Chapter 23
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Script from the Tower
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"Even if it's a self-written play, it doesn't matter."
"Yes!"
Moon Heesung made a call somewhere and gave me the firm go-ahead.
I was scribbling furiously on the paper, not even lifting my head to respond.
I still hadn't seen enough diverse works in this cultural sphere to come up with a scene that perfectly fit RUN's grandson character.
So there was only one option.
Pull out one of the scripts I'd written in the past.
"Wow... Siu. What's all this?"
"Busy. Shh."
Sorry, but if you talk to me now, I won't be able to recall exactly what lines I'd written back then.
What I was jotting down now was the script I'd written not long after being locked in the top room of Battenberg's stone tower.
It had been a full ten yearsno, factoring in this little body after reincarnation, over fifteen yearsbut it didn't matter.
It felt as vivid as if I'd written it just yesterday.
Most of my other scripts were the same, but especially this one: I could recall it down to the tiniest detail, without missing a single word.
These were the lines from when I still clung to lingering feelings for my father, His Grace the Duke.
The monologue born from the hope that he wouldn't be so cold-blooded.
Every line I was writing brimmed with foolish lingering attachment.
Looking back now, it was all nonsense, utter drivel, but back then, I'd believed it.
That he wouldn't abandon his one and only youngest son just like that.
But that belief was shattered mercilessly.
"Hoo."
I set down the pencil, figuring this was enough, and roughly scratched out the last bit.
"Can I... can I take a look now?"
Moon Heesung, who had been watching me with huge, shocked eyes from the side, asked in a trembling voice.
"Yes, go ahead."
I cheerfully handed over the bundle of papers.
Then I gulped down the water Moon Heesung had fetched for me.
My throat was parched from nonstop script recall.
"...Ha. Siu, is this really something you wrote?"
"Mm-hmm, see for yourself."
I sprawled on the sofa for a moment to catch my breath.
In front of me, Moon Heesung was flipping through the four sheets of paper I'd written, letting out dry laughs nonstop.
"This isn't just acting... goodness."
I couldn't quite make out what he was muttering under his breath.
I flexed and clenched my right hand over and over, like jamming on a controller.
My right hand was numb from writing so much in such a short time.
This small hand still couldn't write small enough letters, so it ended up using more paper than expected.
Still, I'd gotten pretty good at writing Hangul now.
It was worth borrowing Mother's notebook and practicing every day.
"Ha, haha. Siu, you... just what..."
I approached him, unable to string words together from sheer shock, and poked his arm.
"Now let's film it!"
Moon Heesung nodded with a dazed expression.
Click, snap.
In one corner of the dimly lit conference room hung a massive screen covering the entire wall.
From the speakers installed throughout the room poured forth dialogue in a resounding tone.
-No! That's not what I wanted, tha... tha... no!
The peculiar thing was how boyish the voice coming from the speakers sounded.
Gwanghwamun Cultural Center, one conference room.
Jessica Brown and the American and Korean staff surrounding her watched the front screen with serious faces.
Today was the first-round audition review for the lead 'grandson' role in the play RUN.
On the screen, children ten and under performed free acting in turn.
The age range was quite varied.
-Hello. I'm six years old, Kang... Minwoo.
Starting from six years old.
-Hello! I'm Choi Sungmun, second grade, class 2, Baegak Elementary! The acting I've prepared is!
Up to nine, even ten-year-olds.
All stared tensely at the camera, performing what they'd prepared.
Over twenty kids' videos had played so far, but Jessica's face was bored.
The staff watching alongside wore the same expression.
The Korean staff muttered things like "This was too much to expect," their faces growing darker, while the Rainbow Pictures staff present didn't look pleased either.
No one spoke, but their faces clearly agonized over whether to raise the age limit.
After endless dull, subpar acting videos.
Finally, Jessica tried to pause it for a break.
But her hand froze mid-air.
Participant number 36.
A simple number flashed by, and the video started right away.
-No. You won't abandon me like this.
A lonely voice filled the conference room.
No simple greeting like the other kids.
This participant, who didn't even state his name, looked very young.
Yet his pronunciation and diction were clearer than the elementary schoolers'.
Jessica leaned her elbows on the desk, intrigued, tilting her upper body forward.
-There were happy times too, weren't there? The first time I wrote a poem. You stroked my head with a bright smile.
The participant squinted his eyes in ecstasy, gazing into space.
But only for a moment.
His face returned to loneliness as he stared unfocused into the void, continuing the lines.
-Ah... there were such times, so why has it come to this? Back then, you were happy no matter what I did.
-Maybe, just maybe, we could go back to those days.
With a faint smile like he harbored positive hope, the kid on screen delivered the lines with voice matching the emotion.
-Even now, might you open that firmly shut door, say you missed your son, and embrace me?
-You might love every word I say. No, probably not.
But the hopeful face was fleeting; the kid soon drooped his head.
He shook it side to side several times, showing disappointment again.
Muttering, he paced left and right slowly, then suddenly stopped dead center.
-If only that were possible... I could write poems for Father.
The voice brimmed with affection.
At the same time, it dripped with deep sorrow.
The participant never properly faced the camera till the end.
Yet he never let his face be obscured for a moment.
Stable eye lines let everyone in the large conference room track his ever-changing expressions.
While showing pro awareness by not seeming conscious of the camera.
"This is it."
Jessica murmured quietly while watching the kid's acting.
At her words, the man sitting right beside her turned to her in surprise.
As he opened his mouth to ask something, Jessica raised her hand.
"Let's take a break."
"Yes?"
At the total director Jessica's words, the video paused for now.
It had just ended for participant 36.
They'd expected some verdict.
Her sudden break declaration caught everyone off guard, blinking in confusion.
Receiving those gazes squarely, Jessica thought for a moment, then said.
"Lunch! Go eat and come back."
With that, Jessica stood and headed for the conference room door.
"Isu! Bring the videos we've seen so far."
Her sharp order as she left.
At that, the man right beside her, Joey Su, scrambled after her.
He was the assistant director working directly under Jessica, of Korean descent.
Spotted by Jessica on Broadway for his outstanding talent, Joey Su had been scouted to Rainbow Pictures to assist her.
Not just skill, but fluent Korean made him second only to Jessica in responsibility for this production.
Joey Su quickly slipped out of the conference room and hurried to Jessica's side, already striding far ahead.
"Jessica, it's only eleven. Lunch already?"
"Hm? But I needed an excuse."
"What excuse?"
"Isu. You just saw it. Number 36's amazing acting."
"...Yes. Completely different from the others so far."
Everyone on staff had gaped at that participant's acting.
Of course, Joey Su was one of them.
"How can I watch the others after that? I need to refresh. Any other acting now won't satisfy. Can't stay objective."
"So lunch...?"
"Yeah, among other things."
He wanted to ask what "among other things," but a competent aide knew to keep quiet.
When Jessica acted like this, it was best to follow silently.
"Anyway. You brought the video?"
"Yes, here."
"Then let's rewatch over sandwiches."
Jessica ordered two from her usual spot and opened her office door.
"Number 36's acting."
A friend who does classical theater?
Jessica pondered while biting into her sandwich.
Rewatching participant 36's acting, it had a texture totally different from the others.
What made it stand out so?
Other participants paled in comparison.
A trait unseen in child actors raised under ambitious moms aiming for showbiz.
Free yet with solid basics like diction.
Cute and handsome looks, but no forced desperation to shine brightest on screen.
Focus purely on natural, audible acting.
"Isu. We have to snag this kid. He definitely has stage experience over the others."
"You can tell that from just the video?"
They'd planned to check profiles after all videos for objectivity.
Joey Su thought judging too hastily from a short clip of a five- or six-year-old was risky.
But Jessica shook her head firmly.
"You'll see in person. Schedule the audition ASAP. Make this kid the main cast, double casting... we'll see. Who can stand with him decently."
"Got it."
He chose free acting based on his interpretation of the play, confident.
But contact this soon?
"Siu, you can do it, right?"
"Hoo, S-Siu. Want me to get you some calming pills?"
"Should we feed the kid a whole one?"
I'd passed the first-round audition fair and square.
Now I was at Gwanghwamun Cultural Center with Mother and Uncle.
For the second round.
"S-Siu. Drink this first."
Unlike me, excitedly circling the huge building, Mother and Uncle kept nervously talking to me.
Uncle especiallywhy was he more tense? With a heart that small, how would he stand on stage?
And he kept offering drinks...
"Ugh. No thanks, Uncle. What is this?"
What was that bitter smell?
I handed it back to Uncle.
"Wow, Siu. Aren't you nervous?"
"Nah, I'm good."
More than nerves, I wanted to meet this production's director soon.
Curious how big the stage was in this massive building.
"Whoa! Time's up. Hurry!"
While I peered around eagerly, Uncle grabbed my hand and led me to the audition room.
"Participant 36, come in."
Rustle rustle.
I entered the audition room at the guide staff's words.
As expected of a major production.
Unlike Emergency Iron 777 theater, the audition room was clean and spacious.
Judges sat at the long table up front.
Five in total.
A blonde woman in the center, two on each side.
Oh, is that an American?
Looks just like Europeans.
I scanned the three East Asians and two Americans.
"Hello."
I gave a navel bow first.
At my greeting, the woman in the center, Jessica, spoke.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jessica Brown. Hello? Siu boy, sit here."
Huh, her Korean's still rough.
Hearing her mispronounced Korean, I greeted again.
"Hello, lady."
With polite British manners.