Chapter 250
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: A Different Kind of Judge
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"Wow. Why am I so nervous about this?"
The music students clutched their pounding hearts.
The students majoring in other instruments like the piano seemed relatively composed, but the violin majors looked like they were on the verge of fainting.
This was especially true for the first-years, who rarely had a chance to meet Seojun. One student, who had even taken a calming pill, was still pale, as if the medicine hadn't kicked in.
"Senior… I think I'm going to die right now."
"Me too. It feels like I'm being judged by Gray Vainie."
"...Same here."
That didn't mean the third-years, who took joint classes with Seojun, were any better.
"Just relax. It's only a role he played."
When Jiho, who was helping with the Tuesday auditions, said this cynically, the third-year music students he'd befriended in their joint class shot him a glare.
"Gray Vainie! It's Gray Vainie! Number one on the Billboard Classical chart!"
"The genius violinist praised by Jayden Moore and Professor Benjamin Morton!"
"How can you hear 'Over the Rainbow' and say it's 'just a role'?!"
"Did you not even see the busking version that sent shivers down everyone's spine?!"
Jiho shrugged at the third-years' barrage of protests.
"To you, it's just a role, but for us in the acting department, we're being judged by Lee Seojun, the actor who *played* Gray Vainie and won an Oscar for it."
"Ah..."
It wasn't cynicism, but resignation. The music students' eyes filled with pity.
"No wonder. The acting students looked so out of it..."
"If Jayden Moore were judging me, I'd probably be the same."
"Whoa. I just got goosebumps thinking about it!"
The pressure must be immense when the audition judge is a world-renowned figure in your own field.
"Let's be extra kind to the acting students this week, no matter what they do."
Everyone nodded at the third-year music student's words. Cringing at the affectionate gazes from the music students, Jiho rubbed his arms and said.
"So just relax. You have it ten times better than we do."
* * *
"It was music today, right? How were the auditions?"
At An Daho's question, Seojun searched his memory.
"The other instrument majors were fine, but the violin majors seemed especially nervous. Jiho said it was because of Gray Vainie."
An Daho, who knew that Cocoa Entertainment occasionally received emails from people requesting a violin performance from 'Gray Vainie', let out a small laugh. These requests came from not only music-loving fans but also famous international classical record labels.
But Seojun wasn't interested, so they had all been declined.
"Really? So they must have made a lot of mistakes?"
"At first, yes. But if I'd let it continue, I wouldn't have been able to cast anyone for the violin parts. So I struck up conversations, gave them compliments, and talked about the violin."
Seojun said with a pleasant laugh.
"It felt less like judging an audition and more like giving a lesson."
"A lesson from Gray Vainie? They must have been thrilled."
"Their expressions did brighten up."
It was more than just brightening up; they were so overjoyed that they immediately grabbed their phones to brag to everyone after the audition. But Seojun, focused on listening to the other students' performances, didn't notice.
"Oh, right. There was something I wanted to tell you today."
"What is it?"
An Daho said with a smile. As he listened, Seojun's eyes widened.
* * *
Today's lunch menu was crispy tonkatsu, mushroom soup, juicy meatball spaghetti, refreshing orange juice, and golden-brown garlic bread.
Since it was a menu everyone loved, they moved their hands and mouths busily, with less conversation than usual.
After a satisfying meal, Seojun asked while sipping his orange juice.
"By the way, is everyone only auditioning for the 'Mirror Team'? Aren't there other plays?"
Juhee, the social butterfly, answered Seojun's question.
"That's because getting into the Mirror Team is everyone's top priority. If they fail the audition, they'll go right back to the teams they were originally preparing with."
"Me too."
Jiho nodded as well.
Juhee and Jiho had been on teams preparing for other plays since the first semester. Seojun tilted his head.
"Is that okay? If you join our team, what happens to your original team? If you've been preparing since the first semester, you must have roles already, right?"
"Even if you're putting on a play, Seojun, you can't cast everyone in the theater department."
Seojun nodded at Jiho's words.
Even giving each person a single line would make the play run over an hour.
"So we discussed it. As soon as the results are announced, they'll cast new actors and start practicing."
"We agreed to understand, whether I pass or someone else does. Well, we can't control how we'll feel deep down, but still."
"Of course, the students who didn't want actors leaving mid-preparation formed their own teams with people who weren't planning to audition for your team."
Jaehan and Jookyung also nodded, seeming to already know.
"Everyone's so thorough."
Seojun was impressed by how the students had even thought of a Plan B.
* * *
After all the school classes ended, the acting auditions began.
The first slot in the randomly assigned acting auditions went to a second-year.
"I'll do my best!"
He had seen him around, but he never imagined he'd get to speak with him this up close. After the second-year finished his self-introduction, Seojun's gaze sharpened.
It might be a school event, a play put on only by students that looked like a cute little game in the eyes of adults, but when it came to the art of acting, Seojun was never anything but serious.
The atmosphere instantly shifted from Lee Seojun the senior to Lee Seojun the actor, and the second-year student couldn't help but gulp.
This was a second-year who had come to the audition with a half-hearted attitude, mainly to see the actor Lee Seojun up close and on the off chance he might get cast. It was a mindset that the third-year acting students, who had taken acting classes with Seojun for three years, would have found absurd.
"Then, first, please tell me about the character you'd like to play."
"Yes, yes!"
Gulping once more, the second-year student recited the character analysis his acting academy instructor had given him.
* * *
"The acting auditions started today, right? How were they?"
"It seems the Saebyeok Acting Academy is quite popular with the students."
Unlike when he was evaluating the music auditions yesterday, Seojun answered An Daho's question immediately, as if he didn't even need time to think.
"...Huh?"
He had asked how the auditions were, but he couldn't understand Seojun's reply. Seojun gave a bitter smile as he looked at the puzzled An Daho.
"There were a lot of similar character analyses. It was as if someone had given them the correct answer."
"Ah. I see."
An Daho, finally understanding, nodded.
It seemed the students were simply repeating the analysis given by the instructor at 'Saebyeok Acting Academy'.
"Did you like the academy's analysis?"
"It would have been nice if I did, but..."
Seojun shrugged.
"They interpreted it too literally from the book. For the twist to work, you need to hide things at times and reveal them at others. But everyone was acting like, 'I've got a secret.'"
He suspected the instructor's advice included creating a sense of unease for the audience to hint at the twist.
"Well, once you know the twist, it's hard not to be conscious of it."
"That's true, but you have to forget it when you're acting."
"So, was there anyone you liked at today's audition?"
"No. But it would be a disaster if it's like this through Thursday and Friday, so I've picked out a few candidates."
* * *
Thursday, the day of the second round of auditions to cast actors for the 'Mirror Team'.
The students who had already finished their auditions looked relieved, while those who had theirs in a few hours were staring intently at scripts from their academies or ones they had prepared themselves.
"Wasn't Senior Lee Seojun terrifying?"
"Tell me about it. If it weren't for Hanseok's advice, I don't think I could've said a word."
It was a good thing he had practiced hard; if he had gone in with a casual attitude, he would have been crushed by Senior Lee Seojun's presence and left without saying a single word. A friend who was auditioning today asked the student, who had just resolved to get closer to Hanseok.
"Why? Did he get mad?"
"No. He didn't say anything, but he looked at me so seriously. Did I tell you about my audition for *Escape* last year?"
He had. Dozens of times.
But everyone kept quiet and leaned in to hear the audition story.
"His gaze was even sharper than when Director Choi Daeman and the other directors were staring me down. It was like he was saying, 'I'm going to dissect and analyze your acting from top to bottom!'"
"Right. Maybe because he's an actor too, the way he watched felt a little different from a director or a writer."
"...He's not really the 'same' kind of actor, is he?"
"Yeah. Isn't it like the difference between a god and a mortal?"
A second-year music student, who had just entered the acting practice room for a joint class with the acting department, overheard the second-year acting students and tilted his head.
"He was super nice to me, though?"
"He even gave me advice!"
The second-year violin majors standing next to him chimed in with bright smiles, sharing their audition experiences.
"He started the conversation and even corrected my violin posture. He helped me with everything from finger placement to bowing, and my teacher praised me a lot in class today!"
"Me too! When I said Gray Vainie was my favorite, he seemed really happy!"
Listening to the second-year music students, the eyes of the second-year acting students who had auditioned widened in shock.
Tuesday and Wednesday.
What could have happened in one day to cause such a difference?
"How was it for the art department?"
"Huh? He was nice to us, too."
"Senior Lee Seojun knows a lot about art, too."
The art students who had auditioned for set & props on Monday had a similar reaction to the music students.
"Why is there such a huge difference?"
"Maybe something bad happened to him on Wednesday?"
"Oh my god. Maybe! I really hope he's in a good mood today."
"And tomorrow!"
The second-year acting students who were auditioning today and tomorrow clasped their hands together and prayed.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
News of the stark difference in Seojun's judging style reached the ears of the third-year acting students.
"Well, that's not surprising."
"Those kids just don't know Seojun yet."
Unlike the first and second-years who were pondering the reason, the third-years simply shrugged and returned their focus to their novels and scripts.
Seojun scratched his cheek at his friends' reactions.
*Hmm.*
He couldn't quite put it into words, but it was a strange feeling.
* * *
Kim Hanseok, who arrived late to the acting practice room after running an errand for a teacher, tilted his head at his friends' conversation.
"I don't think it's because Seojun-hyung was in a bad mood."
"Huh?"
"Wednesday was the acting audition. That's why he judged so seriously. Monday and Tuesday weren't for acting, so he was more relaxed."
"...So today too?"
"? I told you. Seojun-hyung doesn't go easy when it comes to acting."
At Kim Hanseok's words, the second-year acting students gulped.
* * *
Thursday evening.
The previously announced interview with author Choi Daye was uploaded.
[Interview with Choi Daye, Author of *Mirror*]
[Lee Seojun's Chosen Novel, 'Mirror', on Sale Starting Saturday!]
[*Mirror*, Finally Available to Read!]
[Play First? Book First? The People's Dilemma!]
-Wow. Their first meeting was insane. Is this a hidden camera show?
-How do you just approach a random person at a bookstore because your book talk has no audience and that person turns out to be Lee Seojun?
=To the editor. Please buy a lottery ticket.
=22 With that kind of luck, you have to buy a lottery ticketㅠ
-Wait, he read the book in 10 minutes and asked questions like that?
=His speed-reading is no joke.
=Probably because he's an actor and has to read a lot of scripts.
-But the author and the editor must have been so shocked.
=lol Imagine finding out Lee Seojun was sitting right next to you?
-I'm going to the bookstore to buy it on Saturday.
-I'm debating it too. Should I read the book before seeing the play?
=I went and asked Yeongung Publishing.
=Oh. What'd they say?
=They said they can't say anything since the play isn't out yet.
=lol I mean, they're not wrong lol But that's such a non-answer lol
-I'm going to buy the book, but I'm not going to read it yet.
=22 I'm gonna buy the book since I don't know when it'll sell out, but I'll read it after seeing the play.
=333 It's a play with Lee Seojun, so it'll probably be fun even if you know the twist, but I think it'll be more fun not knowing.
=4444 I'll have to seal it away somewhere until December.
-Whoa. Has it been 8 years for this too?
=Right? What was my ID again...?
=??What??
=(Link)
[(Exclusive) WTV Film Festival Voting Starts Next Saturday!]
After the worldwide birthday event back in March, Lee Seojun's fan club, [From a Sprout], which had been quietly active only within the fan cafe (though their firepower is terrifying), began to stir.