I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 409

‘Beauty Bella’ calling? As soon as Kang Woo-jin heard Miley Cara’s words over the phone, he thought,

‘Huh? Then??’

Was she confirmed for the role of ‘Beauty Bella’? Otherwise, the situation was strange. It was unlikely that Cara would call this early in the morning just to joke around. Still, Woo-jin checked, keeping his voice as low as possible.

“…You’re saying that ‘Beauty Bella’ is calling, meaning you’re joining me.”

“That’s right.”

Cara’s voice, tinged with laughter, cut off Woo-jin’s words, perhaps because she was in a hurry.

“I’ve become ‘Beauty Bella.’ It means we’ll be completing ‘Beauty and the Beast’ together.”

With the situation confirmed, Woo-jin, with a solemn face, briefly exchanged glances with Choi Sung-gun in front of him. Choi Sung-gun, still holding his diary, was silently asking Woo-jin, ‘Why? What’s going on?’ Kang Woo-jin, instead of answering, congratulated Cara and explained the situation.

“Cara, congratulations on getting the role of ‘Beauty Bella.’”

“It feels strange, doesn’t it? Of course, I thought I would get it, but I’m still happy.”

“You congratulated me, so I should congratulate you too.”

“Ah—I thought you had forgotten to congratulate me, Woo-jin.”

“Please take care of me.”

“Yes, ‘Beast’ Mr. Please take care of me too.”

While Woo-jin and Cara were talking, Choi Sung-gun and the team members around them were making quite a fuss. Choi Sung-gun quickly took out his phone, and the team members, including the stylist,

“!!!”

“Wow—Ugh!”

Quietly danced their shoulders. It seemed they all secretly hoped Cara would get the role. For the team members, Miley Cara, who had already worked with Kang Woo-jin several times on the album and ‘Beneficial Evil,’ would be more comfortable to work with.

More than anything.

“Wow, is ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with Woo-jin oppa [an affectionate term for older brother or male friend] and Miley Cara now going to be released worldwide??”

“I totally agree. The two of them look so good together.”

“I can’t wait to see it. The chemistry between them that we didn’t see during the audition.”

From the team members’ whispers to their wishes, it seemed that Woo-jin and Cara’s synchronization rate was quite high. Woo-jin, who was nonchalantly watching them, was secretly pleased.

‘Heh, they like it, they really like it.’

His heart rate quickened slightly. He wasn’t sure if he had become numb to it from seeing her so often, but Miley Cara, who he was currently talking to, was a top Hollywood superstar. He was going to film ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ which was loved worldwide, with her. Each and every aspect was incredible. How could he express this strange feeling?

No, now was the time to stay calm. He had to be composed.

Woo-jin, putting on a serious act, spoke into his phone in a low voice.

“This is our second project together.”

Miley Cara’s laughter over the phone deepened.

“‘Beneficial Evil’ was actually a bit disappointing because it was short. For me, ‘Beauty and the Beast’ feels like the first one. And the company will contact you, but how about we do a YouTube shoot?”

A YouTube shoot? Woo-jin, who was puzzled, remained silent, and Cara spoke again.

“We haven’t filmed anything since my album. It’s like greeting our fans worldwide as ‘Beast’ and ‘Beauty Bella.’ ‘World Disney Pictures’ said it wouldn’t be a problem. I already asked them.”

Woo-jin thought it wouldn’t matter.

“Sure, let’s do it.”

Around this time, Choi Sung-gun, who had checked the foreign news articles on his phone confirming Cara as ‘Beauty Bella’,

-Swish.

Looked up at Kang Woo-jin in front of him. He was amazed again. It was only a few years ago that he had been captivated by his ‘Manager Park’ acting, and now Kang Woo-jin was talking on the phone with Hollywood superstar Miley Cara as the lead in ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ In LA, the heart of Hollywood. At that moment, something welled up in Choi Sung-gun’s mind.

‘…You’re already a monster. No, a world star, Woo-jin.’

Around this time, Woo-jin’s phone rang again.

“The announcement is already out.”

Cara’s voice was heard again.

“It’s going to be noisy for a while, right?”

After finishing the call with Miley Cara, Kang Woo-jin got into the van for his schedule, and while moving, he checked the foreign news reactions. What was there to say?

‘Wow—damn, the articles are exploding???’

The articles were already spreading beyond LA, across the entire United States.

『CNM/Official announcement from ‘World Disney Pictures,’ Miley Cara confirmed as ‘Beauty Bella’ in ‘Beauty and the Beast’!』

『LA TIME/‘Beauty Bella’ belongs to Miley Cara! The live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast’ will be completed by Kang Woo-jin and Miley』

『ABY/It’s the first time the casting announcement has been this fast, how high is the synchronization rate between Kang Woo-jin and Miley Cara?』

The excitement, bordering on frenzy, was palpable in the flood of articles.

『NT/Kang Woo-jin was unexpected, Miley Cara was expected, what kind of picture will the two actors create in ‘Beauty and the Beast’?』

It was quite understandable. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ had made a splash with the announcement of the live-action adaptation, another splash with the confirmation of Kang Woo-jin as the ‘Beast,’ and now with Miley Cara. Moreover, since it was a project that garnered explosive interest from the global public, this level of reaction was natural.

『BBX/Following Kang Woo-jin, the world public is once again stirred by the confirmation of Miley Cara as ‘Beauty Bella’!』

At this point, numerous film companies and actors in Hollywood had already taken notice, and it was only a matter of time before the global media recognized it as well.

And just like that, a few days disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It was already Monday, March 7th.

“Hello? ‘Beast’ Mr.?”

“…Hello, Miley.”

“Ah! What is it, you should call me ‘Beauty Bella’ too.”

“I’ll do it next time.”

“You’re no fun.”

That day, Kang Woo-jin had a YouTube shoot with Miley Cara. Of course, the video would be used for both Woo-jin’s ‘Kang Woo-jin’s alter ego’ channel and Cara’s YouTube channel. The format was roughly.

-♬♪

A duet song for the world fans, a brief greeting from the two actors, and some stories from the audition. The running time wasn’t very long, but the impact of this video, which was first uploaded to the ‘Kang Woo-jin’s alter ego’ channel two days later, was enormous.

-2.02 million views

It surpassed 2 million views in less than 30 minutes.

Early afternoon on March 12th, Korea.

The location was a rather spacious event hall inside a large building in Seoul. The first thing that caught the eye was the dozens of reporters. They were positioned from the entrance of the hall to the back. And there were seats for 500 people, with a fairly large stage at the front. The hall, which was currently crowded with hundreds of people, was filled with quite a few big names.

Sitting in the front seats were the affable director Kwon Ki-taek, director Kim Do-hee, known for ‘Drug Dealer,’ and director Shin Dong-chun of ‘Errand Boy,’ among many others.

They were all sitting here as judges.

There were dozens of famous directors, honorary judges who were top actors, invited directors, specially invited overseas directors, invited actors and celebrities, and famous industry figures, etc.

On the front stage of the hall, where such great figures were gathered, there was a banner with the following words:

-‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival’

It was the ‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival,’ a major event that was called a gateway to the film industry, as well as a domestic short film festival on par with the ‘Blue Dragon’ awards. It was currently the closing and awards ceremony after about a week of events.

“We will now begin the awards ceremony.”

Following the host’s announcement, several reporters flashed their cameras.

-Flash! Flash! Flash!

-Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!

Then came the first award.

“Short Film Honorable Mention.”

The award presenter was director Shin Dong-chun of ‘Errand Boy,’ who had made his directorial debut here. As he with his prominent square jaw went on stage, among the hundreds of people gathered in the audience, the rookie directors who had staked their lives on this film festival applauded and began to speak one by one.

“It’s director Shin Dong-chun, a director who really made it big at the ‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival.’”

“I’m jealous. The lead actor in his debut film was none other than—Kang Woo-jin.”

“But Kang Woo-jin was a rookie back then.”

“What does it matter? Kang Woo-jin became a world star in three years. I heard that ‘Errand Boy’ is being remade overseas. The work was good, but I think it’s definitely because of Kang Woo-jin’s popularity that it gained interest overseas.”

There were many rookie directors in the audience, and they were generally bursting with envy as they looked at director Shin Dong-chun.

“Whatever the case, director Shin deserves to be proud. I mean, his debut film was ‘Errand Boy,’ right? Kang Woo-jin’s first movie. If it were me, I’d be telling that story for generations.”

“They started together as rookies, but Kang Woo-jin hit 10 million viewers the next year, then swept the top 1 to 3 spots in Korean film history. Now he’s a Hollywood star. If I were director Shin, I’d be a bit anxious, wouldn’t I?”

“No, director Shin Dong-chun is also filming a big-budget movie now.”

While the rookie directors were talking, director Shin Dong-chun was handing over the trophy on stage. After that, various awards such as honorable mentions, bronze, and gold were given out.

“The next award is the Actor Award. This year, only the Grand Prize will be awarded.”

The order of awards for actors, known as the ‘Acting Grand Prize,’ had arrived. Soon, the rookie actors in the hundreds of seats nervously licked their lips. Only one of these many actors could win the award.

“…I want to receive it. I really want to receive the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award.’”

The rookie actors also expressed their feelings to the people they came with.

“If you win the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award,’ you’ll definitely be in the news, right?”

“Yeah, 100%. Whatever it is, if Kang Woo-jin’s name is attached to it, it becomes a hot topic.”

“Please—please let my name be called.”

Interestingly, the rookie actors were calling the ‘Acting Grand Prize’ the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award.’

“Why are there so many rookie actors this year—sigh, I’m really screwed.”

“…Everyone’s the same as you, man. They’re all aiming for the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award.’ Kang Woo-jin was the first to receive it, and that award was his first trophy. Since then, the ‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival’ Acting Grand Prize has become Kang Woo-jin’s mascot.”

It was because Kang Woo-jin had received the ‘Acting Grand Prize’ trophy at the ‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival.’ Moreover, the year Woo-jin won the award was the first appearance of the ‘Acting Grand Prize,’ and it was also Kang Woo-jin’s first trophy.

In short.

“Everyone is dreaming of becoming Kang Woo-jin, just like you.”

Kang Woo-jin had become the symbol of the ‘Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival’s’ rookie ‘Acting Grand Prize.’ Since then, all the rookie actors and directors attending this film festival called the ‘Acting Grand Prize’ the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award.’ With Kang Woo-jin’s name attached to the award, its power became several times stronger.

Because it was highly regarded by reporters and the industry.

So, the rookie actors couldn’t help but drool over it.

“Oh, but… director Shin Dong-chun came this year, but is Kang Woo-jin sunbae [a respectful term for a senior or mentor] not coming?”

“Why would a guy who’s busy hanging out with top Hollywood actors in LA come here? He’s busy meeting with the ‘Big Five’ Hollywood film companies.”

“…It’s just that he’s my role model, and I wanted to see Kang Woo-jin-nim [a very respectful term] at least once.”

“If you receive this and work hard, maybe you’ll cross paths with him once? Let’s pray.”

Thus, many rookie actors prayed, wishing for the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award.’

May his aura shine on me, even just a little.

By now. No, in fact, Kang Woo-jin had already become more than an idol for all the rookie actors in the country. It was almost like he was a god in terms of popularity. The sight of the rookie actors praying was almost like they were believers of the ‘Kang Woo-jin’ religion.

At that moment.

“The person who will present the ‘Acting Grand Prize’ is—”

The male host, who was about to proceed, stopped speaking. A film festival staff member had approached him and whispered something in his ear. Instantly, his eyes widened, and he said to the staff member in a small voice.

“R-really? That person is here now?”

If the host didn’t know, there was no way the hundreds of people in the hall would know. Anyway, the host, who was in a state of shock, barely raised the hand microphone again with a slightly dazed face.

“…Ah, um, that’s. Sorry. I’ll proceed again. The person who will present the ‘Acting Grand Prize’ is a truly amazing person.”

At his words, the reporters positioned at the very back of the audience whispered.

“An amazing person? Who are they talking about?”

“Does anyone know about this? I’m hearing it for the first time.”

“Me too.”

“I don’t know, let’s just take pictures.”

The reporters, with question marks in their eyes, instinctively raised their cameras. Of course, from the big-name directors, including director Kwon Ki-taek at the front of the stage, to the top actors. Especially many rookie directors and rookie actors were noticeably buzzing.

Then, the flustered host spoke again.

“Th-then, please come up.”

The sound of footsteps echoed on the stage, and then.

-Swish.

A black-haired man with a nonchalant face, dressed in a suit, appeared. As soon as the man’s face was visible, the rookie directors and actors in the audience opened their mouths wide and exclaimed without realizing it.

“H-huh!!”

Their idol, who had received the ‘Acting Grand Prize’ here and had become a ‘world star’ in just three years.

“K-Kang Woo-jin?!!”

It was Kang Woo-jin. Soon, hundreds of rookie directors and actors showed movements similar to a seizure.

“…I-it’s really Kang Woo-jin—wow, this is crazy.”

Their eyes were wide open. It was understandable. They never imagined they would see him, who had risen to become a global star, this close.

“His aura is something else…”

On the other hand, Woo-jin, the actual protagonist of the ‘Kang Woo-jin Award’ who had turned everything upside down, was unfazed. He leisurely scanned the hundreds of rookies and spoke into the microphone. His tone was extremely low.

“It’s funny, the situation where I’m giving an award with my name on it.”

Kang Woo-jin had returned to Korea.

“Hello, I’m Kang Woo-jin.”