I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 64
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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 64
“….”
“….”
“…You don’t want to?”
“No! It’s not that I don’t want to, I’m asking out of pure curiosity. Why are you suddenly making this request to me? And what would I gain from teaching Jin-wook?”
Yeon-woo looked at Jin-wook with eyes full of curiosity.
Jin-wook slightly lowered his gaze and spoke in a quiet voice.
“…You taught Kim Seon-woo before.”
“Yes. I did.”
“I could see it. While Lee Yeon-woo was teaching him, that guy Kim Seon-woo… was growing.”
That was the reason Jin-wook was here right now.
Yeon-woo was undoubtedly a good teacher.
When it came to teaching ability, she might be better than anyone Jin-wook had ever seen.
Of course, even knowing this, Jin-wook had never particularly asked Yeon-woo for guidance before.
The reason was simple.
It was embarrassing.
Yeon-woo was three or four years younger than him.
It felt awkward to ask her to teach him acting.
And aside from the embarrassment… he found Yeon-woo uncomfortable.
He didn’t know why.
But every time he saw her expression, every time their eyes met… Jin-wook would get goosebumps.
How should he put it.
Instinctively, something felt… unsettling.
But now he no longer had the luxury to worry about such things.
‘There’s no dignity left to preserve.’
Jin-wook gritted his teeth.
There was a comment that still remained vivid in his memory.
Anonymous5: Seo Jin-wook’s acting was pretty good too lol but he’s at the bottom of the voting results
└Kingsman: Who’s Seo Jin-wook again
└Anonymous5: You know, that red-haired guy
└Kingsman: Ah lol it’s not that she can’t act, but she just doesn’t stand out, right? Honestly, aside from her hair color, there wasn’t much to look at lol
└Anonymous5: That’s true though…
A guy with nothing to offer except his hair color.
That was Jin-wook’s current position. The problem was that Jin-wook had nothing to say in rebuttal.
He knew well that he hadn’t shown anything worthwhile so far.
This couldn’t continue.
Something had to change.
And Yeon-woo was… the only lifeline he could find right now.
Yeon-woo could roughly understand Jin-wook’s psychology.
The problem was,
“Well, I understand why you’re asking for help. But what reason do I have to invest my time in Jin-wook?”
There was no particular reason why she should help Jin-wook.
To that question, Jin-wook…
“There isn’t one.”
He answered quite boldly.
His attitude seemed to say there couldn’t possibly be a reason.
Yeon-woo’s eyes narrowed.
“Shouldn’t there be some reason?”
“There’s no reason.”
“…But you want me to teach you?”
“Yes.”
Is this guy crazy too?
Yeon-woo looked at Jin-wook as if seeing him anew. She already knew he was somewhat lacking, but she didn’t expect him to be this hopeless.
The problem was,
“Alright. I’ll teach you.”
Yeon-woo wasn’t normal either.
Jin-wook looked at her with a bewildered expression, as if he never expected Yeon-woo to accept.
“Why?”
“You didn’t have a reason either, so why are you asking me for one?”
“…I at least had a reason to ask, but you don’t have any reason at all?”
“Ah, if you think about it that way, that’s true. Then let’s use this as the reason.”
Yeon-woo shrugged her shoulders.
“I want to do some experiments with Jin-wook.”
“What do you mean by that.”
“It’s nothing special. I just want to try making Jin-wook do all the things I wonder ‘would it be okay to act like this?'”
“…Why?”
“You really ask ‘why’ a lot. Well, my reason is simple too.”
Yeon-woo shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m not too happy with my voting results either.”
“But you were 4th place, if I remember correctly?”
“Do they give prize money for 4th place?”
“No, they don’t.”
“Right. Then what meaning does it have? If you can’t get 1st place, you end up with nothing anyway.”
“Huh….”
Jin-wook couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
He had just realized that Yeon-woo had completely different standards than him.
‘First place… she’s going to take first place?’
Even Jin-wook himself had, at some point, naturally assumed that first place wasn’t meant for him.
It was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it. That was reality.
Even asking Yeon-woo for help right now wasn’t because he believed this would make him first place.
He just… didn’t want to enter the competition as ‘someone who wouldn’t be surprising to see eliminated.’
‘But does she have the confidence for that?’
Jin-wook squinted his eyes and looked at Yeon-woo.
Honestly, in his opinion, there wasn’t a meaningful skill gap between Yeon-woo and himself.
He acknowledged that her acting had distinctive details.
However, her acting lacked vitality.
Against people like Hye-seong or Seon-woo, it felt somewhat lacking.
‘Well, her psychopath acting was flawless though.’
It was a vitality he had never felt when watching Yeon-woo’s acting before.
Whether her acting had improved, or she had found a character that suited her that well.
It was a bit unsettling that it happened to be a serial killer character, but Jin-wook didn’t think too deeply about it.
Now wasn’t the time for such things.
She said she’d help, after all.
“Thank you. Please take care of me from now….”
“Oh, but there’s a condition.”
“…? What condition?”
“That is….”
The corners of Yeon-woo’s mouth curved up mischievously.
* * *
While they were preparing for the final shoot of [One Room], episode 5 of 【I Am an Actor】 aired.
It was the episode covering their most recent ‘Death’ mission.
The last episode to air before [One Room] began.
And one of the main viewing points of this 5th episode was none other than Kwon So-ri.
Since episode 4 had built up quite a bit of notoriety around Kwon So-ri, everyone was watching with keen interest to see what would happen to her.
And the reaction to that was,
ㅇㅇ: Yo, Kwon Sori is finally leaving lmao
Anonymous: I thought Kwon So-ri might actually make it to TOP 10, but thank goodness she got eliminated… Si-on can finally rest in peace..
└ㅇㅇ: “Rest in peace” my ass lmao anyone would think someone actually died
└JUN: Wow but Seon-woo is really a saint, how did he put up with all that lol
└Freshwater Snail: He even seemed to look after her a bit toward the end.
└my_home: Didn’t Seon-woo really look after Si-on? He must have hated Kwon So-ri but still put up with it lol what an adult
It was as above.
Various reactions expressing relief that Kwon So-ri was gone.
He was a bit curious about how Kwon So-ri would feel seeing this. He was somewhat worried too.
But it was something she had to handle herself.
It wasn’t criticism without reason, was it? Maybe it would be good for her to reflect and take time to look at herself this time.
Meanwhile, he could see comments subtly praising Seon-woo.
But Seon-woo didn’t feel particularly good about such comments.
It was partly because his emotions had dulled due to Method Acting…
‘Everyone’s happy like this now, but… you never know how it might all change in an instant.’
Hadn’t he seen how celebrities who were riding high could plummet in the blink of an eye?
Moreover, compared to them, Seon-woo had merely built up a slight favorable image.
He couldn’t let his guard down.
Seon-woo continued reading through the comments.
Kim Quokka: Wow but I was really surprised this time.. When Jeong Hye-seong and Song Jae-won were acting, whether it was their chemistry or acting ability, everything was just insane
└Anonymous3: Song Jae-won really seemed to have bad luck with roles and teams until now. When he worked with Jeong Hye-seong, his acting went crazy
└Handsome Acting: Jeong Hye-seong seems like a good partner to act with
└Yujo-ah: They both acted well, agreed. Especially Song Jae-won’s looks are just unreal… kind of like a Northern Duke vibe
└Yeonsu Min: Agreed agreed agreed, there was something that came to mind and Northern Duke seems perfect…
└Writer please cast Yeon: Personally, just looking at looks among the male actors this time, I think Seon-woo and Jae-won are the top two
└Anonymous7: Isn’t Seon-woo’s impression too soft to be grouped with Jae-won?
└Writer please cast Yeon: You don’t know, that style of handsome is actually the rarest
└meteor: Hye-seong is handsome too
└Anonymous7: lol to each their own
Sandy Beach: But isn’t Lee Yeon-woo’s killer acting insane? Am I the only one who thinks so
└Pepper Flavor Star: Yes yes yes honestly I used to think Lee Yeon-woo’s acting was a bit bland, but this performance was perfect
└Sandy Beach: She seems to suit slightly unhinged characters lol
└Anonymous6: It’s a bit surprising, she has such an urban pretty vibe I thought she wouldn’t suit this kind of role
Gahyun: Min-hee was pretty today too… She’s definitely got that romantic comedy female lead look
└Anonymous2: Rather than rom-com, isn’t she more like a prosecutor in crime dramas?
└Gahyun: You’re talking about crime stories even after seeing those romantic eyes ㅡㅡ
Since most of the remaining contestants had impressive acting skills, it was hard to find particularly bad comments.
But the most important thing right now wasn’t this.
Kim Quokka: Wait, but the TOP 10 members are filming a drama…? And with PD Park Myeong-jin…?
This exact part.
This episode’s closing segment contained the fact that TOP 10’s mission would proceed through ‘drama filming’.
Even that PD Park Myeong-jin would be holding the megaphone.
Viewers’ reactions were split in two.
Cali: This is crazy. It’s going to be so interesting, right?
AnxiousPing: We’re screwed. This is going to be a total disaster, right?
It was understandable to think that way.
Inserting a drama into a variety show.
Expectations and worries were bound to come first.
Good Comment Fairy: No way lololol When it’s already hard to film even with proven actors, they’re going to film with those members?
Anonymous11: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m already not looking forward to it, what should I do
Daslgi: ?? Why are you guys in the comments being like this? I mean, you’ve all seen how well they act so far ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Isn’t it worth having some faith and looking forward to it?
└KindCommentFairy: No way lol, being good at audition pro level and being good at drama level are two different things
└Freshwater Snail: Even considering that, they’re good? Especially Jeong Hye-seong is honestly better than most active actors
└SunpleYojeong: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Here comes another Jung Hye-sung shield again. Anyone would think Jung Hye-sung is the only cast member here? What about the other people? Don’t they appear in dramas?
└Freshwater Snail: No… Kim Seon-woo, Song Jae-won, Na Min-hee, people like that were all fine? Why do you keep trying to hate on them?
Song Si-yeol: There was someone who commented about filming a drama on I Am An Actor before and got ignored, but it was real…
Anonymous15: But honestly, I don’t know about the quality, but it’ll probably be fun at least
└Anonymous17: lololol I agree, it’ll be interesting to watch how they film it
└Cali: But since PD Park Myeong-jin is directing, they’ll probably do the basics at least? He’s a director who’s never had a flop
└AnxiousPing: There’s always a first time for everything…
└Nice Comment Fairy: lol Even if it’s Park Myung-jin, how do you make a dish using dog food?
‘…What a commotion.’
Overall, it was hard to say public opinion was good.
Generally, the atmosphere of worry and doubt was more noticeable.
In a way, that was natural.
Making a drama wasn’t easy work.
Even they themselves had reacted like ‘We’re supposed to do this?’ when they first heard about the TOP 10 mission content.
‘Well, we’ll just have to do our best.’
For now, Seon-woo planned to do his best from his position.
While he was at it, Seon-woo checked the voting results.
The results of the winner prediction vote that reopened after this episode ended were…
【I Am An Actor – Who Will Win?】
1st place. Kim Seon-woo 20%
2nd place. Jeong Hye-seong 18.9%
3rd place. Song Jae-won 16.8%
4th place. Lee Yeon-woo 14.7%
5th place. Na Min-hee 12.6%
6th place. Bang Hyeong-bin 6.3%
7th place. Park Moon-hyeon 5.3%
8th place. Seo Jin-wook 3.2%
9th place. Yoo Ji-eun 1.2%
10th place. Justin Oh 1%
6,315 votes
‘…It’s changed a lot from last time.’
Seon-woo’s eyes darkened.
Several changes caught his eye.
First, Jae-won had climbed up to the top 3, and Yeon-woo had also overtaken Min-hee to secure 4th place.
But what bothered him most was… him and Hye-seong.
In the last vote, Seon-woo had 21.5% and Hye-seong had 14.3%. But now Seon-woo and Hye-seong were at 20% and 18.9%, with the gap significantly narrowed.
Why?
‘Is my buzz gradually decreasing?’
That made sense.
Initially, Seon-woo had drawn people’s attention because of the career controversy.
Even after the controversy was resolved, he was called a genius again through his mute acting and such… but Seon-woo still thought that was just hype.
‘Compared to Hye-seong sunbae, I’m still far behind.’
And the public’s eyes eventually saw that too.
This gradually narrowing gap was proof of that.
It meant he needed to grow.
The problem was how to do that.
‘Is Kim Seon-woo… acting like this the best he can do right now?’
No clear answer came to mind immediately.
Seon-woo decided to go to sleep for now.
I’m tired. There’s no point continuing to think with this foggy head.
I’ll rest first and think about it tomorrow.
Seon-woo got up.
And that’s when it happened.
“Going to sleep?”
“? Yes.”
It was Jin-wook.
He was looking at him with a strange expression.
Just as Seon-woo’s expression was about to turn sour, thinking he was going to pick another fight…
“…Yeah, sleep well.”
“…!”
Seon-woo’s face turned pale at the greeting that followed.
It wasn’t a joke—goosebumps rose all over his body.
What is this. Why is he suddenly acting like this.
It couldn’t be that he was ordering him to sleep well… it really only sounded like a pure greeting.
But that guy isn’t the type of person to give greetings, is he.
‘…Has he gone crazy?’
Has he decided to go insane!
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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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