I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 37

Park Daeri’s eyes, fixed on Yoo Ji-hyung, were serene, like a lake at dawn with mist scattered across it. Calm and unwavering. The temperature they conveyed was ambiguous, lukewarm.

But they were intense and dangerous.

Not aggressive, but enough to instill fear. It felt like if you dipped your feet into those deep eyes, you’d be endlessly sucked in. The more you struggled, the deeper and more endless it would become.

Those eyes of Park Daeri changed the atmosphere of the interrogation room.

No need for a hundred words. Just one look, exuding a certain aura, made Park Daeri’s character crystal clear. Yoo Ji-hyung, or rather Ryu Jeong-min, sitting across from him, almost gasped involuntarily.

‘…You’re endless, no matter how much I peel away.’

He even felt a sense of respect for the monster sitting before him.

‘How can he show such a dense gaze in an instant? Just how long has he been honing himself alone?’

As a top actor and as Yoo Ji-hyung, Park Daeri deserved to be admired. Whether he was an enemy or a rival actor, he was amazing. And Ryu Jeong-min understood why, because his opponent was Kang Woo-jin. No, he had no choice but to understand.

That was a power only Kang Woo-jin possessed.

He had seen it during the script reading. An acting so detailed that it swallowed everyone as the character itself, going beyond vividness, as if the character had been brought to life. A versatility that transcended method acting. Unfortunately, those were things Ryu Jeong-min didn’t have.

Therefore.

‘Pull yourself together and look him straight in the eye.’

Ryu Jeong-min steeled his resolve even more. It was a silent, soundless war. He couldn’t back down now, and as Yoo Ji-hyung, it was a picture he had orchestrated.

‘I’ll push forward.’

Yoo Ji-hyung looked directly into Park Daeri’s bizarre eyes. ‘I’m not fazed by your empty eyes. So, get more fired up.’

“Ah.”

Yoo Ji-hyung let out a short sound and smiled faintly.

“Sorry, this isn’t a trivial matter. I made a mistake.”

“······”

A tone somewhere between sarcasm and sincere apology. However, Park Daeri didn’t react much. Now, for the first time, he recognized Yoo Ji-hyung, sitting opposite him, as an enemy.

‘Well, you’re a bit better. You’re not a puppet, it seems.’

Park Daeri raised the corners of his mouth.

“No, the story about my sister who committed suicide. It is trivial.”

About ten seconds of silence passed. Both Yoo Ji-hyung and Park Daeri just stared at each other. The silence was broken by the bearded Song Man-woo PD [Production Director], who suddenly stood up. He shouted loudly.

“Cut!! Oooookay!!”

Kang Woo-jin was startled by the sudden shout.

‘Jeez, I almost said ‘Mommy’.’

Fortunately, he managed to maintain his composure. Song Man-woo PD, unaware of this,

“Great, nice! No, it was amazing!”

He threw down the megaphone and rushed to the interrogation room set.

“What the heck? Did you two start off with such intensity from the first cut??!”

Song Man-woo PD enthusiastically gave both actors a thumbs up. It was understandable. Even for a big shot in the drama industry, the scene just now was one of the best he had ever seen. It wasn’t a cut that a director could see often.

“Hahaha! This is why I can’t quit directing??!”

The dozens of staff members gathered there felt the same way.

“…They’re both crazy.”

“I know, I thought I was going to die from holding my breath.”

“Why is the level of acting so high from the start of filming?”

The directing team, the filming team, and others were busy covering their mouths or expressing shock. It seemed like no team could believe the performance they had just witnessed.

“Did you see Woo-jin’s last eye acting? It was truly chilling. If we zoom in for a close-up, the viewers will be terrified, right?”

“Jeong-min also took some kind of drug, both of them are having a psychological battle, wow – I didn’t expect the feeling of the script to be captured so vividly.”

The staff’s excitement was generally normal. It was the first scene on the first day of filming. The pain they had endured while preparing was washed away by that one scene.

Why?

“This… if it’s this good for us, what will it be like for the viewers? They’ll be completely drawn in, right??”

It was from the anticipation that the final product would be incredible. The dozens of staff members at this site had been working towards that final product.

Meanwhile, the actors’ waiting area was also noisy.

Ryu Jeong-min’s team was busy praising their actor and Kang Woo-jin. It was similar for Kang Woo-jin’s team right next door. Of course, the ponytail-wearing Choi Sung-gun just crossed his arms and smirked.

‘Top. Kang Woo-jin will probably become a top star in the shortest time in history, and I’ll shorten that time even more.’

Road manager Jang Su-hwan, who had recently joined, and stylist Han Ye-jeong couldn’t close their mouths.

“Wow! That was insane! Woo-jin hyung’s acting is seriously amazing?!! Awesome.”

“…Yeah. I’ve seen quite a few top actors in Hye-yeon unnie’s team, but I’ve never seen anything like that. Woo-jin oppa is really good at acting.”

Around this time, Song Man-woo PD was busy briefing the two actors on set. He wanted them to maintain this emotion and tension.

“Let’s go one more time, exactly the same. The visuals are amazing, but I’ll try to shoot it a bit better. Then, let’s do solo cuts of the same scene.”

Whether it’s a drama or anything else, scenes are shot from various angles. They shoot two-shots of the same conversation, and also shoot each person separately, and also from a distance. The scene switches from a conversation to a character and back to a two-shot.

This is to reduce boredom or to show the character’s expressions to the viewers for tension.

Anyway, filming continued.

“Hi- Action!”

Ryu Jeong-min’s solo shot.

“Cut! Okay! This time, Woo-jin!”

Kang Woo-jin’s solo shot.

Or from behind the characters, slightly above, and so on. Perhaps due to Song Man-woo PD’s greed, even cuts that weren’t in the storyboard were added. Of course, the quality would increase as much.

‘Wow- they’re filming this much??’

For Kang Woo-jin, who was experiencing a large-scale drama for the first time, it was exhausting. But.

‘Won’t I be dead after this drama filming is over?’

Filming was just beginning.

An hour later.

Inside the interrogation room, Park Daeri and Yoo Ji-hyung are facing each other. Park Daeri’s lips are curved upwards, but he wasn’t happy. He was looking at Yoo Ji-hyung, but he wasn’t just looking at him.

He was considering everything, including Yoo Ji-hyung.

Park Daeri subtly rolled his deep eyes. Yoo Ji-hyung was holding a pen. It was quite long. Should he stab him in the neck with it? ‘My hands are free now. Should I smash his head with the chair?’ Every second, Park Daeri’s heart grew colder, but his brain was working busily.

He unfolded his cold and detached inner thoughts.

“······”

The tips of Park Daeri’s fingers twitched slightly. Impulse, desire, lust, greed. Whatever the word, they spread throughout Park Daeri’s body and reached his lower body. Park Daeri felt an erection.

The thrill of murder.

‘Ah – what kind of expression will that man make when death is in front of him?’ At that moment, colors were painted in Park Daeri’s vision. Of course, it was only in Park Daeri’s eyes.

Everything was gray.

Black lines were drawn on the silhouettes of humans, and everything from their expressions was filled with gray. But Park Daeri had to endure. He had to hide it. He just looked at Yoo Ji-hyung.

At this moment, Yoo Ji-hyung smiled and waved his hand.

“No, no, sorry.”

“It’s okay. It is trivial. Including my sister, humans are all the same in the end, right? There’s no difference between a patty in a hamburger and a human.”

“Oh my, how scary.”

“I’m just kidding.”

As if he had been waiting for it, Yoo Ji-hyung leaned forward. Clearly, there was a slight change in Park Daeri now. So, he would control the situation.

“You look comfortable, is it comfortable here in the interrogation room?”

“I’m polite to the detectives. I respect them. I think we can communicate. So, there won’t be any uncomfortable situations.”

“Was murder comfortable too?”

At the question, Park Daeri put his hands together. The posture gave validity to what he was saying. Park Daeri was expressing his seriousness through his posture.

“Killing someone is difficult. Creating a proper work is not easy. Others don’t know, yet they talk as they please. Cruel, trash, go die, death penalty is the answer.”

“That’s mostly true.”

“But after two days, they lose interest. ‘What should I eat for lunch today?’ becomes more important. So, while murder itself is arduous, repeating it is easy. Does that answer your question?”

Park Daeri smiled and tapped the thick file in front of Yoo Ji-hyung with his index finger.

“Does that file contain my information? What’s in it?”

He changed the subject. Yoo Ji-hyung knew Park Daeri’s intentions. So, he naturally accepted it and had to give another shock.

“Well, everything? Of course, there’s also the story of your sister.”

“Are those things and the current me helping? You have to figure me out to catch the real culprit.”

Looking at Park Daeri, who had regained his composure, Yoo Ji-hyung sighed and opened the file. As if he was annoyed. Yet, his eyes were analyzing Park Daeri’s gaze and posture.

“Psychopath. At first glance, you might be judged as just a psychopath, but in my opinion, you’re a mix of a sociopath too. Impulsive but also cold-blooded. You know how to systematically control your impulses depending on the situation and the person? That’s why you’re a professional at murder.”

“I see.”

“Usually, sociopaths, unlike psychopaths, often develop from their upbringing. So, I checked your life in detail. It was tiring doing things I don’t usually do.”

“······”

Yoo Ji-hyung slowly turned a page.

“Your father was addicted to gambling and alcohol and was violent every day? That’s a common occurrence. Your father’s targets were your mother and sister, not you. It seems those two desperately protected you, right?”

“No, it’s common sense to attack the weak.”

“But your sister couldn’t endure it. She committed suicide in high school.”

Another page turned.

“Your mother was in the car with your drunk father when he crashed into a utility pole and died instantly. It was a late night, with no people or cars on the road. Circumstantially, your mother was forced to get in. Your father didn’t die instantly, but he died there. The result was concluded as an accident.”

His life was being laid bare, but Park Daeri still had a faint smile on his face. Yoo Ji-hyung sighed softly and put a cigarette in his mouth.

“But when I looked at the case records in detail, there was something strange. Your mother died instantly in the car, but your father crawled out of the car and then died. But there’s a small trace of resistance on him.”

“······”

“Well, it’s an old case and there’s no evidence, so it was closed as is. But it’s strange. What could he have been resisting in that moment of agony?”

At that moment, Yoo Ji-hyung moved his face closer to Park Daeri on the opposite side.

“Could it be that his son, who was a psychopath from the start, and who developed sociopathic tendencies from his hellish life, was the one who did it? What were you doing at that time?”

He pointed at Park Daeri with his index finger.

“Was your father the beginning that awakened the pleasure of serial killing? The serial killings aren’t five, but six.”

Park Daeri’s expression suddenly hardened. Like a stone. His deep eyes were still. He just stared straight at Yoo Ji-hyung’s face, which was close to him. Park Daeri’s erection intensified.

Soon, Park Daeri’s eyes went down.

He saw the pen that Yoo Ji-hyung had placed between the files, and after looking at the pen for a moment, Park Daeri put on the smile he had erased. Then, he whispered to Yoo Ji-hyung.

“You know, the works of mine that are known to the world. Do you think that’s all there is?”

Park Daeri lowered his voice even more.

“Don’t you think there are some that aren’t known?”

Then, he suddenly smirked and grabbed Yoo Ji-hyung by the collar and went berserk. It was a deliberate act.

“You son of a bitch!!!”

It was awkward to stay in the interrogation room any longer. He had to get out. As if it worked, the detectives rushed in, restrained Park Daeri, and put handcuffs on him again. Park Daeri resisted fiercely until he was dragged out of the interrogation room.

The funny thing was.

-Swish.

As soon as he came out into the hallway, his resistance stopped completely. Park Daeri even apologized to the detectives who had grabbed him. His voice was calm.

“I’m sorry for causing a disturbance.”

“…What??”

Here, the main camera zoomed in on Park Daeri’s face. Soon, Park Daeri, who had slightly lowered his head and was twitching his lips, muttered to himself, thinking of Yoo Ji-hyung.

At this moment, Park Daeri’s mind was flashing back to his struggling father.

“Thorough, how did he know?”

Meanwhile.

A gentle-looking man, standing somewhere on the set and watching Park Daeri’s acting, couldn’t hide his surprise.

‘That… actor. Isn’t he the rookie from this morning?’

It was the masked master director Kwon Ki-taek. He had been puzzled from the moment the actor playing Park Daeri entered the interrogation room set. That rookie, who had been looking at the large set with wonder this morning, was now preparing to be in the same scene as Ryu Jeong-min, as if he were a supporting actor.

Why? Why is that unknown rookie being put in the same scene as Ryu Jeong-min?

It was hard for director Kwon Ki-taek to understand. His makeup and costume were properly prepared, and he even had his own camera attached. But no matter how he looked at him, that rookie was a face he had never seen before.

‘Could it be… that his agency has a lot of power?’

It was common in this industry to sell unknown actors by using top actors. Therefore, director Kwon Ki-taek had thought something similar. However, it didn’t take long for that thought to be turned upside down.

‘Ryu Jeong-min is struggling to not get eaten alive. What is that rookie?’

He couldn’t be a bundled-in actor [an actor who is added to a production as part of a deal]. A monster that was making a top actor struggle. That rookie was now overwhelming this huge site with his acting alone. The fact that Kwon Ki-taek, a big shot in the film industry, couldn’t take his eyes off him was proof of that.

‘…Rookie? No, that acting isn’t that of a rookie. Who the heck is he? Is he a friend who’s been in theater for a long time?’

While Kwon Ki-taek was staring intently at Park Daeri’s acting, he called the film production PD standing next to him.

“…That guy, check his name.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. I was about to check it myself. His acting is insane, isn’t it?”

Then, the production PD quietly moved and approached one of the production team staff members and asked something. He returned a few minutes later.

“Director.”

The production PD whispered to Kwon Ki-taek.

“His name is Kang Woo-jin, that actor’s name.”

“Kang Woo-jin?”

“Yes.”

“Wait a minute, Kang Woo-jin? Kang… Woo-jin.”

The gentle Kwon Ki-taek kept repeating the name Kang Woo-jin for some reason. The reason was simple.

“I’m sure – it’s a name I’ve heard somewhere.”

It was a familiar name. Then, suddenly, Kwon Ki-taek’s mind flashed back to director Woo Hyun-gu, who was now in disgrace.

Specifically, it was the curse that director Woo Hyun-gu had uttered when they met at a high-end Chinese restaurant.

‘Some unknown guy rejected my audition, a guy who has no manners at all. His name is Kang Woo-jin…’

At that moment, Kwon Ki-taek’s eyes widened.

“Right, that mannerless unknown actor.”

That’s right. That mannerless unknown actor was here on this set. The threads were connected in a strange place. Of course, that actor named Kang Woo-jin didn’t know Kwon Ki-taek.

Then, Kwon Ki-taek, who chuckled, turned his gaze back to Kang Woo-jin on the set.

“He deserved to be rejected from the audition.”

Then, thinking of director Woo Hyun-gu, he softly murmured.

“He had no choice but to be rejected, after submitting an audition to such a monster.”

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