Knock, knock.
Han Seongtae reached out and knocked on the office door.
“You’re inside right now, correct?”
“Yeah, I contacted them earlier too.”
Nodding at Jung Dusik’s words, Han Seongtae saw the door open right away.
Through the opened door, one person only stuck their head out, peeking as they looked over Han Seongtae and Jung Dusik.
“Who…?”
Before Han Seongtae could say anything, Jung Dusik stepped forward and spoke.
“I was in contact with the director earlier. If you tell him Actor Han Seongtae is here, he’ll know.”
At Jung Dusik’s words, the woman who had been on guard went, “Ah,” and nodded.
“Please come in. The director is waiting inside.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Following her guidance inside, Han Seongtae turned his head and looked around.
Several worktables and posters of projects Yeon Jaehun had worked on so far came into view.
“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go get the director.”
She went into a meeting room inside the office.
While looking around, Han Seongtae spotted one poster.
‘That Year, the School.’
It was a work he had seen before.
It was not so incredible you could call it a masterpiece, but…
‘It felt fresh because it was filmed with only rookies.’
A twelve-episode drama made up only of newcomers, without using established actors.
A zombie premise and a story that took place in a school.
It was a fairly fresh concept, and it was also a work that received favorable reviews because the rookies’ acting was better than expected.
“He says you can come in.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go in.”
Han Seongtae and Jung Dusik entered the meeting room through the open door.
“Welcome.”
Yeon Jaehun smiled and offered them seats in front of him.
“Jiyeon, please bring some tea here. Green tea is okay, right?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, for me, cold water is fine.”
Han Seongtae nodded, and Jung Dusik spoke.
“You’ve been well?”
“Yes, I’ve been well. What about you, Director?”
“As for me, well, I’m always the same. I’m doing fine.”
Clink.
Tea was set down in front of Yeon Jaehun as he spoke.
“Thank you.”
Han Seongtae smiled and dipped his head slightly toward her.
“Ah, right. This is Lee Jiyeon, the assistant director working under me. Say hello to each other.”
At Yeon Jaehun’s smiling words, Han Seongtae turned his head.
“I’m Han Seongtae. I look forward to working with you.”
“I’m Lee Jiyeon. I should be the one asking that.”
They exchanged a brief greeting.
“The audition is in three days, and you heard the general information, right?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“Good. There won’t be much for you to do at the audition, Seongtae, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. For you, Seongtae… um. Ah, right. It’ll be easiest if you think of it as looking over the actors you’ll be acting with in advance. Just, if there’s someone you think is a decent actor, say what you feel as it comes. We’ll handle the rest ourselves.”
At that, Han Seongtae smiled.
He could clearly tell Yeon Jaehun did not want to put a burden on him.
To begin with, from Yeon Jaehun’s perspective, he likely did not think the opinion of a first year actor would be much help.
If it were usual, Han Seongtae would not have tried to step forward either.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ is a little excited to see what kinds of acting there will be.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says it’s their first time going as a judge rather than applying for an audition.]
But this time, it felt like he could not just sit still.
Because there were great figures looking forward to the audition.
“Seongtae.”
“Yes, Director.”
After the talk related to the audition ended.
“I enjoyed the cosplay. It had quite a vibe, you know?”
Han Seongtae could see the mischievous smile lingering at the corner of Yeon Jaehun’s mouth.
“It’s embarrassing. I just did it to make memories with people I know. I don’t think I’ll do it again.”
Cosplay is enough once.
“Why? I loved it. To the point I want to use it in this project too.”
“…Pardon?”
“If you’re going to do it, you should do it properly, shouldn’t you? Let’s do a costume once in ‘Haru’ too.”
At Yeon Jaehun’s words, Han Seongtae could not help freezing.
It felt like one more plan he had not expected had just been added.
“Go on in.”
Han Seongtae left the office.
Creak, thud.
Seeing the office door close, Yeon Jaehun moved and sat down on the sofa.
“Director.”
Lee Jiyeon came up to him and spoke.
“Yes, go ahead.”
She had kept her mouth shut the entire time during the meeting with Han Seongtae.
Yeon Jaehun lifted his head, and he could see her face filled with questions.
“I don’t understand why you’re showing Actor Han Seongtae this much interest.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Yeon Jaehun could not understand Lee Jiyeon’s words.
It was only natural for a director to take interest in the lead actor.
Yet Lee Jiyeon was asking why he was interested.
“It’s true Actor Han Seongtae’s acting is decent, but he’s still only one year in.”
“That’s right.”
“Honestly, there are actors who act better than Actor Han Seongtae, so I don’t understand why you’re working with him. Of course, I’m sure you have your reasons, Director, but…”
At her continued words, Yeon Jaehun let out a dry laugh.
“I think it would be good for you to develop your eye for people more, Jiyeon.”
“…Pardon?”
“Seongtae is different from other actors.”
The moment she compared Actor Han Seongtae to other actors, Lee Jiyeon’s shortcomings were showing.
Yeon Jaehun still could not forget how he felt when he first watched Han Seongtae act.
“There’s something in Seongtae’s acting that others don’t have.”
Han Seongtae’s acting was not ordinary.
How could it be ordinary, when within a single performance you could see several kinds of performances?
‘As if several actors are inside one body.’
Every time he watched Han Seongtae act, Yeon Jaehun felt something new.
He did not know exactly why he felt that way.
“What do you mean?”
“As you live in the world, there are things you can’t explain with words.”
“Ah…”
“That’s how Seongtae is. I’m still figuring it out too.”
Yeon Jaehun did not tell her what he was feeling.
How could he explain something he himself did not fully understand?
“If you’re saying that much, Director, then I guess there really is something.”
“You might not know right now. But once filming starts, you’ll know then why I said that.”
She might not know right now.
In everyday life, Han Seongtae was a simple, ordinary man.
But the moment he began acting, she would understand for sure.
Why an actor named Han Seongtae was special…
Because he was someone who shone when he acted.
「[One line summary of Halloween.]
Everyone knows what Halloween in Itaewon is like.
All kinds of cosplay show up.
It was the same this time too.
Everyone was crazy about cosplay so I’m telling you, you could see all sorts of things.
Starting with skulls, every kind of movie and animation character showed up.
But one couple completely tore up all that cosplay.
A Batman and Catgirl couple.
Wow. The moment I saw them, I automatically thought, this year’s Halloween closer.
It’s not like there was only one Batman, but in front of these two, none of them could even hand in a business card.
There was a butler too, but he didn’t even catch my eye. Anyway, for this Halloween, all you need to know is the Batman couple, that’s what I’m saying.」
—YapYap: It really was amazing. The cosplay quality itself is low, you know? But the people made it. They’re wearing masks but you can still feel the handsome man and beautiful woman vibe.
—SeochoDongAnimalFist: I didn’t really like Batman, but after seeing Korean Batman, I started liking him.
—OneHundredShotsOneHit: Batman and Catgirl were both insane. I’ve never seen someone who looks that good in full body tights. It’s a shame you can’t see their faces, but the masks were charming too.
—IWillPierceYourGlabella: But those two are a couple, right? If you look at them walking together, it seems pretty obvious. They match so well.
“People actually know what they’re talking about.”
Looking through the community reactions, Kim Rina lifted the corners of her lips slightly.
Everyone was talking only about Halloween.
Saying Batman and Catgirl were legendary, the best couple, and so on.
There were a lot of pretty funny posts.
“Rina.”
“…Yes?”
At the voice beside her, she lifted her head and immediately found Kim Cheolmin sipping coffee right next to her.
Sitting with his legs crossed, his eyes were staring hard at Kim Rina’s face.
“Are you enjoying school life?”
“Yes, I’m enjoying it. I have good friends, and I also have a senior I respect. The musical ended well too.”
At her answer, Kim Cheolmin quietly set his teacup down.
A senior she respected.
“Could that senior you respect be a friend named Han Seongtae?”
At his question, Kim Rina did not answer right away.
But seeing the corners of her lips slowly rise, it felt like he had heard the answer without needing to.
“I…”
Just as Kim Rina was about to speak.
Bzzzz.
The smartphone in her hand buzzed and lit up brightly.
“Ah!”
Her face brightened in an instant as she looked at the screen.
“Yes, senior! Did you see my text?”
At the sight of her scrambling and running up to the second floor, Kim Cheolmin could only let out a dry laugh.
‘That’s probably Han Seongtae, too.’
Looking toward where Kim Rina disappeared, Kim Cheolmin rubbed his chin.
Recently, Kim Cheolmin had noticed Kim Rina’s face had become much brighter.
When she first came to Korea, she always looked gloomy.
‘A kid who seemed like she’d never do musicals again started doing musicals again.’
It was definitely a good thing.
Just the fact that she had changed and gotten better was enough for Kim Cheolmin to feel satisfied.
Wasn’t she a child who had come back with so many wounds from abroad?
But because of that, it was inevitable for him to worry whether she might get hurt again, just as she was finally starting to get better.
‘I didn’t pay enough attention.’
Kim Cheolmin reflected on the fact that he had been indifferent to his daughter.
Now, for his daughter’s sake too, he had to change.
“Where did I put Director Yeon’s number…?”
Kim Cheolmin muttered softly as he stood up.
—Jung Dusik: Seongtae, come down.
At the text from Jung Dusik, Han Seongtae smiled and stood up.
The meeting with Yeon Jaehun ended, and three days had already passed before he knew it.
—I’m coming down now.
After replying to Jung Dusik, Han Seongtae gathered his things and left the house.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ slightly lifts the corners of their lips, saying today seems like it will be fun.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ looks at you with an excited face, saying it’s finally today.]
The day of the Haru auditions had dawned.
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