I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 66

Kim Dae-young was winking and wiggling his eyes right in front of me. His expression was ridiculously cute, considering his massive build. I almost poked his eyes out with my index and middle fingers. I barely managed to hold back. My head was starting to ache more and more, and I glared intensely at Kim Dae-young.

‘Stop it. You huge bastard, please just stay still.’

However, Kim Dae-young, oblivious to his friend’s inner thoughts, interpreted Woo-jin’s gaze in a completely different way.

‘Yeah, yeah, buddy. You’re welcome, right? I’m perceptive, so I played along. Hehe. This guy’s been having fun.’

Their understandings were completely different. Whatever the case, Kang Woo-jin looked at Kim Dae-young right in front of him, then glanced at Hong Hye-yeon and Choi Sung-gun behind him. Both of them were looking at Kang Woo-jin with slightly surprised expressions.

‘They believe it, right?’

They definitely looked like they trusted Kim Dae-young’s words. It wasn’t clear why Kim Dae-young had suddenly started this crazy act, but still, the situation wasn’t too bad, so Woo-jin let out a small sigh.

‘I feel like this whole concept thing has been amplified several times because of Kim Dae-young, but as a result, things have stayed the same, so whatever.’

At that moment.

“Kim Dae-young?”

Choi Sung-gun, with his ponytail, called out to Kim Dae-young from behind.

“You said he became more cheerful… so, Woo-jin was like in the past.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Kim Dae-young, turning his head, casually fabricated Woo-jin’s past.

“Woo-jin was severe, you know. More cold and heavy than he is now. His presence was something else. It was cool, but he was too aloof and cynical.”

“That’s enough.”

Kang Woo-jin quickly stopped Kim Dae-young. He whispered softly in his ear.

“That’s enough, shut up.”

Then, pretending not to be bothered, Woo-jin lowered his voice and asked Choi Sung-gun.

“CEO, why is he here?”

“Huh? Oh—didn’t you hear from your friend? We’re hiring new staff, and Dae-young applied. Since he said he was your friend, I was talking to him separately.”

“…Hiring?”

What the hell was this nonsense? Kang Woo-jin’s gaze returned to Kim Dae-young in front of him. He was winking again. Should I kill him? Woo-jin barely suppressed his exploding emotions and spoke to Choi Sung-gun again in a low voice.

“CEO, just a moment.”

“Huh?”

“I need to talk to my friend separately.”

“Oh, sure, go ahead.”

At that moment.

“Wait a minute.”

Hong Hye-yeon, taking off her hat, spoke up.

“You said Dae-young, right?”

“…Touched. No, yes. That’s my name. Thank you.”

“Huh? Anyway, why did you bring Woo-jin to the audition that day? He wouldn’t have asked to go first, given his personality.”

That was pretty much the correct answer. In fact, Kang Woo-jin had gone to the ‘Super Actor’ audition at Kim Dae-young’s request. However, it was because of the full course of pork belly + Hong Hye-yeon. But Kim Dae-young, becoming serious, glanced at Woo-jin once.

“He’s good at design, but the acting he does for fun was too good to waste in my eyes.”

Thinking this wouldn’t do, Kang Woo-jin forcefully pulled Kim Dae-young’s arm.

“Then, excuse us for a moment.”

Woo-jin dragged Kim Dae-young out of the CEO’s office. Now, only Choi Sung-gun and Hong Hye-yeon were left in the CEO’s office. They stared at the door for a moment without saying anything.

“Oh my god.”

Hong Hye-yeon, who had swept back her long hair, was the first to speak.

“If he’s this cheerful now, how dark was he in the past?”

Choi Sung-gun chimed in.

“I know, right? Even now, Woo-jin is a bit cynical; if we had met him in the past, we would have been done for.”

“…Woo-jin’s past or circumstances that we don’t know about. It seems like it wasn’t good at all.”

“Probably. And to have cultivated that self-esteem while silently studying acting on his own… it’s amazing and also makes me feel a bit overwhelmed.”

“And the acting he learned alone is now dominating the domestic acting scene. It’s hard to understand… Anyway, he’s definitely getting brighter, right?”

“Yeah. His friend proved it, so whatever.”

Hong Hye-yeon crossed her arms, thinking of Kang Woo-jin.

“So, the acting he did for fun ended up saving him?”

The misunderstanding here was already an iron fortress.

Meanwhile.

Kang Woo-jin and Kim Dae-young arrived at the emergency exit stairs at the end of the hallway. The massive Kim Dae-young was still chuckling, and Woo-jin, after checking the hallway outside the steel door.

-Swish.

After confirming that no one was there, he cursed at Kim Dae-young. Of course, in a small voice.

“Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing here? You should have contacted me.”

“Bullshit. Did you tell us? You screwed us over with the movie and the drama. I just wanted to surprise you once. Did your head feel numb?”

“Yeah. I almost threw up. Come here first.”

Kang Woo-jin grabbed the massive Kim Dae-young by the collar, and Kim Dae-young pushed Woo-jin’s shoulder, leading to a brief scuffle. But they didn’t make any noise. A silent physical fight. It almost looked like a dance without music.

After about a minute.

Kim Dae-young, slightly out of breath, who had barely suppressed his excitement, suddenly grinned.

“But why were you trying to look cool in front of Hong Hye-yeon? Did you want to look cool since you debuted as an actor, so you were acting all serious?”

“Ha—no, it just happened that way. Just take it as it is.”

“Hehe, I noticed that and played along. You should be grateful to your bro. But you’re not normal either; how can you think of being a concept freak while being an actor?”

“No, it wasn’t on purpose. And now I can’t turn back. Thanks to you, the situation where I have to grit my teeth and maintain it has gotten worse. Hey, what was that acting talk you did to Hong Hye-yeon at the end?”

“Oh? Ah—it would be weird if I didn’t know you were good at acting when I was the one who brought you to that audition, right? So I just made something up.”

At this point, Kang Woo-jin was a bit resigned. I don’t know, the result isn’t bad, so let’s just move on. So, Woo-jin changed the subject.

“But what’s with the job interview at our company? What about the mid-sized company you’re working at?”

“Ah—I was thinking of changing jobs, and somehow the timing worked out. Actually, I was also very interested in the entertainment industry.”

“So?”

“Since my friend is an actor, I thought I’d work with you. That ponytail CEO said you already have a road manager? So, I thought it would be good to start as a manager assistant and a guard.”

“When are you supposed to start?”

“I’ll wrap things up at my company this month and start around next month.”

Kang Woo-jin narrowed his brows, looking at his friend who was speaking so casually.

“Are you serious?”

“Real true.”

Indeed, Kim Dae-young’s eyes were full of determination. Woo-jin briefly imagined a future with Kim Dae-young joining. Jang Su-hwan and Kim Dae-young. Two massive bears.

‘Well, at least no one will mess with us.’

It might not be so bad. Still, having a friend by his side would be a unique haven from the difficult concept, misunderstandings, and the harsh entertainment industry.

Kim Dae-young spoke at that moment.

“So, are you going to keep going with that concept freak thing?”

“Yeah. Now I’m really stuck. If you want to work, you have to go along with it.”

“Hehe, that’ll be fun, isn’t it kind of like real acting? Leave it to me.”

“And—”

Kang Woo-jin trailed off. He had been about to talk about the numerous misunderstandings during his activities, but he swallowed the words. He couldn’t explain it all. It was better to let them figure it out slowly.

‘Since I’ve reminded him about the concept, he’ll probably figure it out when the time comes.’

Kim Dae-young, checking the time on his phone, asked something else.

“But, you know, our friends are one thing, but now that your popularity is exploding, aren’t your acquaintances starting to notice? I saw one comment.”

This was something Kang Woo-jin had also thought about.

“…Hmm. Elementary school is fine. I moved and transferred schools quite often. I don’t even remember that time.”

For reference, Kang Woo-jin and his close friends had been friends since middle school.

“Middle school, well, I transferred in the second year. But it doesn’t matter, right? It’s not like middle and high school kids know about my private life.”

“Well, yeah, that’s true. People you meet in society might be a bit puzzled. As long as you’re careful about that concept freak vibe?”

At this, Woo-jin scratched his head, as if giving up.

“I don’t know, man.”

He muttered casually.

“It’ll work out somehow. It always has.”

Friday, the 29th, morning. Japan.

The location was the ‘Toega’ film company near Shinjuku Station. In terms of scale, it was one of the largest in Japan. Many people gathered in the large conference room of such a ‘Toega’ film company.

There were at least 20 people, maybe more?

They were sitting around a U-shaped table, and the 50-year-old man with gray hair sitting near the entrance was a familiar face. It was none other than the renowned Japanese director, Tanoguchi Kyotaro. The rest were people from the film company and distributors.

The interesting thing was.

“…”

“…”

Everyone, including Director Kyotaro, was staring at a middle-aged woman in her 60s. Therefore, the large conference room was silent, and the middle-aged woman with glasses perched on her nose was just reading a stack of papers without saying anything.

-Flip.

In fact, she was Takikawa Akari, a super-popular novelist in Japan. Akari was well-known not only in Japan but also in Korea, and she was a globally recognized author of mystery novels. She had been active for over 30 years and had written dozens of works.

Among them, more than 5 were bestsellers.

The reason why Akari was here was simple. The original work for Director Kyotaro’s next film was Akari’s work. The adaptation of that work had just finished yesterday, and today was the day to introduce the completed screenplay to Akari.

At that moment.

-Swish.

Akari, having finished reading the screenplay, closed the stack of papers she was looking at. Then, she gave a kind smile to Director Kyotaro sitting next to her.

“It’s good, Director. I really like the adaptation.”

Director Kyotaro also smiled and nodded.

“I’m glad. I’m happy you liked it.”

“I can see that you tried to preserve the essence of the original work as much as possible. There are some parts that were cut, but I like that you stayed true to the original.”

“It’s a shame that I couldn’t include everything. I’ll do my best.”

The people from the film company and distributors, hearing their conversation, seemed relieved and let out small breaths. A man who appeared to be an executive of the film company asked Director Kyotaro.

“But Director, are you really planning to include a Korean actor in that work?”

Again, all eyes in the conference room turned to Director Kyotaro. But Director Kyotaro asked Akari a question instead of answering.

“I’m thinking of working with a Korean actor for this work. What do you think, Writer?”

Akari, who had been looking down at the screenplay for a moment, met the eyes of Director Kyotaro, who was full of gray hair.

“I’m in favor. Honestly, isn’t the current acting scene several times ahead in Korea compared to Japan? Not only K-pop but also Korean dramas. Korean culture is getting stronger and stronger.”

“Unfortunately, that’s true. Currently, Japan is still struggling, trapped in a well. I want to point that out.”

“You want to awaken our actors?”

“That’s part of it, but not all of it.”

At that moment, an executive from the distribution company interjected.

“I understand your intention. But if it’s a work by you, Director, and the Writer, even the top Korean actors would be willing to participate. The Korean actor you mentioned is still a rookie, almost unknown, isn’t he?”

Director Kyotaro answered immediately.

“Why an actor with weak recognition? Because it has to be that way. A top actor can’t play the role of whipping our actors [a metaphor for challenging or pushing them to improve].”

“But… after checking that actor, it seems he’s just recently getting some attention.”

“I checked too.”

“Isn’t it too much of a gamble?”

“Honestly, I was surprised to see that actor’s recent rise in popularity. There was no talk about it. Maybe there was some situation with the drama side. Regardless, I don’t understand why such an actor is only now seeing the light of day.”

The conference room began to buzz. That Director Kyotaro was praising an actor so highly. And a Korean actor at that. Regardless, Director Kyotaro continued, looking at Akari.

“In my eyes, that Korean actor had the posture of someone who had been honing his acting skills for at least 10 years. I haven’t seen many actors who can achieve that level of acting. He has his own unique acting style; it was amazing.”

“…To the point that the Director values him so highly?”

“Words are not enough to express it. The moment I saw his movie, I felt a thrill. But.”

Here, Director Kyotaro turned his gaze to everyone.

“Such an actor was hidden for over a decade, and now he’s finally shot a short film and is shining in a drama after acting like he’s going to die. It wasn’t even a big role. The acting scene in Korea has an unbelievably high hurdle compared to Japan. But what about Japan these days?”

“…”

“Only powerful agencies monopolize, broadcasters recycle well-known actors, and even if a new actor manages to emerge, their acting skills quickly deteriorate. Because the market is already full of dirty water.”

Soon.

“That’s why that actor is needed. I want everyone to see it. When you’re shocked by his acting, you have to tell everyone. That in Korea, even an actor like that is only doing 30-minute short films.”

Director Kyotaro sighed deeply and seriously.

“Of course, I made the decision after considering that Korean actor’s acting, posture, charm, and ultimately, his Japanese language skills, which are no different from a Japanese person. Japanese language skills are also important.”

Akari crossed her arms and asked back.

“Can I see the actor’s information? It’s the first time I’ve seen the Director so infatuated with an actor. I’m curious. But has that actor expressed his intention to appear?”

“No, not yet. I’m planning to send the screenplay and move with the team to have a formal casting meeting.”

“I see.”

Akari, who answered briefly, thought for a moment and then met Director Kyotaro’s gaze again.

“If you’re planning to go back to Korea, how about moving in line with my Korean schedule? I have some work in Korea in June.”

She smiled slightly.

“I really want to see that actor too.”

Back in Korea, the same night.

The time was around 9:50 PM. The place was Hong Hye-yeon’s house in Cheongdam-dong. It was a luxurious house with a good mix of black and white, a perfect description. Hong Hye-yeon, the owner of this house, was sitting in the living room with a rug.

And next to her.

“Wow, what is this wine? It’s delicious!”

Hwa-rin, with a mole under her eye, was sitting there. Both of them were dressed comfortably, and there were snacks like cheese and wine glasses set up on the table. It was a rare gathering of two close female friends.

There was a reason too.

“But, unnie [older sister or close female friend], is it okay for me to watch episode 5 of ‘The Idler’ with you today? What about filming?”

Episode 5 of ‘Profiler The Idler’ was starting in 10 minutes.

“It’s okay. I don’t have any filming today. I’m happy to watch it with you, Hwa-rin.”

“Touched—Cheers!”

Hwa-rin, sipping her wine, glanced at Hong Hye-yeon, who was eating cheese next to her. Then, she subtly brought up the topic she wanted. No, to be precise, it was a conversation that was too necessary for her fangirling.

“…But, unnie. Does that mean Park Dae-ri won’t be in episode 5 onwards?”

Of course, the target was Kang Woo-jin. But suddenly, Hong Hye-yeon chuckled and nudged Hwa-rin’s shoulder.

“Why? Ah! You—you like Kang Woo-jin, who played Park Dae-ri?”

Hwa-rin, who was secretly fangirling, vehemently agreed in her mind.

‘Yes, I like him so much. He’s cool and a good actor. Especially the tone of his acting is so new? I’m so curious.’

But with Hong Hye-yeon’s added words.

“That’s unexpected? Our Hwa-rin is hooked on a male actor, and a rookie at that?”

Hwa-rin, on the outside, unknowingly blurted out the exact opposite.

“Ah—what, what are you talking about. I don’t like him at all.”

She had made a mistake from the start.

End