Chapter 10

“Guys! The break is over! Let’s start again!”

At the work leader’s command, the other men rose one by one.

Some of them had already awakened from their naps.

Despite physical fatigue, my mind remained remarkably clear, much like yours.

Thanks to Senior Min Kyungsoo’s text message,

“My name is going to be featured on <The Talk Show>!”

While I won’t physically appear, my story will be shared for about 5 minutes.

That, too, is a good story.

Though I don’t expect it to elevate my status as an actor,

the smile doesn’t leave my face at the prospect of sharing the name ‘Kang Jinseok’ with viewers.

“Let’s work even harder.”

As I pledged to myself, thoughts of the upcoming audition filled my mind.

“In addition to the role of the Japanese police officer...”

Confidence surged within me. I believed I could embody the appearance and demeanor of a ‘real’ police officer from the Japanese colonial period.

Yet, there were concerns.

“What about the other role? It doesn’t seem likely they’d assign two roles to a single actor.”

This role, recommended by producer Kim Mansoo, undoubtedly promises to be a significant one.

However, despite navigating through numerous auditions, encountering a role labeled as ‘Other 1′ was a first for me.

After pondering for a moment, I shook my head.

“I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s absurd to fret over a role just because I cleared one audition. Snap out of it, Kang Jinseok. Be grateful for any opportunity, even if it means playing a minor role. Let’s focus on the task at hand and give it our all.”

With renewed determination, I gathered my courage and took another step forward.

***

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, the day of the audition had arrived. Standing in front of the audition studio, I took a deep breath.

“Whoop... Puha!”

“Do your best, Kang Jinseok! This is truly a golden opportunity.”

Upon entering the studio, as expected, there were numerous applicants. Among them, some would be my competitors, while others aimed for different roles.

Most of them seemed to be auditioning for minor or supporting roles.

‘I need to let them know that I’m here for the audition, but where are the staff? Oh, is that him?’

Upon glancing around, I noticed a group of people gathered inside the audition room. As I approached, I saw someone wearing a ‘STAFF’ necklace.

Let’s approach the staff-

“···uh?”

“···uh? Jinseok Kang? What’s going on here... Oh, do you want to audition for this one too?”

It was Kang Heeyeon AD. I don’t know why I’m here, but seeing a familiar face eased my tension a little.

“Ah, yes. “I also came to audition.”

“Hey... Will you do it in parallel with Producer Kim Mansoo’s work?”

“Rather than parallel... Actually, Producer Kim Mansoo’s work is a short role, so it’s over after filming it once. So, producer Kim Mansoo recommended that I look into this role as well.”

Kang Heeyeon clapped her hands and nodded her head.

“Got it. I see. All right. “I’ll check the list.”

“Thank you.”

After finishing the conversation with Kang Hee-yeon, I went to an empty chair and sat down.

‘···Everyone is staring.’

In fact, he deserved it.

If a guy came and talked to the staff in a friendly way and said, ‘The PD recommended it,’ everyone couldn’t help but get nervous.

‘I wasn’t particularly trying to attract attention...’

It’s good to get attention, but this kind of attention is not good.

Because the looks that are pouring in on me now are eyes full of envy and jealousy.

No matter how good I was at putting steel plates on my face, I felt uncomfortable with these looks.

I wasn’t very happy, but I wasn’t angry.

I felt like a child for getting angry over just speaking informally, and more than anything, with the audition coming up, I had to keep my mind as calm as possible.

While I was thinking about that, Lee Homin’s manager started looking for something on his phone.

Looking at the atmosphere, it seemed like they were searching for my name.

Lee Homin’s manager said, “Brother, I searched on the Internet, but I couldn’t find anything with the name Kang Jinseok.”

“Okay? But how did you audition for this role? Did your agency support you?” Homin Lee asked me again.

As I looked around, the atmosphere became even stranger, and applicants were watching me and Lee Homin with nervous eyes.

“It hurts my pride, why are they putting me together with an unknown rookie? It’s absurd.”

At those words, I frowned without realizing it.

‘···I’m the one who finds it absurd.’

This is the audition room.

For actors, an audition center is the same as a CSAT exam center for test-takers, and for people taking a certification exam, it is the same as a certification exam center.

In a place like that, it would be impossible to look down on another actor so openly.

Even famous, established actors act as cautiously as possible when auditioning.

Rather, I quietly go through the audition for fear of disturbing other actors.

‘Okay, let’s just ignore it. If you step out for no reason, the commotion could only get bigger.’

Poop is dirty, so avoiding it is the answer. If I hit it, I’ll get dirty too.

But Lee Homin seems to have been more of an embarrassment than poop.

“Hey, why aren’t you talking? Are you ignoring me? I know you very well as a senior. Why are kids these days so rude? It’s absurd.”

It bothered me that every word I said was considered ridiculous.

I thought that if I stayed still, they would get tired of the fuss and stop, but it looks like they will keep talking if I leave them alone.

‘If I keep doing this, other people will also suffer.’

I felt like I needed to say something.

I didn’t mean to look cool.

I just wanted to create an ordinary audition hall so that everyone could show off their skills at today’s audition.

He stood up and said, “Seniors. You keep saying it’s absurd, but I’m the one who is absurd.”

“What, what?”

Lee Homin looked quite embarrassed, probably not expecting to say something so boldly.

“An audition is a truly precious and desperate opportunity for someone. It’s not polite to behave like this.”

When I stated my point, Lee Homin this time held his tongue and trailed off.

“What, bad luck? Are you saying I’m being rude now?!”

“Then what else is it other than bad luck? It’s distracting other applicants from concentrating on their acting.”

“What, what? Are you trying to teach your senior now? You said everything?!”

“No. I still have a lot to say.”

When I spoke strongly without being pushed back, Lee Homin made an even more absurd expression.

So far, I’ve only met good seniors, so no matter what industry I go into, there will be people like this.

I had no intention of treating this person like my senior.

“To put it bluntly, isn’t the reason ‘Mr.’ Lee Homin is here now because he’s on the same level as us. If anything had been a little better, the producer or writer would have requested it separately.”

Lee Homin’s face turned bright red at the word ‘same level’. The manager next to him was looking at me and Lee Homin back and forth, not knowing what to do.

He continued speaking in a cold tone.

“If you want to be treated like a senior, act like one.”

“This person···!!!”

Lee Homin was speechless, perhaps because he could not overcome his anger. He said that was the last thing he wanted to say to him.

Something that could silence Lee Homin.

“And you said earlier that it would hurt your pride to audition for the same role as me, but if you are that confident in your acting...”

“···?”

“Let’s audition. If you get the role, I will treat you like a senior.”