Chapter 264
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: The Ripple Effect
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…Unsettling.
That was the common feeling among the audience after watching the play, ‘Mirror.’
From the very beginning until just before the end, the audience believed the protagonist of the play was ‘Kim Jinwoo,’ a man with a dual personality. And so, all their attention was focused on him.
He first appeared with a gentle demeanor, winning over the audience's hearts, and then earned their sympathy with his terrified expression. The conflict between his two personalities was shown through shadows, and the moment his true nature was revealed was utterly chilling.
He was the character who delivered the most memorable performance, captivating the audience's gaze, and yet…
‘…Why do I feel like I’ve been tricked?’
A strange silence lingered in Yeoul Hall.
But not everyone felt that way.
A burst of applause erupted from the students sitting in the front. They were all chattering excitedly, their faces flushed with excitement. The acting majors, in particular, looked thrilled.
“Goosebumps…! I get it now!”
“Whoa. So that’s how they did it!”
“Oh my god. They must have paid so much attention to the props! Did you see that!?”
“Isn’t Lee Seojun’s acting incredible? You’d think he really has another personality.”
“The other upperclassmen were great too! Especially Yang Juhee…!”
Unable to keep up with the students' amazed reactions, Lee Dajin tilted her head in confusion. Puzzled, she turned to ask the three actors and the writer sitting beside her about this sense of unease. They must have been watching the stage with the sharpest eyes, so they would surely have the answer.
‘Seojun is a great actor, but his adaptation is a bit ambiguous.’
However, the others seemed to think differently. Kim Jongho, Lee Jiseok, Park Dohun, and Writer So Eunjin’s eyes were sparkling.
“He made great use of the props. They were so familiar that I didn’t even notice until halfway through.”
“The dual personality acting, too. I liked how clearly the second personality was distinguished, from the way he spoke to his entire aura.”
“And the control of his acting intensity. Throughout the play, all attention was on Kim Jinwoo, but in the final part, it shifted to Jung Chaewon. It seems like Seojun and the kids intentionally held back, don’t you think?”
“The blocking was impeccable, and the shadow acting was impressive. Ugh. I can’t wait to see the recording!”
They showered the performance with praise, as if there was nothing unsettling about it at all.
Lee Dajin blinked and then spoke.
“Am I the only one who found the ending a bit anticlimactic? Isn’t it unsettling?”
The three actors and Writer So Eunjin looked at her, then glanced back and forth between the parents’ section and the students’ section.
The parents were praising the acting but were bewildered by the strange ending. The students, on the other hand, had watched in a trance before realizing everything and were now filled with admiration.
Noticing the difference between the two groups, Kim Jongho’s eyes widened.
“…You haven’t read the book, have you?”
“The book? Oh, if you mean ‘Mirror,’ I was planning to read it after watching the play, so I haven’t yet.”
“Hah. Is that so?”
“Why? What is it?”
“Writer So, you must have read the book?”
At Park Dohun’s question, Writer So Eunjin nodded.
“Yes. I couldn’t resist my curiosity when I heard Seojun had chosen it.”
At Kim Jongho’s words, Lee Jiseok looked between the parents’ and students’ sections again and marveled.
“It seems the parents haven’t read the book, but the kids have.”
“The kids probably read it because of the auditions.”
Lee Dajin, growing anxious at Lee Jiseok and Kim Jongho’s conversation, spoke up.
“What on earth is the book about?!”
“It’s something else.”
The three actors and the writer shared a meaningful smile.
***
Backstage, Seojun wiped the water from his face with a prepared towel. Thanks to being splashed countless times during practice, he had taken it cleanly. Meanwhile, Jaehan and Sungmin, who had also come backstage, let out deep breaths, trying to calm their pounding hearts.
“You both did great.”
“Sungmin did better than me. When Seojun fell, I thought you really hit him.”
“That’s because Seojun is good at falling. Action scenes are tough.”
Seojun and the two boys chuckled.
Now that the play was over, he felt a sense of relief.
In the meantime, the curtain had fallen.
Kim Chaeyeon, the music team leader who had operated the switch to lower the curtain, let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor.
“It’s finally over…”
Seojun and the other kids gave the exhausted Kim Chaeyeon a thumbs-up.
“Your timing was perfect today.”
“I think it was even better than in practice.”
“Really? That’s a relief!”
Kim Chaeyeon beamed at their words.
She had been worried she would get lost in Seojun’s acting again, but her mind had snapped back to attention at just the right moments.
While Kim Chaeyeon was talking with the others, Seojun retrieved the pattern. The words ‘Now!’ which had been floating above Kim Chaeyeon’s head, were absorbed into Seojun’s hand.
[(Good) Hobgoblin’s Telepathy - Low Grade]
This is Hobgoblin’s Telepathy.
Only five times. You can only transmit five characters.
Uses: 3/5
‘Chaeyeon did so well, I barely had to use it.’
Seojun smiled faintly.
After the curtain had fully descended, Siyoung and Juhee, having delivered the final lines, appeared with excited faces.
“I didn’t make any mistakes!”
“Me neither! Don’t you think today was our best performance?”
“I guess we really are strong under pressure.”
As the acting team and Kim Chaeyeon were excitedly chatting, the background team members showed up. They were supposed to be clearing the stage, but their attention was elsewhere. Among the crowd of kids were also members of the music team, who had nothing to do but couldn’t just sit still.
“We’re here!”
“It was perfect, seniors!”
“Chaeyeon-sunbae! You were the best!”
“The shadows were awesome! So scary!”
“It was a hundred, a thousand times better than practice!”
Seojun and the others burst out laughing at the sight of the ‘Mirror’ team rushing in with such excited faces.
***
[Yeoul Arts Middle School Graduation Performance Ends!]
[Graduation Performance, When Will It Be on N-tube?]
[Wait, Why Are You All Here?!]
[Famous Directors Filming a Graduation Performance?!]
[From Filming to Editing, Leave It to Us! Lee Seojun's Crew Assembles!]
-It’s over!
-Upload it now!!
-Hurry up with the QR code!!
-Whoa. Director Woo Jeonghan, Director Choi Daeman, PD Choi Minsung, and even Writer So Eunjin?
=The actors are there too.
=…It’d be weird if they weren't lol
=LMAO
-Directors at a middle school graduation performance lol. This isn’t some special project lol
=22 The video quality is going to be insane.
=But won’t they fight? All three directors have different directing styles.
=As long as the final product is good, who cares if they fight lol
=222 Just pick the coolest shots and edit them in, please!
-A review is up!
=(link)
[Title: Yeoul Arts Middle School Graduation Performance Review (No Spoilers)]
I now understand why the 3rd years at Yeoul Arts are called the Golden Generation.
It was a graduation performance worthy of that name.
Are they really middle schoolers? lol T_T
Anyway, plays 1 through 6 were also fun. I recommend watching them.
But I know what you’re most interested in is number 7. The ‘Mirror’ team, lol.
They were all good. Really good.
End of review!
…Just kidding, there’s more to say about after the play.
After you finish watching ‘Mirror,’ you’re left with this unsettling feeling. Like you’re missing something.
So I read the book ‘Mirror,’ which I brought with me. There were others who brought the book too, lol. We all got kicked out of Yeoul Hall for reading after everyone else had left. But even as we were leaving, we couldn’t take our eyes off the book.
…Sigh… It was insane.
After finishing the book, I got goosebumps all over.
To think a book like this was buried in obscurity…!
After reading it, scenes from the play kept replaying in my mind. But memory has its limits, so I’m dying for the video to come out so I can scrutinize every single detail.
The play itself is impressive, but it’s the kind of play that makes you desperate to read the book.
I really hope everyone reads the book after watching the play.
-…I’m so jealous.
-Are you a parent? Or staff?
=It’s not just parents. Up to two people, including siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, can attend.
-I read the book first… will it not be as good?
=OP: If you read the book, you’ll enjoy it even more. You won’t feel the unsettling part, lol, but every movement, every line feels like foreshadowing. It’s like being deceived visually, which goes beyond just reading the text.
=…What does that mean?
=OP: You have to see it to know, lol.
-I hope it gets uploaded soon!
***
[Brown Black’s 15th Anniversary Concert Ends in Success!]
[Actor Lee Seojun Makes a Special Guest Appearance at Brown Black’s Concert!]
[Brown Black’s Park Seojin, “Thank you for loving Brown Black all this time.”]
[Brown Black’s Hwang Yejun, “That makes it sound like we’re disbanding!”]
[Brown Black’s Kevin Kim, “Don’t worry. We are not disbanding.”]
[Brown Black’s Choi Shiyoon, “Please continue to give us your love!”]
[Actor Lee Seojun, “Please give my hyungs lots of love!”]
-I hoped they wouldn’t lose their original passion, but for them to stay this unchanged… I love it so much!
=22 They’re all still so close, I love seeing it T_T
=It felt more like a fan meeting than a concert, there was so much time for them to talk!
=You made it through the ticketing war… I’m so jealous.
-It feels like the only people I can trust are the youngest member and Seojun, lol.
-The crowd went wild when Seojun appeared. The cheers were insane, lol.
=Brown Black: The cheers seem louder than when we came out?
Brown Black Fan: No way!… (but I became a fan through ‘48 Hours’ so I really like Seojun too, lol)
=222 I like them both lol
-But when is the documentary airing?
=No official date yet, but probably a little while after the Yeoul Arts graduation performance is uploaded to N-tube.
=Why?
=Because all the attention will be on that, lol.
***
A few days later.
Seojun and An Daho headed to the editing room with lunch boxes.
“This is the place Director Woo Jeonghan always uses for his film projects. He borrowed it for a little while.”
“I see. This is my first time in an editing room.”
Seojun, who had been heading toward the editing room with an excited expression, broke into a wide smile when he saw Writer So Eunjin waiting by the door. She smiled back warmly at Seojun before letting out a sigh.
“They haven’t gone home in four days.”
Four days?
Seojun and An Daho stared at Writer So Eunjin with surprised expressions.
“All three of them?”
“Yes. They finished the videos for up to team 6 so quickly, I thought the ‘Mirror’ team’s would be out soon too. But since then, they’ve been holed up in the editing room and haven’t come out. I even heard shouting at first.”
Seojun and An Daho exchanged a look.
Seojun recalled the comment about the directors having different styles and possibly fighting, and he scratched his cheek.
“Then we’ll just drop off the lunch boxes and the English scripts and go.”
“For the English subtitles, right?”
“Yes.”
“If Seojun translated them, they’re trustworthy.”
Seojun gave a small smile at Writer So Eunjin’s words.
He had translated not only the script for ‘Mirror’ but also the scripts for the other kids’ plays. He wanted many people to see his friends’ performances as well.
Writer So Eunjin knocked on the door of the editing room furthest down the hall. Only after several knocks did the tightly shut door open.
PD Choi Minsung appeared, looking haggard as if he had pulled an all-nighter.
“Oh, Writer So.”
“Seojun and his manager are here.”
“We brought lunch boxes. Have you eaten?”
“Ah, not yet.”
PD Choi Minsung’s gaze unconsciously shifted to the side. Seojun, An Daho, and Writer So Eunjin followed his line of sight.
Next to the door were three convenience store lunch boxes, still wrapped in plastic.
“You haven’t eaten?!”
Writer So Eunjin, who had bought those lunch boxes, shot him a glare.
“…We were busy. We just have the finishing touches left!”
“You said you only had the finishing touches left yesterday too!”
“Well…”
PD Choi Minsung’s eyes darted around.
“…We scrapped it.”
Writer So Eunjin pressed her hand to her forehead.
“You’ve already scrapped it 10 times…”
Seojun and An Daho chuckled softly at their exchange.
“You must be hungry then. Please eat.”
At Seojun’s words, PD Choi Minsung nodded and turned toward the inside of the editing room.
“Director Woo! Director Choi! Dinner, no, morning…”
It was too bright for dinner, but for it to be morning, Seojun would have been at school. At PD Choi Minsung’s words, Writer So Eunjin sighed and corrected him.
“…It’s lunch.”
“…Time for lunch.”
And then, two zombies appeared. Director Woo Jeonghan and Director Choi Daeman. They seemed to have no appetite, but they devoured the food as if their lives depended on it, making the effort to go to a famous restaurant for takeout worthwhile.
“Please eat slowly.”
“Thanks, Seojun. But aren’t you supposed to be in school today?”
Seojun and An Daho, who were handing the cake they bought to Writer So Eunjin, shrugged and smiled. Writer So Eunjin shook her head.
“It’s Sunday today.”
“…It’s already Sunday?”
Holed up in the editing room, they had lost all track of time. Seeing the three bewildered directors, Writer So Eunjin stated firmly.
“The deadline is tomorrow.”
“…Haha.”
“Couldn’t you extend it just a little, Writer So?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not a school official.”
At her words, the directors’ hands moved even faster to finish their lunch.
“But why did you scrap it 10 times?”
At Seojun’s question, Director Choi Daeman, who had finished his lunch box first, spoke up.
“If the play was meant to end as just a play, we could have finished editing long ago. But the twist is in the book.”
Seojun nodded.
“The play succeeded in making people want to open the book,”
There were people who started reading the book right there in the hall after the play ended.
Director Woo Jeonghan smiled.
“So we have to create something on that level too.”
“Besides, you planted clues all over the place, Seojun. We want to emphasize every single one without leaving any out. But if we emphasize them too much, it becomes obvious. We were trying to figure out the best composition, something that blends into the background but still catches the eye, and that’s how we ended up like this.”
“Though I didn’t think it would take this long.”
“I see.”
Having cleaned his lunch box, PD Choi Minsung smiled.
“It will be finished by the deadline, so don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
***
As the three directors had promised, at 3 PM on Monday.
Seven edited videos arrived at Yeoul Arts Middle School.
[Today at 5 PM, Yeoul Arts Middle School Graduation Performance Uploaded to N-tube!]
[Check Out the QR Code on the Book Band of the Novel ‘Mirror’!]
[Bookstores Crowded Since Morning! What Book Are People Holding?!]
[English Subtitles Also Available for the Play ‘Mirror’!]
[A Look Inside Actor Lee Seojun’s Mirror[■]!]
-Ooh! Finally!
-Goodbye to the [Coming Soon] on the QR code!
-With English subtitles, foreigners will be able to watch it too, right?
=Lee Seojun has a lot of international fans, so they probably prepared in advance.
=5 PM here is 1 AM in LA, lol, and 4 AM in Washington, lol.
=The ones who want to watch will watch, lol.
-I saw a lot of reviews saying to read the book, so I have it ready right next to me.
=222 I’m going to read it right after the play!
=I’m out to buy the book now. Don’t know if I can get it before 5, lol.
=You should have bought it in advance.
=If I did, I probably would have read it before watching the play ;;;
5 PM.
The videos of the Yeoul Arts Middle School graduation performance were uploaded to N-tube.
Seojun Lee’s fans waiting overseas and Lee Seojun’s fans waiting in Korea all clicked the play button with sparkling eyes.
Not long after the video started, the first comment was posted.
It was in English.
-/By the way, do psychiatrists in Korea use stethoscopes?/-
#