I Was Mistaken as a Monstrous Genius Actor-Chapter 356: Chain (5) - Edited

Chapter 356: Chain (5)

Translator: Santos

When Kang Woo-jin first arrived at the screening hall for the audience preview of *The Stranger*, he honestly felt a desire to stand out a bit after glancing inside.

The reason was simple.

“Did you really film that as a movie??! You’ve completely ruined the original!!”

The excited shouts of hundreds of audience members echoed through the hall. A staff member from the cinema, guiding Woo-jin with a curious look, paused and tried to dissuade him.

“U-uh, it might be better if you wait to go in.”

“Yeah, maybe go in after things calm down or skip this screening altogether.”

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The staff member spoke as if they had seen this kind of situation many times before. In fact, they had. *The Stranger* had held more previews than usual films, and each time, most attendees, including journalists, were excited. Of course, the audience previews were several times louder. However, Woo-jin had never been present before.

“If Woo-jin goes in now, it’s going to get even more chaotic.”

Though Woo-jin’s face showed indifference, inside, he was fervently agreeing.

‘Seriously, what if I walk into that mess?’

However, showing any weakness while trying to maintain his concept and act tough would be a mistake. As he tried to calm his racing heart, he replied nonchalantly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“...What?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh.”

He didn’t care. Thus, Kang Woo-jin entered the excitement-filled screening hall. Once inside, he found that he wasn’t particularly nervous.

‘I’ve walked the red carpet at Cannes, so this is nothing.’

He just needed to show an even more stoic poker face than usual. The atmosphere of this screening hall was tense, after all. Kyo-taro and the Japanese actors of *The Stranger* were astonished by his presence. It was understandable; Woo-jin’s arrival in Japan had been quite sudden. In reality, it wouldn’t have been a problem if he hadn’t come. Yet, he insisted on showing up.

Still, as the lead actor, he should at least make an appearance during the stage greeting.

Naturally, as soon as the hundreds of audience members saw Woo-jin, their movements and loud shouts abruptly ceased. His appearance was utterly unexpected.

Moreover,

“...Kang Woo-jin?”

“Didn’t he say he wasn’t coming?”

“Surprise!”

The massive stature of “the Cannes Best Actor” played a significant role in this. Regardless of the circumstances, Woo-jin lowered his voice towards the hundreds of audience members.

‘I’m going harder than usual.’

Of course, it was all an intentional facade of nonchalance.

“Hello, I am Kang Woo-jin, playing Kiyotaka Iota in *The Stranger*.”

The hundreds of audience members, excluding the die-hard fans of the original *The Stranger*, fell silent in disbelief. Many even gaped, unable to believe they were seeing Kang Woo-jin right in front of them. Amidst the excited crowd, murmurs began to spread.

“Kang Woo-jin... he’s definitely different from other actors.”

“It’s not like he did anything particularly grand, but he feels... heavy, right?”

“Yeah. What do they call it? The top of the top?”

“His presence is truly ridiculous.”

Everyone was overwhelmed by Woo-jin's commanding presence. The entire screening hall, which had been noisy just moments ago, became eerily quiet.

“...”

“...”

Kyo-taro, with a small smile on his face, couldn’t help but think.

‘It felt like a war was about to break out, yet with Kang Woo-jin’s appearance, it settled so easily?’

Even for a director who had been in the industry for decades, this was a first.

‘He’s already become a world-class star.’

All the actors of *The Stranger* shared the same sentiment as Kyo-taro. They too were in awe of Woo-jin, and what about the audience? With a serious expression, Mana Kosaku murmured in sincerity, albeit internally.

‘How can he possibly have the aura of a second-year actor?’

At this moment—

- *Swoosh.*

After greeting the audience, Woo-jin handed the microphone to Mana Kosaku. The strong-featured actor greeted Woo-jin with a nod.

“Thank you.”

He created space beside him, right next to Kyo-taro, giving the first seat among the actors to Woo-jin. After Woo-jin took his place, the main cast of *The Stranger* was complete.

“Hello, I am Mana Kosaku, playing Detective Yoshizawa Mochio in *The Stranger*.”

As if nothing had happened, the stage greeting proceeded. By now, the hundreds of audience members were exhibiting a completely different behavior than just minutes ago.

- *Swoosh.*

Everyone was busy pulling out their phones to take pictures of Kang Woo-jin.

About 30 minutes later.

After finishing the stage greeting for the audience preview, the *Stranger* team exited the screening hall. Soon, the Japanese actors crowded around Woo-jin, bombarding him with questions, but Kyo-taro interjected, causing a slight lull. He then asked Woo-jin.

“Are you okay, Woo-jin? I heard your schedule is tight, whether in Korea or overseas.”

Nodding silently, Kang Woo-jin replied.

“It’s tight. I need to return to Korea this afternoon.”

“Did you come while shooting *The Beneficial Evil*?”

“Yeah. But I got permission. If I make it brief, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Haha, thank you.”

“No problem. I couldn’t just skip the stage greeting for *The Stranger*.”

“But why is the press so quiet even though you came?”

“I snuck in.”

Ultimately, Woo-jin had decided to attend a total of four stage greetings, including the most recent one. After that, he had a packed schedule heading straight back to Korea. Right now, the distance between Japan and Korea felt as close as between Seoul and Gyeonggi-do.

As Kang Woo-jin was doing the stage greetings for *The Stranger*,

『Cannes Best Actor “Kang Woo-jin” makes a surprise appearance at *The Stranger* audience preview / photo』

The Japanese press was going wild with articles. This was due to the audience in the previous screening who had already flooded social media with images of Woo-jin.

『“Kang Woo-jin” makes a surprise visit to Japan; did he sneak in?』

『“Kang Woo-jin,” who suddenly appeared at the *The Stranger* audience preview, sightings piling up on social media from attendees.』

『With less than a week until the release of *The Stranger*, was the “man from Cannes” also worried?』

It was a chaotic half-day. Somehow, after finishing all the stage greetings, Woo-jin moved swiftly to Haneda Airport that same afternoon. During the drive, he called Choi Seong-geon. Despite being busy dealing with overdue matters in Korea, Choi always answered Woo-jin’s calls.

“Hey, Woo-jin. Did you wrap up your Japan schedule? I should have gone with you.”

“It’s fine. I managed it well, Representative.”

In a low tone, Kang Woo-jin detailed his decisions.

“And I will be rejecting all the scripts and scenarios that came in from overseas this time.”

“...Really? Does that include *Jurassic Land 4* as well?”

“Yeah. All of them.”

Kang Woo-jin rejected all the works, including *Jurassic Land 4*. Choi Seong-geon didn’t show any signs of surprise over the phone.

“Okay, I’ll handle it well.”

After arriving at Haneda Airport, the entrance was quiet since he had snuck in, but the departure was quite different.

- *Pababababak!*

- *Pabababababak!!*

Hundreds of Japanese reporters, along with even more fans and onlookers, welcomed Kang Woo-jin. However, there was no time to linger. While waving at them, Woo-jin finished the check-in process and headed towards the boarding gate. What was peculiar was his feeling at this moment. Although he had taken a regular flight when entering Japan, this time was different.

‘Whoa— insane! Is that... a private jet??!’

Kang Woo-jin was greeted by the private jet gifted by Chairman Hideki.

‘Damn!! My private jet??! Is this real?!’

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Meanwhile, in Korea.

While Kang Woo-jin was busy in Japan, Korea was buzzing and stirring with news about him. The aftereffects of the Cannes Film Festival and *The Leech* were still resonating.

『The release of *The Leech* confirmed for October 27; theaters are already opening screening dates in advance / photo』

Overseas, *The Leech* was still being discussed, and the same went for domestic news. Additionally, the recent buzz around Miley Cara and *The Stranger*, among other things.

Currently, Kang Woo-jin’s brand power in Korea was at a legendary level.

Thus, naturally, various works related to him received attention.

『[Star Talk] Kang Woo-jin's *The Beneficial Evil* sees increased global interest after Cannes Film Festival.』

『Thanks to Kang Woo-jin, *Netflix* is also riding the wave... will they properly support the global launch of *The Beneficial Evil*?』

Korea’s large and medium-sized media outlets were all focused on the best-selling star, Kang Woo-jin. Among them was a major outlet called *Power Patch*, which had ties to Woo-jin

in the past. The editor, whose face resembled that of a large potato, entered the office that resembled a bustling market.

- *Swoosh.*

Ignoring the noisy chatter of reporters, the editor tapped the shoulder of a reporter with dark circles under his eyes and rectangular glasses, who sat close to his office.

“Come in.”

Following him with a slight grumble, the bespectacled reporter had also attended the Cannes Film Festival and managed to secure an interview with Kang Woo-jin. Once inside the editor’s office, the editor, sitting with his backside on the desk, asked.

“Hey, have you seen this?”

He held out his phone. The screen displayed a photo of a filming scene, and the reporter, tilting his head in confusion, responded.

“What is this?”

“It’s something I got from Bangkok. Don’t you know?”

“I don’t.”

“Hmm— it seems to be spreading slowly on Bangkok’s SNS or community? I got it through someone I know in Bangkok.”

“Yeah. So?”

“No, dude. Look closely at the photo.”

The reporter scratched his chin as he leaned closer to the editor’s phone. There were multiple cameras and filming equipment, dozens of staff. It was clearly a filming location, captured in a wide shot from behind. The editor pointed to one of the men in the photo with his finger.

“Don’t you know who this is?”

The reporter, who had been observing intently, suddenly exclaimed.

“Kang Woo-jin?”

“Yeah. Kang Woo-jin.”

“...”

After a brief pause, the reporter clapped his hands.

“This is a cut from the overseas shoot for *The Beneficial Evil,* right? *The Beneficial Evil* went to Bangkok this time, didn’t it?”

“Correct.”

“So? They’ll likely release these cuts soon enough. It doesn’t seem particularly important. But still, it could be useful for catching attention beforehand.”

“Listen to the end of my sentence.”

The editor’s finger moved as he narrowed his eyes. Slightly away from Kang Woo-jin in the phone screen was a woman.

“This blonde woman. Who do you think she is?”

“...Wait a second.”

The reporter’s face grew serious as he leaned even closer to the phone. It was slightly blurry, and the woman was in profile rather than facing the camera, making it a bit ambiguous, but the unmistakable blonde hair and her silhouette seemed quite familiar.

As the reporter stared intently, he quietly muttered the name that came to mind.

“Could it be Miley... Cara?”

Meanwhile, in LA.

While it was early afternoon in Japan and Korea, it was late at night in LA. Despite this, the city lights were dazzling, and two large vans sped down the road. In the front van sat a familiar blonde woman. It was Miley Cara, who had been busier than ever lately with the release of her new album.

“...”

With her blonde hair flowing, she was on her way to the recording studio after a packed schedule today. Currently, she sat by the window, silently staring down at her phone. Then, Cara lifted her head and smiled faintly. What caught her attention was Jonathan, who was sitting across from her with a buzzed haircut.

“300 million views.”

Miley whispered, showing her phone to Jonathan. On her phone screen was the music video for her new song uploaded to her YouTube channel.

- *[alcoholism(feat. WooJin)] | Miley Cara*

- *Views: 300 million*

Jonathan also smiled broadly, giving a thumbs up.

“Earlier this afternoon, it was at 290 million views. Congrats, Cara.”

“We all deserve congratulations. It’s been quite a while since we exceeded 100 million views in such a short time, right?”

“Yeah, it’s been about five years. It’s a collaboration with you and Kang Woo-jin.”

“It’s enough of a gift for a home. Anyway, I need to DM him.”

As she once again lowered her head to her phone, Jonathan, who had his arms crossed, asked her something else.

“But are you really not going to read any of the scripts coming in?”

With her gaze still on her phone, Cara brushed her hair and replied.

“Nope. I’ll wait for Joseph. If I read something else and it turns out to be interesting, it’ll be a waste. It’s better not to look at them.”

“Hmm—”

At that moment, Miley Cara showed Jonathan her phone again.

“Do you think this will get a reaction from Kang Woo-jin?”

“Probably. 100% his overseas recognition and YouTube, SNS will explode more.”

“After all, he’s a guy who doesn’t show his feelings much.”

On Cara’s phone screen, the updated Billboard chart from this week was displayed.

**[Billboard Hot 100]**

- *1. alcoholism(feat. WooJin)/ Miley Cara (New this week!)*

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Kang Woo-jin’s name had hit number one on the Billboard chart.