I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 31

What is this? What’s happening right now? Kang Woo-jin, sitting in his studio apartment, stared blankly into space. It was a sensation somewhat similar to when he first entered the sub-space.

“…Crazy.”

He was seeing reality with his eyes, but it felt like a dream. Of course, he had disregarded what was ‘realistic’ since acquiring the sub-space, but even so, experiencing such an insane situation naturally caused his thoughts to halt.

After a few minutes like that.

“Uh-”

Kang Woo-jin, whose brain had stopped functioning, blurted out any random words. It was an expression of his current bewildered state. Naturally, in English.

“What the heck happened to me?”

It flowed out smoothly. His pronunciation was unbelievably fluent. Kang Woo-jin continued to spill out other words. All in English, but they flowed from his mouth without any hesitation.

It was at the level of a Korean-American who had lived in the United States.

Well, Woo-jin did know basic English, but it was Konglish [a mix of Korean and English]. The kind anyone who graduated high school could do. He wasn’t exactly afraid of English, but he wasn’t close to it either.

But now, Kang Woo-jin could easily be mistaken for a native speaker.

“Wow…”

Kang Woo-jin was genuinely amazed. He had instantly acquired a foreign language that would take a lot of effort to learn. It seemed like he could go to the United States right now and live without any problems. This was beyond praise, and the sub-space’s abilities were already beyond imagination.

Soon.

“O-Okay, first. Let’s calm down a bit.”

Kang Woo-jin, who was simply bewildered, checked his condition. He scanned his head and insides in detail. It was as if his brain was filled with English. It felt very natural, no different from Korean.

There was no need to ponder over the necessary English words.

When he thought of a desired word, it immediately came to mind and poured out of his mouth. In other words, this feeling was similar to the lines that were imprinted after experiencing a role in the sub-space, as if he had memorized them thousands of times. Woo-jin continued to speak in English. Smoothly and softly. As expected, it flowed out without any hesitation.

Gradually, Kang Woo-jin felt a thrill run through his entire body.

“Memorizing lines was amazing, but… even another country’s language? The sub-space’s ability is insane.”

Honestly, Woo-jin had a thought that ‘something similar might be possible?’ When you experience a role in the sub-space and come out, the lines of that role are imprinted. If you read a role that uses a foreign language, you could acquire those lines. That was about the extent of his thinking.

But.

“…To think it would transplant an entire language.”

The sub-space wasn’t narrow-minded. It was as vast as a mountain. It felt like, ‘What? English? You need it? Why are you being so stingy? Just wait, I’ll just give you English.’ That’s exactly what it was. ‘Money? What’s that? It’s free, free.’ That was included too.

Woo-jin’s lips curled up slightly.

‘If this is the case, couldn’t I go to Hollywood or something later?’

It was entirely possible.

Of course, he had only heard of Hollywood and it was quite a distant prospect, but for a Korean actor to advance to Hollywood, fluent English was essential. Even outside of acting, English was useful in many ways.

Kang Woo-jin’s smile deepened at the sudden unfolding of a golden future. Then he paused.

“Ah.”

To look at a script, you also need to be able to read it, right? Of course, it would be read without any problems, but just in case, Woo-jin turned on his laptop. What he looked for was a newspaper in English. It was easy to find such things with a quick internet search.

And the answer was, as expected.

“Sweet.”

Reading was also no problem at all. It was read immediately, just like reading Korean. It was an unbelievable experience for Woo-jin, who had lived his whole life relying on translators. Then, Kang Woo-jin suddenly broadened his train of thought.

If he had the sub-space.

“Besides English, I can also acquire other countries’ languages.”

He could acquire any country’s language. Of course, he would need to obtain a script that included that language, but was that even important right now?

“Hold on. What’s next after English?”

At that moment.

-Vrr, vrr.

Woo-jin’s phone, which was nearby, vibrated loudly. Thanks to that, Kang Woo-jin, who had a smile on his face, checked the caller. It was PD [Production Director] Song Man-woo. Woo-jin was in a very uplifted state, but he had to suppress it.

It would be a problem if a frivolous tone came out while he was intoxicated with joy. Therefore, he took a small deep breath and answered the phone.

“Yes, PD-nim.”

It was a success. A calm voice came out. Soon, PD Song Man-woo’s slightly excited voice was heard from the other side of the phone.

“Woo-jin-ssi, the first day of filming has been confirmed. The 25th. Next week, Wednesday.”

Two days later, on the morning of the 20th, at Box Movie Film Company in Nonhyeon-dong.

The elevator that had just arrived on the 7th floor opened its doors. Inside, Director Woo Hyun-gu, with a crumpled face and white hairs mixed in his eyebrows, and Chief Choi Do-min, who was short, got off.

The funny thing was.

“So, that no-name guy turned down the audition?”

“…I-I’m sorry, Director.”

“This is crazy. What’s he trying to do?”

“I’m really sorry.”

Chief Choi Do-min was sticking close to Director Woo Hyun-gu, groveling. He had the face of someone who had committed a capital crime. It was understandable. It was right after he had delivered the news, ‘I was turned down by a no-name named Kang Woo-jin, whom I pushed for.’

On the other hand, the master, Director Woo Hyun-gu, had a chilling breath. His gaze was the same.

In other words, he was pissed.

Director Woo Hyun-gu, who was glaring at the major criminal Chief Choi Do-min, walked down the hallway, annoyed.

“That’s what I said, right? I said a no-name is just a no-name, no matter how hard they try. What is this? Your unilateral action has smeared my face.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Director. I have nothing to say.”

“…Why didn’t that no-name bastard come to the audition? Let’s hear it.”

“T-That’s because his schedule doesn’t match.”

“What? What schedule?”

“It…doesn’t match.”

At that moment, Director Woo Hyun-gu, who had stopped walking, raised his white-haired eyebrows sharply.

“That no-name bastard turned down my movie audition just because his schedule doesn’t match?”

Where would a no-name have a schedule, and even if he did, was that the only reason? Director Woo Hyun-gu’s anger surged. Naturally, Chief Choi Do-min became even more subdued.

“…That’s what I heard.”

“This guy has absolutely no manners. Huh- His schedule doesn’t match? What was that no-name bastard’s name again?”

“It’s Kang Woo-jin from BW Entertainment.”

“BW Entertainment? Is that a new company? Who’s the CEO there?”

“It’s CEO Choi Sung-gun. You’ve met him a few times, Director.”

“I know, the guy who raised Hong Hye-yeon. He has quite a wide network, right? But Choi Sung-gun, he’s like a slippery eel, but he had a very amicable image.”

“He’s good at his job. However, that no-name Kang Woo-jin is a bit… his condition is.”

Annoyed, Director Woo Hyun-gu’s philtrum twitched.

“Are you saying that no-name is a moron? I told you, right? I said he was weird. What are we going to do about this? If this gets out, what will people say? Huh? Won’t I be the only one who looks ridiculous?”

That was the correct answer. If reporters found out about this, 100%, they would write articles with the title, ‘Director Woo Hyun-gu, turned down by a no-name.’ If the rumors spread among the actors, there was a possibility that he would become a laughingstock.

Soon, Director Woo Hyun-gu, who was looking around to see if anyone was there, muttered to himself.

“A no-name dares… I need to tell my fellow directors that Kang Woo-jin or whatever his name is, is a mannerless guy. I’ll make sure he can’t get a foothold in this industry.”

Chief Choi Do-min lowered his head again.

“I’m really sorry, Director.”

Director Woo Hyun-gu, who was looking at him coldly, gave a small instruction.

“Okay, just manage things well so that the word doesn’t get out. And handle the articles that were supposed to be released today. Don’t mention no-names in front of me anymore, got it?”

“Yes, Director.”

An hour later, Box Movie began a large-scale promotion. It was natural since the investment was completed and all the hundred or so staff members were set. The construction of the sets needed for filming had also begun.

『[Movie Talk] ‘Master’ Director Woo Hyun-gu, joins hands with major film company Box Movie and begins production of his next project』

As expected of a comeback work by a master director, the public’s reaction was unusual, and the articles mentioned top actors with the nuance that casting was almost confirmed. Just being in Director Woo Hyun-gu’s next project would raise the status and image of top actors.

This was intentional promotion.

『Kwak Ha-min, Go Sung-yeon, and other top actors to participate? Industry attention is focused on Director Woo Hyun-gu’s next project!』

It began to heat up the film industry media.

At the same time, in a YouTuber’s studio.

‘Issue King TV’ was a relatively large channel with over 900,000 subscribers. This was the studio of ‘Issue King TV.’ As the channel name suggested, it covered various issues. There were political issues, but it mainly exposed entertainment industry issues.

The owner of the channel was a former journalist.

Many dirty incidents in the entertainment industry were revealed to the world through ‘Issue King TV.’ Recently, it covered the affair of a top-tier actress. That actress was currently in hiding.

In a small meeting room of that studio, two women were sitting facing each other.

One had short hair and a firm expression, and the other was a woman wearing a hat, looking down at the table with a desolate expression. The owner of ‘Issue King TV’ was the one with short hair and spoke first.

“It’s just me here, you can speak comfortably.”

The woman wearing the hat was silent for a moment.

“…”

It was about 10 seconds. As if she had made up her mind, the lips of the woman wearing the hat moved.

“It was a week ago, and there was a staff dinner for the entire set.”

“Where was it?”

“A Korean beef restaurant in Cheongdam. The name was Korean Beef Palace.”

“Yes, please continue.”

“I was on the directing team and was sitting at the table with the director. At first, I was eating meat and talking with people.”

“But?”

“After about an hour, people got drunk, and I was a bit tipsy too. That’s when the director sat next to me.”

“And then?”

“…I was surprised. He’s such a big deal in the film industry, but he suddenly sat next to me.”

The woman wearing the hat, who was reciting the past with difficulty, took a deep breath and continued.

“That’s when the touching started. Without people noticing. But it wasn’t like he was deliberately doing it, it was more like he was subtly touching my chest or thigh…”

The woman wearing the hat, who was explaining the past with difficulty, had tears welling up in her eyes.

“He almost forced me into his car, saying he would take me home. But what we arrived at was a large unmanned motel.”

“Hmm, please continue.”

“I was so scared that I ran away as soon as I got out of the car. I ran desperately.”

“After that?”

“I got a lot of calls, but I ignored them all. And the next day, I was kicked out of the directing team.”

The short-haired woman, who was slowly nodding, asked back.

“I’m sorry, but do you have any evidence?”

The woman wearing the hat nodded slightly.

“I recorded it from the moment I got in the car.”

The short-haired woman then comforted the woman wearing the hat.

“That’s enough, there are more than one or two victims.”

At the words that there were more than one or two victims, the woman wearing the hat, with a drained face, asked back quietly.

“…Are there more besides me?”

The owner of ‘Issue King TV,’ the short-haired woman, nodded.

“Yes, there are.”

“I see, there were more.”

The short-haired woman patted the shoulder of the woman wearing the hat, who was muttering desolately, as if to say not to worry.

“As you know well, that director is such a big figure in the film industry that it’s hard to get him involved with just one victim. But I’ve been investigating and preparing for this case for quite a while, and now it’s enough.”

It was a very confident voice. At this, the woman wearing the hat, who had lowered her head, raised it.

“How many more are there, victims?”

“About five in total. It’s already quite famous in the industry, right? That director, for liking women.”

“Yes, there are rumors like that. He always has to have an actress around him at dinners or such. He touches the female staff for no reason.”

“But he’s also a master director, so everyone is keeping quiet about it.”

“That’s right. In the film industry, the director is the top predator, not the actors.”

The short-haired woman, with a look of understanding, spoke again.

“I know it well. Could I possibly listen to the recording you made?”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

The woman wearing the hat took out her phone and played several recording files. After listening to the recordings for a few minutes, the short-haired woman asked again.

“You were also threatened, right?”

The woman wearing the hat nodded in affirmation.

“Yes. In a text message the day after I ran away from the motel. He said that no one would believe me even if I went to talk about it… and then I was fired.”

“I understand the situation well. Could you possibly do an interview without showing your face? Of course, your voice will be distorted. You just need to talk about the facts of the damage without being identified.”

“I can do it.”

“Thank you.”

Soon, the woman wearing the hat, who was quietly looking down at her phone, moved her lips again.

“When… will it be revealed to the world?”

At the question, the short-haired woman tapped her phone with her index finger.

“Looking at it, they’ve already released articles saying they’re starting his next project, and there’s quite a lot of them.”

“That’s right, the investment has already been resolved, and the casting of actors is also booked. The construction of the sets has also begun.”

“Then it looks like it will be around next week.”

The short-haired woman then lowered her voice.

“When Woo Hyun-gu’s downfall begins.”

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