I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 232

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 232
Directorship.
A directorship position isn’t something you hand out to just anyone. Especially not to a twenty-something who hasn’t properly navigated professional life.
Yet here Park Du-ho was, offering Seon-woo a directorship—and it wasn’t merely because he had to do something about the situation.
“I don’t usually make offers like this to other actors. But the fact that I’m bringing this up to you now…… there’s a reason for it.”
“What reason is that?”
“People say it about you. That you act with a director’s perspective.”
He’d heard this said more than once.
Especially when producers and directors listened to Seon-woo’s questions—they’d smile warmly, and you could see in their eyes the joy of discovering kindred spirits who shared the same vision.
“And from what I see, it’s true. You don’t have the same perspective as ordinary actors…… you tend to analyze everything quite methodically. Not just your own role, but the entire work itself.”
“Does having that kind of vision help with taking on a directorship?”
“Of course.”
Park Du-ho nodded without hesitation.
“Of course, you don’t need to feel burdened right now. In name it’s a directorship, but in reality it’ll be closer to an honorary position. There are two reasons I want to give you this title in name only. First, by becoming a director at our company, it gives legitimacy to providing you with equity…… and it also raises the value of our company itself.”
For Seon-woo, these words didn’t quite feel real.
An offer of directorship alone was overwhelming enough, but the idea that him becoming a director would raise the company’s value….
He understood what Park Du-ho meant.
Wasn’t it saying that Wilde’s value goes up simply by virtue of Seon-woo being there?
Still, it didn’t feel quite real to him.
And Park Du-ho read that hesitation in him.
“You’re thinking right now that how does me becoming a director help with value, aren’t you?”
“Ahem. I do understand it could help. I just haven’t felt it yet…… .”
“Well, that’s understandable enough. You’ve risen pretty fast.”
It was also something Park Du-ho struggled to fully grasp, but Seon-woo had only been in the industry for a year since his debut.
In that time, he’d risen to leading-role level remarkably quickly and had stably joined the A-class actor ranks.
S-class yet?
Of course not. That would require more filmography to prove himself.
But if things continued at this pace, he’d certainly one day proudly add his name to the S-class actor ranks.
“If you seem like someone who’ll stay with us for roots…… no, I’m not asking for roots. But even if you seem like you’ll be around steadily for a few years, that alone will shoot our company’s value straight up. Do you know why?”
“…… Probably because we’ll create more connection points with various production companies, I imagine?”
“Right. The more they covet you, the more approaches we’ll get from production companies, and that becomes an opportunity for our other artists too. It creates more situations where we can take on work. And there’s a second reason here.”
Park Du-ho held up two fingers and grinned.
“I think you’d do quite well as a director.”
“…… Could I ask what kind of work that director’s role involves?”
“Well, in truth you can do just about any work…… but I’ll tell you the kind of work you’d actually want to do. First, do you know what kind of conversations happen at meetings with production companies?”
“Not really.”
“Right, let me explain the basic format. Sometimes a production company brings a fully planned project. In that case, it’s usually just a conversation like, ‘We’d appreciate it if your company could provide these or those actors, we’d like the weight to be this much, we’d appreciate caution about these image elements’…… that kind of thing. But occasionally we also invest equity in projects, and then the conversation changes. That’s when we oversee everything from planning through casting. And if you served as a director in that capacity, you’d have a voice in those decisions.”
Of course, depending on the actor, this might not feel like a merit at all.
They might even think it’s just more troublesome work. But Park Du-ho knew Seon-woo. The Seon-woo he knew would surely……
“Planning a project…….”
He expected his eyes to light up just like that.
One might think planning and acting are different things. But as an actor does more acting, they can’t act focusing only on their role and scenes. They inevitably develop a perspective that takes in the overall flow…… the entire work.
It was why so many actors who did well as actors suddenly picked up a megaphone.
As you keep cultivating that eye for how to see a work, you naturally start wanting to create one yourself.
“There are things still too early for you. But there’d still be a lot to learn. Having discussions about production planning at your age is an experience most actors can’t have.”
“…… I do think there would be a lot to learn, actually.”
Seon-woo nodded honestly.
Park Du-ho certainly understood him well. This directorship appealed to him far more than equity in Wilde.
But he couldn’t just casual probe his intentions about a contract.
“I’ll think about it more.”
“Good. Think it through. There’s still plenty of time…… And if you get any good offers with solid terms elsewhere, let me know. We can match what we’re able to on our end.”
“Yes. But, CEO. Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What?”
“…… Why do you trust me so much?”
Even if you’d say Seon-woo’s been on a much more successful trajectory lately thanks to My Imugi, Park Du-ho’s offer still felt unusually generous.
It was always like this. When they first signed the contract, when they talked about re-contracting now—Park Du-ho’s offers always factored in Seon-woo’s potential.
It felt like, ‘Soon Seon-woo will be this big, so of course he deserves this level of treatment…… ‘
And so he was curious.
What kind of actor did Park Du-ho see when he looked at Seon-woo?
What kind of person was he, that Park Du-ho pushed so unreservedly in his corner?
And to that question, Park Du-ho answered like this:
“Because you don’t let your guard down.”
“…… Let my guard down?”
“Actually, there are more actors who’ve risen like you do than you’d think. They pour out every year. But do you know why they can’t sustain that reputation for ten, twenty years? Because of age? Because their marketability fades? No. Because they let their guard down.”
Park Du-ho’s eyes grew clouded.
Among his artists, there were several who’d been ruined by complacency. Fame and money blind people’s eyes. The moment they bring banknotes closer than scripts, vanity closer than cameras…… their careers are essentially over.
Because they can’t improve anymore.
Of course, fame doesn’t disappear overnight, so they might still manage to appear on broadcasts for a few more years somehow.
But acting done with a half-hearted mind always shows.
Those people quickly become forgotten has-beens that no one seeks out.
In truth, it’s a common story not just in entertainment but in any field.
Too early success often becomes poison rather than medicine.
But Seon-woo didn’t let his guard down.
He could have settled into the praise of others, calling himself a genius, but whenever he examined himself, he always looked for his shortcomings first.
Just from what he’d heard from Park Hoon…… even now he researches daily how to act better, so there’s no need to say more.
On top of that, Seon-woo didn’t even enjoy drinking and carousing.
There was barely room for him to cause controversy!
“You’re earnest. And I like that earnestness. That exhausting nature of never being satisfied with yourself—I know it ultimately makes your acting all the more perfect.”
For Seon-woo, these words carried profound feeling.
That comment was essentially saying that his shortcomings as a person, the fact that he knows he’s lacking…… actually becomes his character, his advantage.
“I hope you stay earnest like this going forward.”
The conversation with Park Du-ho ended there.
It was a conversation bound to leave a lingering effect on Seon-woo in many ways. Even setting aside the honorary directorship question to ponder gradually, that phrase—”You’re earnest”—stayed in his chest.
Park Du-ho was the person in his circle who supported him most.
At the same time, he was the one who valued him most highly.
And that man had called him earnest.
He’d essentially said that Seon-woo’s earnestness was the biggest reason Park Du-ho valued him so highly.
Seon-woo thought about it.
His earnestness came from knowing he was lacking. It came from always feeling infinitely small and wretched within himself. But knowing that wretchedness…… facing it, could that be the very reason he shines in someone else’s eyes?
…… In truth, Seon-woo knew.
When he acted the gloomy Kim Seon-woo in One Room, the pathetic Yoon-seo in Red Zone, the hollow shell of I-mu-gi in My Imugi…… he’d found them all lovely.
They were shining, worthy of being loved.
Then why could he never apply that perspective to himself?
Why did he always see himself as merely lacking?
Seon-woo looked in the mirror.
A young man people called a star, yet still seemed clumsy and insufficient to his own eyes…… he looked at that reflection.
‘I have to know myself.’
Only then could he keep growing.
Only then could he become a better actor,
only then could he become a better person.
Seon-woo began organizing everything about himself.
His habits, tendencies, goals, strengths, weaknesses…… and based on all of that, he organized a character. One that aligned almost perfectly with himself.
It was a recreation of what Ryu had done before, in his own way.
Though unlike back then, it was a version of himself that had experienced more…… and grown.
And with a slightly anxious feeling, he raised his palm.
Wondering if maybe a Color Orb might appear.
And then,
Pop!
“!”
A Color Orb appeared.
He’d worried maybe it would be stained ash-gray like before…… but fortunately it wasn’t. Apparently he’d moved somewhat past that old depression.
But that didn’t mean the situation was good.
‘What color would I even call this.’
The saturation was low.
But the low-saturation colors were all jumbled together, making it impossible to say exactly what color it was. It could only be described as hazy, ambiguous.
…… Like paint muddled in water before it’s fully mixed.
But he thought he understood why it was this color.
It was probably a reflection of his tendency not to accept himself.
Well, it’s disappointing, but there’s nothing to be done. If this is the color he has now, he just has to accept it.
Seon-woo popped the Color Orb.
And nothing happened.
Of course not. He’d created the orb from his emotion as-is, so even if it enveloped him…… nothing would change.
And in a way, this meant he’d analyzed his character properly.
What remained now was……
‘I need to understand.’
Time to analyze.
Not Yi Bang-won, not I-mu-gi, not some thesis…… himself.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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