“This is my mother.”
At Kim Rina’s words, Han Seongtae felt momentarily dazed.
The person standing before him…
It’s Lee Yeeun!
The musical actress Lee Yeeun.
She was quite famous.
Romeo and Juliet, Rebecca, etc….
The stages she’d shown in overseas musicals were the kind of thing people would talk about for a long time to come.
And someone like that was right in front of him.
“I’m Han Seongtae. It’s an honor to meet you, Senior Lee Yeeun.”
“You know me?”
“Yes! I know the musicals you performed in. Starting with Romeo and Juliet, then The Nutcracker, Rebecca….”
“Okay, okay. You’re a funny one.”
Lee Yeeun reached out and covered Han Seongtae’s mouth.
At that, Seongtae took a calm breath and looked at her.
“Didn’t expect to run into someone here who recognizes me. It’s been quite a while since I retired.”
“Even if you retired, there are records of the stages you performed on, Senior.”
“Right. Just like I heard, you seem very diligent. Our Rina said you, Mr. Han, practice an awful lot.”
“Ah….”
At her words, Seongtae nodded and glanced at Kim Rina.
At his look, Rina averted her eyes and turned her head.
“I enjoyed the performance. It was a really good stage. Your acting was good too, Mr. Han.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, I have one question… may I ask?”
“Yes, of course.”
Seongtae nodded at once, though he was curious.
What kind of question made her hesitate?
“Have you ever studied musical theater formally?”
“Pardon?”
“You come off like someone taught by an older, more seasoned person. I’m curious who you’ve been learning from.”
What was this about?
For a moment, Seongtae didn’t understand and tilted his head.
Did I learn?
If you counted the gods of acting, it wasn’t exactly wrong, but…
“I’m self-taught.”
Since he couldn’t explain them, Seongtae could only shake his head.
[‘The One of a Thousand Faces’ gazes at you silently.]
[‘The One Who Defined His Era’ blinks as if shocked.]
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ opens their eyes wide and lifts a hand to cover their mouth.]
At his words, the gods of acting each showed a reaction, but Seongtae, silently apologizing to them, looked at Lee Yeeun.
“Self-taught… you say?”
“Yes, I studied mostly through MiTube. I referenced a lot of performances by various actors.”
“Hmm….”
“Is there some problem?”
At Seongtae’s question, she quickly shook her head.
“No, no problem. It’s just… you act so well. I thought surely someone had been teaching you.”
“Ah….”
“To be that level and self-taught… You’re twenty-one? Right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Your future’s bright. Please look after our Rina. I think I’ll feel at ease if someone like you is looking out for her.”
Smiling as she spoke, she made Seongtae smile and nod as well.
Being close with Kim Rina was something Seongtae wanted too.
“Then I’ll be going first. I have something after this. Rina, see you at home.”
“Yes, get home safe.”
“Mm.”
As Lee Yeeun left, Seongtae blinked while watching her back.
Maybe because the encounter was so sudden, he felt so tense his back had gone stiff.
“Shall we go back and help strike the set?”
“Yes.”
At Seongtae’s words, she smiled and nodded.
[Korea University Dept. of Theater & Film Musical, Time of Revolution.]
[Just come watch it once. It’s good.]
On the Korea University community board, starting with one post, countless threads began to pop up.
Every one of them was about the 2nd-years’ musical, Time of Revolution.
“[The Theater/Film kids did it again.]
Anyone see the musical the 2nd-years did this time?
A few 1st-years joined in too.
They took Time of Revolution and did it properly.
I was just amazed the whole time.
But Han Seongtae… what is that guy?
I thought a real independence fighter had come back to life.
How can acting be that raw and desperate?
‘Crazy’ is the only word.
They did a popularity vote afterward and Han was just overwhelming.”
— Anonymous41: My girlfriend dragged me to it, and not gonna lie, it kinda blew me away. The directing was one thing, but the acting was wow….
— Anonymous77: Is there anything Han Seongtae can’t do? Good-looking, acts well, and now he even sings well. Dude’s living life on solo mode.
— Anonymous16: He really does act well. No wonder he debuted already. Han Seongtae—that guy’s the real deal.
The community was flooded with talk of Time of Revolution.
With firsthand accounts from people who saw it live, things got pretty lively.
“[Han Seongtae, what’s this guy’s deal.]
I’m class of ’19, and this is the first time in my life I’ve been floored by a far junior’s acting.
Makes you think he didn’t debut for nothing.
Watching this musical, I just thought: some people are simply made for it.
Guy’s living life all by himself. I’m sick with envy.”
— Anonymous17: I’m ’19 too. Han Seongtae, he’s the one from Race Start, right? And now I see he’s in the War of Villains trailer too. He’s something. He’s only just become a sophomore and he debuted faster than us.
— Anonymous66: Honestly, it’s like he lives in a different world. Even the way he dresses is like watching a model. I saw him once at a cafeteria. Their year’s hit the jackpot.
— Anonymous76: From what I hear he goes to Seoul Action School too. He got some heavy connections or what? I heard he’s an orphan, but looking at what he’s doing, it doesn’t seem like it.
Among the students who took part in the musical, talk about Han Seongtae circulated especially widely.
He’d left a very strong impression, and he was one of the few who’d already debuted and shown good results.
For people chasing the same dream, taking interest in Seongtae wasn’t strange at all.
“The reactions are so good it’s almost too much.”
But to Seongtae himself, the responses were a bit baffling.
He figured anyone who worked hard could do what he did.
He acknowledged he was good at acting to a point, but he didn’t accept that he was exceptional.
In the end, what I’m doing now is thanks to the gods of acting.
Which is why he pushed himself to work even harder.
Bzzzt.
While Seongtae was skimming the community posts, a vibration made him glance at his phone.
— Ahn Jaewoo (class rep): You seen the board? The reactions are crazy good. Everyone’s talking about our musical.
— Choi Hyerim: Yeah, I saw it. We’re getting tons of praise! Especially loads about Seongtae.
— Ryu Daehyeon: For real. Other departments keep saying Han Seongtae acts so well. Is Seongtae in this chat?
— Ahn Jaewoo (class rep): Not sure. Isn’t he busy? He doesn’t just do this musical. Might be prepping something else.
— Ji Seokwoo: True. He always seems super busy. Isn’t “War of Villains” opening next month?
— Choi Hyerim: I heard it’s next month too.
Seongtae quietly watched the thread in the group chat.
His friends praised his acting, then soon the conversation blossomed into talk about War of Villains.
When they said they were really looking forward to it, Seongtae nodded along.
Bzzzt.
He had just started typing something, thinking he should at least say a word, when the screen went black and a familiar name appeared.
— Seongtae, time to take on a new project, yeah?
At that, Seongtae smiled and nodded.
“Oh, you’re here.”
As Seongtae came into the company lobby, Jung Dusik approached with a welcoming grin.
“Been a while, huh? You doing well?”
“Yes, I’ve been well. How did that out-of-town thing go, hyung?”
“Ah, that? Just a simple event. Wrapped it up fine.”
“You worked hard.”
At Seongtae’s words, Jung gave a light laugh and shrugged.
“Let’s go up. Team lead’s waiting.”
Seongtae nodded.
The day Jung had called, he’d mentioned they might meet with the team lead too.
“You’ve got some offers in. Go take a look. A few seem pretty decent.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’re good at action, right? There are some good ones in that lane too. You’ll see for yourself.”
Seongtae nodded that he understood.
It wasn’t that he distrusted Jung’s eye, but there’s nothing like checking in person.
[‘The One of a Thousand Faces’ cranes their neck at news of a new project.]
[‘The One Who Defined His Era’ is curious what you’ll choose this time.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter in Tragedy’ says you’ll do well no matter what you take.]
Above all, he had the gods of acting with him who could help him choose good scripts.
With them, he could pick many strong projects.
“Mr. Han, welcome.”
“Hello. Have you been well?”
“I have. I watched your film and the musical. You were very good. Dusik really knows talent when he sees it.”
Min Najung praised Seongtae’s acting, citing A Day (Haru) and Time of Revolution.
At her compliments, Seongtae smiled awkwardly and nodded.
“These are the projects that came in for you. Even a broadcast network wants you. Race Start must’ve done a lot for you.”
“I’m grateful they think well of me.”
Taking the scripts she handed him, Seongtae chuckled.
There were four scripts in all.
Every one of them action-related.
As he looked them over, Seongtae’s eyes narrowed slightly.
They’re all action. Or thrillers.
It was true Seongtae was specialized in action, but he also felt confident he could handle other genres.
This time, he wanted to do something different from what he’d done so far.
None of that here.
While Seongtae was checking the scripts…
“Which one looks good to you?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Take your time. Nothing urgent. Whatever you do, you’ll do well.”
At her words, Seongtae laughed.
He felt the same way she did.
He was excited to see what projects he’d take and how far he could go.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ is watching you.]
He was certain of one thing: his future would never be a solitary road.
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