I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 213

The first thing humans do when they encounter a creation is to imagine. What would it be like to be in that world? I would do this, or I would do that. Flying through the sky, opening my eyes in space, witnessing a monster never seen before.

It’s a similar experience across all genres.

Even when watching a simple romantic comedy, you imagine yourself as the main character. This process amplifies the reader’s emotions, making them more immersed in the story.

So, what if you actually became the main character of an animation?

First, you’d imagine how the world would look. It’s completely different from movies or dramas. Animation is a world that’s drawn, after all.

Nevertheless, there are still main characters and stories.

It might feel strange to us, but for the main character of an animation, that world is their reality and life. The animated world that Kang Woo-jin was currently reading (experiencing) and seeing was also real.

Of course, it might be a little unique.

The sun in the sky, the clouds that briefly cast shadows, the birds flying above, the densely packed tall buildings, the various signs on those buildings, the cars driving on the road, the countless people crossing the crosswalk—it was all clearly different from what Kang Woo-jin usually saw.

It was as if God had accidentally spilled paint.

A feeling of color being splashed onto the world. But no one here complained. Because this was normal and ordinary here. Everyone who passed Kang Woo-jin on the sidewalk was just moving quickly, unaware that they were colored.

Even Woo-jin, who was initially flustered.

“······”

Gradually, his composure returned. Everything, from the character’s feelings to the five senses, spread through his veins. Perhaps because the script’s completion was only 50%, the buildings in the distance were faint, and more than half of the people had no eyes, nose, or mouth. But Woo-jin didn’t care. That was just how it felt.

The only thought currently occupying Kang Woo-jin’s mind was:

‘Let’s stay quiet today, too.’

A quiet day is the best. Doing anything that stands out will only lead to trouble. Not too much, but not too stupid either. Just maintaining the average. That’s what Woo-jin was currently repeating to himself. Or rather, being forced to repeat.

That’s when it happened.

“What, what? Isn’t he a bit gloomy?”

“Hey, really. Which school is he from?”

Two passing high school girls giggled while looking at Kang Woo-jin. They also looked like they’d been colored, but their fluttering skirts seemed natural. Woo-jin muttered inwardly with a bored expression.

‘I saw you, but let’s pretend I didn’t.’

Their school uniforms included jackets, and it was a bit chilly, so it was probably autumn. The wind blew on Kang Woo-jin’s face, making his bangs flutter in his vision. Was his hair long? Just as Woo-jin was about to casually step forward,

“What are you doing standing there like an idiot? You’re in the way!”

A woman’s voice came from behind. It was Japanese. It was a sudden voice, but Woo-jin was familiar with it. It was a voice he heard often. No, he was tired of it. Then, Kang Woo-jin slowly turned his head.

In the reflection of the store window next door, Kang Woo-jin’s current appearance was visible.

A fairly tall height, a navy blue school uniform with a tie, a similar-colored tote bag on his shoulder, black hair that was messy and covered his eyes, and glasses of an ambiguous size. Of course, the glasses and messy hair were all part of the act, to make himself inconspicuous.

The woman standing behind Woo-jin.

“What are you doing here, you idiot?”

Her eyes were big. The color of her pupils was brown, similar to her hair color. And there was a mole under her eye. She also looked like she had been colored in a cartoon, but Kang Woo-jin frowned without much thought.

“My luck is terrible this morning. I’ve met the person I should avoid the most.”

“Shut up. Just move out of the way and don’t block the path.”

“You could just avoid me.”

“I don’t want to change my direction because of you.”

“You can’t live life only doing what you like.”

“······Hmph.”

The woman glared at Woo-jin once and passed by. At the same time, her long brown hair fluttered with a rustling sound. It smelled like good shampoo. That woman was Woo-jin’s childhood friend who lived next door. No, now she was his nemesis. The further she got, the fainter her appearance and color became.

It must be the nature of animation, but Woo-jin didn’t care.

He had to get his mind back on going to school.

Kang Woo-jin walked and walked. His surroundings were clearly changing, but they were strangely rough. The lines and colors of the buildings didn’t match, and people’s movements were irregular.

Even the dog that just brushed past Woo-jin’s feet had no color.

Kang Woo-jin arrived at high school like that. Until he settled into his classroom, he kept repeating ‘quietness.’ Thanks to that, his presence in the classroom was close to zero. Just ‘Male Student 1’ that no one paid attention to. Of course, this was the appearance Kang Woo-jin wanted.

But Woo-jin’s childhood friend, whom he met in the morning, was different.

“Let’s go to the cafeteria! The cafeteria!”

“Hey, already?”

“Let’s go together, together!”

She was a popular star. She was always surrounded by friends. It must be because of her good style. Who cares? To Kang Woo-jin, she was just a nemesis. He blended into the noisy classroom like water and quietly slumped into his seat. It was to practice ‘staying quiet today, too.’

But that peace was broken after the teacher appeared.

“Everyone knows, right? The cultural festival will start for two days next week—”

The biggest event or festival of high school. It was a very troublesome event that made the whole school excited. Woo-jin, with his chin propped up, made a resolution. Let’s just move things along again this year. But suddenly, Woo-jin’s childhood friend stood up from her seat and shouted.

“Hey guys! How about him for this year’s ‘costume’?”

Her index finger pointed to Kang Woo-jin, who had no presence by the window. Soon, all the classmates without eyes, nose, or mouth turned their heads to Woo-jin. Woo-jin, who narrowed his brows slightly, muttered inwardly.

‘Should I kill her?’

‘Costume’ was a stage called the flower of the cultural festival. Each class would pick one person and transform them into a character from a famous cartoon.

From here, his quiet life began to unravel.

·

·

·

·

How much time had passed?

[“Ending the reading of ‘A: 1’.”]

With the end of the robotic female voice that Kang Woo-jin heard in his ear.

‘Ah.’

In an instant, Woo-jin’s vision changed. The place was a parking lot. And in front of a large van. Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, was explaining something.

“The fact that the first episode’s draft script is out means that ‘A10 Studio’ has already started production.”

Woo-jin, who had been silently watching him, slowly lowered his gaze. He looked at his hands. He clenched and unclenched his hands. He also looked at his feet below. He raised his head again and looked around at Choi Sung-gun, the van behind him, and the parking lot scenery.

It was strangely awkward.

Kang Woo-jin’s mind quickly cleared, but the animated world he had just visited was shocking in itself.

‘Where did I just go?’

Yeah, that’s exactly how it felt. Like he had lived in another world and come back? It felt like he had completed all the necessary quests and returned to the world he originally lived in. In conclusion, both the animation and here were reality. But Woo-jin realized that the feeling was a bit different from experiencing the world of a character in a movie or drama.

‘It’s like another dimension has been added—I don’t know, how should I express this?’

One thing was certain: it was an emotion that only Kang Woo-jin could feel among the entire population of the earth. And.

‘This is kinda fun?’

Kang Woo-jin wasn’t in a bad state right now. At that moment, Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, tilted his head.

“Hey, hey, Woo-jin. What are you doing? Are you listening to me?”

Woo-jin, who had instantly put on a cold demeanor, nodded his head.

“Yes, CEO.”

“Hmm—Anyway, you’ll understand if you roughly skim through that animation, right? The original work is ‘Male Friend’. They’re adapting ‘Male Friend’ and taking out the story.”

Ah? So that’s why the female lead looked strangely similar to Hwa-rin? The story of the animation he had briefly lived in was like that too. The environment was different, but the story theme that penetrated the script was similar to ‘Male Friend’. Woo-jin casually asked back.

“Are you making ‘Male Friend’ into an animation?”

“That’s right. Seeing how far it’s progressed, it seems like they’ve already finished talking with writer Choi and Netflix. Well, it’s not like this is unprecedented. In fact, the opposite is more common. From manga to animation and then to live-action.”

Conversely, there were cases where live-action works came out as animation and manga.

“What do you think, Woo-jin? It’s still the first episode’s script, and it’s a draft, so it’s ambiguous. Has your crazy sense been activated?”

It had already been activated. But perhaps because of the low completion, the grade was D.

“I don’t know.”

However, Woo-jin thought the story itself was interesting, perhaps because he had actually lived it. The male protagonist, whose key is to live quietly, reveals his hidden true self, and from there, his leisurely life gets twisted. The characters gradually mix, including the female protagonist, who is his childhood friend.

Of course, the core is the rom-com [romantic comedy] between the male and female leads.

Whatever it was, Choi Sung-gun took the script back from Woo-jin and asked again.

“It’s understandable why ‘A10 Studio’ wants you as a voice actor. You have popularity in Japan, your Japanese skills, and they’re trying to get your unexpected novelty. So, what are you going to do? The production company wants a meeting, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it.”

Kang Woo-jin answered simply.

“I think it’s okay to have a meeting.”

It was a decision purely derived from ‘fun’.

The next morning, the 11th. A large action school in Seoul.

A place where many martial arts staff were running around. The floor was covered with gray mats, and each space had different equipment set up. There were places with wires hanging from the ceiling or wooden swords set up. In the center of such a place, Song Man-woo PD [Production Director], with a beard and wearing a light padded jacket, was visible. He had his arms crossed and a serious face.

“Hmm.”

To be exact, the directing team and martial arts team of ‘Beneficial Evil’ had gathered. And now, Song Man-woo PD was checking the action lines of the martial arts team.

“Hup!”

“Heok!”

“Eup!!”

It was intense yet precise.

Confirming the action storyboard that the martial arts director and his team had created. The amount was from the first to the second episode, and on the mat, several martial arts team members were matching their martial arts moves according to the storyboard. The way personnel were selected at the action school was simple.

After the entire martial arts team had memorized the storyboard created by the martial arts director, they would pick the person with the best form.

Of course, experience was prioritized.

Anyway, Song Man-woo PD, who had been carefully watching the martial arts team members in black short sleeves, slowly nodded his head. He seemed quite satisfied.

‘Not bad.’

It had been a while since Song Man-woo PD had worked on action. Thanks to that, he was watching a bit sensitively, but the action storyboard that the martial arts director had presented was satisfactory enough. Martial arts that were realistic yet flashy.

The martial arts that each director wants are all different.

Some pursue the coolness of action, some the desperation, some the flashiness, and some the clarity. Song Man-woo PD of the drama version liked a large volume with a realistic feel. He tended to take care of the impact with sound or camera movement.

Then, the martial arts director, wearing the same black shirt as the martial arts staff, who was standing next to Song Man-woo PD, asked cautiously.

“How is it? You haven’t said anything, so I’m a bit nervous?”

The martial arts director with a solid body showed an awkward smile. On the other hand, Song Man-woo PD, who had been looking at the martial arts storyboard, stroked his beard and answered seriously.

“I said the storyboard is good, right? Why are you so nervous? You’re a pro among pros.”

“Haha, you know everything. Is seeing the martial arts directly the same as the storyboard?”

“Are those guys the confirmed personnel?”

“Yeah, yeah. They’re the best.”

“Let’s go a bit harder.”

“Okay.”

The martial arts director called the team members who were showing the action and gave them some instructions. Soon, the action scene started again from the beginning. Of course, it was more aggressive than before.

“Hheup!”

“K-keuk!”

Meanwhile, Song Man-woo PD was replaying the directing in his head. He imagined Kang Woo-jin inserted among the martial arts team. Soon, a faint smile spread across Song Man-woo PD’s face, and he instructed the assistant director next to him.

“Okay, send the martial arts storyboard to Woo-jin. Right now. And check if tomorrow or the day after is okay for the martial arts test.”

“Yes, I understand!”

The assistant director ran off quickly. Then, the martial arts director, who had returned, asked Song Man-woo PD.

“Tomorrow or the day after? Isn’t that too fast? Putting aside Woo-jin’s martial arts skills, he needs time to memorize the lines.”

“Woo-jin is leaving for Japan soon. We need to check before that.”

“Ah.”

“His schedule is very tight. The test itself probably won’t be long either. Well, we just need to see his martial arts lines, right?”

“That’s true. Still, I’ll finally get to see Woo-jin’s martial arts form in person.”

The martial arts director, who had muttered, rubbed his hands together.

“That black box video too. I wonder what he has?”

After a few minutes, the martial arts director instructed the selected martial arts team members to take a break. The martial arts team members quickly collapsed onto the mat, panting. They were all muscular and had solid bodies, but they had been performing action to the death, so it was natural for them to be out of breath.

Among them, a man with short hair opened his mouth.

“Ugh—I almost died. But is Kang Woo-jin really coming to take the test in person?”

Some of the martial arts team members who were catching their breath replied.

“What test? They’re just going to look at his form, it’s always like that. We’re the only ones who suffer. Still, Kang Woo-jin is really hot, so it seems like he’s coming in person. Usually, they skip the test and start practicing.”

“Yeah, did you see that Kang Woo-jin? Declaring war at the Blue Dragon Awards [a prestigious film award ceremony in South Korea].”

“I saw it. I thought he was crazy. No matter how confident you are in your acting—he’s too reckless, so I didn’t like it.”

“Is that his personality? Or did the company make him do it?”

“What company would make him do such a crazy thing? Kang Woo-jin himself is just a bit of a nutcase.”

“Ugh, he’s got some guts.”

“It’s not guts, it’s craziness. Or maybe he was just bluffing.”

The martial arts team members continued to talk about Kang Woo-jin in small groups. It was a scene that could easily be seen anywhere in the entertainment industry.

“I wonder what Kang Woo-jin’s martial arts are like?”

“From that black box video, it seems like he’s above average? The martial arts director said he learned real martial arts or something.”

“That’s nonsense. He just learned some self-defense and got lucky. But if it’s Hwa-rin, I’d risk my life too.”

“Really? Well, he’s young and there’s no talk of him exercising. This is also his first time doing a proper action work. He’s probably nervous and will mess up the lines a lot.”

At that moment, Park Cheol-gyu, the oldest and largest man among the martial arts team members, joined in.

“How about we make the martial arts lines a bit tighter on the test day? Without making it obvious.”

“Huh? Tighter, you mean?”

“Yeah. When an actor is doing action for the first time, you go a little harder. To make them remember. And.”

The giant-like Park Cheol-gyu smiled slightly.

“I’m curious if Kang Woo-jin really has guts.”