Chapter 42
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Everyone's Talking About Do-hyun
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“Lee Do-hyun? I hear that kid’s been making waves lately?”
“Yeah. His name keeps popping up everywhere these days.”
Han Hyo-jin and Jung Hye-seon burst out laughing at the name that had come up among the general subject teachers.
The teachers who weren’t homeroom advisors this year had gathered in the break room.
During this leisurely homeroom period, they were chatting over cups of instant coffee mix, and sure enough, even here the topic turned to Lee Do-hyun.
“I get why you’re laughing.”
Only Kim Eun-jung, the music department teacher who had handled the collaboration with the musical theater department, smiled as if she understood their amusement perfectly.
She couldn’t help but smile whenever she heard Do-hyun’s name these days, too.
This time, there had been a surprise when Do-hyun— the kid drawing attention even in the musical theater department—chose percussion, a relatively unpopular major, as his collaboration partner.
Thanks to that, the music department was buzzing with energy.
Even students majoring in something other than piano or violin now had hope of collaborating with the musical theater department.
“What’s the deal? What’s so special about this kid?”
The directing department teacher asked, eyes sparkling.
Han Hyo-jin took a sip of her coffee before answering.
“There’s this one kid who’s like an alien. Like some kind of extraterrestrial. He just showed up out of nowhere and swept first place in every subject test. And he doesn’t even act all arrogant about it… Honestly, he doesn’t even seem 17.”
“How does a kid like that even exist? He’s not even from a prep arts middle school, right?”
The teachers murmured in amazement at Han Hyo-jin’s bold claim.
Just then, someone entered the staff room.
“Teacher?”
Yoon Jong-hoon, a directing department student, looked around for his teacher.
“Oh, over here.”
Yoon Jong-hoon approached the group of teachers.
“Hello, teachers.”
He bowed politely to the gathered group.
“Hey, yeah. Jong-hoon.”
“What brings you to the staff room?”
Everyone seemed to already know Yoon Jong-hoon and greeted him warmly.
Without a word, Yoon Jong-hoon handed a sheet of paper to the directing teacher.
“Here’s the schedule for today’s announcements.”
“Oh, got it. Thanks.”
The teacher skimmed the paper and grinned in satisfaction.
“Good, good. You did great, our Yoon Jong-hoon.”
The directing teacher reached to pat Yoon Jong-hoon’s butt, but Yoon Jong-hoon quickly dodged.
“Ugh, seriously. I told you not to.”
Yoon Jong-hoon gave him a look that said, *This old geezer’s at it again*, clearly used to this by now.
Brushing past the directing teacher—who shrugged with a sly grin—Han Hyo-jin stepped forward.
“Heh heh. I heard Yoon Jong-hoon won the rookie script award at HanMyuHwe this time? A senior I know mentioned you’re a first-year at our school. Congrats.”
“Thank you.”
Yoon Jong-hoon bowed as if it were only natural, without a hint of shyness.
Han Hyo-jin smiled and patted his shoulder.
HanMyuHwe was the Korean Musical Association.
If Lee Do-hyun was the hot new talent in the musical theater department, then Yoon Jong-hoon was the standout freshman in the directing department.
He was a major rookie already earning awards and carrying the full expectations of the directing teachers.
“Has any student won a script award while still in school here? You’re the first, right, Jong-hoon?”
“Of course our Jong-hoon’s the first!”
At Han Hyo-jin’s words, the directing teacher puffed up his chest, nose held high.
“Teacher, no wonder you’ve been grinning like a clown since morning. Looking forward to the directing announcements today?”
Today was the day of the first official notice for the musical theater department’s first-semester comprehensive evaluation.
The comprehensive evaluation was a collaborative project with select students from the directing department.
It was a tradition for Cheongyeom Arts High first-years in their first semester, pairing directing students aspiring for musicals with musical theater students.
Yoon Jong-hoon was one of them.
The paper he’d just handed over contained details about it.
“Wahahaha. Of course we are! No matter how great this Lee Do-hyun or Kim Do-hyun is, he’s no match for our Yoon Jong-hoon!”
“Teacher…”
Yoon Jong-hoon shook his head sheepishly after listening that far.
Then, Jung Hye-seon, who had been quietly listening, spoke up softly.
“I don’t think so.”
Everyone turned to stare at Jung Hye-seon, who rarely joined the chatter.
“That kid’s no pushover.”
***
It was the day of the first notice for the comprehensive evaluation—the most important test of the first semester.
In the fourth period before lunch, the musical theater students gathered in the mid-sized theater.
Having only used the small theater until now, they were awestruck by their first official entry into the mid-sized one.
“Wow. The difference between the mid-sized and small theater is huge.”
“Yeah… The stage is massive…”
Woo-sik kept looking around, letting out gasps of admiration.
Lee Cheong-ha looked a bit pale, seemingly intimidated by the much larger stage.
Her stage fright hadn’t fully gone away yet.
Even so, she always pulled through on stage—that was impressive.
It meant she was putting in tremendous effort and mustering more courage than anyone else each time.
Her quiet diligence made her even more admirable lately.
This place looked just like I remembered.
It had been a while for me, too.
Not quite the grand theater, but on the scale of a national theater, it was no small venue.
Pros occasionally rented it out for performances.
The facilities were so top-notch, it was hard to believe it was a school theater for students.
Compared to the small theater, the seating capacity was different, and the subtle tiering ensured the stage was visible from anywhere.
The quality outshone even long-established professional theaters.
Seeing these facilities again after returning sixteen years prior choked me up.
The Cheongyeom Foundation was something else.
“There’s a reason tuition’s so high, huh?”
Woo-sik poked my side.
“Yeah. Even better than I remembered, man.”
“Remembered?”
“Oh, uh, than I thought. Than I thought.”
Lost in old memories, I’d slipped up.
Luckily, with Woo-sik’s personality, he wouldn’t suspect a thing.
It was a relief the slip-up was with him.
“Who are those kids? Some look familiar from the music collab…”
Lee Cheong-ha said, eyes uneasy.
In the seats a bit away from the musical theater kids sat groups from other departments.
Besides musical theater, students from other majors were filling the auditorium.
“Probably related to this comprehensive evaluation stage.”
Directing, fine arts, and so on—I knew roughly, but saw no need to explain.
No point acting like I knew; the teachers would cover it soon.
The grander theater scale, unfamiliar faces from other departments mixed in,
And the tension and excitement ahead of the comprehensive evaluation had the kids chattering nonstop.
“Quiet.”
Huh Ji-woong appeared and silenced the noise in an instant.
“Alright, everyone here?”
Han Hyo-jin and Jung Hye-seon followed.
As musical theater pros, their vocal projection was impeccable.
A word or two to rein in a bunch of spirited 17-year-olds—that was skill.
“Aah.”
Huh Ji-woong stopped the kids’ chatter with his raw voice, then tested the mic a few times.
“Now, the comprehensive evaluation season you’ve all been waiting for is here.”
At the words “comprehensive evaluation,” the kids straightened up unnecessarily.
They gazed up at Huh Ji-woong on stage, faces tense.
The comprehensive evaluation season was already here.
It felt fresh all over again.
Two months had passed since my return.
Time sure marched on.
I’d been so busy with subject tests that the comprehensive evaluation was upon us.
“As I always say, the comprehensive evaluation is the musical theater department’s most important exam. If subject tests were quizzes, this is finals.”
Just like Huh Ji-woong said.
Around this time, regular high schoolers were diving into finals prep.
True to its reputation, Cheongyeom Arts High musical theater focused on comprehensive eval prep over general academics.
Of course, the semester wasn’t judged solely on it.
There were subject tests and exams for general subjects.
But it carried the heaviest weight in semester grades, no question.
To get the grade-based scholarships Woo-sik had rattled off, this score mattered most.
That made it Cheongyeom’s premier annual event.
“To be precise, our department could be called the Musical Actor track. But musicals aren’t a simple art form completed by actors alone. Directing, sound, lighting, and more. Countless elements and efforts culminate in a show for the audience. Your acting is just one piece.”
Huh Ji-woong continued in his calm, firm tone.
I waited silently as he prefaced the explanation.
I knew exactly why he was laying this out.
It was the freshmen’s first comprehensive evaluation.
He was explaining its meaning to these first-years.
Beyond just grading, what a meaningful process it was.
I hoped the kids took it all in.
“So, the comprehensive evaluation isn’t done by musical theater alone. Every student from other departments here today will participate in our evaluation.”
At his words, the kids glanced curiously at the other-department students in adjacent sections.
“Teaming up with them to present a complete musical. That’s your first-semester first-year comprehensive evaluation task.”
He made it sound so grand.
The mention of “a musical” had the students buzzing.
Han Hyo-jin took the mic next.
“The other-department students here all aspire to musicals. They’ll handle stage lighting, sound, set design. Since it’s collaboration, form your teams freely.”
The kids quieted as she spoke.
Woo-sik gaped blankly beside me; Lee Cheong-ha fidgeted anxiously.
Han Hyo-jin’s clear, bright voice lightened the mood.
“One element I mentioned is missing, right?”
“Directing.”
I murmured to myself.
“The students handling the show’s direction. Now, let me introduce the six in charge.”
At Han Hyo-jin’s cue, Huh Ji-woong gestured backstage.
Six students filed onto the stage.
“These are directing department students at Cheongyeom Arts High who aspire to musical directing.”
Familiar faces.
Beyond musical theater, these six were the most familiar.
I’d worked with some before my return.
Though back then, I’d had a minor role.
“They’ve been prepping to direct our musical theater comprehensive evaluations since the semester began.”
As Han Hyo-jin continued, the six directing students lined up at the front center of the stage.
They’re here, as expected.
I fixed my gaze on one while half-listening to her explanation.
The one on the far right, scanning the musical theater students with a confident, relaxed expression.
Yoon Jong-hoon. Been a while since I’d seen his younger face.
The directing department’s once-in-a-generation genius, later hailed as one of Korea’s top stage directors at a young age.
Yoon Jong-hoon.