I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 172

It was the first time in Chairman Hideki’s life that he had ever attended a script reading.

Of course, his purpose was to see Kang Woo-jin. The Korean actor who had revitalized his grandson and given him a dream again. He felt indebted. He figured Woo-jin must have lived a hard life as well.

He wanted to see him with his own eyes. That was Chairman Hideki’s intention.

Kang Woo-jin evoked a sense of kinship and made him reflect on his past self. When Chairman Hideki first saw Woo-jin in the hall, he seemed like a beast with hidden teeth. He appeared tough on the outside, but there was a strange composure and charisma about him. His eyes were full of strength, and his voice had a firm tone.

Indeed, Kang Woo-jin was no ordinary person.

As the head of a large corporation, Chairman Hideki immediately recognized the unusual energy emanating from Kang Woo-jin. An aura that was rare to find at that age. That meant Kang Woo-jin’s presence was extraordinary.

Anyway.

‘…What is that?’

The moment he saw Woo-jin begin acting during the script reading, Chairman Hideki, who had been watching with his arms crossed, couldn’t help but twitch his thick white eyebrows.

‘Acting? Is that what they call acting?’

Even to Chairman Hideki, who had never paid attention to acting and had no interest other than business, Kang Woo-jin’s transformation was obvious.

‘Everything that was there is gone.’

The aura that had surrounded him had vanished without a trace. The Kang Woo-jin who was now portraying Kiyoshi was a shell. Empty. His eyes, his voice, his movements, his thoughts. How could he empty himself so completely in an instant, when he had been so full just moments ago? Chairman Hideki gradually focused on Kang Woo-jin’s acting. He couldn’t take his eyes off him.

‘Is that what all actors are like?’

But as the reading progressed, as Kang Woo-jin’s acting built the narrative.

‘I don’t regret meeting you.’

‘It’s time for lunch.’

Chairman Hideki realized it more clearly. That he was special. There were many prominent Japanese actors around Woo-jin as he performed. But it was hard to see them as being on the same level as Kang Woo-jin.

‘The other actors clearly have a hint of imitation. But Kang Woo-jin has no such gap.’

Only Woo-jin was exceptional. The other actors were acting, but Kang Woo-jin was showing another life. At least, that’s how it looked to Chairman Hideki.

He asked himself again.

‘Is that acting?’

No. That wasn’t acting. The person had changed. Chairman Hideki had seen a spark in Kang Woo-jin’s eyes. But the current Kang Woo-jin, or rather, Kiyoshi, was like water. Colorless and odorless. An existence that felt no emotion or sensation.

‘He’s just flowing.’

In that moment, Chairman Hideki vaguely recalled the past from Kang Woo-jin’s appearance. Not his own, but his grandson’s. The grandson who had lost his vitality and life, who was only breathing, whose eyes were dead. Yes, it was similar to that.

Soon, Chairman Hideki.

-Swish.

Barely managed to move his gaze away from Woo-jin. The hundred or so people around him, the dozens of actors, even Director Kyotaro and writer Akari. They were all watching Woo-jin. His presence was outstanding. There was an overwhelming power that captivated the eyes.

A skill that charmed people and controlled situations. Something beyond mere charm.

It was a very rare ability.

At that moment.

‘Not now.’

Kang Woo-jin began his monologue. After Toka disappeared from the world, he, as a ‘stranger,’ makes a list to perform a ‘bizarre sacrifice.’

‘I have to be forgotten.’

Kang Woo-jin, as Kiyoshi, took his eyes off Toka at the end. Because she was gone. And his gaze drifted somewhere into the unspecified void. There was nothing on his face. But his mouth didn’t stop. The rhythm of his lines was constant. He seemed to be floating calmly on the surface of still water.

Then.

‘Homework.’

Kiyoshi’s desolate eyes moved from the void to find their destination. They drifted for a moment over some of the actors in front of him. Nine people. He had confirmed the list of nine specific people. The actors who were now making eye contact with Kiyoshi could feel it intensely.

‘I can’t see reason or instinct.’

That’s why it’s even more terrifying. Vaguely frightening. There is no reason or result. Pleasure? Delight? Intention? Hatred? Frenzy? None of it. There was no action mixed with emotion. A system. Yes, a system. He only had things to do.

Director Kyotaro, who had fixed his gaze on Kang Woo-jin, recited the stage direction.

‘Kiyoshi is sitting at his desk in a noisy classroom, looking at the blackboard in front of him. His face is still blank.’

In the scenario, after two students died at school, the world was turned upside down, but that didn’t last long either. Just as the living had to live, the school tried to normalize. Of course, the minds of all the students were not intact.

Only Kiyoshi’s time had stopped.

At the moment when Toka was sitting on the railing, smiling.

However, there was a change at the school. Some of the nine people on Kiyoshi’s list had transferred, and some had dropped out. Some were still attending school.

Kiyoshi didn’t care.

What he had to do now was.

‘Study.’

It was to accumulate knowledge. He had to look at the long game. He had basic information on the nine people. Including the data he had accumulated and the student records. From here, Kiyoshi had to fill in what he lacked.

Director Kyotaro spent time on the stage directions.

One year, two years, three years. During that time, Kang Woo-jin’s mindset was no different. He lived a normal life.

‘Just a little more, it’s almost time.’

He was being forgotten by the world, but the plan had already been executed. Four years and then five years later. From here, the scene had more of Woo-jin’s monologue than Director Kyotaro’s stage directions. The scene showed the other person, but Kiyoshi’s voice was layered underneath.

Everyone in the hall stared at the ‘stranger.’

Kang Woo-jin was rolling his eyes with a blank face. His posture was stiff. His gaze and breathing were constant, and the trembling in his hands and his heartbeat were calm. But what he had to do was clear. His appearance was reminiscent of a calm madness. Woo-jin’s mind was full of calculations.

‘Let’s begin, everyone and the world have forgotten me.’

A purpose that could not be identified took shape. Then, a line was uttered from Kang Woo-jin’s bland mouth. It was a monologue.

‘Five years. I spent five years filling in what I lacked. And now, I am about to begin the second sacrifice after the first. One of the nine. Konakayama Kinzo.’

A voice that was neither hot nor cold, with a constant rhythm. It was so devoid of anything that it was hard to believe it was a human voice. The actors sitting closest to Woo-jin felt it most accurately.

‘Putting aside the fact that his Japanese acting is natural… how on earth does he do that?’

‘A method of acting I’ve never seen before. It’s like he’s lived without emotions from the start – but why does it sound so good? There’s nothing in it, but it’s so powerful.’

Kang Woo-jin stared intently at the actor playing ‘Konakayama Kinzo,’ a handsome man with perfect features. He paused for a moment. He silently maintained his gaze. He made it clear to everyone that he was watching him from afar. The monologue continued after that.

‘The reason I chose ‘Konakayama Kinzo’ as the ‘restart of an unannounced disaster’ was because of his elegant appearance. He is an excessively flamboyant man who knows how to attract attention. Of course, he is the furthest from me among the nine. That’s why I marked him. ‘Konakayama Kinzo’s bizarre sacrifice will immediately attract attention, but there will be no attention on me.’

It was quite a long line. But Kang Woo-jin finished his monologue in a straight line, without faltering or standing out. A dreamlike air gradually surrounded Kang Woo-jin. Akari, the writer, who was looking at Kang Woo-jin through her glasses perched on her nose, felt a shiver.

‘I’m seeing Kiyoshi from when I wrote this book, this work, with my own eyes. It’s scary, but I’m greedy. How far can he show Kiyoshi?’

At this moment, Kang Woo-jin pretended to take something out of his pocket. It was the list of nine names he had written on Toka’s desk five years ago.

‘Konakayama Kinzo is married. He has a family. But he still likes women. People’s habits are meticulously woven. That’s why traces of habits remain in Kinzo. Prostitution, compensated dating [a form of dating where older men pay younger women for their time], adultery. He appears to be a family man on the outside, but he’s rotten on the inside. He tells his family he’s on a business trip, but he commits sexual crimes. He has many flaws.’

Woo-jin, who had been reciting endless plans, tilted his head slightly. His blank expression remained the same, and his empty gaze settled on the Japanese actor across from him.

‘What kind of ‘bizarre sacrifice’ would be good? Kinzo, you have to become a firework. That’s why I chose you, who is so flamboyant. Because the scattered fragments have to fly to the remaining eight. I think it’s right to start with the conflict between you and your family. Your wife is not included in my work.’

Soon, the Japanese actor, who had been slightly dazed. No, Yasuta, who played ‘Konakayama Kinzo,’ snapped back to his senses. After Kang Woo-jin’s monologue ended, his daily life scene was supposed to come up and he had to say his lines.

He uttered his set lines as if to himself. His appearance at the company.

At this point, the serious Chairman Hideki could feel it.

‘It’s clearly different. Even I, who don’t know much about acting, can see that the two actors’ performances are on different levels. That Yasuta actor is doing a formulaic performance.’

The gap between Kang Woo-jin and the top Japanese actors was quite large. If there was no comparison, it might not be noticeable, but with Woo-jin as the focal point of Kiyoshi, it was clearly seen and heard. The Japanese actors were now being pushed back by the Korean rookie actor.

At the same time, Choi Sung-gun, who was sitting behind Kang Woo-jin, also realized it.

‘The acting is very obvious. The Japanese actors have a strong smell of ‘I’m acting.’ Exaggerated emotions, agitated lines, forceful eye movements.’

Why Director Kyotaro was so attached to Kang Woo-jin, what the problems were in the Japanese acting scene, and why he wanted to shake up the Japanese content market.

‘I might not have felt it when we were together, but if Woo-jin is running wild like that in front of me, I’d know even if I didn’t want to. That they are lacking.’

The Japanese master, Director Kyotaro, wanted to give a wake-up call to all the Japanese actors with the actor named Kang Woo-jin. You guys are stagnant. So, I want you to watch, realize, and learn.

In reality, Director Kyotaro glanced at the shocked Japanese actors and muttered to himself.

‘An actor of this caliber was learning alone just a few months ago, had a long period of obscurity, and is only now seeing the light. You guys need to feel something.’

The gap in perception was a bonus.

And so.

‘Fade out.’

Director Kyotaro muttered throughout the reading room, around the middle of the scenario.

‘Let’s take a break for a while.’

After a few tens of minutes.

The break time during the script reading of ‘Strange Life’ was about 20 minutes. But none of the actors left their seats. Kang Woo-jin was the same. The atmosphere was strange. Most of the actors pretended to look at the script, but they glanced at Kang Woo-jin, who had a calm face.

The reporters and the hundred or so staff members were busy whispering.

Meanwhile, Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, was on the phone with someone outside the hall. His expression was serious.

‘Is that so? Hmm – I understand. I will carefully review the proposal you sent by email. Yes. Thank you, yes.’

-Click.

Choi Sung-gun, who had finished the call, lowered his phone and frowned.

‘Tsk.’

It seemed that the result was not what he wanted.

In fact, the person Choi Sung-gun had just spoken to was an investor for the expansion of BW Entertainment. It was a project that had been going on for quite some time, and there were quite a few investors, including companies, that Choi Sung-gun had met with. BW Entertainment was small and new, but it had top actress Hong Hye-yeon, and more importantly, Kang Woo-jin, who was gaining incredible momentum with his debut.

Thanks to that, there were many investors who were interested.

Choi Sung-gun felt the need to expand the company and had been working on it, and as a result, he had brought the situation to the point where investment was imminent.

However, the problem was.

‘They’re all trying to control me.’

The condition of all the potential investors included management interference. Of course, they said it indirectly, but if you dug deeper, it was the same as making Choi Sung-gun a figurehead. They wouldn’t interfere directly from the start, but they would definitely reveal their true colors little by little.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

Choi Sung-gun, who had been through all sorts of ups and downs in the entertainment industry, knew it better than anyone else, and had experienced or witnessed it countless times. So, he had to avoid the management interference condition, but they all wanted to take over BW Entertainment, even if they said it slightly differently.

‘Hoo-‘

Choi Sung-gun’s worries deepened.

‘Hye-yeon and Woo-jin. BW Entertainment is too small to contain the two of them right now. Expansion is essential for more extensive care, and we can’t keep relying on just the two of them. We also need to discover new talent.’

It was at this moment.

‘Excuse me.’

A clear female voice penetrated. It was Japanese. Choi Sung-gun, slightly startled, turned his head. Behind him stood a woman in a neat suit with her long hair tied in a single braid. It was Tetsukawa Riri, Chairman Hideki’s chief secretary. Choi Sung-gun also remembered her face.

He had seen her standing behind Chairman Hideki a few hours ago.

Then, Choi Sung-gun greeted her with a small bow and spoke awkward Japanese.

‘Ah – please speak.’

Riri’s reply was slow but clear.

‘Would you have some time?’

‘Are you talking to me?’

‘Yes. You are CEO Choi Sung-gun, correct?’

‘That’s right.’

Communication proceeded awkwardly, and Riri, who had slightly turned her body, made a polite gesture. It was to follow her. Choi Sung-gun was a little flustered, but he followed her for now.

-Swish.

They arrived at a staff-only room at the end of the hallway, past the ‘Strange Life’ script reading room. Riri, who was leading the way, knocked on the door and opened it. Soon, the inside of the room was visible to Choi Sung-gun. The room had the characteristics of an office, as it was for staff use.

Among them, a five-person sofa was placed in the center.

‘Ah.’

Choi Sung-gun’s eyes widened slightly. The reason was simple. On the upper seat of the five-person sofa sat Chairman Hideki, the head of the Kashii Group, with white hair on his eyebrows. Next to him was a man in a suit, and Riri, who had guided Choi Sung-gun, gestured to the sofa next to Chairman Hideki.

‘Please sit down.’

Choi Sung-gun’s bewilderment deepened. It was natural, as the owner of a Japanese conglomerate was suddenly sitting in front of him. Still, he sat on the sofa with the most flexible face he could manage. At the same time, Chairman Hideki, who had a wrinkled smile, opened his mouth.

‘You were impressive.’

A rough tone of Japanese. The man in the suit across from Choi Sung-gun translated it into Korean. Soon, Choi Sung-gun, who thought that Korean would be fine, asked Chairman Hideki back.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Actor Kang Woo-jin. The acting I saw earlier was something I’ve never seen in all my years.’

‘Ah, thank you.’

‘It was a fresh shock. Haha, I wish my grandson would imitate Mr. Kang Woo-jin.’

‘Pardon?’

‘It’s nothing. More than that – that’s right. I saw potential in Mr. Kang Woo-jin. Not only his acting, but his value is very high.’

Chairman Hideki, who had been speaking leisurely, gave Riri a look. Then, she handed Choi Sung-gun a transparent file that she had prepared. Chairman Hideki explained.

‘It’s a proposal.’

‘…What kind?’

‘We are thinking of casting actor Kang Woo-jin in our Kashii Group. As an advertising model for several of our affiliates.’

Choi Sung-gun’s eyes widened as he opened the transparent file. A proposal written in Korean. Roughly, he could see words like department store and food. Moreover, there were several types, not just one. What was this? Choi Sung-gun was a little puzzled. It wasn’t that uncommon for Korean celebrities to film commercials in Japan, but it wasn’t that frequent either.

And the proposal was from the Kashii Group.

The suddenness was extreme.

‘What the heck is this… suddenly without any context??’

Chairman Hideki had seen Kang Woo-jin for the first time today, but he was already proceeding with something like this? It was so out of the blue that Choi Sung-gun wondered for a moment if it was a scam.

At that moment.

‘I saw an article in Korea a few days ago.’

As if this wasn’t the end, Chairman Hideki’s old voice continued.

‘It said that Mr. Kang Woo-jin’s contract period is coming to an end. Is he transferring?’

Choi Sung-gun came to the conclusion that Chairman Hideki was eyeing Kang Woo-jin. There must be some kind of affiliated agency involved. Therefore, Choi Sung-gun took a strong stance.

‘The contract period part is true. But there will be no transfer.’

‘…So, you mean Mr. Kang Woo-jin will continue to be with BW Entertainment?’

‘That’s right.’

Chairman Hideki, who had heard the answer, stared at Choi Sung-gun’s eyes for a moment. His face was full of wrinkles, but his gaze was still that of a big shot. Then, Chairman Hideki suddenly smiled.

‘I heard that BW Entertainment is aiming for expansion.’

He threw out a calm but huge proposal.

‘I would like to invest personally, what do you think?’