I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor-Chapter 359: Chain (8) - Edited

Chapter 359: Chain (8)

Translator: Santos

Danny Landis, a director often regarded as one of Hollywood's finest, sat in his office, surrounded by piles of scripts and paperwork. Before making a call to the famous producer Joseph Felton, he first wanted to check something intriguing.

*Swipe.*

He alternated between looking at his tablet and the thin stacks of paper in front of him. The balding man with round glasses perched on his nose was reviewing materials. The tablet contained information sent by Joseph, while the thin paper piles consisted of Danny’s own research. The content detailed the career of an actor.

“...Kang Woo-jin—this is absurd.”

This was the only man who received praise from Danny, a Best Actor winner at Cannes, for his performance. The information he found was about the Korean actor Kang Woo-jin. Even after returning from Cannes, thoughts of Woo-jin lingered heavily in Danny's mind.

His demeanor, his acting, his aura—it all stayed etched in his thoughts.

But then...

“What an outrageous filmography.”

The more he examined Woo-jin's information, the more bizarre his curiosity grew. Danny had spent decades in Hollywood, and the list of actors he had crossed paths with was monumental. However, in his eyes, the trajectory that Woo-jin had taken was astonishingly unfamiliar.

“His second year since debut is real, but what are all these abilities?”

Compared to the past, there was much more included in Woo-jin's materials.

Just two years since his debut, he had yet to have a single failure. And not only that—within a year, he had landed leading roles alongside the giants of Korea, sweeping the Rookie of the Year and Supporting Actor awards in his first year. His foray into Japan, his YouTube channel, and various social media platforms also caught Danny's attention. Moreover, there were countless videos showcasing Woo-jin’s various language skills.

“...French, English, not to mention Japanese and sign language.”

His skills in singing, piano, and cooking were also impressive. Kang Woo-jin was a monster of talent, to the point that listing all his accomplishments would be overwhelming. He had even swept Cannes recently. At this point, Woo-jin seemed to transcend even extraterrestrial levels, but what Danny considered most significant was his acting.

It was as if the character created by the writer broke the mold and danced around in reality.

‘A step beyond method acting.’

As Danny put down the materials he had been reviewing, memories of the past flooded back.

Back when he was at Cannes.

Before the closing and awards ceremony, he had dined with executives from Universal Movies. The conversation had been initiated by a portly man among the executives.

“The recent film was of high quality, but I can’t get ‘The Leech’ out of my head.”

The other executives nodded in agreement.

“It was an unexpected piece. The actors’ performances were great; in my opinion, it’s the top among the ‘competition’ films so far.”

“There are still many films to see, but I agree; ‘The Leech’ stands out. Joseph’s words were true—Kang Woo-jin’s method acting is the main focus, while ‘action’ is just one of his secondary skills.”

“Kang Woo-jin’s ‘action’ was astonishing as well.”

Danny reacted to the words ‘Kang Woo-jin’ and ‘action.’

“‘Action’? Listening to your conversation... it feels as if you’ve just returned from seeing his filming?”

“Yes, that’s correct. We saw Kang Woo-jin’s filming before coming to Cannes.”

“...Can that actor really do action?”

“Not just capable; he could be considered a veteran.”

The portly executive continued.

“If he’s a former special forces operative, it’s quite plausible.”

Danny Landis's eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

‘Wait a minute. Special forces? What does that even mean?’

Kang Woo-jin? A special forces operative?

Returning his thoughts to the present, Danny recalled his own office. After a long period of contemplation, he decided to call Joseph Felton. A look of conviction crossed Danny’s face.

“Hello, Director. I was just about to call you.”

Without delay, Danny dove straight into the matter.

“Joseph, I’ll take on the project’s direction. But there’s a condition.”

“...A condition?”

The condition was very straightforward.

“It’s on the premise that Kang Woo-jin is part of the project. If you can’t bring him on board, I’ll decline.”

---

Meanwhile, Kang Woo-jin had a break after filming ‘The Beneficial Evil,’ where he had been playing ‘Jang Yeon-woo.’ It was lunchtime, and about a hundred staff members, including Woo-jin, were eating. As time passed, the first showings of ‘The Leech,’ which had opened that morning, had already begun to unfold across theaters nationwide.

Sitting in an actor’s chair at the filming site, away from the crowded sets, Kang Woo-jin relaxed.

*Swipe.*

‘After eating, I can rest a bit before getting back to filming.’

Just then, a burly man named Jang Su-hwan approached him.

“Hyung! You worked hard!”

He handed Woo-jin a bottle of water along with a tablet. Woo-jin had requested the tablet to check the responses to ‘The Leech,’ which had premiered today, and the previous day’s ‘The Strange Parasite.’ He could have checked it on his phone, but the small screen made it cumbersome. As Woo-jin responded softly, he said, “Thanks.”

A familiar female voice chimed in from the side.

“Woo-jin-ssi.”

Turning, he saw Hwarin approaching him. Her typically long hair, which usually reached her chest, had been cut short to just below her ears, looking almost wild. Though it was a wig, it looked so natural that it was hard to tell.

Maintaining a serious poker face, Woo-jin replied politely.

“Yes, Hwarin-ssi.”

Internally, however, he was in a frenzy.

‘Wow— I saw her earlier, but it’s still astonishing. Even with that hairstyle, her face is so beautiful that it makes the hairstyle work. Is that even possible?’

Hwarin had completely shattered her image as a top-tier girl group member. Her makeup was dark, her skin tone was tanned, and the jacket she wore made her look almost like a recluse. It was a bold transformation, yet her innate beauty still shone through, making her look lovely.

Hwarin approached Woo-jin and asked, “Did you see how the movies that opened are doing?”

Without losing his composure, Woo-jin lifted the tablet slightly.

“I was just about to check.”

“Can I watch with you? There’s still some time before lunch is ready.”

“Sure, that’s fine.”

“Yes.”

Though she tried to sound calm, every time Hwarin was close to Woo-jin, her heart raced. It was similar to the past, but it seemed to have escalated recently due to Woo-jin’s rising popularity.

‘It should be okay to ask him to eat together, right? That seemed natural enough. Yes, good job.’

Internally praising herself, Hwarin dragged a chair to sit beside Woo-jin. She then shifted her gaze to the tablet he was holding while casually asking, “Oh, by the way, Woo-jin-ssi, are you close with Miley Cara?”

Suddenly? Kang Woo-jin tilted his head in confusion but answered vaguely.

“Sort of. Why do you ask?”

“...Oh, just. It seems like you’ve been working together a lot lately. Do you DM each other often or something?”

“She does message me.”

“Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

“Just that. I’m looking at the responses to the movie.”

Feeling uneasy but brushing it off, Kang Woo-jin tapped on the tablet a few times. He checked the response for ‘The Strange Parasite,’ which had opened a day earlier. It had drawn an impressive 850,000 viewers on its opening day. The Japanese media was somewhat losing their minds.

**『‘The Strange Parasite’ garners 850,000 viewers on opening day』**

**『How long has it been since a non-animated film achieved such numbers? ‘The Strange Parasite’ starts off with 850,000』**

**『The influence of ‘Kang Woo-jin’ leads to record-breaking 850,000 on the opening day of ‘The Strange Parasite’』**

**『Despite various controversies, ‘The Strange Parasite’ sees explosive momentum with 850,000 viewers』**

Since Hwarin was the leader of the girl group ‘Ellani,’ which was often active in Japan, she was relatively fluent in Japanese. As she casually scanned through the all-Japanese articles, she spoke up.

“Wow, it’s huge. They’re going crazy, huh?”

However, not all articles praised the opening day record for ‘The Strange Parasite.’ There were plenty of thoroughly critical comments.

**『The protagonist ‘Kiyoshi Iota’ in ‘The Strange Parasite’ has had his character destroyed; the original protagonist has almost vanished... fans of the novel are dissatisfied』**

**『Is director Tano Kuchi Kyotaro sending a sharp message to the Japanese content market? Audiences shocked by the ending of ‘The Strange Parasite’』**

Hwarin glanced at Kang Woo-jin's expression while reading the severely negative articles. His face was stiff, almost unyielding. She always felt a sense of relief and comfort from Kang Woo-jin’s typically stoic demeanor.

‘He doesn’t seem affected. Well, of course, Woo-jin wouldn’t get upset over something trivial.’

She was mistaken; Kang

Woo-jin was quite furious internally.

‘These bastards are just talking nonsense. What the hell is my acting ruining a movie? Crazy fools! Go eat sh*t!’

But that was not all. Switching to a mindset that suggested he didn’t care, Kang Woo-jin resumed tapping on the tablet. He opened a page featuring reviews of ‘The Strange Parasite’ from Japan. It was clear that praise and criticism were clashing vehemently.

- I shouldn’t have looked! I hated the fact that Kiyoshi is Korean!

- Right, the director destroyed the original Kiyoshi just to cast Kang Woo-jin!

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- I’ve seen both the original and the movie, but I enjoyed both? Kang Woo-jin’s performance gave me chills!

- They butchered the original! There were too many changes and modifications! It was more brutal and violent than I expected!

- Well? The original ‘The Strange Parasite’ had some ordinary sections; conversely, the movie feels like it vividly exposes Japan's social issues!

It was a mess.

- The movie ‘The Strange Parasite’ is trash!!!

- Kyotaro is senile! He’s rejected all Japanese content! Regardless, the protagonist should get paid!

- Honestly, when you look at the acting, wasn’t Kang Woo-jin the only highlight in ‘The Strange Parasite’? The early scenes of multiple personalities and the piano scene were just phenomenal!

- Why.... did they cast a Korean actor in ‘The Strange Parasite’? I still don’t understand after watching the movie...

- The movie ‘The Strange Parasite’ will likely do better in Korea than in Japan.

- Was the ending insane? It’s completely different from the original!!

- The ending of ‘The Strange Parasite’ was genuinely... terrifying. It was a justified murder, but the idea of living on without any consequences...

It was truly explosive, bordering on an online disaster. There were plenty of praises, but the complaints and outrage, along with intense criticism, were far more prominent. This was not just a trend on Japanese portal sites, but also reflected across popular social media and numerous communities. Given this level of response, the original strong fans of ‘The Strange Parasite’ were undoubtedly incensed, and the backlash was expected to be even more intense.

Consequently, various Japanese media reported,

**『‘The Strange Parasite’ records 850,000 viewers, but the intense outcry from those who watched the movie pierces the heavens... speculations about a gradual decline in audience numbers』**

More than half of the public sentiment echoed similar sentiments.

- The start is promising, with several controversies, including Kang Woo-jin, garnering interest, but ‘The Strange Parasite’ will crash soon!

They predicted that the movie ‘The Strange Parasite’ would deteriorate as time passed.

At this point, Hwarin again stole a glance at Kang Woo-jin. The intense scrutiny from Japanese media and public opinion weighed heavily. However, once again, Kang Woo-jin remained composed. It was almost as if he exuded a sense of calmness.

This time, it was for real.

‘Hmph, whatever. Bark all you want.’

The responses from Japan seemed surprisingly strong, but it hadn’t dealt a significant blow to Kang Woo-jin. He then lowered the tablet he had been holding and said softly to Hwarin.

“Let’s eat.”

“Eh?”

“Let’s eat.”

After all, ‘The Strange Parasite’ had already surpassed the records set by the historical ‘Island of the Missing’ in Korea.

**-[7/Screenplay (Title: The Strange Parasite of a Stranger), SSS Rank]**

It was SSS rank.

The day after, Thursday morning, October 28.

Director Ahn Gabok, riding in a van, was en route somewhere. His face, lined with wrinkles, bore a serious expression as he gazed out the window.

“...”

At that moment, the representative of the film company sitting next to him politely spoke up.

“Director, the announcement just came in.”

“Is that so? Let me see.”

He was handed a phone, and soon, the numbers for the work that had earned him the ‘Palme d'Or’ came into view.

[October 27, 2021 Audience Count Inquiry]

[Daily Domestic Box Office]

1. The Leech / Release Date: October 27 / Audience Count: 780,521 / Screen Count: 1354 / Cumulative Audience Count: 780,521

‘The Leech’ surpassed the opening day audience count of ‘The Island of the Missing.’

At the same time, in Japan, as if ‘The Leech’ had passed the baton to it, an official announcement dropped amidst the explosive reactions there.

**『‘The Strange Parasite’ saw its total audience count rise to 880,000 on the 27th!』**

Strangely enough, many Japanese media outlets seemed unconcerned about the public outcry and worries.

**『The hot ‘The Strange Parasite’ saw its audience increase from 850,000 on the second day to 880,000, surpassing 1.73 million in just two days』**

‘The Strange Parasite’ attracted more viewers on its second day than its first.

Meanwhile, in New York, it was afternoon, unlike Korea, where it was still morning. During the peak of rush hour, New York City was bustling with crowds and vehicles heading home. Amidst the towering buildings in the city, a massive media company occupying a tall skyscraper glowed brightly. The entrance was filled with foreigners leaving work, while many journalists still worked inside the offices.

Among them, a female reporter in the culture and entertainment section was tidying her desk, seemingly preparing to leave.

*Swipe.*

Just as the curly-haired reporter stood up from her messy desk, a male voice called out to her.

“Peggy.”

Looking over, she saw a man with a square jaw and a hat approaching. Suddenly, he plopped down in her chair and said,

“Miley Cara is set to star in a Korean film, did you know?”