I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 255

After staring blankly at the ceiling for a moment, writer Choi Nana, with her round glasses, slowly lowered her head again. In front of her was her laptop, the cursor blinking on the screen.

Of course, she had just placed a period at the end.

The script she had been working on until just now was the final episode of ‘Beneficial Evil.’ The long, long writing process was over. ‘Beneficial Evil’ had undergone many changes. Ultimately, ‘Beneficial Evil’ concluded with a total of 12 episodes.

Currently, they were hoping for a seasonal format, but that would only be possible if the results were certain.

Anyway, the exhausted writer Choi Nana stared at her laptop for a moment, then suddenly—

*Whoosh!*

She got up from her desk and raised both arms high. Then, she flapped them as if she were doing a bird’s wing dance. She was overwhelmed with emotion. The completion of her first full-length series. It was understandable that she would dance a silent rhythm. It was a good thing there was no one in the studio; if someone had been there, she, with her timid personality, might have quietly shed tears.

Then—

*Swish.*

After enjoying it enough, writer Choi Nana took a small breath and sat back at her desk.

“Am I crazy? Why am I so happy?”

Of course, she had finished the final episode’s script, but this wasn’t the end. She needed the approval of the general director, PD [Production Director] Song Man-woo. Still, with a smile, writer Choi Nana moved her mouse and picked up the phone near her laptop. She moved the mouse to save the file, and she picked up the phone to make a call.

Who would she be calling?

“PD-nim, are you busy?”

It was PD Song Man-woo, the first person she had to share this happy news with. Writer Choi Nana put the phone to her ear. She swallowed nervously, perhaps because she was a bit tense.

At that moment.

“Oh, writer-nim.”

PD Song Man-woo’s slightly excited voice came from the phone, and writer Choi Nana, maintaining her smile, happily spoke.

“PD-nim, I just finished the final episode’s script.”

Immediately, PD Song Man-woo exclaimed.

“Oh! Really? Just now?”

“Yes, yes! Can you come today?”

“Nice, great, great. Today? Well, today is busy, so it’ll be hard. I’ll go to the studio first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, please double-check the final episode’s script.”

“Okay, PD-nim. Oh? But where are you now that you’re so busy?”

At her question, PD Song Man-woo gave a laughing reply from the other end of the phone.

“What else would I be doing? I’m meeting with an actor.”

“Ah! Is it about casting? Sorry, then please call me again when you’re done.”

“Sure thing.”

With that, the call ended abruptly.

At this time, PD Song Man-woo, who had just finished the call with writer Choi Nana, was sitting in a meeting room at an entertainment agency. Or, to be precise, he was in the hallway, and he opened the meeting room door again after putting his phone in his pocket. Inside the meeting room, about five people were seated.

Two were on PD Song Man-woo’s side, and the rest were on the opposite side.

The woman sitting in the middle had a familiar face. The mole under her eye, her long hair reaching her chest, and her loose-fitting black hoodie. It was Hwa-rin. She had basic makeup on, but even so, her beauty was striking.

The people on either side of her were her manager and the head of the management team.

Soon, PD Song Man-woo, who had returned to his seat, asked for understanding.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. It was the writer’s call.”

Hwa-rin, who had covered her hand with her hoodie sleeve, replied.

“The writer? By any chance, is it writer Choi?”

“That’s right, writer Choi Nana. She just finished writing the script.”

“Wow, I should contact her to congratulate her.”

“Haha, the writer will be happy.”

Hwa-rin already had a connection with writer Choi Nana as a ‘guy friend’ [a close, platonic friend], and when the official announcement of ‘Beneficial Evil’ was made, Hwa-rin had contacted writer Choi Nana. However, PD Song Man-woo’s visit was unexpected for Hwa-rin.

“But PD-nim, what brings you here so suddenly?”

PD Song Man-woo, with his stubble, put on a business smile. In fact, he and Hwa-rin weren’t that close. They both knew each other since they were famous, but they had never worked together on a project. PD Song Man-woo handed Hwa-rin a transparent file.

Then, in a serious tone, he said.

“If I’m here at this time, what else could it be? I came to ask if Hwa-rin-ssi would appear in ‘Beneficial Evil.'”

“……Me, me?”

Hwa-rin’s already large eyes widened even more. It was understandable. She had recently tasted bitterness from failing the audition for ‘Leech.’ On the other hand, PD Song Man-woo was calm.

“Yes, Hwa-rin-ssi. However, it won’t be a lead role.”

“Ah—”

“The script’s storyboard is still in progress, so it’s not certain, but the role I’m asking Hwa-rin-ssi to take is probably somewhere between a main and supporting role.”

In other words, he was asking her to join as a supporting role. It was a slightly lower offer for Hwa-rin, who was already among the top idols and actors. Hwa-rin’s chubby manager, sensing this, interjected.

“Well, PD-nim, we are very grateful for the offer. But may I ask why you are considering our Hwa-rin for a supporting role? Is there something lacking?”

PD Song Man-woo, turning his gaze, slightly relaxed his expression and shook his head.

“That’s not it at all. Not at all. It’s not that Hwa-rin-ssi’s form is lacking, and that’s why we lowered the role. To be honest, well, in ‘Beneficial Evil,’ except for Kang Woo-jin-ssi, there are no lead roles.”

“Excuse me?”

At the question, PD Song Man-woo’s gaze returned to Hwa-rin. She still had her eyes wide open, and PD Song Man-woo, making eye contact with Hwa-rin, continued his explanation.

“It’s a bit difficult to reveal everything. Well, to put it vaguely, ‘Beneficial Evil’ has several episodes, and the actors will change for each episode.”

In other words, only Kang Woo-jin, who runs through ‘Beneficial Evil,’ is maintained, and the actors change entirely for each episode. Therefore, most of the actors can only be in supporting roles. PD Song Man-woo added that the scale had grown larger after merging with Netflix and that they were in discussions with several actors, not just Hwa-rin.

“You’ve seen that our ‘Beneficial Evil’ is aiming for a global launch.”

Hwa-rin, who had been listening to the rather long explanation, looked blankly at PD Song Man-woo, but inside, she was thinking about her idol. Her ultimate bias, Kang Woo-jin.

‘…Kang Woo-jin-nim, the only center lead in such a mega-hit project—he’s so cool!’

Hwa-rin, filled with fan spirit, was moved. It was then that PD Song Man-woo opened his mouth.

“Additionally, the reason I thought of Hwa-rin-ssi for this role was because of ‘guy friend.’ I thought it would be perfect to remove the poison from that character’s image.”

PD Song Man-woo gave his conclusion to Hwa-rin, who was tilting her head slightly.

“Although it’s a supporting role, I’m thinking of Hwa-rin-ssi as the villain in the first episode.”

Two days later, on the 8th, Monday.

After the script reading for ‘Leech’ was over. The official first day of filming for ‘Leech’ had arrived. In other words, it was the day of the crank-up [start of filming]. The film industry media was already in an uproar.

『[Movie Talk] ‘Leech’ finishes reading, cranks up today, the 8th, exceptionally in just two days!』

『Finally, the first filming! ‘Leech,’ which the domestic film industry is paying attention to, immediately proceeds with the schedule without a break』

Meanwhile, Kang Woo-jin had arrived at a comprehensive set site in Jeonju. The black van he was in stopped in the outdoor parking lot of the large site.

The reason was simple.

The huge house set for ‘Leech’ had been built on this massive comprehensive set site. Moreover, not only external sets but also internal sets were created here. In short, about 50% or more of the filming for ‘Leech,’ excluding location filming, would take place in Jeonju.

Whatever the case.

*Clunk!*

Kang Woo-jin had just gotten out of the van. Today, his indifference was intense. It was because he had made his concept strong due to the new filming location and environment. The first filming was imminent, but fortunately, Woo-jin wasn’t very nervous. Of course, his heart was pounding, but this was closer to anticipation than nervousness.

He had gotten rid of all the tension at the script reading two days ago.

Then, as Choi Sung-gun and the team who got out of the passenger seat joined him, Kang Woo-jin’s feet moved. As he left the outdoor parking lot, two staff members with intercoms around their necks were waiting at the entrance. As soon as they saw Woo-jin, they rushed over.

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

At the greetings, Kang Woo-jin also silently bowed his head.

“Hello.”

The two staff members were in charge of guiding Woo-jin. Soon, Kang Woo-jin, Choi Sung-gun, and the team passed by the busy staff and arrived in front of a magnificent house. The set or detached house that would be the core of ‘Leech.’ A wide yard with grass, a parking lot with foreign cars, a living room with large windows, and a main house that looked like three buildings combined.

Looking up at the mostly gray-toned house set.

“……”

With a calm face, Woo-jin was making a fuss inside.

‘Wow, damn!! It’s so big! Does a house like this actually exist in Korea??! Anyway, the quality is amazing.’

Behind the huge detached house set, several warehouses were visible. The internal sets were probably located in those warehouses. Of course, currently, the hundred or so staff members of ‘Leech’ were gathered around the house set. A dozen were inside the house, some were in the parking lot, and nearly 20 were in the grassy yard.

Each team and each area were busy doing their own work.

Around this time, an old voice reached Kang Woo-jin from the yard where many chairs and monitors were placed.

“You’ve arrived.”

It was director Ahn Ga-bok, wearing a light padding jacket and holding a script in one hand. He approached Kang Woo-jin with a wrinkled smile.

“How is it? Is the set usable?”

Usable? No? It’s amazing. Woo-jin, who answered inwardly, changed his words outwardly with a brazen face.

“Yes, it looks like it.”

“Okay. How does it feel compared to the scenario?”

He was asking about the synchronization rate. Woo-jin looked up at the set detached house again. It was almost identical. Of course, it was slightly different from the house Woo-jin had seen in the subspace, but that didn’t matter at all.

“I think it’s almost identical.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, with a wrinkled smile, pointed to the back. A large tent was set up outside the filming zone.

“That’s the waiting room. Rest there a bit before changing into your costumes and getting makeup. And—where is Woo-jin-gun’s style manager?”

One of the team members, Han Ye-jeong, with a blank expression, raised her hand.

“That’s me.”

“Let’s talk.”

As if used to it, stylist manager Han Ye-jeong took the ‘Leech’ style book and followed behind director Ahn Ga-bok. Following that, Kang Woo-jin was also guided by a staff member to the actor’s waiting tent. What was left were Choi Sung-gun and a few team members.

Soon, Choi Sung-gun, who was retying his ponytail—

*Swish.*

Looking up at the house in front, he murmured quietly.

“We’re finally filming this.”

About an hour later.

The filming of ‘Leech’ was imminent. Cameras, lighting, audio, props, actors, etc. The setup was almost complete, and director Ahn Ga-bok was briefing the key staff members.

“I’ll say it again, we’re on a tight schedule, so we have no choice but to push ourselves.”

It was a situation where they would have to film all night or take short naps, and director Ahn Ga-bok had to do the preliminary work of editing while reducing those short naps. It was the sound of the gates of hell opening. Director Ahn Ga-bok repeated the same briefing in the actors’ tent as well.

Many actors, including Kang Woo-jin, Shim Han-ho, Oh Hee-ryung, Jin Jae-joon, and Han So-jin, had already arrived at the waiting tent.

Kang Woo-jin listened to director Ahn Ga-bok’s briefing without much thought.

‘Ha—I’m not going to get off work on time today.’

He let out a silent sigh. Well, what could he do? He had already prepared himself, and he had the subspace, so he would somehow manage. Then, director Ahn Ga-bok checked the time before leaving the tent.

“Let’s go to standby in 10 minutes.”

He glanced alternately at the now neat and tidy great actor Shim Han-ho, who had groomed his beard and hair, and Kang Woo-jin. At the same time, he recalled the lines of Joseph Felton, who had contacted him before.

‘It’s because there’s an actor in Korea that I’m interested in.’

At that time, director Ahn Ga-bok was convinced that the Korean actor Joseph was talking about was Shim Han-ho. But now, his thoughts were a little different.

‘It could be Kang Woo-jin.’

This was because the screen test for Kang Woo-jin’s Hollywood movie had recently surfaced. That was enough reason for a famous Hollywood producer to come in person.

‘Interesting, to stand shoulder to shoulder with that Shim Han-ho in his second year—’

Finally, director Ahn Ga-bok, who had been watching the calm Woo-jin, left the tent. The assistant director ran over. Director Ahn Ga-bok quietly instructed him.

“Let’s go to standby in 5 minutes.”

“Yes, sir!”

The assistant director, who answered confidently, ran back among the hundred or so staff members. Soon, director Ahn Ga-bok looked down at his wristwatch and recalled the foreigners who were supposed to come.

“I think they’ve arrived by now.”

Meanwhile, unlike before, the outdoor parking lot was filled with numerous vans, minivans, and minibuses. A group of foreigners suddenly got out of two minibuses that had just arrived. Among them, two were particularly noticeable. A black man close to a giant, and a blonde woman wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask. The group of foreigners, centered around the two, slowly walked towards the set.

They instantly monopolized the gazes of the staff members they passed.

“What, who are those foreigners?”

“More than that, did you see? That blonde over there.”

“No? I only see that huge black guy?”

“Is it some kind of special team that the director called separately?”

Regardless, the group of foreigners reached the entrance of the set detached house as agreed in advance. At this time, in the eyes of the group of foreigners—

“……”

“……”

One of the many actors stood out.

It was Kang Woo-jin, with a poker face, standing on the grass yard.

At that moment—

*Swish.*

As if sensing a presence, Kang Woo-jin suddenly turned his head and checked the foreigners.

“……”

He made eye contact with Joseph and Kara, to be exact.

End