Chapter 641 (1/2)

The appointed place was not the TV station. It was an acting school located on Rodeo Street of Apgujeong-dong, Seoul. Maru checked the address he got through text once again, before pushing the glass doors of the building. He headed towards the 3rd floor through the stairs next to the noodle restaurant on the 1st floor. He opened the door that said ‘emergency staircase’ and went inside. It seemed that this wasn’t used as there was an elevator in the building. On the walls of the 3rd floor that were painted black were three stripes of red, yellow, and blue, curling around like waves. When he followed the complex lines, he saw banners lined up in front of the entrance. Exceptional teachers, custom-fitted entrance exam acting, the acting school of your dreams. Reading the promotions, he walked past the automatic door. Behind the semi-circular desk in front of the entrance was a lady wearing a black suit, who looked like she might as well be a model with her beautiful body figure. On the chairs lined up next to the walls were people of both genders seeming to be muttering something. He instantly realized that they were here for an audition.

“What’s the reason for your visit?”

“I came here after hearing that there’s an audition.”

“Oh, I see. What is your name?”

“I’m Han Maru.”

“Han Maru.”

The lady repeated the name, emphasizing each character, as she typed on the keyboard. The name ‘Han Maru’ appeared briefly on the monitor on top of the desk before disappearing.

“You’re on the list. Please sit down here and wait for a while. We’ll call you when it’s your turn.”

Maru joined the line of people waiting in line with nervous faces. As there was no spare chair, he just leaned against the wall. For a usual audition, he would be busy preparing a character or some lines that were provided to him beforehand, but there was nothing to prepare for today’s audition. A healthy body - that was all the requirements. What kind of character they wanted, what kind of aspects they were looking for in actors - there was no information about those at all. The people who were muttering might actually be chanting incantations. Perhaps something along the lines of ‘don’t make me do something weird’.

As for the age group, they all seemed to be around the same age. Most of them seemed to be over 20, but there were some that looked younger. There were also about two or three people wearing school uniforms. From this, it looked like they didn’t want a middle-aged man as the character. A student, then?

The door to the right at the end of the corridor opened and a woman with long hair walked out. She crossed the corridor while not hiding her dissatisfied face before leaving the acting school. The woman at the desk called out to her, but she didn’t even turn around. Just what happened inside that made her so angry? The shockwave left behind by that woman was fully absorbed by the people who were waiting. Maru felt that the mutterings around him became louder. Some people couldn’t keep sitting and stood up before walking around. The lobby of the acting school, which couldn’t be said to be small, looked quite crowded. Maru took a seat for himself. As he got older, he felt much closer to the floor. It would be optimal if he could lie down, but he couldn’t do that, so he went with the next best option of sitting down.

The anxiety left behind by that long-haired woman continued until the woman at the desk called out the next audition participant. A man who was waiting abruptly stood up before walking to the end of the corridor. For a moment, the mutters ended. Amidst the silence, everyone paid attention to the man opening the door. A girl wearing a school uniform leaned against the wall. It seemed that she wanted to see inside the audition room.

“You can’t see inside,” said the woman at the desk.

Maru watched the people, who looked like they were caught up in a torrent before closing his eyes. He didn’t feel nervous at all. When the woman with long hair rushed out, he only watched with interest and did not think about the meaning of her actions. Not being swept up by the atmosphere was quite helpful at times like these. Since he had the time, he tried talking to the guy inside him. Uhm, hey, hello? Mr. Masked man - his inner mind was filled with the voice that seeked him out, but the man did not appear. The dim stage did not appear either. Would it be hard to experience such a happening again like how the masked man said? - that that time was a special case? That guy was a man he didn’t like very much, but Maru didn’t despise him. If possible, he wanted to have a long conversation with him. Maru wanted to ask what he meant by sharing his memories, why he lived in his body, and ultimately, who he was. There were a lot of things he wanted to ask, but the person to ask the questions to, had hidden himself deep inside the utter silence.

After about ten minutes had passed, the door opened again before the man that went in before came out. He looked angry as well. Just what was happening inside that made all the participants angry? Ganghwan’s last words, ‘please come back alive’, suddenly felt like they had more meaning. Ganghwan seemed to be telling him: You thought I was joking, didn’t you?