The Scoreboard Reveals the Answer
As soon as he saw the score table, Namhun finally found the answer.
For a long time he had been quietly researching the hidden uses of the ‘Gift of the Gods’ whenever he had a free moment.
Through two cases—one being Ha-yul’s ‘PANG, PANG!’ and the other his own performance of ‘Forever Just for You’—he had already uncovered two hidden facts about his ability.
First.
Points were added for ‘audience reaction.’
Along with comprehension, proficiency, immersion, digestibility, and condition.
The formula for calculating the total score was simple.
{(Audience reaction) * 5 + the other five numbers} / 10.
While the other four stats maxed out at 100, audience reaction topped out at 500.
That meant a staggering fivefold weighting compared to the others.
In the end, it was clear that how the audience perceived a singer’s performance mattered most.
Second.
Who the audience was and what criteria they followed also mattered.
In Ha-yul’s case of ‘PANG, PANG!’, the DJ and Candy Pop fans had driven the high audience reaction.
Internet reactions had been far lower, however.
And even after seeing the Apple Store celebration performance, he discovered that his ability had activated.
‘The only thing that had changed was that the audience had turned into spectators.’
Moreover, the title of the performance itself now served as a powerful hint.
‘The bright smile of a seventeen-year-old idol?’
He was only asking whether he could pull it off in his current state.
He had done far worse in his Elixer days.
* * *
Sim Sang-jin remembered the first time he had stood before a camera.
It had felt completely different from performing in front of his classmates or his teacher.
The blinding lights, the camera lenses staring at him from every direction, and the countless staff members…
One mistake and the entire project would collapse.
He still remembered how tightly he had tensed, to the point of almost swearing.
Most people improved with experience, but countless others never overcame stage fright and eventually disappeared from the industry.
‘Am I just used to cameras now?’
He wondered to himself, yet still felt strangely uneasy.
Actors who had come from singing careers were common, and almost all of them had faced the same ordeal.
—Sorry, sorry.
Even less than two years of short activity after ten years away from the entertainment world.
Yet here he was, acting completely confident.
“Uh… yeah. Right, hyung. That’s exactly it.”
“Okay. Got it. Hmm… ‘The bright smile of a seventeen-year-old idol.’ I get the idea… but will it even work?”
Muttering to himself, Namhun checked his reflection in the mirror one more time.
He had figured out what his supernatural stats meant to some degree.
‘Comprehension and proficiency will rise with more takes. They’re not bad right now.’
Comprehension at 60, proficiency at 50.
Immersion was only 20, digestibility 30.
Audience reaction, however, was far higher than the others.
‘Visually it looks plausible, but I know I’m nothing like I was back then.’
Namhun looked around at the people standing in the audience for the illusion.
Only one person at the scene—the one who had known Elixer’s appearance the best besides himself.
“Hyung, do you think something was missing?”
Won-hyeong’s answer was exactly what Namhun had expected.
“Everything felt lacking? The whole thing felt awkward.”
Namhun agreed.
He found it strange to be acting as Elixer.
And if he wanted to overcome that in such a short time, there was only one way.
Make the mirror version of himself look a little more like Elixer.
“Seok-ho hyung, the makeup artist who did my makeup is also a Mubibro staff member, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“Is she in the makeup room?”
“No. She can touch up makeup before filming ends, so she should still be here….”
Kang Seok-ho went to find her, and team leader Heo Jueun answered.
“She stepped out to the restroom for a moment.”
“Ah. Then I’d like her to touch up the makeup a bit. The stage scenes are done now, so maybe we can make her skin tone brighter.”
The biggest difference between seventeen-year-old Jang Namhun and twenty-eight-year-old Jang Namhun was skin tone.
He had covered it as much as possible with makeup, but Namhun could still tell the difference.
“Did you find her?”
When the missing makeup artist returned, Namhun asked her.
“A bit brighter, please?”
“Yes. And shape your eyebrows again.”
The current Elixer had been recreated based on ten-year-old debut footage.
Namhun discussed details with the staff member and filled in every little detail that had been missed because of the low resolution.
He knew Elixer’s face better than anyone.
“What are you doing now?”
“It doesn’t look like touching up makeup will improve the acting….”
While the staff members whispered, Sim Sang-jin shook his head.
‘No, that’s right.’
At this scene, he alone understood Namhun’s intentions completely.
He had realized that Namhun was not fully immersing himself in the role of Elixer.
‘Heighten synchronization with the past self to maximize immersion….’
It was a trick he never would have imagined.
Watching Namhun keep checking the mirror and adjusting his makeup, Sim Sang-jin let out a dry laugh.
‘I forgot. That hyung is an incredible talent.’
The famous runaway incident of the vocal prodigy from Yehyun High School had been well known.
A rebellious teen who had actually lived out his teenage boys’ dreams had won a b-boy world championship and even debuted as a male idol.
‘Thinking about it… that hyung really was talented in everything.’
He had thought it was lucky that acting was the only thing he didn’t seem to have talent for.
But that thought… was about to shatter in an instant.
* * *
Heaving… heaving…
The youngest member of Evil Spirits, Elixer, descended the stage after panting heavily.
“Great work.”
A female staff member offered him a glass filled with ice.
“What is this?”
“It’s the new Topi Belly topnut latte mix coffee. It’s sweet, so you’ll feel more energetic after drinking it.”
“Thank you.”
Seventeen-year-old Elixer smiled brightly.
The female staff member’s face flushed and she quickly looked away.
Elixer drank the Topi Belly in big gulps.
With a fresh, budding expression, he said softly,
“Topi Belly…? This is really good.”
“Cut!”
Together with Kang Seok-ho’s energetic voice, the female staff member snapped back to reality.
“Ah…”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
In front of her now stood twenty-eight-year-old Jang Namhun, who was removing his wig and speaking.
“Ugh. Wearing a wig really makes me sweat to death. Is it because of the lights?”
She looked away again.
Her heart was racing so fast she couldn’t calm down.
* * *
Jang Namhun felt doubtful even after seeing the reactions around him.
Everyone except the female staff member had shown strange expressions.
But a moment later, when he checked the score table, he let out a sigh of relief.
【Performance – The bright smile of a seventeen-year-old idol (Topi Belly commercial)】
【Comprehension – 99】
【Proficiency – 84】
【Immersion – 92】
【Digestibility – 94】
【Condition – 90】
【Audience reaction – 98】
【Total score – 94.9】
94.9 points!
Sufficient to be very satisfied compared to before.
But that was not the end.
【Extra bonus for external effect – +1.5】
【Final score – 96.4】
96.4 points.
The highest score he had received since first seeing the illusion.
Honestly, he had felt that his acting was immature enough to receive only 84 in proficiency.
Yet he had received such a high score.
‘I was right all along.’
If he used his ability well, he thought, he could hide any weakness behind a strength.
As long as the total score was high enough, it did not matter.
‘Small details can be lower.’
The entertainment industry did not rank by skill.
It was decided by charm.
Anyway, this was a problem that could not be overcome in the short term.
‘Still, what exactly is this external effect?’
Curious, he saw the illusion again.
【External effect – The bright smile of a seventeen-year-old idol】
【Makeup – 92】
【Costume – 90】
【Stage – 89】
【Concept – 95】
【Total score – 91.5】
‘Ah. Yeah. Performances are not done bare.
The current score was the result of putting in a lot of effort for preparation.’
In fact, while researching the illusion, he had wondered if there might be something like this.
Rehearsal and live performance were different even if the song was the same.
He had even wondered if there might be an extra points system for such a difference.
And it was exactly that.
Watching the changed gazes, Namhun felt a surge of confidence.
With this ability, he was certain he could overcome any crisis.
‘I must not become too dependent on the ability, however.’
Even if you know a problem, you need enough ability to fix it.
* * *
The first one to speak was Kim, the team leader of Belly Coffee.
“This… looks like it’s going to be a hit. Is my thinking too over the top?”
Kang Seok-ho shook his head at Kim’s words.
Unlike the instructions he had given, the recent shoot had added Namhun’s requests.
Thanks to that, it felt as if Elixer had appeared at this scene after ten years.
“No. What you just did was really good. It’s enough to use as a TV commercial as-is.”
“I agree. Could we receive the video as a file? I want to send it to the team leader too.”
“Yes. We can extract it now?”
“Yes.”
While the staff member adjusted the camera, Kim walked over to Namhun and praised him.
“Expressing the idea of dissolving the coffee mix with ice is also a good concept.”
“Ah, thank you. Because there are a lot of iced-coffee drinkers in our country. It was a good ad because it dissolves well in cold water.”
Watching Namhun being praised and the coffee being promoted, Kang Seok-ho smiled inside.
‘Look at this kid.’
Both the director and the advertiser had been satisfied with Namhun’s acting, but the other staff members were buzzing with excitement.
“Sang-jin, what did you do to make it look like a different person appeared out of nowhere?”
Heo Jueun poked him in the side and asked.
Sim Sang-jin shrugged.
“…I didn’t do anything special?”
“Come on, modesty. You must have done something, so the person changed in an instant.”
It was not modesty.
While thinking hard, Namhun suddenly seemed to realize something and asked a few details.
—What walking path would be best?
—To bring out the emotion, how about naturally exchanging a few lines of dialogue with the staff?
—Is this angle for looking at the camera enough when drinking? Should the head be lifted this high?
—Doesn’t the smiling expression look awkward?
Sim Sang-jin, who had been about to direct, had nothing to say to Namhun’s questions.
“Anyway, it’s clearly a very good take. The cuteness even makes you want to hug it. In reality, he’s much bigger than me.”
At Heo Jueun’s words, co-founder Jo Won-hyeong, who had been watching, flinched.
Other female staff members echoed her.
“Exactly. It makes me want to protect him, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, yes. This is going to be a huge hit. It looks like it could make every ordinary idol look bad.”
“It was better to use Namhun-ssi instead of Satoshi. How did a twenty-eight-year-old even pull off that vibe?”
“I saw his abs when he changed clothes. They looked like a washboard.”
“Oh my, really?”
“I wasn’t trying to look. It just happened.”
“Shh, here comes Namhun-ssi.”
Namhun, who was walking over, took Sim Sang-jin’s hand and smiled brightly.
“Sang-jin. It turned out well after you just did what I told you to.”
At those words, everyone looked at Sang-jin.
What? You said you did nothing a minute ago.
“Huh? What did I do?”
“What didn’t you do? You planned the walking path, taught him how to pose, showed him camera angles, and taught him everything from start to finish.”
The staff members’ gazes toward Sang-jin changed at Namhun’s words.
Until now he had been a pitiful unknown actor, but now they were looking at him with the eyes of a genius actor who had created the entire situation.
“I heard the director and the advertiser talking and it seemed like it would pass, but how did my acting teacher feel about it? He’s my acting teacher.”
At the words ‘acting teacher,’ Sim Sang-jin’s heart fluttered.
In school days, Jang Namhun—Namhun—had been an incredible senior that he could never have looked up to.
Yet here that same senior was praising the pathetic unknown actor in front of so many people.
It felt as if he was reading his true feelings. The heart fluttered.
“…It was good. Perfect.”
At that, Namhun bowed slightly.
“Teacher. Please take care of me again next time.”
“Ah, yes… yes.”
Facing that back, Sim Sang-jin bowed awkwardly.
The strange sight made the people around him burst out laughing.