woo-jin wasn’t like this originally.

-Did you just find out that celebrities have different real personalities???

-Maybe he has a split personality? lol

-High school was at least 7-8 years ago, right? lol. Can’t personalities change? lol. Pathetic, pathetic, lol. You’re trying so hard to tear him down, lol.

-↑It’s not about changing a little, it’s about acting like a completely different person, you idiot.

This was what the BW Entertainment public relations team leader found while monitoring around 11 a.m. After that, the public relations team leader, who was focused on reading the post and comments.

-Swish.

He immediately captured the post and comments. The screenshots were saved in a file on the public relations team leader’s laptop. The file contained various materials besides this one. Of course, they were all related to Kang Woo-jin.

There were quite a few photos similar to the one just saved.

The reason was simple.

‘Hmm—it’s not really a big problem, but it’s concerning that similar posts keep popping up.’

Because the post like the one just captured wasn’t the first one.

From the moment Kang Woo-jin started to stand out in the entertainment industry until now, there had already been several posts like this one. Posts on various online communities, comments on articles, comments on various YouTube videos, and so on. This time it was a high school classmate, but last week, someone who said they worked at the same company as Kang Woo-jin also appeared.

The source was a community for office workers.

Moreover, this was the second time someone who said they worked at the same company had appeared. Their reactions were the strongest. It was natural since they had probably seen Kang Woo-jin recently. Anyway, the gist of their comments or posts was generally similar. ‘He seems like a different person, his personality has changed drastically, his vibe has become strange, he’s close to having a split personality,’ and so on.

Every time, the public relations team leader went through the same process.

Capturing and saving materials that could be problematic. At first, it was something that could be easily ignored.

‘If there are 100 comments, maybe 5 at most.’

But as time went on, these kinds of comments were gradually increasing. Not explosively, but subtly and definitely increasing in number. That’s how it’s been up until now. This raised concerns for the public relations team leader.

‘I think I need to address this properly at this point.’

The entertainment industry is a rugged jungle or a battlefield. Anything and everything can happen.

That’s why you always have to check and prepare. It’s too late to fix the barn after the horse has bolted. You never know when or where some bizarre thing might happen. More than these strange rumors, the biggest focus for the public relations team leader was.

‘The reporters. If one of them bites onto this, it’ll become a hassle.’

The entertainment media was like a pack of hyenas. Even if the general public might just brush it off, if they were to make it into an article, the situation might change. Of course, the title and content would definitely be sensationalized.

Then.

-Swish.

The public relations team leader made a call. It was to CEO Choi Sung-gun.

“Yes, CEO. I have something to report.”

Meanwhile, in Kang Woo-jin’s van.

Kang Woo-jin had already visited the salon and was on his way to his next schedule. He had a short interview in the morning, and after that, it was all filming for ‘My Guy Friend’.

Therefore, Woo-jin was.

“……”

-Flip.

He was reading the script for ‘My Guy Friend’ with an indifferent expression. The scene they were filming today was from episode 2. He had already visited the subspace [a personal mental space] a few tens of minutes ago to do a reading (experience).

That’s when it happened.

“Huh? A report? Suddenly?”

Choi Sung-gun’s voice, who was sitting in the passenger seat with his phone to his ear, became slightly louder. The other person was obviously the public relations team leader.

“You sound too serious? It’s a little scary. Go ahead, report.”

Although he said that, Choi Sung-gun, who wasn’t taking it seriously, supported the phone with his shoulder while using both hands to untie his ponytail and then tie it tightly again. Then, after hearing something from the public relations team leader on the phone, Choi Sung-gun.

“……Hmm?”

Instantly, the smile disappeared from his face. Meaning he had become serious. Then, he looked up and glanced at Kang Woo-jin, who was reflected in the rearview mirror.

“Oh, I’m listening. Keep talking. It doesn’t seem like a big problem right now? Is it still coming up?”

After listening to the report quietly for a while, Choi Sung-gun spoke into the phone again.

“You’ve collected them—how much is there? Really? Hmm, okay. I’ll take care of the confirmation, so just send me the materials and do something else, team leader. Yeah, okay.”

That’s how Choi Sung-gun ended the call.

-Swish.

However, after putting down the phone, Choi Sung-gun didn’t turn his body towards Kang Woo-jin in the back. Clearly, what he had heard was related to Woo-jin, but Choi Sung-gun only glanced at Kang Woo-jin through the rearview mirror and didn’t call him.

He wanted to let him focus since the filming was just around the corner.

At that moment.

-Vroom, vroom.

The phone in Choi Sung-gun’s hand vibrated briefly. It was a text from the public relations team leader with an attached file. When he opened the attached file, he saw several screenshots.

“……”

Choi Sung-gun began to seriously check the contents.

Back then.

The filming for ‘My Guy Friend’ had already reached its seventh day. The ‘My Guy Friend’ team was gathered inside a classroom at the high school. The current scene being filmed was an interview scene between ‘Han In-ho’ and ‘Lee Bo-min’. ‘My Guy Friend’ often had scenes where the two characters subtly revealed their inner thoughts through interviews.

The questions were to be displayed as subtitles.

-What is your relationship?

The background was Han In-ho sitting alone in an empty classroom.

“Relationship. Just enemies.”

Lee Bo-min was answering separately.

“Friends, friends. Male friends! We even took baths together when we were young. We’re close to family.”

Sometimes, there were scenes where Han In-ho would directly respond to Lee Bo-min’s interview.

“Family, she says? What is she talking about, what family. I’m sorry, but can you tell her that if you reverse the word family, it’s ‘famly’ in Korean? Yeah? Does it sound like a curse word? Yes, it is a curse word.”

Therefore, Kang Woo-jin and Hwa-rin, dressed in school uniforms, continued filming while looking at the camera.

-Please introduce your friend.

Lee Bo-min had a strong, cheerful, and bright vibe.

“Han In-ho? Hmm—first of all, he has no passion. He’s also annoying. Ah! He’s super, super, super lazy. He’s just kind of—an idiot?”

As expected, Han In-ho was full of annoyance.

“Introduce? Ah—well, it’s just bothersome. That’s all. But how long is this going to take?”

The filming for ‘My Guy Friend’ was going smoothly and gaining speed. The biggest reason was the high quality of the two actors’ performances. In addition, there were no obstacles with the staff’s teamwork and Director Shin Dong-chun’s handling. Thanks to this, they were able to shorten the original filming schedule by about a day.

Around this time.

『[Issue Talk] Star Writer Lee Wol-sun’s New Work ‘Frozen Romance’, Script Reading Imminent』

The news of the script reading for ‘Frozen Romance’, which had passed the mid-stage of pre-production, was released. It was when Kang Woo-jin was passionately acting as ‘Han In-ho’. Of course, it was Choi Sung-gun who received the call.

“Yes—Manager, haha. The cast for ‘Frozen Romance’ is amazing. Is it because it’s Writer Lee Wol-sun?”

“That’s right. The script was good too. More than that, CEO Choi, our script reading schedule is coming up, so we’re setting up the schedule.”

“Ah, when is it?”

“It’s confirmed for Friday, August 21st, but—will Woo-jin be available? He’s the busiest these days.”

“Just a moment, the 21st? The 21st—”

“Additionally, if Woo-jin is busy, it’s okay if he doesn’t attend, but the writer said she would really like him to attend.”

“The writer?”

“Yes, yes. And the other actors are also very curious.”

Kang Woo-jin’s filming for ‘Frozen Romance’ was only for a few days at most. The role itself had some weight, but in fact, it wasn’t uncommon to work with the other actors on set on the day of filming.

However, Kang Woo-jin was currently a complete rookie.

A rookie not attending the reading wouldn’t look good. Well, Choi Sung-gun was a master in this field, so all the calculations were already done.

“Haha, thank you. Even if you didn’t say that, I was going to attend no matter what. I’ll see you on the reading day.”

“Okay! Ah, and a sign language expert will be attending on the reading day.”

What was interesting was that the news of the script reading was added in the afternoon of the same day.

It was for ‘Island of the Missing’.

Choi Sung-gun also knew that Director Kwon Ki-taek had recently gone to Vietnam for location scouting. After that, the reading was confirmed. That meant.

“Hmm—it seems like they’ll be filming on location in Vietnam as well.”

It was said that ‘Island of the Missing’ would be filmed both in Korea and Vietnam. There was also a call from Director Kwon Ki-taek himself. He said he had found a very good location in Vietnam.

Anyway, the confirmed script reading day for ‘Island of the Missing’ was.

“August 3rd—”

It was Monday, the 3rd. Thanks to that, Choi Sung-gun’s hands moved faster to organize Kang Woo-jin’s packed schedule. In addition, the same news was delivered to the actors of ‘Island of the Missing’. Ryu Jung-min, Ha Yu-ra, Kim Yi-won, Jeon Woo-chang, and Hong Hye-yeon, etc.

What was unique here was the script reading location announced by ‘Island of the Missing’.

『[Movie Pick] ‘Island of the Missing’ with Top Stars, Is the Confirmed Script Reading Location a Filming Set?』

A large set was chosen as the script reading location.

Monday, July 27th.

The high school filming location for ‘My Guy Friend’. Today was the last day of filming at the high school for ‘My Guy Friend’. They were already past the beginning and had to move on to the middle part.

The next filming location was the university.

Of course, it wasn’t just going to be at the university. Outdoor filming was planned to be appropriately distributed according to the script. The filming speed was fast. If they continued like this, they could wrap up filming earlier than the initial schedule.

Whatever it was.

“Cut!! Okay!! Let’s change the angle and go again!”

The atmosphere on set was hot. The actors, including Kang Woo-jin and Hwa-rin, continued their passionate performances. Around this time, Choi Sung-gun was busy on a call with someone. Well, his phone had been ringing non-stop these days.

Soon.

-Swish.

After finishing the call, Choi Sung-gun yawned and stretched.

“Ugh! I’m going to die.”

But his phone didn’t give him a moment’s rest.

-Vroom, vroom.

The ringtone immediately sounded. With a small sigh, Choi Sung-gun checked the caller. It was Kim So-hyang, the general director of Netflix Korea. Slightly tilting his head, he answered the phone.

“Yes, General Director.”

Then, a little while later.

Kang Woo-jin, who had received a call to return, came back to his seat with an indifferent expression. Choi Sung-gun, who handed Woo-jin a bottle of water, opened his mouth.

“Woo-jin, have you ever heard of a Japanese talk show called ‘Ametalk Show!’?”

What was that? Kang Woo-jin didn’t even watch TV much in the first place. There was no way he would know about Japanese programs. No, most people wouldn’t.

“No, I don’t know it.”

“Oh, well, you can think of it as a Japanese national talk show. They’ve offered you a spot on it.”

“…An offer?”

On a Japanese talk show? Why? What for? Slightly confused, Kang Woo-jin remained silent, and Choi Sung-gun, as if he knew the answer, continued.

“It came through Netflix, so it seems like ‘Han Ryang’ is popular in Japan?”

It seemed like the Japanese talk show was.

“If you agree, they’ll come to Korea.”

It was a serious offer.

They were coming to Korea? Kang Woo-jin’s cynical expression didn’t change much after hearing Choi Sung-gun’s words. But inside, he was quite surprised.

‘What, is this how far they usually go?’

Then, Director Kyotaro came to Kang Woo-jin’s mind. Thinking about it, the flow was slowly becoming clear. Well, that Director Kyotaro had also come to Korea several times just for Kang Woo-jin, hadn’t he?

‘But how well did ‘Han Ryang’ do in Japan? I did a quick search and it’s been number one, though.’

Here, Choi Sung-gun quickly showed his phone, which was searching for information about ‘Ametalk Show!’

“Look, ‘Ametalk Show!’ isn’t bad. No, in the current situation, it’s definitely good to go. ‘Han Ryang’ is doing well in Japan, and your recognition is also increasing because of it. Plus, you’re going to launch ‘My Guy Friend’ in Japan soon. And you have a YouTube channel too.”

“Hmm.”

“If you go, it’ll be quite an issue in both Japan and Korea. I’ll have to look into it, but from what I remember, almost all the guests on ‘Ametalk Show!’ were top stars. You might be the first rookie, Woo-jin. It’s symbolic.”

It seemed like there were many benefits, but at this moment, Kang Woo-jin was more concerned about other things. ‘Sports Day’ was also filmed quite intensely, wasn’t it? But this time it was Japan? And not just YouTube, but a formal broadcast.

‘Is this okay?’

Communication wouldn’t be a problem. Thanks to the grace of the subspace, his Japanese was at a native level. But because it was his first experience, and even his first experience in another country, Woo-jin’s heart was.

‘It seems fun, but also like I’m going to throw up.’

Naturally, anticipation and vague fear rose at the same time. If he did this, his concept and misunderstandings would spread beyond Korea to Japan. But well, now that he thought about it, he had already come this far, so what was there to be afraid of?

More than that.

‘It’s not even confirmed yet. If it’s just a meeting, then whatever.’

Kang Woo-jin had decided to focus on the present situation rather than the future. The misunderstandings and misinterpretations had spread so widely that it was difficult to handle. Around this time, Choi Sung-gun, who was re-tying his ponytail, asked.

“How about it? Do you want to meet with ‘Ametalk Show!’?”

Woo-jin, with a calm expression, nodded his head.

“Yes, I think it’s not bad.”

With a light heart, thinking he would just try it out. Soon, Choi Sung-gun, with a deeper smile, picked up his phone.

“Okay. I’ll contact them right away and tell them to come to Korea to match our schedule.”

It was at this moment that a question arose in Kang Woo-jin’s mind.

“But am I doing this alone?”

Choi Sung-gun, as if he wasn’t sure himself, shook his head.

“Well, I haven’t heard about the planning yet. Since it’s an offer related to ‘Han Ryang’, Jung-min or Hye-yeon might also be possibilities, but I haven’t heard from Hye-yeon yet? Normally, with Hye-yeon’s size, she should have gotten an offer before you. But the fact that only you got it means—”

Choi Sung-gun, who was thinking while trailing off, guessed.

“Maybe they’re only inviting the villains. Four people including you.”

Woo-jin felt a little relieved at the thought of having comrades.

‘Ah, those people I saw at the wrap-up party? We’re not close, but if we’re doing it together, I’ll be less nervous? Then it’s okay.’

However, he didn’t show any signs of joy. Kang Woo-jin spread seriousness across his face and closed his mouth.

“……”

Choi Sung-gun, seeing that expression as worry, suddenly asked.

“So, you don’t like being grouped either?”