I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 90

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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 90

Jin-wook turns to look at Min-hee.

His expression is complex. He seems relieved, yet also like it doesn’t feel real, and the fear and anxiety that had gripped him just moments ago doesn’t seem to wash away at all.

In the midst of this, Min-hee quietly let out a sigh.

She wore a bitter smile on her lips for a moment, then confidently stepped up onto the stage.

Yu Mi-yeon opened her mouth with a regretful voice.

—Min-hee’s judge score is 80 points, and her audience score is 8 points. Jin-wook scored 81 points and 8 points. It was a razor-thin difference.

But in society, that razor-thin difference determines everything.

At Yu Mi-yeon’s calm verdict, Min-hee quietly nodded her head.

—Thank you for supporting me all this time.

A clean acceptance. Just hearing that voice, it would seem like she wasn’t shocked by this result at all.

But the camera director didn’t miss the moisture gathering around her eyes.

Thanks to that,

eyesonyou: Minhee unnie ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Lee Yeon: Ah, why did you make the kid cry ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Kite Flying Champion: Min-hee did so well though ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

nickname_1: Isn’t there a loser’s bracket really…

The chat room was completely flooded with ‘ㅠ’.

The camera director then illuminated the faces of Hye-seong and Seon-woo. Being from Cheongseong, they were beloved by the public for always showing a family-like atmosphere.

Their bond was so strong it was hard to believe they weren’t blood relatives.

Perhaps that’s why.

Hye-seong was already sniffling and wiping away tears, while Seon-woo was smiling somewhat bitterly.

—I’ll continue to support you.

Yu Mi-yeon said in a gentle voice.

—Don’t dwell too much on the current situation. Min-hee still has so many opportunities ahead of her. I’m actually jealous of that.

—…Yes! Thank you!

—So stop crying. You acted so well, why are you crying?

—Ah, I wasn’t crying!

Anyone could see it was a face that had been crying, but let’s say she hadn’t been crying.

With this, only Jin-wook remained to receive his evaluation.

His ranking was 4th place. He had barely avoided elimination.

Nevertheless, Jin-wook still seemed unable to calm his heart. His reddened earlobes, bloodshot eyes, and heaving chest with each breath showed his state of mind.

Seong Jun-il quietly called out to Jin-wook.

—Seo Jin-wook.

—….

—Please come up to the stage.

Jin-wook slowly moved his steps.

Watching Jin-wook like this, Seong Jun-il chuckled.

—Why were you so scared?

—…Because I want to survive.

—You want to win?

—Rather than that…

Jin-wook hesitated before opening his mouth.

With an expression that showed he was annoyed at himself for saying such things.

—Everyone thought I would lose. That I’d be eliminated soon. So… I didn’t want to be eliminated even more. I was afraid I’d start thinking that way too.

—…Oh my.

Seong Jun-il smiled faintly.

A smile that seemed to understand Jin-wook’s feelings.

—But I don’t think you need to worry about that. Jin-wook, you survived.

—….

—I enjoyed watching your acting the entire time. Jin-wook, you’re a good actor. So… huh?

Seong Jun-il stopped mid-sentence and looked flustered.

He couldn’t help it. Right before his eyes was a scene he never could have imagined.

As he stood there speechless, just moving his lips in bewilderment, one chat line represented his confusion.

dubu: …Is he crying right now?

* * *

After filming ended, the atmosphere among the cast members wasn’t as dark as expected.

Considering that three people had been eliminated, you could even say the atmosphere was rather bright.

This was thanks to the three eliminated contestants not seeming particularly gloomy.

“Well, I guess this is as far as I go.”

Jae-won shrugged his shoulders.

Seon-woo found this side of Jae-won fascinating. If he had been eliminated, he probably wouldn’t have been so composed… How could he show no sign of regret at all?

‘That’s a mentality I should learn from.’

Thinking about it, Jae-won had always been like this since the old days.

He didn’t dwell on immediate results and always did his best in whatever situation he was given.

Perhaps even this current opportunity was just one process among many from Jae-won’s perspective, Seon-woo thought.

In one way, he was faithful to the present, and in another way, he was looking the furthest ahead.

“It’s a shame.”

Seon-woo let out a sigh.

“I didn’t expect three people to be eliminated all at once like this.”

“I know, right!”

Hyeong-bin nodded and spoke in a deliberately bright voice.

“No, what the hell is going to happen in the next episode? Are they all going to kill each other? Is that why three people died?”

“…Honestly, it’s hard to gauge.”

“Hey, Seo Jin-wook. It’s you, right? You’re the one who kills me, right?”

“….”

“Ah, why aren’t you answering? Are you still crying?”

“Ah, I told you I wasn’t crying back then!”

Jin-wook scrunched up his face and raised his voice.

Hyeong-bin giggled and patted Jin-wook’s shoulder.

“Men can cry too. It just shows how sincere you were!”

“…I’m telling you, I didn’t cry.”

“I saw the tears though.”

“Argh—!”

In the end, Jin-wook let out an angry shout and ran away. Hyeong-bin hurriedly chased after him trying to calm him down, but he wouldn’t easily let go of his anger.

Watching them, Min-hee let out a hollow laugh.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day Seo Jin-wook would bawl his eyes out.”

“…I feel the same way.”

Seon-woo nodded with a bitter smile.

When the judging ended, seeing those shoulders shaking from behind was so shocking.

But that wasn’t the only shocking thing.

Seon-woo looked back at Min-hee with a mischievous smile.

“I didn’t expect to see you crying either, senior.”

“…Wh-what are you talking about! I didn’t cry!”

“It was caught on camera though. You crying, senior. The comments are already going crazy about it.”

“The comments…?”

“Haven’t you seen them yet?”

“Wait a minute.”

Min-hee pulled out her phone with a pale face.

And soon her hands began to tremble.

Park Je-hu: Seeing Min-hee cry made me tear up too

eyesonyou: How is Minhee even a goddess when she cries ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Kim Do-young: Hahahaha there’s a reason Yoo Mi-yeon is always looking out for her. Seems like she’s already got her eye on her as the actress who’ll lead the next generation

IvyKid: Rather than having her eye on her, it seems like she just saw the potential. Honestly, is there any actress of that age who can act like that with those looks… at this point? I can’t think of anyone

There weren’t really any comments making fun of her in the comments.

But what caught Min-hee’s eye was her own face. Her tightly pressed lips, trembling cheeks, and eyes that looked like tears would flow any moment despite trying her hardest to hold them back….

“…I’m so embarrassed, what should I do.”

“At least you’re admitting it now.”

“How can I not admit it when you’re shoving the photo in my face!”

Min-hee ruffled her hair.

And muttered with a haggard face.

“I can’t get married now.”

“…Come on, it’s not that much of a humiliating shot.”

“What are you saying! I look exactly like a goldfish!”

Is it possible for a goldfish to be this pretty?

It was a statement that made him tilt his head, but Seon-woo didn’t bother to refute it. Min-hee was already fixated on the keyword “my goldfish-like photo” and digging herself endlessly into the ground.

‘…No, actually, she’s probably not acting like this just because of a photo like that.’

Seon-woo’s eyes darkened.

Min-hee had also been eliminated today in the end. It was said to be a close call, but that might make it even more frustrating. It was perfect for thinking that maybe she could have survived if she had just done a little more.

It wouldn’t be strange if heat was boiling in her chest to the point where she had to vent her emotions like this.

As he was looking at Min-hee with such feelings,

“What’s with you.”

“…? What do you mean.”

“Why are you looking at me with those eyes.”

“What kind of eyes am I making right now.”

“Eyes that say you feel so sorry for me you don’t know what to do.”

“…Looking at you like this, you do seem to resemble a goldfish a little.”

“Hey!”

“I’m joking, joking.”

Seeing Min-hee clench her fist, Seon-woo hurriedly waved his hands.

Then he changed the subject as naturally as possible.

“So how are people’s reactions? I think everyone would acknowledge your acting at least, senior.”

“…I don’t know about that, but there were a lot of compliments about you. Your last cut seems to have been quite impressive.”

“Ahem….”

It was embarrassing.

As Seon-woo scratched his cheek awkwardly, Min-hee scrolled down and spoke again.

“Amazing. When I first saw you, I never imagined you’d grow this fast.”

“I was lucky.”

“When someone’s that lucky, we usually call it exceptional talent.”

“…But for me to say I’m talented with my own mouth, I’ve seen Do-young hyung.”

“Hmm. So that’s why you always act like such a shrinking violet?”

A shrinking violet.

It’s not like he went around that hunched over, right?

As Seon-woo was grumbling inwardly like that, Min-hee continued speaking.

“You have a tendency to underestimate your own acting.”

“Rather than that, wouldn’t it be more like I don’t overestimate it?”

“No, it’s underestimating. You think people are just coddling you because you act well for your experience level, right? No way, absolutely not. If that were the case, you wouldn’t have gotten first place in the first place! You’re just good at acting! Why are you the only one who doesn’t know this? Why!”

Min-hee was firing off words like rapid gunfire, almost like rapping.

Seon-woo looked at Min-hee with a flustered expression. Had he been acting so frustratingly obtuse that Min-hee would explode like this?

“…Ah, I understand.”

“No, don’t say you understand. You don’t know. You didn’t know, you don’t know, and you won’t know. I’m just saying this because I’m frustrated.”

Min-hee let out a sigh.

He was someone who was unnecessarily harsh on himself to begin with. If he suddenly became overflowing with confidence after hearing words like this, that would be even stranger in its own way.

‘If I were him, I’d really live without knowing how scary the world is.’

Min-hee swallowed her sigh.

And then she immediately lit up her fighting spirit and glared at Seon-woo. Since he was just someone else, it might be fine to just let it slide. Thinking that people live according to how they look, it might actually be the right answer to turn off her concern whether he lacked sense or whatever.

But she was Seon-woo’s senior.

“Repeat after me.”

“…What?”

“Repeat after me, in a loud voice!”

“Yes, yes!”

A senior has the duty to guide their junior down the right path.

“I am amazing!”

“I, I am… amazing?”

“Again! With a confident voice!”

“I am amazing!”

“I do not underestimate myself!”

“I do not underestimate myself!”

“I am an acting monster!”

“I am an acting… mon, monster…”

“Properly!”

“I am an acting… monster!”

“Once more! With power!”

“I am an acting monster——!”

* * *

Meanwhile,

“Huff, huff… Jin-wook, Jin-wook! Stop! I’m sorry! But there’s really no need to be that embarrassed? Crying isn’t necessarily a flaw!”

“…So, I told you I wasn’t crying!”

Jin-wook still seemed to be upset.

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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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