I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 323

Autumn. A season that briefly lingers in preparation for winter. While the temperature might not always reflect it, autumn, as a fleeting period, is also a short time to experience the year-end atmosphere in advance.

The pleasant coolness turns cold.

The latter half of the year, or the year-end, was just four months from September to December, but numerous events were scheduled to occur.

Or rather, destructive bombs.

This was about Kang Woo-jin. He hadn’t had a quiet day all year, but as the year-end approached, the projects related to him were fully loaded. At this moment, dates swirled in Woo-jin’s mind.

‘October, Japan release, November, Korea release.’

That was the future of ‘Strange Geisha.’ It was breathtaking. Compared to last year, Woo-jin’s daily life and background had changed drastically. Of course, even last year, Kang Woo-jin’s actions were astonishing. How many things did he achieve in his debut year alone?

However, this year’s Kang Woo-jin was even more explosive than last year.

From January to the upcoming December, not a single month was a break. Inside the booth, Kang Woo-jin, with his phone to his ear, maintained a stoic expression while his mind raced. It was right after he had spoken with director Kyotaro.

‘This month, ‘Beneficial Evil’ starts filming, and at the end of the month, I’ll go to Cannes. In October, ‘Strange Geisha’ will be released in Japan, and in November, it will be released in Korea. Oh, and even though it’s not confirmed, isn’t Miley Cara’s new album also coming out soon?’

Just listing the major things was enough. There were quite a few things that Woo-jin hadn’t mentioned in between. There were also things currently in progress, like ‘Best Friend: Remake.’ It meant that there were a lot of major projects ready to be launched by the end of the year.

‘Damn, it’s crazy packed.’

Woo-jin inwardly clicked his tongue, but there was no particular change in his firm face. In fact, if other actors saw this schedule, they would probably be overwhelmed. It was only possible because Kang Woo-jin, with his spatial ability, was enduring a hellish schedule.

A monster.

Probably. No, it was certain that Kang Woo-jin was the only one in this world who could create such a reality or future. Woo-jin raised his gaze. Outside the booth, Choi Sung-gun and the team members were tilting their heads. They looked like they were wondering who Woo-jin was talking to. Regardless, Woo-jin lowered his voice and replied to director Kyotaro on the phone.

“I understand.”

Director Kyotaro’s slightly hoarse voice was heard immediately.

“Assuming the editing is finished by the end of this month, there won’t be any major changes to the October or November release schedule. You can consider it confirmed.”

“Yes.”

“Regarding the pre-release promotion and marketing, as agreed in advance, we will be rolling it out several times bigger than usual. The same goes for the previews. We will increase the number of screenings, the scale, and the frequency compared to what is typically done.”

“Will the previews start around mid-October?”

“Probably.”

Previews.

Reporters, critics, film directors, actors, and a large number of general audience members, etc. The scale of the previews, which would deliver a major impact before the release of ‘Strange Geisha,’ was said to be several times larger. Kang Woo-jin had already stirred up a lot of attention at the production presentation, so it was natural for them to flock to it.

Then.

“Woo-jin-ssi.”

Director Kyotaro on the other end of the phone asked again.

“What about the test screening for ‘Strange Geisha’? Is it still difficult for you to attend?”

Kang Woo-jin, who had been maintaining a nonchalant attitude, closed his mouth for a moment and nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

If the editing of ‘Strange Geisha’ was finished by the end of September, there was a high possibility that the test screening would be held that week. Around that time, Kang Woo-jin would either be filming overseas for ‘Beneficial Evil’ or attending the Cannes Film Festival after finishing filming.

It wasn’t a schedule where he could make time.

“It seems difficult for me to attend.”

Director Kyotaro smiled faintly, with a hint of disappointment but more resignation.

“I see. It’s okay. You did a great job at the production presentation, so that’s enough. Please just handle the stage greetings when the movie is released.”

“Yes, I’ve been informed about that.”

“You’re going to Cannes soon, right?”

“Yes.”

“I wish I could go to Cannes too, but I’ll be cheering for you from here.”

“Thank you, director.”

Director Kyotaro spoke again to Woo-jin, who had replied in a low voice.

“I really wanted to see you lift a trophy, Woo-jin-ssi.”

A trophy? Isn’t this guy getting ahead of himself? Woo-jin chuckled inwardly. Honestly, he couldn’t quite imagine himself holding a trophy at a world-renowned film festival. But if Woo-jin or ‘Leech’ were to win any award at Cannes, the impact of all the projects to be launched afterward would surely increase several times over.

That alone would be a tremendous promotional effect.

Director Kyotaro, who was well aware of this, murmured.

“It’s the first time. No Asian actor has ever won the Best Actor award at Cannes before.”

His sincerity was palpable.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Meanwhile, back in LA.

The sky changed from night to morning. It was morning in LA, the start of a new day. In a conference room within a huge agency in LA, a global superstar and Koreans were facing each other. It was Miley Cara and the bearded Song Man-woo PD, among others.

‘Crazy, I can’t believe the day has come when I’m seeing Miley Cara in person.’

‘Miley Cara… Netflix has been sending her offers so persistently, but she ignored them. But because of Kang Woo-jin, we can meet her so easily. How close have those two become?’

‘Wow!! It’s really Miley Cara!! Ahh!! Her face is glowing!!!’

It was Kim So-hyang, the general director of Netflix Korea, writer Choi Na-na, and the production manager of ‘Beneficial Evil.’ They were all outwardly calm, but inwardly they were making a fuss. On the other hand, Cara was quite relaxed. It was natural. She must have had countless meetings like this.

Then.

-Swish.

Cara extended her hand to Song Man-woo PD, who had greeted her first, and a slightly cool tone of English was spoken.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Miley Cara.”

“Haha, of course, I know. No, I think everyone in the world knows.”

“You’re being overly complimentary from the start?”

“Was I?”

Even though he was nervous, Song Man-woo PD was also a big shot in the drama industry. Even though his English was a bit clumsy, he and Cara had a relatively comfortable conversation. Next, Cara turned her gaze to the slightly plump Kim So-hyang.

“Hello.”

“Nice to meet you, Miley. I’m Kim So-hyang, the general director of Netflix Korea.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. It’s an honor.”

“Likewise.”

As expected of a global company like Netflix, Kim So-hyang’s English was top-notch. Then, it was writer Choi Na-na’s turn.

“Ah, hello!”

Choi Na-na, who was completely frozen, greeted in English, and then introduced herself in Korean.

“I’m writer Choi Na-na!”

Kim So-hyang acted as the interpreter, and Cara’s blue eyes sparkled at the mention of ‘writer.’

“Oh, really? Nice to meet you, writer. I’m looking forward to the script.”

“Th-thank you!”

“Huh?”

“Yes?”

Thanks to Choi Na-na’s flustered conversation, the atmosphere in the conference room quickly relaxed. Soon, everyone sat down. The next conversation was initiated by Song Man-woo PD. He kept unbuttoning his blazer, as if it felt awkward.

“First of all, thank you for agreeing to appear in our ‘Beneficial Evil.'”

Cara, who had swept back her blonde hair, smiled slightly with her unique, subtle coolness.

“It’s partly because I’m looking forward to the project, but it was also something I needed to do. You should thank Kang Woo-jin.”

“Of course.”

“Um, can I see the script first?”

Song Man-woo PD nodded and looked at Choi Na-na, who was sitting next to him. Choi Na-na picked up the transparent file in front of her. Then, she handed it to Cara, who was sitting across from her. Cara, noticing that her hand was trembling slightly, chuckled inwardly.

‘This writer is very nervous. She looks young, is she a rookie? Still, the fact that she wrote such a big project that Kang Woo-jin is starring in means she’s quite talented. Still, she’s cute.’

Cara, who had received the transparent file, opened it immediately. Inside, there was a stack of thin papers. It was the script for the first and second episodes of ‘Beneficial Evil,’ with the content that Cara would be performing. Most of it was scenes to be filmed on overseas locations. For reference, Cara didn’t need to see the entire script. It was enough for her to see the synopsis summarizing the entire story and the parts she would be in. Of course, it was all translated into English.

-Flip.

Cara turned the first page. After reading the script for a while, Miley Cara’s blue eyes widened slightly. She was surprised.

‘Long take? They’re going to shoot such a big scene from the beginning while filming overseas in Bangkok?’

-Flip, flip.

For about 15 minutes, Cara read the script without saying a word. Song Man-woo PD, Kim So-hyang, and Choi Na-na also didn’t speak to Cara. Soon, Cara understood the role she would be playing.

‘I’m the male lead ‘Jang Yeon-woo’s’ former colleague. ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ is obviously the role that Kang Woo-jin will be playing. To be precise, I’m a trigger related to ‘Jang Yeon-woo.’

The script that included Cara’s role had a significant amount of action, martial arts, and CQC [Close Quarters Combat]. However, most of it would be done by Kang Woo-jin, and Cara would only have simple movements and some shooting scenes. Still, there were quite a few lines and acting was required.

The interesting thing was that Cara’s eyes gradually became more and more interested as she read the script.

‘Not just my acting! The speed, the dynamism, the impact! CQC, shooting scenes, hand-to-hand combat, various weapon techniques including swords! What is this? The action design is… it looks really fun? It seems like it’ll be amazing to watch Kang Woo-jin!’

She had already seen countless scenarios and scripts in Hollywood. In Cara’s view, the current ‘Beneficial Evil’ script was in no way inferior to Hollywood. The fact that there was a long take action scene of more than 10 minutes from the beginning was proof of that. At this point, Miley Cara remembered that ‘Beneficial Evil’ had Ethan Smith, a Hollywood stunt team.

‘Ah, is that why the design is so flashy?’

Next, Kang Woo-jin came to mind. The script was clearly flashy and elaborate. So how would he pull it off? In that moment, Cara pictured Kang Woo-jin’s unrestrained movements from the past music video shoot, when he had saved her.

That alone was already a movie.

But that was just reality. The Kang Woo-jin in the script was going to be dozens of times more intense. Cara swept back her blonde hair and let out a small breath. She was gradually getting excited.

‘I want to see it soon, how much would I have regretted it if I hadn’t done this.’

In particular, Cara was most interested in the ‘CQC’ that Kang Woo-jin would show. Of course, she had seen many actors’ ‘CQC’ in Hollywood. So, looking at the storyboards, she could immediately get a sense of what it would look like. It immediately came to her mind.

But for some reason, Kang Woo-jin was not easy to predict.

That feeling made Cara even more excited. Her mood and feelings were soaring. She even felt impatient. Then, after about 10 more minutes.

-Swish.

The corners of Cara’s mouth curved slightly as she closed the script she was reading.

“It’s an interesting script, it’s quite excellent.”

Song Man-woo PD, Kim So-hyang, and Choi Na-na’s eyes widened. They hadn’t expected that level of praise. On the other hand, Cara, who maintained her composure, spoke again.

“I’m excited? I have something to look forward to before filming. I’ll focus so that it doesn’t harm the project.”

She meant that she would thoroughly study the script, including the acting.

“But the script reading we talked about beforehand-”

“It’s okay!”

Song Man-woo PD waved his hand at Cara, who was looking slightly troubled.

“It’s not a problem at all if you can’t attend the script reading, we can adjust it on set before filming. It’s not uncommon, it happens often.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! You can think of it comfortably!”

What wouldn’t they do to get Miley Cara to join the project? An excited Song Man-woo PD handed Cara the other transparent files he had brought. They were the ‘CQC’ martial arts storyboards and the Bangkok overseas location schedule, which were completed in collaboration with the stunt team, Ethan Smith.

“The ‘CQC’ storyboards will help you study the script. And as you can see from the schedule, the first filming for ‘Beneficial Evil’ starts on the 20th. It would be great if you could arrive a day before, but it’s okay if you’re a little late.”

“Um- I understand.”

Today was the 11th, so there were about ten days left. For Cara, it was tight, but it wasn’t a problem since she had been informed in advance.

“The entire filming schedule is- about two weeks?”

“Yes. If there are no problems on set, it will be finished within two weeks.”

“It has to be, because my next schedule is important.”

She was referring to Cannes.

Anyway, Song Man-woo PD, who nodded firmly, changed the subject.

“Ah, and. Until the day of filming, no one will know that you’re joining, Miley, to maintain secrecy. Everyone except Kang Woo-jin, the actors, and the staff.”

“I understand.”

Cara, with her blonde hair, smiled as she crossed her legs.

“Everyone will be very surprised when they see me.”

At the same time.

At the time when Miley Cara was having a meeting with the ‘Beneficial Evil’ team, in the same LA but an hour away from Cara’s agency. In an office on the middle floor of a tall building among the many buildings in the city center, a familiar giant was sitting alone at his desk.

It was Joseph Felton, a famous Hollywood producer wearing a white shirt and tie.

With his shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, he was sitting at a thick glass desk overflowing with laptops and various documents. In front of Joseph were four stacks of thin papers. It was a project that Joseph was in charge of at ‘Universal Movies,’ one of the top 5 major film companies in Hollywood. It was related to the movie production that Megan Stone had also joined, and the two had met at the first meeting and discussed pushing Kang Woo-jin.

The idea for that movie had been passed on to four Hollywood screenwriters, and the four stacks of thin papers in front of Joseph now were four synopses with clear differences.

In other words, it was no different from the moment of choosing a scenario.

“Hmm- they all have different styles, it’s a bit difficult to choose?”

End