I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 303

It seemed Kang Woo-jin didn’t need them. For Ethan Smith, the leader of the Hollywood stunt team, it was a natural conclusion.

‘Look at him now.’

‘That composure.’

Even after overwhelming four of his team members, Kang Woo-jin’s breathing was steady. There wasn’t a hint of disarray. Though his movements weren’t extensive, they were definitely intense.

In reality, Kang Woo-jin was nonchalantly dusting off his pants.

And the ‘CQC’ [Close Quarters Combat] techniques he had shown.

‘Agility, judgment, counterattacks. And the proficiency in handling swords and guns. Those aren’t things you can learn in a day or two.’

Especially when Ethan saw Kang Woo-jin remove the gun magazine with one hand, he was startled. It was so easy, as if it were his own gun.

Overall, Kang Woo-jin’s skills were hard to comprehend.

Furthermore.

‘Why did they even call us?’

The necessity of his team became questionable. It was completely different from what PD [Production Director] Song Man-woo had said when he hired the team. He had clearly stated, ‘The actor is above average in martial arts but is new to CQC.’ So, the request was to ‘come and improve the quality of the CQC storyboard with training and practice.’ But what was this Kang Woo-jin?

‘How can you call that a beginner?’

The techniques Woo-jin had just demonstrated would have left any of the numerous stunt teams in Hollywood speechless.

At this point, Ethan understood Kang Woo-jin’s initial tone.

‘He wasn’t taking CQC lightly. He was capable of doing it properly.’

That seemingly arrogant demeanor wasn’t him being cocky or haughty, but genuinely relaxed. That’s why he didn’t need to look at the storyboard ‘properly’.

At the same time.

-Swish.

The four team members who had fallen returned to Ethan. Including the bear-like man, all of them had lost their initial vigor. They were somewhat hesitant, glancing at Ethan, their leader. It was natural, as they had been thoroughly defeated, let alone given a chance to show their skills.

“……”

Ethan, with his large nose, scanned his team members without saying much. It wasn’t a look of contempt, but one asking for their impressions. The first to break the silence among the team members was the heavily tattooed man.

“…Ethan, did you know that Kang Woo-jin was from the special forces?”

At that moment, Ethan Smith’s eyes widened again.

“What?”

Meanwhile, Ethan wasn’t the only one whose eyes had widened at the action school. The key staff of ‘Beneficial Evil’ who couldn’t take their eyes off Kang Woo-jin, and Choi Sung-gun standing among them, were the same.

‘…That’s way beyond Hapkido [a Korean martial art]. No, how can you even call that Hapkido at all?!’

The key staff, with their widened eyes, were speechless. They were just staring at Kang Woo-jin in the center of the dazzling stage, and the bearded Song Man-woo PD and the martial arts director at the front had faces that were beyond shock, as if their souls had left their bodies.

Song Man-woo PD muttered quietly, his gaze fixed on Woo-jin.

“What did I just see? No, weren’t most of the things I saw not in the storyboard?”

The martial arts director nodded slowly, sharing a look with Song Man-woo PD.

“That’s right. It wasn’t there. From the beginning, neither Woo-jin nor the stunt team had any of those movements.”

“Then what is it? Did they both improvise the martial arts? But why did it look so natural? Like they had rehearsed it hundreds of times.”

The martial arts director, as if that was important, turned sharply to Song Man-woo PD.

“Song PD, is that what’s important right now?”

He frowned.

“Why is Woo-jin doing ‘CQC’ like he’s been doing it for decades? It was okay during the ‘martial arts’ part, I could just think he was amazing, but this is—it’s unbelievable.”

Song Man-woo PD knew it too. He still wondered if it was a dream. But Kang Woo-jin, whom he had seen so far, was always an anomaly who defied common sense.

“I know, I know. I don’t know.”

“What??! No, man. Most of what Woo-jin showed was martial arts improvisation. That means he competed with a professional stunt team using real ‘CQC’ that wasn’t in the storyboard!”

“I know! But I don’t know.”

“And the ones who got crushed… it wasn’t Woo-jin, but that Hollywood stunt team, you know?”

It was beyond the martial arts director’s comprehension.

“How could Woo-jin possibly overwhelm a veteran Hollywood stunt team who make a living doing that?”

“…Woo-jin’s martial arts are at a high level, so that must be the foundation, and maybe he looked at the storyboard in detail.”

“Does that make sense? ‘CQC’ isn’t some child’s play. What was Woo-jin’s past like that he even knows ‘CQC’?”

“It was the same with ‘martial arts,’ but I don’t know either. I just have to trust him and accept it.”

“…Really?”

“Or are you going to dig into his past or something?”

“N, no, that’s not it.”

Song Man-woo PD, who had been with Kang Woo-jin from the beginning, smiled and muttered.

“Give up on understanding, then it’s easier.”

From here, the key staff around them and the dozens of martial arts team members surrounding the entire action school began to stir.

The murmuring turned into loud voices.

Some raised intense questions, some enthusiastically gave thumbs up, some reacted with a refreshing feeling, and some rubbed their arms as if they were getting goosebumps.

At that moment.

-Swish.

Kang Woo-jin, looking calm, approached Song Man-woo PD. Song Man-woo PD and the martial arts director, who were in the middle of a heated conversation about Woo-jin, flinched. The key staff and martial arts team members around them stared intently at Kang Woo-jin.

On the other hand, Kang Woo-jin’s voice was low and calm.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“…Ah- yes, yes. We just watched, and Woo-jin, you’ve worked hard.”

“Ha…haha. Y, yeah, right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, did you film it?”

Song Man-woo PD was quick to answer.

“Of course, we did. More than that-”

Bearded Song Man-woo PD was about to ask about ‘CQC’ but swallowed his words.

“You must be busy, but you even did an unscheduled test. Still, it must have been a great help to the storyboard revision and the stunt team. Thank you so much.”

The martial arts director chimed in.

“Y, yes, that’s right. Since Woo-jin put so much effort into it, the quality will definitely go up.”

“That’s a relief.”

At this moment, Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, who had grabbed Kang Woo-jin’s blazer in one hand from behind, joined in. He had a serious face.

“Th- PD. Woo-jin has another schedule.”

Song Man-woo PD gestured for him to go quickly.

“Y-yes, yes.”

Kang Woo-jin, with his strong concept, slightly bowed his head.

“I’ll see you at the next practice.”

Kang Woo-jin, receiving his blazer from Choi Sung-gun, moved first, and Choi Sung-gun, watching his back, whispered to Song Man-woo PD.

“PD, wouldn’t it be better to keep this matter quiet?”

“Yes, it would. We can’t completely shut their mouths, but we can keep them quiet to some extent.”

Song Man-woo PD nodded in agreement.

“It’s okay if the rumors spread among one or two people. They’ll think it’s just noise.”

After that.

Kang Woo-jin left the action school. His team should have been in the van before the test started, and Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail, who had run to Woo-jin’s side, stuck close to him.

“Woo-jin, you’ve worked hard.”

“No. It wasn’t difficult.”

Kang Woo-jin was genuinely unconcerned.

‘It was a good experiment and fun. But there’s a possibility of misunderstandings or misinterpretations. Tsk, whatever. We’ll deal with it then.’

Then, Choi Sung-gun let out a small breath and continued.

“What you showed there—can we just understand it as Hapkido?”

Is that okay? Woo-jin lowered his voice and delivered his prepared line. It was a line with a touch of bravado.

“I only looked at the storyboard briefly, but it was easier than I thought.”

“Ah. Yeah, well, it was easier than you thought.”

Of course, it was an absurd answer. But the person was Kang Woo-jin. Choi Sung-gun could only chuckle. His common sense was already different from the norm.

“Still, it was refreshing. Honestly, I thought you might get beaten this time. They’re a Hollywood stunt team, after all.”

“I understand.”

“But you know. It feels stupid to ask this, and I think I’ve said it before.”

“Yes.”

Choi Sung-gun, making eye contact with Woo-jin, who had a strong poker face, forced a smile.

“You—what was it, you weren’t a spy or anything, right? In the past or even now.”

Is that right?! Woo-jin barely suppressed a laugh. He understood Choi Sung-gun’s feelings. Here, Kang Woo-jin suddenly felt playful.

“Actually, I am.”

Choi Sung-gun was genuinely startled.

“Huh?!! Hey! Really?! Wait, wait, wait!! Time, time!”

Kang Woo-jin said in a low voice.

“I’m kidding.”

Choi Sung-gun, who had barely caught his escaping soul, frowned.

“You crazy bastard.”

Around this time, inside the action school where Kang Woo-jin had left, Song Man-woo PD and the martial arts director were calming down the entire staff.

“What you saw today is absolutely confidential, confidential.”

It was a warning to many people. Of course, it might be difficult to shut everyone’s mouths, so they added a suitable excuse.

“Woo-jin was originally good at martial arts, and it seems he looked at the ‘CQC’ storyboard in depth. Anyway, everyone be careful what you say.”

This way, even if rumors spread, there would be no problem. After organizing the action school for several tens of minutes, Song Man-woo PD approached the stunt team standing around Ethan Smith. Their faces were naturally serious.

However, there was no talk about today’s test.

“We’ll leave for now.”

Ethan, with his large nose, left the action school after Kang Woo-jin. Song Man-woo PD, who had scheduled a future meeting with them, didn’t hold the stunt team back.

Still, he was a little worried.

“Hoo-”

Looking at the results, the veteran stunt team had been defeated by Kang Woo-jin. Moreover, Song Man-woo PD had told the stunt team that Woo-jin was skilled in martial arts but unfamiliar with CQC. But it turned out that Kang Woo-jin’s movements were not those of a CQC beginner.

Today, he was more than a match for the experts.

The reason was unclear. Whether Kang Woo-jin already knew CQC, or whether he was a crazy genius who had mastered it just by looking at the storyboard. Either way, Song Man-woo PD had unintentionally conveyed information with errors, and the stunt team, which had a good reputation in Hollywood, had their pride hurt. Their last expressions made it clear.

Faces that were gloomy and even mournful.

“It’s bothering me.”

The martial arts director joined in at the words of bearded Song Man-woo PD.

“What is?”

“The stunt team, their last expressions are bothering me. I hope they won’t do a sloppy job because of their bad feelings.”

“Surely not. Today was just a test related to the main character’s body lines. They’re professionals. And the stunt team’s job isn’t just about movement training and practice. It’s about revising the storyboard, improving the quality of the scenes, overseeing the ‘CQC’ action scenes, stand-ins, stunt roles, and so on. There’s a lot to do. I also have to balance things with them. They also have to accompany us to the overseas location scouting for the actual ‘CQC’ scenes.”

“I know, I know.”

In fact, the stunt team led by Ethan was scheduled to accompany them to Bangkok, Thailand, for the overseas location scouting for ‘Beneficial Evil.’ The ‘CQC’ related shooting storyboard had already been created, but if experts saw the site with their own eyes and added details, the quality would increase several times. That was the purpose of the work.

Then, Song Man-woo PD, stroking his beard, muttered with a hint of worry.

“Surely… they won’t run away, will they?”

The next day, Tuesday, the 6th, around 8 a.m.

At a luxury hotel in Seoul. In a spacious room with a plush sofa, foreigners who had returned from breakfast a few tens of minutes ago gathered. They all had sturdy bodies or were large in size. Some had buzz cuts, some were heavily tattooed, and some had beards.

Among them, a foreign man with a large nose stood out.

It was Ethan Smith.

In other words, they were the stunt team that had recently come from Hollywood and had first witnessed Kang Woo-jin yesterday. They seemed to have worked out since dawn, as their muscles felt even more solid. On the table in front of the sofa, there were coffee cups along with tablets and various papers.

It clearly smelled like a meeting.

Ethan, the leader among them, scratched his large nose and picked up a tablet. With a simple operation, a video began to play on the tablet. In the middle, there was a Korean man, and four foreigners surrounding him. It was the full shot video of Kang Woo-jin’s CQC test from yesterday. It had been provided by the ‘Beneficial Evil’ side.

The video, of course, contained Kang Woo-jin’s dazzling skills.

Ethan and his team members watched the video silently for a while.

“……”

“……”

However, the stunt team members slightly avoided their eyes when their own defeated figures appeared. They felt embarrassed. On the other hand, the leader, Ethan, watched the video intently without averting his gaze.

‘…It feels different when I see it in a video.’

It was shocking enough in person yesterday, but seeing it in a video gave it a different vibe.

“Hmm-”

Ethan, who had stopped the video, crossed his arms. Thanks to that, his muscles were several times more prominent. Among the team members watching their leader who seemed to be deep in thought, the man with tattoos all over his hands cautiously spoke in English.

“Ethan, are you thinking of going back to LA?”

Ethan, slightly narrowing his brows, asked back.

“What?”

“It was a test, but I thought you might be thinking of going back since our reputation was ruined.”

Ethan, who had swept back his brown hair, chuckled.

“Not at all. If we came to work, we have to work. Where do we have time to worry about our reputation?”

“……”

“I was shocked by what happened yesterday, but it’s just an unexpected event. Running away because of that would be more damaging to our reputation.”

The team members also nodded.

“I thought the same.”

“Me too.”

It seemed like they had asked out of concern, and Ethan, who had uncrossed his arms, tapped the tablet with his index finger. Kang Woo-jin’s face was visible.

“And whether Kang Woo-jin came from the special forces or whatever his past is, the fact that he knows how to handle ‘CQC’ is interesting for us. If he’s even at an expert level, the situation is even better.”

“What do you mean?”

At the question, Ethan reminded them of the Hollywood market and answered.

“You know, we always start with the basics of the actor. But if the actor has years of experience and is skilled in action, the situation changes.”

“…We can take care of the details and style of the technique, the impact, and the flamboyance.”

“That’s right. If the lead is unskilled in technique, we start with training, but if they are skilled, training is enough.”

The bear-like man among the team members chimed in.

“Leeway.”

“Yes, as you all know, training is focused on learning the basics. There’s no time to look at anything else. But training is different. There’s room to add flair to the skill. Whether it’s the main character or the direction. It means we’ve been given unexpected time.”

After speaking, Ethan put down the tablet and picked up a stack of papers. It was the existing martial arts storyboard of ‘Beneficial Evil’ with ‘CQC’ action added.

“It means there’s no problem upgrading this storyboard to Hollywood level.”

To Kang Woo-jin’s ‘CQC’, which had been honed in Hollywood.

“We don’t have to worry about whether the main character can handle it.”

It meant that Ethan’s experience would be mixed in.