I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 144

Kang Woo-jin from ‘Ametalk show!’ was playing on the old director’s phone. In the video, Kang Woo-jin was right in front of the audience, constantly conversing with a child using sign language. The man in his late 40s, who was talking to the old director, looked bewildered as he watched the video.

“Ah—Kang Woo-jin. Are you talking about Kang Woo-jin?”

The old director took back the phone he was showing at the question. His wrinkled face was stern.

“Yes, Kang Woo-jin. A rookie actor who’s making a name for himself less than a year after his debut.”

“······”

“Why? Did I get it wrong?”

“Ah, no. It is Kang Woo-jin.”

Compared to the man who was sweating profusely, the old director was composed. Or rather, cold? His voice was old but firm.

“Where is Kang Woo-jin now? He’s a talent of this caliber; you must know where he is.”

“…He’s probably in Vietnam. I know he went for overseas location filming for ‘Island of the Lost.’”

“Director Kwon’s work, you mean.”

The old director slowly nodded. The man in his 40s just lowered his eyes. A moment of silence. The old director broke the quiet.

“You know, did you think I wouldn’t know about this guy, Kang Woo-jin? He’s been making a buzz with Japanese sign language recently.”

“D, Director. That’s…”

“Or did you not know? That can’t be. He’s the top rising star in Chungmuro [the Korean film industry] right now.”

The question was why he hadn’t mentioned the actor who was so prominently using sign language. It was more like an accusation. In the end, the man sighed and confessed, his voice drained of strength.

“Honestly… yes, of course, I knew. But I only put him on the list and then excluded him. As you know, Kang Woo-jin is still a rookie who hasn’t even been around for a year. Although his work has been well-received, he lacks experience.”

“Is that so?”

“I’m sorry. I was just worried. Isn’t this your 100th film, Director? Moreover, considering the importance of the work, it would be too much for a rookie like Kang Woo-jin.”

“You need an experienced actor?”

“Yes, Director.”

The man didn’t have bad intentions. That’s why the old director didn’t get too angry. Still, his expression grew colder.

“Experience. Yes, experience is important. But isn’t that a narrow view? You should look at the forest, not just the trees.”

“…Yes?”

“If Kang Woo-jin was just any actor, would Director Kwon or that director Kyotaro in Japan have cast him?”

“······”

“There must be something that makes up for his lack of experience, so they gave him the lead role despite being a rookie, and they went with him even at their own expense, right? Am I wrong?”

The man’s mouth was firmly shut. He was right. Besides, continuing to argue with the old director was a bad idea. The reason was simple.

The old director. No, Director Ahn Ga-bok was a legend.

『[Movie Talk] Is ‘Director Ahn Ga-bok,’ a Living Legend of the Korean Film Industry, Starting His 100th Project?』

It wasn’t an exaggeration to call him a living legend of the Korean film industry. It was a fact. Even the big-shot director Kwon Ki-taek was his junior. Director Ahn Ga-bok was more like a symbol of the film industry than a big shot. Ranking him was meaningless; his existence was the history of the Korean film scene. Therefore, his filmography was also incredible.

His 99th work. And this was his 100th. He was also renowned worldwide.

At an international film festival where great figures from overseas film industries gathered, he was the first Korean director to win an award. That was decades ago. Of course, he had won several awards at famous international film festivals since then. The 100th film that Director Ahn Ga-bok was preparing this time was an important work for him and for the history of Korean cinema.

With this much at stake, the 40-year-old man’s concerns were not unfounded.

“…I’m sorry, Director. I was short-sighted. I think I only considered the quality of the work.”

“Let’s take it easy. If you overthink it, even things that could work will fail. Whether it’s the 99th or the 100th, we should approach it with the same mindset.”

“Yes, Director.”

Whatever the reason, it was clear that the legendary director was interested in the rookie Kang Woo-jin. Why, and under what conditions, was unclear. Then, Director Ahn Ga-bok, with his deep wrinkles, got up from the sofa and gave an order.

“Bring all the works we can find related to that guy, Kang Woo-jin.”

“Yes, yes. Ah, should I contact Kang Woo-jin?”

“······Hmm. You should. But before that.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had been humming at the question, stroked his chin and muttered.

“I have something to ask Director Kwon first.”

The next day, October 18th. At Park Eun-mi’s writer’s studio.

Around lunchtime. The studio of the recently popular writer Park Eun-mi was quiet. Although Hanryang was still doing well in the second and third rounds, or in Japan, there wasn’t much for Park Eun-mi to do. Because of that, the assistant writers were on vacation, and Park Eun-mi was also taking a break.

However, Park Eun-mi, who was in the room now, was not alone.

In front of Park Eun-mi’s desk was writer Choi Na-na, who was slender and looked tense. She had become independent from Park Eun-mi’s team.

Anyway.

-Flap.

Park Eun-mi, who had her long permed hair tied up, was looking down at a stack of papers with Choi Na-na in front of her. It was quite thick. One page, two pages. As she slowly read the stack of papers, she suddenly said.

“…Na-na. When did you start writing this?”

She asked Choi Na-na. Startled, Choi Na-na stammered a bit.

“R, right after ‘Boyfriend Material’ ended.”

“Right after?”

“Yes.”

“You must have been busy?”

“T, to be honest, it was a practice piece, but I reviewed it and tried writing it again…”

Choi Na-na, who was answering, lowered her head.

“I, I’m sorry. Is it too weird?”

In fact, the stack of papers that Park Eun-mi was looking at was a script written by Choi Na-na. From what she said, it seemed she wrote it as soon as the launch of ‘Boyfriend Material’ was confirmed, and the source seemed to be one of her old practice pieces. Then, Park Eun-mi, with a serious face, looked at the script again and opened her mouth.

“…Is this also a short series?”

“No. Th, that was something I wrote thinking it would be a long series.”

“How many episodes?”

“12 or 16 episodes.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, yes! Ah, but it’s a bit rough, right?? Ugh—I’ll refine it more… no, I’ll try writing something else.”

Choi Na-na had lost confidence. At that moment, Park Eun-mi, who had closed the script, lifted her head and smiled. Her long permed hair swayed.

“What are you talking about? It’s so fun!”

“…Yes?”

“It’s fun. No, Na-na. How did you, who has such a calm personality, think of writing such a cathartic, refreshing story?”

“Ah, ah! You think it’s fun?!”

“Yes, it’s good? First of all, the main character is great. Overwhelming. The action is refreshing. It directly addresses social issues and provides a clear sense of satisfaction. But if you handle this well, it could even become a season-based series?”

“S, season-based series?!”

“Yes.”

Park Eun-mi, who answered, pointed at the nearby laptop with her index finger.

“There are so many topics in the world, even at this moment, if you just scratch the surface of social issues, they’ll come pouring out. How much research have you done?”

“Ah, only about 4 episodes so far.”

“It’s okay. That’s enough to plan and come up with a synopsis.”

“Already?!”

Park Eun-mi smiled at Choi Na-na, who was surprised.

“Why are you like this? You’re already a debut writer and have even advanced to Japan?”

“Th, that’s! Because the actors are amazing!”

“Anyway. Did you only show this script to me?”

“Ah! Yes!”

“Do you have any broadcasting stations or production companies in mind?”

“I, I don’t have any…”

Park Eun-mi immediately picked up her phone.

“Na-na. I think this script needs to be seen by a director to be sure. Is it okay if I show it to someone?”

“Ah—yes. But who?”

Then, Park Eun-mi put her phone to her ear.

“Who else? The PD [production director] who recently became unemployed.”

A bearded face popped into Choi Na-na’s mind.

Later, around late afternoon on the same day.

The arrival hall at Incheon Airport was in a frenzy. It was because an actor had suddenly appeared. The actor was no longer in the arrival hall, but the crowds who had seen him a few tens of minutes ago were everywhere.

“Wow—did you see him? What’s up with Kang Woo-jin’s physique?? I was so surprised.”

“Right, and so handsome! His eyes were like they could draw you in, right??”

“I agree. Actors definitely have a unique aura. I have to upload the picture I took on Instagram!”

“Me too, me too.”

They were talking loudly.

“Kang Woo-jin’s expression was calm, but he signed everything? He’s like a tsundere [a character who is initially cold but later shows warmth]!”

“It’s like, not that he’s trying to act cool, but his actual personality is like that. I laughed so hard when I saw the comment saying he’s like a golden retriever going through puberty.”

“When I searched, it said Kang Woo-jin is currently filming ‘Island of the Lost’ in Vietnam?”

Kang Woo-jin, on the other hand, was currently.

-Vroom!

He was in a van speeding down the highway. His team was all in the car, and Kang Woo-jin was looking out the window with a profound expression.

“······”

But inside, he was dancing with joy.

‘Korea! Crazy, Korea is the best! Ugh—I don’t want to go back to Vietnam, not at all.’

As his inner thoughts suggested, Kang Woo-jin’s overseas location filming for ‘Island of the Lost’ in Vietnam wasn’t completely finished. He had to complete about a week of domestic schedules starting today and then return to Da Nang.

Of course, Kang Woo-jin.

‘But what did they say the schedule was? There were so many.’

He didn’t know exactly what the schedule was for the short week. But one thing was certain.

‘Is it tomorrow already?’

Choi Seong-geon, with his ponytail, who was in the passenger seat, turned around and spoke. His smile was wide.

“Woo-jin, let’s post some promotions on SNS and the ‘Kang Woo-jin Sub-Character’ channel. ‘Boyfriend Material’ opens tomorrow.”

October 19th, morning.

The time was around 9:30 AM. From the morning, the entertainment news was full of talk about one work. No, it had been like that for a few days.

『First Korean-Japanese Launch as a One-Act, ‘Boyfriend Material’ of ‘Kang Woo-jin’ and ‘Hwa-rin’… Opens Today at 10 AM!』

『[Fact Check] ‘Boyfriend Material’ Opening in Korea First Today at 10 AM, Netizens “Waiting on Standby”』

It was about ‘Boyfriend Material.’

『[Star Talk] Kang Woo-jin’s First Lead Role in a Rom-Com… Can He Erase ‘Manager Park’ with ‘Boyfriend Material’?』

It was natural. It was officially opening in 30 minutes. So there would be many promotional articles, and many articles that were just trying to stir up attention.

『Will ‘Boyfriend Material’ Opening in 30 Minutes Be a Success? Some Say “It Seems Overhyped”』

Unlike the beginning, it had become a large one-act that was even launching in Japan.

『[Issue Talk] Opinions Divided on ‘Boyfriend Material,’ a ‘Blockbuster’ or a ‘Flop’』

The public, who were waiting for the opening, were at their peak.

-lololol it’s opening now lololol I had nothing to watch, so it’s a relief

-Manager Park is insane!!

-Kang Woo-jin is not my type, but I’m watching because of Hwa-rin

-There should be more challenging works like this, even if it’s a one-act rom-com, so I’ll watch it lolololol

-Is this Kang Woo-jin’s first rom-com?? I’m curious how he acted lololol

-It’ll probably be super boring lololol just pretending to kiss and end lol

-I’m so excited ㅜㅜㅜㅠㅠ I have to watch it as soon as it’s released at 10!!!

-At best… it looks like it’ll be a clumsy rom-com… but it’s on Netflix, so I’ll give it a try

-Regardless of its success, if a one-act has advanced to Japan, it’s done enough lololol if the writing is good….

-They’ve stirred up so much attention, if it’s even slightly ambiguous, they’ll get a lot of hate lolololol

·

·

·

Various kinds of comments were overflowing. About 20 minutes passed like that. With 10 minutes left until the official opening of ‘Boyfriend Material,’ many people related to Kang Woo-jin turned on Netflix. Hong Hye-yeon, who was taking a break and packing her bags to go to Vietnam for a cameo in ‘Island of the Lost.’

“Did they say it opens at 10? If I have time, I’ll watch it all today, and if not, I’ll download it. How will the two of them appear?”

In the large conference room of Netflix Korea, the main director of ‘Boyfriend Material,’ Shin Dong-chun, and the general director Kim So-hyang, and others were gathered. Hwa-rin, who was in a van moving between schedules, was also the same.

“10 minutes! 10 minutes left! Ha—why am I so nervous? It’s not like it’s my first time releasing a work?!”

Of course, not only them, but many people were logging into Netflix. Especially notable were Kang Hyun-ah, the president of Woo-jin’s fan club and his younger sister, and her friends who were the management team.

“1 minute! 1 minute left!!”

“Hyun-ah! Pull the tablet closer! I can’t see it well!”

“Okay, okay!”

“Ha! Finally! Finally, I’m going to see it!”

The core members of ‘Kang Heart’ were all gathered in their dorm room. They were all looking at the tablet. It was then.

“It’s on the main page!”

The main page of Netflix Korea, which the tablet was displaying, had been replaced with ‘Boyfriend Material.’ A dreamy color scheme, a background of cherry blossom petals fluttering, and Kang Woo-jin standing there. His face was slightly frowning. In front of him, Hwa-rin, with a smiling face, was posing with her arms wide open. The text was like this.

-‘Boyfriend Material’

-‘What should have been yesterday and should be in the future’

The title and a one-line introduction. Kang Hyun-ah and her friends were making a fuss as they looked at the poster on the Netflix main page.

“Wow! It’s so pretty!”

“The color scheme is insane!! Woo-jin oppa is so handsome.”

“Hurry, hurry, turn it on! It’s 10:01!”

Kang Hyun-ah stretched out her index finger and touched the screen. It moved to the ‘Boyfriend Material’ section. A total of 4 episodes were visible.

“Yes! It’s all released at once!!”

As expected of Netflix, not a weekly release, all the episodes of ‘Boyfriend Material’ were released at once. Soon, Kang Hyun-ah clicked on the first episode of ‘Boyfriend Material,’ and the tablet screen turned black and then quickly began to display the beginning of ‘Boyfriend Material.’

-♬♪

The start was with a cheerful OST [original soundtrack]. What was unique was that the story started right away without a title or introduction of the actors. The location was a place where cherry blossom trees were lined up. Here, Kang Hyun-ah and her friends, who were eating snacks, were surprised.

“Wow, the color scheme of the drama is insane.”

“But how did they film the cherry blossoms? Didn’t they film this in the summer?”

“It must be CG [computer graphics]. But it doesn’t look fake at all.”

“They must have spent some money. Ah! Woo-jin oppa is appearing!”

“Hwa-rin’s styling is perfect? Where is it from?”

About 5 minutes passed like that. Kang Hyun-ah and her friends, who were immersed in watching ‘Boyfriend Material,’ were suddenly shocked. On the tablet, Hwa-rin was running towards Kang Woo-jin.

And then, she was giving him a passionate kiss. It wasn’t light either. It was deep and intense.

From the start?! It was a scene that was enough to excite them.

“Wow, crazy! Is it a kiss right away?!!”

“Amazing!! I didn’t expect this at all!!”

“I agree! People will be so surprised as soon as they see this!”

“Kyaa—what is it, what is it! Exciting!!”

Breaking everyone’s expectations, it was a deep kiss scene from the start.

“It’s so intense!!!”

“Haa! Good! Good! Something’s different! Because it’s Netflix, they just start with a kiss!”

“Hey, hey, let’s watch it again, again! Rewind it! I want to watch it 100 times!!”

The lid of ‘Boyfriend Material’ was opened.

End