How to Save Lee Se-rin (2): The Play Enters Its Third Act
As I looked toward the stage, Kim Chan-uk and Lee Se-rin were carrying the performance forward brilliantly. The play had now reached its final stretch.
Excellent.
The highlight scene was about to begin. It was set a few days before Ha-rang’s death. Min-woo, unable to resist Sang-cheol’s persuasion, visits Ha-rang’s hospital room for a brief moment. Yet even those few minutes prove too much; at Ha-rang’s plea, he returns to his studio. It was the most emotionally charged scene in the entire production, second only to the finale.
Once it ended, Ha-rang would die. The next sequence belonged to Sang-cheol—after Ha-rang’s death, he would visit Min-woo’s studio, offer comfort, and then I would exit. Left alone, Min-woo would paint on his canvas. Forever. Alone. That was how the flower petals of Min-woo and Ha-rang would fall.
Good.
Everything was flowing smoothly. Or so I thought.
Then—crack.
A small snapping sound rang out.
“What was that?”
I glanced around. One of the smaller lights had fallen onto the stage. A lighting accident.
Urgent voices crackled over the walkie-talkies.
—What the hell are you doing?!
—S-sorry! It must have come loose when the set collapsed earlier.
—Never mind, clear it away. Quickly.
It was no ordinary mishap, yet the fallen light lay in a far corner of the stage, invisible to the audience. Under normal circumstances it might have been fine, but after three days of intensive training, Lee Se-rin should have been able to handle it. As long as nothing happened to her directly, her immersion would hold.
…Something happened?
A chill raced down my spine.
It can’t be.
Her expression had looked steady that morning. Unless she had pushed herself too far. It would be all right. She was the future grand actress—Lee Se-rin, the greatest female performer South Korea had ever produced.
Trust her.
That was the exact moment Lee Se-rin fumbled her line. Or rather, she muttered words that weren’t even in the script.
“M-mom……”
For a split second she seemed to regain herself and tried to continue, but—
“…!”
Having studied every breath and pause of hers for days, I could see it clearly. Her gaze was trembling. Those were the eyes of a frightened child standing before a sea of spectators.
The unknown trigger of Lee Se-rin’s stage fright had been pulled.
Urgent voices spilled from the walkie-talkies again.
—Director, that… doesn’t look like ad-lib.
—Lee Se-rin’s condition seems off.
Despite the staff’s panic, Lee Tae-ryun answered in a low, steady voice.
Kim Chan-uk had noticed the change as well. He sped up his lines, delivering them louder than usual in an attempt to steady the scene, but it was useless.
“It’s fine. I’ll go now.”
“D-don’t… go. M-Min-woo……”
Lee Se-rin’s voice shook visibly. This was not the desperate longing of Ha-rang; it was the voice of a child still trapped in an accident from twenty years ago.
Damn it.
It was over. No matter how brilliantly Kim Chan-uk performed, Lee Se-rin’s immersion had shattered completely. If she became aware of the audience now—
This would recreate the broadcast disaster from twenty years ago. No, her condition looked even worse than it had back then. In the worst case, she might collapse.
I clenched my teeth. I thought I had stopped it!
Think. Find a way.
A way to prevent Lee Se-rin’s stage accident!
Suddenly something flashed across my mind. The script Yun Song-i had written after the final rehearsal—the one I had given Lee Se-rin on the night of the dinner. It was arbitrary, self-indulgent, and even dangerous. Yet it carried undeniable persuasive power. Lee Se-rin herself had acknowledged its immersive strength.
…
I shook my head. It was insane. A supporting actor barging into the male and female leads’ climactic scene? That would be a full-blown broadcast accident. Depending on Director Lee Tae-ryun’s verdict, I could face any punishment from KBC without a single word in my defense. It was the perfect way to burn every bridge with the director.
It was such a stupid idea that I almost convinced myself it would be better to simply let Lee Se-rin’s accident end the show.
I closed my eyes.
Don’t think. Just act exactly as Director Lee Tae-ryun wants. That way I can secure my position. I might even get cast in his next project.
I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter.
Yes. Pretend I saw nothing. Wait for the director’s cue, step onto the stage in order. No trouble would come to me.
At that moment, I felt invisible transparent threads wrapping around my body.
I hadn’t even activated Director’s Vision – Acting Assistance yet. So why—
Stop thinking.
These threads were clearly the correct answer. The ideal solution imagined by the greatest genius director, Lee Tae-ryun.
If I simply held my breath and followed where the threads led, I might earn his favor. I had lived pathetically for twenty years already. What was one more time?
“Are you thinking of becoming a puppet, Method Youth?”
…A puppet?
Acting for others is exactly what a puppet does, isn’t it?
“Were you truly someone who acted for others?”
“That is not how I remember you.”
Was that Dracula’s voice, or my own conscience speaking?
I smiled and pressed my palm against my eyes.
“You’re about to make another regretful choice, Kim Doyun.”
This was my second life. And in this second life, I had chosen acting again.
Was it to give my mother an easy life? To win a role by pleasing Director Lee Tae-ryun?
No.
I let out a long breath and began walking slowly toward the stage.
“Dracula. I still don’t fully understand the madness, the frenzy, or the playfulness you spoke of. The idea of sharing thoughts with those monstrous beings is still unimaginable to me.”
But—
“Hoo……”
I simply love acting. That indescribable sensation of stealing someone else’s entire life is utterly enchanting!
“All right. Let’s do it.”
For Lee Se-rin. And for myself.
I broke into a run toward the stage. The threads binding my body pulled taut, as if trying to stop any action that defied Director Lee Tae-ryun’s direction.
I slashed my hand through the air and violently tore the threads away.
To hell with the correct answer!
If it meant creating the greatest stage possible, I would gladly become the worst possible mistake!
“Uh, Doyun? It’s not your turn yet…?”
“Sorry!”
In the Actor Gallery, real-time comments about Kim Doyun’s sudden action were exploding across the screen.
“D-Doyun?!”
“Actor Kim Doyun…?”
The panicked voices of the staff, the flood of comments pouring from the Gallery, the threads still trying to yank me back—none of it registered. Heart pounding with tension and exhilaration, I sprinted toward the stairs leading onto the stage.
“Doyun!”
“Hey! Stop Kim Doyun!”
Every staff member’s eyes locked onto me. They rushed forward to drag me down before I could reach the stage.
“Sorry!”
At that moment, Director Lee Tae-ryun’s voice cut through the walkie-talkie.
—You crazy bastard!
“I know! I’m sorry!”
—What the hell do you think you’re doing?!
“Restoring the stage!”
—What are you—!
The veins on my forehead bulged. I had been averting my eyes, telling myself that the great actress Lee Se-rin would overcome it.
Bullshit. I had known. From the moment we first rehearsed together—no, from the very beginning—she had been looking at me with eyes that begged to be saved.
I gripped the in-ear microphone and raced down the stage entrance ramp.
“Director! If we continue like this, it will become a broadcast accident! Lee Se-rin is collapsing right now!”
—Get down here right now, you lunatic! How dare you intrude on a live broadcast—!
A genius like Lee Tae-ryun had to know that. He was simply blinded by Lee Se-rin’s brilliance and pretending not to see.
I took the stairs two at a time.
“If we leave her like this, she’ll collapse exactly like she did during rehearsal!”
—Shut up. How far do you intend to climb? The person responsible for this play is—!
“If you leave Lee Se-rin like this, you’ll be an accomplice too!”
Then Yun Song-i’s voice came through the line.
—Huh? If Sang-cheol is appearing in this scene… Doyun, did you happen to read my script?
So it really had been hers.
“Yes, I did!”
My answer was met with a firmer tone from Yun Song-i than I had ever heard before.
—Director, let’s just let this play out. —Yun, have you lost your mind too?! —I don’t fully understand, but you said it would become a broadcast accident anyway. If Actor Kim is doing this, there must be a reason, right?
Nice. Well done, Writer!
Lee Tae-ryun’s rough voice cut in again.
—Don’t talk nonsense, Kim Doyun. Lee Se-rin is not an actress who would collapse over something like this!
At that exact moment, the light completely vanished from Lee Se-rin’s eyes on stage. Those were the same eyes I had seen during the past broadcast accident.
Damn…!
—She can do it… If she’s the daughter of that woman, Lee Myeong-hwa…!
Even without an expert eye, anyone could see it now. Lee Se-rin was in full panic.
Lee Tae-ryun fell silent.
A long, heavy quiet stretched across the channel. Then came the staff’s frantic voices.
—Director! Actor Lee Se-rin seems to be—
—What should we do?
—Director!
—Please give us instructions!
—Director!!
After a brief silence, a deep sigh from Lee Tae-ryun echoed through the line.
—Kim Doyun. What exactly are you thinking?
“I will bring Lee Se-rin back into the world of Flowers Fall.”
—You? A person with neither talent nor brilliance?
“Even without brilliance or talent, I am Sang-cheol.”
Just before I reached the stage, my eyes finally met Director Lee Tae-ryun’s.
—I knew you were crazy, but I didn’t realize you were this far gone.
The veins stood out on his forehead. He looked exactly like I felt.
—Go on, then. Do whatever you want, Kim Doyun.
“Thank you.”
—Director?!
Worried voices rose, but Lee Tae-ryun cut them off.
—I will take responsibility.
With every step closer to the stage, the noise and scenery of reality faded behind me.
“Hoo.” There was no turning back now.
The worst live broadcast intrusion in Korean television history. I was about to perform the wrong answer that Writer Yun Song-i had provided, stepping outside the correct answer Director Lee Tae-ryun had envisioned.
At least the buzz will be insane.
I climbed the final step onto the stage, slowly closed my eyes, then opened them again.
With my acting, I would pull Lee Se-rin out of reality and back into the world of Flowers Fall.