I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 30

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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 30

 

‘Could I understand it if I tried to… understand?’

 

In fact, people were always acting in their daily lives.

 

At the company, they played the role of ordinary employees; among friends, they played the role of friends; at home, they always acted as parents or children.

 

But even so, Seon-woo had never seen colors from people living their daily lives.

 

Seon-woo had organized his own reasoning about this.

 

The masks people usually wore were, even if they were masks, another aspect of themselves.

 

So it wasn’t acting, but no different from just being themselves.

 

But look at this woman now.

 

“I heard you haven’t been acting for very long?”

 

“Oh, yes… It’s been about 5 months now.”

 

“Wow, that’s amazing~! I couldn’t even dream of acting like this at 5 months. Min-hee sister was actually bragging about you, Seon-woo!”

 

“…When did I ever brag about him.”

 

Everyday conversation.

 

Ordinary words that didn’t even need acting. But every single one of these words was saturated with sky-blue aura.

 

Like in a comic where only her speech bubble was sky-blue?

 

It was strange.

 

If she had come with some tremendously strange concept, he would have thought, ‘Ah, she’s acting.’

 

But wasn’t this way too casual a manner of speaking for that?

 

An extremely ordinary way of speaking that didn’t even need acting.

 

Why on earth was she acting this?

 

“…Is there something on my face?”

 

He must have been staring too intently.

 

Yeon-woo looked at Seon-woo with a puzzled expression.

 

She had a gorgeous yet kind impression. Clear eyes and distinct eye shape, naturally upturned corners of her mouth, and white, clean skin.

 

A beauty that most people couldn’t help but find attractive.

 

She had the feeling of a refreshing beverage commercial model.

 

But…

 

Seon-woo shook his head.

 

“Oh, no. I was just thinking about the acting I saw earlier. You were really good.”

 

“Oh, really? Thank you for even saying that.”

 

Even in that moment when she smiled brightly with her eyes crinkling, Yeon-woo’s face was still glowing with a sky-blue light.

 

Seon-woo observed Yeon-woo discreetly.

 

He could pretend not to know and just leave, but that didn’t seem polite… and since they would keep running into each other, it seemed better to get a read on her character to some extent.

 

However,

 

“The Cheongseong people definitely seem close-knit and nice.”

 

“I hope we can all make it to the finals together like this.”

 

“I’ve been doing acting as a hobby since middle school. When I first stepped on stage… it just felt really amazing.”

 

What Yeon-woo was saying was too ordinary.

 

There wasn’t even anything to analyze about her character – she just felt like a normal person.

 

…If it weren’t for seeing these colors, Seon-woo would have thought she was just a perfectly ordinary person with nothing particularly strange about her.

 

‘There’s definitely something there though…’

 

He couldn’t find any opening.

 

That made sense. Ever since she came here just now until now… the blue aura around Yeon-woo had never disappeared even once.

 

Which meant she had never stopped acting.

 

In the end, Seon-woo decided to raise the white flag for now.

 

She didn’t seem like she would easily show any weakness, and anyway, they would only see each other during this program and then it would be over.

 

He just needed to be careful not to get entangled with her wrongly.

 

“I’m going to head in first.”

 

“Huh, you’re going in already?”

 

“Yeah, I’m feeling a bit tired. I want to go in and rest.”

 

“Alright, you worked hard. Get some good rest!”

 

“Sleep well, hyung!”

 

With people’s farewells behind him, Seon-woo returned to the accommodation.

 

And Yeon-woo, who had been watching Seon-woo’s retreating figure, muttered in a low voice.

 

“What a strange guy?”

 

* * *

 

Seon-woo’s roommate became Si-on.

 

This was thanks to Si-on feeling most comfortable with Seon-woo.

 

The conversation naturally went in the direction of accommodating young Si-on, and no one objected to that.

 

‘I can’t leave him with Seo Jin-wook either.’

 

And if he left Si-on with Hyeong-bin… Seon-woo would have had to stay with Seo Jin-wook. That would have been quite an uncomfortable living arrangement.

 

In many ways, this was best for everyone.

 

He just hoped Seo Jin-wook wouldn’t get on Hyeong-bin’s nerves… though it was hard to say. Considering Hyeong-bin’s affability, he might handle someone like Seo Jin-wook with ease.

 

Anyway, that’s how the communal living with Si-on began.

 

Or should it be called babysitting? Either way, this life wasn’t as bad as he’d thought.

 

“Don’t you miss your mother?”

 

“I do miss her, but… I’m okay!”

 

Si-on clenched his fists.

 

“I’m all grown up now!”

 

“…Yeah, you’re admirable.”

 

“Thank you, hyung. If it weren’t for you, I would have been at home today… I survived thanks to you!”

 

“Si-on.”

 

“Yes, hyung.”

 

“From now on, saying thank you is forbidden.”

 

“…What?”

 

“Si-on, you didn’t survive because I did well. You did well. So if you’re really grateful to me, just keep doing well from now on. Just like now. Got it?”

 

“…Yes!”

 

Si-on nodded with a determined expression.

 

Perhaps it wasn’t really an issue that needed to be addressed this seriously. But Seon-woo wanted Si-on to have a little more confidence in himself.

 

Believing in oneself would be more important than thinking you survived thanks to someone else.

 

‘You need to survive for a long time.’

 

He felt this while watching the other participants doing the four-person play mission.

 

Forget winning… even making it to the TOP 10 wouldn’t be an ordinary feat.

 

Of course, he hadn’t lost confidence.

 

Hadn’t he practically declared it to PD Im Yeong-do just recently?

 

That he would win.

 

‘Right. I have to win.’

 

Hadn’t he felt it while watching those who were eliminated?

 

That he couldn’t let this opportunity, this miracle, slip away.

 

Seon-woo first took Si-on and headed to the plaza.

 

Thanks to another filming session scheduled from this morning. They were probably going to announce the next mission.

 

How much time had passed while waiting in the plaza?

 

“Hello?”

 

When he turned his head at the sudden greeting, there was a somewhat uncomfortable face.

 

It was Yeon-woo. She was looking at him with a bright, beautiful smile. But even at this moment, the sky-blue aura surrounding her hadn’t disappeared.

 

Meaning that even this trivial greeting was still acting.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Did you sleep well yesterday? I was kind of nervous so I couldn’t sleep well.”

 

“Ah, I was fine.”

 

He wasn’t usually the type to give such dry responses, but somehow he didn’t know what to say.

 

Since he thought everything about the person in front of him was acting, he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t act along with her, and it was awkward to respond sincerely to something.

 

Even in the midst of all that…

 

“Oh, Seon-woo! Yeon-woo too, hi!”

 

“Ah, Hye-seong oppa! Did you sleep well?”

 

“No, I couldn’t sleep well because I didn’t know what might happen.”

 

“Me too…”

 

The other people from Cheongseong seemed to already quite like Yeon-woo.

 

They had definitely just met for the first time last night, but she was already calling Hye-seong oppa.

 

It was a frightening level of affability.

 

Well, from her outward appearance alone, there was nothing to dislike about her.

 

If Seon-woo didn’t have the color vision ability for acting, he probably wouldn’t be on guard like this either.

 

The problem was that Yeon-woo kept showing interest in Seon-woo.

 

“What did you do before acting?”

 

“Just went to school, prepared for job hunting, things like that.”

 

“Oh, what was your major?”

 

“English Literature.”

 

“Wow, you must be good at English.”

 

Even though he wasn’t deliberately making room for her, she approached him even more persistently as if trying to get closer.

 

Since he couldn’t outright say he was uncomfortable, just as his head was starting to ache…

 

“Min-hee! Come here! Over here!”

 

Min-hee appeared.

 

Just like last night, her complexion still didn’t look good.

 

Yesterday I thought it might just be because she was tired… but apparently that’s not the case.

 

“…Senior, are you okay?”

 

Seon-woo asked with a deliberately worried voice.

 

He thought there would rarely be a reason to worry about Min-hee, but seeing that haggard face… it was hard to pretend not to notice.

 

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Your face looks too bad for me not to worry.”

 

“It’s just because I only put on basic makeup.”

 

‘…That doesn’t seem to be the problem though?’

 

But if she said she was fine, it would be rude to keep worrying.

 

Instead of saying more, Seon-woo took a step back.

 

And that’s when it happened.

 

【 It looks like everyone’s gathered. 】

 

The three judges appeared on the stage as usual.

 

Seong Jun-il looked around at everyone with a refreshing smile.

 

【 Did you all sleep well last night? 】

 

【 You must have felt proud, right? You probably felt like you accomplished something. 】

 

【 But you can’t be satisfied already. 】

 

【 You all need to polish yourselves more. 】

 

【 You don’t just need to survive, you need to stand out. You need to shine and be amazing. 】

 

【 So, we’re going to provide you with a standard by which you can judge yourselves. 】

 

【 That’s the scoring system. 】

 

‘Scoring system?’

 

Question marks appeared in everyone’s eyes.

 

A scoring system in an audition program. It wasn’t exactly a familiar concept.

 

Soon Yu Mi-yeon explained about the scoring.

 

【 From now on, you’ll continuously be given opportunities to accumulate points. 】

 

【 Yes. That’s right. Opportunities to accumulate points. 】

 

【 Points will be cumulative. And at the end of each mission, everyone who falls short of the ‘baseline score’ will be eliminated. 】

 

【 Do you understand the meaning of the scores now? 】

 

Seon-woo nodded his head.

 

Cumulative scoring system.

 

In the end, it meant they had to consistently show good performances. Even if someone struggled and then showed a brilliant performance at the very end, if their score was insufficient, they wouldn’t make it into the TOP 10.

 

A structure where those at the top couldn’t become complacent, and those at the bottom had no choice but to grit their teeth and run even harder.

 

It was a system that reminded him of the college entrance exam system.

 

【 Now, let me announce the mission. 】

 

Seong Jun-il opened his mouth.

 

And at that moment, the screen displaying their scores changed, and four Chinese characters appeared.

 

Seeing this, Seon-woo muttered.

 

“Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure?”

 

【 The theme of the next mission is joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. You must choose one of these four emotions and prepare acting that suits that emotion over the next three days. 】

 

【 And depending on what kind of acting you present in this mission, you can receive a score ranging from a minimum of 0 points to a maximum of 10 points. 】

 

【 Additionally, rankings will be assigned for each emotion, with 1st place receiving 3 additional points, 2nd place receiving 2 additional points, and 3rd place receiving 1 additional point. 】

 

Seon-woo nodded his head.

 

Additional points based on rankings. It was certainly a system that made good use of the scoring system. A situation where they had to approach strategically from the very selection of emotions.

 

If they were lucky enough to choose an emotion that not many people gathered around, they could compete for additional points more easily.

 

【 I’ll give you 30 minutes. 】

 

The moment of choice.

 

【 Please choose an emotion within 30 minutes. 】

 

What emotion should he act out?

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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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