I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 440

Kang Woo-jin’s short, impactful line as the transformed ‘Joker’ echoed in the silence.

“This is that villain, watch it or not.”

The photo zone at the end of the ‘Emmys’ red carpet fell silent. The male and female hosts, hundreds of reporters, broadcasting teams, live broadcast crews, and countless others were frozen, their mouths slightly agape.

“······”

“······”

It was understandable. Woo-jin’s appearance and the interview he gave were unprecedented. It was the first time they had witnessed anything like it, leaving them unsure how to react. Yet, internally, they all shared a similar bewilderment.

‘Watch it or not? What the heck is he talking about??’

‘Is he really, really crazy?! What actor promotes their next project like that!’

‘That’s so insincere!!’

‘I… is it okay for this to just go out on air?!’

Regardless, Kang Woo-jin, staring directly into the live broadcast camera, remained calm. Not a flicker of change crossed his face. His persona was more intense than ever. Internally, however, he was in a bit of a panic.

‘Crazy. I said it, is it okay? It’ll be okay, right? No, it’s not okay. But what now? This is what the ‘Joker’ looks like.’

Outwardly, he somehow maintained a poker face. Frankly, it seemed like things were about to go south, but since he was portraying the ‘Joker’, it was an unavoidable choice. At that moment, the male host barely regained his composure and asked again.

“…So, I see! Mr. Woo-jin, you were embodying the villain from your new project?”

“Yes. Is that explanation sufficient?”

“Completely! Still, isn’t ‘watch it or not’ a bit too much of a joke! Haha.”

The male host’s eyes pleaded, ‘please, just answer normally.’ But Kang Woo-jin’s bravado wasn’t going to be easily broken.

“I’m serious. Watch it or not, do as you please.”

Soon.

-Flash! Flash!

-Flash! Flash! Flash!

The hundreds of reporters who had been stunned into silence began madly snapping photos. It was an unusual sight. Some reporters even smiled. How could they not love Kang Woo-jin, who created a sensation wherever he went?

‘He’s the one who’ll get the heat, we just have to deliver this excitement.’

Meanwhile.

The reactions of people all over Hollywood watching the live broadcast were mixed. Ahn Ga-bok and producer Nora Foster, gathered at the ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ filming set, felt a mix of worry and excitement.

“Oh no! Isn’t this too strong?!”

“Is it? Hmm… but Kang Woo-jin is naturally this kind of character. I think it’ll draw a lot of attention, actually.”

The actors felt similarly. Chris Hartnett was clearly enjoying it.

“Tomorrow, the media headlines will all be dominated by Woo-jin. What actor promotes their movie like this? Not just in appearance, but to treat the public as the real ‘Joker’—only he, with his guts, can do that.”

The executives of ‘Columbia Studio’, the production team of ‘Beast and Beauty’, and many others besides Joseph Felton of ‘John Persona’ were all glued to their screens, watching Kang Woo-jin.

Then, as Kang Woo-jin was about to leave the photo zone.

“That’s all for now.”

The public around the world, including Korea and Japan, watching the live broadcast were beyond agitated. The chat was exploding with frantic messages.

-lololololol he nailed it lololol

-Did Kang Woo-jin just say watch it or not? Did I hear that right?

-Is he really crazy… to do an interview like that….

-These foreigners are losing it lolololol you guys are just getting a taste of Kang Woo-jin for the first time, but we see this often lololol

-Isn’t that performance a bit much? How confident must he be in his work to do that??

-More than that, why are the Koreans so happy? Are they enjoying their country’s actor being crazy?

-↑Give up lololol it’s easier to give up and just enjoy lololololol

-Kang Woo-jin is on fire

-So everything he showed on the red carpet was a character from his work? But the last line seems like he just did it on his own

-Isn’t Kang Woo-jin the first to show a teaser for his next project in real life?

-Hey hey, don’t be surprised, Kang Woo-jin’s crazy antics are just beginning? lololol

·

·

·

Chat messages in Korean, Japanese, English, French, and other languages poured in like a torrent, and the reactions were sharply divided.

Half were insults, half were fervent cheers.

The negative reactions, including insults, were filled with words like crazy, lunatic, what kind of moron is that, he’s disrespecting the Emmys, he crossed the line, he’s showing off too much, and other unspeakable curses. On the other hand, the cheers were met with equal praise and adulation.

It was a mess, but one thing was certain: Kang Woo-jin’s influence on the world was immense. In fact, although many top Hollywood actors were present on the ‘Emmys’ red carpet.

-Kang Woo-jin is the real deal!! Whether it’s insults or praise, he’s shaking the whole world lololololol

The public was only clamoring for Kang Woo-jin.

Behind the scenes.

Kang Woo-jin, having left the photo zone, brushed back his long hair.

-Swish.

He moved towards the main building, guided by the event staff and guards. It was a building housing a huge concert hall or auditorium where the ‘Emmys’ awards ceremony would be held, along with several waiting rooms. As Woo-jin passed through the entrance, he saw a lobby teeming with foreigners. It was a mix of officials, directors, producers, actors, and celebrities.

Though not openly, they were mostly glancing at Kang Woo-jin, who had just entered.

At that moment.

“Woo-jin, this way!”

Amidst the crowd of foreigners, Choi Sung-gun and his team, dressed in suits, called out to Kang Woo-jin. The team members quickly gathered around Woo-jin, all giving him a thumbs up, and Choi Sung-gun, with a smile, did the same.

“The performance worked perfectly. You saw it too, but everyone here is only talking about you.”

It would be disappointing if they weren’t, considering how much thought I put into it. Kang Woo-jin muttered inwardly and nodded nonchalantly.

“That’s a relief.”

“I haven’t checked yet, but the articles must have already exploded.”

Soon, Choi Sung-gun checked the time and hurried.

“Oh my! Time! Woo-jin, let’s change clothes right away. And makeup too!”

Kang Woo-jin, who was the ‘Joker’ except for his face, moved with his team to the waiting room that had been assigned to them in advance.

About 30 minutes passed.

-Click.

Kang Woo-jin emerged from the waiting room.

“······”

The ‘Joker’ look was nowhere to be found. He was Woo-jin, impeccably dressed in a navy tuxedo with his black hair neatly swept back, exuding a truly luxurious aura. The ‘Joker’ persona was now gone.

Woo-jin, who had been looking down at his appearance for a moment, muttered inwardly.

‘It really does feel like I’m the ‘Joker’.’

It was like having a separate core and wearing a mask. At that moment, director Ahn Ga-bok’s words came to his mind.

‘It’s easy to mistake it as trying to convey the core message of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’.’

Kang Woo-jin’s only goal was to amplify interest, without such deep intentions, but either way, it was a huge success. From now on, Woo-jin had to act as ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ of ‘Beneficial Evil’, not the ‘Joker’. Soon, Kang Woo-jin walked back towards the lobby. Just then, someone called out to Kang Woo-jin in English.

“Mr. Woo-jin.”

When he turned his gaze, he saw Miley Cara, with her black dress and flowing blonde hair, smiling. Kang Woo-jin was immediately taken aback. Of course, only internally.

‘Wow… she’s insane.’

Cara’s beauty was stunning, but her aura? Her overall presence was jaw-dropping. As Woo-jin, momentarily stunned, stood there, Cara came closer and linked her arm with his.

“Let’s go.”

It was a common sight at such awards ceremonies, but Kang Woo-jin, who had quickly regained his senses, noticed that her arm, linked with his, was trembling slightly.

‘What’s this? She looks so relaxed on the outside, but is she nervous? Or… is it because of me?’

It was the latter. Cara, entering the crowd, was a mess inside.

‘Ugh, it’s just an arm link as a colleague, but why is my heart beating so fast?’

Since Cara had appeared in Part 1 of ‘Beneficial Evil’, her invitation to the ‘Emmys’ was natural, and Cara had been to many awards ceremonies related to acting and singing. But today’s ‘Emmys’ felt different from the start.

Woo-jin, who had been quiet, suddenly asked in a low voice.

“Are you nervous?”

“······No? Why would I be nervous?”

“It smells familiar. Like that ‘concept’ thing I mentioned before.”

“Are you saying that I’m pretending to be okay?”

“I was like that earlier. When I was walking the red carpet.”

“You didn’t look like that at all.”

“That’s what I meant by ‘concept’.”

At that moment.

“Oh!”

Foreigners interrupted their conversation. It was a fairly famous Hollywood director.

“Miley, it’s been a while. And… Mr. Kang Woo-jin? It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yes, it’s been a while, director.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Kang Woo-jin and Cara had to exchange many greetings even before they reached the hall where the ‘Emmys’ were being held. Starting with this director, many people flocked to them. It was a natural phenomenon. Cara was Cara, but their real target was Kang Woo-jin.

“Haha, Mr. Woo-jin. Your red carpet performance was amazing. To show a teaser of your work in real life—I’m impressed by the idea.”

“Thank you.”

“I’d like to talk more later.”

Some people were friendly, while others were openly sarcastic.

“Right now, everyone is curious about your actions because they are new, but if you plan to continue working in Hollywood, you should be a little more humble.”

Of course, Kang Woo-jin was unfazed.

“So you’re saying it’s okay for now.”

“······That arrogance will eventually catch up with you.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Woo-jin’s internal thought was just a simple ‘what’s with that jerk’, but Miley Cara, who was next to him, was quite worried. There was a hint of bluntness in her tone.

“He’s always like that. He’s been around in Hollywood since the old days, so he’s a bit rigid. Don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t really care. I don’t even know who he is.”

After dealing with so many foreigners, Kang Woo-jin finally.

-Swish.

He entered the concert hall or auditorium where the ‘Emmys’ awards ceremony would be held.

Kang Woo-jin immediately cursed internally.

‘Wow… damn, the scale is insane.’

It was a size that made his reaction completely understandable. It was a vastness that went beyond grandeur. In terms of scale, it was about the size of 10 large theaters combined, and the high, dark ceiling was filled with large pearl-shaped lights. It was like stars embroidered in the night sky. In that hall, there were tens of thousands of seats on the first and second floors, and the front stage, where the broadcasting teams were lined up, had several huge monitors.

What caught his eye the most was.

‘Is that statue on the stage the one? The trophy??’

It was the stage where the ‘Emmys’ awards ceremony would be held. The stage alone was enormous. In the center was a statue of a winged woman in a circular shape. It was the ‘Emmys’ trophy. It was about 10 times the size of a person. On both sides of the statue were monitors twice as large, with the word ‘EMMYS’ on a yellow background.

Kang Woo-jin, who had experienced awards ceremonies in Korea.

‘······The quality is insane.’

Honestly, he thought it couldn’t even compare to half of the ‘Emmys’. It was a moment where he could deeply feel why the ‘Emmys’ was called the ‘Academy Awards’ of broadcasting. Moreover, it was a situation filled with people who were famous not only in Hollywood but all over the world. Kang Woo-jin, taking in this whole scene, was truly filled with awe.

It was hard to believe that he was here himself.

‘My legs are getting stiff, snap out of it, Kang Woo-jin.’

Cara, who had been looking around, said.

“It seems like the ‘Beneficial Evil’ seats are over there.”

It was when she reached out her hand.

“Miley.”

A slightly deep male voice was heard from the side, and Woo-jin and Cara turned their heads at the same time. A man with a shaved head and a beard, dressed in a black tuxedo, was approaching. Instantly, Kang Woo-jin sensed that the man was an actor. He had seen him somewhere before.

‘Ah… I’ve definitely seen him somewhere.’

But of course, his name didn’t come to mind. Cara recited his name instead.

“Matthew.”

Matthew Majors. He was a middle-aged top Hollywood actor with a lot of experience, and a skilled actor with no flaws in his acting. He was currently starring in a popular mid-series.

After shaking hands with Cara.

-Swish.

He extended his hand to Kang Woo-jin, who had a nonchalant expression.

“Mr. Kang Woo-jin, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello.”

Woo-jin, who replied appropriately, felt it.

‘This old man! Why is he squeezing my hand??’

Matthew Majors was putting pressure on his hand during the handshake. For some reason, Woo-jin felt like he couldn’t lose.

“······”

With a calm face, he put the same amount of force into his hand. It wasn’t obvious, but a few seconds passed like that, and Matthew, one of the two who let go of the hand, opened his mouth while putting one hand in his pocket.

“I watched ‘Tonight Show’, and the interview where you said we weren’t in your eyes. It bothered me, and it was absurd.”

‘We?’ Cara whispered to Woo-jin, who had sensed something.

“He’s one of the nominees for Best Actor in a Drama, along with you.”

In other words, the bald Matthew Majors was one of the five nominees, including Kang Woo-jin. Matthew seemed to be quite displeased with Woo-jin’s interview. He had used the expression ‘bothered me’. Then, Matthew spoke to Kang Woo-jin again.

“This Hollywood isn’t so small that one Korean actor can do whatever he wants. So I want to hear it directly from you, that bothersome interview was just you responding appropriately to the broadcast atmosphere, right?”

It was a tone with a hint of intimidation. Woo-jin’s low reply was quick.

“If it bothered you, then it’s a success.”

Matthew Majors, with his shaved head, narrowed his brows at Kang Woo-jin’s ‘no-backing-down’ answer.

“Huh… success? So that means that interview was intentional after all?”

“······”

Kang Woo-jin looked at Matthew’s face indifferently. His expression was bleak. In response, Woo-jin pretended to be calm, but internally, he was a little scared.

‘No? It wasn’t intentional! It was a misunderstanding, I just answered that I had ‘no intention of looking around’.’

But Hollywood arbitrarily interpreted it and announced it to the world. As if ‘Kang Woo-jin’ didn’t care about the other nominees. Thanks to that, the media and public opinion were in an uproar for a while. Woo-jin could understand Matthew’s feelings. It was as if a newbie who had just appeared had ignored Matthew, who had decades of experience in Hollywood.

‘Is it a bit like… me teasing senior Shim Han-ho?’

But what could he do? The water had already been spilled, and this kind of misunderstanding was familiar to Kang Woo-jin. He didn’t know if he would see Matthew again, but in this situation, Woo-jin’s choice was always the same.

‘My way, my rules’.

“I always act sincerely.”

“······Is that so.”

“Yes.”

The two men looked at each other. Or should it be said that they were glaring at each other? Then Matthew chuckled.

“There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. I acknowledge your abilities, but if you show off too much, you’ll be broken. No matter how good you are, you should respect your fellow actors.”

“I do respect them. In fact, the interview I gave didn’t include the words ‘I don’t care about other actors’. I just said that I don’t pay attention to my surroundings.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No, to be clear, it just means that I only do my own thing. I don’t pay attention to other things.”

“······”

Matthew, who had put both hands in his pockets, stared at Kang Woo-jin for a few seconds, and then opened his mouth again while letting out a small breath.

“Mr. Kang Woo-jin, you’re paving the way for Korean actors in Hollywood—you’re going too far.”

“Well, as I said earlier, I’m just going my own way.”

“Are you that confident about today’s ‘Emmys’?”

“The choice isn’t ours to make.”

A reply that it was the public and the world that would decide. It was the right answer, and the bald Matthew stroked his beard, turned his body, and strode towards his seat. Matthew muttered to himself.

“Let’s see what happens, whether the miracle of Cannes will continue at the ‘Emmys’ too.”