Aura of a Genius Actor

It moves.

Beads of sweat roll down from her forehead as she performs a difficult balancing movement.

When someone moves with the effort of physical exertion, energy naturally surges through them. Yet her presence is so faint that Yu Myeong feels a lump rise in his throat.

Perhaps misunderstanding his expression, Kyler speaks as if trying to explain himself.

"Is she too ordinary compared to your expectations?"

"What? Ah... no, it's not that..."

"She is certainly ordinary. Or rather, I should say she is the type of actress whose presence as a performer is extremely weak."

Kyler's words cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"When she acts alone, you might only think she looks somewhat ordinary. But it becomes even more obvious when you put another actor beside her. Especially if you place her in a two shot with an actor whose presence is as strong as yours, the audience will almost feel like she's just part of the background."

Background.

Something he had experienced until he was sick of it.

Without realizing it, strength gathers in Yu Myeong's clenched fists.

"But... I think she is special. I discovered her, and I wanted to make a film with her as the lead actress no matter what."

"...Why?"

He could not help but ask.

Because it sounded almost like Kyler was talking about him.

"Because her presence is weak, there probably haven't been many directors who paid attention to her. But... if you quietly focus on her and keep watching only her... you can feel that Erhi has considerable skill. And that she truly loves acting."

"......"

"When someone with a quiet voice speaks, they tend to get drowned out, right? But when you lean in and listen carefully because you want to hear them, there are moments when you become surprised by how beautiful that person's voice actually is, and how precious the things they say are.

Erhi gave me that kind of inspiration. It's a value that's difficult to notice at first glance, but I wanted to capture it completely through directing and camera work."

"But... can you make the acting of an actress with such a weak presence come across as appealing?"

At those words, Yu Myeong unconsciously argues back.

No, perhaps he had said it because he wanted Kyler to argue back again.

"That's the director's responsibility."

And his answer was clear.

Yu Myeong turned his gaze away from Kyler and looked at Erhi.

He felt something strange.

The pity of someone who understood the difficulties she was facing, and at the same time, the almost vicarious relief of knowing there was a director who had still taken an interest in her.

"When I heard your story in the interview, I strongly thought of Erhi.

Actually, there are many parts of your story that don't match with the actor Shin Yu Myeong I know, but that doesn't matter. I don't doubt the truth of a story I saw and heard with my own eyes and ears, a story that felt true to me."

Just as Yu Myeong had doubted Kyler, Kyler must have had doubts about him as well.

But regardless of whether the story itself made sense, Kyler said he would look at the Yu Myeong standing before him.

"And when I tried matching Erhi and Shin Yu Myeong together, the images that had been floating in my head began assembling themselves into a screenplay."

After that, a story that could embrace both Yu Myeong and Erhi came to mind.

"That's why I wanted to ask for your understanding. Casting may be the director's authority, but this film was, undeniably, promised to the winner of the Casting Vote."

"...What?"

"I am thinking of Erhi as the female lead and the second lead. She might even become a co-lead."

Kyler spoke carefully, but—

"Yes. I like it."

Yu Myeong gave his answer without hesitation.

He still didn't know this director well.

But perhaps that no longer mattered.

Erhi, who resembled his former self, and himself in this life. Kyler was someone who wanted to do everything within his power as a director, to capture both of them on screen in the form most suited to them.

"Please give me a good screenplay."

Yu Myeong smiled brightly.

 Was I like that too?

On the day he returned after meeting Erhi, Yu Myeong asked Miho.

His former self, whose presence had been so weak that people walking down the street sometimes failed to notice him at all.

By looking at Erhi, Yu Myeong was able to indirectly experience how he had appeared to others.

It was a strangely unfamiliar feeling.

{Don't even get me started. You were waaay worse.}

Really...?

{That person does have exceptionally low vitality, but she's not at the point where it's completely impossible to sense. From what I can tell, she's around the high thirties. You can occasionally see people like that among ordinary humans. Especially if you go to an intensive care unit, there are quite a few...}

Hmm...

{People who choose acting as their profession generally tend to have high vitality, so in that sense, she is a fairly rare case.}

But I... had less than 30?

{You were basically a walking corpse, kyakya.}

To feel the same thing he felt when looking at Erhi, would he have to multiply it by about ten times to reach what he had been like...?

Anyway, I wonder what kind of story it will be.

{I'm curious too. Of all people, why would he pair someone like that with you and make a movie...}

RRR—

While he was talking with Miho for a long time, the phone rang.

Although they had exchanged numbers, he had never expected this person to call him directly.

The name of the caller flashed on the external screen of the flip phone.

"Hello. Derek?"

"Are you enjoying becoming a star to your heart's content?"

"I'm just staying at the hotel. During the day, if there's nothing else going on, I'm at the rehearsal room."

A hollow laugh comes through the receiver.

"You really are consistent. Even when you won, you were that calm.

Don't you have any human side where you want to show off how successful you are, or enjoy people looking at you in amazement when you go somewhere?"

Yu Myeong did know the pleasure of being acknowledged and receiving attention.

He simply knew that the pleasure of acting, and of making people feel the same emotions through that acting, was far greater.

And... if time was limited, then it was only natural to spend that time on the thing he wanted to do most.

"Are you busy tomorrow evening?"

"I don't have anything scheduled."

"That agency of yours is really strange. You should be drowning in interviews and advertisements... Anyway, if you don't have work, come with me tomorrow."

"Where?"

"There is a gathering of male actors."

At Derek's suggestion, Yu Myeong's face brightened slightly.

If they were actors close to Derek...

They certainly wouldn't be ordinary people.

Maybe there would even be an actor he had admired among them...?

"Who will be there?"

"People close to me are Mark Gibraltar, Paulo Bezel, Tristan Dupont..."

"Wow... that's incredible. Tristan is Tristan Dupont, the one who made Sea of Madness, right? And Paulo is the Paulo from Cantata and Misaligned Time?"

Seeing Yu Myeong become genuinely excited, Derek let out a baffled sigh.

"What are you so happy about?"

"They're all actors I like."

"Right now, they probably want to meet Shin Yu Myeong even more. And... I'm more famous."

"...??"

"The actor who personally made Derek McCurdy feel admiration and even dragged him onto the stage. Don't act like meeting a few ordinary Hollywood faces is something worth getting excited about."

His confidence was incredible no matter how many times Yu Myeong saw it.

The next day, Yu Myeong headed to the location Derek had told him about.

 A modern rooftop bar overlooking Santa Monica Beach.

For the mere twenty or so people gathering there today, the enormous space had been completely emptied.

dum— dum—

At the entrance, a suited man who appeared to be security stopped Yu Myeong. He explained that entry was only allowed when accompanied by an existing member.

Yu Myeong sent Derek a message, and Derek soon appeared beyond the door.

"He's my guest."

"Yes. Sorry. We've confirmed it, so you may enter."

And inside that space, Yu Myeong saw stars.

It felt as if the brightest stars in Los Angeles had all gathered in one place.

"He's here?"

A man called out loudly to Derek, and the stars all turned their heads toward Yu Myeong at once.

Besides Mark Gibraltar, Paulo Bezel, and Tristan Dupont, whom Derek had already mentioned—

Edmond Baker, Oliver Dame, Dennis Mikaela, Brandon Cassel...

And...

No way... Owen Whitfield...

He was the actor Yu Myeong admired the most.

If it was purely about acting ability, one could say Derek surpassed him...

But that actor possessed an incredible presence. Among all these people, he stood out more than anyone else.

Perhaps that was why his former self had admired Owen.

An actor who stood at the exact opposite end of the spectrum from himself, like someone yearning for an ideal he could never possess.

Of all places, Yu Myeong's seat was right beside him.

When Yu Myeong sat down, Owen greeted him warmly as if they already knew each other.

"I'm Owen Whitfield. I watched Casting Vote."

"Hello. I'm Shin Yu Myeong. I'm a fan."

"I'm the fan here. Did you know I even voted for you by text? Haha. I was so moved that I found myself pressing the button without even realizing it."

The man smiled with his eyes and showed his goodwill.

A person whose overflowing charm combined with natural presence, pulling people toward him like gravity.

At that moment, Derek clapped his hands sharply to gather everyone's attention.

"Everyone, quiet. Let's listen to the chairman."

"Shh—"

Derek was the chairman.

Yu Myeong did not know it yet, but the leader of this gathering was chosen every year at the end of the year through votes from the members. And the standard for those votes was not personality or relationships that suited a leader.

Nor was it simply choosing the actor with the biggest box office success.

An actor who was good at acting. The actor whose abilities the members respected the most.

The chairman of this group was a position of honor.

"Thank you, Oliver. Thank you, Brandon. Today, the winner everyone has been talking about from Casting Vote has joined our gathering. Some members even asked me before. They were curious about that actor and wondered if he had any plans to attend."

Whistle—

Someone whistled and chimed in.

"I asked that too."

"Let me introduce him. This is actor Shin Yu Myeong. As everyone knows, he is an actor I recognize. I hope this becomes a time where everyone can show each other proper respect and get to know one another. Yu Myeong, say hello."

"Hello. I'm Shin Yu Myeong. It's an honor to be here with my seniors in the film industry. I look forward to getting along with everyone."

Applause erupted.

Twenty pairs of eyes looked at him.

It was obvious what qualified someone to belong to this group.

Actors at the very top, so unquestionably accomplished that no one could object.

The gazes directed at him varied.

The curiosity of people fascinated by the new face everyone had recently been talking about.

The uncertain looks of those who had heard his name but had never watched his work.

The mixture of goodwill and caution shown when encountering an actor with considerable skill.

But one thing was certain.

Not one of them looked up to him.

At most, they saw him as a hot new talent.

If they were being generous, perhaps they considered him an equal.

I'm still... far away.

Casting Vote had become a much bigger sensation than expected.

That was why the people around him treated him as if he had achieved the greatest honor possible, making a fuss and praising him.

But after stepping just one foot outside that world, he realized—

That place had only been the starting line.

Several people around him had asked Yu Myeong.

He had become the greatest star. He had created an unprecedented mark as a Korean actor in Hollywood. Wasn't he happy?

They knew he was calm by nature, but surely he didn't have to remain so indifferent even at a time like this.

But they were wrong.

The true league existed here.

For these actors, winning an audition was probably the amateur league.

Even if a rookie was treated like a monster in the amateur league, they would not acknowledge him until he achieved results in the professional league.

Only after the next film he made with Kyler became a true success would he barely be treated by them as an actor standing on the same level.

And... only after displaying overwhelming ability in the professional league would he receive the same respectful, admiring gazes they gave Derek.

So that's why... winning didn't excite me that much...

A title without conditions.

The best actor.

Not the best among newcomers.

Not the best among Asians.

Not the best for someone who came from outside the industry.

If I received that kind of recognition... it might make me just as happy as the pleasure I feel when I act.

That day, Yu Myeong placed one new goal in his heart.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!