B Team's Rehearsal: One Loach Clouds the Pond
B Team's rehearsal... well, it was something else. If I had to put it in a proverb, it was like "one loach clouds the entire pond."
At the center of it all was Bae Gyu-beom, playing the lead doctor.
"You can't smoke here!"
Not just the opening line that kicked off the play, but also lines like,
"The young man's name is Kim Hyeong-jun, age 23. He's a patient suffering from autism as well as savant syndrome. He's siblings with his guardian, Kim Su-yeong. Currently, he has a fracture in his right arm..."
"The old man's name is Kang Il, single name. Age 78. Among our hospital's patients, he's the one who's been admitted the longest. Due to his advanced age, he has frequent minor ailments. There's one peculiar thing: not once has a guardian ever visited him."
—the narration he added here and there as the play's host.
"Hyeong-jun-ah, in the end, you..."
"...?"
"...found your own pheasant, didn't you?"
"...Yeah, I found it."
And in the latter half, he was the protagonist exchanging lines with the young man.
What's this? Why's he playing off by himself like that?
Whenever he appeared, it stuck out like a sore thumb, completely out of sync with the overall flow of the play.
The reason was simple. The actor playing the lead doctor was way too obvious in his attitude of wanting to stand out on his own.
"Wait, hold on. What the hell is—"
Director Oh Tae-hyeop, at a loss for words, let out a sigh mixed with a wry chuckle. Layers of disbelief piled up on his face.
Beside him, playwright Ma Seol-ah stood with hands on her hips, biting her lip hard, showing a similar reaction.
The atmosphere in the Grand Theater turned icy in an instant.
"Heh, this is as awkward as it gets, huh?"
Lee Kang-sik crossed his arms and whispered quietly.
He turned to Woojin. "Woojin-ah. You snuck a peek at B Team's practice last time, right?"
"Yeah, like I told you before. I watched them go through a full run."
"Was he doing this back then too?"
"......"
Woojin nodded silently.
Lee Kang-sik let out a hearty laugh and murmured, "Ah, this won't do... Woojin-ah."
"Yes, sunbaenim."
"In your eyes, am I some old fogey?"
"Huh? You, sunbaenim? What are you talking about? Not at all."
"Be honest. Really, no?"
"Of course not. Where else do you find a senior who makes his juniors so comfortable like you? Absolutely not."
"Okay. Don't go changing your tune later."
"......?"
Lee Kang-sik squinted one eye and smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth. Then, out of nowhere—
"Representative! Director! Writer! Mind taking a look at me for a sec?"
He shot up from his seat and called out.
All eyes turned to him. In the chilled atmosphere, a strange tension rippled through.
Gulp.
Bae Gyu-beom swallowed dryly.
Regardless, Lee Kang-sik headed out of the Grand Theater with the three of them.
Woojin was just as stunned as everyone else. It was a side of Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim he'd never seen, not even during the pre-production of Justice.
Should he follow? Or stay put?
He pondered briefly but decided to stay. Sunbaenim must have a reason.
And sure enough, moments later—
Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim stormed back into the Grand Theater, face set like stone.
Bang!
He flung the door open so hard the echo reverberated through the theater. Every actor and staff member froze in place.
Then—
"You think this is a joke, you punk?!"
Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim's thunderous roar filled the Grand Theater. It was a resonant bellow from his fully powered voice, like the cry of a mountain beast.
Woojin jolted in shock, his butt lifting off the chair for a split second before planting back down—a secret only he knew.
* * *
With the performance just a week away, this discord called for a look back at B Team's situation.
From June 17th, when rehearsals began, to July 22nd—a little over a month.
The overall person in charge of B Team's performance rehearsals? None other than Bae Gyu-beom.
That was where all the problems started.
Strictly speaking, the play's overall director was Oh Tae-hyeop.
But he was the big-picture overseer. Within the actors and staff, each team had its own team leader.
For example, among actors: A Team leader, B Team leader. Among staff: art team leader, props team leader, stage team leader, lighting team leader, music team leader, and so on.
Think of Oh Tae-hyeop and Ma Seol-ah as student council president and VP, with team leaders as class presidents. They weren't elected by vote—just naturally settled through tacit agreement.
A Team had Lee Kang-sik as leader. He never stepped up explicitly; juniors like Woojin just naturally followed him, solidifying the role.
By that logic, for B Team, the natural leader—and de facto rehearsal head—should have been Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim, playing the old man.
But—
"I'm truly sorry. We'll prepare hard so we don't cause any issues for the main performance."
In the first week of rehearsals, an unexpected schedule popped up for Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim.
Invitations to judge the Daehan Independent Theater Festival and the Youth Theater Monologue Competition.
Turns out, the events were a week apart. When one judge dropped out suddenly for personal reasons, throwing schedules into chaos, the organizers urgently recruited Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim.
It was a real dilemma.
He'd been focused on management as Actor's Yard's representative, but with Woojin and Lee Kang-sik joining, he was fired up to act again after so long—and then this happened.
He had deep ties with the organizers and prior judging experience. Knowing their desperation, he couldn't refuse their earnest plea.
It was all for the theater world—they had to help each other. But he couldn't let Saw the Pheasant? suffer either.
After agonizing, he consulted Oh Tae-hyeop, Ma Seol-ah, and Lee Kang-sik. They agreed he'd judge but do thorough personal analysis and practice.
This was possible thanks to their strong mutual trust.
Oh Tae-hyeop had zero doubt in Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim's skill and veteran savvy. With a week of full rehearsals, he'd catch up fast.
Jeong Jae-min trusted they'd run smoothly in his absence. Everyone figured a hard push in the final week would ensure performance quality.
That was why no one worried much about B Team's quality despite Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim missing weeks 1-3.
But...
"Hey! Match my tone—to me! Isn't the lead doctor also the narrator?"
"......"
"No answer?"
"Yes, you're right."
"Then why do you keep trying to shine on your own? I don't get it. Just match my tone. It'll be easy."
"But sunbaenim..."
"No backtalk. Do it!"
"I'm truly sorry, but this is the scene where the sister, who thought she knew her brother better than anyone, sobs and apologizes for not understanding him all this time... Why match your tone even here...?"
"What? Ha, you punk with no sense. Hey! How many years you been acting? Stood on more stages than me? Read more scripts than me?!"
"...No."
"If you don't know, just follow. That solves half the problem. Ah, and the rep put me in charge of B Team rehearsals. Not you. Right? If you're pissed, be team leader yourself—or just follow. Got it?!"
As the next most senior in B Team after Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim, Bae Gyu-beom naturally assumed the leadership role. His greed was the unforeseen variable.
Debuting at Actor's Yard, now in his 12th year, he was quick on the uptake. With no luck in screen acting, he saw this as his golden chance.
With Baek Woojin and Lee Kang-sik boosting A Team's spotlight, B Team would get extra attention too. Standing out here could launch him into dramas.
That was why he kept approaching Woojin casually, suggesting they get close. Woojin had slightly misunderstood, thinking Myeong Se-hui sunbaenim's friendliness was the reason—but the real schemer was elsewhere.
With Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim absent and Oh Tae-hyeop's focus on A Team, Bae Gyu-beom steadily shifted rehearsals to spotlight himself, suppressing minor conflicts with Hwang Dong-hui sunbaenim through sheer "seniority."
The subtle cracks he'd sensed built up, exploding raw in the first rehearsal after Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim rejoined for full staging.
Not a hairline fracture—a gaping hole.
No one imagined he'd build such a selfish structure.
Oh Tae-hyeop, Ma Seol-ah—everyone thought the same. This can't go on stage. It'd be meaningless to ticket buyers.
"You think theater's a game, you punk?!"
So, Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim finally drew his sword.
* * *
"Hyungnim! Is this why you took on that other schedule?"
Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim was fuming excessively.
For Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim, this first official rehearsal day meant nonstop sighs. As the eldest and rep on site, he had no words—since he'd indirectly caused this, he quietly took the scolding.
"Hey, Bae Gyu-beom!"
"Y-yes... sunbaenim!"
"What'd you say to the kids? 'How many years debuted? Read more than me? If you don't know, follow'?"
"Ah, that was..."
"Not just anywhere, but an Actor's Yard guy suppressing juniors with 'seniority' instead of skill? By your logic, you got no complaints about me ripping into you now. Right?"
"......"
"You think me and Woojin turned down big projects to watch this crap?"
Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim's words poured out relentlessly. Subtly, he name-dropped Woojin, handing him an opening.
"Hyungnim. Just cut this guy out. He's nothing but a hindrance."
"......!"
"S-sunbaenim..."
It was a bombshell. Eyes widened all around; Bae Gyu-beom, head bowed pitifully on stage, looked ready to cry.
Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim added coldly, "Have Woojin do the B Team doctor role instead."
"Pardon?"
"You've memorized the script anyway. You've done one-man two-roles before—no issue."
"That's true, but..."
"Hyungnim, what do you think? Better to put Woojin up there."
Lee Kang-sik turned to face Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim, back to B Team actors.
"Sunbaenim, hold on. That's..."
Just then, as flustered Woojin waved his hand to speak—
Wink.
Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim smiled slyly, winking repeatedly.
What the—?
Stunned, Woojin glanced at Jeong Jae-min sunbaenim. He too wore a faint smile.
Ah...
Woojin swallowed a sigh inwardly. So that's why good actors fool you even in hidden cam stuff.
It had seemed odd—Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim overdoing the anger, while Jeong Jae-min, Oh Tae-hyeop, and Ma Seol-ah stood quietly like they were the ones in trouble.
Sunbaenim was exaggerating on purpose.
None of Jeong Jae-min, Lee Kang-sik, Oh Tae-hyeop, or Ma Seol-ah really meant to boot Bae Gyu-beom. It was just a warning to shape up.
Getting the intent, Woojin nodded slightly. Among those with cause to yell, Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim's voice carried most weight.
With the stage set, time for the fitting response.
"It's possible, as Lee Kang-sik sunbaenim says. But I'll politely decline."
Woojin opened his mouth.