Chapter 99
Chapter 99
Stage Acting
‘Could it be...’
He didn’t recognize him at first glance because of the bushy beard covering his face, but the man’s eyes resembled someone he knew. They were strikingly similar to the eyes in the photo of Director Cheon Seong-min he’d had Im Seung-hyeon look into.
‘Does he know someone in the theater company?’
For now, Yu Yeon-seo pretended not to notice and kept his eyes on the stage. The actor had finished rehearsing and was sitting on the stage. Director Cheon clapped his hands and stood up. The actor on stage looked over in surprise.
“Well, not bad. Are you here to see someone too?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s go together. I know my way around here.”
Jeong Hyeon-sik was supposed to arrive in a little while... but Yu Yeon-seo decided to follow the man for now. When Yu Yeon-seo stood up, Cheon Seong-min’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw Im Seung-hyeon stick to him like a shadow.
“Who’s that behind you?”
“My secretary.”
“A secretary? Are you in business?”
“...Don’t you know who I am?”
He had a feeling. At Yu Yeon-seo’s response, Director Cheon stopped walking.
“And you know me?”
Seeing the silent, smiling eyes, Director Cheon chuckled. With the ball cap and mask, only his eyes were visible, but even just from his eyes, it was obvious he was handsome. Looking at him, Cheon Seong-min thought.
‘He’s too handsome.’
It was a mix of admiration and doubt. Being too striking in appearance was a drawback for an actor who wanted to play various roles.
He had occasionally watched Demon after hearing Jeong Hyeon-sik was in it, and Yu Yeon-seo had a charm that captivated the eye whenever he appeared.
‘His acting was decent... but his presence overshadowed everything.’
To put it simply, he felt the acting was buried by the face. As Director Cheon was slowly observing Yu Yeon-seo, someone came out from inside, saw them, and pointed.
“Huh?”
Sensing that Im Seung-hyeon, who had been following behind, had stopped, Yu Yeon-seo turned his head.
“Seung-hyeon!”
“Do you know him?”
Im Seung-hyeon’s face subtly contorted. It was the kind of expression one might make upon seeing someone they had run into at school before.
“He’s my brother.”
Ah... The brother who switched from being an idol trainee to an aspiring actor but still hadn’t landed a significant role. He must belong to this theater company. Yu Yeon-seo glanced at Cheon Seong-min’s back as he prepared to head inside, ignoring them.
“Why are you here?”
“Didn’t Hye-ju tell you?”
“I heard about it, but...”
Im Seung-hyeon’s brother, Im Hyuk-jun, whistled at the sight of Im Seung-hyeon in his neat suit, then gasped as he saw the person standing next to him.
“Gasp, Yu Yeon-seo!”
His overall demeanor is quite flighty. The complete opposite of Im Seung-hyeon. Yu Yeon-seo crossed his arms. The furrow in Im Seung-hyeon’s brow deepened.
“Are you really his secretary?”
“Watch your mouth.”
Im Seung-hyeon, whose expression had hardened fiercely toward his brother, immediately softened into a smile the moment he met Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes. It was a talent, switching between the face of an athlete and an announcer in an instant. He’d be good at acting.
“Young Master, please go and speak with your acquaintance.”
He was planning to anyway. Having Im Seung-hyeon hovering behind would only create a sense of distance.
Having witnessed him coughing up blood, Im Seung-hyeon had appointed himself as a driver and followed Yu Yeon-seo even during his personal time. To a rather annoying degree.
‘By the way... he doesn’t seem to like his brother very much.’
Then again, not all brothers get along as well as Yu Eun-ho and I do. Yu Yeon-seo left the displeased Im Seung-hyeon behind and went inside.
“You can’t come in here.”
“You don’t know who I am?”
“Huh?”
Unlike his confident stride forward, Director Cheon was being held up by someone. Yu Yeon-seo took off his mask and roughly stuffed it into his pocket. He then removed the ball cap pulled low over his head and casually ran a hand through his flattened hair.
“What’s going on?”
“Only members of our theater company can enter... Gasp, Yu Yeon-seo?”
Realizing his mistake too late, the person clamped his mouth shut. Yu Yeon-seo let it slide. As a public figure, being called by his full name was a daily occurrence anyway.
“You heard I was coming, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s settled. Shall we go, Director?”
Yu Yeon-seo smiled gently and gestured forward with his arm.
Im Seung-hyeon’s research file had a detailed description of Director Cheon’s personality. It said he disliked people who hid things and lied. In situations like this, it was better to be straightforward.
“So you really did know who I was.”
“Yes. It would be wrong not to know you, Director.”
“Is that so? It’s been quite some time since I stepped away from work...”
Even after all this time, many people still sought him out. How much attention would his long-awaited comeback film receive?
“News of your return is getting a lot of attention in these circles.”
These circles... He probably meant rumors circulating among investors. Director Cheon’s eyes glinted sharply.
“Was I that much of a celebrity?”
“Of course.”
“Really? So, did you approach me because you want something?”
“Approach you? You were the one who approached me, Director.”
“Ahem...”
It was Director Cheon himself who had been intrigued by the sight of Yu Yeon-seo alone. As he was clearing his throat awkwardly, Jeong Hyeon-sik came rushing out and spotted the two of them.
“Oh? You two came together.”
“Hello, hyung.”
Yu Yeon-seo bowed his head.
“I’m a little late, aren’t I? Did you see the rehearsal?”
“Yes, he was good.”
He and Jeong Hyeon-sik had grown closer after talking about acting at the wrap party. Jeong Hyeon-sik excitedly continued. The actor who had been performing the monologue on stage was apparently called the idol of the theater district these days, thanks to his considerable skill and good looks.
“He’s the rising star of our company. I’ll introduce you later. Your tastes in projects are similar, so I think you’ll get along well.”
“Is that so?”
Jeong Hyeon-sik was talking excitedly, but then he saw Director Cheon standing with his arms crossed and a sullen look on his face, and he laughed awkwardly.
“I told you to come visit sometime, but I didn’t expect it to be at the same time. What a coincidence.”
“It’s not a coincidence you manufactured, is it?”
“Of course not.”
Jeong Hyeon-sik might be a good actor, but it seemed he was a terrible liar in his daily life. It was all over his face.
‘Did he call me here to set up a meeting with Director Cheon?’
At the wrap party for Demon, Yu Yeon-seo and Jeong Hyeon-sik had talked not only about acting but also about dramas and films, and the conversation had eventually drifted to investments.
‘An unexpected gain.’
He had only mentioned in passing that if a good director had a project, he’d want to get involved through production or investment even if he couldn’t act in it, and now he’d unexpectedly hooked a big fish. He never imagined Jeong Hyeon-sik and Director Cheon Seong-min were so close.
“You know you can’t lie, right?”
“Aw, come on, Director. You could have just played along.”
Judging by their conversation, they seemed to be more than just casual acquaintances.
‘And the fact that he’s trying to arrange this meeting must mean Director Cheon is gearing up for a comeback.’
Yu Yeon-seo pretended not to know and spoke up.
“You two seem close.”
“We are. Oh, right. Yeon-seo, you don’t know who this is, do you?”
“No need. He already recognized me.”
“He did?”
He had a good excuse for times like this. Choi Yu-jin was quite famous in this industry.
“My mother is a fan of yours, Director.”
“Your mother? Ah... her.”
Director Cheon gave a favorable smile. Vice Chairman Choi Yu-jin had contributed a lot to the development of the film industry and was one of the investors who had left a good impression on him.
“We shouldn’t just stand here. Since you’re here, want to go up on stage?”
“Should I?”
He was curious, as it happened. Seeing the friendly pair, Director Cheon chided Jeong Hyeon-sik.
“If this was your plan, why did you call me?”
“You’re curious too, Director.”
Jeong Hyeon-sik wanted to see Yu Yeon-seo act on stage, and Director Cheon was also curious to see how Yu Yeon-seo, once infamous for his terrible acting, had changed. Watching him on screen wasn’t bad, but seeing his acting in person was a different matter entirely.
‘I feel like I’m being put to the test...’
Following the two men onto the stage, Yu Yeon-seo vaguely sensed what they were thinking and gave a troubled smile. Right on cue, a spotlight shone down on them.
“Want to try imitating the performance our actor did earlier?”
Just as I thought. Yu Yeon-seo stood in the center of the stage and slowly surveyed the theater. It was a small playhouse with no audience, but he felt an inexplicable flutter of excitement.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“No, I’ll give it a try. I think I can at least manage an imitation...”
“You can?”
When Kang Jin-hu’s soul moved into this body, he gained a dramatic improvement in physical abilities, but there was one more change. His memory and memorization skills. The original Yu Yeon-seo had been smart, but he couldn’t compare to the abilities of Kang Jin-hu from the future.
“It all began when I started staying at this mansion...”
As soon as Jeong Hyeon-sik and Director Cheon stepped off the stage and sat in the front seats, Yu Yeon-seo delivered the lines flawlessly.
“Did he really memorize all those lines?”
It was a rather long monologue... At Director Cheon’s mumble, Jeong Hyeon-sik whispered.
“He’s sharp. He even memorizes his co-stars’ lines.”
“Really?”
But memorizing lines doesn’t make one a good actor. Director Cheon was now scrutinizing Yu Yeon-seo’s performance as if he were at an audition.
“...He’s good. Isn’t this his first time acting on stage?”
“I know... I heard he’s never done it before.”
Screen acting and stage acting were different. Screen acting required consideration of camera direction and demanded momentary concentration, whereas stage acting required a connection with the audience from beginning to end.
Naturally, there were no retakes, so it demanded quick thinking and flexibility. To convey the play effectively to the audience, actors tended to project their voices more and exaggerate their movements slightly compared to screen acting.
“He seems to be good at imitating what he sees...”
For a first-timer, Yu Yeon-seo was utilizing these techniques well. Even his blocking, use of props, and mime were nearly identical to the actor’s rehearsal he had just watched.
‘They probably don’t want to see a simple imitation of another actor...’
Regardless of the two men’s admiration from the audience seats, Yu Yeon-seo’s mind was racing. The play was about a man staying in a haunted mansion who slowly goes mad while contemplating the meaning of life. Coincidentally, it was quite similar to his own situation.
“Oh...”
Director Cheon watched as Yu Yeon-seo sat on a chair on stage, stared into the empty air, then flinched, stiffened, and averted his gaze. His actions were so realistic it was as if he could see the ghosts surrounding him.
“He has a strong presence.”
“Right?”
Director Cheon revised his earlier thought. Yu Yeon-seo wasn’t the type whose acting was overshadowed by his face; he simply had a naturally unapproachable aura.
Yu Yeon-seo decided to add a change here.
‘How did the other actor do it?’
The play’s protagonist, tormented by ghosts, finally decides to escape the mansion. But because he is the first living person they’ve seen in a long time, the ghosts refuse to let him go, and his escape fails.
The final scream contained despair, fury, and anger at being unable to leave the mansion. But why did the man in the play go to a mansion rumored to be haunted in the first place?
‘Maybe he went there to become a ghost himself.’
The actor he was imitating had probably portrayed a man who went to the haunted mansion to give up on life, but after agonizing, eventually rediscovered his will to live and fought to escape, only to fail. That actor had channeled the feeling of being trapped into rage and anger.
But Yu Yeon-seo gave it a slight twist. What if the man never found the will to live? What if he was trapped in a situation where he couldn’t die even if he wanted to? What if the ghosts were holding onto him, the first living person they’d met in ages, precisely when he was trying to let go of life?
‘Even in a place I came to of my own free will, I can’t do as I please.’
Just like me, who returned to the past by my own will, only to be swayed by the original body’s visions and emotions.
He believed there were many kinds of anger. If the original actor had unleashed his anger as a vent, he would mix in a different kind of fury.
“Interesting.”
While Director Cheon watched Yu Yeon-seo’s performance with interest, Jeong Hyeon-sik narrowed his eyes.
‘Was his acting back then just a coincidence?’
He vividly remembered filming the final scene of Demon with Yu Yeon-seo. Father Raphael, tormented by the devil’s whispers, finally collapsing to his knees.
[No, I’m different from you.]
[Get out of that body.]
But the look in his eyes as he struggled not to succumb completely. Jeong Hyeon-sik, who played the cult leader, had felt overwhelmed by the look in Yu Yeon-seo’s eyes in that fleeting moment.
Then again, that was likely the effect of being completely immersed in the role after months of filming. Jeong Hyeon-sik felt a pang of disappointment. He had wanted to see that side of him one more time.
And then, Yu Yeon-seo’s aura changed.
“Leave me alone!”
He was shouting, but his performance was more pronounced with sorrow and a yearning for freedom than with anger. Director Cheon’s eyes lit up.
“Wow...”
Jeong Hyeon-sik was deeply impressed. That was it. That was the feeling.