Chapter 30

30. Great Individual Skills

"It's been a little over two months."

"Really? I can't believe it..."

Jung Doo-il PD's words truly meant he couldn't believe it, his eyes filled with doubt.

Even if Wu Jin-hyeok was a former child actor, his acting was so good that it surpassed the norm. Yet, how could it be...

"It's true. I confirmed it with his parents."

Writer Han Yoo-kyung, reading the PD's expression, spoke.

"Writer Han, do you know Wu Jin-hyeok's parents?"

"No, I haven't met them. The principal of the academy Wu Jin-hyeok attends is Actor Yeon Seong-hoon. I confirmed it through him."

"Wow. That doesn't make sense..."

Jung Doo-il PD, with a look that found it hard to believe, tilted his head and asked Yeon Se-ryin.

"So, Yeon Se-ryin, have you been learning acting for a little over two months too?"

"Ah, no. I've been doing it for a few years."

"See?"

Only then did Jung Doo-il PD's eyes show acceptance.

Yes, if you've been doing it for a few years, it makes sense. Still, it's a special talent.

"Ah, by the way, Yeon Se-ryin is the daughter of Actor Yeon Seong-hoon."

"Ah, that makes sense."

Writer Han Yoo-kyung's explanation made Jung Doo-il PD nod. Yes, this is how the story should flow to be plausible.

Jung Doo-il PD still couldn't fully accept the implausible existence of Wu Jin-hyeok standing right in front of him.

"Hey, do either of you have any special skills? Or any talents? I'd like to see them."

Writer Han Yoo-kyung's request made Jung Doo-il PD's eyes widen.

His eyes said, 'Really? Special skills, out of the blue, for kids who can act like that?'

Writer Han Yoo-kyung, reading the PD's eyes, smiled.

"Isn't it curious to see what other talents such good actors might have?"

With a smile, she turned her gaze to Wu Jin-hyeok, their meaningful gazes meeting.

Actually, it wasn't out of the blue for Writer Han Yoo-kyung to ask them for special skills or talents.

What wasn't out of the blue was the call she received from Wu Jin-hyeok yesterday.

— Writer, can you request a special skill or talent from us at tomorrow's audition?

— Huh? If they have one, the participants will show it on their own. That's how auditions usually go.

But Wu Jin-hyeok insisted on the request. When she asked why, Jin-hyeok said:

— Se-ryin has a great talent for singing, but she's still passive. She needs a trigger.

— Really? For singing?

— Her passion for this audition is great. If you ask her to sing, she will definitely do it.

Before Se-ryin, Jin-hyeok asked to do his special skill first, naturally.

As a writer, Han Yoo-kyung had no reason to refuse. She was curious about what serious Jin-hyeok would do for a special skill, and she was also curious about Se-ryin's singing.

"I'll go first."

As agreed, Jin-hyeok stepped forward.

"Oh, okay. What are you going to do?"

"I'll try to mimic Charlie Chaplin's acting."

"Huh? Charlie Chaplin?"

It was unexpected. Jin-hyeok and Charlie Chaplin? Han Yoo-kyung was curious. She thought they were quite different, but that made the combination even more interesting.

Jung Doo-il PD, with a very interested look, said:

"Really, do kids these days know Charlie Chaplin?"

For Jin-hyeok, it was a question he couldn't answer. He wasn't a typical kid these days.

"Or did you prepare this knowing I'm a big Charlie Chaplin fan? How did you know? Maybe from an interview?"

Huh?

For Jin-hyeok, it was completely unexpected.

Jin-hyeok chose to mimic Charlie Chaplin's acting as his special skill purely because of James.

James, a die-hard fan of Charlie Chaplin, would often mimic his comical acting. That's how Jin-hyeok learned about the actor.

That was the reason he chose to mimic Charlie Chaplin's acting as his special skill.

But Jung Doo-il PD seemed to take Jin-hyeok's silence as a positive sign.

"Wow. Your acting is already impressive, and you even researched my tastes. I really like your proactive attitude. Ha ha! Let's see it. I'm really looking forward to it."

Jung Doo-il PD's expression was genuinely full of anticipation. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, and moved closer to Jin-hyeok.

"I'll start."

Jin-hyeok moved a few steps to the side and began to move with the characteristic comical gait of Charlie Chaplin.

"Ha ha!"

The employees burst into laughter at Jin-hyeok's comical performance.

Jin-hyeok, who had suddenly stopped, bowed his head slightly and began to make gestures as if encouraging someone to gain courage.

It was a performance without sound, like a silent movie, using only expressions and gestures.

"Oh ho—."

Jung Doo-il PD, a self-proclaimed Charlie Chaplin fan, lit up at Jin-hyeok's performance.

After a while, Jin-hyeok, as if finally convincing the imaginary person beside him, took his hand and walked out with a determined yet awkward gait.

He then stopped and made a gesture to the imaginary person, as if telling them to smile. The word on his silent lips was clear:

Smile.

"Modern Times!"

Jung Doo-il PD exclaimed the movie title as if answering a quiz.

"Is it the ending scene of Modern Times? Ha ha. Great job. Really great!"

Jin-hyeok, without speaking, smiled and then changed his expression.

An expression as if looking into the distance. A resolute yet sad expression.

Jin-hyeok's lips moved, and this time, lines came out. With a suppressed passion, yet with an uncontrollable intensity, the rapid lines poured out.

"Soldiers! Don't give yourselves…."

From the first sentence, Jung Doo-il PD's body twitched. The lines Jin-hyeok delivered in English were ones he knew well.

Lines he had memorized after watching the movie dozens of times. Lines that made his heart race every time he heard them.

The final speech scene from Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece, "The Great Dictator."

The protagonist, with a demeanor and tone reminiscent of Hitler, delivers a speech that precisely refutes Nazism.

Jin-hyeok, accurately mimicking Charlie Chaplin's English lines, seamlessly translated the stiff, broken English tone into Korean and continued the lines.

"Soldiers, do not submit to these beastly powers! They control your actions, thoughts, and feelings, treating you like machines and beasts, and ultimately using you as cannon fodder!"

Jin-hyeok roared. With a gaze filled with intense longing, he delivered the lines as if spitting out something.

"These beastly dictators have grown their power by promising a happy future, but it was all a lie. They have not kept their promises and never will."

The speech grew more intense.

"They! While they enjoy freedom, they have reduced the people to slaves. Soldiers, let us all rise together for our happiness!"

Jin-hyeok's tightly clenched fist trembled.

"You are not machines! You are not livestock!"

A brief silence, different from the original. Then, the final oration.

"You are human beings!"

After finishing the speech, Jin-hyeok, still unable to fully release the intense emotions, was breathing heavily.

He did not shed tears. This was acting. There should be no tears in this performance.

A comical character, yet with a paradox of sad eyes.

Like a comedian who must not laugh to make others laugh. Because it had to be intense, the raw emotion had to be suppressed.

But Jin-hyeok's heart was crying.

His heart was filled with uncontrollable tears.

The scorching heat that scorched the earth, the rising smoke, the pungent smell of blood...

Living as a combat machine, a castrated beast, in his previous life.

Unable to see himself as a human, distinguishing himself as a mercenary.

Yet, you are a human.

You were a human, are a human, and will be a human.

That's what Jin-hyeok was repeating with his suppressed tears.

It was an accurate mimicry of Charlie Chaplin's famous performance, yet it was also a unique performance by Wu Jin-hyeok.

Creak.

Jung Doo-il PD abruptly stood up. The chair fell backward, but he seemed to not care.

Human Jung Doo-il.

Before he was a savvy PD, he had a pure era filled with a desire for art.

He didn't want to say that his youthful rebellion against commercial dramas as non-art was entirely right.

But.

In a world where everything is evaluated by numbers—investment, box office, success—despite all that, he was still,

Jung Doo-il, who didn't need to be evaluated by anyone, just being human was enough.

Jung Doo-il was not Charlie, who had to hide his tears.

He was an audience member who could cry freely.

Human Jung Doo-il was biting his lip, tears streaming down his face.

"PD Jung..."

Writer Han Yoo-kyung was taken aback by the sudden tears of Jung Doo-il PD.

Was he always like this?

But she could guess the meaning of those tears. Her bewildered gaze turned to Wu Jin-hyeok.

'This kid said he would do a special skill. What... What unbelievable acting...'

And it was clearly just a special skill to give Yeon Se-ryin a chance.

Thud.

Jung Doo-il PD, overwhelmed by intense emotions, sat back down in his chair without saying a word.

The mad acting and the PD's responsive tears made the audition room solemn.

Writer Han Yoo-kyung was in a dilemma. Asking Yeon Se-ryin to sing as a special skill in this atmosphere seemed out of place.

But a promise is a promise. She cautiously spoke.

"Wow. When I asked for a special skill, you showed such an incredible performance."

Se-ryin, who couldn't take her eyes off Jin-hyeok, nodded in a daze at Writer Han Yoo-kyung's words.

"Se-ryin."

"Y-Yes?"

Se-ryin, called by Writer Han Yoo-kyung, looked at her as if coming to her senses.

"Se-ryin, you're not going to do acting as your special skill, right? I want to hear you sing."

"S-Sing?"

Yeon Se-ryin's eyes widened.

"Well, you're an actor, and there are times when you have to sing in dramas. I want