I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 1
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 1
Elementary School, probably during a 1st grade Art class.
“Alright! Today, shall we draw yourselves as grown-ups?”
Seon-woo picked up his crayons.
Red, yellow, blue… He filled the sketchbook with colors, drawing so vibrantly and colorfully.
It wasn’t just Seon-woo.
The friend next to him, and the friend next to that one… All the drawings everyone made were surely filled with all sorts of colors and sparkled.
Yes.
‘…It definitely wasn’t like this black and white movie.’
Seon-woo adjusted his necktie and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.
A man dressed in a black suit was making a sullen expression. That wasn’t all. The people next to him were the same.
All wearing black suits, with faces stiff from tension.
They were all job applicants who had come for interviews.
Those people too must have once held crayons and drawn colorful futures.
Pictures of themselves holding hands with their parents, with red-roofed houses and trees in the background.
But here, there are no houses and no parents.
There are no colors at all.
“Number 32.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Please come in.”
Seon-woo stood up.
Today his name was Number 32. Since he started going to interviews, it felt like he was called by numbers more often than by his name.
“Mr. Kim Seon-woo?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You have a good appearance. How did you come to apply to our company…”
“Since I was young…”
There’s no need to share the conversation that took place in the interview room.
It was the same dull, colorless conversation you’d find anywhere.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The important thing was that when the interview ended, their faces showed no particular interest in Seon-woo.
It probably meant it would be difficult to expect good results this time too.
“Yes, thank you!”
What exactly was he thanking them for?
Seon-woo habitually bowed his head and left the Interview Room.
Then he let out all the sighs he had been holding back.
Ever since graduating from University, his daily life had always felt like this.
Bowing his back, adjusting his Necktie, squeezing into the Subway to head Home…
A life where that series of processes repeated like a hamster wheel.
‘This isn’t right.’
The adult he had imagined becoming as a child wasn’t like this.
He had thought he would live a life that was somehow cooler, more sparkling, more beautiful…
Seon-woo looked at his reflection in the Subway window.
Every time the tunnel lights flickered, his image appeared and disappeared repeatedly.
A gloomy, haggard, lifeless appearance. He was only twenty-six now, and adults said this was the age when one should be in full bloom… so why did he only look so withered?
He didn’t even know when he had become like this.
Even during that difficult senior year of high school, when he thought about the future, it seemed like some beautiful picture would vaguely emerge… but now it just felt dark.
What should he do?
How could he change this black and white life into color?
He felt like he couldn’t continue living like this.
If he continued like this, only a mediocre, boring, and pathetic future would be waiting for him.
But that didn’t mean he had any other path to take.
All Seon-woo could do right now was… just keep scrolling through boring shorts.
It was during this time. While scrolling through shorts, Seon-woo suddenly stopped his finger.
#Seong Do-won’s acceptance speech after winning the youngest Best Actor award this time.
【 The fans who made it possible for me to come this far, everyone at the agency, and… 】
Youngest Best Actor award…
Seon-woo looked into the actor’s face. He was definitely handsome. Above all, his eyes were very…
‘Sparkling.’
He didn’t know much about that actor, but he could say this much for certain.
Surely his daily life would be colorful, unlike Seon-woo’s.
Just look at that scene right there.
The eye-catching passionate colors of the Red Carpet, the dazzling Golden Trophy, dresses that seemed to be woven from only the most beautiful colors….
Seon-woo skipped the shorts without even listening to the actor’s acceptance speech.
That’s right. He did it out of jealousy. He felt like continuing to watch would only make him feel worse.
This is exactly the harm of social media.
It would be better to live without knowing. It constantly shows you that a completely different world is unfolding right nearby.
A world he wouldn’t even dare to dream of.
For the sake of people’s right to happiness, social media should be abolished.
It was just another ordinary day when he was having such foolish thoughts.
“I’m home.”
“Hey. Kim Seon-woo. Do you have plans tomorrow?”
As soon as he entered the house, a long-haired man suddenly spoke to Seon-woo.
It was his mother’s eldest son, Seon-jun.
“…I don’t have any plans. Why?”
“Okay. Perfect. Let’s go somewhere with your brother.”
“Why would I go somewhere with you….”
“We need to leave by 10 AM, so don’t go to bed too late.”
“Why, you should at least tell me the reason we’re going…!”
“The reason? Hmm.”
Seon-jun scratched his head and answered.
“Let’s make a movie with your brother.”
“…What?”
Until this moment, Seon-woo couldn’t even imagine it.
…That starting from this day, his life would finally be painted with color.
* * *
Seon-jun was an amateur film director.
Thanks to that, I graduated from the Film Department at university, and now I’m preparing to become a director in various ways.
And right now, I was preparing a work to submit to the ‘1-Minute Film Contest’…
“Ah, that bastard was talking so rudely.”
He said he got into a fight with an actor who was supposed to appear in the work at a drinking session.
But the reason for that fight was truly ridiculous.
“He said Tarantino was third-rate. Third-rate! How can you make a movie with such an idiotic guy?”
“…Isn’t Tarantino a B-grade film director though?”
“Hyung, I’m giving you three seconds to take that back. Three, two…”
“I take it back.”
“That’s right, little brother. You shouldn’t speak carelessly about the great god Tarantino. Got it?”
“…Yeah.”
He had badmouthed Tarantino in front of Seon-jun, who always praised Tarantino.
Fighting over something like this was a bit strange… but well, it was typical of Seon-jun.
Seon-jun had always been someone who couldn’t help but do whatever he wanted since he was young.
Saying whatever he wanted to say, living however he wanted to live, doing whatever he wanted to do…
But I had no intention of blaming him for that.
Rather, I was slightly envious of it.
Unlike Seon-woo, Seon-jun’s life… always felt colorful.
“Anyway, thanks to that, the schedule got really messed up. I already put down a deposit for the filming location and rented all the equipment… I can’t just let it all fall through.”
“…But why me of all people?”
“I tried to find another actor. But there was no one willing to do it without pay.”
“So I’m not getting paid either?”
“Hyung will buy you chicken later.”
“…With bones?”
“No, boneless. Bones are annoying to eat.”
What a tasteless fool.
Anyway, there’s nothing I agree with this guy on.
But that’s not the real problem here.
“But this doesn’t make sense. It’s not like I’ve ever acted before, and you’re suddenly telling me to act. How am I supposed to do that? Wouldn’t it be better if you did it instead?”
“If I could do it, I would have. But although you’re definitely not like this in real life… I think you’d look better on camera than me.”
He was saying that looks were important.
This seemed to be the first time I’d ever received a compliment about my appearance from Seon-jun. Seeing Seon-woo’s somewhat uncomfortable expression, Seon-jun added more.
“And don’t worry too much. It’s only a one-minute film anyway, and there’s not even a single line of dialogue. Look at the Script. Then you’ll understand why I’m talking like this, right? Do you think I would’ve brought a complete beginner with no Acting experience for no reason?”
“…Got it.”
In the end, Seon-woo was dragged to the Film Set like that.
No matter how much he disliked it, the atmosphere was such that he would’ve been dragged along anyway.
It would be better to just get it over with quickly.
“First, take a look at the Script.”
Seon-woo took the Script.
This was the first time in his life he had ever read a Script.
Well, Goethe’s Faust could be considered a Script too, but… it felt different from something like this.
But this was more interesting than he expected.
‘So this is how they write stage directions.’
The way they handled the characters’ emotions was quite fascinating.
Instead of directly expressing what kind of feelings he had, it was a format that directly instructed actions or expressions.
Was it the actor’s job to interpret the emotions underlying those actions and expressions?
This was probably what actors were analyzing when they filled their Scripts with notes.
By the way, this protagonist character is quite unique… he was thinking when it happened.
Pop- and something like a soap bubble floated up from the Script.
Seon-woo instantly froze in place.
What is this? Magic? Did Seon-jun prepare some kind of hidden Camera prank?
No, that couldn’t be it.
Seon-woo stared blankly at the bubble.
At first he thought it was a soap bubble, but it wasn’t. It was made entirely of color and light… a Purple Bubble.
He was suddenly frightened by this situation that couldn’t be understood by common sense.
What on earth is this situation? Did he go crazy from job-hunting stress?
Seon-woo raised his finger with a dazed expression and brought it toward the bubble.
Surely it wouldn’t actually be touchable. That’s what he thought, but…
Pop!
The bubble burst with that sound.
“…!”
And in the next moment, the color that burst forth from the orb dyed him completely.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Onefallenleaf
Quite interesting so far.
Thanks for the TL! 🍀