“Wh-what… are you doing?”
When Jaehyun’s eyes flew open, Hanryul’s heart sank, but since he didn’t show it outwardly, the oblivious Jaehyun didn’t seem to care much about his action.
That guy was also making a fuss, pestering him to tell him the audition schedule as if he had entrusted him with the audition. Originally, he was going to go quietly by himself, but the guy made such a commotion that when he said he’d tell him, his foolishly grinning face was very amusing, as if something good had happened.
“Hyung, listen to me just once. You won’t regret it, okay?”
On the day of the audition, without even asking, he arrived 2 hours early and made a fuss, grabbing his wrist and insisting they go get makeup done. When the guy grabbed his forearm, it felt as if a corner of his heart trembled, vividly remembering the sensation he had felt in his dream.
Even inside the shop, the guy continued conversing with the staff without hesitation, laughing with them.
‘He’s got some nerve.’
Anyone watching would think he’s the one auditioning. Hanryul kept staring at the guy’s face as he grinned away, looking pleased about something. The guy seemed oblivious to it though.
Even the way he held out his card looked cheerful. Seeing the guy laughing away happily, he thought that deciding to go to the audition together wasn’t a bad decision after all.
The audition venue they arrived at. As soon as they entered, cold air greeted Hanryul. He was nervous, but not particularly worried.
That’s because the free-form acting didn’t feel like a big burden. Just like how a newborn baby naturally floats in water when placed in it, free-form acting was like that for Hanryul.
No matter what keyword was thrown at him, as long as he could conjure up a specific image, he was confident he could naturally unfold his own acting.
Anger. Hanryul drew the keyword ‘anger.’
He naturally began his performance. But during the performance, he sensed something was wrong. The ‘distinctive feeling’ that should have been there wasn’t coming alive. That feeling like a volcano erupting.
Anger. It was such an easy emotion when he thought of Cha Jaehyun. Normally, just thinking of Cha Jaehyun would allow him to show raw anger to anyone. But no matter how much he recalled the guy’s face, the angry performance he wanted didn’t come out.
He had been too complacent. While working with that guy, his anger toward him had unknowingly subsided considerably. The problem was that he realized this at the audition venue.
The die was already cast. He had started his performance thinking of Cha Jaehyun, and the performance began flowing in an unwanted direction. After finishing his performance, Hanryul knew. That there was a high possibility he would fail.
* * *
“You look like you’re dying of curiosity, so I’ll give you a hint. It depends on what you do, right? You might be able to go back. I’ll leave it at that.”
He recalled what Cha Jaehyun had said in the dream.
Depending on what I do, I might be able to go back. Would Seo Hanryul failing here be a positive development?
No, absolutely not. First of all, if he fails to get into this good agency, his future whereabouts are uncertain. Moreover, the possibility of meeting Lee Dojun becomes extremely slim. There’s no way a mere rookie actor could easily encounter someone who’s both the CEO of a top domestic entertainment company and a second-generation chaebol.
‘Why is the situation getting twisted?’
Even until this morning, Seo Hanryul’s condition had been at its best. So naturally, he thought he would soar at the audition venue.
The flow of the story began to get twisted from the moment I dropped into this world. But why is not just Cha Jaehyun’s life, but Seo Hanryul’s life flowing strangely too?
All kinds of thoughts ran through his mind, and he eventually reached one conclusion. If Seo Hanryul fails here today, there’s no answer. He had to make him pass somehow.
“Seo Hanryul-ssi, we watched the performance you prepared well. However… it wasn’t a particularly satisfying performance. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the kind of performance that catches attention. This is quite regrettable.”
“That’s right. Looking at just his face, it’s true that he stands out far more than today’s other applicants. But this industry isn’t one where you can succeed with just a face, is it? Looking at just the performance you showed us today… I’m not sure about Hanryul-ssi’s talent.”
“I partially agree with what the other judge said. However, through the performance you showed today, I was able to fully sense Hanryul-ssi’s potential. Not to mention your face, your talent seems more than abundant… However, I don’t know if today your condition was poor or if you lacked practice, but it seems you weren’t able to properly show your full capabilities. Is my assessment correct?”
“…Yes, judge-nim. As you said, it seems I wasn’t able to show a satisfying performance.”
“Hmm… That’s really unfortunate. However, an actor must be able to show perfect acting at any moment. If you can just improve this aspect, Hanryul-ssi will truly grow into a wonderful actor. It would be really great if we could see you again with a more improved appearance next time.”
“Thank you for the kind words.”
After Seo Hanryul’s performance ended, the six judges began giving harsh criticisms. The last judge gave relatively positive feedback, but judging from the nuance, it didn’t sound like they meant they would select Seo Hanryul.
“Seo Hanryul-ssi, thank you for your hard work coming all this way today. We will inform you of the results individually later. You may leave now.”
‘No.’
It was certain now. This is a failure. That absolutely cannot happen. His heart began burning up.
“I’m truly sorry for suddenly interrupting. The actor’s condition really isn’t good today. I know this is presumptuous, but I earnestly ask that you please give him one more chance.”
With the feeling of grasping at straws, he desperately requested the judges.
“…You seem to be a staff member, but if you know your behavior is presumptuous, please leave.”
“Hey. What’s wrong with you. Stop it and let’s go.”
Seo Hanryul seemed startled by my sudden action, and perhaps very bothered by my behavior, he calmly tried to calm me down with a voice suppressing his emotions.
“I’m truly sorry. I know this is an unreasonable request. But… I’m just so disappointed. Judges-nim… Please, just give him one more chance.”
“Do you think the audition is a joke? If we give Seo Hanryul-ssi one more chance, what happens to the other participants? Doesn’t what you’re asking violate fairness? Let’s end this now.”
One of the judges expressed their refusal in a firm tone. Of course, he knew that throwing a tantrum wouldn’t work. But he couldn’t picture the future after missing this opportunity. With the thought that this was the last chance, he began desperately clinging to them.
* * *
“Ha… Staff member, let’s stop now. If you continue like this, don’t you know it won’t be good for Seo Hanryul-ssi’s image either?”
Some time had passed because I kept holding out. Seo Hanryul seemed to have given up on stopping me as he wasn’t saying anything. It was obvious that as soon as we left the audition venue, he would get furiously angry at me. But I couldn’t give up like this.
‘Even just 1 minute… I need to get even 1 minute.’
There was nothing wrong with what the judges were saying. Not only does it violate fairness, but for a mere manager to request one more chance at such an important venue was itself inappropriate. But it was a matter of my survival. When the thought struck that if Seo Hanryul fails here, I might not be able to go back either, there was no time to read the room.
“I’m truly sorry. I know this very well. But… please, just 1 more minute. He’s a friend with a lot of talent, but it’s so unfortunate that he couldn’t show what he has. …I’ll even kneel in his place.”
“Sir, you know this isn’t something that can be simply resolved by kneeling.
The judges also began admonishing me as if they were exhausted.
“What is it? Why is it so noisy?”
‘…?’
A stranger’s voice was heard from behind. What’s this?
I turned around.
A man I’d never seen before was standing there. But I could immediately tell who he was. It was Lee Dojun.
The flow had gone way off track. Lee Dojun isn’t supposed to appear now. By now, he should be away on an overseas business trip. The day he first meets Seo Hanryul is when they have lunch together before signing the contract.
Seo Hanryul’s poor acting was shocking enough, but when the main protagonist suddenly appeared, I couldn’t even grasp what to do.
“I’ll ask again. What is this situation right now?”
Lee Dojun asked again with an expression that said the noisy audition venue deeply bothered him.
“CEO-nim, I’m sorry. There was a brief disturbance during the proceedings. We’ll proceed to the next step right away.”
The staff in charge of running the audition hurriedly answered Lee Dojun.
“Staff member, please leave now. We’re also earnestly requesting this.”
If he held out any longer here, it felt like something worse would happen. Lee Dojun’s personality, except when with Seo Hanryul, was cold and ruthless enough that he could almost be called a sociopath. With Lee Dojun openly showing his discomfort, he thought they needed to escape quickly before the situation became more serious.
‘There’s nothing good about holding out any longer….’
“I’m sorry. I’ll leave right away.”
“No, you two there, stop for a moment.”
Just as he was about to leave in despair, Lee Dojun called them to a halt.
