Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: The Final Mission - Death
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Training Kwon Sori was... smoother than expected.
"Ease up at the end of the line. That's how the emotion hits harder in that moment."
"Yes!"
"Every time you speak, imagine it hurts. Your throat, your heart."
"Yes!"
"Don't jump in right after my line ends. Listen to what I say, process it, then deliver yours."
"Yes! Got it, bro!"
The way she nodded eagerly, soaking up every bit of feedback from Seonwoo—it was almost like she wasn't the Kwon Sori he knew.
He'd expected her to be way more slippery and evasive...
Well, good is good.
Seonwoo didn't dwell on it.
The most important thing right now was crafting a solid stage.
Thanks to Kwon Sori taking his feedback so well, she was delivering pretty stable performances compared to the start.
Even she admitted it.
"...Our school prof teaches worse than you, bro."
It wasn't empty flattery.
While professors and acting coaches taught how to express emotions, Seonwoo's feedback guided you to become one with that emotion.
In the old days, that would've been tough for Seonwoo.
But after meeting Yeonwoo, his approach to emotions had changed.
He'd realized that subtle gestures, glances, breaths could amplify emotions intensely.
And with the power of the color orbs aiding him, teaching became even easier.
Still, Seonwoo felt a pang of regret.
He'd desperately pulled her along, but she hadn't quite reached the level he wanted.
In the end, it's hard to draw out the full emotion.
She no longer broke immersion just from Seonwoo exploding with feeling like before.
But she still wavered.
If he unleashed everything now... the flow of the performance would destabilize.
To deliver something better... he had to suppress his emotions.
The silver lining? He'd found a workaround.
A way to hold back without fully unleashing, yet still hit the quality mark.
What was it?
...He'd show it soon enough.
Seonwoo looked up.
The judges' seats on stage were still empty. Once they filled up, the final mission would begin.
Yes.
The last mission before the TOP 10.
"...Bro, I'm shaking so bad."
Yechun, standing beside him, spoke up.
His leg bounced nervously—he was clearly on edge. Seonwoo chuckled at the sight.
"You prepared well?"
"Eh... Not sure about the rest, but this time, no regrets."
Yechun clenched his fist.
"This time, I'll act the right answer."
"Sounds good."
Seonwoo smiled.
The right answer. Yechun was hooked on that idea.
He was curious. What would Yechun bring this time?
And it wasn't just Yechun piquing his interest.
Death. The mission's theme was riveting. Few subjects revealed so many facets of humanity.
Then, the judges' voices rang out.
<<Looks like we've thinned out quite a bit.>>
Unlike usual, Yi Moobeom spoke first today.
<<First off, congrats to everyone who's made it this far. You've worked incredibly hard.>>
<<You've all come from different paths, but there's one reason you're here.>>
<<You love acting.>>
<<What I want from you today is simple.>>
<<Show us how much you love it.>>
Maybe because it was the mission before TOP 10.
It stirred the heart.
Seonwoo's gaze deepened.
Yeah. No need to overthink. He had one job.
Act.
<<The first stage goes to... Jeong Hyeseong and Song Jaewon.>>
Those two took the stage first.
Their scenario: a historical drama, Hunminjeongeum. Hyeseong as King Sejong, Jaewon as his Royal Guard Captain protecting him.
The scene where the captain takes a blade meant for Sejong from assassins opposing the promulgation, dying as Sejong wails.
A historical drama was certainly fresh.
In full dragon robes and guard uniform, the visuals alone were captivating.
Seonwoo was impressed anew.
Historical dramas aren't easy.
From archaic speech to countless details— it wasn't a genre you could cram in this short time.
Even Seonwoo had skipped it from the start for that reason.
Even against Hyeseong and Jaewon, he worried a bit.
Could they pull off historical drama?
"Royal Guard Captain Jeong Gyeom! Ah, aaah... No. No way. You can't go. You mustn't. Pull yourself together, Jeong Gyeom... Jeong Gyeom—!"
...And soon, Seonwoo realized it was needless worry.
"Your Majesty..."
Jaewon gazed at Hyeseong with unfocused eyes.
Then, vomiting blood, he chuckled hoarsely.
"A new era has daw... dawned, yet why do you... shed tears, sire..."
"Jeong Gyeom, without you, this era wouldn't have dawned... How can it make sense that you're gone, that you won't see it!"
"Your Majesty, I... have already seen it......"
A chill ran down his spine.
No awkwardness or cringe. The emotional arc was flawless.
...A flower?
Seonwoo stared at the pristine white flower blooming behind Hyeseong.
Crimson petals clustered on branches sprouting from his back as soil—so breathtakingly beautiful.
Even as Jaewon collapsed before it, spilling crimson blood that soaked the stage... Seonwoo could only let out a hollow laugh.
Not the whole piece, just one scene, yet this level of detail.
Classic Hyeseong, classic Jaewon.
But they weren't the only ones who left his jaw dropped.
"Should... we die?"
Minhee, as a weary older sister about to end it all with her sibling, showed the desolate gaze of someone driven to life's edge.
"Damn it, I wanna live too! But this fucked-up world tells me not to! Huh? Says even the air I breathe is wasted for trash like me!"
Hyungbin, drunk on a bridge causing a suicide scene as a salaryman, nailed the raw realism.
"...Sorry. Can't save you."
"Nooo! I'll forget! I-I'm forgetful! I can wipe it all!"
"Doubt it. I'm too pretty to forget."
"No... Uwaaaaaah—!"
Watching Yeonwoo's act, Seonwoo genuinely felt chills.
Intentionally or not, Yeonwoo played a psychopathic serial killer. That inorganic stare no normal person could muster— it raised every hair on his body.
...Is it because I know Yeonwoo that it hits harder?
No, the acting alone was intense.
Plus, their partner's chemistry amplified each other perfectly.
Now, could Kwon Sori support him like that?
<<Kim Seonwoo, Kwon Sori. Please take the stage.>>
Lost in thought, their names were called.
As they climbed up, Yoo Miyeon grinned playfully at them.
"Let's see. Little Ones.... Siblings, right? How was the chemistry?"
No.
The chemistry couldn't be worse.
But admitting that straight to Yoo Miyeon felt lame, so as he geared up to say it was fine...
"Nope, it sucked bad!"
"...Oh ho, really?"
Kwon Sori floored it.
Seonwoo shot her a what the hell? look, but she just grinned and kept going.
"Truth is, we clashed hard at first! Made acting a nightmare for me."
Seonwoo sighed inwardly.
...Did she have to say that?
Too late. Yoo Miyeon's eyes sparkled.
"Oh? What mismatched at first?"
"Well, bro's got this... acting prowess? Aura? It's overwhelming. I straight-up asked him to tone it down 'cause I couldn't handle it."
"And what'd Seonwoo say?"
"No way! I believe in you! I won't give up no matter what! Let's nail it together!"
...Did I say it like that?
Seonwoo's face twisted in bewilderment.
Not some shoujo manga line.
Wasn't it more like snap out of it? What filter was in her ears?
Yoo Miyeon chuckled, turning to Seonwoo.
"So, Seonwoo. Confident now?"
"...I've prepped my best."
"Good?"
Yoo Miyeon nodded, pleased.
"Let's see the acting then."
"Yes."
Seonwoo glanced at Kwon Sori.
Her eyes lost focus and expression in an instant.
Plunged into immersion.
At the same time, gloomy dark purple webs began coiling tightly around her.
A form incomparably sturdier than before.
But still not enough.
Once Seonwoo fully unleashed... her emotions would shatter into pieces.
It meant he'd grown, but growth only mattered if the partner could receive it.
Seonwoo pondered.
How to handle this.
How to deliver the perfect act for the moment.
And the answer was...
"...I'm so tired now."
Suppress the emotion.
"Watching you like this, living in this shithole... I'm sick of it all."
Crackle.
A menacing neon pink bolt swallowed Seonwoo.
As if demanding release, it crackled relentlessly, gnawing at his soul.
But Seonwoo endured.
Letting it loose now... it'd charge straight at Kwon Sori.
Shattering her immersion violently.
"Just leave me alone. Please..."
So he suppressed, suppressed, suppressed again.
Yeah. Not easy.
Unreleased rage turns inward eventually.
Each flash of lightning brought heart-bursting pain he had to withstand.
The issue? The more he held back, the fiercer the rage grew.
With every throb, the electric aura around him swelled larger.
"Just get lost."
And that's what Seonwoo focused on.
If suppressing builds it bigger... why not nurture it deliberately, then explode all at once?
"Don't... spout bullshit...!"
...Wouldn't that be fun?