I Acted Once, and Now They Call Me a Genius - Chapter 99

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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 99

Song Jae-won was dead.

She already knew he would die.

Nevertheless, Da-sol felt as if her heart was being squeezed tight. Song Jae-won’s final moments were much more… heartbreaking than she had expected.

And it seemed the people in the chat room didn’t feel much different from her.

eyesonyou: Wow… Song Jae-won just let go on purpose, right?

눈_눈: I literally got goosebumps all over…

Face-obsessed person: Ugh, this won’t work. I think Jaewon oppa needs to be mine now

eyesonyou: No ㅠㅠㅠㅠ But isn’t it such a male moment how he ends up like that while protecting Minhee unnie

gogumeatdashi: For real, I fell for them again…

Face-obsessed person: No, falling for someone or not… I’m seriously about to cry, what should I do

Anonymous: What’s the point? I already brought tissues

The scroll was moving up tremendously fast.

It meant the impact of Song Jae-won’s death was extraordinary.

But [One Room] didn’t give them the luxury of savoring the lingering emotions of that death. The elevator finally gained a floor, and those who had been hanging onto the handrails finally collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

The first to speak was Jeong Hye-seong.

—J-just now… that boxer guy, did he let go on purpose?

—…That’s right.

—Wh-why would he do such a thing…?

—Why do you think he did it?

Na Min-hee glared at Jeong Hye-seong with tears welling up in her eyes.

—Obviously he did it to save us! If it had been just him, he could have held on for several more minutes! But, but… he thought we would die if things continued like that…

—So why exactly…

—…Because people don’t need a reason to help other people.

Na Min-hee muttered as if talking to herself.

—Jae-won… is that kind of person.

Everyone fell into silence.

Even Lee Yeon-woo had an uncomfortable expression at this moment, and Seo Jin-wook was blankly staring at the tightly closed floor.

And then, Kim Seon-woo spoke up.

—Everyone, for Jae-won… and for Hyeong-bin, let’s have a moment of silence.

—…Alright.

Na Min-hee immediately nodded, and soon everyone quietly observed a moment of silence.

And that’s when it happened. Jeong Hye-seong lifted his head and spoke blankly.

—The elevator is slowing down…

—Have we arrived…?

—I-I think so?

Hope appeared on Jeong Hye-seong’s face.

Finally, they could escape from this place. He probably thought this horrible death game was finally over.

But the viewers couldn’t think that way.

They knew this program still had two more episodes left.

…And also that Na Min-hee would be leaving today.

Probably when that elevator opened, another mission would be waiting for them.

Almost everyone thought so.

However,

—You’ve got to be kidding me…

—Ha, haha, hahahaha…

The scene that followed was far beyond everyone’s expectations.

A long, pure white hallway with private rooms lined up on both sides.

And a common area located at the end of that hallway.

It was a familiar space.

It was the game arena they had been in all along, One Room.

Not a critic: I admit it now. Ryu is indeed a crazy bastard.

Anxiousping: Fuck, I went through all that hell just to end up back at square one?

Ppoppo: Wow, this is really breaking my heart…

If the viewers were saying that much,

the characters inside [One Room] were beyond words. Especially Na Min-hee, whose face had turned pale without a trace of color. They had come this far through all those sacrifices, and the place they finally arrived at was [One Room]?

—…Don’t fucking mess with me.

Na Min-hee collapsed to her knees.

—Don’t fucking mess with me! How did we get this far, this far! We, we…!

The screen was filled with the feeling of her panic.

That despair, as if the world had collapsed, felt so heartbreaking that just looking at her face was enough to make one’s chest feel heavy.

Gahyun: Min-hee acted well..

eyesonyou: Min-hee always acted well. Rather, her acting wasn’t noticed because of her looks

Ppoppo: Yeah but it doesn’t feel like she’s trying hard to look pretty in those kinds of places, which is really likeable

Face-obsessed person: She’s naturally gorgeous without even trying lol ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

eyesonyou: Really, don’t kill our Min-hee sister… please save her…

눈_눈: But wait, how do you even reset this back to square one ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

It was a terrible situation.

The moment when everything they had done while risking even death became infinitely meaningless.

Seo Jin-wook looked around and frowned.

─Is this the same place we were in?

─…No, only the structure is the same. It’s different. I can’t see any traces of us being here at all.

─Then fuck, are you saying there are multiple spaces that look like this?

At Kim Seon-woo’s answer, Seo Jin-wook laughed helplessly and muttered.

─What the hell are these bastards doing? Is that old man from earlier the boss?

─…I don’t know.

─What are we going to do now?

The one who asked was Lee Yeon-woo.

For someone who had gone through all kinds of life-threatening crises, she didn’t seem particularly terrified.

Though she looked strangely displeased, the viewers knew that her mood wasn’t unpleasant because of the current situation.

─Are you going to continue trying to escape?

Lee Yeon-woo asked while looking at Na Min-hee.

That subtle tone seemed to contain a hint of anticipation. Anticipation that Na Min-hee’s spirit might be broken.

So,

─…No.

When Na Min-hee answered like that, Lee Yeon-woo’s lips twitched.

Da-sol felt goosebumps all over her body as she watched Lee Yeon-woo’s expression. Rather than admiring her acting ability… it felt like she was looking at a real living psychopath.

That relief of feeling everything was going according to her thoughts, that inhuman emotional line itself evoked an instinctive sense of fear.

However,

─Escape is meaningless. These bastards think even our escape is just a game.

─…What do you mean?

─We need to resist in a different way.

Na Min-hee’s will wasn’t broken yet.

She slowly dusted off her knees and stood up. With burning eyes that were hard to believe belonged to someone who had been sitting collapsed just moments before.

─In the way these bastards would least want.

─…What would that be?

And Lee Yeon-woo, realizing that her will wasn’t broken yet, changed to a displeased expression again.

She was smiling brightly, but her stiff eye corners showed that uncomfortable mood.

Na Min-hee looked around at everyone and opened her mouth.

─Voting. Let’s vote, everyone. Let’s all write our own names.

─What are you talking about?

─They told us to decide who gets eliminated through voting. But if we all write our own names and it results in a tie, would we all be eliminated? Or would we all be winners?

─…Do you think there will be a tie?

─There has to be. That’s the only way we can all survive together.

─…All survive together.

Lee Yeon-woo quietly mulled over those words.

And then she smiled sweetly and prettily.

─That sounds good.

For viewers who knew her true identity, this was an extremely chilling scene.

But unfortunately, none of the people in [One Room] knew anything about her.

Lee Yeon-woo looked around at the others with a bright smile.

─Min-hee’s opinion seems very reasonable. What do you think?

─Wh-what if there’s no tie?

Jeong Hye-seong spoke up with an anxious expression.

All the events they had endured seemed to have already reached his limit, and he looked like he could collapse at any moment.

He glanced sideways at Seo Jin-wook and muttered.

─So-someone might betray us.

─Hey, old man. Are you talking about me?

─We all know what you did… how can we trust you? You’re a mu-murderer!

─Ha, fuck… Then you shouldn’t have tried to kill me in the first place! It’s okay that you guys tried to kill me, but it’s wrong that I killed that bitch to survive? What the hell was I supposed to do!

─Qu-quiet! You… you should have pulled that lever. Not Hyeong-bin, you should have done it!

─You son of a bitch…!

─Stop!

And the one who blocked them was Kim Seon-woo.

Kim Seon-woo pushed against Seo Jin-wook’s chest as he was about to rush at Jeong Hye-seong, and quietly looked up at him.

And that was the moment. Seo Jin-wook, who was about to get angry at Kim Seon-woo too, froze the moment he saw Kim Seon-woo’s face.

Ppuppo: …What kind of expression is that?

Someone said that, because that expression was so mysterious.

If I had to make a comparison… it was like the expression of a parent looking at a child who had committed a grave mistake.

A face that seemed to plead not to commit any more sins, that seemed to say you’re not this kind of person.

Separate from being immersed in the work, viewers couldn’t help but think this at this moment.

Gogumattashi: So a person could speak with their face

Facist: For real… that face contains almost a hundred words.

It gets through.

What Kim Seon-woo wants to say, how he’s looking at Seo Jin-wook.

In Kim Seon-woo’s eyes, even the current Seo Jin-wook isn’t just a vicious murderer. Rather, he sees him as a possibility that could shine.

Now that he’s finally realizing the value of life, Seo Jin-wook, who had always struggled to live, was in some ways even someone to respect.

Still, what could stop him was,

─Please. Jin-wook.

Because there exists a proper sense of good within Kim Seon-woo.

─Let us all live together.

Seo Jin-wook’s expression becomes subtle.

An expression as if he never even expected someone to look at him this way.

And eventually, he slowly relaxes his body and turns his back.

─…Do as you please.

Finally, they reach an agreement.

During the upcoming voting time, they’ll write their own names to create a tie. They’ll try to survive together.

And so, the voting time finally approaches.

The group writes names on the prepared ballots and waits only for the voting time.

AnxiousPing: But will that actually work?

Cali: If it were me, I’d vote for myself first. They promised, didn’t they?

AnxiousPing: No, promise or whatever… honestly, when lives are on the line, can you really trust other people?

Cali: Hmm, it wouldn’t be easy. But I want to believe!

Just as the chatroom watching this was debating whether they could keep their promise,

Creak─ Na Min-hee’s door opened.

─W-who is it?

─…It’s me, Lee Yeon-woo.

And the one who appeared was Lee Yeon-woo.

While Na Min-hee sighed in relief, the chat window began to go wild.

AnxiousPing: Oh, no…!

Joshua: Run, Minhee! Run!

Cali: Huh

It couldn’t be helped.

The runtime was already nearing its end.

In this situation, everyone knew what it meant for Lee Yeon-woo to appear before Na Min-hee, who was destined to be eliminated.

Someone had said it before. Lee Yeon-woo is living suspense.

That statement was certainly correct.

Just being alone together like this, she created tension like a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

─I came to see if you were okay. Sister, you had too much going on all day today.

─No, it’s not that. We all had a lot to deal with. But thank you for believing what I said. You must have been anxious.

─Anxious? About what?

─About voting for yourself.

─Oh, that.

Lee Yeon-woo nodded as if it was nothing.

Then she looked at Na Min-hee with sparkling eyes.

─Sister, you said you’re a doctor outside, right?

─Oh, yes.

─You must have saved many people?

─…Yes. And I lost many too. That’s why I didn’t want to lose more, but even coming here, I’m still losing.

Na Min-hee mutters bitterly.

But the light in her eyes hadn’t died. As if her spirit wouldn’t be broken like this, she opened her mouth with a firm voice.

─I don’t want to lose more. I can’t lose the patient right in front of me while thinking about patients who are already gone.

─That’s strange. To care about patients when you yourself could die at any moment. Aren’t you scared of that? Isn’t it natural to want to save yourself first?

─Of course I’m scared. Of course I want to live. But I think this way.

Na Min-hee spoke with a resolute voice.

As if this was an undeniable, obvious truth.

─Sometimes there are things more important than life.

─More important… than life.

─It’s better to die as a human than to live like a beast.

─….

Lee Yeon-woo’s expression darkens.

As if she heard words she neither wanted to hear nor acknowledge.

But even if she wanted to deny it, she couldn’t. Na Min-hee wasn’t just saying those words—she was actually living by them.

She was prepared to face death while trying to preserve human dignity.

That’s probably why.

─I’ll acknowledge it, Sister. You are human.

─…Oh, thank you.

─But Sister, there’s one thing I think differently about than you.

─What is it?

Lee Yeon-woo smiled brightly.

─Humans are beasts in the end too.

The scene changes.

Everyone holding their ballots, slowly waiting for the voting announcement.

And the broadcast echoes.

─Participant Na Min-hee has been eliminated.

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

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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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