I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 127

When Kang Woo-jin first heard Jung Jang-hwan’s ad-lib and froze, only one thought crossed his mind.

‘Ah, damn it, I feel like I have to do something.’

The stage was perfectly set, and dozens of eyes were watching. It would be strange to suddenly get up and leave, and doing nothing or ignoring it would be awkward. It was like, Woo-jin was maintaining a poker face, but it was a crisis.

What to do? What should I do?

Kang Woo-jin’s heart began to race. Then, suddenly.

‘……Oh. That’s right. I don’t have any lines?’

The tension that had been making his head blank began to clear slightly. Come to think of it, the ‘mysterious neighbor’ that Woo-jin was playing didn’t have any lines. To be precise, the ‘mysterious neighbor’ couldn’t speak.

In other words, he didn’t have to ‘speak’.

Oh? If that’s the case, isn’t it doable? Still, the crisis hadn’t completely disappeared. After all, ‘acting’ wasn’t just about lines.

And then there was sign language.

‘Hands, expressions, gestures need to be stronger than usual.’

Instead of speaking, the other parts had to be maximized. In other words, at this moment, he had to respond to the ad-lib not with the power of the subspace, but as ‘Kang Woo-jin’ himself, who had learned sign language.

The funny thing was.

‘Somehow—well, I can’t exactly define it. Somehow, I feel like I can do it? Yeah, I think I can do something.’

Once the thoughts in his head were organized, Kang Woo-jin felt a strange confidence. He felt like he could handle the ad-lib of that top actor, Jung Jang-hwan. Was it bravado? Or had his senses dulled? Recklessness? He didn’t know.

He didn’t know anything, but Woo-jin moved.

-Swish.

First, Kang Woo-jin made eye contact with Jung Jang-hwan, who was sitting across from him in the first seat. He maintained his expression. Then, he thought about what line to deliver in sign language. The answer came faster than he expected.

‘A twist, it would be better to have a line that betrays them, right?’

The ‘mysterious neighbor’ was, in the end, the character who brought the first change to ‘Song Tae-hyung,’ played by Jung Jang-hwan. So, an ad-lib that would shut ‘Song Tae-hyung’ up in the current situation was appropriate. Right now, Song Tae-hyung didn’t know the true nature of the ‘mysterious neighbor.’ His feelings weren’t very good either.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin slowly raised his hand.

He had roughly decided on the line. The sign language would be perfect thanks to the grace of the subspace. All that was left was facial expressions and gestures. Soon, Woo-jin threw the ad-lib at Song Tae-hyung. His last sign language gesture was to put his clenched fist to his nose.

‘I like you.’

What about the expression? Yes, let’s smile. The sign language for ‘like’ was a gesture that came alive with a clear emotion when smiling. Woo-jin slowly raised the corners of his mouth. What should he think about? His first job? When the subspace was created? When he first met Hong Hye-yeon? The day the filming of ‘The Playboy’ ended? His beloved car? His first kiss scene?

Whatever memory it was, Kang Woo-jin was able to wear the happiest smile in the world.

It was rooted in acting, but it was a smile that was virtually flawless. There was no problem with his expression and performance right now. It was that perfect.

That’s right, Kang Woo-jin was ‘acting’ right now.

It was safe to say that it was the first acting that Kang Woo-jin had done on his own, without the help of the subspace. It worked. It actually worked? But how was it possible? Woo-jin thought about the process while showing the ad-lib acting of the ‘mysterious neighbor.’ But he was so out of it that he couldn’t remember well.

‘Was it because I’ve been doing concept acting for too long? Or because the roles I’ve acquired through the subspace have accumulated?’

The possibility of it being a coincidence was the highest. It was too difficult to come to a conclusion right now. Well, whichever it was, did I grow a little? Of course, it was still impossible for him to live as an actor without the subspace. Kang Woo-jin, the ordinary citizen, was severely lacking in experience. It was impossible to act in the works of masters like Director Kwon Ki-taek or Director Kyotaro.

Still.

‘It’s definitely a bit different from before.’

It was hard to see Kang Woo-jin from a few months ago, during ‘Profiler Han-ryang,’ as the same as now. It wasn’t an ad-lib that seemed like a mistake or a coincidence, but an ad-lib that he showed voluntarily, and that sudden acting.

‘He’s good, the way his expression changes so quickly is a bit creepy?’

‘I don’t know anything about sign language, but it doesn’t feel awkward. It feels natural, like he’s been doing it all along. How much did he practice?’

‘That smile. If we zoom in close, add some sound effects, and a filter, it would be a perfect movie scene.’

‘There’s a reason why they’re calling him a monster rookie. His acting is amazing, for real.’

It instilled a great sense of tension in the gathered actors.

‘……A minor role, a supporting role with a short amount of screen time, but with high-difficulty sign language acting. The impact is huge, but he’s still a rookie. If he acts carelessly, it’ll be obvious and he’ll get a lot of flak. No matter what.’

Kang Woo-jin’s very existence was a crisis for the actors. Especially Jung Jang-hwan, who was the only one who had scenes with Woo-jin, felt it several times more intensely.

‘Curiosity or whatever. I’m in deep trouble. If I want to be in the same scene as that guy… wait a minute. My line. What was my next line?’

And now, Lee Wol-sun, the writer who had been scanning the entire reading room, realized it.

‘Ah, yes, this is it. This atmosphere.’

Why Park Eun-mi had said that Kang Woo-jin had to be included in the reading no matter what. Just now, the will of all the actors had changed. Their posture and attitude had been corrected. Their faces were full of seriousness.

‘They can’t be compared.’

If they were compared to that minor role, that rookie who was doing sign language so casually, they would be on the guillotine in an instant.

‘He’s a scene stealer, no doubt about it.’

Lee Wol-sun smiled as she looked at Woo-jin.

‘Whatever role, whatever work, he shows his presence. That’s what a real top is.’

She asked the sign language expert on her right in a small voice.

“How is Woo-jin’s sign language, in your opinion? Please evaluate it only from an expert’s perspective.”

“As I said earlier, he’s amazing. There’s nothing to criticize. I don’t know much about acting, so when I first saw Woo-jin, I was a little worried about his bland expression—but when he started acting, he changed 180 degrees.”

Lee Wol-sun also felt it deeply, and the sign language expert made eye contact with her. She was slightly excited.

“Did you see the look of difficulty and anguish earlier? And Woo-jin’s movements are also very smooth. His facial expressions change with his hand gestures. You can feel the emotions right away. I think he’s better at sign language than I am?”

After hearing the evaluation, Lee Wol-sun turned her gaze to Woo-jin, who was still acting at the far end. Her eyes were filled with a strange feeling.

‘……What is he? When did he learn sign language to the point that a sign language expert would praise him endlessly?’

It was like Kang Woo-jin always had the conditions that the director or writer of a work wanted. The problem was that acquiring them was almost extremely difficult.

‘He doesn’t seem to be desperate to acquire them either. He just does it casually, like it’s part of his daily life.’

Then, Lee Wol-sun turned her head back to the sign language expert.

“If the viewers were to see that scene, what would they think?”

“If I were a pure viewer, I would be so shocked by Woo-jin’s sign language skills, and then I would be grateful. Because I would know that he worked very hard despite having a short role.”

“That’s right. It’s short, quite short. And yet, such an impact.”

Of course, Lee Wol-sun also guessed the feelings of the general viewers.

‘They’ll be amazed by Woo-jin’s mask that changes in every work.’

No, wouldn’t it be like, ‘From Park Dae-ri to suddenly doing sign language?’ Moreover, Kang Woo-jin had many scheduled works besides this ‘Freezing Romance.’ Star writer Lee Wol-sun felt a slight chill on her arm.

‘The domestic scene is too small for him to be active, so it’s natural that his stage has expanded to Japan.’

Whether the exposure of the role was a few seconds or a few hours, that monster rookie would always be seen in the best condition and would captivate the viewers.

And.

‘A thousand faces.’

As an actor, it was impossible to gauge the spectrum of his acting.

Behind her, Lee Wol-sun.

-Swish.

She moved her body to the left and whispered to the directing PD. Then, the PD cleared his throat slightly.

“Ahem! Just a moment.”

He stopped the ongoing reading. Thanks to that, the attention of dozens of actors, including Kang Woo-jin, and the staff was focused on them. But the PD looked at Lee Wol-sun and passed the focus to her. Soon, Lee Wol-sun, who had been twirling her pen, opened her mouth. Her expression was somewhat stiff.

“There are some actors who have experienced it firsthand, and some who have only heard rumors. I tend to just watch during the early part of the reading. I’m curious about how the actors have analyzed my script. Ad-libs are okay too.”

She muttered, then made eye contact with top actor Jung Jang-hwan, who was sitting right next to her.

“Jang-hwan.”

“…Ah, yes, writer.”

“Just now, the ad-lib based on the situation wasn’t bad. I understand the analysis too.”

Lee Wol-sun’s directing, which she was calmly reciting, was calm but heavy. It was enough to feel pressure.

“However, I understand your curiosity, but the ad-lib you did just now wasn’t like a senior actor, was it?”

“……”

“Was that really a line that came out as ‘Song Tae-hyung’? It sounded like an experiment that actor Jung Jang-hwan was doing.”

The reading room became completely silent. In the strange atmosphere, Woo-jin, for now.

‘What is it, suddenly a scolding atmosphere?’

He maintained a solemn expression. Lee Wol-sun, who didn’t know this, pointed her eyes at Jung Jang-hwan and her hand at Woo-jin.

“I’m asking if it wasn’t an ad-lib that came out of Jang-hwan’s pure curiosity, not as ‘Song Tae-hyung.'”

The straightforward fact hit Jung Jang-hwan’s ears. Jung Jang-hwan muttered in a tone that quickly admitted it.

“I’m sorry… I got a little carried away.”

“Okay. Why are you walking on a tightrope when you’re a senior actor?”

Here, Lee Wol-sun.

“Everyone, listen. Woo-jin is participating in this work almost as a volunteer. He didn’t even have to come to the reading, but he came. I understand. It’s hard to grasp because Woo-jin’s part is short. You’re probably curious. How good is he that he’s turning the domestic entertainment industry upside down—right?”

She said quietly to all the actors.

“But do it moderately, moderately. It’s good for your curiosity as an actor to turn into a competitive spirit. But it’s not good if it turns into jealousy or envy or something like that.”

At this point, Jung Jang-hwan, who had been scratching his chin, looked back at himself from a moment ago.

‘There was jealousy along with curiosity.’

Along with the desire to see Kang Woo-jin’s acting for a long time, there was also a malicious part mixed in. Jung Jang-hwan, who realized this, sincerely apologized to Kang Woo-jin at the far end.

“I’m sorry, Woo-jin. I got a little carried away in many ways. My curiosity was excessive.”

“It’s okay, it was fun.”

Fun? Jung Jang-hwan chuckled inwardly at Woo-jin’s answer.

‘He’s very relaxed, which means that the ad-lib acting he did just now was at a light level.’

Woo-jin, who was forcibly maintaining a poker face, calmed his pounding heart.

‘Whew—I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s a relief. If more ad-libs had come out, my brain would have short-circuited.’

Lee Wol-sun called out to Woo-jin.

“Woo-jin, about the ad-lib you did just now?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s modify the before and after situation a bit. ‘Song Tae-hyung’ doesn’t know that the ‘mysterious neighbor’ can only do sign language, and the ‘mysterious neighbor’ can’t understand ‘Song Tae-hyung’s’ words. The sign language that clearly expresses the gap that occurs in this situation, ‘I like you,’ I really want to use it. How about it?”

It was a proposal to officially add the sign language that Woo-jin had improvised to the script. Kang Woo-jin simply answered calmly.

“If the writer wants it, I don’t mind.”

The next morning, the 22nd. BW Entertainment.

The location was the CEO’s office. The owner of the room, Choi Sung-gun, several employees, and Kang Woo-jin were sitting facing each other. It was a briefing session on the upcoming schedule before starting the day, including the Japan schedule in a few days.

In the middle of it, Choi Sung-gun looked at Kang Woo-jin, who was wearing a hat across from him, and recalled his phone call with Director Kim Do-hee of ‘Drug Dealer’ yesterday. Starting with the fact that the release of ‘Drug Dealer’ was approaching.

It started with Choi Sung-gun asking back into his phone.

“If it’s a blind preview, does that mean that the editing of ‘Drug Dealer’ is already finished?”

Director Kim Do-hee’s answer on the other side of the phone.

“No. It’s not completely finished yet. But you can say that 90% is done. The original plan was to finish editing in mid-September and hold a blind preview, but the actors’ schedules are all over the place, so the only time we could match was next week.”

“Ah—so you’re holding a blind preview with a movie that’s 90% done?”

“Yes. It’s 90% done, but there’s no problem watching the main edit. Only minor things like sound effects and the end credits are left.”

The filming of ‘Drug Dealer’ had wrapped up in June. Mid-September was about four months of work. Whatever it was, it was definitely fast.

“Wow—that was really fast? The original goal was to release it in early winter this year, right?”

“That’s right. There were a lot of editing teams, and I worked my bones to the ground. I was up almost every night. Of course, the release will be faster than early winter. If we’re lucky, it’ll be mid or late October? At the latest, it’ll be early November.”

Director Kim Do-hee, who had answered, threw out a congratulation at an unexpected time.

“Ah! That’s right! Woo-jin! I sent you a message, but please tell him that I’m really, really congratulating him. He’s already making his debut in Japan… and even the lead role with Director Kyotaro?? I was so surprised when I saw the article!”

“Haha, thank you. I’ll be sure to tell him.”

“Please do. The entire ‘Drug Dealer’ team was in an uproar. They were saying that Woo-jin is making history, that he’s a legend—oh my. We also got lucky thanks to Woo-jin.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve seen that the works are being mentioned frequently.”

“Is that all? If things continue like this, the public’s expectations will jump several times when ‘Drug Dealer’ is released!”

“Ah, but Director. You said that the release of ‘Drug Dealer’ is in mid or late October? Or early November.”

“Yes. For now. There’s also a possibility of change.”

Here, back to reality. Choi Sung-gun, who had returned to the CEO’s office, looked at Woo-jin and smiled for some reason.

‘……’My Guy Friend’ has also finished filming. Let’s say the editing takes about a month. Including promotion and other miscellaneous things. Then the launch of ‘My Guy Friend’ will also be around October—’

Then, Choi Sung-gun called out to Kang Woo-jin across from him.

“Woo-jin.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Choi Sung-gun gave his closing remarks to Woo-jin, who had answered.

“It’s possible that ‘My Guy Friend’ and ‘Drug Dealer’ will be released almost at the same time.”

It was the story of the cold bath ‘Lee Sang-man’ and the hot bath ‘Han In-ho’.

End