I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 297

When Kang Woo-jin first arrived at the large warehouse-style studio complex, he was honestly a bit surprised.

‘Whoa—it’s bigger than I thought!’

He had expected a simple character shoot at a modest studio, but upon arrival, it felt like a major production set.

‘Well, they probably didn’t rent the entire warehouse.’

Woo-jin quickly calmed his slight surprise and put on his usual composed demeanor. Then, Choi Sung-gun and the team members joined Kang Woo-jin as he got out of the van. Choi Sung-gun, who had adjusted his ponytail, spoke up.

“Did you hear about today’s character shoot concept?”

“Yes, sir.”

“They’ll give you the storyboard when you arrive anyway, but it’s nothing difficult. It’s just a promotional shoot to introduce the actors, you know? Just a few lines of greetings and comments. It won’t take long.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and after this shoot, there’s a meeting with PD [Production Director] Song Man-woo. Keep that in mind. I think he’ll be talking about the script and overseas locations.”

Woo-jin, with no change in his firm expression, simply nodded slowly. As they got closer to the warehouse studio, Han Ye-jung, with her blue bobbed hair, approached Kang Woo-jin.

“Oppa, just a moment.”

As the head stylist, she was checking Woo-jin’s outfit. Even the smallest details that a normal person wouldn’t notice were a big deal to her. Soon, after finishing the outfit adjustment, Han Ye-jung spoke to Woo-jin in her usual blunt tone.

“I should have gone with a dandy look instead of casual today.”

“I like it.”

“It’s fine because you have a good figure, but you heard there are a lot of actors here today, right? From no-names and rookies to supporting and top-tier actors, they’re all coming. I think it’s too casual.”

“It’s okay.”

“Really? It’s fine if you like it.”

Behind Han Ye-jung, who was brushing back her bobbed hair, the stylist team members chimed in.

“It’s not too casual, but not too heavy either. I think it’s perfect? Didn’t you say that Woo-jin oppa’s [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend] vibe is low-key, so even casual looks have a high-class feel?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“And it’s not just the outfit, Woo-jin oppa’s presence is insane. The other actors will be immediately overwhelmed by him, right?”

“Right! If I were a no-name or rookie actor, I’d freeze up looking at him!”

Listening to their words, Kang Woo-jin thought to himself. ‘Ah, should I amp up the intensity a bit more than usual?’ Come to think of it, he heard there would be many new actors at this shoot. There would be some familiar faces, but most would be no-names and rookies.

‘It’s a subtle battlefield, better to overdo it than be careless.’

Kang Woo-jin increased the intensity of his persona. It was then that he entered the warehouse studio.

“Kang Woo-jin has arrived!!”

The shout of the ‘Beneficial Evil’ production team staff echoed loudly. At the same time, Woo-jin briefly scanned the interior of the warehouse studio. The scale was considerable for a short shoot. There were about a hundred staff members, a lot of filming equipment, and.

‘Wow—are those people sitting there actors? There are way more than I thought.’

The actors filled dozens of temporary chairs on one side. There were easily more than 20 of them. All those no-name and rookie actors were awkwardly standing up and looking at Kang Woo-jin. Or rather, were they spacing out?

At that moment.

“Woo-jin.”

A familiar voice reached Kang Woo-jin as he passed through the entrance. It was the bearded PD Song Man-woo, accompanied by several staff members. He looked happy, with a smile on his face.

“Hahaha, why does it feel like it’s been so long? Ah—has it really been a while?”

“Hello, PD-nim.”

After a brief handshake with Woo-jin, PD Song Man-woo started a casual chat.

“Congratulations on reaching 20 million viewers.”

“Thank you.”

“Well—I thought it would reach 20 million. Still, Woo-jin, you never do anything ordinary.”

Behind him, the key staff also congratulated Kang Woo-jin, and PD Song Man-woo continued the conversation with recent news about Kang Woo-jin, such as the donation to Jinju.

That went on for about five minutes.

PD Song Man-woo finally got to the main point and began briefing about today’s shoot. As he had already been informed, it wasn’t a difficult shoot.

“You’ve probably seen it before, Woo-jin. Think of it as a promotional video that comes out before the teaser or trailer, a warm-up. It’s an introduction of the actors, an introduction.”

PD Song Man-woo said, flipping through a few pages of the storyboard. Then, he started walking around the warehouse studio with Woo-jin. When they got closer to the area where dozens of no-name and rookie actors were gathered, the bearded PD Song Man-woo grinned.

“These are the core members of our ‘Beneficial Evil.’ Ah, and our Woo-jin is the heart.”

‘What nonsense,’ he thought, feeling embarrassed. Kang Woo-jin ignored his comment and lowered his voice.

“It’s my first time meeting everyone. What about the others?”

“Who? Ah—Hwa-rin or the main actors? They’re on their way. Shall we have a quick greeting before that?”

As Kang Woo-jin and PD Song Man-woo approached, the no-name and rookie actors sitting on the temporary chairs began to stand up one by one. As Woo-jin got closer, their reactions varied.

‘I, I’m going crazy!’

‘I’m so nervous—so nervous!’

‘What? His physique is more ordinary than I thought.’

‘The main lead… the atmosphere on set definitely changed after Kang Woo-jin arrived.’

‘No way?! How is that the presence of a two-year actor!’

‘Don’t be intimidated! He’s just another actor!’

Shock, jealousy, confusion, and so on.

On the other hand, Kang Woo-jin.

“······”

He remained calm, with no significant change in his demeanor.

Soon.

—Swish.

Kang Woo-jin stood in front of the actors. He scanned them slowly. It was stiff, one might say. So, the no-name and rookie actors wondered if they should greet him first.

However.

“Hello.”

With an indifferent face, Woo-jin suddenly bowed 45 degrees to the actors. It was a gesture full of respect.

“I’m Kang Woo-jin, please take care of me.”

The no-name and rookie actors were surprised, their eyes wide open. Some of them even bowed in response to Woo-jin. The reason was simple. It was an unexpected situation. Of course, the bearded PD Song Man-woo was the same. But he soon smiled.

‘This must be what the kids these days call “strong-strong-weak-weak.” He seems arrogant but keeps the line. He really knows how to play with people.’

At the same time, a woman with round glasses entered the warehouse studio, panting.

“Huff, thank goodness. I’m not late.”

It was Choi Na-na, the writer of ‘Beneficial Evil.’ She received greetings from the staff and then found Kang Woo-jin with PD Song Man-woo.

“Ugh—you’ve become even more handsome.”

She had two scripts tucked under her arm.

Behind them.

Kang Woo-jin finished greeting the no-name and rookie actors. In the past, he might have been a little nervous at this point, but now he was composed. This was nothing. However, some of the actors caught Woo-jin’s eye.

A short, cute-faced actress and a handsome actor whose eyes sparkled when he looked at him.

The actress was staring at Kang Woo-jin with a blank expression.

‘What’s with that, her eyes are scary. She’s a main character.’

The handsome actor with a kind face looked like he was about to hug Woo-jin.

‘I strangely want to run away.’

The introductions of the two began with PD Song Man-woo. He introduced the actors who would be frequently interacting with Kang Woo-jin among the no-name and rookie actors.

“This actress is Lim Hae-eun. She passed the large-scale audition. She’s a very good actress. Contrary to her appearance, she also has a dark image.”

Lim Hae-eun, who was short and cute, greeted Woo-jin calmly. Her voice was unexpectedly gloomy.

“Hello.”

Kang Woo-jin, slightly surprised inside, also greeted her casually.

“Nice to meet you.”

After the greeting, Lim Hae-eun stared at Woo-jin again. Normally, one might just ignore it, but Kang Woo-jin, with his intense persona, didn’t let it slide. No backing down.

“Why?”

“···It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”

“I’m just curious.”

PD Song Man-woo interjected. He whispered in Kang Woo-jin’s ear.

“Her mother is a shaman.”

A shaman? Wow—first time seeing one. ‘It’s not me who’s curious, it’s you who’s curious?’ However, Woo-jin, without changing his expression, commented to Lim Hae-eun.

“It’s not a curious eye, but a divine eye.”

“······”

To change the atmosphere, PD Song Man-woo pointed to another actor. It was Jo Mu-chan, who had been fidgeting since earlier.

“This is actor Jo Mu-chan. Woo-jin, you know teacher Jeon Mun-guk, right? Of course, you would, he’s so famous. He’s from his theater group. In other words, he’s teacher Jeon Mun-guk’s direct disciple.”

Jeon Mun-guk, a top-tier veteran actor. Of course, Kang Woo-jin knew him. It wasn’t that he had seen his works, but that every citizen of Korea would know Jeon Mun-guk. At this point, Jo Mu-chan, who was about the same height as Woo-jin, spoke with difficulty. He stuttered.

“H-hello! I’m Jo Mu-chan! I’m a, a fan! I mean, I’m a fan, Kang Woo-jin-nim!”

“Hello.”

Woo-jin, after a casual greeting, briefly scanned Jo Mu-chan. The answer came quickly.

‘He’s so handsome.’

Neatly styled hair, clear skin, distinct features, and a kind image.

‘What should I say—he has that handsome senior from college vibe?’

This one, like Lim Hae-eun, had a unique character, and again, PD Song Man-woo added an explanation in Woo-jin’s ear.

“Don’t you feel a contrasting vibe with Woo-jin? I really liked that. He looks bland at first, but when he starts acting, his energy explodes. As expected of teacher Jeon Mun-guk’s student.”

‘Is that so?’ Woo-jin looked at Jo Mu-chan again. His eyes were sparkling. Well, he certainly had the opposite vibe from the current Kang Woo-jin. Of course, that was with the persona on. Then, PD Song Man-woo continued whispering.

“Ah—and. Jo Mu-chan’s role model is Woo-jin. I heard during the meeting that he’s a huge fan. No, it’s like he sees you as a god.”

At this point, Kang Woo-jin understood why Jo Mu-chan’s eyes were sparkling so much.

Anyway.

‘It’s all new in many ways, this project.’

Expectation grew in Kang Woo-jin’s heart. Should he say he’s gained some experience? In previous projects, there were always formidable top stars, but this time, Kang Woo-jin was the most prominent.

‘Well, I just have to act as usual.’

At that moment.

“Hwa-rin has arrived!!”

Hwa-rin, Ha Kang-soo, and other main actors of ‘Beneficial Evil’ began to arrive.

“Ah! Woo-jin! Ah, ahem. Woo-jin-ssi, haven’t you been out of touch?”

“Is that so?”

“I only get to confirm you’re alive through the news.”

The character shoot for ‘Beneficial Evil’ began in earnest.

On the same day, early afternoon.

As scheduled, the character shoot for ‘Beneficial Evil’ didn’t take long. Especially, Kang Woo-jin’s cuts were finished in less than two hours. That was because he started first. In the meantime, Woo-jin went to another schedule and was now in the meeting room of Netflix Korea.

Of course, there were several people in the meeting room.

Kang Woo-jin, Choi Sung-gun, Kim So-hyang, the general director, the bearded PD Song Man-woo, Choi Na-na the writer, and the production manager of ‘Beneficial Evil.’ Of course, they had all gathered after finishing the character shoot in the morning. Kang Woo-jin, who hadn’t been in the glass meeting room with many hit posters for a while.

‘It’s been a while—here.’

He maintained a poker face while reminiscing about the past. Meanwhile, Kim So-hyang, who was a bit plump, was talking to Song Man-woo and then made eye contact with Woo-jin across the table. She added a smile.

“Woo-jin-ssi, I’ve been seeing your success in the news. Ah! And congratulations on ‘Island of the Missing’ reaching 20 million viewers.”

When Kang Woo-jin gave a brief answer, Kim So-hyang’s smile deepened.

“I hope our ‘Beneficial Evil’ will be a big hit too.”

The production manager chimed in.

“Hahaha, with our ‘Midas Touch’ Kang Woo-jin, what’s there to worry about?”

Kang Woo-jin also nodded. Of course, internally.

‘I agree. Beneficial Evil is SSS+ grade.’

But Woo-jin, who couldn’t say it out loud, answered calmly.

“We have to work hard.”

It was a casual answer, but for some reason, Song Man-woo and Kim So-hyang felt very reassured by Woo-jin.

‘If that monster works hard, there’s nothing to worry about.’

‘He’s not the Midas Touch, he’s the Kang Totem.’

At this point, Choi Na-na, who was still feeling timid, pushed two books towards Kang Woo-jin, adjusting her round glasses.

“Woo-jin-nim, I’m sorry for being late. These are the scripts for episodes 1 and 2, including the added scenes.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s almost the same as the original script, just check the added scenes.”

The bearded PD Song Man-woo added.

“You’ve seen the materials we sent about the overseas locations. First, check the script and feel free to let us know if you have any opinions, Woo-jin-ssi.”

He also added that if there were no particular opinions, there would be frequent rehearsals and practice with the martial arts director for the overseas location action scenes before the script reading. Of course, they would adjust to Kang Woo-jin’s schedule.

At this point, Kang Woo-jin.

—Swish.

He had pulled the revised script of ‘Beneficial Evil’ with a black square attached. He pretended to listen to people’s conversations, but in fact, Woo-jin’s index finger was already moving.

—Poke.

Why? To enter the subspace. He was a bit tired, and he also needed to replace the revised ‘Beneficial Evil’ script. Anyway, Woo-jin, who had entered the endlessly dark subspace.

“Haaam—”

Stretched and yawned. His persona was quickly shed. In that state, he walked towards a place where several white squares were lined up. As expected, the white squares of ‘Beneficial Evil’ had the existing ones and the new ones listed separately.

Since he had experienced this before, Woo-jin casually deleted the existing white squares of ‘Beneficial Evil.’

“Episodes 1 and 2—did I read (experience) them quite a while ago?”

After finishing the cleanup, Woo-jin touched the newly added one.

-[9/Script (Title: Beneficial Evil), SSS+ Grade]

-(Episode 1)/(Episode 2)/(Episode 3)······

-[*This is a drama script with very high completion. 100% reading is possible.]

He touched the white square of ‘Beneficial Evil’ that had given him the ‘Martial Arts’ ability. To be precise, it was episode 1.

-[Lists the characters available for reading (experience).]

He had already finished reading (experiencing) it in the past, but he needed to check the newly added cuts. Well, he could read the actual script later. Kang Woo-jin, as expected, chose ‘Jang Yeon-woo,’ the male lead of ‘Beneficial Evil.’

And then.

[“······”]

The robotic woman’s voice, which he had been waiting for, uttered an unexpected comment.

[“Abilities beyond the basic specs are detected. ‘CQC’ will be acquired first.”]

Kang Woo-jin’s brow furrowed immediately.

“What?? What is that! No, what is ‘CQC’?”

It was a word he had never heard before.

End