I was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor [EN]: Chapter 82

Around the time the news broke that Kang Woo-jin, a veritable ‘nuclear bomb’ in the industry, had been cast as the lead in director Kwon Ki-taek’s next project, Woo-jin himself was in a meeting at Netflix Korea, completely unaware of the bombshell that had just dropped.

The medium-sized meeting room was filled with key figures involved in the ‘Male Best Friend’ project.

Besides Kang Woo-jin, there was the ever-plump Kim So-hyang, the general director; writer Choi Na-na; Hwa-rin; director Shin Dong-chun; and even team leaders from various Netflix departments. They had exchanged greetings and were now engaged in casual conversation.

Hwa-rin, meanwhile, was toying with the delicate bracelet Kang Woo-jin had given her, her eyes darting between Woo-jin and director Shin Dong-chun.

‘That director is the one who made ‘The Fixer’ with Woo-jin…’

In her eyes, director Shin Dong-chun was the benefactor who had brought Kang Woo-jin into the spotlight. This made Hwa-rin’s fan-girl heart swell with affection for the director.

‘I should make sure to properly greet him after the meeting!’

Kim So-hyang, the general director, who had been chatting with the team leaders, drew everyone’s attention, signaling that the meeting was about to begin.

“Okay, from here on, Director Shin will lead the discussion.”

Director Shin Dong-chun, who had been looking at his tablet, nodded slowly.

“Well, let’s start by confirming the production company.”

“Yes. We’ve narrowed it down to three options, so it shouldn’t take too long. After a brief discussion, the director can make a decision based on the situation.”

Upon hearing this, director Shin Dong-chun turned his gaze to writer Choi Na-na, who looked visibly nervous.

“Writer, would it be possible to have a brief script meeting after this?”

“Ah! Yes, yes!! Of course! I’ll do my best!”

“Haha, you’re too tense. Relax.”

“Yes! I’ll try my best to do that too!”

The entire room chuckled at writer Choi Na-na’s enthusiasm. Kim So-hyang, the general director, then changed the subject, showing her tablet to everyone.

“I’ll give you the key points first, though the details will be shared gradually. This ‘Short Project’ will release one episode every two weeks, starting with ‘Male Best Friend.’ Since ‘Male Best Friend’ is the opener, we’ll put all our efforts into everything from promotion to production.”

Her plan was quite extensive.

“Also, we’ve discussed it with Netflix Japan. While not all of the ‘Short Project’ will be available, ‘Male Best Friend’ will launch on Netflix Japan first.”

Launching on both Netflix Korea and Japan. Kang Woo-jin pretended to listen calmly, but inside, he was quite surprised.

‘Wow, that’s amazing, it’s going to Netflix Japan too? The scale is getting huge!’

He had never even considered Netflix Japan. At that moment, something clicked in Kang Woo-jin’s mind.

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

The grade of ‘Male Best Friend’ had suddenly jumped to A.

‘Ah, it’s not just because of Hwa-rin joining… is it perhaps Grade A because of the Japan connection?’

Just then,

“Oh, one more thing. Director Shin will decide when to start pre-production, but I think we need to confirm this in advance.”

Kim So-hyang called out to Kang Woo-jin, who was trying to maintain a nonchalant expression.

“Woo-jin, we’ve expanded the OST [Original Soundtrack] work a bit. You have two options. If you’re feeling burdened, you can just focus on playing ‘Han In-ho,’ or if you’re up for it, how about participating in the OST?”

What? Participate in what? The OST? Kang Woo-jin knew it was a very important part. Drama OSTs often climbed the music charts. But was it okay for him to do something like that? As Woo-jin pondered this internally, general director Kim So-hyang continued.

“Hwa-rin has already agreed to participate, and we’ve already collected quite a few songs. Our goal is to have about 2-3 songs, including Hwa-rin’s solo, Woo-jin’s solo, and a duet. Of course, we’ll add other songs, but we want the main focus to be on Woo-jin and Hwa-rin.”

At this, Hwa-rin glanced at Kang Woo-jin across from her.

‘I hope Woo-jin agrees. Even if he’s tone-deaf, I can use all sorts of techniques to make it sound good.’

Kim So-hyang, who had been casually crossing her legs, leaned towards Woo-jin.

“There’s enough justification. There are a few scenes in the drama where ‘Han In-ho’ shows off his hidden singing skills. What do you think, Woo-jin?”

It seemed like things were getting bigger again. This time, they wanted him to do an OST, something he had never done before. It was an incredibly unfamiliar task for Kang Woo-jin. There was a big difference between singing in a karaoke room and having it released to the world. However, Woo-jin didn’t back down.

He was quite confident.

‘Hehe, well, I’ve never done it before, but I’ll figure it out somehow. I’m already acting, so an OST is nothing. Besides, my singing ability is amazing right now, isn’t it?’

His pride soared. Of course, it was a self-esteem with a reason. A little arrogance and a dash of bravado.

“I don’t think it’ll be particularly difficult.”

General director Kim So-hyang was slightly surprised.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Really.”

Was he serious? Or was he just bluffing? General director Kim So-hyang was confused.

‘…Well, either way, he’s probably doing it because he can at least do an average job? But if it’s far below average, it’ll be difficult-‘

Hwa-rin was secretly jumping for joy while pretending to be nonchalant. Everyone in the meeting room had their own reactions while looking at Kang Woo-jin, including director Shin Dong-chun.

‘Could it be… that he’s good at singing too? No way, right?’

Even writer Choi Na-na and the other team leaders.

‘As long as it’s not unbearable… Hwa-rin can carry it.’

Whatever it was, confirmation was needed. Therefore, general director Kim So-hyang spoke again.

“Then, uh- let’s coordinate Hwa-rin’s and Woo-jin’s schedules and do a simple check. It won’t take too long, and it would be good to match Woo-jin’s and Hwa-rin’s tones at our recording studio. Then it’ll be easier to find a suitable song. Just as a check.”

It was a natural step.

“There, Hwa-rin and Woo-jin will sing a duet that’s already on the market.”

Then, Kim So-hyang requested from Kang Woo-jin.

“Woo-jin, you can just sing any song you like briefly.”

At the same time.

A 24-hour Korean soup restaurant near Netflix Korea. It was close to lunchtime, so the large restaurant was crowded with customers. Among them, three familiar figures were visible: Choi Sung-gun, Jang Su-hwan, and Han Ye-jeong.

All three were busy gobbling down their soup.

They had to fill their stomachs while Kang Woo-jin was in a meeting. The first to put down her spoon was Han Ye-jeong. She, who had recently changed to a short blonde bob, picked up her water glass and looked down at her phone. Her eyes widened.

“Huh? CEO. This article-”

Han Ye-jeong quickly showed the article she had just checked to Choi Sung-gun. Choi Sung-gun, who had a spoon in his mouth, also quickly widened his eyes.

“What is this? When did this come out?!”

“I think it’s been a few tens of minutes.”

The article they saw was this:

『[Exclusive] Giant ‘Director Kwon Ki-taek’s’ Next Project, Large Rookie ‘Kang Woo-jin’ Joins Forces… Film Company Says, “Kang Woo-jin is Cast as the Lead”』

Choi Sung-gun, who quickly rinsed his mouth with water, picked up his phone.

“This is… not a brain-fart, but official?”

“Yes. It looks official, judging by the source.”

“Yeah. From director Kwon Ki-taek’s side. But I thought the timing wasn’t right yet. Why did they release it so early? And only about Woo-jin?”

Choi Sung-gun, who was muttering, checked the internet. There were already quite a few articles following suit.

At that moment.

-Bzzzt, bzzzt.

The phone vibrated loudly. It was Choi Sung-gun’s phone. He was slightly surprised to see the caller. It was a call from the master director Kwon Ki-taek. Soon, Choi Sung-gun got up from his seat, went out of the restaurant, and put the phone to his ear in front of the entrance.

“Yes, director.”

Director Kwon Ki-taek’s gentle voice was heard through the phone.

“CEO Choi. Did you happen to check the article? The article confirming Woo-jin’s casting.”

“Yes, yes. I was just about to check and call you. Is it- did your side officially announce it?”

“Our distribution company released it. As CEO Choi knows, we were originally planning to release it around the end of June, but, well, there were some dirty rumors going around about Woo-jin, so we opened it a bit early.”

Dirty rumors. Choi Sung-gun and BW Entertainment also knew about them. But they hadn’t responded to each one. Those kinds of rumors were too common in the entertainment industry.

‘Well, did director Kwon Ki-taek feel sorry for us? We were waiting for it, so it’s good for us-‘

At that moment, director Kwon Ki-taek spoke again over the phone.

“Of course, from now on, if you have any promotions prepared, you can release them too. We’ll open things gradually, starting with Woo-jin, so we can adjust the speed while sharing with the distribution company.”

“Yes, yes. Director. Then we’ll also release news related to Woo-jin.”

“But, CEO Choi. The rumors about Woo-jin that have been circulating recently. The topics were all over the place, but in my opinion, it smelled like someone was trying to stir things up. It didn’t seem like the reporters were just throwing things out there without thinking. From my experience, it feels like someone sprinkled red pepper flakes [a metaphor for adding spice or malicious intent].”

“…Yes, I was also looking at it that way. The flow has become a bit too rapid.”

“CEO Choi, you have a wide network, so please look into it. Woo-jin is just starting out, and he shouldn’t have any weak spots, right?”

Choi Sung-gun chuckled softly.

“Yes, director. Thank you for your concern.”

“What, Woo-jin is our lead actor now, so we have to take care of him. Then, let’s talk again.”

-Click.

The call ended, and Choi Sung-gun returned to the restaurant with a strange expression. Jang Su-hwan and Han Ye-jeong, who were at the table, immediately bombarded him with questions.

“Is it official?”

“Are we finally opening it up??!”

“Yeah.”

“Wow- his first commercial film is with director Kwon Ki-taek. The film industry is going to go crazy again!”

Jang Su-hwan was excited, but Choi Sung-gun was muttering to himself, resting his chin on his hand.

‘Yeah, now the talk about the drought of projects and the nonsense rumors will disappear. It’s not confirmed yet, but if we add director Kyotaro’s project on top of this, it’ll be like a disaster [a huge success].’

Then, Choi Sung-gun picked up his phone and called the promotion team.

“Yeah, did you see the article? Yeah, it’s official, so let’s release what we’ve prepared. On all channels, including the press, social media, and the official website, as quickly as possible.”

After finishing his instructions and hanging up, Choi Sung-gun crossed his legs. Then, he started thinking.

‘Hmm- there’s only one bastard who would try to mess with Woo-jin.’

It hadn’t been many months since Kang Woo-jin appeared in the domestic entertainment industry. Therefore, Choi Sung-gun could easily deduce who had attacked Woo-jin.

‘Seo Gu-seop. That bulldog bastard is definitely the one. Whether he started the attack or encouraged the rumors that had already surfaced, Seo Gu-seop is definitely involved.’

Of course, Choi Sung-gun had been keeping an eye on CEO Seo Gu-seop. He knew that BW Entertainment was an investor in ‘The Fixer,’ so he wouldn’t stay still.

‘Honestly, I thought he would come at us right away, but he’s been rather quiet. Well, I should start getting ready too.’

Choi Sung-gun suddenly smirked.

‘Try to attack, Seo Gu-seop, you’ll get hurt more than me?’

He had a look that suggested he was hiding a joker.

After that.

The news of director Kwon Ki-taek’s next project shook the film industry media. More precisely, the issue was that the hot Kang Woo-jin had been selected as the lead.

This quickly spread to the entire entertainment media. It was a source worth it.

Not only was it the new work of the incredibly renowned director Kwon Ki-taek, but Kang Woo-jin, who had only debuted a few months ago, was the lead in such a huge project? Of course, it was natural for things to get noisy. The impact was unusual. In just one hour, articles began to appear on various portal sites.

Meanwhile, in the HTBS entertainment team’s van, PD [Production Director] Yoon Byung-sun’s mouth was wide open.

“Wow- what is this? I heard Woo-jin is joining director Kwon Ki-taek’s next project? And as a lead, no less.”

As soon as they heard the news, the writers and junior PDs’ eyes widened.

“Huh! Really??!”

“Amazing! It’s true! Articles are starting to pour out! Wow- the lead in a Kwon Ki-taek movie… that’s insane. This is beyond hot.”

“Is it for sure?? If so, does this mean Woo-jin is becoming part of director Kwon Ki-taek’s team??”

“Not yet a team, right?”

PD Yoon Byung-sun, who was scanning through various articles, asked the excited writers.

“To think they were hiding such a huge piece of news. This must have been confirmed a while ago and kept secret, right?”

“That’s probably it. With director Kwon Ki-taek’s power, it’s totally possible to pick him a long time ago and keep it a secret, then release it at the right time.”

“Director Kwon Ki-taek must have sent the script to Woo-jin right after ‘The Fixer.’ Ah, or was it during ‘The Fixer’? Anyway, Woo-jin never does anything ordinary.”

PD Yoon Byung-sun, who was laughing in disbelief, had a smile that seemed to deepen for some reason.

“He’ll definitely be imprinted on the public’s mind.”

PD Yoon Byung-sun muttered meaningfully.

“Hmm- should we give him a little boost too?”

At PD Yoon Byung-sun’s words, who was smirking, the main writer’s eyes widened slightly, and she quickly put down her phone and asked him.

“Give him a boost? Ah- are you saying we should do some media play [strategic media promotion] for Woo-jin too??”

“Yeah, that’s what I mean.”

PD Yoon Byung-sun, with a mischievous expression typical of an entertainment PD, said lightly.

“The acceleration is already on, so let’s add a booster.”