I WAS MISTAKEN AS A MONSTROUS GENIUS ACTOR

Translator: Dreamscribe

‘Joker’ walking the red carpet at the ‘Emmy Awards’? Kang Woojin realized the implication of Director Ahn Ga-bok’s words.

‘Oh- I see ‘Columbia Studios’ gave their OK?’

Honestly, it was unexpected. Or rather, should he say he hadn’t put much hope in it? Sure, he had pushed aggressively in certain situations before, but with Executive Producer Nora Foster’s opposition, he had seriously doubted whether this would happen. Kang Woojin knew well that the scale of the ‘Emmy Awards’ was enormous, and that going there as ‘Joker’ would be crazy.

But ‘Columbia Studios’ had decided to join in on that madness.

‘Damn, this film company’s bold, I like it.’

Did this mean Nora Foster was the only one left in the lurch? Well, she had her own reasons for worrying about ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’. The ‘Cinematic Universe’, too. Not everyone could think the same way. Anyway, while Woojin felt quite pleased, he maintained his dignified exterior.

“Is that so?”

At Woojin’s brief response, Director Ahn Ga-bok chuckled lightly over the phone.

“Haha, this is quite a big deal, but as expected, your reaction is calm. We’re about to showcase the first teaser of ‘Joker’ to the world in real life, and I’m getting more and more excited.”

“So am I.”

“Sure, let’s go with that. But ‘Columbia Studios’ has only allowed what you mentioned, just the costume and hairstyle for ‘Joker’. Anything beyond that is completely off-limits. No mention of the movie title or its content.”

Woojin nodded as if it were obvious.

“I understand.”

“But considering how boldly you’ll be making an entrance, you can’t just stay completely silent in the face of all the questions, so it should be fine to at least say that you’re a villain playing a key role in the beginning of the ‘Cinematic Universe’ related to ‘Pierrot’.”

In other words, stop right at the peak of curiosity. Naturally, Woojin had no intention of saying anything beyond that. If he overstepped, it would come off as reckless and make him look frivolous.

“Yes, I understand, Director.”

After Woojin’s response, there was a brief silence before Director Ahn Ga-bok spoke.

“……I’m looking forward to it, the reactions of everyone who sees the teaser for ‘Joker’.”

Expressing his genuine anticipation, Director Ahn Ga-bok continued talking for a bit before ending the call. Slowly lowering his phone, Kang Woojin imagined the upcoming ‘Emmy Awards’. It was often called the ‘Academy Awards’ of the television industry. Even at a rough estimate, it was clearly larger in scale than the Cannes Film Festival, and from what Woojin had researched, it was at least twice as big as an awards ceremony.

Then, suddenly.

“Wow- shit, I’ve really changed.”

Kang Woojin found himself dumbfounded by his own transformation. In the past, his heart would have been pounding wildly, and he would have been doing his best to maintain his persona. But now, he was not only embracing the performance but even enjoying it. Of course, the core of Kang Woojin still held some excitement and tension, but there was no doubt that the past three years and the Void space had changed him.

And with time, he would probably grow even more.

Then.

-Swoosh.

With a smile, Kang Woojin picked up the phone he had just put down. He was about to call Choi Sung-gun, whom he would be meeting soon.

“CEO-nim, please prepare one costume exactly like the ‘Joker’ outfit.”

About an Hour Later

Kang Woojin got into a large van to head to his schedule. Inside, Choi Sung-gun, Han Ye-jung, and the rest of the team all looked visibly excited.

“Oppa! Is it true? You really got permission to go to the ‘Emmy Awards’ in the ‘Joker’ costume?!”

The stylist team, in particular, was fired up. They had all been expecting a luxury brand tuxedo or suit, so this was a complete surprise. As soon as the van started moving, Han Ye-jung, her short blue hair tied back, turned to Woojin and asked,

“Then, should we prepare both the ‘Joker’ costume and a tuxedo?”

“That’s right.”

From the passenger seat, ponytailed Choi Sung-gun chimed in.

“Coordinate with the costume team from ‘Pierrot’ for the ‘Joker’ outfit. But they probably already have extras, just get one of those. No need for any extra embellishments.”

Behind Han Ye-jung, who had just nodded, the excited chatter among the team shifted topics. Now, it was all about the ‘Tonight Show’.

『LA TIME/the ‘Tonight Show’ Guest Kang Woojin Declares, “I Don’t Care About the Other ‘Emmy’ Nominees”』

The headlines were blowing up.

“This is crazy, the articles are everywhere!”

“Well, of course! Woojin oppa declared it himself!”

“But don’t you think it’s a bit too aggressive?? I’m worried, there were already a lot of hate comments.”

“These journalists are really going all out, tearing him apart!”

At that moment, Kang Woojin recalled what he had actually said on the ‘Tonight Show’ a few days ago.

‘I have no intention of looking around.’

Damn it, they had twisted his words beyond recognition.

He had simply been expressing his ambition and determination with a bit of a persona. But Hollywood had interpreted it however it pleased and jumped to its own conclusions. This was probably just a natural progression of the arrogant or ‘My Way or the Highway’ image that had taken root in his public persona. And it had all started, 100%, with his no-filter acceptance speech at the Cannes Film Festival. That buildup had snowballed to this point.

Regardless, Kang Woojin pretended not to care and checked the numerous international articles flooding in.

『BBX/’Emmy’ Best Actor Nominee Kang Woojin Throws Shade at Fellow Nominees on the ‘Tonight Show’』

『ABY/“I Have No Intention of Looking Around”, Kang Woojin’s Bold Statement』

『NT/Kang Woojin Dismisses Other Nominees, Confidence or Arrogance?』

It was an absolute media frenzy. And it didn’t stop there. Various international online communities were already chewing on and tearing apart the topic, fully immersed in discussing Woojin.

-He says he doesn’t care about the other nominees… That’s way too arrogant.

-Kang Woojin seems half insane. He even made dismissive comments about the ‘Academy Awards’ before.

-He’s just drunk on his own success since he’s making a name for himself in Hollywood.

-I actually like his persona. He really seems like a crazy guy who doesn’t give a damn about what others think.

-This is just thoughtless. He already has a reputation for being controversial.

-But his acting in ‘Beneficial Evil’ was undeniably impressive. And his action scenes too.

-If he’s going to stand alone as a Korean actor, he needs this level of guts.

– Guts? More like he’s just a lunatic.

It was a complete mess. Kang Woojin, staring at his phone screen, kept a nonchalant expression, but inside, he was grumbling.

‘Come on, when the hell did I ever say they don’t matter?? Huh? When?!’

Just then, Choi Sung-gun, who was also monitoring on his phone, spoke to Woojin.

“Hm- well, it’s turning into a spectacle, as expected. It’s unfolding exactly as you wanted.”

“……”

“But it’s getting a little too loud. Should we send out a correction article?”

At the question, Kang Woojin let out an internal sigh but strengthened his act of indifference.

“No, just leave it.”

At this point, trying to clean it up wouldn’t make a difference.

Later

After finishing a morning YouTube shoot, Kang Woojin arrived at the ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ set shortly after noon. The moment he stepped onto the set, Director Ahn Ga-bok and key foreign staff swarmed around him. What else could it be about? It was all because of the firestorm surrounding Kang Woojin in Hollywood.

He was held up by them for over thirty minutes.

‘Man, I’m already exhausted. Ugh- I need to hit the Void space real quick.’

The moment he entered his trailer, Woojin activated the Void space. As always, the Void space was serene. After getting enough rest, he immediately jumped into filming.

“Action.”

For reference, ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ had already been filming for three weeks. As a result, while Woojin had started with mostly solo scenes, the number of scenes involving other actors was gradually increasing. This meant Woojin’s actual shooting time was decreasing, but his waiting time was increasing. Soon, he would start filming more scenes with other actors.

That included Chris Hartnett.

Director Ahn Ga-bok had intentionally structured the shooting schedule this way. Until August, the focus was on set filming, which meant a lot of solo cuts. After that, outdoor location shoots would begin, and the schedule would include more two-shots and group shots.

For now, Kang Woojin set aside the morning’s controversies and immersed himself completely in filming.

To others, though.

“Wow, Woojin seems completely unfazed, even after dropping such a huge bomb. He’s totally unshaken.”

“He really does look like he doesn’t care about anyone else.”

“Seriously, his persona is on another level.”

“That’s exactly why his star power is through the roof. Honestly, I’ve never seen an actor shake up Hollywood this often.”

To them, he looked poised and unbothered.

Two days passed, but Kang Woojin’s attitude remained unchanged. Since this kind of situation happened often, he quickly forgot about it. However, the foreign press and public opinion only became more intense. Hollywood actors and various figures were busy discussing Kang Woojin.

In particular, the reactions of the other nominees for Best Actor at the Emmy Awards, whom Woojin had indirectly referenced, were quite entertaining. The four other nominees, excluding Kang Woojin, had mixed responses.

Some were dumbfounded.

“This statement is ridiculous no matter how many times I hear it. How can he act like this when he hasn’t even been in Hollywood for a full year?”

“Just ignore him. He’s probably just trying to play some psychological game.”

Some were outright furious.

“What the hell is this guy’s problem?! What? He doesn’t care about the other nominees?? I’ve never seen such an arrogant bastard before! Get me some articles targeting him! Let’s see how he likes it when I say I don’t give a damn about him either!”

On the other hand, some acknowledged Kang Woojin.

“Kang Woojin might seem eccentric at first glance, but his talent and skill make up for it. His acting and action in ‘Beneficial Evil’ were phenomenal. There’s a reason the ‘Big Five’ Hollywood studios are after him. Honestly, I’d like to befriend him.”

And some simply laughed.

“Hahaha! This guy really is a lunatic, huh?”

And so, with Hollywood heating up, June came to an end, and July began.

Friday, July 1st

Even though July had started, Hollywood remained anything but quiet. Meanwhile, something enormous was taking shape at SPT Studio, in the massive 50,000-pyeong set in LA. Hundreds of foreign workers were busy with construction.

It was the massive set for ‘Beast and the Beauty’.

At that very set, an elderly foreign man, half bald, with black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, appeared. It was Beast and the Beauty’s director, Bill Rotner. Of course, several key staff members followed behind him.

“Let’s go.”

Director Bill Rotner stepped into the gigantic set world, which looked as if it belonged in a fantasy realm. The entrance resembled an old village rather than a modern setting. Here, Director Bill Rotner envisioned Beauty, ‘Bella’. Next was the castle, grand and imposing at a glance. Standing before it, he recalled the ‘Beast’ and the ‘Prince’.

“……Excellent.”

He and his key staff were on-site for the final inspection of the nearly completed, overwhelmingly vast ‘Beast and the Beauty’ set. Aside from the set itself, every other aspect of pre-production was already finished.

In other words, as soon as the set was completed, they would move on to the next phase.

Director Bill Rotner and the key staff spent about an hour walking through the nearly finished set, inspecting the final touches.

Along the way, he didn’t forget to give instructions on minor adjustments. The last stop of their inspection was the grand ballroom, where a piano stood. The same place where Kang Woojin had auditioned. Compared to back then, the ballroom had become several times more extravagant. The pillars and floor patterns were now more distinct, the chandeliers had doubled in number, and silk draperies were elegantly hung throughout.

But one thing stood out.

“Hm- this setup is coming along well.”

As Bill Rotner observed, a ㅁ-shaped table had been placed at the center of the ballroom, right in front of the golden-patterned piano. Moreover, the chairs around it weren’t modern but designed to match the fantasy ambiance of the ballroom. There were enough chairs to seat at least 30 people comfortably. At a glance, it seemed like an additional set decoration, but it wasn’t.

That table and those chairs were.

“Seeing them placed like this, it doesn’t feel like they were set up for the ‘script reading’. It looks like they were always a part of this ballroom.”

Prepared for the script reading of ‘Beast and the Beauty’.

In other words, the script reading would take place right there, in this set’s grand ballroom.

For a brief moment, Bill Rotner envisioned the actors who would soon be seated at that table, Kang Woojin, Miley Cara, Maria Armas, and others. Then.

-Swoosh.

He turned to the production staff behind him and spoke.

“Let’s notify the actors of the confirmed script reading date.”

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