I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 181

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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 181

The sea wind is fierce.

Fierce enough to make one naturally furrow their brow.

But even in the midst of this, the staff couldn’t take their eyes off Seon-woo.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the success of the work depended on this very moment.

The first button is important – usually, the very first acting performance shown continues all the way to the end.

Of course, one could grow during the filming process, but a small dog is still a small dog no matter how much it grows, isn’t it?

So this moment was, in a way, a place to see Seon-woo’s weight class, and simultaneously a place to see this work’s weight class.

After all, a work can produce completely different results depending on how the lead actor performs.

Still, what everyone was already agreeing on was,

“Good visuals.”

“I don’t think he was quite at this level when he debuted.”

“Camera massage is definitely a real thing, you know?”

Seon-woo’s appearance was quite extraordinary.

An unapproachable aura emanated from him wearing the traditional robe. Even the staff nodded their heads at this moment.

At least his atmosphere was befitting of a lead actor.

He definitely had the power to capture people’s attention.

Now what remained was the acting.

The staff swallowed nervously.

This was the moment that would determine the level of the work they would be filming. Everyone couldn’t help but be tense.

And in the midst of this, Seon-woo slowly raised his eyes and…

“I was a snake.”

He began his monologue in a low but clear voice.

“I was the lowly creature that hid in damp burrows waiting for rain.”

At that moment, the entire gathering fell silent in an instant.

The atmosphere was as if even the waves held their breath and listened to Seon-woo’s voice.

“I was truly insignificant then, not knowing what I was or having any desire to become anything.”

Heavy.

Despite clearly being a plain tone, one could feel the thousand-year-old fatigue and regret contained within it.

“However, one day I saw a dragon.”

A wondrous thing.

“It was wrapped in scales more brilliant than a sea that held the sun, and was so massive it could easily coil around Mount Tai with just its tail.”

This was merely monologue acting.

“The moment I saw it was very brief, but the shock I felt in that moment was truly immense.”

Moreover, monologue acting in a state where no rapport had yet been formed with the audience.

“Because I was so pathetic standing before the dragon.”

Normally, it would be difficult to feel any particular emotion here.

“Because I could never forget that dragon’s magnificent form…”

And yet, why…

“I wanted to become a dragon.”

At this moment, did they feel as if they understood the character of I-mu-gi in an instant?

“Thus I became an I-mu-gi.”

Was it because they already knew something about I-mu-gi as the production team?

“A being that lives solely to become a dragon.”

No, it probably wasn’t for that reason.

“They said that to become a dragon, one must possess a Yeo-ui-ju.”

Seon-woo’s voice, his expression was telling them.

Who I-mu-gi was – just by watching his face reflected on the screen, it felt like they could understand in an instant.

Beyond the dimensions of language and logic, intuition and the unconscious seemed to understand the character of I-mu-gi in a single moment.

“Everyone mocked me for being foolish. They said the Yeo-ui-ju appears at unpredictable moments, in unpredictable places, in unpredictable forms.”

It had to be this way.

For this moment, for this acting, Seon-woo had read hundreds of papers.

He had practiced for hundreds of hours and searched for I-mu-gi everywhere his gaze reached.

“That it was something a mere I-mu-gi could never possess.”

The problem Jeong Yu-jun had given Seon-woo was one thing.

Please act I-mu-gi in a tone more suitable for drama.

But in reality, that involved quite a lot. It meant to act considering the overall atmosphere of the drama and even the viewers’ fatigue level.

“However, even so, I will find the Yeo-ui-ju.”

Seon-woo decided to think of Jeong Yu-jun’s request simply.

A tone suitable for drama meant a tone that viewers could watch without getting tired.

“If it’s hidden in a volcano, I will extinguish the volcano; if it’s hidden in the sea, I will dry up the entire ocean.”

Then all he had to do was paint an impossibly beautiful world.

Just like this world unfolding before his eyes right now.

“And so—.”

It sparkles.

Glimmers that shine with colors resembling Yeo-ui-ju’s sunlight fill the world.

As if they might disappear, yet not quite. As if they might be eternal, yet not quite…

“I will become a dragon.”

An I-mu-gi who covets perfection, but is therefore imperfect.

An I-mu-gi who has lived for thousands of years, yet still cannot love himself like a child.

That was the I-mu-gi Seon-woo portrayed.

And.

“…”

“…”

“…Cut.”

Even after the lines ended, Jeong Yu-jun, who had been watching Seon-woo catch his breath on screen for a long while, slowly called cut.

Then, looking at Seon-woo with dazed eyes, he opened his mouth.

“Seon-woo. I’m sorry.”

“…Yes?”

“I had unnecessary doubts. I should have just trusted you. Then I wouldn’t have lost sleep for no reason…”

Jeong Yu-jun clutched his head with a tearful expression.

“It’s too… too good! It’s the best!”

* * *

Jackpot.

It smells like a jackpot.

The staff members who saw Seon-woo’s acting all spoke in unison.

[My Jade] would definitely succeed. Not only would it take first place in ratings… it might even become this year’s representative hit.

One might think, what’s with all this excitement over filming just one intro?

But this wasn’t mere excitement.

In the streaming market, 50% of viewers drop out within the first minute.

Even when a new season of the same drama comes out, 12% of those who watch it drop out within a minute.

Thinking that those 12% were people who watched all of season 1 to the end, it was truly a frightening story.

The success or failure of a work depends on how much you can captivate viewers during that first minute.

In that sense, Seon-woo’s intro was flawless.

“Wow, how does he act like that?”

“That depth isn’t something that should come from an actor in his twenties.”

“But his acting career is only a year now, right? Really… he’s a monster, a monster.”

The staff members clicked their tongues.

They knew well how precious Seon-woo’s acting was.

The I-mu-gi they saw literally seemed to be alive and breathing.

A liveliness as if he was actually looking at them from beyond the screen.

Thanks to this, the staff members couldn’t help but be excited.

Though filming hadn’t even properly started yet, everyone was already anticipating a hit.

So they didn’t mind putting more effort into the intro.

And putting in that effort meant,

“I was a snake.”

Taking Seon-woo around the Eight Provinces of Korea to film the same intro video.

In the intro, Seon-woo was scheduled to stand in the same pose against various backgrounds and deliver his monologue.

If they were going to do that anyway, why not just do CG processing in the studio instead of doing it so inefficiently?

It couldn’t be helped.

Jeong Yu-jun was famous for never compromising when it came to details like this.

A kind of mise-en-scène otaku.

Thanks to this, there were quite a few complaints among the production team at first.

Complaints about why they had to film so inefficiently. After all, outdoor filming itself was quite tiring work.

But after Seon-woo’s acting, those voices completely disappeared.

Everyone must have thought this intro was worth the effort to polish.

It could possibly become the most impressive intro in Korean drama history.

And sensing this atmosphere from the production team, Jeong Yu-jun was always grinning these days.

“I got a call from PD Han Jeong-hun recently.”

“PD Han Jeong-hun? What did he say?”

“He said Seon-woo is a lucky charm, so treat him well.”

Jeong Yu-jun looked at Seo Ji-hye and chuckled.

It was a triumphant laugh.

“So I told him not to worry since I’m already carrying him around everywhere anyway.”

“Is that right? To my eyes, it looks like you’re the one being carried, PD.”

“…Ah, is that so?”

Watching Jeong Yu-jun gape stupidly, Seo Ji-hye sighed.

And soon nodded her head.

“But that’s true.”

“What do you mean?”

“Calling him a lucky charm.”

Seo Ji-hye chuckled softly.

“He seems to be doing way too good a job compared to what we’re paying him?”

“That’s definitely true.”

Jeong Yu-jun nodded his head.

As soon as they started filming Seon-woo’s intro, Jeong Yu-jun immediately threw himself into editing work as well.

Usually he wouldn’t rush editing like this, but this couldn’t be helped.

Jeong Yu-jun was planning to turn this intro into a teaser to release.

Honestly, he hadn’t planned to do that at first.

After all, it was quite an explanatory intro, and he thought it lacked stimulating elements that would spark viewers’ interest.

But seeing Seon-woo’s acting, that thought had to change immediately.

This will definitely get a reaction.

That conviction had formed.

Even he found it absurd.

To think he could calculate that just a monologue alone could captivate viewers’ attention.

As a PD, he honestly felt like he might be taking things too easy.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Seon-woo’s I-mu-gi was that charming.

His monologue itself was incredibly fascinating.

Especially for people who had been starving for Eastern fantasy content.

“I want to upload the teaser quickly…”

Jeong Yu-jun felt his heart already racing.

He could already see what the public’s reaction would be when they showed this intro. Watching Jeong Yu-jun like this, Seo Ji-hye tilted her head.

“But when will you upload the teaser?”

“I’ll need to discuss it with the marketing team too… but if possible, I’m thinking of uploading it right after finishing editing next week.”

“That quickly?”

“We keep stoking the fire. We keep making people aware of us. Like, I’m here, I’m making this kind of thing? So please keep watching us! Like that.”

“Oho…”

Seo Ji-hye nodded.

It was quite an aggressive marketing approach, but she had no objections.

PD Jeong Yu-jun had quite good instincts in this area. He was the most… how should she put it, MZ-like? He was the type of PD who best utilized SNS and streaming platforms.

It seemed he wanted to secure a fanbase for [My Jade] even before broadcasting began.

Even Seo Ji-hye didn’t think that was a bad judgment.

Though there was still quite a lot of time left until the air date… Seon-woo’s I-mu-gi definitely had the charm to stay in people’s minds until then.

And if they added more fuel to the fire in between, it would be even better.

‘…He’s strangely appealing as an actor.’

Seo Ji-hye curled up the corners of her mouth thinking about Seon-woo.

To be honest, the I-mu-gi that Seon-woo portrayed was more charming than the image she had in mind when writing [My Jade].

So recently, she had even modified some of the lines in the script to match that image.

Since he was making the child she gave birth to into such a sexy being, from her perspective, she could only be grateful.

Seo Ji-hye imagined it.

When Jeong Yu-jun’s teaser was released, when that teaser filled only with I-mu-gi’s monologue appeared before their eyes, what kind of reaction would the public show?

She didn’t want to get carried away carelessly, but still, she had to say this.

They would definitely fall for it.

For Seon-woo’s I-mu-gi, so deeply they wouldn’t be able to escape.

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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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