Chapter 96

96. Hogwarts Audition

Siwoo sat in a chair, swinging his legs as he waited for his turn.

Children who went in first came out one by one; some were smiling, some were crying, and some looked dazed, with a variety of reactions.

'Cute.'

"Siwoo Yun!"

A staff member called out to Siwoo, who had been watching the children.

Siwoo got up from his chair and followed the staff member to the front of the audition room.

"Are you ready? Shall we go in?"

Siwoo took a deep breath and opened the door.

Peering through the crack, he saw several foreigners sitting inside.

'Wow, this serious atmosphere. It's good.'

Siwoo had auditioned for a movie when he was four years old.

Back then, just the fact that he could recite his lines made everyone clap and fall back in surprise.

But now, he was eight years old.

With his age doubling, the standards of evaluation were bound to be different.

Siwoo smiled at the people who were staring at him and then opened the door fully.

When the judges told him to start acting, that was not the time to begin.

First impressions were important.

'The door opens, and Evan walks in.' He had to make them think that.

In the process of adapting a globally hit novel into a movie, the most important thing was the match between the original character and the actor, rather than a lovely appearance or outstanding acting skills.

So, the acting...

...had already started the moment Siwoo opened the door.

Jennifer couldn't help but smile like a mother when she saw Siwoo peeking through the crack in the door.

The child who made eye contact with Joel smiled ...

... and the small child, Siwoo, wearing the Hogwarts uniform, ran up to the judges and stood in front of them.

Jennifer's smile grew even wider.

Her intuition was right.

"We've found our Evan."

The director, Mike, whispered to her.

Jennifer nodded at Mike.

"Hello! I'm Siwoo from Korea. I want to play Evan Taylor."

Mike, hearing Siwoo's English pronunciation, tapped his knee under the table as if playing a piano, excitedly.

Despite never having lived in the United States, Siwoo's pronunciation was very good, as if he had started learning English in his mother's womb.

He was even more fluent than in XOXO.

'Well, he was younger then.'

"Wow~ So, you came from far away. Welcome to Hollywood, Siwoo. Can the director ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Who is your favorite character in Hogwarts?"

Siwoo thought for a moment.

'What is this? Such an obvious question.'

"Evan!"

When Siwoo answered, the director asked again.

"Why~?"

Mike often asked children who felt good about certain characters about their thoughts on the roles they wanted and how they would act if they were cast.

Generally, when he asked children such questions, their answers were quite simple.

Why do you like Joel?

- Because he's the main character.

Why do you like Alice?

- Because she's kind.

Why do you like Evan?

- Because he's funny.

Why do you like Bill?

- Because he's cool.

For liking Evan, other common answers included 'Because he's a mood maker' or 'Because his playful side is so cute.'

So, Mike and Jennifer, along with the other judges, were curious and waited to see how the child would express the reason 'Because he's funny.'

But Siwoo's answer was different.

Bowing his head for a moment and looking down at his feet, Siwoo then looked up with a playful smile and spoke in a soulful voice he had learned from dubbing.

"I like Evan because ... I am Evan~"

The judges, who had been staring at Siwoo blankly, burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

He acted as if he was already Evan.

The child who spoke and smiled was so adorable.

After a few more exchanges with the cute child, Mike, with a satisfied look, said to Siwoo,

"It's great that you're here, Siwoo. Now, shall we start the acting? You already seem to be halfway there."

"Sure, what should I do first?"

"Whichever you prefer."

The audition acting was divided into two parts.

First, the designated acting, where they practiced a scene chosen by the production company.

Second, the selected acting, where they chose a scene from the novel and practiced it.

Siwoo decided to do the selected acting first.

After taking his position, Siwoo called out to the director.

"Director~"

"Yes?"

"Can you say 'Ready, action' for me?"

"Hahaha."

Having worked on set, he found it easier to get into character when he heard 'Ready, action.'

Mike, who knew that Siwoo was a child actor with a considerable career in Korea, thought this bold child who wasn't nervous and even made demands for his performance was definitely a professional actor.

"Okay~ Ready, action!"

Upon receiving the director's signal, Siwoo started his prepared performance.

It was the scene where Evan and Joel first meet and become friends.

When Siwoo entered the audition room, he briefly showed the scene of Evan entering the Great Hall of Hogwarts, setting the stage for his performance.

Siwoo held up the slightly long Hogwarts robe that was dragging on the floor and then ran towards the judges, stopping to focus on one spot.

It was the direction where the staff member, who was playing Joel, was standing.

Siwoo looked at the staff member's feet and said,

"Wow, I wish I could wear a perfectly fitting uniform like that. Why aren't you going in? Aren't you hungry?"

The staff member replied,

"I'm not really in the mood..."

Siwoo widened his eyes and tilted his head.

"That's strange. I was looking forward to eating during the opening ceremony the whole time."

"I'm hungry too."

The staff member's gaze shifted behind Siwoo.

Siwoo turned around to follow the staff member's gaze.

Siwoo's mouth opened.

"Wow, that statue is really cool! Is it a dragon? A wyvern? Hmm, up close, its face looks a bit like a lizard..."

Siwoo suddenly turned to look at the staff member.

Siwoo was smiling awkwardly, as if slightly surprised.

"Just now... the statue seemed to be glaring at me."

The staff member said,

"Yeah, I thought so too. That's why... I got scared and lost my appetite."

Siwoo looked at the staff member for a moment and then laughed playfully.

"I get it~ It's because of the statue's eyes. They're too scary."

Looking around, Siwoo took something out of his uniform pocket.

"Watch this. This is the 'Squid's Tears' I bought with my mom at a magic shop before I came to school. When you press it, it keeps producing squid ink that I like. It's a bit wasteful, but should I use it a little?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to give the scary eyes cute pupils~ Watch out, professor!"

"But if you get caught, you'll be in trouble."

"Why? They might praise me."

Thinking about how he might receive praise like 'Evan, you're good at drawing!' or 'The scary statue looks beautiful because of you, Evan!', Siwoo acted as Evan, smiling brightly.

While the other students were enjoying a brief moment of freedom, waiting for their meal, Evan brought a chair, climbed up, and started drawing pupils with squid ink on the dragon's eyes and a funny mustache on its nose.

Joel, who initially tried to stop him, eventually got caught up in the fun and giggled along with Evan.

Seeing Joel laughing, Evan climbed down from the chair like a hero returning from slaying a dragon and handed the 'Squid's Tears' to Joel.

Siwoo's performance continued.

"See, it's not scary anymore, right?"

"Really?"

"I'll lend it to you! You try it too~"

Joel, who had climbed up the chair, hesitated for a long time about whether to paint the dragon's nostrils black, as in the novel, but finally couldn't muster the courage and looked back at Evan.

Seeing a professor standing behind Evan, Joel froze, his face pale with fear.

Although it was Evan who had actually vandalized the statue, it was Joel who was holding the 'Squid's Tears' and standing on the chair, so the professor gave him a detention.

Evan, conflicted in the tense atmosphere, closed his eyes tightly and stepped forward.

Siwoo performed the final scene.

"Professor, actually... it was me~!"

Siwoo's eyes were filled with anxiety as he forced a bright smile.

Director Mike, after Siwoo's performance, called out the cut sign with satisfaction.

It felt like he was on a real film set, not an audition.

"Wow! Amazing!"

"It felt like I was in the novel!"

"Perfect Evan!"

Praises poured in from all around.

After a moment, Mike, who had calmed down, called Siwoo.

"Can you do the second performance right away? CG... wait, have you ever done CG shooting in Korea?"

"Yes!"

He had done it for 'The Name of God' and 'Sea Child.'

Mike, thinking that this child was born to play Evan, called a green-suited actor.

"We'll do a CG shoot. You have to tame a monster. Use your imagination."

"Okay."

The green-suited actor, only showing his face, stood in front of Siwoo.

"Hi, Siwoo. You did a great job."

"Thank you~"

"Signal the director when you're ready. Then I'll jump out."

The green-suited actor winked at Siwoo and crouched in a corner of the audition room.

Siwoo took a short deep breath and looked at the director.

The director, with an expectant look, made eye contact with Jennifer and called out to Siwoo.

"Ready~ Action!"

As the director's signal fell, Siwoo crouched and drew his arms in.

Siwoo, with a slightly tense face, focused on the direction of the green-suited actor.

"Please make it a small and cute one. Please~ Small and cute..."

As Siwoo continued speaking, the monster jumped out.

"Kwaaaah-!"

The green-suited actor, who had seen Siwoo's performance, acted like a real monster, roaring loudly, unlike when he acted with other children.

"Aaaaah! Ahhhh..."

Siwoo, stepping back and screaming, panted and stammered his lines.

"...Ah, it's not as scary as the monster Alice showed me earlier!"

"Kwaaak! Kwaaak! Kwaaaah-!"

The green-suited actor, crouched on the floor, roared even more fiercely, as if protesting.

"It looks like a puppy! Ah, it's not scary!"

Siwoo slowly extended his trembling hand.

Siwoo's small palm slapped the green-suited actor's bald head with a sticky sound.

"..."

The green-suited actor and the judges, surprised by Siwoo's ad-lib, which was different from the script, all looked at Siwoo with puzzled expressions.