I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 130

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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 130

In fact, Seon-woo hadn’t found eye expression as the answer to ‘active acting.’

While bursting color orbs and constantly acting with the virtual Lee Hyeok inside them, Seon-woo was able to discover something interesting.

That was, the more he focused on Lee Hyeok rather than Yoon-seo, the more naturally Yoon-seo’s color emission seeped into Lee Hyeok’s color.

At first, Seon-woo didn’t even know why this was happening.

To be precise, he still didn’t fully understand it even now. But as he actually acted in front of Do-won like this, he vaguely had that thought.

‘…Right, maybe focusing on Yoon-seo’s heart was the problem from the start.’

If the real Yoon-seo were in this place, would Yoon-seo be thinking about herself, or would she be thinking about Lee Hyeok?

It would obviously be the latter.

Only then did Seon-woo realize.

That trying to immerse himself in Yoon-seo’s emotions might, in a way, be a mindset that separated him from Yoon-seo. Because if he truly became Yoon-seo, the very effort to feel Yoon-seo’s heart would disappear.

It wasn’t that he shouldn’t immerse himself in Yoon-seo.

It was that he should be able to achieve that level of immersion in Yoon-seo even unconsciously.

Of course, that wasn’t an easy task.

It was only possible if Yoon-seo’s emotions were carved so deeply within him that he didn’t need to consciously think about them.

But Seon-woo had been bursting Yoon-seo’s color orbs in every moment of daily life since filming for [Red Zone] began.

Unifying himself with Yoon-seo wasn’t as difficult as he thought.

Rather, the difficult part was facing Do-won.

It was unfolding his acting completely even while facing Do-won’s emotions that had become rough with anger.

“Professor.”

When calling Do-won, Seon-woo felt a chilling sensation as if all the hair on his body was standing on end.

Just Do-won’s gaze turning toward him made it feel like his anger, which had been radiating in all directions, was now concentrating on Seon-woo.

The floor, walls, ceiling… Do-won’s red heart, red anger that covered everywhere came rushing toward him like a torrent.

But he had already run the simulation several times.

Of course, actually facing Do-won was several times more difficult than the simulation. However, one fortunate thing was…

“I think… you’re right, Professor.”

At least the method from the simulation was working.

Amid Lee Hyeok’s color constantly rushing in, the flower garden bloomed by Yoon-seo’s heart was swept away as if it would all be uprooted at any moment, yet its roots weren’t pulled out.

It looked like watching plants enduring a typhoon.

Yoon-seo might be naive, weak, and frustrating, but she wasn’t someone who gave up.

Perhaps that’s why Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled at this moment.

Perhaps it was thanks to Yoon-seo’s integrity being completely contained within.

“If the emergency room doesn’t accept patients, the patients have nowhere to go.”

Perhaps that’s why.

While Lee Hyeok’s color constantly rushed from Do-won, Yoon-seo’s color continuously approached Do-won like a salmon swimming upstream against a waterfall.

And finally, when a strand of color torn here and there finally reached Do-won…

“Who told you to presumptuously voice your opinion?”

Do-won’s mouth opened.

And at the same time, the world reversed.

Lee Hyeok’s color, which had been raging as if to devour the entire world just moments ago, became calm.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I didn’t say that to hear an apology.”

But it didn’t end there.

Before Do-won’s feet, blue sprouts seemed to bloom…

“…Thank you.”

Soon, yellow flowers began to bloom above them.

It had reached him. Yoon-seo’s sincerity had reached Lee Hyeok.

And,

“———Cut!”

Han Jeong-hun’s cut signal rang out.

Seon-woo finally felt the world’s colors returning to normal and slowly caught his breath. Perhaps Yoon-seo’s tension had transferred to him as well. He could feel his heart pounding.

He was curious.

Had he really achieved that ‘active’ acting?

He thought he probably had. At least for this scene, Seon-woo hadn’t just been vaguely swayed by Do-won’s color.

He had tried to overcome it, somehow attempting to subdue that anger.

So he had finally made a single flower bloom at Do-won’s feet… This should count as success, shouldn’t it?

“Kim Seon-woo.”

“Yes, senior.”

And Do-won called Seon-woo as if he had been waiting.

Seon-woo looked at Do-won with sparkling eyes. Do-won must have surely felt that Seon-woo’s acting had grown another level.

But he didn’t expect him to praise him.

Do-won wasn’t that kind of character.

Rather, it would be fortunate if he didn’t nag him to do better.

But then,

“Well done.”

“…Pardon?”

…What? He hadn’t expected this.

Seon-woo looked at Do-won with a dazed expression. Had he heard correctly just now?

Do-won chuckled softly.

“Well done.”

* * *

“…That kid is really going to make it big.”

Someone muttered.

Perhaps only that one person had muttered it aloud, but those words reflected what everyone was thinking.

The reason? There was no need for a complicated explanation.

Seon-woo’s gaze had burned itself so clearly into their minds in that moment.

If that clip were included in a promotional video for this drama, wouldn’t people watch the drama just to see that gaze again… That’s how powerful it felt.

Yu Eun-jeong, who had been watching, muttered with a dazed expression.

“…Should I revise the script?”

Even though she had already written all the way to the final episode, she muttered this because… Seon-woo’s gaze had such a bewitching charm.

Those were definitely romantic eyes.

Just conveying feelings for a patient had produced that level of impact.

If love were contained in that gaze… what would that be like?

Yu Eun-jeong’s expression went blank as she became lost in her imagination.

Meanwhile, Min-hee stared at Seon-woo with a dazed look.

‘Somehow… I feel like we’ve grown distant.’

When had it started?

Perhaps it was from when she was eliminated from 【I Am an Actor】 before Seon-woo.

Min-hee felt that Seon-woo had surpassed her.

She wanted to deny it, but it was an unavoidable reality. Seon-woo’s growth rate was so fast it was hard to understand with common sense.

And that gap would only widen as time passed.

Deep in her heart, Min-hee might have already accepted that gap. Because he’s a genius. Because he’s in a different league from her.

But seeing that gaze just now… something stirred in her chest.

It couldn’t be helped.

The sparkle contained in that gaze was the reason she had entered the path of acting.

She had always imagined it. Herself acting on screen with such sparkling eyes.

When had it started?

When had such sparkle… begun to feel like someone else’s business?

She was sure she had dreamed of so many things when she first started acting, but when had all those dreams become just a bland part of reality?

That’s when it happened.

Min-hee turned her head at the arm wrapping around her shoulders. Seo-ryeong was grinning at her with a straw in her mouth.

“Min-hee, you look like you’re deep in thought?”

“Mm, I think I am a little.”

“Why, because Seon-woo did so well?”

“…I’m the senior here.”

Min-hee smiled bitterly.

“If I’m a senior, I should have senior-like qualities, but at this rate… I don’t think I deserve to be called a senior.”

“Oh my.”

Seo-ryeong shook her head with a bitter smile.

“What kind of qualifications are there for something like that? Min-hee, would you stop treating me like a senior if I lost my touch?”

“Ah, no! I would never do that.”

“Well, I still understand what you’re trying to say.”

Seo-ryeong chuckled as she looked at Min-hee.

Strangely, looking at Min-hee felt like seeing her past self.

The young Chae Seo-ryeong who was clumsy, greedy, yet lacked the cunning to protect herself.

“Min-hee.”

“…Yes?”

“You’re fine just being Min-hee. You’re so pretty like this.”

She didn’t expect Min-hee to understand these words right away.

It had taken Seo-ryeong quite a while to understand it herself.

But it wasn’t as if she completely failed to grasp the meaning, as Min-hee looked at Seo-ryeong with moved, glistening eyes.

“Senior…”

Seo-ryeong chuckled.

“I told you to call me Sister.”

* * *

“Seon-woo, I saw your acting earlier. It was great.”

“Wow, you’re really good at acting with your eyes, aren’t you?”

“Hey, Seon-woo, Seon-woo. Your gaze was really good.”

When he finished acting, Seon-woo could confirm through the reactions of those around him that he had acted properly.

There had never been such a positive response during filming for [Red Zone].

It didn’t feel like they were just trying to compliment him… but rather like they wanted to express the emotion they had received in that way.

It meant Seon-woo had delivered acting that moved their hearts.

But it was a bit curious that everyone was talking about Seon-woo’s gaze.

As mentioned before, Seon-woo didn’t think the core of ‘active acting’ was the gaze.

The gaze was rather just a secondary element he had gained while synchronizing Yoon-seo with himself. …But from the viewers’ perspective, that was apparently what stood out the most.

Waiting room.

Seon-woo looked into his eyes reflected in the mirror.

Though he wasn’t acting right now, perhaps it was thanks to always coloring his daily life with Yoon-seo’s hues. His eyes looked warm somehow.

You can feel the life in them. They sparkle.

‘…It really is different from the old days.’

Seon-woo recalled the time when he was busy job hunting.

Back then, when he adjusted his suit in front of the mirror, Seon-woo’s eyes were completely different from now – like a different person entirely.

Far from sparkling, he literally had the eyes of the living dead.

He felt grateful anew.

Without acting, his eyes wouldn’t have been able to sparkle like this again.

He would have just lived on without even realizing how withered his heart had become. Not knowing what to live for, just going with the flow.

Thinking that way, his eyes in the mirror felt even more beautiful somehow.

Because those eyes were definitely alive. Because they sparkled.

That’s what he thought.

He hoped he could gather even more light in those eyes going forward.

He wanted to become an actor who could captivate many people with just his eyes alone.

Becoming such an actor would surely mean that the world reflected in his eyes had also become more beautiful.

‘How can I achieve that?’

How can I see this world more beautifully?

It was while he was deep in such thoughts that Yu Eun-jeong called for Seon-woo.

“Seon-woo? Do you have a moment?”

“Ah, Writer. Of course.”

Yu Eun-jeong trudged toward Seon-woo.

Her footsteps looked somewhat angry, making Seon-woo flinch for a moment. Yu Eun-jeong had her characteristic writer face on. The kind where she couldn’t care about anything except her work – should he call it that half-screwed look?

As usual, she jumped straight to the point.

“Seon-woo, I’m about to make you a very interesting proposal.”

“…When you put it like that, it sounds kind of scary. What kind of proposal?”

“I thought of this after seeing your eyes today…”

Yu Eun-jeong frowned and closed her mouth for a moment.

An expression of wondering whether she should really go through with this or not.

But her hesitation was brief.

After all, she was someone who thought it was better to act first and regret later rather than just worry about it.

“Do you have confidence in trying melodrama acting?”

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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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