Chapter 75:

Chapter 75:

Chapter 75

Act 3, Scene 4.

A crisp voice cuts through the air.

Act 3, Scene 4?

Actress Park Sang-ah looks at the director with a puzzled expression. She is not the only one.

The other actors are also confused.

As with most rehearsals, the play is usually practiced in chronological order, with the actors going on stage together for a run-through after finishing each section. But now, the director has ordered a highlight rehearsal for a novice actor.

Why the director?

In an unemotional state, without even reading the script beforehand, the directors intention is unclear to them. But what baffles them the most is the appearance of the rookie actor on stage.

Is it possible?

They cant find any trace of nervousness.

Even though they just saw him repeat the same lines for an hour on stage, his face is full of ease.

As if he swallowed the word tension.

Thats why Park Sang-ah even wonders if it might be possible. At that moment, a sound of footsteps moving in the quiet theater rings like a bell.

Baek Mu-yeol.

Young-guk mutters the name of his role to himself. He raises his head towards the audience. His eyes are sharp and his shoulders are broad.

He doesnt seem to have any shame or fear.

Rather, he shouts with confidence.

How dare you stand there in a judges robe, wearing a foreigners name as a Korean. Now I see that the dogs of the invaders are not me, but you who are dressed in law. Have you no shame for the law that should be fair and just being corrupted?

The judge sitting on the bench glares at the criminal with anger. He is a man who is called a fallen tiger of Korea.

But if you look at his actions, he is no less than an independence fighter.

He coveted the wives and children of the high-ranking officials of the Japanese colonial government, causing all kinds of debauchery, and also extracted secrets from the Governor-Generals Office through them.

What did I do with the documents? What do you care? They must have been used for those who are running towards the wilderness of Manchuria, leaving my hands. If you want me to confess my past with the women I met, Ill gladly tell you. There, sitting on the jury seat, is Misaki, the only daughter of the Governor-Generals deputy Derauchi Arasuke, and the woman who loved me passionately.

Baek Mu-yeol looks at the woman in a kimono in front of his eyes.

She was the child of the Governor-General, who was built on the Eulsa Treaty.

Baek Mu-yeol was a man who had met many women on the streets of Gyeongseong.

The peculiar thing was that they were all Japanese women.

Thats why many people called Baek Mu-yeol a dog of the invaders. But he had a different reason for embracing Japanese women.Finndd the newest novels on n/o/velbin(.)com

Thank you, Misaki. You worked for the brightest day in Korea, and I will not forget your love.

Misaki, who was sitting on the jury seat, swallowed her saliva and looked at him.

The sound of footsteps and movements, the eyes and gazes on the stage, made it seem as if the invisible characters were real.

The voice and tone, as well as the blocking, were artistic.

It was a scene that felt an aura that enveloped the entire stage, which was divided into nine parts.

The judge orders Baek Mu-yeol to reveal the independence fighters who colluded with him.

Surely there are still countless people who are roaming the streets of Gyeongseong with the information from Baek Mu-yeol.

At that moment, he takes a step towards the audience.

His gaze sweeps over the judges and the people who enjoy a rich life under the invaders.

Under the eerie gaze, Baek Mu-yeol raises his head proudly.

He looks like he shows the spirit of an independence fighter. He breathes in as if he savors the coming spring day, and shouts from his throat.

I have no shame in heaven for my actions to find the spring of Korea.

He smiles and tells the judge.

You can execute me.

***

Wow.

Yeon-su, who is sitting in the audience, cant close her mouth.

Its because of Young-guks acting on the stage.

Director, can I stay a little longer and practice more?

I quietly asked Director Lee Chang-hoon then.

It was a small voice, but no one missed it in the serene theater.

I was worried that I might be a burden to the other actors. I realized that I was too arrogant in the first rehearsal.

My acting was worlds apart from the seniors rehearsals.

Director Lee Chang-hoon nodded briefly without a word.

In the deserted theater, Yeon-su walks alone on the stage, reciting her lines.

Who is that man, to consort with a Japanese woman like that? He is a disgrace to Joseon. He must want to be a dog of the invaders, fawning over them so. Or maybe he wants to be one of them, if not a dog.

She recalls what she learned from the seniors rehearsal, and tries hard to find her own flaws. In the shadowy seats, Young-guk sits quietly. He knows well the pressure that Yeon-su feels.

The burden of being the lead.

She might have doubted herself after seeing her acting in the first rehearsal. Whether she deserved the lead role or not.

But to me, Yeon-su was an actress with potential.

It had to be that way, or else Director Lee Chang-hoon would have cruelly fired her on the spot.

I silently watch Yeon-su practice. As a senior, and someone who had theater experience in my past life, I could have given her some advice. But I dont.

It might help her right now, but it would be a loss in the long run. For now, it was better for her to reflect on her own feelings from todays rehearsal.

How much time had passed?

Yeon-sus manager, who had arrived at the theater in a hurry, looked at the stage with a worried expression.

It had been over three hours since the rehearsal ended, but Yeon-su was still practicing without a break. She ran tirelessly on her own, even though there were no stage props or actors to cue her lines.

After all, the stage was always a battlefield. No matter how much pressure and stress she had to bear, she was a soldier on the stage who had to deliver joy and emotion to the audience.

Her back was already soaked with sweat, and her bangs that covered her forehead were stuck together with beads of perspiration.

Yeon-su bit her lips and kept reciting her lines. Her eyes were watery as if she was about to cry, but she tried hard to hold back her tears.

Young-guk silently watches the scene as a lone spectator.

***

Yeon-su has a good voice and tone, but she doesnt use her movements well. The actual stage is divided into more than nine sections, not six, and it gives a majestic impression. She needs to adjust her blocking accordingly. Park Sang-ah keeps stuttering her lines and has trouble with her eye contact. Son Ji-min is

Stage director Seong Ji-hoon is writing his directing notes based on what he felt during todays rehearsal.

As a director, he has to make sure the actors are distributed according to the use of the stage.

Theater has the limitations of space and time.

Thats why the effects of the curtain and the scene are so important.

The stage direction should support the actors performance and make it more alive.

To do that, I need to examine the actors performance as well. I need to have the courage to cut out the unnecessary parts and supplement the lacking parts with the stage devices. At that moment, I stop at one persons name.

Jang Young-guk.

Hes a strange actor. Ive overseen many theater stages myself, but Ive never met an actor who gives such a mysterious feeling. Its normal for a rookie actor whos on the theater stage for the first time to be unable to hide his nervousness.

There was a reason why Director Lee Chang-hoon was so strict with the actors, to the point of being considered harsh. Unlike dramas or movies, there was no editing on the stage.

Once the curtain rose, they had to run from start to finish without stopping.

It was a matter of courtesy and professionalism to the audience who paid for the tickets that the actors had to perform flawlessly on the stage.

Thats why most of the new actors could only play minor roles or extras, which was also a limitation of the stage. But then

It was unbelievable.

It was a rehearsal for the play, and not just any rehearsal, but the highlight rehearsal.

They would have given me a generous evaluation if I had just managed to say my lines without stuttering. But Young-guk had delivered his lines perfectly, and even performed a solo act on the empty stage.

His aura enveloped the entire stage, divided into six parts, and his roar towards the audience sent shivers down my spine. How could a rookie actor who had never been on a proper stage show such a thing?

Why do you think theater is different from drama or movies, Actor?

No matter how good an actor is in drama or movies, they are bound to make mistakes on the theater stage.

But Young-guk was flawless in the highlight rehearsal.

He was like a veteran actor who had worn out on the theater scene.

In that mysterious gap, the stage director Sung Ji-hoon wrote a short Chinese character next to the actors name Jang Young-guk.

Nothingness.