I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 85

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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 85

All things considered, Seon-woo’s interest in Yoo Ji-eun’s completeness could be said to be quite favorable from Ji-eun’s perspective.

The advice he threw in here and there definitely broadened her perspective.

And as she frequently got entangled with Seon-woo like this, Ji-eun was gradually beginning to understand why he was called a genius.

‘That person is really strange.’

…Well, to put it a bit more diplomatically, you could say he was different.

If you spoke favorably, he would be special.

Ji-eun didn’t think she was lacking compared to Seon-woo.

Her ability to draw up emotions, how to handle expressions, how to use her body… simply put, in technical aspects, Ji-eun was on par with Seon-woo.

In some aspects, she might even be better.

But not only the judges, but the world also called Seon-woo a genius.

And they didn’t pay much attention to Ji-eun.

Why?

‘Because what he sees is different.’

Perspective.

If there was something most special about Seon-woo, it was precisely his perspective.

That perspective that found things others couldn’t see, or rather, couldn’t even be conscious of.

Right now, Seon-woo says that Yoo Ji-eun is ‘beautiful.’

Even thinking about it again, it was truly an absurd story.

How could you think ‘beautiful’ when looking at a three-time exam failure girl who killed someone out of terror?

But that’s probably what made Seon-woo special.

Even Ji-eun herself… as she peered into Yoo Ji-eun through Seon-woo’s eyes, she could feel a completely different sensation than before.

‘…I think I understand why he says such things.’

What Ji-eun emphasized when acting as Yoo Ji-eun was her anxiety and fear.

She thought that was the emotion that symbolized Yoo Ji-eun. But now she felt it. All those ugly actions of Yoo Ji-eun desperately struggling to live… were beautiful in a way.

In some sense, it felt most human.

It was an impression that ordinary actors could never feel.

Seeing all of this from one step back… yes, it was the perspective of a director or writer.

Ji-eun thought.

Does Seon-woo always act from this kind of perspective? For being one step back, he felt tremendously immersed.

Or does he do immersion and observation simultaneously?

For Ji-eun, it was a sensation she didn’t even dare to fathom.

‘Well, as long as it helps, that’s fine.’

In fact, Park Myeong-jin had recently praised her too.

—Wow, Ji-eun. After getting eliminated, your acting suddenly improved tremendously?

It made sense.

Knowing why the character Yoo Ji-eun shines and acting with that knowledge versus acting without it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

The time she spent acting without knowing this felt even more regrettable.

…If only she had known this, maybe she wouldn’t have been eliminated so early.

‘Well, I suppose it’s fortunate I know it now.’

Ji-eun’s goal was clear.

To become the protagonist of episode 3. After episode 3 aired, to make sure only stories about her circulated all over the internet.

Of course, just because she had Seon-woo’s help didn’t make it easy.

Right now, all the other actors except her were equally in an awakened state… and above all, the one who got entangled most frequently after her and Kim Seon-woo,

“Ha, haha… hello?”

Seo Jin-wook was also a tremendous opponent.

Personally, dealing with Jin-wook was never easy compared to dealing with Seon-woo.

‘No, in some ways, I should say it’s more difficult.’

It couldn’t be helped.

Jin-wook was already an actor with intense expression, and moreover, this scene was one where he came to kill her.

A voice so sharp it made hair stand on end. His glaring eyes, his voice that seemed to speak through gritted teeth – nothing about it wasn’t vivid.

The fortunate thing was… compared to the old days, it felt a bit more refined.

Emotions that could easily feel excessive with the slightest mistake felt like they didn’t cross the line where they could be received just right.

And this was something Jin-wook himself was feeling too.

‘…It definitely has an effect.’

Asking Yeon-woo for coaching was definitely the right choice.

She seemed to have all the formulas organized in her head for how to express emotions most efficiently.

When it came to handling emotions technically, she was truly worthy of being discussed among the top tier domestically.

‘Should I call this talent?’

Or should I say she’s a strange person.

Jin-wook stopped thinking. What kind of person Yeon-woo was wasn’t his concern.

What mattered was that she was helpful.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could let his guard down.

Among the remaining participants, there were no easy opponents. Honestly, Jin-wook was constantly gripped by the anxious feeling that he might be the next one to fall.

‘I don’t know how many will be eliminated next, but I’m not in the safe zone.’

The reason? The reason was simple.

Hye-seong, Min-hee, Yeon-woo, Seon-woo, Jae-won… every single one of them was showing tremendous acting right now.

Compared to them, was there even one thing Jin-wook was good at?

He didn’t want to answer this question like this, but he still had to face reality.

There wasn’t.

Jin-wook had nothing he was better at compared to them.

The reason he asked Yeon-woo for help and received counseling from Ji-hwan was for that reason.

Because Jin-wook himself could feel it too. That he was severely lacking.

But how could he overcome this?

What was he lacking compared to them, and through what could he fill that gap?

Actually, he already knew what he was lacking.

Acting was one thing, but… something more important than that.

‘Marketability.’

Right.

Jin-wook lacked marketability.

It meant he had no star quality.

—Think about it. What kind of actor you should become.

Jin-wook reflected on Ji-hwan’s final advice.

Just being good at acting wasn’t enough.

He had to imprint on the viewers. What kind of actor Seo Jin-wook was. Why they should watch him.

For that, he himself had to know it first.

‘The Director said the present suits me.’

Jin-wook kept thinking about that.

Honestly, at first he wondered if it was an insult like ‘You’re perfect for thug roles.’

But as he kept thinking, he understood.

‘…Cha Do-young.’

Cha Do-young.

That name was the problem.

Jin-wook joined Cheongseong in the same class as Do-young.

It wasn’t particularly that he was compared to Do-young. Do-young was too different an existence to be compared to. A monster-like newcomer who overwhelmingly surpassed even Cheongseong’s seniors.

They weren’t even in the same league to compete.

Nevertheless, Jin-wook thought of Do-young as his rival.

That someday he would act without being inferior to him.

That someday he wanted to act like him.

Perhaps that was admiration disguised as competitiveness.

Right.

Jin-wook wanted to become Do-young.

Because he was too perfect an actor not to admire.

So maybe that’s why it happened.

While acting… Jin-wook subtly imitated Do-young.

It wasn’t that he copied his acting style.

It’s just that even while playing a thug, he seemed to subtly hope to be dignified and cool.

‘A thug is just a thug.’

And Jin-wook came to a conclusion.

He couldn’t become Do-young.

Seo Jin-wook was just Seo Jin-wook.

He had to act the worst.

Someone who made you angry just by looking at him, annoying, someone you wanted to beat to death… He had to become such a vicious villain.

A villain who received hatred, not admiration.

“Did you vote?”

“…Ah, I’m still doing it?”

“Really?”

Jin-wook grinned wickedly.

“That’s fortunate.”

And he immediately grabbed the knife and lunged at Ji-eun.

What followed was, well, blood spurting effects and screams, a smile spreading across his lips and…

“—Cut!”

About Park Myeong-jin’s cut signal.

Jin-wook breathed heavily and turned his head. Park Myeong-jin, who met his glaring eyes with his face covered in blood, trembled and gave him a thumbs up.

“Wow, that was great! Jin-wook! What’s this? You’re almost possessed these days?”

“Thank you.”

“Good, good! Please keep it up like this! The cut came out really beautifully!”

Park Myeong-jin was so satisfied that exclamation marks seemed to be flying around every time he spoke.

Of course, Ji-eun, who had been acting opposite Jin-wook, couldn’t help but look more haggard.

“What’s with you, oppa?”

“What.”

“…Why are you so good lately? You’re like a different person.”

“…”

“Ah, the corners of your mouth are twitching.”

“Shut up.”

Jin-wook frowned and turned his head.

Then he muttered in a low voice.

“I have to survive. I can’t be eliminated like this.”

“Hmm, looking at your acting now, I think you’ll probably survive.”

“That’s not enough. I need to survive until the end… and win.”

“Hmm, that seems a bit difficult though?”

“Get lost.”

“Hey, oppa! Telling a lady to get lost!”

“Lady my ass.”

Jin-wook frowned and grumbled.

Watching Jin-wook like that, Ji-eun suddenly had this thought.

Scrunching up his face like that is bad for his skin. This oppa, when he gets older, his face will be all wrinkled like a bulldog.

That’s when it happened.

Jin-wook quietly opened his mouth.

“But, do I seem like a villain?”

“In real life or in the work?”

“In the work.”

“You seem like a villain in both.”

Wait, I only asked about the work.

Jin-wook glared at Ji-eun, but Ji-eun didn’t care.

Anyway, since she was going to die soon, what was there to be scared of.

“But you decided to do villain acting, didn’t you?”

“Right. That’s my position.”

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, I haven’t thought about my position. What position am I?”

“You’re…”

Jin-wook thought for a moment and then said.

“Like John Wick’s dog.”

John Wick was the protagonist of a movie who wiped out the mafia for killing his dog.

In other words, Yoo Ji-eun was a sacrifice to awaken someone.

Ji-eun made a displeased expression.

“…What a lovely comparison. So who’s John Wick? Seon-woo oppa?”

“Well, in a way that’s true, but… calling him John Wick is a stretch. Their characters are too different. I don’t think Kim Seon-woo would avenge you. He might awaken to some degree though.”

At least Seon-woo didn’t seem like a character who would proactively vow revenge or anything like that.

Of course, this thought could change depending on how episode 4 develops, but at least not for now.

Ji-eun nodded in understanding.

“Since we’re talking about it, let’s organize everyone else’s positions too. What positions are they all in?”

“First, Na Min-hee and Hyeong-bin hyung are the protagonists.”

“…Mm, they definitely seem protagonist-like.”

Both were former doctor and firefighter who valued the weight of life.

There probably weren’t any others more protagonist-like than them in terms of the attitude they showed in this work.

“Hye-seong hyung is… a realistic frustrating character…”

“Yeon-woo unnie is, well, the final boss.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

Jin-wook frowned for a moment.

He wondered why Yeon-woo was the final boss while he was just a villain… but it couldn’t be helped. Their presence in the work was already different, so what could he do.

Jin-wook shrugged his shoulders.

“And Kim Seon-woo is an observer.”

“An observer?”

Ji-eun tilted her head.

For an observer, wasn’t his presence too strong?

As if reading her mind, Jin-wook elaborated.

“How should I put it, he’s a bit… unique observer. I just get that feeling sometimes. Like my character is completed when his gaze reaches it.”

“…Ah, I think I know what that feeling is.”

It was a cryptic explanation, but Ji-eun immediately nodded.

She too had often felt that way when acting with Seon-woo.

When his gaze reached her, the feeling that the character Yoo Ji-eun somehow came more alive.

“How exactly does one do that kind of acting?”

“…”

Jin-wook closed his mouth.

If he tried to answer that question, he would inevitably have to praise Seon-woo. He didn’t want to do something so embarrassing.

Ji-eun read Jin-wook’s mind and secretly chuckled. What a dishonest person.

But suddenly she had this thought.

Seon-woo had once said to Ji-eun, ‘Yoo Ji-eun is beautiful.’ That she was lovely and also dazzling. Ji-eun thought that when acting with Seon-woo, her character could shine brighter because of Kim Seon-woo’s gaze.

But if Jin-wook also felt the same thing as her when acting…

‘…Does Seo Jin-wook also look dazzling in Kim Seon-woo’s eyes?’

Pretty and beautiful and all that?

Ji-eun frowned.

She felt somehow upset.

* * *

“Why do you look like that?”

“…No, I just suddenly felt really unpleasant.”

“Suddenly? Do you feel sick?”

“I do feel sick. I haven’t eaten anything, so why am I like this.”

“It’s because you haven’t eaten anything. Go eat something.”

“Should I really…”

Seon-woo placed his hand on his solar plexus with a bitter expression.

It had been a while since his stomach felt this bad. He wondered if he’d been pushing himself too hard lately.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Acting had become so much fun recently.

‘It might be a bit much to say this already, but…’

He felt like he had gained some insight into acting.

…Saying he had gained insight felt a bit arrogant, so let’s say he was getting the hang of it.

Should he say that he was finally starting to understand what acting really was?

‘If a character is a color… then a work is a painting created by gathering those colors.’

Of course, Seon-woo’s brushstrokes were still clumsy.

After all, he had only just picked up the brush.

But now he felt like he understood.

What good acting was.

What a good painting was.

It was all thanks to Kim Seon-woo.

Kim Seon-woo’s gaze was always feeling out others. Because of that, his vision that had always been fixated only on the colors he painted… was able to shift toward the overall work for the first time.

And this work reflected in Kim Seon-woo’s eyes was…

‘Beautiful.’

It was beautiful beyond compare.

Not just when acting.

Just reading the script sometimes left Seon-woo intoxicated with ecstasy. It was thanks to being able to see how this small world that Ryu had drawn created such mysterious flows of color.

Thanks to this, at some point, Seon-woo began to feel like he was becoming one not only with Kim Seon-woo but with One Room itself when acting.

Should he say that all the colors flowing through the work felt more natural and comfortable?

To that extent, Seon-woo naturally couldn’t help but develop a new goal.

Perhaps it would be better to say he realized it rather than developed a goal.

What an actor’s job was.

‘It’s not simply about applying color.’

He had to paint a picture.

Of course, Seon-woo wasn’t a director, and he couldn’t paint the colors of the entire work.

All he could paint were the scenes in which he appeared.

But at least in those moments…

‘I can paint this world.’

Seon-woo’s goal was simple.

To convey the picture that Ryu had drawn in this script to the viewers as faithfully as possible.

To make all the viewers who saw this think without even realizing it.

That this messed up, chaotic, and desolate world…

Was strangely beautiful.

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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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