Aura of a Genius Actor

[An acting survival show unlike anything before: Casting Boat!!]

As he watched the broadcast begin, Yu Seok found himself thinking back over the past month.

As trailers for Casting Boat had been released in stages, public interest had steadily intensified.

The bait was obvious: a leading role in a Hollywood film for the winner.

The fact that it was the next project of the renowned director Kylian Shaw drew immediate attention, and television critics responded positively to the requirement that applicants be professional actors with existing careers rather than ordinary amateurs.

Public excitement began boiling over when the Natalie Kassen reveal dropped two weeks before the premiere.

Then, one week before broadcast, the trailer featuring Derek McCurdy was released, and interest reached a fever pitch.

Watching the public frenzy build, Yu Seok found himself thinking that the entertainment industry worked much the same way in Korea as it did in America.

The show had succeeded in creating anticipation.

Now the content itself had to deliver, or it would become all buildup and no payoff.

And among the content scheduled to air tonight, two pieces were directly under Yu Seok's management.

[Casting Boat Regional Qualifiers in LA (California Region)]

The home of TW headquarters.

The region accounting for the highest percentage of applicants, nearly ten percent of the total.

The city that housed Hollywood, the heart of the American film industry.

And the city where the main competition would eventually take place.

The LA footage would open tonight's qualifier broadcast.

Gulp.

By the time he slowly finished a can of beer, Natalie Kassen had made her glamorous entrance and several contestants had been introduced.

Throwing people into an improvisational acting challenge in such a chaotic environment was delightfully cruel.

Several contestants broke down in tears almost immediately, while Natalie Kassen's serious coaching was presented in an extremely appealing light.

And then the person Yu Seok had been waiting for finally appeared.

"I'll be performing Truman Burbank."

So he chose The Truman Show in the first round.

What kind of performance had he given?

Yu Seok stopped midway through opening another beer and stared at the screen as if he were being pulled into it.

"If you're going to stop me, then just kill me instead!"

At the center of tens of thousands of watching eyes, the desperate cry condemning those very eyes rang out.

The beer can slipped from Yu Seok's hand and clattered to the floor.

This...

For a moment, it felt as though the actors surrounding him were truly performers hired for The Truman Show and Yu Seok himself was merely a viewer watching it unfold.

The performance was so convincing that he found himself feeling guilty toward the man whose entire life had been a script.

It was also a performance that brought Yu Seok a certain revelation.

By the time Yu Myeong's acting ended, Yu Seok had become convinced that this show would launch Shin Yu Myeong onto the world stage.

But...

What's with this editing?

The performance had unquestionably been extraordinary.

He had even seen Natalie Kassen sitting there in stunned silence.

Yet there was almost no commentary afterward.

They didn't even show Yu Myeong's interview.

The program simply flashed a brief "Passed" and moved on.

Why?

While Yu Seok remained lost in thought, the broadcast moved through several other regional qualifiers.

Then it returned to California for the ending.

"Father... let this suffering pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will..."

It was Hyo Jun portraying Jesus of Nazareth.

And the horrified reactions of everyone around him.

[A Once-in-a-Generation Acting Genius Appears? Continued in Episode 2!]

Episode One came to an end.

"You watched the broadcast?"

"Yes. The team watched it together at the rehearsal studio."

Yu Myeong loosened his coat as he answered.

"They even filmed us watching it."

"I see..."

Yu Seok smiled faintly.

"The acting was incredible. It's a shame they didn't spotlight you more, but I think they have a plan. Maybe they're saving a card they don't want to play too early. If someone stands out too much at the beginning, audiences get tired of them by the later episodes."

Yu Myeong nodded without appearing particularly concerned.

Yu Seok studied him for a moment before gesturing toward the seat across from him.

"Want a drink?"

He offered over a can of beer.

Yu Myeong accepted it naturally and cracked it open.

After a few swallows, the tension seemed to leave his body, and he sank lazily into the sofa.

Watching him, Yu Seok debated whether to bring up the thought that had lingered on the tip of his tongue all day.

"Is there... something you want to say?"

Sensing it, Yu Myeong opened the door for him.

"I realized something today while watching your Truman Show performance."

"..."

"I have a secret. If it sounds ridiculous, try not to show it."

"Go ahead."

"You know Taewon, right? I'm actually the son that the younger son of Chairman Taewon fathered outside the family. Which means the chairman of Taewon Group is technically my grandfather."

Having casually tossed out a secret he had never told anyone before, Yu Seok carefully observed Yu Myeong's reaction.

Taewon.

One of the three largest conglomerates in South Korea.

There was no way Yu Myeong wasn't surprised.

Yet he merely nodded calmly.

Yu Seok found himself admiring that composure.

He really was an actor.

"You're seriously not surprised?"

"Who your father is or who your grandfather is doesn't change who you are, Team Leader."

Of course, Yu Myeong already knew.

Back in the early 2010s, when Moon Yu Seok joined forces with the chairman's eldest grandson—his cousin—and forced out his biological father before securing a key position within Taewon, the media had dissected every detail of the story.

Witnesses claimed that the chairman's legal wife had viewed the intelligent Moon Yu Seok as a threat from childhood.

Commentators speculated that her powerful family background had left him at an overwhelming disadvantage.

Yet despite everything, he had prepared patiently for years and successfully executed a bold coup.

The public eventually gave the incident a name.

The Princes' War.

Sometimes Yu Myeong wondered.

If he himself—the hobby that had appeared in Yu Seok's life—had never existed, perhaps Yu Seok would currently be deep in preparations for that coup.

In any case, the Yu Seok of this lifetime devoted considerable effort to supporting him.

And his family background had nothing to do with Yu Myeong.

That was how Yu Myeong viewed it.

But...

"It's not that simple."

Yu Seok began telling a story Yu Myeong had never heard before.

"Yes. You looked completely exhausted from thinking about it."

It had been the first time Yu Myeong had ever seen him so disheveled.

At the time, he had simply assumed Yu Seok desperately wanted to choose the best project possible.

But apparently that wasn't the whole story.

"Both sides started applying pressure around then."

"...?"

"My adoptive mother's side, who are always worried I'll get too ambitious, told me to scale back the business."

Yu Seok laughed bitterly.

"You rose to stardom so quickly. Then Good Enter signed Cha Ha Rin and Seol Su Yeon, and the company's reputation grew significantly. Until then they had tolerated it as a hobby. But now they were starting to question my intentions."

His smile vanished.

"They told me to exercise restraint. And to let Shin Yu Myeong go."

Yu Myeong frowned slightly.

The repeated references to a hobby had always felt strange.

Now he understood why.

A man with enormous talent whose wings had been tied down.

"And then my cousin approached me."

Yu Seok took another drink.

"At first he used Taewon's image campaign as an excuse and said he wanted to use you as a model. But eventually he got to the point."

His eyes hardened.

"He wanted me to become his knife."

"'I don't like the way that side of the family runs things. You seem competent enough. I'll back you, so help me cut them down.'"

What a complicated family.

"I never intended to let you leave the company."

Yu Seok laughed quietly.

"For the first time in my life, things were starting to become fun. I wasn't about to give that up."

"But if I wanted to get you your next project back then, I would have needed my cousin's support. Otherwise my family would've started interfering in earnest."

"And you didn't want to take the hand he offered."

"It was fifty-fifty."

Yu Seok shrugged.

"I wanted to escape my adoptive mother. But if I accepted his help, I'd just end up under my cousin instead. Riding on someone else's authority all over again."

Even if he escaped, it wouldn't truly be through his own strength.

Yu Myeong understood the dilemma.

"Then I received the Casting Boat seed proposal."

His expression softened.

"It was tempting. There would've been controversy in Korea, but it was a chance to promote Shin Yu Myeong to the American market. If you intended to aim for Hollywood, it seemed like a reasonable choice."

He stared into his glass.

"But I kept wondering whether my motives were really that pure."

"...?"

"If you went to America, I could present it as a gesture of surrender to my adoptive mother."

His voice grew quieter.

"A distant overseas market. A path with very little chance of success. I could say, 'I followed your wishes and sent him abroad,' and buy myself time."

Yu Seok smiled bitterly.

"And that bothered me."

"Maybe the reason I liked the option wasn't because it was good for you."

"Maybe it was because I needed it myself."

A man who understood better than anyone that manipulation came naturally to him.

A man who had worried he might be manipulating even the actor he treasured most.

Something inside Yu Myeong shifted as he listened.

"So that's why you left the choice to me."

"Yes."

Yu Seok laughed.

"I figured you'd instinctively make the wisest choice. So I shut my eyes and put the options in front of you."

His laughter became more genuine.

"And then you told me you were actually planning to win."

"..."

"That's when I thought something."

His gaze drifted somewhere far away.

"No matter where I run in Korea, I'll never truly escape Taewon's influence."

A small smile appeared.

"So maybe I should go to America too."

"Maybe if I were with this actor, I could start over completely from the beginning."

The weight of that trust sent a sharp ache through Yu Myeong's chest.

"I watched your Truman performance today."

Yu Seok scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"It's embarrassing to admit, but I almost cried."

He laughed.

"What good is a life that's comfortable and privileged if someone else designed it for you?"

His eyes shone.

"Truman's scream—that if they wouldn't give him a real life, they should just kill him instead—it felt like he was talking about me."

Then came a relaxed smile, as if a burden had been lifted.

"I opened the door of the set and stepped into reality."

"That alone feels worthwhile."

"Even if I never accomplish anything here, I don't think I'll regret rejecting my cousin's offer."

"Because this is real life."

As Yu Myeong listened to what sounded almost like a confession, he offered a quiet objection.

"It's a nice story, but..."

"...?"

"If possible, shouldn't we accomplish something and win anyway?"

Yu Seok blinked.

Then Yu Myeong played his card.

"You're planning to start an agency in America, aren't you?"

"Later, when you return to Korea, you can grow the company so large that your adoptive mother can't interfere."

"So successful that your cousin can't recruit you—you'll be negotiating with him as an equal."

"Then come back after actually succeeding."

The bold confidence hit Yu Seok like a physical blow.

"We're not going to be the only actors you're supporting forever."

Yu Myeong smiled.

"You'll start expanding sooner or later."

"You already have two Asian actors."

"How about a Black actor this time?"

"I happen to know one whose success is practically guaranteed."

Yu Myeong pulled out Kai Nunan's contact information.

Casting Day.

The previous days had been devoted to physical conditioning, evaluating one another's strengths, and analyzing the script.

The actors often clicked their tongues at the intensity of the training Yu Myeong imposed, but none of them complained.

Everyone was ambitious.

Especially Kai.

He repeatedly said it was the first truly systematic rehearsal process he had ever experienced, and even when completely exhausted, he looked delighted.

[Aren't the other teams already assigning roles and rehearsing? Is it really okay to move this slowly?]

[Understanding one another's strengths and styles will help throughout the process. And yes, it's fine.]

Yu Myeong answered calmly.

[The twelve days of rehearsal our team has left won't be inferior to fourteen days from any other team.]

Susan faithfully captured Yu Myeong's frighteningly confident statement on camera.

And today, casting finally began.

[Here's how we'll do it. Everyone applies for the role they want. If more than one person wants the same role, we'll decide based on performance. As for me, I'll take whichever role remains after everyone else has been cast. Any objections?]

[No.]

[Sounds good.]

Although everyone looked slightly guilty toward Yu Myeong, no one could bring themselves to reject the proposal.

[Faith?]

[I want the nobleman role. I think it suits me very well.]

[Jeffrey?]

[Hmm. I think the merchant role would suit me best. I like the nobleman too, but honestly, Faith feels like a better fit.]

The nobleman and merchant.

The two largest roles in the script.

[Kai?]

Kai hesitated under Yu Myeong's gaze before speaking.

[I... want the king.]

[Are you sure that's the role you want? You're not just being considerate of your older teammates and avoiding what you really want?]

[No. I really like the king role.]

He lowered his eyes.

[I just feel a little bad for you, Hyung...]

That left only one role.

The slave.

The smallest role in the script.

A lowly character.

But Yu Myeong smiled.

"No, I like it too."

His smile widened.

"It was actually the role that attracted me most from the beginning."

At that smile, the eyes of the rest of the team began to waver.