I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 116

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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 116

Seong Do-won’s attitude was honestly shocking.

While he wouldn’t call himself a fan, Seon-woo had quite liked Seong Do-won up until now.

But to think he would show such a dismissive attitude toward people.

None of the actors he had seen so far had ever been this cold.

—Don’t expect too much.

Min-hee’s words suddenly came to mind.

Had she said that anticipating something like this?

He didn’t know. Seon-woo returned to the waiting room for now. In the shared waiting room used by supporting actors, other actors had already entered in that short time.

Seon-woo reflexively bowed his waist.

“Hello, I’m Kim Seon-woo!”

Even while greeting them, he worried for a moment.

What if everyone ignored him like Seong Do-won just had?

However,

“Oh, you’re the guy from [One Room], right? Wow, you’re really handsome in person too!”

“That’s right. I watched your acting and thought I might see you on set someday, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon.”

“…Thank you!”

Fortunately, the other senior actors didn’t show the same cold reaction as Seong Do-won.

They smiled and even patted his shoulder, which helped ease his tense feelings a bit.

‘Right, of course they’re not all like that.’

Seon-woo greeted each of the seniors one by one and slowly prepared for the script reading.

Well, it wasn’t like he felt resentful just because he was ignored. Seong Do-won might have thought he wasn’t at a level worth acknowledging yet.

But that didn’t mean he could just stay quiet after being ignored like that.

‘Let me show you.’

Seon-woo gripped his script.

They say you usually don’t put that much force into acting during script readings, but Seon-woo planned to act with all the strength he could muster today.

He knew.

Seon-woo wasn’t some amazing person.

Sure, he had been praised as a genius on 【I Am an Actor】, but that was just among newcomers… In this field of real professionals, he was probably still nothing.

But that didn’t mean he could just stay quiet after being ignored.

It might be an unnecessary thought, but he felt that if he just stayed quiet like that, he would truly become someone who deserved to be ignored.

He wanted to prove it.

That he was someone worth watching.

At least, that he wasn’t someone to be ignored as if he didn’t exist.

* * *

“Hello, hello, hello…!”

Meanwhile, it wasn’t just the youngest actors like Seon-woo who had to go around greeting people.

Manager Seul-gi was also going around here and there, offering greetings.

While actors mainly exchanged greetings with fellow actors, managers had to greet everyone one by one, from staff members to other actors’ managers.

These things accumulated to eventually form the actor’s image.

‘I’m going to make our Min-hee a top star no matter what…!’

For that goal, what was bowing her back a little?

And the staff and managers didn’t seem that difficult either. When she offered greetings, they generally looked upon her favorably and smiled.

However, there were exceptions even there.

“Hello, I’m Im Seul-gi, manager for actress Na Min-hee! Please take good care of us!”

“…Hmm. Newcomer?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes. I just started as a manager.”

“This is chaos. It won’t be easy when a rookie gets paired with a newcomer actor.”

The man chuckled and lit a cigarette.

He was none other than Seong Do-won’s manager. He looked to be a little over forty. He adjusted his glasses and looked down at Seul-gi.

“You don’t need to go around greeting everyone so much. Even if you greet people like that, they won’t particularly acknowledge you anyway.”

“Ah, ahaha… Hey, it’s not like I’m greeting people to be acknowledged!”

“Well, then do as you please.”

He shrugged as if he didn’t care and continued smoking.

Seul-gi laughed and thought to herself.

‘What a psycho.’

She had a strong feeling that getting involved with him would lead to nothing good.

Acting like that couldn’t have a good influence on his actor either… Well, that wasn’t her concern.

Seul-gi continued diligently going around greeting people after that.

Before she knew it, the script reading was starting.

“I’m PD Han Jeong-hun, in charge of producing and directing [Red Zone]. I’m lacking in many ways, but please take good care of me during this project.”

“I’m writer Yu Eun-jeong. Please take good care of everyone!”

Starting with Han Jeong-hun and Yu Eun-jeong, they each offered their greetings.

“I’m Seong Do-won, playing the role of Lee-hyeok. Please take good care of me.”

And among them, one of the people Seul-gi was watching was Seong Do-won.

They said the atmosphere on a filming site largely depended on what kind of person the lead actor was. If so, it was important how positive an atmosphere Seong Do-won would show…

‘Hmm, a bit cold.’

It wasn’t that he was frowning or anything like that.

But looking at that serious, expressionless face, it didn’t seem like the atmosphere on set would flow very pleasantly.

And that’s when it happened.

“Do-won is still as heavy as ever.”

A muttering voice could be heard from beside her.

It was someone who managed another supporting actor. While Seul-gi’s ears perked up, another manager chimed in agreement.

“He’s famous for it. For not caring about the set atmosphere at all. There’s a lot of talk that he’s got a serious case of actor’s disease.”

“…I just hope he doesn’t throw tantrums.”

“Still, since there are senior actors here, he probably won’t throw tantrums… but everyone will have to read the room appropriately. I heard he’s not just ordinarily sensitive.”

Actor’s disease. Sensitive.

Several keywords stuck in her ears.

While thinking she should warn Min-hee to be careful, Seon-woo had already started greeting everyone.

“Hello. I’m Kim Seon-woo! I’ll be playing the role of Yoon-seo. Please take care of me!”

The sight of him bowing his waist as he greeted.

Then, as if they had been waiting, the managers nearby started whispering.

“That’s the guy, right? The one who replaced that actress this time.”

“I heard actor Seong Jun-il even handled the contract for him this time.”

“What? I heard he doesn’t have an agency, did he sign with them?”

“No, he still doesn’t have an agency, he just did it to help his junior.”

“…He’d go that far? Why?”

“Who knows. It could just be goodwill… or it could be an investment seeing his future.”

“If it’s the latter… shouldn’t we snatch him up quickly now?”

“Well, seeing his acting in [One Room], he does seem worth snatching up… let’s watch for now. See what kind of performance he shows here.”

“Seeing how he went around greeting everyone earlier, his personality seems good too…”

Greed filled the managers’ eyes.

Seul-gi nodded inwardly as she listened to those words. Actually, Seon-woo was an actor she often coveted too.

Not to mention his marketability… his character also seemed good, just like the other managers said.

‘No. I just need our Min-hee…!’

Seul-gi shook her head inwardly. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted.

At a timing when focusing on and managing Min-hee wouldn’t even be enough, she couldn’t afford to be greedy.

“I’m Na Min-hee, playing the role of So-hee. Please take care of me!”

Just then, Min-hee was greeting everyone.

Min-hee didn’t get as many whispered voices from here and there as Seon-woo did. Exclamations like ‘She’s pretty’ could be heard from various places, but other than that, it seemed like there wasn’t much else to say.

It meant Min-hee would have to work harder within this group going forward.

Because she hadn’t left any particularly special impression yet.

There weren’t any other notable incidents.

When an idol-turned-actor appeared, there were some voices here and there, but it was just about ‘I wonder if they can do well?’ at most.

And so the script reading began.

Overall, it was a clean reading.

Since medical dramas themselves can be serious at times but also often show light sitcom-like compositions, there was no need to act with too much force.

But even if they relaxed their effort,

“The emergency room is where the hospital’s most urgent patients come. It’s where patients who are more critical than anyone else, who need doctors more than anyone else, come. But what? It’s not profitable? Is the hospital a mart? Are we merchants?”

Acting ability wasn’t something that could be easily hidden.

When Seong Do-won’s acting began, even those who had been grumbling about him stared at him in a daze.

Despite just reciting lines, it was three-dimensional acting that made scenes play out in their heads.

It was convincing enough from just that moment of acting why actor Seong Do-won currently boasted top-tier fees in the industry.

And Seon-woo was no exception to this,

‘…What is this?’

Forgetting even the bad impression he had received about Seong Do-won, Seon-woo could only look at him with an enchanted expression.

Every time Seong Do-won opened his mouth, his voice spread out like crimson silk cloth, filling the conference room. It wasn’t even proper acting, just reading at most… yet it was packed with emotions at a level that most people couldn’t express even with their full effort.

He thought he had seen plenty of people who acted well.

He had seen Do-young, who could be called a genius, and had also seen Lee Mu-beom’s acting, which could be called masterful without shame.

So he thought there would be no more occasions to be surprised by someone’s acting.

‘Deep.’

He could feel it.

If he tried to focus even a little on Seong Do-won’s color… on the emotions he expressed, he would instantly be colored by the ‘Yoon-seo’ color that he possessed.

It meant that the absorbing power of Seong Do-won’s acting was stronger than Seon-woo’s immersion ability.

Seon-woo’s eyes became firm.

‘…I wasn’t planning to do it half-heartedly anyway.’

It seemed like he really needed to act with his full power.

It wasn’t that he wanted to compete with Seong Do-won. In the first place, Seong Do-won was… so far ahead that the current Seon-woo wouldn’t dare think of competing with him.

The reason he needed to give his all was to not disappoint everyone.

If he showed just ordinary acting, not much different from usual… he was sure they would think such thoughts.

They hyped him up as a genius or whatever on I Am an Actor, but there’s nothing special about him. Like that.

Of course, if Seon-woo really received such an evaluation because he was lacking, that would also be something he’d have to accept.

But Seon-woo believed in himself.

‘I’ve grown quite a bit during this time.’

He had learned so much.

From Hye-seong, from Yeon-woo, from Lee Mu-beom… and from everyone else.

Sometimes success, sometimes mistakes had taught Seon-woo. It would be difficult to claim he had fully absorbed all those teachings… but at least he was certain he had become a somewhat better actor compared to the past.

Even if this was a set full of monster-like actors… he was confident he wouldn’t hold them back, at least.

Well, there was no need to overthink things this much over a script reading… but he was a rookie, wasn’t he.

He had to approach even the smallest things with his life on the line.

Just then, Seon-woo’s part was approaching.

Seon-woo burst Yoon-seo’s color bubble once more and slowly began to speak.

He was ready.

Now it was time to show them.

The color of Yoon-seo that Kim Seon-woo would paint.

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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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