Chapter 83

Chapter 83

“Did something good happen?” Dojin asked .

Maru took a look at himself through the mirror . Sure enough, he was grinning like a kid .

“Yeah . ”

“What happened?”

“Kids wouldn’t understand . ”

“Ugh, again with the adult bullshit . ”

Maru dodged Dojin’s attempted headlock and stood up . The smile from after meeting her still hasn’t left him . The air was sweet, and the nervousness from before was gone . Maru realized once again how much meaning she held in his life . He wanted nothing more than to start a family with her again and live a happy life . He wanted to meet their daughter again if he could . Surely this would be the case if god was benevolent .

“You don’t seem nervous, despite being in your first play . ”

Daemyung seemed very curious about Maru's behaviour . After all, the boy was struggling to keep his breathing normal . Actually, now that Maru looked around a bit, everyone else was like this . Even Dojin seemed a little nervous .

“Yeah . ”

“You really aren’t nervous?”

“Not at all . Are you?”

“A little . Actually, a lot . I’m even more nervous than before . That’s odd . ”

“You have a lot of lines this time . And even a solo scene . Plus… we definitely can’t fail this time,” Dojin said .

Everyone in the room turned to look at Dojin . The surprise of realizing the cause of the nervousness washed over everyone . Dojin quickly covered his mouth, but the deed was already done .

“Right . We can’t fail,” Joonghyuk said .

Maru sent a small glance over to the second years: Joonghyuk, Yoonjung, Danmi, Minsung . They all seemed even more nervous than the first years . Most likely because of the fact that this would be their last chance to act . He recalled Joonghyuk informing him about the second years’ plan on retiring after the winter competition . They would stay in the club even in their third years, but no longer active to this extent .

This play, as a result, probably meant a lot to the second years . The prelims for the winter competition would start right after this festival . Starting off strong here would give the club a bit of confidence before going in for the real thing . This festival purely existed for them to measure their current skill before the actual competition .

“You guys all heard, right? The instructor’s invited several critics for this . ”

Everyone nodded . They all heard the news this morning . Miso said she invited a few critics to review the club’s work as if it was the most obvious thing in the world . Thanks to this, the pressure on the club went up by another degree .

‘She’s going off strong . ’

Miso is most likely putting the pressure on them on purpose . During the summer prelims, the club messed up after getting interrupted by the audience . Geunseok’s mistake was the cause, but the entire club became messed up as a result . Due to this, Miso must’ve decided to train the club members’ mental fortitude a bit . She would beat them like a blacksmith forging a piece of metal . After enough heat, hammering, and quenching, the metal should become hard . A human’s mind was similar to this . With enough pressure, experience, and time, it would mature .

‘If we do this successfully, the stage fright for most of the club should disappear . ’

Of course, something completely unexpected could happen as well . If any one of the steps in the blacksmithing process went wrong, the metal would turn incredibly brittle and turn into something that would shatter easily . What would Miso’s strategy do for the students? Would they mature, or would they crack under the pressure?

‘We still have time . ’

Even if they mess up here, there was still plenty of time to recover . Miso was probably pressuring them with all that in mind . Once the club successfully finishes here, they’d be able to work on the next play much easier . Otherwise, they’d need some more time to recover again .

“It’ll be like summer all over again . We’re getting reviewed, but there’s no need to be afraid or worried . You’re probably nervous . I feel the same . But, it’s as the instructor always told us, we need to embrace this nervousness . We need to get used to it . We can finish this play with no mistakes . We can show the audience how complete we are . ”

Joonghyuk stretched out his hand . Everyone else did the same .

“Joonghyuk said everything I was supposed to say . But I’m still the president, so I should say something, right?”

Yoonjung smiled brightly .

“Blue Sky!”

The club threw their hands down .

“Fighting!!”

With that,

“Please get ready . Blue Sky will be up next . ”

The staff marked the beginning of their play .

* * *

“Are you really okay with not going?”

“I’m on break for today,” Miso said, looking between Ganghwan and Geunsoo .

She told the kids that she brought experienced critics, but there really was no way that she could call on people like that . So she just dragged in two of her friends, with a bit of threat mixed in .

“How are the kids?”

“Perfect . ”

“Well, that’s good to hear . ”

Ganghwan leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed .

“The chair’s nice and comfy . I think I’ll sleep well on this . ”

“You’re gonna sleep?”

“I mean, you said they were perfect . There’s nothing more boring than a perfect play . ”

Geunsoo nodded in agreement and prepared to sleep . Miso pouted and pinched the cheeks of her friends .

“Watch, you bastards, watch . ”

“Ouch ouch! I get it, I get it! Let go!”

“It hurts . ”

Geunsoo and Ganghwan returned to a sitting position in a hurry . They were both actors carrying big expectations in their respective fields . Geunsoo was slowly getting popular through an independent film, and Ganghwan often got good reviews through his plays . They were both very good friends, and also the perfect critics for this play .

‘They’ll help for sure . ’

Before the play started, Miso asked the two of them to review the play, along with some technical advice as well . Miso thought of herself as a critic, but she knew she was clouded by bias from their time spent together . Plus, she knew better than anyone that the club didn’t need compliments right now .

“Aren’t you expecting too much out of a high school play?”

Ganghwan said, rubbing his sleepy eyes .

“They were burned hard once already . They’re going to get first place this time, just you watch . I won’t let it happen again . ”

“Isn’t that just for your pride?”

“Do you really have to state the obvious?”

“Well, that was an obvious lie . ”

Miso stared at Ganghwan, who was smiling at her, before turning to Geunsoo .

“Did you call your brother?”

“Yeah . He still sounded pretty edgy, but not sad anymore . I think the trauma from the last play’s gone… Is it because of that mentor Junmin introduced him to?”

“Probably . She seemed pretty talented . She said she’d start off by complimenting him . ”

“Complimenting . . . ”

Geunsoo didn’t seem to like the word .

“Well, just watch for now . Try to come up with something you can tell them . ”

Miso sighed and turned back to look at the stage . Finally, the play was beginning .

‘It’s his first play, too . ’

Maru’s first play . The boy hadn’t shown anything special so far . He was good at progressing through the play, but he lacked the ability to attract empathy from the audience .

‘Man, I’m expecting way too much out of the boy . ’

Miso changed her thoughts . She shouldn’t expect too much here . Talent didn’t just bloom out of nowhere . Today, she just needed to focus on seeing what Han Maru, the amateur, was capable of .

But… on one side, she couldn’t help but get a little excited .

Miso thought back to the first day she took Maru to the Blue Sky theater . When she watched the boy read a script calmly on the stage, she realized she needed to put him on the stage . After several months, she finally managed to get him there .

‘I know I shouldn’t expect much, but I just can’t help it . ’

* * *

“There are so many people, gosh . I think all 600 seats are filled,” Soyeon said nervously .

“They’re not here to see us . They’re just here because of the event that takes place afterward . ”

Taejoon tried to respond calmly, but his voice was trembling a bit . The boy was right, though . There was a regional talent competition that took place after the acting event . That was probably what filled all 686 seats here .

“Alright, get ready . We just need to do as well as practice . Got it?” Yoonjung said .

The president’s words made everyone nod .

“Good luck, Maru . ”

“Yup . ”

The play would begin with Maru’s appearance . The ‘teenager’ character barely interacted with other actors . Instead, conversing with the audience . He would talk to the audience to engage them with the story .

* * *

“A character who breaks down the wall between the stage and the seats . ”

“The teenager is the critical factor in getting the audience engaged . ”

Geunsoo and Ganghwan were talking .

“Miso chose this play of all things?” Geunsoo whispered so that Miso wouldn’t be able to hear .

“I hear everything, Geunsoo . ”

Geunsoo shrugged and leaned back .

“He’s not wrong . If the teenager does badly, the entire play will go askew . ”

“Yup, that’s exactly the issue . ”

Geunsoo nodded at Ganghwan’s insight . He didn’t know much about Maru, only that Maru was a bit odd . But that didn’t make the boy automatically good at acting . As far as he was aware, the boy was just an oddly mature kid who liked to worry a lot .

Acting, through someone like that kid…

He knew Miso liked to compliment Maru a lot . Would the boy live up to her words?

“It’s beginning . ”

Ganghwan gestured towards the stage with his chin . The curtains of the stage lifted, and the lights slowly dimmed .

* * *

The audience became completely silent . All 600 of them . That didn’t sound like that many, but Maru was well aware of how big of a number this was, after working in the field himself . All of these people were quiet .

Suddenly, he became even more aware of the fact that he was on stage . Not that it made him nervous . As a matter of fact…

“How interesting,” he muttered .

That’s right . It was interesting . He was curious how the 600 people would look at him . As soon as he steps out into that dark stage, he felt something change within . How? He had no idea .

He was stepping into the unknown . And yet… He wasn’t afraid at all . Was something wrong with him? Was this a blessing? He hadn’t a clue . The audience’s breaths were clear to his ears . This was the breath of 600 people .

Maru opened his eyes . The glow sticker on the floor was the first thing to come into his vision . He focused on the x-shaped one in particular .

That was where the spotlight would be . He saw how it worked during the rehearsal . The operator up above would control it for him . The stage was completely dark . He couldn’t see the audience, and the only source of light he had was a single glow sticker on the floor .

“It began . ”

Someone’s voice . He didn’t know who it was from, but he was thankful for it anyway . It snapped him out of his daydream .

Maru started walking forward . Silently . Step, step . He tried not to make a sound . Eventually, he arrived at the center . It’s been ten seconds since the darkness came onto the stage . The audience should’ve gotten used to the darkness at this point . Perhaps some of them even recognized him on stage .

He could see the audience, too .

As soon as he realized that, a feeling of absolute comfort settled inside his stomach . At the same time, he felt himself cooling off . The temperature of his head cooled, and the heat in his chest flared just a little bit .

He never experienced this feeling before . But for some reason, he was confident that he would get used to it . Why? He wasn’t even sure he would continue acting right now .

Maru tried stepping on the floor a little bit . The sound of his feet hitting wood reverberated across the stage . He couldn’t see anything, but the sound helped him visualize the rest of the stage .

Whisper, whisper . He could hear people talking .

Maru stepped on the floor again . He could see colors within the darkness . A slight hint of color that started filling up the rest of the stage .

This was the stage .

Maru raised his head . He could see the audience . They were all enveloped in darkness, but somehow, he could make them all out .

600 people .

As he expected, this was an amazing number of people . His vision was entirely encompassed by people . He felt his breathing slow down, he was getting calmer now . As if he was visiting his hometown during the spring . It felt like he could just fall asleep right now .

Right then, the spotlight turned on around him . For a brief second, he couldn’t see the audience anymore .

His head spun for a second .

Maru closed his eyes . He could hear someone say ‘it must be beginning’ somewhere in front of him .

That’s right . The play is beginning . Maru raised his right hand and stroked his hair . He put that hand in his pocket with a relaxed demeanor and started walking to the right . The spotlight followed him . Maru raised his head a bit and looked up at the light . Then, he turned left . Again, the spotlight followed him .

The audience was following his movements too .

Now, instead of looking up at the light, Maru looked straight into the audience .

“Um, who are you guys looking at? Could it be me, by any chance?”

This was the first line that would crumble the wall between the stage and the seats .

Maru became the teenager .