Scared, You Say?

Scared... you say?

"Thanks for the meal."

I showed up at the cafeteria alone and loaded my tray to the brim. I asked for more three separate times before the lunch lady, mindful of the line behind me, finally told me to move along.

"I still want more, though."

Rice, soup, and side dishes were piled so high the juices had started pooling in the middle and bleeding into one another, and I still felt a little shortchanged.

"Can't be helped. I'll eat this, then hit the snacks I bought this morning."

Cheongsol High School did not have a school store. If it had, I could have filled the last empty corner of my stomach properly. I swallowed the small disappointment and vacuumed the entire tray in one go.

A few kids drifted over as if they meant to talk to me, then, for reasons known only to them, simply turned around and left.

I emptied the tray so cleanly it didn't even need scraping and headed back upstairs. Halfway to the classroom, a low murmur leaked out through the door.

"I'll go over our club for everyone. We're the drama club. We put on plays, and we also go out for drama and bit-part auditions. Anyone interested, come find us in Class 3-1."

Club recruitment week, apparently. That was what this was. The drama club wasn't stopping at our class, either; they were working the whole grade, bouncing from room to room to spread the word.

"The drama club, huh..."

"Interested?"

"Huh...? When did you get back?"

Kim Woojin, who had vanished with Choi Wooseok to eat lunch, was somehow already in his seat.

"I'm on a diet, so I don't really bother with cafeteria food."

"But..."

A person on a diet? Hadn't he gone off to eat with Choi Wooseok?

Woojin read my face and started explaining himself.

"I just blanked when he said let's eat. That's why I came back halfway through. Anyway... are you interested in the drama club?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You were staring a hole through them."

I had looked at the drama club for maybe a minute, if that. Was he sharper-eyed than I thought?

In the working world, a knack for reading a room was one of those talents that quietly manufactured good evaluations. The kind of gift you were born with. The kind you could want forever and never grow.

"I'm jealous..."

"What?"

The words jumped out before I could stop them. How many times had I been chewed out trying to grind observational skill and social radar into myself? Even now, remembering those days, I envied Kim Woojin.

"It's nothing. And I have a question I didn't get to ask earlier. I heard from the teacher. You... you're majoring in acting."

"The teacher said that much? Why?"

"Well, I'm interested in acting too."

I didn't need to tell him everything. When the time came, he would find out whether he wanted to or not. Saying it now would only leave him feeling robbed—especially at this age.

I was already in the professional ranks, doing supporting-to-lead work on an actual drama. Kim Woojin was a sprout who had barely started. The gap between us had already ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened wide.

I can feed it to him a little at a time.

Someone with an eye like his would catch on fast enough.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

After school, I stood there with both hands full of club recruitment posters.

"What... is that?"

"Ah. These... I'm not even sure yet."

Kim Woojin was already waiting in front of the classroom, not even having gone home.

"Hey! Didn't even get to say a proper hello earlier! I'm Choi Wooseok! Let's get along!"

And his friend Choi Wooseok was waiting with him. The reason was simple: we had decided to go to the drama club together. I was interested in theater, and Kim Woojin was majoring in acting. Our destinations lined up.

"But... Wooseok, why are you coming?"

"Me? 'Cause I was bored! I was gonna hit the PC cafe after school, but this guy suddenly says he's interested in the drama club."

"That's why I told you to go ahead and grab a seat. You always say it's a pain."

"Ah~ I don't know about that. I wanna get close with Jiwoo too~"

Choi Wooseok grumbled. It was the kind of thing you only saw from kids this age, and it was a little cute.

"I don't mind."

"See? She says it's fine. Then let's go already! They said drama club practice is always in the auditorium, right?"

Choi Wooseok took the lead and strode off like he owned the hallway.

"Why don't you try the drama club audition too?"

"Me? Hmm... it's not like I haven't thought about it.... Yeah, never mind."

He pretended to weigh it, then shook his head.

"I like games more than acting. I'm gonna go pro someday."

A fantasy—or a delusion—that only someone this age could hold with a straight face. If his skill were actually pro-level, the pro scene would already have reached out. The way they had with me.

"R-right... do your best."

I offered the required encouragement for a kid chasing a dream, then leaned in and whispered against Kim Woojin's ear.

"Is he actually pro-level?"

Instead of answering, Kim Woojin shook his head. Then he looked at his friend with a gaze so full of pity that I understood at once.

Ah. I got it.

Poor guy.

"Anyway, are you going to hit all of those?"

Kim Woojin pointed at the club posters in my hands.

"Dunno? Still thinking."

Among the stack I had been handed, a few had actually caught my eye. The band club, for one. And stranger ones, like a VTuber club. If I had to pick favorites, it was the drama club and the VTuber club.

"That's... the VTuber club? You're into VTubers?"

He asked while I was staring a hole through the two posters. Fair enough. I had just said I was interested in acting; adding VTubers on top of that would sound weird.

Except I had joined the agency because I wanted to be a VTuber more than I wanted to be an actress.

"Well... it's a hobby. I don't watch every day, but I catch streams now and then."

"...Right."

What was that just now? That little nod, like he already understood something?

I was about to press him on it when Choi Wooseok, who had gotten ahead of us, turned and waved us forward.

"What are you doing over there! Hurry up! The drama club already started their play!"

At that, Kim Woojin and I picked up the pace.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Ah... ahhh...

I opened the auditorium door. What greeted us was not a welcoming committee, but a line of second- and third-years standing on the stage. Their hands rested on their stomachs as they poured out vocal exercises.

"What... are they doing?"

Choi Wooseok pointed at the upperclassmen. Everyone knew singers and announcers did vocal work. Watching actors do it, though, was rare. The people you saw in dramas and films had already finished that kind of basic training.

"It's vocal practice. Actors work with their voices too. Change the tone or the pitch and the whole character can shift."

"Huh... is that ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so?"

I gave him the short version and stepped inside.

A footstep echoed. The second- and third-years cut off mid-exercise, and every gaze in the room swung toward the sound.

"What brings you here? The auditorium is reserved for the drama club at this hour."

A boy put his arm out, blocking us from coming any farther.

"Oh...? Are you interested in the drama club? Looking at your tie colors... you're first-years."

First-years wore red. Second-years wore blue. Third-years wore green. The boy in front of us had a green tie, which made him a third-year senior.

"Yes, we're interested in the drama club. We'd like to observe for a bit... would that be alright?"

"Observe, ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠huh... As long as you don't get in our way, watching is fine."

He thought it over for a second, then nodded and let us stay. We withdrew to one side and watched how the drama club actually practiced.

The vocal work seemed to be finished. They paired off and took hold of wadded sheets of paper.

"Watch closely. Acting isn't easy. Relying on your face only works when you're a child actor. Once you grow up, you compete on skill, not looks."

Kim Woojin said it out of nowhere, arms folded, completely serious.

"I know that. I have no intention of riding my face through a performance."

I had already watched beautiful, handsome senior actors on set. Even they never slacked on script work or rehearsal; they burned time and effort for a single take. I had done one drama. A supporting role, not even a lead. I had no intention of stopping here and calling it enough.