I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 45

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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 45

 

Did anyone watch that new actor audition program that started yesterday?

 

I just had it on because I was bored, but suddenly this kid who said “I’ve only been acting for 6 months” was getting pushed like the main character.

 

But what really baffled me while watching… the skills shown on the broadcast honestly couldn’t have been from someone with just 6 months of experience.

 

I attended an acting academy for a few months before, and it takes a really long time just to get basic voice projection down. Being able to stay calm in front of cameras and match emotional breathing takes at least 1-2 years minimum, you know?

 

But this person was acting completely at their own pace from the preliminary stage. The breathing, expressions, emotional immersion were all natural, and they looked like someone who had already filmed on drama sets several times.

 

The PD was blatantly throwing out comments like “acting genius,” and the subtitles were doing the same… honestly, it just felt like a character created to deceive viewers.

 

I understand that broadcasts seek stimulation, but bringing someone who’s obviously not a beginner and directing them as a genius feels like deception.

 

It must feel unfair for aspiring actors who are working hard and sincerely ㅠㅠ

 

PhoneAllDay: 6 months is total BS lol looks like they’ve been doing it for at least a few years

 

Meow Meow Punch: The broadcast script is showing… seems like they’re doing this because they need to create a genius narrative

 

Do You Know Kimchi: But occasionally there really are talent monsters like that for real

 

└Anonymous: Seriously lol I went to academy too but half a year isn’t even enough to get your vocal technique down lololol

 

└Anonymous2: If they really fabricated their career, I’m seriously disappointed. The genius concept is hopeless lol

 

Smart Neat Cool Sensible: Honestly, it was a bit too exaggerated… if they keep this up, they’ll face backlash later

 

Bullshit: 6 months lmaooooooooooo speechless

 

Grapefruit_Ade: I thought I was the only one who felt that way, but turns out everyone was suspicious lol

 

Kim Quokka: This is kind of problematic… Aspiring students are gonna get hit with reality hard when they see that ㅠㅠ

 

“I didn’t expect this kind of controversy to break out…”

 

Min-hee scrolled down with an incredulous expression.

 

“I never thought they wouldn’t believe your experience itself.”

 

“…I couldn’t have imagined this either.”

 

Seon-woo let out a bitter laugh.

 

Seeing people saying “You’ve been acting for less than half a year? Don’t lie!” made him confused about whether he should take this as hate comments or compliments.

 

After all, the premise of what they were saying was ‘There’s absolutely no way someone with 6 months of experience could act like that!’

 

Didn’t that mean they were viewing Seon-woo’s skills favorably?

 

“You’re interpreting it that way?”

 

“Well, good is good.”

 

“Your mentality isn’t ordinary either…”

 

Min-hee stuck out her tongue.

 

Even if it’s a good misunderstanding, if that many people were doubting her while spamming “lol,” she probably would have gotten angry and couldn’t have endured it.

 

Of course, it wasn’t like Seon-woo was completely fine with it either.

 

The insults about him weren’t the only thing that hurt. Starting with his family members.

 

Mother: Son! Don’t worry too much about what others say. Reading the comments made Mother feel really bad too. But our son can do well.

 

Dad: Seon-woo. Having lived this long, Dad knows there’s a reason for the saying that rain must fall for the ground to harden. Don’t pay too much attention to the pathetic words of pathetic people. Even their behavior will eventually become nourishment for your growth.

 

Seonjun: Hahahaha you okay?

 

…Let’s ignore that strange text message at the end.

 

Anyway, his parents had sent these long KakaoTalk messages. Seon-woo, who initially didn’t pay much attention to the hate comments, couldn’t help but sigh when he saw this.

 

He could see that his parents were worried in many ways.

 

He replied that he was fine and they didn’t need to worry too much, but he didn’t feel at ease.

 

Of course, not everyone was just suspicious.

 

There were people defending him too.

 

Especially,

 

Freshwater Snail: But isn’t everyone getting too ahead of themselves? In any field, people really learn at different speeds.

 

Freshwater Snail: Everyone seems to be looking at this too maliciously…

 

Freshwater Snail: From what I can see, 6 months might be right. Originally, people who can do something just can.

 

‘This person… who is it?’

 

This nickname ‘Freshwater Snail’ appeared very frequently.

 

While everyone was swept up in the atmosphere and already concluding he was a career fraud, this person kept posting comments defending him.

 

Freshwater Snail.

 

It didn’t seem like his parents though…

 

“Kim Seon-woo?”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

“Could you come to the interview room for a moment? The PD is looking for you.”

 

“Yes. I understand.”

 

It seemed like he would have to think about that later.

 

Seon-woo headed to the interview room for now.

 

And as soon as he entered, Im Yeong-do looked at Seon-woo with an apologetic expression and clasped his hands together.

 

“I’m sorry, Seon-woo.”

 

“…Yes?”

 

“No, I didn’t know things would turn out like this. I didn’t know people wouldn’t believe the six-month career itself. But…”

 

Im Yeong-do avoided Seon-woo’s eyes and scratched his head.

 

Then he sighed as if he was truly sorry and opened his mouth.

 

“If I said let’s just ignore this controversy instead of bothering to clarify it… that would be a bit much, right?”

 

It was an unexpected proposal.

 

But he could immediately understand why such a proposal was made. Seon-woo looked into Im Yeong-do’s eyes.

 

“Is it because of the buzz?”

 

“…Yes. You might not know this well, Seon-woo, but the controversy about your career… is actually becoming a bigger issue than this program itself right now. You know the saying that even hate comments are attention, right? This might be a bit difficult for you personally, but from the broadcast’s perspective, it’s not entirely a bad thing.”

 

“I understand. Then let’s do that.”

 

“I know. It’s hard. I know it’s hard, but… what? Could you say that again?”

 

“Let’s do that.”

 

Seon-woo nodded calmly.

 

This actually left Im Yeong-do flustered. Saying to take the clarification slowly was also asking him to endure more criticism.

 

But to think he would accept this so readily.

 

“…Are you really okay with this?”

 

“I’m a bit worried that my parents might be concerned… but it’s one step back for three steps forward. And… I trust that you’ll help me clarify things well later, PD.”

 

“Seon-woo…!”

 

Im Yeong-do looked at Seon-woo with a moved expression.

 

He didn’t expect him to trust him this much. Im Yeong-do clenched his fist.

 

Right. If he received this much trust, he should prepare the aftermath thoroughly in advance.

 

“Then Seon-woo, there’s some information we’ll need when we clarify things later. Could you tell me a bit more about what you were doing before you started acting?”

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

Seon-woo nodded.

 

All the Production Team probably knew about him was that he had previously been preparing for employment before jumping into the Theater Scene.

 

It would be necessary to reveal a bit more of his timeline.

 

But it was a moment later.

 

Im Yeong-do’s expression became extremely strange as he listened to Seon-woo’s past… or more precisely, when he heard the name of the University that Seon-woo had attended.

 

“…Wait, you attended this University?”

 

“Yes. Um… is there some kind of problem?”

 

“No… it’s not a problem.”

 

Im Yeong-do said in a flustered voice.

 

“Seon-woo, you were a complete elite?”

 

* * *

 

“You’re not going to clarify?”

 

When they heard Seon-woo’s story, most of the people around him made shocked expressions.

 

It was understandable. Even in the short time since Seon-woo had met with Im Yeong-do and returned, dozens more posts questioning Seon-woo had poured out.

 

And yet he wasn’t going to clarify.

 

Seon-woo answered with a calm expression.

 

“Yes. After all, thanks to this, a lot of attention is being focused on us.”

 

Hye-seong frowned.

 

“That might be true from the program’s perspective. But in the end, you’re the one being suspected and criticized. Aren’t you frustrated?”

 

“I’m fine. If this program does well, then I’ll do well too in the end. I’ll just get criticized for a little while. As for hate comments… well, I can just not read them whether they’re there or not.”

 

“…You’re really strange.”

 

Hye-seong let out a hollow laugh.

 

If hate comments were something that could be brushed off so easily, why would so many celebrities suffer from them?

 

But it didn’t seem like he was just putting on a front.

 

Whatever words people who weren’t genuine might say, there wasn’t the slightest bit of falsehood visible in those eyes that seemed to think such things weren’t worth caring about.

 

He probably genuinely felt no particular emotion about hate comments.

 

Watching such a Seon-woo, Yeon-woo smiled brightly.

 

“From my perspective, it seems like a wise approach. Either way, the most attention is focused on Seon-woo right now, isn’t it? If you can just handle this, wouldn’t it be the best viral marketing?”

 

“Well, normally people wouldn’t be able to handle it though.”

 

Min-hee chuckled and looked at Seon-woo.

 

“I’m not really worried about this kid.”

 

It was about time to learn by now.

 

That worrying about Seon-woo was as pointless as it gets. Ye-chan also opened his mouth with a chuckle.

 

“But actually, I’m kind of proud too! The reason people can’t believe it is ultimately because Seon-woo hyung is just too good, right?”

 

“Exactly. Hey, you didn’t lie to us about your experience too, did you? When I think about it, it really doesn’t make sense.”

 

“Even you’re doing this, sunbae?”

 

“Just kidding, just kidding.”

 

Hye-seong grinned and waved his hands dismissively.

 

Yeon-woo opened her mouth again.

 

“But what are you going to do from now on? Not giving an explanation is one thing, but just watching can’t be your entire plan, right?”

 

“…Well, I should let people keep cursing at me. It would be even better if I could receive more criticism.”

 

“More criticism?”

 

“The more criticism I receive… the bigger the shock will be when the truth is revealed later.”

 

Seon-woo answered nonchalantly.

 

His tone was as if someone else, not him, was receiving all that criticism.

 

While even Yeon-woo’s eyes showed signs of bewilderment at his composure, Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled.

 

“I’ll do even better and receive even more criticism. Look. There’s no way that guy has only been acting for six months. When public opinion is boiling over like that… I’ll prove it definitively. That it wasn’t a lie.”

 

Yeon-woo momentarily opened her mouth with an “Ah.”

 

Because she could imagine that moment. Amid all the thick suspicion, the moment when Seon-woo’s false accusations would be cleared… how many gazes he would captivate.

 

How high he would soar.

 

Right. If there’s even that calculation involved… it would make sense to act this way.

 

Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

 

‘…No matter how I look at it, this kid is from my department, isn’t he?’

 

This wasn’t a thought an ordinary person could have.

 

To think of even criticism as attention and accept it like that. How could he already possess a mindset that even celebrities with decades of experience don’t easily have?

 

Yeon-woo opened her mouth.

 

“If that’s the plan… it would be good to show more of that going forward. Acting that makes six months of experience absolutely unbelievable.”

 

“Yes. That’s what I should do.”

 

Well, even if that wasn’t the case, he had no intention of half-heartedly approaching his acting… but thanks to this, he had even more motivation.

 

The current Seon-woo had become a ‘fake genius’ in many ways.

 

Both in the eyes of the public and in his own eyes.

 

And there was only one way to overcome this…

 

He had to become the real thing.

 

A real genius.

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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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