I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor-Chapter 336: Cannes (2) - Edited

Chapter 336: Cannes (2)

Translator: Santos

In one of the largest screening rooms in a Tokyo theater, hundreds of reporters sat in the audience as the ending credits rolled. The film's title and the names of the cast were displayed on the large screen.

“...”

“...”

Their faces were blank, stunned as if they had been hit hard on the back of the head. They were filled with confusion and disbelief. Each individual had slightly different emotions, but they all shared one thing in common: the film they had just watched was a shocking cultural experience.

The film they had just seen was *The Strange Sacrifice of an Outsider*.

Of course, it was a screening, not a regular showing.

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*The Leech* had just held its first media screening today. This media screening was organized for the hundreds of reporters, media personnel, and film critics gathered here. There are various types of screenings—regular, VIP, blind, etc.—but the media screening is particularly significant.

It directly impacts promotion and marketing.

While it is forbidden to publish articles immediately after the screening, a wave of articles related to the film would be released once the designated time arrived. These articles would provide the information that the public seeks about the film before its release.

In other words, it could be said to decide the film’s first impression.

While direct spoilers about the film's story or ending are prohibited, reporters are allowed to share their feelings or provide brief descriptions of the film. Given this, production companies often host the largest media screenings and prepare multiple showings.

*The Leech* was no different.

However, *The Leech* expanded its media screening to more than double the usual scale. This was predetermined by director Kyotaro and the film company, resulting in this large screening room being packed with far more attendees than typical media screenings. They had also increased the number of showings several times.

Currently, at the front right of the audience watching the ending credits on the screen was a graying man.

“Hmm.”

He was the master director Kyotaro, who directed *The Leech*. Beside him sat top Japanese actor Mana Kosaku and several other lead actors from *The Leech*. They were present for the stage greeting that occurs after the first screening.

Only the director and the actors maintained calm faces.

A few actors seemed slightly agitated, but—

‘Of course! Watching it on the screen magnifies the tension several times over; it’s a different story compared to the test screening!’

Overall, they appeared calm. They had already undergone the testing of the finished product, so it was expected.

In contrast—

‘...What, what did I just see??’

The host of the screening, who was sitting in the same row as Director Kyotaro and the actors, was unable to take his eyes off the screen. His mouth hung slightly open. He wore an expression of shock similar to that of the hundreds of reporters behind him. He was even someone who had read the original *The Leech* book multiple times.

This made it even harder for him to accept the film *The Leech*.

‘Well, I expected some adaptations or changes—but they took the knife to it this much? Even the ending! This is completely different from the original!!’

The ending of the original and the movie was a complete 180-degree turn.

‘Is this film’s ending... really okay??! I feel like it’ll just flip when it’s released!!!’

When about half of the ending credits of *The Leech* had rolled, the dim lights in the large screening room lit up. Instead of the ending credits, different text began to appear on the screen, naturally in Japanese.

*‘The Strange Sacrifice of an Outsider / Stage Greeting’*

It was time for Kyotaro and the Japanese actors waiting backstage to step forward. Before that, the dazed host stood in front of the screen.

“...Well! Let’s welcome the stars of *The Leech*!”

At this point—

“Hey, why is the ending like this??”

The murmurs of the hundreds of reporters and media personnel packed in the audience suddenly began to rise in decibels.

“Is that really how it ends?! Does it really end like that? With Kang Woojin’s face??? What the heck??”

“Doesn’t that make Kang Woojin the main pillar...? The ending is different from the original! And it’s a drastic change.”

“Director Kyotaro Tanoguchi must be crazy. If he releases it like this, what kind of backlash will he face from the original fans—”

The shock that had been frozen began to unravel.

“Is it implying that karma doesn’t exist? And the protagonist Kiyoshi’s setting was changed too!”

“Did they change Kiyoshi’s setting because of casting Kang Woojin?”

“Did the original author Akari actually approve of this? This doesn’t make sense. The ending is severe.”

“This is tantamount to trampling on the unwritten rules of the current Japanese content market.”

“If the public sees this *The Leech*... it’ll be a disaster, a massive disaster!”

Every single reporter, without exception, erupted in shock and horror. At the same time, they recalled the content of the *The Leech* they had just seen. The character of ‘Iota Kiyoshi’—that is, Kang Woojin’s meticulous murder plan, the story that vividly reflected Japanese reality, and the absurd ending that wrapped up with Woojin’s close-up shot.

The hundreds of reporters were evolving from excitement into frenzy.

Meanwhile, Kyotaro and the Japanese actors lined up in front of the screen. As the journalists’ murmurs escalated, they suddenly raised their cameras to capture the stars of *The Leech*. Flashes erupted like lightning.

*Flash!*

This was not a positive shutter sound. It was a collection of information preparing for an imminent major controversy, outcry, disaster, and backlash. Regardless of the expression, it resembled information gathering for the war that had broken out across Japan. Amidst such reporters, the film critics, who had been relatively quiet, saw something different in *The Leech*.

‘The ending—yeah, I predicted that this kind of interpretation would emerge in Japan eventually. I didn’t expect Director Tanoguchi to do it, especially with Akari’s work. By the way, Kang Woojin... what’s with his acting? It feels like he brought Kiyoshi to life on screen??’

It was Kang Woojin. More specifically, it was his acting.

‘It’s probably because it’s generating so much buzz, but honestly, all I could see was Kang Woojin.’

‘The final cut will undoubtedly become a significant controversy within Japan, considering how many fans of *The Leech* there are, and they must find it utterly absurd. However, to me... it’s at least the best ending of the year. Especially, Kang Woojin’s gaze was truly... spine-chilling.’

These were critics who had covered nearly every film in Japan. Unlike the hundreds of reporters, their evaluations were not negative.

‘Direction, sound, acting. There was nothing lacking. No, it was overflowing. In particular, Kiyoshi’s piano scene and the scene that seemed to depict multiple personalities left a strong impression.’

‘It seems like they’ve produced a remarkable work in a different sense.’

Amidst all this, the frenzied reporters burst into chaotic questions directed at Director Kyotaro and the actors.

“#)(%*#()%*(!!!”

“%(%*)(#%*)(#%*!!!”

It was impossible to make sense of the mixed words all at once. Every single one of the hundreds of reporters was recalling the bombshell remarks made by Kang Woojin during the *The Leech* production announcement.

*‘I expect more than 20 million viewers.’*

*‘I believe this will be the first film to have a significant impact on the Japanese film industry. A lot will change.’*

Soon, a question from a reporter close to the front reached Kyotaro’s ears.

“Director!! Are you really going to release it like this??! If so, it’ll cause an explosive-level controversy!!?”

Receiving the handheld microphone from the frozen host, Director Kyotaro smiled leisurely.

“It doesn’t matter. I want the reporters to write articles capturing the heightened emotions of this moment.”

Afterward.

This situation was the same at another media screening held two hours later.

The hundreds of reporters here had also fallen into a deep depression.

---

Meanwhile, in France.

It was the morning of the 29th. However, the Nice Airport, close to Cannes, was bustling from early morning. The airport lobby was so crowded that there was no room to step. Crowds from various countries swarmed everywhere.

The reason was simple.

Tomorrow marked the opening of the world-famous film festival, the Cannes Film Festival, where many global stars had already arrived. There were over 4,000 invited journalists and tens of thousands of official invitees. But that was just the beginning. The number of tourists coming to see the Cannes Film Festival approached hundreds of thousands. Many had started arriving at the airport since last week, yet Nice Airport continued to be bursting with tourists.

Their destination was naturally Cannes, France.

Cannes, located about an hour away from Nice, had a festive atmosphere a day before the grand film festival. From five-star hotels to small accommodations, everything was already fully booked. Although it was a relatively small city, it was teeming with people, featuring giant promotional billboards for the Cannes Film Festival hanging in various locations and promotional flags on every streetlamp, along with flyers scattered throughout the roads.

At this point, among the diverse crowds, many Koreans were also easily spotted.

“Here! Take my picture here!”

“Wow, there are so many people!”

“Hurry up! We

have a lot of places to go.”

As expected, being a day before the Cannes Film Festival, there was plenty to see. Just watching people could make a day disappear in the blink of an eye. Among all the attractions, the movie posters scattered throughout the city stood out. These were posters for the 20 films invited to the main *Competition* section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Displayed on monitors, attached to building walls, made into pamphlets, or plastered on the sides of buses—they were everywhere.

There were notably many cameras around the posters.

Reporters from various countries and broadcast teams were photographing the posters. Capturing the atmosphere of Cannes, nothing could convey the ambiance like the invited films. It was only natural that the focus would be on the main awards—Golden Palm, Best Director, Best Actor, etc.—which all came from the *Competition* section.

Thus, promoting the posters was essential.

The scene of foreign broadcast teams gathering around the *Competition* posters was amusing, and naturally, there was a Korean team among the many international broadcast teams.

Even now, a team that had taken a vacant spot was in the middle of shooting.

“Here? I can stand here, right?”

“Good—perfect!”

“I’ll start with the rehearsal.”

“Okay!”

A female reporter with a handheld microphone and a large camera filming her. A few team members surrounded her. A label indicating it was MBS, a Korean broadcasting network, was attached beside the camera. It was evident that this was MBS’s news team. They had settled in front of a large poster of director Ahn Gabok’s *The Leech*, which was displayed in a large banner format on a building.

Soon, the female reporter, who stood in front of the camera so that the poster behind her was clearly visible, began to speak.

“We’re here in France, and this is the Nice Airport, which is packed with huge crowds ahead of tomorrow’s afternoon opening of the Cannes Film Festival. Do you see the giant poster behind me? It’s the poster for Ahn Gabok’s *The Leech*.”

Set against a dark background, the full-body image of ‘Park Ha-seong’ occupied half of it. He was looking at a family photo, and the picture frame contained members of a chaebol family, including Chairman Yoon Jeong-bae. Although the ‘Park Ha-seong’ reflected in the glass of the frame was smiling, his reflection appeared eerily expressionless. The poster itself depicted the Ripley syndrome, but one couldn’t know that before watching the film.

One clear point emerged from this.

“The poster with Kang Woojin’s face prominently featured is impressive.”

Kang Woojin's face was plastered in large size in Cannes, where global stars and hundreds of thousands of tourists gathered.

“*The Leech* is the only Korean film that has been invited to the *Competition* section of this Cannes Film Festival and is generating much anticipation. Even now, foreign journalists and broadcast teams are photographing the *The Leech* poster...”

This signaled that the war had already begun.

---

On the 30th, late in the morning.

From the front of a large airport entrance, a line of fencing stretched out, and at least 300 people were packed tightly against it. What was peculiar was that all of them were of different nationalities, as if people from various countries were mixed together.

And indeed, they were.

These 300+ individuals were journalists dispatched from various countries. Among them were dozens of Korean reporters. Reporters sitting or standing on small ladders all held cameras resembling cannons.

It was entirely understandable.

For days now, global stars had been showing up at this airport. Celebrities, actors, sports stars, and so on.

At that moment—

*Swish.*

The airport entrance doors opened. At the same time, hundreds of journalists from various ethnicities began clicking their shutters like mad.

*Flash!*

Soon, a dark-haired Korean actor appeared before the reporters. His outfit was natural, a zip-up hoodie, but his expression was incredibly stern. He showed no signs of surprise at the sight of the hundreds of reporters.

“...”

He merely raised a hand nonchalantly.

*Flash!*

As the flashes poured down on him.

Dozens of minutes later, articles began to flood in Korea, all featuring a large photo of one actor.

*‘[Cannes Film Festival+] Nonchalant “Kang Woojin” Arrives at Nice Airport Late in the Morning / Photo’*