Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Room Episode 2
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The second episode of One Room was... pure provocation incarnate.
"Fuck, hey! Hey! You guys watching us from there? Quit screwing around and let us out right now! I'll come out there and kill every last one of you!"
As panic spread among the viewers tuning in, Seo Jinwook jabbed a finger at the camera dangling from the ceiling, raising his voice.
Justin, chiming in with him, flailed his arms while staring up at the sky.
"Y-yeah, let us out! Who's out there? Is it Mom? Mom! This is because of my meds, right? Let's talk it out! It's all my fault. Yeah? I'll be good! Huh? I-I mean... don't do this. Mom, please!"
"...What the hell's this idiot been babbling about since earlier?"
Seo Jinwook scowled at Justin's rambling, but no matter how much time passed, there was no response from the game managers.
And after a stretch of silence like that...
Justin, who had been anxiously gnawing at his nails alone, suddenly shot to his feet and pointed accusingly at everyone.
"You fuckers! You—you guys were sent by Mom too, huh? Yeah? That's why you're here?"
His gaze soon locked onto Yu Ji-eun, who looked like easy prey, and he lumbered toward her.
"Hey, how much? How much did she pay you? I'll pay more, yeah? Hey, meds. Gimme some meds. My meds... yeah?"
"D-don't do this! D-don't—gasp, huff...!"
"Wh-what? You sh-show, showing off?"
And that was the moment Kim Seonwoo stepped in.
"Step aside."
Yu Ji-eun was hyperventilating.
Kim Seonwoo shoved Justin away and gripped her shoulders.
"Don't worry. You'll be fine soon. Breathe in slowly through your nose, then exhale long through your mouth. Follow me. Suuuh. Haaaah."
His voice was eerily calm.
It couldn't be helped. With the color bubble popped right now... all Seonwoo faced was the same old emptiness as always.
It wasn't that he felt empty emotions. It was more like nothing at all registered—no emotions whatsoever, his chest a complete void.
A total emotional blank.
"H-huh... haaack—gah...!"
"Don't hold your breath. Slowly now."
Yu Ji-eun's breathing gradually steadied.
But the shared space remained chaotic despite that.
That was when Park Moon-hyun stepped forward.
"Everyone, calm down. We're all in the same boat here. Instead of turning on each other, shouldn't we figure out what's going on first?"
As Park Moon-hyun took charge, the shared script they'd received came to an end.
Reshooting all these scenes nonstop was the schedule for the day.
"Let's take a break!"
With Park Myungjin's call for rest, everyone slumped over, utterly drained.
The scenes in the shared space were pretty tough, after all.
It wasn't solo acting—ten people had to react organically together.
Having to mind not just your own performance but everyone else's breathing too.
'Considering that, they're all doing pretty well.'
Pulled onto set without enough time to even memorize the script properly, yet they delivered clean takes without excess.
I Am an Actor had clearly served its purpose as a training camp.
Compared to the start, everyone's skills had improved tremendously—this was the moment Seonwoo truly felt it.
But not everyone was faring well.
"Yeonwoo, your acting feels off somehow. Like you're stumbling constantly? You get what I mean?"
"Yes, I'll work on it!"
As Park Myungjin's critique revealed, Yeonwoo was struggling hard—enough to make her overwhelming Episode 1 performance feel like a fluke.
You might wonder why the sudden drop for the same character.
But Episode 2... after entering this One Room game, Lee Yeonwoo's character shifted dramatically.
Episode 1 had shown her as a murder-obsessed demon.
Now, inside here, she had to completely hide that demonic side.
In the game space, Lee Yeonwoo fully adopted the stance of a fragile woman.
Acting as someone who raised no one's guard, someone others would open up to and rely on.
It was suspense personified, in a way.
Possessing fangs more threatening than anyone's, yet no one but the viewers knew her true nature... a ticking bomb under the table.
Even the color she emitted had changed.
Her killer demon hue had been a metallic sheen of pink.
Now, it was a warm pink, like something painted in pastels.
And seeing that, Seonwoo couldn't help but be struck anew.
'...This feels kinda like Yeonwoo's usual color vibe.'
Her everyday sky-blue aura was the same pastel tone as this pink.
Seonwoo wondered if that might be why her acting was shaky.
Acting her dual faces like this... it must feel like confessing her true self.
'Her heart must be a mess.'
Seonwoo glanced at Yeonwoo with a hint of concern.
And right then, Park Myungjin turned to him.
"And Seonwoo."
"Y-yes!"
"When Kim Seonwoo calms Yu Ji-eun... how to put it. It feels lacking somehow."
"...Could you specify which part?"
"I don't know exactly. Kim Seonwoo's this dry character overall, sure, but it just feels too dry?"
...Guess it wasn't the time to worry about others.
Hearing Park Myungjin's feedback, Seonwoo inwardly tilted his head.
'...Too dry?'
He honestly couldn't quite buy it.
Wasn't playing a dry character dry the point?
Kim Seonwoo was defined by that—no color, no moisture, just that parched essence.
But,
"Got it. I'll pay more attention."
There had to be a reason Park Myungjin said it.
And Seonwoo had a hunch himself.
'Probably that sparkle.'
The sparkle Lee Moo-beom had mentioned.
Somehow, it felt like that's what Park Myungjin was hoping for.
The problem was Seonwoo hadn't found even a fragment of it yet.
"Alright, back to shooting!"
But what could he do?
He had to find it.
Especially after the critique.
Seonwoo gritted his teeth and dove back in.
Yet no matter how many takes they did... he just couldn't grasp how to find that sparkle.
Yeonwoo was in a similar boat.
Her acting stayed unsteady to the end... and when shooting wrapped, they watched Park Myungjin let out a deep sigh.
The next morning, finally,
"...Didn't sleep?"
Yeonwoo, whom he ran into in the shared kitchen, had hollow eyes.
"Couldn't."
It was a bit surprising.
He hadn't expected her to take it so seriously she'd lose sleep over it.
"Why? Upset?"
"Nah, just pissed off."
...Wasn't that the same thing?
He wanted to tilt his head, but now wasn't the time to point it out.
Maybe her head throbbed; Yeonwoo rubbed her temples and spoke.
"I hate that something like this is giving me a headache. It's so inefficient."
"...Because of what people think?"
Yeonwoo silently met his eyes.
Locking gazes, Seonwoo felt it anew—her eyes were so clear.
Not beautiful-clear, but eerily so... like a beast's.
"Seonwoo, don't you think I suit the psychopath role more?"
"......"
It wasn't a question he could answer lightly.
But the answer was obvious anyway.
"Yeah."
"...Hah, what the actual fuck. Oh, not at you, Seonwoo."
"I know."
Seonwoo gave a wry smile.
Couldn't be helped. Her psychopath performance had been so overwhelming even he got chills.
She hadn't overtaken even Hyeseong for first place for nothing.
But Yeonwoo probably wasn't thrilled about it.
...Why?
Seonwoo pondered for a moment.
Truth was, what Yeonwoo faced now wasn't so different from his own issue.
Seonwoo rejected his depressive self,
Yeonwoo rejected her psychopathic self.
Both wanted to live as someone else entirely.
That was what nagged at Seonwoo's heart.
"...But Yeonwoo. Is there really a reason to deny it?"
"Huh?"
"Do you have to reject yourself that hard? Why not just accept it as is?"
He totally got where Yeonwoo was coming from.
It was psychopathy, after all. Antisocial personality disorder.
If she revealed that diagnosis, would the world accept her?
Some might.
But most would be wary.
Fear her, shun her, treat her like a monster.
However,
"Sometimes I think... the one who can't accept you most isn't the world—it's you."
"......"
Even Yeonwoo was speechless at that.
She wanted to deny it, but her mouth wouldn't open.
Because Seonwoo was right.
Just as he said... she despised herself.
Seonwoo continued.
"You could just accept it. So what if it shines a certain color? It sparkles either way. No need to reject it just because you don't like the hue..."
Seonwoo trailed off mid-sentence and froze.
Everyone shines in their own way. He'd said it himself, yet the words stuck oddly, refusing to slide by.
If Kim Seonwoo was shining... how was he doing it?
With vivid colors?
No, impossible. Kim Seonwoo was a gray man.
Even when Lee Moo-beom had sparkled, all Seonwoo saw was gray.
Right.
Kim Seonwoo sparkled in gray.
A color he'd thought incapable of shining.
How?
How was that possible?
"......"
"......"
"...Seonwoo? Why'd you stop talking?"
"Hold on. I just thought of something."
Seonwoo bolted up from his seat and headed out of the kitchen.
He glanced back at Yeonwoo briefly.
"We'll finish this talk later!"
"Wait, no... that crazy bastard."
Yeonwoo, rarely flustered, tried to call him back, but Seonwoo had already left the shared kitchen.
Left behind abruptly, Yeonwoo stared blankly at the door he'd vanished through with a dumbfounded look—until moments later, a guy entering the kitchen froze and glanced at her.
It was Jinwook.
"......"
"......"
Jinwook shot her a look like, What're you staring at without saying anything?
Yeonwoo scowled.
"What. Something up?"
"......Good morning?"
"What the hell..."
Yeonwoo sighed wearily.
This place was full of weirdos, through and through.