I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor-Chapter 337: Cannes (3) - Edited

Chapter 337: Cannes (3)

Translator: Santos

This was Kang Woojin's first time in France. His face as he entered the arrivals area of Nice Airport was utterly indifferent.

“...”

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

It was all an act. But the real Kang Woojin wasn’t calm at all. He was completely frozen.

Why?

*Flash!*

As soon as the doors of the arrivals area opened, the flashes began. He had heard that reporters were gathered, but seeing them from all over the world in front of him made his heart race suddenly. There were even hundreds of them.

‘W-what the hell! This is crazy!’

Various reporters from different ethnicities snapped photos of Kang Woojin like mad. It was likely that half of them didn’t even know exactly who he was, but they were taking pictures regardless. After all, it was a spectacle. Although he had seen gatherings of this size before, he had never encountered such a mix of foreign journalists. Woojin felt as if he had stepped into another world.

‘But why are they taking pictures of me?? They shouldn’t know me!’

With the pressure mounting, Woojin's feet froze instinctively. Unconsciously, he stopped at the entrance of the arrivals area, and his team, including his manager Choi Seong-gun and the guards who were following him, halted as well. Choi Seong-gun leaned in to whisper to Woojin.

“Why? Is it photo time? Okay, but let’s keep it short if possible.”

What are you talking about? It was a clear misunderstanding. Woojin's body was truly stiff from the pressure. However, thanks to Seong-gun, Woojin’s mind cleared a bit. Soon, he put on a serious poker face, nodded solemnly, and—

*Swish.*

He raised his hand towards the hundreds of reporters. It was a bold move. But to those who didn’t know his true feelings, he probably appeared quite composed. At that moment, the Korean reporters among the foreign press shouted.

“Woojin!! Woojin!!!”

“Hello!! Kang Woojin!! Please look this way!”

“Hand heart!! Can you do a hand heart?!!”

“Please say something for your domestic fans!!”

“Kang Woojin!! It’s your first Cannes Film Festival! How do you feel!!”

It seemed there were quite a few. About 30 of them? They were desperately shouting among the large foreign reporters. Whether out of sympathy or something else, Woojin displayed a hand heart. Of course, he did it very solemnly.

More onlookers gathered. Reporters who had wandered off were also drawn back.

Broadcast teams from various countries outside were also starting to pour into the airport. It was chaotic. Nice Airport was packed with people. From a distance, it looked like a swarm of ants. Soon, Choi Seong-gun gently nudged Woojin’s back.

“Let’s move.”

With a nod, Kang Woojin took a step forward. Meanwhile, he muttered internally.

‘What is this place? Is it a dream? I can’t believe it’s real. My head’s about to explode.’

Maintaining the tough-guy act was somewhat overwhelming. Thus, Woojin awkwardly followed the path his guards were making through the throng of reporters and tourists. Many tourists outside the airport snapped photos of Woojin. Following Seong-gun’s lead, he got into the prepared van.

He was about to let out a sigh of relief.

As soon as the car door closed, the two vans carrying Woojin sped off. Outside the window, he could see people crowding around for about five minutes. It was only after driving for over ten minutes that they encountered a relatively less crowded road.

At this point, Kang Woojin truly realized it.

‘Wow—this is incredible.’

He was stepping into the Cannes Film Festival.

---

Later.

The distance from Nice Airport to Cannes was about an hour by car. Soon, Kang Woojin would arrive in Cannes. Dressed in a hoodie, he continued to gaze out the window, his expression unchanged. It was filled with cynicism. However, in his mind, he was overwhelmed with emotion.

‘Wow—this is real... no, wow—’

He found himself continuously exclaiming in awe. The reason was simple. The scenery unfolding on the way to Cannes was breathtaking. Endless stretches of ocean, islands in the distance, picturesque beaches, and various charming towns.

It felt like a world apart.

‘What the hell is this place!’

Had he not been pretending to be composed, he would have been in an uproar already. He had traveled to places like LA, Japan, Bangkok, and Vietnam, but this place was the most shocking of all.

Thanks to that, Kang Woojin couldn’t take his eyes off the view outside the window.

Every second felt precious.

Meanwhile, he instinctively began to recall one of the languages he had ingrained in his memory. What could it be? French, of course. Since he was in the heart of France, there would likely be a sudden need to use it at some point.

At that moment—

“Woojin.”

Choi Seong-gun, sitting right next to him, pointed forward with his index finger.

“We’re entering Cannes.”

That meant they had arrived at the venue where the Cannes Film Festival would be grandly held. As he looked straight ahead, he saw the entrance of a large city. Buildings tightly packed around the sea and beach, cars and people bustling on the streets. For a moment, Kang Woojin was reminded of the amusement parks he visited on Children's Day.

‘Wow—this is insane! The airport was just a warm-up??! Can we really go in there??!’

Thanks to the Cannes Film Festival opening later that afternoon, the city was already overflowing. The traffic was horrendous. No, it was more appropriate to say they were crawling. Still, Kang Woojin wasn’t bored. There was so much to see outside the window.

It felt as if this city existed solely for the Cannes Film Festival.

About an hour later.

“Oh! Over there!”

A stylist who had visited Cannes the previous year shouted.

“That’s where the Cannes Film Festival will be held!! Ah! What’s the name again?!”

The answer came from Choi Seong-gun, who wore a faint smile.

“Palais des Festivals.”

“That’s right! That place!”

The *Palais des Festivals*, famous for hosting the Cannes Film Festival every year.

It was an enormous venue. A gigantic advertisement hung at the front entrance, and the entire building was covered in glass. There were three large halls, about six medium-sized ones, and more than 20 smaller halls spread across six floors. By the way, a large red carpet would be laid out in front of this *Palais des Festivals*, where the opening and closing ceremonies of the Cannes Film Festival would take place.

Inside the *Palais des Festivals*, the twenty films in the *Competition* section would be screened at the large Lumière Theatre.

Surrounding the *Palais des Festivals*, thousands of people were already gathered.

‘Wow—this is crazy.’

Naturally, since it was the main event of the Cannes Film Festival, more than half of the crowd consisted of tourists. Everyone was busy taking pictures with the *Palais des Festivals* in the background. The rest were people affiliated with the Cannes Film Festival. It seemed like they were in the midst of final preparations. With the festival opening this afternoon, outdoor screening venues were also being set up along the beach.

Reporters and broadcast teams were busy shooting, and many tourists were being interviewed.

In front of the *Palais des Festivals*, a metal fence had been erected several meters from the entrance, and a wide red carpet was being laid down in between.

Choi Seong-gun turned to Kang Woojin and said.

“That’s it. When the opening ceremony begins, that’s where you’ll walk.”

The corners of Seong-gun’s mouth were turned up to his ears.

“When the time comes, at least tens of thousands of people will gather there.”

---

At this time.

A huge movement was occurring overseas. More precisely, it was on the social media of global superstar Miley Kara, who had over a hundred million followers.

She posted a new update at the designated time.

*“Everyone! Finally, the teaser for the title track of my new album is out! You can watch it on my YouTube channel, and the official opening of this new album will be on October 12...”*

The post included the album’s cover photo along with the official opening date. Miley’s new album, which Kang Woojin participated in, was set to be released on October 12. There were about ten days left. Regardless of what it was, the post garnered an astonishing amount of likes and comments in no time.

It was updated every second. It was akin to bombardment.

Of course, it was expected given that she had over a hundred million followers worldwide. Interestingly, among the comments in various languages, the name ‘Kang Woojin’ frequently appeared. The fact that a Korean actor participated in Miley’s new album had already become a hot topic among her numerous fans.

At this point, Kara’s YouTube channel was already overflowing.

The recently uploaded music video teaser had long surpassed hundreds of thousands of views. At this rate, it was clear it would easily exceed a million views within minutes.

The teaser had a runtime of 15 seconds.

After the title of Kara’s new album appeared at the beginning, a very brief snippet of the hook of the title track was played, along with various outfits worn by Kara. Then, at the end of the teaser, a sudden piano melody started playing.

*♪*

Followed by the sight of the Korean actor seated at the piano, that is, Kang Woojin, for about two seconds. Though it was

extremely brief, among all the Korean actors, it was bound to be the first and last time that someone with Kang Woojin’s caliber participated in an album by an artist of Kara’s stature.

The comments started flooding in different languages.

And naturally, fans of Kara worldwide began to flock to Kang Woojin’s YouTube channel or social media. Thanks to that, the metrics for what Kang Woojin had were skyrocketing.

It was beyond imagination.

---

Meanwhile, on a flying airplane.

The destination of this flight was Korea. On board were the entire team from *Beneficial Evil*. Among them were the weary-eyed director Song Man-woo, writer Choi Nana, and chief director Kim So-hyang, along with over a hundred other staff members. They were returning after finishing their overseas shooting schedule for *Evil Benefactor*.

Half of them were asleep, and the other half engaged in lively conversation.

“Phew—time really flew by. I didn’t expect the Bangkok shoot to end so abruptly.”

“That’s probably because the stimulation was off the charts during the shoot, right? From the moment ‘she’ appeared to Woojin’s long take and everything.”

“But seriously, Woojin’s action scenes were phenomenal.”

“His chemistry with ‘her’ was impressive, too!”

The conversations among the staff revolved around Kang Woojin. At this point, the round-glasses-wearing writer Choi Nana turned to director Song Man-woo, who was seated next to her.

“Director, do you think Woojin is probably stirring things up in Cannes right now?”

With weary eyes, he turned his head away from the script he was looking at.

“Probably. He must be overwhelmed.”

“...Phew, he must be really exhausted. He just left right after the shoot ended.”

“Of course, he needs to be there on opening day. It’s a global event, so he can’t be late.”

Song Man-woo, who had been murmuring, suddenly recalled the first encounter he had with Kang Woojin. He was the director who first discovered Woojin when he stepped into the entertainment industry. He was astonished by Woojin’s current situation.

“Just yesterday, I saw that cocky monster on the audition day for ‘Super Actor,’ and now he’s in a place where he can be arrogant for real. He’s going to stand shoulder to shoulder with global stars.”

Writer Choi Nana nudged him with her elbow.

“Ew—creepy.”

Chuckling, Song Man-woo changed the subject.

“About our *Beneficial Evil*, can we split the release into halves?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I’m suggesting we divide it into two parts: 12 episodes into 6 and 6, with a gap in between for the release.”

“Oh.”

“It's different from the concept of Season 1 and 2.”

After closing the script, he continued to explain.

“Many conditions for *Beneficial Evil* have changed since the beginning. The action scenes, ‘CQC,’ the script, and the addition of ‘her’...”

“Right.”

“Since it’s pre-produced, it’s already a given. I think it would be beneficial to focus on filming and editing the first six episodes as quickly as possible and then releasing them. We can resume filming the remaining six episodes after the first part is completed.”

“Hmm—so releasing the first six episodes all at once?”

“Yes. Plus, keeping ‘her’ secret for a long time is practically impossible. It’ll leak out from somewhere, for sure.”

Sitting beside them, Kim So-hyang, the chief director of Netflix Korea, responded.

“So, the crux of your suggestion, Director, is to accelerate the release schedule, right?”

“Exactly.”

“If we cut the second half, or rather, keep it and go with the first half, the timeline will be significantly pushed forward, right? No, quite a lot.”

Using his thumb and index finger, Song Man-woo made a fist-sized gap.

Then he reduced that distance.

“Exactly. A simple calculation shows that half of the total schedule would be cut out.”

Half? The time needed for the launch would be drastically shortened? Upon hearing Song Man-woo’s sudden suggestion, Kim So-hyang raised her chin thoughtfully before smiling.

“...That’s tempting.”