WeTried Translations
Translator: uglyidol
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became a Top Star by Only Playing Villains ◈
Chapter 3: A Feeling I Could Get Addicted To
──────
'Oh, now I remember.'
Kim Seonmi, the writer of <The Last Clue>, finally remembered who Lee Hansol was.
She had met him two years ago while writing <Sweet & Scary Bakery>.
It had been raining heavily that day.
She had an important printed script in her arms and was wondering what to do about the rain.
"Here, take my umbrella."
Lee Hansol had gladly handed her his umbrella and run off into the rain.
There had been something so kind about the sight of him running off.
'He helped me out, and I forgot all about him...'
An unlucky actor whose lack of presence made him easy to overlook.
But also an actor who was surprisingly skilled and genuinely kind.
That was the Lee Hansol Kim Seonmi finally remembered.
But now...
「But this fucking bitch already knows everything, and she's been playing me?」
The Lee Hansol she knew was gone.
She trembled all over.
A born writer, Kim Seonmi could put a name to the emotion pouring out of Lee Hansol.
Killing intent (殺意).
The emotion that appeared when one human being truly intended to kill another.
Lee Hansol genuinely intended to kill Kim Seonmi.
No, this wasn't Lee Hansol.
It was Kim Minu.
The serial killer she had imagined and brought to life through her writing was standing right before her.
Her instincts screamed at her to run from the monster in front of her, but Kim Seonmi shook her head.
'W-wait... This is acting.'
Of course it was acting.
The man before her wasn't a real serial killer. He was just an actor, and this was an audition.
'I-I have to read the next line...'
The script wasn't over yet.
She had to read the next line to keep the audition going.
Kim Seonmi gripped the script with trembling hands.
「...It was you after all.」
In <The Last Clue>, the detective's younger sibling was among the serial killer Kim Minu's victims.
To fit the scene, Kim Seonmi read her lines sharply, putting as much anger into them as she could.
「...It was you. How dare you do that to my younger sibling...」
「Your sibling? Oh, seeing your face jogged my memory. The one who wouldn't shut the fuck up, crying and screaming.」
The script given to the audition participants didn't explain how the detective's younger sibling had died.
Yet Lee Hansol wore an expression of pure delight, as though reliving the memory of that murder.
Disgust and madness radiated from him.
「So what? Was it wrong to kill one noisy little brat?」
And all those ugly emotions were aimed straight at Kim Seonmi.
「Don't feel left out. I'll kill you too, you stupid bitch.」
"...!"
Whoosh.
Feeling that intense killing intent again, Kim Seonmi pushed her chair back without realizing it.
This no longer felt like acting.
All that remained was an instinctive terror telling her to flee.
'I-I have to run...'
Cold sweat ran down her back, and her face went deathly pale.
And then...
With quick, long strides, the serial killer Kim Minu approached her.
He pulled something from his pocket, looking ready to stab her in the stomach at any moment.
'N-no...!'
An icy chill swept over Kim Seonmi as though death were right before her. She couldn't help screaming.
But...
"Aaaah!! D-don't come any closer...! Don't...!"
"...Are you all right, Ms. Kim?"
Rustle.
What the serial killer before her pulled from his pocket wasn't a weapon like a knife or a hammer.
It was a handkerchief.
"...A-a handkerchief?"
"Oh... You were sweating so much."
"......"
Only then did Kim Seonmi lift her head and meet the eyes of the man before her.
Standing there wasn't the serial killer Kim Minu, but the actor Lee Hansol she knew.
"...Oh."
"You look really pale. Oh... This is all because of me..."
He bowed.
Looking deeply apologetic, Lee Hansol bowed to each member of <The Last Clue>'s production team.
In truth, Kim Seonmi wasn't the only one shaken by his performance.
Director Park Yeong-won and the other production staff were pale, their lips trembling.
Some were even twitching as though ready to leap from their seats and flee.
That was how completely Lee Hansol's acting had drawn them into the scene.
"I-I'm sorry."
"......"
This was the same person as that serial killer from a moment ago?
Park Yeong-won stared blankly, as though under a spell, then muttered in a trembling voice.
"...Holy shit."
There was simply no holding back the curse.
Lee Hansol's acting had given Park Yeong-won both a tremendous shock and a flash of inspiration.
While planning the crime investigation drama <The Last Clue>, the director had met actual violent criminals in person.
Many had rough features and gave off a fierce air, but...
There were also plenty who looked so simple and ordinary that it was hard to believe they had committed such terrible crimes.
'...The way he let those emotions explode was incredible.'
Kim Minu was an ordinary flower shop owner, the sort of person anyone might meet in daily life.
But the moment he tore off his mask and revealed his true feelings, an almost unbearable presence and force poured out of him, filling everyone with fear.
He was an even more perfect Kim Minu than the one Park Yeong-won had imagined.
An actor capable of that unbelievable performance was standing right there.
"......Ah."
The performance was over, so the director needed to offer some feedback, but the words wouldn't come easily.
Lee Hansol's acting was far beyond anything a stock compliment like "That was good" could possibly express.
"...That was truly impressive. You were the best actor we auditioned today."
The best of all the audition participants.
Park Yeong-won and the other staff rarely used expressions like that.
One careless remark could give someone a clue about the audition results.
But Lee Hansol's performance had been so overwhelming that the other participants simply couldn't compare.
"D-Director Park is right. That performance was truly..."
Having barely managed to calm herself, Kim Seonmi nodded and continued where Park Yeong-won had left off.
"Hansol, you're the actor who lent me an umbrella two years ago, aren't you? I'm sorry it took me so long to remember."
"Oh, no. It's all right!"
"This audition showed me what you're really capable of. I think you're an actor who shines even brighter when playing a villain."
The production team nodded in agreement.
The shocking contrast with his ordinary, gentle appearance.
Emotions so sharp they could make a viewer's knees go weak.
And that overwhelming presence and force, bursting out as suddenly as a tsunami.
Despite his appearance, Lee Hansol was an actor perfectly suited to villainous roles.
"It's been a long time since someone's acting drew me in so completely. Whew, I still have goosebumps on my arms."
"According to your profile, you haven't had a major role yet, but your acting is excellent."
It wasn't just Park Yeong-won and Kim Seonmi. The casting director and Webflix's head of production also showered Lee Hansol with praise.
This was an age when villains could be as popular as the leads.
If Lee Hansol could deliver performances at this level every time, it wouldn't take long for him to win the public's attention and love.
Looking at this rising star of an unknown actor, the production team was already doing the math.
"That concludes your audition. We'll inform your agency of the results."
"Thank you for your time."
And so Lee Hansol's audition came to an end.
The production team of <The Last Clue> did their best to keep their closing remarks calm, but...
'Looks like we've made our decision, doesn't it?'
'We've found him. Kim Minu.'
At that moment, the role of Kim Minu was as good as his.
* * *
"Whew..."
Leaving the building, I let out a sigh and rubbed my chest in relief.
"I should've held back a little..."
Among my past lives as villains, there had been a life as a serial killer.
Back then, just like Kim Minu in <The Last Clue>, I'd found pleasure in murder, loved myself far too much, and struggled to control my anger.
Just now, in front of <The Last Clue>'s production team, I'd brought out those exact emotions from my life as a serial killer.
It was only natural that they'd been instinctively terrified.
'Still, I'm glad it ended without any trouble. The production team reacted really well to this audition.'
I'd probably been to hundreds of auditions by now.
And hundreds of times, I'd been told that my acting was fine, but my face was too ordinary.
This audition had been different.
Villainous roles suited me. My emotional acting was great.
With so much praise from the production team, I could probably be optimistic about the results.
Besides, that wasn't the only thing I'd gained from this audition.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
My heart raced, and my whole body burned hot.
It had been like this ever since I'd started playing the serial killer Kim Minu.
Ever since I'd freely poured out that sticky, ugly... evil nature buried deep inside my heart.
I was savoring a thrill and a sense of release that other people couldn't even imagine.
"Phew..."
Was this how it felt to take a cool shower after wandering through a tropical rainforest for three days?
Was this how it felt after spending a passionate night with someone you'd loved your whole life?
Dopamine flooded me from my toes to the top of my head, making the whole world seem bright with color.
I truly felt as though I could get addicted to playing villains.
"I should look for more villain auditions when I get home."
Playing villains really was my calling.
I left the audition venue and headed home with a satisfied smile.
Three days later, I received word that I'd landed the role of Kim Minu in <The Last Clue>.
* * *
"I-is this really true? Our Hansol passed the audition for <The Last Clue>?!"
[Yes, haha. We chose Hansol unanimously.]
Seongsu, the management team leader at D&P Entertainment, was ready to jump for joy at the news that Hansol had passed.
The actor Seongsu had kept supporting had landed a good role in the highly anticipated <The Last Clue>. Seongsu couldn't hide his excitement.
"Haha! Thank you so much! That Hansol really can act! We look forward to working with you!"
[Oh, I'm the one who should thank you for recommending him. I had no idea D&P had such a gem of an actor hidden away. His performance that day was one of the most chilling I've ever seen.]
"...R-really?"
Hearing the casting director's words, Seongsu tilted his head.
Surely Hansol's acting wasn't chilling enough to deserve that much praise?
Come to think of it, the role Hansol had auditioned for this time was a villain.
As far as Seongsu knew, Hansol had never once played a villain in any production.
[Connections are a casting director's lifeline, aren't they? I'd like to get to know Hansol better. Could you arrange a get-together for us?]
"......?"
Even that picky casting director was humbly making the first move and asking for a connection with Hansol.
Seriously, our boy isn't that good... is he?
"Could you send me Hansol's audition video?"
The casting director of <The Last Clue> gladly sent it over.
Before playing the video, Seongsu hadn't thought much of it.
Hansol must have just acted unusually well that day.
But...
"......Huh?"
Hansol's performance in the video was far beyond anything Seongsu had expected.
"...No way."
The moment Seongsu saw Hansol's audition, his hands began to shake.
This wasn't something a mere team leader should be watching alone.
"B-boss...!!"
Video in hand, Seongsu rushed to the highest-ranking person he knew.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried