—You’re going this Wednesday?
After finishing his call with Jeong Du-sik, Han Seongtae immediately rang up Kim Min-seok, so he could brag that he was going to an audition.
“Yeah, I’m set to audition at three.”
—Nice. You’ll pass for sure. Does this mean I finally get to see your face on a monitor for real?
“We don’t know that yet. There’s always the ‘what if.’”
—You’re not saying “if you fail,” huh?
Heh heh heh.
Hearing Kim Min-seok’s sly chuckle, Han Seongtae let out a small laugh of his own.
Kim Min-seok was a good friend who treated Han Seongtae’s affairs like his own.
‘I need to repay him.’
Talking with him, Han Seongtae nodded to himself, grateful to have someone like Kim Min-seok in his life.
Kim Min-seok didn’t have memories of their previous life, but Han Seongtae did. If Kim Min-seok hadn’t stayed by his side back then, wouldn’t he have hit rock bottom much sooner?
“Thanks for cheering me on.”
—If you’re thankful, pass the audition and buy me a meal. Let me finally taste a meal you pay for.
“Alright.”
He had money coming from Choi Ye-chan, and he had the money he’d earned modeling for Kim Mi-so’s shop.
He could easily spring for one meal.
‘I can earn money later anyway.’
Buying a cherished friend’s heart with a single meal. It was hardly a bad investment.
“Let’s grab food sometime.”
—Yeah, sure. (Who is it?)
Beyond Kim Min-seok’s voice, a familiar voice filtered in.
—Seong-tae’s going to an audition this Wednesday. (Really? That’s awesome. You’re talking to him now, right?) Yeah.
“Is that Mi-so noona?”
—Yup. (Hi, Seongtae!)
“Hello, noona.”
Her lively voice brought a faint smile to his lips.
As always, Kim Mi-so seemed like a cheerful person. Her voice alone could lift people’s spirits.
He chatted with the siblings, and before he knew it, an hour had flown by.
“I should get going. I need to practice.”
With the call showing no signs of ending, Han Seongtae spoke up first.
—Wow, look at the time. Sorry. You must be busy with practice.
“No need to apologize.”
He was always grateful to the two who cared about him.
—Let’s see each other next time. (See you, Seongtae. Good luck at the audition!)
“Yeah, see you. You too, noona. Thanks for the encouragement.”
When the call ended, Han Seongtae let out a small sigh.
Conversations with good people were always enjoyable, but they were still tiring physically.
[‘He Who Defined His Era’ says they’re good people.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ advises you to keep friends close.]
Reading the messages, Han Seongtae nodded.
They were good people, and he intended to keep them close.
‘Time to practice.’
All the more reason to work hard, so he could show them something to be proud of.
He opened his script and dropped into focus almost immediately.
Time passed, and Wednesday morning dawned.
“Mr. Han, over here!”
Just as he was leaving his place, a familiar voice made him turn his head.
In front of the one-room building’s parking lot, Jeong Du-sik was waving at him.
“Hello.”
“Hello. Please, get in.”
He even opened the door to a vehicle known to be used by celebrities, urging him to hop in.
At that, Han Seongtae hesitated.
‘I didn’t think they’d send a car for me.’
He hadn’t even filmed anything substantial yet, so he hadn’t expected the company to support him with a car.
Choi Ye-chan’s project hadn’t even been released; the outcome was unknown.
“We’ll head straight to the station.”
“Okay.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“In that case, could you open the bag in the back? I bought some sandwiches—take whichever you want.”
“Thank you.”
From the bag Jeong Du-sik mentioned, Han Seongtae pulled out a tuna sandwich, took a bite, and turned to look out the window.
The sky was crystal clear, without a single cloud, and the sandwich tasted great.
[‘Man of a Thousand Faces’ says this is where things truly start.]
His first audition since coming back.
As they headed to the TV station, a small, expectant smile played on his lips.
J TV’s station.
Han Seongtae passed through the automatic doors into the lobby.
‘He told me to wait in the lobby.’
Just as Jeong Du-sik had said before heading down to the underground parking garage, Han Seongtae waited there for him to return.
When he’d been moving around alone, he went where he pleased—but with a manager now, there was no reason to go off by himself.
‘There are four underground levels here… so twenty minutes should do it.’
He even factored in the possibility of the lot being full as he estimated the time it would take for Jeong Du-sik to return.
In twenty minutes, he could read a thousand characters of stage directions.
After glancing around, he moved to a bench tucked in a corner of the lobby.
An empty spot.
He sat, opened his script, and focused in an instant.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when—
“…Excuse me.”
The voice shattered his concentration.
He looked up from the script to see an unfamiliar face.
“…?”
He’d never seen her, neither in his past life nor this one.
Why was she suddenly speaking to him?
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before. What brings you here?”
At her question, he glanced around.
Jeong Du-sik hadn’t come back yet, and this stranger was asking how he’d gotten in.
‘A station employee?’
Seeing her business attire, he opened his mouth.
“I’m here for an audition.”
“An audition?”
“Yes, I’m slated to audition at three today.”
He made his reason for being there clear.
If she was station staff, the logic was simple: people with no business there had to be shown out.
He subtly showed her the script he’d been reading.
“My manager’s parking.”
“Ah…”
She stared at the script in his hands, hesitated, then nodded.
“If it’s at three, that’s for ‘Race Start,’ right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Sorry, may I have your name?”
“Han Seongtae.”
“Oh. So you’re the…”
“You know me?”
There was no way she could know him when he hadn’t appeared in anything proper yet.
At his question, she quickly shook her head.
“I’ve just heard the name before… Ah, isn’t that your manager over there?”
Watching her change the subject, he turned toward the entrance.
He saw Jeong Du-sik approaching, straightening his clothes.
“I’ll get going.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Good luck on your audition. I hope it goes well.”
“Thank you.”
At his words, she flashed a bright smile and stepped away.
As he watched her head toward the elevator, Jeong Du-sik walked up and spoke.
“Who was that?”
“Probably staff. I was sitting on the bench reading the script when she came over to talk.”
“I see.”
Nodding at Han Seongtae’s reply, Jeong Du-sik stared after her retreating figure.
Seeing that, Han Seongtae tilted his head.
“What is it?”
“Her face looked familiar for some reason… Shall we go?”
At his quiet mutter, Han Seongtae nodded.
Fifth floor.
Together they entered the audition room, and—
“…Huh?”
Catching sight of someone at the judges’ table, he blinked.
‘Why is she there?’
A familiar face.
‘I’ve never seen a script that yellowed.’
On the elevator up to the audition room, a small smile tugged at Jin Ja-rim’s lips.
Her brief conversation with Han Seongtae on the bench had put her in a good mood.
“He said his name was Han Seongtae.”
Notes crammed in the margins, the telltale signs of close study.
Seeing those traces of effort gave Jin Ja-rim a favorable impression.
It was the first time someone had analyzed and read her script that thoroughly.
‘I hope he acts well.’
Maybe it was because her first impression was so good, but she found herself hoping his acting would match.
If his performance kept pace with his effort, there would be no reason not to cast him.
“Something good happen?”
“Hmm?”
“You seem to be in a good mood.”
“Ah…”
Sitting at the judges’ table, Jin Ja-rim nodded at the man in the center: Nam Seok-dae.
If she had to put her mood into words, his description was spot-on.
“I hear we’ve got ten people auditioning today.”
“Is that so.”
“Yeah. Hopefully at least one of them can really act.”
Worry clouded Nam Seok-dae’s face.
The actors scheduled for today’s audition had all been sent by entertainment agencies.
“From the profiles, they’re all unknowns. Most haven’t even had supporting roles.”
The problem was that they were actors who hadn’t managed any real results yet—people their agencies didn’t expect much from.
“Let’s hope this isn’t a total bust.”
“Mm… I think we’ll find at least one decent actor.”
Unlike the heavily worried Nam Seok-dae, Jin Ja-rim didn’t look discouraged.
It seemed she had someone in mind to pin her hopes on.
Seeing this, Nam Seok-dae tilted his head.
Barely a week ago, Jin Ja-rim had been fretting right alongside him.
“Send them in.”
At his word, a station employee began ushering the actors inside.
Those gathered to land a spot in “Race Start” stood before the judges and delivered the best performances they could.
“Alright, thank you.”
“That was a good performance, but your projection is a bit weak. Fix that, and I think you can show even better work.”
“Your emotional acting is nice, but your expression looks the same every time.”
Neither Nam Seok-dae’s nor Jin Ja-rim’s expressions could be called pleased.
True to the fact their agencies had little hope for them, most of the performances were middling.
The turns passed, one by one.
“Next is… Han Seongtae?”
“Yes!”
At Nam Seok-dae’s call, someone in the waiting seats sprang to his feet.
Jin Ja-rim’s eyes brightened.
The young man from the lobby: Han Seongtae.
In his hand was a script worn to tatters.
“If you’ve prepared a piece, you can start right away.”
At Nam Seok-dae’s words, Han Seongtae began to act.
“…I think we’ve found him.”
At Jin Ja-rim’s murmur, Nam Seok-dae nodded.
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