Chapter 67
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The First Rehearsal
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No, the door had closed gently, but that wasn't how the guardians felt.
Everyone could only mouth their words, caught in a situation they had never expected, never even dreamed of.
Director Park Jisu opened his mouth.
“Please ensure you maintain strict confidentiality regarding actor Lee Seojun. And please explain this well to the children.”
“...Why? If word gets out that Lee Seojun is in it, it'll generate huge buzz.”
At the question from the acting academy staff, Director Park Jisu slowly explained the reason Seojun was using a stage name. The guardians nodded as they listened.
“That makes sense, but…”
Still, they wanted to spread the word all over town that their son, their daughter, their student was acting with Lee Seojun. They wanted to brag.
People would flock, reporters would take pictures. Even if not to Lee Seojun's level, it was a chance to become a star.
As if sensing the guardians' thoughts, Director Park Jisu spoke.
“If the secret gets out during the practice period, actor Lee Seojun will quit. And if it's revealed during a performance after practice has ended, all subsequent performances will be replaced with a different voice actor.”
The practice room fell silent at Director Park Jisu's words. After looking over the displeased guardians, Director Park Jisu made eye contact with someone and quietly stepped outside.
Once the director was gone, everyone began to voice their thoughts more freely. They were all full of complaints about why they weren't promoting the play using Lee Seojun's name. Then, a woman spoke up.
“It might actually be better for it to be revealed after the play is over.”
“Why?”
“If he quits during practice, this play won't even be in Lee Seojun's filmography.”
“Then what about revealing it during the performance?”
“If he quits mid-performance, people will approach the children at first. ‘Are you close with actor Lee Seojun?’ ‘What was he like during practice?’ ‘What about during the show?’ But it won't be long before everyone is digging into why Lee Seojun left the play.”
Everyone was drawn into the woman's story.
“Then the story will get around. That it happened because someone didn't keep the secret. Then the public criticism will pour down on the children, the parents, and the academy. They'll be labeled as people who broke a contract just to make a name for themselves.”
“…Would it really go that far?”
“The reporters will. They can't touch Lee Seojun, who hid his identity for the sake of the children, so they'll find a way to use his name while writing something sensational and provocative to get clicks. ‘Actor Lee Seojun couldn't do the play because of someone's selfishness?’ There's no way that wouldn't become a huge story.”
Someone swallowed hard, as if they could already picture the headlines.
“The children's names are on the play's pamphlet, and finding out their elementary school would be easy. Same for the acting academy. I'm sure you can all guess what happens next. That's the worst-case scenario.”
“…You're right.”
“Then what's the best-case scenario?”
At someone's question, the woman spoke.
“Everyone keeps the secret and the play finishes safely. The director said we could reveal it after the play is over, so that's when we should start. ‘My child stood on the same stage as Lee Seojun.’ In fact, since people can no longer see the play, the children who were on stage with him will be flooded with interview requests. If they leave a strong impression then, getting cast in a drama or movie won't be a problem.”
The guardians' eyes sparkled. The academy staff member's did too.
An acting academy with a ‘child actor’ who performed with ‘Lee Seojun.’
It was a slightly strange phrase, but in the world of child actors, anything with ‘Lee Seojun's’ name attached to it sold.
The still wildly popular Elephant Formula. The Monster Inc. doll that Lee Seojun played with. The everyday items seen in his occasional N-tube vlogs.
Items that seemed like a must-have for any aspiring child actor or their family, things that carried a strange belief that raising a child this way could lead them to Hollywood.
The guardians here owned them too.
“Well, the secret will have to be kept until the play is over, of course.”
At the woman's words, everyone thought of their children's and students' futures and nodded gravely.
>Mission complete!
>You too, Daho!
Watching Seojun happily chatting with the other children, An Daho slipped his phone into his pocket.
The second day of practice was over.
The children and their guardians couldn't take their eyes off Seojun and An Daho as they headed to the underground parking garage.
Once Seojun was in his car seat, An Daho checked it and got into the driver's seat.
“How were the kids?”
From a distance, An Daho had seen a friendly atmosphere, but it could be different for Seojun, who had interacted with them directly. Seojun answered with a bright smile.
“They're all nice! But they said we're practicing scene by scene, so we won't have much time to meet unless it's a group practice.”
At Seojun's words, An Daho recalled the script for *Spring*.
“You're in the very last scene, right? The character you're with is…”
“The main character! They said I'll only be practicing with Soyoung-nuna!”
“Well, that's something.”
He thought of the guardians who would be disappointed by the scene-by-scene practice, but An Daho just shrugged.
The Team 2 employee who had secretly infiltrated the guardians had already laid out all the worst-case scenarios, so the secret would most likely be kept.
Even if they didn't become close with Lee Seojun, the title of 'having performed in a play with Lee Seojun' would become more and more impressive as he grew more famous. It would also make it easier to strike up a conversation if they met Seojun again as fellow actors.
‘Please let this end quietly, just as Team 2 planned.’
An Daho prayed inwardly as he started the car.
* * *
Half of the month-long practice period flew by in a flash.
It was a short time, if you could call it that, but not for the children. The kids, who had been awkward at first, soon forgot that Seojun was a famous actor and became close enough to joke around with him. The parents and academy staff, who had been disappointed by the scene-by-scene practices, were satisfied with this.
“Seojun! Have some ice cream! My mom bought it!”
“Okay! I'm coming, Hyung!”
Bringing snacks, in particular, was the easiest way to gather the children who were scattered in different practice rooms.
It was mostly simple snacks like ice cream, bread, or milk, but Seojun sometimes brought pizza or hamburgers.
“Seojun, let's get chicken next time!”
Lee Dajin, who played the hunter, said with a wide smile, an ice cream bar in her mouth. This was already her fourth play, but it was the first time she'd been in one where they had snacks every practice day.
“Should we?”
“I want pizza.”
“Nuna. We had that last time.”
The guardians diligently filmed the children's cheerful interactions. Videos of their kids with Lee Seojun! Whenever they made eye contact with Director Park Jisu, they would mime zipping their lips. Director Park Jisu, hoping only that the secret would be kept, would give an awkward nod.
“We will begin group practice starting today.”
For the next two weeks, group practice was scheduled to take place on the actual stage where the play would be performed.
Arriving at the stage where they had auditioned with Director Park Jisu, the children swallowed nervously.
Unlike during the audition when it was empty, the stage now had empty boxes, placeholders for the background props still being made by the stage production team, placed appropriately according to Director Park Jisu's instructions.
“First, let's check the blocking in order.”
The scene-specific acting coaches stuck close to the children. Director Park Jisu himself followed Choi Soyoung, who played the main character, 'Spring'.
The screen background seemed to be complete, as a beam of light shone from above the audience seats, projecting a backdrop onto the screen behind the stage. It was a charming, fairytale-like background, fitting for a children's play.
Finally, it was Seojun's turn to appear. At Director Park Jisu's signal, Seojun went up on stage. Then, a white cloth dropped from the ceiling and unfurled.
“Whoa!”
Along with the children's cheers, Seojun also exclaimed, “Wow!” It was a blue dragon. A magnificent blue dragon was painted on the white cloth.
“This is the blue dragon that will later appear on the screen. It's the role you're playing, Seojun. You just need to speak into the microphone from here.”
Seojun stood where Director Park Jisu pointed. In front of him was a thin board with a round hole cut in the middle. It seemed to be adjusted to his height, as he had an unobstructed view of the stage.
“We're going to set this up so you can see well, Seojun. Of course, the audience won't be able to see it. When you're acting with Soyoung, you need to watch her and match your timing. Got it?”
“Yes!”
And so, after the children were shown their positions and blocking, time was made for them to practice with each other.
While the children were practicing and talking with their teachers, Director Park Jisu checked the time and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.
“Alright, we'll start the final practice for today! We're going to do everything like a real performance—lights, music, and sound effects. Even if you mess up your lines or your timing is off, we're going to go all the way to the end this time! Everyone, please focus.”
The children looked at the stage with nervous expressions.
In the practice room, sound effects and lighting had been created by the teachers' words.
‘Spotlight!’
‘A loud noise is heard.’
‘The background changes.’
Now, they were truly standing on a stage.
The children appearing in the very first scene stood on the stage. The staff also moved the boxes to set the stage for the first scene.
The children for the second scene stood nearby for easy access, and the other kids also stood or sat nearby, waiting for their turn.
Seojun, who appeared last, sat on a chair a little ways off so as not to interfere with the children's movements. His gaze never left the stage.
A few cameras were set up in the audience seats to monitor the performance along with the children.
After the staff confirmed the cameras were properly aimed at the stage and gave the signal, Director Park Jisu shouted loudly.
“Let's begin!”
The music began to play.
The children fumbled through their blocking, acting timidly unlike in the lively practice room, but the story progressed step by step.
Choi Soyoung, playing the main character, led the other children like a true veteran. Director Park Jisu, who was checking where the children made mistakes and thinking about the placement of the background, props, and lighting, gave a hand signal.
The final scene. It was Seojun's turn.
The children who had already finished their parts sat comfortably in the audience seats, while the guardians were busy filming their own kids with their phones.
The staff, too, moved about with a half-relaxed mind as the group practice neared its end.
At Director Park Jisu's signal, the blue dragon painting fluttered down from the ceiling, and Seojun brought the microphone close to his mouth.
[(Good) Weak Fear of the Blue Dragon Hatchling is activated.]
Seojun's black eyes turned the color of the sea. The tips of his black hair also took on a blue tint. All his senses, especially his hearing, sharpened, and it felt like he could even hear Daho-hyung's breathing from the audience seats.
A little more. A little more.
Two hard horns grew from within Seojun's black hair. Smooth, blue scales appeared on his chubby, pinkish cheeks.
Seojun looked down at the blue scales that had sprouted on the back of his hand.
[(Good) Weak Fear of the Blue Dragon Hatchling - Mid-Low Grade]
This is the Fear of a young Blue Dragon (Hatchling).
The Fear alone shows a difference in ‘class’.
Depending on the intensity of the Fear, parts of the body will dragonize.
‘This is why I couldn't use it in the practice room.’
During the audition, everyone was far away, and the bright lights hid not only the color of my eyes but also my hair, so I used it without worry.
But in the practice room, Soyoung-nuna was close, and the lighting was moderate. It was the perfect situation to get caught, so I didn't use the ability.
So, the intensity of the Fear was weak during the audition, and I hadn't used it since.
People were satisfied with that level of acting, but Seojun felt it was a pity. He could do better. Now, with his form hidden by the board, was his chance to show off his skills to his heart's content.
He took a deep breath in, and out,
And then,
A blue dragon appeared in the theater.
The children sitting in the audience after their scenes, the watching guardians, the staff walking around—everyone, without exception, stared at the blue dragon set up on the stage.
There was no wind, so it was just a flat, ordinary drawing. Just a handsomely drawn picture of a blue dragon, and yet,
“…Did you set up some kind of device for that?”
At a guardian's question, the staff shook their heads.
It was just a picture of a blue dragon, impressive for being printed on a large-format printer, but otherwise ordinary.
“Wow. I thought it was a real blue dragon.”
“I know! It really felt like I was making a wish to the Blue Dragon.”
As the children chattered away, the adults finally came to their senses.
Director Park Jisu and the company president, who had come to watch the first group practice, looked back and forth between the blue dragon painting and Seojun, who was sitting in the audience drinking water, with transfixed expressions.
“…It's a real shame, isn't it?”
“I agree.”
“It's such a waste!”
“I agree a hundred, a thousand times over.”
As the two were talking about what a shame it was, someone approached them.
“Such a was—”
“…Excuse me, President.”
“Yes… Ah, yes. What is it?”
It was the stage director, wearing his hat backward. With a flushed, excited face, he opened the notebook he was carrying.
“I was thinking while watching the group practice earlier, I think we should add more effects here. To make it feel like a real, existing world. The trees, the flowers, the houses, make them realistic. Especially the blue dragon, instead of a video, we should make it feel more three-dimensional…”
The stage director's explanation continued for a while. The president and Director Park Jisu nodded repeatedly. In the meantime, the assistant director checked the time and sent the children and their guardians home.
The president counted the remaining days. Two weeks. There were now two weeks left until the performance.
“Will there be enough time to build it before the show?”
“We have the time, but… the budget…”
The stage director rubbed the back of his neck. The background, props, and the blue dragon he wanted to create were on a completely different level from the simple, charming props they had originally planned. As for how much it would cost… well. He had an idea.
The stage director's eyes darted over to the president.
“Don't worry about the budget.”
Watching Seojun's performance and listening to the stage director, his rapidly spinning mind came to a halt. The eyes of the Eunhasu Center's president flashed.