Chapter 6: Adept Acting and Remarkable Acting

༺ Adept Acting and Remarkable Acting ༻

“Do you want to try writing this as a two-hour script?”

“What??”

“Let’s put it on for the Oedipus autumn performance with my directing. You can just do the script, and if you want, I can also give you the assistant director role.”

Unable to hold back his astonishment, Yoomyeong listened to Ryu Shin’s one-sided onslaught of words.

“Well, I’m not really aiming to write plays.”

“There’s no way. This craftsmanship isn’t something you’ve done once or twice. Even if it’s your first time, it doesn’t matter because you’re a real genius. I guarantee you, scriptwriting is your talent.”

“You haven’t seen me act yet.”

In frustration, Ryu Shin barely swallowed back his anger and bit out his words.

“I don’t need to see. Even if you’re really good at acting for a beginner or a student, it wouldn’t match your talent for scriptwriting.”

Yoomyeong was slowly starting to get irritated.

“Let’s talk after the reading.”

“If my words are proven at the reading, will you write the script?”

“I told you, I’m aiming to be an actor.”

“If you want to act that badly, then I’ll cast you if you write the script. There are a lot of talented kids, so it might be hard to promise you a significant role.”

“But that’s Oedipus. I’m not even in the theater and film department.”

“There are cases where external talents are recruited when their talent is certain. I’ll recommend you.”

Wow… this tyrant…

They said that Ryu Shin of July was a born competitor, but this was at the level of a bulldog that won’t let go of its prey.

“I’ll see you at the reading.”

In the end, Yoomyeong, who folded his flip phone with a one-sided notification, shook his head dismally.

“What the hell. Did you guys just fight?”

“I can’t tell if I’m being acknowledged or being ignored.”

“If you look back 100 years later and it pisses you off, then you’ve been ignored.”

“In 100 years, I’ll already be dead.”

“Tsk, tsk. Short-lived lives.”

Miho clicked its tongue sarcastically.

Yoomyeong ruffled Miho’s fur relentlessly then turned his eyes back to the script he had been reading.

[When I’m with you, I feel the same way as when I’m singing.]

[…you, you’re the love of my life…]

[I… I think I’m gay.]

[I love you, but…]

Yoomyeong let out a deep sigh.

It was difficult. No matter how hard he tried, everything felt like an imitation.

As Professor Lee Jae Pil had said, it was not easy for a heterosexual to fully understand and play a homosexual.

But then, when was a role ever easy?

His only solution was to practice over and over again.

Yoomyeong started playing a documentary CD about homosexuals, which he had borrowed from the library, on his computer.

He began to strive to learn the emotions expressed by the people featured in the documentary.

*

Wednesday evening, in the rehearsal room of the Theater and Film Department.

A light was on in one of the small practice rooms occupying a corner on the second floor.

It was still early spring and it was chilly after the rain, but the interior of the rehearsal room was filled with a heat that could be considered sweltering.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Stay by my side forever.”

“By the side of a man I can’t even hold? Do you know how cruel that is?”

“I know it’s selfish. I know that it’s forced and childish.”

“…What am I to you?”

“…You, you’re the love of my life.”

All six of them wanted to act, so they took turns reading the parts.

And all the theater and film department members felt a genuine sense of crisis towards Yoomyeong.

‘His pronunciation is clean.’

‘There’s no sense of incongruity no matter which role he plays.’

‘Is he really a novice actor? Isn’t he lying?’

Yoomyeong’s acting stuck perfectly to each role.

Moreover, he made none of the common mistakes beginners often make—inserting too many long pauses to emphasize lines, or delivering all lines in a single tone.

It was to the point that they even suspected that a graduated senior from Oedipus was playing a prank on them.

However, at that moment, Yoomyeong was thinking of something else.

‘Phew… This is driving me crazy.’

He still couldn’t grasp Freddie’s emotions.

His precious, once-in-a-lifetime soulmate and the one who meant more to him than anyone else.

But the insane anxiety when his body betrayed him and only desired men. The sense of self-betrayal.

He understood it intellectually. He understood, but…

‘It’s adept acting, but not remarkable acting.’

Yoomyeong, who had been working diligently for 15 years, knew. When he’s satisfied with his performance, he felt like he was completely merged with the character.

And right now, his current acting was nothing more than an imitation.

The reading was over.

The members raised their thumbs toward Yoomyeong.

“Is our leader really a beginner in acting?”

“Did you used to be a child actor who had an accident and is now hiding his identity?”

“He’s on par with Ryu Shin.”

‘On par’ meant not being superior, either.

When Yoomyeong bit his lip tightly, he heard a faint whisper in his ear.

{That guy’s interesting. His presence isn’t ordinary.}

He quickly masked his surprised expression. It seemed that Miho had followed him today.

Yoomyeong spoke to Miho in his mind.

‘What’s his score?’

{Around the mid-70s?}

‘What… That’s 20 points higher than me!’

{So while you’re more skillful in acting, others feel that you’re just similar.}

Sure enough, such reactions started to come out.

“If they’re similar, wouldn’t Ryu Shin be better? Novices are inherently unstable, so they might make mistakes during the performance. I vote for Ryu Shin for stability.”

“I think so, too. There’s no need to take a gamble. How about Jim Hutton for the leader’s role? He seems to do well there too.”

On the other hand, Ryu Shin’s mind was in utter chaos.

‘What the hell. Was he not only a genius scriptwriter? How can he act like that on his first try? That seems like a seasoned performance from a professional…’

Swallowing his saliva, his throat trembled.

‘If he’s really a novice and can do that much, then I’ve lost. A fourth-year Oedipus member tied with a novice? That’s absurd.’

He was about to concede. He wanted to admit that the guy had actually won.

And that guy could potentially improve even more during the practice period.

If so, that guy should play Freddie.

However…

Damn it. He felt greedy.

It was unthinkable to be craving for a role like this when it wasn’t even an official performance.

That desire repeatedly stopped Ryu Shin from opening his mouth.

‘If I accept the role here, I’ll be a worthless actor with no pride at all.’

Just as Ryu Shin was about to shake off his lingering regret and admit defeat…

“Let’s do the reading one more time before casting. I think I’ve got a feel for it now.”

Yoomyeong had made the first move.

*

‘Why did you ask me to buy some time?’

{Do you… really want to play this role? Seriously?}

‘Obviously. I really want to do it, but I can’t grasp Freddie’s emotions. It doesn’t feel real.’

{Then, do you want to experience it?}

Before the second reading.

Yoomyeong, who had come out to the hallway under the pretext of going to the bathroom, was having a conversation with Miho as it sat on his hand inside a bathroom stall.

However, Miho made a strange suggestion.

‘What are you talking about? Are you saying that you’re going to let Freddie Mercury possess me or something?’

{Yes, exactly. To be precise, it’s about making you experience his emotions.}

“What? Is that even possible?!”

Surprised, Yoomyeong retorted aloud.

Miho confidently straightened its translucent shoulders and insisted.

{Of course. I am a remarkable entity.}

‘Given that you’ve made me regress… Miho, please do this for me.’

{But there’s a condition.}

‘What?’

{When I ask for it, lend me your body once.}

Chill

—

For a moment, Miho’s eyes seemed to shine eerily.

‘It must be my imagination…’

Miho had sacrificed so much to give him a new chance, even sleeping the entire time in the form of a baby fox.

It’s a kind creature.

Yoomyeong repeated to himself.

‘I guess you have someone you want to meet. Sure, once should be fine.’

{We have a deal.}

[A contract with the spirit fox has been established.]

[According to the contract, we are invoking ‘Freddie Mercury’s’ emotions into ‘Shin Yoomyeong’s’ body.]

[Overloading of the brain with too much information may occur. We will delete and leave only the main emotions.]

After the familiar announcement played,

Keeeeeeing

—

A surge of emotions began to violently flood into Yoomyeong’s head.

Ah, it was similar to violence.

The youthful excitement when he first met Mary.

The ecstasy and unity when they became one.

The love he felt towards her, but the pain of his body no longer responding.

The attraction towards the same sex that he wanted to deny but couldn’t.

Pleasure and depravity. Days of despair and longing…

The sublime love for Mary, who had saved him from the swamp of despair when it felt like everyone had abandoned him.

The affection for his devoted lover, Jim Hutton, whom he could finally meet after finding himself again.

All those emotions surged like a flood, wreaking havoc on Yoomyeong’s mind and heart, and receded like a tide in less than a minute.

Unbeknownst to him, Yoomyeong was shedding tears, clutching his heaving chest tightly.

Memory Playback (1/1) has been used.

In the future, you cannot refuse Possession (0/1) when the spirit fox wishes.

An ominous notification appeared, but Yoomyeong could not pay attention to it.

His tears still wouldn’t stop falling, and his hands and feet were shaking.

—

It feels like no one will recognize me.

—

That anxiety was a feeling that Yoomyeong was familiar with, albeit of a different kind.

*

“Why do you look like that? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m not. Let’s start reading.”

Yoomyeong’s face was pale. Ryu Shin found it strange.

‘It can’t be because of the pressure now that he’s here…’

Ryu Shin couldn’t help but accept Yoomyeong’s suggestion to read again. In fact, he was almost glad.

Until just a moment ago, he had been practicing without a break, refining the parts that he wasn’t satisfied with. If the results were similar this time, he was ready to gracefully admit defeat.

‘Let’s give it a go!’

Reading started again. Seo Ryu Shin, who played the role of Freddie, poured out his emotions like a storm.

Compared to the previous reading, the highs and lows of the lines were clearer, and the emotions were directly expressed.

The vivacity of a living character.

‘It’s Ryu Shin, after all.’

The members who had been silently cheering for Ryu Shin’s performance inwardly thought.

“I’ll start now.”

However…

When the scene changed and Yoomyeong’s reading began, everyone was lost for words.

Yoomyeong’s tension was different from Ryu Shin’s. He started reading, no, acting very calmly.

He set his gaze on the empty space in the distance, bringing his hand to his ear as if holding a phone.

The members tilted their heads, following Yoomyeong’s fixed gaze.

There was nothing there. However, he was clearly looking at someone.

“Go to the window and look outside.”

“Can you see me?”

It was a gentle whisper.

In the extremely restrained tone, loneliness was screaming.

Emptiness.

In the pitch-black darkness, the image of a man reaching out his hand toward a fragment of unreachable light vividly came to mind.

“I guess I left my rest with you. I can’t sleep.”

The man laughed.

No, he cried.

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, tears streamed from Yoomyeong’s eyes, and everyone froze in place.

*

The scene ended.

What broke the seemingly frozen silence was the sound of Ryu Shin’s applause.

Clap clap clap—

“Well, there’s no need for further comparisons. I’ve lost.”

With Ryu Shin’s declaration of defeat, the role of Freddie was decided to be played by Yoomyeong.

As Yoomyeong was wiping away his still-flowing tears, the members began to chatter in surprise.

“Wow… are you really not gay? Oh, that’s a compliment. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“Amazing. It seems like you don’t need to learn method acting anymore…”

“What kind of cheat code did you use in that brief moment? The density of your emotions was entirely different.”

He did use a cheat code.

He hadn’t realized that invoking emotions would be like this.

‘If I become dependent on something like this…’

Of course, even if it allowed him to feel emotions, how well he expressed them in acting depended on the actor’s capabilities. However, he did not want to become an actor who relied on Miho’s abilities for his performance.

Yoomyeong, thinking that he should not engage in such trades anymore, spoke.

“I just suddenly understood Freddie’s emotional line.”

“Wow. That’s such a genius-like comment. It’s unfortunate, but I acknowledge it. There are cases when the role suddenly sinks in.”

“So, the team leader will be Freddie, Hye-Seon will be Mary and Ryu Shin will be Jim Hutton?”

“No. I want to play a different role.”

Ryu Shin said something unexpected.

“Huh? But we’ve already decided that the leader will play Freddie.”

“That discussion is over. I want to apply for the role of Mary.”

“What? What does that mean…?”

“After all, the theme was ‘being born different’. Is there a rule saying that supporting roles can’t be like that?”

“Huh? I guess not. Still, they said that only the main characters need to stick to the theme. Do we really need to do something disadvantageous?”

“It’s not disadvantageous. I will show you a completely convincing Mary Austin.”

Ryu Shin wore a confident smile.

He was a person with a strong competitive spirit by nature. Despite the smile on his face, he was inwardly crushed.

The perfect Freddie Mercury.

He had acted in over a dozen child roles and seen many formidable actors, but this was the first time he had felt such an overwhelming sense of defeat.

‘I’ve lost. With no room for excuses.’

His pride was bruised as if it had been cut sharply… but he couldn’t let it end like this.

The second most significant role in this play was not Jim Hutton, but Mary Austin. And…

‘I will compete with an equal handicap and match you with my acting.’

Ryu Shin clenched his teeth tightly.