I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor-Chapter 372: Overwhelmed (1) - Edited

Chapter 372: Overwhelmed (1)

Translator: Santos

Before Kang Woo-jin's eyes was an alarming figure.

[South Korea's All-Time Box Office]

[All-Time Movie Rankings (Total)]

-1. The Leech / Total Audience: 20,483,558

-2. Island of the Missing / Total Audience: 20,321,451

-3. Naval Battle / Total Audience: 16,715,955

-4. Unavoidable / Total Audience: 15,557,118

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Until yesterday, it hadn’t been like this. But in just one day, everything flipped. The audience count for *The Leech*, which had been in the 19 million range, surpassed 20 million and proudly claimed the top spot in Korean cinema history. Naturally, *Island of the Missing* was pushed down to second place.

Thus, two films with over 20 million viewers had emerged in the same year.

However, the expression on Woo-jin's face, witnessing this extraordinary situation, was calm. He appeared quite composed. Thanks to the “Beast Transformation” ability he had recently acquired, he felt even cooler.

But that was merely on the surface.

“Wow! This picture is really being completed?! This is insane!”

Inside, he was bursting with excitement. It was completely justified. He was in his second year since his debut. Well, he was about to enter his third year, but before the year ended, he had gotten two films to cross the 20 million mark. Turning the tables on all past films within just one year was an added bonus.

This absurd phenomenon was solely brought about by Kang Woo-jin.

It was clear that such a thing would never happen again, neither in the past nor in the future. This was an undeniable truth that no one could contest. So it wouldn’t have been strange for Woo-jin to dance with joy, but with his concept and tough exterior, he had to maintain his indifference even more during times like this.

However, Choi Sung-geon, with his ponytail and phone in hand, couldn’t hold back.

“You bastard!!”

Suddenly, he jumped up and hugged Kang Woo-jin. Woo-jin just matched his rhythm moderately.

“20 million, baby! 20 million!! How can this be real?!! No way! This doesn’t make sense!”

“...”

“Even within a year! And both your lead films are ranked 1st and 2nd in Korean cinema history! This is crazy! This is really insane!!”

In truth, *The Leech* had seen a slight slowdown in its audience numbers at one point. But it quickly recovered. No, it could be said that it exploded back up. The issues surrounding Kang Woo-jin, aside from Miley Cara, and Director Ahn Ga-bok’s Hollywood debut greatly boosted its momentum in the latter half.

Of course, *The Leech*’s box office success was still ongoing.

Although it had weakened compared to the beginning, for a film that had been out for over a month, this level of performance was sufficient to be considered monstrous. But truly, the real monster was Kang Woo-jin. He had managed to handle such a filming schedule, and as a result, he had completely changed the history of Korean cinema.

“Hahaha! *Island of the Missing*! *The Leech*! What other actor could break these 1st and 2nd records?!! No one can! Only you can surpass yourself!”

“...Calm down, sir.”

“Calm down? Calm down?? Is that even possible?!!”

For a while, Choi Sung-geon continued his outburst of excitement, hugging Woo-jin, which lasted for about three minutes.

Then.

“Wow—I can’t believe I’m witnessing this.”

Choi Sung-geon, finally calming down, picked up his phone again. His mouth curved into a wide smile like a bow.

“The truly crazy part is that there’s still a nuclear bomb left, right?”

He tapped the screen of his phone several times. Soon, Japanese text started appearing on the screen. Indeed, it showed a pretty impressive figure.

-[As of November 24, 2021, audience count for ‘The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger’]

-[The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger / Release Date: October 26 / Total Audience: 21,091,784]

This was the result of *The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger*. Having been released a day earlier than *The Leech*, it too had surpassed 20 million. No, it had reached 21 million. Although it had lost quite a bit of its initial momentum compared to *The Leech*, it was still maintaining its spot in the top five for ticket sales in Japan.

Moreover, *The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger* had also secured a high ranking in Japan's all-time movie list.

While animated films dominated the rankings, it hadn’t defeated them, but it was still a highly symbolic and great achievement. In Japan’s theater market, which was monopolized by animation, *The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger* had created a whirlwind of change, and achieving 20 million as a pure film was a first in Japan.

Choi Sung-geon gave a thumbs up.

“It’s not just 20 million.”

Kang Woo-jin replied quietly.

“It’s triple.”

“Exactly!! Triple 20 million!!”

Starting with *Island of the Missing*, both *The Leech* and *The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger* had surpassed 20 million viewers. Three films with 20 million. In both Korea and Japan, there had been no actor who had won such a medal within two years except for Kang Woo-jin.

“Hey, but this isn’t the end, right?”

“True.”

With a face indicating that there were still a few things left, Choi Sung-geon murmured.

“*The Leech* will be released in Japan next month, and *The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger* will premiere in Korea next month.”

Each film would pass the baton to the other.

“If *The Leech* does over 10 million in Japan and *The Strange Sacrifice of the Stranger* does over 10 million in Korea...”

It was set to have a cross-release in both countries.

“That would mean 30 million, not just 20 million. 30 million.”

A few days later, on Saturday, November 27, in the early afternoon, Los Angeles.

Inside a massive conference room at a super-sized film studio in the bustling downtown LA, more than thirty foreigners had gathered. Among them, the only Korean seated at the front was the elderly man—Director Ahn Ga-bok, whose face was lined with wrinkles.

Director Ahn Ga-bok had arrived in LA two days prior. This meant they were in Hollywood’s Big Five studio, Columbia Pictures, and the foreigners gathered in the conference room were the key staff for the film *The Pierrot*. Tablets and transparent files were placed in front of all the foreigners, including Director Ahn Ga-bok.

And then.

- Swish.

In front of the conference room, a woman with slightly longer hair than a bob and a strong presence stood. She was the executive producer of *The Pierrot*. Similar to Joseph Pelton, she boasted a pretty famous reputation in Hollywood.

She said,

“Next, here are the candidates for the male lead.”

As she clicked the remote, the screen changed. The images of Hollywood's top male stars appeared. At first, the female producer quickly flipped through the profiles of the actors. One, two, three. Ultimately, five male stars appeared, and the sixth was the familiar face of the Korean actor to Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“Here he comes, Kang Woo-jin.”

It was Kang Woo-jin.

After him, the female producer turned her gaze to the dozens of staff members.

“So, that makes six.”

The staff murmured. Many Hollywood actors had been mentioned, and rumors circulated, but this was the first time they had explicitly revealed an actor.

“They’re all formidable.”

“Could any actor among them possibly outshine the rest? It’s a shame we can only choose one of them.”

“How much do those guys get paid?”

“The audition tests are going to be a battlefield.”

“But—Kang Woo-jin? That Korean actor, right? The one who made waves at Cannes.”

“Exactly. He said something about aiming for an Academy Award during his acceptance speech. He’s done something quite impressive, but still, it feels a bit unexpected to see him here.”

“I heard rumors floating around among the actors. Hmm, but still... it feels like a bit of a stretch?”

“Director Danny praised him quite a bit.”

“Hmm? That Director Danny Randis?”

Regardless, the female producer continued her briefing.

“I must emphasize that no information about the actors should leak to the outside yet.”

For reference, Columbia Pictures had only publicly announced the confirmation of the production of a major new film and that Director Ahn Ga-bok was at the helm. All other information about the project, including the name *The Pierrot*, remained under wraps.

Soon, the female producer locked eyes with Director Ahn Ga-bok.

“And Director, I would like to schedule the audition tests for the actors in January, if that’s agreeable to you?”

Meanwhile, in Korea.

While it was the afternoon of the 27th in LA, it was the morning of the 28th in Korea. In Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, over a hundred staff members were busily moving around the set of *Evil that Benefits*. Of course, PD Song Man-woo, with his thick beard, was in charge of handling everything, and various actors, including Hwa-rin, were seen preparing.

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At that moment.

“Kang Woo-j

in has arrived!!”

Kang Woo-jin, dressed in a long padded jacket, had just entered the set. Today, he wore his poker face as usual, and PD Song Man-woo, who was directing the shooting on set, rushed toward him, holding the script for *Evil that Benefits*.

“Woo-jin.”

Due to countless sleepless nights and hellish struggles, PD Song Man-woo’s skin was rough, and dark circles under his eyes made him look like he was wearing sunglasses. Nonetheless, Kang Woo-jin greeted him calmly.

“Thank you for your support today, PD-nim.”

After managing a strained smile, PD Song Man-woo whispered softly to Kang Woo-jin.

“I think we can wrap up the filming in ten days.”

The end of Part 1 of *Evil that Benefits* was imminent.

Finishing Part 1 of *Evil that Benefits* within ten days. Although there was no change in Woo-jin’s expression after hearing PD Song Man-woo’s words, internally, he thought, Is it already time?

“It feels like just yesterday I was filming the long takes in Bangkok—time really flies.”

Of course, this was regarding Part 1, and Part 2 remained, but the speed was undeniably fast.

“Well, it was quite intense.”

The filming schedule could be best described as crazy. Including PD Song Man-woo in front of him, over a hundred staff members, actors, and their teams were all frantically shooting according to a tight schedule.

Everyone was exhausted from the grueling pace.

The only one looking unscathed was Woo-jin. Without the grace of the space, he would have been struggling as well. Regardless of the situation, with the end of *Evil that Benefits* right in front of him, PD Song Man-woo exhaled briefly and spoke again to Kang Woo-jin.

“Of course, the schedule might fluctuate depending on the circumstances, but if we wrap up Part 1 within ten days, we should be able to launch *Evil that Benefits* as planned.”

By the way, is PD-nim alright? Is he going to collapse suddenly? To Woo-jin, it wouldn’t have been surprising if PD Song Man-woo fainted right then. He had lost a lot of weight. The heavily conceptually driven PD Song Man-woo answered Woo-jin quietly.

“Yes, PD-nim. But are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether it’s shooting or launching, you need to be alive to see it.”

PD Song Man-woo blinked his eyes, pointed to himself with his index finger, and then chuckled.

“Ah—me? Oh dear, am I worrying you, Woo-jin? Haha. Don’t worry, this level is nothing after decades of directing. This project will be one for the books, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. You’ve seen me when I was slacking off, right?”

“...”

“Honestly, it’s true that it’s tougher than back then, but there are plenty of tougher projects. In the past, the filming conditions were so poor.”

After sharing some of the hardships of the entertainment industry in the past, he cleared his throat and redirected the topic.

“Anyway, we’ve finished discussions with Netflix, and normally, it would be in January, but at the latest, it should be out by February. It seems that Woo-jin is the only one looking sharp on set, so let’s push through a little longer.”

In other words, Part 1 of *Evil that Benefits* was set to officially launch between January and February. This timeline was only possible because PD Song Man-woo was pouring his heart and soul into the project.

“Oh, and before the launch, we’ve scheduled a simple promotional shoot with you, Woo-jin. Is that alright?”

“I have no problem with that.”

“Miley Cara has also agreed to participate. We’ll start with character introduction videos, teasers, and trailers. Oh, and I’ve revised the filming schedule. Since you’ll be going abroad soon and the year-end is busy.”

It was Kang Woo-jin’s suggestion.

“We’ll try to prioritize your scenes first as much as possible.”

After giving a thumbs-up, PD Song Man-woo indicated for everyone to prepare. As he watched his back, Woo-jin thought about how audiences would react when *Evil that Benefits* opened to the world.

For a brief moment, Woo-jin recalled the ratings.

-[9/Script (Title: Evil that Benefits), EX-level]

The first outing of an EX-level film.

“Since it’s EX-level—will it go wild?”

To be honest, he couldn’t gauge it, but it was hard to predict what might happen, yet he felt a significant excitement. *Evil that Benefits* was, in a sense, his first challenge he was throwing to the world.

Thirty minutes later.

The hundred-plus staff members were deathly silent, and in the area with monitors, PD Song Man-woo shouted toward the on-set Kang Woo-jin.

“Hi—Action!!”

December 4.

By now, November had ended, and December had begun. The first snowfall had also fallen. In the meantime, Kang Woo-jin could be found on a plane. He was seated by the window, wearing a hat pulled down low. However, this plane was not a typical one. The number of passengers was notably low. Only Woo-jin’s team, including Choi Sung-geon, could be seen.

The reason was simple.

This plane was Kang Woo-jin’s private jet. The view outside this private jet was already a sky filled with clouds, not the ground, and with a dignified expression, Woo-jin was softly whispering to himself with a bit of excitement.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to LA—feels a bit different. Is it because of the size of the scheduled events?”

Of course, he wasn’t feeling nervous at all.

“What’s to be done? Everything is ruined.”

This was the first flight of Kang Woo-jin’s private jet heading to Hollywood.

And at this moment in Korea, his fresh news had just broken.

『[Exclusive] Kang Woo-jin boards a private jet in secret, suddenly headed to LA right before the year-end! Is this a flight for his Hollywood debut?』