First Rehearsal with Lee Se-rin
The filming set was one I had visited dozens of times in my previous life, yet for some reason, my hands were shaking like this in this new one.
Supporting role. It's a supporting role.
Not a bit part. Not an extra. A supporting role. Honestly, I wanted to hand out tickets to the people at the pojangmacha and brag about it.
Still... it's too early for that.
No need to count my chickens before they hatch. Besides, it's not like a staff ticket would make its way to someone like me anyway.
I skimmed through the script for today's scene.
#12 Harang's Worsening Condition
It was the scene where Sang-cheol learns that Harang's illness has grown more serious. Even so, Harang only worries about Min-woo's safety and asks Sang-cheol to look into news about him.
Given Sang-cheol's personality, there's no way he could ignore a sick Harang.
Looking at it now, wasn't that Min-woo bastard a total piece of trash? Not that I was one to talk...
“Hoo.”
This was my first rehearsal with Lee Se-rin, the actress I had looked up to so much as a performer. It would be a lie to say I wasn't nervous.
Come to think of it, this wasn't actually the first time I'd been on camera with her.
Back when I was doing bit parts, I brushed past her in the same frame as an extra once.
What a long way I'd come.
“Senior Lee Se-rin?”
When I called out to her, she seemed not to hear, her eyes closed.
“Great actress Lee Se-rin!”
“What, what is it?”
Only then did she open her eyes wide, as if finally noticing me.
“I thought it might be good to run through it once before the actual rehearsal!”
“It doesn't matter. I prefer doing it alone.”
Her gaze was still cold. But maybe because I'd seen her face a few times now, it seemed a little softer than the first time.
“Yes, if that's what you prefer!”
Some people did prefer working alone. Thinking that, I started to step back when Lee Se-rin narrowed her brows and spoke.
“And... senior? What? Just call me by my name.”
“But how could I do that to someone as lofty as you, Senior!”
“I said it's fine.”
Good. I'd caught the hint. I'd clearly refused twice, right?
I shouted loudly.
“Okay! Se-rin! Looking forward to working with you, Se-rin!!!”
Lee Se-rin looked flustered by my attitude.
“What, what are you doing?”
“You said I could call you by name, Se-rin?”
“That doesn't mean tack my name onto the end of every sentence. And at least add -ssi.”
“No thanks, Se-rin!”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Just call me Actress-nim.”
“Aww, too late for that. Se-rin.”
Me, speaking casually with the proud great actress Lee Se-rin. How could I let this chance slip away?
Lee Se-rin pressed her brows together as if she had a headache and answered.
“I made a mistake.”
“Yep, yep. Once words are out, you can't take them back. Se-rin.”
That's right. Once something's said, you can't unsay it. No, even if someone tried to take it back, I'd throw my body in the way to stop them!
While we were exchanging a bit of small talk, a staff member shouted.
“Please prepare for rehearsal!”
I found myself holding my breath at Lee Se-rin's acting.
“Min-woo... I keep getting sicker.”
It was acting that could steal your soul. Even without Director's Vision, the immersion was so strong it took my breath away.
So this is why Sang-cheol helped her?
The Harang that Lee Se-rin portrayed had a pitiful quality that made anyone want to help her.
I thought it was just because Sang-cheol was a good guy.
The character of Harang was fragile. A delicate person who seemed like she would shatter if no one helped her.
Lee Se-rin was carrying that weight. That's how it looked.
She's truly an incredible actress.
The scene where a gravely ill Harang asks Sang-cheol about Min-woo's well-being. It was a crucial turning point at the end of Act 1 'Winter' in Flowers Fall, moving into Act 2 'When the Petals Tremble.'
It marked the true beginning of Harang's worsening condition and the tragic downward spiral of her relationship with Min-woo.
Lee Se-rin expressed those complex, despairing emotions with such delicate precision. The tremor in her voice, her precarious steps, the fragile gestures that looked like she might collapse at any moment. Yet she couldn't hide her tender feelings for Min-woo. She was Harang herself.
But today, I wasn't just going to sit back and clap, thinking I was amazing too.
Because I have the know-how I got from Princess-nim!
Visualizing Director Lee Tae-ryun's Image
I positioned myself at the door of the hospital room where Harang would be lying, perfectly timed with the end of Lee Se-rin's line.
The familiar scene visible through Director's Vision unfolded before my eyes.
Through the slightly open door: an old iron bed, the faint smell of disinfectant, cold moonlight seeping in through the window. And at the center, Harang sitting precariously.
His clothes are a mess.
Through Director's Vision, Sang-cheol's clothes were covered in wood shavings. It looked like he'd rushed over straight from carving.
He probably wanted to preserve the fact that he's a sculptor.
It wasn't in the script, but I lightly brushed off my body.
Sang-cheol would definitely have done this.
Now, I could tell!
Director Lee Tae-ryun, sitting in the audience seats, stared at me silently. After running through it a few times, I could tell.
His brows are relaxed, so it must still be okay for now.
With a creak, I opened the door to the hospital room.
How could someone look so pitiful? That pale face, those faint breaths. It felt like my heart was being torn apart.
The image of my mother in her hospital room from before my regression came to mind, and I found myself over-immersing without realizing it.
Hold it back.
I tried hard to suppress the feeling and made sure it didn't show.
“Drink something warm. It's cold outside.”
When I handed her the thermos, Harang—played by Lee Se-rin—slowly lifted her head. Even then, she couldn't quite meet my eyes. Her expression was one of desperate longing to ask about Min-woo. But her eyes showed she couldn't bring herself to speak.
“Thank you, Sang-cheol.”
“...It's nothing. You need to get healthy so Min-woo can smile too.”
At my words, she asked hurriedly, as if she'd been waiting.
“What about Min-woo? How is he? Whenever I go to the studio, he just gets angry.”
At that moment, a tingling sensation came over me. Why did it feel so heavy and suffocating?
According to the script, I should answer cheerfully in Sang-cheol's style, with a bright laugh. So this emotion was clearly wrong.
But why?
With this feeling right now, it seemed like I could bring the final line to life even better.
Thinking that, I forced my lips upward. Hiding the sadness behind a faint smile, as if my throat was choked up, as if I might cry at any moment, I squeezed out the voice I'd been desperately holding back.
“Min-woo must be struggling too. So don't get too sick either.”
Author: Monster Rookie
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Somehow I'd become a crazy bastard lusting after his friend's girlfriend. And what the hell were those endless "brat brat brat" comments?
“What is this again...”
...Princess-nim had tried to defend me, but as usual, she was getting beaten up by the mob.
“I'm sorry, Princess-nim.”
I offered my condolences and scanned the gallery comments once more.
“Well. I guess it does come across that way.”
Even I had to admit that the acting just now was a bit different from the Sang-cheol in the script.
Flowers Fall was fundamentally a modern play, and all the characters' interpretations had already been finalized according to the writer's intentions. There was no room for me to add a new interpretation.
Was it just my imagination?
The scene I'd seen through Director's Vision. The direction when Sang-cheol looked at Harang had brilliant backlighting shining behind her. And the light was so dazzling that I'd unconsciously avoided Lee Se-rin's gaze.
Almost like...
I shouldn't think about it too deeply. It was better to think that Lee Se-rin's acting was so outstanding that I'd been momentarily enchanted.
“Hoo, the gallery people's reactions don't seem that bad.”
I'd changed the acting on my own initiative. During Lee Tae-ryun's rehearsal, no less.
What kind of guts did I have to do that?
After regressing, I really had become fearless. No, my liver must have grown outside my body.
All that remained was to see how Director Lee Tae-ryun would react to my crazy impulsive behavior. I carefully closed the gallery and turned my head toward the center of the audience seats. That was when it happened.
“......”
Why did it feel like Director Lee Tae-ryun was glaring at me like he wanted to kill me?
“Must be my imagination.”
“......”
He was still glaring.
It was suffocating. Goosebumps ran down my spine.
Am I screwed?