I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor

Translator: Dreamscribe

The filming of ‘Beast and the Beauty’, which began at the set banquet hall, only finished late at night after moving through several sets. Over a hundred staff members were busily moving for the next day’s shoot, and after bidding farewell to Director Bill Rotner, Kang Woojin was on his way back to the trailer with his team.

He was currently dressed in a skin-tight suit.

‘Ah- damn, no matter how many times I wear this, I just can’t get used to it.’

Though he grumbled inwardly, on the outside, Woojin, who had his tough guy persona equipped, had nearly reached the trailer when.

“Woojin.”

Someone called out to Kang Woojin. It was Choi Sung-gun, who hadn’t been seen all day, waving his hand. For reference, recently Choi Sung-gun hadn’t been able to work with Woojin due to his responsibilities with ‘Guest’ and several other matters at the LA branch. Anyway, after entering the trailer with Woojin, Choi Sung-gun said,

“Whether in Hollywood or Korea, it’s just blowing up everywhere that ‘Pierrot’ is aiming for the Academy Awards. I expected it, but I didn’t think it would erupt into this kind of frenzy.”

“Is that so? Still, ‘Columbia Studios’ hasn’t officially announced it yet. Things will get even noisier once that drops.”

“When are they announcing?”

“In a few days.”

“Hmm. We better get ready too.”

Soon, as Kang Woojin was changing out of the skin-tight suit, Choi Sung-gun changed the subject.

“I heard the crank up date for ‘Beast and the Beauty’ has been roughly set?”

“Yes. I heard it’s in early January.”

“Early January, so less than a month left. Feels like we just started shooting yesterday, time’s flying by like crazy. ‘Pierrot’ is in the final stages of editing, and ‘Beast and the Beauty’ is wrapping up filming.”

At that moment, goosebumps rose on Choi Sung-gun’s arms.

“There’s not much time left before those movies are released worldwide. Damn- it’s nerve-wracking, really. Aren’t you excited?”

Of course I’m excited. In fact, I’m beyond hyped. Though Woojin felt similarly excited inside, he replied outwardly in a calm tone.

“Moderately.”

“Just moderately? Man, you’re conquering Hollywood just a few years after your debut. Still amazes me every time I see you, how are you so composed inside? Anyway, I got a call from Jennifer Thurman from the ‘Guest’ side. She said Miley Cara contacted her out of the blue?”

“……”

“And Chris Hartnett too. Both of them are interested in ‘Guest’, and there’s a meeting planned soon-”

Choi Sung-gun, who had been smiling lightly, poked Woojin on the cheek of his emotionless face.

“It’s you, right?”

“Who knows.”

“Who knows, my ass. You think two top-tier Hollywood actors would just randomly want in on ‘Guest’? That too, so suddenly? Unless you were working something behind the scenes, how could this even happen?”

Yes, that’s right. I worked them. While Woojin laughed internally, the line he gave Choi Sung-gun was incredibly brief.

“I merely recommended the script.”

“Same thing. What did you say to them? What exactly did you tell those two actors to get them biting so quickly? Huh?”

Choi Sung-gun pressed on, curiosity clearly overflowing, but Woojin did not open his mouth. But thinking about it, he hadn’t even done anything big.

‘I just gave an appropriate explanation and recommendation, that’s all.’

It was Miley and Chris who made the moves. Well, of course, it was a result of Kang Woojin’s overwhelming influence on them. In other words, Woojin himself was currently a cheat key. Woojin asked something else.

“CEO-nim, when will you announce the ‘Guest’ matter?”

“Hmm? Ah- soon. But we shouldn’t overlap with ‘Pierrot’, so probably after ‘Columbia Studios’ makes their official announcement?”

While they were talking, Woojin, who had taken off the skin-tight suit, put on a cap and exited the trailer first. The interesting part was.

‘Ah.’

There was a familiar blonde woman standing right in front of the trailer.

“What took you so long?”

It was Miley Cara, still in her ‘Bella’ appearance. Though they’d been at the same filming location all day, they hadn’t spoken a word due to having no overlapping scenes. Choi Sung-gun, sensing the atmosphere, cleared his throat softly and quietly left. Soon, Woojin muttered to Cara.

“Still in costume.”

Cara, with her blonde hair braided into a single line, shrugged her shoulders.

“I was talking with the director, so I got held up.”

“I see.”

“More importantly-”

Cara, dragging the end of her sentence, took a step closer to Woojin. A pleasant scent drifted over, but Kang Woojin acted as if nothing happened. Miley Cara glanced around and then lowered her voice.

“I called the ‘Guest’ team. Looks like we’ll have a meeting in a few days.”

“Yes, I heard.”

“For the record, it’s not confirmed yet, and more importantly, I didn’t get interested in ‘Guest’ because of you. I scheduled the meeting because the script was interesting.”

After briefly looking into Cara’s face, Kang Woojin gave a slight, indifferent nod.

“I know.”

Cara suddenly narrowed her eyes and corrected herself.

“No, to be honest, half of it is because of you.”

Kang Woojin unknowingly smiled. Thinking back, this was the second time Cara had managed to dismantle his perfectly crafted persona.

“Half, you say?”

“……That’s right. So let’s go eat.”

“Eat?”

“Yeah. We’ve never had a meal together during the filming of ‘Beast and the Beauty’, have we?”

Had they not? He’d been so busy that he couldn’t remember clearly, but now that she mentioned it, maybe they hadn’t. As if it wasn’t a big deal, Kang Woojin nodded.

“Sure, let’s eat.”

Cara’s expression brightened instantly, and she cleared her throat to hide it.

‘Why am I so happy just to have a meal? This is so annoying.’

Later.

After wrapping up for the day, Kang Woojin enjoyed some internet surfing in the van while in transit. He started with Korean news.

‘Damn, it’s insane.’

Korea was in a frenzy. And what else could be the topic? The ripple effect of Woojin’s interview was spreading like wildfire.

『[Issue Pick] Kang Woojin’s ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ aiming for the upcoming April ‘Academy Awards’? Columbia still silent』

『Kang Woojin reveals direct ambition for the ‘Academy Awards’! Industry experts: “Timing makes it nearly impossible.” Will we actually see Woojin at the Oscars this April?』

The Korean media was flooded with nothing but Kang Woojin, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, and the ‘Academy Awards’. Since he had already won Best Actor at the Emmy Awards, the press was even more frenzied. The Korean public wasn’t much different. Social media, various online communities, and YouTube were all abuzz with Woojin’s hot topics.

-Was Kang Woojin confused in the interview?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I mean, seriously, the Academy Awards are in April, how can he attend??

– Seeing how Columbia is staying quiet, it looks like Woojin jumped the gun ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 100%

– Nah, it’s totally possible for Woojin to go to the Oscars in April as long as the requirements are met

– What are the requirements though???

– First, the film has to screen for at least one week in LA theaters ㅋㅋㅋ

– Wouldn’t Columbia suffer massive losses that way? If they screw up aiming for the Oscars, the whole release schedule gets wrecked ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Anyway, if Kang Woojin really goes to the Oscars, it’ll be legendary ㅋㅋㅋㅋ he’d become god-tier

– But won’t the Oscars hate how he’s being so public and not pick him just out of spite???

– If the film’s a masterpiece, they have to pick him ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Hollywood’s in chaos too anyway

.

.

.

And it wasn’t just online. Offline, too, Kang Woojin was the talk of the town. From everyday public conversations to people in the entertainment industry who knew Woojin, actors, directors, and so on. If this was how it was in Korea and Japan, Hollywood must be even more intense.

『CNM / Academy Awards remains silent after Kang Woojin’s bombshell declaration- Is ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ really aiming for the Oscars?』

Foreign media continued to churn out article after article, and even on major international forums like ‘Reddit’, rumors and wild theories were spreading. However, since it was the end of the year, the global entertainment industry couldn’t focus solely on Kang Woojin.

There were just too many award ceremonies, events, and parties lined up.

Still, while continuing to shoot ‘Beast and the Beauty’, Kang Woojin was invited to attend several award ceremonies. Though journalists bombarded him with interview requests each time, Woojin kept his words to a minimum this time.

About a week passed like that.

It was already mid-December.

The scent of year-end and Christmas grew stronger than in the beginning. While commuting to the filming set of ‘Beast and the Beauty’, Kang Woojin received a call from the Columbia side.

“Yes, understood.”

After briefly ending the call, Woojin lowered his phone, and Choi Sung-gun, who was with Kang Woojin today, hastily asked.

“What did they say?”

Woojin answered indifferently.

“They’ll announce it within the hour.”

Exactly thirty minutes later, ‘Columbia Studios’ made a global announcement through its official social media channels.

– [Hello, this is Columbia Studios. Today, we would like to share some news regarding ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’. This is the topic that recently drew attention through Kang Woojin’s interview. Everything he said is true, and our film ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ will be aiming for the Academy Awards next April. As such, we will begin early screenings in Los Angeles starting this February…]

It was precisely the plan that Director Ahn Ga-bok had submitted to ‘Columbia Studios’. The announcement instantly swept across Hollywood. Foreign press, which had been filled with question marks, erupted into exclamations, pouring out articles, and the global public chattered more noisily than ever before.

Global public opinion was split.

Some found it refreshing and shocking, while others thought it was ridiculous and absurd.

Given that it was a near-unprecedented approach in Hollywood’s history, such reactions were understandable. The controversy intensified exponentially. However, ‘Columbia Studios’ responded nonchalantly by releasing additional posters and teaser trailers for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’. Kang Woojin also posted a behind-the-scenes photo from the ‘Pierrot’ shoot on his social media, accompanied by a short message: “Please support us.”

While the world, including Hollywood, was boiling over with ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, other things were moving forward smoothly.

“Ah, hello Miley Cara.”

“Nice to meet you.”

At ‘A8 Media’, the production company for the film ‘Guest’, Jennifer Thurman and her staff welcomed Hollywood’s top-tier actress Miley Cara.

“Phew- I’m nervous. It’s Miley Cara right in front of me.”

“Hmm? Really? I enjoyed reading the script.”

“It’s truly an honor.”

Although it was just a brief meeting, Jennifer Thurman was visibly nervous about sitting across from an unexpected mega star. On the other hand, Cara was completely relaxed. There were many things to be finalized in this meeting, but what Jennifer Thurman was most concerned about was Miley Cara’s fee. If Cara agreed to star in the project, they’d be willing to bow a hundred times to get her onboard, but if the price was too outrageous, it would just be a fantasy.

Fortunately.

“Hmm- not bad.”

Miley Cara reacted positively to the proposed fee. It wasn’t a done deal, but with this kind of response, the possibility was there. Jennifer Thurman was dancing internally.

‘Even if the price goes up a bit, it’s within the expected range.’

Of course, the fee she had offered Miley Cara was already a significant sum. In fact, over 50% of Guest’s overall production budget could be considered to go toward actor payments. But in Hollywood, such a scenario was not uncommon.

After finishing the meeting with Miley Cara, Jennifer Thurman.

“Phew, next one.”

With a fierce expression, she moved on to the next candidate. Exactly three hours later, the Hollywood top actor sitting across from her was.

“Haha, hello.”

“Welcome, Chris.”

It was Chris Hartnett.

Meanwhile.

At ‘Universal Movies’, one of Hollywood’s Big Five studios, a key agenda item was finalized. Among those gathered were major players like Joseph Felton, high-level staff, and the famed Hollywood director Danny Landis. This was regarding the third film Kang Woojin had locked in, ‘John Persona’.

“It’s complicated, so let’s get through the year first.”

“I agree. December’s too hectic, let’s begin in January.”

“Alright. Script reading will take place in January then.”

The script reading for ‘John Persona’ was scheduled for January, just a few weeks away.

Time flowed on. A day, two days, and then a full week passed. Countless issues swirled around, and Kang Woojin, who was half exhausted trying to keep up with the packed schedule, arrived home late at night in LA. He had just finished a day of filming and was completely exhausted.

“Ugh- damn, I’m dead.”

Throwing off his concept persona, he checked his phone.

– [2022/12/31]

– [PM 11:55]

There were only five minutes left in the year. And so, on Kang Woojin’s phone.

– Bzzzz.

– Bzzzz.

Endless messages were pouring in. Chat notifications, texts, DMs, and so on. His phone had been ringing all day. Just as expected for the year’s final moments, countless people were reaching out. While checking those messages, Woojin muttered briefly.

“Ah, I’m a year older.”

Because the numbers on the phone screen had changed.

– [2023/01/01]

It was the moment Kang Woojin became a fourth-year actor.

Two days later, January 3, 2023.

The chaotic year-end had passed in both Korea and Hollywood, and the new year had dawned. Still, the new year wasn’t exactly quiet either. Early in the morning, Kang Woojin had just gotten into a van. Though the new year had dawned, a poker face was still on his face.

“……”

He stared blankly out the window, but internally, Woojin felt a subtle flutter of excitement.

‘Wow, what did I even do to already be a fourth-year actor?’

For a moment, Kang Woojin recalled the first time he encountered Void space. Just then.

– Bzzzz, bzzzzzz.

His phone let out a long vibration. Woojin flinched slightly and checked the caller. The name displayed was Director Ahn Ga-bok. Internally thinking, “Huh?”, Woojin calmly cleared his throat and raised the phone to his ear.

“Yes, Director-nim.”

He spoke in Korean, and the aged voice of Director Ahn Ga-bok came through.

“Just finished. The editing for ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’, I mean.”

It meant the weapon was now fully loaded and ready to fire.