Chapter 101
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Musicalizing Plays
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“A ragtag bunch, huh.”
Ji-woong seemed pretty annoyed by Song Ha-na’s question.
He stared right at her with sharpened eyes.
“There’s no student at Cheongyeom Arts High who deserves to be called a ragtag bunch. No, even outside of Cheongyeom, it’s a bad habit to casually judge people like that.”
Just moments ago, Ji-woong’s eyes had been unfocused, but now they flashed.
“Song Ha-na, I’m disappointed in that question.”
At Ji-woong’s words, Song Ha-na hung her head, clearly embarrassed herself.
I figured she’d fire right back, but she bit her lip and stayed silent, like she’d taken it to heart.
Seeing that, Ji-woong’s like that was pretty cool.
He didn’t throw his weight around needlessly—he only did it when it mattered.
And he was the type of teacher who always said what the students needed to hear.
Sometimes he seemed indifferent to the kids, but that was never the case.
Take this summer break and Lee Cheong-ha’s situation—he’d deliberately not contacted me so she wouldn’t feel awkward if he showed up at the theater.
There were plenty of people who pretended to like kids on the surface but brushed them off when it got inconvenient.
“Developing an eye for works is a skill too. Think carefully about which ones suit you, which ones you can excel in, and choose accordingly. Like Ha-na said, the results might not go the way you want.”
Ji-woong shifted his gaze from Song Ha-na and scanned the whole classroom as he spoke.
The kids leaned in, ears perked for his advice.
Even if they got treated like slackers at school, Ji-woong was still a senior who’d performed in musicals.
“Back then, treat that failure as a lesson and make a better choice next time. At your age, failures are endlessly forgivable. That’s why schools exist as a safety net. Here at Cheongyeom, I hope you all pursue what you truly want to do, embracing both failures and successes.”
He wrapped up with his signature brand of encouragement.
Thanks to that, the kids’ enthusiasm and focus shot up higher than ever.
“Now, let’s continue with the explanation of the comprehensive evaluation.”
Ji-woong cleared his throat awkwardly, like he was embarrassed by his own advice.
He relaxed his posture and returned to his easygoing tone.
“The theme for this comprehensive evaluation is ‘musicalizing plays.’”
Cheongyeom Arts High’s comprehensive evaluations had a concept each semester.
This semester’s was ‘musicalizing plays.’
Taking famous existing plays and adding numbers and musical elements to turn them into musicals.
The point was to draw out different thrills from the same script through the genres of theater versus musical.
“First, I’ll introduce the works you’ll be working on for this evaluation. I didn’t prepare them—the directing department did and passed the materials to me. For fairness, I’ll introduce all three.”
Ji-woong gave his preamble and turned on the TV screen.
“Kyung-in, kill the lights, would you?”
Do Kyung-in, sitting up front, jumped up and switched off the lights.
In the darkened classroom, the TV glowed alone up front.
Soon, a PPT for introducing the works appeared on screen.
“The first work I’ll introduce is ‘Clown.’”
‘Clown.’
I remembered it fondly from before my regression—it was a play I’d enjoyed.
Its story was so famous even people who didn’t like theater knew it.
That was because the movie adaptation, ‘The Woman’s Clown,’ had been a massive hit.
Thanks to that, the play had ridden a wave of renewed popularity.
Even over a decade later, it remained one of the steadily loved works.
It was a prime example of how the two media had positively boosted each other.
“As some of you know, it’s the original play for the movie ‘The Woman’s Clown.’”
At Ji-woong’s words, the kids murmured softly.
Whether they’d known or not, everyone was whispering.
But the buzz wasn’t just because it was a famous movie adaptation.
“Isn’t that the one with heavy romance and bromance at the same time?”
Woo-sik whispered to me from the side, not one to be left out.
The play ‘Clown’ was famous for its sparkling chemistry—not just the romance between man and woman, but the razor-edge bromance friendship.
“Yeah.”
“Hmm. I’m not confident.”
For kids this age, acting bromance could feel burdensome.
Romance scenes were awkward enough at this stage.
Not for me, though.
I was actually getting excited.
Bromance or whatever, its quality was proven by countless validations.
“Plans for musicalizing the play ‘Clown’……”
Ji-woong continued explaining the musicalization of ‘Clown.’
He read straight from the directing department’s script like it was a textbook, in a stiff tone, but the info got across.
It had succeeded as both play and movie.
What new fun would come from its rebirth as a musical?
Even at a glance, there were plenty of intriguing elements for a musical.
Scenes blended with traditional Korean music would be added, along with numbers like chang.
It’d definitely be a distinctive piece.
I paid close attention to the ‘Clown’ intro materials amid these thoughts.
“Since action is key in this one, it’d suit anyone confident in physicality or eager to challenge themselves.”
Ji-woong dropped hints for choosing without missing a beat.
He acted like he was letting them loose, but he was more thoughtful than that.
He gave guidance that respected their autonomy.
Musicalizing a traditional historical drama script… That’d be useful reference for my master class videos too.
I’d been brainstorming ideas for fusing classics and modern on my YouTube master class anyway.
Cheongyeom Arts High piled on practical assignments each semester.
If two overlapped somewhat, the fatigue would be less.
All in all, choosing ‘Clown’ didn’t seem like a bad call.
Still, I should hear about the others first.
“Next is ‘Eighteen Youth.’ It’s so famous, most of you probably know it.”
The bright, lively play ‘Eighteen Youth.’
It starred one male lead actor, with three leading female characters carrying the show alongside him.
“The original had a solo male lead at the top. But in this musical adaptation, two female actors will take the top spots, and the male will drop to a leading supporting role. Also……”
Another intriguing adaptation direction.
With two female leads announced, the girls’ eyes sparkled as they hung on every word.
Pushing bromance in ‘Clown’ meant more male leads, so they’d balanced it with this for ‘Eighteen Youth.’
After finishing ‘Eighteen Youth,’ Ji-woong moved straight to the last one.
“The third and final work is another famous one: the play ‘Tomb Robbers.’”
The next was the comedic genre ‘Tomb Robbers.’
A fun tale of grave robbers targeting a chaebol family’s tomb.
All three works for the evaluation were already famous plays.
Fame meant no trouble grasping the content, but also easy comparisons to the originals.
They’d have to preserve the unique charm while nailing the musicalization—and their own takes.
A properly challenging task for a comprehensive evaluation.
By the way,
“You’d suit this last one.”
Listening to ‘Tomb Robbers,’ it suddenly hit me that it’d fit Woo-sik perfectly.
But when I glanced at him, his expression was weird.
“Foolish guy.”
Woo-sik turned to me, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.
“Me, I……”
Why the dramatic face for whatever he was about to say.
“I’ve already picked the work I belong in.”
Ah, I could guess.
“Going for number two?”
Woo-sik flinched at my words.
But he quickly composed himself and explained.
I could’ve guessed the reason without hearing.
“How many girls do you think will flock to number two, buddy? This is a gift from the heavens.”
Not sharpening an eye for works—sharpening something else, huh, buddy.
You aiming to turn into a self-formed fan club or what.
I could vaguely see Woo-sik’s future, but I decided to stay quiet this time too.
Being the lone guy wouldn’t be easy either.
He leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“What about you?”
I pulled my face back a bit at his pose.
Man, he loved whispering.
I glanced around slyly, then brought my face to his ear. Woo-sik’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Se-cret.”
Woo-sik shivered like my breath gave him goosebumps.
Then his eyes sharpened as he turned to me.
A tragic expression, like I’d betrayed him.
“You sneaky bastard.”
“Why? Teacher said secret ballot.”
I shrugged and teased. Woo-sik glared with goggle eyes.
Fat chance—I wasn’t telling.
Even if I did, he wouldn’t pick mine anyway.
“The papers being handed out now are for selecting your comprehensive evaluation work.”
Ji-woong finished the intros and passed out ballots.
It’d been ages since a vote like this, so I was lost in nostalgia when his voice continued.
“If it’s oversubscribed, like I said, rock-paper-scissors decides. No complaints?”
“Yes—”
Secret ballot meant kids could pile into one work.
But each needed exactly ten actors, already set.
Oversubscription meant rock-paper-scissors for priority.
Old-school, but no gripes that way.
“Good. Write your name and the number of the work you want on the paper, fold it twice, and drop it in the box.”
The lights flicked on, and the kids buzzed about which to pick.
Not in full prep mode yet, they were all buzzing with excitement and anticipation, chatting about the works.
Familiar content-wise, so plenty to discuss.
“You have ten minutes to think. I’ve heard and seen it all, so no talking to your neighbor—focus on your own thoughts.”
At Ji-woong’s words, the room went dead silent in an instant. Kids shielded their papers with hands and pondered deeply.
Who’d end up in which? The subtle mind games were fierce.
They snuck peeks around—just enough not to get caught by Ji-woong—scribbling on papers one by one.
With comprehensive evaluation on the line, no easy picks.
Me, I decided without fuss and folded my ballot twice.
First instincts don’t change easy.
I went with number one, ‘Clown,’ which had hooked me from the start.
Wonder who I’ll end up with.
Leisurely done, I scanned around—and spotted someone standing.
Huh?
There, finishing as quick as me, was someone on Do-hyun’s level.
‘Someone confident in their body… Probably ‘Clown,’ right?’
Cheongyeom Arts High’s top ace, Kim Sun-woo.