Aura of a Genius Actor

"Phew... Why's it so hot in here? Want to go outside and grab a beer?"

Changing the subject, Yu Myeong casually led Kai out of the rehearsal room.

Since Casting Vote was a reality show, cameras had been installed throughout both the practice rooms and the dormitories. He had no idea what Kai wanted to say, but if it was something important, there was no reason to leave it on camera.

Only after following Yu Myeong's gaze did Kai notice the camera, and he obediently came along.

"What did you mean back there?"

"My parents ran a traveling troupe."

Yu Myeong tilted his head.

A traveling troupe...

Like a circus?

Did places like that still exist?

"You're Korean, so I guess you wouldn't know. We'd load all kinds of attractions onto a big truck and travel from one small town to another, holding carnivals. There'd be rides, performers..."

A local carnival that stayed in rural towns for a few days—places where there wasn't much entertainment to begin with.

Kai explained that his parents ran one of the few traveling troupes that still remained.

Growing up, he'd sometimes help attract customers, and he'd learned acrobatics from the performers.

...So that's why.

He'd always seemed awkward at acting, yet strangely comfortable with holding people's attention.

His astonishing ability to master Derek's advanced balance exercises in a single day despite being a beginner.

And today's incredible performance during the stunt class.

All the scattered pieces of Kai's past suddenly fit together.

"So it really was that kind of place? Elephants, tightrope walking, acrobats..."

Kai laughed.

"Elephants? Haha... nothing that grand. The big troupes either shut down years ago or became part of huge Las Vegas-style productions. Ours was just a tiny troupe that was always struggling to stay {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} afloat."

"There were... a few acrobats."

"And a clown."

It was such an unusual background that it should have become a hot topic.

Yet even after Kai Nunen had become famous in his previous life, Yu Myeong had never once heard about it.

His agency must have deliberately buried that part of his past.

"Please don't misunderstand. My parents never forced me to perform while I was still a kid. At first I just thought acrobatics looked fun, so one of the older acrobats taught me a few tricks."

"But later... when the troupe started struggling financially and people began leaving..."

"I volunteered to help because I didn't want my parents carrying everything themselves."

Kai hesitated before quietly adding,

"And... once I got a little older..."

"I realized why my skin color was different from my parents'."

"My adoptive parents are wonderful people..."

"But when I was little..."

"I sometimes worried whether I had to earn my keep."

Yu Myeong stiffened.

Kai smiled awkwardly.

"They told me they found me one morning."

"Someone had left me in front of the troupe's truck..."

"Along with a note saying they couldn't afford to raise me."

The final piece of the puzzle quietly clicked into place.

 "Um... don't feel like you have to say anything."

"I just thought... I could tell you."

"I don't think I had an especially unhappy childhood."

"I was lucky enough to meet wonderful parents."

"And honestly..."

"I loved growing up with the troupe."

There wasn't an ounce of forced bravado in his voice.

Only sincere gratitude.

Many people would have seen his past as nothing but tragedy.

Kai looked back on it and saw himself as fortunate.

He's a good kid.

Yu Myeong felt something warm settle in his chest.

"And I really loved acrobatics."

"You saw today, right?"

"I'm naturally good at using my body."

"...Yeah."

"Then, a few years ago..."

"A film studio contacted us."

The night breeze drifted gently through the garden as they sat together on a bench.

"It was a movie set in a traveling troupe."

"Those kinds of troupes are so rare now that they eventually contacted ours."

"So I spent a few weeks filming with real actors and a real director."

To a child who had lived inside a tiny traveling circus...

An entirely different world had suddenly appeared.

State-of-the-art film equipment.

Beautiful actresses.

The admiring gazes of everyone watching the set.

And then—

The moment the director called "Action."

The breathtaking sight of actors becoming completely different people.

"That's when I realized..."

"What I really wanted..."

"Wasn't acrobatics."

"It was acting."

His adoptive parents had been furious.

By then, Kai had already been treated as a full member of the troupe.

We raised you, fed you, and now you're abandoning us when the troupe needs you most?

Kai tried very carefully not to criticize them.

Even so, Yu Myeong could easily tell how fiercely they must have opposed his decision.

"I told them..."

"That they might be upset now..."

"But one day I'd become successful enough to let everyone in the troupe live without worrying about money."

"I was just a kid."

"I made those grand promises before leaving."

Then came the first city where he settled permanently.

Rent—a concept he'd never dealt with while constantly traveling—was far too expensive to cover with part-time jobs.

He couldn't afford acting classes.

So he clung to his dream through occasional work as an extra.

"Then Casting Vote announced auditions."

"I never imagined I'd win."

"I just wanted a chance to meet real actors."

"To learn even a little about acting during the competition."

"So I applied."

"But who would've thought I'd make it to the finals..."

"...or even sign with an agency?"

Kai had signed with Yu Seok immediately before entering the Actors House.

Looking at how happy he was simply because of that...

Yu Myeong wanted to tell him the truth.

One day, he'd become such a great actor that supporting everyone in that traveling troupe would be effortless.

He wanted to pat the boy's thin back.

"But..."

"After hearing what Derek said today..."

"I've been worried."

"Worried?"

"Yeah..."

"I guess doing acrobatics since I was little has become part of me."

"I keep wondering..."

"What if I can never fix it?"

"What if that means I'll never become an actor?"

"So..."

"I just couldn't stop panicking."

So that's why you've looked so down all day.

Kai still knew very little about acting.

Yet because he cared about it so deeply...

He was tormenting himself over something he didn't need to fear.

"It's a strength."

"...A strength?"

"Yeah."

"If a soccer player learned martial arts, what do you think would happen?"

"Uh..."

"Aren't those completely different sports?"

"They are."

"But their athletic instincts, body control, and competitive drive wouldn't disappear, would they?"

"They'd still have a huge advantage over someone with no athletic background."

"...That's true."

Kai slowly nodded.

"Acrobatics and action acting aren't the same thing."

"But both involve using your body."

"Once you learn the specific techniques that action acting requires..."

"Your physical ability will become one of your greatest weapons."

Yu Myeong was certain.

In Missing Child, Kai Nunen had delivered action performances so spectacular that critics said the television drama rivaled feature films.

Without relying on stunt doubles.

More stylish.

More dazzling.

Than almost anyone else.

"...You really think so?"

"I do."

"I'll show you a few key tricks."

Yu Myeong lightly slapped Kai's back in encouragement before heading toward the rehearsal room.

Kai quietly watched him walk away.

That broad back always seemed to carry the right answer.

Strong.

Reliable.

For the first time in his life...

He had found someone whose footsteps he wanted to follow.

I'm really lucky.

I met you, Hyung.

Carried away by the evening breeze, the words remained only inside his heart.

Once again...

The anxiety that had weighed on him all day simply melted away after talking with Yu Myeong.

"Wait for me, Hyung."

Kai took his first step after him.

 Eva Dobransky had been incredibly busy lately.

Some mysterious person in Korea known only as Six seemed to possess a golden pipeline, constantly bringing water to someone dying of thirst.

Bohyeong...!!

At this rate, I'll die just calling your name...

Especially after seeing the brief glimpse of Yu Myeong's devastating charm—

When she'd encountered him again in a television drama...

For the first time in her life, she found herself resenting the mountain of manuscripts waiting to be written.

Six: Eva. Today... hehe. I'm going to show you something amazing.

Evar: Unni! What is it this time?!

Six was two years older than Eva.

Having learned that Korean women addressed older women as Unni, Eva had begun calling her that.

Somehow, every time she used the title, Six seemed especially pleased—and became even more generous with her treasure trove of materials.

Six: Do you remember the historical drama Rival from Entertainment Studies?

Evar: Oh, the one with Prince Eunseong and Wolgong! The story was so addictive. But Bohyeong wasn't in that one...

Six: Prepare yourself.

The second male lead became ill during filming and had to leave temporarily.

I happen to have the recording where Yu Myeong stepped in as his stand-in.

Evar: Oh... Unni! How on earth do you even have something like that?!

Six: Heh...

After practically bowing toward her computer screen, Eva downloaded the file with almost religious reverence.

Her heart pounded.

She was just about to press Play—

RRRRR—

"Oh, come on! Who is it?!"

She irritably checked her phone.

It was a call she couldn't ignore.

Dennis Milton.

The producer of Casting Vote.

"Dennis, what?"

"Uh... you sound busy. Is something going on?"

"It is."

"Unless the station's on fire, how about we talk later?"

Dennis chuckled.

Knowing her personality, if it had truly been an emergency she simply wouldn't have answered.

She was obviously absorbed in another world.

Fortunately...

He happened to possess the one weapon capable of dragging her back.

"It's about Derek and Yu Myeong."

"What?!"

"What's going on with those two?!"

Her tone changed instantly.

"I think Derek seriously wants to act with Yu Myeong."

"He brought him into his class."

"Can't they just do it there?"

"...Ugh."

"Thinking about how he got stolen from me still makes me angry."

"He wants us to build an official stage for it."

"During the finals."

Eva's ears practically stood upright.

"A stage..."

"...where those two face each other?"

"Technically, Derek and Natalie would each create a scene with whichever contestants advance."

"...Seriously?"

"They agreed to that?"

"I know."

"From our perspective, we've hit the jackpot."

"But honestly..."

"I almost feel guilty getting performances from the two highest-paid actors in America for free."

Derek and Natalie had signed contracts as judges on Casting Vote.

Their appearance fees were certainly enormous.

Even so, considering their status, it wasn't enough money alone to persuade them to appear on a reality show.

Eva had assumed there must have been some additional condition beyond payment.

But now...

They were even offering to perform.

Acting required preparation.

Rehearsal.

For Derek and Natalie to invest their own acting—their greatest professional asset—along with rehearsal time into Casting Vote...

That was an unbelievable gift.

And they'd offered it themselves.

It's all because of Yu Myeong.

Bohyeong!

Just what kind of storm was this actor preparing to unleash upon Hollywood?

"So..."

"Would you be willing to write the script?"

Normally she would have exploded.

Trying to make me work for free?

But she was just as caught up in the coming storm.

"A script..."

"For Derek and Yu Myeong?"

"Of course I'll write it!"

"I'll postpone everything else."

"I'm starting that immediately."

The agreement came far too easily.

Eva's mind was already spinning at full speed.

 By the time Casting Vote reached Episode 6...

Public opinion in Korea still overwhelmingly favored Do Hyo Jun over Yu Myeong.

Yu Myeong's standout performances during both preliminary rounds had never been properly highlighted.

Even during the doll exercise, the broadcast had edited out the moment Natalie herself climbed onto the stage.

Some viewers suspected TW was deliberately controlling the pacing to save the biggest reveal for later.

But those voices were routinely mocked as nothing more than nationalistic wishful thinking.

Then...

Episode 7 finally aired.

Click.

Yoon Sun Hee, a Korean student studying in the United States, turned on the TW Channel.

As a member of the God Named fan community, she already had the livestream open while chatting with everyone online.

[Me] It's starting! It's finally starting!

I'm so nervous!!

TaejongLover, thank you so much for streaming this live!!

[Me] No problem!

I'm having fun too.

As soon as the recording's available, I'll subtitle it as fast as I can.

She was the community's biggest contributor, always translating Casting Vote faster than anyone else.

[Me] Wait, I thought they'd go straight from the preliminaries to the finals.

There's another qualifying mission?!

Oh no—group projects!

What?!

Group projects?!?!

An American audition show doing group projects...

Is this some kind of homage to the hellscape of Korean universities...?

[Me] Oh?

Looks like whoever received the highest score on each day of the second preliminary round becomes the team leader.

What the—

Forced group leader?!

That's the worst.

They're making strangers form teams and perform together?

The politics are going to be brutal.

Then Sun Hee noticed something strange.

[Me] Wait...

Yu Myeong...

I think he's a team leader too.

What???

Seriously?!

Does that mean he ranked first in his second preliminary group?

That can't be right.

If he'd done that well, the show would've highlighted it.

We've never seen anything like that.

The chat erupted into confusion.

Sun Hee herself kept looking back and forth between the screen and the messages.

TaejongLover, are you sure you didn't misread it?

Maybe you're just hoping Yu Myeong did well...ㅠㅠ

[Me] No!

I'm serious!

It was definitely there...

Still shaken, Sun Hee watched the preview for Episode 8 that played after the credits.

She gasped.

"What on earth happened?"

"Who..."

"...interpreted the script like this?"

"You, wasn't it?"

"I didn't like it."

"Are you out of your mind?"

The judges' voices came one after another, growing increasingly urgent.

Then—

The camera zoomed in on a face Sun Hee knew all too well.

That humble...

Yet confident bearing.

And then—

"I'd like to try it myself."

Derek McCurdy rose from the judges' table.

[Me] Wh-What...

What's happening...?

What?!

What happened?!

The preview?!

Show us the preview!!

[A contestant has brought Derek McCurdy onto the stage? Who is this mysterious actor? Find out next episode...]

Reading the final caption splashed across the screen...

Sun Hee became certain.

Next week...

Something enormous was about to happen.

"Hic—"

A startled hiccup escaped her lips.

Her hands trembling, she began typing furiously once again.

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