I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 11

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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 11

The reaction of the Cheongseong members to Seon-woo’s acceptance was roughly like this.

“He definitely did well.”

“Even so, isn’t a supporting role too early for him?”

“Honestly, his acting was really good. It was hard to believe he’s been acting for less than a month.”

“That’s true. But he probably doesn’t have Stage Sense yet…”

Everyone still seemed to lack faith in Seon-woo.

It wasn’t exactly hostile toward Seon-woo, but it wasn’t friendly either.

Seon-woo was now in a position where he had to prove himself.

That his being cast as Seung-do was by no means a coincidence.

The problem was that time was running short.

Seon-woo had roughly four days. Even though Seung-do’s part was short, it wasn’t enough time.

Fortunately, he now had a quite reliable ally.

“Not easy, is it?”

Short Ivy League Cut and a refreshing impression.

This man who somehow seemed like he’d suit sports drinks, Eun-seok, was exactly that ally.

“Sorry. Because of me, you suddenly have to prepare so intensively…”

“No, it’s fine. In a way, I got this opportunity thanks to you, senior.”

“I guess that’s true?”

As soon as Seon-woo passed the audition, Eun-seok came to him offering to help him prepare perfectly for Seung-do.

It wasn’t just for Seon-woo’s sake.

Eun-seok also felt quite sorry about having to leave during the performance because of the movie.

Still, the fortunate thing was that Seon-woo followed his lead better than expected.

“But you’re really amazing. How did you already memorize all the lines?”

“It’s not even that long… Compared to working on details, memorizing is the easy part.”

“A lot of people find even that difficult.”

That was true.

But it didn’t really resonate with Seon-woo.

Since childhood, he had never struggled with memorization.

Eun-seok, who had been smiling contentedly while watching Seon-woo, soon spoke up with a meaningful voice.

“Actually, there is something that’s really difficult though.”

“…What’s the most difficult thing?”

“Cha Do-young.”

A question mark appeared in Seon-woo’s eyes.

It was an unexpected answer.

Maybe Do-young was a bit sensitive during practice or something like that?

But Eun-seok smiled mysteriously and avoided answering.

“You’ll find out when you act together.”

That moment came sooner than expected.

Do-young had come looking for Seon-woo, suggesting they practice their chemistry together.

Eun-seok, who had been coaching Seon-woo’s acting until then, greeted Do-young with an awkward expression.

“Oh, Do-young’s here?”

“…”

“…Sorry, I won’t talk to you.”

The atmosphere was suffocating.

As Seon-woo, caught in the middle, could only roll his eyes without saying anything, Do-young quietly approached him.

“Seon-woo.”

“Yes.”

“Shall we practice our chemistry?”

“Ah, yes! That sounds great!”

Seon-woo jumped to his feet.

This was the event he had been looking forward to the most anyway.

He was so curious about what it would feel like to act with Do-young.

That color that didn’t just dye himself, but ended up dyeing the entire Stage… what would it be like to face it up close?

But,

“You didn’t come here to confess your sins. You came to announce them.”

The moment Do-young delivered his Lines in front of him, Seon-woo understood the meaning of what Eun-seok had said.

The golden waves emanating from Do-young seemed like they would sweep him away at any moment.

Not just his vision, but even his mind felt completely dyed by the color Do-young had released.

He knew Do-young’s Acting Ability was amazing, but facing him like this up close… it was hard to even open his mouth properly.

But that wasn’t the only problem.

‘My color…!’

Do-young’s color was covering Seon-woo.

To be precise, it was covering the color of ‘Seung-do’ that Seon-woo had painted by bursting his Color Orb.

And Seon-woo instinctively realized what that meant.

It meant that the Seung-do that Seon-woo had expressed was now losing its color and being buried.

It meant he was losing his Stage Presence, overwhelmed by Do-young’s momentum.

Perhaps that’s why.

“Your acting doesn’t have the same feeling I saw last time?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Let’s take a break.”

The first joint practice ended in complete failure.

He couldn’t even perform anything that resembled proper acting.

When Do-young left with a slightly disappointed expression, Seon-woo slumped down in his spot as if all his strength had drained away.

And Eun-seok looked down at Seon-woo with a smirk.

“How was it? Now you understand what I was talking about, right?”

“…Yes. I definitely understand now.”

“Well, still, you did pretty well for what it was. Everyone who acts with Do-young for the first time has a mental breakdown. I did too.”

Eun-seok shrugged his shoulders.

“When I act with him, I still feel like I might get devoured if I’m not careful.”

“How did you overcome it?”

“Well, it’s nothing special.”

Eun-seok said, showing both his palms.

“Just focus only on your acting.”

“My acting?”

“Yeah. Throw away thoughts like ‘I need to act better than Do-young’ or ‘I can’t let myself get devoured,’ and just focus on one thing. How you should be acting right now.”

Seon-woo nodded.

It was good advice.

His confused mind felt like it was organizing itself, even if just a little.

Seon-woo suddenly realized that he had been feeling quite a burden without knowing it.

It couldn’t be helped.

Everyone from Cheongseong was watching him right now.

It was good to do well, but rather than starting acting to be good at it… he had just started because he loved acting itself.

Seon-woo looked at Seung-do’s Color Orb floating above his palm.

‘…Let’s not overthink it.’

He just needed to focus on his acting. Just focus on Seung-do.

That was all he had to do.

As he was organizing his thoughts like this, Do-young returned to Seon-woo once again.

“Seon-woo. Shall we do it again?”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

Seon-woo stood up.

And faced Do-young with his expressionless face.

He wanted to do well.

He wanted to emit Stage Presence that could dominate the stage and audience seats like Do-young.

If he could act like that… it would surely be tremendously exhilarating.

But that wasn’t the goal he should be looking at right now.

“You didn’t come to confess your sins. You came to announce them.”

Once again, the Priest’s color dyed the stage.

Golden waves bursting forth like a tsunami.

Against it, Seon-woo burst Seung-do’s Color Orb.

“…I’m going to kill someone.”

The goal was simple.

Somehow not get swept away by this wave… and paint.

Seung-do’s color, onto himself.

* * *

‘So that kid is human after all.’

Eun-seok smiled inwardly.

The way Seon-woo immediately felt the wall after acting with Do-young reminded him exactly of his old self.

In fact, there probably wasn’t anyone at Cheongseong who hadn’t felt what Seon-woo was feeling right now.

It was an emotion that anyone would inevitably feel when facing Do-young.

An overwhelming talent that made the word “unfair” come out naturally.

That’s why he had wanted to see Do-young and Seon-woo clash once.

He thought that someone of Seon-woo’s caliber would indeed have talent comparable to Do-young.

But as expected…

‘The difference in experience can’t be helped.’

Do-young wasn’t just talented.

He was a complete actor with solid experience and skills built up since his teens.

If it weren’t for Do-young’s attachment to Cheongseong, he would have already become a star by now and it wouldn’t be strange at all.

No matter how amazing Seon-woo’s talent was, it would still be difficult for him to spread his wings in front of Do-young.

Of course, even considering that,

“He’s really amazing.”

“…Seon-woo?”

“Yes.”

Ye-chan, who had approached at some point, opened his mouth while watching the two.

“Either way, this is his first time acting, but the fact that he’s keeping up this much… that’s not exactly a common thing.”

“Right. He’s definitely amazing. He probably didn’t even have time to memorize the script.”

Well, he did show a bit of a struggling performance in front of Do-young…

‘…But that’s nothing to criticize.’

It would be stranger if his presence wasn’t overwhelmed in front of Do-young in the first place.

Seon-woo could be said to be doing almost his best in his current situation.

The only concern was that on stage, just “doing your best” wouldn’t be enough.

He would have to overcome that somehow.

It was the moment Eun-seok clicked his tongue while thinking that.

“…You’re trying to kill someone.”

The moment Seon-woo’s mouth opened, the other troupe members who had been watching them suddenly focused on them.

It was subtly different from before. Seon-woo, who had clearly seemed unable to properly assert himself in front of Do-young… now appeared completely immersed in the character of Seung-do.

He could feel it. The atmosphere on stage that had been flowing entirely around Do-young was now somehow flowing toward Seon-woo as well.

“I will kill the person who killed my family. What punishment will you give me for this sin?”

After pouring out his emotions in a rush, Seon-woo looked at Do-young with a face that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

“How will you… punish me?”

And at that moment, Eun-seok felt it—no, all the troupe members felt it.

‘…Look at this guy?’

It was hard to believe this was the same person who couldn’t assert himself against Do-young just moments ago.

Of course, Do-young was still dominating the atmosphere. But Seon-woo, who just moments ago couldn’t handle Do-young and couldn’t even deliver his lines properly, was now acting quite decently, wasn’t he?

Had he grown in that short time?

Eun-seok had given him advice. He told him not to worry about being overwhelmed by Do-young’s presence and just focus on his own acting.

But were humans really the kind of creatures that changed and grew so quickly just from hearing a piece of advice?

If that were the case, I would have become a famous actor long ago!

‘…I should take that back.’

Eun-seok clicked his tongue.

‘That guy’s not human.’

No matter how he thought about it, he was definitely a monster.

And there was no way Do-young hadn’t noticed such a Seon-woo.

Do-young was looking at Seon-woo with a smile spread across his entire face.

“Well done.”

“…Was it okay?”

“Yeah. Want to try running through the next scene too?”

“Yes! Let’s go right away!”

Seon-woo answered energetically.

Watching the two who seemed to be getting along quite well… Eun-seok muttered.

“…At this rate, isn’t he going to be better than me?”

Eun-seok was genuinely starting to feel a bit anxious.

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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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