I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 401

Kang Woo-jin walked down a hallway inside a ‘World Disney Pictures’ building, with Choi Sung-gun beside him. The rest of their team waited in the car. Woo-jin, maintaining his composed demeanor, kept his gaze forward. A foreign female employee led the way, and Kang Woo-jin, with an indifferent expression, was inwardly impressed by her stature.

‘Wow, she’s really tall. Is she about my height? Maybe even taller?’

The female employee was indeed imposing. She was nearly as tall as Woo-jin, who was over 180cm [approximately 5’11”]. ‘Is this really America?’ Kang Woo-jin was once again struck by how everything seemed larger in America. The employee wasn’t the only thing to catch his eye. The hallway itself was filled with sights: various Disney posters on the walls, life-sized character statues, and numerous foreigners passing by.

What was interesting was…

‘Hmm?’

The foreigners passing by were all staring at Kang Woo-jin or whispering about him. Choi Sung-gun, who was retying his ponytail, offered an explanation, whispering into Kang Woo-jin’s ear.

“They must find you fascinating.”

“……”

“Don’t take it the wrong way. To them, you’re like an alien. Right? You suddenly appeared out of nowhere, got involved with Miley Cara, made ‘Beneficial Evil’ a hit, and even landed the lead in ‘Pierrot.’ And now you’re a candidate for the ‘Beast’ in ‘Beast and Beauty.’ It’s something that’s difficult even for Hollywood actors, and a Korean actor is doing it, so it’s understandable they’d find it unusual.”

‘I guess so?’ Woo-jin thought, understanding after considering it. It was like a foreigner from a country with an unfamiliar name appearing in Korea and causing a stir.

‘I’d be dumbfounded too.’

Being treated like an alien was understandable. He was causing quite a stir without any warning. Woo-jin quickly ignored their stares. This kind of oddball treatment had been a part of his life since he gained his subspace ability. It wasn’t something to dwell on.

Soon.

-Swoosh.

The female employee, their guide, stopped walking. She smiled and gestured to the right.

“You can go in.”

The inside beyond the glass door was visible. Seeing the long table, it was clearly a conference room. Choi Sung-gun opened the glass door first, and Kang Woo-jin followed. Inside, several foreigners were already seated, probably more than a dozen. Kang Woo-jin immediately scanned them.

‘Hmm—are these the people from the last pre-meeting? There are some new faces. But what’s this? Is the audition here? That’s not ideal.’

The higher-ups of the ‘Beast and Beauty’ team—executives and producers from ‘World Disney Pictures,’ key staff, and even the director—stood up as soon as they saw Kang Woo-jin and greeted him. Most of it was ‘congratulations.’

“Congratulations on ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.'”

“I was surprised, I didn’t know you’d announce it so widely.”

“Congratulations, haha. Your recognition is growing so quickly.”

“It’s been a while. I’m enjoying ‘Beneficial Evil.’ The fact that it’s number one in the US on Netflix is truly amazing; I hope it does even better.”

Kang Woo-jin shook hands with the various foreigners, accepting their congratulations politely. It was a bit tedious to respond to each one individually.

‘Why are they all coming to talk to me? Can’t one person represent them?’

He had to endure it. He had the audition to think about and needed to maintain his image. Therefore, Woo-jin kept a firm expression. After about ten minutes, Kang Woo-jin and the ‘Beast and Beauty’ team sat facing each other at the long table. The first to speak from the foreign side was an older man sitting in the middle. He was balding and wore black horn-rimmed glasses.

He looked to be in his 60s.

“‘Beneficial Evil’ was really interesting, especially the action scenes; they were spectacular. I didn’t know Kang Woo-jin was good at action too.”

Kang Woo-jin replied calmly in English.

“Thank you, director.”

The old man with black horn-rimmed glasses was Bill Lautner, the director in charge of the live-action ‘Beast and Beauty’ movie. He was a well-respected director in Hollywood. Although he didn’t have many awards, he had many hit films and had worked with ‘World Disney Pictures’ frequently.

Director Bill Lautner continued, with a serious expression.

“Today’s ‘Beast and Beauty’ audition and screen test will be conducted privately.”

Unlike ‘Pierrot,’ he wouldn’t be able to see other actors.

“And the audition will not be held here; we will be moving to another location. The reason we called you here first is because you are the first in the audition order, so we can move together.”

He then explained how the ‘Beast and Beauty’ audition would proceed.

“The location for the audition and screen test is the actual set where ‘Beast and Beauty’ will be filmed. The set construction is still in progress, but the place where the audition will be held is complete. There, Kang Woo-jin, you just need to show us the image we want. Your costume will also be changed.”

The actual filming set? Woo-jin listened calmly, but he was slightly excited inside. It meant he would be the first actor to step onto the filming set of ‘Beast and Beauty.’ Afterwards, Woo-jin answered questions from the executives and producers of ‘World Disney Pictures,’ and it was only after about 30 minutes that he was able to leave the conference room.

The ‘Beast and Beauty’ team seemed to be moving all at once.

In terms of scale, it was roughly over 100 people.

And that wasn’t even half of the total staff. Several vehicles, including vans, trucks, and buses, left ‘World Disney Pictures’ one by one. Woo-jin’s van was among them. Soon, Choi Sung-gun, in the car, searched the destination he had received and told Kang Woo-jin.

“‘SPT Studio.’ It seems to be a famous set filming location around here. It’s a whopping 50,000 pyeong [approximately 165 acres]. Wow—the size is like…”

50,000 pyeong? Honestly, Kang Woo-jin couldn’t quite grasp it. He’d find out when he got there. Choi Sung-gun’s briefing continued. The filming plan for ‘Beast and Beauty’ was 80% set and 20% outdoor, and so on.

“That 80% set filming is at ‘SPT Studio,’ where we’re going now. They can’t use the internal stage at ‘World Disney Pictures’ because another movie is using it first. The schedule didn’t match, so they must have contracted another external studio.”

Listening to the information, Kang Woo-jin’s van traveled for about an hour. The dense buildings had thinned out, there were many empty lots, and in front, a huge gray warehouse was visible. That was the entrance to the 50,000 pyeong ‘SPT Studio.’

-Vroom!

Many vehicles from the ‘Beast and Beauty’ team entered ‘SPT Studio.’ Kang Woo-jin was among them. Around this time, Woo-jin…

“……”

He wore a cynical expression, but internally, his mouth was wide open.

‘Wow—damn!! Crazy!! It’s so huge! This is a movie filming set??!!’

He couldn’t help but be shocked by the size of ‘SPT Studio.’ He had been surprised by large set complexes in Korea, but this was on a different level. It was several times larger and more vast than a huge apartment complex. The warehouse-type stages that passed by were twice as large as logistics warehouses, and there were dozens of them. Moreover, set construction teams were lined up in front of every warehouse-type stage.

This sight alone was amazing.

However, the place where Kang Woo-jin was truly amazed was different. It was when Woo-jin, who had stopped in front of an enormous warehouse, entered the interior.

‘……Damn it, this is insane. Is this real??!!’

As soon as he stepped onto the set, Kang Woo-jin forgot about his composure and stopped in his tracks. Then, he took in the awe-inspiring scene before him. High ceilings, numerous lights hanging from the ceiling, a dozen or so ornate chandeliers hanging slightly below, antique furniture, pillars with various patterns engraved on them, and a marble floor with large paintings embedded in it.

If there were nobles wearing evening gowns and other formal attire, it would be the perfect setting for a palace banquet hall.

Kang Woo-jin, looking at the set banquet hall that was a mix of beige and brown overall, thought:

‘This is truly amazing.’

He felt like he had entered a fairy tale or fantasy world. But it was real. In the vast banquet hall set, about a hundred foreign staff members were busy, and various cameras and equipment were being installed here and there.

‘……Spectacular.’

It was a moment where the word ‘spectacular’ fit perfectly. At this moment, Choi Sung-gun, who was openly exclaiming, snapped Woo-jin out of his daze.

“Wow—that’s amazing, I want to say more than that but I don’t know how. It’s just amazing.”

Then, he suddenly tapped Kang Woo-jin’s shoulder and said.

“Woo-jin, over there.”

Woo-jin, who barely managed to maintain his composure, turned his gaze in the direction Choi Sung-gun was pointing.

‘Ah, a piano.’

A piano was placed on one side of the set banquet hall.

Of course.

‘That’s also incredibly fancy.’

It was the piano that Kang Woo-jin would play.

Some time later.

The audition and screen test setup was completed in the set banquet hall where the actual filming of ‘Beast and Beauty’ would take place in the future. The lights on the vast and ornate banquet hall ceiling were turned on, and the dozens of chandeliers hanging from it sparkled. There were also several cameras, some attached to small jibs and others installed separately. Audio equipment was also in place.

There were about a hundred people, including the gathered staff and related personnel such as the director.

From the equipment to the personnel, it was reminiscent of a real filming set, but in reality, this was a simple setup. Many foreigners gathered at a table where monitors were installed. Director Bill Lautner with black horn-rimmed glasses, producers, key staff, executives of ‘World Disney Pictures,’ and many others.

Soon, different angles were displayed on each monitor.

The main one was the piano.

It meant the camera setup was complete. Soon, Bill Lautner, the director of ‘Beast and Beauty,’ looked around. He was looking for Kang Woo-jin. He was checking his costume on one side of the set, and it seemed like he was almost done, as he was about to go on stage soon. At this time, the general producer whispered to Director Bill Lautner.

“In a short period, he has become the most talked-about among the candidate actors. Certainly, when we selected him as a candidate. No, even until the pre-meeting, it wasn’t to this extent. What do you think?”

Director Bill Lautner, who was balding, shrugged his shoulders.

“About what?”

“Unlike the pre-meeting, today Kang Woo-jin has to show what we have decided. Do you think he will do well?”

“Well. But we already know his skills. We’ve verified them and saw them at the pre-meeting. I’m also looking forward to his acting. If he was light, ‘Columbia Studio’ wouldn’t have entrusted him with the start of such a big project.”

At this time.

“Hmm—”

One of the foreign executives who hadn’t seen Kang Woo-jin’s pre-meeting chimed in.

“Still, regardless of his existing skills, the point of today’s audition and screen test is how closely he can assimilate into the ‘Beast’? We know that Kang Woo-jin’s vocal, piano, and acting abilities are high, but the key is how realistically he can express them as the ‘Beast.'”

Well, it wasn’t wrong. It was a common concern. Moreover, ‘Beast and Beauty’ already had a globally beloved original work. Therefore, a perfect synchronization rate would receive a higher score than a creatively adapted version.

In other words, he had to completely abandon his own style and devote everything to the ‘Beast.’

“Sometimes, you know? There are cases where actors get caught up in their own stubbornness and modify and alter the character as they please.”

Some of the executives agreed, having seen similar cases.

“Indeed, actors with good skills often show such behavior. Moreover, isn’t Kang Woo-jin quite strong-willed? It could be an advantage, but I’m worried.”

“It’s good for an actor to have some backbone, but… anyway, getting as close to the role as possible is basic. Appearance, physique, tone, expression, habits, etc. Especially for live-action works like ‘Beast and Beauty.’ I hope Kang Woo-jin doesn’t get confused by his explosive rise and make a mistake.”

As a result, the producers and Director Bill Lautner also nodded. In the flow of the conversation, it seemed that ‘World Disney Pictures’ wanted a ‘Beast’ that was faithful to the original work rather than a creatively adapted ‘Beast.’ They knew that Kang Woo-jin’s skills were outstanding. His energy was also the closest to the ‘Beast’ in the pre-meeting.

However, Kang Woo-jin’s position in Hollywood had changed a lot in the meantime.

With that power, he might make the mistake of deviating from the basics in this audition. This was what ‘World Disney Pictures’ was worried about.

At this time.

“Ready!!”

After the staff’s shout, Kang Woo-jin stepped onto the set banquet hall.

“……”

An indifferent face. His costume was a formal attire with a mix of blue and beige. Silver patterns were engraved in various places, making it quite ornate. As Woo-jin approached the piano, the attention of the hundred or so foreign staff members gathered was focused on him, and Director Bill Lautner, who was at the place where the monitors were placed, said.

“You can start whenever you’re ready.”

Kang Woo-jin sat at the piano, which had a white base and various gold patterns. Woo-jin was displayed on all the monitors at each angle. Then, Woo-jin placed one hand on the keyboard.

-Swoosh.

After briefly running his fingers over the white and black keys, he finally placed both hands on them.

Soon.

-♬♪

The melody of the piano began to resonate in the vast set banquet hall. Woo-jin’s performance had begun. And the tempo gradually increased.

And in just 10 seconds.

“Amazing…”

“……Wow.”

“Incredible, is he really an actor?”

“Even though the sheet music hasn’t been turned much—he’s at such a high level.”

All the foreigners gathered in this banquet hall were gaping. Kang Woo-jin’s piano performance was truly impressive. Then, Director Bill Lautner checked Kang Woo-jin on the monitor.

‘He’s… smiling.’

Woo-jin was wearing a smile mixed with thrill. It was natural. Right now, Kang Woo-jin was not the ‘Beast.’

‘He’s just so happy to be playing the piano right now.’

He was a ‘prince’ before becoming a monster.