Chapter 227 (1/2)

The man wearing the baseball cap stood up from his seat and walked forward. Maru got to have a close look at the man’s face. His beard wasn’t shaved, and his hair, from what could be seen below the baseball cap, wasn’t neat at all. The shirt and jeans he was wearing looked like he picked them up from a street stall. Despite that, Maru wasn’t able to take his eyes off him. This man was an actor he knew too well. He was a little confused at first due to the beard and the voice, but now that he saw him up close, he was able to confirm.

This man was Park Taeho. The man who won the leading actor’s role award in the Daejong awards last year. Maru pondered if this man was cast in this movie as well.

“Please give me a script.”

Taeho got a copy of the script from Hoyoung and handed it over to Maru.

“Go to page 78.”

Maru did as he was instructed. Amidst the rows of lines written, there were three characters that caught his eyes: delinquent 1, delinquent 2, and delinquent 3.

“Here, read this part. Don’t put any emotions in.”

The part Taeho pointed to was delinquent 2’s line. It was a line that Maru had read several times in the book. ‘Man, your sorry ass has achieved nothing even after all these years. What kind of shit life have you been living, gramps?’ was there, without a change in wording.

“Man, your sorry ass has achieved nothing even after all these years. What kind of shit life have you been living, gramps?”

“I like that dry tone of yours. Then follow the stage directions and say that line disdainfully.”

Taeho took a step back. Maru focused on the word ‘disdainfully’. He pondered if he should mix in a bit of a disdainful smile. He first changed the one and said the line.

“Hm, you’re a total beginner. You don’t attend an academy or something like that?”

“I don’t.”

“Really? That’s weird. Hyung-nim. This dude is really strange. The lines he just did gave him away as a newbie, but that soliloquy before was actually totally awesome. He even sounded mature. Is, is this even possible? I just don’t get it.”

“If you’re done, then get out of the way. There’s still one more.”

Hearing Junmin’s words, Taeho nodded his head and sat back down.

‘Did I do well?’ Maru thought as he stepped back. The last candidate went forward and did his free acting skit. Then, he went on to do the script acting without a hitch. Then, it just ended without a hitch as well.

“Thank you all for coming,” Hoyoung spoke as he put all the profiles to the side. The audition was over. Guided by a lady, Maru exited the room and turned in his number plate.

“Thank you for coming, and we’ll notify you whether you’ve passed or not individually. It should arrive by Thursday next week, so please be patient.”

“Yes, teacher. I made a few mistakes.”

“I’m done for. I’m in big trouble.”

The people who took the audition with him were busy making calls. Their calls continued into the elevator.

“I don’t know. I think I didn’t pass. There were too many people. Moreover I wasn’t the only one doing the audition.”

“Mom, I think I failed. I don’t think I need to wait for the results to know.”

“Where’s my next audition again?”

Maru gave them a glance. Whenever his eyes met with another’s they glared back at him.

‘So, I have a high chance of passing?’

Even the guy that managed to do the script acting without a hitch had a worried expression on his face. It seemed that these guys had something to base their predictions on that Maru didn’t have.

“That was hard,” Maru spoke in a low voice. If everything was about numbers, he would be able to predict the results once the process finished. The first quarter achievements were such and such so the second quarter results should be such and such. Since the currency exchanges are such and such, the raw materials cost should be around such and such. In such a world, there weren’t that many variables. Numbers were always clear cut. However, in acting, no such thing existed. There was no absolute standard for anything, so he wasn’t able to discern whether he did well or not. If it was about self-satisfaction, he wouldn’t need to mind about the evaluations at all, but if he was to do this for a living, he would have to know the basis of evaluation. Junmin, Hoyoung, and Taeho. How were those three people going to evaluate his acting? Listening to Geunsoo’s advice of not conforming himself to the role, he sort of forced his way through the first part, but whether it was a good thing or not, he did not know. Perhaps he should have stuck to his original plan and have played the delinquent.

‘They’re infecting me with their negativity,’ he felt as though his thoughts were going the wrong direction due to all the gloomy voices around him. Maru stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened and got far away from the others.

“I did my bit, the rest is up to heaven.”

He showed all he could. It was better for him to leave the rest up to heaven for him to have some peace.

* * * *

Junmin faintly smiled as he watched the monitor. He was reminded of when that boy asked him for three hundred million won. He thought that the boy was crazy, but decided to play along after listening to the rest of his story. A year had passed since then. It seemed like the boy was going to show him something using his little high school club, but he sunk all by himself due to an injury. Junmin made a visit thinking that the boy must be very disappointed, but he was casually reading a book. Junmin did not know whether the boy was insensitive or bold.