I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 321

Kang Woo-jin’s nonchalant reply was:

‘I expect it to easily surpass 20 million viewers.’

It had started from a rather lighthearted place. It wasn’t like he was trying to turn the press conference upside down or declare war. It was just an answer without any particularly deep intention.

‘Anyway, I have to maintain the concept. And it’s not like I lied, right?’

It was the truth.

‘Success is a given, and the number of viewers is uncertain. Still, it’s definitely going to be higher than ‘Island of the Lost’.’

The current rating for ‘Strange Sacrifice’ was higher than ‘Island of the Lost,’ which had surpassed 20 million.

-[7/Scenario (Title: Strange Sacrifice), SSS-Grade]

That meant at least 20 million viewers. Of course, ‘Strange Sacrifice’ was being released in both Korea and Japan, so it could be over 20 million combined. So what? Either way, it was a huge hit, right? In this hall filled with hundreds of reporters and various staff, Kang Woo-jin was the only one who could roughly see the future of ‘Strange Sacrifice.’

That’s why he was so calm.

On the other hand, the flurry of flashes that had been pouring down slowed for a moment. Because hundreds of reporters began to murmur at Kang Woo-jin’s answer.

‘W-what did Kang Woo-jin just say?’

’20 million? He said 20 million.’

‘Is he talking about 20 million viewers?’

‘What else would it be?’

That was understandable, because when asked if ‘Strange Sacrifice’ would be a success, Woo-jin had answered without a moment’s hesitation that it would easily surpass 20 million. Many Japanese reporters were slightly taken aback, but they were also making their own assessments internally.

‘Isn’t he too confident? How many people are gathered here?’

‘How can he say something like that without changing his expression?’

‘I can’t tell if it’s confidence or arrogance.’

It wasn’t just the reporters who were watching the strange atmosphere of the press conference; tens of thousands of Japanese viewers were also connected to the live stream.

-[‘Strange Sacrifice’ Press Conference Live Stream!]

-[Live Broadcast]

-[49,872 viewers]

They were already approaching 50,000, and as soon as they heard Woo-jin’s line, they started typing furiously in the chat.

-Huh??? 20 million?!!

-Isn’t Kang Woo-jin going too far??

-wwwwwww It seems like he just answered without thinking

-I really hate how Kang Woo-jin acts without any rhyme or reason

-It’s good to be confident, but… isn’t he taking 20 million too lightly??

-So what?

-Kang Woo-jin!! Cool!!

-But, out of the blue, doesn’t Kang Woo-jin look good in that all-black suit? Korean actors definitely seem to have great physiques

·

·

·

However, it was too fast to check each one. The expressions of the Japanese actors standing next to the indifferent-faced Kang Woo-jin were also something to see. They all looked at Woo-jin with slightly widened eyes.

‘Wow… he just blurts it out.’

‘I knew Woo-jin didn’t have a backup plan, but I didn’t expect him to go this far.’

Akari, the writer, was the same.

Kyotaro, the director, who was standing first, had a small smile on his lips. He was witnessing the scene he had been expecting. Anyway, the reporter who had attacked Woo-jin with the first question was stammering.

‘……You said it would easily surpass 20 million?’

Kang Woo-jin answered in a low voice.

‘Yes, that’s what I said.’

From here, the flash of cameras, which had briefly faded, exploded again.

-Flash! Flash! Flash!

Of course, it was directed at Woo-jin, and dozens of the hundreds of reporters were quickly typing on their laptops. In Japan, 20 million viewers was an incredible achievement. Historically, only about three films had ever reached that number, and even those three were all theatrical anime films. The highest record for a Japanese film was 19 million. And that was quite a while ago.

Recently, it had become difficult to even find a movie with 10 million viewers, as the Japanese film industry had shrunk.

But suddenly, Kang Woo-jin, a Korean actor, not a Japanese one, boldly declared 20 million viewers at the press conference for ‘Strange Sacrifice.’ Although it was a place to show ambition, it was better not to make such a nonsensical statement like 20 million. Because it would cause a lot of noise later. And the criticism you would receive if you didn’t achieve it was a bonus.

Above all, the reporters focused on the word ‘easily’ in Kang Woo-jin’s statement.

‘Easily means he’s going to hit 20 million viewers without any trouble, right?’

In other words, he was saying that he would easily surpass 20 million viewers and was aiming for even more. A Korean actor was talking about a future where he would write a legend in the Japanese market. It was a truly strange picture, and Woo-jin’s declaration and similar answers were good fodder for the press and public opinion.

At this moment, in the minds of hundreds of reporters.

‘Hehe, good, good. There’s plenty to write about.’

The main titles of the articles that would be released within a few hours were already decided.

The press conference for ‘Strange Sacrifice,’ which had been somewhat organized, continued. Starting with director Kyotaro, then the greetings of all the actors including Kang Woo-jin, a brief briefing on ‘Strange Sacrifice’ by director Kyotaro and writer Akari, and the actors answering questions set by the host, etc., etc.

An hour flew by.

Then.

‘We will now take questions from the reporters.’

It was a free question time for hundreds of reporters. Of course, all the reporters raised their hands. But since they couldn’t hear everyone’s questions, the host randomly selected someone. It was a chubby male reporter sitting at the far left of the first row.

The selected reporter.

-Glanced.

Met the gaze of the cynical actor sitting in the third seat on the stage. It was Kang Woo-jin.

‘Mr. Kang Woo-jin, as a Korean actor, it must have been a burden to participate in ‘Strange Sacrifice.’ Now that filming is all over, what kind of movie do you think ‘Strange Sacrifice’ is?’

Woo-jin’s answer came quickly.

‘I think it’s the first movie that will have a big impact on the Japanese film industry. Many things will change.’

This was another answer that made the eyes of hundreds of reporters widen. It was the second bomb dropped. By this point, the number of viewers watching the press conference was.

-[60,021 viewers]

It had exceeded 60,000, and Chairman Hideki, who had been watching from the very back of the hall without anyone noticing, chuckled.

‘Kang Woo-jin, he’s definitely star material. If you stir things up like that, even if they criticize you, their curiosity will explode.’

It seemed that Kang Woo-jin’s no-holds-barred bombs were to his liking. But even after this.

‘We’ll take the next question, yes, the reporter with glasses over there.’

‘I, I also have a question for Mr. Kang Woo-jin!!’

The bombing continued.

Two days later, Monday the 23rd. Korea.

Kang Woo-jin, who had finished his short three-day schedule in Japan, had returned to Korea last night. And now, on the morning of the 23rd, he was on the elevator to go to work.

‘Ugh- I’m so stiff.’

It was a good thing he had the subspace; otherwise, he would have died a long time ago, right? Kang Woo-jin muttered to himself. Wearing a hat pulled low, he yawned without showing it, thanks to his concept, and picked up his phone. As he was about to check the accumulated messages, he changed direction and accessed a portal site.

The main articles were immediately visible.

Kang Woo-jin’s face was plastered all over them.

『[Star Photo] ‘Strange Sacrifice’ Press Conference, Kang Woo-jin Declares War in Front of Over 200 Reporters/Photo』

The bombs that Kang Woo-jin had dropped in Japan were also being introduced in Korea.

‘Why are they making such a fuss?’

But the sense of reality was lacking. After all, the articles that were popping up in Korea were just scraped from Japanese SNS or communities. The most they had done was quote Japanese articles. Woo-jin moved his finger again. He closed the domestic portal site and accessed a Japanese search site.

Soon, Kang Woo-jin let out a gasp of admiration.

‘Woah- isn’t it even worse than yesterday??!’

The actual Japanese media was already a mess. Because of whom? Kang Woo-jin.

『「Kang Woo-jin」, Boldly Declares at ‘Strange Sacrifice’ Press Conference, ‘Easily Surpasses 20 Million Viewers’!』

『“Confidence or Arrogance?”, 「Kang Woo-jin」’s Prediction for ‘Strange Sacrifice’ is Over 20 Million』

The news rankings on Japan’s top search site were almost entirely occupied by Kang Woo-jin. In fact, it had been like that since the end of the ‘Strange Sacrifice’ press conference. The Japanese reporters who had attended immediately wrote articles, and as they grew over the course of about two days, they attracted an enormous amount of attention.

『「“The First Movie to Have a Big Impact on the Japanese Film Industry”」What is the ‘Impact’ Kang Woo-jin Spoke Of?』

All the people in Japanese broadcasting stations, the film industry, production companies, and agencies were focused on Woo-jin. So were many members of the Japanese public. This atmosphere was maintained even on the 24th, a day later.

No, it had actually amplified? The Japanese media continued to produce bait.

『「Strange Sacrifice」Press Conference, Kang Woo-jin’s Powerful Declaration, Spreads Like Wildfire on SNS!』

Public opinion also joined in, encouraging the hype. Along with the facts, there were also rumors and abusive gossip. The debris from the bombs that Kang Woo-jin had dropped spread throughout Japan.

-He’s too confident

-It seems like it will be quite successful because of the original work’s power, but Kang Woo-jin is just overdoing it on his own

-Strange Sacrifice had calmed down a bit… now the controversy has amplified again…

-What is so great about the movie that he said it would have a big impact on the Japanese film industry? wwwwww

-I’ll watch it when it’s released!

-Anyway, all-black Kang Woo-jin at the press conference was the best!! He’s so handsome…

·

·

·

The funny thing was that the more ‘Strange Sacrifice,’ and Woo-jin, attracted attention in Japan, the more among the numerous Japanese public.

-I’m curious to see what kind of acting Kang Woo-jin will show in Strange Sacrifice

-I don’t like Kang Woo-jin, but I’ll hold back, I’ll criticize him after watching the movie

Whether they had negative feelings or not, their curiosity was exploding. How did Kang Woo-jin film ‘Strange Sacrifice’ that he was acting like this?

Maybe he was just trying to show off?

Kang Woo-jin had turned all of Japan upside down, but he himself was.

‘Look at this, since I’ve escaped to Korea, it doesn’t affect me at all, right?’

He was going through his schedule without paying much attention. That’s how quickly time melted away. From the 26th, Woo-jin began filming the main poster for ‘Leech.’ It was the poster that was officially submitted to Cannes. It was conducted in secret, so only the necessary staff participated in the filming.

The poster shoot took place both on set and outdoors. It was finished in about two days.

They shot a total of two concept options for the poster, and even within those concepts, they changed the composition and background to create different feels. In any case, hundreds of results came out.

It was up to director Ahn Ga-bok to choose just one poster out of them.

Kang Woo-jin thought it was nothing special.

‘I thought there would be something special since it was being sent to Cannes, but it’s just the same as filming other movie posters??’

He muttered to himself that he was nervous for nothing, or that it was a sweet deal for him. Then, Woo-jin was immediately put into his next schedule. Well, as always, there were many schedules, but.

『‘Beneficial Evil’ Side Releases Martial Arts Practice Cuts, Preparing for Action to Challenge the World?』

Among them, the martial arts practice for ‘Beneficial Evil’ was the main focus.

About a week later.

September began after August ended, and a few days had passed. The weather was now heading towards full autumn, and people on the streets were starting to wear thicker clothes.

Today was Monday, September 6th.

The location was an editing room at a large film company. A slightly dark editing room. Many monitors and densely packed work equipment. In the back, there was a resting area with sofas, and on a round table, two familiar posters were attached to thick plastic boards.

Kang Woo-jin was the main focus of both posters.

There were several editors in the editing room. Among them, an old man sitting at the end, operating the work equipment, stood out.

It was the veteran director Ahn Ga-bok.

In other words, this was the editing room for the movie ‘Leech.’

‘……’

‘……’

There wasn’t much conversation. The editing was just proceeding with the short, white-haired director Ahn Ga-bok at the center. There was no unnecessary movement in director Ahn Ga-bok’s handling of the entire process.

‘Play the music.’

It was as if he knew everything and was moving accordingly.

‘Cut, next one.’

Including director Ahn Ga-bok, about ten people stayed in the editing room almost all the time except for meal times. Nevertheless, they worked together seamlessly without showing any signs of fatigue. It was probably based on director Ahn Ga-bok’s veteran charisma and experience.

Later that night.

Around 11:45 PM, director Ahn Ga-bok, who was sitting in the center of the editing equipment, stared intently at the monitor in front of him, then suddenly.

-Glanced.

He leaned back deeply into his chair and muttered briefly. It was a rough and hoarse voice.

‘That’s it.’

Soon, several editors sitting around director Ahn Ga-bok turned their gaze to him. They didn’t say anything, but everyone’s widened eyes expressed the same meaning.

‘Say it again!’

Whether he noticed this or not, director Ahn Ga-bok, who had rubbed his rough cheeks and forehead, muttered to himself again in a low voice.

‘This is good enough.’

Several editors suddenly jumped up and screamed. They were jumping around. Meanwhile, director Ahn Ga-bok, who was looking at the many monitors in front of him, chuckled softly.

‘It finished faster than I expected.’

The post-editing of ‘Leech’ was completed. It was ready for launch.

Two days later, on the 8th.

Around 9 AM, a huge black van stopped in the underground parking lot of a large film company. A familiar black-haired man got out of the parked van.

‘……’

Today, too, it was Kang Woo-jin, equipped with indifference. He was wearing a cream-colored jacket. As he got out of the van, Woo-jin controlled himself while waiting for Choi Sung-gun and the team members. On the outside, he was calm, but on the inside, he was busy with mind control. His tension was quite high at the moment. Or rather, it was closer to anticipation?

The reason was simple.

In about an hour, ‘Leech’ would be launched at Cannes, the best of the world’s three major international film festivals.

‘Ugh- damn, is it because it’s a movie being sent to Cannes? Why am I more nervous than with other movies?’

There was going to be a test of the finished product of ‘Leech.’

End