Audition (2)
"How many are we on?"
"Fifteen."
Even the assistant director looked exhausted.
The only one who still seemed fresh was Team Leader Joo Se-hee from Ohsung Techwin.
"So only five left now."
"Two got fussy and went home, and two are asleep."
"Wait, so there's only one left?"
"Should I go wake the sleeping ones?"
"No. What kind of acting can a kid do after being jolted out of a nap? Give the guardians a polite excuse and send them home."
Director Lee Joo-young flipped through the portfolio.
The one remaining applicant was… Byun Ha-jin.
Good thing I held him back until last. There should still be some focus left for him to show what he can do.
"You saw Ji-hoon's startled expression earlier, right? How can a kid act that well?"
Oblivious to the mood, or willfully ignoring it, Team Leader Joo Se-hee kept pushing Kang Ji-hoon.
Why even bother holding an audition if this was how it was going to go?
"Team Leader. We're casting the child role for actor Kim Woo-jin right now. Everyone knows Ji-hoon's looks and acting ability, sure. But his vibe is completely wrong for actor Woo-jin. His face, his voice — the whole texture is different. I deliberately didn't pitch him for this audition because I had my reasons."
"Come on. What's the problem with attaching a handsome kid to a handsome star? Aren't you just being too strict, Director?"
She'd had Kang Ji-hoon in mind from the very start and pushed him into the pool.
The scattering of other applicants was just filler — a chorus of extras to make Ji-hoon shine by comparison.
When the flimsy scheme became obvious, Director Lee Joo-young's stomach turned.
"Let's watch the last kid and then talk. We've come this far already."
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"Hello. I'm Byun Ha-jin."
The moment he finished his bow, a low groan escaped the woman sitting beside Director Lee.
From her clothes and the way she sat, she clearly wasn't part of the production crew.
Perched beside the director like she owned the place, she seemed to be the representative sent over by the advertiser.
"Team Leader, are you feeling unwell? What's with the groaning all of a sudden…?"
"How can he be more handsome than Ji-hoon… cough, never mind."
Director Lee gave a suppressed chuckle and turned to me.
"You waited a long time, didn't you? Somehow you ended up last. You got the storyboard, right?"
"Yes, Director."
"We'll be looking at three shots: the fall while being chased, the startled turn, and the run to break up the fight."
The storyboard contained a cleverly twisted version of the commercial I'd seen.
The scene of the standoff at the dentist's office was gone entirely, replaced by a new progression in which the boy tried to break up a fight between the man who'd caught him after his fall and the man chasing him.
The can-kicking part seemed to have been cut because it tied into the final twist.
"Show us when you're ready. You can use that whole wall, all the way to the end."
Because of the running-through-the-alley scene, the audition space had been laid out long and narrow.
I closed my eyes to recall the emotions of the boy in the commercial.
"What's he doing? Sleeping?"
"Shh. He's finding his emotional center."
Ignoring the chatter around me, I slowly let myself sink into the heart of a boy who dreaded going to the dentist.
If he got caught, he'd have to sit in that chair lined with metal instruments — of course he was desperate.
He'd barely escaped the alley, then tripped and crashed to the ground. Shock.
When the uncle chasing him got hit by the flying can and collapsed — bewilderment.
And then, the guilt: did I do this? Regret.
The people watching me have to feel it too. When I fall, they have to hurt the way I do. When I'm stunned, they have to wonder what's going on. It can't stop at my own immersion. Only when I embrace the emotions of everyone watching my performance is it true method acting.
The dentist's entrance looks like the gates of hell.
The hand of the uncle gripping me is a hook.
If I stay caught on that hook, my teeth come out.
I'll get a shot that hurts like crazy.
No! I said no!
I'm not going in there!
My eyes snapped open, ready to thrash and bolt.
———————————
'Well, well. Look at that kid.'
His expression had shifted into one that said he'd rather die than be dragged inside.
How could he interpret a simple direction — run so you don't get caught — like that?
A six-year-old with no acting credits at all had caught my intent with perfect precision and rallied his emotions around it.
His breathing roughened, in and out in sharp tangles, enough to catch in the throat of anyone watching.
Even running slowly, he kept his face taut with desperation — framed exactly for a close-up.
He stopped as if the scenery had changed, then wheeled and sprinted another way.
Yes. Good. That's what makes it read like a real escape.
A few steps later, his legs tangled beneath him and he went down hard.
"Ha— Ha-jin! Are you okay?"
Before I knew it, I was on my feet, shouting.
That had to have hurt like hell.
His shoulders heaved with a strangled groan, and then he lifted his head.
He took someone's hand and pulled himself up with visible effort.
He ground his teeth shut, fighting back tears as he dusted off his knee.
He'd risen with someone's help — but there was no one in front of Ha-jin at all.
'That's… acting?'
Goosebumps raced down my arms.
That wasn't just natural. That was something else entirely.
He'd designed every moment of the scene and was assembling it in his own singular way.
He tripped over things no one could see and accepted help from someone who wasn't there.
And through it all, he never lost the breathing or the expression the situation demanded.
Not a single line of dialogue — just expression and movement, and they seized your eyes and wouldn't let go.
He embodied, with his whole body, the emotions that pulled the viewer in until you'd merged with him without noticing.
Those eyes. That breath. That face.
'There's no way not to fall for it.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
When his audition ended, Ha-jin bowed and walked out.
Director Lee Joo-young still wore a dazed expression, as if he hadn't yet shaken off the afterimage.
"Cough. Well… he's decent."
Team Leader Joo Se-hee said it with evident displeasure.
"If that's decent, then Ji-hoon's was a child playing make-believe."
"What was wrong with Ji-hoon's acting? It's not a movie, it's just a commercial — honestly, that kid was overdoing it. All that choking-the-breath-out-of-you stuff."
So even Team Leader Joo Se-hee, it turned out, had been pulled in by it.
"It's not overdone. You have to be wrung out like that early on for the twist to really land like a slap to the back of the head. The whole ad hinges on the twist — where else are you going to find an expression like that?"
"And that's exactly why you should be picking Ji-hoon, Director. Ji-hoon can't do it quite that way, sure. But we've already gone over everything with the division head, so I'll take it that Ji-hoon is being cast."
Director Lee Joo-young's face twisted.
"And if I say he can't do it quite that way?"
"Oh, come on, Director. Do you know how big this production budget is? If he's standing opposite actor Kim Woo-jin and athlete Ahn Jung-hoon, the child actor has to match their level, don't you think? That Ha-jin kid has a kindergarten project to his name, and that's it. How does that compare to Ji-hoon?"
"A long drama and film résumé doesn't mean someone can shoot a commercial. Ji-hoon's acting isn't fit to be compared with Ha-jin's."
"Who's talking about acting? Think about which child actor appeals more to the people who'll actually watch the ad. Why are you being like this when you know better?"
"Haah. If it was going to be this way, why did we even hold an audition? Might as well have just pinned Ji-hoon in from the start."
"I didn't want this audition either! I only did it because the division head left me no choice."
"The CEO needs the judging results reported, so we can't decide it here. The casting goes back to committee."
"Just do as you're told! The CEO already knows about it. If you're a director, shoot the commercial and stop being so difficult!"
Her shrill voice froze the air in an instant.
Director Lee Joo-young clenched his fist, but there was nothing he could do about it right now.
"What should we do, sir?"
The moment Team Leader Joo Se-hee left, the assistant director asked cautiously.
"Let's cut together the footage of Ha-jin's audition. I'll sit down with the CEO and show it to him. I'm not letting this one slide."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Yu-jin beat me to the bus stop today.
"You had your audition, right? How'd it go?"
"I think I acted well. Whether I get to shoot it, though, I don't know."
Director Lee Joo-young had looked like he thought I was the one, but the woman sitting beside him hadn't seemed pleased at all.
From the advertiser's perspective, a model's name recognition matters, so they wouldn't give up on Kang Ji-hoon easily.
All I could do was hope the director fought for me — and honestly, I wasn't counting on it.
When the advertiser says jump, how is a director supposed to stop them?
"Of course your acting is the best. There's no kid who acts better than you, Ha-jin — except maybe me."
Gee, thanks.
"The director liked me, but there's this kid way more famous than me, so who knows how it'll turn out."
"A famous kid?"
"You know Kang Ji-hoon? He came to audition too."
"Ugh, why was he there? The guy can't even act."
"You really don't like him, huh."
"Obviously. Do you know how many NGs he racks up? We'd be freezing to death outside while he keeps flubbing take after take. So annoying."
He told me about the daily drama they'd appeared in together.
Apparently, the moment things got even slightly demanding, Ji-hoon would lie down on the set and sour the whole mood.
"He hit another boy on set once and got chewed out by the director for it."
So that bastard's hands had been filthy since he was little.
"Did he ever do it to you?"
"Not to girls. To me, he was all sweet — used to give me presents and everything."
So he'd been chasing Yu-jin since way back then. No wonder those dating rumors had legs.
Poking at the pretty ones — some things never change, even in childhood.
"Don't get close to him. From what I saw today, he's a bad kid."
"Why? Did Ji-hoon hit you or something?"
"He tried to. I taught him a lesson instead."
"Liar. Ji-hoon is crazy strong."
"Next time you run into him on set, ask him. Ask him what I did."
He looked skeptical, but he promised he'd ask.
Once he remembered how his wrist had been seized, he wouldn't be able to bluster his way through it, would he.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Ha-jin, let's meet again tomorrow."
"Yes, Teacher. Goodbye."
After saying goodbye to Teacher Jo Ha-rin, I got off the kindergarten bus.
Mom spotted me and waved with a smile.
For some reason, she looked drained.
No matter how small the change, I could always tell when something was different about Mom.
"Mom, is something wrong?"
"Ah, Ha-jin, it's just…"
"You look tired. Is it something I'm not supposed to know about?"
"I'm just worried it'll disappoint you."
The moment she said it, I knew. It was the audition results.
What else could possibly disappoint me?
"The director called a little while ago…"
Just as I'd expected — I had failed the audition.