Monday. The day of the long-awaited public audition arrived.
The audition time was 2 PM. Seo Hanryul told me to come to his house by 12, but I rang the bell after going to his house 2 hours early. This was because I remembered the story in the novel about him going to the audition venue with a bare face.
Even his natural state looked phenomenal, but because I knew well what he looked like after getting dolled up, the idea suddenly struck me that I should get him prettied up.
“Didn’t I call you for 12 o’clock?”
“You change the time by stretching and shrinking it like a rubber band every time, so can’t I come a bit early?”
“Ha…. So why did you come?”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to go to the audition looking like that?”
“What’s wrong with how I look? Originally auditions are supposed to be attended in a natural state. If you dress up too much, the judges don’t like it either.”
“Still, isn’t that appearance a bit too much? Let’s go out.”
“Don’t irritate me from the morning. Let go before I get angry.”
When I grabbed his arm to get Seo Hanryul out of the house, he got annoyed as if ready to get angry.
“Listen to hyung once. You won’t regret it, okay?”
“You crazy bastard…. Who’s whose hyung?”
“Shut up and follow me out.”
I abruptly grabbed his wrist and forcibly put him in the van and headed to the shop. After searching all weekend for a place that could maximize Seo Hanryul’s image, I was able to find a suitable shop.
“Welcome! Did you make a reservation by any chance?”
“Yes, I made one over the weekend.”
“….”
The staff seemed quite surprised seeing Seo Hanryul’s face following behind.
“The person in the back is going to get makeup done.”
The staff quickly sat Seo Hanryul in a chair and started diagnosing his facial condition.
“Customer, your skin condition is so good and your appearance is so outstanding that just the basics should be enough.”
“Yes. He is a bit like that. But you know this person, right? He’s a rookie actor….”
I started talking like a doting parent from the side. I don’t know why I’m saying he’s pretty or whatever, but various stories unconsciously came out of my mouth.
“Stop it.”
Seo Hanryul glanced at me and gave me a warning.
‘Hey, I’m doing this all for your sake.’
“Oh my~ Of course I know. Aren’t you Seo Hanryul-ssi? I really enjoyed watching the interview video that came out recently.”
She’s talking about the magazine interview we filmed last time. I hadn’t done anything, but seeing the staff member answer brightly, I felt proud for no reason.
“Hanryul-ssi, then what style would you like?”
“Just do it simply and basically as you mentioned.”
Seo Hanryul answered languidly as if everything was bothersome.
“No, teacher, not basic. …You know ‘made-up but not made-up’ style, right? Make it look like he’s dressed up but not dressed up. If you dress him up too flashily it might look tacky, so please do everything you can as naturally as possible. I’m asking for makeup that can bring out all the strengths of his face.”
“Wow! The manager knows something!”
Makeup began in a friendly atmosphere.
“Customer, it’s finished!”
“….”
When Seo Hanryul opened his eyes, silence flowed for a while as if a ghost had passed by. Even without saying anything, everyone in this place must have had the same thought.
‘Is that really a human face?’
I’m envious, Seo Hanryul. How did his mother do prenatal care to give birth to such a face…. I thought the world was really unfair.
“Look, look. See, people should dress up after all. Don’t you think so too?”
I said while patting Seo Hanryul’s shoulder.
“Get lost.”
Seo Hanryul looked at himself in the mirror once, made an awkward expression, and pushed me away. It was clearly an action that would have given me even more rebuke if there weren’t people behind us.
“Please charge this.”
When leaving, I confidently held out a black card. In fact, I’d been too busy since returning to Korea to have time to use the card, but to think it would be used usefully in a place like this. I felt good.
“Hey, why are you wasting money on a place like this?”
Seo Hanryul grumbled from behind.
‘Geez, he sure talks a lot.’
“Sorry to say this. Are you a commoner worrying about a rich person right now? This much is nothing to me.”
“You bastard, the way you talk.”
Seo Hanryul pushed my back slightly, but his expression was smiling. That’s a very positive reaction. Seeing Seo Hanryul smiling, I thought today’s audition would be no problem.
* * *
The audition was held in a large open studio. Six people who looked like they wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed were sitting at a long straight table.
‘How brutal.’
Even the air was very cold. If you stood in front of those people, anyone would feel stripped naked.
“Seo Hanryul, you can do well, right?”
“Can’t you be a bit quiet?”
Seo Hanryul also seemed to be burning inside seeing that scene and started drinking water continuously. Seeing him nervous, I decided to wisely keep my mouth shut.
He performed passionately in this kind of atmosphere? I’m curious. Fortunately, I could also enter the audition venue together. This was because the structure allowed people involved to watch their assigned actor’s performance from the back.
“Hello. Please give a brief self-introduction.”
A woman wearing intense red-framed glasses asked Seo Hanryul.
“Hello. I’m participant number 59, Seo Hanryul.”
“Yes, Seo Hanryul-ssi. Nice to meet you. I think you’re already familiar with how our audition proceeds. Please come forward and pick one of the balls here.”
To finally see this scene. Now Seo Hanryul will pick a ball, and inside the ball will be written the keyword ‘anger.’
“What keyword did you pick?”
“Anger.”
As expected, the ball Seo Hanryul picked had ‘anger’ written on it.
“Then from now on, please perform a free act with anger as the theme.”
Seo Hanryul’s performance will start soon. My heart started pounding at the inexplicable thrill.
Seo Hanryul closed his eyes for a moment to catch the emotion, then opened them.
“Shall I tell you an interesting story?”
Seo Hanryul opened his mouth naturally without even knowing he’d started acting.
‘Oh, that was natural.’
“The Eskimo method of hunting wolves. In the middle of winter, they stick a knife covered in blood upside down on the bare ice floor. Then wolves come flocking like a pack of dogs, smelling the blood. At first they just lick the blood, but later they touch the blade and their tongue gets cut. The wolves who don’t know this keep licking the blade…. In the end, they die from excessive bleeding.”
“It’s quite an interesting story, right? …What are you glaring at like that? Are you making your last struggle before being thrown to the bottom?
It seemed like literally an interesting story, but there was no explosive feeling from his acting.
‘Will it explode soon?’
“Until now, just because you had some money, it must have been very fun sucking other people’s blood. But what now? You’re all crumpled up alone in this dark single room? You never dreamed it would turn out like this, right. …Remember. From now on, very pleasant things will unfold. You’ll live your whole life crumpled up in prison. I’ll watch clearly with both eyes as you rot away day by day and die in prison. …Go to hell, you trash bastard.”
“I’ll finish here. Thank you.”
His acting ended. The content of the acting was clearly targeting someone. Obviously Cha Jaehyun. The raw curse words felt creepy.
But…. something was lacking. Do I not know the profound world of acting? In the novel, it clearly said he performed so passionately that everyone in that space was greatly surprised.
When I, a layperson to acting, watched, Seo Hanryul’s acting didn’t come across that well. He did quite well. But that was only ‘quite well,’ not acting thrilling enough to cause shivers as described in the novel.
With an uneasy feeling, I quietly started observing the reactions around me.
The expressions of the six judges didn’t even budge.
‘This isn’t it.’
Normally, someone should be clapping, someone’s eyes should be wide open, someone should be saying ‘Hanryul-ssi, where have you been hiding until now to appear now?’ But the six people were still maintaining postures like wooden stones.
‘We’re screwed.’
Apart from being nervous, I naturally thought Seo Hanryul would pass. But looking at the current atmosphere, I couldn’t even guarantee his passing. Tremendous fear began to swallow me like a tidal wave.
Don’t tell me even Seo Hanryul’s future is changing. If Seo Hanryul fails here? If the situation gets twisted, won’t I not be able to go back either?
It’s so bright here. As if someone put up a huge blind only in front of me, my vision instantly went dark. The huge audition venue where only silence lingered. As if suffering from breathing difficulties, I couldn’t exhale.
