Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: A Star's Luxe Pad
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Wow.
Stepping into the house hand-in-hand with Moon Heesung.
The sight before me was straight out of a drama.
Past the shoe rack and into the hallway, there hung a photo of him that seemed even bigger than Moon Heesung himself.
And lining the hallway were splendid-looking paintings.
Heh, pretty amazing, huh?
Uuung!
It felt like a modern take on the salon that the duchessmy mother in my past lifehad poured her heart into curating.
Not decked out with fresh flowers and glittering jewels, but the hallway finished in pristine white marble was stunning in its own right.
Very impressive.
I nodded, acknowledging this mans fine taste.
As expected, someone who acts well excels in these areas too.
We traversed the long, long hallway to the living room that opened up before us.
Standing in the middle, I could only gape.
Wh-what is that!
Is that a TV too!
A massive TV, dwarfing anything at our house, was mounted proudly on the living room wall.
As my jaw dropped, practically drooling, Moon Heesung handed me the remote.
You like TV?
Uuung! Wike it!
I grabbed the remote right away...
Wait, why is even the remote in this house so huge.
My tiny hands couldnt grip it fully, so I rested the end on my pudgy belly and jabbed the power button.
Pop.
Wooow!
Its seriously huge.
And lucky methe rerun of that drama Id been hooked on lately was playing.
The actors faces, ten times bigger than what I was used to, had me buzzing with excitement.
Th-this is a revolution!
As I stood there starry-eyed, Moon Heesung scooped me up and plopped me on the sofa.
Oh ho, this sofas got a whole different level of comfort from the one in the theater owners office.
I immediately leaned back, sprawling out to watch the drama.
Seeing how quickly Id adapted, Moon Heesung chuckled.
Wait here a sec. Ill whip something up for you, Siu.
Uuung!
I mumbled a vague reply, totally absorbed in the drama, eyes glued to the giant screen.
Ah, I want one.
But how many chickens would Dad have to sell to afford a TV like that?
I figured Dad would be heartbroken, so I swallowed the thought.
Clink.
You like tea, right, Siu?
Uuung! Tea, wike it.
Hes got good instincts.
Simple cookies and green grapes.
Paired with chamomile tea on the sideI flashed a satisfied grin.
Beaming, I snatched a cookie and crunched into it.
Wooow...
Heavenly.
My taste buds, once all about honey-dipped grapes, were discovering so many new flavors lately.
Chocolate this soft and melt-in-your-mouth?
I gulped down the bite and eagerly chomped through the rest.
Tasty?
Uuung! Yummy!
Good, glad you like it.
Moon Heesung smiled at my enthusiastic munching and sipped his own coffee.
Man, people in this era really love that coffee stuff.
It reminded me of Uncle wandering the house like a ghost after one too many cups, and I wrinkled my nose.
Teas way betternicer aroma, better taste.
Slurp.
I blew on it a bit and took a sip.
Nice fragrance.
But pairing it with chocolate kinda drowned out the teas scentsuch a shame.
Still, I savored it as best I could when Moon Heesung spoke up.
So, shall we talk acting?
Mm, wike it! Me fihst.
Oh, you wanna go first?
Moon Heesung laughed, nodding as if he hadnt expected me to be so forward.
Id been itching for this since I arrived at his place today.
You didnt tell me last time. What made you think of that Romeo.
He nodded as if it had just clicked.
Right, yeah. I promised to explain later, didnt I?
Uuung!
Hmm, yeah. You asked what kind of Romeo I wanted to do, right?
Yesh. Why do sad Romeo? But not at end. After Juliet dies, Romeo not as sad. Wight?
Moon Heesung fell silent at my words.
I was dying to know how hed prepared his Romeo rolewhere hed drawn inspiration from.
Shakespeare was someone who wove social ideas into his works with an objective eye.
Thats why he loved varying scenes more diversely than other playwrights.
It made directing a pain, so plenty of theater owners hated it, but Shakespeare never backed down.
He always wielded wildly free imagination.
No wonder his characters were so vividly individual and magnetic.
Maybe thats why.
His fans criticized his wildness at first, only to end up hooked on his plays.
But it came at a steep price for Shakespeare.
No, Noah! Whatd you think of yesterdays Romeo?
Hey, after all that rage, how am I supposed to answer?
Shakespeare often vented to me in frustration.
Since he portrayed characters objectively, actors interpreted them subjectively in droves.
Reimagining and recreating characters without straying from the core storythat was one of Shakespeares joys.
As long as they didnt veer too far and ruin the play.
Phew, forget it. That Romeo from yesterday? Stab-worthy on second thought.
Another inspirations hit me.
Then Noah, next time, butcher my play even worse.
...Youre the only playwright whod give that order so casually.
Hed roar with laughter at my grumbling, then vanish to write more.
Actors interpretations of characters varied slightly, fueling Shakespeares inspiration in turn.
So, Moon Heesungs performance that reminded me of Richard Burbage.
Where had he drawn his character inspiration from?
Id been curious since yesterday, waiting for this exact moment.
Guess its down to improvisation.
Uuung?
After a long pause, his enigmatic answer spilled out.
I tilted my head, and he elaborated.
Thing is, what sparks my acting inspiration feels like improvisation.
Impwov?
No clue what he meantI crossed my chubby little arms and pondered hard.
Even scrunching my face, it didnt click.
As I cocked my head every which way, he rethought it and explained gently.
Never really explained this to anyone, so not sure how to put it... but yeah, I think this is it. I dont look at the script much on set.
Uuung? Scrip? Why?
Not looking at the script?
Isnt the script an actors lifeline?
I stared at him in shock, waiting for more.
No peeking at your one true guide?
Unthinkable to me.
Sometimes, yeah. Dive too deep into the script, and you lose objectivity about it.
Ah.
Losing objectivity.
That kinda made sense.
Once youve memorized the script perfectly, nailed the characters emotions and formthats it, no more looking. Get too immersed in the written words, and you lose restraint. It turns into a character only you get.
Wight. Audience wont.
Got it crystal clear.
Actors are human too.
Their lines have to convince the audience.
Only then will viewers stay hooked, wondering what comes next.
Yeah, exactly. You become a monster they cant understand. Haha, talking to you makes it click for me too.
Uuung. So when show stawts! Then impwov from thewe?
Yep, spot on. Thats probably why the sad Romeo you felt didnt stick till the end.
Hmm, guess I zeroed in on Moon Heesung too much.
Gotta rewatch that Romeo video when I get home.
My memory of Juliets performance was foggy as mist.
Dont remember the details exactly... but it was probably tuned to the actress playing Juliet at the time. Humans are unpredictable like that. Mere mortal actors change mid-performance too. Hmm, too advanced for you, Siu?
He got excited, rambling on, then snapped back.
At his cautious question, I shook my head vigorously.
Nope. I get it. Wight. Humans change.
...Yeah, true enough.
As I nodded, he gave me a strange look.
Whats with him? But more importantly, our chat had sparked a memory.
A talk with Shakespeare from the past.
Hed hammered it home endlessly.
Objective perspective was key for him, crafting plays for the masses.
Uuung. I know now.
Hm? What?
Why you acting so natuwal. You swip sad wike dat, but natuwal and fun.
Haha, that a compliment, Siu?
Uuung, course!
Watching his acting, its sly yet natural.
Fits the character? No overdoing it, so it screams Moon Heesungs style.
Thats what hit me.
Got it.
Thats what comes from improvisation.
Next show, maybe Ill skip the script right before going up.
Speaking of improv, it reminds me of your ad-lib, Siu.
My?
Yeah. You werent stuck in a rutthats what made it possible.
His eyes sparkled like a boys as he said it.
Seeing that, I grinned wide.
It brought back the thrill of chatting with Shakespeare.
Mistah, you know Shake-speare?
Shake... Huh? Wha?
Ugh, William Shakespeare!
Whoa?! Shakespeare? But... Siu, your pronunciations spot-on,
Watch TV wots. Anyway, you know?
I cut him off before more questions.
He nodded on reflex.
TVs educational, huh...
Ignoring his mutter, I pressed on.
When wead his books, head gets hot. And happy.
Haha, you feel it too? Studies say reading Shakespeare activates brain areas, raises temp... Wait, Siu. You really five?
I let out the sigh Id been holding.
Phew, yesh. Five yeaws!
R-right.
No wonder.
Shakespeare said talking to me heated him up.
Wed pull all-nighters chatting back then, totally fine.
And now theyve studied it.
Feels like his fame exploded absurdly in modern times.
Wonder how William Shakespeare would react knowing.
I patted Moon Heesungs knee, his face blank.
Now mowe acting talk.
Uh, y-yeah.
After that, I dove into a heated chat with him like reuniting with Shakespeare after ages.
Head burning hot, just like back then.
Haa,
H...
In the massive conference room.
Everyone seated around the table sighed deeply, as if the floor might cave in.
This was the Gwanghwamun Cultural Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Inside its large meeting room sat half foreigners from America, half Koreans.
Theyd gathered to plan the Korean production of the American animation original RUN.
A blockbuster for a 3,000-seat theater, all pros renowned in U.S. and Korean theater circles.
And their shared trait? Storm-cloud faces, sighing nonstop.
Then one staffer, scratching his head furiously, raised his hand.
How about we just hold open auditions? Might blow over the controversy. Age limit...
Before he finished, a chilling voice cut in.
Audition...?
The speaker was a blonde foreign woman lifting her bowed head.
Jessica Brown, top director from Broadway and overall lead on this blockbusterher eyes gleamed.