I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 337

That was tempting. That was Kim So-hyang, the general director of Netflix Korea’s conclusion to Song Man-woo PD’s sudden proposal. It was a bit unexpected, but understandable. Instead of splitting the 12-episode ‘Beneficial Evil’ into two parts for release, they would cut the launch time in half.

‘Not bad. Actually, it might be a good idea.’

The content market these days was a battlefield. Terrestrial broadcasting stations, cable channels, general programming channels, various video platforms including YouTube, and a flood of OTTs [Over-the-top media services]. There were too many options for the public to choose from, and the products on display were also saturated.

So, to survive, the quality of the content was important, but timing was also key.

Song Man-woo PD had just set that timing.

He would launch the 12-episode ‘Beneficial Evil’ in two parts: episodes 1-6 and episodes 7-12, with a gap in between. In other words, it would be a two-part release. First, they would focus intensely on filming and editing episodes 1-6 to launch them first, and in the meantime, they would work on filming and editing the remaining episodes 7-12. It was a strategy, if you could call it that. Usually, they would release one episode at a time, three episodes a week, or all at once, etc.

Since content was pouring out from everywhere, they had to stand out somehow.

Therefore, splitting one part in half wasn’t strange. Here, the plump Kim So-hyang, the general director, suddenly became curious. She asked Song Man-woo PD directly.

“But PD-nim, I’m tempted, but is there a reason why you suddenly thought of this plan?”

Song Man-woo PD was a veteran with several hits, including the recent ‘Hangry,’ and decades of experience. He already seemed to have it all figured out.

“To be frank, it’s because of our lead actor.”

“The lead actor? Ah—Kang Woo-jin?”

“Yes. Of course, we can launch it as planned after completing all 12 episodes. Even then, Woo-jin will be dropping a nuclear bomb somewhere, 100%. Anywhere, domestically or overseas. However.”

“However?”

“Every project has a time to boost. In my opinion, the timing for ‘Beneficial Evil’ should be as soon as possible.”

Song Man-woo PD, who had become a bit serious, spread out his five fingers and folded them one by one.

“Woo-jin’s ‘Stranger,’ the album he collaborated with Miley Cara, and this Cannes Film Festival. And strangely, people from Hollywood keep getting involved.”

“Indeed, Hollywood people came to Bangkok this time too, right? I don’t know if it’s because of Cara, but they must have seen Woo-jin’s vibe this time.”

“I think Woo-jin will step into Hollywood from the end of this year to early next year. Well, even if Woo-jin doesn’t try, the answer is already out with this invitation to Cannes. And all the big Hollywood players will see ‘Leech,’ so there’s no way they’ll just leave Kang Woo-jin alone, right?”

The plane shook slightly, and Kim So-hyang and writer Choi Na-na simply acknowledged it. Then, Song Man-woo PD spoke again.

“Whether it blows up in Cannes or somewhere else, Woo-jin’s stock will be soaring overseas, including Hollywood. And if our ‘Beneficial Evil’ is launched then? Of course, global interest will be higher than usual.”

In an instant, General Director Kim So-hyang and writer Choi Na-na let their imaginations run wild. Kang Woo-jin, who had already started getting feelers from overseas, including Hollywood, the global sensation he was casually creating, and ‘Beneficial Evil’ launching worldwide through Netflix when interest was surging.

“Absolutely. We also have ‘Her.’”

Miley Cara was a bonus.

Song Man-woo PD lowered his voice.

“But the schedule for all 12 episodes of ‘Beneficial Evil’ is too late.”

“So, we cut it in half.”

“Is it difficult?”

Kim So-hyang shook her head.

“No. The content and characters of each episode of ‘Beneficial Evil’ are different, so it won’t be a problem to release them in chunks of six episodes. The overall story is connected anyway, so it won’t feel like it’s cut off.”

She turned her head to writer Choi Na-na next to her.

“What do you think, writer?”

A huge decision was being made. Writer Choi Na-na flinched and answered.

“Huh?? Ah! Yes! I, I’m fine if you two are okay with it!”

General Director Kim So-hyang smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“I’m in too. It seems like we have to go for it, even if we can’t win.”

She changed to a slightly serious face and picked up her phone. She seemed to be checking something.

“Well—of course, it’s not like it’ll happen just because we decide. As you know, it’s a global launch as a Netflix original, so we have to negotiate with Netflix headquarters and several other places, but······”

“But?”

“It’s possible, leave that to me. It’ll be more work, but that’s fine.”

Then, Kim So-hyang, the general director, looked at Song Man-woo PD again.

“Originally, ‘Beneficial Evil’ was scheduled to open around the middle or end of next year—PD-nim, if we split it into two parts of six episodes, when do you think we can launch it?”

As if he already knew the answer, Song Man-woo PD said,

“If we film like we’re grinding our bones, and edit in the spare time we have. If we speed up more than usual.”

He answered immediately.

“The earliest would be the end of this year, and the latest would be early next year. For the editing of episodes 1-6.”

Back in Cannes, France. Around lunchtime.

Kang Woo-jin, who had arrived in Cannes, which was overflowing with hundreds of thousands of tourists, was now at his hotel. It was a five-star hotel near the ‘Palais des Festivals’ [Festival Palace], with a swimming pool and a vast park-like terrace as standard. The interior of the hotel, which was entirely white, was naturally crowded with people.

“$@%@*(*%&*@”

“*)@*(@&%(*@%&*@”

The spacious lobby was particularly noisy. Languages from various countries were mixed, and the races of the people gathered were also diverse.

They were all people who had been officially invited to the Cannes Film Festival.

Not only Hollywood but also renowned filmmakers from all over the world had gathered. Of course, other hotels were the same. They all had excited or thrilled faces. It was natural. There were only six hours left until the Cannes Film Festival.

It was past 1 PM, and the opening of the Cannes Film Festival was at 7 PM sharp.

From then on, many celebrities would walk the red carpet that was laid out in front of the ‘Palais des Festivals.’ Probably, without a doubt, the nearly 5,000 journalists who had been officially invited were now taking their places around the red carpet.

“I saw earlier, there were a lot of reporters around the ‘Palais des Festivals.’”

“There would be. Cannes said they invited more than twice as many as last year.”

Of course, there would also be reporters and broadcasting stations from various countries who had not been invited outside the red carpet.

There would be nearly 10,000 members of the press.

What they had in common was that the attire of all the people here, the reporters, etc., all those officially invited to the Cannes Film Festival, was the same. Men wore black tuxedos, and women wore dresses. This was the same for the reporters, and the unified attire made the prestige of the Cannes Film Festival even grander.

Around this time, Kang Woo-jin was also.

“Oppa!! Woo-jin oppa!! The tuxedo has arrived!!”

“Ugh—6 hours left! Oppa! If you come out wearing the tuxedo, we’ll do your hair right away!!”

He was busy preparing for his entry into the Cannes Film Festival. The place was his room. In the medium-sized room, Kang Woo-jin, as well as the stylist team led by Han Ye-jeong, were bustling. Woo-jin also had to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Ah, oppa has to smash the red carpet today!!”

“It’s possible to overwhelm the Hollywood stars! I saw the actors in the lobby, and their looks are not that great!”

“You were just downstairs jumping around saying it was amazing, weren’t you?”

“Ack! Ye-jeong sunbae-nim [senior]! That’s a secret!”

Everyone was out of their minds. Choi Seong-geon, who was sitting on one side of the room, was also busy on the phone. However, only Kang Woo-jin, who had just received the tuxedo, was calm.

“Okay, I’ll change and come out.”

No, he was pretending to be. It was a concept. As soon as Woo-jin entered the closet-cum-fitting area.

—Thud.

As soon as the door closed, he swept back his black hair. He let out a small breath. Intense tension leaked from his mouth.

‘······I’m going crazy. Calm down, you heart.’

He was genuinely nervous. It started when he arrived at Nice Airport. Then, when he saw the ‘Palais des Festivals’ where the Cannes Film Festival would be held, and then the hundreds of thousands of spectators gathered in Cannes. The final blow was when he entered this hotel. Clearly, there were actors he had only seen in Hollywood movies and foreigners who looked like they had great power.

It was a global festival, not a domestic one.

Who wouldn’t be nervous?

In particular, Kang Woo-jin was only in his second year. As fast as his speed was, his adaptation was also rapid, but this place called Cannes, France, didn’t seem real no matter how much he looked at it. Walking among hundreds of thousands was on a different level than the Blue Dragon Awards [a South Korean film award].

But what could he do?

‘Agh—damn it, I don’t know. It’s all about spirit! So what if I die?’

Whether it was a dream or another world, the answer was no turning back. Kang Woo-jin slowly took a deep breath and calmed his heart. He put on the tuxedo. Then, when Woo-jin, who was dressed appropriately, came out, the stylists who had been waiting rushed to him. Their skills were needed to adjust the bow tie and the angles of the tuxedo.

Meanwhile, Han Ye-jeong, who was standing in front of Woo-jin, asked.

“Oppa, aren’t you nervous?”

Uh, I feel like I’m going to die? But Kang Woo-jin, with his deep indifference, lowered his voice as much as possible.

“Not really.”

“Honestly, I thought oppa would show some vulnerability in Cannes, since this is Cannes after all. But I was wrong. I think oppa would be the same even if he went to space.”

No, no, space doesn’t make sense, does it? No, does it make sense? If there was a subspace, there was nothing he couldn’t go to, whether it was space or a black hole.

‘Ah—come to think of it, I’ve had so much experience in subspace that I can calm down quickly in situations like this.’

As the stylists were working on Woo-jin’s hair and makeup, Choi Seong-geon, who had been sitting on a chair on one side of the room, finished his call and stood up. He was holding a tablet in his hand and showed the tablet to Woo-jin.

“These are the judges for this year’s Cannes Film Festival.”

Ten foreign names were displayed on the tablet. They were all renowned figures in the film industry of their respective countries. They would watch the 20 works in the ‘Competition’ section and select the winning works.

“They’ve already gone to the ‘Palais des Festivals’ to take pictures and are making a fuss. There are a lot of interviews, and ‘Leech’ was mentioned a lot. Wait.”

He took out his phone and recited what he had written down.

“‘Leech’ is anticipated. It’s the only Korean work, and director Ahn Ga-bok is a great director. Etc. Even if it’s lip service, the judges’ reactions are good.”

Then, Choi Seong-geon flipped through the tablet screen.

“Next is the screening schedule for the ‘Competition’ section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.”

It was, in a way, the most important thing.

“The official screening is from October 1st tomorrow.”

All the films invited to the Cannes Film Festival were screened in various theaters in the city of Cannes. Among them, the 20 works in the ‘Competition’ section, which was considered the main section, were scheduled to be screened only in the ‘Lumiere Theater,’ the largest theater inside the ‘Palais des Festivals.’ It had nearly 3,000 seats.

The screening schedule was simple.

The 20 works were divided into ten days, with two works being screened each day. The times were twice a day, in the morning and afternoon.

In other words, two works on October 1st, two works on the 2nd, and so on. It was up to the people participating in the film festival to decide which films to watch. Of course, the official judges had to watch all the films. After all 20 works were screened during the ten-day Cannes Film Festival, the 10 judges would make their final decision on the last day.

That would lead to the awards at the closing ceremony.

Whatever it was, Choi Seong-geon tapped the tablet with his index finger.

“‘Leech’ is on the second day. October 2nd. The times are 9 AM and 7 PM.”

At that moment.

—Bzz, bzz.

Kang Woo-jin’s phone, which was on the table, rang, and Choi Seong-geon, who had put down the tablet, picked up the phone and handed it to Woo-jin. The caller was a superstar who was currently in Cannes.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Miley Cara.”

Woo-jin, who had answered, put the phone to his ear.

“Yes, this is me.”

Miley Cara’s laughter-filled voice was heard from the other side of the phone.

“Where are you now?”

A few hours later.

The ‘Palais des Festivals,’ a huge venue.

The area in front of this place, where the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival would be held, was about to explode. From the entrance, there were hundreds of reporters and Cannes officials, a long and wide red carpet, thousands of reporters and broadcasting teams lined up on both sides, and countless tourists, easily exceeding tens of thousands, covering them.

The time was 7:10 PM, and the red carpet procession had already begun.

“Hey!! Natalie!! Natalie!!!”

“Natalie!!!”

“Over here!! Please look over here!!”

“Give us a wave! Give us a wave!!!”

The sight of thousands of reporters all wearing tuxedos was spectacular. Their shouts did not stop. The camera shutters also clicked endlessly.

—Flash! Flash! Flash!

They were flashing so relentlessly that it felt like morning, not afternoon. Tripods were standard, and many reporters were on small ladders. There were even broadcasting teams filming with small cranes and drones. The screams and shouts of the tourists were deafening.

Was it the World Cup? It felt like it.

On the other hand, the big-name directors, actors, and celebrities from various countries walking the red carpet showed no signs of nervousness.

“Swinton!!! Swinton!”

“Eric!!! Hey! Eric!! Give us a wave!!”

“Annie~!! Annie!!!”

They waved to the reporters or chatted with them, showing their composure. It was a scene where their experience was evident. Above all, when a Hollywood superstar appeared, the madness here exploded more than ever.

About 10 minutes had passed.

The time was approaching 7:30 PM, and dozens of big stars had passed through the red carpet.

—Screech!

Among the many vans and limousines that had stopped in order, a white limousine had just stopped at the end of the red carpet. There were also many reporters of various races wearing tuxedos here.

—Flash! Flash! Flash!

—Flash! Flash! Flash!

The reporters were flashing like crazy, even though no one had gotten out of the white limousine yet.

Soon.

—Click.

A burly guard opened the back door of the limousine. A blonde woman with a black dress that exposed her chest and back stepped out. As soon as they saw her, the hundreds of reporters nearby foamed at the mouth and shouted her name.

“It’s Miley!!!”

“Oh!! Miley Cara!!”

“Miley!! Miley!! Over here, over here!”

“Hey, hey!! Miley!!”

It was natural since she was the global star Miley Cara. She waved to the reporters with her signature faint smile. The reporters clicked their shutters like they were possessed.

At that moment.

—Swoosh.

Behind Miley Cara, another person got out of the white limousine. A man with neatly swept-back black hair and a perfectly fitting tuxedo, from the bow tie to the whole thing being black. A man whose face was full of indifference at first glance. As soon as he got out, he calmly scanned the chaotic surroundings.

“······”

The hundreds of reporters tilted their heads. Who is he? They looked puzzled. But they still clicked their shutters like crazy. A barrage of flashes that seemed to blind them. Soon, Miley Cara naturally linked arms with the man. Then, she whispered.

“Woo-jin, it’s your first time in Cannes, but your expression is like you’ve been here ten times?”

It was the moment a monster appeared in Cannes.

End