The Idol's Acting

If they'd asked him to play a flamboyant villain, Rembrary would have managed perfectly well. All he had to do was imitate one of the many demons he'd encountered over the years — and since demons were, without exception, wildly distinctive creatures, imitation was no challenge at all.

But the acting the director and screenwriter Shim Gyeong were demanding was far too abstract.

When no progress could be made on Rembrary's side, the director finally decided to move on for the moment and asked the next actor in the lineup to read their script instead.

Since Rembrary had exactly one line in episode 1, there was no trouble after that point.

But the moment the reading moved into the episode 2 script, it stalled at Rembrary's turn all over again.

Unlike episode 1, which had laid out the characters' personalities, occupations, and relationships, episode 2 was where the cast began entangling in earnest.

Deungbaek (played by Maeng Woo-shin), having recovered his memories, breaks off mid-Mass and flees the altar retching. He shudders under the recurring sensation of death and the surging hatred of God.

Deungbaek tries to steady himself by taking a rest, claiming he feels unwell — but the harder he tries, the more vivid the sensations of his past life become.

Before long, he can no longer even tell which of them is the present him: the self from his past life, or the self of today.

Then a toothache strikes, and Deungbaek walks into a nearby dental clinic — where he runs into Yang Heung (Lim Yu-han), the very woman who had clashed with her friend back in episode 1.

She had stuck in his memory for saying, in a slow, deliberate voice, "God doesn't exist. People believe in God because they want to believe — not because he's real." Not exactly fondly, of course.

Recognizing Deungbaek on the examination chair, Yang Heung snorts and begins to needle him.

Sprawled on the dental chair with his mouth open, Deungbaek suddenly recognizes it: Yang Heung has exactly the same face as the girlfriend of his past life. The angle of lying cradled in her arms back then overlapped with the angle of the examination chair now, and the memory surfaced with complete clarity.

The moment Deungbaek opens his mouth and begins to sob, Yang Heung panics and asks, "Does it hurt that much?"

'Im Seo' — the character Rembrary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was playing — doesn't appear until a few scenes later, after Deungbaek returns to the parish cathedral.

Deungbaek comes back from his dental treatment with one cheek swollen like a bun, and because he'd wept while looking at Yang Heung, his eyes are puffy as well.

Seeing him, Im Seo pulls a face of 'very slight' surprise.

When Deungbaek snaps at him, Im Seo points at his swollen cheek and asks with a faint smile:

It was the kind of moment that quietly revealed, without ever stating it outright, that Im Seo was utterly incapable of empathizing with other people's feelings or pain.

Rembrary was delighted that his line count had grown from a single remark in episode 1 to three lines in episode 2 — but the director's and Shim Gyeong's expressions only darkened.

In the end, they wasted time on that section again, until the break was called.

Rembrary stepped out into the corridor and leaned against the railing, staring blankly out the window.

It surely differed from person to person, but for Rembrary, singing was unmistakably easier than acting.

Even so, he did his best to grasp the emotions of the character Shim Gyeong kept describing — this 'Im Seo.'

Before becoming High Priest, he had often counseled believers. Drawing on that experience, he tried to imagine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Im Seo as a living person and to listen for the sound of his voice.

A person who cannot feel emotion... someone who knows that emotions exist in others, but regards them as an entirely unknown territory...

Rembrary closed his eyes and slowly raised a hand.

Deungbaek stood before him, his cheek swollen from the dental work.

Any ordinary person would wince and think, that must hurt — but Im Seo feels only curiosity.

Why has a perfectly fine face ended up like that? — thinking exactly that.

He simply wants to press the swollen cheek, that is all.

And if I touch it and the other person cries out in pain, how fascinating that would be...

At that moment, his fingertip met something soft. In real life.

Rembrary's eyes flew open in shock.

Lim Yu-han, the actress playing the female lead, was standing there with her eyes gone round. What Rembrary had poked was not Deungbaek's cheek, but Lim Yu-han's.

"Ah. My apologies."

Rembrary awkwardly lowered his hand.

"Practicing, were you?"

Lim Yu-han asked with an amused smile.

"Yes."

"Thought so. That expression just now — it was really good."

"Did it resemble Im Seo?"

"Mm. You seemed to be getting a proper grip on him."

Two disposable cups wrapped in brown paper appeared in front of Rembrary.

He accepted them both without thinking, and Lim Yu-han smiled as she spoke.

"Coffee. Drink up before you go back in."

"Then why are there two?"

"I didn't know if you liked it strong or sweet. Pick whichever suits your taste."

"Ah."

When Rembrary chose the coffee loaded with cream, Lim Yu-han took the other cup back, clamped a straw between her teeth, and winked one eye at him.

He didn't know what it meant, but Rembrary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠winked back in solidarity and put the straw to his lips.

"Pwah."

At that, Lim Yu-han let out a short, air-leaking laugh.

Why is she laughing? Puzzled, Rembrary devoted himself to suctioning coffee through the straw instead.

With the comeback approaching, Jong-woo had declared that the members needed to get their bodies in shape, and was supplying them with barely enough food to survive. Opportunities like this had to be exploited to the fullest.

Lim Yu-han watched him for a moment, then asked, "Shall we run through it together?"

"All of my scenes are conversations with Maeng Woo-shin sunbaenim."

"I'll stand in for Wooshin. It's not a monologue scene, so it's much easier to practice with a scene partner, isn't it?"

Rembrary thought Lim Yu-han was remarkably kind.

Plenty of celebrities were gracious when the cameras were rolling, but Lim Yu-han was the first he'd met who was gracious when they weren't.

If this had been his original world, Rembrary would have bestowed a blessing upon her.

When Rembrary nodded, Lim Yu-han deftly copied Deungbaek's scowl.

Watching the two of them from a distance, Jong-woo turned to Sa Gam-jae with a warning.

"Gamjae, listen. Later, when I'm not tagging along and it's you following Yeon-woo around to his solo schedules—"

"Yes."

"Never, and I mean never, leave Yeon-woo alone with Lim Yu-han."

"Whyever not?"

"Why do you think? Because they might start dating, that's why!"

"Is dating prohibited?"

"Not prohibited, but it has to wait until his idol days are over. Not now. Cathy, fine, I'll let that slide — but Yeon-woo is the most popular member of our group. Do you know how much his fans get mocked online just for being Yeon-woo fans? They swallow every insult thrown at him and shield him everywhere they go, and then imagine what happens if he, of all people, neglects the fans fending off abuse on his behalf and starts dating some fresh-faced, gorgeous actress. They'll get so disillusioned they'll leave in a stampede. If that kid starts dating, that's it — no next album, no anything. Wild Animal is finished. Done."

Jong-woo's face was deeply worried, but Sa Gam-jae merely smiled, unbothered.

"There is no cause for concern."

"Why? Do you know something? Did Yeon-woo say he's not interested in dating?"

"That is not it. But as a rule, humans who carry that particular aura take no interest in the propagation of their species."

What nonsense is this one spouting now? Jong-woo fixed Sa Gam-jae with a flat, dead-fish stare.

Sa Gam-jae, wholly composed, went on calmly observing Yeon-woo and Lim Yu-han.

Gazing at that flawlessly handsome profile, Jong-woo seriously considered whether he ought to tell the CEO they needed to hire a new road manager. Or perhaps hire one back...

Once the break ended, the script reading started over from episode 1.

Rembrary recited his handful of lines the way he had practiced with Lim Yu-han, keeping in mind the psychological state of Im Seo as he himself had pieced it together.

It was far better than before. That strange, uncanny naturalness came through clearly now.

But the awkward quality that Shim Gyeong and the director wanted was still missing.

Episode 2 fared no better, and afterward, even when Shim Gyeong took Rembrary aside to run lines with him privately, nothing improved.

Finally, Shim Gyeong let out a long sigh, said, "One moment," and slipped out of the room with the director.

The other cast members either pitied Yeon-woo inwardly or cursed him under their breath.

A few of them — the ones who absolutely despised idols trying to act — even felt a quiet, vindictive satisfaction at how hopeless Woo Yeon-woo's acting was.

Audiences hated seeing idols pivot into acting, sure — but if an idol actually acted well, they'd turn around, change their minds, and send up cheers of support.

For the struggling actors who could barely land roles, though, an idol who acted well was every bit as hateful as an idol who acted badly.

The better those idols shattered the prejudice that 'idols can't act,' the more of them would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flood into the profession — which meant, inevitably, less standing and fewer opportunities for everyone else. That was how they saw it.

If an idol landed a lead role, at least you could grit your teeth and root for the production's success — but Yeon-woo wasn't even that. Since his part did nothing to carry the story, he didn't even earn grudging support.

The handful of actors who particularly disliked Woo Yeon-woo hoped that this drama would break him so completely he'd wash his hands of acting for good.

Shim Gyeong and the director didn't reappear until roughly thirty minutes had passed, at which point they announced that the day's reading was over and everyone was free to go.

But they asked Rembrary to stay behind, and the actors filed out of the room carrying all manner of thoughts with them.

Jong-woo watched the writer and director anxiously, trying to read their faces. Why did they ask him to stay? Don't tell me they're scrapping the contract at this stage? Cutting him from the production? His lines are barely anything as it is — are they cutting even those? Every anxious possibility in the world occurred to him.

But what Shim Gyeong said was nothing he could have predicted.

"We talked it over with the director, Mr. Woo Yeon-woo."

"Yes."

"Mm. First of all — could you read this line in your usual style? No, not your usual style. In the voice you're most confident in."

Shim Gyeong pointed to the episode 1 script.

"Sunbae. Why are you crying?"

Rembrary used the gentlest, most benevolent tone at his command — the one he was most confident in.

Shim Gyeong nodded and exchanged a glance with the director.

Jong-woo strained to read their expressions — and to his surprise, they weren't bad at all.

This time Shim Gyeong pointed to the episode 2 script.

"Now this line too, please."

"Does it hurt? ... May I press on it? ... Could you tell me how much it hurts?"

When Rembrary delivered the lines once more, kindly and gently, Shim Gyeong said "Okay," and gave the desk a light thump.

"Whether he speaks awkwardly or sweetly, the twist waiting at the end is exactly the same either way. It won't affect the story at all, so let's just switch to this version."

"Switch to... what, exactly?"

"Originally he was 'a character who speaks awkwardly because he's imitating emotion.' Instead, let's make him 'a character who speaks warmly because he's imitating a good person.' That'll work better."

For Rembrary, there was nothing remotely objectionable about the proposal.

He consented readily — and just like that, Rembrary's character had a brand-new backstory.

On the way home, Jong-woo snapped at Rembrary bluntly.

"So? Any grand revelations from today's little episode, hm?"

"Your eye for talent is absolute garbage, Jong-woo."

"What?"

"Yours, and the acting coach's as well. Everyone insisted my acting was natural — yet are the writer and the director not both dissatisfied?"

"Hey, you little—! Don't go blaming other people in that pompous tone of yours. You're supposed to say something like, 'I'll do better, I need to practice more.' Isn't that the normal reaction?"

"Blaming others is more comfortable. Why bother with anything else?"

"That is NOT something you say out loud!"