Chapter 17

17. Start, Autumn Festival

"Huh?"

When Bon-fong took the report card from Jin-hyuk, his eyes grew wider and wider.

"Wh-What is this? Is it really a perfect score in every subject?"

"Yes. Honey."

Bon-fong's eyes turned to his son, Jin-hyuk.

He had known that his son had been studying hard since the accident and had been secretly proud of him.

But to get a perfect score in every subject and be the top of the class!

"Wow. Wow. Son! You're amazing. Amazing! Haha."

He couldn't find any more words to say. The weight of the difficult day seemed to wash away.

"But, why do you look like that?"

"Well, this is too sudden, and since Jin-hyuk had an accident, I'm worried if he's pushing himself too hard."

A mother's concern for her son's health always came first.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm fine."

He wasn't just fine. To Bon-fong, it seemed that the harder his son studied, the stronger his body became day by day.

"That's right. Honey. Jin-hyuk is right. Look at Jin-hyuk. How healthy he's become."

"Well, that's true..."

"Come on, we can't just let such a happy day pass by! For some reason, I really wanted to eat pork belly today."

He wanted to wash away the day's troubles with his family and pork belly.

But the day's troubles had already been washed away by his son's top rank. Not just the weight of the day, but more.

Bon-fong's heart felt like it was flying.

He couldn't deny that he had secretly hoped his son would do well in studies that he himself had never managed to do.

He had just kept quiet because his son had shown no interest in studies and lacked motivation in life.

The day's troubles that he had wanted to wash away with pork belly were already gone, and now the pork belly would be a celebration for the family.

Soon, the delicious smell of pork belly filled the house.

"Come on, eat more. Son. You too, quickly, quickly. Haha!"

Bon-fong wrapped some pork belly and rice in lettuce, stuffed it in his mouth, and chewed.

It was delicious. So delicious.

It was more delicious than any pork belly he had ever eaten.

"Haha. Haha, really."

Bon-fong's laughter didn't stop even as he chewed the large mouthful.

Jin-hyuk, who had been quietly picking up a piece of pork belly, looked at his father and mother and spoke clearly.

"Dad, Mom, I know you work hard. I'm grateful."

Bon-fong's throat tightened.

Was the wrap too big?

Bon-fong swallowed the unknown thing stuck in his throat.

His wife's eyes were red. Quickly wiping his own eyes, Bon-fong said awkwardly,

"Phew. This grill... It's smoking a lot."

His son had grown so much.

***

"Jin-hyuk!"

Yeon Seong-hoon, who usually greeted him warmly, welcomed Jin-hyuk even more warmly today.

"Hello."

"Son, I heard the news. The whole neighborhood is buzzing."

"What news?"

"Come on. You got a perfect score and became the top of the class, right? This is a school with a strong academic culture, and it's a prestigious high school. Both the students and parents are in a frenzy. A perfect score, you know."

Yeon Seong-hoon's bright face became a bit awkward.

"So, I'm a bit worried."

"Worried about what?"

"Well, I hope you're only a genius in acting. If you're this good at studying..."

No matter how much potential a promising talent has, the path of an actor or singer is full of ups and downs.

If he could get the top rank in a prestigious high school, he would likely secure a place in a top university in Korea.

It might be a natural choice to choose a safer path in studies.

But that's for the average case. Jin-hyuk is not an average talent.

His face, height, aura, charm, voice, diction, expressiveness, character interpretation ability, a rich emotional range, a brilliant mind, and quick reflexes...

This was a talent that could be called a genius, surpassing a perfect score in all subjects.

He had all the conditions to become the best actor, a one-in-a-million package deal from the heavens, and that was Jin-hyuk.

"I'm worried you might quit acting. I'm really worried. I'm telling you now, Jin-hyuk, you must act."

"You seem too worked up."

"Too worked up? Anyone would think the same. It's more stable to go to a prestigious university than to take the unstable path of an actor..."

"Don't worry. That won't happen."

Jin-hyuk also felt it. The acting talent he possessed was more than just a talent for studies.

Most importantly, he found more joy in acting than in studying.

Acting was so much like living another life.

Just as living another life gave him new joy every day, acting did the same.

The experience of becoming a new person endlessly in acting was a joy that Jin-hyuk would never trade for anything.

Once he liked something, he didn't change it easily.

And he had decided to live this life doing what he wanted.

He would do both studies and acting. He had no intention of giving up either.

"Just to be clear, I won't let you treat acting as a hobby. If you have to give up one, I'll tell you to give up studies. Got it?"

"If I said I would, I wouldn't do it half-heartedly."

Wasn't Jin-hyuk the type who would run until his heart burst if he set his mind to it?

'Son.'

A smile that couldn't be suppressed slowly spread on Yeon Seong-hoon's face.

Even though he hadn't seen Jin-hyuk for a while, he knew enough from his past behavior. This kid was a man of his word.

He would do it. He would definitely do it.

A kid who inspired such trust that his simple words felt like a firm promise.

The will to help him grow into a real, proper actor, even if it meant sacrificing his own life, surged again.

"Good, good. By the way, haven't you heard the results of the festival play auditions yet?"

"Yes, it was decided on the day the exams ended."

"Really? That's great. You should have told me earlier. Well, the result was pretty much a given, right? Did you get the script?"

Jin-hyuk took the script out of his bag and handed it to Yeon Seong-hoon. After looking through it for a moment, Seong-hoon said,

"It's not very important, but I'll check your practice from time to time. You're playing the role of Im Kwon, right?"

"No, I'm not playing Im Kwon."

"Huh?"

Seong-hoon's eyes turned to Jin-hyuk, who was looking at the script.

What was this? It was a school festival play, after all. A play at the level of a school cultural event.

A student with Jin-hyuk's acting talent would naturally get the lead role in such a play.

Especially considering Jin-hyuk's appearance, what was there to say?

"Hmm... Don't you have an actor from a child actor background in your school? What's his name..."

"Kang Do-hoon."

"Is he the one?"

"Yes."

Seong-hoon nodded in understanding. From his perspective, having seen Kang Do-hoon and his acting,

'Of course Jin-hyuk should be chosen.'

This was true for any casting director. If they had to choose between the two, Jin-hyuk would be the obvious choice. Seong-hoon was certain.

No matter how he thought about it, Jin-hyuk was a better fit for the role of the young master in the romantic story with Chun Hyang.

In terms of acting, while Kang Do-hoon had considerable experience, Jin-hyuk had more than enough talent to make up for it.

Most importantly, Jin-hyuk had something that Kang Do-hoon could never surpass.

Star quality. The charm that captivates people. It flowed from Jin-hyuk's appearance and acting.

Regardless of how well he acted, when Jin-hyuk started acting, people couldn't take their eyes off him.

This was the quality of a star. Only those who emit their own light can become stars.

And that was exactly why, despite appearing on TV from his child actor days, Kang Do-hoon lacked a significant presence.

Kang Do-hoon lacked star quality.

But the school teacher probably didn't think about such things and just automatically cast Kang Do-hoon as Im Kwon because he was a TV talent.

It was a bit disappointing. If Jin-hyuk were cast as Im Kwon and Kang Do-hoon, who had acting experience, as Pang Ja, it would have been a perfect casting.

So, who did Jin-hyuk get cast as?

"Then, Jin-hyuk, are you playing Pang Ja? Haha, this is going to be interesting."

Considering Jin-hyuk's appearance, the role of Pang Ja didn't quite fit. A Pang Ja who was better-looking and more charming than Im Kwon.

But it was a school cultural event. It might add an interesting imbalance.

'It will be more like the story of Pang Ja than Chun Hyang.'

Seong-hoon chuckled. But the next words from Jin-hyuk wiped the smile from his face.

"I'm playing the role of the Damyang Magistrate."

"Huh? What?"

Who was that?

Was it Byeon Hak-do? No, that would be a bit...

"..."

The Damyang Magistrate wasn't Byeon Hak-do. Byeon Hak-do was the Namwon Magistrate. So, the Damyang Magistrate was...

Just a minor role.

Or rather, it was hard to even call it a minor role. It was barely above an extra.

On a film set, even a minor role with few lines is treated as an actor.

Extras are background personnel, often recruited through labor agencies, who don't necessarily need to be actors.

The Damyang Magistrate, if we're being precise, had a few lines, so it was a minor role. But those lines were more like filler that could be omitted.

"Damn..."

Seong-hoon let out a curse without realizing it and glanced at Jin-hyuk with a "Oops" look.

"Hmm... No, Jin-hyuk, something seems off. You said you auditioned, right? Did they draw lots or something?"

"No, I auditioned."

"But, you're the Damyang Magistrate?"

Are you kidding? Even if the teacher who conducted the audition had no eye for talent, this was beyond that. Was it that they had no eyes at all?

Jin-hyuk scratched his head with a blank expression and answered,

"My acting wasn't bad, but it was decided based on the chemistry between characters."

"... Chemistry?"

Is he serious? Of course, if Kang Do-hoon was Im Kwon and Jin-hyuk was Pang Ja, the balance would be off. In a drama or movie, such casting would be inappropriate.

But if it were a drama or movie, Jin-hyuk would have been Im Kwon.

Kang Do-hoon got the role of Im Kwon because it was a school cultural event, an amateur play.

Naturally, with Jin-hyuk's acting, he should have been given a more significant role. That would have been fair.

Looking at how things were going,

"Setting up Kang Do-hoon as the lead, what kind of chemistry is that? Jin-hyuk, don't do this play. You're not the type to be a supporting actor in a school cultural event. I told you, you have the talent to be the best actor."

Yeon Seong-hoon felt as if something precious to him was being insulted. He was genuinely angry.

But Jin-hyuk said calmly,

"No, I decided to do it, so I will."

"Hey, Jin-hyuk."

"It will be interesting. Will you come to the performance, teacher? You're my acting teacher, after all."

"What?"

Seong-hoon stared at Jin-hyuk.

'What is this kid thinking...'

Where was the rich expression Jin-hyuk showed when acting? This impassive face gave no clue to his emotions.

Seong-hoon suddenly chuckled.

"Are you asking me to come see you play the Damyang Magistrate?"

"Yes, and not just me, Young-jun is also in it."

"Young-jun? What role is he playing?"

"Byeon Hak-do."

"Ha-ha-ha!"

Seong-hoon burst into laughter. As expected, the casting criteria were as he had thought.

'Is this kid naive or just good-natured?'

This smart kid couldn't be unaware of the reason for the casting.

He had always thought Jin-hyuk was mature. But to remain so calm in this situation was surprising.

"Alright, let's go. It's the first stage for my student, so I can't not go if you invite me."

Seong-hoon, smiling, thought,

It would be rare to see Jin-hyuk in such an insignificant minor role on TV or in movies in the future.

Thinking about it, it might have some meaning.

'I should record it.'

It would definitely be more than just a keepsake.

Seong-hoon smiled, thinking of a catchy headline.

***

The prestigious and traditional festival of Myeongseong High School.

Perhaps due to the strange tradition of never having rain on the festival day,

This year, as usual, it was a sunny day. The bright morning sunlight sparkled in every corner of the schoolyard.

The autumn breeze, rustling the leaves, stirred the hearts of those walking through the schoolyard with excitement,

"Ah!"

"Hey, help me with this."

The busy voices of students finishing up their department booths filled the schoolyard.

The auditorium, where the evening play would be performed, was bustling early in the morning.

The stage was set up more elaborately than a typical school cultural event.

To accommodate the audience in the large auditorium, several cameras and sound equipment were being installed to capture every corner of the stage.

"Wow—."

The children gasped in amazement at the sight of the large jib camera moving gracefully in the air.