I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 184

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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 184

Go Yu-na acted.

She put her all into it, to the point where she wondered if she had ever concentrated this hard on acting since her rookie days.

She had no choice but to.

The more convincing her acting became, the more her Yeo-ui-ju came to life, the more she sparkled in Seon-woo’s eyes.

She liked that.

Because it was a sparkle that even she herself had forgotten while living.

‘…Good.’

She had that thought for a moment.

She wished time would stop just like this.

The coziness felt like being back in her mother’s womb.

Just a little.

If this time could continue just a little bit longer, she felt like she could understand. She felt like she could remember again. Why she started acting.

When she first stood in front of the camera, when the lighting illuminated her… at that moment, what feelings she had harbored.

However,

“Cut! Good! Let’s wrap up this scene here!”

After several retakes, Jeong Yu-jun raised his voice like that.

At that moment, Go Yu-na had no choice but to swallow her sigh. Just a little more… she wanted to keep acting.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

‘I want to act?’

Of course, strictly speaking, it was a bit different.

Rather than wanting to act, she wanted to feel more of that gaze with which Seon-woo looked at her. She wanted to feel more of that sensation of his cool gaze, seemingly crafted from pure jealousy, scratching against her skin.

Acting was just a necessary stepping stone for that.

But even for such a reason, the fact that she thought she wanted to act surprised Go Yu-na.

Until now, no matter how great the reason, nothing had ever given her this kind of feeling. Not the production team’s pressure, not the enormous appearance fee, not the public’s expectations… nothing.

“Good work.”

And watching such Go Yu-na, Seon-woo slightly bowed his head.

Just moments ago, he had looked at her with such passionate eyes, but now he was calm as if nothing had happened.

Feeling an inexplicable disappointment at that difference, she glared at Seon-woo for no reason.

Seon-woo looked back at her as if asking why she was doing that, and eventually Go Yu-na had no choice but to speak.

“What was that earlier?”

“What was what.”

“That look in your eyes. It felt like it was directed at me, not Yeo-ui-ju. It felt like you were saying something to me.”

“That’s such a random misunderstanding that I don’t even feel the need to explain.”

“…”

That was true enough.

But Go Yu-na recalled Imugi’s lines again.

—You probably thought that if you raised your voice, people wouldn’t treat you carelessly.

—You thought that if you bared your teeth first, no one would dare attack you. Right?

Of course, Seon-woo himself wasn’t the one who wrote the lines, but somehow those words seemed to target Go Yu-na with surprising accuracy.

Especially the look in Seon-woo’s eyes when he said those words… it was as if he could see right through her.

“…It was fun.”

Go Yu-na confessed honestly.

That acting with you was enjoyable. She had to tell him this. It had been a very long time since she felt this kind of emotion.

Seon-woo looked at Go Yu-na quietly.

Seeing her say such things, it seemed his efforts weren’t meaningless after all.

What Seon-woo did was actually simple.

Using Go Yu-na, Yeo-ui-ju as material… to paint the most beautiful picture he could draw.

Imugi who couldn’t shine on his own… and Yeo-ui-ju who didn’t even know she was shining.

Seon-woo brought out that contrast to the extreme. By showing the most jealous appearance possible toward the light that Yeo-ui-ju displayed, he highlighted the light she possessed even more.

A dull person wouldn’t have properly caught the charm of that moment.

But Go Yu-na was, after all, an actor born with tremendous talent. He thought that she would definitely be moved in that moment…

“There’s only one thing I want from you, senior.”

Fortunately, that calculation didn’t seem to be wrong.

Seon-woo quietly opened his mouth.

“I hope you’ll come to love this drama, senior.”

“…”

“It’s really too good a drama not to love. The characters are beautiful, and the story goes without saying. So…”

Seon-woo bowed his head.

“Please, senior.”

“…”

Go Yu-na’s lips twitched.

And she realized anew.

‘I’m a bit weak to sincere people.’

Seon-woo was the first type of person she had ever met.

He didn’t spare his words, but he also didn’t say things he didn’t mean. He laid out everything in his heart transparently as it was, but strangely, those words weren’t particularly uncomfortable.

No, they were uncomfortable, but it should be called a good kind of discomfort.

She just knew.

This discomfort seemed like something she shouldn’t turn away from.

Isn’t it an inconvenience that must be accepted?

“…I haven’t found acting fun for a while now.”

Go Yu-na opened her mouth.

“But just now was kind of enjoyable. Thanks to you, oppa. Because you showed me something wonderful.”

“Then…”

“I can’t guarantee it.”

Go Yu-na shook her head.

“It might just be a momentary whim, and I don’t know if that feeling will come again. But… yes. At least on this point, I feel the same way as you, oppa.”

Go Yu-na smiled.

“I hope I can love this work too.”

* * *

“Really? There are no particular problems?”

—Yes, CEO. For now, I can feel that everyone on set trusts and cares for the actor. The filming atmosphere is getting better and better, and if things continue like this, I think we can expect good results.

“Good. I understand. Just hang in there a little longer.”

—Yes, CEO. Have a good day. Unity!

Unity, what unity.

Park Du-ho let out a bitter smile as he listened to Park Hoon’s voice, still not rid of his military habits.

Listening to Park Hoon’s stories about Seon-woo was one of the few healing moments in Park Du-ho’s busy daily routine these days.

It had to be that way.

Seon-woo’s daily life was absurdly consistent.

Acting.

Acting practice.

Studying for acting practice.

When bringing actors to Wilde, Park Du-ho has one most important criterion.

That is, they must be crazy about acting. People who aren’t crazy might achieve momentary success, but they can never become someone who truly belongs in that position.

This was the reason Wilde could rise to the position of a mid-tier management agency.

By bringing in people who had no choice but to succeed, whenever an opportunity arose, anyone could immediately produce results.

Of course, creating those opportunities was Park Du-ho’s job.

‘I need to earn my keep too.’

Cafe.

Park Du-ho got up from his seat.

“Ah, PD! Over here, over here!”

“It’s been a while, CEO.”

“Come on, what do you mean a while. We just met a few months ago.”

The person Park Du-ho greeted was Han Jeong-hun PD from [Red Zone].

The reason for suddenly meeting him? Isn’t that obvious?

“It’s so nice to see you like this. Now, go ahead and court us. What kind of gift are you planning to give our Seon-woo?”

“…Ugh, you’re really too much. I even invited you to the company dinner back then and helped you take Seon-woo along.”

“I’m so grateful for that! That’s why I’m trying to treat Seon-woo as well as possible, so I don’t forget that gratitude.”

“Haha…”

Han Jeong-hun laughed weakly.

It was true, so he couldn’t say anything about it. After paving the way like that, it would be problematic if he was doing useless things with Seon-woo.

But that didn’t mean he could just keep giving in.

Han Jeong-hun’s eyes sharpened.

“So, what do you want?”

“I told you. Seon-woo is already playing a lead role. Of course, [Red Zone] giving Seon-woo the opportunity to spread his wings is part of that, but it would be a bit disappointing if he keeps appearing as a supporting character just for that one reason.”

Park Du-ho lifted his sunglasses.

“A dual lead with Seong Do-won… If not that, then at least promise him a sub-lead level amount of screen time.”

“You know that’s not an easy thing to do.”

“I know. It’s not easy. But PD, when conceiving a work, shouldn’t you consider whether it’s good or bad, not whether it’s easy or difficult?”

“…Are you saying that increasing Seon-woo’s screen time would be good for us too?”

“The appearance fee we requested isn’t that large, as far as I know. It’s closer to supporting actor level than lead actor level. Actually, compared to what we were promised for [My Jade], it’s nowhere near that level.”

“Ahem…”

Han Jeong-hun knew that too.

In fact, the reason Park Du-ho could make this demand here was because of that. Seon-woo had now risen to lead actor status anyway.

Han Jeong-hun was inwardly dumbfounded.

Even when they first discussed Season 2, this wasn’t part of the calculation. No, it’s only been a few months since Season 1 ended. But an actor who was only supporting level back then has already taken on a lead role?

It was too exceptional a rise.

But Park Du-ho smiled with a relaxed attitude.

“PD, do you invest in stocks?”

“Yes. A little.”

“That’s how stocks are, isn’t it? When something rises too much in price, you don’t want to buy it for some reason. Wondering if this is a bubble. If it will fall once I buy it. But people who truly know a company’s real value aren’t afraid of such things. There might be momentary fluctuations, but ultimately prices flow according to their value.”

“Are you telling me to think about Seon-woo’s value?”

“Don’t think that Seon-woo’s price has gone up now. It’s actually the opposite. Now is the opportunity to buy him relatively cheap.”

Park Du-ho winked.

“Others might not know, but don’t you know well, PD? What kind of actor Seon-woo is.”

Of course he knew very well.

How many times had he been amazed by Seon-woo’s acting?

But drastically increasing the screen time like that wasn’t an easy task.

Well, Yu Eun-jeong wouldn’t strongly oppose Seon-woo getting more screen time, but other actors within the production might have complaints… and it could change the very texture of the work from what they originally envisioned for [Red Zone].

Moreover, Seon-woo hadn’t yet been fully proven as a lead actor.

Just because he was cast as the lead in [My Jade] didn’t mean there was a clear judgment on how stable his acting would be when carrying a lead-level amount of screen time.

In such a situation, he couldn’t just nod his head based solely on goodwill toward Seon-woo.

In the end, Park Du-ho and Han Jeong-hun couldn’t reach any particular agreement that day and promised to meet again.

Of course, Park Du-ho did leave with a grinning threat at the end.

“The stock market these days has too much volatility. Prices jump around wildly overnight.”

It meant not to think about it for too long.

But Han Jeong-hun couldn’t follow that advice. It was too big a decision to make in an instant.

There was still time until Season 2 production, so he’d have to think it over slowly.

But it was about a week after the meeting with Park Du-ho.

Yu Eun-jeong contacted him. She said the teaser video for [My Jade] had been uploaded and asked him to check it out.

Actually, even when he was about to play that teaser video, he didn’t have any particular thoughts.

He just wanted to get a taste of what it felt like, since an actor he cared about was doing a new project.

But then,

“…”

Two minutes later.

Han Jeong-hun, having finished watching [My Jade], stared blankly and operated his mouse.

And he started playing the teaser from the beginning again.

And again, two minutes later.

Han Jeong-hun stared blankly at the screen where playback had ended for a long while, then fumbled for his phone.

The recipient was Park Du-ho.

—Oh my, PD-nim. What’s the matter?

“…Is now a good time?”

—I can always make time when our PD-nim calls! But could I know what this is about first?

Han Jeong-hun opened his mouth.

There was no more hesitation. Rather, there was only slight impatience.

The impatience that he might miss the buying opportunity if things continued like this.

“Let’s draw up Seon-woo’s contract.”

—Does that mean… you’ll meet all the conditions I mentioned last time?

“Yes.”

Han Jeong-hun nodded.

“I’ll meet all of them.”

Park Du-ho was right.

It was a bit scary. Seon-woo’s value seemed to be jumping up too rapidly all of a sudden. He worried that buying now might actually result in a loss… that concern was real.

But he couldn’t just sit still like this.

Maybe he’d become a fool who buys when it rises and sells when it falls…

But what could he do.

This really seemed like it would just keep going up.

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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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