I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 59
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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 59
“…Doesn’t Seon-woo seem a bit strange lately?”
Not long after the script reading ended, everyone was voicing their concerns about Seon-woo.
It wasn’t something they were saying without reason.
All things considered, the Seon-woo they knew was quite a sparkling person.
He wasn’t particularly outgoing or sociable, but when you talked with him, there was always a feeling that his eyes were shining.
But lately, Seon-woo was…
“His eyes are completely dead?”
“Isn’t it because of his acting?”
“Well, Kim Seon-woo is that kind of character… So what, is he doing Method Acting or something? I remember Seon-woo wasn’t the Method type.”
“His immersion is intense, but it’s not Method Acting. He never brought his acting into daily life before.”
Method Acting.
It was an acting style that eliminated the distinction between daily life and acting, behaving as if you were that character even in everyday situations to enhance immersion.
An acting technique that tries to resemble a character not just superficially, but from within.
There were definitely Method-like aspects to Seon-woo’s acting.
The moment he started acting, Seon-woo would instantly exude the atmosphere of becoming that character. His immersion was so intense you’d wonder if he had forgotten who he was.
But that was only when he was acting.
There was definitely a clear boundary between his daily life and acting…
“This time, everyone’s characters were created based on themselves as motifs. So maybe it’s easier to get caught up in it?”
It was Hye-seong’s speculation.
But Min-hee frowned and shook her head.
“But… Seon-woo’s character is too gloomy to say it was created based on himself, isn’t it? The suicide attempt and all, honestly it’s far from the Seon-woo we’ve always seen.”
“Rather than creating characters exactly like us, didn’t they create characters that suit us well? If these characters were made exactly like us… then would Yeon-woo be a psychopath?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
Min-hee nodded in understanding.
For a brief moment, she thought ‘Could it be?’ but… Min-hee shook her head. She shouldn’t think such things carelessly.
Anyway, Seon-woo’s change was noticeable enough that such conversations were happening among the other participants.
It was like the person’s entire tone had completely died down.
And in the midst of all this, episode 3 of 【I Am an Actor】 also aired.
An episode that covered their acting performances with the theme of 【Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Pleasure】.
And people’s attention… compared to last time, it felt like it had dispersed quite a bit away from Seon-woo.
It was largely due to the resolution of Seon-woo’s career controversy. After all, malice naturally gathered more easily than goodwill.
Now that the prey to tear apart had disappeared, interest in the program actually felt somewhat diminished compared to before.
But that didn’t mean people had completely lost interest in Seon-woo.
DontWannaLiveReally: So with that face, that acting ability, that height, he also went to Seoul National University? I really don’t want to live.. Isn’t God playing favorites too much
TwoAndAHalfRiceBowls: But while everyone’s talking about university, aren’t they not discussing his acting? Isn’t Seon-woo’s acting ability really good? Among male actors in their 20s, he seems like he’s really top-tier.
└ThatsTooMuch: That’s too much
└TwoAndAHalfRiceBowls: What’s too much, his acting is really damn good
└ThatsTooMuch: When people like Seong Do-won are dominating right now, you think the word top-tier comes out that easily?
└TwoAndAHalfRiceBowls: …No, that’s kind of another class though
eyesonyou: Wow isn’t Min-hee sister way too pretty lol for real
└Meteor: Hye-seong oppa is also super cute
└lol: No, isn’t that uncle, not oppa?
└FaceFocused: If he’s handsome, I said oppa or uncle
└Anonymous3: I respect your taste
YeonwooFanboy: Guys, so who do you think will win this program? I pick Lee Yeon-woo
└Anonymous2: Isn’t it just Seon-woo? Looking at the current buzz, Seon-woo will definitely be first. The production team will probably push him hard too
└Anonymous5: Nah they might just suck up all the buzz and dump him. Don’t you know how broadcasting station bastards handle things?
└Kim Quokka: I’m an acting academy instructor and honestly, just looking at acting ability, Jeong Hye-seong is fucking overwhelming. It’s just incomparable level
└TookABreak: Is he that good?
└HopingForSuccessDay1: Seo Jin-wook also looked pretty strong, how about him?
└Kim Quokka: He’s a bit… somehow too theater acting style. He seems to be trying to tone it down, but if he doesn’t get the hang of it quickly, it’ll be tough
└Anonymous2: How about Seon-woo?
└Kim Quokka: His skill relative to his experience is definitely amazing, I’ll give him that. But is he a genius? If you ask me honestly, he’s not quite at that level. Just because someone learns fast doesn’t mean their peak is high.
CarrotShakingCodingSlave: Ah whatever, let’s just vote first
【Who do you think will win?】
1st place. Kim Seon-woo 21.5%
2nd place. Jeong Hye-seong 14.3%
3rd place. Na Min-hee 10.1%
4th place. Lee Yeon-woo 8.9%
…
20,173 votes
햇반두개반: I thought Sunwoo would be overwhelmingly dominant, but this is unexpected
eyesonyou: Why does Min-hee have so few votes?? Her visuals are insane
└Anonymous3: Acting isn’t about visuals though
└Kim Quokka: Yeah, honestly if we’re talking about visuals, Lee Yeonwoo doesn’t fall behind either
└Freshwater Snail: Seon-woo’s visuals are incredible too!
Meteor: Hyesung oppa, is this all you’ve got?
└ㅋㅋ: I told you he’s not oppa, he’s uncle lol
└Meteo: Where else would you find such a cute uncle like that
ActingLover: Still, it seems like Hyeseong did pretty well since he’s basically in 1st place if you exclude Seonwoo
└Anonymous5: ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kim Sunwoo’s popularity has really skyrocketed right now. But his acting isn’t bad either, so honestly it seems like he’s pretty much guaranteed to win
└다슬기: Sunwoo’s acting style is pretty interesting too haha
Social media was buzzing in various ways like this.
If previously Seon-woo’s career fabrication issue had taken up an overwhelming portion of discussions, now the interest was spread fairly evenly among almost everyone.
Comments were still being posted about Seon-woo, but the sarcastic comments had largely disappeared.
Of course,
gogumattadashi: But aside from revealing their Seoul National University credentials, what have they actually proven? How do we know if this person actually has experience or not? They couldn’t prove that there’s no experience, right? It’s kind of ridiculous how everyone just went quiet after they revealed one educational background ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Mind your own business: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You’re that failed wannabe actor, right? I can totally tell just by looking
└Gugu-flavored broth: ?? What are you talking about, why would I be an aspiring actor
└Mind your own business: Then prove that it’s not true
└고구맛다시: Fuck, I’m telling you I’m not an applicant but if you don’t believe me, how am I supposed to prove it
└YouWorryAboutYourself: That’s what I’m saying. So how does Seonwoo prove he has no experience?
└Gochujang flavor: Is this the same as that?
└Mind your own business: We’re not getting through to each other. Going silent now, bye
It wasn’t like these kinds of comments weren’t posted at all… but Seon-woo decided not to worry about them.
Other people were already refuting them on their own… and those kinds of people would criticize Seon-woo even if he donated money and did volunteer work.
But still, feeling deflated was unavoidable, so as he let out a long sigh…
“Are you okay? You look tired.”
“Oh, Hyeong-bin hyung.”
Hyeong-bin grinned and pulled out the chair next to Seon-woo to sit down.
The two had started speaking casually just a few days ago.
Actually, it wouldn’t have been strange if they had done so much earlier, but neither of them was the type to bring up switching to casual speech first.
Even now, they only started speaking casually because Hye-seong, who was nearby, had nagged them saying, “So when are you two going to drop the formalities? Do it now!”
“Seon-woo, you really read the comments well. I’m too scared to look at them.”
“It’s not so much that I read them well… I just end up looking. I keep worrying about what people are saying about me.”
“Really? I thought you didn’t care about other people’s opinions.”
“It’s just… sometimes I get a bit worried. Whether I’m going in the right direction.”
“Well, how many people in This World are really going in the right direction? Everyone’s just wandering around, stumbling and falling as they go.”
Hyeong-bin snapped his fingers.
“I’m just trying to think only about acting right now. How I can act a little better, just that.”
“I think you’re doing well. Compared to when I first met you, your acting has really improved dramatically.”
“It feels a bit strange hearing that from you… but well, thanks. So, how about you?”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’ve seemed low on energy in various ways lately. Are things going well?”
Indeed, Seon-woo these days was in a state that genuinely warranted concern.
It was like all the life had drained out of him.
He looked so withered and fragile, as if he’d crumble at a touch… it was impossible not to worry even if you wanted to.
But Seon-woo just tilted his head in confusion.
“…Do I look low on energy?”
“Yeah. Don’t you think so?”
“I didn’t really think I was that different from usual…”
After saying that, Seon-woo stared blankly into space as if spacing out.
Then he startled and turned back to Hyeong-bin.
“Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?”
“…Are you really sure you’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m completely fine.”
He doesn’t seem fine at all…
But since he said he was okay, it would be rude to keep worrying. Hyeong-bin nodded and patted Seon-woo’s back.
“Alright, if anything comes up, let me know.”
“Yes. Oh, hyung. Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Living as a company employee… how was it?”
“Hmm. That’s a difficult question.”
Hyeong-bin chuckled softly.
“Well, there were rewarding times and exciting times too… but I mostly remember the difficult times. Boring, frustrating, depressing.”
“…How did you endure it?”
“Rather than enduring… you become numb. At some point, all of that starts to feel natural.”
“That’s scary.”
“It is scary. But why are you suddenly asking this?”
“I was wondering how I would be living if I hadn’t done acting.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Hyeong-bin nodded his head.
Then he rolled his eyes as if thinking about it for a moment, soon letting out a hollow laugh and shaking his head.
“But I can’t imagine it. A kid who lives thinking only about acting like this, what would have happened if there was no acting?”
“Right.”
Seon-woo smiled lukewarmly.
“I really can’t imagine it either.”
It was a lie.
These days, he was thinking about and feeling that Seon-woo without acting every single day.
Kim Seon-woo, to be exact.
When Seon-woo first burst Kim Seon-woo’s Color Orb, what he felt was… none other than familiarity.
That helplessness weighing down his body and the boredom of feeling no interest in anything… an inertial life where he simply lived because he was alive and breathed because his breath came naturally.
All of those things were strangely familiar.
The gray emotions that Kim Seon-woo possessed… were the frustration that Seon-woo had always felt before acting.
Only then could Seon-woo understand.
How rotten his mind had been before he encountered acting.
If time had continued to flow like that…
‘Maybe I would have become like Kim Seon-woo.’
Of course, it’s just a what-if.
Even if it wasn’t acting, if he had found something else to occupy his heart, he might have been living much the same way as he is now.
But one thing was certain… acting had saved him without him even knowing it.
‘I really wasn’t paying attention to myself at all.’
Just as Hyeong-bin had said, he had grown accustomed to it.
To being unhappy, to being unsatisfied, to living an uncomfortable, empty, and lacking life.
And the moment he thought that… Seon-woo felt his dislike for ‘Kim Seon-woo’ suddenly disappear.
Of course, he still didn’t want to live that empty life… but how should he put it, he felt sorry instead.
Because it seemed like he had been too neglectful of himself.
As if he had simply abandoned himself.
—You hate Kim Seon-woo, don’t you?
That must be why.
Park Myeong-jin’s words felt even more embarrassing now.
‘…I think I could answer differently now.’
But it was already too late.
The time to answer with words had already passed.
Now he had to answer through acting, not words.
He didn’t hate Kim Seon-woo.
He didn’t want to hate him.
That was Seon-woo’s top priority goal right now.
To prepare the perfect answer for Park Myeong-jin by the filming day.
For that purpose, Seon-woo had to burst Color Orbs constantly.
Not only when practicing acting, but even during his daily life.
Every time he burst a Color Orb, he could feel both his body and mind… getting closer to Kim Seon-woo.
Of course, it wasn’t mentally easy.
Constantly wearing Kim Seon-woo’s depressed and lethargic emotions in daily life was never a simple task.
It felt like his real psyche was… withering away along with it.
That must have been why.
On the day of filming.
Producer Park Myeong-jin and the other production team members who saw Seon-woo again after a long time… couldn’t help but be startled the moment they saw him.
‘…What?’
‘Is this the same person?’
‘Did something happen…?’
Surely the Seon-woo in his memory had sparkled much more than this… but he couldn’t find even a trace of that sparkle in the young man standing before him now.
‘…Why does he look so gloomy?’
Anyone could see his heart seemed diseased…
There stood a man with such dead eyes.
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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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