I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 38

Right next to Director Kwon Ki-taek, who was muttering to himself, the production PD asked, “Director, what did you just say? A monster?”

“No.”

Director Kwon Ki-taek, with his arms crossed, shook his head. “It was just me talking to myself,” he answered softly, now staring intently at Kang Woo-jin in the interrogation room. Woo-jin was currently filming a solo take of the same scene.

‘With acting that absurd, there was no reason for an audition. Once this drama airs, he’ll be flooded with offers.’

Did Woo Hyun-gu not see Kang Woo-jin’s acting? If he had, he wouldn’t have pushed for an audition in the first place.

‘He’s in disgrace now, but to reject a master like Woo Hyun-gu—is he bold or just fearless?’

Then, Director Kwon Ki-taek recalled Kang Woo-jin’s appearance from the morning.

‘Wasn’t he amazed by the large studio? His image is different now. Is he the type whose acting persona is different from his usual self?’

Soon, Director Kwon Ki-taek asked the production PD again, “What do you think of that rookie? From your perspective?”

The production PD, who had also been watching Kang Woo-jin, quickly answered, “He’s amazing. There’s nothing to criticize about his acting. His attention to detail is unbelievable. I’d even want to watch him closer.”

“The control of his breathing, his restraint. Yet, he has explosive power. Look at his gaze. It’s incredible. Ryu Jung-min, who saw that up close, must have been chilled to the bone.”

The casting director who came with them also chimed in, “He must be a method actor. It’s hard to see that as acting; it’s more like he’s bringing the character to life. That means his script analysis and understanding are outstanding.”

The production PD turned his head. “Kim, is this your first time seeing him too? I’m definitely seeing him for the first time.”

“Yes, he’s unfamiliar to me as well. Honestly, there isn’t a theater, musical, or entertainment company I haven’t been to. I’m a bit taken aback too; a talent like him should have been noticeable… I’m sorry, Director. My search was a bit lacking.”

As the casting director bowed his head, Director Kwon Ki-taek calmly shook his head. “No, maybe he just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Song PD would know the situation best. More importantly…”

Director Kwon Ki-taek, alternating his gaze between Ryu Jung-min and Kang Woo-jin on the set, stroked his chin. “The rumor about raising the quality of acting seems to be true. Ryu Jung-min is far exceeding my expectations. He’s really been working hard.”

“Yes, his form has definitely improved a lot compared to before.”

“It’s not just that his form has improved. He’s taken a big step forward as an actor.”

Director Kwon Ki-taek, who had been quietly muttering, pointed at Kang Woo-jin with his index finger. “And the starting point for raising the acting level of the actors in this project was probably that rookie kid.”

“That rookie, Kang Woo-jin?”

“Yes. In my eyes, it doesn’t look like that kid is following Ryu Jung-min, but rather Ryu Jung-min is holding onto him. Usually, the top actors are the pillars of the set, right? They’re the ones who keep things running smoothly.”

“That’s right, with the atmosphere and relationships with the staff, and so on.”

“But Ryu Jung-min, the male lead of this project, is desperately focused only on acting, without any of that. Look at Ryu Jung-min’s eyes. Is he looking around? He’s only looking at the rookie on the opposite side. He’s constantly maintaining his role.”

The production PD and the casting director nodded. Now that they heard it, it did seem like Ryu Jung-min was solely focused on acting. It felt like the rookie Kang Woo-jin was in the lead. Director Kwon Ki-taek was certain.

“I don’t know the circumstances, but it must be that the actors, including Ryu Jung-min, have been spurred on by that kid, Kang Woo-jin.”

“Hmm—”

“Think about it. It’s already a big deal with the veteran Song PD on set and Park Eun-mi’s work. But if an unknown rookie acts better, would the public not notice?”

“It would definitely hurt the pride of the top actors.”

“Overall, the quality of the work goes up. That rookie is playing the main pillar of this drama, whether he knows it or not.”

At that moment, the casting director, who was scanning the area around the large studio set, interjected, “Director, you’ve checked everything you needed to, so how about we leave? The staff and the actors’ managers are starting to glance over here.”

It was true. Especially Ryu Jung-min’s team was whispering. If they stayed any longer, it was only a matter of time before things got noisy. However, the easygoing Director Kwon Ki-taek couldn’t bring himself to leave.

“It’s a shame. If the situation were better, I’d want to watch until the end.”

He was itching to watch a bit more. Not just Ryu Jung-min, but he wanted to keep that unbelievable rookie, Kang Woo-jin, in his sight. More precisely, his acting was pulling him in.

“That kid’s acting has a power that captivates the eyes.”

Director Kwon Ki-taek, letting out a sigh of regret, moved his feet while muttering quietly, “But what was he doing all this time before appearing now?”

Several hours later, in the afternoon.

The ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team was filming non-stop. They had gathered early in the morning and were now in the afternoon. Except for lunchtime, they had been almost entirely focused on filming, and thanks to that, they were able to get through quite a few shots.

However.

“Lighting team! The lights are flickering here?!”

“Ah—I’ll check it right away!”

“Boom mic!! The PD says to get it together!! It can’t come down and get caught on camera like before!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Coffee, coffee! Please refill the coffee here!”

The large studio set was still running chaotically. The sun had already set, but the energy of the dozens of staff members was no different from the morning.

Running, jumping, setting up, shouting, checking.

The set was running without a break. Of course, all the staff were tired, but no one showed it. Rather, they were energized.

“Those scenes just now were amazing, right??”

“Yeah, yeah, Jung-min and Woo-jin are really acting like they’re possessed… wow.”

“Isn’t this going to be a huge hit in viewership?”

“It has to be! Haha, it’s been a while since we’ve had a reward vacation!”

From the first shoot, the actors’ acting was unbelievably good. That meant the quality of the visuals would be high. As a result, it would inevitably affect viewership.

In other words, the numerous staff members were full of anticipation.

Meanwhile.

‘I’m dying. I might really die.’

Kang Woo-jin, sitting in the interrogation room set, was in a state where his soul might leave his body. Of course, he was habitually holding onto his persona, so his expression was firm, but inside, he was groaning.

‘This is really… much, much harder than I thought? What did I even do here today? Ah—right, acting. Okay, I think I did the acting properly.’

The pace was completely different from when he was at the ‘Errand Agency.’ Clearly, he heard ‘Cut’ from Song Man-woo PD, but then he immediately heard ‘Action.’ Then again, ‘Cut.’ Immediately, ‘Action.’

What was this speed?

He had prepared himself, but the amount and speed far exceeded his expectations. It was overwhelming for Kang Woo-jin, who had only been an actor for two months, and the urgent atmosphere of the set was not something he could get used to. Woo-jin felt like he was the only one floating in this huge space.

But now there was no turning back. He couldn’t retreat. So, he had no choice but to grit his teeth.

‘Ha—I don’t know. I’ll figure it out somehow. I’m not really going to die.’

What was fortunate was that the ‘Park Daeri’ [Park Daeri is the character Kang Woo-jin is playing] persona that Kang Woo-jin possessed had become even more solid compared to before, and the time it took to bring it out was almost nonexistent. Not to mention the clearly imprinted lines. Kang Woo-jin was newly grateful for the subspace’s abilities.

At that moment.

—Swish.

Ryu Jung-min, having finished his hair check, entered the set. Holding a script in one hand, he sat opposite Kang Woo-jin, and with his appearance, Woo-jin made his poker face even more solid.

‘······’

‘······’

The two hadn’t talked much since this morning. For Ryu Jung-min, it was to maintain the tone of his character, Yoo Ji-hyung, but Kang Woo-jin was just keeping his mouth shut because he didn’t have anything to say. It was also awkward with the handsome top actor.

The staff watching this were impressed.

“They both look so serious even though they’re not filming?”

“I’ve heard that actors have a battle of nerves when filming sensitive scenes.”

“Ah, so are the two of them still having a psychological battle as Yoo Ji-hyung and Park Daeri?”

“You could say that. That’s why the shots are so amazing.”

On the other hand, Kang Woo-jin was just having a psychological battle with himself. Should I pretend to look at the script since Ryu Jung-min is looking at it? Thanks to that, Woo-jin calmly picked up the script and opened it.

‘But it’s a bit cold here.’

It was spring, but the night was still chilly. On top of that, the studio itself was full of cold air. That’s why Kang Woo-jin felt a slight chill. His fingertips were trembling slightly. However, Ryu Jung-min, who was glancing at Woo-jin from across the way, didn’t miss it.

“Park Daeri, it’s not easy to recover your emotions, is it? You feel like you’re about to burst. My hand cramped up earlier too.”

As expected of a top actor’s keen eye. However, Kang Woo-jin didn’t know what he was talking about. What was this sudden emotional recovery? Although he didn’t understand, Woo-jin stared heavily at Ryu Jung-min. He thought it would be better to tell the truth here.

So, a spoonful of humanity.

“No, it’s just a bit cold.”

“···It’s okay. An actor can’t be perfect in everything. Emotional recovery is a natural process. There’s no need to hide it. I know you couldn’t come to the dinner after the script reading because you were recovering your emotions.”

No, I’m saying it’s cold, senior? Why won’t you believe me? Besides, Kang Woo-jin had been sleeping soundly during the script reading. Woo-jin felt a bit frustrated inside, but Ryu Jung-min, unaware of this, showed a pleasant smile.

“I know it well, so you can feel comfortable.”

“···Thank you for your consideration, senior.”

At that moment, Song Man-woo PD, who was talking with the key staff members like the lighting director, shouted, “Okay! Jung-min, Woo-jin! Let’s start rehearsing the lines for the next scene!”

Kang Woo-jin, handing the script to Jang Soo-hwan, vaguely felt something from the situation just now.

‘Isn’t it possible that even if I reveal my persona, people won’t believe it??’

After that.

The first shoot of ‘Profiler Hanryang,’ in which Kang Woo-jin participated, was finished late at night. And one record was set during this shoot.

Song Man-woo PD, proudly announcing that record in the van on the way back, “Hey, hey, do you know how many NGs [NG stands for ‘No Good’, meaning a take that needs to be reshot] there were today? 15 times, 15 times. Out of those, five were due to lighting issues or other on-set mistakes, and only ten were due to actor NGs?”

The number of NGs was extremely low. Ryu Jung-min had about 7, and Kang Woo-jin had 3. However, Woo-jin’s NGs were not due to mistakes. They were NGs caused by the expression being too intense.

If you think about it, Kang Woo-jin had no mistakes at all.

Well, it was natural since he was receiving the buff from the subspace. The male lead, Ryu Jung-min, was not unaware of this. Thanks to that, Ryu Jung-min was once again filled with determination in the van on the way back.

‘7 times… 5 of those were line mistakes.’

“Jung-min, 7 times is still very low, isn’t it?”

“Kang Woo-jin had no line mistakes at all. I felt embarrassed when he called me senior today.”

“That’s… Kang Woo-jin is a bit abnormal.”

“It’s abnormal for a top actor to make more line mistakes than a rookie. Hyung [Hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older males], help me with my lines today. Sleep over at my place.”

“Huh? Ah… okay, sure.”

On the other hand, Kang Woo-jin, at the same time as parting ways with ponytail Choi Sung-gun.

“Woo-jin! You were the best today, the best! You know?! Song PD and the staff all praised you!”

“Ah, yes. Praised. Yes.”

“You won’t be able to sleep much, but get some rest! We’ll be on standby at 7 tomorrow morning, so I’ll pick you up at 5!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Kang Woo-jin, arriving at his studio apartment, barely managed to drop his persona and collapsed onto the bed in his clothes. He was too tired to even wash up. His whole body felt like lead. He wanted to sleep for 24 hours straight, forgetting about being an actor.

‘Ha—this is soooooo damn hard.’

He had to go out again in 5 hours and 30 minutes anyway. It would be okay to sleep like this and go out, right?

‘Ah, but I should brush my teeth.’

His head was telling him to do it, but Woo-jin’s body wouldn’t move. The huge set he had experienced for the first time and the tension and urgency he had maintained all day were still vivid in his body. He didn’t even remember what he had done. It was just filming, filming, filming.

Oh well. Kang Woo-jin slowly closed his eyes.

At that moment.

—Vrr, vrr.

The phone tucked into his jeans vibrated loudly. Kang Woo-jin barely managed to check the caller. It was none other than.

—Hong Hye-yeon.

It was top actress Hong Hye-yeon. She was probably trying to encourage him since the first shoot was over.

‘······’

For some reason, Kang Woo-jin just stared at the phone screen. Normally, he would have been amazed and picked it up right away. Soon, Kang Woo-jin closed his eyes and put the phone down.

‘I’m sorry, Hong Hye-yeon.’

Sleep was the priority now.

Then, early the next morning.

In front of the huge set complex in Ilsan. Of course, it was the set of ‘Profiler Hanryang,’ and Song Man-woo PD was sitting alone in a van parked in the parking lot. He was stroking his chin and looking down at his phone.

At that moment.

—Click.

The back door of the car suddenly opened, and a friendly-looking man got in. It was the master director Kwon Ki-taek, who had also been on set yesterday. What was interesting was that Song Man-woo PD was quite relaxed despite his sudden appearance.

“Hello, Director.”

“Nice to see you. I didn’t get to say hello yesterday, PD.”

The reason was simple. They had already made an agreement. Due to Song Man-woo PD’s busy schedule, Director Kwon Ki-taek had visited again.

“Haha, it’s okay. We both had things to do.”

“Thank you for making time despite being busy today.”

Director Kwon Ki-taek, speaking softly, shook hands with Song Man-woo PD. Anyway, the big shots of the film and drama industries were sitting face to face in the van. Song Man-woo PD was quick to start the conversation.

“Did you see Ryu Jung-min well yesterday?”

“Yes, his acting form has improved a lot.”

“That’s a relief. Did you see him for casting in your next project?”

“That’s right. It’s still confidential, though.”

“I see. I’ll keep it to myself.”

Director Kwon Ki-taek, nodding slowly, chuckled softly. “But about that rookie from yesterday, Kang Woo-jin.”

Song Man-woo PD answered as if he had been waiting for it. “Yes, Woo-jin. I thought you’d be surprised.”

“Surprised? No. I couldn’t sleep last night because of that kid. The reason I asked to meet today is also because of Kang Woo-jin. Where did you find him? Theater? Our casting director doesn’t know him at all.”

“It’s more like he suddenly fell from the sky rather than me finding him.”

“···Suddenly fell? Really? Does that mean you didn’t find him, PD?”

“Yes. It’s more accurate to say that he appeared at the right time.”

“Hmm, if it’s okay, could you tell me a bit about that kid’s information?”

“I don’t know much either. Woo-jin is a very mysterious friend.”

“Even a little is fine.”

Soon, Song Man-woo PD paused for a moment, gauging Director Kwon Ki-taek’s face, and then opened his mouth. His eyes were full of ambition.

“First of all, Woo-jin has been acting alone. Without anyone’s help, all by himself.”

“···Hmm? What do you mean by that? Alone?”

The big shot of the drama industry was infecting the big shot of the film industry with a misconception.

“If you investigate a bit, you’ll find that Woo-jin has no connections in the domestic acting scene. It’s almost certain that he’s self-taught.”

“···?”

Song Man-woo PD was the host.

At the same time, in Kang Woo-jin’s van.

The van of Kang Woo-jin’s team, including Kang Woo-jin and ponytail Choi Sung-gun, was driving on the road. Of course, the destination was the large set of ‘Profiler Hanryang.’

Among them, Kang Woo-jin was.

‘······’

He was looking out the window cynically, but inside, he was out of it. He was sleep-deprived. Regardless, Choi Sung-gun in the passenger seat and stylist Han Ye-jung were full of energy. They were having an in-depth conversation about today’s filming.

Then.

“Ah, right, right. Woo-jin.”

Choi Sung-gun in the passenger seat turned around and called out to Kang Woo-jin. “Sorry for interrupting your script thoughts, but I got this.”

He handed a bundle of papers to Woo-jin, and Kang Woo-jin, receiving the bundle, asked back in a low voice, “Thank you. But what is this?”

Choi Sung-gun, grinning, gave a simple answer. “You asked me to get it, right? The Japanese script.”

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