I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 250

The recording contained Amie’s voice, and the content was enough to shatter his life.

-Vroom!

Slowly, Itsuma’s luxury sedan brushed past the camera.

Silence.

Then, director Kyotaro’s signal echoed across the set.

“Cut!! OK!!”

Behind them, the ‘Strangers’ team and Kang Woo-jin continued filming other scenes on the same set. The next day, late in the afternoon, the ‘Strangers’ team found themselves at a high school in Tokyo.

It was the place where Kang Woo-jin’s character synthesis was first showcased.

From ‘Strangers’ perspective, it was also the place that gave birth to ‘Iyota Kiyoshi,’ the ‘stranger.’ Dozens of staff members, director Kyotaro, and numerous pieces of filming equipment besides the camera were set up on the school rooftop. In reality, it was late afternoon, but in the scenario, it was the dead of night.

The actors stood before the camera.

More precisely, the characters from ‘Strangers.’ The haggardly made-up Horinochi Amie and the elegantly dressed Tsuzuki Itsuma. Director Kyotaro sat in front of the monitor, and behind him, Kang Woo-jin with his indifferent face could be seen.

“······”

Woo-jin also had a shoot scheduled here, but not immediately, so he could have waited on the first floor. Or he could have rested in the car. But Woo-jin deliberately came up to the rooftop.

It was a simple thought.

‘I wonder how those actors will portray it-‘

Woo-jin had experienced all the roles in ‘Strangers,’ and he was curious to see how the other Japanese actors would appear. Well, watching them might also help with Kiyoshi’s acting.

However.

‘Kang Woo-jin, Kang Woo-jin is watching.’

‘Mr. Woo-jin came up? Oh- I’m a bit nervous.’

His appearance put pressure on the Japanese actors. The Japanese cast of ‘Strangers’ had gone beyond just acknowledging Kang Woo-jin. Watching Woo-jin’s awe-inspiring acting made their own performances seem pathetic.

‘Damn it, should I have practiced my lines more?’

The Japanese actors were battling two entities.

Iyota Kiyoshi in the world of ‘Strangers’ and Kang Woo-jin as an actor. In terms of roles, they were thoroughly ‘sacrificed’ by Kiyoshi, and as actors, they were utterly devastated by the palpable difference in skill.

What Yasuta, who played the already-departed ‘Konakayama Kinzo,’ had said was.

‘Everyone, forget about acting; if you fall into the hypnosis of Kang Woo-jin, this place becomes the world of ‘Strangers.”

It was true. It was obvious.

‘We’ll have to fight a bloody battle with the real monster, ‘Iyota Kiyoshi.”

All the Japanese actors found Kang Woo-jin overwhelming throughout the filming. If they didn’t struggle, it was immediately obvious. No, anyone would look inadequate if they were in a two-shot with that monster. It wasn’t that their acting skills were severely lacking. It was just that Kang Woo-jin was exceptional.

Then, director Kyotaro picked up the megaphone.

“Hi-”

In that moment, a single word flashed through the minds of the actors in front of the camera.

‘Give up? No, that’s out of the question.’

This was the hardest movie since their debut. They had never struggled this much in any other project. Giving up would be easy. But the Japanese actors gritted their teeth.

If they faltered here, they would be buried alive.

Whether it was to the public or the entertainment industry, they had to endure and rub shoulders with that monster.

‘What would it look like if we were all annihilated by one Korean actor?’

Soon.

“Action.”

With director Kyotaro’s signal, the actors’ performances began. The rooftop of the school, filled with memories. Amie, still mentally unstable. Itsuma, watching her, who had gone mad. For some reason, he was wearing work gloves on his hands.

Amie suddenly screamed.

“Kyaaak!”

She had seen a hallucination of Toka. She crouched down, trembling. Itsuma, looking at her pitifully, pushed up his glasses and looked up at the darkening sky. And then, a sigh.

“Ha- why is this happening all of a sudden.”

It lasted for a few seconds. The camera was facing the two actors. At this point, Itsuma helped the crouching Amie to her feet.

“Amie. It’s okay, I’ll make you comfortable now.”

“······”

But she didn’t answer. She wasn’t on the rooftop anymore. Yes, Itsuma had taken her life as he pleased. He looked down at the railing and clicked his tongue.

“Now that it’s come to this, what’s the point of reporting it to the police? You brought this on yourself, Amie.”

Cut here. A few re-takes. Later, the filming crew withdrew from the rooftop and moved to the parking lot behind the school. Itsuma got into the luxury sedan.

“I don’t know. I did the right thing, how did I get this far to give up my life? Amie, I’m sorry.”

He turned on the recorder that had been delivered anonymously and quickly drove away from the school.

After the loud exhaust sound, the school became quiet again.

And.

-Swish.

A man’s back appeared in front of the camera, which was illuminating the empty parking lot. Dead eyes, expressionless face. It was Kang Woo-jin. No, it was Iyota Kiyoshi, who had just finished another task. And he connected the line to the next task.

“······”

The camera captured Kiyoshi’s bust. He was holding a camera in his hand. It must have recorded every single act that Itsuma had committed at this school. Soon, Kiyoshi slowly turned his head back.

To where Amie’s lifeless body would be.

But he had no intention of cleaning up.

“Let’s go.”

Kiyoshi disappeared from the camera’s view, his footsteps echoing.

Time melted away.

Kang Woo-jin continued filming ‘Strangers,’ and everything related to him was the same. Regardless, Kang Woo-jin was focused on filming ‘Strangers.’

In March, he would have to leave again for a while.

Before that, he had to complete as many cuts as possible. That’s why Woo-jin had no choice but to use the subspace a lot. As soon as he got a little tired, he would immediately enter it.

Meanwhile, there was a change in the rating of ‘Boyfriend: Remake.’

-[10/Script (Title: Boyfriend: Remake), SS Grade]

It had been S-grade from the start, but now it had risen to SS-grade. It was a natural upgrade. No matter what anyone said, it was the hottest Japanese animation. And at the center of it, of course, was Kang Woo-jin. With it being this hot, A10 Studio wouldn’t just produce ‘Boyfriend: Remake’ half-heartedly.

They completed the voice actor lineup in an instant.

The process was very simple. ‘Boyfriend: Remake’ had a ripple effect that shook Japan, and the voice actors rushed in even before the official casting announcement.

In addition, A10 Studio added another production team.

In other words, four teams were working simultaneously on four episodes.

Meanwhile, the ‘Our Table’ team and PD [Production Director] Yoon Byung-sun had finished preparing for the second shoot. The schedules of all the cast members were finalized, and the problems in LA had been resolved.

『[Entertainment Pick] ‘Our Table,’ 2nd Shoot Confirmed for February 28th!』

The ‘Leech’ side, which had recently completed auditions successfully, had gained momentum. The casting of not only the officially announced lead actors but also supporting and minor roles was all confirmed. All that remained was the completion of the filming set, the script reading, and the completion of the storyboard.

However, veteran director Ahn Ga-bok sensed that he had to move even more quickly.

“Hmm- there’s no time.”

“The pre-production took a bit longer than expected.”

“When will the set be completed?”

“It should be done by next week.”

“What’s the expected date for the script reading?”

“······Around mid-March.”

Therefore, while looking at the set, which was in the final stages of construction, director Ahn Ga-bok took special measures.

“No. Move it up by a week. I’ll finish the storyboard even if I have to stay up all night, so let’s schedule the script reading for March 6th.”

“Understood, I’ll make the changes.”

“Let’s do the reading on the 6th and start filming on the 8th, two days later.”

“I- in just two days?!”

He meant to have the script reading and the first shoot almost simultaneously.

“Yes. Is it possible?”

“······Yes, it’s not impossible. But I don’t know if the actors and staff will accept it.”

“There will be problems. But we have no choice but to push ourselves. And we have to do the editing while filming.”

It was like a rough draft. The key point of ‘Leech’ was how much time they could save in post-production, rather than filming. In short, they would be filming and doing the initial editing at the same time, while getting very little sleep.

“Tell the actors that the reading is on the 6th. And the first shoot will be on the 8th.”

The cold weather was gradually easing.

『Netflix Aims for Global Reach with ‘Beneficial Evil,’ Contacting Several Top Actors for Casting』

It was still cold in the early morning and at night, but it was slightly cool during the day. Therefore, people on the streets began to take off their thick coats one by one.

It was a sign that the season was changing.

Naturally, several figures surrounding Kang Woo-jin also changed.

-@Wooji_n

Posts 226

Followers 18.503 million

Following 48

Kang Woo-jin’s SNS had become a huge account. Many top actors followed him. Whether they were from Korea or Japan. The growth of the ‘Kang Woo-jin Sub-Character’ channel was still explosive. Except for the channels of global idols, he was almost in the first place as an actor.

Kang Woo-jin was currently in Japan, but.

『[Star Talk] Kang Woo-jin, Exploding in Popularity in Korea and Japan, Nears 20 Million SNS Followers in His Second Year Since Debut』

It was no different from being in Korea. There were so many projects he was involved in, and several issues were still popping up.

About a month had passed like that.

It was already the last day of February. Sunday, February 28th. The spring season was just around the corner.

『[Photo] Kang Woo-jin Enters Departure Hall for 2nd Shoot of ‘Our Table’ / Photo』

Around this time, Kang Woo-jin was on a plane.

Two days later, in LA.

March 2nd. It was around morning. A large van was driving on a busy road. Inside the van, there were about six people, and the most noticeable was a black, giant figure.

It was Hollywood’s famous producer, Joseph Felton.

He was wearing dress pants but a comfortable t-shirt on top, and he was muttering while looking at a tablet.

“Robert, the schedule in Korea is confirmed without any problems, right?”

The bald foreigner sitting next to him answered.

“Yes. Arriving in Korea on the 3rd, meetings with distributors from the 4th. And on the 8th…”

“I’m thinking of going to director Ahn Ga-bok’s set first.”

“Joseph, have you contacted them?”

“Yes. I’ve already done it. I’ll have to do it again when I arrive in Korea.”

Joseph, who was smirking, put down the tablet he was looking at and changed the subject.

“Is Kang Woo-jin in LA right now?”

“According to our confirmation, yes. I understand he’s revisiting for the second shoot of the TV show. Are you sure you don’t want to see him before you go? We can change the flight time.”

“No. It’s better to meet him in Korea. I want to see him as an actor, not for the TV show.”

“······I heard that his cooking is being sold as a product in Korea, and the piano performance I saw on YouTube the other day as well. Videos are also constantly being uploaded to Kang Woo-jin’s YouTube channel. I acknowledge that he’s multi-talented, but he only has one body, doesn’t he? With so many side activities, I wonder if his acting tension has naturally dropped.”

Joseph, who had crossed his huge, long legs, folded his arms. The muscles in his forearms bulged.

“Well, that’s usually the case, but I think Kang Woo-jin might be different. Above all, Megan Stone, who has worked with so many Hollywood top actors, called him a ‘star.’ There must be something different from the energy I saw.”

The bald Robert scratched his head. He didn’t quite understand it yet. Rather, he changed his words at the mention of Megan Stone’s name.

“Come to think of it, didn’t Megan say she was going to Korea soon?”

“Hmm. She’s going to attend the Baeksang Film Awards in Korea in mid-March. Anyway, her work on ‘Last Kill 3’ is pretty much done, and I think she’s going to go while working on other projects.”

“She went to Japan last time, and now it’s Korea.”

“To become a successful caddie [a person who provides assistance to actors] in Hollywood, you need to have accurate information on numerous actors around the world. Well, this trip to Korea seems to be because of Kang Woo-jin, no matter how you look at it.”

Joseph chuckled and picked up the tablet again, muttering.

“Let’s think about going to the Baeksang Awards if our schedule allows.”

They boarded a flight to Korea from LA International Airport around late lunch.

Several days later.

Late at night on the 4th, when Joseph Felton arrived in Korea and started his schedule.

A group of people came out of the arrival hall, which was overflowing with many reporters and onlookers. There were easily dozens of them. At the head of the group was PD Yoon Byung-sun.

That’s right, the group was the ‘Our Table’ team.

-Flash! Flash! Flash!

-Flash! Flash! Flash!

Even though it was night, the shutter sounds of the reporters who had gathered were incessant, and the flashing lights were directed at the cast of ‘Our Table.’ The cast of ‘Our Table,’ who were wearing hats or masks, all parted ways at a designated spot.

Among them.

-Click!

A black-haired man got into a black van at the airport entrance.

‘This is freaking exhausting, seriously. Flying is not my thing.’

He was someone who had a different core inside, but on the outside, he looked solemn and perfectly fine. Then, a few people got into the van, and Choi Sung-gun, who had a ponytail and was sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and said.

“Woo-jin, there’s also the ‘Island of the Missing’ production presentation tomorrow, and the ‘Leech’ script reading on the 6th, so I haven’t scheduled anything until 2 pm tomorrow. Go home and get some rest.”

The lid of March, where many things would begin, had been opened.

“Yes, CEO.”

After finishing the second shoot of ‘Our Table.’

『[Photo] Kang Woo-jin Arrives in Korea After Finishing ‘Our Table’ Shoot, Greets Reporters and Fans Calmly / Photo』

『’Issue Monster’ Kang Woo-jin Returns to Korea, Known Schedule Includes ‘Leech’ First Shoot and Baeksang Awards Ceremony, and More.』

Kang Woo-jin had returned to Korea.

End