Chapter 258
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: A Different Interpretation
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Out of the 40 third-year students in the acting department at Yeoul Arts Middle School, 21 were accepted into Mirinae Arts High School. The teachers at Yeoul were surprised by the higher-than-expected number of successful applicants.
“It’s incredible, especially since there are no bonus points for being from an affiliated school.”
“Plus, some kids changed their path to general high schools, and others decided to go into production instead of acting.”
Everyone had their own reasons.
Among those who didn't apply to Mirinae, some left out of fear of the talent possessed by Seojun and others, while some discovered a new interest in music or art classes and changed their career paths.
“If you exclude them, the acceptance rate is even higher.”
“And it’s not like the ones who didn’t make it are untalented…”
“It just means that many talented third-year middle schoolers applied this year.”
The teachers nodded in agreement.
Simply put, it meant that 21 of the top 40 third-year child actors in the country were from Yeoul Arts Middle School.
***
“Jookyung, Jaehan, Jiho, and Joohee all got in. Sungmin and Siyoung, who are preparing the graduation performance with me, also passed.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“Now that the music and art department kids are done with their entrance exams, we can start preparing in earnest. Ugh. I think it’s going to be so much fun!”
“Until what time can you book the school practice rooms?”
Seojun and his parents chatted warmly in the living room while eating apples.
The talk show Kim Jongho had filmed to promote the play ‘The Jurors’ was scheduled to air today.
“I think it’s starting.”
Kim Jongho, who played the father, Choi Chanyoung, who played Park Gyeongwon, and the actors for the prosecutor and lawyer roles were all seated side by side. After chatting with the actors about why they joined ‘The Jurors’ and how rehearsals were going, the MC spoke up.
“We have some interesting statistics.”
The MC, flipping through his cue cards, said with a smile.
“Did you know that the number of readers has significantly increased in the latter half of this year? In particular, sales for ‘The Jurors’ and ‘The Mirror’ have exploded. The web novel ‘Waiting for a Star’ is also selling a massive number of e-books.”
Sensing the reason, Kim Jongho and the other actors, as well as Seojun and his parents watching on TV, burst into laughter.
[A Sudden Spike in Readers! What’s the Cause?]
[Buying Other Books While Picking Up The Mirror and The Jurors!]
[From Local Bookstores to Megastores! A Bookstore Outing!]
[Publishers and Bookstores Are Busy! Let’s Check Out This Month’s Events!]
-Thanks to Lee Seojun, I actually read a few books this year.
=22 I went to the bookstore so many times, even though I didn't go once last year.
-I bought other books while I was there to get The Mirror lol
-The Jurors was fun.
=Waiting for a Star was pretty good too?
=22 It's a bit childish, but if you read it at night, it's a total tearjerker lol
=What about The Mirror?
=I bet no one's read it. They're all waiting until after they see the play lol
=It’s so weird lol Why buy it and not read it!
-I haven't bought The Mirror yet. I feel like I'll read it out of curiosity if I do.
=22 Same here.
=Seems like there are quite a few people like that. But you'll probably have to buy it in December, right? Won't it sell out all at once when the graduation performance gets closer?
=The publisher is probably prepared for that.
-We don't need a reading encouragement policy, just have Lee Seojun upload a 2-minute video once a month.
=lol Seriously, no other promotion needed lol
-Anyway, publishers and bookstores are riding the Lee Seojun wave until the end of the year lol
***
In mid-November, while the Yeoul Arts Middle School’s ‘The Mirror’ team was practicing hard, the play ‘The Jurors’ opened at the Milky Way Center.
The first performance of ‘The Jurors’ was scheduled for an audience of acquaintances of the actors and staff, as well as the general public.
“The entrance for invited guests is this way.”
At the staff member's voice, the acquaintances of the actors and staff made their way over.
Seojun, Lee Jiseok, and Park Dohun, who had received invitation tickets from Kim Jongho, also headed into the theater. The three actors' managers followed behind them.
“Seojun. Did you bring a bouquet?”
“It's in the car. I'll get it after the play. What about you, Dohun-hyung?”
“Mine’s in the car too. It's a hassle to hold during the play.”
Seojun nodded at Park Dohun's words and stepped into the theater. Lee Jiseok, who was following Seojun and Park Dohun, tilted his head.
“Seojun. Why didn't you ask me?”
“I figured you wouldn't buy one, Jiseok-hyung. Right, Dohun-hyung?”
“Yeah. The thought of you buying a bouquet for Jongho-samchon…”
Seojun and Park Dohun giggled at the unimaginable scene. Lee Jiseok wondered if he should go buy one now.
Smiling faintly, Seojun looked at the audience seats and tilted his head.
‘Huh?’
Upon entering the theater, he saw that the first three rows closest to the stage were cordoned off. The next few rows were for invited guests, and behind them were the seats for the general public. Puzzled by the unusual arrangement, Seojun pulled out his invitation to check his seat.
“Jiseok-hyung, Dohun-hyung. This way.”
Seojun and the two actors sat in the center of the invited guest section, which offered the best view of the stage. Their managers sat in the row behind them.
“The seats are pretty good.”
“But why aren't they using the front rows?”
“I don't know. Maybe they plan to use this area too? Sometimes plays have performances in the audience seats.”
“But that wasn't in the plot of The Jurors…”
Lee Jiseok tilted his head, unsure of the answer to Seojun’s question. While they pondered the reason, the invited guest section filled up, and general audience members began to trickle in one by one.
Looking around at the packed audience with no empty seats, Park Dohun said with a smile.
“Thanks to Seojun, the promotion went so well that it's a string of sellouts.”
Seojun and Lee Jiseok smiled as well.
“I heard that from Jongho-samchon, too. They're even considering extending the run…”
“It wasn't his intention, but it turned into some seriously effective buzz marketing.”
The three actors chatted warmly.
The gazes of the actors’ and staff's acquaintances in the invited guest section turned toward them. Although they were wearing hats and masks, it was easy to recognize Lee Jiseok and Park Dohun. And one other person. For some reason, he wasn't immediately recognizable, but once you knew Lee Jiseok and Park Dohun were there, you couldn't help but notice him.
“Whoa. Lee Seojun.”
“Hey, Kim Soohan. Seojun’s here.”
At his friends' words, Kim Soohan craned his neck to look in the direction they were pointing, but a sharp beep signaled the start of the play, and he turned his disappointed face toward the stage.
***
The pitch-black curtain slowly rose.
“Oh.”
“Wow.”
As the curtain went up, Seojun, Lee Jiseok, and Park Dohun marveled at the stage that came into view.
The stage design for ‘The Jurors’ was unique.
It was as if another stage had been built on top of the main one, making it elevated.
Lee Jiseok nodded as if he understood.
“So that’s why they’re not using the front three rows. Since the stage is high, people sitting in the front would have to crane their necks.”
The second-floor stage was set up as a courtroom.
The jury box, where the novel's protagonist sat, was on the far left, occupied by nine jurors of different genders and ages. The prosecutor's table was next to it, the judge's bench was in the center of the stage, and the defense attorney's table was on the right.
Those who had read ‘The Jurors’ tilted their heads. The novel was a story that alternated between the courtroom and past reenactments imagined by the prosecution and defense.
“But are they only showing the courtroom and not scenes like the house and the hospital?”
“I know, right?”
As Seojun and the two actors tilted their heads in confusion, the trial began with the judge's entrance.
When the prosecutor, who had stepped before the judge's bench, finished stating the case summary and stepped back, the front part of the wall below the second-floor stage—which had looked like a simple platform—split open to both sides.
Oh!
Seojun and the two actors’ eyes lit up in admiration. The other audience members also widened their eyes in surprise.
As the first-floor stage opened, the living room of an ordinary house was revealed. It seemed that when the front doors opened, the floor of the second-floor stage opened with it, as there was now a hole in the center of the upper stage.
The prosecutor's table on the left, the judge's bench in the center, the defense attorney's table on the right.
It was as if they were looking down into the living room from the courtroom.
“This is amazing.”
“It really is. This way, they can easily create other locations.”
Park Gyeongwon, who had been sitting in the defendant's box, stood up and walked to the back. It seemed there was a staircase leading to the first-floor stage behind the defense attorney's table. He must have changed clothes in the meantime, as Park Gyeongwon, who had been wearing a defendant's uniform, was now in casual clothes.
“Wow.”
Kim Jongho, playing Park Gyeongwon’s father, appeared.
His distorted, flushed face, as if drunk, and his fierce aura filled the theater. Seojun and the two actors, who had been simply admiring the stage production, fell silent and stared intently at the actors' performances.
Park Gyeongwon fights with his father and, just as the prosecution claimed, stabs him without hesitation. Bright red blood splatters, the father dies, and the doors of the first-floor stage close.
The defense attorney, standing in the center of the stage, defends the protagonist. The doors of the first-floor stage open again, and this time, the father dies by Park Gyeongwon’s mistake.
The jurors, prosecutor, judge, and defense attorney watched this unfold from the second-floor stage above.
“I thought they would, at best, build a stage off to the side…”
“The director is incredible.”
The audience was drawn into the seamless flow of the trial proceedings and past reenactments. They could only marvel at the way the changing situations, dictated by the words of the prosecutor and defense attorney, were perfectly recreated.
The testimonies of the witnesses followed. For every important testimony, the doors of the first-floor stage would invariably open, revealing the witness with Park Gyeongwon or his father.
The second-floor stage was the courtroom.
The first-floor stage was the past reenactment.
It was a structure that could have been confusing, but the appropriate adaptation and the actors' brilliant performances made it impossible for the audience not to ponder the truth of the case.
Seojun’s eyes shifted to the jurors.
In the book, they played the most crucial role, but here, with the audience themselves becoming the jury, their part had become the smallest. Nevertheless, the actors playing the jurors were performing with dedication.
As in the novel, Park Gyeongwon answered all questions meekly. Everything, whether disadvantageous or advantageous to him. The prosecutor and defense attorney gave their closing arguments.
“The defendant committed a thoroughly premeditated murder!”
“This case is nothing more than an unfortunate accident!”
The two powerful voices echoed through the theater. The audience members nodded in agreement with either the prosecutor's or the defense attorney's side.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The jurors' verdict was delivered, and the judge spoke. The judge sided with the defense. The contrast between the prosecutor's indignant expression and the defense's joyful one was stark.
After the trial, Park Gyeongwon, about to exit through a door set up next to the defense attorney's table, looked at the audience and said.
“Why are they crying?”
That single phrase was filled with the chilling joy of a plan perfectly executed.
At the sight of Park Gyeongwon mocking the people who had been played by his scheme, the audience let out groans, realizing that the prosecution had been right all along.
‘Hmm.’
It seemed the director or perhaps the actor had interpreted him as a cleverly insane person, just like Joohee. It was different from his own interpretation, but it was a magnificent production, so Seojun applauded with all his might.
Clap, clap, clap!
The captivating battle between the prosecutor and defense attorney, and the performances of Kim Jongho and Choi Chanyoung, who reenacted two different pasts with distinct atmospheres. A huge round of applause poured out for the actors who gave their all.
Lee Jiseok and Park Dohun also clapped, smiling with satisfaction.
“That was fun. The adaptation was well done, too.”
“Yes. It has a different kind of fun from the book.”
“Then let's go give Jongho-samchon his bouquet!”
At Seojun’s words, Lee Jiseok and Park Dohun stood up with a smile.
***
Song Munseok, the author of the novel ‘The Jurors,’ who had come to see the play, sat at a small table set up next to the lobby of the Milky Way Center. A publishing house employee who had come with him asked.
“Mr. Song. What did you think?”
“It was very enjoyable. They captured the important parts well, and the stage direction was excellent. The actors were, of course, phenomenal.”
“Right? Kim Jongho and Choi Chanyoung were especially good. That last line gave me goosebumps.”
Ah, the last line.
Song Munseok’s satisfied smile momentarily faded.
“It might be because of the false report that Lee Seojun was starring, but it’s a string of sellouts and there are even inquiries about extending the run. It might even get a film adaptation. Oh, Mr. Song, I need to take a quick call.”
“Go ahead.”
The publishing house employee, who had been excited about the unexpected success, walked away, and Song Munseok took a coin out of his pocket and inserted it into a vending machine. He felt a tightness in his chest and thought a cold drink might help, like pouring soda on it.
Song Munseok popped open a can of cider and sat down on a chair.
It was then.
“The last line?”
“Yeah. I think it was a bit different from my interpretation.”
“Really? What was your interpretation?”
Song Munseok’s hand, about to lift the cider, froze. He strained his ears to listen to the voices.
“Hmm. An emotionless madman? I thought Park Gyeongwon was completely incapable of understanding people's feelings.”
At the analysis that seemed to peer into his own mind, Song Munseok’s hand trembled.
“He doesn't get why people cry or laugh, so he answered all the prosecutor's questions honestly and wouldn't have cared what verdict was handed down. The last line was probably him genuinely asking because he really didn't understand why they were crying.”
Song Munseok shot up from his seat. The fizzy cider spilled all over the table. The publishing house employee, returning from his call, rushed over in surprise. He grabbed Song Munseok, who was trying to find the source of the voice.
“Mr. Song! Your clothes!”
“Ju-just a moment.”
“Let’s wipe it with this first… Mr. Song?!”
Song Munseok ran in the direction the voice had come from, but the lobby was crowded after the play had ended. Men, women, children, and adults. After a quick scan of the Milky Way Center lobby, Song Munseok let out a heavy sigh.
The bewildered publishing house employee followed him out.
“Is something wrong, Mr. Song?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”
“That’s a relief. Oh, I just got a call from the publisher. They said they want to adapt your work into a drama…”
The employee's voice faded away. Song Munseok looked around the lobby with a gaze full of longing.
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