Chapter 147

* * *"An actor’s performance can shine or wither depending on how they were directed. This is why directing is difficult. You can’t just focus on one thing. You have to see the bigger picture.”“Is there a way to study it by myself?”“There is. Watch a lot of plays. There’s plenty of resources nowadays. Keep a notebook specifically meant for it. Take notes on how they set up the beginning, middle, and end of the play. Why did they use that music in that scene? Why did they use colored lights in this scene? Why were the actors placed in such manners? Think carefully about all of this. At some point, you’ll be able to discern which director did which play just based on how the play got set up. That is, you’ll be able to recognize that particular director’s specialty. When you study just about anything, you have to start off from copying. That never changes even here.”Daemyung tried his best to memorize what his coach just told him. Acting was fun, but he really wanted to do more than that. He wanted to produce and direct his own play. To him, that sounded more exciting than just about anything else.“Getting first hand experience in the industry would be for the best though...”Coach scratched his chin for a second before making a call somewhere.“Yes, senior. There’s a really nice kid that big bro Junmin brought in, and… Yes, don’t you already have a junior who carries around a student nowadays? Yes, yes. Ah, Mintae. I wanted to introduce this kid to him. The kid’s interested in stage tech. It seems like a bit of a stretch to try to put him under you, Senior. I thought it’d be nice for him to do a few things with Mintae instead. Yes. I’ll see you in Myungdong, then.”Coach gestured at Daemyung after hanging up. Daemyung grabbed his bag and walked outside. The moment they got in the car, the coach revved up the engine.“By the way… You don’t have anything planned on a Saturday like this?”“Anything?”“Like a date.”“......”“Ouch, did I hit you where it hurts? Sorry about that.”“H-haha.”Daemyung just scratched his head awkwardly in response. “Then again, I didn’t have a girlfriend when I was at your age either.”Well, that was a surprise. Coach looked incredibly handsome. Not only that, but he was also a very popular actor as well. Daemyung even remembered being absolutely shocked at the number of gifts the coach received from his fans. Someone like that didn’t have a girlfriend in high school?“Here, let me show you something fun.”The coach took out a picture from his wallet on a red light. It was a group of young boys.“Find me in this picture.”The boys in the picture all looked around Daemyung’s age. Considering how his coach was in his late thirties, this picture was probably more than twenty years old. Daemyung chose the boy who looked the most handsome out of all of them.“You think that’s me?”“Yes, I think this one resembles you the most.”“That’s my older brother. I’m the furthest one on the left.”Daemyung’s eyes slid over to the left of the picture. He could see a fat boy he previously overlooked.“This is you, coach?”“How is it? I look like a pig, don’t I? I think I was around 98 kilos back then.”Daemyung scanned his coach up and down. Someone this fit used to be so fat back then?“I’m not telling you to lose weight just for the sake of losing weight. I’m not against people being fat. As a matter of fact, I still like the way I looked back then. Some people hate being fat. That wasn’t me at all. It was nice not having to watch what I ate. Sure, not being able to score a to date was a big loss. But I never felt bad about it.”The coach had a massive smile on his face.“Anyway, the lesson here is that self-love is very important. You know that it shows on your face a lot, right? I can see you getting noticeably depressed when we started talking about appearances.”“R-really...”“One of the first things a person needs to do to look charming is to get self-confidence. Manners and everything else comes after that. Be honest with me. You think you look ugly and fat, don’t you?”Daemyung nodded.“You were hurt by that, too?”“...Yes.”“What about now? Is anyone making fun of you for your appearance nowadays?”“No.”“So why are you still hurt by it? No one’s making fun of you for your body. Just who’s bullying you now?”Coach gripped Daemyung’s shoulder tightly.“There’s a saying that a teacher I respect likes: your tongue is more dangerous than the tongues of the others. The type of pain that gnaws away at your heart is often self-inflicted. It’s impossible to live without caring about how other people view you. So the least you can do is to care more about yourself. I hope you can smile more easily the next time I ask you something about a girlfriend.”Daemyung nodded slowly. He thought he was over it, but he realized now that he never really shook off his inferiority complex. Hopefully, he can be more confident in the future. No, even before that, he hoped he could smile like his coach just said in the future.“By the way, coach.”“Hm?”“Why did you lose weight?”There was no reason for his coach to lose weight, was there?“Why? Isn’t it obvious? What’s my profession?”“Musical… Ah.”“I’m always ready to get fat again. If there’s a fat character waiting for my portrayal, I’m more than ready to sit on my ass and start eating.”It was a confident answer.