Chapter 16: Scene Stealer

Chapter 16: Scene Stealer

༺ Scene Stealer ༻

The performance of Oedipus’s <Hamlet> was a huge success.

Renowned actor Seo Ryu Shin, with proven talent and a validated title, played the lead role.

Cheol-joo’s lips twisted when he heard that most of the performances had been sold out.

A masculine appearance, a tall stature, and consistent acting skills.

The only case of a person being cast as a lead in their second semester of their second year at Changcheon was Choi Cheol-joo.nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

Although he received great expectations at Changcheon, there was a sense of inferiority in a corner of his heart that couldn’t be filled.

He harbored an uneasiness of not having become the best by competing with the best.

‘Anyway, if it were me, I would also be the lead at Oedipus.’

Such consolation was shaken mercilessly after seeing a performance of Oedipus two years ago. It was after seeing the image of a crazed Alan overwhelmingly dominating the stage of <Equus>.

Since then, his self-consolation had changed to this.

‘If I had been at Oedipus, I would at least be a rival to Seo Ryu Shin.’

He decided to pursue the path of acting after graduation.

Although it wasn’t quite like Oedipus, Changcheon was also a university theater group with tradition. If he offered his experience and looked for a university theater group, most of them would easily accept him.

But what Cheol-joo wanted was something else.

[Hello, senior. I am producing a performance of <Ambitious Dream> for this spring festival. It will be at Betty Hall, 7 PM from 5/29 to 5/31. I would be grateful if you could stop by!]

[Oh, is Cheol-joo the director? Then I have to go. I’ll go to the first performance on Thursday.]

Senior Baek Lee-shin, who worked as a casting director for the theater group <July>, promised to come and see the performance.

Rather than auditioning, being recognized for his talent and being scouted was the picture that Cheol-joo wanted.

Cheol-joo had a sweet dream that night.

{I knew you could act, but I didn’t know you also had tremendous talent in directing!}

{Please come to our theater group after graduation. I beg you!}

The dream was about senior Lee-shin clinging onto him while he reluctantly agreed.

A contented smile adorned his sleeping face.

*

“Ah- Ah- Ah- Ah-“

“The technical rehearsal starts in 30 minutes. Let’s finish the sound check before that!”

“Cue sheet! Who has seen the lighting cue sheet!”

Before the first performance.

The lights kept turning on and off without a break, and the stage set was getting the final details without a hitch.

The actors, wearing thick makeup, were either assisting the staff or looking into their scripts.

Yoomyeong plopped down in one of the seats, having finished helping the stage team.

Whew—

{It’s your first official stage since your regression. How do you feel?}

Miho followed him today, just as he expected.

Yoomyeong answered inwardly, staring straight ahead.

‘I’m surprisingly calm. I feel like I’ve returned to where I belong.’

{Hehe. By the way, I saw Seo Ryu Shin’s performance yesterday.}

‘How was it? I wanted to see it too, but I couldn’t because of the performance preparation.’

{The kid did well. That guy gives off a passionate taste.}

At those words, Yoomyeong chuckled softly.

It reminded him of Ryu Shin’s passion and competitiveness that used to burst out during rehearsals. It was a flavor that suited him well.

‘Tell me what flavor I have later.’

Leaving those words, Yoomyeong stood up.

*

Bustling—

One hour before the performance. Many people gathered in the hall lobby.

For this event, known as ‘Opening Night’, people related to Changcheon, such as professors and graduates, gathered to celebrate the opening.

Beverages and refreshments were set up on each table, and familiar faces were having conversations here and there.

“There’s the director—“

As the auditorium door opened and Cheol-joo came out, the attendees greeted him with a big round of applause.

Cheol-joo’s face reddened and he nodded his head.

[Hello, Mr. President.]

[Did you have a good time with the newcomer that I introduced to you last time?]

[Look at this. You’re asking for another favor right off the bat, huh?]

[Haha. You got a big scoop this time, didn’t you?]

[Ah. That one~ The Spiderman concept went well and it got some attention. Isn’t it nice? The people’s hero, Spiderman~]

[You came up with a mind-boggling concept. Does he have an agency? If not, introduce him to me.]

[Want to take a shot? Smelling the money, aren’t you?]

‘Wow. That actor...’

Lee-shin sat up straight. The instincts of a casting director were pulling at him.

He exclaimed three times in a short scene.

First of all, the voice.

A voice as soft yet clear as the famed actor Peter O’Toole.

Was there such a voice among the local actors? The tone was so good that he would want to raise him as an actor even if he was just an ordinary person with such a voice.

And then, the ‘voice character’ that reversed that smoothness.

If you ask the average audience member what they think of that person’s voice, they would probably say that ‘it’s a very cunning and unpleasant voice’.

His inflection, speech pattern, and conversational habits were so ‘third-rate’ that they covered up the original smoothness. Despite using the most deferential language to Reporter Kwak, the audience could still feel that he’s a villain.

The last was the expression, the reason why Lee-shin could not take his eyes off him from the beginning.

He had a realistically vile expression that could not hide his true nature even when he was smiling or being kind.

The only unfortunate thing was that it seemed like the actor was naturally born with such a face because of the vile impression he had even when his face was expressionless.

‘It’s perfect for his current role, but with that kind of impression, it will be difficult for him to play anything other than a villain in the future, hmm.’

Despite this, he was intrigued.

This was an actor who had evoked in him not a ‘Wow, that guy’ or ‘That bastard’, but a ‘Wow, that actor’ kind of admiration.

‘Did I bring my business card today...?’

The performance continued.

Lee-shin noticed an odd atmosphere when President Nam appeared for the third time.

If Kim Cheolsu was the virtuous protagonist and Reporter Kwak was an opportunistic, supporting role representing the bitter facets of modern society, then Mr. Nam was the villainous minor character symbolizing the darkness of society.

The villain’s impact was significant, but since he was neither the lead nor supporting actor, his appearances were limited.

Yet, even in those limited scenes...

Whoosh—

The audience’s gaze was consistently concentrated on the supporting actor.

Feeling goosebumps for the fourth time, Lee-shin rubbed his arms with his palms.

He might have been the first to recognize the value of ‘Mr. Nam’ with his exceptional eyes and maxed-out analytical skills.

But in the end, the most accurate judge was the audience. It was the audience who unconsciously favored a particular actor’s performance with their gaze.

In Act 3.

When he revealed his malice in a scene where he faced off with the lead actor in a one-on-one, a member of the audience sharply inhaled.

Despite the lead actor delivering more lines directly, the audience’s gaze kept getting attracted to him.

He stole the show.

He was, literally, a ‘scene-stealer’.

*

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—

As a massive round of applause poured down, the curtain call began. Lee-shin anxiously waited for the reappearance of ‘that actor’.

“As Gu Won-young in the role of Kim Cheolsu~”

The sound faded.

“As Kang Seok-ho in the role of Reporter Kwak~”

The lighting faded.

“As Shin Yoomyeong in the role of President Nam~”

Finally, when the actor he had been waiting for appeared...

‘Huh?’

Lee-shin blinked several times before rubbing his eyes.

The face of the young male student who was smiling brightly and waving was utterly devoid of any distortion and appeared very innocent.

‘I thought his villainous expression was his natural demeanor. This is insane... did he actually create that expression?!’

Lee-shin rushed outside even before the lights in the auditorium came on.

You can rate this serieshere.