I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 68

‘Wow… Hwa-rin? It’s Hwa-rin, right? This is crazy.’

Hwa-rin had suddenly appeared in the meeting room. The leader of ‘Elani,’ a top-tier girl group praised by many. Even Woo-jin, who wasn’t very interested in the entertainment industry, knew Hwa-rin. Well, she was so famous, after all.

‘She’s not as pretty as Hong Hye-yeon, but still, she’s damn gorgeous.’

Kang Woo-jin just stared at Hwa-rin, who was standing by the glass door, with fascination. It was that feeling you get when you happen to see a celebrity. At that moment, the slightly chubby general director of Netflix muttered, looking at Hwa-rin.

‘Hwa-rin-ssi? Why are you in this meeting room? You should have been guided to the meeting room next door.’

Ah, she must have come to the wrong meeting room? Woo-jin, who had roughly grasped the situation, looked at Hwa-rin again. What was strange was that she was also looking at Kang Woo-jin. What was this? Woo-jin flinched slightly but needed to appear composed.

So, he lowered his voice and greeted Hwa-rin.

‘Hello.’

‘……’

However, Hwa-rin, who was staring intently at Kang Woo-jin, didn’t open her mouth. She just slightly frowned. Kang Woo-jin felt a bit awkward.

‘What’s with her? Why is she ignoring my greeting? And her expression isn’t good either. Why is she like that?’

On the other hand.

‘I, I’m going crazy.’

Hwa-rin, whose embarrassment had reached its peak, was in a daze at Kang Woo-jin’s greeting.

‘His voice is so good! What? Is that his normal voice? My ears almost melted!’

It was shocking enough that her favorite, Kang Woo-jin, was at Netflix, where she had come without thinking, but his low voice shook Hwa-rin’s brain and heart. It was understandable. The actor she had been obsessing over for weeks was right in front of her.

Her thoughts twisted.

‘Why? Why?? Why is Kang Woo-jin-nim here? Why? Ha—I suddenly don’t know what to do? What is this? Ah, I don’t know.’

Hwa-rin wanted to jump up and down.

She wanted to run to Woo-jin, who was sitting down, and shout that she was a fan and ask for a picture together, and she wanted to sit close and ask for a short conversation. If that wasn’t possible, even a handshake. ‘I’ve become a fan of you without even realizing it!’ She could have shouted that too.

Her fan heart had grown to that extent.

However.

‘Hey, hey, Hwa-rin-ah.’

Including the chubby manager who had just called Hwa-rin, and the Netflix staff, there were too many eyes watching. Therefore, Hwa-rin.

‘Ahem.’

She cleared her throat slightly and averted her gaze from Kang Woo-jin, whom she had been staring at intently.

‘I, I can’t keep looking. My heart is about to burst.’

At this, the indifferent Kang Woo-jin’s dissatisfaction grew a little more.

‘Ignoring my greeting is one thing. But did she see something she shouldn’t have? Why is she so obviously avoiding my eyes?’

It was at this moment that the chubby manager asked Hwa-rin.

‘What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?’

‘…No. It’s nothing.’

Hwa-rin, who answered in a subdued tone, glanced at Woo-jin again. It was then that she greeted Kang Woo-jin.

‘Hel…hello.’

‘Ah—yes.’

A short conversation. Hwa-rin tried hard to calm her pounding heart.

‘That’s it? It’s a bit of a waste! Should I throw out a word, just any word? Crap, let’s do it!’

However, since there were many eyes watching around, she had to tone down her affection a bit.

‘I enjoyed your drama.’

She toned it down too much. Her tone was very rough and soulless. In a way, it seemed rude. Of course, to Kang Woo-jin as well.

‘Her personality isn’t great.’

Soon, Woo-jin replied casually, several times more heavily than his usual act.

‘Thank you.’

Hwa-rin’s heart rate amplified. Watching Kang Woo-jin from afar and having him in front of her were worlds apart. Then, Hwa-rin pulled the manager’s arm next to her.

‘…Oppa, let’s go.’

‘Huh?? Ah, okay, okay.’

It was an escape.

‘If I stay any longer, I feel like I’ll rush at him. No, no, no! I need to go somewhere and calm down!’

Thus, Hwa-rin, who had suddenly appeared, left the meeting room, and the employee who had guided her followed after being scolded by the general director. It was at this moment that Kang Woo-jin asked Choi Sung-gun, who was next to him, a small question.

‘That person. Hwa-rin-ssi, is her personality a bit off?’

Choi Sung-gun shrugged and whispered in response.

‘Well? I haven’t seen her much either. But seeing that she’s close with Hye-yeon, she must be above average. There aren’t any rumors that she’s bad, but she’s not very sociable? Why?’

‘No. It’s nothing.’

Kang Woo-jin, who had brushed it off, decided to ignore it.

‘Hwa-rin is a bit rude. Well, all celebrities have fabricated images. It has nothing to do with me anyway.’

It was a very contrasting temperature difference from Hong Hye-yeon. At this moment, the chubby general director smiled apologetically.

‘Woo-jin-ssi. I’m sorry about that sudden interruption. It seems like our employee made a mistake.’

‘It’s okay.’

Behind Woo-jin, who answered in a low voice, Choi Sung-gun with his ponytail chimed in.

‘But are you doing something together with Hwa-rin-ssi? Ah, this is just a casual question, so you can ignore it. Haha.’

The general director, who was looking at the easygoing Choi Sung-gun, smiled.

‘We’re also honestly a bit surprised. Why both Kang Woo-jin-ssi and Hwa-rin-ssi are involved in this project.’

‘Huh? If you’re talking about this project.’

‘Yes. Hwa-rin-ssi also came for a meeting regarding the one-act [a short drama] ‘Male Friend’. It’s not confirmed yet though.’

The general director, who answered, shifted her gaze to the woman next to her. Next to her sat a slender woman with glasses. It was Choi Na-na, the writer of ‘Male Friend’.

‘It’s like a dream… It’s already a blessing that Kang Woo-jin-nim came, but I never even imagined that Hwa-rin-nim would contact us.’

The general director grabbed the end of Choi Na-na’s words, who had timidly expressed her feelings, and turned her gaze to Choi Sung-gun and Woo-jin.

‘We also put some effort into this one-act project, so we circulated the script quite a bit. Of course, we knew it wouldn’t work out. Honestly, it was just for show.’

Choi Sung-gun, who had his arms crossed, nodded.

‘Well, if you circulate the script among high-level actors, it does create a good buzz in the industry.’

‘That’s right. That’s what we were aiming for, and Hwa-rin-ssi even scheduled a meeting. Well, but Hwa-rin-ssi’s side will probably just be looking around. Since it’s a project and all, she probably just came to sniff around. She won’t do it, this.’

‘Haha. Someone like Hwa-rin-ssi doesn’t really have a reason to do a one-act.’

‘I know, right. But it’s okay, even without Hwa-rin-ssi. We’re good enough with Woo-jin-ssi. Right? Writer-nim?’

‘Yes, yes, yes!’

The general director, who smiled here, made eye contact with the expressionless Kang Woo-jin.

‘Woo-jin-ssi, you’re really going to do it, right? I’m so happy that I want to confirm it again.’

Kang Woo-jin’s answer was brief.

‘Yes. I’ll do it, the male lead in ‘Male Friend’.’

At that moment, the general director’s smile deepened, and Choi Na-na, who was sitting next to her, opened her mouth hesitantly.

‘I…I! Kang Woo-jin-nim! Um, but is there a reason why you chose my one-act??’

Yes. There is, because the kiss scene is refreshing. Of course, the content is good too. But if I say it like this, I’ll be treated like a weirdo again. Kang Woo-jin answered vaguely.

‘I liked the script that went straight to the point without any unnecessary frills.’

‘Re, really?’

‘Yes. The overall feeling is good too.’

‘Fee…ling?’

Choi Na-na, who was staring intently at the cynical Kang Woo-jin, was mesmerized by something.

‘Feeling. Is that what writer Park Eun-mi was talking about? Like a keen eye for choosing projects? Anyway, this person has a unique aura. I don’t know what it is… but it’s different.’

Then, the general director leaned towards Kang Woo-jin.

‘But Woo-jin-ssi. Can you sing a little?’

What the hell is this sudden nonsense? What singing? The context of the conversation was strange, but Kang Woo-jin, who was confident in his singing, answered immediately.

‘Yes, I’m not bad.’

‘Oh—really?’

‘Why are you asking?’

The answer came from Choi Na-na, who took out several scripts she had brought.

‘Um—actually. It doesn’t appear in the first episode I gave you, but from the second episode, the male lead shows a hidden talent.’

‘Is that talent singing?’

‘Yes, yes. It’s a scene where the female lead is surprised because she didn’t know about it.’

Although his schedule had become busy, Kang Woo-jin had recently been reading various scripts and scenarios whenever he had free time. Of course, ‘Male Friend’ too. However, there was no such content in the first episode. Is it like a surprise? Here, Choi Sung-gun asked.

‘What kind of feeling did the writer set?’

‘Ah, ah, like a singer?’

‘Hmm.’

Then, the general director waved her hands.

‘It’s not that deep of a setting, you know? We can just modify the script appropriately. Um—just a normal level is fine. As long as you’re not tone-deaf, we can cover it up in editing.’

‘Yes, yes, yes! That’s right! It doesn’t matter!’

Looking at them, the general director and Choi Na-na seemed to be quite greedy for Kang Woo-jin. Whatever it was, Kang Woo-jin.

‘When I go to karaoke, I’m going to fly around [a Korean expression meaning to be very good at something].’

He recalled the times he went to karaoke with his old buddies.

‘I’m not tone-deaf.’

‘Then it’s fine!’

‘Writer-nim.’

Soon, Kang Woo-jin reached out his hand to Choi Na-na.

‘Can I get the rest of the script from the second episode today?’

Choi Na-na quickly presented the pile of papers to Kang Woo-jin as if there was no question about it.

‘O, of course! You’re the male lead now!’

Meanwhile, in the meeting room next door.

Hwa-rin, who was still excited because of her favorite, Kang Woo-jin, still had a high heart rate. She couldn’t hear a single word of the conversation between the manager next to her and the Netflix team leaders on the opposite side.

‘Ah, really! Did I leave too quickly? I should have just gone up to Kang Woo-jin-nim and asked for a handshake! I was too flustered!’

Her mind was filled with the object of her obsession, who was nearby.

‘But seeing him in person, he had such an aura. He wasn’t frivolous, he was serious, and his voice was like a cave! His real personality was completely different from the gossip and Park Dae-ri, right?’

The impact of meeting Kang Woo-jin in person was huge. Hwa-rin’s fan-filled eyes accelerated. Then.

‘Ah.’

Something suddenly occurred to Hwa-rin, and she asked the Netflix team leaders sitting in front of her.

‘But what is Kang Woo-jin-ssi doing here?’

‘Yes? Ah. Hahaha, actually, it’s the same context as Hwa-rin-ssi. Writer Choi Na-na picked Woo-jin-ssi as the male lead.’

‘……Kang Woo-jin-ssi?’

‘Yes. It’s not confirmed yet. It’s a bit difficult to tell you more details.’

At this moment.

—Swoosh.

The glass door of the meeting room opened, and the chubby general director and writer Choi Na-na entered. They must have come over after finishing the meeting with Kang Woo-jin. Then, the general director, who was sitting opposite Hwa-rin, opened her mouth.

‘First of all, thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Hwa-rin-ssi.’

‘Yes. The script was interesting.’

‘Before we get into the details, since Hwa-rin-ssi is interested in the script, I should first tell you about the confirmed co-star.’

‘……’

Hwa-rin swallowed hard. The general director, who was looking at her, muttered lightly.

‘Kang Woo-jin-ssi will be the male lead in ‘Male Friend’.’

‘!!!’

‘It was confirmed just now, and you can proceed with the meeting considering this. Woo-jin-ssi’s side asked us not to announce it to the media yet, so it will be announced next week.’

Hwa-rin wiggled her butt slightly. It was because she was nervous. No, it was a meeting she had come to without much thought, but suddenly the co-star was her favorite, Kang Woo-jin-nim?

‘Jackpot.’

At this moment.

‘General Director-nim.’

The chubby manager next to the shocked Hwa-rin suddenly chimed in.

‘Okay, I understand about Kang Woo-jin-ssi. We’ll also make sure it doesn’t leak out. Um—first, let me tell you a few conditions.’

‘Yes, Manager-nim.’

‘About the kiss scene that appears in the first line of the script. If our Hwa-rin becomes the female lead, can you remove that scene?’

‘Oppa.’

‘Ugh!’

Hwa-rin pinched the chubby manager’s thigh without being noticed. Then, she gritted her teeth and stopped him from speaking.

‘Shhh, be quiet.’

Night. Kang Woo-jin’s studio apartment.

It was past 10 PM when Kang Woo-jin, who had been taking photos for pictorials and social media, arrived home. As soon as the exhausted Kang Woo-jin arrived at his studio apartment, he dumped the ‘Male Friend’ scripts and his phone onto the bed.

‘Ugh—the day is long, so long.’

Woo-jin, who was tired, cracked his neck back and forth, then took a refreshing gulp of cold water and turned on the laptop on the small table. It was to watch ‘Profiler Han-ryang’.

It was Saturday night. So, the 6th episode of Han-ryang would be airing now.

—Swoosh.

Soon, the laptop started playing the 6th episode of ‘Profiler Han-ryang’. Although Park Dae-ri had already died, Kang Woo-jin had no intention of skipping the monitoring.

‘I wish the viewership ratings would go up more if possible.’

Although Woo-jin’s recognition had increased thanks to Han-ryang’s viewership ratings dropping, he had honestly grown fond of it, and it was a grateful project for Kang Woo-jin, so he wanted it to continue to do well.

Whatever it was.

‘Hmm—’

Woo-jin, who was sitting roughly and watching the laptop, turned his gaze. He picked up his phone.

‘Should I ask Hong Hye-yeon about Hwa-rin?’

Then, thinking it didn’t matter, Woo-jin put his phone down. He wouldn’t see her again, so he didn’t need to worry about it. Soon, he turned his gaze to the ‘Male Friend’ scripts he had received.

‘First, let’s make a list.’

Kang Woo-jin, who had muttered to himself, stretched out and then poked the black square next to the 2nd episode script of ‘Male Friend’. It seemed like he was planning to update the four episodes of the script in the subspace [a personal space where he stores his scripts].

Behind.

‘Let’s see—’

Kang Woo-jin entered the endlessly dark subspace. He saw a total of six white squares. Among them, Kang Woo-jin checked the one floating at the very end.

‘-[6/Script(Title: Male Friend), B+ Grade]’

‘-[*This is a very well-made drama script. 100% reading is possible.]’

‘-(Episode 2)’

It was ‘Male Friend’. It was listed up to the second episode without any problems. But.

‘Huh?’

Kang Woo-jin tilted his head.

‘B+? ‘Male Friend’ was B, wasn’t it?’

Clearly, the grade of ‘Male Friend’, which was B, had increased to B+. Kang Woo-jin wondered what it was, but he uttered the answer that had vaguely come to mind.

‘The only difference between yesterday and today is… could it be me?’

It was certain. Today, Kang Woo-jin was confirmed as the male lead of ‘Male Friend’. In other words, it was highly likely that the one-step increase was because of him.

‘Seriously? Really because of me??’

Kang Woo-jin quickly checked the white squares of ‘Drug Dealer’ and ‘Freezing Romance’.

‘-[4/Scenario(Title: Drug Dealer), B+ Grade]’

‘-[5/Script(Title: Freezing Romance), C+ Grade]’

However, there was no change. Woo-jin wondered what it was and stroked his chin.

”Male Friend’ went up, but the rest are the same?’

Even ‘Drug Dealer’ and ‘Freezing Romance’ were projects known to the media and the public. Anyway, for now, only ‘Male Friend’ had increased in grade.

‘Hmm—well, are there other conditions?’

It was at this moment.

‘Huh?’

A sudden change occurred in the white square of ‘Male Friend’ that Kang Woo-jin was looking at. The letters that were written were erased and then began to be filled in again. It was like an invisible person was rewriting the letters.

The updated letters were like this.

‘-[6/Script(Title: Male Friend), A Grade]’

The grade of ‘Male Friend’, which had just changed to B+, had risen again to A grade in front of Kang Woo-jin’s eyes.

‘……First, exit!’

Then, Kang Woo-jin came out of the subspace and picked up the 2nd episode script of ‘Male Friend’ that was on the bed. Woo-jin’s eyes were slightly widened.

‘What is it? Why did only this one go up to A grade?’

Meanwhile, at the same time.

In the CEO’s office of Hwa-rin’s agency, JML Entertainment. The large JML Entertainment was almost empty of employees because it was late at night, but for some reason, the lights were brightly lit in the spacious CEO’s office. In the center of the CEO’s office, three people were sitting at a six-person desk.

The CEO of JML Entertainment in a neat suit, the chubby manager, and Hwa-rin with her legs crossed.

What was interesting was.

‘Wh…what did you say?’

‘Hwa, Hwa-rin-ah. Can you say that again?’

Both the CEO and the manager were gaping at Hwa-rin. Regardless, Hwa-rin answered simply without much fuss.

‘I said I’m going to do it, that one-act ‘Male Friend’.’

End