CHAPTER 029: An Actor’s Likeability
CHAPTER 029: An Actor’s Likeability
After finishing his schedule, Choi Seungjun came out and beamed brightly at the fans waiting for him.
“Thank you—”
He didn’t forget to thank the fan who handed him a gift, either.
But the instant he climbed into the black Carnival and the door shut, the smile evaporated from his face.
Choi Seungjun yanked open the gift box the fan had given him.
“Ugh, fuck. I told them to get me something expensive, not some toy-ass wallet. I even posted the exact photo on Instagram. They’re giving me useless crap.”
Irritated, he tossed the wallet to the stylist.
A fake smile returned to his face.
“Noona, want it?”
When the stylist hesitated, he let out a snort of laughter.
“But if you take it, I’m docking it from your salary?”
“……”
“Just kidding, just kidding. Like your paycheck is even anything. I’m not so broke I’d dock pocket change. I’m not that much of a beggar bastard.”
Choi Seungjun cackled to himself like it was the funniest thing in the world.
Then the manager in the passenger seat asked,
“You preparing well for the audition?”
“I’m practicing, yeah. But do I really have to do it?”
“Why?”
“I don’t like the main character. He’s such a loser. It reminds me of when I was a kid. It makes me uncomfortable.”
“You weren’t like that.”
“Not me. There was this one loser bastard in our class.”
Where Choi Seungjun couldn’t see, the manager shook his head as if to say he was pathetic.
“Practice hard. Win something at a film festival with this and fully transition into acting.”
“Yeah, yeah. It was Ryu Sunho, right? The kid Director Ji Seongwoo’s fixated on.”
“Yeah. You’ll probably see him at the audition.”
Choi Seungjun pulled out his phone and searched for Ryu Sunho.
“Huh? This bastard was on too?”
He played the video.
“Why are the views this high? Some nobody.”
A week after upload, his own video was at 700,000 views.
But Ryu Sunho’s had broken 1 million in just two days.
At the start of the video, when Ryu Sunho showed up in momppe pants and rubber boots, Choi Seungjun snorted.
“What a clown. Seriously. Does he have no pride?”
But the comments were completely different.
-LOL, the entrance scene is already insane. What’s with the momppe pants
-His face is like a noble prince, but his outfit is straight-up country boy. The contrast is killing me
-His ears going red is so damn cute
-Where do you buy that butt chair? Info please
-He’s totally different from Choi Seungjun. Choi Seungjun came wrapped in luxury and held back the whole time
Choi Seungjun’s brow twitched.
He skipped ahead and watched Ryu Sunho working in the field with the grandmas.
-The chemistry with the grandmas is unreal. He’s like a real grandson
-Why is him sweating while working so sexy
-LOL, they’re saying he looks like the type to set the field on fire. Grandma’s over-immersion is insane
-Suddenly I’m thinking of my grandma
-Choi Seungjun barely even talked to the grandmas… look at the difference
Choi Seungjun’s expression kept hardening, and when he reached the part where Ryu Sunho came up with the “Peach Sunmu” idea, he couldn’t hide his shock.
What is this? Wasn’t he an actor? Why is he suddenly giving an advertising lecture? Does this make any sense? That’s all scripted. Why didn’t they give me something like that and only gave him special treatment?
The comment reactions echoed similar thoughts.
-Wow… I just got chills. “The healthiest fruit” concept—what the hell? Genius?
-Did he work at an ad agency or something? He’s better than most pros
└Our Sunho is on his second life
-I thought he was just a handsome actor, but his brain is sexy too. Total cheat character
-This episode isn’t variety, it’s a documentary. Branding process for Ganghwado sunmu
-So that’s why Lee Soonja said that in live commerce. Not a single lie—100% fact
-Choi Seungjun just kept repeating “It’s delicious, buy it.”… completely different class, seriously
Unlike him, who’d been getting mostly negative opinions, the comments here were nothing but praise.
His face twisted into something ugly and ominous.
“A total fake, this bastard. The video’s totally rigged too. How much money did he shove into this?”
He hurled the phone onto the seat.
His breathing turned ragged as inferiority boiled over.
To some nobody like that…
He forced down his rage and organized his thoughts.
…Fine. Doesn’t matter. Variety is just variety. The real fight is at the audition.
Arrogance settled back into his eyes.
I’ll just tear him apart with acting. He barely has any acting experience, right? I’ll show him the difference in level. I’ll show him he’s just a kid.
Burning with anger, he suddenly shouted at the manager,
“Where’s the script!”
He snatched the script from the manager like he was stealing it, then started muttering like a madman.
In the cramped car, he even used exaggerated gestures, fully immersing himself in the acting.
Then the manager’s phone rang.
It was Nine Film.
The manager cautiously answered.
“Yes. Yes? No… what… ha…”
Choi Seungjun stopped acting and stared at the manager.
He’d sensed something was off.
“What. What is it.”
The manager opened his mouth with an expression that was hard to explain—subtle, complicated.
“The audition… got canceled.”
In an instant, Choi Seungjun’s face froze solid.
At the same time.
Nine Film’s office.
“We informed Actor Choi Seungjun’s side that the audition is canceled.”
“Good. Nice work. Thankfully it’s before it gets turned into an article.”
CEO Park Kyungsu nodded with satisfaction at his subordinate’s report.
“That Ryu Sunho kid—no outside noise, right? Private life scandals, agency disputes, political issues, anything like that.”
“No. Based on what we found, there’s nothing at all. If anything, most of it is positive—like the brave citizen award.”
A pleased smile formed at Park Kyungsu’s lips.
“Looks like we almost stepped in real shit.”
Then the division head spoke carefully.
“You’ve completely made up your mind on Ryu Sunho?”
“There’s no actor like him right now. He’s got buzz, and his acting’s already famous.”
“That’s true, but since he’s a rookie…”
“Stop talking around it.”
“In ’s ‘Jeong Dogyun’ role, he needs a gloomy, shadowy aura, but what he’s shown so far has a different tone. And there’s a lot of physical acting, too. Some minimum level of verification—”
Park Kyungsu raised a hand to stop him.
After thinking to himself for a moment, he slowly turned his head toward the division head.
“That’s the problem? We’re going to see his face when he comes to sign the contract anyway. Just do a screen test then.”
“So that means…”
“If he can’t pull it off, we swap him out. What kind of lead actor can’t act?”
After ’s footage was uploaded, the popularity that had been steadily rising finally passed 30.
【Goal achieved: Popularity 10 reached!】
【Reward granted: Stat point +1】
【Likeability has been unlocked upon reaching Popularity 30】
Likeability finally unlocked.
I checked the status window immediately.
【Influence】
【Popularity: 30/100】
【Likeability: 16/100】
【Ripple effect: *Unmeasurable】
*Ripple effect can be viewed once Likeability is 30 or higher
Same percentage-based numbers.
It probably meant 16% of the public felt favorably toward me.
That’s pretty high.
Given that my popularity is 30, it means one out of every two people who knows me views me positively.
Then, a delayed notification popped up.
【Goal achieved: Likeability 10 reached!】
【Reward granted: Stat point +1】
【Title granted: LV.1 Good-Feeling Actor】
“Title?”
There was something like this too?
It was my first time seeing this kind of reward.
I checked the status window, and something had clearly changed.
【Basic Info】
【Name: Ryu Sunho】
【Age: 21】
【Height: 184.6cm】
【Occupation: Actor】
【Title: LV. 1 Good-Feeling Actor】
It felt nice—like I’d been officially recognized as an actor.
And “Good-Feeling Actor,” at that.
It even made me feel a little itchy.
But is that it—just sticking a name on me?
As soon as that thought formed, the title’s detailed description automatically unfolded.
【LV.1 Good-Feeling Actor】
【Box office pull +5%】
【Effect: Viewership ratings and booking rates for works you appear in increase slightly】
Box office pull…!
A skill an actor absolutely needs.
Beloved actors carry modifiers like “a guaranteed hit,” “a ratings maker.”
So that’s why they give a title as a reward for likeability.
The number was still small, but if I built up likeability from here, it could create real synergy with my promotional ability.
I was smiling in satisfaction when the final alert filled the screen.
【Popularity 30 achieved: Grade restriction lock has been lifted】
Ah!
This was the most important one.
Now I could finally cross the wall of A-grade.
At some point, I’d accumulated four stat points.
With the grade restriction lifted, I should build one A+ stat.
Which should I raise?
I had two A-grade stats: emotional expression and looks.
I wanted to raise looks. The ripple effect would be the strongest. But if I did it without preparation, a plastic-surgery controversy could flare up.
Let’s design that slowly.
I’d start working out, let the baby fat fall off, and naturally show a rise in masculinity as a cover for the increase in looks.
Then the choice was made.
Emotional expression.
I clicked without hesitation, but at that moment, an unexpected alert appeared.
【Raising to A+ grade requires 3 stat points. Proceed?】
“……!”
A variable.
I’d thought it was too easy up until now.
To reach the top tier, that much investment was required.
I thought for about five minutes.
My conclusion—
A+ has to wait.
What I needed urgently right now wasn’t emotional expression.
When I monitored myself on , there were parts where my physical expression looked awkward.
Thanks to the burn-injury setting, a stiff body hadn’t been a huge issue—
but Jeong Dogyun in was different.
He was a shut-in who’d locked himself in a room for a long time, someone terrified of the world’s gaze.
There would be a lot of acting that expressed the character through the body rather than lines.
With lacking physical acting, I wouldn’t be able to fully pull it off.
So—
【Physical acting: B- → B】
【Remaining stat points: 3】
【Physical acting: B → B+】
【Remaining stat points: 2】
【Physical acting: B+ → A-】
【Remaining stat points: 1】
【Physical acting: A- → A】
【Remaining stat points: 0】
The moment I poured every point in and dragged my physical acting up to A-grade, a pleasant thrill ran through my whole body.
It felt like even my basic sense of using my body had changed.
Like fine control devices had been installed on every muscle and joint.
I stood up and slowly walked around the room.
Not just walking—
walking as Jeong Dogyun.
Until now, I’d only understood it in my head and been busy imitating.
Hunch the shoulders, lower the head, keep the stride small.
But now it was different.
I should walk like Jeong Dogyun.
The instant I thought that, my body reacted first.
My spine subtly curled inward.
My shoulders shrank without me realizing it.
My steps became cautious and uncertain, like even stepping into the world was something to apologize for.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
A man stood there who was frightened of the world’s gaze, who wanted to make himself as small as possible.
A posture crumpled tight, trying to disappear from view.
…Please don’t look at me.
Feeling a gaze somewhere on me, I twisted my body slightly.
A movement that, before, would’ve looked awkwardly exaggerated—
but now it was different.
My muscles responded organically, perfectly realizing the body language of fear.
…So this is A-grade physical acting.
It wasn’t movement produced by calculation.
It was the sensation of my muscles and nerves absorbing Jeong Dogyun’s anxiety and fear and reproducing it exactly.
Euphoria wrapped around my whole body.
They said they’ll do a screen test before signing the contract.
A perfectly prepared version of me.
Just imagining how shocked they’d be made my whole body boil.