I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 260

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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 260
The live stream of the Drama Competition begins.
Before this news, the internet was already buzzing.
And that was because……
“Why are they all streaming at the same time, anyway?”
“I know, right? I want to watch everything.”
“They’ll upload all the live versions later, won’t they?”
“Probably.”
The couple felt the same way.
The husband, dressed in pink pajamas, crossed his arms and fell into deliberation.
“Which one should we watch?”
“What do you mean, which one?”
The wife answered as though it were obvious.
“Cheongsong, of course!”
“……Hmm.”
“What? Were you planning to watch somewhere else?”
“Well, back in the day I saw plays from the National Theater Company and Noeul, and I remember really enjoying them.”
“Oh really? When? I’ve never been.”
“In college.”
“With whom?”
“……But why do you want to watch Cheongsong anyway?”
The husband, sensing danger, quickly changed the subject.
The wife regarded him with narrowed eyes, though he was desperately avoiding her gaze.
The wife answered the question at least.
“Of course it’s because of Min-hee and Seon-woo, isn’t it?”
“……You really do love those two.”
“You know I was obsessed with Red Zone. I’m still just waiting for season two. Come on.”
“That’s true.”
“But if you really want to watch the other one……”
The wife trailed off.
And one second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Ten seconds.
The husband’s eyes narrowed.
“Why did you stop talking?”
“……I’ll watch reruns of other theater companies with you next time, I promise!”
“……So you won’t compromise on the live broadcast.”
“You enjoyed Red Zone too! Aren’t you looking forward to Cheongsong?”
“It’s not that I’m not looking forward to it……”
The husband fiddled unnecessarily with the armrest of the sofa.
Even if not the live broadcast, he’d planned to catch Cheongsong’s stage separately anyway. He’d always liked this sort of thing.
The real reason he wanted to watch the other one live was…… well, nothing special, really.
He was just more excited about the other one.
“Cheongsong’s work is just a bit disappointing, that’s all.”
“Would We Be Okay Breaking Up?”
“Yeah. It’s basically a black comedy sitcom, you know? It doesn’t feel like the kind of work where acting brilliance is going to explode out……”
To be honest, the husband had even wondered about that.
Was Cheongsong deliberately pulling back their strength?
It was certainly true that to commit fully to an image of technical mastery, the other theater companies had considerable depth to their work. Especially within the environment of a theatrical stage, there were many aspects where they excelled beyond Cheongsong.
“I’m not saying black comedy is easy, but I’m not sure it’s the right choice for the first round either.”
“Actually, isn’t that what makes it good? You’ve done heavy stuff all this time. Kim Seon-woo did, Cha Do-young did too. Red Zone was pretty weighty for a drama as well. I think a lighter piece for some refreshment around now would be nice.”
“Well, that’s true, but……”
“You definitely prefer serious stuff, I’ll give you that.”
The wife nodded in understanding.
And she thought.
“I wonder what everyone else’s reaction is right now.”
“They’re probably mostly focused on Cheongsong, don’t you think?”
“Let me search it up.”
The couple searched for the Drama Competition.
Immediately, eight videos appeared on the live streaming list in a neat row.
What the couple paid attention to was the viewer count. By seeing how many people were watching the live stream, they could roughly gauge which ones had the most buzz.
National Theater Company [Empty Room] – 43,827 viewers
Noeul [Last Letter] – 27,419 viewers
Baekya [Everyone’s Birthday] – 14,632 viewers
Manwol [Late to the Funeral] – 19,785 viewers
Hongryeon [Burning Forest] – 9,406 viewers
Haebu [Waves Don’t Return] – 7,218 viewers
Yuryeseong [Why Does My Home WiFi Keep Disconnecting?] – 12,974 viewers
Cheongsong [Would We Be Okay Breaking Up?] – 94,681 viewers
And sure enough, Cheongsong held the number one spot.
The play hadn’t even started yet, and nearly one hundred thousand people had already flooded in waiting to watch.
The husband opened his mouth as if flabbergasted.
“Has there ever been another case where tens of thousands of people watched a play simultaneously?”
“There couldn’t be. Theater venues aren’t usually very big to begin with.”
“Exactly. In a way, this is quite a historic moment.”
Though he didn’t know for certain, he felt he understood.
Right now, countless theater practitioners must be watching this program with bated breath. This program would show whether theater as a culture could flourish further in this nation or not.
‘I hope it goes well.’
The couple thought that vaguely.
Sincerity deserves to be rewarded. The couple was at least agreed on that point.
“By the way, Cheongsong’s firepower is really incredible. They have twice as many viewers as second place.”
“Probably because there are so many star actors. Even just the fandoms gathering is enough to establish a baseline.”
“……What if this were a popularity vote?”
The couple went into the National Theater Company’s live stream first.
And immediately, a flood of chat messages poured in.
StageLover: So the National Theater Company is on this too.
ArmrestMine: I wish theater was covered more on TV.
OfficeWorker: Looking at the subject matter of [Empty Room], it seems heavy.
MemoryCollector: If actor Han Gi-ju is in it, I have to watch.
OldTicket: Cheongsong has a lot of famous names too, so I’m curious
WifiRefugee: Everyone check out Yuryeseong [Why Does My Home WiFi Keep Disconnecting?] too.
SilentAudience: Are they pitching here?
OldTicket: Han Gi-ju’s acting loses its flavor if you watch from the middle. You have to see his rhythm from the beginning.
StageLover: It’s nice that they’re doing individual theater company live streams like this. It’s hard to go see them normally.
Guest1: I wish people who came to watch Cheongsong would check out the National Theater Company once too. The feeling of theater would be completely different
LightingStore: But watching with the chat on feels awkward lol
OfficeWorker: I’ll prob close chat when it starts
For the most part, the people here were those who had long had an interest in theater.
Because of that, there was a sense that they wanted to watch the most traditional theater company’s play first. And the next option, Noeul, was similar.
They too were among the theater companies with the longest histories alongside the National Theater Company.
As for the other theater companies,
Haebu [Waves Don’t Return]
SlowDay: You guys, please watch Haebu too ㅠㅠㅠㅠ It’s Jeju’s pride ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
TinyWave: I get why people watch Cheongsong and the National Theater, but our stage is great too ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
MinMin: The viewer count is so low I’m embarrassed for us. Please just check us out once…!
PaperBoat: Haebu’s actors are really skilled. They’re just not as well-known, but you’ll understand when you see the stage.
SlowDay: We could make the chat fun if we just had people, but there’s nobody ㅠㅠㅠ
NightSea: Seeing Cheongsong at 100k and us at 7k made me tear up.
PaperBoat: Stop sniffling and go promote it
Lunatic: This kinda feels like handing out flyers in front of a local festival booth.
BlueHour: Haebu, hang in there. I’m not from Jeju, but I’m rooting for you.
NightSea: Hey, it went up a bit. We hit 7,300.
HaeBuYaHo: 300 people came ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Thank you guys ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Haebu was certainly impressive in its own way.
Being a Jeju-based theater company, the local fans had solidly established their presence. But the chat scroll speed was admittedly a bit slower.
But as things stood, something began to feel curious.
‘What are they talking about at Cheongsong right now……’
The viewer count alone had already exceeded 90,000 when they checked just moments ago.
Since that was double the National Theater Company, the chat’s firepower was bound to be extraordinary.
The wife thought so and entered Cheongsong’s live stream.
And then,
“Wow……”
“I can’t understand any of it.”
She was taken aback.
The chat room was literally running wild. The scroll continuously moved downward in real-time, making it so difficult that reading the chats properly was nearly impossible.
Amidst that, the few chats that caught her eye were……
ActorLoverNo1: Come out quickly, godly Seon-woo!
DoYoungMom: Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young Cha Do-young
MinHeeEatRice: Na Min-hee is bringing something big today everyone tighten your seatbelts lol
Right away, chats chanting the names of specific actors, and
RedZoneGhost: People who came here after watching Red Zone?
GreenTangerine: Me.
MintLatte: Me.
Bulanping: So many came from Red Zone lol
BeeBlack: I came after watching The Ladder of Eden lol
People mentioning those actors’ past works,
Anonymous: Why is the chat speed like this
NightBread: It disappears as soon as you write
ThreeOClock: Is this even a theater live chat?
WhaleBack: Feels like a concert hall
OfficeWorker: Cheongsong’s firepower is insane
Like her, those who had marveled at the chat’s intensity before growing tired of it, and
Cali: But what’s the story about?
GreenGrape: It’s about a long-term couple having their friends over to ask for relationship advice
Cali: Sounds fun
MintLatte: So they’re asking their friends “Should we break up?”?
KimQuokka: What inconsiderate people lol
Bulanping: But it seems like something that could actually happen in real life, which makes me hate it more
People discussing the work itself, among many others, all gathered here.
The chat room became impossible to read without pausing it moment by moment. And as a result,
StarCandy: Wait, we’ve passed 100k viewers
WhaleBack: But it hasn’t even started?
CrescentMoon: Cheongsong’s buzz is really overwhelming
LimeTree: Just the fandoms alone bring this much
GreenText: Saw the National Theater Company, saw the numbers, and switched over
NextToTheater: Same here. I just came because I was wondering what was happening.
WifiRefugee: Yuryeseong [Why Does My Home WiFi Keep Disconnecting?] deserves your attention too.
ActorLoverNo1: Promoting in Cheongsong chat is too hard
BlackBean: Comments here have a 0.2 second lifespan
Before the play had even begun, Cheongsong had already secured 100,000 viewers.
When you factored in the actors’ individual fandoms, it wasn’t surprising, but it was certainly striking compared to the other theater companies.
“Are they crazy? The reactions are insane.”
“……Cheongsong’s going to be the hot topic for sure today.”
And the husband nodded.
It’s human nature to gravitate toward where people congregate. It’s like how even knowing a restaurant is delicious, you don’t want to enter if there’s no one inside—there’s something about abundance that becomes reason enough to head that way.
And Cheongsong had already proven their own value through their work so far.
‘At least in the first round, they’re bound to take first place.’
In terms of buzz, it was inevitable.
Of course, if they put on a terrible stage after all this, those gathered viewers would drain away like the tide……but thinking of the Cheongsong he knew, the Kim Seon-woo he knew, such a thing was unlikely.
By now, the husband too was beginning to feel anticipation.
‘What kind of acting will they show?’
Not being able to watch the National Theater Company’s live broadcast was a shame, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious about Cheongsong.
In fact, there were aspects where he was even more curious.
He’d never seen Cheongsong’s theatrical stage before. He truly wondered what they would be like on stage.
Especially actors like Cha Do-young and Kim Seon-woo……the husband had been anticipating them quite a bit as a filmmaker.
Among young male actors these days, they were among the rare few who gave promise to the next generation of Chungmuro.
Watching such talents perform theater was not an easy experience to come by.
The husband’s eyes sparkled.
What would it be like?
What kind of acting would Cheongsong show?
And it was exactly at that moment he was thinking such thoughts.
The red curtain that had been concealing Cheongsong’s screen the whole time began to rise. The wife unconsciously grabbed her husband’s hand, and he too swallowed hard as he gazed at the screen.
And……
“Wow……”
On the revealed stage was a living room.
A worn gray sofa.
A few beer cans placed on a low table.
A leftover chicken box.
A man’s coat carelessly thrown to one side.
And a man sitting at the end of the sofa.
Kim Seon-woo.
The couple swallowed involuntarily.
This was an atmosphere they’d never seen before. How should they describe it? Perhaps terribly irritable. It felt like his sharpened nerves were laid bare before them.
Even through the screen, it was somehow tension-inducing.
It was remarkable.
The camera didn’t capture Kim Seon-woo’s face in close-up. It simply showed him lounging listlessly on the sofa.
But seeing those drooping arms, the twisted legs, and that expressionless gaze fixed on the audience, Kim Seon-woo’s emotional line was already coming through.
“This is somehow……”
“Shh.”
The wife put a finger to her lips.
Lost in complete immersion, she couldn’t even lower the finger she’d raised, simply staring blankly at the screen.
Because of that, the husband had to swallow the words he hadn’t yet spoken.
Something doesn’t feel ordinary about this.
Something’s about to be shown properly.

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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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