In the silence.
Everyone’s gaze shifted slightly.
In the silence, a curious atmosphere emanated from the high school girl.
Long black hair contrasted with her fair skin.
At first, they thought she was just a kid relying on her looks to audition.
But.
‘Who is she? Seems experienced?’
‘What is she doing now? Acting, maybe?’
Her face wore a calm, base expression.
Yet, emotions subtly surfaced.
Usually, when people refer to bad acting, they’re talking about lifeless, robotic performances with no change in expression.
But in her expressionless state, the subtle shifts turned her into ‘natural yet understated acting.’
A shift that’s just a hair’s breadth different.
Naturally, it looked like something a veteran actor would display, making it quite an alien scene for a high school girl.
‘She’s definitely experienced, that girl.’
If she’s still a high school student, she might have been a child actor from somewhere.
If she had appeared in smaller dramas, they might not have known.
‘But.’
Though the gathered actors felt wary of the high school girl, there was also a hidden sense of relief.
Because that acting was distinctly different from stage performances.
Clatter!
At that moment, the closed door burst open roughly.
Everyone’s gaze shifted.
Seo-yeon’s gaze, which had been calmly preparing for her performance, turned towards the sound.
At the entrance of the waiting room where the actors were gathered.
A woman stood there, gasping for breath, holding the doorknob.
Wavy brown hair. Drooped eyelids.
She wasn’t particularly tall and had a slender figure.
She looked barely past her twenties.
Most striking was her pale complexion.
Strange yet somehow impressive for an actress.
‘Who is she?’
‘Is it Ji-won?’
Her outfit was also peculiar, much like Seo-yeon’s school uniform.
Could a fashion terrorist look like that?
Dressed in randomly tossed-on jeans and a checkered blouse.
It resembled what an engineering student might wear.
Regardless of whether it matched the role for today’s audition or not,
The strange displeasure from her outfit bubbled up.
‘That’s her.’
Seo-yeon narrowed her eyes as she watched the stumbling woman come in.
The woman, seemingly indifferent to the gazes, walked over to an empty seat.
No script in her hands.
Just bare.
Anyone would mistake her for someone who wandered into the wrong place.
“Um, this is the audition room.”
When one actor cautiously spoke to her, her eyes slowly shifted.
Blink!
It was eye movement that conveyed surprise.
The actor who spoke flinched for a moment.
There was a decidedly different vibe about her.
“I know.”
Her reply was curt.
No further explanation was given, making it hard to continue talking.
‘……That’s right. This is real.’
Just like what was seen on the news.
The role Seo-yeon was auditioning for belonged to that woman.
And through that drama, she was cast in a movie.
An individual who stirred significant buzz for various reasons.
‘Pyo Ji-woo.’
She could have been a star.
A disastrous talent, a fan who stalks.
She was the opponent that needed to be taken down.
*
“How about it? Anyone catching your interest?”
Jo Do-yul, the director of the play, looked around at the other judges.
The judging panel consisted of Director Jo Do-yul, assistant directors, stage managers, and two actors participating in the drama.
“It’s popular, probably because it’s by playwright Lee Min-hee.”
“Right? It’s a proven script!”
‘Eyes Closed’ had already made a big hit three years ago in Daehangno.
Now, with a new cast and crew assembled, it had a good chance of success.
“The role of ‘Hong Jeong-hee’ we’re casting is important.”
“For sure. She’s the one who shifts the mood of the play.”
The story revolves around the male lead, idol Bae Sung-hak, and his relationship with a woman, Song Min-seo, who has hearing disabilities. Generally, the piece focuses on their romance and lacks a significant crisis. Minor events happen, but the character who turns the mood upside down is Hong Jeong-hee.
“If we pick the wrong actress for Hong Jeong-hee, the whole stage could fall apart.”
“Right. But playing a villain isn’t easy….”
“The darkness needs to come through clearly. If it’s awkward, it becomes too awkward, you know? But if done well, it gives such an impact.”
Thus, the role is very popular among actors.
Although it doesn’t require much dialogue, it commands a powerful presence on stage.
That’s why there were a whopping 500 applicants.
From that, only one-tenth were shortlisted for the second round of auditions.
“If there’s someone who stands out, how about Bae Young-hyun?”
“Oh, a fine actor for sure. Proven acting skills, indeed. Seems diligent as well. She hasn’t been in the game long.”
The judges mentioned the names of actors they were interested in.
Among them, one person mentioned an outlier.
“Joo Seo-yeon… have you seen the profile?”
“Oh.”
Everyone nodded at the mention.
Of course, they had seen it.
It was as if someone unexpected had appeared from an unexpected place.
“Ten years ago, she was a child actress from a hit drama. I never expected to see her here.”
“I was surprised too. I watched that drama myself. Back then, wow, that kid can act! I was clapping!”
“Really? I didn’t watch ‘The Moon That Hid the Sun.’”
“Goodness, how could you not have watched it at that time?”
“Action King…”
“Wow, what a rare person! To see an Action King viewer here!”
“Really, that’s harsh.”
Those who checked Joo Seo-yeon’s profile muttered such phrases.
The peak of child acting was what she shown in her role as ‘Yeonhwa’ in ‘The Moon That Hid the Sun.’
Additionally, she was the winner of that year’s Youth Actor Award.
In just one year, she achieved the maximum career possible for a child actor.
Then suddenly, she vanished for ten years.
“Why theater?”
“There are many actors returning to the stage. Some use it as rehab before going back to films or dramas…”
Though those words were thrown about, expressions remained ambiguous.
Joo Seo-yeon.
Considering her buzz, she was undoubtedly a catch.
“Whether she matches the role, well, who knows.”
“Looks aside, hmm. Ultimately, her experience was just from one episode of a drama. No theater experience at all.”
“Could she be unaware that acting for stage is different from drama?”
“She might be a bit young. For a high school student, with makeup, she could pass for older.”
This was something only Seo-yeon could do as a woman. Typically, women finish growing in their mid to late teens.
So, there isn’t a big difference compared to adult actresses.
“Quite a dilemma, huh.”
“Too valuable to let go, yet something feels off about grabbing it.”
Unspoken was their wonder about how good a child actor, who suddenly returned after ten years, could act. Ten years prior, Yeonhwa’s acting was universally praised, but that was as a child actor.
Now, she was being compared to adult actors.
Lacking experience, it was hard to gauge whether her first acting in ten years would match her past role as ‘Yeonhwa.’
Undoubtedly, the free acting piece she showed had no flaws.
So, she passed the first audition unanimously.
However, stage acting can be different from that seen on screen.
“I honestly have someone I think stands out more than Joo Seo-yeon.”
“Oh, I think I know who that might be.”
As they exchanged gazes, everyone blurted out the name without hesitation.
“Pyo Ji-woo, right?”
The free acting video reviewed in the first round of auditions.
What was displayed there was nothing short of shocking.
Raw yet therefore fitting perfectly for the role of ‘Hong Jeong-hee.’
“I hope she gets to play the role of Hong Jeong-hee this time. What do you think, Min Se-ho?”
“Excuse me?”
“After all, she’s tangled with Song Min-seo in this ‘Eyes Closed’ in a different meaningful way, isn’t she?”
“Oh, right.”
Min Se-ho said that as he looked at his phone.
Of course, he wasn’t doing anything else.
Upon hearing the name, he was just checking Pyo Ji-woo’s free acting video again.
‘Weird.’
Seeing that, Min Se-ho frowned.
‘Feels like I’ve seen her somewhere.’
Was she someone he met at a club?
He shook his head at that thought.
“I feel like she might not fit. We’ll have to see in person, though.”
“Is that so? Hmm, I suppose we should see in person first.”
Director Jo Do-yul then checked the time.
It was about time for auditions to begin.
Casting for the villain role that would carry the play, ‘Hong Jeong-hee.’
*
At seven in the evening.
The audition got underway during the late dinner hours.
Seo-yeon slowly rolled her eyes around the vicinity.
The tension in the air was incomparable to her child acting days.
Back then, it was merely a matter of parental rivalry.
But everyone here was genuine.
Those who came to survive in the industry, aiming to make this their profession.
The spirit couldn’t help but differ.
‘This definitely feels different from auditions I’ve seen before.’
Seo-yeon thought as she calmly closed her eyes.
Auditions were conducted in sets of five actors at a time into the set.
That is to say, they performed their acting in front of others.
If she hadn’t experienced auditions for ‘The Moon That Hid the Sun,’ she might have felt overwhelmed.
True, though it happened a decade ago.
‘Calm, huh.’
‘Feels familiar, indeed.’
The other actors glanced at Seo-yeon.
For those who have frequently auditioned, it was a familiar situation.
But was Seo-yeon still just a high school student?
The fact that she was so composed indicated either considerable experience or a naturally strong heart.
Either way, both were essential for an actor.
‘Who on earth could she be?’
As everyone pondered over Seo-yeon’s identity,
“Next, Ha Si-eun, Hwang Yeong-hee, and….”
The next actor’s name was called for audition.
“Joo Seo-yeon.”
Slowly, Seo-yeon’s eyes lit up upon hearing the name.
Joo Seo-yeon.
The moment that name echoed, several actors reacted.
“Joo Seo-yeon? She can’t be the child actor I know, right?”
“No way.”
“But looking at her appearance and age…”
‘The Moon That Hid the Sun’ was a drama that reigned for a year.
Particularly, as a child actor, she achieved an unprecedentedly high viewership.
They were mostly young back then while the show aired, but they still recalled the memorable acting vividly.
“And now, Pyo Ji-woo.”
Following Seo-yeon’s name, Pyo Ji-woo’s name was called next.
She stood up with a face that seemed indifferent to everything.
Few participants seemed interested in her, likely for overhearing Seo-yeon’s name just now.
“Nice to meet you. I am Jo Do-yul, the director for this ‘Eyes Closed’.”
As they entered the audition room, eight judges sat there.
Seo-yeon noticed Min Se-ho, the actor playing the male lead, Bae Sung-hak.
‘That’s him.’
A person that caused various controversies.
He would soon understand Bae Sung-hak’s feelings better than anyone.
‘And.’
Seo-yeon moved her gaze to the side.
To the woman who had entered the audition room with her.
Pyo Ji-woo.
“Well then, who should go first….”
The judges’ eyes shifted.
The gaze directed pointedly at two people.
Joo Seo-yeon and Pyo Ji-woo.
“Joo Seo-yeon. Please step forward.”
It was the first turn.
The first in anything comes with its burdens.
Auditions were no exception.
‘A genius child actor from ten years ago.’
That shining visage caught their eyes.
Could she showcase her acting skills like in the past?
The judges quietly watched in anticipation.
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