I WAS MISTAKEN AS A MONSTROUS GENIUS ACTOR

Translator: Dreamscribe

Morning of July 2nd.

A somewhat dirty downtown street, with homeless people scattered here and there. Towering buildings lined up densely with various shops in between, and pedestrians moving busily along the sidewalks.

And the road?

-Honk! Honk! Beep! Beep beep!!!

As soon as the traffic started clogging up, deafening honks erupted from all directions. A taxi driver in a yellow cab rolled down his window and hurled curses at the car in front.

“Fuck!! Just move already!!”

The driver of the pickup truck ahead also rolled down his window and snapped back with curses.

“Why don’t you shut up?! You think I don’t wanna move?!! Hey! You got a death wish?!!”

Shouts and screams were exchanged. The noise filled the streets. The city was overflowing with countless sounds, enough to make one feel dizzy, yet the people living here carried on as if they were used to it. Among them, the taxi driver who had just cursed out the front car widened his eyes in shock.

“What, what is that??!”

A bizarre-looking human on the sidewalk ahead. No, was that even human? It was a sight so grotesque that even the taxi driver was confused. He turned his gaze toward the sidewalk and saw it clearly, a ‘Pierrot’ walking.

His wet, red hair shimmered as they swayed, his face was deathly pale, and his eyes, nose, and lips were either black or red.

His attire appeared dignified but the colors were flamboyant.

A red jacket and pants, a blue shirt, a yellow vest, worn-out brown shoes, mismatched red and blue socks.

The most interesting part?

-Step, step, step.

His presence was overwhelmingly imposing. The energy he exuded seemed to scream that if anything blocked his way, he’d simply crush through it. There was even a sense of beastly savagery.

-Step, step, step.

The ‘Pierrot’, no, the ‘Joker’, put a cigarette to his lips and took a long drag, exhaling a plume of smoke. He swept his red hair back with one hand. But he didn’t stop walking. The people he passed by, as well as those inside the vehicles on the road, stared at him intently.

As if they were witnessing a wild beast that had escaped from the zoo.

Or maybe, a rapidly spreading epidemic.

Whatever it was, to these people, the ‘Joker’ was anything but normal. He stood out, radiating enough danger and menace to put them on edge. Some called the police. Some pointed fingers at the ‘Joker.’ Some giggled at him. Some gasped in shock and ran away.

So what? What are you gonna do about it?

Kang Woojin’s relentless advance, no different from ‘Joker’s’, did not stop. Two cameras carried on shoulders took turns filming from the front and side of Woojin.

“Hoo-”

Exhaling another long trail of cigarette smoke, Kang Woojin suddenly.

-♬♪

Swayed his body to the rhythm of the music playing in the streets. He had started dancing. The expressions of those who had been watching him with curiosity turned even stranger. What the hell is this lunatic doing? And yet, as he kept the cigarette in his mouth, Woojin’s dance only grew more intense.

Then, spinning on the spot, he murmured in a low, indifferent voice.

“This is so much fun, I might go crazy.”

The camera filming him smoothly pulled back. At the same time, another camera positioned about ten steps away began capturing him from the front.

-Swish.

Woojin lit a new cigarette, exhaled the smoke into the sky, and resumed walking. One step, two steps, three steps. Again, there was no hesitation. And the way the ‘Joker’ moved forward with no regard for what lay behind him.

‘The shot looks killer.’

The monitors displaying the footage were vividly showing the scene to hundreds of foreigners, including Director Ahn Ga-bok. The direction that Director Ahn Ga-bok envisioned was gradually coming to life. The foreign staff watching the footage silently evaluated it.

‘There’s a saying, life is a comedy when viewed from afar, but a tragedy up close. That concept is woven into the steps of this ‘Joker’.’

‘When I first heard the storyboard explanation, I thought it was a decent scene, but seeing it in person? It’s even better.’

‘Because of Jokers’ thickly painted, grin-like lips, from afar, he looks like he’s smiling. But as the camera gets closer, you start to realize, he’s actually expressionless.’

On the monitor, Kang Woojin’s face held a striking contrast. From a distance, it seemed as though he was grinning from ear to ear, but as he came closer, his actual expression beneath the painted lips was blank. Rigid and indifferent. This was Director Ahn Ga-bok’s intention.

A coexistence of ‘comedy’ and ‘tragedy’. And just like that, the clown known as ‘Joker’ was satirizing the people of the world. I know you all live wearing these pathetic, fake smiles. But I have been freed.

At that moment.

“Hey!!”

A shout rang out from behind Kang Woojin. He paused for a moment, ran a hand through his red hair, and turned his head. Two large-bodied police officers were gesturing from quite a distance away.

“What are you! Come over here!!”

They had responded to the reports. The camera, which had been filming the police, swiftly panned back to Woojin’s face. In the past, he might have frozen in terror, paralyzed by anxiety. But now? Now, he was the awakened ‘Joker’. Taking a deep drag from his cigarette, he suddenly placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly, like an actor greeting the audience after a curtain call.

To the police officers, this looked disturbingly eerie.

A guy in full-on clown makeup suddenly displaying such formal courtesy?

“What the… what is with this lunatic?”

But the words that came out of Kang Woojin’s mouth had no hint of courtesy at all.

“Hey there, fatties!”

The officers’ eyes widened.

“!!!”

“Catch that bastard!!”

The two overweight officers started running, waddling after him.

Kang Woojin, or rather, the ‘Joker’, burst into laughter.

“Heeheehee!”

And took off running as well.

Unlike the officers, his face was filled with sheer, manic excitement. Whether it was his painted expression or his real one, it didn’t matter. The camera behind him captured his flapping pant legs, revealing the unmistakable contrast of red and blue mismatched socks beneath.

In the world of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’.

“Heeheehee! Hahahahaha!”

The ‘Joker’ had finally emerged. A truly horrific clown, dancing with unhinged delight.

The camera zoomed in on the ‘Joker’s’ face as he sprinted forward. His ghostly white complexion, the sharp angular lines around his eyes, the red dots on his eyebrows and nose tip, and the grotesquely exaggerated, painted grin, it all came together to create an utterly deranged lunatic.

More than a hundred foreign staff members were watching, and among them, standing with his arms crossed, was Choi Sung-gun.

Even as goosebumps rose on his skin, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret.

‘Damn, it’s a shame he can’t wear this ‘Joker’ makeup at the Emmys.’

He imagined Kang Woojin walking down the Emmy Awards red carpet in this very look. A strange thrill ran through him.

And then.

“Cut. OK.”

Director Ahn Ga-bok gave the signal. Soon, the eerie-faced Kang Woojin approached. He exchanged a brief conversation with Director Ahn Ga-bok. Around this time, Choi Sung-gun, who had been watching Woojin, felt a long vibration from his phone.

-Swish.

Quietly stepping away from the crowd, he answered the call.

Several dozen minutes later, after finishing his talk with Director Ahn Ga-bok, Choi Sung-gun approached Kang Woojin.

“Woojin.”

He was smiling and waving his phone.

“I got the script reading date for ‘Beast and the Beauty’, July 18th. About two weeks from now.”

A few days later, on the 6th.

It was late morning. The location was the massive ‘World Disney Pictures’, a place reminiscent of an amusement park. Even now, tourists were coming and going within the ‘World Disney Pictures’ premises. In one of its main buildings, a large conference room was packed with the production team of ‘Beast and the Beauty’, key staff members, as well as Director Bill Rotner, producers, and others.

And in the hallway outside that conference room.

-Swish.

Kang Woojin appeared, dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and jeans. As always, his poker face was strong.

His reason for coming to ‘World Disney Pictures’ today was simple. Before the script reading, there was a pre-meeting regarding ‘Beast’ and beauty ‘Bella’. Unlike other films, ‘Beast and the Beauty’ was based on an existing work, and reviewing essential details in advance was crucial for a smooth script reading.

With his ‘concept mode’ fully activated, Kang Woojin entered the conference room.

‘Whew- there are so many people here.’

Soon, Director Bill Rotner and several other foreigners welcomed him. They exchanged greetings and chatted about recent topics for roughly ten minutes. Woojin took a seat at the first spot by the window among the ㄷ-shaped table arrangement. Looking at the left wall, he noticed a screen set up, likely for a PowerPoint presentation.

Then.

“Ah- Miley!”

Through the back door, the blonde Miley Cara entered. Now, both of the film’s leads were present. Director Bill Rotner, who had been observing Miley Cara’s face closely, suddenly asked her,

“Miley, do you have something scheduled after this meeting? You put a lot of effort into your makeup and styling today.”

And indeed, she had. Cara’s appearance was fully done up with makeup, and even her hair was different from usual. Her long, straight blonde hair shimmered as it swayed, clearly, a look she had put significant effort into. But shrugging her shoulders, Cara shook her head.

“No, not at all. This is just my usual look.”

“……Oh- really? Hmm-”

Miley Cara then shifted her gaze over Bill Rotner’s shoulder. Under the sunlight streaming through the window, Kang Woojin sat, casually flipping through the documents handed out. Cara steadied herself internally.

‘It’s fine. Just act as usual. Just like always.’

She moved to her designated seat, which was across from Kang Woojin. The moment she sat down, Woojin, who had been looking at his tablet, lifted his head. Their eyes met. Woojin spoke first.

“Miley, hello.”

Cara greeted him back.

“Yes, hello.”

Then, for some reason, while maintaining eye contact with Woojin, Cara abruptly looked away. Huh? That was odd. His face remained expressionless, but Woojin was puzzled.

‘What’s up with her? I swear, she just avoided my gaze just now.’

Normally, Cara would have smiled confidently and led the conversation. But today, her behavior was different from usual. Woojin had no idea why. He had no particular issue with Cara. Of course, it was natural that he didn’t know. Thanks to the information Maria Armas had given to Cara.

‘Ah- jeez, just act normal! Why did I look away?!’

That she was now extremely conscious of Kang Woojin. The truth was, since the day she spoke with Maria, Cara hadn’t been able to get Woojin out of her head.

‘Hah, there’s no way this indifferent guy actually said something like that. Maria must have misheard. So just act like your usual self, come on.’

Since becoming a top-tier Hollywood actress, Miley Cara had never experienced such a whirlwind of emotions before. Yet, she desperately tried to deny it. The anger that surged when Maria claimed she was going to seduce Kang Woojin. The fact that she couldn’t even look Woojin in the eye right now. She had never been in this kind of situation before.

If anything, men had always come to her, not the other way around.

‘It’s just that this guy Kang Woojin is a character I’ve never seen before, that’s all, I’m just confused.’

By then, Director Bill Rotner and several production members had also taken their seats at the table. A projector beamed onto the front screen, displaying reference materials for ‘Beast and the Beauty’. The visuals included finalized designs, showing Beast’s appearance, his costume, his castle, and even the surrounding characters. Director Bill Rotner began his explanation.

Meanwhile, Kang Woojin was completely absorbed in the screen displaying Beast’s design.

‘Wow- this is insane. I had a rough idea, but this is seriously next-level. Won’t just the makeup alone take hours??’

He imagined himself as ‘Beast’, covered in thick brown fur, with sharp claws and fangs. It was both thrilling and a little daunting. Now that he was here, the reality of Beast and the Beauty’s filming being just around the corner was sinking in. The explanation regarding ‘Beast’ lasted for about 30 minutes before the next slide appeared, beauty Bella’s design.

The moment he saw it, Woojin instantly reacted.

‘Oooooh- she looks gorgeous?? Exactly like the animation, ah, it brings back memories.’

And his anticipation grew even more. Miley Cara’s resemblance to ‘Bella’ was strikingly high. As her co-star, he’d get to see it up close and in person. Soon, Director Bill Rotner turned to Kang Woojin.

“As ‘Beast’, what do you think of Bella’s design?”

Despite his internal excitement, Woojin responded in his usual cold, composed tone, his gaze shifting to Cara across from him.

“I think it suits Miley well.”

“……”

For a brief moment, their eyes met. And once again, Cara averted her blue eyes. Huh? What the hell? Woojin’s curiosity grew. Unaware of this subtle exchange, Director Bill Rotner spoke to Cara.

“Oh, I like the expression you have right now, Miley. It’s just like Bella’s initial disdain toward ‘Beast’. What do you think? Do you like Bella’s design?”

“……Yes, very much.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Director Bill Rotner began the briefing on ‘Bella’. The entire meeting lasted a little over an hour. Since it was lunchtime, the group decided to eat together. Woojin, Cara, and the rest of the foreign crew left the conference room.

Soon, Woojin and Miley Cara found themselves near the back exit of the conference room.

Then.

-Swish.

As they moved among the exiting production members, Woojin’s hand lightly brushed against Cara’s. For him, it was nothing special. But for some reason, the blonde actress flinched.

“……!”

She stopped in her tracks, visibly raising her hand in reaction. Woojin, noticing this, also halted. The production staff, assuming the two actors had something to discuss, simply went their own ways. Before they knew it, only Kang Woojin and Cara remained at the back door of the conference room, and Woojin, with his intense indifference, asked Cara in a low voice as he placed one hand on his chest.

“What’s wrong?”

But Cara didn’t respond. She could only feel the deafening pounding of her own heart. She looked slightly dazed. At this moment, Cara became certain. She whispered to herself,

“I… like you.”

But Woojin didn’t quite catch it.

‘Huh? Did she just say something? Also, what’s up with her today? She’s been acting weird all day.’

So he asked again.

“Miley, what did you just say? Also, are you feeling unwell?”

Instead of answering right away, Cara quietly clasped the hand that had brushed against Woojin’s. Then, slowly, she raised her blue eyes to meet his. And before she even realized it, she murmured,

“I think I like you.”

“……”

With an unreadable expression, Kang Woojin stared blankly at the blonde Miley Cara’s face.

Then he responded.

“…Ehng?”

His brain had momentarily malfunctioned.

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