Number Thirty-Two
"Hello, Director. This is CEO Park from Wooju Entertainment. Yes. Are you busy at the moment?"
I sat on the sofa in the CEO's office, staring at nothing but the back of his head. From the snatches of conversation I could catch, he seemed to be on the phone with Kim Seongtae, the director of Traces of Evil.
"The thing is, I'm going to send you a diamond in the rough. I'd like you to give him a shot at the audition."
The words "diamond in the rough" made me wince for no good reason.
"Yes. He was a trainee at our company. Yes, of course. He's tall, and he's good-looking. The kid suddenly decided he wants to act... Yes, even if he'd debuted as an idol, he would've gone far. Once you see him, you'll like him for sure."
The CEO had packaged me in the best possible light — completely erasing the tag of "final cut from the debut lineup."
After a few rounds of back-and-forth, he hung up with a satisfied look on his face. He turned around and beamed at me.
"Jinwoo! Today at two o'clock. Hall 3A, third floor of Guardian Tower, Sangam Media City. It's a broadcasting building, so security's pretty tight — make sure you get in on time."
"Yes, sir."
"Director Kim Seongtae's a bit of a handful, but if you tell him you came on my recommendation, he won't completely lose his shit. Go in with your shoulders back and your head high. Don't get intimidated. We've done a lot more for him than he's done for us."
"Yes, sir. Thank you for going out of your way."
"Thank me? I'm just looking after my own kid..."
I stood and bowed deeply toward him. He smiled with genuine warmth and patted my shoulder.
"Jinwoo, give it your best shot."
"Yes, sir. I'll pass for sure."
"That's the spirit."
I didn't want to disappoint the man who'd gone to such lengths for me. And I had the confidence, too. That thick, ice-cold murderous instinct of Choi Dooshik still lingered at my fingertips.
I stepped out of the elevator and was crossing the first-floor lobby when I saw a group coming toward me, voices bright and cheerful. My feet stopped where they were.
It was a scene all too familiar.
Ah...
Something in my chest sank. I hadn't wanted to run into them looking like this — not now.
Until yesterday, that had been my place. The debut lineup of Wooju Entertainment — the kids I'd sweated and bled alongside for five years, living through every high and low together. Their faces were bright, the way they get when a debut is locked in. I could even see the new member filling the spot I'd left. Bitterness welled up for a moment, but I forced my expression into place.
"Huh!? Jinwoo-hyung!"
Seongmin, the youngest, had spotted me. His eyes went wide, and he came barreling over.
"Hey, Seongmin..."
"Hyung! Where did you go last night!? We couldn't reach you — everyone was looking for you..."
Seongmin was eighteen this year. Only two years younger than me, but he was the maknae of the team — the one I'd doted on like a real little brother.
I managed an awkward smile.
"Hyung had some stuff come up... Sorry. And you've all worked so hard. Congratulations on locking in the debut."
"Hyung... what are you talking about. Of course you're debuting with us. Didn't you talk to the CEO yesterday? What did he say?"
"Just... well..."
"Hey, Lee Seongmin!"
A low, cold voice cut into my ear. Kim Jewoo — leader of the debut lineup, one year older than me — trudged over and looked me up and down. We'd always butted heads; we'd never been close. But the look in his eyes today was colder than usual. He'd clearly met my gaze, and he still said nothing to me — just whipped his head around to glare at Seongmin.
"Hey, Lee Seongmin. What the hell are you doing here right now?"
"Ah... I was just saying hi to Jinwoo-hyung. Hyung, Jinwoo-hyung had something urgent yesterday—"
Kim Jewoo's face went ice-hard. At that cold voice, Seongmin flinched and shut his mouth.
"Hey, Lee Seongmin. Shut up and go stand over there."
"......"
I probably wouldn't be running into Jewoo-hyung much from here on out. Still, I felt bad about leaving the dorm last night without a word, so I bowed my head first and apologized.
"Jewoo-hyung. Sorry for leaving without a word yesterday..."
He cut me off with a sneer.
"So what."
"......"
"You're not even on our team anymore. Whether you leave the dorm or not, what the hell does that have to do with us?"
Hearing that left a strange taste in my mouth. No matter how much we'd fought, no matter how poorly we'd gotten along — we'd still spent years together. I hadn't expected to become less than a stranger overnight.
Jewoo-hyung gave my chest a few light, dismissive taps with his fist.
"Hey, Seo Jinwoo. Do you seriously have no shame? You got kicked out, so you should've slunk away quiet as a dead mouse... With what face do you come crawling back into the company?"
"......"
"You've got a real talent for making people uncomfortable with zero self-awareness. What, were you trying to play the pity card and squeeze some sympathy out of the CEO? Ugh, I'm so sick of this... You're a nuisance right up to the very end, aren't you?"
"......"
He had a lot stored up, apparently. The abuse poured out of him, scraping at my heart with every word. Yesterday's me would have kept my head down and said nothing.
My gaze went ice-cold.
I squared my shoulders, put on a steady face, and looked Jewoo-hyung straight in the eye.
"Jewoo-hyung."
A low, even voice. No heat in it at all.
"Wh-what, you little... What's with this bastard's eyes... Can't you look at me properly? This little shit talking to his hyung—"
I let out a short breath of a laugh and hooked the corner of my mouth up, just slightly.
"Congratulations on the debut. Take good care of our youngest, Seongmin."
"Bullshit. Who the hell are you to—"
"Anyway, I'm heading out."
I left it at that and turned my back. His rough voice chased me from behind.
"Hey! Get your stuff out of the dorm right now! If it's not out by today, I'm throwing it all away!"
"Throw it out. Do whatever you want."
"What...!?"
I wasn't some idol trainee anymore, after all.
I arrived at the audition on time. The moment I stepped into the third-floor lobby, a tension hung in the air — a landscape entirely different from the world outside the building.
There were a lot of actors gathered here today, all of them after the same thing I was.
Wow... that's a lot of people.
Competitors who'd come to land the role of Choi Dooshik. There had to be easily over thirty of them. Every one of them had a script clenched in their hands, each busy practicing the serial killer Choi Dooshik's twisted gaze and expression in their own way.
I sat in a corner of the waiting room and waited in silence for my name to be called. Nerves got the better of me, and I quietly opened the script to read it through one more time — but the contents already filled my head as if I'd gone over them dozens of times. It wasn't knowledge I'd studied — not the lines, not the vocal tone, not the blocking or the expressions. It was something branded into me by experience.
After about an hour, the competitors who'd packed the waiting room began to vanish, one by one. Before I knew it, I was the only one left in a room gone hollow and still.
That was when a staff member's booming voice rang out.
"Last one, number 32. Seo Jinwoo! Please come in."
So I'm last...
I let out a long breath and quietly rose from my seat. I followed the staff member into the audition room.
Unlike what I'd expected, the atmosphere was surprisingly calm and composed. Four judges sat directly in front of me, all of them with their heads down, looking exhausted, wordlessly flipping through papers that had done nothing to deserve it.
I quickly scanned the names written on the judges' seats.
That was when Director Kim Seongtae adjusted his glasses and looked me over with care.
"Number 32, Seo Jinwoo..."
"Yes."
"Ah... so you're the kid CEO Park mentioned this morning. Let me take a look at your profile..."
He dropped his gaze again and scanned the papers with a disinterested expression.
"Huh? You're twenty?"
"Yes."
"That's pretty young... No formal training?"
"I was an idol trainee at Wooju Entertainment for five years."
"An idol...?"
As if he'd misspoken, all four judges tilted their heads at the same time. Yoo Youngjin, the male lead, let out a snort, an incredulous look on his face. He tapped the paper with my profile on it with his finger and looked at me sideways.
"Hah... an idol trainee?"
"Yes."
"Then you should've just stuck with being an idol. Why'd you suddenly apply for an acting audition out of nowhere?"
The CEO had packaged me well, but I had no particular desire to lie, so I told the truth.
"I was cut from the final debut lineup."
Only then did they all nod, letting out little snorts of laughter.
"Ahh, so you couldn't debut as an idol and ran away to the acting world?"
Yoo Youngjin propped his chin on one hand and kept sneering.
"Seo Jinwoo. You seem to think this is some playground for kids... This industry is a lot tougher than you think. Compared to that precious idol market of yours, this field is way harder."
"Yes. I'm aware."
"If you just came here to coast on your face and snag a supporting role, you'd be better off turning around and going home. Did the acting profession look like a joke to you?"
The words drove a stake through my heart. I kept my face carefully composed and answered in a calm voice.
"I have absolutely no intention of taking this lightly."
I'd answered in complete earnest. The room dissolved into laughter. My expression didn't so much as flicker.
The screenwriter, who'd been smiling the whole time, opened her mouth for the first time.
"Hmm... maybe it's because you're young, but I like the spirit."
Lee Hyeyoung adjusted her glasses and looked me straight in the eye.
"I have a question for you, Seo Jinwoo."
"Yes. Please go ahead."
"There are quite a few roles in our production. The protagonist's friend, the victim's younger brother. So why, for your first audition, did you specifically choose Choi Dooshik?"
"Well..."
Yoo Youngjin jumped in from the side.
"Come on, Writer. Is he in any position to be picky about roles? He's clutching at straws — he just wants whatever part has the most screen time. Isn't that right, Jinwoo?"
Clutching at straws...
Right after being cut from the debut lineup, that might well have been where my head was. It wasn't anymore. This time, too, I answered honestly.
"Like you said, that was how I felt at first... but not anymore."
"And how do you feel now?"
"...You understood him more perfectly than anyone?"
"Yes."
Maybe it was because I'd answered with such unshakable confidence. In an instant, the atmosphere in the audition room went ice-cold.