I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 91

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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 91

Snow is falling.

Park Myeong-jin stared blankly with empty eyes at the snow accumulating on the bare tree branches.

Winter was already coming to an end.

And the same was true for [One Room].

After filming just three more episodes, this unique journey would also meet its end.

‘But I have no idea how it will end.’

This part never quite felt familiar.

This was the first time he had held a megaphone without knowing the ending.

It was only natural. How could one direct a work without knowing its conclusion?

That’s why when he met Ryu last time, he had asked separately.

What kind of ending was he thinking of?

Of course, since Ryu also didn’t know the ending of 【I Am an Actor】, he couldn’t decide who would live or die… but at least he should have some idea of what direction to take the story.

But to that request, Ryu answered without any change in expression:

—It’s better if you don’t know, PD.

—What? It’s better not to know?

—Yes. The chaotic atmosphere that can exist because you know nothing is filling the work right now. An atmosphere where it wouldn’t be strange for anything to happen at any time. This is only possible because the Director doesn’t know the ending.

Ryu’s eyes sparkled.

—Trust me. You’re doing wonderfully right now, PD, so don’t worry.

‘…I didn’t expect to receive comfort.’

Park Myeong-jin swallowed a sigh.

He knew Ryu’s words made sense. But as a PD, directing a work without knowing the ending was bound to feel unsettling in many ways.

Not only would he be unable to see the overall picture, but even when given a script, he couldn’t immediately jump into filming.

The PD also had to think about what angle, what tone, what breathing to use in directing that script. Coming up with that composition like a time attack every time a script was given wasn’t easy for Park Myeong-jin either.

‘In a way, it’s fair.’

Park Myeong-jin let out a dry laugh.

The actors were also thrown onto the set without enough time to fully familiarize themselves with the script. If they were working hard under such difficult conditions, it would be inappropriate for him as the PD to complain.

Still, he couldn’t help but worry.

‘This time, three people were eliminated.’

How exactly was Ryu planning to make them exit?

What kind of death would be given to them? There was no way to know for now. He wanted to know quickly. Only by knowing that could he envision in his mind what kind of picture would be most beautiful to express it…

“PD!”

“Huh, what? Did the script come?”

Just then, the Assistant Director called Park Myeong-jin with an urgent voice.

The script must have arrived! Park Myeong-jin turned to look at the Assistant Director with a brightened face. But the Assistant Director shook his head.

“No, that’s not it… A review was posted!”

“…A review?”

Park Myeong-jin’s expression instantly wilted.

Honestly, reviews were already pouring in more than enough. From netizens to all kinds of review and reaction YouTubers were talking about [One Room].

But,

“It’s a review posted by Neogulnaegul!”

“…Neogulnaegul?”

This was a bit different.

Neogulnaegul. He was a reviewer whose name was being mentioned quite a lot in the entertainment industry these days. More precisely, he could be called a critic rather than a reviewer.

‘He’s definitely someone currently working in the industry.’

Or at least someone from the entertainment industry background.

Otherwise, there was no way to explain the level of insight and expertise contained in his critiques.

There were even rumors that movie directors paid the most attention to this critic. There was no other critic in the industry who had both the credibility and public influence that Neogulnaegul possessed.

With a bit of exaggeration, you could say that a single word from Neogulnaegul could determine the rise and fall of a movie.

Perhaps that’s why.

Park Myeong-jin’s hands were subtly trembling as he received the tablet from the Assistant Director.

[One Room] was already on track. Neogulnaegul’s critique wouldn’t have a huge impact at this point, but… he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

—Hello. This is Neogulnaegul.

Neogulnaegul started the video with a plain greeting.

—The work I’ll be reviewing today is [One Room].

—Actually, I had a lot of concerns about this work. I wondered if it was right to review a work that hasn’t even ended yet… This work is quite experimental, isn’t it? Experiments have value in themselves, so I wondered if my evaluation might actually block new challenges.

—Nevertheless, the reason I decided to review this work today is… because I think it will be interesting. It seems like [One Room] has reached a major turning point starting with episode 3.

Turning point.

At those words, Park Myeong-jin’s nostrils flared.

Could Neogulnaegul see the same thing that Park Myeong-jin was seeing?

Neogulnaegul opened his mouth as if to answer that question.

—[One Room] is a story that’s much more meticulously crafted than you’d think. How can a story made fresh every week be like that? You’ll probably understand when you hear this explanation.

—Episode 1, you remember the content, right? Ten different people living different lives get dragged into the one room. So what is this episode 1 for? Why were they so desperate to express those characters like that? Because of 【I Am an Actor】? To distribute screen time fairly? Well, that makes sense too, but… the reason I think is a bit different.

—The problem. These ten characters appearing in [One Room] aren’t people. They’re 10 different problems. And as you can see from this photo…

Neogulnaegul then shows a photo.

It’s a photo collecting cuts of the daily lives the ten participants were living before entering [One Room].

Seeing it, Park Myeong-jin’s eyes sparkled,

—As you can see, before the characters enter the one room, their sequences were each directed with different tonal colors. Without any special explanation, it appealed that these characters each carry different problems.

Neogulnaegul made Park Myeong-jin clench his fist tightly.

It was thrilling. It wasn’t a detail he had put in hoping someone would notice. He just wanted to make people unconsciously recognize that their textures were different.

But to think someone would point this out so directly.

‘Neogulnaegul really is different.’

Definitely a professional.

Park Myeong-jin continued watching the video with renewed conviction.

—What’s interesting is that when these people are in [One Room], they’re all ultimately directed in the same tone. From the room to the clothes, everything in the same white tone. What does this mean?

—Yes. That’s right. Ultimately, whatever problems they had before, now there’s only one problem they’ll face.

—Survival. That’s the only task they’re confronted with.

Refreshing.

He reads everything that people might not have been able to catch.

Even,

—Honestly, I was impressed by this part. You can see that PD Park Myeong-jin worked very hard to express this sensually.

With such praise on top of it, Park Myeong-jin’s nostrils naturally had to expand.

—Now let’s move to episode 2. What content comes out in episode 2? Yes, that’s right. Park Moon-hyeon and Justin meet their deaths. Here we need to look again at what Park Moon-hyeon and Justin symbolize as characters.

—Park Moon-hyeon tries to maintain order in [One Room]. He’s a character who symbolizes human reason and rationality. But ultimately he gets eliminated by [One Room]. It means that kind of rationality doesn’t work in here.

—Then what does Justin’s death mean? What we need to focus on in Justin’s death isn’t that Justin died, but that someone killed Justin with their own hands. It shows there’s someone who has completely abandoned their humanity.

—Inside this place called [One Room], none of the outside order applies. Because of that, whether they like it or not, they’re now in a situation where they have to focus only on survival.

—In short, you can see episode 2 as the episode that established the theme of the place called [One Room].

—Then what is episode 3?

Here Neogulnaegul paused to catch his breath.

Because he had gotten increasingly excited while talking, at some point he had forgotten even to breathe and was passionately speaking.

—I think most people probably focused on Yoo Ji-eun’s death in episode 3. It’s certainly an important element. I don’t intend to deny that either.

—But what we should focus on most in Yoo Ji-eun’s death is… actually Kim Seon-woo.

—Why is Kim Seon-woo important? Because in this work, only Kim Seon-woo holds the most heterogeneous position.

—Kim Seon-woo is a character who has no desire to live.

—Then the person Kim Seon-woo can be said to be this question itself.

—Why must we live?

Why must we live.

Park Myeong-jin smiled without realizing it. He couldn’t help it. When there was someone who read his work so properly, how could he not smile?

Of course, there was still a hurdle remaining.

Kim Seon-woo wasn’t just a question but also an answer.

Had Neogulnaegul found out what that answer was?

—The answer is here.

Of course he had found it.

Neogulnaegul attached another video. A video capturing the expression Kim Seon-woo showed when he learned of Park Moon-hyeon’s death, and when he discovered Justin’s corpse.

—When facing these two deaths, Kim Seon-woo’s expression changes for the first time. I thought this expression was very unique. Like the expression of being overwhelmed after encountering an incredible work in an art museum.

—So I was a bit confused too. Is Kim Seon-woo reacting to others’ deaths? Was he planning to create a serial killer character like a second Lee Yeon-woo? I had such thoughts.

—And the answer to that came in this episode 3.

Neogulnaegul then showed the scene where Kim Seon-woo and Yoo Ji-eun were together.

Precisely, it was the scene where Kim Seon-woo looked at Yoo Ji-eun with deep eyes. Eyes that looked at her as if she were an infinitely precious work of art.

—There are people who say that too. Whether Kim Seon-woo came to like Yoo Ji-eun romantically. I don’t think that’s it.

—Kim Seon-woo, looking at Yoo Ji-eun… began to think that life is beautiful.

—Precisely, he came to feel that while looking at everyone in this place.

—We must live.

—That life must not be thrown away.

At this moment, Park Myeong-jin’s lips rose as high as they could go.

He couldn’t help it. From a PD’s perspective, encountering someone who completely understood their work like this was like a blessing.

—That’s why episode 3 is the turning point. Now in episode 4, [One Room] has to show it. Having thrown the message that we must live, it must show ‘how we should live.’

—Couldn’t they not show that? They could. But then… honestly, it would be like not bringing out even half the charm of this work.

—It would just become a common survival story.

“Ha. Look at what this guy is saying.”

Park Myeong-jin let out a hollow laugh.

That was practically a warning sent to the production team. A warning that he was enjoying watching now, so he wouldn’t let it slide if they messed up the ending and made it a failure.

It didn’t feel bad. In a way, it also meant that Neogulnaegul had expectations for [One Room].

After that, Neogulnaegul talked about various things regarding the work.

From the actors’ acting to explaining the meanings embedded in the details of the stage background.

And when he had finished watching the roughly 20-minute review,

“Director! Director!”

The assistant director came over making a fuss again.

Park Myeong-jin looked back at the assistant director with a listless expression. He didn’t expect the script to have come out. He had gotten his hopes up for nothing earlier and was only disappointed.

“What. What now.”

“The script came! I brought the printed copy!”

“…Already?”

But this time it seemed to be real.

Park Myeong-jin hurriedly took the script from the assistant director.

And how much time had passed? Park Myeong-jin, who had turned the last page, quietly muttered.

“We won’t have to hear it called a common survival story.”

“Pardon?”

“No, just talking to myself.”

Park Myeong-jin smiled broadly.

“Something tells me the next week is going to be very special.”

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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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