Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Why Do You Give Up So Easily?
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"Why do you always give up so easily? Huh? Have you ever really tried anything all the way through? But what? It's too hard? You think you have any right to say that?"
"……."
"……."
"……."
"……."
"Kwon Sori?"
"Y-yes? Yes?"
"Aren't you going to act?"
"Uh... I-I am."
Kwon Sori stammered in panic.
It couldn't be helped. Something utterly unimaginable had just happened.
'Did he just overpower me?'
Yes. He had.
The moment Seonwoo started acting, she could feel the air in the room shifting to revolve around him in an instant.
It didn't make sense.
She'd practiced this scene for a whole year. It was the one she was most confident in out of all her roles.
And yet, he'd overpowered her?
By someone with just six months of experience?
Someone who'd only prepared for a few hours, at that?
"……Let's do it again."
She couldn't accept it.
Kwon Sori bit her lip.
It must have been a momentary illusion. Seonwoo had been on such a hot streak lately that she'd gotten intimidated preemptively.
There was no way she'd been outdone.
"……I'm tired now, oppa. Watching you like this, living in this shitty little hole... I'm sick of all of it. So just leave me alone. Please... just get out."
Kwon Sori pulled up her emotions once more.
Acting was ultimately a battle of momentum. As long as she didn't lose her edge, the time she'd poured into this role would naturally overwhelm him.
...That's how it should have been.
"Don't talk bullshit!"
But why... did that one line crush her completely?
Kwon Sori desperately clung to her immersion, staring into Seonwoo's eyes. They blazed fiercely. Meeting them felt like it could shatter any resolve.
"Why do you always give up so easily? Huh?"
Every word Seonwoo growled out made the cheap neon pink lights flicker and flash like lightning.
And with each one, the spiderwebs enveloping Kwon Sori's body tore apart, unraveled, and vanished.
The only reason any remained clinging to her skin was her desperate effort to hold onto her immersion.
She couldn't lose.
Kwon Sori gritted her teeth and delivered her line.
"All the way? For me... every day was the end."
It was a line conveying Joonhee's despair.
And the one she had to handle most carefully. This short phrase had to fully express Joonhee's hollowed-out character.
But for some reason, Kwon Sori felt like she couldn't even show half of what she usually could.
It couldn't be helped.
Seonwoo's emotions were just too vast and intense.
It was absurd.
For Seonwoo to stand out more than the girl on the verge of suicide.
But Kwon Sori wasn't the only one shocked.
'...What the hell?'
The dimming and fading of Kwon Sori's aura wasn't entirely her fault.
Seonwoo's aura had become far richer than before.
Why?
'Because of the mute role...?'
The first thing that came to mind was the mute character.
When playing the mute, Seonwoo had to convey the emotions without a single line or special physical acting.
And yet, he'd held his own presence among monsters like Hyeseong and Yeonwoo.
Now, he could unleash lines and movements freely.
'Not like sandbag training or anything...'
Seonwoo inwardly let out a hollow chuckle.
Acting under constraints had turned into a form of training itself, it seemed.
As a result, his emotions exploded more vividly than expected.
'...Should I tone it down a bit?'
At this rate, Kwon Sori wouldn't be able to perform properly.
She was already struggling to take in even half his emotions.
But that was the moment.
Suddenly, Kwon Sori's venomous retort flashed in his mind.
—Why are you being so stubborn for no reason? Everyone suffers because of you!
'......'
His mind changed.
First, he'd give her a proper scolding.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Just get past this mission, and it was Top 10.
And Top 10 came with a drama role guaranteed.
Clear this hurdle, and they could grace the screen.
"I don't even care about winning. Top 10... just landing a drama role would be more than I could ask for, honestly."
Everyone said things like that.
Lips trembling, eyes darting nervously, breaths ragged.
All of them on edge.
But not everyone.
"I'm hungry."
"...Are your nerves really made of steel wire?"
"Aren't you hungry, hyung?"
"Now that you mention it, I kinda am..."
Hyeseong looked at Jaewon like he couldn't be helped.
The two had been teamed up for this mission. That's why they were stuck together like this. And Hyeseong was freshly realizing just how unique Jaewon was.
"You're not worried about Top 10?"
Truth be told, Jaewon hadn't shown a hint of tension since the show started.
The closest he'd come was some vague alertness after bad teammates tanked their score... but even that wasn't real anxiety.
Jaewon replied with a nonchalant expression.
"Well, if I'm meant to go up, I will. If not, I wasn't."
"If you drop, you'll have to go back to day labor. That doesn't bother you?"
"Day labor's not bad. Just do what you're told, and it's actually kinda relaxing."
"...You're not exactly normal yourself."
Hyeseong laughed.
Jaewon tilted his head at him.
"I don't get why someone with your skills is this tense, hyung."
"Of course I'm tense. Nail this, and... your whole life could change."
"Yeah, fair point."
Jaewon nodded.
He knew it. Tension was the normal response right now.
Still, his own nonchalance came partly from not wanting to overthink it.
Thinking wouldn't bring the opportunity closer anyway.
Jaewon hated complications.
Keep it simple, maybe.
You came to act, so act.
Show good acting, you stay. Show bad, you go.
Simple as that.
In that sense,
"She's impressive too, huh, hyung?"
"Who? Oh..."
Hyeseong turned and nodded toward where Jaewon was looking. It was Seonwoo.
'...What a nasty pairing.'
Coincidence or production meddling, who knew.
But Kwon Sori, of all people—the one who'd tormented Sion. Knowing how much Seonwoo cared for Sion, it was a provocative matchup.
But that wasn't why Jaewon was watching Seonwoo.
He hadn't even remembered who Kwon Sori was.
Jaewon was purely there for Seonwoo's acting.
—Why do you always give up so easily? Huh? Why do you quit so easily every time?
Hearing the voice leak out from the practice room, Jaewon smirked.
"That Seonwoo guy's skills are growing at an insane rate."
"...Yeah, it's even more shocking lately."
Hyeseong watched Seonwoo.
He was definitely good. His fundamentals and delivery had grown so massively that he barely resembled his first impression.
Even peeking from outside, the emotional line stung sharply...
'Can Kwon Sori handle that? Doesn't look easy.'
Hyeseong eyed Kwon Sori with a strange expression.
No matter how he looked, it wasn't acting she could handle.
And Kwon Sori thought the same.
'...It's definite.'
Kwon Sori gritted her teeth.
'This oppa's no six-month rookie.'
At first, it was just a hunch.
But the more he acted right in front of her, the clearer it became. No way was his experience just six months. At least several years of steady practice.
Finally, Kwon Sori couldn't hold back.
"Oppa, be honest. You're not a six-month newbie, right? It'll just be our secret."
"...That's not really the topic right now."
"Come on, why not? Partners should share everything!"
"It is six months."
"Hmm... doesn't feel like it."
Seonwoo looked at Kwon Sori without changing expression.
"I'll take it as a compliment."
"……."
Kwon Sori's face twisted oddly.
Deny it, and it sounded like picking a fight. Accept it as praise, and it still annoyed her.
But Seonwoo paid her no mind.
This wasn't the first or second time she'd spouted nonsense since partnering up.
—Oh, you were roommates with Sion?
—Why'd a kid like that who's not even ready come out here...
—Am I gonna get hate? But I'm fine with it. People should speak their minds.
Hearing that hadn't even made him angry.
Not worth the energy, maybe. The more time they spent together, the clearer it became she wasn't worth dealing with.
'How can someone think at this level?'
The more they talked, the more he just sighed inwardly.
The problem was she was his acting partner.
If she at least acted well, he'd worry less. But...
"For me, every... day... by day...... Hup."
Kwon Sori's acting just wouldn't improve.
It wasn't entirely her fault, to be fair. She hadn't been this bad at first.
Her acting started crumbling after Seonwoo began.
In the end, Seonwoo had broken her.
"You okay?"
"...Give me a sec. My throat's dry. Let's take a break, just once."
"Sure."
He understood.
Even to him, his current acting had overwhelming momentum. Like his whole weight class had jumped.
At first, intent on scolding her, he hadn't held back his emotions.
But if it were Yeonwoo or Minhee opposite him... she wouldn't crumble like this.
They'd use his intense emotional line to enrich the scene.
'Shame.'
Suddenly, he recalled his first scene with Doyoung.
Eunseok had warned him: Acting against Doyoung isn't easy—brace yourself.
And indeed, Doyoung's emotions had crashed like a tidal wave, nearly overwhelming Seonwoo.
Maybe he was in Doyoung's position now.
Of course, he knew he still fell short compared to Doyoung, but to Kwon Sori, he must seem that way.
'...Should I help her out?'
Seonwoo's resolve softened a bit.
He didn't like Kwon Sori, but they were partners building a stage together.
A little coaching without bruising her ego might help.
Just then, Kwon Sori returned.
Seonwoo mulled over how to broach it, lips moving silently. And then—
Kwon Sori struck first.
"Oppa. I have something to say."
"Yeah? Go ahead."
"Can you tone down the acting a bit?"
"……."
...She said something he never saw coming.
Seonwoo stared at her blankly. She stood with arms crossed, looking displeased.
"What do you mean by 'tone down'?"
"Dial back the emotions. You're going so hard, it's too tough for me to match."
"……."
Seonwoo just stared instead of answering.
Beyond anger... it was ridiculous.
Dial back emotions? What?
She basically lacked confidence to match him, so she wanted him to stoop to her level.
Regress together.
Only then did Seonwoo realize his massive miscalculation.
Lead her along without hurting her pride?
No, she wasn't someone you could handle with kid gloves.
"That's gonna be tough."
Time to shatter her.
"...Tough?"
Kwon Sori's eyes widened, caught off guard.
Seonwoo met her gaze coldly.
"If it were a normal scene, maybe. But this is the sister dying. You think killing the emotions fits? Doesn't make sense."
"Not kill them—lessen them."
"When they should ramp up more, you're asking to lessen them? Is that even a valid request?"
Seonwoo's tone sharpened.
Confusion crossed Kwon Sori's face. She hadn't expected him to come at her so sharply.
But Seonwoo wasn't stopping.
"Kwon Sori, you that lacking in confidence?"
"No, oppa! Isn't that too harsh?"
"Don't you think the harshest thing right now is you to yourself?"
"What did I do!"
Kwon Sori raised her voice, huffing.
Seonwoo glared at her coldly.
"The one not believing in you right now isn't me—it's you."
"Not believing? What..."
"If you believed in yourself, you wouldn't ask me to kill my emotions. You're doing this because you can't ramp yours up."
"Th-that's..."
Kwon Sori's eyes wavered.
Seonwoo pressed coldly.
"Sorry, but even if you give up, I have no plans to give up on you. So..."
Stop the pathetic whining.
But no need to say it that bluntly.
Seonwoo looked quietly into her eyes.
"Don't chicken out. Got it?"
Maybe even this much wouldn't get through.
But surprisingly, Kwon Sori nodded readily. Her ears were red—she seemed embarrassed with herself.
"...Yeah, oppa."
Well, even if it didn't sink in, no matter.
He wasn't planning to accommodate anymore.
Nor wait for her to catch up.
He'd drag her.
By the collar if needed.