I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 162

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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 162

‘This doesn’t feel real.’

Is this person she’s looking at now really the same man who was giving off that dry feeling just moments ago?

The appearance of a tired modern person who seemed to have just gotten off work from the company was nowhere to be found.

Looking into those clear, deep eyes gazing at her, it was enough to make her mind go blank for a moment.

“That’s good.”

But unfortunately, Layla couldn’t admire Seon-woo’s appearance any longer.

With Ann’s voice, the ‘guardian angel face’ that Seon-woo had been wearing disappeared in an instant.

What took its place was what could be called his usual office worker face. It was a somewhat businesslike and dry expression.

Layla stared blankly at Seon-woo with an indescribable sense of loss.

But whether he knew her feelings or not, Seon-woo opened his mouth in a low voice.

“I just acted thinking I had no lingering attachments, but is this the right direction?”

“What other directions are there?”

“Being full of lingering attachments. About my life, and about you, Layla.”

“Could I see that too?”

Seon-woo immediately nodded at Ann’s question.

And it was the next moment. When Seon-woo looked back at Layla, she felt the atmosphere change in a different way than before.

“….”

Until just now, Seon-woo had felt like some transcendent being.

Death. That gaze looking at her as if understanding everything, having crossed the boundary of life that humans couldn’t even comprehend…

It even felt like a real angel had appeared.

But what about now?

His sadness could be felt through Seon-woo’s twisted lips.

The regret about the reality where he wanted to embrace her right away but couldn’t was deeply reflected in his eyes.

If in the previous acting Seon-woo had become a transcendent being through death, now he looked like an utterly powerless existence.

The gap was so clearly felt that Layla couldn’t help but be amazed.

His expression and such things hadn’t changed noticeably, yet the atmosphere could change this much?

It was a moment when the public’s evaluation of him inevitably came to mind.

Genius.

Actually, this was quite a common title in the entertainment industry.

People working in this field usually had to have either star quality or genius, one of the two essentially.

Nevertheless, Seon-woo’s acting felt quite special.

There weren’t even any lines.

Just some situation and emotional direction were given.

But to be able to express it this clearly.

‘Yeah. It’s definitely not false advertising.’

As Layla’s eyes sparkled with renewed conviction, Ann’s lips also moved slightly. Seon-woo’s acting must have been quite interesting.

“Yes. The one with lingering attachments is definitely better.”

“There are other feelings too.”

“…What other kinds?”

“There’s the feeling of having lingering attachments but not caring about them, and the feeling of being confused and distressed right now but unable to pay attention to such things because of worry for you, Layla. Actually, the number of possibilities seems almost infinite.”

“….”

Ann closed her mouth for a moment.

He could express all those subtle emotional differences? Without a single line?

But Seon-woo didn’t look like he was bluffing. Rather, his eyes were quietly burning with enthusiasm, full of desire to properly create this work.

Thanks to this, Ann’s drooping lips couldn’t help but twitch at this moment.

“Could I see them all?”

“Yes.”

Seon-woo nodded without hesitation.

Showing all those versions could be bothersome or tiring, yet he showed each and every emotional line.

What was interesting was that even without Seon-woo saying ‘this is what emotional line,’ just looking at his face, you could understand what kind of feelings he had.

Even what differences existed between those emotional lines.

That made sense.

Before this preliminary meeting, Seon-woo had thought day after day about how to beautifully conceive this character.

Some might call it foolish.

They might think such things could be practiced after discussing them during the preliminary meeting.

But if time was lacking, that would be one thing. When time was overflowing right now, he didn’t want to do that.

…There was also the desire to soothe the empty heart that came from sending Yoon-seo away.

Anyway, Seon-woo had endlessly studied this boyfriend’s emotional lines.

The research points were two.

1. What would I feel at this moment?

2. How can I create the most beautiful scene?

Seon-woo had prepared acting that could satisfy both of these.

He prepared as many understandable and empathizable emotional lines as possible.

And choosing among these was naturally Layla’s role, as the owner of the song.

Seon-woo looked at Layla.

“Senior. When I brush your hair here, how much time has passed since I died?”

“…Time?”

“Yes. I think the emotional line would change depending on that time.”

“Ah. That’s right.”

Layla, who had been enjoying the lingering impression of Seon-woo’s acting, finally focused her gaze clearly.

She had no acting experience. But as a singer, she knew better than anyone when her songs should give what kind of feeling.

“I think I should properly explain the feeling of ‘I Can’t Hear You’ first. Do you get a clear sense of what kind of nuance this has?”

“Actually, if we translate it literally, it’s the feeling of ‘What? I can’t hear you well’… but here, through not being able to hear your words, you wanted to emphasize the disconnection with the other person more, right?”

“Oh. Definitely. You speak English well, don’t you?”

Layla clapped her hands in admiration. Seon-woo nodded, thinking he shouldn’t mention that he was from the English Literature Department.

“Right. If I sing this part briefly, it’s like I can’t hear you~. I can’t hear you… That kind of feeling, you know? How is it?”

“…You sing well.”

Seon-woo clapped.

Ann, who had been quietly listening beside them, also clapped with an expressionless face.

Layla’s cheeks turned red.

“No! Not that! The feeling, the feeling.”

“The feeling of longing turning into resentment? Is that right?”

“Exactly.”

Layla nodded.

Before she knew it, her eyes were sparkling. As if she was already excited just thinking about unfolding this story.

“When you miss someone, there are times when you suddenly start to hate them. You miss them so much, so why aren’t they by your side? Why do I have to be alone like this? When I was throwing such childish tantrums, my boyfriend was actually watching over me from the side the whole time.”

“To bring out that tenderness more….”

Seon-woo nodded.

“I should get hurt more. But I think I need to show myself enduring even while getting hurt.”

“Exactly! Getting hurt while enduring it.”

Layla clapped and nodded.

As if just imagining that scene excited her, she continued speaking while even puffing out her breath.

Watching the two of them, Ann inwardly let out a hollow laugh.

From a director’s perspective, it was a comfortable situation. Ideas about composition and direction were constantly pouring out without her having to do separate brainstorming.

Meanwhile, Seon-woo was equally impressed at this moment.

‘I thought a music video would be simpler….’

He thought it would just be a matter of filming his usual acting for a shorter time.

But it wasn’t. Since music videos have cuts that usually change within 1-3 seconds, the acting style itself had to change to capture the point of each scene within that short time.

For example,

“When you turn to look at me here, I’d like there to be a slightly cautious feeling.”

“When sitting on the sofa, you need to sit more carefully too.”

“Make it obvious that this house isn’t where you live, so that even lingering here continuously feels sorry but you absolutely can’t stop – I want that feeling to be clearly visible at a glance.”

Starting with details like these.

There were so many details to bring alive in one scene. It felt like bringing out every single minor part that wouldn’t necessarily be addressed in drama filming.

Seon-woo could now truly understand that what Park Du-ho had said wasn’t an exaggeration.

—Music videos are practically a completely different field.

—In a way, you can think of it as shooting a photo spread. Music videos require attention to every single angle of your fingers.

—You’ll have to do the most detailed acting you’ve ever done.

Detailed acting.

When he heard it, he couldn’t really grasp it, but he understood.

But this didn’t feel particularly difficult. Rather….

‘This is fun.’

Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled.

When acting normally, he didn’t pay attention to such minor details. By minor, he meant things like the angle of bent fingers or the speed of extending arms.

Precisely, it was better not to worry about such things.

Getting too caught up in such microscopic details could easily ruin the overall flow of the acting.

But music videos were different.

A work created by gathering only that microscopic beauty.

It truly wasn’t an exaggeration to say it was no different from shooting a photo spread.

Perhaps that’s why.

“Am I dead? Or did I leave?”

“Both.”

“…Both?”

“Yes. People should be confused. Whether the other person died or if they broke up.”

“If we broke up… then I’m actually a fantasy and a wish. I wish this person could be by my side like this. But it’s not reality, which makes it even more frustrating.”

“Yes. Even if it’s death, it could be a fantasy… but I want to think of it as the soul being there for them.”

Throughout his conversation with Layla, Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled.

He could see it. How diversely the color of the ‘boyfriend’ changed with each added concern. What kind of painting those colors could possibly create.

“Either way, whether I’m a fantasy or a guardian angel… I should be so loving and heartbroken for you that I don’t know what to do.”

“…Mm. Yes. That’s right.”

“Good.”

He could already picture it.

Infinite affection for his girlfriend. He could do anything for this person, wanted to do everything for her… but the helplessness of being unable to do anything.

‘It’s different from Yoon-seo.’

Yoon-seo had the desire to overcome that helplessness.

She believed she could overcome it, and she had to.

But this current role was different.

Death, separation… these weren’t problems where you could think about overcoming them.

Problems that required resignation and acceptance.

‘…This kind of emotional line is a first for me.’

All the characters Seon-woo had played so far were people who fought.

Kim Seon-woo from [One Room] faced the threat of survival without giving up, and Yoon-seo from [Red Zone] struggled not to collapse before the fear of possibly losing a patient.

Even the Painter from [The Greatest Self-Portrait] tried to overcome his own ugly appearance.

But this time… he must accept it.

That he lost her.

That he lost everything.

“….”

Seon-woo’s gaze deepened.

Seeing this, Layla hesitated for a moment, then quietly opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

It was an unexpected apology.

Not knowing what she was apologizing for, he stared at her blankly, and Layla spoke as if embarrassed.

“Actually, when you first came in, I thought we were in trouble. You were so different from the image I had while watching Yoon-seo.”

“Ah….”

Seon-woo made an awkward expression.

It was understandable. If he had practiced Method Acting as the ‘boyfriend’ this time, it might have been a little different, but this time there were some aspects that made Method Acting a bit ambiguous.

The shooting would end in just one day, and the analysis of what kind of person the ‘boyfriend’ was hadn’t been properly completed yet.

Unless Seon-woo could set up that character as he pleased, he couldn’t carelessly start Method Acting.

So what Layla had to see was the usual Seon-woo.

Perhaps it was Seon-woo who was a little more depressed than usual. He was feeling down in various ways due to the sense of loss from losing Yoon-seo.

“But seeing you like this, I understand now. It was good that we chose you, Seon-woo.”

But Layla said that and smiled brightly.

It wasn’t just polite words. Throughout the acting, every time Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled moment by moment, Layla was inwardly amazed.

Because she could feel it.

That this person truly loved acting.

Every time the light that only someone who had devoted body and soul to something could show appeared in those eyes, Layla imagined.

When those eyes would be completely directed toward her,

When he would look only at her and yearn for her, how beautiful would that be?

Of course, since they hadn’t even started filming yet, it might be too hasty a judgment.

But she had always had good instincts.

With a bit of exaggeration, she felt she wouldn’t have made it this far without those instincts.

And those instincts were telling her now.

“This music video… I have a feeling it might become my life’s work.”

Kim Seon-woo.

Choosing this man was definitely the right answer.

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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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