I WAS MISTAKEN AS A MONSTROUS GENIUS ACTOR

Translator: Dreamscribe

Around 10 AM. One of the sets within the vast ‘Columbia Studios’ was bustling. Over a hundred foreign staff members of ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ were running around frantically. Naturally, the one leading the charge was Director Ahn Ga-bok, and beside him was the executive producer Nora Foster.

So, where was Kang Woojin?

‘Damn- the more I look at this trailer, the more impressive it is?’

He was settled in one of the many trailers positioned a bit away from the filming zone. Woojin had already transformed into ‘Henry Gordon’, with wet hair covering his jaw, a worn-out hoodie, and jeans, his makeup and outfit were already in place. However, his face had yet to change into ‘Joker’.

For now, he was on standby while another actor’s scene was being filmed.

His first scene today started with ‘Henry Gordon’, and later in the day, he would transition into the awakened ‘Joker’. Of course, as expected in Hollywood, the filming order was all over the place, middle, beginning, middle, end, completely unorganized.

Regardless, inside the trailer where Joker’s costume hung on a rack, Kang Woojin stretched out on the provided three-seater sofa, propping up his legs.

“This is so comfortable-“

Lying there, Woojin scanned the interior of the trailer.

It was like a miniature hotel.

Sofa, table, chairs, TV, nothing was missing. Dropping his character momentarily, he muttered to himself.

“How much do these things even cost? They must have them in Korea too, aren’t they called camping cars or something? Anyway, they must be pricey. But man, taking one of these out on a trip during a break would be a blast.”

Curious, Kang Woojin pulled out his phone and searched for camping cars and trailers. Prices varied widely, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions, and some even reached billions of won. But he casually remarked,

“Huh? That’s cheaper than I thought.”

Then, realizing what he had just said, he let out a short laugh.

“Wait-did I just say a billion won was cheap?”

But considering Kang Woojin’s current level of wealth and income, a billion won really wasn’t much.

‘Heh, I should get the best one soon. Ah-and while I’m at it, I might as well get a boat too. A boat? Shit, then I should just buy a vacation home in Jeju Island too.’

This wasn’t just idle dreaming. Kang Woojin had the financial power to buy all of it immediately. Soon, he opened his phone’s notepad and began jotting down a list of things to buy: a car for LA, a camping car or trailer, a boat, a vacation home, and so on.

‘Should I get a building too? Move my parents’ restaurant there? Screw it, let’s go.’

The more he thought about it, the more ideas kept branching out.

“Damn, my life is seriously getting insane.”

About 30 minutes later, the staff called for Kang Woojin. Soon, Woojin stepped onto the set to begin filming, starting with ‘Henry Gordon’. He fully immersed himself into the early-stage ‘Henry Gordon’ and focused entirely on the scene.

Completely different from the ‘Joker’ he had portrayed just a few days ago.

‘Henry Gordon’ was drowning in tragedy, barely suppressing it, forcing himself to ignore it, his entire presence exuded that struggle. But deep within his gaze, something grotesque was writhing. His subtly eerie expressions were captured vividly by the camera.

Watching Woojin act as early ‘Henry Gordon’, the foreign staff murmured among themselves.

“The vibe is completely different, after seeing that spine-chilling performance a few days ago, the contrast is even more stark.”

“While it’s natural for actors to switch emotions freely- doesn’t Kang Woojin have zero delay?”

“Yeah, I thought that was incredible too. Normally, actors take a moment when switching between drastically different emotional scenes. But Kang Woojin? He doesn’t need that at all.”

“We’re filming the ‘Joker’ scenes from this afternoon, right? He’s probably going to unleash his madness again like it’s nothing.”

“How the hell did he master such ridiculous skills in just three years?”

“I heard he’s only been officially active for three years, but before that, he trained somewhere extensively. The director mentioned it, didn’t he?”

Thus, the past ‘Henry Gordon’ scenes wrapped up by early afternoon.

But it felt like the real filming was only just beginning.

“Standby in 30 minutes!!”

Things moved at a breakneck pace.

Several members of the makeup team swarmed around Kang Woojin. His face, once ‘Henry Gordon’, gradually took on an eerie transformation. His skin turned ghostly white, with intensely rectangular black makeup encircling his eyes. His nose and mouth were painted in a deep, vivid red.

In no time, Woojin had completely morphed into ‘Joker’.

Throughout the process, Kang Woojin maintained an indifferent expression.

‘Whoa-having twice as many makeup team members as in Korea makes this kinda overwhelming.’

Now that the transformation was complete, it was time to change outfits, into Joker’s costume. At that moment, a few stylists approached Kang Woojin, holding Joker’s attire.

Just then.

“Woojin.”

A raspy voice called from behind. When Woojin turned around, he saw Director Ahn Ga-bok approaching, wearing a headset around his neck. Beside him stood Nora Foster, the executive producer with a sharp, intense demeanor. She had been freely moving around the set, and as she approached, the stylists carrying Joker’s outfit paused momentarily.

Woojin turned his gaze toward Ahn Ga-bok.

“Yes, director.”

“It’s about Joker’s costume.”

Pointing at the red jacket and other pieces of Joker’s outfit, Ahn Ga-bok spoke in English.

“Before we start filming, I wanted to ask, do you have any thoughts on it? Any parts of the costume you’d like to change?”

Given that Ahn Ga-bok had witnessed Woojin’s impromptu ad-lib performance a few days ago, it was only natural for him to check in before the official shoot.

Just in case.

He wondered if Woojin might find the prepared ‘Joker’ outfit too plain.

No, Ahn Ga-bok’s expression showed certainty.

“With you, I know you’re already thinking of something completely unexpected.”

“……”

Maintaining a solemn expression, Woojin fell silent for a moment. Internally, however, he screamed.

‘Huh?! I got nothing!’

Not even a single thought had crossed his mind about this. What kind of situation was this? Though his face remained stiff, his mind was momentarily thrown into turmoil. Eventually, with a slight hint of annoyance surfacing, Woojin answered honestly.

“No, I have nothing in mind.”

“……Are you sure?”

Ah- damn, Woojin felt something irritating in Director Ahn Ga-bok’s follow-up question. Plus, he had to maintain his tough image. Just then, Nora Foster, standing beside Ahn Ga-bok, interjected. Her expression wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“Director, it seems he hasn’t really thought about it. You might be pressuring him. Also, if we make too many changes to what’s already set, it could cause friction among key staff members.”

What struck Woojin the most from that statement was the word ‘pressure’.

There was no room for pressure in extreme method acting.

At that moment, Woojin decided to say whatever came to mind. Suddenly, for some reason, he recalled his childhood, specifically his mother scolding him and smacking him on the back.

‘Kang Woojin!! Did I or did I not tell you to put your socks straight into the laundry when you take them off?!’

Feeling a phantom sting on his back, Woojin glanced at Nora Foster, then shifted his gaze to Ahn Ga-bok. In a low tone, he spoke in English.

“Joker’s socks are too plain.”

Both Nora Foster and Ahn Ga-bok turned their heads toward Woojin simultaneously. Keeping his whatever-goes mindset, he continued.

“The current ‘Joker’ socks are just ordinary white ones.”

“That’s true.”

“It’d be better if they were mismatched. Black and white, or red and blue.”

“Hmm-what made you think of that?”

Because I remembered my mom smacking my back over socks. Of course, Woojin couldn’t say that, so he vaguely reworded it.

“They’d stand out more. Opposing colors.”

In other words, since they didn’t match and were unique, they’d be more noticeable.

‘At least it’s not boring, right?’

But.

“……”

For a moment, Director Ahn Ga-bok stared at Woojin’s heavy expression before letting out a chuckle. Then, he explained the interpretation he had come up with on his own.

“’Joker’ is a character who embodies both tragedy and comedy at the same time. You’re using the socks as a metaphor for that, aren’t you? Right? On top of that, it also serves as a statement that ‘Joker’ completely disregards the oppressive gaze of society.”

After keeping his mouth shut for a few seconds, Kang Woojin casually nodded. It was a total fluke, but he acted like that was his plan all along. His poker face was solid as ever.

“Red and blue would be best.”

Shortly after, Kang Woojin, now in full makeup and costume, reappeared at the filming zone. The hundred or so foreign staff members murmured as they watched him walk in with an indifferent demeanor.

“It’s chilling how well it suits him. Can I even say that?”

“Rather than saying it suits him, he was a planned character, but Kang Woojin has completely made ‘Joker’ his own.”

Soon, Woojin reached the spot where all the cameras were focused.

His long, damp red hair reached down to his jaw. His face was ghostly pale, with dark, exaggerated black and red around his eyes and nose. His lips were thickly painted, stretched into an eerie, extended grin. Over a blue shirt, he wore a yellow vest and a red jacket, paired with red pants and worn-out brown shoes.

Peeking out just above the shoes were mismatched socks, one blue, one red.

“……”

Looking every bit the mad clown, Kang Woojin stared blankly at the camera. Watching him, Director Ahn Ga-bok, wearing a wrinkled smile, muttered inwardly.

‘Damn it… I can’t wait to show this to the world. How will people react when they see this on the big screen?’

He was itching to unleash this completed ‘Joker’ upon the global audience.

“That’s going to be overwhelming, just in a different way.”

The 16th.

The moment Kang Woojin stepped into his trailer in the morning.

“Hoo-”

He briefly let go of his method acting and slumped onto the sofa. The unfamiliar environment, the new character, and the sheer weight of embodying ‘Joker’ had started to take its toll on him. Fatigue was steadily piling up.

‘I should visit the Void space more often from now on.’

Just then.

-Knock, knock.

A knock echoed through the trailer. In that instant, Woojin’s body flinched, and he quickly adjusted his posture. He switched back into his method acting mode, crossing his legs with an air of authority. His heart thumped slightly. Lowering his voice, he responded in English.

“Yes, come in.”

He naturally assumed it was a staff member. However, the one who entered the trailer was a ridiculously handsome man. No, it was Chris Hartnett, with deep brown eyes. Whether he had been waiting nearby or had just arrived was unclear, but he had a cap pulled low over his head.

“Kang Woojin, can we talk for a moment?”

His tone was relaxed. Woojin casually gestured toward the opposite chair.

“Take a seat.”

“Thanks.”

Once seated, Chris quietly observed Woojin, who remained composed with his legs crossed. Then, without any hesitation, Chris spoke.

“…During the first shoot, the ad-lib in the scene where ‘Henry Gordon’ awakens as ‘Joker’ for the first time.”

He was referring to the moment when Woojin had created Joker’s face using blood.

“To be honest, that was the first time in my entire acting career that I felt a sense of awe. My brain literally froze for a few seconds. Haha, and this isn’t just me trying to get on your good side, I mean it.”

“……”

A top-tier, ridiculously handsome Hollywood A-list actor was showering Woojin with praise right in front of him. Though Woojin maintained his poker face.

‘Don’t you curl up corners of my lips!’

He was absolutely pleased.

Seriously, if a global Hollywood star admitted that his brain froze because of Woojin’s acting, how could he not feel great?

For an ordinary guy like Kang Woojin, this was an unimaginable situation.

But now was not the time to get carried away.

‘I need to act composed. Keep up the cool, weighty vibe.’

With that, Woojin cynically switched the direction of his crossed legs.

“I see.”

For a moment, Chris stared into Woojin’s composed eyes and let out a silent laugh in his mind.

‘As expected, he doesn’t show a hint of joy. Well, he’s not the type who acts to impress others anyway. He just becomes the role and enjoys it for what it is. That kind of quiet composure… I could use some of that too. It’s something to learn from.’

Chris smiled.

“How much agonizing did it take to come up with that ad-lib? You stopped the minds of hundreds of people in that moment, so at the very least, it must have been the result of relentless analysis.”

Inside, Kang Woojin screamed.

‘Of course, I agonized over it like crazy! Honestly, the moment I thought of that ad-lib, I practically shouted Eureka!’

In reality, it had taken Woojin nearly two months to come up with that ad-lib. After his ‘Pierrot’ audition, he had gone through countless analyses before it finally came to him. It was almost a coincidence, but considering he had read and re-experienced ‘Pierrot: The Birth of a Villain’ dozens of times, it wasn’t just luck. His understanding of the character, the background, and the world-building was on an entirely different level.

So, yes, he had agonized over it immensely.

However.

‘But if I just say that outright, I’d sound like an idiot, wouldn’t I?’

Woojin couldn’t just blurt out, “Man, it was insanely tough!” in a reckless manner. Instead, he put on a shameless expression and answered simply.

“I did it roughly.”

This response didn’t imply he had agonized over it, it suggested that he had come up with it casually, without much effort. Something done offhandedly.

But Chris, seeing Woojin’s cold and straightforward reaction, furrowed his brows slightly.

‘Roughly? This reaction, no way… Haha, no. No, wait. I see now.’

Then, jumping to his own conclusion, Chris asked Woojin.

“So that ad-lib was improvised on the spot, wasn’t it?”

His face brightened as if he had just made a thrilling discovery.

“Acting like that, coming out spontaneously, it’s both shocking and exciting to hear.”

“……”

Suddenly ‘on the spot’ came up. However, when Woojin remained silent with little change in his expression, Chris Hartnett deepened his smile and.

“In that case, you’ll be able to handle my ad-libs easily. I tend to enjoy them quite a bit. I prefer acting with a lot of freedom. But there aren’t many actors who can properly respond to it.”

“As much as you want.”

Kang Woojin, who answered briefly, continued in a low-toned English.

“But you won’t be able to enjoy it. You’ll need to be prepared as well.”

For a brief moment, Chris’s brow twitched slightly.

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