Translator: Dreamscribe
In truth, ever since Kang Woojin, who had been sitting on the sofa, was called by the bald executive,
‘Next.’
he had been pulling out another summoned character. The awakened ‘Henry Gordon’. He additionally summoned ‘Jang Yeon-woo’ from ‘Beneficial Evil’. Then he fused the two. Madness and violence grew several times stronger. Of course, the ‘freedom of the role’ was maintained. Therefore, the fragile ‘Henry Gordon’ disappeared before even realizing it.
And the result? An unstoppable, utterly no backing down version of ‘Henry Gordon’ was completed.
Would he care about people’s gazes? Could things like worry or fear even exist? At this point, who could possibly stop Kang Woojin? Even in the event of a gunfight, no one could suppress the rampaging Woojin in his current state. An audition? Hollywood? Acting? Actor? To hell with all that.
For now, he felt like smoking a cigarette.
Standing before the judges’ panel, Kang Woojin casually lit a cigarette. There was no sense of decorum or consideration. Only his own will and decisions existed.
“Hoo-”
The awakened Kang Woojin, now a monster beyond anything, looked down at the bald executive. That filthy, unlikable face. Did this octopus-head just call him Kang Woojin?
Should I kill him?
No. Playing with him a bit longer might be fun. But this octopus-head needed a warning.
-Puff!
As he exhaled cigarette smoke, Woojin shook the bald executive’s head. It wasn’t a gentle pat. It was as if he were handling a toy.
“Call me ‘Joker,’ you damn baldie.”
It was as if he might yank the executive’s head clean off. Then, Woojin took another deep drag on his cigarette and flicked the smoldering butt into the executive’s coffee cup. A sizzling sound spread across the stage, and the bald executive, whose head was still being grabbed, seemed mentally frozen.
“……?”
It was hard to believe what was happening. Was this even real? His eyes were already ridiculously wide. It was an incident unlike anything he had experienced in his life.
More than anything.
‘W-What is this?’
He couldn’t even process who this Kang Woojin before him was. He was confused. Where did the acting stop and the reality begin? Wasn’t this the pitiful ‘Henry Gordon’ just a moment ago? How had ‘Joker’ appeared so suddenly? Or had it been ‘Joker’ all along?
Was this even acting?
Countless question marks swirled in his head. As everyone watched the bald executive, more precisely, watched Woojin grabbing the executive’s head, shock rippled through the entire room.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Although no one could speak, their eyes had grown several times larger with shock. Starting with Director Ahn Ga-bok at the judges’ table.
‘…Is he starting to go wild? But, this is going too far.’
Several others including the Executive Producer and CD.
‘W-what’s happening now!’
‘Such crazy behavior!! Should we stop him?!’
‘Wait, this is dangerous!’
Even the ‘Columbia Studios’ executives in the audience.
‘What a crazy bastard!’
The Hollywood top actors watching from the sidelines seemed completely dazed, with only Chris Hartnett barely managing to keep his composure. He recalled his previous encounter with Woojin, who had once asked for his name.
‘He’s far beyond what I imagined… A true eccentric. But wait, is this supposed to be ‘Joker’ acting? I don’t know. I can’t make sense of it.’
Meanwhile, the foreign crew members, numbering in the dozens, were busy whispering loudly to each other. Watching them nervously, Choi Sung-gun felt overwhelmed with anxiety.
‘Hey hey, Woojin. Is that okay?? Won’t you just get eliminated like that?’
However, Kang Woojin had no intention of stopping. As he gently stroked the bald executive’s head and then let go, he opened his mouth to speak.
“This shitty audition doesn’t matter to me. No problem if it gets scrapped, I’m just here for fun. I came to see how good you guys are, but it’s so boring.”
With a grin stretching wide across his face, Woojin once again put a cigarette to his mouth.
“Let’s all have some fun. Screw this boring audition nonsense. Huh? And hey, you damn baldie.”
Meeting the bald executive’s gaze with madness-filled eyes, Kang Woojin wrapped both hands around his own neck.
“If you call me Kang Woojin one more time, I’ll kill you.”
“……”
Woojin, who had been gripping his neck, suddenly let out a chuckle and brushed back his black hair.
“Just kidding, don’t be scared, friend.”
He spun his body around and spread his arms wide toward the audience.
“‘Joker.’ Beautiful, isn’t it?”
His gestures were full of self-love. His expression was brimming with freedom. For the Hollywood actors watching Woojin on stage, he was no longer a competitor.
They were merely spectators.
To be precise, Kang Woojin treated them as such. The reason was simple, it wasn’t acting. The awakened ‘Henry Gordon’, the ‘Joker’, was dominating this stage. He was ruling it. To call what Kang Woojin was doing acting would be an understatement, it was far too realistic.
No, this was reality.
In fact, Woojin hadn’t been acting at all since he stepped onto the stage. Kang Woojin was the ‘Joker,’ and the ‘Joker’ was Kang Woojin.
“You came out here to mimic me, didn’t you? Enjoy it.”
Your acting wasn’t bad. Sure, it was a little surprising because it was similar to mine. But a mimic is just a mimic. In the end, you can’t surpass the real thing. Kang Woojin exhaled a long puff of smoke, looking down on the Hollywood actors in the audience with disdain.
“But have you ever killed someone?”
Of course, they hadn’t. But that’s okay, killing someone isn’t required for an audition. And then, suddenly.
-Swish.
Kang Woojin raised both his arms. He activated one of his abilities, ‘piano’. His fingers began moving in the air as if playing an invisible instrument. His shoulders swayed rhythmically. It was silent, but in Woojin’s ears, a dazzling piano melody filled the air.
“It would be nice if there was background music.”
After playing the soundless piano for a moment, Woojin lowered his hands. This time, he began tapping his feet, as if performing a tap dance. Stomping rhythmically like he was enjoying a joyful dance, Woojin suddenly clapped his feet together with a clap! and spun around on the spot. Then, he once again took the cigarette into his mouth.
“Hoo- time to leave. Had a good show. Ah, keep imitating me and spread it around.”
Kang Woojin, or rather, the ‘Joker’, who was the centerpiece of this audition, was thoroughly dismantling its structure. He crushed the minds of everyone watching him. As they stared at Woojin’s back, Director Ahn Ga-bok let out a hollow laugh.
“Ever since he appeared, there hasn’t been any ‘acting’ on stage, has there?”
The executive producer, who had briefly glanced at Director Ahn Ga-bok, seemed to share a similar thought.
‘Was the ‘Joker’ here just to watch his own audition? Calling him a monster… doesn’t even begin to cover it.’
At this moment, no one in the room thought of the monster on stage as an actor. He was simply Kang Woojin, Henry Gordon, and the Joker. The very definition of acting had become distant.
“……”
“……”
No one could do anything except stare blankly at Kang Woojin.
‘…How are we supposed to beat that?’
‘Acting? What part of that is even acting?’
The Hollywood actors were living proof of this. Even Chris Hartnett, one of Hollywood’s ultra-tier actors, felt a sense of awe as he watched Woojin on stage.
‘My acting feels pathetic by comparison. This is the first time I’ve ever felt wonder while watching another actor’s performance. Haha, no, this isn’t acting.’
It was at that moment.
“That was fun.”
With the corners of his mouth stretched to his ears, Woojin waved his hand toward the audience and suddenly,
-Sss.
His expression changed. The atmosphere shifted. It became heavy. In an instant, he reequipped his concept. With a face full of an intense poker face, Woojin,
“……”
Politely addressed the judges.
“This will be all for today.”
It was a declaration that everything they had witnessed was acting. At this moment, everyone in the room, who had been utterly dazed, began to snap out of it, one by one.
“Ah.”
“Oh.”
“R-right.”
They barely managed to regain their senses. But they were still confused.
‘…Wasn’t the ‘Joker’ just pretending to be Kang Woojin?’
It must be confusing. They wouldn’t be able to figure out where the line was between what they had just seen as real and what was acting.
But Kang Woojin didn’t care.
‘Yeah, this should be enough. I’ve shown everything I thought about. Shit, but was I a bit too harsh on that baldie in the middle? Eh, whatever, it’s probably fine.’
His heart was light.
A little while later.
From the initial confession to the pre-awakening ‘Henry Gordon’ to the utterly mad ‘Joker’, he had unraveled the full storytelling he had envisioned. There were no regrets. Whether it was Kang Woojin or the ‘Joker’, this stage belonged to the wild and unstoppable entity.
And then,
‘Now, time to switch the concept back on!’
Kang Woojin reequipped the seriousness he had temporarily set aside. After all, it was now an indispensable part of him. With an indifferent expression, Woojin stepped off the stage. Naturally, there was no hesitation. One step, then another, bold and confident. He walked back to the spot where he had started, where the ponytailed Choi Sung-gun was waiting for him.
The interesting thing was how utterly silent the hall was at that moment.
“……”
“……”
Even though Woojin, having finished his turn, was almost back to his seat, no one dared to speak. Everyone simply followed him with their eyes, moving them slowly as if hypnotized. When humans witness something too far outside their expectations, they tend to freeze. The only exception was Director Ahn Ga-bok, who wore a wrinkled smile.
‘He’s beyond impressive, he’s downright terrifying. He’s shattered the norms of this place.’
That was the voice of experience. Meanwhile, from the executive producer to the foreign staff members, none of them could take their eyes off Kang Woojin. It was either fascinating or utterly ridiculous.
‘What… What the hell is this? He was radiating such overwhelming presence, and now he’s suddenly acting so nonchalant?’
‘How is this possible? How can someone behave like absolutely nothing happened…?’
‘How can someone’s emotional switch flip that quickly?! What did I just see?’
The massive frenzy embodied by the ‘Joker’, who had been rampaging across the stage mere seconds ago, had completely vanished. The Kang Woojin standing there now was cold and calm, as always, so much so that it felt absurd. The stark contrast in temperament was baffling. As he returned to the side of Choi Sung-gun, Woojin remained the center of attention for every notable figure in the hall. Without much fanfare, Woojin sat down and casually greeted his partner.
“I’m back.”
Even his voice tone had dropped back to being infinitely low. The ponytailed Choi Sung-gun, his face pale as if his soul had left his body, replied weakly.
“…Ah- yeah. Right, good work. But Woojin… aren’t you way too calm right now?”
“Am I?”
“Just take a look around.”
-Swoosh.
Woojin leisurely scanned his surroundings. Everyone was still staring at him, accompanied by the lingering silence. ‘What’s this? Nobody’s continuing? They’re just staring at me like crazy.’ Woojin muttered to himself internally, but outwardly he maintained his composure, exuding a confident aura.
“There’s no problem.”
“It’s not about there being a problem or not… You know what, forget it.”
Letting out a small sigh, Choi Sung-gun seemed to abandon some sort of hope and lowered his voice.
“Anyway, you killed it. You see those Hollywood top actors who went before you? I can’t even remember them anymore, honestly. That first performance you showed, it was incredible. Taking the character’s confession from the story and inserting it into the current situation? That idea was genius.”
‘No, it wasn’t an idea. That was a real confession,’ Woojin thought to himself. ‘I knew this would happen.’ But without changing his expression in the slightest, Woojin replied briefly.
“Thank you.”
At this point,
“……Let’s resume.”
The executive producer at the judges’ panel on stage finally managed to break the tension in the atmosphere. Flipping past Woojin’s profile, they pulled up the profiles of the two remaining Hollywood actors. Despite the heavy lingering impression Woojin had left, the show had to go on.
“Next is…”
She called out the name of the fourth Hollywood actor. At this moment, the gazes of the executives in the audience and the ‘Pierrot’ crew staff turned toward the stage, and one of the Hollywood actors slowly rose from his seat.
“……”
But his expression was grim, to say the least. His face was heavy with worry. Watching him climb the stage slowly, Director Ahn Ga-bok, stroking his wrinkled cheek, muttered to himself.
‘Tension that didn’t exist before must have appeared. It’s only natural after witnessing that violent Kang Woojin’s performance. Honestly, the first two had it better. How could anyone not feel daunted after watching that?’
The fourth Hollywood actor was also an outstanding top-tier actor. But Director Ahn Ga-bok’s judgment was spot on. Although the actor managed to deliver his performance, he made many mistakes with his lines. Somehow, he managed to finish, but as he stepped down from the stage, his face was filled with gloom.
And then.
“Next, Chris Hartnett.”
Finally, Chris Hartnett, who had a certain connection with Kang Woojin, was called. Soon, Chris stood up from his seat. However, he didn’t walk toward the stage. Instead, standing where he was, he raised his right hand and said one brief sentence to the judges on stage.
“I’ll withdraw from the audition.”
For Hollywood superstar Chris, this was the first time he had ever withdrawn.
A few dozen minutes later.
The bizarre audition and screen test for ‘Pierrot’ had come to an end. Soon, the door to one of the large vans parked in the sprawling outdoor parking lot opened. The first team to board the vehicle was Chris Hartnett’s team. With his deep-set brown eyes, Chris, as soon as all his team members had entered the vehicle, gave a short command.
“Drive immediately.”
His van sped out of the parking lot as if fleeing the scene. Inside the van, the team members remained silent. Chris Hartnett, who was gazing quietly out the window, was no exception. The one to break the silence was Chris’s overweight main manager.
“…Chris. You prepared so much for this. Why did you quit? I mean, Kang Woojin’s acting was, sigh… But wasn’t it too easy to give up?”
Hollywood’s first-tier top actor, Chris, still gazing out the window, let out a short laugh.
“Didn’t you see it earlier? The ‘Joker’ himself showed up.”
Then, recalling Kang Woojin’s performance, which had sent chills down his spine, he added.
“No matter what I do, it’s just a petty act in front of the ‘real deal’.”