I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 435

‘Another prank just popped into my head.’

Should I stop that monster, that clown? Or is it okay to leave him be? He’s definitely going to do something. He did in the past, and like the corpses here, there will be more piles of bodies. Seeing the still-laughing ‘Joker,’ reporter Robert Franklin… Chris Hartnett’s agony deepened.

Then he realized.

‘Ah.’

That he was filming.

And also.

‘Damn, I’m experiencing this.’

Without even realizing he had forgotten it was acting, he was genuinely worried that the ‘Joker’ laughing in front of him would become a real threat in the real world. Meanwhile, the ‘Joker’s’ laughter filled the entire alleyway.

“Pffft, hahahaha!”

He laughed heartily even while smoking. The camera, which had been capturing Woo-jin in a bust shot, slowly pulled back. Soon, Kang Woo-jin and Chris were both in the monitor. Director Ahn Ga-bok, watching this, thought.

‘They both have faces that have forgotten they’re acting.’

They were more focused than ever. Right now, he was also a third party. Not a director, not anything. He was just watching the ‘Joker’ he could see, witnessing the growth of a monster gradually being consumed by madness. What was being displayed on the monitor had already gone far beyond acting.

It was like filming a real-life scene with a camera.

And behind them, the executive producer, Nora Foster.

“······”

She didn’t think or say anything. She covered her mouth with one hand and didn’t even move. No, it was more accurate to say she didn’t even realize she was frozen. What on earth was this? What was she watching? She was 100% familiar with the script for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.’ Clearly, one of the scenes was being captured in the frame.

The background, the characters, the breathing, the direction, the mood, and many other things.

Everything was identical to what she had seen in the script. However, there was one thing that was completely different. The actors’ performances were completely different. As a result, even though the angles were the same as the script’s direction, the explosive power and quality being displayed were worlds apart.

‘…No, is it because it’s unpredictable?’

The fact that it was completely unpredictable doubled Nora’s shock. What was even more absurd was.

‘Even though he’s running wild so freely—the scene’s flow doesn’t deviate from the script at all.’

The scene didn’t go off track. In a way, the cuts were being connected by the actors’ quick thinking and senses, but the atmosphere and flow of the underlying script were naturally progressing.

‘Did they coordinate beforehand?’

No, there was no time for that. Then how on earth was their chemistry so perfect?

Nora’s frozen body didn’t thaw. The executives of ‘Columbia Studios’ around her weren’t moving much either.

“······”

“······”

“······”

They were too busy watching. They were watching the villain who would carry the beginning of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ running wild.

At that moment, the ‘Joker,’ or Woo-jin, suddenly stopped laughing. He spat out his cigarette.

“Haa-”

Kang Woo-jin swept back his flowing red hair with both hands. His gaze was in the air, somewhere ambiguous between the sky and the ground. His thick, torn red lips opened.

“Robert, what is being captured by your camera?”

“······Well. Various things. Anything that can attract people’s attention.”

“Ignorance, neglect, oppression, discrimination, prejudice, contempt, violence. Things like that?”

“Something like that.”

“The world is no fun these days, Robert.”

Woo-jin suddenly twitched his lips.

“Everyone ignores everyone else.”

He gradually raised his voice. It felt like a build-up of anger and madness.

“Yet everyone hates everyone else! They oppress! They neglect! They discriminate against those who are less than them, and they have prejudice against those who are better than them! Violence against those who are different! Violence even against those who are similar!!”

Woo-jin’s crumpled face, which had been full of evil madness, instantly became calm.

“But everyone says the same thing. Endure it, you endure it. Endure and endure again. Only on the surface. No one cares about what’s inside.”

Kang Woo-jin kicked the two piles of bodies in front of him.

“Does anyone care about these things?”

His gaze reached Chris, who was standing on the right.

“Robert. You chased after me because of my appearance and face, didn’t you? If not, you wouldn’t have cared at all?”

“······”

“Aaaah, what is this? I was in a good mood.”

Kang Woo-jin, who suddenly pulled out the silver gun tucked into his side, turned his body.

“I said I thought of another prank earlier, right? This is it.”

Woo-jin put the gun he was holding to Chris’s forehead. Chris was clearly flustered.

“W-w-what? Don’t do this, I-I just. How about, how about doing a different prank?”

“Look, Robert. I’m not making a suggestion to you right now. I’m giving an order.”

“An order?”

“Yes, an order to become a moron and roll around on the floor.”

Chris, sensing he was in trouble, took a step back. He moved slightly away from the gun, but the ‘Joker’ continued to aim at Chris’s forehead. Was this part of the script? No, the two actors were running very freely.

Chris, raising his slightly trembling hands to his chest, forced a smile.

“Hey, buddy. It’s a joke, right?”

“Yeah. It’s a joke.”

“Ah, no—please. Please!”

“Hmm?”

“Please! Oh God. S-save me.”

“······”

In an instant, Kang Woo-jin, with his pale face and raised red eyebrows, quickly approached Chris. Then, he pointed his remaining index finger at the sky.

“The guy up there isn’t your god, he’s an observer. Right now, I’m your god. Am I wrong?”

“N-no. You’re right. You’re my god. Save me.”

“Hmm-”

Woo-jin, who was grinning widely, shoved the gun into Chris’s mouth.

“Actually, I’m not a god either, just a fickle person.”

“······Ugh!”

He pulled the trigger of the silver gun. In an instant, Chris heard a gunshot of about bang bang! No, it was a mistake. In reality, it wasn’t bang bang!

-Click, click, click.

Only the sound of the empty gun echoed. Kang Woo-jin smiled and pulled the gun out of Chris’s mouth.

“I told you? I’m fickle.”

Kang Woo-jin, who put the silver gun back on his side, took out a card from his red jacket pocket and put it in Chris’s jeans pocket.

“See you again, handsome reporter.”

Kang Woo-jin suddenly ran and exited the alleyway. The camera, filming his back, ran with him. An additional camera zoomed in on Chris’s face, which was slumped on the ground. It was because his tension had been released.

-Swish.

He slowly took out the card that the ‘Joker’ had just put in his pants. The camera shared Chris’s gaze.

The card had a picture of a ‘Pierrot’ [a stock character in French pantomime, often a sad clown] and.

– ‘(Joker)’

English was written on it, and on the back, there was a number written in red.

“Is that, a phone number?”

It was the ‘Joker’s’ business card.

After a while.

Chris Hartnett, playing the role of reporter Robert Franklin, regulated his breathing and then finished his acting with a short line that matched the scene. The camera, which had been capturing a little above his bust, moved. A close-up of the ‘Joker’s’ business card in Chris’s hand.

“······”

A moment of silence flowed throughout the entire set. A calmness for the extra shots. It was about 10 seconds. Hundreds of foreign staff members all looked at Director Ahn Ga-bok.

Finally.

“…Cut.”

The sign was released from Director Ahn Ga-bok’s wrinkled mouth.

“OK.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, unconcerned with the slightly bustling surroundings, immediately walked to the filming zone. He called out to Chris, who was sitting down, and Kang Woo-jin, who was a little further away and surrounded by several makeup teams. Director Ahn Ga-bok showed a satisfied smile to the two actors who had gathered.

“Fantastic. No, it was more than that. Thanks to your creative acting and free-flowing chemistry, the original scene has become several times more voluminous. This is why I keep directing. It was a performance that easily surpassed my imagination.”

It was quite a compliment. It wasn’t just lip service. Director Ahn Ga-bok was actually thrilled until just before, when he was watching the monitor, and even now. When a scene that he had only seen in writing was realized in reality by the actors, and when that appearance far surpassed the director’s imagination, the director felt an indescribable pleasure.

‘But that’s not a moment that can be easily encountered.’

There were many directors who had not experienced such a rare and unusual phenomenon. It was only possible if many conditions, such as the script, the actors, and the director, were well-matched, and the actors’ abilities were the most important.

Director Ahn Ga-bok was very pleased right now.

The actors in front of him had realized and proven his instincts, desires, and ambitions. Soon, Director Ahn Ga-bok turned his gaze to Kang Woo-jin, whose face was pale. He had already removed the ‘Joker’s’ scent and was back to his original indifference.

‘Chris was good too, but this guy handled the entire acting chemistry.’

Kang Woo-jin’s overwhelming presence on the monitor, his control, was terrifying. The creepy makeup and bizarre costume played a part, but the explosive power that made him steal the show with those secondary things was still Woo-jin’s acting.

‘What is this monster lacking?’

It was far beyond the rare level.

‘Maybe for the next few decades, or even over a hundred years, no actor will appear who can compete with this guy.’

Director Ahn Ga-bok, who was smiling, gave Woo-jin a thumbs up.

“That was the best, let’s take a break for a bit and change the composition and try again. How about crossing your legs when you look down at Chris at the beginning?”

“I will try.”

After talking about the previous scenes for a while, Director Ahn Ga-bok left. Chris’s brown eyes, watching the director’s back as he turned, reached Kang Woo-jin, who was having his makeup fixed by the staff, on the left. The madness that seemed like it would tear anything apart was nowhere to be found.

Chris sighed softly. He laughed hollowly inside.

‘Challenger? Resolve? I couldn’t do anything. I was way behind.’

He was also embarrassed. He thought he hadn’t done anything, to the point where his fierce declaration from before was meaningless.

‘From start to finish, I didn’t do anything. I was just dragged around by Kang Woo-jin.’

This was also a first for him. It was like, what should he say, watching the back of the first place runner running far away without even being able to try? It wasn’t a defeat or anything like that. He wasn’t even angry.

This was just.

‘A difference in level.’

It was a clear gap between acting that was imitating and the ‘real’ thing running wild in reality. Then Chris said to Woo-jin.

“I was just dragged around by you.”

Kang Woo-jin, who was looking at Chris calmly, didn’t have much of a change in expression, but inside, he was somewhat worried about him.

‘What, is he depressed? Should I cheer him up a little?’

Kang Woo-jin replied in a low tone.

“No. If there wasn’t a ‘Robert’ to receive it, the ‘Joker’ would have cooled down quickly in this scene.”

“…Haha, is that so? I always thought you were cold—but you also know how to comfort people.”

“Of course. However, this is not comfort, but a fact.”

Chris, slightly moved, brushed his hair back while also gathering his mind.

“I need to come to my senses, to make the ‘Joker’ boil a little more.”

Chris’s eyes were full of determination. Seeing him, Woo-jin didn’t say much, but internally, he was slightly disgusted.

‘He’s too much, this guy is a burden character.’

Meanwhile, Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had returned to the area with several monitors, turned his gaze while talking to the key staff around him. He made eye contact with the executive producer, Nora Foster, who had a strong impression. The two didn’t open their mouths right away. Of the two, who had briefly exchanged glances, it was Nora who spoke first, after letting out a short breath.

“I made a mistake… I was foolish. I almost missed those scenes just now.”

She took a step closer and continued to speak to Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“I don’t not know Kang Woo-jin’s acting explosiveness. But… I didn’t know that something more shocking than the ‘Joker’ so far would come out.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, recalling the past ‘Leech’ days, chuckled.

“It’s absurd, but he’s not complete. He’s still growing. The difference in skill between the ‘Leech’ days and now is also clear.”

Nora, nodding as if acknowledging it, turned her gaze to Kang Woo-jin in the field beyond Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“It’s unfamiliar and strange, honestly, he’s an impossible existence. So, even though I know he’s good, I think I was scared.”

“I understand. Safety rather than challenge. That’s what I often agonized over as a director in Korea.”

“Director.”

Soon, Nora, who made eye contact with Director Ahn Ga-bok again.

“I promise not to make any further comments.”

She declared definitively.

“Please complete the free-spirited ‘Joker’.”

She smiled and murmured to the ‘Columbia Studios’ executives gathered behind her.

“Let’s go back, anything more is a hindrance. If there is anyone who is still dissatisfied even after seeing the previous scene, please speak up now.”

The executives.

“······”

“······”

None of them opened their mouths.

The next morning, at ‘Columbia Studios’.

It was inside the main building, not the filming set. To be precise, it was a medium-sized conference room, and the executives of ‘Columbia Studios’ were sitting at a U-shaped desk. And across from them.

“······”

Kang Woo-jin, with a strong poker face and a cold expression, was seated. Next to him, of course, was Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail. Then, a bald man among the executives handed a tablet and a transparent file to Kang Woo-jin.

“This is the movie planning for right after ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain.’ It’s the second series of the entire ‘Cinematic Universe,’ and since a villain was born as the first prelude, a hero must appear next.”

The executive, who was briefing, spoke definitively.

“Mr. Kang Woo-jin, as the ‘Joker,’ we propose that you appear in the second movie and then the third movie.”

It was a proposal for appearances in two movies, the planned sequels after ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain,’ the prelude to the vast ‘Cinematic Universe.’ It was a huge deal. But Kang Woo-jin, who was quietly looking at the bald executive, gave a simple answer.

“The script comes first.”