Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Emotions as Technique
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“Wow, our chemistry is amazing, right? If we keep this up, we can take first place!”
As soon as the acting wrapped up, Yeonwoo clapped her hands and beamed.
It was the kind of performance that deserved such praise. The emotional arc felt vividly alive, impossible to believe it was their first time syncing up—and all three of them had solid fundamentals to begin with.
But Minhee responded in a curt, businesslike tone.
“Sorry to rain on your parade, but this isn’t a team event. It’s individual.”
“Oh, right. I got so caught up in acting with you two that I forgot.”
Seonwoo let out a quiet sigh as he watched Yeonwoo.
If this weren’t all just acting, he might’ve actually thought she was a great person.
But it was hard to call her out on it. She was putting on the ideal show as a teammate.
“Nahee blaming Minseok has to feel unconscious—like she’s doing it to avoid blaming herself.”
“Maybe make your gaze a bit more uneasy?”
“Your breathing’s too fast. Slow it down a little.”
Even her feedback made her seem like someone who truly believed this was a team competition, not individual.
For a moment, the thought crossed his mind.
Even if it’s acting, do I really need to look down on someone just for playing the nice guy role well?
Every time that happened, Seonwoo reminded himself.
No matter what, there was something off about wearing a mask around people that went beyond basic courtesy—straight-up embodying a different character. He couldn’t let his guard down.
But apparently, it showed.
It was when Yeonwoo had stepped away for a moment. Minhee spoke up quietly.
“You feeling uncomfortable around Yeonwoo?”
“...Was it obvious?”
“Yeah. You’re not usually the type to put up walls, but you’re keeping her at arm’s length.”
“Haha...”
Seonwoo laughed awkwardly. He couldn’t exactly say it was because she was still in character.
But Minhee nodded knowingly.
“She’s not your average person. There’s something off about her.”
“Like what?”
“Eh, just a woman’s intuition, I guess.”
Minhee shrugged.
“Something feels weird. But I’m not sweating it. Everyone in the world’s a little weird anyway. You included.”
“......Me?”
Seonwoo stared at her, dumbfounded.
Why was the heat suddenly turning his way?
Minhee looked at him like he was absurd.
“What? You’re not weird?”
“Of course not. I think I’m perfectly normal.”
“The fact that you think that is what makes it weird.”
“......”
Seonwoo gaped at her in shock.
Minhee chuckled and shook her head.
“Anyway, so what if she’s a little off? Just don’t open your heart to her. She can’t do anything to you then.”
With that, Minhee muttered in a wistful tone.
“...Though, hearts don’t always work that way.”
Her expression darkened.
Come to think of it, she’d had that look ever since the four-person act yesterday.
Seonwoo put on a concerned face and spoke up.
“Senior, is something wrong?”
“Nah. What would be?”
“You’ve just looked off the whole time.”
“......”
Minhee gave a wry smile.
Then, with a sigh, she opened up.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s really nothing.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“It’s just... besides Yeonwoo, there were those other people in the four-person act with me.”
“Yeah.”
“I really wanted that golden ticket.”
That was the reason.
Seonwoo nodded. He could guess the situation.
“Who here doesn’t? ...Those folks wanted this chance bad too. I wanted them to win. Hoped they would.”
“......I get that feeling.”
Hadn’t Seonwoo himself gone after the golden ticket with the same mindset?
If he hadn’t gotten it in the end, and Hyungbin and Sion had dropped out... it wouldn’t have sat right with him.
But it was a bit surprising.
He’d always seen her as the stoic senior type, never imagined she had this soft side.
“Seonwoo.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t drop out before me.”
Minhee looked at him.
It wasn’t casual chit-chat. Her tone was earnest, like a real plea.
Answering straight would make the mood too heavy, so Seonwoo played it cool.
“You too, Senior.”
“Yeah. Let’s both hang on as long as we can. ...But hey.”
“Yes?”
Minhee’s face suddenly turned serious.
The air grew tense. Seonwoo looked at her nervously, and she spoke gravely.
“How long are you gonna keep calling me Senior?”
“Huh?”
“Call me Noona.”
Seonwoo fell silent for a beat.
Too sudden? As Minhee awkwardly scratched under her nose,
“...We’re the same age.”
The unexpected reply came.
Minhee froze and gawked at him.
“...You’re twenty-six?”
“Yes.”
“Born in 00?”
“Year of the Dragon.”
“......”
“......”
“………….”
“………….”
“Let’s practice.”
“Yes, Senior.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure.
If someone asked Seonwoo to rank these emotions from hardest to easiest, he’d say:
Sorrow, anger, joy, pleasure.
Others seemed to feel the same.
Sorrow: 7 people.
Anger: 11 people.
Joy: 15 people.
Pleasure: 21 people.
Anger wasn’t bad numbers-wise.
Ranking in the top among 11 was easier than among 21.
The problem? Those 11 were overall top-tier.
Minhee, Jaewon, Yeonwoo—all in anger.
Beating any one meant no top rank.
At least third place...
He could already see how rough this road would be.
And Sion wasn’t much better off.
“I’m scared...”
Night.
Sion hugged his pillow with a gloomy face.
“Everyone’s so good. I feel like... I won’t be any help.”
“You don’t need to be. It’s individual anyway.”
“Still, I don’t wanna disrupt the flow...”
Sion had picked sorrow.
Seonwoo wondered why choose the toughest, but Sion’s reason made him nod.
“Sad acting’s the most fun and I love it... so I picked it.”
Yeah, acting should follow your heart.
Seonwoo had chosen anger for the same reason.
“Don’t overthink it.”
Seonwoo patted Sion’s shoulder.
“Just focus on the acting you want to do.”
Ironically, it was advice he needed too.
The scoring system messed with you. You try focusing on acting, but those numbers stare you down... you crave higher scores.
In the real world out there, money was those points.
Maybe the production was showing it early—the dilemmas actors face.
Am I reading too much into it?
Anyway, focusing on acting was key.
Good acting would naturally yield better results.
Seonwoo reflected on his own.
Forget 7s or 8s... was his acting any good?
Shallow.
Yeah. Shallow.
He recalled Doyoung’s acting.
An overwhelming aura that crushed you just facing it.
Seonwoo’s emotions were clear and real, but not vast.
Not prettily shaped like Minhee’s, nor detailed-controlled like Yeonwoo’s.
Deficient overall.
“Maybe you’ve never felt anger that intense?”
Minhee’s take was that.
“Can you express what you haven’t felt? That’s why actors need tons of experiences.”
He’d never truly raged.
Not wrong. Seonwoo rarely got mad.
The color orbs let him feel anger, but only up to what he could imagine.
Orbs weren’t omnipotent.
“But I think your acting’s good now. It feels like a normal college kid’s reaction, which I like.”
“But shouldn’t we consider we’re performers who bring plays to life?”
Not Seonwoo who said that.
Yeonwoo, arms crossed, head tilted.
“Even as a normal college kid, an actor’s character can’t be ordinary. We need vivid, exaggerated emotions you rarely see in real life. That’s what audiences want.”
“...Fair point.”
Minhee didn’t argue.
Yeonwoo turned to Seonwoo, smiling but unreadable.
“But Seonwoo, do you have to feel an emotion to express it?”
“...Not always, but you need some feel for it, right?”
“I see emotions as technique.”
An extreme view.
But from Yeonwoo, worth hearing. She had the best skills here.
“How do you tell someone’s angry? By what you see. Sharp tone, ragged breath, trembling, veins popping, face red... voice louder. Control all that consciously, and you can fake any emotion, experienced or not.”
“...Is that how you act, Yeonwoo?”
“Oh.”
Instead of answering, Yeonwoo let out an exclamation. Maybe sensing his intent. Right now, Seonwoo was questioning all her acting.
Her eyes narrowed.
The clear sky-blue aura around her blurred.
Just for a moment. She smiled brightly again, aura thickening like a blanket.
“Yes. Something like that.”
“...So, what do you think of mine?”
Seonwoo straight-up asked for help.
He didn’t agree with everything, but technique had merit.
Maybe because he started with orbs.
He felt too emotion-led. Not bad, but reliant on orbs.
He needed to act.
“How can I make my emotion pop more?”
Yeonwoo answered like she’d been waiting.
“Amp up the physical reactions. Heavier panting, furrow your brows and forehead together, tense your whole body. Make it uncomfortable to move.”
“Got it.”
Astoundingly detailed coaching.
But the real shock was the change when he tried it.
“It’s not our fault. So please, just stop. Stop—!”
“Stop? How can I? You said it’s my fault. Huh?”
Hitting his cue against Yeonwoo’s line, Seonwoo applied every tip.
And was stunned. Just tensing up... Minseok’s color, that angry essence circling him, started overflowing.
Like waves.
Thanks to that,
“Whoa, nailed it right away? Your uptake’s insane.”
“Yeah. Good. Crispest yet? Totally different.”
Yeonwoo and Minhee nodded with exclamations.
Seonwoo felt oddly struck. Never thought of emotions as technique, but it worked.
During the four-person act, easing tension was technical too.
That second brother char was razor-sharp from work stress.
Suppressing it stabilized the color emission... made him easier to sync with.
“......”
Seonwoo’s eyes darkened.
Something clicked.
How to handle this color.
How to act.
So.
“Yeonwoo.”
“Yes?”
Seonwoo looked at her.
Whether she was acting or not didn’t matter now.
Her advice was gold.
“Anything else you wanna point out?”
He had to learn.