Aura of a Genius Actor

At Eva's question, every actor turned toward the same person.

Yu Myeong answered awkwardly,

"Well... we discussed it together—"

"Forget the stock answer! Yu Myeong, it was you, wasn't it?"

He never answered.

But his teammates had already begun nodding.

"How did you arrive at this interpretation? Have you seen this script somewhere before? It was never distributed, but perhaps..."

"No."

"Then how did you grasp the writer's intentions so perfectly from nothing more than this fragment of a script?"

She had just openly admitted that Team 34's interpretation matched the author's original intent.

The contestants in the audience—especially Hyo Jun, standing beneath the stage—visibly flinched.

Yu Myeong began explaining calmly.

He spoke first about the unease he had felt from seeing four seemingly incompatible characters gathered together.

Then he described the subtle oddities in the King's behavior and the Merchant's behavior.

When he pointed out that none of the characters had been given names, every contestant let out a murmur of realization.

Finally, when he explained how his attention had settled on the words four paintings in the very first line of the script—

Everyone inhaled sharply.

"You... actually figured all that out... just by analyzing the script?"

"...Yes."

"Seriously... who are you? Let's see... you're from Korea, right? Just what kind of acting career have you had?"

Yu Myeong chuckled.

It's definitely Writer Yuk.

If they had been speaking Korean instead of English, he might have unconsciously addressed her as "Writer Yuk."

"Honestly, I never imagined anyone would arrive at the interpretation I intended for this section. I thought I'd be lucky if everyone simply performed the script as written. But to realize these were figures inside paintings and prepare a stage like this..."

"We didn't realize it at first, either. Even after figuring it out, we hesitated because it seemed almost impossible to bring to life in such a short amount of time. But we still wanted to try, and I think that was only possible because of how compelling your script was.

I'm also very curious about the story outside this play within a play—why Prince Kishin chose to take his own life in the real Kingdom of Arizade. It feels like that would be an incredibly interesting story."

As Yu Myeong sincerely praised her script, Eva's face flushed bright red.

Her eyes sparkled.

Yu Myeong instinctively took half a step back.

Those eyes...

They're exactly the same eyes Writer Yuk used whenever she tried to pressure me into working on her next project.

"Um... where's your agency? Or at least... your personal contact information? I think... I'd really like to talk to you about scripts. About writing..."

"Eva, pull yourself together. You look like a starving predator who's gone days without eating. What about Derek? Weren't you here to recruit Derek?"

Jerry's remark made the judges burst into laughter.

The contestants, however, found nothing amusing.

One of their competitors had just received a direct recruitment offer from Eva, one of America's most celebrated screenwriters.

Then George Housley took over.

"I wasn't impressed."

"...What?"

"George, are you out of your mind?"

As Eva and Natalie cried out in disbelief, George deliberately let out a long sigh.

"Ah... this is driving me crazy. I should be eliminating him here."

"George... don't tell me you're trying to sabotage him because you don't want Kylie Unshaw getting her hands on him?"

"If I criticize him, people will start questioning my judgment. But if I let him pass without objections, it feels like such a waste. Such a waste. Yu Myeong, have you ever directed before?"

"Not professionally."

"I don't understand it. Even if you uncovered the hidden meaning of the script, the staging itself is extraordinarily difficult for someone with no directing experience. The sequence where each character awakens from stillness only after receiving the King's permission was striking enough. But realizing that, as the night progressed, their stiff movements should gradually become smoother... and then getting every actor to perform that progression consistently—that couldn't have been easy."

Pace and Jeffrey nodded so violently they looked traumatized.

"Yu Myeong, I honestly think you should consider directing someday. You have an exceptional eye for staging and storytelling, but above all, you possess remarkable leadership. You know how to motivate your teammates and carry them with you."

Natalie immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not. As a fellow actor, I want him to keep acting. That perspective and artistic instinct are just as valuable for an actor. Just look at what he accomplished today. Your performances throughout the preliminary rounds were always remarkable, but today's Slave... it was so vividly alive that it sent chills down my spine. It elevated the entire production."

Yu Myeong dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment.

"And Pace, Jeffrey—congratulations. You're both actors I passed during the preliminary rounds. You were good back then, but now your acting has improved beyond comparison. Sometimes meeting the right colleagues becomes the greatest catalyst for an actor's growth.

Just as Derek became that person for me."

Finally, she turned toward Kai.

"Kai. Your performance today... truly moved me. During the second preliminary round, I chose you because I saw raw but brilliant potential. I never imagined it would blossom this quickly. Watching you today, I could clearly see how much you love acting... how desperately you want to become better. That made me happier than I can express."

As the goddess-like Natalie showered him with praise in her beautiful voice, Kai's eyes glistened.

Yu Myeong quietly patted him on the shoulder.

Now only one judge remained.

Derek McCurdy.

He deliberately took his time.

Without paying the slightest attention to everyone's anxious stares, he casually crossed one leg over the other, rested his chin on his hand, and asked Yu Myeong a single question.

"At the end, after the Slave dies, the King realizes something. Why did you add that?"

The King's final awakening had not appeared in the original script.

Yu Myeong had added it himself.

Yet it did not contradict the script's intended direction.

"At the very bottom of the kingdom, a suffering slave finds the courage to speak the truth. I wanted his death to mean something—that his courage wasn't entirely in vain—and to show, even for a brief moment, that a spark of hope still existed within the Kingdom of Arizade.

If this play within a play serves as a metaphor for reality, then I wanted to suggest, however subtly, that this oppression would not continue forever."

Yu Myeong spoke quietly and earnestly.

The moment Eva heard his explanation, inspiration flashed across her face.

She immediately began scribbling furiously across the back pages of her script.

Jerry blinked.

"What are you doing, Eva?"

"How did I not think of that? I need to add a stage direction saying the King's eyes change at the very end."

"You're stealing ideas right here on the spot?"

"Yep. Landed a big one."

Laughter broke out around the room.

Natalie glanced sideways at Derek.

"So?"

"...Now I understand why you couldn't stop yourself from going up on stage."

His straightforward admission made Natalie smile with quiet satisfaction.

"I want to go up there now, too."

"Because you want to act with him?"

"...That can wait. Right now..."

She looked toward the stage.

"...I just want to know what it would be like if I played the role he just performed."

As soon as he finished speaking, Derek looked beyond the cameras.

"Andrew."

"Uh... yes, Derek?"

The executive producer looked startled by the sudden summons.

Derek continued without hesitation.

"I'd like to try the Slave."

"...Of course. Absolutely. By all means."

Following Natalie, Derek also volunteered to step onto the stage.

Did the actor standing on that stage possess some mysterious power that drew other actors toward him?

Andrew welcomed the suggestion with both hands.

Among Team 34, only Yu Myeong stepped off the stage.

Derek took his place.

The remaining teammates instantly fell into panic.

"You don't have to change anything. I'll adapt. Just perform exactly as before."

His relaxed voice steadied them.

Only then did they begin calming down.

"Oh, one more thing."

Derek looked toward the King.

"Please leave out the King's final moment of realization."

With that request, the performance began.

To save time, they skipped the opening scenes and resumed from the section where Pace and Jeffrey rapidly exchanged dialogue.

Fortunately, they had rehearsed this countless times.

Even while their minds were panicking, their bodies remembered.

Kai also regained his composure and performed his part.

Finally, it was the Slave's turn.

Yu Myeong's eyes widened.

"M... may this lowly servant be permitted to speak?"

Watching an actor with such a commanding physique and striking features instantly deflate into a pitiful commoner was impressive enough.

But what truly astonished Yu Myeong...

...was the way he spoke.

His interpretation of the Slave... is different.

"I... believe... His Highness the Prince... took his own life."

His voice emphasized the Slave's own wretchedness, almost inviting pity.

Yet beneath that pitiful exterior...

...a trace of cunning peeked through.

Yu Myeong could not read the Slave's motives.

But he immediately understood Derek's.

Originally, Team 34's production began as satire before transforming into tragedy once the Slave appeared.

Now, however, because even the Slave had become morally compromised, the play abruptly transformed into absurdist theater.

A monarch too ignorant to think.

A noble hiding vulgar ambition beneath dignity.

A merchant shamelessly pursuing nothing but profit.

A slave concealing malice beneath cowardice.

Simply by changing one performance...

...the Kingdom of Arizade became a nation where not a single decent person remained.

Was there a third faction manipulating the Slave? Or perhaps the Slave orchestrated everything himself...

Either way, Derek instantly arrived at an entirely different interpretation... and fit perfectly into a role that had never belonged to him.

It was unbelievable.

Despite performing the role for the very first time, Derek picked up every cue flawlessly, as though he had rehearsed it from the beginning.

More than that...

Whenever the King, Noble, and Merchant spoke, the tiny reactions Derek inserted made the audience feel as though the Slave had become the true protagonist.

Everyone found themselves wondering what scheme he was secretly plotting.

Thrust.

The Merchant stabbed the Slave.

Unlike Yu Myeong's heartbreaking death, which felt worthy of a tragic requiem—

Creaaak...

Derek writhed across the floor...

...like a dying insect.

The King's eyes never changed.

Of course they didn't.

The Slave's death was no martyr's sacrifice.

It was merely the death of another selfish creature chasing personal gain.

There was nothing for the King to awaken to.

So this is why he's called the greatest actor of this era.

Such fearless reinterpretation.

Such overwhelming execution.

For the first time in quite a while, Yu Myeong felt genuine competitive fire rising within him.

Beside him, Miho chimed in.

{That guy... he's incredible. Bet he'd taste pretty good too. Slurp.}

After finishing the performance, Derek looked toward Yu Myeong.

Well?

His expression seemed to ask.

"Watching such an interesting performance made me wonder what it would be like to approach it this way."

"Ha... that's Derek McCurdy for you."

"Team 34's interpretation is actually the one the writer originally intended. I simply happen to enjoy heretical reinterpretations."

Then Derek continued.

"Team 34's performance greatly stimulated my imagination as a fellow actor. Honestly, I expected to see some decent acting during the auditions, but I never imagined I'd witness an outstanding piece of theater. I was genuinely impressed."

No one was more surprised by those words than Natalie.

He's... praising another actor so openly?

She had always believed Derek McCurdy to be someone overflowing with confidence.

Someone who always possessed the answer.

Yu Myeong had given her a similar feeling.

Yet she had expected Derek to identify at least one flaw.

Instead, his unreserved admiration made her look at Yu Myeong all over again.

What astonished her even more...

...was that Derek's performance had not diminished Yu Myeong's in the slightest.

Each performance possessed its own value.

Each carried equal artistic weight.

Natalie already held Yu Myeong in extraordinarily high regard.

But for the first time...

She wondered whether even that evaluation might still be too low.

Andrew leaned toward Susan and whispered,

"Don't you think we can't afford to delay pushing Yu Myeong anymore?"

"I agree, Producer. I wanted to save it for later, but after this... we have to."

"Exactly. And if we're going to do it, we should do it properly."

"Natalie and Derek were both drawn onto the stage by his performance. That's going to become huge. What if we build the concept around this—"

She smiled.

"'A real actor summons real actors onto the stage.'"

"An actor who summons actors..."

Andrew nodded.

"I like it."

At that moment, the focus of Casting Boat quietly shifted.