I Was Mistaken As A Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 451

Choi Sung-gun smirked, his expression radiating confidence. He had already secured all the funds? Kang Woo-jin, maintaining a poker face as part of his character, was genuinely surprised inside.

‘Wow, that was fast!’

Honestly, he’d expected it to take longer. After all, it was hundreds of billions of won [approximately hundreds of millions of US dollars], right? To gather that much money so quickly. Kang Woo-jin was newly impressed by Choi Sung-gun’s capabilities, but outwardly, he suppressed his excitement as much as possible.

“That was faster than I anticipated.”

Choi Sung-gun shrugged and replied,

“Since the topic came up, we had to move swiftly. First, I charmed Chairman Yoshimura Hideki, and the rest just fell into place. But of course, it wasn’t easy. It was only possible because of BW Entertainment’s value and your reputation.”

Choi Sung-gun smiled, placing a hand on Kang Woo-jin’s shoulder.

“Do you know what your estimated worth is right now?”

“I don’t really care.”

“You might not, but the world does. A lot. Anyway—”

Choi Sung-gun, who had been drawing out his words, changed the subject.

“How much are you planning to invest in ‘Guest’? Do you have anything in mind?”

There was no way Kang Woo-jin, who knew nothing about investment, would have considered such a thing. Before becoming an actor, he had never even touched stocks. But now was the time to act like he knew what he was doing.

“Yes, I do. I’ll organize it and let you know.”

“Okay. Basically, it’ll be under BW Entertainment’s name, but we can prepare separate documents for you. For now, don’t worry about ‘Guest’ and just focus on your work.”

“Understood, CEO.”

After concluding the conversation smoothly, Kang Woo-jin returned to filming ‘Clown: The Birth of a Villain.’ The filming ended late that night, and among the actors leaving, Kang Woo-jin called out to Chris Hartnett, who was about to get into a van. Of course, both actors were without their makeup.

“Chris.”

Chris, surprised by Woo-jin’s rare attempt to initiate a conversation, smiled and got out of the car.

“Oh, what’s this? You’re the one who spoke first?”

“I just have something brief to say.”

“Anything for you.”

After signaling to his team to wait, Chris approached Kang Woo-jin. Then, without wasting time, Woo-jin handed Chris a stack of papers.

“I thought I’d recommend a project.”

It was the ‘Guest’ screenplay.

“Recommend?”

Chris’s face turned slightly serious as he received the screenplay.

“That’s quite out of the blue. I didn’t expect you to recommend a project. So, what kind of project is it?”

“Read it; it’s interesting. Of course, you can ignore it if you don’t feel like it. I don’t mind.”

“…Are you going to be in it too? But it’s realistically impossible for you to take on more projects.”

“That’s right, it’s officially difficult. But it’s too good to just let it go, so I’m recommending it to you. If it happens, I’m thinking of a special appearance.”

Chris, looking at Woo-jin with a curious expression, opened the first page of the screenplay, and Kang Woo-jin, pointing at the screenplay with his index finger, murmured in a low voice.

“I recommend the lead role for you, the role I played in the past.”

Two days later, on the morning of September 14th.

A small film company located a bit away from downtown LA. The cramped CEO’s office of ‘A8 Media,’ with about 10 employees. A woman with a brown bob cut in a suit. CEO Jennifer Thurman was sitting at her desk with a serious expression. The ‘Guest’ screenplay was placed on the desk. She sighed as she looked down at it.

Her face was deeply depressed, as if the movie ‘Guest’ was about to be taken off life support.

‘In the end, there’s no choice but to give up.’

Despite numerous meetings, no one had agreed to invest in ‘Guest.’ And today, Jennifer Thurman had to make a decision. The decision to bury ‘Guest,’ which was based on Kang Woo-jin’s ‘Errand Service’ and which she had been so eager to produce.

At that moment.

-Knock knock.

The sound of knocking echoed in the CEO’s office, and a male employee with freckles entered.

“CEO, everyone’s gathered.”

“…Okay. I understand.”

Thurman nodded weakly, picked up the ‘Guest’ screenplay, and stood up. She moved to the small meeting room next door. About three employees were already seated inside. Jennifer Thurman, sitting at the five-person table, placed the ‘Guest’ screenplay on it.

“There’s no contact from anywhere, right?”

The freckled male employee replied dejectedly.

“No, CEO.”

Another female employee chimed in.

“We’ve contacted everyone we had meetings with several times, but they all said it was difficult.”

“…Okay. There’s nothing we can do.”

Thurman looked down at the ‘Guest’ screenplay for a moment, then sighed deeply and said,

“Let’s take it off life support now. There’s no more hope or possibility.”

At that moment.

-Knock knock knock.

An employee hurriedly entered the meeting room.

“CEO.”

Thurman, turning to the employee, tilted her head.

“Huh? What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Well, someone’s here to see you.”

“To see me? Who?”

The employee recited what he had heard from the person outside.

“BW Entertainment.”

“BW Entertainment? Why would an agency be here…”

In an instant, Kang Woo-jin, who was shaking Hollywood, flashed through Thurman’s mind.

“Wait a minute, BW Entertainment? Isn’t that Kang Woo-jin’s agency?”

The Korean BW Entertainment was already quite famous in Hollywood. It was the agency of that extraordinary actor, Kang Woo-jin.

“Why is BW Entertainment here? Who came?”

“They say it’s the CEO.”

“CEO?”

Thurman, her eyes wide, looked up at the employee and then got up and left the meeting room. Outside, a man with long hair tied back and wearing a light blue shirt was smiling. He was accompanied by two employees. They all looked Korean.

The man with long hair, Choi Sung-gun, reached out his hand to Jennifer Thurman, who approached him.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Choi Sung-gun, CEO of BW Entertainment.”

Thurman, who shook his hand in a daze, introduced herself.

“Hello. I’m Jennifer Thurman of ‘A8 Media.’ But if it’s BW Entertainment, isn’t that the agency where Kang Woo-jin is?”

“That’s right.”

“Why would such an agency be here…”

“I heard you’re preparing a remake of ‘Errand Service.'”

“!”

Jennifer Thurman was noticeably surprised. Choi Sung-gun, with a relaxed expression, received a stack of papers from his accompanying employee. It was the ‘Guest’ screenplay. Choi Sung-gun showed it to Thurman.

“I heard you’re having trouble with investment.”

“H-how did you know about this?”

“I received it from Director Shin Dong-chun in Korea. I also heard a bit about the details of ‘Guest.’ Ah, it wasn’t detailed.”

“Ah.”

Thurman recalled the face of Director Shin Dong-chun, who had a square jaw, in Korea. As the original director, he shared everything that happened, and it seemed that it had reached Choi Sung-gun.

“I see.”

Choi Sung-gun, to Thurman who was slowly nodding, said immediately,

“Our BW Entertainment is considering taking on the main investment for ‘Guest.'”

Soon, the eyes of the ‘A8 Media’ employees around them widened. Some were even gaping. Thurman, the CEO, also replied casually.

“Oh, really? You came here thinking about investing…”

She was startled.

“Huh?! You’re going to invest?!”

“That’s what I said.”

“In this ‘Guest’?”

“That’s right.”

Jennifer Thurman, who had been staring at Choi Sung-gun with a blank face for a moment, barely regained her senses.

“It’s so… sudden, it feels like a dream. Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

Choi Sung-gun, who had lowered the screenplay he was holding, began to explain.

“As you know, Kang Woo-jin is doing well in Hollywood right now. In addition, our BW Entertainment has been preparing for investment projects for a while. The project has already started in Korea. Actually, we were planning to move to Hollywood a bit later, but Kang Woo-jin recommended this ‘Guest’ investment, so we hurried a bit.”

“Kang Woo-jin recommended it?”

“Yes. He says ‘Guest’ is a good project and that it will do well.”

Thurman’s heart was filled with emotion. It was like having something that had been constantly rejected finally being acknowledged. Even though it was by a Korean actor she had never met, who was currently making waves in Hollywood.

At this point, Choi Sung-gun spoke again.

“Can we continue talking here?”

“Huh? Ah! No, this way! Come this way!”

Jennifer Thurman hurriedly guided Choi Sung-gun to the small meeting room. After everyone was seated at the table, she cautiously asked,

“But CEO Choi Sung-gun, how much are you thinking of investing?”

Choi Sung-gun’s answer was quick.

“Didn’t you hear me say main? We’re thinking of taking on the whole thing.”

“!!!”

“‘Guest’ has potential, and it’s a remake of Kang Woo-jin’s debut film ‘Errand Service,’ so we can also gain symbolic value.”

“The entire production cost—”

“Yes. All of it.”

Choi Sung-gun, having answered, added another surprise.

“In addition to the main investment, how about Kang Woo-jin making a special appearance?”

Thurman was about twice as shocked as before.

After that.

While Choi Sung-gun was talking with Jennifer Thurman, in Korea, the talk was all about the work that had swept the world with six awards at the ‘Emmys.’

『’The Righteous Evil’ Part 2 is just a few days away from opening! Will it meet the expectations of fans worldwide?』

The launch of ‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2, which had left behind a legend in many ways, was less than a week away. Part 1 was still in the Netflix rankings. Moreover, because Kang Woo-jin’s influence was so high after the ‘Emmys,’ the interest in ‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2 was explosive.

It was a tremendous force not only in Korea but also overseas. The expectations were at their peak. Of course, there were also some who looked at it with a critical eye. Since Part 1 was a super hit, Part 2 would be worse.

And then, a few days later.

『[Issue Talk] ‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2, winner of 6 ‘Emmys,’ opens simultaneously worldwide!』

On the 19th at noon, ‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2 was launched simultaneously worldwide. In more than 80 countries, including Korea, Japan, and the United States, including Hollywood, ‘The Righteous Evil’ was constantly being mentioned.

The reviews were mixed.

With rave reviews:

-Part 2 is more fun than Part 1??! I think 2 surpassed 1! And Kang Woo-jin’s action has also improved!

-It was a sequel that surpassed the previous one, from the directing to Kang Woo-jin’s acting, and the overall story was excellent.

And harsh reviews:

-I watched Part 1 until the end, but I turned off 2 while watching.

-Did the director just film it roughly? Kang Woo-jin’s action is the only thing worth watching, and the rest is too lacking compared to 1.

Whatever it was, the world was instantly buzzing about ‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2.

The next day, on the morning of the 20th.

『[Breaking News] ‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2, rises again to the top of the world』

‘The Righteous Evil’ Part 2 once again took the top spot worldwide.

『’The Righteous Evil’ Part 2, which achieved the world’s number one faster than Part 1, fans around the world are buzzing』

It was faster than Part 1.

And around the afternoon of the same day.

Even though the good news that ‘The Righteous Evil’ had once again taken the top spot in the world was spreading, Kang Woo-jin didn’t have time to be particularly happy. He was currently focused on filming.

The location was a set within ‘Columbia Studios.’

However, unlike before, it was not a neat city scene. Buildings were collapsed, cars were overturned, and fires were burning. The streets were filled with corpses. The sound of sirens was everywhere.

In such a war-torn city.

-Swish.

Someone walks down the center of the road, where burning cars are lined up. He was very dignified. A bizarre man with a cigarette in his mouth, a pale face, and a red, ripped smile painted on his lips.

It was the ‘Joker.’

The ‘Joker,’ Kang Woo-jin, walked confidently down the center of the road, his red hair swaying. The camera in front of him was filming while walking backward. It was when the ‘Joker’ took a long drag of his cigarette. Right in front, a man came out of the driver’s seat of a car that had crashed into a utility pole, coughing. Blood was flowing from his head, and he was dragging himself along the road, as if he had no strength in his body.

The man, upon discovering the ‘Joker,’ reached out his hand.

“S-save me.”

Kang Woo-jin, who was walking confidently without stopping, smiled and replied briefly.

“Okay.”

-Bang bang!

The man fell, his head blown apart. Kang Woo-jin, or the ‘Joker,’ didn’t seem to care at all, took a few more steps, and exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke.

And then.

-Swish.

He suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, which was full of corpses and burning cars, and started tap-dancing. Then he paused. Woo-jin, who swept his red hair back with both hands.

“Ah, right.”

He smiled crookedly at the front camera. Or maybe he was expressionless. But thanks to the painted face, he always had a smiling face.

“I’ve come up with a fun prank.”

After this line, there was a moment of silence.

“…”

Everyone was silent. Kang Woo-jin, the filming crew filming him, Director Ahn Ga-bok in front of several monitors filled with the ‘Joker’s’ face, Nora Foster with her arms crossed behind him, hundreds of foreign staff members, and even the executives of ‘Columbia Studios’ who had come out to check the final scene.

At least hundreds of people had gathered, but it was quiet.

Only the sound of the fire was spreading.

At this moment.

“Cut.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok, who had quietly stood up, gave a signal while looking at the ‘Joker’ in the filming zone.

“OK.”

At the same time, a bald man among the ‘Columbia Studios’ executives, who were standing behind with faces full of spirit, murmured.

“It’s over, finally.”

Hundreds of foreigners began to applaud Kang Woo-jin in the filming zone.

-Clap clap clap clap clap!

It was a wrap. In other words, Director Ahn Ga-bok’s ‘OK’ signal just now was the final signal for ‘Clown: The Birth of a Villain.’

To challenge the ‘Academy Awards.’