I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 46

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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 46

 

He would become a genius.

 

He knew. It wouldn’t be as easy as it sounded.

 

Having seen Do-young in person, Seon-woo knew well what kind of existence a genius was.

 

But… yes.

 

Let’s be honest about it.

 

Seon-woo wanted to become a genius.

 

More precisely, he wanted to become an actor like Do-young.

 

Because he could still vividly remember those brilliant and beautiful waves of color that Do-young had emanated.

 

He wanted to become an actor who could paint such magnificent colors.

 

If he had to become a genius to do that… then he would have to.

 

Of course, being a genius wasn’t something you could become just by wanting to,

 

‘But I have you.’

 

Seon-woo floated up a Color Orb.

 

Seon-woo wasn’t a genius.

 

But he had an ability that even geniuses didn’t possess. This very ability called Color Orbs.

 

If he borrowed the Power of Color Orbs, and thus constantly strived and strived again… even if he couldn’t become a genius, he could imitate a genius’s performance.

 

‘Let’s try it.’

 

It wouldn’t be an easy path.

 

But where would there be an easy path in this industry anyway.

 

He’d just have to try it.

 

‘I wonder what the theme of the next mission will be.’

 

What Seon-woo wanted was the most provocative theme possible.

 

The more provocative the theme, the more he’d be able to showcase Acting that could leave a stronger impression.

 

And, whether it should be called fortunate… Seon-woo’s wish came true.

 

【 The theme of this mission is ‘Death’. 】

 

The day after the first episode aired,

 

That is, on the very evening when some sort of deal had taken place between Seon-woo and Im Yeong-do, the mission was announced.

 

The participants all looked at the speaker with blank expressions.

 

“…Death?”

 

“This is certainly new.”

 

“New aside… I’ve never done a dying performance before.”

 

【 This mission will be conducted in pairs of two. 】

 

【 Partners will be directly assigned by the Production Team, so participants don’t need to find partners separately. 】

 

【 Additionally, this mission will be the final mission to select the TOP 10. 】

 

Finally!

 

TOP 10. Many participants’ eyes sparkled at those words.

 

After all, they were really only one step away from the summit now.

 

But not everyone was purely happy about it.

 

“We can’t choose our teams this time.”

 

As if the TOP 10 didn’t matter to her at all, Yeon-woo muttered with a disappointed expression.

 

Seon-woo tilted his head as he looked at her.

 

“Was there someone you wanted to work with?”

 

“Yes. I wanted to work with you, Seon-woo.”

 

Yeon-woo bit back a thin smile.

 

“Death acting with you would be quite interesting, I think.”

 

“…Hmm, it would definitely be interesting.”

 

Seon-woo nodded.

 

He thought Yeon-woo would probably be quite good at that kind of acting.

 

When acting out a scene of killing someone, he was curious about what color Yeon-woo would show… and what expression she would have.

 

…Was this kind of thinking a bit rude?

 

That’s when it happened.

 

His pocket vibrated.

 

It wasn’t just Seon-woo. Everyone present had their phones buzzing.

 

Seon-woo’s eyes narrowed as he took out his phone.

 

There was a text message.

 

—Kim Seon-woo’s partner is Kwon So-ri.

 

Kwon So-ri.

 

It was a name he knew. One of those who had left a very deep impression on him recently.

 

Seon-woo dry-washed his face and let out a sigh.

 

He had ended up meeting a partner he wasn’t particularly happy about.

 

And for good reason, since Kwon So-ri was…

 

—Oh no, this is terrible. Si-on is really so bad at this. What should we do?

 

The very person who had openly humiliated Si-on not long ago.

 

* * *

 

“Hello!”

 

Kwon So-ri greeted him with a bright smile.

 

Just looking at her face, she seemed like a perfectly normal person. If anything, she looked like a gentle lamb, the kind of style that was quite likeable.

 

But Seon-woo could still hear clearly in his ears the harsh words she had poured out at Si-on.

 

Even that smile just looked uncomfortable to him.

 

“…Yes, hello.”

 

Still, he couldn’t just not return her greeting.

 

When he briefly returned the greeting, Kwon So-ri clasped her hands together and her eyes sparkled.

 

“Oh, I’m so glad I got to be on the same team as you, oppa! I personally really loved your acting. Oh, it’s okay if I call you oppa, right? I know I’m younger than you. I’m born in ’02!”

 

“…Um, I’ll call you So-ri-ssi. I’m not the type to speak casually easily.”

 

Of course, it was a lie.

 

He just didn’t want to speak casually with Kwon So-ri.

 

Seon-woo inwardly sighed to himself. They were going to do a mission together anyway. It would be right to just think that keeping things pleasant was best and go along smoothly.

 

But every time Si-on came to mind, he just couldn’t bring himself to do that.

 

She had been so mean to that young kid.

 

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see her in a good light.

 

But Kwon So-ri was indeed a formidable opponent.

 

“Yes! That’s fine! But I can still call you oppa, right?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Seon-woo couldn’t hide his reluctant feelings.

 

It had been a chronic problem of his since long ago.

 

He couldn’t open his heart to someone he felt wasn’t right for him. That’s why things were still awkward with Seo Jin-wook even now.

 

‘…I don’t know how he acts when he can’t hide his feelings like this.’

 

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

 

What could he do when he just couldn’t bring himself to do something his heart wasn’t in.

 

Seon-woo secretly suspected Im Yeong-do. Why did they have to pair him with this person of all people? Was it a coincidence? Or did the production team think this pairing would be interesting?

 

He didn’t know. For now, he should look at the script first.

 

Seon-woo slowly read through the script prepared by the production team.

 

The situations, genres, and emotional lines were all varied, but… there was one thing they all had in common.

 

Namely, one of the characters was dying, and the other character had either killed that person… or was watching them die.

 

How long had he been reading the script like that?

 

Kwon So-ri suddenly spoke up.

 

“Um, oppa! Can I ask you for a favor?”

 

“…Go ahead and tell me.”

 

“I want to play the role of the one who dies.”

 

Instead of answering, Seon-woo stared intently at Kwon So-ri.

 

Kwon So-ri smiled brightly and said.

 

“I’ve played dying roles several times at school. Wouldn’t it be better for someone who’s done it before to do it?”

 

“…Let’s think about it after looking at the script. We don’t even know how the death happens yet.”

 

“Hmm… okay.”

 

Kwon So-ri pouted her lips but nodded her head.

 

Seon-woo continued reading through the script.

 

Since they were scenes dealing with death, there were already many that looked interesting.

 

The problem was that the two of them couldn’t agree on anything.

 

First of all, Kwon So-ri couldn’t seem to choose any scene well, and whenever Seon-woo tried to suggest something…

 

“That one seems like my character lacks charm.”

 

“Hmm. My lines are too short in this one?”

 

“Ah, it seems like I like them all but also don’t like them~.”

 

It was like this.

 

Eventually, tired of making suggestions, he quietly kept his mouth shut, and Kwon So-ri cautiously spoke up.

 

“Oppa, how about number 15?”

 

“…Wait a moment.”

 

Seon-woo looked down at the script.

 

Scene 15 was one of the scenes that had left a deep impression on him too.

 

A scene from the movie [Young Ones].

 

A female student, Jun-hee, who climbed up to the rooftop to give up everything, exhausted by life. Her older brother, Jeong-hwan, who followed her up to the rooftop to stop her. Despite Jeong-hwan’s desperate attempts to stop her, Jun-hee never regained her will to live until the very end and ultimately jumped.

 

But the reason he hadn’t particularly recommended it was…

 

“Won’t it be difficult?”

 

“What? Jun-hee?”

 

“Yes. Jun-hee’s emotional line… it seems like it would be quite difficult to express.”

 

Jun-hee’s emotional line wasn’t exactly typical.

 

After all, she was directly giving up on life. Without properly delving into the character, it wouldn’t be easy to express that emptiness of trying to end one’s own life with their own hands.

 

It was a comment made out of genuine concern, but for the first time, Kwon So-ri’s eyes, which were always cheerful, narrowed.

 

“Oppa, I attend Hanye University’s Theater and Film Department.”

 

“…What?”

 

“I’m someone who’s properly learned acting. Do you think I can’t express just one character like that?”

 

“It’s not that you can’t express it….”

 

It was just a worry that it might be a bit tricky to express.

 

But Seon-woo soon shook his head. Right. There’s no need to worry about such things.

 

“No, I was worrying unnecessarily. I’m sorry.”

 

“…It’s fine. Anyway, it’s okay to go with this, right?”

 

“Yes. Then let’s each do some analysis and try rehearsing together this evening.”

 

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

 

Only after deciding on the script was Seon-woo finally able to get away from Kwon So-ri.

 

Being with someone uncomfortable made everything feel torturous, but now he felt like he could finally breathe.

 

‘…I need to focus on acting for now.’

 

Seon-woo sat in the empty accommodation and took a deep breath.

 

Fortunately, the script itself was quite interesting.

 

[Young Ones] was a school drama that had once been popular.

 

And what Seon-woo had to act was a high school student, Jeong-hwan, who no matter how hard he tried to live righteously, was gradually destroyed by various incidents.

 

And what Kwon So-ri would act was Jeong-hwan’s younger sister, and this scene where she commits suicide becomes the turning point that forces Jeong-hwan, who had been trying his best to live properly, to give up everything.

 

When I actually watched the movie, the actress’s cod-like eyes and the atmosphere of someone already dead were truly masterful.

 

Seon-woo first brought up Jeong-hwan’s Color Orb.

 

It was a pink color that flickered like a neon sign. A color that seemed to perfectly represent Jeong-hwan’s mental state—defective, unstable, and full of rage.

 

When he burst the Color Orb,

 

“…!”

 

For the first time in a while, an intense wave of emotion swept in, making his brain tingle.

 

Self-loathing, hatred toward society, love-hate feelings toward blood relatives. The sensation of emotions that comprised Jeong-hwan filling every single cell.

 

Everything was erased.

 

The unpleasant stress that Kwon So-ri had left behind,

 

The ridiculous rumors that the trolls had been spreading.

 

When he came to his senses, the world was entirely painted in Jeong-hwan’s colors.

 

* * *

 

‘How annoying. Why is he so stuck-up?’

 

After her conversation with Seon-woo, Kwon So-ri had to spend quite some time cooling down her resentful feelings.

 

It was because she could feel that Seon-woo clearly didn’t like her from the moment he saw her. Kwon So-ri looked at her face in the mirror and felt bewildered all over again.

 

‘What? My makeup came out well today though?’

 

Why exactly was he being so curt with her?

 

If it had been anyone other than Seon-woo, she might have already said something by now. But she couldn’t do that with Seon-woo.

 

First of all, he was her type in terms of looks, and more importantly…

 

‘That guy is going to make it big.’

 

Right. She could see it so clearly.

 

The PD was already openly pushing him. Sure, people were making a fuss on the internet saying his 6-month career was ridiculous and whatnot, but in a way, even that might be beneficial.

 

Either way, it meant people were paying attention to him right now.

 

She had a feeling.

 

In a few years, that person would definitely be a pretty successful actor in this industry.

 

Which meant there was nothing good about getting on his bad side.

 

…But,

 

‘I need to knock him down a peg!’

 

Kwon So-ri smiled leisurely.

 

She knew Seon-woo was good at acting. Lee Mu-beom didn’t call him a genius for nothing. But even so, she was confident this time.

 

‘I already practiced this acting for my entrance exam.’

 

That was exactly why she was confident.

 

How many months had she spent digging into just this one performance back then? She had prepared for almost a full year.

 

No matter how amazing Seon-woo was, it wouldn’t be easy to overwhelm that year’s worth of preparation with just a few hours… a few days of practice.

 

She waited for Seon-woo to quickly finish his script reading and return.

 

Once they rehearsed together, and once he saw her skills… maybe that arrogant attitude of his would change a little.

 

And finally, now.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“Oh, wait a moment. I’m still a bit confused about the lines… Let me read through them one more time.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Of course, it was a lie.

 

This was acting she had taken lessons for over a year. There was no way she’d be confused about the lines.

 

But doing this would make it look more like she was doing it for the first time. It might deflate his confidence even more.

 

“Ah, I’m ready now! Shall we give it a try?”

 

“Let’s start when you’re ready.”

 

Kwon So-ri slowly gathered her emotions.

 

And that was the moment.

 

Seon-woo’s gaze became strange.

 

In an instant, an extremely high-density dark purple spider web began wrapping around Kwon So-ri tightly.

 

It was so precisely crafted as it enveloped her… it was hard to believe this was the color of a character he was performing for the first time.

 

‘…I don’t think he was this delicate in style before.’

 

Kwon So-ri read the surprise in Seon-woo’s expression.

 

And becoming even more triumphant, she continued her acting with power.

 

“I’m tired now. Watching you like that, living in this damn house… I’m sick of it all! So leave me alone! Just get lost!”

 

Seon-woo was honestly impressed.

 

It was more intense acting than expected.

 

Most people would probably be a bit intimidated. Expressing a character to this extent in just a few hours wasn’t easy for anyone.

 

But Seon-woo didn’t back down.

 

Instead, he burst Jeong-hwan’s Color Orb.

 

At the same time, his blood vessels constricted, his heart began pounding, his mouth went completely dry, and from deep in his chest he felt a sticky rage that seemed impossible to handle, and unable to bear that burning heat,

 

Seon-woo finally opened his mouth.

 

“Stop talking bullshit!”

 

And the spider web that had been wrapping around Kwon So-ri was torn apart in an instant.

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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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