I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 164

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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 164

Even after that, Seon-woo often visited Cheongseong.

At first, he worried that going there might disrupt the atmosphere for no reason. After all, Seon-woo wasn’t going to take the stage anytime soon.

But as time passed, the conclusion Seon-woo reached was that he should continue clocking in at Cheongseong like this in the future.

For one thing, from Cheongseong’s perspective, having Seon-woo come wasn’t such a bad thing.

Seon-woo would often help other juniors with their acting, and above all, his very presence served as a driving force that made the juniors burn with even more passion.

And from Seon-woo’s perspective, discussing acting with them was quite helpful too.

‘Thanks to that, I got some fresh air.’

When acting, sometimes your goals can become blurry.

It was the same while preparing for this music video.

Acting well as the ‘boyfriend’ was good. But exactly what kind of acting would make him satisfied enough to say ‘this is good enough’?

After having various conversations with the people at Cheongseong, Seon-woo decided to start by properly understanding the attributes of the ‘boyfriend’.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve acted as a nameless character like this.’

The Painter from [The Greatest Self-Portrait], the Mute from [Those in the Sealed Room].

The characteristic when acting these two was that all the identity they needed to possess was condensed in their role names themselves.

Then what was the identity of a boyfriend?

What kind of existence was a boyfriend?

‘How was I?’

Seon-woo recalled his first relationship.

Actually, it was questionable to even call it a relationship. He thought he should try dating since he was in university, and he happened to have good feelings for someone who confessed to him.

And when they had been dating for about half a year,

—You know you’ve never once told me you love me?

He heard those words.

If he had said he loved her then, the relationship probably would have continued. But Seon-woo couldn’t bring himself to say those words.

During the time he dated her, Seon-woo had never once felt ‘this is love’.

And Seon-woo was someone who couldn’t say things he didn’t mean.

‘I probably wasn’t a good boyfriend.’

To her, Seon-woo probably wasn’t a particularly good memory.

As such, he couldn’t incorporate that experience into this acting.

The image of a boyfriend that Layla wanted wasn’t like that.

Someone who sometimes bickered and fought, sometimes even hated each other, but ultimately embraced her.

Someone who used to embrace her.

That’s what she would want.

He had already understood that emotional line when he played Yoon-seo.

The feeling as if the other person became his world.

That sensation where nothing but So-hee was visible in This World…

It was always such a sweet feeling whenever he recalled it.

But what Seon-woo had to express now wasn’t that sweet part.

Rather, it would be the bitter part.

When someone you loved with all your heart was in pain… what would it feel like to not even be able to wipe away a single tear?

It would be a sense of loss incomparable to not being able to act as Yoon-seo again. No, even calling it simply a sense of loss felt inadequate. A feeling like the world was collapsing.

Yes, for Seon-woo…

‘Wouldn’t it be like acting disappearing?’

That was probably the most relatable example for Seon-woo.

He had never loved anything more than acting in his life.

Seon-woo imagined it.

Acting disappearing from his life.

If all these colors he had finally obtained were to vanish from his world in an instant…

‘…Just imagining it makes me feel sick.’

Seon-woo frowned.

Before he knew it, Seon-woo had become unable to even imagine a life without acting. If he had to live that colorless life again… he really wouldn’t know what to live for.

But the fact that he felt this terrible might be proof that this approach was right.

Leaving someone you love was naturally that terrible.

Seon-woo floated a Color Orb above his palm.

It was the ‘boyfriend’s’ Color Orb. A Color Orb with a yellow Base Color similar to Yoon-seo’s, while also having cute pink spots dotted here and there. It was also the Color Orb he had burst when showing his acting in front of Layla.

But what if he added one more Color Orb here?

Seon-woo floated up another Color Orb. This time it wasn’t the ‘boyfriend’s’ Color Orb.

The ash-colored Color Orb that ‘Kim Seon-woo’ from [One Room] had possessed.

Before the game started, Kim Seon-woo’s heart when he tried to take his own life… when he couldn’t find a reason to live from anything in This World.

For the ‘boyfriend’, eternal separation from his lover would essentially signal the end of everything.

At that moment, his heart would instantly… become not much different from Kim Seon-woo from [One Room].

Seon-woo began mixing the two Color Orbs together.

And he burst that Color Orb that remained half and half, maintaining their respective colors without properly mixing,

“…Ugh!”

Soon he clutched his head.

His mind was swept up in all sorts of chaotic emotions, thrashing about wildly. Was this what being drunk felt like? A sensation where all kinds of emotions and thoughts ran wild to the point where his fingertips tingled.

Finally, only after taking deep breaths for a long while was Seon-woo able to regain his composure.

‘I shouldn’t carelessly mix color orbs.’

When he thought about it, that made sense.

It would mean having two personalities simultaneously. In a way, it would be like temporarily becoming a kind of multiple personality.

But it felt somewhat disappointing.

Even if he couldn’t become both characters at once, dyeing the ‘boyfriend’ with some of ‘Kim Seon-woo’s’ ashen emotions seemed like it would be a meaningful attempt.

When he realizes that he has lost everything… love, life, all of his everything, when he realizes that nothing remains for him now, expressing the boyfriend’s emotions as they become dyed in ash gray at that moment seemed like it would be quite interesting.

But it seemed that to properly express this emotional line, Seon-woo himself needed to understand the boyfriend’s heart a bit more properly first.

Seon-woo used every means available to struggle to implement that emotion.

He looked into all kinds of romance movies and talked about love with people around him. He also talked about death.

And it was when about a week had passed like that.

“Come on, say hello. This is Park Hoon. He’s the person who will be your manager from now on.”

Park Du-ho finally assigned a manager to Seon-woo.

He said he had put quite a bit of effort into finding someone who would be most helpful to Seon-woo. But… honestly, the moment he saw that person, Seon-woo couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

“I’m Park Hoon. Please take care of me from now on.”

The moment he saw the man who identified himself as Park Hoon, such thoughts naturally came to mind.

Does Wilde have appearance screening when hiring employees?

Park Hoon was a man of such tremendous build that Park Du-ho would look like a gentle lamb in comparison. A muscular body and a height even taller than Seon-woo’s… probably just under 190cm.

His strong features weren’t even noticeable because of his dumpling ears, his neck thicker than his head, and the long scar running along his jawline.

If Park Du-ho had somewhat of a gangster impression, Park Hoon felt exactly like a mercenary who had been rolling around on battlefields.

“Ah, yes. I’m Kim Seon-woo. Please take care of me.”

“Yes. Please trust and leave it to me. I’ll remove all obstacles so that you can focus only on acting.”

Even the way he said this was quite extraordinary.

His speech pattern was somewhat military-like… Was he actually from that background? As Seon-woo was wondering, Park Du-ho chuckled and spoke up.

“He’s my nephew. He was in the military until recently and just entered society. He’s a year younger than you, Seon-woo, so feel free to speak casually.”

“A year younger…?”

Twenty-six?

He knew it was rude, but honestly, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

He had thought the man was at least ten years older than that.

Park Hoon scratched his buzz cut awkwardly and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. I do often hear that I look quite mature.”

“Ah, um. Yes. How… should I address you?”

“Just speak casually as the boss said. That’s more comfortable for me too.”

But I’m not comfortable with it.

Seon-woo couldn’t bring himself to say those words and nodded with an awkward expression.

“Well, it’s a bit much to drop formalities right away… I’ll gradually become more casual.”

“Yes, please do so when you’re comfortable. Should I call you Actor?”

“No, Actor is too much… just…”

Seon-woo pondered for a moment.

But no matter how much he thought about it, there was only one appropriate form of address.

“Hyung should be fine. Seon-woo-ssi is a bit… you know.”

“Yes, hyung-nim. I’ll serve you as hyung-nim from now on.”

No, you don’t need to serve me.

Anyway, it felt strange that he finally had a manager. It made him newly realize that he was indeed an actor now.

“Good. You two can slowly get to know each other… Seon-woo. Since you’re here, take this.”

“What is this?”

“These are scripts that were additionally distributed. More precisely, I picked out the ones that seemed decent among them.”

There were three scripts in total.

Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled as he received them. He had been wondering what to do after finishing the music video with Layla, but it seemed Park Du-ho had no intention of letting him rest that easily.

He wanted to read them all right away, but… Seon-woo put them in his backpack for now. The backpack he’d been using since his university days. Seeing it, Park Du-ho chuckled.

“What kind of actor carries around a backpack? Should I get you a nice bag?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve been carrying a backpack since my student days, so this is most comfortable for me.”

“If you’re comfortable with it, that’s fine. But aren’t you going to read the scripts right away?”

“I want to read them, but… I think I shouldn’t let my attention be diverted elsewhere right now. It might interfere with my immersion.”

It didn’t seem like Seon-woo’s immersion would be shaken by something so trivial, but Park Du-ho nodded with a pleased expression.

When someone was saying they’d do their best for each work, there was no reason for him as a representative not to understand that. Rather, it was something to be grateful for.

“Good. There’s still plenty of time until the audition, so take a look slowly after the music video shoot ends. And our Hoon here, it probably won’t happen, but if he causes any trouble, contact me immediately.”

“I’ll do my job properly!”

“Calm down, man. Even if you do your job properly, Seon-woo might feel uncomfortable.”

Park Du-ho chuckled as he watched Park Hoon bow his head and raise his voice. Then he soon looked back at Seon-woo with sparkling eyes.

“And Seon-woo. I also got you a van.”

“A van…?”

“That’s right. An actor should have at least one van now. It’s domestic, but I put in all the options. I raised the roof too, so it’ll be comfortable when you go places. I left the keys with Hoon, so just tell him whenever you need it.”

“Ah, thank you!”

Seon-woo bowed his head for now.

He hadn’t even expected to have a van, but since Park Du-ho had taken care of it like this, he felt both grateful and embarrassed.

‘I need to work hard to earn my keep.’

Seon-woo found himself clenching his fists with renewed determination.

He didn’t want to disappoint someone who believed in him and invested in him like this.

What Seon-woo could do to meet those expectations was… well, only one thing. Show good acting.

‘There are some results, though.’

Seon-woo looked at the color orb floating above his palm.

A yellow color orb surrounded by black mist. It was the result of his efforts over the past week to merge the mental images of ‘Kim Seon-woo’ and ‘Boyfriend’.

The mental images that had absolutely refused to mix at first were now, even if not completely merged, coexisting in their own way.

I won’t bother explaining how much research and contemplation was needed to create this form.

But one thing was certain: if he could just refine this a little more… he would definitely be able to show acting that would surprise even Layla.

Two days remained until filming.

Could he prepare acting he wouldn’t regret in those two days?

‘I have to prepare.’

It wasn’t a question of whether he could do it.

He had to do it.

While Seon-woo’s resolve was strengthening, Park Hoon offered to drive Seon-woo home.

It wasn’t really necessary, but Seon-woo nodded. It was something he’d have to get used to anyway. There was no point in being too uncomfortable about it.

However, once he got in the van, there was one thing that worried him.

“Um, Hoon?”

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

“How much driving experience do you have?”

It was because he remembered Seul-gi, Min-hee’s manager.

She was a ridiculously inexperienced beginner driver. Well, she seemed to have improved a bit lately… but Seon-woo planned not to ride in her car for the next five years or so.

Beginner driving could sometimes be as scary as drowsy driving, depending on the situation.

But fortunately,

“Ah, don’t worry! I already have 10 years of driving experience.”

“Ah, yes. That’s good.”

Park Hoon seemed to be quite a veteran driver.

He had three whole years more experience than Seon-woo, who got his license right at twenty. This should be trustworthy enough.

Thinking this as he settled into his chair, Seon-woo’s expression soon turned strange.

’10 years?’

Does that make sense?

“I’ll start driving now.”

“W-wait…!”

Wait, you’re twenty-six!

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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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