I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 75

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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 75

 

“———Cut!”

 

Park Myeong-jin’s voice rang out loudly.

 

A smile bloomed across his entire face.

 

“No way, Moon-hyeon! What on earth is this? How can a person change this much in just one day?”

 

This wasn’t a joke – he felt like giving him a kiss right now.

 

The problem that had kept him tossing and turning just last night had been solved in an instant.

 

Watching Park Myeong-jin like this, Moon-hyeon smiled calmly.

 

“It’s thanks to Seon-woo.”

 

“…Seon-woo?”

 

“Yes. I received acting lessons from Seon-woo. Very Spartan ones at that.”

 

“Wow, how admirable.”

 

Park Myeong-jin looked at Seon-woo with eyes dripping with honey.

 

Then he suddenly paused and thought.

 

‘…But admirable aside, is this even possible?’

 

Being good at something and teaching it are different matters.

 

This was especially true for acting.

 

Acting was an extremely personal thing. Being trapped in one’s own world, following one’s own rules, creating one’s own character. Teaching that to someone else couldn’t be easy.

 

In fact, the more talented someone was at acting, the harder it became to teach.

 

But he had brought Moon-hyeon to this level in just one day?

 

‘Not just his role… is he acting while understanding the entire work?’

 

There were actors like that sometimes.

 

Actors who had vision comparable to directors and could carry a production.

 

If Seon-woo was that type of actor…

 

‘…Well, that’s not something to think about right now.’

 

Park Myeong-jin shook his head and looked at the screen.

 

Making his worries seem pointless… the filming of episode 2 was proceeding more smoothly than expected.

 

Just when Seon-woo’s character was starting to feel bland… he brought a mysterious mystique and melancholy that instantly brought out the flavor.

 

Yeon-woo had also seemed unable to concentrate but suddenly snapped to attention,

 

And Moon-hyeon was… well, like he was now.

 

‘At this rate…’

 

Park Myeong-jin’s eyes sparkled.

 

[One Room] was honestly a very burdensome work. A production full of risks but without much expected return.

 

Even the success of episode 1 hadn’t lessened that burden.

 

In fact, as people’s expectations had risen, he’d honestly thought there might only be disappointments ahead.

 

But seeing things now…

 

‘…Maybe we can keep going without disappointing anyone.’

 

Park Myeong-jin clenched his fist.

 

Maybe they could really create it.

 

A well-made drama.

 

A masterpiece.

 

* * *

 

“Everyone worked hard.”

 

Moon-hyeon’s growth brought about a quicker farewell.

 

Since all of Park Moon-hyeon’s parts had finished filming, there was no longer any reason for Moon-hyeon to continue the group lodging.

 

Thanks to this, everyone had to exchange farewell greetings with Moon-hyeon as he packed his luggage to leave.

 

“You worked hard, Department Head.”

 

“See you at the next filming!”

 

Amid the pouring farewell greetings, Moon-hyeon looked at Seon-woo.

 

“I think I was able to finish well thanks to you. Thank you so much.”

 

“Not at all. I had fun too.”

 

“Seon-woo.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“…Never mind. See you at filming.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The farewell was characteristically clean.

 

It wasn’t like they’d never see each other again… they’d meet again at the next 【I Am an Actor】 filming anyway. It would be awkward to make too big a deal of the goodbye.

 

But once Moon-hyeon left, everyone else seemed to feel somewhat melancholy.

 

It was unavoidable since this was the first time someone had been eliminated and left since [One Room] started filming.

 

The previous elimination had been almost a month ago… so it really hit home that this was a survival show.

 

Hye-seong shook his head.

 

“But the Department Head really did act well at the end…”

 

“It felt like he put his soul into it.”

 

“I was a bit worried at first… but at this point, Seon-woo seems like a master instructor. Should I learn acting from Seon-woo too?”

 

“…What are you saying. How could I teach you, hyung.”

 

Seon-woo shook his head in dismay.

 

Teaching Hye-seong was something Seon-woo wanted to imagine even less than teaching Moon-hyeon.

 

Hye-seong was like his first teacher to him.

 

If their skills were ever reversed and he ended up teaching him… honestly, he hoped that day would never come.

 

Min-hee opened her mouth.

 

“But how on earth did you teach him? His acting was at the level of becoming a completely different person.”

 

“Well…”

 

Seon-woo roughly explained how he had taught Moon-hyeon.

 

Then both Min-hee and Hye-seong nodded as if they couldn’t believe it.

 

“…You coached him that meticulously?”

 

“It’s amazing that he accepted all that coaching, but… the fact that you could point all that out is just absurd.”

 

“Is it difficult?”

 

“Rather than difficult… it’s perverted. Who would think about it so analytically?”

 

With a bit of exaggeration, it was to the level of giving advice on the tempo of inhaling and exhaling.

 

Listening to it, Moon-hyeon’s dramatic transformation became naturally understandable.

 

‘Should I just get a lesson from him too?’

 

Min-hee licked her lips as she looked at Seon-woo.

 

She was already starting to feel a sense of crisis these days. If in the past she had the mindset that she probably wouldn’t be eliminated… these days, she really could be eliminated at any time.

 

‘At this rate, I can’t win.’

 

Wasn’t coming this far enough?

 

She could be satisfied if she wanted to. After all, she had already shown her face to the public enough.

 

But this wasn’t simply a matter of winning or losing in the program.

 

She wanted to be proud of herself.

 

That she had truly done her absolute best in front of the given opportunity, to the point where she really couldn’t do anything more.

 

Min-hee opened her mouth.

 

“Seon-woo.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That…”

 

Min-hee’s lips trembled.

 

Just one sentence would do. Just one sentence asking, “Could you look at my acting too?”

 

Seon-woo’s skills were definitely good. Honestly, even though he was her junior, in some aspects he was much better than her.

 

Acknowledge what should be acknowledged, and learn what should be learned.

 

Right. That would be enough.

 

Min-hee, having made up her mind, opened her mouth with a determined expression.

 

And then,

 

“Shave your head bald.”

 

“…Why are you doing this, senior?”

 

She failed.

 

Ah, she really couldn’t do it.

 

…It was too embarrassing.

 

* * *

 

Episode 2 of [One Room] was filmed so smoothly it made one wonder if this was okay.

 

Filming at a level where it was hard to find anyone who could be called a weak link.

 

Ji-eun, Jin-wook, Hyeong-bin… virtually all the actors present showed performances that could be said to be the best they had shown so far.

 

It was probably largely due to their sense of crisis.

 

Everyone thought it wouldn’t be strange if they were eliminated right away.

 

One mistake could lead directly to elimination.

 

They had no choice but to be on edge.

 

And in this situation, Park Myeong-jin couldn’t help but be all smiles.

 

‘…Audition programs seem pretty good too?’

 

An environment that couldn’t be seen in regular dramas… a raw environment where screen time increased as much as one performed well, and if one performed poorly, they would be eliminated.

 

There was no more appropriate environment than this to see an actor’s limits.

 

Thanks to this, there was no need to bring out the carrot and stick.

 

The actors did their best on their own.

 

And it wasn’t just Park Myeong-jin who was satisfied with this.

 

‘Good.’

 

Seon-woo was equally happy with his fellow actors’ passionate performances.

 

Why would Seon-woo be happy when his competitors were doing well?

 

Well, from a competitive perspective, one might think that way… but Seon-woo was someone who was happy as long as he could see various colors.

 

It went without saying if he could paint those colors himself.

 

Moreover, the character Kim Seon-woo was someone who sparkled together as the other characters around him shone brighter.

 

From Seon-woo’s perspective, it was worth expecting others to give passionate performances.

 

And among those, what Seon-woo was most looking forward to was probably…

 

‘Justin’s death.’

 

Right.

 

It was this very scene they were filming now.

 

After Park Moon-hyeon’s death, all the participants fell into complete panic.

 

And the most noticeable among them was Justin.

 

—Please… stop it now. Huh? This is all a show, right? You’re doing this to make me quit drugs, right? Huh? Fuck… How much? Huh? How much did mom say she’d give you!

 

With his mind half-gone from withdrawal symptoms, thinking all of this was a show to treat him.

 

It was such a passionate performance that some staff members joked, “Did he really come here on drugs?”

 

But Justin soon realizes this isn’t a show.

 

—This fucking druggie bastard has been really getting on my nerves since yesterday.

 

Seo Jin-wook, unable to hold back any longer, beat Justin to a pulp.

 

It was only thanks to Bang Hyeong-bin and Song Jae-won pulling Seo Jin-wook away that it stopped there, otherwise he would have beaten him with enough force to actually kill him.

 

But thanks to this, Justin realizes this is truly a place where people kill each other.

 

The problem is that instead of becoming quiet after this realization… Justin begins to gradually go insane.

 

—I have to kill. If I want to live… I have to kill!

 

Justin, who kept muttering like this, eventually attacks Yoo Ji-eun. Of course, Justin’s attack doesn’t succeed.

 

Thanks to Kim Seon-woo and Bang Hyeong-bin stopping him and tying him up in a room.

 

But the problem wasn’t just Justin.

 

The voting that very night was already troublesome.

 

Not proceeding with the vote was concerning because of the message saying ‘If voting is not conducted, everyone will be eliminated’… but proceeding with the vote felt hesitant, as if it would be killing someone.

 

In the end, people couldn’t reach a consensus until the very last moment.

 

Each person said they would vote according to their own thoughts, and so when it was time for voting to begin, everyone went into their respective rooms.

 

And right at that moment,

 

—Player Justin has been eliminated.

 

—Due to an early elimination, today’s voting will not be conducted.

 

Such an announcement flows out.

 

Justin has been eliminated. They don’t need to vote.

 

After being dazed for a while, people belatedly realize the meaning and rush out of their rooms.

 

And when they enter Justin’s room like that… what awaits them is Justin’s figure, dead with his neck strangled.

 

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

 

“Cr-crazy. This is, this is impossible.”

 

“Wh-who! Who the hell did this!”

 

Terrible screams echoing from everywhere.

 

Showing Justin’s corpse that seems to be smiling somewhere… Episode 2 comes to an end.

 

It ends with the implication that there are characters who take direct action to survive, not just through voting.

 

Actually, when Seon-woo first saw this scene through the script, he had to cleanly admit it.

 

‘…Writer Ryu is definitely a genius.’

 

The thrill of that moment when slowly built-up distrust, fear, and panic all burst out at once…

 

Seon-woo was overwhelmed by that scene where the characters’ colors shining in all sorts of hues… swirl around dyed dark red with madness and darkness.

 

Especially Kim Seon-woo’s emotional line that Ryu described at this moment… was truly captivating.

 

Kim Seon-woo: Ah… (Stares blankly at Justin’s corpse. Eyes that seem to sense something.)

 

Eyes that seem to sense something.

 

Here, Ryu didn’t describe exactly what this ‘something’ was. As if interpreting that was the actor’s responsibility.

 

Actually, if it had been before… that is, if it had been when he didn’t properly understand Kim Seon-woo’s sparkle, Seon-woo would have hit a wall.

 

But now it’s different.

 

Seon-woo could understand what that something might be.

 

‘…It would be the first time his will to live is stimulated.’

 

It was difficult acting.

 

But it was also acting he wanted to pull off somehow.

 

Because this scene… in a way, closely resembled when Seon-woo first encountered acting.

 

That moment when he encountered acting in a life where days dyed in black and white with nothing were natural…

 

Actually, Seon-woo had always wanted to live a colorful life,

 

Actually, Kim Seon-woo had always wanted to have a reason to live.

 

He wanted to show it.

 

How much a person can sparkle when they embrace color.

 

The feeling of wanting to say, even through acting, that humans are beings born to sparkle.

 

Of course, it wouldn’t be an easy task.

 

Kim Seon-woo being caught on camera in this scene… is just about 2 seconds.

 

He has to express everything within those 2 seconds.

 

That in Kim Seon-woo’s empty chest… a longing for life finally begins to burn.

 

That he, who was always dead, is actually born because of Justin’s death.

 

Could he do it?

 

‘I have to.’

 

Seon-woo burst the color orb.

 

As the usual gray mist embraced him, Seon-woo’s eyes shone brightly.

 

The goal is clear.

 

He must sparkle.

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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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