Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: One Elimination
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Seonwoo's score was 93 points.
85 from the judges and 8 from the audience.
Compared to last time, it was like only the judges' score had gone up by 2 points.
Thanks to that, he placed second... no, third, behind Hyeseong and Yeonwoo, who both scored 94.
'Have I grown?'
Judging by the score alone, yeah.
But what bugged him a little was that the audience score hadn't budged from last time. Sure, with a max of 10 points, raising it by even 1 wasn't easy, he knew that...
'How do I get that audience 9 points...?'
It was right then that Seonwoo's gaze darkened.
"Alright, then... we'll now announce today's elimination."
Seong Jun-il's voice made everyone's expressions darken.
Looking at them, Seong Jun-il deliberately spoke in an emotionless tone.
"First, I should let you all know how many eliminations there are today. That way, you'll soon find out who they are."
It was simple math.
The current last place was Ji-eun, and second-to-last was Hyeongbin.
Would it just be Ji-eun dropping out, or Hyeongbin too?
No way three would get cut, right?
Hyeongbin swallowed dryly.
He'd thought he'd given his all... but now that the moment had come, there was regret. He wanted just a little more, to act a bit longer.
He felt like he hadn't even shown proper acting yet.
For someone who'd never trained, getting this far felt like an accomplishment.
But he shouldn't have settled. He should've been more desperate... As regret clawed at him,
"Today's elimination... is one person."
Seong Jun-il's calm voice rang out.
And as everyone quietly turned to Ji-eun, he continued.
"Yoo Ji-eun, you're eliminated."
Ji-eun was out.
Hyeongbin survived.
But in that moment, what Hyeongbin felt wasn't relief... it was pathetic.
Why?
Why was he always worrying, like it was natural, 'Am I dropping out today?'
Because of his short career?
Was he too okay with being inferior, hiding behind that excuse?
Questions spawned more questions.
In the midst of it, Ji-eun let out a resigned sigh.
"...Yeah. Thanks for everything!"
Ji-eun shook off any lingering attachment right away.
It'd be a lie to say there was no regret, but you can't pass every audition. With her long acting experience, she was used to failure.
So it was fine.
Her eyes stung a bit, but it was okay.
That was when Yoo Miyun quietly called her name.
"Ji-eun."
"Yes."
"Don't take it too hard. From what I've seen, you're just getting started. Let's meet on set next time, not here—as fellow actors."
"...Yes! Definitely!"
Whether those words fully comforted her was anyone's guess.
What mattered was how fiercely Ji-eun's eyes burned as she replied. As long as that fire in her gaze didn't die, an actor could always rise again. Knowing that, Yoo Miyun could smile.
And with that, the judging was over.
But the judges still didn't step away from the mics.
There were still people to address.
"Park Munhyeon and Justin."
Munhyeon and Justin.
Lee Mubeom smiled as he looked at the pair who'd given their final passionate performance.
"Great acting. Honestly, if you'd shown performances like today's last time... the results might've been different."
"Exactly. I was in awe the whole way through."
"Park Munhyeon, I heard you even got some coaching from Seonwoo?"
The last question came from Seong Jun-il.
Meeting his mischievous gaze, Munhyeon smiled quietly.
"Yes. He was a good teacher."
"...Yeah, looks like it. The emotional line you showed this time... it was flawless, no weak spots. The details really came alive."
Yoo Miyun smiled.
"You both did great. Impressive."
It was a warm wrap-up.
Precisely until Justin opened his mouth.
"Uhm... teachers, would it be okay to ask what our scores were?"
A question utterly devoid of tact drew sighs even from the audience.
But Justin just grinned at the judges.
He was genuinely curious. After all this praise, what would his score be?
Then they had to tell him.
Seong Jun-il chuckled as he spoke.
They were already eliminated anyway.
Right now, giving perfect scores dramatically would make for a nice scene.
Scores don't matter.
You're already perfects in my book.
"Eh, around 85?"
But Seong Jun-il didn't go that route.
The reason was simple.
He preferred sitcoms over dramas.
* * *
"...Hng."
"You okay?"
"Hngaaaaah...!"
"...Ji-eun?"
"Haaaaaaaak—!"
The waiting room.
After filming ended, Ji-eun let out a feral hiss like a bristling cat.
Hyeongbin watched her anxiously.
"Don't beat yourself up too much! Dying this time might've even given us an iconic scene!"
"...Gyaargh!"
Even his attempt at comfort just got another screech.
Well, it wasn't much comfort to begin with.
Minhee chuckled at Ji-eun.
"Let her be. Not crying is something. Impressive, our Ji-eun."
"...Gya."
Only after Minhee petted her did Ji-eun calm a bit.
Justin grinned watching them.
"Jinny! Don't be depressed! You still get one more shoot, right?"
"...Who's Jinny? Ji-eun?"
"Yes! Ji-eun is Jinny!"
"You and your..."
Minhee sighed and shook her head, then suddenly looked emotional.
She realized this might be the last time hearing Justin's nonsense.
"It was fun while it lasted."
"Why so serious, noona? Like we'll never see each other again. We can bump into each other out there."
"Yeah, you say that, but we probably won't."
"...Wow, noona, you're so dry."
"Kidding."
Justin's eyes narrowed.
That didn't look like kidding.
Munhyeon burst into hearty laughter, lightening the mood.
"Whether we see each other often or not, I hope everyone succeeds from here on. Not that you need me saying it—you all will."
"What about you, section chief? What's next?"
Surprisingly, it was Jaewon who asked.
He hadn't seemed close to Munhyeon, but after all this time together, affection had built up.
Munhyeon smiled faintly at him.
"Act. Not sure how many gigs this old guy's got left... but I want to do what I love now."
"Cool."
Jaewon nodded.
Easy to say, but living for what you love was tough—he knew that. Especially at Munhyeon's age, with more to consider.
Then.
A knock.
"Mind if I come in?"
"...Troupe Leader?"
Opening the door revealed Park Jiwan and Seonjun outside. The Cheongsong folks lit up at Jiwan, who scratched his head awkwardly.
"Long time no see, everyone. Feels weird meeting like this."
"Man, it's been ages! Great to see you."
"Yeah. Good to see you all."
Jiwan greeted them.
They'd been tied up on set since [I Am an Actor] started.
First time seeing Jiwan—everyone was thrilled.
Amid it, Hyeseong tilted his head at Seonjun beside him.
"Who's this...?"
"Oh, first time meeting most of you. Introduce yourselves. He's a dongsaeng of mine. Film director."
"Hello. Kim Seonjun."
"...Kim Seonjun?"
Minhee tilted her head.
"Seonwoo's brother, by any chance?"
"Ah, yes. That's me."
"...Nice to meet you. I've been in Seonwoo's debt a lot."
"Nah. If anything, he's owed me more."
Minhee... no, the whole Cheongsong crew gave odd looks at Seonjun's banter.
Handsome. Same genes, so expected... but his vibe was totally different from Seonwoo's.
If Seonwoo was a serene lake, Seonjun had this fiery spark in his intense eyes.
Brothers who oddly resembled yet didn't each other.
As they thought that, Seonjun smirked at Seonwoo.
"How's it going? Fun?"
"...Yeah, fun."
"Good. That's what matters. Hang in there, bro. I'm out."
Seonjun waved and turned to leave.
Jiwan grabbed him, flustered.
"Hey, already? Brothers reuniting after ages—catch up a bit."
"We just did. You chat slowly here. I'll head out first."
"Sheesh..."
Jiwan looked a bit disappointed, but Seonjun didn't hesitate.
Truth was, sticking around meant no real talk anyway...
'Too antsy to just sit.'
Yeah.
That [One-Room] he'd just seen had lit a fire in his chest.
Without Seonwoo, maybe not this much. But his gloomy, shut-in brother was shining now.
As the older bro, how could he not feel spurred?
Whatever it took.
He had to do something.
With that resolve, Seonjun left, and Yeonwoo watched his back curiously.
"Seonwoo's brother isn't just any ordinary guy either."
"Bro's a bit unique..."
Seonwoo looked at Yeonwoo, puzzled.
"'Either'? Makes me sound weird too."
"Didn't say weird. Just not ordinary."
"Same thing."
As Seonwoo bantered with Yeonwoo, Jiwan inwardly chuckled watching.
'He's doing well.'
Truthfully, he hadn't worried much about Seonwoo.
Even with weird rumors like parachute in Cheongsong, he'd overcome it all and become family with everyone.
No real concerns skill-wise or personality-wise.
What Jiwan had actually worried about here was something else.
"You've changed a bit, huh?"
"..."
Jinwook.
Jinwook had always been Jiwan's sore spot.
Back in Cheongsong days, all sorts of complaints about him. Plenty wanted him kicked out.
Classic troublemaker.
So when Jinwook passed [I Am an Actor], Jiwan had tons of worries.
One slip, and he'd become the national villain—debut ruined, maybe quit acting altogether.
But surprisingly, Jinwook was holding up fine inside.
Especially acting-wise, he'd changed beyond recognition from the old Jinwook.
The guy who'd hogged the spotlight alone now cared about stage harmony.
That was why.
"Troupe Leader."
"Yeah?"
"Can we talk alone for a sec?"
When Jinwook suddenly brought it up, Jiwan nodded gladly.
"Sure. Let's."
They headed to Jinwook's dorm.
Specifically, the double he still shared with Hyeongbin.
Jiwan looked around and let out a hollow laugh.
"You've been living here months?"
"Yes."
"Not tough? Sharing with someone isn't easy with your personality."
"That's fine. It's just..."
Jinwook trailed off, eyes dropping.
Jiwan was inwardly shocked. Jinwook with such meek eyes?
"Troupe Leader. Be honest."
"...I'll think after hearing it."
"Can I make it as an actor?"
"..."
Jiwan didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Jinwook. He'd thought his gaze had softened, but no.
'Has his spirit broken?'
Why?
He didn't get it.
Jinwook had done solid in Episode 2 today. Judges praised him too.
So why this look?
"What's wrong?"
"...Me, I guess."
Words the old Jinwook never would've said.
He rarely admitted his flaws.
"What I've realized here is I'm total shit."
"Hm. Fair."
"...Today too. Passed, but... honestly, up to judging, I was scared shitless of dropping. Probably same next time. I can feel it—I'm on borrowed time."
Jinwook chuckled.
"Don't wanna say it, but compared to others, I got nothing..."
"One question."
Jiwan cut him off.
"What kind of people do you think actors are?"
"Cool ones, right?"
"No, they don't act because they're cool. They act to stand out. Some shine flashy and cool, others stand out by being pathetic and shabby. But you wanna be the cool actor?"
Jinwook hesitated.
Cool actor? Dunno. He just wanted to be an actor.
Jiwan answered before it dragged.
"You can't win competing like that."
"...Then what do I compete with?"
"You know."
Jiwan shrugged.
"Irritating, no tact, zero social skills, just a mean monkey who butts in everywhere."
"...Me?"
"Don't play dumb. Ignore this, and you won't survive as an actor. That's your character. Your appeal."
Jiwan said it straight, no smile.
This was a crucial moment for Jinwook.
"Think about it. Not how to win or look cool... but what kind of actor you'll be."
"..."
"Hint: I think the role you played suits you perfectly. Looked good."
That was Jiwan's advice.
But even after parting, Jinwook didn't return to the dorm. He wandered the streets awhile.
Head still a mess.
Ideal and reality wouldn't close the gap.
'My role suits me...'
Jiwan called him a mean monkey.
...Basically, a thug. And in the drama, Seo Jinwook's character was pure thug.
No complaints about thug acting. It'd been one of his main weapons forever.
But what more here?
Tough.
The more he thought, the messier it got.
So.
Back at the dorm, locking eyes with Seonwoo in the break room, Jinwook glared for no reason.
"What."
"...Good evening?"
"Good evening my ass..."
Right then.
He spotted Yeonwoo lounging on the sofa behind Seonwoo.
Her pretty eyes crinkled thin, like 'Keep your promise?' pressuring him.
Jinwook sighed.
"Yeah. Fucking great evening."
Why?
He felt like a real monkey.