Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Audition Day
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Thanks to the special training, before I knew it, audition day had arrived.
Was it thanks to Minhee and Hyeseong's steady care? Fortunately, Seonwoo managed to prepare for the audition without any issues like straining his voice.
And that wasn't all. Thanks to his voice projection becoming much more solid than before, his acting felt far more stable than it had been.
Without their help, he might not have grown like this—or even been able to audition properly.
"We only helped because you were working so hard."
Minhee shrugged off Seonwoo's thanks like it was no big deal.
"Besides, if we left you alone, you'd end up with vocal nodules. How could we just stand by and watch? Guys like you who practice so foolishly are a real headache. I can't take my eyes off you."
"...I didn't have anything else to do but practice."
"Don't talk back."
"Sorry."
"Yeah. Just admit you were wrong like a good boy."
Seonwoo smiled silently at Minhee's tough tone.
Hyeseong clicked his tongue as he watched her.
"Jeez, Minhee, even one word from you sounds scary. You should've been a soldier, not an actor."
"Keep painting me as some scary person, bro, and I might actually turn into one."
"...Okay, okay. Got it."
Hyeseong flinched and took a step back, looking startled.
He then turned to Seonwoo with a playful expression.
"Anyway, Seonwoo. Let's check your throat today. Gwak-gwak-gwak, bak-bak-bak, dak-dak-dak!"
"...Gwak-gwak-gwak, bak-bak-bak, dak-dak-dak!"
"Okay, sounds good."
"Bro, is that training method... actually legit?"
"Yeah, it is! This is how I mastered both pronunciation and projection!"
Hyeseong jumped up indignantly at Minhee's skeptical look.
Seonwoo smiled wryly.
Truth be told, he'd been skeptical at first too. He'd wondered if they were just messing with him...
'But it was weirdly effective.'
The leaking pronunciation, the faltering breath control—it was all completely overcome with this method.
Even when delivering lines, the character's essence spread farther than before.
The only issue was how ridiculous it looked... But if it helped his acting, what couldn't he do?
"So, how's everyone feeling? Confident for today's audition?"
Hyeseong looked around at them all with a warm smile.
Minhee shrugged.
"What kind of question is that? If it works, great. If not, oh well."
"And if you fail, you'll drown your sorrows in booze again."
"I never said I wouldn't drink."
"Yeah, yeah... What about you, Seonwoo?"
"I..."
Seonwoo hesitated for a moment.
The more he prepared for the audition, the more greedy he got.
It couldn't be helped. The more emotion and time he poured into the role, the bigger his heart grew.
Not so much that he wanted to be the lead... More like he wanted to play Heejae.
And with that came some anxiety.
Could he really have this? Could he really pull it off?
Seonwoo answered honestly.
"I'm a bit scared. Wondering if I can really do it."
"No way! You can't get cold feet just because it's the lead!"
Hyeseong waved his arms and shook his head.
"I've always said it. What is acting?"
"...Momentum?"
"Right. In a fight, if you start thinking you've already won, you usually do. No momentum, and even winnable things fall apart!"
Seonwoo nodded. He got it.
Even during job interviews, once his momentum broke, it was impossible to recover.
Seonwoo clenched his fist.
Alright. Time to build some momentum.
Go in full of fight.
That was when he steeled himself.
"Huh? Jaewon bro?"
Minhee's eyes widened.
Jaewon? A familiar name. As Seonwoo turned his head...
A tall man who looked at least 190 cm appeared at the door.
He had the kind of looks that would draw stares from every passerby.
Not just his height, but the muscles packed all over his body... and a pretty face that didn't match them at all. Nothing ordinary about him.
"Hey, Minhee. Long time. Hyeseong senior's here too."
"Bro, I'm here too!"
"Yeah, yeah. Long time, Yechun."
And to top it off, a deep, cavernous voice that flipped expectations.
Seonwoo swallowed hard. This guy made you tense just by being across from him. A different kind of charisma from Doyoung—overwhelming presence.
That's when Seonwoo realized where he'd heard the name Jaewon.
Hyeseong had mentioned him before. The senior who shuttled between Cheongsong and construction sites every quarter to do theater.
Jaewon turned to Seonwoo.
"Don't think I've seen you before."
"Hello. I'm Kim Seonwoo. I just joined the troupe!"
"Joined? Hasn't recruitment been closed since Yechun?"
"Hey, shut up and sit. Wait, what's with your hand? Hurt?"
"Yeah, steel beam fell on it at the site. It's fine. Doesn't affect acting."
"...You got hit by a steel beam?"
He was extraordinary in every way.
Seonwoo quietly sized up Jaewon without showing it.
'He's the biggest rival.'
His instincts told him.
This fight would be tough.
One look, and you knew he was overwhelmingly strong.
But Seonwoo recalled senior Eunseok's advice.
—Focus only on your acting.
Right.
He couldn't control others' performances. His job was just to show his best.
As he gathered his resolve, the audition began.
This was Seonwoo's first time watching an official Cheongsong audition.
He observed each person's performance carefully.
"M-Me? I really don't know anything..."
Yechun put on his usual goofy acting,
"...Thank you. But I don't want to live either."
Minhee, auditioning for Yebin, transformed into a startlingly melancholic figure,
"Are you really sure? That you can erase one person's pain completely?"
Hyeseong's fairy performance... was breathtaking.
Goofy one moment, then suddenly radiating mystical intimidation. His skill was immense.
And of course, Seo Jinwook auditioned too.
He went for the thug role obsessed with Yebin, stalking and threatening—a perfect sync rate you couldn't fault.
He was a good actor.
'If he just shut up and acted, he'd be fine.'
But now wasn't the time to worry about Jinwook.
Seonwoo fixed his gaze on the stage.
It was finally time for the lead, Heejae role auditions.
Five actors applied for Heejae.
Seonwoo watched their performances.
And his impression was...
'...If I do well, I have a shot.'
Of course, in terms of stability, they all felt more seasoned than him.
Lines, gestures, expressions, eye lines—all clean.
But Seonwoo had an edge against them.
The power of the color orbs... for delicate, intense emotional lines.
The others' colors lacked consistency.
Yellow, sky blue, deep blue... shifting every time.
They hadn't nailed the base color. In simpler terms, they hadn't fully understood or embodied 'Heejae'.
That was natural.
You can't grasp a character overnight. Even two weeks wasn't enough.
But Seonwoo was different.
He could absorb a character's color through the orb in 2 weeks—or 2 minutes, or 2 seconds.
He could deliver acting with vivid hues far faster than others.
If the Troupe Leader scored high on that, he could win.
That's what he thought.
...Until Jaewon took the stage moments later.
"What... what should I do? How can I make you live?"
Seonwoo let out an involuntary groan.
One line—that was enough.
It explained how he could challenge Doyoung. Why the seniors warned to be careful.
A monster.
Seonwoo could tell. Jaewon had already analyzed exactly how to play Heejae.
While the others' Heejaes still groped for a color, Jaewon's shone vividly.
Dyeing the stage in a crimson like Chinese bellflowers.
His raw energy as an actor was overwhelmingly dominant.
Seonwoo found his mouth hanging open.
Had he ever filled a stage like that even once?
The thought of winning vanished in an instant.
He wanted to deny it, but that was reality.
An unwinnable fight.
He had to admit it. The man on stage was leagues ahead in every aspect.
—See? I told you it'd be tough.
It felt like a whisper in his ear.
But Seonwoo clenched his fist.
Thinking back, since he started acting, things had always gone his way. Joining the troupe, landing Seungdo... all smooth.
But you can't always win.
Sometimes you interview knowing you'll fail.
He'd told the others too. The process matters more than the result, he'd boasted.
Now it was time to live up to his words.
"Next, Kim Seonwoo."
"Yes."
Seonwoo stepped onto the stage.
The crimson of Jaewon's bellflowers still lingered, or so it felt.
He didn't know how much he could dispel it... but he had to try.
"Seonwoo, let's do scene number 7."
"Yes."
As soon as the Troupe Leader called it, the color orb appeared as if waiting.
Seonwoo smiled at the steadily glowing orb. Right. Winning or losing could wait.
For now, just act.
Show them what color his Heejae had.
Seonwoo clenched his fist.
The color orb burst, dyeing everything in him.
Gradually, into a soft pink.
