Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Suddenly, the Lead Role?
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"Suddenly, the lead role?"
When Seonwoo announced he was going to audition for the lead, the troupe members' reactions were all much the same.
"Isn't the lead a bit too soon for you?"
A husky voice.
A woman with long black hair tied back—Minhee—looked at Seonwoo with an expressionless face.
Even without a trace of makeup, her striking features stood out. She was the actress who had performed Confession alongside Seonwoo.
Among the troupe, she was known for always delivering blunt facts.
Striking with nothing but the truth, without emotion... which was why everyone was secretly a little afraid of her, the senior type.
There was a surprisingly simple way to deal with someone like Minhee.
Just respond to her with facts alone.
"I know it's early for me too. But I suddenly want to give it a shot."
"Hmm... Competing for the lead isn't easy. I know you're good beyond your experience... but the lead role means thinking about a lot more. Why the sudden fixation on it?"
It was the reaction he'd expected.
With his experience—or rather, his months in—not aiming for the lead would be the norm.
It wouldn't be strange if they thought the 'genius' label had gone to his head.
But this wasn't some flight of fancy.
"I know it's hard and tough, and that's exactly why I want to do it."
"What does that mean?"
"I've felt how much I'm still lacking. So I thought, if I take on something even harder, maybe I'll clash with it more, learn more... That's what crossed my mind."
In short, hard mode might build skills faster than easy mode.
At that moment, a man with poofy hair, who had been listening in, chimed in.
Hyeseong. At thirty-five, he held the position of the troupe's eldest.
"Well, the higher your goals, the harder you work, sure. But... you're only prepping for the lead? What if you don't get it?"
"Then there's nothing to be done. For now... I'm just focusing on the challenge."
And there was more to challenging for the lead than just that.
The clothes he was wearing right now were a problem too.
Seonwoo was dressed in a suit.
Why wear a suit to the troupe? Because... when he left the house that morning, he'd told them he had a job interview.
He still hadn't told his family he'd started acting.
'I need to tell them soon.'
At first, he'd held back, figuring he might quit acting anytime.
He thought his mind might change and he'd jump back into the job hunt.
Of course, now he was certain.
The more he acted, the more he knew.
He wanted to live as an actor.
He was happiest when performing.
But it was still hard to bring up. Telling them without solid achievements would just worry them.
Acting wasn't a job you could make a living from without real success.
'...I want to show some results first before I say anything.'
And the best result Seonwoo could aim for right now... was that lead role.
That much would let him face his parents with a bit more confidence.
Minhee nodded as if she understood after hearing him out.
"I get where you're coming from."
"...The hardest thing in this business is getting your parents' approval, right?"
"How did you all get permission?"
"I left home without it?"
"I'm still fighting about it every day."
...Seonwoo looked at his seniors with a pang of sympathy.
They'd all been through a lot.
Then Hyeseong clapped his hands with an ah.
"But the lead spot won't be easy. Jaewon's coming back this time too. Oh, you might not know him, Seonwoo?"
"Ah, yeah. First I've heard."
"There's a guy who always competes with Doyoung for the lead. He loses every time... but he's still a formidable opponent anyway."
Someone competing with Doyoung.
That description alone gave Seonwoo a rough idea who it was.
For him, competing with Doyoung was out of the question—he still found just sharing the stage daunting.
"Why wasn't that person around last quarter?"
"He does day labor sometimes to pay the bills. Works a full quarter, saves up, then acts on that money... something like that."
"...Impressive."
"Yeah. And his acting's no joke either... I want to root for him, but honestly, your odds are slim."
"Well... it's not like a fight you can't win has no value."
"Always with the words."
Hyeseong chuckled.
But Seonwoo was serious.
He knew the lead was beyond him. He knew the odds were against him.
But if the result didn't pan out, did that make the process meaningless?
Of course, to make that process meaningful... he'd have to give it his all now.
Seonwoo opened the script.
The main production for Cheongsong this time was a play called Until You Live.
The story went like this.
The protagonist, Heejae, has a childhood friend named Yebin he's loved since they were kids.
But on the day he plans to confess, Yebin jumps into the Han River and kills herself.
Then, as Heejae despairs, a fairy appears and offers him a chance to go back in time to stop Yebin's suicidal urge.
The way back is to commit suicide the same way.
Heejae jumps into the Han without hesitation, returning to middle school days.
He saves Yebin from being bullied by friends, returns to the future. But she tries suicide again, so he ends his life once more to go back.
Over and over, he sacrifices himself to erase the reasons pushing Yebin toward suicide.
'Interesting.'
Seonwoo's eyes sparkled.
Heejae's base color was pink, infused with the emotion of love.
Building on that pink droplet, cracks of blood-red would form depending on the scene... or mossy green spots might appear.
And Seonwoo had to make all those color droplets his own.
This audition wasn't assigned acting.
They wouldn't know what scene to perform until the moment they stepped on stage.
They had to nail any part cleanly—that was the reason.
Dialogue wasn't a worry, at least.
He'd never struggled with memorizing lines. He'd pretty much memorized the script on the first read.
Seonwoo dove into practice.
Acting wasn't much different from studying.
Invest time, get results.
So if he invested more time than anyone, couldn't he build decent competitive skills against whoever? That was Seonwoo's calculation.
...But two days in,
he realized there was one problem he hadn't considered.
"If I do it like this... kuh, cough!"
His throat.
Before joining the troupe, he'd learned basic vocalization from the Troupe Leader in private lessons.
But that was just the basics. Knowing how to do diaphragmatic breathing for chest voice?
His actual vocal skill was still low.
So whenever Seonwoo delivered lines, any lapse in focus strained his throat. It had happened playing Seungdo too.
The issue was, Seungdo had few lines, so raw voice worked fine... but Heejae had a ton.
He could feel his throat deteriorating in real time.
'...What do I do?'
Asking other members for help felt like a burden while they prepped for auditions.
And it was awkward.
The seniors understood, but aiming for lead with his experience probably didn't sit well.
Asking for more help would make it worse.
In fact, someone had already scolded him for it.
Who? ...Of course, Seo Jinwook.
"You think aiming for lead right now is right?"
"Senior."
"Speak."
"I know I'm still lacking."
And Seonwoo faced him head-on.
"But does being lacking mean I should aim low too?"
"......"
Honestly, Seonwoo didn't expect Seo Jinwook to get it.
He figured whatever he said, it'd be twisted.
But unexpectedly, Seo Jinwook said nothing. He just glared unpleasantly, then ignored him and left.
Did he get it, or just had no comeback?
'Don't worry about it.'
But he couldn't help worrying.
Not just Seo Jinwook—maybe the other seniors thought the same.
The more anxious he got, the harder Seonwoo practiced.
He couldn't afford to seem lax aiming for lead as a newbie... and he felt his own shortcomings keenly.
Of course, his throat only worsened.
And on the third day of prep,
as his throat declined and crisis loomed, Minhee and Hyeseong crossed their arms and stood before him.
"Kim Seonwoo."
"Yes. What's up?"
"I tried to hold back... sorry, can't."
At first, Seonwoo thought they were about to chew him out.
Like, I told you lead's too much! You can't even control your voice, why be so stubborn!
But what they said was unexpected.
"If you keep practicing like that, your throat's done for. You need proper vocal training first."
"Vocalization?"
"Yeah. We'll teach you."
...It was touching.
He hadn't dreamed they'd look out for him like this.
He first refused, not wanting to steal their audition prep time, but they were firm.
"If helping you a bit makes you fail, you weren't meant to pass anyway."
...He'd never seen the seniors look so cool.
It hit him how right it was to come to Cheongsong.
When he'd first arrived, they all seemed to dislike him, but now this care moved him deeply.
"You know your vocalization's shaky, right?"
"Yes. I've been feeling the strain lately..."
"Then why not ask us for help? What's a senior for?"
"...Sorry."
"You wrecking your throat alone would be more sorry."
Hyeseong grumbled as he continued the lesson.
"First, lock in proper chest voice. Follow me. Ah—."
"Ah—."
"Good. But like that, your throat goes. Minhee, demo."
"Got it. Ah——."
"See? Don't think 'shout'—think 'resonate'."
"If sound won't come, it's not lungs—your body's tense. Relax. Now, ah——!"
"Ah——!"
Seonwoo followed their coaching eagerly.
Who knew when such a chance would come again? They were putting in effort—he couldn't slack.
And deep down, he calculated:
If he nailed this vocal too, the lead felt closer.
"Follow your skilled TA's demo. Voice back! Belly tight! Yes! Now, ah-yah-oh-yoh-oo-yoo-euh-ee!"
"Ah, ah-yah-oh-yoh-oo-yoo-euh-ee!"
So, let's work hard.
"Kwak-kwak-kwak! Pak-pak-pak! Ddak-ddak-ddak!"
"Kwak-kwak-kwak! Pak-pak-pak! Ddak-ddak-gak!"
Working hard, but...
"Your pronunciation's mush! Again! Kwak-kwak-kwak! Pak-pak-pak! Ddak-ddak-ddak!"
"Kwak-kwak-kwak! Pak-pak-pak! Ddak-ddak-ddak!"
...Is this really how you practice?