I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 163

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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 163

After meeting with Layla, Seon-woo headed to Cheongseong for the first time in a while.

This required quite a bit of resolve. And for good reason,

“Oh my, who is this! Isn’t this our brother-in-law!”

“…Hyung, aren’t you going to filming?”

“I went and came back already?”

“You’re really something, hyung…”

As soon as he entered the theater, Hye-seong was waiting to tease him as if he’d been expecting this.

The juniors couldn’t tease him like Hye-seong did, but… their twitching lips made it clear what everyone was thinking.

‘How many years is this going to last…’

Seon-woo inwardly sighed.

At least it was fortunate that [Red Zone] wasn’t a seasonal drama. If it had been… he might have been linked with Min-hee like this for life.

“But if filming is over, you should go home. Why did you come here?”

“Where are you coming from right now?”

“…Well, it wasn’t exactly filming for me, just a preliminary meeting.”

Come to think of it, this might be similar in a way.

“I was just thinking about who I could talk to about acting, and this place came to mind first.”

“Why? You seemed to have gotten close with other seniors. Like Senior Seong Do-won or Senior Chae Seo-ryeong.”

“Well, I did get close with them, but…”

Still, it was somehow awkward for Seon-woo to contact them first.

More precisely, he could exchange greetings occasionally, but it felt a bit sorry to suddenly call them out to meet.

Especially in Do-won and Seo-ryeong’s case, since their faces were so well-known, it was a bit awkward to call them out somewhere. Wherever they went, people would constantly approach them asking for autographs and photos, so it was easy to just make busy people spend a tiring day.

‘Is this why all actors become homebodies?’

Having a home would definitely be comfortable.

It would be really nice to have a place where you could freely watch movies and talk about acting without worrying about other people’s gazes.

Fortunately, Cheongseong was exactly that kind of place for Seon-woo right now.

At Cheongseong, he didn’t need to manage his expressions or worry about others’ reactions.

And most importantly, it was full of people he could share acting discussions with!

…Well, considering that, he’d have to accept getting teased a little. The gains were much greater than the losses.

“But there aren’t many people here today.”

“The days you came before were a bit special. People stayed on purpose when they heard you or Min-hee were coming. You know what the usual atmosphere is like.”

Seon-woo nodded at Hye-seong’s words.

Indeed, except when acting, there weren’t many people who stayed at the theater until late at night.

Still, he wasn’t particularly disappointed about that.

Hye-seong was still there, and… there was someone he hadn’t expected to see.

“It feels like I haven’t seen you in a really long time, Senior Jin-wook.”

“…”

Jin-wook looked at Seon-woo silently.

And the moment he saw the worry filling Jin-wook’s face, Seon-woo remembered what Ji-hwan had mentioned in passing last time.

—Jin-wook is also a concern. The agency he joined has been getting some bad rumors lately.

It was an expression that made sense.

Though it was a bit pretentious, Jin-wook had always tried to walk around with his shoulders squared, acting confident… but right now he looked powerless, like someone who had lost everything in the world.

Jin-wook turned his gaze to the empty stage and spoke.

“I heard you rejected the recruitment offer from our agency.”

“…From your agency, senior?”

“I’m with Life.”

Ah.

Seon-woo immediately nodded.

At this moment, all the puzzle pieces fit together. The agency currently suffering due to their star actor’s drug scandal. CEO Kim Do-hyeong’s tired face as he tried to recruit Seon-woo overlapped with Jin-wook’s current state.

“…Are you okay, senior?”

He never thought the day would come when he’d worry about Jin-wook.

But he couldn’t help it. Though they couldn’t say they had a great relationship, they were both from Cheongseong after all. They had also gone through 【I Am an Actor】 together.

…When someone looked this dejected, he couldn’t help but worry.

Jin-wook nodded without much reaction.

“I have to be okay.”

“But what’s going on?”

Hye-seong glanced at Jin-wook and said.

“You’ve been looking really down lately, what exactly are you doing? What the hell is Life making you do…”

“Nothing special. Actually, I have a lot of work.”

“…How much work do you have?”

“I went to ten auditions just last week.”

Hye-seong and Seon-woo’s mouths fell open.

Ten auditions. It was a number that was hard to accept logically.

First of all, it was surprising that there were ten auditions to attend. Of course, it wasn’t impossible if the agency applied for every available role… but among them, there should be projects that didn’t seem right, roles that didn’t fit, right?

And there should be roles he wanted to focus on.

But having attended ten auditions meant he went to auditions without any consideration for such things.

Hye-seong’s expression became serious.

“Did the agency make you do that?”

“Something like that.”

“Crazy… No, why? Are they short on funds so they’re going to grind you up?”

“I should think of it as gaining experience, shouldn’t I?”

“No, there are good experiences and bad experiences! This is a bit too much!”

“Hyung.”

Jin-wook smiled bitterly.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not in a position to be picky about experiences right now.”

“….”

“But, really, life is… damn nonsense.”

Jin-wook let out a sigh.

“It feels like my life never goes smoothly.”

Hye-seong just opened and closed his mouth silently.

He couldn’t figure out what words would comfort Jin-wook.

Ten auditions every week. This wasn’t simply a matter of overwork. Could he really prepare properly for ten auditions?

Even just managing to get by would be difficult. Normally, when preparing for an audition properly, you’d spend ten days or sometimes even longer on a single role.

The audition results probably wouldn’t be that great either.

There would be quite frequent moments when his pride as an actor would crumble.

Because all of that was visible, he couldn’t easily say anything.

But Seon-woo was different.

“Senior will be fine.”

At those words, Jin-wook looked at Seon-woo with a somewhat incredulous expression.

An expression that said, ‘Who are you to decide whether I’ll be fine?’ But Seon-woo didn’t care and opened his mouth.

“Life can be nonsense like senior said, but senior is even more nonsense than that kind of life.”

“This crazy bastard again…”

“Honestly, it does seem like a tough situation, but if it’s senior, I’m not really worried. I know how serious senior is about acting.”

Even if things might be a bit awkward between him and Jin-wook, Seon-woo had never once taken Jin-wook’s qualities and attitude as an actor lightly.

Jin-wook was a good actor.

And he would become an even better actor in the future.

“Just because the situation is difficult doesn’t mean senior becomes a lousy actor. If you keep acting as a good actor, eventually an environment that suits such an actor will naturally come together.”

“….”

“So honestly, I’m not really worried about senior. It’ll be tough for now, but I feel like you’ll somehow pull through?”

While Hye-seong looked at Seon-woo with an expression asking ‘Is this right?’, Seon-woo naturally shrugged his shoulders.

“Am I wrong?”

“….”

With this, Jin-wook was cornered.

If he said yes, he couldn’t complain anymore, and if he said no… it would be like saying ‘No, I’m not that good of an actor.’

Whether to get angry about this or laugh.

In the end, all Jin-wook could say was this.

“…Are you on drugs lately?”

The kid seemed to have lost his mind even more.

* * *

Still, it seemed Seon-woo’s comfort wasn’t without effect.

Jin-wook’s expression had noticeably improved compared to when they first saw him. Of course, his still somewhat tired complexion couldn’t be helped. Comfort can’t create energy that isn’t there.

“You’re filming a music video?”

Meanwhile, Hye-seong’s eyes sparkled upon hearing about Seon-woo’s recent activities.

“Who is it? Whose music video?”

“Ah, sorry. That’s a secret until it’s released.”

“That makes me even more curious… Don’t tell me it’s something like Layla’s music video? You’re becoming Layla’s man this year.”

Is this person a ghost?

Seon-woo’s heart sank. If his profession wasn’t acting, it probably would have shown on his face.

“No way, it’s not.”

“…It’s not, right?”

“No. It’s not.”

“Hmm…”

After hearing Seon-woo’s answer, Hye-seong seemed even more suspicious, but fortunately he didn’t press further. Instead, he focused on a different aspect.

“What’s the concept?”

“A boyfriend who broke up? Or died. The girlfriend keeps missing me and hating me, and I play the role of watching that girlfriend from beside her?”

“The girlfriend can’t see you?”

“That’s right. Except for flashback scenes, I’m never visible.”

“Death would be more touching.”

“I think so too. Trying to also convey the feeling of a breakup… I think it’s because that would create better empathy.”

Seon-woo spoke with sparkling eyes.

The real reason for coming to Cheongseong was here. How to shape the upcoming performance. He needed other people’s opinions.

“Well, it shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”

Hye-seong grinned.

“You can just think of that moment when you broke up with Min-hee?”

“…It would be So-hee, not Min-hee senior.”

This person really can’t be let down your guard.

Give him even a little opening and he immediately strikes like this.

Seon-woo sighed and shook his head.

“The emotional line itself isn’t the problem.”

“Then?”

“Music videos require a style of acting I’ve never done before.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It feels more like shooting a photo spread than filming a movie or drama.”

“A photo spread… Hmm, I suppose that could be the case.”

Hye-seong didn’t know much about this aspect either.

But hearing Seon-woo’s words, it made sense. The pacing of music videos was incomparably faster than typical dramas.

Though he wasn’t sure exactly how acting for them would be different…

“Try acting it out once. Let me see how it feels.”

He’d be able to tell by watching.

Seon-woo didn’t hesitate at Hye-seong’s words and burst a color orb. He’d been wanting to show them his acting and ask for advice anyway.

And that was the moment.

Seeing the air around Seon-woo instantly soften and his eyes grow warmly moist, Hye-seong and Jin-wook fell silent.

Not a single line of dialogue.

Yet just watching those eyes, it felt as if Seon-woo’s heart was becoming sentences etched directly into their minds.

‘This bastard…’

Jin-wook clenched his fists.

‘Why does his acting improve every time I see it?’

He should be getting used to it by now, but he wasn’t.

Shouldn’t there be a plateau period or something where he takes a break at least once?

Despite that, Seon-woo’s acting kept improving without rest. The rough feeling he’d shown when they first met was now hard to find.

What was visible was the acting of a seasoned professional actor.

The problem was that despite this,

“I was thinking of trying to act like this. I want to give a more instantaneously intense feeling. The music video director said I could maximize that through things like head angles, but I still can’t quite grasp that part.”

Seon-woo acted as if he hadn’t shown anything impressive, or rather, seemed disappointed as if he’d shown inadequate acting.

“How do you think you would act it, senior?”

At those words, Jin-wook couldn’t help but frown.

He could have pondered it together if he wanted to think about it, but something didn’t sit right with him.

Because it seemed like no matter how he acted right now, he wouldn’t be able to produce even the feeling Seon-woo had just shown.

“I don’t know either.”

That’s why.

Jin-wook answered curtly.

But Seon-woo looked at Jin-wook with a puzzled expression.

“Still, don’t you have some idea of how you would act it, senior?”

Nothing came to mind.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say that.

Jin-wook ended up exploding in anger.

“Ah, I said I don’t know either!”

This absolutely wasn’t because he felt intimidated.

Really.

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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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