I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 246

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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 246
“You shine brighter than the stage” — Kim Seon-woo’s Best Supporting Actor Award Acceptance Speech
Freshwater Snail: His words are really so pretty ㅠㅠㅠ Our Seon-woo is just a star on stage from birth☆ It’s only natural that someone like him succeeds
└meteor: It’s even more amazing that he came up with that acceptance speech on the spot. You can tell there’s no script
└Cali: Wow but the fact that it doesn’t feel forced at all makes it better there’s something about him being someone who hasn’t been swallowed up by celebrity yet
NotACritic: His trembling from nervousness actually made it feel more real. It wasn’t a tone of forcing emotion—it was understated and good. It could’ve been cringeworthy, but his expression carried it all
└PressureGangnam: Yeah like unseasoned soup with a deep broth. Understated but profound
KimQuokka: Just a passing acting instructor’s two cents. That wasn’t acting—that was genuine confusion. That kind of subtle pupil tremor doesn’t come from design. That’s all.
Gahyun: He lost the newcomer award and sat there with his mouth shut looking glum, then when his name got called he stumbled ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I said I wanted to see awards show bloopers and this is perfect
└Gahyun: Even while walking up he had the face of someone who didn’t understand what was happening ㅋㅋㅋ “Is this really an award I’m allowed to receive” was written right on his face
└Cali: The camera director probably had to hold back laughter too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
CommentFairy: Honestly I was gonna say it’s all just direction…… but I can’t. His face is too genuine it’s annoying
└Bulanping: ???CommentFairy is complimenting him???
└CommentFairy: Shut up. Just this once
Bulanping: When I saw his face after not winning newcomer I even got my own mental state together ㅠㅠ He’s trying to collect himself and then suddenly they call out a higher tier award…… Man if I’d been at the ceremony I would’ve felt that emotion too
└LastToiletPaper: That’s the thing that makes the narrative so delicious
eyesonyou: I don’t know about anything else but Min-hee unnie clapping next to him had me shook by her visuals again why isn’t anyone talking about this??
WriterStayingUp: I became a fan watching the acceptance speech. Where do I get the sales pitch
└meteor: You came in good. Just watch Red Zone from the beginning his acting is insane
└Cali: The Red Zone team vibe is really good so that’s bingeworthy too grab some beer
└FreshwaterSnail: Welcome to the fandom✨ Our Seon-woo is great even in reverse
ㅇㅇ: Seon-woo’s dazed expression is already meme material let’s archive this screenshot ㄱㄱ
└Gahyun: I’ll archive it. Slap the caption “Me?” on it and spread it
└Bulanping: He’s gonna get teased about this for a while ㅋㅋㅋㅋ But it’s kinda cute too…… ah I felt affection again
After OBC’s Acting Awards ended, Seon-woo’s acceptance speech drew warm responses. The way he spoke his genuine joy with sparkling eyes simply looked too good.
For Seon-woo, it was a strange thing.
The fact that he was participating in an awards ceremony at all felt considerably unfamiliar to him, and seeing the way people looked at him with admiration and affection……
‘I still can’t get used to it.’
He had become a celebrity now, and reached a position where he faced the goodwill and admiration of many people.
He understood that, but somehow it still didn’t feel natural. Not quite like wearing ill-fitting clothes, but…… it remained perpetually awkward.
But Seon-woo didn’t dislike it.
‘There’s nothing wrong with feeling awkward.’
It might even be good.
Because awkwardness meant he was holding onto his original intention.
Seon-woo wanted to preserve his original intention. He wanted to maintain this attitude where acting remained most important and precious, always.
And to do that, he needed to be faithful to the moments given to him right now.
“Seon-woo, congratulations on the award.”
“Ah, thank you so much, senior.”
On the Yeokjeok filming set.
Yi Bang-won’s filming scenes were now nearly at their conclusion. What Seon-woo had to shoot today was…… a scene where he confesses to Yi Bang-won’s father that he killed Jeong Mong-ju in front of him.
After this, Yi Bang-won’s coronation ceremony scene still remained, but it was fair to say that all the stories in Yeokjeok were resolved in this very moment.
With Jeong Mong-ju’s death, Goryeo came to an end, and simultaneously, Yi Bang-won’s idealistic founding of Joseon crossed into impossible territory.
Depending on how they directed the father and son accepting this bitter reality, the message that Yeokjeok conveyed would change.
So it was a moment where the finale needed to be handled well.
Perhaps that’s why.
Even as filming was coming to an end, Kwon Seong-min still showed no signs of relaxing tension. If anything, he seemed sharper than usual.
“Something you said was quite striking. That comment about the audience seats being more beautiful than the stage.”
But when he said this, Kwon Seong-min’s eyes were rather soft.
“It’s a good thing to say. When you spend your whole life looking only at the camera, young actors these days often forget the audience exists.”
“Yes. I tried not to forget either, but standing there, I felt it more. The only way we really connect with the audience is through posts on the internet…… I think I wasn’t looking at them properly before.”
“I understand. Especially in these times. The audience doesn’t feel like people sometimes, just a mass of text. Frightening text, at that.”
“Ha…… that does seem to be the case.”
Seon-woo nodded.
He’d never directly received a barrage of malicious comments, but he’d already experienced firsthand how frightening the audience could be during the Kim Nam-jo incident.
But……
“But they’re people too.”
Kwon Seong-min spoke the words that had been in Seon-woo’s head.
With something like contentment on his face.
“When I feel that, this work becomes a little more meaningful. What I do isn’t a few characters in an article, but people’s hearts…… that’s when I feel it.”
Kwon Seong-min patted Seon-woo’s shoulder.
“So, let’s really overturn Yeokjeok with everything we’ve got.”
“……Yes!”
Seon-woo’s eyes grew serious.
There was something that had come to him since returning from the awards ceremony.
He wanted to win an award through Yeokjeok this time.
He didn’t have to win.
It was just…… seeing Do-won not win an award that made him think that way. If he’d created an environment where Do-won could shine a little more, wouldn’t the result have been different?
Of course, it was overstepping on his part, but in any case, he didn’t want to experience that regret again at another awards ceremony.
He wanted to show acting that went beyond what he thought was his best.
That sentiment probably helped.
“Ready— action!”
When the cue came, Seon-woo’s demeanor was far more resolute than usual.
Which suited Yi Bang-won in this moment perfectly. Yi Bang-won had just taken Jeong Mong-ju’s life, whom he’d agonized over so much.
And at the same time…… he had to face his own father’s rage.
“……What did you say?”
“Po-eun has departed.”
“……Say it again. Po-eun what? Po-eun departed where. Why on earth would he depart. Answer me?”
Yi Bang-won’s father’s voice trembles.
He’s not suppressing rage. He’s refusing to face terror and shock. Desperately hoping that the worst imagination in his head won’t become reality.
“Speak! Tell me now. That it wasn’t you…… tell me it wasn’t you!”
“……I killed him.”
“You…… you heartless devil! Beast worse than any animal! You…… you’ve destroyed this house. You’ve ruined this country! You, you’ve destroyed everything!”
The emotion intensifies.
But the emotion here feels different. After showing Yi Bang-won’s father expressing rage toward his son, the scene that follows is…… the deposition of King Gongyang and finally Yi Bang-won’s father ascending to the throne.
In a typical scene, when emotion escalates, it brings new conflict and events born from that escalation, but Yeokjeok is different.
Ascending the throne in that heightened state, then it ends.
It’s direction that shows how Jeong Mong-ju’s death ultimately shook the very foundation of a nation called Joseon.
And to achieve that, what needed to be shown from this confrontation between father and son was simple.
A father and son completely shattered.
Goryeo had collapsed, and only the founding of Joseon remained, yet…… rather than rejoicing, a father crumbling and weeping had to stand out alongside a son who had to look upon his father like a criminal.
It was difficult acting.
In the past, Seon-woo would have spent considerable time grappling with this emotion.
But in this moment, working alongside Kwon Seong-min, Seon-woo didn’t feel particularly lost.
Which meant Seon-woo had grown close to Yi Bang-won and matured as an actor.
Thanks to that, this time too……
“Good. Let’s wrap it up here.”
Getting the okay from Director Seo Tae-rok didn’t take long.
While staff members grinned, saying filming with Seon-woo always ends quickly in a good way, Seon-woo approached Kwon Seong-min and bowed his head.
“I’ve really learned so much from you, senior.”
“Yes…… so our scenes together are finished now.”
Perhaps because he’d just been doing wailing acting.
Kwon Seong-min seemed drained. He smiled weakly and looked at Seon-woo.
“Only the coronation scene is left…… will you come to the wrap party?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good. Popularity will like it too. He seems to really enjoy drinking with you.”
Seon-woo was already becoming a star at every wrap party on Yeokjeok.
His nature of not getting drunk was a quality that film industry people couldn’t help but treasure above anything else.
“By the way, what are you going to do once filming wraps?”
“Well, I don’t have any schedules lined up right now.”
Seon-woo shook his head.
There were Yeokjeok Part 2 and Red Zone Season 2 scheduled, but Yeokjeok wouldn’t start shooting for at least another year, and Red Zone still had several months to go.
“I was originally thinking of taking on whatever work came along, but…… working with seniors on this production, I felt something this time. I think I need to find myself a bit, apart from being an actor.”
“That’s right.”
Kwon Seong-min nodded.
“We’re people before we’re actors, and what we perform is people anyway. We need to deepen our understanding of people.”
“Yes. That’s why I’m planning to spend some time just for myself this time.”
“Good…… ahem, do you happen to like fishing?”
“Uh…… I’ve never tried it, but if you invite me, senior, I’ll go anytime.”
“Good. I’ll give you a call sometime.”
So Seon-woo ended up making a fishing appointment.
It was welcome news for Seon-woo. Without something like this, he rarely went out. Especially not since becoming a celebrity.
It all feels a bit cautious when going out.
‘……I should think about this properly this time.’
Acting is good, but it’s time to look back at that person’s life.
How to live going forward, what else he could fill his life with besides acting…….
‘Should I take a trip somewhere?’
Seon-woo had just been shocked when he checked his bank balance recently.
He’d had some idea, but seeing the actual amount accumulated in his account with his own eyes…… it was staggering.
But no matter how much money there is, it means nothing if you just let it sit.
Maybe taking a trip overseas sometime would be good.
‘……I heard they have really well-established acting schools abroad.’
Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to take a trip and pick up some acting training.
A short-term study abroad for a month or so sounded quite fun. And if time permitted, going for longer stays sounded nice too.
‘I should really look into it.’
So that night, Seon-woo opened his laptop and started researching acting schools and the like.
Since English was the only foreign language he could use, his options were limited to English-speaking countries…… but even so, the choices were quite varied.
From places teaching Method Acting using emotional memory, to ones focused on fundamentals, and even Meisner Technique schools teaching reactive acting through repetitive practice.
‘……What do I need.’
It was a question worth thinking about.
Depending on where and what acting method he learned, it could determine what kind of actor he’d become going forward.
And then it was.
Buzzzzzz—his phone vibrated.
A call from Im Yeong-do, the PD who had directed I Am an Actor. There hadn’t been contact for a while since they wrapped Season 2…….
‘What’s this about?’
Seon-woo answered the call.
“Hello, this is Kim Seon-woo.”
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“Yes, PD. I’ve been well. How have you been?”
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“Um…… what kind of thing?”
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Im Yeong-do’s voice turned serious.
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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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