I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 73

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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 73

 

—You hate Kim Seon-woo, don’t you?

 

It was a question he received during the script reading for episode 1 of [One Room].

 

Rather than a question, it could be seen as feedback. A criticism that his hatred for Kim Seon-woo was showing too obviously in his acting.

 

In reality, Seon-woo couldn’t burst Kim Seon-woo’s color orb at that time.

 

Because he wasn’t ready to directly face and accept Kim Seon-woo… or more precisely, his past self.

 

Considering this, the fact that Seon-woo could now burst that color orb meant he had faced his past self.

 

That gloomy, depressed, and helpless version of himself.

 

But apparently, that alone wasn’t enough.

 

—I know Kim Seon-woo is a dry character in many ways, but he feels too dry?

 

Park Myeong-jin’s second feedback.

 

Honestly, Seon-woo found it too difficult even to understand what this meant.

 

What was wrong with acting a dry character in a dry way?

 

Lee Mu-beom’s words about Kim Seon-woo shining were also just a riddle to Seon-woo.

 

To Seon-woo, Kim Seon-woo was someone who couldn’t shine… someone who shouldn’t shine.

 

But now he understood.

 

‘Was it… a defense mechanism?’

 

At this point, he had no choice but to admit it.

 

Seon-woo still hated Kim Seon-woo.

 

It would be fair to say he was afraid of him.

 

He had pretended otherwise, acted like he had accepted him… but the moment he affirmed him, it felt like that old helplessness would come crashing down on him again.

 

He was afraid of returning to that dull, black-and-white movie-like life.

 

He knew it was an irrational fear.

 

But fear was inherently unreasonable.

 

Yes. He was scared.

 

So he denied it.

 

Someone like Kim Seon-woo… a life tainted with gray wasn’t even worth looking at.

 

Not to mention his past self who didn’t know what to do and could only hope for job interviews.

 

Seon-woo thought that version of himself was living a life with no value worth affirming.

 

He probably thought that way.

 

That only by denying it… could his life become colorful going forward.

 

That it could become more beautiful.

 

But while giving advice to Yeon-woo, while defending psychopathy… that illness that absolutely no one in this world would ever call good, Seon-woo suddenly realized.

 

Perhaps he should apply that same gentle standard to himself.

 

And now.

 

“Don’t be anxious.”

 

Seon-woo finally felt like he could understand what Lee Mu-beom had said.

 

“You’ll be fine soon. Slowly breathe in through your nose, and exhale long through your mouth.”

 

It was that scene from yesterday.

 

The scene that got rejected by Park Myeong-jin multiple times.

 

Too dry. That was his assessment.

 

Seon-woo thought.

 

Why did Park Myeong-jin use the expression ‘dry’ among all the words he could have chosen? What part of Seon-woo could possibly sparkle for him to say such a thing?

 

The answer was in the eyes.

 

Let’s think about it.

 

In Kim Seon-woo’s eyes, someone who couldn’t feel the value of life and tried to let it go… how would the sight of people trapped here, struggling desperately to survive, appear?

 

He already knew this answer.

 

The feeling he had when watching people living colorfully in their respective positions during his non-acting days was still vivid.

 

What Seon-woo felt then was a sense of distance.

 

No matter how much he struggled, it seemed like he could never become like them.

 

And the feeling Kim Seon-woo was experiencing now would be similar.

 

“Follow me, breathe in— haaa.”

 

“Huh, huh… gasp…!”

 

“Don’t hold your breath. …Slowly.”

 

Watching Yoo Ji-eun trembling with fear in the face of a life-threatening situation… Kim Seon-woo felt that same sense of distance.

 

Because it was a feeling Kim Seon-woo could never dare to have.

 

“Th-thank you, mister…”

 

“…It’s nothing. Nothing bad will happen, so don’t worry too much.”

 

Because it was so dazzling.

 

Even her fear was.

 

‘His eyes… are different.’

 

Ji-eun, who was acting opposite Seon-woo, could feel that change the best.

 

It was a look that was hard to describe.

 

It seemed envious, yet resigned… an emotional line she felt like she was encountering for the first time in her life.

 

This was the ‘sparkle of Kim Seon-woo’ that Seon-woo had found.

 

Kim Seon-woo doesn’t shine.

 

He is dull, dark, and lacking.

 

But because of this, he becomes more easily captivated by the light of others.

 

To him, who has no will to live, people who struggle desperately to survive somehow… all appear dazzlingly bright.

 

So when he looks at them… his eyes can actually shine.

 

This seemed to be the right answer.

 

“Cut!”

 

When the cut signal rang out, Park Myeong-jin was smiling with such satisfaction that yesterday’s face was unrecognizable.

 

“Yes, that’s it, Seon-woo! Now you’ve got the hang of it!”

 

“…Thank you!”

 

“Good, let’s keep going like this. Ah, everyone’s tired, right? Let’s take a 5-minute break!”

 

Park Myeong-jin was so pleased that he even gifted them a 5-minute break.

 

While the cast collapsed and sat down with exhausted expressions, Ji-eun hesitantly approached Seon-woo.

 

“O, oppa.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Just now… what was that? Why did you have that look in your eyes?”

 

“Look in my eyes?”

 

“Yes! Like a grandfather watching children play in a playground. It was… really mysterious.”

 

“A playground grandfather…”

 

Seon-woo chuckled softly.

 

It wasn’t wrong.

 

The heart of an old man looking at youth… wouldn’t be much different from Kim Seon-woo’s heart looking at their will to live.

 

“Similar. You look really dazzling to me.”

 

“…Dazzling? But there’s nothing dazzling about it, right? Why is having a panic attack dazzling?”

 

“Hmm… Wouldn’t not knowing that answer help you more when acting?”

 

“That’s… true, but.”

 

I’m so curious though.

 

Ji-eun made a frustrated sound.

 

Korean National University of Arts theater department, where only geniuses are admitted.

 

She was someone who always landed the female lead roles even there.

 

She had never doubted her talent in her entire life… but coming to this place, she couldn’t help but feel there were levels beyond levels.

 

Especially Seon-woo’s existence was incomprehensible the more she observed him.

 

‘Who would believe this person has less than a year of experience?’

 

Even her classmates often sent her text messages.

 

That Kim Seon-woo person you’re filming with, is it really true he has less than a year of acting experience?

 

Actually, Ji-eun had been doubting it until recently too.

 

Well, she understood he had lived a life with no room for acting… but she still couldn’t believe acting of this depth was possible with that experience.

 

More precisely, she didn’t want to believe it.

 

But Seon-woo’s acting improved differently each day.

 

Even comparing yesterday to today, he was showing acting that made him seem like a different person.

 

‘How is this even possible?’

 

Was his perspective on emotions itself different?

 

Or was it the depth of the person himself?

 

She didn’t know.

 

It was just when Ji-eun, unable to hold back any longer, was about to speak again.

 

“Script! The script is here!”

 

A staff member’s voice stopped her.

 

“It’s episode 2!”

 

The script had arrived.

 

* * *

 

“Ah!”

 

Ji-eun clapped her hands while reading the script.

 

“Oppa, about what you said earlier, that Yoo Ji-eun was too dazzling.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Could it be that I was just dazzling because I’m too pretty… probably not, right?”

 

“…”

 

Seon-woo sighed.

 

* * *

 

Two days.

 

That was how long it took Ryu to write the entire episode 2 script.

 

‘…This isn’t even a daily drama, is this possible?’

 

Of course, he had heard that work speed varied greatly among writers… but he didn’t know it could be this fast.

 

Well, for Seon-woo, it was something to be grateful for.

 

He slowly read through the script.

 

Throughout reading the script, there was one thing he focused on.

 

How to make Kim Seon-woo shine.

 

He had just gained confidence through the recent filming.

 

I know how to make Kim Seon-woo sparkle.

 

‘I need to interact with more characters.’

 

Kim Seon-woo is like a mirror character.

 

The more the emotional lines of those beside him fluctuate, the more Kim Seon-woo himself, who cannot do so, becomes a window that reflects them.

 

‘The character I mainly get entangled with in episode 2 is…’

 

Yoo Ji-eun naturally had many scenes together even after that.

 

But surprisingly, there was another character who got entangled with him just as much as Ji-eun,

 

‘Park Moon-hyeon.’

 

It was Park Moon-hyeon.

 

Actually, Park Moon-hyeon got entangled with almost all the characters in this episode. It was natural since he was scheduled to exit in this episode.

 

But the relationship between Seon-woo and Park Moon-hyeon seemed somehow more special.

 

Park Moon-hyeon: I will be eliminated.

 

They select the eliminated person by vote.

 

Elimination. Because of that unsettling expression, people guard against and antagonize each other.

 

And then Park Moon-hyeon steps forward and tells them to vote for him. That he’ll be the first to be eliminated.

 

Of course, even in the midst of that, there were voices pointing fingers at him instead.

 

Seo Jin-wook: What’s your scheme? You know something, don’t you? You know, right? If you’re eliminated, you can just leave here, can’t you?

 

Park Moon-hyeon: I don’t know anything. But wouldn’t it be meaningless to keep suspecting each other like this?

 

Seo Jin-wook: Nonsense. I’ve been screwed over more than once or twice believing the smooth talk of old bastards like you.

 

Park Moon-hyeon: If you really can’t trust me, I can yield. How about it? Then will you be eliminated today instead?

 

Seo Jin-wook: (Grits his teeth and glares at Moon-hyeon.)

 

It was like that.

 

And then Seon-woo would add his words.

 

Kim Seon-woo: Teacher, it could be dangerous. These are people who even kidnapped us. Elimination… I don’t think it’ll simply end with just letting us out of here.

 

Park Moon-hyeon: But we can’t just stay still like this, can we? (Smiling) Someone has to do what needs to be done.

 

The relationship between Park Moon-hyeon and Kim Seon-woo starts from this scene.

 

When everyone was confused and couldn’t get their bearings, the only person who tried to organize the situation… and the person who worried about him.

 

Thanks to that, Park Moon-hyeon and Kim Seon-woo became close enough to have private conversations together.

 

About what they were doing before coming to this place. Well, to be precise, it was more like Park Moon-hyeon unilaterally telling his story.

 

And so the two even made a promise to have a drink together if they ever got out of this place, but on the night when the voting took place…

 

All the participants in [One Room] hear Park Moon-hyeon’s screams.

 

Terrible, mournful screams stained with regret.

 

And the next day, the room where Park Moon-hyeon had been… is tightly shut and won’t open.

 

As if no matter what they imagined, there would be an even worse scene inside.

 

‘…It’s a terrible story.’

 

But at the same time… it was somehow an attractive story.

 

Just imagining the colors that would overflow in this scene was already enough to send chills down his spine.

 

Seon-woo imagined.

 

In Kim Seon-woo’s gaze… how much would Park Moon-hyeon be shining?

 

What would it feel like to look at that light?

 

Just imagining it here and now was meaningless.

 

Only by actually acting together with Moon-hyeon and facing the colors he emanated could he truly sense that feeling.

 

Moon-hyeon’s role was important after all. Depending on how good his acting was, Seon-woo’s acting could also shine brighter.

 

‘This character Kim Seon-woo seems especially like that.’

 

A person who can only shine when someone is beside him.

 

Like the moon that sparkles by receiving the sun’s light.

 

The problem was,

 

“Let’s go again. Moon-hyeon, your acting right now feels like it lacks some dimensionality. You need to capture all the complex emotions that Park Moon-hyeon would feel in this situation. You can’t just end with a simple emotional line like ‘I should change!’ Make it feel more hopeful! Do you understand what I mean?”

 

“I’m sorry. I’ll do it properly.”

 

It seemed like Moon-hyeon was struggling a bit today.

 

It couldn’t be helped. Since so much weight was being placed on Moon-hyeon, he was the one carrying the current narrative.

 

For episode 2, he was practically in a half-protagonist position.

 

The pressure must be enormous in many ways.

 

Thanks to that, Moon-hyeon’s cuts had to be retaken dozens of times until filming ended that day.

 

‘I’m worried.’

 

On the bus returning to the accommodation.

 

Seon-woo glanced at Moon-hyeon’s complexion.

 

His expression couldn’t be good in this situation. He must feel like filming kept getting delayed because of him.

 

Fortunately, Moon-hyeon didn’t seem completely dejected.

 

Seeing him silently looking down at his script even during the ride… it seemed his will to somehow overcome this difficulty hadn’t been broken.

 

‘…Well, the department head has experience.’

 

He’s a man who survived decades in society.

 

Moreover… he’s someone brave enough to challenge acting, a completely new field, after spending those decades.

 

Though he encountered some difficulties at the end… Seon-woo believed he could somehow overcome this.

 

And Moon-hyeon lived up to that belief.

 

It was that night.

 

On his way back to the accommodation after eating a late dinner, Seon-woo encountered Moon-hyeon waiting in front of his door.

 

“Department head?”

 

“Ah, Seon-woo.”

 

Moon-hyeon looked at Seon-woo.

 

Eyes that were deeply tinged with fatigue… yet somehow seemed to sparkle.

 

“Could I ask you for just one favor?”

 

“Ah, yes. What kind of favor?”

 

“Well… could you teach me some acting?”

 

Moon-hyeon hesitated but ultimately voiced that question.

 

Making such a request to a child thirty years younger probably didn’t sit well with him either. Bringing up these words must have required more courage than Seon-woo could imagine.

 

And Seon-woo, faced with that courage…

 

‘There’s really no stopping him.’

 

Ended up smiling.

 

Suddenly he recalled something Moon-hyeon had said to him before. When he was worrying about Kim Seon-woo’s character… Moon-hyeon had told him this.

 

At any time, in any situation… people sparkle in their own way.

 

“Yes. That sounds good.”

 

Those words certainly weren’t wrong.

 

“I’ll teach you.”

 

Even at this very moment… seeing Moon-hyeon sparkle like this.

—————
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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