Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Real Psycho
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"…You want me to drop out?"
She desperately kept her expression in check, but there was nothing she could do about her trembling voice.
Ryu tilted his head at Seonwoo, then smacked his fist into his palm with an "Ah."
"Ah, no no. To be precise, it's not that I want Seonwoo-ssi to drop out. I want you to die."
"……Pardon?"
His head felt like it was about to break.
He had no idea how he was supposed to react.
To hear someone say right to his face that they wished he was dead—and to a total stranger, no less? Even for an eccentric writer, this was a bit much… But just then, a thought flashed through Seonwoo's mind.
"…By any chance, are you talking about dying in One Room?"
"Exactly. Ah, not in reality, of course! I mean the Kim Seonwoo from One Room."
"But for Kim Seonwoo to die in One Room… doesn't that mean I have to drop out in real life?"
"Ah, yeah, the dropout part is about reality."
"……."
This had to be the most disorienting conversation he'd ever had in his life.
He couldn't keep up with the unique flow of thought running through Ryu's head.
'Let me sort this out slowly.'
Ryu wants Kim Seonwoo from One Room to die.
For that to happen, Seonwoo has to drop out of I Am an Actor, so Ryu hopes he drops out… Something like that.
He got the logic.
But what he was curious about was,
"Why do you want Kim Seonwoo to die?"
"Are you really asking because you don't know?"
Ryu smiled faintly.
As if Seonwoo already knew the answer.
And he wasn't wrong.
Seonwoo had already suspected as much.
"…Kim Seonwoo doesn't actually want to die. He just hasn't found a reason to live. Killing him off like this wouldn't mean much. To him, life and death aren't all that different."
"Exactly."
Ryu nodded, his smile deepening.
Then he spoke in a voice bubbling with barely contained excitement.
"So why do you think I want to kill off a Kim Seonwoo like that?"
"…You're planning to make him want to live?"
It was something he'd anticipated from the first time he'd encountered the character Kim Seonwoo.
Characters in a drama always change. A character who doesn't grow or evolve… ends up no different from one with no story at all.
And Kim Seonwoo's change… would inevitably lead to him craving life.
Because he was someone who couldn't feel the value of living.
The kind of change someone like that could have would ultimately be… finding that value, right?
And there'd be no fun in killing off someone who didn't even want to live in the first place.
Seonwoo's guess seemed to be spot on.
Ryu's smile deepened as he looked at him.
"Seonwoo-ssi… you're definitely a sharp one."
They say you shouldn't judge people based on a single facet.
But for writers and actors, they have to read everything from that one facet. Grasping and understanding all the hidden depths of a character from just a few lines of dialogue and stage directions—that's the skill.
Ryu personally believed that this intuition ultimately defined the limits of actors and writers.
The depth and nuance they could express in a character depended on that intuition.
And Seonwoo's intuition didn't fall short of any of the great actors he'd seen.
This brief conversation gave him the confidence to handle the 'Kim Seonwoo' character even more boldly.
He likes it.
"What do you plan to give Kim Seonwoo…?"
Even this question.
Ryu smiled.
"I'd like Seonwoo-ssi to survive as long as possible."
"…Survive as long as possible, then die?"
"Yes. Kim Seonwoo surviving in itself makes this story even more beautiful."
He had a feeling he knew what that meant.
"I'm counting on you. Survive as long as you can. It'd be perfect if you made it to the end and then dropped out."
"But Writer-nim, you still haven't answered my question."
"Ah, right—what to give Kim Seonwoo?"
Ryu nodded, then his lips curved up.
"Hmm, maybe love would do the trick?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'Seriously… he's the weirdest person I've ever met in my life.'
When the character meeting with Ryu finally ended, Seonwoo left the room feeling more exhausted than after filming.
The man demanded constant vigilance.
One moment of letting his guard down, and it felt like Ryu would hypnotize him and steal his soul.
"No, that writer is seriously scary…!"
In fact, Hyungbin had been shivering until Seonwoo returned.
"I barely said anything, but he knew I'm an only child and that I got bullied in my teens! Does that make any sense?"
"…Something's off. That guy must be a mind reader."
Jieun nodded too.
Whether it was insight or whatever, that piercing gaze that seemed to see right through people… wasn't exactly pleasant to deal with.
And he laid it all out without any consideration,
—You've never dated someone you liked, right? Even if someone confessed to you first, your heart wouldn't have been in it.
Just blurting it out like that gave the feeling of having all his secrets exposed in an instant.
Jieun turned to Seonwoo.
"Oppa, did he say anything weird to you?"
"Eh, just that he hopes I don't win?"
"…Crazy."
Jieun scowled.
"No, even so, isn't that too much? It's not like he's looking down on us for being amateurs."
"Well, less looking down and more… he just seems like that kind of person."
"Still doesn't sit right with me."
He could understand Jieun's feelings.
Seonwoo's meeting with Ryu hadn't exactly been pleasant either.
But more than his immediate mood… what he'd gained from the conversation weighed on him more.
'He won't leave Kim Seonwoo as is, huh?'
He was already looking forward to it.
What colors would be added to this man drenched in gray.
And that was when it happened.
"Heh, hehehe… Ry… Ryyy…."
"Eek!"
A chilling laugh.
Jieun recoiled in fear. Yeonwoo was grinding her teeth with a smile.
"…What the hell did you talk about?"
"Heh heh, wanna guess?"
"Well, you probably asked why she got such a role, and given Writer Ryu's personality… he turned it back on you?"
Seonwoo glanced around discreetly, confirmed no one else was listening, and added,
"Something like, 'Don't you know better than anyone?'"
"…Seonwoo-ssi, are you secretly family with Writer Ryu or something?"
"No. Absolutely not."
"Then how can you talk exactly like him?"
Yeonwoo glared at Seonwoo with cold eyes.
And right then, Hyeseong, who had just finished his meeting, squeezed between them.
"What's going on? Why's the vibe so scary?"
"…N-no, nothing. Oppa, how was your talk with Writer Ryu?"
"Me? It was good?"
"……Good?"
Yeonwoo looked at him like that was impossible.
Hyeseong nodded with a goofy grin.
"We just talked about the role, how to make it more fun going forward. That's it."
"…Nothing uncomfortable?"
"Nah? He even worried about me, like how I must have a ton of pent-up anger from not making it big despite my age!"
…Isn't that an insult, not worry?
As Seonwoo debated whether to point it out,
"Huh?"
Jieun, looking at her phone, let out a startled voice.
Yeonwoo turned to her.
"What? Something wrong?"
"Uh, um, n-no, it's just…."
Jieun flinched and looked down.
Yeonwoo had always felt intimidating to her for some reason. Especially now, when she looked kinda pissed.
But luckily, she held news that might calm Yeonwoo's anger.
She held out her phone.
"Unnie, you're number one!"
"I know that."
"No, not the judges! The votes!"
"Votes?"
Yeonwoo peered at the screen.
📊 I Am an Actor Winner Predictions (Quarterfinals ver.) 1. Lee Yeonwoo 22.4% 2. Kim Seonwoo 18.6% 3. Jeong Hyeseong 17.5% 4. Song Jaewon 14.1% 5. Na Minhee 12.9% 6. Seo Jinwook 6.5% 7. Bang Hyungbin 4.3% 8. Yoo Jieun 3.7% Votes: 10,831
"…Huh?"
In an instant, the blue aura around Yeonwoo vanished.
It meant her shock was so great she'd even forgotten to act.
And it was understandable. This poll had become a big deal among the contestants.
People were even saying the results basically predicted the competition outcome.
Even if not, the poll wasn't meaningless.
It showed where the public's hearts lay.
No wonder she'd be thrilled enough to jump for joy.
But…
"Unnie? You okay?"
"……."
Yeonwoo just stared blankly at the results, unresponsive.
Seonwoo inwardly sighed as he watched her.
'She's gotta be conflicted.'
He couldn't presume to fully grasp Yeonwoo's feelings.
Number one should be happy, but she didn't exactly welcome being recognized for her psycho role.
'Hope she doesn't get too hurt.'
Some might think what hurt is there in being a psycho.
But psychos aren't invincible. At least to Seonwoo, Yeonwoo didn't seem like some unbeatable force.
Just a bit unusual.
'Writer Ryu went too far.'
Seonwoo sighed inwardly.
He knew there was no malice from Ryu. He'd just created characters that best captured their essence as he saw it.
But dragging out someone's hidden flaws without any tact… felt cruel no matter what.
Even if the acting and story were great… he didn't think it was worth hurting someone.
But to Writer Ryu, such concerns would fall on deaf ears.
Seonwoo furrowed his brow.
The feeling from their conversation was still vivid.
Those eyes that showed no interest in what he said, treating him like a mere accessory to the work…
Yeah.
In a way,
'Writer Ryu's the real….'
psycho.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Park Myungjin doesn't usually fuss over his clothes.
He believes staying natural and unadorned keeps his intuition sharpest.
Still, the reason he was suited up today was simple.
It had been a while since his meeting with Ryu.
"Long time no see, Writer-nim."
"Yeah. I watched episode 1, PD-nim."
"Haha, yes… I tried to express what you envisioned as best I could. Glad you liked it."
"Seemed like it. No complaints so far, at least."
Ryu nodded with a faint smile.
Park Myungjin slowly broached the subject as he watched him.
"I heard you met all the cast today."
"Ah, it was so much fun. Hmm… the most enjoyable thing in recent years, maybe?"
"…That much? What happened?"
"Not what, who."
A person, huh.
Whoever left such an impression on Ryu was a good thing.
The more inspiration Ryu got, the deeper the characters and more immersive the story.
"They were a real psycho."
But he hadn't expected that.
Psycho. The actors he'd seen on set were all polite and passionate.
But he couldn't take the word at face value. For a layperson, maybe, but "psycho" from Ryu's mouth wasn't just casual slang.
He had a hunch who it might be.
"About that—how did you see that potential in Yeonwoo-ssi?"
Admiration and respect gleamed subtly in Park Myungjin's eyes, honed over years.
Lee Yeonwoo. If anyone was the biggest beneficiary of One Room, it was her. Her psycho acting had captivated the public in an instant… and earned rave reviews from the judges.
Critics even said she was the key to One Room's popular acclaim.
She looked like a fragile beauty on the outside, yet somehow unearthed a psychopath from within. Nothing but awe.
But,
"…Hm? Ah, that was just obvious. But I'm not talking about Yeonwoo-ssi."
Ryu shook his head.
Confusion flickered in Park Myungjin's eyes. He'd assumed it was Yeonwoo since he said "psycho."
"Then who?"
"Kim Seonwoo."
Ryu chuckled.
The words Seonwoo had said before leaving still echoed in his ears.
—Hmm, maybe love would do the trick?
Of course, he wasn't serious.
Giving love to breathe life into Kim Seonwoo would be like dumping sugar into ruined ramen to save it.
Still, he'd said it out of curiosity about Seonwoo's reaction.
What would he do with this wrong answer?
And when Seonwoo's mouth opened,
Ryu felt a thrill like electricity surging through every nerve.
—I don't think it'll be love.
Seonwoo was frowning.
—…Oh? Why not?
Seonwoo hadn't flinched even at curses to drop out and not win.
Yet here he was, frowning.
A reflexive reaction to the threat of his character being ruined.
—The Kim Seonwoo you've created… I think it's a exquisitely crafted puzzle in itself. Honestly, I was in awe while acting it out sometimes.
It sounded polite at first glance.
—But because of that, using love as the solution to that puzzle… feels a bit cliché, don't you think?
But the meaning underneath was this:
Don't you dare cheapen me with something like that.
Don't ruin this character like that.
The guy who'd been unflappable like a stone statue suddenly baring his fangs at the slightest threat to the character…
Recalling that chilling gaze, Ryu grinned widely.
No matter how he thought about it,
"That guy's head is screwed on tight."
A real psycho.