I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 35

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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 35

 

Genius.

 

The ones most surprised by those words weren’t Seon-woo or anyone else… but Seong Jun-il and Yu Mi-yeon.

 

Anyone who knew Lee Mu-beom well couldn’t help but be shocked right now.

 

He wasn’t someone who easily spoke of genius when it came to acting.

 

Rather, he was the type to say that talent wasn’t important in acting, and to just steadily work hard.

 

But that same Lee Mu-beom had spoken of genius.

 

And while looking at a junior who had just started acting.

 

‘I think this is the first time I’ve heard Teacher call someone a genius…’

 

Seong Jun-il looked back at Lee Mu-beom with a surprised expression.

 

It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand it.

 

Seon-woo’s growth rate was certainly incomparable to anyone he had ever seen.

 

Had that left such a strong impression on Lee Mu-beom?

 

“Ah, no. I just… everyone helped me well.”

 

Seon-woo shook his head with an awkward expression.

 

It was excessive praise. He had just met a good teacher and received help from the unrealistic ability called Color Orb.

 

However, Lee Mu-beom smiled even more warmly looking at such a Seon-woo.

 

Despite having talent that wouldn’t be strange to make him arrogant, this young junior still tried to maintain humility.

 

Wasn’t that truly endearing?

 

“When we first met, Kim Seon-woo, you did acting that was dragged around by emotions. You know that yourself, right?”

 

“Yes. I know.”

 

“But last time, you learned how to restrain emotions, and today, just a few days later… you’ve even become skillful at pace control.”

 

At those words, the other judges also nodded.

 

They had felt it too.

 

Seon-woo was fast.

 

So fast that it was truly unbelievable.

 

Fast enough that his daily growth was visibly apparent.

 

“What are emotions to you, Seon-woo?”

 

And Lee Mu-beom seemed to know the reason.

 

Seon-woo’s very perspective on feeling and understanding emotions was special.

 

While it takes others years just to understand what emotions are, Seon-woo showed comprehension and learning abilities dozens of times faster when it came to emotion-related aspects.

 

“…I think emotions are colors.”

 

And Lee Mu-beom’s guess was, in a way, correct.

 

The existence of color orbs allowed Seon-woo to view emotions from a completely different perspective than others.

 

Who else could experience another person’s heart as if it were their own, and see it in colors?

 

“Could you explain in a bit more detail?”

 

“If there were no emotions, this world would just be black and white. I think human emotions and hearts are what give color to this world.”

 

Even while explaining, Seon-woo inwardly blamed himself for speaking so incoherently.

 

He didn’t know how much his eyes were sparkling as he spoke.

 

Just seeing those eyes was enough to understand him as a person.

 

Yes. I see.

 

The reason this person acts is because of those colors…

 

That was why Lee Mu-beom’s smile deepened.

 

“I want to keep watching. What colors Kim Seon-woo will bring in the future.”

 

The evaluation ended like that.

 

Leaving praise close to acclaim for all team members.

 

And the scores were… as follows.

 

Min-hee, Yeon-woo, Seon-woo, all 8 points.

 

For someone called a genius, it might seem like a somewhat low score.

 

But the word “genius” wasn’t about Seon-woo’s immediate skill level. It was said based on the growth trajectory he was showing.

 

Seon-woo was satisfied.

 

First, receiving the same score as Min-hee and Yeon-woo was encouraging, and 8 points was the highest score among those announced so far.

 

There was no reason not to be satisfied.

 

And at this moment, there was another person who was very satisfied.

 

‘Our teacher is creating material for us again.’

 

It was Im Yeong-do, who had been monitoring all of this.

 

Lee Mu-beom probably didn’t make those comments with broadcast calculations in mind.

 

He must have genuinely been moved by Seon-woo and left such praise.

 

But that was one of the scenes Im Yeong-do had wanted most of all.

 

The emergence of overwhelming talent that even a giant like Lee Mu-beom would acknowledge.

 

He hadn’t known it would happen to be Seon-woo… but it wasn’t surprising.

 

Seon-woo was clearly a participant who stood out to anyone who looked.

 

From the start, he had always shown extraordinary behavior.

 

He had been thinking of pushing him anyway, but who knew Lee Mu-beom would set the stage like this.

 

“…Dong-su.”

 

“Yes, PD.”

 

“Can we do some additional editing on our Teaser Video?”

 

“…The teaser? But that’s already completely finished with final editing.”

 

“I know. But what can we do.”

 

Im Yeong-do smiled, showing his teeth.

 

“I can’t resist this, can I?”

 

* * *

 

His ears were burning.

 

He had heard so many embarrassingly excessive compliments that it felt difficult to even look people in the eyes.

 

Seon-woo sighed inwardly.

 

‘…Somehow it feels like I’m receiving all the praise I’d get in a lifetime since I started acting.’

 

In a way, it might mean he was doing that well.

 

But Seon-woo wasn’t entirely pleased about it.

 

‘I’m not the kind of genius those people think I am.’

 

He couldn’t show arrogance by getting drunk on talent that wasn’t his own.

 

But he couldn’t ask them to take back the expectations they’d already given, so he’d have to work harder to meet those expectations.

 

His shoulders felt heavy.

 

Fortunately, the gazes that had been focused on Seon-woo didn’t linger for too long.

 

Soon another new team came up On Stage.

 

It was Jae-won’s team. A duo.

 

Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

 

He might not know about others, but he really couldn’t help but anticipate Jae-won’s stage. He knew what kind of actor he was.

 

Perhaps Jae-won might be the first to earn 9 points… no, maybe even 10 points?

 

However,

 

“Today’s acting was honestly disappointing. It felt like the breathing on stage wasn’t synchronized at all.”

 

As could be seen from the judges’ evaluation, what followed was a stage with quite poor completion.

 

Even the troupe members including Seon-woo were confused while watching.

 

If we were to find the cause… Jae-won’s partner was the problem.

 

Their skills were lacking. No, it wasn’t just their skills that were lacking. In Seon-woo’s eyes, they never properly bloomed with color even for a single moment.

 

It meant their motivation to act was already broken.

 

…Why?

 

He didn’t know. All Seon-woo could tell was that Jae-won’s team had shown a stage with terrible completion.

 

Because of that, even Jae-won couldn’t properly bloom with color.

 

It couldn’t be helped. When your partner who’s supposed to receive your acting keeps giving halfhearted performances, what could Jae-won have done?

 

“Song Jae-won… gets 7 points.”

 

Considering Jae-won’s skills, it was definitely a disappointing score.

 

But misfortune didn’t only come to Jae-won.

 

Si-on was also a problem.

 

“I, I, I also said th-that…”

 

He had been showing signs of nervousness for the past few days… and in the end, Si-on displayed acting ability that was definitely lacking compared to before on stage.

 

“Kim Si-on gets 5 points.”

 

And ultimately, even a miserable score of 5 points.

 

Seon-woo felt bad all over again.

 

Though he didn’t have the luxury, he thought maybe he should have paid a little more attention to Si-on.

 

Of course, even if he had helped, how much dramatic change could there have been, but still…

 

“S-sorry. I’m sorry…”

 

Watching him sniffling on stage made him feel bad.

 

At least the fortunate thing was that among Seon-woo’s acquaintances, Si-on was the last one to receive harsh criticism.

 

Ye-chan had drawn applause from the judges and earned 7 points, and in Hye-seong’s case…

 

“I get this feeling.”

 

made Lee Mu-beom say such words.

 

“From a technical standpoint, Hye-seong is a more complete actor than anyone else here.”

 

“Jeong Hye-seong receives 9 points.”

 

It was the first time a 9 had been given.

 

That praise was one thing, but Hye-seong’s reaction afterward was even more surprising.

 

That smooth-talking Hye-seong… momentarily choked up and his eyes glistened with tears.

 

Seon-woo’s gaze grew somber.

 

‘…Hye-seong hyung must have suffered a lot mentally too.’

 

Hye-seong is the eldest of Cheongseong.

 

That meant he had been waiting longer than anyone for a moment when light would shine on him. And Lee Mu-beom’s words were probably that ray of light Hye-seong had so desperately wanted.

 

Seon-woo sincerely hoped.

 

That the light now shining on Hye-seong wouldn’t dim.

 

Please, let no one take that light away from him.

 

If it were up to his heart alone, he would want such blessings for everyone here, but that would probably be impossible.

 

【 We will now announce the ranking results. 】

 

And Seong Jun-il, as always, brought them back to reality.

 

To summarize the results:

 

In Joy, Seo Jin-wook took first place, and Hyeong-bin took third.

 

In Sorrow, Ye-chan took second place.

 

In Pleasure, naturally, Hye-seong took first place.

 

And for them, in Anger…

 

【 We announce the results for Anger. 】

 

【 Third place, Kim Seon-woo. Second place, Lee Yeon-woo. First place, Na Min-hee. 】

 

They had claimed the top rankings together.

 

Third place. With the additional points added to his original 8 points, that made 9 points.

 

For now, it wasn’t a bad score.

 

But this wasn’t the only thing to worry about right now.

 

【 Next, we will announce the eliminations. 】

 

Elimination announcement.

 

There was only one thing he was worried about right now. Si-on. His score was only 5 points.

 

At this rate, it seemed like he would be eliminated…

 

【 Today’s elimination criteria applies to those who failed to reach 5 points. 】

 

Fortunately, Si-on barely made it past the cutline and survived.

 

But that didn’t mean he could simply be happy about it.

 

Even at that moment, there were many participants leaving the studio in tears.

 

Seventeen people were eliminated.

 

It was the moment when 52 people instantly became 35.

 

Watching their retreating figures, Seon-woo had this thought.

 

Even if someday he too would leave this place like them… he hoped that in that moment, he would have no regrets left.

 

He wanted to give his all and show only his very best.

 

* * *

 

“Still, I’m glad everyone survived.”

 

Break room.

 

Looking around at the Troupe Members who had gathered after the mission ended, Jae-won smiled bitterly.

 

Min-hee frowned as she looked at Jae-won.

 

“It is fortunate, but… what happened, oppa? What was wrong with your partner? Aside from performing poorly, it felt like he had no motivation at all?”

 

That was something everyone had been curious about.

 

But Jae-won waved his hand as if telling them not to worry.

 

“What’s the point of talking about unpleasant things? It’s already in the past.”

 

“That may be true, but… that person didn’t get eliminated, right? We’ll have to see his face again.”

 

“It’s fine. I just need to focus on my own work. What’s the point of worrying about others? Anyway, none of us got eliminated, right? Isn’t that what’s important?”

 

Should this be called having a big heart?

 

Seon-woo was also curious about what exactly had happened, but he didn’t speak up. There would be no point in asking when the person clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

 

Jae-won looked at Seon-woo and grinned as if telling him not to worry.

 

“But Seon-woo, you did well.”

 

“…Thank you, senior.”

 

“No, but hyung really was too good!”

 

Ye-chan nodded his head.

 

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Teacher Lee Mu-beom give nothing but praise like that. Usually, harsh criticism made up 90% of what he said.”

 

“Our Seon-woo, you’ll never be able to shake off the genius label now, will you?”

 

Hye-seong grinned mischievously.

 

Seon-woo let out a sigh with a troubled expression.

 

“That’s exactly what’s killing me. I feel like the viewers might hate me for this later.”

 

“That won’t happen, will it?”

 

Hye-seong shrugged his shoulders with a relaxed expression.

 

Looking at Seon-woo with eyes full of mischief, but also full of conviction.

 

“People will see it too. That your acting is getting ridiculously good.”

 

“….”

 

Those were kind words.

 

But they weren’t comforting. Because it meant Seon-woo would have to continue showing the same upward trajectory he’d displayed so far.

 

If he showed even a moment of hesitation, he might hear people say, ‘What kind of genius is that?’

 

But well, that was a problem he’d have to handle somehow…

 

Seon-woo slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.

 

“But sunbae.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You weren’t crying earlier, were you?”

 

“….”

 

Hye-seong was momentarily speechless at Seon-woo’s counterattack.

 

While his lost eyes rolled around frantically, Min-hee’s eyes also sparkled as if she’d found prey.

 

“That’s right. Oppa was bawling his eyes out earlier, wasn’t he?”

 

“Say it properly! I wasn’t bawling my eyes out!”

 

“So you admit you were crying?”

 

“That’s…!”

 

Hye-seong eventually jumped up and ran away.

 

And the Troupe Members began teasing him with snickers.

 

Seon-woo chuckled softly as he watched the scene.

 

That’s when Yeon-woo, who had remained by Seon-woo’s side, quietly spoke up.

 

“It looks nice.”

 

“…Really?”

 

“Yes. I can see that you genuinely care for each other. It’s a little enviable.”

 

Seon-woo looked at Yeon-woo without saying a word.

 

Even at this moment, a sky-blue aura was swirling around Yeon-woo. It wasn’t surprising. There had never been a moment when Yeon-woo wasn’t acting.

 

But at this point, it was rather strange.

 

If she was acting to hide malicious intent, hadn’t everything Yeon-woo had done while acting like that been nothing but helping him?

 

Living like that would probably just make things harder for herself.

 

He could turn off his attention if he wanted to.

 

It would be possible to just think of her as that kind of person and continue keeping his distance.

 

But for that, he had received too much help from Yeon-woo this time. Should he say he didn’t want to continue drawing lines like this?

 

Seon-woo hesitated for a moment.

 

But soon he made his decision.

 

“Yeon-woo. Can I ask you something?”

 

“Hm? Of course. What are you curious about?”

 

It might not be polite.

 

But pretending not to know like this didn’t seem very polite either.

 

If either choice would be impolite,

 

“Why do you act?”

 

Was there any reason to hold back?

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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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