I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 352

“Let’s slowly drop the Miley Cara bait for ‘Beneficial Evil’?” Song Man-woo PD, who was walking side by side with Kang Woo-jin, stopped abruptly. Kang Woo-jin did the same. They looked at each other, their eyes communicating. The dozen or so staff members around Song Man-woo PD, on the other hand, wore expressions that seemed to say, ‘What’s going on?’

“······For now.”

After a few dozen seconds of silence, Song Man-woo PD instructed the surrounding staff.

“You guys go inside first. I need to talk to Woo-jin.”

“Yes, sir!”

Several people, including the assistant director, headed towards the studio, which resembled a huge logistics warehouse. Woo-jin’s team, including Han Ye-jeong, followed suit. Soon, only Kang Woo-jin and Song Man-woo PD were left, but the eyes of the extras and staff members a few dozen steps away were still fixed on them.

In response.

“Woo-jin-ssi.”

Bearded Song Man-woo PD gestured to Woo-jin, who maintained a stoic expression. He pointed to a secluded spot next to the studio, an area where filming props were scattered on the floor. Song Man-woo PD started walking, and Kang Woo-jin followed. The ‘Beneficial Evil’ team already knew about the Miley Cara matter, but it was still top secret, and the progress was even more so.

It was best if no one overheard.

Then.

-Swish.

At the corner, Song Man-woo PD, wearing a gray zip-up hoodie, turned serious. He suddenly moved his face close to Woo-jin, who was right in front of him.

“Dropping the Miley Cara bait—so, you’re saying we should immediately reveal her appearance in ‘Beneficial Evil’?”

Close enough to feel his breath, Kang Woo-jin slightly pulled his head back and replied in a low voice.

“Something like that. Do you or Netflix have a specific timing in mind, PD-nim?”

“Timing? No, nothing is set yet. However, ‘Beneficial Evil’ has been divided into parts, and the launch date for Part 1, which covers episodes 1-6, has been moved up considerably. So, I was thinking we might have to drop the Miley Cara thing sooner than originally expected.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, there’s a limit to how much we can keep things under wraps. Our staff is one thing, but controlling the local staff in Bangkok is difficult. Kim So-hyang, the general manager, also knows about this.”

Kang Woo-jin slowly nodded, and Song Man-woo PD continued.

“If you and Miley Cara have discussed it, and you both think it’s time to reveal it, I’ll go along with it. But… if I may add my personal opinion, honestly, it feels a bit too early.”

Song Man-woo PD was a veteran with decades of experience in the Korean drama scene. His judgment was that it was a bit too early.

“Right now, you and ‘Leech’ have turned the world upside down, not just domestically, with the Cannes Film Festival. Just look at the articles pouring out; it’s obvious. I see articles about you even in places like France and Hollywood. Has there ever been an actor like you in Korea? Never.”

“······”

“Thanks to that, your past works, including your future ones, are getting explosive attention. Of course, ‘Beneficial Evil’ is included. Especially since ours is centered around Netflix, and they’ve been talking about challenging the world since way back, it’s been getting even more buzz.”

Song Man-woo PD chuckled softly as he explained.

“I’m grateful, so grateful. I could bow a hundred times and it wouldn’t be enough. We couldn’t buy this kind of publicity even with money. And with Miley Cara’s new album, your recognition overseas is skyrocketing again, right? Wow—now that I’m saying it, it’s really something. So, what I’m saying is…”

“You’re saying that the impact is already sufficient, right? If we drop the Cara bait for ‘Beneficial Evil’ now, the impact might weaken.”

“It’s not good to pile one thing on top of another. Honestly, Miley Cara appearing in a Korean production? It’s definitely a big deal. That’s why it’s even more precious. I think it might be premature to reveal it now?”

After hearing the answer, Woo-jin brought up Cara’s side.

“First of all, Miley Cara said it’s okay to reveal it anytime.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She said she’ll be ready, so just contact her beforehand.”

“That’s good.”

“And I agree with your opinion, PD-nim.”

“Hmm?”

Kang Woo-jin spoke in an even lower voice to Song Man-woo PD, who was tilting his head.

“I only said to drop the ‘bait’.”

“······Only the ‘bait’?”

“Yes. It’s true that we already have more than enough publicity. It would be good to pull some of that towards ‘Beneficial Evil’.”

The look in veteran Song Man-woo PD’s eyes changed. He seemed to have caught on to something.

“Open the floodgates?”

“That’s right.”

Woo-jin, who had spoken calmly, continued.

“Instead of openly revealing it, we should drop the bait in a way that makes people wonder or be ambiguous.”

A smile spread across Song Man-woo PD’s face as he stroked his beard.

“Ah—so you’re saying we should start a snowball effect. Not an official announcement, but intentionally letting the word leak out. For example—we could release a still cut from the Bangkok overseas location shoot that makes people unsure whether it’s Cara or not.”

“Not bad.”

“Since she and you are making a lot of noise right now, rumors will spread quickly, but we’ll keep our mouths shut. Build-up. It burns faster when it’s completely dry.”

As expected, this guy is a big shot. Song Man-woo PD understood perfectly even though Woo-jin’s explanation was vague. He even expanded on the idea that Woo-jin had come up with. In fact, what Kang Woo-jin had just said was something he had learned from watching Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail out of the corner of his eye.

He just threw it out there to see if it would work, but Song Man-woo PD took the bait.

“Haha, that’s right. If we open the floodgates like that, the rumors will become excessive on their own, and the current publicity will be maintained. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not a lie either. All we did was release a teaser photo and keep quiet.”

Woo-jin, with a stiff face, added, unlike his excited inner thoughts.

“With the current atmosphere, it will spread overseas quickly.”

After that.

Kang Woo-jin and Song Man-woo PD, having finished their conversation, entered the warehouse-type studio, which was filled with about a hundred staff members and dozens of actors, and had a Japanese-style set. The first thing that happened was applause.

-Clap clap clap clap!

Upon Woo-jin’s appearance, the hundred or so staff members of ‘Beneficial Evil’ stopped what they were doing and clapped enthusiastically.

-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!

Cheers, praises, and emotional shouts echoed loudly.

“Congratulations!!”

“I honestly stayed up all night to watch the Cannes live broadcast!!”

“Woo-jin-ssi! Congratulations!”

“I got goosebumps when you won Best Actor!!”

“Please show us the Cannes trophy later!”

It was an awkward situation, but Woo-jin maintained his composure as much as possible and bowed his head slightly. Then, the actors flocked to him, including Hwa-rin, who was trying to act indifferent.

“I already contacted you, but congratulations. Watching the live broadcast felt like watching a movie.”

“Thank you.”

Ha Kang-soo, the dinosaur-like actor who had first met him on ‘Our Table’.

“It’s amazing, amazing. You know the ‘Our Table’ group chat exploded, right?”

And the main, supporting, and minor actors of ‘Beneficial Evil’. Every single one of them congratulated Kang Woo-jin. While some actors were genuinely happy, like Hwa-rin, who was jumping for joy inside, there were also actors who were mixed with envy and jealousy.

It didn’t really matter to Kang Woo-jin.

The scene was lively for about 30 minutes, and after things had calmed down, the hundred or so staff members and actors began preparing for filming. Woo-jin did the same. Several staff members gathered around him for wardrobe and makeup, and Kang Woo-jin, who had given his face, scanned the vast set with an indifferent expression.

‘I heard about it, but it’s damn big.’

It was the first time Kang Woo-jin had come to the ‘Beneficial Evil’ filming site since Bangkok. The scale of this super-large set complex was jaw-dropping.

‘There are a total of six of these set warehouses??’

The set that Woo-jin was looking at now was about twice the size of a logistics warehouse. Half of it was set up with Japanese-style houses and buildings, and the other half was a virtual space set up in Korea. There were six more of those set warehouses. In addition, there were outdoor shoots depending on the situation.

‘Ugh—damn, it feels like coming home.’

Anyway, from this moment on, Kang Woo-jin had to shed ‘Park Ha-sung’ from ‘Leech’ for a while and live as ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ from ‘Beneficial Evil’. The schedule would be hell and more. Filming for ‘Beneficial Evil’, existing schedules, things that had been pushed back, and schedules related to the Cannes Film Festival were overflowing.

Of course, Song Man-woo PD also had to grind his bones.

He had to release Part 1 of ‘Beneficial Evil’ on the desired launch date while filming and editing at the same time. Perhaps the intensity was even greater than that of Director Ahn Ga-bok of ‘Leech’.

At that moment.

“Okay! Let’s go for rehearsal!”

Song Man-woo PD shouted to Kang Woo-jin, who had finished preparing.

“Woo-jin-ssi, standby!!”

‘Beneficial Evil’ picks up speed.

Then, early the next day.

Around the time Kang Woo-jin arrived at the super-large complex of ‘Beneficial Evil’ in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do, the media was rapidly releasing new news.

『[Issue Pick] ‘Kang Woo-jin’ and ‘Director Ahn Ga-bok’, who left a legend at the ‘Cannes Film Festival’, are flooded with overseas broadcasting offers from France and Hollywood』

『Kang Woo-jin appears in overseas news / Photo』

It was the same in Korea and overseas, but as if it was just the beginning, numerous issues stimulated the public every hour.

『[Exclusive] Kang Woo-jin, who rose to ‘Global Star’ in an instant… becomes an ambassador for the luxury brand ‘Chanel’』

『‘Chanel’ appoints ‘Man of Cannes’ Kang Woo-jin as new ambassador』

And the explosive power of Miley Cara, who had released her new album about five days ago, was breaking records every day.

『[Issue Talk] Miley Cara’s new album with ‘Kang Woo-jin’ surpasses 1 million copies sold in three days!』

『Miley Cara’s new album… sets a new record for ‘most streamed album in a day’, Kang Woo-jin’s YouTube subscribers and SNS followers surge』

With a few days left until the Billboard chart rankings were updated, the views of Miley Cara’s music video were.

-【alcoholism(feat. WooJin)】｜Miley Cara

-200 million views

It had surpassed 200 million views.

A few days later, on Monday the 18th.

The time was around 7 a.m. In the office near Samsung Station, at BW Entertainment, which had recently become busier than any other entertainment company in Korea, Kang Woo-jin could be found.

-Swish.

Kang Woo-jin entered the empty office before work hours. Wearing a hat and a hoodie, he was with team members such as Jang Soo-hwan, and as if he had already heard about it, Woo-jin immediately moved to the CEO’s office. At the desk in the CEO’s office, Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail was yawning widely.

“Oh, oh, you’re here??”

He jumped up when he saw Woo-jin entering. He looked disheveled, as if he had spent the night at the company. Seeing him, Woo-jin asked in a low voice.

“Did you sleep here?”

“Ah—”

He smiled as he retied his ponytail.

“The meeting yesterday was a bit long, and there were a lot of things to handle. It’s much more beneficial to just sleep here than to go home.”

“Is that so?”

“Don’t worry, man, it’s heaven for me, not hell. Anyway, sit down first. How much time do you have?”

He was asking how much time was left until the departure for the ‘Beneficial Evil’ set.

“About 30 minutes.”

“Okay, then let’s just talk about a few important things right away.”

Choi Sung-gun, who was moving busily, picked up the stacks of papers on the desk and placed them in front of Kang Woo-jin, who was sitting silently at the desk. There were at least five stacks, and the fact that they were handed over by Choi Sung-gun indicated that these stacks of papers were scripts or scenarios.

And that was indeed the case.

“These are scripts and scenarios.”

It had been a while since Choi Sung-gun had handed over scripts and scenarios to Woo-jin. Of course, Kang Woo-jin was constantly receiving domestic scripts and scenarios, but most of them were cut. He couldn’t handle them all in the first place, and there was something Woo-jin had said. That’s why Kang Woo-jin was a bit puzzled.

‘What’s this? Suddenly.’

Kang Woo-jin asked Choi Sung-gun, who was yawning across from him.

“Is there a reason why you’re suddenly giving me these?”

Choi Sung-gun smiled and gestured for him to read them.

“First, take a look.”

“······”

After staring at Choi Sung-gun for a moment, Woo-jin picked up the top script from the pile and opened the first page. He quickly noticed something different.

‘Ah, this.’

The papers were written in French, not Korean. Soon, Choi Sung-gun chimed in as if he had been waiting for the right moment.

“These are scripts and scenarios that came from overseas, not domestic. It hasn’t even been a few days since Cannes ended, and it’s a mess. There were over 100 inquiries, and those 5 stacks are the scripts and scenarios they sent without end. Two from France, two Hollywood movies, and one American drama.”

It was a sign that overseas offers had begun.

For a moment, Kang Woo-jin felt a surge of amazement, but he barely managed to maintain his composure.

“······”

Then, Choi Sung-gun spoke again.

“Is it easier for you to read the original versions? Take a look.”

Knowing Kang Woo-jin’s English and French skills, Choi Sung-gun had given him the original scripts and scenarios without Korean translations. Woo-jin silently checked the covers of the scripts and scenarios.

Then.

‘Hmm?’

Woo-jin stopped at the third stack of papers. A Hollywood scenario. It was because of the English title, and it was also familiar.

-‘Jurassic Land 4’

Kang Woo-jin, who had a stoic expression, was excited inside.

‘No way, seriously? I can’t resist dinosaurs.’