I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 63

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 63

 

“This is…”

 

Im Yeong-do was at a loss for words.

 

Up until he came to find Park Myeong-jin, Im Yeong-do’s intention had been clear.

 

It was to guide Seon-woo toward reducing his Method Acting as much as possible.

 

This was something Park Myeong-jin, not him, needed to say.

 

Im Yeong-do was ultimately a variety show PD, and wasn’t in a position to give Seon-woo comments on acting aspects.

 

But after hearing Im Yeong-do’s words, Park Myeong-jin chuckled and asked:

 

“You haven’t seen Seon-woo acting, have you?”

 

“In One Room? Not yet.”

 

“Just watch it once.”

 

He didn’t think watching it would change his mind.

 

But since Park Myeong-jin seemed so confident, Im Yeong-do monitored Seon-woo’s acting together with Park Myeong-jin.

 

And finally, he could understand why Park Myeong-jin was so confident.

 

‘…What. Is this?’

 

What Im Yeong-do saw was the private room scene.

 

The scene where Kim Seon-woo, who had lost consciousness after jumping from Mapo Bridge, regains consciousness in a private room of One Room and perceives his surroundings.

 

It was a high-difficulty shoot in many ways.

 

He who should have died was alive.

 

In a strange room that wasn’t a hospital, wearing strange clothes.

 

And when he left that room, what awaited him was… the sight of other people in panic just like him.

 

The disappointment of not being able to die, the fatigue about having to continue living, and the confusion about this situation… The emotions Seon-woo had to express here were not just one or two.

 

And he had to express all that without any particular lines.

 

Even for Seon-woo, who had shown quite high-level silent acting as Mute, this was by no means an easy situation.

 

However,

 

—…

 

When filming started and Im Yeong-do saw Seon-woo’s face, he instantly froze in place.

 

Eerie.

 

As if seeing something wearing a human mask, an indescribable sense of alienation.

 

The expression looking down at his own body, the gaze looking into himself in the mirror – nothing felt human.

 

It was like looking at a living corpse.

 

‘…My breath.’

 

His breath was getting choked up.

 

He could feel it just by watching.

 

Kim Seon-woo’s suffocation from carrying an unwanted life, that tired heart.

 

“—Okay, cut!”

 

“…Hah.”

 

Im Yeong-do could finally breathe comfortably only after Park Myeong-jin’s cut sign was given.

 

Park Myeong-jin looked at Im Yeong-do catching his breath and pulled up the corners of his mouth.

 

“Still haven’t changed your mind?”

 

“…”

 

“I also thought at first that he was pointlessly doing Method Acting without experience, but no.”

 

Park Myeong-jin clenched his fist with eyes filled with ecstasy.

 

“Kim Seon-woo, that guy needs to do Method Acting. He’s born with that kind of immersion ability, and you want me to tell him not to do it? I can’t. I have no intention of doing that.”

 

“…”

 

Im Yeong-do couldn’t bring himself to speak.

 

Until he saw that acting, his stance had actually been decided. Let’s somehow stop that Method Acting.

 

No matter what, Seon-woo’s condition looked too bad.

 

No matter how good the acting was, there’s no acting that should take priority over a person, right?

 

But…

 

‘It’s difficult.’

 

Right.

 

It was difficult.

 

Though Seon-woo probably didn’t intend it, his acting had convinced Im Yeong-do in an instant.

 

Ah, this is it.

 

To do this kind of acting… he was immersing himself even while sinking into depression.

 

However,

 

“…Will it be okay?”

 

Im Yeong-do still couldn’t shake off his anxiety.

 

Park Myeong-jin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at such Im Yeong-do.

 

“What?”

 

“I understand that the acting is good. But if the emotions are that strong… will he be able to handle it later?”

 

“…”

 

Park Myeong-jin didn’t answer.

 

This wasn’t a problem within the realm he could answer.

 

Just like they couldn’t be certain they wouldn’t get in a traffic accident today.

 

However,

 

“You… are you acting like this because of what happened back then?”

 

He could understand why Im Yeong-do was acting this way.

 

At Park Myeong-jin’s words, Im Yeong-do gritted his teeth instead of answering.

 

—Thank you, PD.

 

A voice that suddenly came to mind.

 

There was a face that suddenly came to mind and wouldn’t leave.

 

He had wondered how a person could be so beautiful,

 

—What? Im Ju-ha is dead? Suicide?

 

—Ah, that crazy bitch… What irresponsible thing is she doing when the project isn’t even finished!

 

That actor who was ruthlessly trampled upon even on her final departing path.

 

“At least on my show, I’ll never let something like that happen.”

 

How long was he going to keep something from so long ago in his heart?

 

Park Myeong-jin let out a sigh. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand.

 

Im Yeong-do’s pathetic face, sobbing with a corpse-like expression at her funeral, was still vivid in his memory.

 

In the end, this was all Park Myeong-jin could say to him.

 

“…Idiot.”

 

* * *

 

The scene of Seon-woo entering the game was filmed several more times after that.

 

It wasn’t because there were NGs or anything like that.

 

Since it was an important scene where the [One Room] game begins, they were just trying to find the optimal cut through various changes – experimenting with different camera angles and compositions, changing the lighting placement, and so on.

 

But that didn’t mean the actors could be at ease.

 

Regardless, when Seon-woo stepped into the common area, they had to be positioned there beforehand, showing themselves suspecting and fighting with each other.

 

“Here… where is this place?”

 

“I don’t know either! Ph-phone! Does anyone have a phone?”

 

“Ugh, damn it, hey mister over there. Think about it, okay? The bastards who stripped us naked and made us change clothes, would they have left our phones?”

 

“Ah, no. I was just…”

 

As soon as Seon-woo appeared, lines burst out from here and there, creating interactions.

 

Actually, it wasn’t that difficult.

 

The camera didn’t zoom in on them particularly, and they were just background at that moment.

 

However, there was an unexpected obstacle,

 

‘…This is so damn distracting.’

 

It was Seon-woo’s presence.

 

Even Jin-wook had to barely restrain his eyes from naturally turning toward Seon-woo whenever he appeared.

 

To pretend not to notice and continue their own interactions… Seon-woo’s presence was too overwhelming.

 

It was absurd.

 

Seon-woo wasn’t given any special lines, he was just performing the action of entering the common area, yet that Seon-woo… felt like he was dominating this space somehow.

 

‘It’s a familiar feeling though.’

 

Jin-wook’s eyes narrowed.

 

Anyone from Cheongseong would be familiar with this sensation.

 

This kind of presence… anyone who had acted with Do-young would have experienced it.

 

But at that moment, Jin-wook let out a hollow laugh.

 

Though he didn’t like Do-young, Jin-wook had no disagreement about his acting ability.

 

Seon-woo wasn’t yet at a level to be compared with Do-young.

 

However, at this rate… he couldn’t deny that someday he would reach him.

 

Yes, to that chosen realm that could never be reached through effort alone.

 

‘Fucking hell.’

 

Jin-wook picked up his phone.

 

【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%

 

…

 

11th place. Seo Jin-wook 3.2%

 

35,131 votes

 

‘Shit.’

 

Jin-wook was boasting an absurdly low vote percentage.

 

Despite surviving to the TOP 10, when looking at just the votes themselves, he didn’t even make it to the top 10.

 

Among the surviving members, the only ones below him were… Yoo Ji-eun and Justin.

 

Even Hyeong-bin was showing a higher vote percentage than him.

 

Of course, this wouldn’t directly reflect their actual abilities.

 

If it did, Hye-seong would have been ranking higher than Seon-woo no matter what.

 

It was a result that reflected popularity to some extent.

 

But even considering that… Jin-wook’s ranking was lower than he had imagined.

 

In the end, it meant his acting hadn’t been that impressive.

 

It meant his presence was incomparably lacking compared to Seon-woo’s.

 

I know.

 

That Seon-woo is the same as that Cha Do-young… a genius.

 

But that doesn’t mean I can just meekly tuck my tail between my legs.

 

That it can’t be helped.

 

That people have their given place and limits, should I bow my head like that?

 

‘No.’

 

I couldn’t do that.

 

I didn’t start acting to grovel like that.

 

I wanted to become something.

 

Something… different from now, someone great.

 

But, how?

 

“….”

 

Jin-wook looked at Seon-woo with sunken eyes.

 

He had put in enough effort.

 

At least the reason he was falling behind Seon-woo now wasn’t due to lack of effort.

 

Then what should he do?

 

What on earth should he do…

 

‘Can I catch up to that bastard?’

 

* * *

 

When filming ended, the first thing Seon-woo had to face was Im Yeong-do’s worried gaze.

 

“Seon-woo. Could we have a chat for a moment?”

 

“Ah, you mean an interview?”

 

“No.”

 

Im Yeong-do shook his head.

 

“Not an interview or anything like that, a real conversation.”

 

“? Ah, yes.”

 

It was an unusual situation.

 

Im Yeong-do had never tried to have a conversation with them without the pretext of an interview before.

 

‘What’s going on?’

 

It wouldn’t be about acting.

 

If it were about that, Park Myeong-jin would have come instead of Im Yeong-do.

 

What reason would Im Yeong-do have to seek him out? Nothing came to mind immediately…

 

“Seon-woo, do you need psychological counseling?”

 

“Yes…? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

 

“You don’t need to hide it. Seon-woo, just tell me honestly.”

 

He couldn’t understand the situation.

 

Seon-woo looked at Im Yeong-do while trying to hide his flustered feelings.

 

Im Yeong-do had worried about his mental state before too.

 

It was understandable then. At that time, there were so many malicious comments directed at Seon-woo.

 

But now those malicious comments had already died down.

 

There was no need to worry now.

 

“PD. Did I… do something worrying?”

 

“Rather than you doing something…”

 

Im Yeong-do let out a sigh.

 

Making such a gloomy face and then asking ‘Is something wrong?’

 

Could he not even realize what kind of expression he was making?

 

“I heard that story about you from the Writer.”

 

“What story?”

 

“That you… have a psychological state not much different from a severe depression patient.”

 

“….”

 

Seon-woo was momentarily at a loss for words.

 

A severe depression patient? Him?

 

He thought he knew why they were saying that.

 

The questionnaire he had filled out then.

 

The one where he had consistently answered only “I don’t know” might have caused a misunderstanding.

 

‘No, is it completely a misunderstanding?’

 

These days, facing those emotions again, Seon-woo was realizing that he had been in a more serious state than he thought back then.

 

Somehow, back then this depression and lethargy were so familiar that he wasn’t conscious of it, but looking back now… he wondered how he had endured it.

 

Perhaps he back then really was suffering from depression.

 

“Seon-woo. Broadcasting is good, and acting is good, but… I don’t think those things are more important than people. So, if it’s hard, I’d appreciate it if you could honestly tell me it’s hard.”

 

“…Um, thank you for thinking of me.”

 

Seon-woo bowed his head slightly.

 

He was a bit moved. Although he had a good impression of Im Yeong-do, since broadcasting station PDs had an image of being ruthless, he had been somewhat wary, which now made him feel unnecessarily sorry.

 

And because of that, Seon-woo had no choice but to give an honest answer.

 

“Well, actually, it would be a lie to say it’s not mentally difficult.”

 

“…I see. Don’t worry too much. I’ve arranged psychological counseling and everything. So…”

 

“Ah, that should be fine.”

 

Seon-woo shook his head.

 

Im Yeong-do looked at him with stern eyes as if telling him not to be stubbornly useless. But Seon-woo didn’t back down and looked back at Im Yeong-do.

 

“It is difficult. The character ‘Kim Seon-woo’ itself is so dark right now. So when I keep reflecting on that… I do lose energy sometimes, get depressed sometimes, things like that happen.”

 

“Then maybe counseling…”

 

“But right now, I think even this depression is good.”

 

Depression is good?

 

Im Yeong-do’s expression became strange at those words that made no logical sense whatsoever.

 

Seon-woo continued speaking calmly.

 

“This depression will help me do better acting. I think it will help me get closer to ‘Kim Seon-woo’ and create a better work… so now I don’t even dislike this depression.”

 

“Seon-woo…”

 

“Don’t worry too much. This is embarrassing to say, but…”

 

Seon-woo smiled.

 

And at that moment, Im Yeong-do was left speechless.

 

The smile that bloomed on that face steeped in depression…

 

“I’m happy right now.”

 

Was so beautiful it was incomprehensible.

 

* * *

 

Yeon-woo’s eyes widened.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“I’m asking you to help me.”

 

“…Me, help Jin-wook?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Jin-wook looked at Yeon-woo with a determined expression.

 

Yeon-woo tilted her head.

 

“Why me?”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————