I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 60

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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 60

 

‘Method Acting?’

 

That was the first thought that came to Park Myeong-jin’s mind when he saw Seon-woo like that.

 

Seon-woo’s current state couldn’t be explained unless it was Method Acting. But he had never heard that Seon-woo did Method Acting…

 

‘Could it be that he’s trying a new approach this time?’

 

Park Myeong-jin’s brow furrowed.

 

It wasn’t exactly welcome news. Acting styles weren’t something you could just change overnight like that.

 

New acting methods inevitably came with trial and error… and they weren’t in a situation where they could afford such trial and error.

 

It’s an audition program anyway, so what’s wrong with a little trial and error?

 

Go say that to Im Yeong-do. What Park Myeong-jin was filming was a drama, not some audition program.

 

Moreover…

 

‘Method Acting is difficult to handle…’

 

This was also a problem.

 

The public revered Method Acting as some amazing technique, talking as if actors who did Method Acting were the real skilled ones.

 

The problem was that there weren’t many people who could actually do proper Method Acting.

 

Rather, there were more half-wits who got so absorbed in their characters that they forgot their scripts.

 

Moreover, such actors were so stubborn that it was common for them not to properly follow the PD’s directions.

 

In many ways, from a PD’s perspective, ‘Method Acting’ wasn’t something that could be viewed positively.

 

But suddenly Method Acting.

 

He didn’t know.

 

He couldn’t very well nag before even seeing the acting.

 

Park Myeong-jin crossed his arms, deciding to watch for now.

 

Meanwhile,

 

“You’re not sick, are you?”

 

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

 

“Good. Acting is nice and all, but… it’s better to take care of your body while doing it. In the end, you need a healthy body to act too.”

 

Seon-woo was already getting an earful from someone else.

 

It was Go Yong-taek, the actor playing Seon-woo’s workplace boss. He was probably in his fifties. Eyes that Seon-woo had seen a few times through dramas were looking at him with concern.

 

Seon-woo nodded weakly with a tired smile.

 

“Yes. I’ll take good care of myself. Thank you for worrying about me!”

 

He could understand Go Yong-taek’s worried feelings as well.

 

Seon-woo was currently in quite a precarious state, even from his own perspective. How should he put it… It was like a completely empty feeling, as if he had no motivation left for life whatsoever.

 

If anything, he seemed more alive when he was acting.

 

‘Kim Seon-woo’ always tried to hide that empty heart, but Seon-woo’s situation was the opposite.

 

Seon-woo had to feel Kim Seon-woo’s emptiness even more.

 

Hiding it was something he only needed to do when acting.

 

Thanks to this, despite finally coming to his first filming site, Seon-woo couldn’t fully enjoy this environment.

 

Office Studio.

 

Countless cameras, lighting, microphones and such were overlaid on top of an office scene that wasn’t much different from the companies where he had been going for interviews.

 

Normally, he would have been excited or amazed seeing all this.

 

But right now, he couldn’t feel that way.

 

It felt like there was a hole pierced through his chest.

 

Whenever something resembling emotion seemed to arise… it would just slip away like that.

 

His heart wouldn’t easily attach to anything.

 

‘That’s how it was.’

 

And Seon-woo became immersed in old memories.

 

Because his past self had been like that too.

 

His heart wouldn’t attach to anything.

 

So all he managed to do was jogging or exercise.

 

If not that, he would just stare at his resume even more, though there was nothing left to fix.

 

Seon-woo looked back at Park Myeong-jin.

 

Last time, he hadn’t satisfied him.

 

Maybe he had even disappointed him.

 

But today would be different.

 

The current Seon-woo didn’t hate Kim Seon-woo.

 

He could give a different answer than before.

 

To that question about whether he hated Kim Seon-woo.

 

“Alright, we’re going to start shooting now. Actors, please get ready at your positions.”

 

Just then, Park Myeong-jin’s call came in.

 

Seon-woo moved in front of Go Yong-taek. At some point he had gotten into character, and the worried expression he’d shown for Seon-woo was nowhere to be seen as he looked down at the documents with an emotionless face.

 

Looking down at Go Yong-taek like that, Seon-woo burst another color orb.

 

‘…Ah.’

 

And then, he felt his body trembling anew.

 

It felt like falling into a dark, cold sea in the dead of winter where even the lighthouse’s beacon couldn’t be seen. A feeling as if a chilling coldness was invading through every inch of his skin.

 

Even though he was clearly standing on solid ground, he felt like he was being sucked endlessly into the deep abyss below, so Seon-woo slowly drew in a breath.

 

Immersion was good, but he couldn’t get too absorbed.

 

If he became intoxicated by the character’s emotions, the character’s true nature wouldn’t be properly portrayed.

 

He had to suppress it.

 

Seon-woo deliberately ignored this emptiness, this coldness, this anxiety that felt like the ground beneath him might collapse at any moment.

 

He supported his drooping corners of his mouth.

 

So that no one would notice his problem.

 

And then,

 

“Ready— Action!”

 

Just as he finally got his emotions under control, Park Myeong-jin’s cue signal came in as if it had been waiting.

 

“Are you really thinking of quitting?”

 

It was cold.

 

A sharp voice like looking at a blade, just like last time. A truly emotionless voice that revealed nothing except his aspects as a company employee and as a boss.

 

During the script reading last time… I felt this voice was quite cold.

 

But why was it?

 

This time, that voice didn’t feel particularly cold.

 

No, in some ways it even felt warm and gentle.

 

Had Go Yong-taek’s acting changed?

 

No, it hadn’t.

 

Seon-woo was the one who had changed.

 

Back then, Seon-woo hadn’t immersed himself in Kim Seon-woo’s mindset.

 

He had only tried to understand and express that heart rationally.

 

But now, having essentially dyed his entire body with Kim Seon-woo’s color, the story was different.

 

Since he was constantly wrapped in a coldness that chilled him to the bone, even a voice that showed not the slightest warmth… could only feel warm to him.

 

Seon-woo realized anew how ridiculous it had been to try to act without bursting the color orb… without accepting Kim Seon-woo’s heart.

 

Everything is so different.

 

The voice reaching his ears, the temperature of the fluorescent lights illuminating the office, the texture of paper brushing against his hands – everything feels so different… To think he had tried not to look at all of this.

 

To think he almost failed to express all of this.

 

But now wasn’t the time to be bound by self-blame or regret.

 

Seon-woo opened his mouth.

 

“Yes, that’s what I intend to do.”

 

During the script reading, Seon-woo had tried somehow to fill that voice with Kim Seon-woo’s empty emotions.

 

But now there was no need for that.

 

Seon-woo had been constantly bursting color orbs for the past few days.

 

From his gaze, expressions, to every small gesture, the color would overflow abundantly if he didn’t consciously control it.

 

What Seon-woo needed to do now wasn’t to contain the color.

 

Rather, it was to hide the color.

 

“Well, they say not to hold back someone who’s leaving… but you’ve been doing well all this time. Your performance has been good too, Seon-woo, and at this rate, promotion is guaranteed next year. Is there something wrong with your health perhaps?”

 

“No. I just want to rest a little.”

 

But his voice, which seemed transparent at first glance, inevitably carried traces of gray smoke.

 

Just as a smoker’s hands will eventually carry the smell of cigarettes no matter how thoroughly they wash them, Kim Seon-woo’s emptiness would ultimately show through even when he tried to hide it.

 

“That’s all.”

 

And Go Yong-taek, who was acting opposite him, felt this most acutely.

 

Seon-woo’s transformation was instantaneous but shocking enough to shake his immersion.

 

‘…Is this the same person?’

 

When Go Yong-taek first met Seon-woo, his impression was… ‘a kid who can handle details well, but lacks immersion ability.’

 

That was understandable. At that time, Seon-woo literally couldn’t burst color orbs at all.

 

He had been inwardly reluctant to immerse himself in the character of Kim Seon-woo.

 

But look at what he’s acting now.

 

Lacking immersion ability? No, rather, this level of immersion ability was superior to any of the juniors Go Yong-taek had seen so far.

 

It made him think that maybe he had deliberately held back during the script reading.

 

“If you want to rest, why not take a leave of absence instead.”

 

“…I want to rest much more, for much longer than that.”

 

After exchanging the final lines with Seon-woo, Go Yong-taek quietly stared at Seon-woo’s face for a moment.

 

It was an awkward smile.

 

An unnatural and artificial smile, as if he had forgotten how to smile.

 

But that wasn’t because Seon-woo’s acting ability was lacking.

 

It was because the character Kim Seon-woo didn’t suit smiles that much.

 

…Go Yong-taek felt a thrill anew.

 

If he could show this kind of acting even as a rookie who hadn’t properly debuted yet… what about after he accumulated enough experience?

 

An intuition came to him.

 

This junior would someday become an actor recognized by everyone in this country… that kind of intuition.

 

And that intuition wasn’t felt by Go Yong-taek alone.

 

“…Cut.”

 

Park Myeong-jin, who slowly called out the cut sign, stared at Seon-woo in a daze.

 

It was good acting.

 

Acting so clean that he wondered if they really needed to reshoot.

 

Honestly, it was unexpected.

 

Even until the last script reading, Seon-woo hadn’t been able to immerse himself in ‘Kim Seon-woo’ very well.

 

It was quite different from when he played the mute.

 

He understood.

 

Everyone originally has characters that suit them.

 

He thought that the character Writer Ryu created thinking it would suit him well… might actually be a character that was difficult for Seon-woo to understand.

 

But seeing him like this now… it seemed that was Park Myeong-jin’s misunderstanding.

 

‘This is ridiculous.’

 

Last time, Park Myeong-jin had said something like that to Im Yeong-do.

 

That it felt like something would come out with just a little touch. That it was disappointing.

 

Should he call it a feeling that was 2% lacking?

 

But that didn’t mean Park Myeong-jin thought filling that 2% would be easy.

 

How many actors had devoted their entire lives but ultimately couldn’t fill that 2%, failing to join the ranks of great actors?

 

What Park Myeong-jin expected from Seon-woo wasn’t to fill all of that 2%.

 

It was to fill 1%… no, even 0.5% more… to create acting that was a little more pleasant to watch.

 

But it seemed there would be no need for that.

 

‘I haven’t even properly started working on it yet…’

 

This guy had already filled up 2%.

—————
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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