I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 122

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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 122

The day after the company dinner, the name on everyone’s lips was Seon-woo’s.

Because he was humble? Because he acted well?

No.

“Oh my, look who it is. Isn’t this our heavy drinker Seon-woo?”

For exactly this reason.

Seon-woo looked awkward as he watched the grinning Chae Seo-ryeong.

“…Heavy drinker?”

“That’s right. I left early so I didn’t know, but apparently you killed all our seniors yesterday?”

“I didn’t exactly kill them… I just noticed everyone was sleeping at some point.”

“You didn’t even kill them but they died on their own?”

That wasn’t what he meant to say, but somehow it ended up that way.

Seon-woo’s earlobes reddened as if embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go that hard, but I think I lacked self-control.”

“The ones who lacked self-control were those people.”

Chae Seo-ryeong chuckled as she looked at the other actors, especially Noh Chang-seob.

“Really, oppa. Why try to establish hierarchy through drinking? If you’re going to do it, at least win.”

“…Ahem, well, did I know I’d lose.”

Noh Chang-seob scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

He was quite famous as a heavy drinker in the film industry too… but Seon-woo was really a different case.

“Seon-woo would really fly if he went on those drinking variety shows later.”

“…Well, he definitely wouldn’t cause any trouble.”

Chae Seo-ryeong nodded and looked back at Seon-woo.

How surprised she was when she first heard the story. When they said Seon-woo had killed everyone with alcohol, she thought if he drank that much, he might have made some mistake… but surprisingly, they said Seon-woo wasn’t drunk at all.

Does alcohol just not work in his body at all?

‘The seniors really have no choice but to love him.’

Chae Seo-ryeong let out a hollow laugh.

That people in the film industry love drinking is something everyone in the know already knows. Not just having fun at company dinners, but from meetings to discussions about works and acting, most of it happens at drinking sessions.

The saying that if you can’t drink, don’t even think about entering the film industry isn’t there for nothing.

To them, Seon-woo would really be the perfect junior.

A junior who doesn’t get drunk and endlessly matches their drinks? Moreover, from what she heard yesterday… Seon-woo recited each actor’s filmography and had quite deep conversations about their acting.

Honestly, when she heard that story, even Chae Seo-ryeong was moved. Most people who say they want to be actors don’t even properly watch movies… thinking that he watched each work like this, even digging into the acting of supporting actors, not just leads, made her feel proud even though it wasn’t her business.

‘He’ll adapt quickly.’

No, he already adapted quickly.

In fact, since yesterday’s company dinner, the attitude of the other actors toward Seon-woo had noticeably changed. You could clearly see they had opened their hearts.

Watching Seon-woo surrounded by the male actors, Chae Seo-ryeong looked back at Min-hee.

“Our Min-hee should be nervous, right?”

“…Nervous?”

Min-hee blinked her eyes.

Her expression showed she had no idea what she should be nervous about. Only then did Chae Seo-ryeong remember. Right. This kid had a really easygoing character.

Should I say she’s plain as a person? Min-hee didn’t really have the typical rookie actor desires like needing to be loved, needing to stand out, needing to win… stuff like that.

Maybe that was actually good.

She felt comfortable as a person.

“No. Don’t worry about it.”

It seemed like she brought up something unnecessary to such a kid.

Chae Seo-ryeong waved her hands and shook her head. Then she slowly looked around the film set.

‘The feeling is good.’

Successful works have a different atmosphere from the film set.

[Red Zone] had a not-bad atmosphere. Appropriately harmonious, appropriately tense…

‘Well, that Do-won kid is a bit twisted, but.’

That’s always the case anyway.

Rather, being twisted was his default setting, so if Do-won acted kindly, that would feel more ominous.

Anyway, therefore, it’s perfect.

…or so she thought.

“You, what are you doing?”

But that thought crumbled soon after.

It was that afternoon. Seong Do-won growled with an angry expression.

“I’m, I’m sorry!”

A flaw in the jade appeared.

* * *

The name of the flaw in the jade was Yun Bin.

Sub-vocalist of ‘Straw’, an idol group that was once popular. They said this was her first acting challenge… the problem was,

“That friend was shaky from the start, but she finally exploded.”

“Exactly. Her acting ability is too disappointing.”

“If things go wrong, there might be bad acting controversy. …Doesn’t that friend appear from episode 1?”

“Right. Ugh, if acting controversy breaks out from episode 1, it’ll negatively affect the work’s image too…”

“If we ask to revise the script a bit… Writer Yu Eun-jeong would kill us, right?”

This was the situation.

Since she wasn’t originally an actor, she couldn’t deliver acting that would catch people’s attention in various ways.

Eventually, when Yun Bin’s scene went to the 8th take, the atmosphere on set rapidly turned cold…

“What the hell are you thinking while acting? Aren’t you focusing properly?”

Seong Do-won exploded.

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not asking to hear your apology right now. I don’t care if you’re a rookie or whatever… if you’re standing in front of the camera, act professionally. Behave like an actor. Is what you’re doing right now even acting?”

“…It doesn’t seem right.”

“If you know it’s not right, why are you doing it like that?”

And so the scolding began.

Han Jeong-hun, who couldn’t bear to watch, sighed and mediated between the two.

“We’ll film this scene again next time. Yun Bin, I’ll give you time, so come prepared properly.”

“I’m sorry…”

So it was decided to move on to the next scene for now.

Seon-woo gulped as he watched the cold atmosphere on set. Until now, when he or other actors were filming, the set had been so warm it felt like a warm breeze was blowing in the middle of winter… but now it looked like a cold wind was blowing fiercely as if they had come to Cheorwon.

Although Han Jeong-hun had stopped Seong Do-won, he wasn’t exactly showing Yun Bin an attitude of ‘it’s okay.’

After all, filming one scene up to 8 takes was a big problem. Thanks to that, his gaze was equally cold.

Because of this, Yun Bin had to hang her head with a completely dejected expression.

‘…That was a bit harsh.’

Seon-woo inwardly sighed.

He understood that Yun Bin was starting acting for the first time. Probably the reason she could join here was because they expected promotional effects through idol fandom.

But that didn’t mean they could just overlook insufficient acting with ‘it’s understandable.’

As a fellow actor, Seon-woo could just feel a bit disappointed and move on if her acting was lacking… but the PD’s position wouldn’t be like that.

Yun Bin had to prove it.

That she wasn’t a flaw that would ruin this picture.

The problem was whether that was possible…

‘It won’t be easy.’

Yun Bin’s problem wasn’t simply that she couldn’t immerse herself or that she interpreted the character strangely.

It was just a pure lack of basic skills.

She was outclassed. Among amateurs, she might receive evaluations of being not bad, but among professionals, she was in that ambiguous weight class that would be hard to survive in.

‘…This isn’t the time for me to worry about others.’

Seon-woo turned his gaze away from Yun Bin.

In the end, having failed to properly cover her own scene, she looked quite anxious now… but he didn’t have the luxury to worry about her.

Seon-woo also had an immediate task at hand.

Seon-woo was facing one very important scene.

‘You could say it’s the most important in episode 1.’

At least when it came to Yoon-seo’s narrative.

Due to his inadequate response, the grandmother patient eventually falls into a critical condition and loses consciousness. And after that, Yoon-seo goes around with an almost corpse-like, dead complexion.

And So-hee, played by Min-hee, continues to comfort such a him. More precisely, you could say she scolds him.

There was nothing more you could do in that situation.

It’s impossible to determine intra-abdominal bleeding from those symptoms.

You did everything you should as an intern. Things like that.

It was true. Actually, Yoon-seo hadn’t done anything particularly wrong.

The only thing he did wrong was panicking when the patient’s condition worsened… there were no substantial mistakes in the process before that.

Nevertheless, Yoon-seo cannot forgive himself.

And what saved such a Yoon-seo was finally the news that the grandmother patient had regained consciousness.

Upon hearing that news, Yoon-seo’s legs give out and he collapses, then starts crying like a child.

As if happy, as if sorrowful… like someone who had lost everything and then regained it.

‘…It’s the scene that shows Yoon-seo best.’

At the same time, it was an opportunity for Seon-woo to construct the scene as he wanted.

At least the protagonist of this scene was none other than Yoon-seo. It was up to Seon-woo to decide what color and how to paint this scene.

For that reason, Seon-woo ran simulations in advance, interpreting this scene with various styles and emotional lines.

But no matter what picture he drew, he wasn’t quite satisfied and was feeling disappointed when…

“Um, excuse me…”

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him.

Seon-woo looked up. Then he stood up and bowed his head.

“Ah, yes. Senior.”

It was Yun Bin.

She wasn’t a senior actor, and she was younger than him… but anyway, her entertainment industry debut was several years earlier than his.

Although actors and idols weren’t direct seniors and juniors… rather than calculating such things, it was more comfortable to just bow his head.

“Ah, no! What do you mean senior… I’m just starting as an actor. And, and you’re older than me.”

“Still, you debuted earlier than me… it’s comfortable to call you senior.”

“Uh, um… I’ll call you hyung.”

Thus an awkward mutual respect relationship was formed.

An ambiguous relationship where they called each other hyung and senior while speaking formally.

But the important thing wasn’t this kind of relationship. Seeing how she suddenly approached like this, it seemed like she had some business… but Yun Bin couldn’t easily bring up what she wanted to say and rolled her eyes around.

“Th-that, I, w-well, I enjoyed watching One Room. Your acting… was really good.”

“Thank you.”

“W-would you… be able to do a scene with me just once?”

A scene partner? Was this why he approached me?

He could have asked the manager or other people for this kind of thing instead of me… but Seon-woo soon nodded his head.

He seems to want to act with proper immersion.

“Yes, I’ll help you.”

“S-sorry. I can’t ask if I’m taking up your time… because I definitely am taking up your time.”

“It’s fine. Thanks to you, I got to drink coffee too.”

“Coffee?”

“The coffee truck that came today, wasn’t it sent by your fans, senior?”

“Ah…”

Yun Bin nodded belatedly. Perhaps because of the mention of fans, a smile briefly crossed his lips.

“Yes, our Drinks gratefully sent it again.”

Drinks seemed to be the nickname for his fan club.

Though it was news to him, Seon-woo didn’t show it and nodded his head.

“I enjoyed it gratefully.”

“Oh, no. It wasn’t me but the fans who sent it, so…”

Yun Bin waved his hands with an embarrassed expression, then hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Then would it be possible to do the scene right now? Oh, should I give you the script?”

“Ah, it’s fine. I remember all the lines from that part.”

“…What? You memorized other people’s lines too?”

“No, it’s not like that… I just remember some parts.”

Of course, Seon-woo hadn’t memorized the entire script word for word either.

But impressive scenes were, how should he put it, stuck in his head even without trying to memorize them.

…Well, that made sense. After memorizing boring stories written in textbooks, when you see something stimulating like a script, it naturally gets engraved in your brain more easily.

Thanks to that, Seon-woo was actually quite excited right now.

The idea that he could experience a different role even in this way felt quite interesting.

“You start first, senior.”

“Ah, ah. Yes!”

Yun Bin, who had been staring blankly at Seon-woo, snapped to attention and composed his expression.

At first, he definitely seemed nervous… Was it because Seon-woo had become a bit more comfortable? Or was it because he had experienced various stages as an idol? Before he knew it, all traces of nervousness had disappeared from his expression.

“Professor Kwon I-hyeok. I respect your passion. And I personally support you, Professor. But the hospital isn’t some utopian place where all ideals come true. It’s reality. And for an organization to operate in reality, money is needed.”

The character Yun Bin played was the young chairman of Hanwool Hospital.

The third generation of Hanwool Group that owns Hanwool Hospital, and the actual owner of Hanwool Hospital.

And what he was dealing with now… was Lee Hyeok.

Seon-woo felt Lee Hyeok’s crimson mental image coloring him as he opened his mouth.

“…So what are you trying to say?”

“If we accept all patients like Professor Kwon I-hyeok does, we can’t manage them. If we can’t manage them, there will be casualties, lawsuits will come in, and naturally legal costs will arise. These costs are…”

“So, don’t accept patients?”

He could feel it.

The fire-like rage boiling up in his chest. Just suppressing that flame from burning down the world was enough to make his voice tremble.

Seon-woo was newly amazed.

How does Seong Do-won act out such emotions so calmly?

Is the vessel itself for containing emotions… much larger than Seon-woo’s?

He doesn’t know.

Seon-woo focused on his acting for now.

He faithfully embraced Lee Hyeok’s emotions that moved him. And after matching the brief exchange like that,

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…No, it’s just that you’re really… amazing, hyung-nim.”

Suddenly ‘hyung’ had become ‘hyung-nim’.

Was it because he had handled Lee Hyeok’s acting well despite being suddenly asked?

Yun Bin, with sparkling eyes, clenched his fist and looked at Seon-woo.

“Hy-hyung-nim. C-could you… tell me how my acting was just now?”

“How it was?”

“Yes, I… want to know what the problem is. I know my acting is lacking, but it feels like everything is lacking… I can’t even grasp where to start fixing it.”

Seon-woo nodded his head.

It was acting worthy of that feeling. It was like looking at a building built with pillars full of holes. Acting that gave the uneasy feeling that it would collapse at any moment.

But…

‘I can’t tell him that directly.’

Seon-woo’s expression became subtle.

If he said it directly, it was obvious that Yun Bin would be hurt. How should he phrase it differently? Seon-woo pondered.

And he opened his mouth.

“First of all, your voice projection was really good, senior. Maybe because you’re a singer, your diaphragmatic breathing feels properly established? Honestly, your voice projection seems to be at a level I should learn from.”

“Oh… r-really?”

“Yes, but if I had to point out something lacking… there’s a feeling that you’re being slightly overwhelmed by Lee Hyeok’s momentum? In the script, you’re supposed to be pressuring Lee Hyeok instead, but that feeling didn’t come alive just now. In front of Seong Do-won senior… that feeling was probably even stronger.”

“Ah… I should fix that.”

“Yes. That would be good. Oh, and regarding expressions, the area around your eyes is too rigid. It seems like you put strength in your eyes to express anger, but I think it rather reduced the liveliness, so just fixing this would make it much better.”

“Ah, ah. Yes! I’ll pay attention to it. It’s definitely good advice…”

“Right. You should pay more attention to this too. When you act, senior, you tend not to look directly into your partner’s eyes. Of course, they say the camera doesn’t catch your gaze, but… if emotions don’t properly exchange between actors, I believe that ultimately affects the acting too.”

“…Oh, yes. I’ll pay attention to it! Th-that should be enough… right? It’ll be better than now, right?”

“Yes! Of course.”

“Thank you. I’ll try following hyung-nim’s advice!”

“Right, there’s one more thing I’d like to mention….”

“….”

Yun Bin’s expression turned pale.

This… it will end at some point, right?

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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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