The Mistaken Genius Actor 🧑🏻‍🎤

Chapter 173 - Stranger (3)

A technique that mesmerizes people and manipulates situations. More than just attraction.

It belongs to a very precious ability.

At that moment.

“Now is not the time.”

Kang Woojin began a monologue. He makes a list of the ‘Eerie sacrifices’ he intends to make as a ‘stranger’ after Toka disappears from the world.

“I need to be forgotten.”

Kang Woojin, Kiyoshi, removed his gaze from Toka at the end. Because she was gone. And his gaze wandered somewhere in the vague emptiness. There was nothing in his expression. But his mouth did not rest. The rhythm of his lines was consistent. He seemed to be quietly floating on a motionless water surface.

Then.

“Homework.”

The desolate eyes of Kiyoshi move in the void, searching for a destination. They drift momentarily among a few actors in front. 9 people. It was the confirmation of a list of 9 specified people. The actors whose eyes met Kiyoshi’s could feel it intensely.

‘There’s no hint of reason or instinct.’

Therefore, it was more terrifying. Vaguely frightening. There was no reason or outcome. Pleasure? Joy? Intent? Hatred? Rage? None of the above. There were no actions mixed with emotion. System. Yes, it was a system. For him, there was only work to be done.

Director Kyotaro, who fixed his gaze on Kang Woojin, recited the stage direction.

“Kiyoshi sits in the bustling classroom, looking at the chalkboard in front. Still, his face shows nothing.”

According to the scenario, after two students die at school, the world turns upside down, but it doesn’t last long. Like living people must go on living, the school strove for normalization. Of course, the minds of the entire student body were not intact.

Only Kiyoshi’s time had stopped.

Just as it was the moment when Toka sat on the railing, smiling.

However, there were changes at the school. Some of the 9 people on Kiyoshi’s list had transferred or dropped out. Some still attended the school.

Kiyoshi didn’t care.

What he had to do now was.

“Study.”

To accumulate knowledge. Because he had to look at the long term. There was basic information on the 9 people. Including the data accumulated over time and student records. From here, Kiyoshi had to fill in what was lacking.

Director Kyotaro passes the time with stage directions.

1 year, 2 years, 3 years. Kang Woojin’s mindset wasn’t much different in that time. He lived a life just like any other.

“Just a little more, soon.”

He was being forgotten by the world, but the plan was already in motion. After 4 years and then 5 years, from here the scene shifts to more monologues by Woojin than stage directions by Director Kyotaro. The scene shows the opposite, but underneath, Kiyoshi’s voice overlays.

Everyone in the hall gazes at ‘The Stranger.’

Kang Woojin was rolling his eyes with an expressionless face. His posture was stiff. His gaze and breathing were steady, and his hands and heartbeat were calm. But what he had to do was clear. His appearance suggested a calm madness. Woojin’s mind was filled with calculations.

“Let’s start, everyone and the world have forgotten me.”

An undefined objective stirred within him. Then, from Kang Woojin’s flat mouth, lines were spoken. It was a monologue.