Chapter 16: No Way Out

Sigh.

He let out a long breath and began taking out his writing utensils to place them on the desk when he noticed a light on his screen and picked up his phone.

As he checked the message that had just arrived, his pale face crumpled in an instant.

[Manager: Chaewoo… is this you??]

[Video File Attached]

A single video was attached to the chat window.

When he pressed the play button, dark CCTV footage appeared.

Though the sound was muffled, a man could be seen stumbling through the sandwich shop’s window, which had been left gaping open due to the car accident.

Anyone could tell by his wobbling gait that he was a drunkard.

‘Is that a thief?’
Chaewoo turned up the screen brightness and focused more on the footage.

The man, who had entered with inexplicable confidence, soon dragged three of the shop’s tables together and proceeded to lie down on top of them.

A moment later, a second man with a tall stature and large frame entered and woke the man lying on the tables.

“…….”

His memory was hazy, but the nuisance in the brightening footage was undoubtedly Chaewoo himself.

The video ended only after Euigeon hoisted him up—as he resisted and refused to leave—and dragged him outside.

Even while being carried out over Euigeon’s shoulder, he was seen flailing with all his might in rebellion.

Shit.
I’m screwed.

[Me: Manager, I’m so sorry… I drank that day and got too drunk…]

[Me: Did I damage any equipment? I’ll compensate for it.]

[ Manager: [So it really was you… No, nothing was damaged. Haha. You just moved the tables around.]

[ Me: ….I am truly sorry.]

[ Manager: [Drink in moderation next time. Haha. We’ve installed the new windows, so you won’t be able to get in anymore even if you’re drunk lol.]

Chaewoo started typing [I only had one glass of beer…] but deleted the sentence immediately.
His face felt like it was on fire from the shame.

[ Me: I will ㅠㅠ]

[ Manager: Alright. See you later this evening~]

As the conversation ended, Chaewoo gritted his teeth.

His head spun from an overwhelming wave of embarrassment, upon embarrassment, upon embarrassment—the likes of which he had never experienced in his life.

‘Please leave as soon as possible once you wake up.’

The words written so concisely and bluntly, as if the writer were fed up, flashed through his mind.

He felt like he could clearly see the exact sentiment with which they were written, and his consciousness began to fade into a daze.

Furthermore, with what face was he supposed to look at the manager when he went to work tonight?

To think he had done something so insane and yet had no memory of it.

Just how much soju had been poured into that beer?

“Where is that piece of trash, Jeong Taehyun?”

Chaewoo looked around, fuming with rage.

****

Tuesday morning, 10:00 AM.

When he arrived at the basement practice room on time, a large number of people had already gathered.

Perhaps because it was the first rehearsal, the atmosphere was chaotic.

He had heard that aside from the lead roles, the rest of the casting hadn’t been finalized yet.

Chaewoo planned to apply for a role with almost no lines or for a position on the assistant directing staff.

Winning a significant role would only increase the amount of troublesome work he had to do.

“Oh, Senior Chaewoo! Good morning!”

Jeong Taehyun, who was in the corner, greeted Chaewoo cheerfully as soon as he entered.

That shameless brat.

Even though Chaewoo had searched the department like a hawk yesterday, he was nowhere to be found.

As Chaewoo stared him down in silence, the junior avoided his gaze and awkwardly slunk back to his spot.

“You, see me later.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Jeong Taehyun flinched and answered in a barely audible voice.
Just thinking about the trouble he’d caused with Beom Euigeon and the manager because of him….

As he tried to calm his anger by shifting his gaze elsewhere, he locked eyes with a face he didn’t want to see.

“What is he doing here?”

Chaewoo muttered in disbelief.
Euigeon was staring back at him with an equally stiff expression.

“Alright! It looks like everyone is here, so let’s do a roll call!”

A booming voice filled the practice room.
The gazes of the people scattered about converged in one place.

Chaewoo also blended into the crowd, wondering how Beom Euigeon had ended up participating in this troublesome creative opera.

If he had known he was in it, he would have run away no matter how much the professor tried to persuade him.

Absolutely nothing was going right.

A woman who appeared to be a senior member came to the center and called out names one by one.

The singers for the major lead and supporting roles were called first, and Chaewoo’s name, being unassigned, came toward the end.

From Chaewoo’s class, Beom Euigeon, Jeong Taehyun, and Jo Seeun were participating.

Looking at the members, they were all students the professor particularly favored.

It seemed those three were likely playing supporting or minor roles that influenced the plot, even if they weren’t the leads; however, since Chaewoo was the only one who hadn’t heard anything about the opera’s content, it became clear the professor had just shoved him in as a manual laborer to fill the numbers.

From the moment he saw Euigeon, Chaewoo wanted to throw everything aside—assistant directing or whatever—and run home.

And he wanted to tell Euigeon, who was glaring at him with wide eyes as if asking why he was there, that he too was actually a victim.

“As announced, the leads and supporting roles for ‘Benigni’s Last Train’ have been cast. Today, we’ll simply distribute the scores and character sheets. We’ll also cast the minor singers here on the spot.”

Chaewoo barely suppressed his urge to bolt and quickly read the character sheet he was handed.

To be honest, he hadn’t expected much from a small-scale creative opera, but the story was surprisingly interesting.

It followed the extraordinary events a man named Benigni encountered with the people he met while traveling the world by train in the 19th century.

It was as dramatic as the opera ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ created by Mozart and Da Ponte, but with a distinct period feel and clear character traits.

He had been planning to slip away into assistant directing and do odd jobs, but he thought it might actually be fun to stand on stage, even briefly.

If the opportunity arose, he coveted the role of ‘Tinto’ among the minor roles listed at the very bottom, which had a solo part (though less than a minute long) and appeared several times in the chorus.

The fact that the character was a tragic recessive Omega lover who loves ‘Paolo,’ a married man and dominant Alpha soldier, gave him pause, but it was just a script after all.

Although Tinto’s appearance was brief, the role required skill since it included a solo part.

‘Should I give it a try?’

A spark of curiosity flickered in Chaewoo’s dull eyes.

As he focused on analyzing the character for a while, the casting began before he knew it.

It was exciting to see quite a few people with decent performance skills among the candidates for the minor roles.

“Next, we’ll proceed with the casting for the role of ‘Tinto.’ Since this is a male Omega role, I’d like the vocal range to be tenor. It shouldn’t overlap with baritone. Tinto’s lover, Paolo, is a baritone, so there needs to be a sense of distinction.”

A long desk was set up at the front of the practice room, where the scriptwriter, director, and musical director sat as judges to conduct the casting.

As soon as the scriptwriter finished speaking, Chaewoo raised his hand.

“There are many applicants.”

The writer said, scanning the practice room.

Only then did Chaewoo check who else had applied for the role of Tinto.

There were three others besides him who had raised their hands.

Perhaps because it was a session for casting roles that were fairly average and lacked weight, most other roles only had one or two applicants.

Furthermore, matching Tinto’s original characterization, the three besides Chaewoo were all Omegas.

‘Is Tinto really that advantageous a role?’

As Chaewoo tilted his head and walked forward, he felt a disapproving gaze piercing him from

Euigeon, who was standing at the edge.

‘Why is he glaring like that?’

Chaewoo was starting to get annoyed by the reaction that had been particularly grating since a while ago.

‘What are you going to do if you glare? If you don’t want to see me, am I supposed to just stop attending school?’

With a ‘whatever happens, happens’ attitude, Chaewoo ignored the stinging gaze.

He waited for his turn, and when it came, he stepped forward to perform one art song and act out Tinto’s lines.

Since there were only a few lines, they were easy to memorize.

“My lover Paolo, you said you loved me! After desiring my body like that last night, how can you say you’re leaving? I gave my soul, my youth, my body all to you!”

True to a melodrama, the lines were appalling, but since traditional operas were overflowing with even stranger content, everyone seemed to take it in stride.

A moment later, after the applicants’ singing and acting were finished, the judge spoke.

“The second person who performed… Mr. Seol Chaewoo? Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Surprisingly, Mr. Chaewoo might suit the role. But you said you were a Beta, right?”

“That is correct.”

“Tinto is an Omega, but the actual singer doesn’t necessarily need to be one. Your vibe and voice seem to match Paolo well. Especially when you perform.”

Fortunately, it seemed his singing had pleased the judge.
Chaewoo’s lips curled up slightly in pride.

“Don’t you think he matches Euigeon visually, too?”

“I think so as well. Then shall we go with Seol Chaewoo for Tinto? Since they’re both students at Yeonseo University, I think their chemistry will be good.”

“Pardon?”

Chaewoo’s beaming face froze in an instant.

“I think this couple will have an impact. I agree as well.”

When the last judge gave the okay, Chaewoo was decided as Tinto in an instant.
Chaewoo was the only one left in a daze.

“Congratulations.”

“…….”

“We’ll move on to the next character.”

‘What? Beom Euigeon was playing the role of Paolo?’

The next casting proceeded before he could even think of a way to recant.
However, Chaewoo couldn’t easily recover from the shock.

“Whoa, our Senior Seol Chaewoo is incredible! You totally owned that audition stage! I knew you’d get it the moment you applied for Tinto. I was cheering for you from the back!”

Jeong Taehyun approached, clapping boisterously.

Though it was their first meeting, the other minor singers nearby also offered their congratulations as a courtesy.

Among them, Euigeon also clapped quietly.

With an expression that suggested he wasn’t congratulating him at all.

Though he didn’t say anything, his eyes said he was absolutely disgusted.

‘Ah, I’m going crazy.’
Chaewoo returned to his spot, rubbing his forehead.

His throat was dry.

‘It’s too much to be just a coincidence.’

A moment ago, he couldn’t concentrate because of the eyes that were looking at him like he was a stalker.

The first day’s orientation was wrapped up swiftly once the casting was finished.

The next rehearsal was on Friday.

Because of the shock of unintentionally winning the role of Euigeon’s lover, Chaewoo didn’t even realize how time had passed.

He couldn’t lift his head out of shame for winning the role of an Omega lover after beating out a competitive 4:1 ratio for a minor role.

“Senior Seol.”

He was hurriedly packing his bags to go home when someone grabbed his shoulder.

When he turned around, Euigeon was standing there, as expected.

He pointed toward a small back door in the corner of the practice room, away from the main door people were using.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”