Chapter 10

10. It was the first time.

Of course, it was impossible to confirm now whether this person was indeed the director Lee Bong-chun. The information James provided was about the profile he would build in the future, not his current status. Besides, he had never seen a photo of him.

However, Jinhyuk was certain that this person was the director Lee Bong-chun.

First, the name and age. If we were to be precise, James's pronunciation was somewhere between Lee Bong-chun and Lee Bong-cheon.

Whether Bong-chun or Bong-cheon, it was equally uncommon for someone of this age.

How many men in the film industry today would match the name and age James mentioned?

Moreover, seeing the burning passion in his eyes as he talked about his film, it was impossible not to be convinced.

"I don't know if I can be of any help, but if I can, it would be a great honor for me."

A greeting to the future master.

"Hehe. Look at this guy? Honor? Yanma. Such a reverent word doesn't suit me. Haha."

Seeing Lee Bong-chun burst into hearty laughter, Woo Jinhyuk smiled slightly.

***

"Che."

Jang Seokhwan turned his head away after making eye contact with Woo Jinhyuk. It seemed more like he was deflated rather than expressing anger.

It looked like Jang Seokhwan had given up on further confrontation. He had been like this for the past few days.

Fortunately for him, if he had tried one more time, Jinhyuk would have taken him seriously. Consideration was only given once.

"Woo Jinhyuk. Korean homework."

The class president, Kim Min-young, extended her hand toward Jinhyuk.

"Here."

Woo Jinhyuk handed the notebook to Min-young, who took it with a look of surprise.

Do Min-woo also spoke to Jinhyuk with a surprised tone.

"Wow, Jinhyuk. You've been acting strange lately. Why are you so diligent with your homework?"

It was Kim Min-young who answered instead of Jinhyuk.

"Do Min-woo. Doing homework is something you should do naturally."

"Huh? Really? Since when?"

Kim Min-young extended her hand toward Do Min-woo's naturally innocent face.

"Homework."

Do Min-woo shook hands with Kim Min-young.

"Thanks for the hard work, President."

"Ah, stop joking and give me your homework."

"Sorry."

As Do Min-woo bowed his head, Kim Min-young shook her head and left.

Watching Min-young's back, Min-woo said to Jinhyuk.

"Jinhyuk, take it easy."

"What?"

"What? You seem to be working too hard lately. You look like a completely different person. Do you usually change so drastically after a big accident?"

Do Min-woo glanced around and whispered.

"Or, do you not remember what kind of person you were before?"

"Maybe."

Woo Jinhyuk replied with a blank expression.

Ding dong dong.

The cheerful bell signaled the start of class.

At the same time, Do Min-woo started preparing for bed, and Jinhyuk opened his book with a gleaming look in his eyes.

Afternoon class. Among the students who were already drowsy before the class began, Jinhyuk's eyes shone like a mercenary's.

As if ready to devour every word the teacher said, Jinhyuk approached the class like a battle.

'What, what?'

At first, the teachers were taken aback.

But now, every teacher who entered the classroom focused their attention on Jinhyuk.

Confronting such a burning desire for learning, even a teacher who had no sense of mission would be ignited.

No teacher could ignore a student who looked at their class with such a thirsty gaze.

"Understand?"

When Jinhyuk nodded, the class continued.

Such cases were rare, but if Jinhyuk even slightly tilted his head, the teachers would start explaining again.

Thus, the burning desire to learn in Jinhyuk

"Alright, that's all."

Even after the class ended and everyone cheered, Jinhyuk stood up with a sense of regret.

"Woo Jinhyuk."

Lee Young-jun approached Jinhyuk.

"Didn't you forget about the appointment with Uncle today?"

Jinhyuk nodded.

When Jinhyuk and Lee Young-jun left the school gate, the future master, director Lee Bong-chun, greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hey! Over here!"

***

The acting school was located in an old building on a narrow side street where only two cars could barely pass.

The sign, which didn't quite match the old building, was clean.

The interior that came into view as Jinhyuk followed Lee Bong-chun was as neatly organized as the sign.

In front of a small lobby, a room with a semi-transparent glass door had a sign that read "Principal's Office." Lee Bong-chun opened the door without hesitation and entered.

"Bro, I'm here."

"Ah, come in."

Principal Yeon Sung-hoon greeted Lee Bong-chun warmly and then turned his gaze to Jinhyuk.

"So you're Jinhyuk. Good to see you."

"Yes, hello."

Yeon Sung-hoon stared intently at Jinhyuk, who greeted him. Under his sparkling eyes, a smile formed.

"Oh, just as I heard..."

"Right?"

"Sure. If Bong-chun fell for him just by his looks, he must be something. Our Bong-chun has high standards, even if he has nothing else."

"Hehe, bro. I'm just an undiscovered pearl, that's all."

"Kuk. Joke. Joke."

An undiscovered pearl. It was a fitting description. An incredibly large, historic pearl.

"But, you've never acted before, right?"

"Yes."

"Right. Good to see you. First, you have talent. In this industry, the best talent is your looks."

It was a joke, but it was also the truth, and the truth, but also a bit twisted. Sung-hoon didn't like this reality, but he adapted to it.

"Given your looks, you'll get opportunities as long as your acting isn't terrible."

However, adapting didn't mean giving up everything. What Sung-hoon was looking for wasn't someone with the potential to become a star.

He was looking for someone with the potential to become a real actor.

Yeon Sung-hoon wasn't a star-level actor, but he was a proud actor in terms of his acting skills.

He sacrificed his acting career to run the school because he had a pure desire to discover and nurture the best actors.

While he enjoyed acting, he had a more passionate dream of guiding and nurturing his juniors.

"But I'm not looking for someone with just good looks. I want to nurture a real actor, not a star."

Realistically, a certain level of looks is necessary. That was the extent of Sung-hoon's adaptation to reality.

Even if someone had good looks, he wouldn't accept them if they had no potential as an actor or were just full of hot air.

He wouldn't inflate their potential and encourage them to register for the school, like some places do.

He wouldn't promise them a smooth path to debut or entrance exams, or accept them just to fill the seats.

Such stubbornness made running the school always challenging.

"Ahh, bro, at least accept some people. You need to run the school to nurture real actors, right?"

His junior, Lee Bong-chun, always worried about him. Knowing the situation, he even paid the school fees out of his own pocket. Sung-hoon was grateful for his concern.

However, there was a standard that Yeon Sung-hoon couldn't compromise on. If he gave up on that, there would be no point in running the school.

He accepted Jinhyuk at Bong-chun's request, but if he showed no potential, he would be cut off coldly.

"Still, I hope this guy... I hope he shows some potential."

If he really had no hope, it would be very disappointing.

Even without his outstanding looks, the eyes that seemed to hold many stories would be a waste.

"Alright, let's do a test."

A question mark appeared on Jinhyuk's face. Yeon Sung-hoon smiled and said,

"Nothing big, just a short line. I just want to see your current state. Do your best, but don't feel pressured."

Yeon Sung-hoon handed him a sheet of paper from his desk.

"You'll play the student role. Just read the script and try it out without feeling pressured."

Jinhyuk looked down at the script he received and then alternated his gaze between Yeon Sung-hoon and Lee Bong-chun.

They clearly told him not to feel pressured, but their gazes were very intense.

The piercing, sparkling gazes of two middle-aged men.

But Jinhyuk wasn't one to be intimidated by such gazes, no matter the situation.

He casually glanced over the script. The content was simple.

A student in a school uniform, probably around Jinhyuk's age, enters the house and throws his bag.

When his mother asks what's wrong, he enters his room in a bad mood and locks the door.

The argument between Jin-su and his mother continues through the door.

A situation that could happen in a house with a teenager.

It was clearly a scenario that a high school student like Jinhyuk could act out naturally.

Despite the simple content and lines, as the time to read the script grew longer, Yeon Sung-hoon tried to reassure him.

"Are you feeling shy about doing it?"

"..."

"First-timers often feel that way. It's okay to feel shy about delivering lines in front of others. Take your time and do it comfortably. If it's difficult, you can start by reading it out loud."

Jinhyuk's gaze moved from the script to Yeon Sung-hoon.

"Ah, it's not that..."

"Hmm?"

"It's not because I feel shy."

"Then?"

Jinhyuk himself didn't know why he suddenly had this thought.

When he received the script and read the lines, he saw something through this short dialogue. It was...

"I was thinking about why he was angry."

More precisely, he was examining the thoughts that spontaneously came to his mind.

"What?"

"The reason the kid is angry..."

Yeon Sung-hoon's heart skipped a beat.

'This, this guy...?'

Usually, when he gave this script to people who came to learn acting for the first time, ten out of ten would do the same.

They would immediately frown and deliver the lines with a full load of anger.

Those with some acting talent could make it look quite convincing. And that was the biggest problem. 'Quite convincing.'

After delivering the lines with satisfaction, Sung-hoon would always ask them,

"Why were you angry just now?"

Then, nine out of ten times, the answer would come back.

"It says (angry voice) in the script."

So, they were all artificially imitating the emotion of anger.

Of course, acting is essentially imitation, and no one thinks it's real when they watch it.

However, the paradox of acting lies there.

Even though you know it's acting, after watching it, you feel as if the character is living somewhere in reality.

Such acting cannot be achieved through simple imitation. It requires becoming the person in the script.

If the actor becomes the student in this script, they wouldn't be angry for no reason.

There are no scenes in life that are disconnected from context.

Whether it's a fight with a friend at school, getting scolded for forgetting homework, or some injustice.

Or, if not, a whim of teenage emotions, or something else.

There must be a reason for such emotions and scenes to occur in life.

It is at the point of understanding this that the actor becomes the person in the script and ultimately becomes that person.

Once the actor becomes that person, the lines they deliver are no longer acting but reality.

It may seem obvious, but no one knew this from the beginning. Of course, he himself didn't know at first.

Veteran actor Yeon Sung-hoon had met countless juniors and students over the years,

but it was the first time.

A person who, without ever learning acting, tried to grasp the context of life upon receiving the script.

Yeon Sung-hoon's eyes began to shine.

Perhaps...

Perhaps...

The moment Sung-hoon's heart started beating,

Jinhyuk's first line fell before him.