The Play "Mirror" Begins
Im Seong-su was ready to leave first thing in the morning, standing at the front door.
"Honey. Today's the day. You have to come."
"Ugh, I know already. I got it."
Im Seong-su's daughter simply could not understand her father.
Back in middle school she had taken friends a few times on free tickets to variety shows he worked on, but this was the first time he had ever begged her to come see a play in Daehangno.
And he had been at it for days without rest.
Even as he closed the front door, Im Seong-su called out once more.
"I'm telling you this for your own good. Bring a close friend with you."
Beep-beep.
Listening to the door lock click shut after her father left, his daughter kept tilting her head in confusion.
"So what on earth is this about…?"
Meanwhile, the actors who had come in early that morning finished checking props and set pieces and gathered in the second-floor office.
"Wow. I honestly thought I wouldn't be nervous, but I'm already shaking like crazy."
Woo Seong-sik slapped both cheeks hard as he spoke, and Kim Jun-su looked over at him.
"What are you so nervous about? We practiced a ton—just do it the way we rehearsed. Hic!"
"Dude, you've got the hiccups."
"No—why is this happening all of a sudden? Hic!"
Watching Jun-su, the rest of the friends burst out laughing.
Yeon-woo turned to Kim Ju-hyeong.
"How does it feel? The first day your play hits the stage."
"I don't know. I still can't believe it. But what if no one shows up and the house is completely empty?"
Yeon-woo grinned at Ju-hyeong's worry.
"That's why you guys have to hit the streets starting now."
"I'm totally ready!"
Woo Seong-sik slapped his thigh and jumped to his feet.
Looking at him, Yeon-woo pumped the others up.
"Today's the first and last day for walk-up tickets, so let's promote hard. From tomorrow on it'll be sold out for sure."
The kids nodded.
It wasn't arrogance. With a house of under two hundred seats, once word got out tomorrow, Jin Yu-han's fans alone would fill the place—never mind Yeon-woo's.
That's why I already asked the company to handle it.
Starting tomorrow, tickets would only be available online through the ticketing site.
Which meant today was the only day they would meet pure theatergoers who had no idea Ryu Yeon-woo and Jin Yu-han were appearing.
Yeon-woo and Yu-han couldn't walk around outside, so today's street hustling was entirely on their friends.
"All right. Let's head out."
"Okay."
The friends grabbed stacks of flyers and went outside.
Countless couples flocked to Hyehwa-dong for dates.
Song Ju-a, a third-year reporter, had been so buried in nonstop work that she could barely remember the last time she had a proper date.
"But why a play? Why not a movie?"
"It just reminds me of when we first started dating. Feels nice."
She nodded at her boyfriend's words.
"True. Before we graduated we used to catch plays pretty often."
In truth she had no idea what play was even running in Daehangno today.
The point wasn't the play—it was the date—so they had simply come to Daehangno to buy walk-up tickets for whatever title looked fun.
When Song Ju-a and her boyfriend rounded the corner into the alley of small theaters, they saw a long waiting line.
"Whoa. People still come to see plays, huh."
"Yeah. Looks like about thirty people waiting."
"Hmm, what should we do? Try somewhere else, or just go eat?"
Just then a young man approached holding flyers.
"Are you here for a play? There's a brand-new one starting today deeper in the alley—Mirror. You should check it out!"
Song Ju-a took the flyer he offered and scanned it.
"It's an evening show. There's still quite a bit of time—can we buy tickets now?"
Most walk-up windows only opened one or two hours before curtain.
That was why you had to line up early if you wanted good seats.
But the man handing out flyers nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Only today. Starting tomorrow you have to book online, but since it's opening day we're selling walk-ups only!"
Hearing that, Song Ju-a looked at her boyfriend.
"What do you think?"
"Hmm. Let's do it? We were going to see whatever anyway. We didn't come for this specific play."
He pointed at the long line, and she nodded.
"Okay. We'll come."
"Thank you! You absolutely won't regret it! Just follow the map on the flyer!"
After he left, Song Ju-a examined the flyer again.
"Hmm, super cheap. Only ten thousand won."
Plenty of Daehangno plays could be seen for ten thousand won.
But that was usually weekday tickets bought online with discounts; full price for most shows was much higher.
And today was Sunday.
"No actor names on the flyer either. Must be a pretty unknown company."
"Who cares. The timing's perfect. Let's grab tickets and go eat. I want rosé tteokbokki!"
Woo Seong-sik, having rounded the alley corner, dashed excitedly over to Kim Jun-su.
"Dude! I just sold two! A couple—they said they'd definitely come!"
"I sold six."
"For real?"
Just then a young man with bright yellow-dyed hair who had been watching them approached.
"Promoting a play?"
"Ah, yes! Here you go."
Kim Jun-su handed him a flyer. The man glanced over it, then smirked.
"Ah, right. Keep up the good work."
He walked back and muttered with the other guys behind him.
"Hey. Check out that play over there."
"Where?"
"You know. Myeongseong Troupe."
"Didn't they go under? Even when Jae-ho hyung joined as the junior they weren't booking anything."
They examined the flyer and laughed among themselves.
"Company name's Saebyeol. Bunch of country bumpkins came up from the sticks to put on a play."
"Hilarious."
They tossed the flyer onto the ground and the yellow-haired guy and his crew disappeared around the corner.
Seeing that, Woo Seong-sik ran over and picked up the discarded flyer.
"Ugh, if you're gonna throw it away, don't take it in the first place."
"People from another company? I wanna wreck that yellow-haired bastard."
Looking at Jun-su's slightly angry face, Seong-sik laughed.
"Dude. This little patch of grass just has a few rats running around. In a few hours we know what's gonna show up here. Two of them, even."
Jun-su thought of Yeon-woo and Yu-han waiting in the office and nodded.
"Lions? Tigers?"
"Nope. Tractors. They're gonna plow this whole field under."
Hearing that, Jun-su nodded.
"You're right. But did you eat something weird? Why are you making sense today?"
"Says the guy hiccupping like an idiot from nerves."
When Jun-su glared, Seong-sik changed the subject.
"What's Yu-ri noona doing? Did you tell her to come today?"
"Nah, she's busy with job prep lately. I told her to come next Saturday for the special performance—just family and friends."
Seong-sik nodded.
"She knows Yeon-woo and Yu-han are performing together, right?"
"She knows. Otherwise she'd never have understood me canceling dates for months just to rehearse. Still, I made her swear not to tell a soul."
He remembered what Hong Yu-ri had said in the car on the way to the pension: her ultimate bias was Ryu Yeon-woo, her second was Jin Yu-han.
"Oho. So Yu-ri noona's the happiest one of all."
"Why? Because I'm on stage?"
"…Huh? Yeah, something like that."
Thanks to the friends' efforts, the house began filling little by little.
Backstage, Yeon-woo peeked out wearing a cap and mask, scanning the seats.
"Hmm, the kids are doing pretty well. More than half full already."
Jin Yu-han's head popped out behind him.
"Yeah. Weird."
But someone looking at the same scene was thinking something else entirely.
"Yu-jin, this is the place, right?"
"Yeah. Definitely."
Im Seong-su's daughter Im Yu-jin checked her phone against the ticket and nodded.
"Dad's actually getting paid properly, right? Opening night and they only filled a little over half."
As Im Yu-jin and her friend settled into their seats, men's voices drifted from the row behind.
"Hilarious. Those guys were running around with flyers earlier and somehow they still filled more than half."
"Right? Man, what a waste of time. Why did Gyeong-sik hyung even make us come see this?"
"It's gonna be obvious amateur hour."
When Im Yu-jin glanced back, the yellow-haired guy and his crew were lounging with hands in their puffer-jacket pockets, snickering.
On another side of the house, a middle-aged man adjusted his glasses and looked around.
"Oh-ho. They built the set like this. Hard to see in the dark, but there are partition-like pieces. Cheol-min, do you know what the play's about?"
It was Yu Ho-cheol, original owner of the building and Jeong Cheol-min's old troupe mate.
Beside him, Jeong Cheol-min—also in a cap and mask—shook his head.
"Nope, I don't know either. I just sent two kids from our academy."
"Anyway, Jeong Cheol-maei. This bastard's a full celebrity now. Cap and mask and everything."
Yu Ho-cheol playfully tapped the brim of Cheol-min's cap.
Looking at his friend, Cheol-min snorted a laugh.
They had been so close in the old troupe that the seniors used to mash their names together and call them "Ho-cheol-min."
"Hey, you idiot. The second I take this off people recognize me."
"Lucky bastard, landing one good student. I'm jealous."
Just then a circular spotlight came up at the far left of the stage and a woman stepped out.
"Oh, it's Se-yeong."
Kim Se-yeong, one of the actors Jeong Cheol-min had sent, opened the show in a bright, cheerful voice.
"Hello! Thank you so much for coming to see Theater Group Saebyeol today!"
Years of regional theater work had given her the skill to seize a house with a single line; it was genuinely impressive.
"Everyone. Our play has a boring name, no actors' faces on the poster, and we're stuck in this gloomy little back alley—so why on earth did you come?"
Kim Se-yeong planted her hands on her hips with exaggerated playfulness.
The audience, realizing the woman on stage was joking, let out soft laughter.
"But even so, for every one of you who found our little company, we're going to give you a stage you'll never forget for the rest of your lives! All right—let's begin the story. Ta-da!"
Bwooooom—
At Kim Se-yeong's cue, a ship's horn blasted through the small theater.
A single shaft of highlight fell on the right side of the stage.
Standing there was Ha Jae-hun in the role of Sailor 1.
Like Se-yeong, he had spent years in regional theater; his rock-solid projection filled the house.
"Ship's about to depart. Anyone not boarded yet?"
He continued.
"Then boarding is closed—we're casting off!"
Then, farther right than the sailor—at the extreme right edge of the stage—a voice rang out.
"Me! Please wait just a moment! I have to get on that ship!"
Clack—
The light snapped to the source of the voice.
Hand raised, urgently calling to the sailor so he could board, Jin Yu-han appeared on the stage of the small theater.
In that instant the entire house began to stir.