I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 71

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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 71

 

Seon-woo is a psycho?

 

Park Myeong-jin didn’t interpret Ryu’s words literally.

 

Ryu’s way of speaking itself had too many aspects that could be misunderstood.

 

Instead, he smiled.

 

“It seems you like Seon-woo.”

 

“…Ho, from what I can see, it looks like you’re more smitten with that guy than I am, PD?”

 

“Me?”

 

“You call all the other actors Mr. So-and-so, but you just call that guy Seon-woo.”

 

Ah, was I speaking like that?

 

Park Myeong-jin scratched his nose with an embarrassed expression.

 

“Well, he’s a guy who delivers ten when you ask for one, so I can’t help but like him. What about you, Writer? What did you like so much about him?”

 

“What I liked about him… Well, maybe I liked that desperate feeling?”

 

“Desperate? But don’t all the other actors also feel desperate?”

 

“It’s different.”

 

Ryu said decisively.

 

“They act to perform, but that guy acts to survive.”

 

“…To survive?”

 

Park Myeong-jin made a puzzled expression as if it was hard to understand.

 

A thin smile appeared on Ryu’s lips.

 

Meeting Seon-woo in person had been a good choice.

 

Thanks to that, he could confirm that unlike what was written on the questionnaire, he had somewhat escaped from his depression.

 

He himself seemed to think that his past depression was just something from the old days.

 

It was easy to guess how he could have escaped from depression.

 

You just had to see where his heart was directed.

 

Right. Acting.

 

Acting must have saved him.

 

But,

 

‘What would happen if he couldn’t act anymore?’

 

He might break down.

 

Perhaps even more than his past self had.

 

When the lifeline you finally grasped breaks, all that awaits is a fall.

 

Maybe that’s why he clings to acting so desperately like that.

 

For Ryu, it was a welcome thing.

 

That passion would ultimately make this work more alive.

 

That precariousness glimpsed in Seon-woo… should I say it becomes a source of inspiration for Ryu.

 

‘…But what if he really wins?’

 

Ryu frowned.

 

It wasn’t a very welcome story. As he had told Seon-woo, he sincerely hoped Seon-woo would be eliminated.

 

So he hoped to be able to deal with Kim Seon-woo’s death.

 

Surely the scene of him dying would be… attractive enough to make all the hair on his body stand on end.

 

Ryu licked his lips.

 

It was a work he had accepted because it seemed fun to write about this kind of variability he couldn’t control.

 

But now it made him a little anxious.

 

Because he had that kind of feeling for some reason.

 

Kim Seon-woo.

 

Maybe he really might win.

 

* * *

 

Until the script arrived, all the actors of [One Room] could get a brief but legitimate rest time.

 

Probably after this time passed, they would have to run non-stop again for a while.

 

Thanks to that, everyone was in the mood to enjoy the present moment.

 

Of course, not everyone could enjoy this time.

 

“Is this what it feels like to just wait for death… I’m like so depressed.”

 

Justin muttered with a gloomy face.

 

Having been eliminated in the last judging results, it was confirmed that he would retire in episode 2 of [One Room]. He would probably meet death in some form.

 

Min-hee grinned as she watched Justin like that.

 

“Think about how you’re going to die.”

 

“…Isn’t that decided by votes or something like that?”

 

“Well, you could die by voting… who knows. Maybe you’ll die by my hand?”

 

“Nah… your character doesn’t seem like the type to go around killing people.”

 

That was true though.

 

If there was someone here who would be the first to get blood on their hands, it would probably be characters like Jin-wook or Yeon-woo.

 

And that’s when it happened.

 

Jin-wook slowly approached Justin, hesitated, then opened his mouth.

 

“Justin, you worked hard all this time.”

 

“…What? Su-suddenly?”

 

“Yeah. Suddenly.”

 

After Jin-wook said that, he spun around and disappeared.

 

Min-hee, who had been frozen like stone watching the scene, soon frowned and turned to look at Yeon-woo.

 

“What are you going to do about that? Hurry up and do some damage control.”

 

“Why? He’s cute.”

 

“Yeon-woo. That guy and cuteness are words that can never coexist. I hope you won’t make such controversial statements again.”

 

Min-hee had always been exasperated whenever Jin-wook was mentioned since long ago.

 

Since Min-hee was someone who would beat to death anything that was wrong, she couldn’t accept Jin-wook’s problematic aspects at all.

 

‘He does seem to have gotten a bit better lately though…’

 

Seon-woo looked at Jin-wook who was standing some distance away.

 

He knew that the condition for receiving Yeon-woo’s coaching was ‘being kind to everyone,’ but Jin-wook was following that requirement more faithfully than expected.

 

Was Yeon-woo’s coaching that desperately needed?

 

No, perhaps here… he didn’t want to leave even the slightest regret behind.

 

Jin-wook had always been an annoying senior, but at least in this moment, he didn’t look pathetic.

 

It’s a bit awkward to say this, but… honestly, he even felt somewhat cool.

 

He never knew that person who was such a lump of pride could lower himself like that and do his best.

 

‘I need to work harder too.’

 

Seon-woo’s performance this time wasn’t at a very satisfactory level anyway.

 

83 points from the judges and 8 points from the audience.

 

Considering that Yeon-woo, who was right in front of him, got 86 points from the judges and 9 points from the audience… it meant that Seon-woo’s acting was weaker than Yeon-woo’s in the eyes of both professionals and ordinary people.

 

Of course, Yeon-woo did really well.

 

Even from his perspective, it was acting that people couldn’t help but be captivated by.

 

But he couldn’t just stay still like this.

 

If he continued like this, he might survive a few more rounds, but he would eventually be eliminated.

 

And as Writer Ryu wanted… he would end up acting Kim Seon-woo’s death.

 

‘It does seem like it would be interesting though…’

 

But that doesn’t mean he wants to die obediently.

 

He wants to show his best… no, something beyond his best.

 

‘How?’

 

Seon-woo thought.

 

Was the Kim Seon-woo he acted really his best?

 

For now, even if he were asked to act again right away, he wasn’t confident he could show better acting than before.

 

But being satisfied with this also felt somewhat ambiguous.

 

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the luxury to keep dwelling on that concern.

 

6 PM, when the sun had already disappeared, too late to call it evening.

 

A script came from Ryu.

 

Of course, it wasn’t a script containing the entire second episode.

 

A partial script covering the first 10 or so minutes of episode 2.

 

No matter how great a writer Ryu was, there wasn’t enough time physically to cover the entire second episode.

 

Rather, it was amazing that he wrote even this much in just one day.

 

Seon-woo focused on the script for now.

 

What kind of appearance would Kim Seon-woo show in episode 2?

 

Would he still maintain that powerless attitude in that colorless gray…?

 

Seon-woo’s expression soon became subtle as he read through the script with such curiosity.

 

‘…What kind of combination is this?’

 

A completely unexpected development was unfolding.

 

Should he say that Kim Seon-woo and… another female character seemed to be subtly getting involved?

 

Suddenly, he remembered what Ryu had said with a smirk.

 

He thought it was a joke…

 

—Well, would love be enough?

 

Was he serious?

 

* * *

 

The character getting involved with Kim Seon-woo was none other than Yoo Ji-eun.

 

Kim Seon-woo calms down Yoo Ji-eun who had fallen into panic and was having breathing difficulties, and after that, Yoo Ji-eun unilaterally comes to depend on Kim Seon-woo.

 

Well, it was hard to call it a love line.

 

It was just a structure where Yoo Ji-eun, who suddenly fell into an extreme situation, unilaterally depended on Kim Seon-woo.

 

Actually,

 

Yoo Ji-eun: Th, thank you. Mister…

 

Yoo Ji-eun called Kim Seon-woo ‘mister’ in the story.

 

…Honestly, this part was a bit unfair. Ji-eun’s real age was twenty-three. Actually, the age difference between her and him was only four years.

 

Although this was all the content developed so far, it seemed clear that Yoo Ji-eun and Kim Seon-woo would continue to be involved together going forward.

 

At least until one of them gets eliminated.

 

In a way, it was understandable. Yoo Ji-eun was the youngest character in this work, and among the people she could depend on, Kim Seon-woo was the most approachable.

 

At least on the surface, Kim Seon-woo also seemed the most composed in this strange situation.

 

‘Well, it probably won’t go as far as love…’

 

In any case, it was clear that Writer Ryu was trying to form a special rapport between Yoo Ji-eun and Kim Seon-woo.

 

It wasn’t just those two.

 

Episode 2 was the chapter where all the characters began to truly get to know each other.

 

It was a section where they sprouted hostility and goodwill toward each other through their exchanges.

 

And among them, there were two roles that showed the most distinctive presence,

 

Justin: Fuck! You, you guys were also sent here by your mothers, right? Huh? That’s why you came, right? Hey, how much? How much did they say they’d give you? I’ll give you more, okay? Hey, drugs. Give me some drugs. My drugs… huh?

 

Justin, who went crazy and rampaged due to withdrawal symptoms, earning wariness from everyone, and,

 

Park Moon-hyeon: Everyone, please calm down. We’re all in the same situation, so instead of fighting each other, wouldn’t it be better to assess the situation first?

 

Park Moon-hyeon, who was acting as a potential leader with his gentle charisma.

 

Seon-woo inwardly nodded.

 

‘They’re really going to make sure these two exit with a bang.’

 

These were the two scheduled to exit in Episode 2.

 

For their finale to shine, they needed to cast more spotlight on them.

 

The problem was,

 

“Everyone, please move to the bus!”

 

Due to the tight filming schedule, they had to move directly to the film set without any time to properly rehearse.

 

Because of this, even while sitting on the bus, he was only looking at the script when Moon-hyeon, who sat beside him, spoke with a calm smile.

 

“How is it? Do you like this script?”

 

“Hmm… The script itself is good, but my character is a bit ambiguous.”

 

“True, Kim Seon-woo is quite subdued, isn’t he?”

 

Moon-hyeon nodded as if he understood.

 

Seon-woo unconsciously let out a sigh and replied.

 

“Sigh, yes. Of course, this fits the character… but it’s disappointing. There should be at least some moments where he sparkles, but there don’t seem to be any such scenes yet.”

 

“You’re thinking there might not be any such scenes going forward either?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Hmm…”

 

Instead of immediately saying something, Moon-hyeon fell into thought for a moment.

 

And he opened his mouth when the bus was almost arriving at the film set.

 

“If there’s one thing I learned from 30 years of company life… it’s that even the most pathetic person, when you look back, had some redeeming qualities.”

 

“…Are you saying Kim Seon-woo will be like that too?”

 

“Well, judging that is up to you.”

 

Moon-hyeon smiled and patted Seon-woo’s shoulder.

 

“Take a closer look. Who knows? He might have been sparkling more than you think.”

 

—Thanks to that heart, the character Kim Seon-woo… seemed to sparkle even while covered in ashes.

 

Why was it?

 

The moment he heard those words, Lee Mu-beom’s words from the audition came to mind.

 

Words that were hard to understand then and now.

 

Where had Lee Mu-beom seen that sparkle that even the actor himself hadn’t felt?

 

Seon-woo had an intuition.

 

To express the character ‘Kim Seon-woo’ more richly… he needed to find that light that Lee Mu-beom’s eyes had seen.

 

Entering the film set, Seon-woo continued to ponder.

 

‘Kim Seon-woo is definitely a character who doesn’t sparkle.’

 

When do people sparkle?

 

Seon-woo thought the answer was ‘when chasing dreams.’

 

He wasn’t just talking about professional dreams.

 

Life with friends, venturing into space, struggling to live even one more day while fighting illness, protecting children from danger… all things one could devote their heart to were dreams.

 

But Kim Seon-woo was a character who didn’t devote his heart to anything.

 

More precisely, a character whose heart to devote had already withered.

 

How could such a character sparkle?

 

‘Normally, I’d just stamp it as impossible to sparkle and move on.’

 

But Moon-hyeon’s words that everything sparkles in its own way… and Lee Mu-beom’s words that Kim Seon-woo sparkled even while being ashen prevented Seon-woo from compromising.

 

What if by not taking this one step forward, he missed the chance for Kim Seon-woo to sparkle?

 

That was something he could never accept.

 

‘I don’t know. Let’s try somehow.’

 

Seon-woo gripped the color orb.

 

When you don’t know what to do, the action to take is simple.

 

Just do it.

 

Not halfheartedly,

 

but desperately.

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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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