I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 115

The reason the general PD of ‘Ametalk Show!’ was so surprised and asked again was simple: Kang Woo-jin’s Japanese was unbelievably fluent. Not only that, but the entire ‘Ametalk Show!’ production team in the room felt the same way.

So, the PD asked Kang Woo-jin again, right in front of him.

“Your Japanese… is very good?”

Woo-jin, with a serious demeanor, shook his head and replied, in Japanese, of course.

“I’m just at a moderate level.”

Moderate? It was a short exchange, but his pronunciation was already at a native level. The emaciated PD, slightly flustered, began to grasp Kang Woo-jin’s true nature.

‘He’s quite different from his usual laid-back self.’

Quite tall, with a visual that exuded an actor’s aura, and a low voice. Was this his usual demeanor? The PD was suddenly curious. It was true that actors often had a different persona from their roles, but the difference in the Korean actor in front of him was extremely stark.

‘And he can even speak Japanese. This is great, somehow?’

Being able to communicate in the same language was a huge advantage. More than anything, ‘Ametalk Show!’ was a talk show. From the viewers’ perspective, the difference between having an interpreter and not was significant.

It was at that moment.

“Hello-”

A man with a ponytail entered behind Kang Woo-jin, speaking awkward Japanese. It was Choi Sung-gun. He smiled affably and greeted everyone.

“I’m Choi Sung-gun, the CEO of BW Entertainment.”

The one who reacted immediately was the PD of ‘Ametalk Show!’

“I’m Shiiki Shinzo, the main director of the talk show.”

The rest of the writers and even the interpreter finished their introductions. After several business cards were exchanged, everyone, including Kang Woo-jin, sat at the table. Choi Sung-gun ordered drinks first from the Korean restaurant employee who came in, as it seemed they would eat after the discussion.

-Swish.

He then smiled at Shinzo PD across from him.

“I was a bit surprised at first. I heard that Hanryang [Korean historical drama] is becoming popular in Japan, but I didn’t know a Japanese talk show would be interested in our Woo-jin.”

Of course, the interpreter was not Kang Woo-jin but the interpreter staff, and Shinzo PD, who had been admiring Woo-jin’s appearance, put on a business smile and spoke in Japanese.

“Currently, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ is receiving a lot of attention in Japan. It’s beyond just becoming popular. Naturally, the actors appearing in it are also drawing attention.”

“Is Woo-jin’s recognition good?”

“Of course. Before contacting you, we did some research on our own, and Kang Woo-jin is being mentioned as much as the main actors of Hanryang. Especially on social media, it’s quite noisy.”

Although it was something he already knew, Choi Sung-gun put on a meeting smile and acted pleased. It was better to create a more relaxed atmosphere than to act like he knew it all. At this point, Shinzo PD’s gaze shifted from Choi Sung-gun to Kang Woo-jin.

A very nonchalant feeling.

‘Is he not happy? Or is he just naturally like that?’

Kang Woo-jin was looking at the ‘Ametalk Show!’ team across from him with a bit of curiosity.

‘The Japanese entertainment production team seems a bit quiet?’

For example, it felt quite different from Yoon Byung-sun PD’s team.

‘Just by looking at their expressions, they seem like a documentary team? Anyway, it’s good that I can play my concept well since they’re so quiet.’

His cynicism solidified. Shinzo PD, unaware of this, judged Kang Woo-jin as he pleased.

‘There are many taciturn actors in Japan, so it’s not strange—but Hanryang is his first drama, a rookie, right? But he seems like he’s been through a lot. Why?’

The Kang Woo-jin in front of him was exuding a heavier aura than that. Moreover, Kang Woo-jin’s filmography that Shinzo PD had researched was not ordinary. Starting with director Kwon Ki-taek, who had a name in Japan, there were many big names in the works he was scheduled to join.

And he had debuted less than a year ago.

That had also stimulated Shinzo PD’s curiosity. It was the same in Korea, but there was no rookie in Japan who had a similar path to Kang Woo-jin.

Moreover.

‘All the works he’s appeared in have been huge successes.’

There had been no failures yet in the path that the heavy rookie actor had walked. The more he dug, the more peculiar the person was. And on top of that, his Japanese was so fluent. He knew that Korean entertainment companies gave early foreign language education to rookies, but Kang Woo-jin’s current Japanese proficiency didn’t seem to be from education.

It was at this moment.

“PD-nim.”

Kang Woo-jin, who had been quiet the whole time, opened his mouth. Of course, it was in Japanese, a line that Choi Sung-gun had prepared.

“Thank you for coming all the way to Korea. Could you tell me what kind of project you have in mind?”

Shinzo PD was impressed more and more as he listened. The atmosphere and vibe he gave off were 100% Korean actor, but the Japanese he spoke was incredibly natural. The gap created an unknown charm.

Anyway.

“We are planning to highlight the four villains of Hanryang.”

While explaining the project, Shinzo PD thought.

‘As expected, he needs to be the main one for the picture to really come alive.’

He had a strange conviction about Kang Woo-jin.

August 1st, morning. A news agency.

The news agency office was sparsely populated, as it was morning. Among them, a reporter with a protruding lower jaw was staring intently at his laptop. His fingers were clicking fast.

-Click, click.

His eyes were slightly bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept much. He was the reporter who had discovered Kang Woo-jin’s past in the community, and since yesterday, he had been frantically searching and gathering data and information.

“Tsk, there are too many comments on YouTube. Damn it.”

It started with the community and extended to YouTube. The next destination was social media. Including Kang Woo-jin’s social media, which currently had over 1.5 million followers.

-@Wooji_n

Posts 71

Followers 1.538 million

Following 9

He had to scan through the social media of many unspecified people who tagged him. It was a very tedious and endless task, but the reporter’s passion was burning.

It wasn’t a scoop, but what he had found was enough to earn him some credit.

No, if he played it right, it could become a big deal. The subject was Kang Woo-jin. A monster rookie who had shaken the entertainment industry since his debut, with a surge in popularity and several ‘first’ titles.

It was a community post he had found by chance.

“Hehe. It’s okay, this is enough to draw attention.”

Upon closer inspection, there were quite a few posts with similar nuances. Of course, including the comments. So far, the reporter had found more than five. Three posts and two comments. They were about working at the same company as Kang Woo-jin, or going to the same university or high school. The content was generally similar.

Such as Kang Woo-jin’s personality had changed.

The reporter continued to search for data while thinking about harsh wording. What could it be? Split personality? Life is an act? Whatever it was, it had to be as provocative and eye-catching as possible.

Otherwise, this tedious work would be meaningless.

At this moment, the reporter found an additional comment in a video related to ‘Manager Park.’ At this point, the reporter thought of the first line of the article. ‘An online community is buzzing with stories about the past of popular rookie actor Kang Woo-jin’ would be good.

“Let’s see—should I put ‘split personality’ in the title?”

Meanwhile.

The ‘Boyfriend’ filming team had finished the high school scenes and moved on to the university. In the middle of summer, the weather was getting even hotter.

“Hi—Action!!”

It was a university that was known for its beautiful campus and buildings. Like the high school, the university was also on vacation, so there weren’t many students.

“Oh my, why is Kang Woo-jin’s face so small?”

“And his physique is so good, it’s no wonder he’s becoming popular. I really enjoyed Hanryang, but where’s ‘Manager Park’? Who would see him as a sociopathic killer? He’s just a handsome actor.”

“Hwa-rin is crazy too, what’s with her proportions?”

“Ha—she’s so pretty. She’d probably be pretty even if her face was swollen in the morning, right??”

Quite a few university staff members gathered. Currently, the filming location for ‘Boyfriend’ was the lawn garden right in front of the main building. Kang Woo-jin was passionately acting in a place where cameras and reflectors were set up.

“Cut! Okay! Good job, Woo-jin! We’re going back to the previous scene!”

“Yes, director.”

Currently, it was Kang Woo-jin’s solo scene. Hwa-rin was sitting a little away from the filming zone. Wearing a half-sleeved shirt that showed a hint of her belly button, she was looking at the script with her legs crossed.

Then, to her,

-Swish.

Choi Sung-gun approached quietly. His expression was strange. He had a scheming look on his face.

“Hwa-rin-ssi.”

Since he appeared out of nowhere, Hwa-rin’s eyes widened slightly. What was it? She was curious. Then, she slowly stood up from her chair.

“Ah—yes, hello.”

“Am I interrupting?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Hwa-rin put the script she was reading on the chair and tilted her head. Choi Sung-gun was a well-known figure in the entertainment industry, and she knew him, but he wasn’t very close to Hwa-rin. She had heard more about him from Hong Hye-yeon than from direct conversations.

She was a bit flustered, but Hwa-rin smiled, perhaps due to her fan spirit.

“Representative, is there something wrong?”

“It’s not about work, but I have something to say. Is it okay for a moment?”

“Yes, yes. Please go ahead.”

“Woo-jin is likely to cover one of ‘Elani’s’ hit songs.”

Immediately, Hwa-rin’s face showed a mixed expression of ‘what is this?’ ‘Elani’ was the girl group Hwa-rin belonged to. But Kang Woo-jin was going to cover one of ‘Elani’s’ hit songs? Hwa-rin blinked her eyes for a moment and then moved her lips.

“…Cover? Woo-jin-nim is covering our song? What do you mean?”

Choi Sung-gun’s smile deepened, and he was full of composure.

“It’s exactly as I said. The song is ‘Ballerina.’”

The song ‘Ballerina’ was the biggest hit song of the girl group ‘Elani’ three years ago. It had swept through Korea and Japan. Then, Choi Sung-gun continued casually.

“Woo-jin is planning to open a YouTube channel, and the ‘Ballerina’ cover will be shown there.”

“Ah.”

Hwa-rin’s heart started to beat slightly faster as she immediately understood what he meant.

‘Wait a minute! YouTube channel? Is Woo-jin-nim’s vocals the main focus?? Then I can keep listening to Woo-jin-nim’s songs?’

For Hwa-rin, who was in the middle of endless fangirling, it was news that made her want to jump for joy. But she couldn’t reveal her true feelings to Woo-jin’s representative. Hwa-rin tried to maintain her composure and cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Is that so? Well, I heard it during the OST [Original Soundtrack] recording the other day, and Woo-jin’s vocals are too good to waste.”

“That’s right. Well, since Hwa-rin-ssi and Woo-jin have a connection, I chose an ‘Elani’ song. Oh, and the information about Woo-jin’s YouTube channel is still confidential.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll keep it to myself.”

“Thank you. Still, it’s a cover of an ‘Elani’ song, so I thought it was right to tell Hwa-rin-nim in advance.”

“Are you arranging it?”

“Yes. It’s almost done.”

Just up to this point. Choi Sung-gun concealed most of the information regarding Kang Woo-jin’s YouTube channel. Regardless, Hwa-rin’s expectations were exploding.

‘What will it be like? How are they arranging it? First of all, the key needs to be lowered a bit. If Woo-jin-nim sings that song—ha, really. I want to hear it soon.’

Soon, Hwa-rin, hiding her excitement, pretended to be composed.

“It’s okay, there are already many ‘Ballerina’ cover arrangements.”

Choi Sung-gun smiled. He didn’t just leak this information to Hwa-rin for no reason. There was an intention.

‘Well, it doesn’t seem like Woo-jin and Hwa-rin are very close. Even if they’re not close, or even if their relationship is terrible, if I throw this out there, they can’t help but be interested.’

His purpose was clear.

“Please listen to it once when the song is uploaded later.”

“Yes, I will.”

“And if you like it, please spread the word. Haha, with Hwa-rin-nim’s influence, it would be an honor if you just wrote one line on social media.”

It was just one line in words.

Hwa-rin was already very popular not only in Korea but also in Japan and overseas. She had 18 million followers on social media, and the ‘Elani’ channel, though it was a team channel, had over 10 million subscribers.

The power of her one line would be enormous.

Soon, Hwa-rin recited a bit haughtily.

“If I like it after listening.”

Choi Sung-gun, with an expression that said ‘as much as you want,’ just smiled.

‘There’s no way you won’t like it.’

August 2nd, early morning.

The location was a recording studio near Samsung Station. In a large recording room with instruments such as guitars mounted on the walls, a man wearing a hat pulled low was sitting. Although it was late, he was focused on his work alone.

The song was played briefly and then.

-♬♪

It was repeated, stopping and starting. It was at that moment.

-Thud!

The thick door of the studio opened, and a man with a calm face entered. It was Kang Woo-jin, looking a bit tired. Then, Woo-jin looked around the studio.

‘Oh—it’s bigger than I thought? And it smells really good. What do they call this, wood scent?’

He greeted the man sitting in the center of the work equipment in a low voice.

“Hello.”

The man wearing the hat got up from his seat as if he knew Kang Woo-jin was coming, without much fuss.

“Hello, I enjoyed Hanryang.”

“Thank you.”

The man was a bit curt. He didn’t know if that was his personality. Anyway, as soon as Kang Woo-jin’s greeting was over, several people rushed in behind him. Choi Sung-gun, Jang Su-hwan, Han Ye-jeong, and about five members of Kang Woo-jin’s YouTube channel team.

The quiet studio suddenly became noisy.

The reason why they all gathered was spoken by Choi Sung-gun, who was standing behind Woo-jin.

“I rushed here as soon as I heard the song was finished, haha.”

The arrangement was finished.

Here, Kang Woo-jin cast a nonchalant gaze at the recording booth and murmured inwardly.

‘He’s really doing it.’

Soon, there would be a formal recording. It would be uploaded to Kang Woo-jin’s YouTube channel.

‘But aren’t there too many onlookers? Ugh, it’s a bit embarrassing.’

His first cover song, that is.