episode_0071

“Hello, I’m Choi Da-woon, the director of .”

“Nice to meet you. I’m the lead actor, Hong Geun-sik.”

The director and the lead actor.

And not just any director, but the genius director Choi Da-woon, who has been dominating Chungmuro for years.

And the appearance of the top actor Hong Geun-sik, who needs no further introduction.

With their presence, the reading room is enveloped in a heavy silence.

Without any small talk, the day of tension begins to settle in.

Flap, flap-

As they examine the script, the room is filled with those simulating how they should act in the upcoming reading.

And this tension…

“Oh, but Director Choi here is truly remarkable.”

As the official reading begins, with actors taking turns introducing themselves.

Hong Geun-sik suddenly speaks up as if a thought had crossed his mind.

“Huh? The directing is also top-notch. The script is written so well. Even if there are any changes needed, the final revised version is ready by that evening.”

“Yes. That’s why. The script you’re holding right now is not the final version. We plan to continue revising based on how the actors perform.”

“…!”

“…!!”

Continuing like a relay, Director Choi’s bombshell declaration reaches its peak.

As if confirming, Director Choi adds, “In my opinion, actors who act well should appear more on screen.”

It was a blatant statement.

In other words, if you act well, your role will be expanded.

In reality, such a message holds little significance for roles above supporting actors.

During the casting stage, everyone already knows to what extent an actor can act and suggests roles accordingly.

For them, they have already received roles optimized for their abilities.

But for supporting actors and below.

For those who are eager to show more than they have shown so far.

The impact of Director Choi’s message was truly infinite.

“Phew.”

“Hmm, hmm.”

“…”

The actors’ eyes start to burn with passion.

They clench their jaws and begin to tear into the script as if to shred it.

It seemed to have worked as intended.

Director Choi smiled confidently.

He said, “Well then, let’s begin the reading.”

“Sir, what face do you have to come to us? Do you finally want to die?”

“Argh! You bastard! You bastard!”

Their acting skills explode.

An overwhelming momentum fills the reading room.

*Sob.*

Due to the atmosphere he had never experienced before, Seo Yi-soo found himself holding his breath without realizing it.

For the timid Seo Yi-soo, it was the worst situation.

Already feeling discouraged because of Bae So-yoon.

Seo Yi-soo hunched over, shrugging his shoulders.

***

The reading scene of heated up by the minute.

And among those caught up in the excitement was Han Sun-yul.

“My role is truly a minor one.”

She had a determined expression.

Han Sun-yul’s role was a thug.

A nameless minor role.

According to the script, she would appear a few times in the first 20 minutes of the play and then exit.

She had no major complaints about that.

After all, that was all she had shown during auditions.

Han Sun-yul was determined to do her best, even with such a minor role.

“But…”

But the situation had changed.

Choi Da-woon said that if she showed her acting skills, her role would expand.

Of course, Han Sun-yul was no rookie.

She wasn’t someone who believed the world was a fairy tale.

She knew that even if her role expanded, it wouldn’t be to the level of a major supporting role.

But…

“Even a minute is fine. No, even just one second is fine.”

Han Sun-yul had aspirations and desires.

A former child actor who was kicked out due to lack of acting skills, Han Sun-yul.

Originally, he would have continued his activities in a lackluster manner.

However, meeting Seo Yisoo made him face the small but definite light within himself.

Now, he has resolved to do whatever it takes to nurture that light.

“Whatever it takes, I will find a place to act.”

Determined to continue living in the harsh entertainment industry with his meager light, he vowed.

“Above all, I can’t forgive Seo Yisoo.”

Moreover, his resentment towards Seo Yisoo, who does not consider his dark past at all, has not subsided.

“I will show my true worth.”

When his turn came,

Han Sunyul lit up his eyes and delved into acting.

His heart was passionate, but his mind was cool.

He refined the lines and facial expressions he needed to deliver.

He opened his mouth.

“Huh.”

A twisted, mocking laugh.

“…!”

“…?”

The audience’s gaze turned to Han Sunyul at once.

His brief laughter caught their attention.

Han Sunyul began to portray his own thug character.

The small, humble light that belonged solely to Han Sunyul began to shine.

***

“Watch closely, Seo Yisoo.”

Bae Soyun glared fiercely.

It wasn’t an intentional gaze.

She was naturally sharp, and even a hint of emotion would show in her eyes.

“What? What’s an idol? Fine. I’ll show you what an idol can act like.”

With that in mind, Bae Soyun stared at Seo Yisoo.

“But why has he been muttering to himself like that since earlier? Like a puppy?”

Bae Soyun was not pleased with all of Seo Yisoo’s actions.

Earlier, he had arrogantly gossiped about what an idol was.

Now, he seemed completely deflated, busy avoiding eye contact.

If she happened to meet his gaze, he would startle and quickly look away.

“Oh, come on. It’s annoying.”

Bae Soyun was a typical pushover.

She was tough with the strong and weak with the weak.

Because of this, she was confused about how to deal with Seo Yisoo’s arrogance and timidity.

“Kid, now is not the time to worry about that.”

She suddenly snapped out of it and focused on the script.

“Watch closely. Not just Seo Yisoo. I’ll show everyone here what kind of actress I am.”

In reality, it was not the first time Seo Yisoo had clashed with an idol on set.

While idol-turned-actors had become more common lately, the subtle disdain towards idols by actors was a well-known secret.

Being neither here nor there, Bae Soyun had unknowingly faced a lot of disrespect in her acting career.

Bae Soyun was the kind of person who believed in an eye for an eye.

She still had the same mindset.

The increase in weight? That was a secondary issue.

“I will show them something proper.”

Bae Soyun’s role was also a supporting role.

A police officer.

As expected, she was a typical supporting role with no name.

An insignificant role.

But…

“Huh?”

“Both Han Sunyul and that actor are like that.”

“They both act well, don’t they?”

“This reading, they’re really on fire.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Bae Soyun this time.

A faint murmur could be heard.

Bae Soyun, like Han Sunyul, fervently raised the flames in the reading room.

***

Meanwhile,

Seo Yisoo hunched his shoulders and kept an eye on things.

“It’s not visible.”

“Dongeopja” was a big project.

As a result, the reading room was very crowded.

The managers gathered there were hidden behind a veil of chaos.

Unlike usual, Seo Yisoo couldn’t relax because she couldn’t see Shin Jihu.

Moreover, the child, Bae Soyun, always seemed to dislike something, which made Seo Yisoo nervous.

Every time that happened, Seo Yisoo felt even more anxious.

“This reading is really too scary.”

The heat in the reading room, once it caught fire, didn’t seem to die down.

It started with the supporting actors.

Swept up in the atmosphere, even the actors with minor roles were delivering their lines more passionately than usual.

If this were a real filming set, it would have been better.

The set was spacious, and even if a few people caught fire, they wouldn’t feel the heat this close.

But on the other hand, the reading room was too narrow, hot, and stuffy.

“Indeed, I don’t like this kind of atmosphere.”

Seo Yisoo didn’t like the current atmosphere.

It wasn’t the actors’ natural and pure passion, but rather an artificially intensified heat that made her feel stifled.

“Come to think of it… the character I’m playing has quite a cold demeanor.”

Seo Yisoo’s role is .

Jung Hoon searches tirelessly for his daughter, scouring the hideouts of a kidnapping organization he knows, and in the process, rescues a girl held captive there.

That was .

A role with a calm and somewhat cold impression.

Just like her character.

She wished this place would calm down a bit.

With that in mind,

Seo Yisoo began her performance.

#Chapter 35

– Basement.

Sigh….

Haaah……

My breath echoed through the room.

I could only feel my breath.

I couldn’t feel anything else.

It was inevitable.

This was the basement, the lights were out, and I couldn’t see anything. My arms and legs were tied, so I couldn’t touch anything else.

Sigh….

Haaah……

The basement felt damp and had a musty smell that hadn’t been ventilated.

Every time I exhaled, the air clung to my lungs.

It was unpleasant, but there was nothing I could do.

I was tied up.

Those who are bound have no other choice.

This was nothing special.

Only those who have the conditions to act on their own can do so.

The rest, physically or mentally, are bound in some way.

So they realize that they have no choice but to accept whatever comes their way.

Yes.

Most people are like that.

Bound beings, helpless ones, those forced to accept rather than resist fate.

I am just one of them.

So now, with my arms and legs tied, I was crawling on the floor like a bug in this lightless basement.

I just had to stare at the faint light seeping through the basement door.

Praying for that door to open someday.

Praying that the person who entered through that door would help me, not the kidnapper.

So I just prayed and stared.

Sitting still, waiting for something.

Imagining the concrete details of hope.

We call such actions daydreaming.

I, now.

I am in the midst of daydreaming.

There was nothing else I could do.

I was just that kind of human.

So, now.

I am just waiting.

Sigh….

Haaah……

Inhaling the unpleasant and powerless breath, then exhaling it again.

I looked at the door.

Creak!

And finally, the door opened.

A man’s silhouette appeared, backlit by the bright light from upstairs.

He looked down at me, who had fallen.

He remained silent for a while.

Huu….

And only the sound of his exhale was heard.

Short and concise.

Different from mine.

In his breath, I felt a resolute energy different from mine.

He seemed to be pondering something.

Even with a kidnapped and bound person in front of him, he seemed like the type of person who could still ponder.

Perhaps that’s what being resolute is all about.

Whether it’s about morals or empathy.

The more things weigh on your mind, the more you are bound mentally.

So, a truly resolute person can only be indifferent like that.

I looked up at him.

His head, forced down and struggling, was heavy.

And so, my breath, unlike the man’s, dispersed long.

Sigh…

Sigh….

Mixed with the sound of my breath, I spoke to the man.

“Think… if it’s all over, can you please untie this now?”

The voice, soaked in passivity, was as cold as shade.

***

Humans are creatures of adaptation.

This phrase will probably be used in a dual sense.

It may mean versatility as an advantage of a species that can adapt to any environment.

And sometimes, it may also be used to indicate the limitation that humans must adapt to function properly.

Right now, it was the latter.

“….Was Seo Isu like that?”

“I don’t know. Ugh, suddenly it’s getting chilly.”

Seo Isu’s performance had suddenly extinguished the heat in the reading room that had been burning.

Did Seo Isu’s performance cause a commotion?

It did.

Was his performance so chaotic?

Not likely.

The other actors who had delivered lines so far had also performed well.

And Seo Isu had just shown a good performance.

However…

His performance and that of the others gave off a different feeling.

“What kind of performance is… that?”

A supporting actor muttered as if he couldn’t understand.

And his words represented the sentiments of the majority of actors present.

Surely, they had performed like themselves.

But if there had been a pure audience here watching the performances.

If there had been, would they have categorized Seo Isu’s performance and their own performances in the same category?

No one dared to be sure of that.

While they might have seen their own performances as simply good acting.

Watching Seo Isu’s performance left them speechless and simply drawn in.

Producing completely different results.

Compassionate spectators who would categorize these two types of performances in the same category were rare.

And that’s why.

Fire is the result of two flames colliding and generating friction.

If one fierce flame ignites uncontrollably, the smaller flames lose the air they need to burn and extinguish.

The set became as cold as ice.

“Huff.”

Except for one person.

“As expected. A actor who reminds me of Jeong Sunhwa.”

It was Hong Geun-sik.

Here in the reading room, only he could not have his enthusiasm dampened by Seo Isu’s performance.

More accurately, Hong Geun-sik had never ignited any enthusiasm during this reading.

He just read in tune with the other actors’ performances.

Of course.

He was Hong Geun-sik.

A uniquely outstanding actor among those present.

While the flock was running around excitedly, it was not the place for a tiger to join in.

But then…

A wolf suddenly appeared in that place.

If it’s against a wolf.

Even if a tiger growls once, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Hey.”

Hong Geun-sik began to respond to Seo Isu’s performance, revealing his true colors.

A low, cutting voice.

The reading room began to heat up with a different fervor than before.