Chapter 3

Villain Only Acting 003

Wouldn't He Fit the Role? (2)

Private Lee Jin-wook, the army killer.

One of the supporting roles in the drama.

He appears only in the first episode, serving as a device to awaken the protagonist, a rescue lawyer, in the early stages.

The young soldier, thinking it was just a routine overseas deployment, went to a Korean military base in the Middle East, where he witnessed a horrific war crime and suffered a mental breakdown.

When his seniors and officers tried to force him to become an accomplice, laughing, he lost his mind, and when he regained consciousness, he had shot them dead.

The local forces were eager to cover up the war crime, calling it "stress relief," and demanded that the soldier perjure himself.

But the soldier, haunted by the nightmares of dozens of children's bodies every night, eventually confessed everything to the protagonist lawyer and committed suicide.

Although he appears in only one episode, his role is crucial in awakening the protagonist lawyer early on, making chemistry and acting skills very important.

Song Jeong-woo suggested to writer Kim Sang-hee to raise the character's age to a non-commissioned officer or officer.

But Kim Sang-hee consistently refused.

- "The main audience is housewives. To make them empathize, we need to set up a scenario where they feel like it's their own son in such an unjust and difficult situation."

Wouldn't this guy fit the role well?

At least, the eyes, attitude, and movements he displayed just now were not something a mediocre actor could pull off.

He must be an unknown, unrecognizable actor.

Then,

"Sorry."

Jeong Se-hoon bowed as he released Kim Hyun-tae.

It felt like a long time had passed, but it probably hadn't been more than five seconds.

Jeong Se-hoon respectfully returned the stick.

"I got too absorbed in my audition practice and ended up being rude. I'm really sorry."

Only then did Kim Hyun-tae's pale expression start to return to normal.

"Phew, phew. Young man, you really reacted strongly. But don't just get absorbed in your role anywhere. It could lead to a big accident."

"Sorry."

"Ah, Hyun-tae. It's the audition today, isn't it? I understand if you're in a hurry. So, you're here for the 'Illegal' audition?"

"Yes, that's why I'm here."

Jeong Se-hoon bowed again, and Song Jeong-woo carefully observed his face and physique.

If he came for the audition, they would meet again in a few hours.

"I hope you get a good result."

***

Since instinct took the lead, now reason had to clean up the mess.

Jeong Se-hoon thought about the most natural way to get out of this situation.

He had experience navigating through even more brutal and tragic situations, making life-or-death decisions in mere seconds.

'Audition.'

He remembered there was an open audition today.

Judging by the man's attire, he was likely from the broadcasting station.

So, Jeong Se-hoon came up with the most natural and plausible excuse.

He had gotten too absorbed in his audition practice and made a mistake.

The man he had restrained still looked displeased and uneasy.

But when the senior, who seemed to be part of his group, smiled and wrapped up the situation, he had no choice but to accept the apology.

"So, you're here for the 'Illegal' audition? I hope you get a good result."

The senior, who seemed to be the superior, patted his shoulder and led his subordinate into the studio.

There was no sense of accomplishment or joy for having navigated a precarious situation.

In the battlefield, things were more urgent, dangerous, and comrades died right beside him.

Jeong Se-hoon, who had been watching their backs impassively, suddenly realized something.

The sound of footsteps approaching from behind indicated that the person was deliberately taking a wide detour to avoid him.

He deliberately did not turn his head to check the expressions of the people behind him.

Instead, his eyes fell on a script book that Jung Suyeon had briefly put down.

[Illegal: The Outlaws]

Jung Suyeon, who had been running, cursed as she picked up the box.

"Damn. What a mess."

"..."

"Ah, not about your face. Go home now."

"Home?"

"I told your mom. She'll give you a box about this size, so bring it back. We don't have time, so hurry."

"Could you have picked it up at once?"

"Shut up and go quickly. If you want to get paid."

The strange, sticky sensation in his mouth, like a grain of dirt stuck in his teeth, remained.

The concept of family, brought up by Jung Suyeon, made him feel uncomfortable.

From such small differences, he realized he was leaning more towards the soldier side.

If he had to be precise, it wasn't 50-50, but more like 30-70.

70% on the soldier side. Or maybe even more...

The fact that he kept objectifying himself as Jeong Se-hoon was evidence of this.

Jeong Se-hoon drove home.

His mother, who had finished preparing to go out, grumbled incessantly.

"Really, this girl. I said I have something to do this afternoon, and she's making me wait. I can't even go out. What is she doing?"

"Jung Suyeon... Why did she quit acting and become a production staff?"

He didn't ask out of curiosity.

It was part of his training to re-integrate into his daily life.

Like repeatedly lifting and lowering a dumbbell to build muscle.

A kind of rehabilitation training.

"Quit acting? When did she ever act? She never even passed a minor role audition. She just chased after audition sites, dreaming, and finally came to her senses."

"Is that so?"

Jeong Se-hoon responded with a lack of emotion.

This was also part of his training to blend back into daily life.

"You need to know your place. Just because people around you say you're pretty, you think you're the prettiest in the world? Acting isn't for just anyone. With a face that might barely make it into the last spot of a top 100 girl group, you think you can be an actor?"

Jeong Se-hoon pondered for a moment.

Should he have chuckled and laughed at this point?

But he didn't know how to laugh.

'The timing is already lost.'

"Still, it's better than being a prima donna who can't even function. I know it's frustrating for you, Se-hoon, but help your sister. If she meets a successful PD and gets a good marriage, that would be even better."

Jeong Se-hoon realized his mother was more pragmatic than he thought.

"There's a box on Suyeon's desk. Just take it. It's too heavy for me to carry."

"Okay."

Fortunately, his mother didn't find anything strange.

Still, he didn't relax and constantly checked his condition.

'I can't make the same mistake again.'

Through repeated cross-referencing of reactions, past memories, and records, he confirmed one thing.

'From a third person's perspective, my current actions and reactions are closer to Rashid's than Jeong Se-hoon's. I just have Jeong Se-hoon's face.'

His way of thinking is much closer to that of the soldier Rashid.

Jeong Se-hoon's memories are not opaque.

Perhaps because he spent the last three years in a perilous battlefield as Rashid, his soldier identity had a much stronger influence.

***

Jung Suyeon's peaceful room feels very unfamiliar.

It reminds him of the cramped and uncomfortable crew quarters of a combat ship.

A suffocating sense of oppression overwhelms him.

'I thought everything would be better once the war ended and I was discharged.'

Whenever the artillery fire paused, he and his comrades would talk about their lives after discharge.

They would start a business, open a factory, meet a hundred women...

Rashid also longed for and dreamed of life after the war.

He vowed never to look at such a tedious battlefield again and to hide if another war broke out.

But being thrown into this place in an instant, he misses the smell of the steel on the combat deck, like a separation disorder.

It must feel like this for a rookie pilot who has fallen behind the formation and is desperately searching for the flagship with a precarious fuel supply.

-Tick, tick, tick, tick.

A strange sound came from the window, and his body reacted before he could think.

Jeong Se-hoon turned and lunged, and the pigeon sitting on the window was startled and took off.

Its wings were too weak to fly away quickly, and in the next moment, its leg was caught in his hand.

The neural commands from his combat-trained brain put an unfamiliar overload on his current muscles.

He used his muscles too quickly and forcefully.

His muscles from his fingertips to his toes tingled, and he couldn't bear the pain, so he let the pigeon go.

The frightened pigeon fluttered away, and he stood there, staring at his hand.

All five fingers were trembling.

He raised his other hand to match them symmetrically. All ten fingers were trembling.

It was just the sound of a pigeon pecking at the window frame.

But at that moment, he was back on a mission searching a reed-filled field.

He had heard a similar sound then.

Tick, tick, tick, tick.

It sounded like a small beak hitting a branch, but it was the sound of the triggers being pulled on traps set by his comrades.

Explosions from all directions, soldiers screaming and falling, the world flipping upside down, and the empty eyes of dying comrades...

"Huh, huh... huh..."

Wouldn't He Fit the Role? (1)