I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 299

[‘The reading (experience) of A: Jang Yeon-woo is complete.’]

With the robotic woman’s voice as the last sound, Kang Woo-jin returned to reality. That is, his own home. In his hand, he still held the ‘Beneficial Evil’ script with the black square attached, and he was wearing comfortable clothes for home, his hair a mess from just waking up.

However.

“…Hoo.”

A tingling sensation ran through Woo-jin’s entire body.

It was quite understandable.

While the world in reality had stopped, Kang Woo-jin had lived as ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ in the world of ‘Beneficial Evil.’ He had smashed the head of a man he didn’t even know. He had slammed him into the ground, crushing his face. He had pierced his chest with an AK rifle. He had broken necks. He had sliced open bellies with a knife. He had gouged out eyes. He had slit throats.

In a short moment, he had annihilated over a dozen people.

He had set buildings on fire and navigated roads where bullets rained down like hail. Cars had exploded. Helicopters had crashed. And in the process, he had blown up a few more heads.

It was beyond violent.

These were things that could never be experienced in reality, even if he died and came back to life, and for Kang Woo-jin, it was a world that was absolutely impossible unless it was a movie or content. Even in the military, such an experience was impossible.

But Woo-jin had lived in that brutal world. He had breathed. He had adapted. He had managed quite well.

‘The explosion still feels real.’

The magnificent flames bursting before his eyes. The sand blowing against his face. The buzzing in his ears. The heat that choked his breath. The explosive force that pushed his body against his will. Absurdly, Woo-jin, who had returned to reality, felt a sense of wonder at the vivid life of ‘Jang Yeon-woo,’ which was still etched deeply into his entire body.

Even the lingering smell of blood or metal.

Does that mean Kang Woo-jin was consumed by the world of ‘Beneficial Evil’? Not at all. Killing or firing guns, etc., were actions that Woo-jin had already done in his past works. The character ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ had simply killed a few more people.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin.

“Yeah, I’m okay now.”

He felt that his mind control was complete. It was no different from before. This time, ‘Beneficial Evil’ was also thoroughly imprinted, like countless other works, but it quickly faded.

Kang Woo-jin unleashed a heavy concept.

He was reminded even more of who he was. His ego became clearer. Numerous characters and worlds existed within him, but it was Kang Woo-jin who commanded them. With that, he put down the script and walked to the bathroom. It was time to take a shower.

At the same time, he thought.

“‘Beneficial Evil’ filming might be fun?”

What if the world of ‘Beneficial Evil,’ which he had directly experienced (reading), was realized in reality? What if ‘Jang Yeon-woo,’ who had the ‘freedom of the role,’ etc., ran wild on that set? Woo-jin realized that he was filled with anticipation even while showering. It was strange. In the past, he had been worried, but now it was hard to find such feelings.

“I’ve become quite the actor, haven’t I?”

There was a tremor, but it was closer to anticipation than fear.

After drying his hair roughly, Woo-jin arrived at the underground parking lot, where a van was waiting for him. As usual, the briefing began with the ponytail, Choi Sung-gun.

“How’s your condition today?”

“No different from yesterday.”

“Heh heh. Good.”

He chuckled and changed the subject.

“I heard from PD [Production Director] Song Man-woo yesterday that they’ve hired an overseas team for the martial arts in ‘Beneficial Evil.'”

“An overseas team?”

“Yeah. I guess they’ll be mixed with the existing martial arts team. That—in the newly added cut, was it ‘CQC’? They said it’s a team that specializes in that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, the original martial arts director can do it, but it wouldn’t be as professional.”

In other words, they were adding professionalism to the choreographed action.

“Anyway, when martial arts practice starts, it’ll be with the existing martial arts team and the overseas team.”

He would probably practice everything from hand-to-hand combat based on the choreography to combat techniques with guns, knives, and other weapons. Well, it was obvious, but Kang Woo-jin wasn’t particularly nervous. Experts? Well, Kang Woo-jin, who was sitting in the van and calmly looking out the window, was a human weapon himself.

Of course, with a switch that he could control at will.

Then, Choi Sung-gun asked Woo-jin again.

“So, do you think you can handle it? A bunch of big guys from the overseas team are coming. They say ‘CQC’ [Close Quarters Combat] is a difficult technique.”

Inside, Kang Woo-jin gave a thumbs up.

‘Piece of cake, that’s nothing.’

On the outside, his usual coolness flowed.

“I’ll have to try it, but I don’t think it’ll be that difficult.”

Choi Sung-gun let out a hollow laugh. Then, he comforted himself internally.

‘Just accept it, don’t question it! Choi Sung-gun. That guy is Kang Woo-jin.’

A few hours later, at writer Choi Na-na’s studio.

Choi Na-na, who had met with Kang Woo-jin a few days ago, was now staring at her laptop.

-Click, click!

She wasn’t writing the script for ‘Beneficial Evil.’ She was looking at an email that had arrived a few minutes ago. The sender was ‘A10 Studio’ in Japan. ‘A10 Studio’ had been sharing the progress of the ‘Best Friend: Remake’ with Choi Na-na, the original author of ‘Best Friend,’ periodically.

This email was the same.

“Wow—the voice recording and mixing are already done.”

It was something that had already been made public in the media, but Choi Na-na, who had been busy with the additional writing of ‘Beneficial Evil,’ had just found out. Soon, she skimmed through the contents of the email shared by ‘A10 Studio.’

-Swish.

She closed the email window and opened a search engine. It was to do a search. The search term was, of course, ‘Best Friend: Remake.’ Usually, there wouldn’t be many articles about Japanese anime in Korea, but because Kang Woo-jin was the male lead voice actor in ‘Best Friend: Remake,’ there were quite a few articles.

Some articles were written with just anticipation, while others conveyed facts by analyzing the Japanese media directly.

After reading the articles intently for a while, Choi Na-na took off her round glasses and let out a short breath.

“Hoo—I’m nervous.”

These days, Choi Na-na’s life was, in a way, golden. Her debut work, ‘Best Friend,’ was being remade into a Japanese anime, and at the same time, ‘Beneficial Evil’ was aiming for the world. For her, who was an unknown or rookie writer until last year, it was like walking in a dream.

And Kang Woo-jin was involved in both projects.

“The PD said it would be fine and not to worry.”

Choi Na-na, who was naturally naive, was full of worries. On the other hand, the bearded PD Song Man-woo said with a strange tone.

‘Ah, it’ll be fine. We have Kang-totem.’

It was completely nonchalant.

What on earth was Kang-totem?

Anyway, Choi Na-na slowly closed her laptop and looked up. She saw the familiar ceiling. At the same time, she remembered Kang Woo-jin from the meeting a few days ago. More precisely, the short conversation she had with him.

It started with Choi Na-na timidly speaking first.

“Um… Woo-jin.”

Kang Woo-jin, who was about to leave the meeting room, replied in a low tone.

“Yes, writer.”

As Choi Sung-gun, who had checked the situation, left, Choi Na-na spoke again in a barely audible voice.

“It’s a bit strange to ask this at the ‘Beneficial Evil’ meeting—but, how did you feel when you were recording the voice acting for ‘Best Friend: Remake’?”

“If you’re asking about my feelings.”

“Just… the feeling of the voice actors or the atmosphere of the production. I’ve been receiving emails, but since Woo-jin experienced it directly on set. If you’ve done the voice recording, the video must be made already, right?”

“Yes. I recorded my voice while watching the completed animation.”

“Wow. How, how was it?? Did it turn out well?”

After a brief silence, Kang Woo-jin shook his head.

“I can’t tell you the details.”

“I guess not.”

“But it was quite fun in my eyes.”

“Re, really?”

“Yes.”

“It’ll be fine.”

“How—how are you always so confident, Woo-jin?”

“Well, it’s just a feeling.”

Choi Na-na was dumbfounded. On the other hand, Kang Woo-jin left the meeting room with a relaxed and solemn face. Watching his back, Choi Na-na muttered.

“…A feeling? What feeling?”

She had no idea that he was the SS-class [highest rank] of ‘Best Friend: Remake.’

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Japan.

Inside a medium-sized studio that served as a recording room and testing facility within ‘A10 Studio,’ a huge animation production company located near Tokyo Station, many people gathered.

The first thing that caught the eye were the voice actors sitting in chairs.

From Natsumi Umi, who played the female lead in the anime ‘Best Friend: Remake,’ to Asami Saya, who had a deep connection with Woo-jin, dozens of voice actors who had gathered during the script reading were seated. Only Kang Woo-jin was missing.

They all had serious expressions.

“…”

“…”

“…”

With those expressions, they were looking at the large monitor in front of them. Near the monitor stood Sakuichi Mahiro, the general director of ‘Best Friend: Remake,’ and several others besides the key staff. Of course, executives from ‘A10 Studio’ were also present.

At that moment.

“Then, let’s begin.”

A woman standing near the entrance of the studio turned off the lights. She was the team leader of the planning team who had been handling ‘Best Friend: Remake.’

-Tap, tap!

Soon, a moderate darkness settled over the entire studio. And everyone gathered kept their mouths shut. The unified action was to look at the large monitor in front.

Soon after.

-♬♪

The audio started to play loudly before the screen. It was the official OP [opening song] of ‘Best Friend: Remake.’ It was a song that started with a piano melody, sped up the tempo, and added a violin. Then, a male vocal came in. Of course, it was Kang Woo-jin’s voice.

-♬♪

As Kang Woo-jin’s OP played in the studio, the opening cuts of the anime were displayed on the large monitor. It was ‘Best Friend: Remake.’ The opening’s running time was about 30 seconds. During the OP, the expressions of the dozens of voice actors gradually brightened. Some even nodded their heads to the rhythm.

Soon after.

-Swoosh.

The OP stopped, and the content of ‘Best Friend: Remake’ began to play in earnest. The voice actors’ eyes widened. It was inevitable. What they were watching now was the completed first episode of ‘Best Friend: Remake,’ from the voice actors’ mixing to the final editing.

In other words, this was a test screening of the completed version before the broadcast.

There were no visible flaws. At least, that’s how it seemed to the voice actors. Since they were the eyes of those who had worked on dozens of projects, their judgment would be accurate.

‘Sengoku Tooru,’ the male lead of ‘Best Friend: Remake,’ appeared.

Kang Woo-jin’s voice played underneath.

The voice actors realized it again.

‘He’s good, I feel it even more strongly now that I’m seeing the finished product.’

‘His tone matches the main character perfectly.’

‘Who would see him as an actor… he’s 100% a voice actor.’

That Kang Woo-jin’s voice acting skills were absurd. And so, the first episode of ‘Best Friend: Remake’ ended. The running time was roughly 24 minutes. The second episode was played immediately after, and the second episode was about 18 minutes, shorter than the first.

Before the third episode was played.

-Swish.

The director, who was sitting in front of the monitor equipment, turned his head to the voice actors behind him.

“How is it?”

He was asking for their evaluation before watching the third episode. What was interesting was that applause suddenly erupted among the voice actors.

-Clap clap clap clap!

It was applause that was more of an honest feeling than intentional. The applause gradually spread throughout the studio, and the voice actors each expressed their impressions of the completed first and second episodes in excited Japanese.

“It’s good?! It’s so good!”

“The animation is really well done? Honestly, in terms of the art, it’s the best among recent works??”

“It’s been a while since a proper rom-com [romantic comedy] came out!”

“It’s fun, it’s fun even though I recorded the voice!”

“But isn’t the OP and EP [ending song] amazing? It’s already stuck in my head.”

“Yeah, I especially like the OP. Kang Woo-jin’s vocals are definitely charming.”

“I have a feeling! The OP will top the charts as soon as the anime airs!”

The voice actors were excitedly chattering. They weren’t exaggerating. The executives of ‘A10 Studio,’ which was among the top 3 in the industry, also had very satisfied expressions. Even in the eyes of veterans, the quality and completeness of ‘Best Friend: Remake’ were considerable.

The female team leader of the planning team, who had been quietly watching from the entrance, suddenly interjected.

“The day it tops the charts isn’t far away. The broadcasting station is TBE, and the first episode will air on Monday, July 12th, at 10 PM.”

In fact, the day ‘Best Friend: Remake’ would be revealed was just around the corner.

“There are about 30 competing works in this third quarter.”

A fierce battlefield was expected.

Incheon Airport.

At the crowded arrival hall, a group of foreigners appeared. Men with buzz cuts, bulky builds, or solid muscles. As the group of about five foreigners appeared in the arrival hall, a Korean man near the rope fence greeted them.

Upon closer inspection, the Korean was a staff member from ‘Beneficial Evil.’

The two teams spoke in English for a while and then moved. The group of foreigners split into two large vans parked on the side of the airport. Three foreigners got into the front van. A buzz-cut man, a bear-like man, and a man with a large nose. After everyone boarded, the two vans departed, and the man with the large nose in the front van spoke in English.

“It’s hot, I didn’t expect it to be this hot.”

The other two foreign men nodded in agreement.

“I heard about it, but it’s more than that.”

“Still, it seems better than Japan last year, right?”

It seemed like the man with the large nose was the leader. He was sitting by the window, of average build but with solid muscles, and he held out his hand to the buzz-cut man on his right.

“Let me see the materials we received.”

The buzz-cut man took out a tablet from the backpack he had placed in front of him. He manipulated something, and a video was displayed. What was interesting was that the person in the video was Kang Woo-jin. To be clear, it was Woo-jin from the past, showing off his martial arts practice at an action school.

“Hmm-”

The man with the large nose, who was carefully watching Kang Woo-jin in the tablet, muttered softly.

“His form is good, but… it’s hard to judge without seeing him in person.”

“But it seems like he has more than the basics down.”

“But with just the basics, it’ll take a long time to implement ‘CQC.'”

“I heard that there isn’t much time left until the filming date. Hmm—if it’s difficult, we’ll have to compromise with the direction.”

In fact, they were a Hollywood stunt coordinator team hired by ‘Beneficial Evil.’ Then, the man with the large nose, who was stroking his chin, spoke again.

“Looking at the video, I don’t see the greatness that ‘Gary Peck’ was talking about.”

The ‘Gary Peck’ he mentioned was a very successful stunt coordinator in Hollywood who had experienced Kang Woo-jin during the screen test for ‘Last Kill 3.’

“Did they say that we’re meeting this actor Kang Woo-jin in the afternoon?”