“He stole the women’s hearts… what?”
Seeing the beggar’s finger pointing at him, Han Seong-tae blinked in confusion.
The person wearing a nametag labeled “Flower Beggar (꽃거지)” was creating a scene he hadn’t anticipated at all.
“Hey, what’s that guy talking about?”
Kim Min-seok asked from beside him, sounding bewildered. Meanwhile, Han Seong-tae quickly scanned his surroundings. The onlookers looked intrigued, the magistrate (사또) was staring over with gleaming eyes.
[“One Who Defined an Era” smiles strangely.]
[“A Man of a Thousand Faces” is curious how you will respond.]
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” thinks this situation is amusing and awaits your reaction.]
He quickly sized up the situation.
“Good heavens, Your Excellency! This is all a misunderstanding!”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Surprised by his sudden response, Kim Min-seok tried to stop him. But before Kim Min-seok could pull him back, Han Seong-tae stepped forward.
Taking two steps ahead to stand beside the “flower beggar,” he spoke up:
“This so-called ‘Flower Beggar’ is slandering me!”
“Hey now, you! Slander? Are you saying I’m lying or what?”
After a moment’s hesitation, the beggar’s eyes lit up in defiance.
“Of course it’s slander! What else could it be? Maybe it’s ’cause you’re a beggar and never learned any better, tsk tsk.”
“W-what was that? Who are you calling uneducated?”
“Well, if you were so educated, why’d you be working as a beggar? That’s a bigger joke, if you ask me.”
Arms crossed, weight on one hip, Han Seong-tae let out a mocking laugh. The beggar flinched.
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” laughs that the situation is turning into a riot.]
As the beggar hesitated, Han Seong-tae glanced sideways. The magistrate, who had been watching, was trying hard not to laugh.
“You two! Arrest them at once! They dare speak so rudely in the presence of the magistrate!”
“Seize them!”
“That one too—grab him!”
“Flower Beggar, you’re done for!”
Following the magistrate’s order, two constables approached, grabbing both Han Seong-tae and the flower beggar by the arms.
“I’m innocent, Your Excellency!”
The beggar loudly protested his innocence. Han Seong-tae got dragged over along with him. In front of the magistrate were two sets of stocks.
Wow, it’s been ages since I was in these things, thought Han Seong-tae.
He once appeared as an extra in a historical drama and had been locked in stocks like these. He hadn’t worn them again since then.
“All right, do you know your crime?”
“Your Excellency! I’m innocent! I only followed your orders to find the criminal!”
While the flower beggar protested loudly, declaring he’d done nothing wrong, Han Seong-tae simply stood by, quietly taking in the exchange.
“And you—have you nothing to say?”
The magistrate looked down at him, eyes gleaming with expectation.
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” says this is the most critical moment.]
Under the watchful eyes of the God of Acting:
“Sir Magistrate,” Han Seong-tae said, “if you keep this up, I might get upset.”
“…Huh?”
“Acting like you don’t know me at all. I didn’t think you’d be like this. We had such a good time back then.”
“Wh-what are you…?”
Pouting his lips, Han Seong-tae stared accusingly at the magistrate, who glanced around in a panic.
“W-when did we ever meet?”
“Wow… I never took you for the shy type. Am I that embarrassing to you? After what we shared…?”
“St-stop that!”
Boo! Hisses!
As the gathered crowd jeered and heckled, the magistrate hurriedly clamped a hand over Han Seong-tae’s mouth. Han Seong-tae gazed up at him with wounded eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m… hurt. You said if I came, you’d treat me nicely. Now you act like you don’t even remember me. If you truly forgot me, you’re hardly human.”
“N-no! How could I forget? Constables! What are you standing around for? Hurry up and release him!”
At the magistrate’s urgent shout, the constables swiftly unshackled Han Seong-tae. While he rubbed his wrists, the magistrate sidled over.
“All right, I’m sorry. I took the joke too far, didn’t I?”
“Hmph. I only came because you asked me to. For a second, I really thought you’d forgotten me.”
“Haha. As if. I was just playing around.”
“Tch.”
Still pouting, Han Seong-tae crossed his arms and turned away, showing not a hint of embarrassment.
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” bursts out laughing, clearly pleased.]
[“The Founder of Jeet Kune Do” turns his head away from you.]
[“One Who Defined an Era” says you’d probably look great in women’s clothes, sparkling with interest.]
He noticed a dangerously odd message but just laughed it off.
“Y-you! You…!”
The beggar, evidently blindsided, gawked at Han Seong-tae. The magistrate then hollered:
“You there, Flower Beggar! You’ve confessed your own crime! Punish him thoroughly!”
“S-Sir! No!”
The constables headed over to the beggar. Han Seong-tae looked back at the magistrate. Though the man was smiling, his face revealed some panic as he tried to steer the scene quickly to its conclusion.
Smack!
With a strike from the rod, the beggar clutched his backside and stumbled over to them.
“Whew… Magistrate, do you know what ‘eo-yi’ means in Korean?”
“…?”
“The handle of a millstone is called an ‘eo-yi.’”
He fiddled with his tattered clothes. The magistrate let out a dry laugh.
He’s using that line here? Han Seong-tae thought, instantly guessing the punchline.
“And right now, that’s how I feel—because I find this entire situation utterly eo-yi—‘unbelievable.’”
Wearing a triumphant grin, the beggar looked rather pleased with himself. Han Seong-tae smirked.
“Flower Beggar?”
“Huh?”
“Have you ever heard of the gonjang (bastinado)?”
At the mention of “gonjang,” the beggar’s eyes quivered. Realizing the tides had turned, he stared back pleadingly, as if to say please don’t.
Sorry, pal—if I was going to let you off this easy, I wouldn’t have started in the first place.
After all, he’d chosen to involve a random “outsider” in his performance, so he had to be ready to face the consequences.
“Bending over and getting whacked on the butt is called gonjang,” Han Seong-tae explained.
“…”
“And that’s how I’m feeling. There’s an empty spot on the gonjang bench.”
He stopped there and turned to the magistrate, who looked flustered. Han Seong-tae gave him a sweet smile.
“Shall we see that punishment carried out?”
The beggar’s scream pierced the air.
Thwack!
A clean crack echoed as the rod struck the beggar’s backside. Watching, Han Seong-tae winced involuntarily.
“Guh…”
The flower beggar couldn’t even scream properly; he just hopped around, clutching his rear.
“All right, Magistrate. I’ll be going, then.”
“Oh, right… travel safe.”
“Sure. Let’s meet again sometime.”
“Or never— I mean, whoops, that just slipped out. Feel free to drop by anytime.”
With a big grin, Han Seong-tae headed over to Kim Min-seok.
“Dude… what the heck was that?”
“What was what?”
“Was it staged?”
“What do you mean ‘staged’?”
Laughing softly, Han Seong-tae walked out of the government office with Kim Min-seok in tow. The reason he went along with the flower beggar’s bit was to immerse himself in casual, day-to-day performance and hopefully make his clown acting more natural.
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” is sure your clown act became even more convincingly playful.]
His hunch had been right on the mark. The folk village employees were well-practiced at performing in front of a live, everyday audience. Rather than scripted drama or film, they brought their roles to life continuously for the public.
There’s a lot to learn here, he thought.
So they really did hold auditions for these staff roles. Now that he’d seen their in-character performances, he understood what that meant.
“Min-seok, thanks,” he said.
“…Out of nowhere?”
“Nothing. Just… thanks.”
Kim Min-seok probably had no idea what he meant by that.
“Ready to head back?”
“Excuse me—”
A voice called just then, stopping Han Seong-tae in his tracks.
It was the flower beggar from the magistrate’s office, blocking their path.
“You’re the folks from earlier, right? I remember you. I can’t forget a face that handsome.”
“Is there something you need?”
“Oh, I never got to introduce myself properly.”
“Ah…”
He extended his hand toward Han Seong-tae.
“As you can see, I’m the Flower Beggar.”
“…I’m Han Seong-tae,” he replied, shaking his hand.
“You were really good earlier. Where did you study acting?”
“I’m currently at Korea University.”
“Wow, a good school. Which department?”
“Theater and Film.”
At that, the flower beggar let out a low whistle.
“Ahh… that explains it. I figured you must be skilled—handsome face and solid acting.”
“You’re the real pro here, though.”
“Pro? I didn’t even go to Korea U.”
“It doesn’t matter what school you went to. You debuted before me, so that makes you my senior.”
He was sincere. Where you act doesn’t matter.
“Really? That’s flattering.”
The flower beggar smiled awkwardly, scratching his cheek.
“Seong-tae… I can talk informally, right?”
“Of course, hyung (senior).”
“All right, then. You’re really polite, you know that? I saw how well you acted earlier—you’re going to do great things. People will love you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the praise.”
Han Seong-tae bowed his head with a smile, making the flower beggar laugh.
“Maybe I’m meeting a future top star. If you ever need a part-time gig, come on by. You’d ace the audition for sure.”
“Haha…”
Part-timing at the folk village—he wasn’t planning on it, but who knows how life unfolds?
He nodded with a smile.
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” says your acting has improved noticeably.]
[“A Man of a Thousand Faces” murmurs that it does seem better than before.]
Back home, as he practiced, Han Seong-tae saw new messages from the Gods of Acting. Thanks to his experience at the folk village, his portrayal of a clown had grown even more natural.
I think… I’ll be okay.
He was confident now he wouldn’t falter on stage. Then, just as he was about to pick up his script and practice some more, his phone chimed:
—We’ve started selling the new products today. Your photos are up, so check them out if you have a chance.
It was a message from Kim Mi-so, letting him know that the items from his photo shoot were now on sale.
Right, he thought, opening his browser.
[“One Who Defined an Era” nods, approving the editing choices.]
He found his pictures—big, front-and-center—on the main page of the “Smile” website. Though it wasn’t a video, the photos still captured his performance.
[“He Who Found Laughter in Tragedy” gives you a round of applause for your unofficial “debut.”]
It might not have been an official entry into the industry, but it was, without question, the first time Han Seong-tae’s acting was out in the world.
Notes:
gongjang (bastinado or flogging) was a severe form of flogging using instruments of various length and size.
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