I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 26
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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 26
A moment later, Seong Jun-il returned to the waiting room with an extremely excited expression.
And as soon as he spotted Yu Mi-yeon drinking tea, he opened his mouth with an elated voice.
“Senior! I just witnessed something incredibly interesting.”
“Something interesting?”
“Well…”
Seong Jun-il told her exactly what he had seen.
The war of words that had gone back and forth between Seon-woo and Seo Jin-wook. After hearing all of it, Yu Mi-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
“They’re already filming a drama before they even start acting?”
“Exactly. If there had been a camera rolling there, it would have been a real masterpiece scene…”
Seong Jun-il clicked his tongue as if it was regrettable.
It had been a very provocative scene. Seo Jin-wook saying he could do anything as long as he could act, and Seon-woo saying he still wanted to protect what should be protected.
But at the same time, it was also a familiar scene.
Because it was a conflict that any actor would face at least once.
Seong Jun-il’s eyes grew serious.
“I’m getting a bit curious. What kind of acting that team will bring.”
“Seon-woo… that’s the kid from back then, right? The one who said he’d only been learning acting for 4 or 5 months but was really good.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“He’s a kid with story luck.”
Yu Mi-yeon made a subtle expression.
What’s the most important thing for an actor to succeed? Looks? Acting ability? Well, even with both of those, there are countless actors who end up disappearing without ever properly shining.
In the end, the most important virtue an actor, no, an entertainer must have is buzz-worthiness.
The ability to capture people’s attention and create issues no matter what they do.
She could sense that buzz-worthiness in Seon-woo.
Building a genius image, and being placed in situations like this.
But that buzz-worthiness only has meaning if he continues to survive in this program.
‘Golden Ticket.’
Aiming for that, all team members would survive together.
It’s a good goal.
But that won’t be as easy as it sounds, right?
* * *
“Um, I’m sorry…”
As soon as they returned to the accommodation, Si-on suddenly apologized.
Seon-woo was flustered and waved his hands dismissively.
“No, no, why are you suddenly apologizing? Did something happen?”
“No, it’s not that… I feel like I keep messing up and causing trouble for you, hyung…”
Did he notice the uncomfortable expression that Seo Jin-wook had been showing?
It seemed like he had made the young kid feel self-conscious for no reason. Seon-woo shook his head with a sorry heart.
“You don’t need to worry about that. Just focus on the acting you need to do now. That’s all.”
“I feel sorry too for no reason.”
Hyeong-bin also scratched his head.
“I feel like I kept taking up Seon-woo’s time because I couldn’t get the hang of it.”
“I’m fine. Let’s all work hard together. We need to get that Golden Ticket!”
“Yes, sounds good!”
From Seon-woo’s perspective, coaching their acting didn’t really feel like a handicap.
By watching their acting, his understanding of the play could actually improve even more.
And both Hyeong-bin and Si-on had definitely improved in the quality of their acting compared to the beginning.
After all, they were people who had made it this far through that high competition rate. That meant they had potential.
Just loosening up their nervous feelings a little was enough for good acting to emerge.
Especially in Si-on’s case…
“Grandfather said this day was brothers’ day. The day to go on a trip.”
‘His emotional line is good?’
It was getting to the point where even Seon-woo was surprised.
Was it because his nerves had relaxed? Si-on, who had properly immersed himself in the work, showed concentration unlike any ordinary child.
At first, he seemed to have some difficulty figuring out how to interpret the character, but once Seon-woo pointed out the character’s traits one by one, he quickly acted according to the directions.
‘He’s doing much better than I expected.’
Seon-woo nodded inwardly.
He too had been called a genius here and there for his ability to handle color orbs. But in Seon-woo’s opinion, real talent was something like this.
The ability to understand a character and make it one’s own through pure instinct alone, without anything like the power of color orbs.
Hyeong-bin’s acting was also gradually becoming more refined.
He had been flustered because he suddenly had to do character analysis in such a short time, but with Seon-woo’s advice continuously accompanying him, he seemed to be finding his footing relatively smoothly.
Throughout all of this, Seo Jin-wook cooperated more obediently than expected.
He didn’t take the lead in teaching acting or anything, but he did respond to all requests to be a scene partner.
Well, it wouldn’t make sense not to comply with that in the first place.
Anyway, thanks to that, the competition preparation went more steadily and smoothly than expected.
However…
‘Can we win with this?’
Seon-woo thought for a moment.
Only two out of 25 teams could obtain the Golden Ticket.
They had to become one of the top two teams.
Think about it.
Perhaps among the other teams, there might be teams composed entirely of theater actors or unknown actors.
Could they gain an advantage against such teams?
‘It would be difficult as things stand.’
Their current performance was just at a watchable level.
It was inevitably lacking to be called a level that would draw gasps of admiration from the audience.
Perhaps his standards had risen because he had become accustomed to the stage at Cheongseong. But among all these participants, someone would surely present a stage of similar quality.
He couldn’t think complacently.
With such a mindset, they would never be able to survive.
But what should he do?
How could they present a slightly better stage?
Seon-woo thought.
Actually, if he had to find problems right now, it would be Si-on and Hyeong-bin. Both were making efforts in various ways, but they still felt like they weren’t properly emanating their characters’ colors.
What Seon-woo actually saw with his eyes was the same.
‘They haven’t even fully colored themselves yet.’
When delivering lines and performing actions, their characters’ colors did bloom momentarily.
But even that, when they were coordinating with Seo Jin-wook…
“What nonsense are you talking? Do you really think Father would have written his will like that?”
“Nonsense? Is that how you talk to your older brother right now!”
Even the colors that had been rising couldn’t fully bloom.
It wasn’t surprising. Even Cheongseong’s troupe members tended to lose their own colors in front of Seo Jin-wook.
In a way, it was extremely selfish acting.
A style that burned everything around him as kindling to make himself stand out.
If the people acting with him all had tremendous presence, even that could become an advantage, but when working with people new to acting like this, it wasn’t a very good style.
‘If I tell him to tone down his presence a bit…’
Seon-woo thought for a moment then shook his head.
Seo Jin-wook was already complaining about why he had to help those two. There was no way he would listen.
While he was cooperating even this much, it was better to just leave him alone.
But that didn’t mean he could just sit still like this.
If he did that, he wouldn’t even dare hope for the Golden Ticket.
Well, even if he didn’t get the Golden Ticket, it didn’t seem like Seon-woo would fail.
But that didn’t mean he could just give up. Why go so far for two people he’d just met?
No, this wasn’t just a problem about those two.
‘If I’m going to act anyway, it’s better to do good acting.’
And preferably with a happy ending to follow.
He’d just try as much as he could.
And that’s when it happened.
The faces of several troupe members came to mind in Seon-woo’s head.
Including Hye-seong… the faces of troupe members who mainly took on supporting roles within Cheongseong.
Perhaps because they specialized in bringing the atmosphere of the play itself to life. Seon-woo remembered that when working with them, it was easier for him to emit colors somehow.
How should he put it. It felt like their acting guided Seon-woo.
‘Could I do that too?’
Seon-woo tried matching the rhythm once more.
If he had focused on emitting colors until just now, this time he tried to concentrate not on his role… but on the flow of the play itself.
The flow of the play was the flow of colors.
The flow created when the hearts and moods of characters intertwined. Instead of just focusing on painting colors, he created space for the other person to paint colors.
Yes, a gap where emotions could be expressed.
Then,
“I don’t know either! If I knew the password, I would have solved it already!”
Hyeong-bin showed much more skilled acting than before, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
It wasn’t just Hyeong-bin. Si-on’s acting also became much more natural.
Only then did Seon-woo realize.
The reason they were nervous and couldn’t act properly wasn’t just because of the tight schedule and the special nature of the filming site.
Rather, he might have been crushing their spirit.
And seeing Seon-woo change his acting style like that, Seo Jin-wook,
“….”
looked at Seon-woo with a very strange expression.
He seemed surprised, or perhaps dumbfounded, and from another angle, he seemed displeased.
A complex expression in many ways.
Seon-woo saw Seo Jin-wook’s gaze but didn’t care.
He must have felt this change too.
But right now, Seo Jin-wook’s thoughts weren’t important.
‘I can do it…!’
He could see the possibility.
If things continued like this… the Golden Ticket wouldn’t be an impossible goal.
He could win.
Everyone could survive.
* * *
【 The time has come. 】
Night.
All the participants of 【I Am an Actor】 gathered in the plaza.
The judges standing on the stage looked around at the participants.
As always, it was Seong Jun-il who held the microphone.
【 I think there are many of you who have grown attached to your cast members in that short time. 】
【 There must be those among you who hope for the picture of everyone advancing together by obtaining the Golden Ticket. 】
【 For that, there’s only one thing you need to show us here and now. 】
【 Good acting. 】
The smile disappeared from Seong Jun-il’s face.
【 Show everyone that you are good actors. 】
【 Let the public know what reason they have to watch you, remember you, and love you. 】
【 I truly, sincerely… wish you the best with all my heart. 】
Those were words that touched the heart.
Words that made them realize how great an opportunity this place was, and how important this moment was.
Thanks to that, just as a look of determination appeared on all the participants’ faces, Yu Mi-yeon’s voice rang out.
【 I’d like to add one thing… Even though today is a competition, this is ultimately an opportunity to introduce yourselves to the public. 】
【 Even if you get eliminated here today and go home, someone will remember the acting you showed. 】
【 I’d be grateful if you could keep that in mind while acting. 】
Seon-woo flinched for a moment as he watched Yu Mi-yeon saying those words.
For some reason, he felt like their eyes had met for a long time. But it was probably just his imagination.
There was no particular reason for Yu Mi-yeon to pay attention to him yet.
Seon-woo looked around at his other team members.
Because they had practiced acting continuously without rest until just before coming here, everyone was soaked in fatigue.
Especially Si-on, perhaps because he was still young, looked particularly exhausted.
So, was all that practice worth it?
Seon-woo recalled the color of the acting they had shown when they last rehearsed together.
Each character’s color breathing with life… that natural flow where they interacted closely with each other.
Just thinking about it again, it was such a beautiful scene.
‘We can do this.’
Seon-woo clenched his fist.
They had prepared enough. Now it was time to prove themselves, just as Seong Jun-il had said.
He had to get it.
The Golden Ticket.
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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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