I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 77

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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 77

 

This is ridiculous.

 

His younger brother’s acting ability seemed to have grown several levels beyond what he had expected.

 

Of course, his brother’s growth was something to be happy about… but still, isn’t there such a thing as moderation?

 

What Seon-woo showed was simple.

 

His eyes. Should I call it a sparkle? And it was only for a very brief moment.

 

But that alone was enough.

 

Because from that moment’s sparkle alone, he could fully understand how Kim Seon-woo would change going forward.

 

Seon-jun let out a hollow laugh.

 

If he was going to act this well, he could watch the work without worry. At least it seemed there wouldn’t be any situation where Ryu’s intentions weren’t fully expressed due to Seon-woo’s shortcomings.

 

But at that moment, there was someone curled up as if watching a horror movie…

 

‘…I can’t breathe.’

 

It was Da-sol.

 

[One Room] wasn’t the type of thriller movie that showed particularly cruel scenes. It wasn’t like a hideous-looking killer appeared either.

 

But how should I put it.

 

That strange sense of oppression that never left the screen kept making her chest feel stuffy.

 

Since she already knew that Park Moon-hyeon and Justin would die in this episode, it was hard to clumsily give herself false hope by saying ‘it’ll be okay.’

 

All that was permitted to her was simply being afraid in the face of predetermined terror.

 

But if there were moments when she could breathe even in that tension,

 

‘Why does Seon-woo look so cool even in the midst of all this…’

 

It was when Kim Seon-woo appeared.

 

Was it because he was the only one who seemed free from fear when everyone else was soaked in terror?

 

When Kim Seon-woo appeared, the tension seemed to ease at least a little.

 

…Of course, Yeon-woo didn’t particularly look terrified either, but naturally, seeing her didn’t make her feel at ease. She was a serial killer, after all.

 

Anyway, Kim Seon-woo was the only sanctuary Da-sol could find in this scary and chaotic world.

 

The problem was…

 

‘He looks so pitiful.’

 

Right. Kim Seon-woo just felt inexplicably pitiful for no reason.

 

Even though nothing bad had happened to him yet, watching Kim Seon-woo just made her feel sorry for him for no reason.

 

Especially when he was with other characters… like Yoo Ji-eun or Park Moon-hyeon, seeing Kim Seon-woo’s forlorn gaze as he looked at them made her want to hug him.

 

‘…Is it because I’m a Seon-woo fan?’

 

No, it didn’t seem like that was the issue.

 

She didn’t feel this way during episode 1. Back then, she just vaguely admired Seon-woo’s acting ability, thinking ‘Wow, how can a person feel so empty like that?’

 

But now she felt sorry for him.

 

Pitiful, pathetic, and somehow… she wanted to comfort him.

 

And that feeling was maximized the moment Park Moon-hyeon died.

 

When Park Moon-hyeon died, and light finally appeared in Kim Seon-woo’s eyes that had always been dully lifeless… at that moment, Da-sol, no, the viewers could finally see inside.

 

A deficiency that nothing could fill.

 

‘…What should I do, really.’

 

She wanted to run out right now and comfort him. She wanted to tell him it was okay.

 

But [One Room] didn’t allow Da-sol to indulge in watching only Seon-woo like that.

 

—P-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 pay!

 

Justin.

 

The second person scheduled to die began to assert his presence.

 

The day after Park Moon-hyeon died through voting.

 

While everyone was speechless in front of his firmly closed door that wouldn’t budge, Justin began stuttering and denying reality.

 

As she felt in episode 1, it was amazing acting ability.

 

Fairy of Positive Comments: But didn’t they really bring an actual drug addict?

 

She could understand why such comments were posted.

 

Trembling hands, irregular breathing, scattered gaze… it was such a state that she’d understand even if he had gotten completely drunk before filming.

 

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

 

But Justin wasn’t the only one with acting ability.

 

Seo Jin-wook, who was playing a vicious criminal trapped in a cell, also showed his presence by displaying merciless violence against Justin.

 

He beat up Justin so brutally that audience members could be seen flinching and trembling here and there.

 

‘…They definitely all have that feeling of gritting their teeth and going for it.’

 

Da-sol gulped.

 

That desperate feeling that only rookie actors possessed was clearly conveyed. You could see them grinding their whole bodies to prove themselves somehow.

 

‘But Justin will die soon.’

 

It was unfortunate but unavoidable.

 

This program was a survival program, after all.

 

This drama was also a survival drama.

 

And all of that,

 

‘Seon-woo, this guy is having fun all by himself.’

 

Seon-jun was so envious.

 

Watching episode 2 made him even more certain.

 

[One Room] is a masterpiece. It will become a masterpiece.

 

The completeness and structure were too solid to end as just an experimental work.

 

The idea of planning this according to audition results every week is absurd.

 

And that level of completion will only get higher as time goes on.

 

What role will Seon-woo take on in that, and what kind of acting will he show?

 

What work will he become a part of?

 

Just imagining it makes laughter leak out.

 

He couldn’t help it. He could already see what kind of picture all those narrative flows would ultimately paint.

 

‘Of course, for that to happen, I need to finish today well first.’

 

Actually, there wasn’t much to worry about now.

 

He had seen the acting Seon-woo just displayed.

 

Rather, now he was looking forward to it.

 

‘How will he react to Justin’s death?’

 

Justin’s death was already a foregone conclusion.

 

And Seon-jun wasn’t really interested in when or how Justin would die. That was just part of the method, not a particularly important element.

 

Kim Seon-woo wavered before Park Moon-hyeon’s death.

 

To Kim Seon-woo, who had always considered life utterly worthless… the sight of The Man who died trying to seize life until the very end must have truly sparkled.

 

Thanks to that, Kim Seon-woo was able to sparkle, even if just for a moment.

 

Then how would Justin’s death change Kim Seon-woo?

 

His heart was pounding.

 

He didn’t think he had been this excited even on his first date, and as that thought deepened Seon-jun’s smile…

 

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

 

Justin suddenly muttered that and then rushed toward Yoo Ji-eun.

 

And choking her neck, his eyes half-filled with whites flashing, he screamed.

 

—Die, die———!

 

—Get back!

 

That’s when Kim Seon-woo intervened.

 

Kim Seon-woo, who pulled Justin away, succeeded in restraining him with Bang Hyeong-bin’s help.

 

And Bang Hyeong-bin opened his mouth with a gloomy expression.

 

—…What should we do?

 

—What do you mean what? We got the guy to kill in today’s vote.

 

It was Seo Jin-wook who answered.

 

Calmly suggesting they kill Justin.

 

Bang Hyeong-bin’s eyes wavered.

 

—V-vote? You saw what happened to that man yesterday!

 

—Then you won’t do it? Didn’t you hear that if we don’t vote, everyone gets eliminated? I’m voting for that druggie bastard. He was trying to kill someone anyway, right?

 

Bang Hyeong-bin tried to protect Justin, but Seo Jin-wook just snorted.

 

And eventually, voting time came around again.

 

Everyone looked troubled.

 

In this situation where voting was virtually no different from murder… everyone was pondering how they should vote.

 

‘Interesting.’

 

Seon-jun observed each character carefully.

 

While he was naturally concerned about his younger brother Seon-woo, the other actors weren’t showing sloppy performances either.

 

Acting that could be said to be completely consumed by their roles.

 

Watching them hesitate while holding their voting papers, Seon-jun felt his heart tighten.

 

Not from nervousness. From being too pleased.

 

‘…The character expression is art.’

 

Seo Jin-wook writing down a name without hesitation, Song Jae-won frowning as he looked down at his paper, Bang Hyeong-bin crumpling his paper and Na Min-hee anxiously pacing around the room…

 

And Kim Seon-woo, who seemed not to even think about voting, just sitting against the wall with a blank expression.

 

Seon-jun’s eyes sparkled.

 

What kind of reaction would Kim Seon-woo show there?

 

Would he write Justin’s name? Or wouldn’t he?

 

What emotions was he feeling about this situation in the first place?

 

Whatever emotions he felt would be interesting.

 

Right now, the character Kim Seon-woo was someone whose very existence stimulated people’s curiosity.

 

And that’s when it happened.

 

—Player Justin has been eliminated.

 

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

 

At the sudden announcement… all the participants in [One Room] had dumbfounded faces. Faces that couldn’t understand what this meant.

 

But Seon-jun understood.

 

And therefore, he couldn’t help but smile.

 

So much so that Ji-hwan, who glanced at him unconsciously, flinched and trembled, as he pulled up the corners of his mouth to the fullest.

 

‘Ryu, this crazy person really…!’

 

Those who belatedly understood the meaning of that broadcast moved to Justin’s room with growing suspicion.

 

And what awaited them was Justin’s corpse, dead with his neck broken.

 

—Kyaaaaaaaaaah!

 

—Cr-crazy. This, this doesn’t make sense.

 

—Wh-who! Who the hell did this!

 

While everyone fell into chaos, the camera once again showed each cast member one by one.

 

Seo Jin-wook frowned as if displeased, Bang Hyeong-bin looked like he was about to cry as if consumed by grief, and Yoo Ji-eun had a face covered in tears and snot, half out of her mind.

 

But what Seon-jun wanted to see most was naturally Seon-woo.

 

If Park Moon-hyeon’s death had made him shine, then Justin’s death… what would it bring?

 

The answer was already decided within Seon-jun.

 

And he was confident that Ryu could have found that answer too.

 

If there had been any worry, it was whether Seon-woo would understand that answer… but not now.

 

Because he believed that Seon-woo would be able to express it.

 

And Seon-woo did not betray his expectations.

 

—…

 

A flower.

 

Like a single flower that keeps its mouth tightly shut, but when the time comes, unfolds its buds and reveals its petals.

 

Seon-woo was blooming.

 

Light now sparkled in his always dark pupils.

 

What that light illuminated were all heavy and damp emotions like desolation, sadness, and melancholy… but even so, it bloomed fully.

 

Just as flowers don’t fail to bloom simply because it rains.

 

Seon-jun stared blankly at such a Seon-woo for a long time.

 

He had once heard someone say that people are flowers, and perhaps the person who said that… had seen a scene just like this.

 

Unfortunately, the screen had already moved on to capture the next person.

 

The camera showed Song Jae-won’s tired face, Na Min-hee’s angry face… and finally captured Yeon-woo.

 

Her face giggling quietly, avoiding everyone’s gaze so it wouldn’t be noticed.

 

And Justin’s corpse, sprawled out miserably, was captured in the final full shot… and Episode 2 came to an end with the ending music.

 

The audience’s voices began to ring out after the long ending credits had completely rolled.

 

“…Wow.”

 

“This is seriously driving me crazy…”

 

“I think this is going to be my life drama…”

 

“It’s not already? It already became mine.”

 

Applause burst out along with voices filled with emotion, thrill, and shock.

 

Everyone seemed to have difficulty returning to reality easily.

 

That meant the immersion that [One Room] provided was tremendous.

 

But the game wasn’t over yet.

 

Apart from [One Room]’s game, there was still the story of 【I Am an Actor】 remaining.

 

【 …Haah. 】

 

And the judge, Seong Jun-il, let out a sigh first instead of saying anything else.

 

After he deliberated for a long time, he shook his head.

 

【 Can we postpone the judging for a bit? I want to enjoy the lingering feelings a little more. 】

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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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