Pen and Paper Translations

Early in the morning, I arrived at the rehearsal room of the British RUN production team that I had visited the day before.

Uncle, who had rested well yesterday, came with me today.

We had not looked into renting a car yet, so the two of us took a taxi here.

Surrounded by people chattering away in English, Uncle was so tense that he greeted every person who passed by.

“H-hi! Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, are you the newcomer’s manager? Nice to meet you.”

The actors greeted Uncle much more gently than they had regarded me yesterday.

Thanks to that, Uncle gradually began to relax.

Though he still had not let go of the English conversation book in his hand.

“Siwoo, how are you feeling?”

“Good. The bed in the hotel Yisu booked for us was excellent.”

Jessica, who had been checking on the troupe members’ conditions, welcomed me.

When I said my body felt much lighter now, Jessica spoke as if surprised.

“Really? I suppose young bodies adapt quickly. You flew for twelve hours, after all. I would definitely be exhausted.”

“Haha, that doesn’t sound like Jessica. Every time you call, you’re in a different country.”

“Thank you, Siwoo. For saying that.”

Beside us, Yisu sighed in relief and rubbed his chest.

It seemed he had been worried that the preparations might be inadequate because they had called me so suddenly.

“Then warm up for a while. We’ll begin with the scenes Jonathan isn’t in.”

“Yes, sounds good, Jessica.”

After pointing me toward the stretching mats, Jessica called the troupe members together.

“Today, let’s start with the scene between Nixon and Bella.”

“Yes!”

One corner of the rehearsal room had been arranged like a makeshift stage.

It was raised about one step above the floor, and although there were not many, several lights had been installed there.

Mirrors also surrounded the area, allowing the actors to check their physical condition themselves.

They had clearly paid more attention to facilities like this than they did in Seoul.

No wonder England was called the holy land of theater.

I could only marvel at how thoughtfully the rehearsal room had been equipped in so many ways.

Gordon, who had argued with me yesterday, and a middle-aged actress stepped onto the makeshift stage.

Oh, she must be the actress playing Bella.

She looked much younger than Noh Yeonghui, who had played my grandmother in Korea.

I figured she would probably wear a little more makeup for the actual performance.

The two briefly exchanged a few words, then immediately began acting.

“Whew, Bella! I’m home. Is Johnny doing well?”

“You never even contacted us. Did you ever think about Johnny?”

Gordon hurried in from the far corner of the stage. Playing Nixon, he delivered his lines while enunciating each word with unusual care.

Watching him made me laugh.

I would have to quietly ask Jessica later whether Nixon was normally played in that tone, or whether Gordon was doing it because I had brought up his Scottish background yesterday.

“Come now, Mother. Aren’t you even going to welcome your only son?”

“…Mother, my foot. Since when have you ever called me that so sweetly?”

The British Bella seemed even more blunt than I had expected.

Still, the dialogue definitely felt more natural in English.

Was it because the original work was American?

“Haha, Mother, honestly. By the way, where is my son Johnny? I don’t see him.”

“He went out on a quick errand.”

“Ah, then he can pack his things as soon as he comes back.”

“…Pack his things?”

At Nixon’s sudden words, the actress playing Bella, who had been moving her hands as if knitting, stopped them dead and asked.

Her facial acting was good.

Without fully revealing her thoughts, she properly conveyed her surprise.

“Come now, weren’t you the one who never particularly welcomed Johnny? I’m back now, so of course I should take him with me!”

That made Nixon’s line, spoken so cheerfully without understanding what his mother Bella was feeling, seem natural.

I continued watching the British team’s acting and nodded along.

I could clearly feel how high their level was.

The actual performance would take place on a larger stage, but the makeshift stage in this rehearsal room was by no means small.

That makeshift stage alone seemed slightly larger than the stage for Bisangcheolddo 777, which said plenty.

Only two people were filling that huge stage without a single prop or backdrop, yet it did not feel empty at all.

Controlled movements and precisely measured projection.

They knew from experience how to use a stage.

Even from these short scenes, that was abundantly clear.

“Once that child leaves, I truly won’t have anything left to look forward to.”

Bella continued her line so clearly that it carried across the stage, even though she was not wearing a microphone.

This rehearsal room did not even seem designed to make sound reverberate loudly.

Yet even a murmured line could be heard this well.

Her vocal projection had truly been honed to a fine edge.

“This house will grow dark again. ……I should ask Johnny to buy me more candles before he leaves. There won’t be much reason to light a fire after that.”

Bella’s lonely line.

She still carried the same bluntness she showed while Nixon bustled around the house, but she made the listener feel her sorrow.

Watching the woman who would play my grandmother, I called back the emotions of Johnny that I had forgotten.

My Johnny, whom I had portrayed for a little over two months beneath the hot lights of a large stage.

I had already memorized every line.

Back then, I acted in Korean. This time, it would be in English.

But that did not matter.

Acting in English, which had once been my mother tongue, would be even easier.

Before coming to England, I had already completely memorized the English script for RUN that I received in advance, reading it at home and on the plane.

Listening to Bella’s voice, I gently closed my eyes.

Preparing to step into Bella’s darkened house and kindle a fire inside her heart.

---

“Siwoo, you aren’t asleep, are you?”

“Of course not.”

After the actors finished one round of their scene, Jessica announced a break.

While I sat with my eyes closed, reviewing Johnny’s emotions, Jessica teasingly asked me,

“What do you think of the British team’s skills?”

“They’re excellent. Though I think they feel a little different from the Korean team.”

Nixon had been given more of a bold, outgoing quality, while Bella was somewhat less warm and affectionate.

That was probably because their emotional sensibilities differed from those surrounding Korean family relationships.

However, the essence of what RUN wanted to say had not changed at all.

The process of becoming a true family.

I thought we could portray that part well with the British Bella too.

As I explained these thoughts one by one, Jessica listened attentively, nodding with an interested expression.

It seemed I had accurately identified her directing choices.

“That’s right. Even with the same play, the directing choices change slightly depending on the audience. Now that a cast member who staged the Korean production with me has arrived, we can have conversations like this. It’s interesting.”

“I’m glad, then. But doesn’t controlling teams in several countries over such a short period give you a headache?”

When I pointed out the difficulties from a directing perspective, Jessica burst into loud laughter.

Perhaps she found it amusing that a child actor like me would say something like that.

I had genuinely been worried.

“Oh dear, I’ve made Siwoo worry about me. But it’s all right. That’s also part of the pleasure of staging performances in several countries. Do you want to jump in right away?”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”

I readily nodded.

In fact, I had been eager to get onto the stage as quickly as possible.

After watching the stage for RUN again after so long, my body felt restless with the desire to become Johnny.

“Good. Then shall we rehearse with Johnny now?”

At Jessica’s energetic call, several actors nodded.

At the same time, I felt a sharp gaze from beside me.

What was that?

When I turned my head, Gordon was glaring at me with blazing eyes as though he wanted to devour me.

Apparently, he was still holding onto what I had said yesterday.

Good grief. What a petty man.

Seeing him, I gave my shoulders a shrug.

“Ha.”

Gordon let out a disbelieving scoff.

Well, it did not bother me much.

Once I showed him my acting, Gordon’s attitude would soon change too.

There was no reason to keep humoring an immature father who criticized me before he had even seen me act.

Still, after watching him play Nixon, he did not seem like someone who treated acting carelessly.

He appeared quite serious about acting…… and I was secretly looking forward to seeing how that gaze would change after he saw my performance.

---

“Okay, Siwoo. Let’s take a short break.”

At Jessica’s call, the actress playing Bella and I, who had just finished a scene, caught our breath.

Before stepping down from the makeshift stage, I spoke to the actress with whom I had just performed.

“Emily, your line just now was wonderful.”

“I could say the same. Honestly, I was a little shocked.”

Emily, who played Bella in the British production, spoke candidly after our first round of rehearsal ended.

She meant that my acting had startled her.

Seeing her shake her head in amazement, I asked mischievously,

“Did you not believe Jessica either, Emily?”

“…It wasn’t that I doubted her judgment. But the child who ran away was eight years old. Jessica’s direction was demanding, of course. As a professional, he should have endured it, but perhaps it was too harsh for a child actor. Then you suddenly appeared, and they said you were five. You were a full three years younger. We couldn’t help feeling anxious. Try to understand us a little.”

“Well, my age always seems to be the problem.”

When I casually shot back that I wanted to hurry up and grow older, Emily laughed as though amused.

Apparently reassured by my easygoing attitude and lack of resentment, Emily smiled and added,

“I think our attitude yesterday was rude. I’m sorry, Siwoo.”

“It’s all right. I knew things would soon turn out like this.”

That was why I had wanted to simply show them my acting yesterday.

Jessica must also have believed they would settle down once they saw me perform, which was why she had simply told me to rest yesterday.

“You’re incredibly confident, aren’t you? …Though you certainly have the ability to justify it.”

Emily could not stop expressing her admiration, saying she had genuinely thought Johnny had stepped straight out of the original work.

Seeing that, I sent Jessica a playful look.

Bella’s heart had been conquered.

Jessica stood smiling with her arms crossed, then discreetly raised a thumb.

Now, let’s see. Who was left……?

The other actors had also gathered in small groups, discussing the performance I had just given.

Judging from all their bright expressions, the anxiety they had carried seemed to have been completely erased.

I turned my head and searched for Gordon, who was nowhere easy to spot.

“Up we go.”

I hopped down from the makeshift stage.

Ah, there he was.

Gordon stood stiffly in the far-left corner, staring back and forth between me and the stage as if he could not believe what he had seen.

What was there to be so shocked about?

Jessica had proclaimed it so confidently, but judging from that expression, he apparently had not believed her at all.

I decided to stop paying attention to him and was about to take a step forward when the British troupe members rushed toward me in a crowd.

“Johnny, Johnny! Oh, no. Siwoo. What was that just now?”

“That was incredible! Siwoo, what are you? What on earth did you just show us?”

“Haha, everyone, please calm down.”

The thoroughly excited troupe members spared no praise, saying it had been truly amazing.

“Your pronunciation is perfect too. Every word comes through so clearly. How can you speak English this well when it isn’t even your mother tongue? And with a completely authentic British accent!”

“Where did you learn to act? Hm? Tell us your secret.”

Hmph. Surrounded by the troupe members, I looked toward Jessica.

Jessica raised one eyebrow and grinned as though to say she had known this would happen.

It had not even taken three hours to capture the hearts of the British troupe members.