Chapter 41: Sasaeng Fan (3)
Chapter 41: Sasaeng Fan (3)
“Actress Ju Seo-yeon, and Actress Pyo Ji-woo.”
Jo Do-yul called out to Seo-yeon and Pyo Ji-woo.
“I’d like to see one more performance from both of you. Would you be able to do Act 4, Scene 3?”
Act 4, Scene 3.
This was a scene where Hong Jeong-hee threatens the female lead, Song Min-seo, rather than the male lead, Bae Seong-hak.
It was the part where the violence inherent in Hong Jeong-hee’s character finally breaks through the layers of gloom and foreboding.
‘Of course, I’ve memorized the entire script.’
Seo-yeon contemplated how to respond.
However, unlike Act 3, which she had practiced specifically for the audition, she had never actually performed Act 4, Scene 3, even if she knew the lines by heart.
“...May I have a moment to practice before we begin?”
“You may.”
He checked the watch on his wrist. There was still time left, mostly because the questioning for the other actors had ended quickly.
“Then—”
Just as Seo-yeon was about to say she would take ten minutes to practice.
“I’m good.”
Pyo Ji-woo’s stiff voice cut in.
Seo-yeon’s gaze shifted, and her eyes met Pyo Ji-woo’s.
“I can do it right now.”
Pyo Ji-woo smirked at Seo-yeon, who was staring back with an expressionless face. It was a blatant provocation.
‘Well, what are you going to do?’
From the looks of it, the girl had a lot of pride. One could tell just by how she had snapped back earlier after being mocked.
A genius child actor?
Sure, fine. That might be true.
But that was all she was.
Pyo Ji-woo was being sincere. Just as she had told Jo Do-yul, she didn't care which scene of ‘Hong Jeong-hee’ they chose. She had memorized every single one of Hong Jeong-hee’s scenes in the script and performed them over and over again.
‘I am Hong Jeong-hee.’
She could empathize with the character’s emotions better than anyone. One might call it method acting.
It was her obsession. It had taken her a year to stand here, moving from being a mere member of the audience to a performer on this stage. All for the sake of one person.
‘Go ahead and practice if you want.’
Pyo Ji-woo’s eyes seemed to say as much to Seo-yeon.
She said she was a high schooler. A teenage girl would surely fall for a provocation like this.
‘Though, if you don't practice, even the slightest chance of you winning will vanish.’
Pyo Ji-woo didn't underestimate Seo-yeon. The performance she had just seen was undeniably good. It was a portrayal that bore a striking resemblance to Hong Jeong-hee.
If Seo-yeon were given time to practice, the same thing might happen again. Pyo Ji-woo might lose by some stroke of bad luck.
And that was something Pyo Ji-woo could never tolerate.
“...I’ll just do it now,” Seo-yeon replied dryly.
Her face and voice were difficult to read. However, seeing the clear competitive spark in her eyes, Pyo Ji-woo’s lips twisted into a smirk.
‘Got her.’
No matter how great one’s talent, it was impossible to excel at something they hadn't tried. While Pyo Ji-woo was confident she would win even if Seo-yeon practiced, this was essentially Seo-yeon waving a white flag on her own.
“Is that so?”
Jo Do-yul also looked puzzled.
‘Is she still just a high schooler after all?’
To think she would fall for Pyo Ji-woo’s provocation so easily.
‘Being too emotional isn't a good trait.’
Just as he was about to lower his evaluation of Seo-yeon.
“Instead,” Seo-yeon’s voice wedged itself into the silence. “Could I go after Actress Pyo Ji-woo this time?”
“After Actress Pyo Ji-woo?”
“Yes. Since I went first last time.”
At Seo-yeon’s bold request, Jo Do-yul glanced at the other judges. Most of them nodded, signaling they didn't mind.
“Hmm, alright. Then we’ll have Actress Pyo Ji-woo go first for this scene. Is that alright with you, Actress Pyo Ji-woo?”
“...Yes.”
What is she thinking?
Pyo Ji-woo glared at Seo-yeon, her breathing slightly heavy. It was hard to read anything from that face.
She was like a doll. Her emotional expression was faint, and her face was strikingly beautiful.
“Act 4, Scene 3. The scene where Hong Jeong-hee appears before Song Min-seo and threatens her.”
With Jo Do-yul’s prompt, Pyo Ji-woo stepped forward.
And then, her acting began.
「Do—do you think you’re special?」
With a trembling voice, Hong Jeong-hee cornered Song Min-seo against the wall and spat the words out.
Thud. Her body shook as she slammed her hand against the wall.
Because Hong Jeong-hee had a hunched back, her gaze was fixed straight ahead. It was a perfect eye-line that took Song Min-seo’s height into account.
Staring at the terrified Song Min-seo, she stammered out her lines.
「You—you’re just pi—pitying her. Because my brother is so kind, he just couldn't stand to look at a r-retarded bitch who can’t even hear!」
Her eyes trembled, reflecting her heightened emotions.
The audience in a theater might not be able to see those fine details, but Pyo Ji-woo’s gaze was directed toward the judges.
At the same time, Pyo Ji-woo’s hand moved.
Through the air.
She struck the empty space as if slamming against an invisible wall. Her body jolted as if her arm had actually collided with a solid surface. It was a display of Hong Jeong-hee’s violent, volatile emotions.
Simultaneously, her entire body shuddered. That aggression was an excessive backlash born from the timid and introverted Hong Jeong-hee’s defense mechanisms.
Pyo Ji-woo vomited out the words, expressing that internal conflict violently through her movements.
‘Good lord.’
Jo Do-yul was left speechless by the sight. The other judges were the same. They unconsciously swallowed hard.
‘She’s practically Hong Jeong-hee herself.’
Pyo Ji-woo recited Hong Jeong-hee’s lines. The inferiority complex embedded in her voice. The fear, and the violence born from it.
‘This... even for Ju Seo-yeon...’
Their first performances of Act 3, Scene 6 had been similar in quality. They had portrayed different shades of Hong Jeong-hee. He had thought both were worth hiring.
‘Is there really such a thing as an actor perfectly suited for a role?’
Pyo Ji-woo fit the role too well. Her emotional expression, her movements. It felt as if this role existed solely for her.
‘This is a wrap.’
It was a shame for Seo-yeon, but this role belonged to Pyo Ji-woo.
As he looked over at Seo-yeon with that thought, Jo Do-yul felt a sudden chill.
Seo-yeon’s eyes were fixed directly on Pyo Ji-woo. She didn't blink once. With an expressionless face, she watched Pyo Ji-woo as if she had forgotten to even breathe.
Red eyes.
In the dimness, those eyes felt strangely crimson.
‘Certainly.’
Under Jo Do-yul’s gaze, Seo-yeon thought to herself.
‘In terms of expressing Hong Jeong-hee, Pyo Ji-woo is superior.’
Seo-yeon had acknowledged that fact from the moment Pyo Ji-woo began her second performance.
Yes, this role truly belongs to you.
To be honest, if they told her she didn't get it, she was prepared to accept it and walk away. She could just look for other movies, dramas, or plays. Even if it took a little more time, there were plenty of things she could do.
However, now that she was actually in this situation, those thoughts vanished.
‘Never.’
She couldn't let it go.
A competitive streak. Seo-yeon felt another new, intense emotion. She discovered a new side of herself.
‘I...’
‘...really hate losing.’
「Th—think about it, Song Min-seo. Is there anyone who would actually have feelings for a deaf girl like you?」
She visualized Pyo Ji-woo and the Hong Jeong-hee she was portraying. She etched the emotions, the actions, and the movements into her mind.
Forgetting to blink, she blankly absorbed every piece of information Pyo Ji-woo was expressing. One by one, piece by piece.
「Don’t mess with me! I said, don’t mess with me!!」
This was, yes.
A habitual form of study. It was also the only art her past self had been able to perform.
The act of mimicking the canvas of emotions.
「I liked him way before you did.」
How many visual media had she consumed to learn how to express human emotions? How many books had she read, and how much had she fantasized to manifest those vague concepts?
「But you—you’re the one who suddenly barged in.」
For the first time in a long while, Seo-yeon revived those memories. She picked up the brush.
She began to mimic the emotions of Hong Jeong-hee that Pyo Ji-woo was displaying. Following the other woman’s canvas, she moved her brush without missing a single drop of paint.
Of course, it wasn't perfect. The emotional mimicry Seo-yeon could produce was infinitely close to the real thing, but it couldn't quite reach Pyo Ji-woo, who was essentially living the role through method acting.
In that case.
There was only one answer.
「Song Min-seoooo!!」
Bang! Just as Hong Jeong-hee, who had grabbed Song Min-seo by the hair, was about to slam her head against the wall, her arm stopped dead.
This was where Bae Seong-hak was supposed to appear and grab Hong Jeong-hee’s arm.
“...I’m finished.”
At those calm words, the judges stared blankly before beginning to clap. It was a truly perfect performance of Hong Jeong-hee. To the point where they wondered if a better performance was even possible.
‘Who played Hong Jeong-hee before?’
Close Your Eyes had already premiered in Daehangno three years ago. This production was a revival. Yet, looking at Pyo Ji-woo, he couldn't even remember who had played the role previously.
“Next, Actress Ju Seo-yeon.”
Jo Do-yul called Seo-yeon’s name calmly, observing her face. As a high schooler, Seo-yeon would inevitably feel immense pressure after seeing such a performance.
But at the same time, he remembered the eyes he had seen earlier.
“She’s surprisingly...”
“Calm, isn't she?”
“She’s got a strong mental game.”
The judges whispered in low voices. The previous performance was one that would normally exert massive pressure on the next person. It almost made one think it would have been better to go first.
“Then, I look forward to your performance of Act 4, Scene 3.”
“Yes.”
A calm reply.
Seo-yeon stepped forward. Right to the spot where Pyo Ji-woo had just stood.
Watching her, Pyo Ji-woo narrowed her eyes.
‘Strange girl.’
To think her expression wouldn't change even after that. She was a boring one.
‘Heh, hehe.’
Regardless, Pyo Ji-woo found it hard to suppress the laughter bubbling up. The performance she had just given was better than any practice she had done alone.
She knew why.
‘It’s because Seo-ho Oppa is on the judging panel.’
Secretly, Pyo Ji-woo glanced at Min Seo-ho. She saw his body shudder slightly as he looked around nervously.
As expected, she was Hong Jeong-hee. How much had she practiced just to perform with Min Seo-ho, just to find a way to get close to him? Ever since the moment a year ago when it was decided he would star in this play.
“I’ll begin now.”
With Seo-yeon’s calm words.
Act 4, Scene 3.
Seo-yeon’s performance as Hong Jeong-hee began.
‘...Huh?’
The first person to feel a sense of dissonance was Pyo Ji-woo herself.
The way Seo-yeon stepped, the way her body moved. The emotions surfacing on her face. Her shifting eyes and her desperate, gasping breath.
‘This—this bitch!’
She was moving. Her body, her actions, the blocking as she stepped forward—it all perfectly resembled someone.
Who?
There was no need to even ask.
It was Pyo Ji-woo herself.
「Do—do you think you’re special?」
She moved as if she had carved out the very emotions of ‘Hong Jeong-hee’ that Pyo Ji-woo had displayed.
‘She’s copying me! Right, she’s... she’s imitating me...?’
The lines she spat out while riding the emotional arc. They were undeniably similar to the emotions Pyo Ji-woo had shown.
‘What is this?’
But something was different.
‘Simply understanding information and imitating it isn't enough.’
It might have worked when she was a child actor, but the standards were different now. In the end, an imitated performance could never beat Pyo Ji-woo’s.
Therefore.
The emotional mimicry Seo-yeon was using now was strictly for the purpose of understanding the role.
The reason Pyo Ji-woo had felt certain of her victory was that she understood Hong Jeong-hee’s heart better than anyone. The reason Seo-yeon’s emotional depth had been lacking was that she hadn't fully understood the character of Hong Jeong-hee.
Now that she had mimicked and understood the emotions Pyo Ji-woo had displayed...
The preparation was complete.
She was ready to fully immerse herself in the role.