Chapter 155
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: The Audition Tape
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After finishing his performance, Seojun blinked and stood up. Staring into empty space for so long had made his eyes feel dry.
“Thank you.”
The third-year teacher, the first to come to his senses at the sound of Seojun's voice, uttered the same words he had been repeating for the past two days.
“Oh, uh. Yes. You did well. You may leave.”
Seojun bowed and left, and the other two teachers slowly began to regain their composure.
“Wow… Wasn't that from that movie? The one with King Danjong… Ugh.”
The second-year teacher who had spoken rubbed his stiff shoulder. He had been so tense that his entire body had been rigid. Leaning back against his chair with a deep sigh, Jeong Siwoon spoke.
“You're talking about the movie from ten years ago, right?”
“Yes. The movie, *Sejo*.”
*Sejo*.
Released ten years ago, it was a film that depicted Grand Prince Suyang's ascension to the throne. Since the story centered on Suyang and primarily featured the Six Martyred Ministers, the briefly appearing King Danjong was portrayed as a weak, young king.
“I remember the child actor back then was quite good, too. I think it even passed its break-even point…”
“Yes. The portrayal of Sejo was memorable. Which is why Danjong was overshadowed, of course. But I never imagined that the lines of that weak Danjong could be expressed like this.”
The other two teachers agreed with Jeong Siwoon.
Just thinking about it again, the fiery war of nerves seemed to make their necks stiffen.
Not a weak Danjong and a rough Grand Prince Suyang.
But Lee Hongwi, the rightful king from birth, and Suyang, who had been biding his time before baring his claws.
A 13-year-old king and a 37-year-old grand prince.
A battle between the dignity emanating from Danjong's young body and Grand Prince Suyang's charge to seize the throne.
Seojun must have envisioned an incredible war of nerves between Suyang and Danjong in his mind. They wanted to peek inside that mind.
“Will a movie like that ever be made?”
It felt like it would be an amazing movie just imagining it.
As the teachers were savoring the afterglow of Seojun's freestyle performance, the door to the audition room opened. A staff member peeked his head in and spoke cautiously.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
“It seems you didn't hear the knock. Should I send in the next applicant?”
The teachers were flustered by his words. Had they been that lost in thought!
“Yes, yes!”
“The next one is number 275, right?”
The teachers hurriedly flipped through the applications, and the practical exam at Yeoul Arts Middle School, which had briefly paused, resumed.
Applicant number 275, whose turn was after Lee Seojun, entered the audition room with a very nervous expression.
* * *
A few days later, on the day of the acceptance announcements.
Reporters flocked to Yeoul Arts Middle School.
“There they are!”
“Excuse me! Did Lee Seojun pass?!”
As questions rang out from all directions and large camera lenses turned toward him, the staff member who had come out to post the list of accepted students on the bulletin board swallowed hard. He calmly posted the list on the bulletin board and quickly stepped away.
“Lee Seojun. Lee Seojun.”
“Number 274, number 274.”
The reporters who found the words '[Number 274 Lee Seojun]' on the list, which was sorted by number, quickly began to upload their articles.
Among them, a reporter who spotted an unexpected name in the earlier numbers had a glint in their eye.
[Actor Lee Seojun Accepted into Yeoul Arts Middle School!]
[Lee Seojun Passes Yeoul Arts Middle School Entrance Exam!]
[(Exclusive) Actors Lee Seojun and Kim Jookyung Accepted into Yeoul Arts Middle School!]
-Congrats on getting in!
-Of course Seojun would pass!
-Seojun will be a middle schooler next year! Other people's kids really do grow up fast!
-Oh. Hey! Isn't that Kim Jookyung?
=The one from 'One Step'? So she's going to the same school as Seojun!
Seojun, who had received a text message about his acceptance early on, was reading the congratulatory posts from fans on his fan cafe when he came across an article about Kim Jookyung's acceptance that a fan had posted.
“So Jookyung applied to Yeoul Arts, too.”
Seojun quickly took out his phone and sent a message to Kim Jookyung.
>Seojun, you too! Congrats! I never thought I'd be going to the same school as you.
>I had my exam on the first day.
>Me too!
After messaging Kim Jookyung, Seojun diligently replied to the flood of congratulatory messages from his acquaintances. While he was replying, a post appeared online.
[Title: Yeoul Arts Middle School films and uploads the practical exam videos.]
I'm a Yeoul Arts Middle School graduate.
At Yeoul Arts, the exam is a freestyle performance, and they film it with a camera.
The day after the acceptance list is posted, they upload the videos of the freestyle performances. Of course, only if the accepted students give permission lol.
But most of them do. There are directors who cast people after watching those. That's what happened to me.
They also send the videos to the students who didn't get in. There's no feedback, but some kids use the video to work on their acting at academies and then get into high school.
-But why bring up the practical exam videos all of a sudden?
=OP: I wanted to see Seojun's video lolll
=Oh, right! Lee Seojun would have taken the practical exam too!
=He was obviously going to pass, but a performance by Lee Seojun! I want to see it!
-But where do they post them?
=OP: The Yeoul Arts Middle School N-tube channel! They also upload videos of their annual performances, not just the practical exams.
-What's your video, OP? I wanna see it
=OP: ...I will not be revealing that lol
The next day, videos of the accepted students' practical exams were uploaded to the [Yeoul Arts Middle School] N-tube channel. Among them, the one that drew the most attention was, unsurprisingly, Seojun's.
[Number 274, Lee Seojun's Practical Exam Video]
“Uncle.”
King Danjong's eyes shone.
“All righteousness is on my side. Even if you ascend to this throne, Uncle, that fact will not change. The people and our descendants will all come to know the truth.”
That sharp truth pierced Grand Prince Suyang, a mere traitor.
“Heaven will not forgive you, Uncle!”
At the young dragon's powerful cry, Grand Prince Suyang also shouted.
-My god... Am I the only one who sees that shirt as a royal dragon robe?
=Nope, I thought he was in the palace too lol
-You can only see Seojun on screen, but it feels like Grand Prince Suyang is standing just out of frameㄷㄷ
=I found myself following Seojun's gaze without realizing it.
-I think I can see sparks flying?
-These lines... I think they're from *Sejo*.
=*Sejo*? The movie?
=Yep, I saw it in theaters lol. The part at the beginning where he flinches is because Suyang bursts through the door.
=Oh.
-I saw it too, but I don't think the lines had this kind of feel?
=This. In '*Sejo*', Danjong had a weak personality. The lines weren't part of a war of nerves like this. Lee Seojun probably interpreted the character differently.
=Seojun is so smart lol
[Actor Lee Seojun's Yeoul Arts Middle School Practical Exam Video Released!]
[Acting Prowess That Makes an Ordinary Shirt Look Like a Royal Dragon Robe!]
[Actor Lee Seojun Captivates Everyone with a Mere 2-Minute Freestyle Performance!]
[The Movie *Sejo* Rises in Popularity Again!]
-lol English subs for the practical exam video are up lol
-To be this interested even in a middle school practical exam, Seojun's international fans are amazing lol
-*Sejo* was interesting, but it was different from what I expected. I was thinking it would be a war of nerves between Danjong and Suyang...
=To see a movie like the Danjong vs. Suyang showdown we're imagining, the child actor has to be really good. Now, because Lee Seojun's acting is on another level, we can think, 'Lee Seojun could pull it off.' But ten years ago, even though the child actor for Danjong was said to be good, we couldn't imagine anything beyond that.
=Yeah, can you think of any other child actor right now besides Lee Seojun who could hold their own in a war of nerves against an adult actor? You can't, right? That's what it is. Even now, if it weren't for Lee Seojun, there wouldn't be a child actor who could play a role like that.
-How does Seojun even know a movie from ten years ago? Ten years ago, Seojun would have still been using a pacifier lol
=A pacifier lolol
Before long, the hypothetical movie 'that would be great if Lee Seojun played Danjong' began to be called simply '*Danjong*'.
As many comments saying it would be interesting if Lee Seojun filmed '*Danjong*' appeared, another comment with a different opinion was posted.
-Even if Lee Seojun films *Danjong*, I don't think I could rewatch it.
=Why?
=Because Seojun would be playing Danjong. Danjong is constantly tormented by Suyang, becomes the king emeritus, then Prince Nosan, and ultimately dies. Just writing it out makes Danjong seem pitiful, but imagine seeing it with Seojun's acting. We cried so much when he played Grand Prince Seongnyeong, who died of illness... This is Danjong, who has not a single shred of happiness...
=You're right. Now that I think about it, it's nothing but frustrating drama.
=Yeah. Seojun would have this kingly aura, but the circumstances wouldn't support him. Every time he tries to do something, Suyang kills everyone lol. It would be interesting to see a war of nerves like in the video. Your heart would pound wondering when Seojun will get one over on Suyang. But this is a historical film. The ending is already set. Suyang wins and Danjong dies. Seojun dies!
=Su. per. Frus. tra. ting. + No catharsis lol
Once again, the internet was plastered with Lee Seojun. It was enough to surprise Seojun and his parents, who had agreed to release the video without much thought.
“It's not even a two-minute video…”
“I know.”
International reactions were also starting to trickle in. It was amazing that such a short video could generate this much of a response. Since Seojun trending on real-time searches was a common occurrence, a now-accustomed Lee Minjun turned to Seojun, who was checking messages from acquaintances, and asked.
“Seojun, if they make the movie, will you star in it?”
“Hmm. If I read the script and it seems interesting, I will.”
“Right. If you want to do it, you should.”
Not wanting to pressure him, his parents nodded and changed the subject.
“Seojun. What do you want for an acceptance gift?”
A gift?
Seojun's eyes darted around. A gift. Seojun, who had little desire for material things and was generally satisfied as long as he had scripts to read and projects to film, pondered.
“Well. Nothing comes to mind when you suddenly mention a gift…”
“Look. Nara and Richel are blowing up your phone.”
Seo Eunhye showed Seojun her phone. It was the group chat with the Shadowman team and Nara Kim.
>Nara: Acceptance gift, elementary school graduation gift, middle school entrance gift, and your birthday is in March, so a birthday gift too! That's four! Seojun, what do you want?
>Richel: What? Only four?!
>Nara: Wait! There's a Christmas gift too! Should we send a New Year's gift as well?
>Richel: Let's do it!
>Evan: ...I'll send something reasonable.
Seojun burst out laughing at the excited messages from Nara and Richel and Evan's lone, calm response.
‘Hmm. I get gifts every year, so there's nothing I particularly want…’
But if he didn't say something, even more gifts might arrive. To escape Nara and Richel's gift-giving hell, Seojun fell into deep thought.
“Hmm. Should I ask for a camera and monitor to use at the new house?”
“I wanted to buy you that. I got a recommendation from Director Ryan Will and have already picked out a good camera and monitor.”
“Then a projector and a screen!”
“Dad already paid for that.”
His parents' faces shone brightly at the thought of the gifts they would give their son.
Seojun groaned, racking his brain.
* * *
Team 2 at Cocoa Entertainment was bustling with activity. Whir, whir—the printer continuously spat out paper.
“They just keep coming in.”
“The people on that end must be incredibly busy.”
An Daho watched the papers being printed. Since Seojun's freestyle performance had become a hot topic, offers for dramas and movies based on King Danjong were flooding in like a tidal wave.
Most were low-quality synopses that seemed hastily put together to capitalize on the trending topic and actor, but among them were also well-crafted scripts that looked as if they had been in preparation for some time.
“It's amazing that someone even thought of a script with this kind of subject matter.”
“They probably shelved it because there wasn't a suitable child actor.”
“And now that an actor who could pull it off has appeared, they've brought it out.”
Looking at the thick script in An Daho's hand, the Team 2 staff members nodded.