I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 27

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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 27

 

“Alright, let’s give it our all and go for it!”

 

Hyeong-bin clenched his fist tightly.

 

Actually, when he first saw Seo Jin-wook and Seon-woo acting, Hyeong-bin had felt slightly discouraged.

 

No, maybe it had been even before that.

 

From the moment he saw Seon-woo’s face, he had already been intimidated.

 

It was the kind of face you’d only see on TV.

 

A face so handsome that even other men would turn to look if they saw him on the street. But when he confirmed that Seon-woo even had good acting ability, he couldn’t help but feel deflated.

 

He began to wonder if acting was something only people like this could do.

 

But after seeing Seo Jin-wook’s acting on top of that, he couldn’t help but think, “Ah, this is as far as I go.”

 

Even if he survived… he felt like he wouldn’t be able to compete in a place crawling with people like this.

 

However,

 

—Let’s try lowering the tone a bit more for that line just now.

 

Seon-woo himself didn’t give up.

 

He was an interesting guy. Was someone who had been walking the path of acting from early on different in some way? Hyeong-bin secretly admired how his eyes sparkled with an almost mysterious intensity.

 

What was interesting was that the sparkle seemed to transfer to him as well.

 

When acting with him, he felt like his acting became even more natural than usual.

 

The stability of the play itself felt much more solid, to the point where he wondered if this was what real acting was like.

 

Maybe that was why.

 

‘Maybe it’s possible after all.’

 

Hyeong-bin was gradually gaining confidence too.

 

Maybe they really could get the Golden Ticket.

 

They could be in the top 2 teams… no, they could even take first place.

 

But a little later, when one team went up to perform and the judges opened their mouths afterward…

 

“You four, did you even practice your coordination properly?”

 

“You all know that your acting is completely disconnected right now, don’t you? Of course you must know. But you didn’t care about it. Because winning immediately was what mattered.”

 

“For good acting to emerge, it needs to be a good stage. And your stage was a complete mess.”

 

“To be honest, I don’t want to give a pass to even a single person.”

 

Hyeong-bin felt intimidated all over again.

 

It was a tremendous harsh criticism.

 

It was a stage that deserved it. Rather than thinking about cooperating with each other to show good acting, it was a stage that felt too strongly like everyone was trying to survive on their own.

 

Of course, since this program basically takes the form of a competition, it wasn’t an incomprehensible aspect.

 

However, that’s probably why the judges deliberately organized things.

 

Competition is competition, but don’t forget that the essence lies in acting.

 

‘We have no problems.’

 

Seon-woo looked at the stage with an unwavering expression.

 

No matter how strong the judges’ tone was, it didn’t matter. He had confidence.

 

Confidence that he had prepared the best possible stage for them.

 

So,

 

“If there are those who are confident that you’ve truly become one ‘team’ and prepared a good stage… please come out now.”

 

When Seong Jun-il said that, Seon-woo immediately looked around at his team members.

 

Wondering if it would be okay to volunteer.

 

Hyeong-bin seemed a little nervous but nodded his head.

 

Si-on nodded without hesitation, and Seo Jin-wook… shrugged his shoulders as if to say do whatever you want.

 

With this, there was no reason to hesitate.

 

Seon-woo raised his hand high.

 

Seeing Seon-woo like that, Seong Jun-il smiled warmly.

 

“Good, Kim Seon-woo. Come up with your team.”

 

“…Yes, understood!”

 

Though he didn’t show it, Seon-woo was a little surprised at this moment.

 

He didn’t expect Seong Jun-il to remember his name.

 

Had his acting during the preliminaries made quite a deep impression on him?

 

And watching Seon-woo go up to the stage like that, Hye-seong’s eyes sparkled.

 

‘Seon-woo is on the same team as Jin-wook?’

 

How did he practice with that wild one?

 

Hye-seong could already clearly see the hardships Seon-woo must have gone through.

 

On the other hand, he was also a bit puzzled. From what he could see, there seemed to be a young child around ten years old in the team, so could the stage preparation have really been smooth?

 

Seeing them volunteer and go out now, they seem to have confidence though.

 

“If they go up this time and fail… they’re going to get destroyed.”

 

“Won’t they almost kill them halfway?”

 

“Whew, he’s got guts. I don’t think I could go up there at a time like this.”

 

Such voices could be heard from here and there.

 

Hye-seong agreed with their words. It was a dangerous position. If he was lucky, he could become today’s protagonist, but if unlucky, he might just become the second sacrifice and that would be the end.

 

‘Come to think of it, he’s always been the type to seek out dangerous positions on his own since way back.’

 

Whether it was when he suddenly auditioned for Seung-do’s role, or when he said he’d take the lead role, Seon-woo seemed quiet but often made insanely bold decisions.

 

Perhaps that too was part of what made him special.

 

He didn’t know. Now he could only watch.

 

He wasn’t too worried. It didn’t seem like Seon-woo had gone up there without any thought.

 

He always seemed to do crazy things, but didn’t good results always follow for Seon-woo?

 

Meanwhile, Seon-woo who had stepped onto the stage…

 

‘His gaze is burdensome.’

 

He had to meet Seong Jun-il’s strangely sparkling gaze.

 

Surely during the preliminaries, his gaze when looking at him didn’t feel like this, but today something seemed a bit strange.

 

Proud? Pleased? Well, anyway, roughly that kind of gaze.

 

‘…Is this because I volunteered?’

 

Even so, it didn’t seem like he’d send such a favor-filled gaze just because someone raised their hand once.

 

Even Yu Mi-yeon was the same. There was a feeling that she was already looking at him favorably somehow…

 

That’s when Lee Mu-beom opened his mouth.

 

“What scenario will you be acting with?”

 

His usual calm tone. But for some reason, the moment he spoke, the air seemed to become heavier.

 

Seon-woo was about to answer for a moment but stopped and placed his hand on Si-on’s shoulder. Si-on was momentarily flustered, then startled and stammered as he spoke.

 

“S-Scenario #13! [Three Brothers]!”

 

“Ah, Three Brothers. That’s a perfect scenario. We even have such a wonderful little gentleman here.”

 

Lee Mu-beom smiled briefly while looking at Si-on, then looked around at everyone.

 

“As the other mentors just said, this is an important position. Do you feel confident that you’ve prepared well?”

 

“We’ve prepared well! Kim Seon-woo here really held the center together well!”

 

It was Hyeong-bin who answered.

 

Since he had helped so earnestly, he should repay the favor at least this much. Seeing such a Hyeong-bin, Si-on also hurriedly nodded.

 

“That’s right! He taught us really well!”

 

“…Is that so?”

 

Lee Mu-beom and the judges all turned to look at Seon-woo in unison.

 

Seon-woo was flustered. He hadn’t helped them to hear this kind of flattery.

 

“Ah, no… I just wanted us to prepare the stage well together, that’s all.”

 

“Oh? Just how well did you prepare?”

 

Seong Jun-il looked around at the other judges with a mischievous smile.

 

“Aren’t you already looking forward to it?”

 

“Mm. Yes, let’s see the stage first.”

 

“You’re all ready to go right away?”

 

“Yes, we’re ready!”

 

Seon-woo answered while looking around at his team members.

 

Now they just had to show what they had.

 

Meanwhile, the Cheongseong troupe members were all watching them with strange expressions.

 

Both Seo Jin-wook and Seon-woo were actors with quite strong presence… While Hyeong-bin might be fine, they wondered if young Si-on could really handle that intensity.

 

‘Given Seo Jin-wook’s personality, he won’t hold back his energy either.’

 

But they would know once they saw it.

 

Seon-woo must have had his reasons for raising his hand.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Can’t open it without the password. The will is inside here.”

 

The acting began with Hyeong-bin’s lines.

 

It was a clean tone. Not particularly jarring, but nothing noteworthy about the acting either.

 

And then it happened.

 

“Geez, what am I supposed to do when father leaves without even telling us the password at the end? I’m not solving puzzles at this age, what the hell!”

 

Seo Jin-wook ruffled his hair as if annoyed and grumbled.

 

At that moment, gasps of “oh” flowed from the audience seats. Acting completely different in quality from Hyeong-bin’s. There might be differences coming from the characters themselves, but the actor’s energy itself was explosively noticeable.

 

But because of that intensity, some people’s eyes filled with even more puzzlement.

 

If one side acted that intensely… it wouldn’t be easy to synchronize breathing, would it?

 

And that’s when it happened.

 

“Father has been like that since he was young. He’s always liked playing these kinds of games.”

 

A voice filled with subtle stress.

 

The moment Seon-woo’s voice rang out, the gazes that had been focused on Seo Jin-wook began to disperse in an instant.

 

And at that moment, Hye-seong’s eyes widened greatly.

 

‘That guy Seon-woo…’

 

He could tell at a glance.

 

That Seon-woo had brought a completely different acting style than usual.

 

It wasn’t the acting method that seemed to show off his own character like before. Was it because there were ordinary people next to him? He had brought a plain style that could blend well with their acting tone.

 

But even so, the character’s liveliness itself was clear, so it didn’t feel like he was being overshadowed by Seo Jin-wook’s character.

 

Acting that perfectly held the center.

 

It was acting that allowed you to look at the entire stage, not just one person like Seo Jin-wook or Seon-woo.

 

And naturally,

 

“This… isn’t this Dad’s photo?”

 

“That’s right. The three of us… the first time we traveled together after Mother passed away.”

 

Si-on was also able to perform much more easily.

 

Considering that hundreds of people including the production team were watching, and dozens of cameras were filming them, it was truly remarkable.

 

After all, Si-on was someone who had been extremely nervous just from meeting new adults.

 

And what made all of this possible was surely largely thanks to Seon-woo.

 

‘What an amazing friend.’

 

Hyeong-bin was honestly impressed.

 

Though he was younger, he was still a younger brother worthy of respect.

 

Seon-woo had transformed what was merely a place of competition into a place for acting. He could feel it. Even the smallest acting details embedded in Seon-woo’s performance were creating breathing room for them to act more actively.

 

The only way to repay this would be… to show his best acting.

 

That’s how they acted.

 

Not acting to win, but acting because they simply wanted to perform well.

 

Such a mindset might not be visible to the eye. But at least Hyeong-bin and Si-on found acting somehow enjoyable in this moment.

 

Even if they didn’t survive in the end… they were glad just to have been able to act like this.

 

And this was visible to all the participants as well.

 

Ah, those people right now aren’t competing… they’re truly acting in the literal sense.

 

He was making that place into a stage rather than a test site.

 

Everyone here had come this far because they carried acting in their hearts.

 

That’s why watching Seon-woo and his teammates perform had a power that somehow moved the heart just by observing.

 

That must have been the reason.

 

“…Yeah, let’s all go on a trip together.”

 

When the Three Brothers looked at each other with smiles and the play finally came to an end…

 

“Amazing!”

 

“Well done!”

 

“Seon-woo hyung is so handsome!”

 

Such cheers followed.

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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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