I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 259

“Whoa!” Kang Woo-jin internally screamed as his legs tangled and he stumbled. He was about to fall flat on his face.

‘Ugh! Hold on, hold on! Just a second!’

His current concept was intense. If he fell like this, he’d have to maintain a serious expression, but he’d look utterly ridiculous. The hundreds of reporters would be snapping away, thinking they’d hit the jackpot.

The thought alone was horrifying.

But Woo-jin’s body had already lost its balance and was falling forward. “Whoa, hold on!” At that moment, Kang Woo-jin stretched out his arm with all his might. He saw the Baeksang [a prestigious South Korean awards ceremony] logo panel to his immediate left.

-Thwack!

He grabbed it. He managed to hold on without falling. An ordinary person would have fallen for sure, but because Kang Woo-jin had ‘martial arts’ ingrained in his being, he was able to react with such agility.

‘Hah! Crazy, I almost screwed up big time.’

The problem was what came next. Clearly, Kang Woo-jin’s current posture was unnatural. If he awkwardly pretended that nothing had happened, he would look just as ridiculous as if he had fallen.

Kang Woo-jin came up with a solution using extreme audacity.

-Swish.

As if flowing like water, he reached out his hand to the logo panel as if all his previous motions had been completely natural. To be clear.

“Kyaa!! Wow!! Woo-jin-nim!! I’m a huge fan!!”

“Thank you.”

He took the phone from a fan who was reaching out and took a picture. Then, he signed autographs for the fans around him. How was that? Natural, right? He replaced falling with fan service. Like a snake slithering over a wall. Woo-jin, who had barely overcome a slight crisis, greeted the fans with a touch of cynicism and walked the red carpet again.

Somehow, the red carpet now looked like a passage to hell in Kang Woo-jin’s eyes.

‘Ugh—I feel like throwing up.’

Anyway, thankfully.

-Swish.

Kang Woo-jin, who had passed through the long, hellish red carpet, reached the entrance of the hall. After a short photo op and a brief interview with the organizers, Kang Woo-jin entered Hall D, where the awards ceremony would be held. The interior was, as expected, jaw-dropping. Kang Woo-jin’s mouth dropped open. Of course, only inwardly.

‘It’s so huge—crazy, how many giant screens are there??’

The main hall had well over a thousand seats. There were more than five giant screens on the front stage, and the lights on the ceiling and around the stage illuminated the area. Broadcasting teams were filming it, and numerous celebrities who had arrived earlier were busy greeting each other.

It was still before the awards ceremony, so the atmosphere was a bit casual.

Kang Woo-jin, standing at the entrance of the hall, was a little hesitant to squeeze into that vast space. Would he stand out? But no way.

“Hello, Woo-jin-ssi!”

Actors who recognized Kang Woo-jin as he entered approached him. Woo-jin flinched subtly. They were actors he was seeing for the first time in person, but they approached him as if they knew him well, acting friendly.

“I really enjoyed ‘Drug Dealer’! Are you filming ‘Leech’ well?”

“Ah—yes.”

“But do you have any of those cup noodles left? I can’t buy them anywhere.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any either.”

It was Hong Hye-yeon who saved Woo-jin, having just entered the hall. Hong Hye-yeon, wearing a black, shoulder-revealing dress, stuck close to Woo-jin.

“What are you doing here?”

Woo-jin, trying to ignore her pleasant scent, replied in a low voice.

“Just greeting people.”

“If you get caught here, there’s no way out. Let’s go to our seats first.”

“Okay.”

Hong Hye-yeon pulled Woo-jin’s arm while also giving a final greeting to the actors. But the path to their seats was not smooth. So many people were greeting them. The ‘Frozen Romance’ team, whom he hadn’t seen in a while, the ‘Drug Dealer’ team, including Jin Jae-joon, and so on. Along the way, he met Ryu Jung-min and they joined them. There were also many people from the variety show scene, making it chaotic.

He also had brief conversations with PD [Production Director] Yoon Byung-sun and other PDs.

There were also many broadcasters, comedians, and idols.

He had seen them all on TV or in articles, but they were all unfamiliar to Kang Woo-jin.

‘So fascinating.’

It was unique. Maybe it was because there were so many celebrities everywhere? Kang Woo-jin was gradually becoming desensitized to seeing them. In the midst of it all, he met Hwa-rin.

“Woo-jin-ssi, the tuxedo—it suits you well.”

“Yes, Hwa-rin-ssi too. Your dress is beautiful.”

“Oh, really? Hmm! Oh, by the way, I tried the cup noodles yesterday. It was really hard to buy, but it was good, wasn’t it?”

“Is that so?”

He also greeted Director Ahn Ga-bok, whom he had seen yesterday, and Director Kwon Gi-taek, who was in the final stages of post-production, as well as other directors. Just the conversations and casual greetings were exhausting. Well, looking at it this way, Kang Woo-jin’s influence was completely different from the past.

But.

“Oh my—Kang Woo-jin-ssi? Hahaha, it’s nice to meet you.”

The people sticking to Kang Woo-jin were endless.

At this time,

Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, was in the lobby on the first floor, not in the Baeksang Awards hall.

“Okay—the atmosphere is great.”

He was monitoring various things. Of course, Han Ye-jung, Jang Su-hwan, and the rest of Woo-jin’s team were doing the same. Monitoring was something they always did, but currently, it was related to Kang Woo-jin’s ‘Gimjaban Makguksu’ [a type of Korean cold buckwheat noodles] that had opened yesterday.

“The community is almost saturated, right? There are tons of posts, whether it’s praise or criticism. Wow—a separate gallery has even been created??”

“The SNS side has also increased much more than yesterday! The tags and shares have multiplied!”

“What about YouTube?”

“The videos from the YouTubers who received ads are being uploaded.”

Just one day after the official sales began, the ‘Gimjaban Makguksu’ cup noodles were on the path to becoming a huge hit.

The YouTubers, who lead trends, were proof of that.

If something was even slightly hot, YouTubers would flock to it for views. They called it ‘inserting a straw,’ and when interest was high, they would all produce related content.

Currently, that was the case with Woo-jin’s ‘Gimjaban Makguksu’ cup noodles.

-!Urgent! The so-called Kang Woo-jin cup noodles! I finally managed to get and try Gimjaban Makguksu!!｜Pure Review TV

From cooking experts to mukbangs [eating broadcasts], even YouTubers who had nothing to do with food started uploading videos simultaneously. About 30% were YouTubers who had received ads from ‘Nongshim’ [a South Korean food company], but nearly 70% were YouTubers who had jumped in to get views without receiving ads.

-Why can’t I find this? #ColdEvaluation #KangWooJinCupNoodles #GimjabanMakguksu｜Fragrant Lifestyle

-Honest Review of Gimjaban Makguksu｜Sun-guri Princess

-Sold out as soon as it opened???! I also did an open run to buy Kang Woo-jin’s cup noodles!! But how does it taste?!｜Review TV

-I’ll tell you where to get Gimjaban Makguksu in bulk｜Demon King Issue TV

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Authentications, reviews, taste evaluations, ‘I bought it with my own money,’ and so on. The main subject was all the same Kang Woo-jin cup noodles, but the views of the videos with different keywords were soaring. Some had as few as 50,000 views, while others had 300,000, and many had over 700,000 or even 1 million.

It was a similar situation on various video platforms, not just YouTube and Shorts.

This wave, comparable to a tsunami, stimulated the public and fueled their desire to buy.

-Kang Woo-jin’s cup noodles are really delicious, not lying, they’re seriously good… It’s just frustrating that they’re so hard to get….

-No, I can’t buy this Gim-mak cup noodles even if I want to right now.

-This person’s reviews are usually quite critical, but seeing him praise it like this makes me want to try it? So where can I buy Gim-mak cup noodles right now?

-I work the night shift at a convenience store. As soon as the Kang Woo-jin cup noodles came in, they sold out in 5 minutesㅋㅋㅋ People swarmed like zombies.

-I have to do an open run to buy cup noodles… but I failed.

-Oh… for this person to look this disappointed… makes me want to try it?

-0:48 You can see that the noodles aren’t cooked yet, but he’s just inhaling themㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋcrazy

-I think these cup noodles are going to become a trendㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kang Woo-jin is on fire

-As someone who has watched every single one of this guy’s videos, that expression is genuineㅋㅋㅋㅋ It means it’s at least top-tier

YouTube was in chaos, so there was no way SNS would be quiet. The cup noodles, which were already hot due to Kang Woo-jin’s power, had been given a boost.

This was just the beginning, and the impact was already this huge.

The huge success of the cup noodles was directly linked to Kang Woo-jin’s image and recognition, in addition to making money. It was a separate matter from the success of his works.

『Kang Woo-jin’s influence creates a cup noodle shortage… Has there ever been an actor like this?』

Choi Sung-gun had a very pleased expression.

‘Everything he touches is at least a moderate hit. No, a huge hit.’

Even if he only made hits with his works with that crazy sense, he would be carried around on a palanquin [a symbol of high honor], but Kang Woo-jin was casually spreading his enormous influence in other areas as well. As the CEO of an entertainment company, how could he not love him?

And now.

‘He’s definitely going to cause another incident today.’

The Baeksang Awards ceremony was also something to look forward to.

About 20 minutes later.

‘Whew—finally.’

Kang Woo-jin sat in his assigned seat. It was in the middle of the 8th row from the stage. The actors sitting with him were Hong Hye-yeon, Ryu Jung-min, and Lee Han-na. In other words, he was sitting with the BW Entertainment family. Although Ryu Jung-min’s official announcement hadn’t been released yet, it was safe to say he had already joined.

Then.

-Swish.

The white lights on the ceiling illuminated the stage after the overall lighting dimmed slightly. The broadcasting teams around the stage also turned towards the stage, and the nearly thousand audience members, including the actors, also turned their gazes to the front.

-♬♪

A cheerful melody played, and the Baeksang Awards logo was displayed on several giant screens on the stage. The screens opened to both sides, and a male and female actor appeared. The feeling was no different from the Blue Dragon Awards [another prestigious South Korean awards ceremony]. The scripted lines. Then the proceedings.

The first start of the awards was, as expected, the Best Newcomer Award.

However, it was divided into the film and TV categories.

“Now—let’s begin! The Best New Actor Award in the TV category! Let’s meet the nominees!”

The unique thing was.

“Yes! Congratulations! Actor Kang Woo-jin from ‘Frozen Romance’!!”

The Best New Actor Award in the TV category was, as expected, won by Kang Woo-jin, but the work was ‘Frozen Romance,’ not ‘The Free Spirit.’ Of course, Kang Woo-jin’s disability performance in ‘Frozen Romance’ was quite impressive. At the time, the acting community was full of praise, and it had even changed the rankings of past disability performances.

Well, if he received it, that was all that mattered, right? But it was still strange.

Anyway, Kang Woo-jin, who went on stage and added another trophy, gave his acceptance speech calmly. There was no shock or exaggeration like at the Blue Dragon Awards. He simply expressed his gratitude calmly. He even seemed to lack emotion. Some actors whispered among themselves.

“What’s with him? Is he bored of receiving the Best Newcomer Award so many times?”

“Then what should they do? If they give it to someone else besides Kang Woo-jin this year, that would cause a commotion.”

“That’s right. It’s a justified arrogance.”

“His acting is good, but there’s no one else who creates as much buzz as him, right?”

The Best New Actress Award in the TV category followed, and then the Best Newcomer Award in the film category. However, Kang Woo-jin was not nominated for the Best Newcomer Award in the film category. This was something Kang Woo-jin had also agreed on. He had already received many Best Newcomer Awards, and a duplicate image could create a negative impression on the public.

Whatever the case, the Best New Actress Award in the film category was won by Han So-jin.

The Baeksang Awards ceremony proceeded quickly.

Best New Film Director, Best Art Award in Film and TV, Best Screenplay Award in TV, Best Screenplay Award in Film. After the awards party for directors and writers, it was the theater category. The awards ceremony was full of many winners crying and laughing. The last order of the packed first part had arrived.

The order that appeared on the giant screen.

-‘Best Supporting Actor Award in TV’

The male and female actors who had received the Best Supporting Actor Award last year went on stage. Among them, the female actor was Hwa-rin, wearing a white and gray dress. Hwa-rin, with her long hair braided in a single strand, stood in the center of the stage, arm in arm with the male actor. Soon, she moved her red lips as she looked at the cue card.

“The excitement I felt when I received the award on this stage last year is still vivid, and it feels strange to be a presenter myself.”

“Hahaha, is that so? But my hands are also trembling.”

“Shall we meet the nominated actors first?”

“Let’s do it!”

The hall darkened, and the nominated actors began to appear on the giant monitor. One, two, three. The actors sitting in the seats were shown alternately with them in their works.

And the last one.

-‘Kang Woo-jin’ / ‘Profiler Han-ryang’

The image of Park Dae-ri, no, Kang Woo-jin, was displayed proudly. His real appearance, sitting in the middle of the hall, was also captured by the camera. His indifferent face remained unchanged. In an instant, the atmosphere of the entire hall was split in half. Some were slightly agitated, while others watched calmly.

As soon as the image of Park Dae-ri on the giant monitor disappeared.

-Swish.

With the hall lit up, Hwa-rin took out the cue card from the delivered envelope.

“I, I’m so nervous. Really.”

She was sincere. Hwa-rin was experiencing a heart-pounding nervousness, not just reciting scripted lines. Her fan-like feelings were overflowing. The other actors were also great. But please, please. I hope my ultimate bias receives it.

But on the outside, Hwa-rin tried to hide her feelings.

“······”

She swallowed hard and unfolded the folded cue card. Her eyes widened immediately. It lasted for about 5 seconds. Hwa-rin, with shock in her eyes, slowly put her mouth to the front standing microphone, her hand trembling slightly.

Then, unlike her expression, she declared powerfully.

“The Best Supporting Actor Award in the TV category!! Congratulations, really, truly!! Kang Woo-jin from ‘Profiler Han-ryang’!!!”

Suddenly, the dozen or so cameras in the hall focused on Kang Woo-jin. Woo-jin’s cynical face was displayed on all the giant monitors on the stage. At the same time, the eyes of everyone in the awards ceremony audience were fixed on Kang Woo-jin.

-Swish.

On the other hand, Kang Woo-jin simply got up from his seat calmly. Soon, at the result, many actors were gaping as they watched Kang Woo-jin get up.

Simultaneous wins for the Best Newcomer Award and the Best Supporting Actor Award. Moreover, the main character was a second-year actor. It was a very rare occurrence.

No, in the long history of the Baeksang Awards ceremony.

“Wow! Has there ever been a case like this??”

“I—I’m seeing it for the first time?”

“A, amazing.”

Kang Woo-jin was the first.

End