I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 154

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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 154

“You want to paint with your acting?”

“Yes.”

Seon-woo and Park Du-ho got along strangely well.

“That’s a cool thing to say, but what does it mean?”

“Each role has its own color. I think an actor’s job is to mix those colors and create some kind of painting.”

“You want to make good works?”

“That’s right.”

“I agree with that too. So, what kind of work do you want to do? Have you thought about what genre you’d like to try next?”

“Hmm… Actually, I’m still thinking a lot about that part.”

It couldn’t be helped.

Despite his rough appearance, Park Du-ho was surprisingly meticulous in many ways.

The way he led the conversation, stimulating not only the parts Seon-woo usually thought about regarding acting, but also parts he hadn’t even considered… Seon-woo had to admit it.

In the past few weeks, he probably hadn’t had a more interesting conversation than this moment.

“People all say they’d like to see you do romance.”

“Do you think so too, CEO?”

“Well, it would be good for popularity. But personally, I think it would be great if you played a serial killer or something.”

“…A serial killer?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t it be quite interesting to see you stalking your targets with those melodrama eyes of yours?”

“That’s a bit…”

Seon-woo made a disgusted expression, then soon nodded his head.

“…That does make sense though. It does sound interesting.”

“Right? But sorry. As far as I know, there’s no such project being planned right now. I don’t have the ability to get you roles that don’t exist.”

“That’s fine. It’s not like I want to play that kind of role right away. I think playing that kind of character would be mentally exhausting.”

“That’s true. Oh, Wild also has a hospital that regularly counsels our family members. Being an actor is a profession that’s prone to heartache, right? So we’re working hard to manage things so there’s no need for headaches. Let me know if you need it. I’ll provide this service even if you don’t join our company. As a way of managing potential future family members.”

“Fortunately, my mental state is still fine.”

They talked about all sorts of things like that.

Before they knew it, Park Du-ho was naturally speaking informally, but neither he nor Seon-woo paid much attention to it.

As if they had known each other from the beginning.

‘They’re kind of like an uncle and nephew.’

It was the moment Do-won was making a sour expression while watching the two of them.

Seo Ryeong quietly poked Do-won’s side.

“Do you know that person well?”

“Not well enough to say I know him well, but I know him roughly. I’ve met him a few times with Si-hun.”

“What’s he like? Is he okay? Just looking at him, he seems like a scary person.”

Seo Ryeong wasn’t saying that for no reason.

Both his appearance and his tone of speaking – Park Du-ho was the kind of person who wouldn’t be particularly surprising if someone said he had just been released from prison.

But Do-won shook his head.

“He’s a peculiar person, but not a bad person. You know. Wild. It’s a den of eccentrics.”

“Well, it is famous for that.”

Seo Ryeong nodded.

Wild Management was known among those in the know as a den of eccentrics.

It was famous as a place where there wasn’t a single normal person, from the staff to the affiliated artists. Among close friends, it was jokingly called a detention center – the atmosphere was quite different from ordinary agencies.

There was even a saying that at Wild, someone like Yu Si-hun would be considered on the normal side.

‘…No matter how I think about it, it really does seem like a strange place.’

Seo Ryeong’s eyes narrowed as she recalled Si-hun and other Wild members.

She asked again in a whisper.

“No controversies?”

“Clean.”

“Financial situation?”

“I know it’s comfortable.”

“…Hmm, there shouldn’t be any major problems then.”

Seo Ryeong nodded as if convinced.

And asked.

“So what do you think? Seon-woo seems to quite like that uncle, is it a recommendable option? Even when KS offered 1 billion?”

“…Well, if we’re only considering money, there’s really no better choice than KS right now. Where else would easily throw around 1 billion as a signing bonus? But is that important? That’s not what he wants in the first place. Look.”

Do-won answered calmly while looking at Seon-woo.

The sight of Seon-woo constantly clinking glasses with Park Du-ho and smiling was…

“He already looks happy.”

* * *

“…Sorry. This is my limit.”

The chatter between Seon-woo and Park Du-ho eventually ended when Park Du-ho, who had been stubbornly insisting on drinking shots with great spirit, gradually turned pale.

Park Du-ho looked at Seon-woo with eyes as if seeing an incomprehensible monster.

“I’ve never been outdrunk anywhere…”

“I’m sorry. I should have controlled the pace a bit for you.”

“…Don’t apologize for something like that. It makes me feel more miserable.”

Indeed, Park Du-ho looked very dejected, as if he was actually feeling defeated.

But his mood wasn’t too bad.

Although the feeling of his stomach twisting from the alcohol he had consumed to his limit was quite terrible, it had been such an enjoyable drinking session that he could forget about it.

Park Du-ho smiled brightly.

“Seon-woo. Anyway, I hope you’ll consider our Wild too. I’m confident I can support you no matter what kind of work you do. If you find a script you want to do, I’ll pitch a tent in front of that writer’s house and stalk them until I get you the role or audition. So…”

Just as he was saying that, Park Du-ho suddenly covered his mouth with an “urgh” and bolted upright.

“…Wait a minute.”

And just like that, he left for the bathroom.

Do-won watched his retreating figure with a hollow laugh, as if he’d seen something fascinating.

“I’m watching that old man get completely wasted.”

“Doesn’t he usually get drunk easily?”

“Look next to you.”

Do-won pointed with his finger at the bottles beside where Seon-woo was sitting.

There were over twenty bottles. The problem was that Park Du-ho and Seon-woo had finished most of them between just the two of them.

“Just drinking all that is impressive. But I really can’t understand you. How is your liver even built? Are you a monster?”

“I think it runs in the family. My brother and dad don’t get drunk easily either.”

“…Ahem. There’s no better asset than a strong liver.”

Who would have thought he’d bring up family here.

Do-won was a bit flustered and hastily replied. Then he quickly changed the subject.

With Park Du-ho gone, he wanted to ask for certain. Just in case Seon-woo wasn’t interested and was being bothered by Park Du-ho.

“So, about Wilde…”

Slam!

But Do-won couldn’t finish his question.

The restaurant entrance burst open and a familiar face entered. It was Yu Eun-jeong, who hadn’t come to the film set or company dinners for days while working on final script revisions.

Whatever time she’d spent, her hair was disheveled… and her dark circles had descended almost to her philtrum.

“…Done.”

“Writer?”

“I’m done writing it alllllll————!”

With everyone’s eyes on her, Yu Eun-jeong cheered with her arms raised.

She looked at Seon-woo and grinned.

In her hands was a stack of freshly printed scripts.

Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Yu Eun-jeong.

“The real, real, genuine final draft is out!”

Yoon-seo’s story was finally decided.

* * *

To cut to the conclusion, Yu Eun-jeong had accepted Seon-woo’s advice.

She had decided not to fulfill Yoon-seo’s love.

No, to be more precise, it wasn’t that she didn’t fulfill the love.

It would be more appropriate to say she completed Yoon-seo’s love.

Yoon-seo tells So-hee.

Yoon-seo: Have a good time studying abroad.

So-hee: …Is that what you should be saying right now? You said you like me. Shouldn’t you be holding me back?

Yoon-seo: It’s something you need to do. Something you have to do. So you should go.

Seon-woo felt he understood Yoon-seo’s heart.

Because he liked So-hee so much, he didn’t want to hold her back.

Yoon-seo could fall for So-hee because she was an upright person.

Because he understood that she was someone who did her best to save people at her own pace under her own principles, he couldn’t help but fall for her.

So Yoon-seo couldn’t hold So-hee back.

So-hee was going to America now because she ultimately wanted to save lives.

To become a better doctor and save more people. Hoping there would be no lives lost helplessly before her eyes.

There was no way Yoon-seo could break that resolve.

Supporting her like this was only natural.

But if there was one unexpected thing here, it was So-hee’s reaction.

So-hee: …You don’t know, do you?

Yoon-seo: Know what?

So-hee: You’re really frustrating. A real loser and pathetic. Really, really annoying.

So-hee gets angry at Yoon-seo for not holding her back.

…Honestly, when Seon-woo read this scene, he was a bit surprised. He knew So-hee’s feelings toward Yoon-seo weren’t bad, but he didn’t expect her to react like this.

Embarrassingly, his eyes even got a bit teary.

For a moment, he had this thought. I see. I thought my feelings would just be a burden to this person, but that wasn’t entirely true.

This person liked my feelings too.

The moment he had that thought, Seon-woo couldn’t help but be swept away by an unexpected wave of emotion.

He didn’t know if it was Yoon-seo’s emotion or his own.

Before he knew it, Seon-woo had immersed himself in Yoon-seo to the point where he didn’t bother to separate himself from the character.

However, he was certain this was the first time he’d felt such an emotion.

If you allowed someone who had never breathed in their life to breathe, would it feel like this? That overwhelming breath filling his chest… so grateful and sweet.

So,

“…Yeah, I never knew that.”

Right now, in this moment, while acting that scene… Seon-woo’s eyes couldn’t help but well up again.

In front of the camera.

Yoon-seo’s flower garden was spread out once again.

The flowers in full bloom as always were now looking at only one person, So-hee. As if all of Yoon-seo’s heart belonged to So-hee, at least for this moment.

What So-hee said wasn’t anything grand.

It wasn’t “I like you too,” or “let’s date,” or “I won’t go study abroad.”

You’re a loser and a pathetic person. Such an unexpected condemnation.

But it seemed like he could hear the words hidden behind that condemnation, and in a way, it felt like So-hee was saying thank you to him,

“———Cut!”

So, at this moment, Seon-woo had to hold back the tears that kept welling up and surging forth.

Whether he knew such feelings or not, Han Jeong-hun let out an exclamation along with applause.

“Good, Seon-woo. That emotion just now… it was really good.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“I’m really saying this sincerely. It suddenly made me think of my first love, you know? When I imagined this scene in my head, there was just a bitter feeling…”

Han Jeong-hun stopped talking and closed his eyes for a moment.

He was tracing the emotional line that Seon-woo had just shown.

Eyes moist as if about to cry at any moment.

Yet far from looking sad, they even seemed happy in some aspects.

How could a person possibly harbor such feelings?

It’s a strange emotional line. Contradictory.

…But that’s what makes it human.

A deep and beautiful emotional line.

It was acting that had entered a realm beyond Han Jeong-hun’s imagination and expectations.

‘…Even when I first decided to add romance, I didn’t know it would be this good.’

But the love line between Yoon-seo and So-hee was much more beautiful than Han Jeong-hun had thought.

Rather than typical romance… it was more like human love that suited a human drama.

That’s why he couldn’t help but look forward even more to the scene they would film tomorrow.

The airport farewell scene, which could practically be called the climax of the narrative that Yoon-seo and So-hee had built up.

In the upcoming episode 9, Yoon-seo takes So-hee to the airport.

While cheering her on for the two years of studying abroad ahead. And So-hee once again condemns Yoon-seo like that.

What’s so good about a woman who won’t accept your feelings and just goes off to America that you’d even come to see her off?

The problem was the scene that came after that.

The scene that made all the actors and production team of [Red Zone] cover their mouths.

Before getting in line for departure screening, So-hee grabs Yoon-seo’s gown and headbutts her lips.

It’s not a kiss. Literally like headbutting, she presses their lips together and then runs away.

It was a scene that put a fairy-tale filter on their relationship, which could have ended as a realistic farewell.

‘…Would this be considered a kiss scene if it’s a kiss scene?’

No. Han Jeong-hun shook his head.

If you call it a kiss scene, it feels like it would kill the charm of this scene.

This is a peck scene.

A peck scene that would put a period on Yoon-seo and So-hee’s clumsy and young love.

Han Jeong-hun clenched his fist.

He could already feel it. No, he was certain of it.

This peck scene would definitely… be incredibly adorable!

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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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