X
“Hyung… Jeonghwan?”
No.
That was his makeup—a pierrot’s makeup.
A crying face.
And that pierrot was different from Jeonghwan in height, build, and even the facial structure hidden beneath the makeup.
Without realizing it, Yejun’s body trembled.
It was frightening.
Maybe it was because he’d grown up watching so many American movies that used pierrots as horror elements.
A pierrot standing alone in the darkness inspired fear.
And yet—this was a character he loved so much.
The distance between them was about three meters.
Strangely, only the spot where the pierrot stood was lit.
Even at this close distance, there wasn’t a single speck of light where Yejun stood.
It was as if the pierrot alone were receiving a spotlight on a dark stage.
Instinctively sensing that this wasn’t a living being, Yejun swallowed hard.
In the darkness, the crying pierrot stood crookedly, head tilted slightly to the left.
Yejun hurriedly rubbed his eyes.
Was this because he hadn’t been sleeping well from stress after getting fired?
Then this meant he was dreaming.
Had he fallen asleep while reading in the break room?
At that moment, the pierrot raised its right hand—covered in a white glove—and snapped its fingers.
Snap.
Once again, the dark room changed.
The pierrot vanished, and a door appeared in the black space.
A wooden door that looked extremely old.
What the hell is that?
Looking around, Yejun realized there were no other exits.
That door was the only way out.
With no other choice, he swallowed and slowly stood up, reaching for the doorknob.
The door screamed as its ancient hinges protested.
Peering inside with a tense expression, Yejun’s eyes widened.
There was another pierrot.
But this wasn’t the human-sized pierrot he’d just seen.
This one had an oversized head and a short body—a small, doll-like pierrot—sitting in the center of the room.
“What… is this?”
Text appeared above the pierrot doll’s head.
[Pierrot’s Tutorial – Level 1.
Perform the following vocalization.]
Huh?
What is this supposed to mean?
The text vanished, replaced by a single line of radiant golden letters.
[Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Mm!
Mm!
Mm!]
Is this really a dream?
This was something he’d practiced nonstop from his entrance-exam days through his freshman year of college.
Looking around, he realized the door he’d entered through was gone.
There were no doors left in the room.
Panicking, Yejun felt along the walls, searching for anything resembling an exit.
There wasn’t even a hairline crack.
“What the hell is this?!”
Had he fallen asleep while working?
No—that couldn’t be.
He’d been discharged from the military just yesterday, and his stamina was one thing he was confident in.
There was no way a little part-time work would’ve exhausted him enough to knock him out.
A number appeared above the pierrot doll’s head.
[10,000]
Ten thousand?
What was that number?
Did it mean he had to do that vocalization ten thousand times?
Keeping his guard up, Yejun quietly followed the vocalization that had appeared earlier.
“Ah… ah… ah… mm… mm… mm…”
He half-assed it and waited.
Nothing changed.
The pierrot doll didn’t move.
The number stayed at 10,000.
No change in the surroundings.
If anything, it felt even scarier now.
‘Don’t tell me… I can’t get out of here?’
No.
He had to become an actor.
If only for his maternal grandfather, who’d grown corn in Gangwon Province to support him—he had to succeed as an actor.
He searched the walls again, desperately looking for a way out.
Nothing.
After more than an hour of fumbling around the room, Yejun finally collapsed in front of the pierrot doll sitting in the center.
“At least… it doesn’t seem like you’re trying to hurt me.
Right?”
If it had malicious intent, it would’ve attacked him already.
The fact that it hadn’t moved at all meant it wanted something else from him.
Yejun stared quietly at the golden number above the doll’s head.
‘Let’s just try it.’
He recalled the vocal training he’d learned in school.
The most basic of basics—training he’d once practiced diligently before gradually abandoning it.
Tensing his nose and abdomen, Yejun projected his voice loudly.
“Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Mm!
Mm!
Mm!”
The small room amplified his voice.
“…..”
Still no movement.
The number didn’t change.
But he wasn’t disappointed.
Because he knew—that vocalization hadn’t been correct.
“It’s been too long, hasn’t it?”
He hadn’t used his nasal or oral cavities at all.
The soft tissue behind the uvula was called the soft palate.
It functioned like a door.
By lifting it and using nasal resonance, one could project a rich voice that carried far while delivering precise pronunciation.
Like yawning.
Like retching.
Opening the entire throat—like swallowing a whole melon.
Recalling the fundamentals he’d learned in school, Yejun vocalized again.
“Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Mm!
Mm!
Mm!”
This time—it was right.
With hopeful eyes, he looked at the pierrot doll.
Still, it didn’t move.
“What do you want me to do?!”
He was sure he’d done it correctly.
Was this not the right method?
Why are you doing this to me?
I liked you.
Still seated, Yejun stared blankly at the pierrot doll.
He truly loved this character.
Not since childhood—but since college, after learning the pierrot’s story.
It had become his favorite character of all.
The pierrot who loved the most beautiful woman in the village.
Amid countless suitors, the pierrot loved her most desperately—and married her, living happily.
But one day, he learned that whenever she cried, her tears turned into diamonds.
Greed took hold.
If he made her cry, he wouldn’t have to work anymore.
So he deliberately made her cry.
Each time he gained diamonds, he went gambling, wasting them freely.
After all, tomorrow would bring more—as long as she cried.
He repeated this cruelty.
And one day, while he was out, his wife hanged herself from a roof beam.
Only then did the pierrot realize how deeply he loved her—and how horribly he’d treated her.
He stood before her grave, refusing food or drink for days, crying nonstop.
Claiming he had no right to cry, he painted a smile on his face.
And after days of mournful weeping, the pierrot died before her grave.
A foolish—but devastatingly sad story.
People laughed at the crying pierrot’s antics.
But once Yejun understood the sorrow hidden beneath, he came to love the character deeply.
So why… was that pierrot doing this to him?
“At least say something.
What do you want me to do?”
No answer came.
It felt like thirty minutes had passed.
If this kept up, he might even lose the part-time job he’d just secured.
Yejun stood.
Straightened his posture.
Engaged his core.
With his throat open like a yawn, his voice scraping along the roof of his mouth and shooting forward—like imitating the sound of a cicada—
“Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Mm!
Mm!
Mm!”
Then—
A sound rang out, like a coin being inserted into an arcade machine.
The golden number above the pierrot doll changed.
[9,999]
He felt no joy whatsoever.
Damn it—don’t tell me this was really the answer?
Why did he have to repeat something this stupid ten thousand times?
But he had no choice.
This was the only hope for change in this tiny room.
“Ha… this is insane.
Do I even have a choice?”
Even in school, he’d never done it more than a hundred times a day.
This was brutal.
“Screw it!
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Mm!
Mm!
Mm!”
Like solving a math problem where you understood the concept but not the formula—
All he could do now was brute-force labor.
“Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Mm!
Mm!
Mm!
Hey, damn it!
That one was perfect—why didn’t the number change?!”
***
“Aaagh!”
The moment the number above the pierrot doll hit zero—
The world turned white.
He’d thought his vision blurred from oxygen deprivation after all that vocalization.
But suddenly, he saw the floor of the staff break room.
It seemed he’d collapsed while screaming.
“Ghk!”
The abrupt change was shocking.
After being trapped in that room for ten days, performing precise vocalizations nonstop, his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his throat.
Still wearing clown makeup, Jeonghwan stared at him with wide eyes, water bottle in hand.
“What the hell was that?
You okay?”
“…..”
Was it really a dream?
Could a dream last that long?
Why did his throat actually hurt?
Jeonghwan helped him up.
When Yejun’s legs gave out, Jeonghwan hooked an arm under his shoulder and guided him back into a chair.
“You were just staring at your book, then suddenly screamed and wiped out.
What was that about?”
What?
I wasn’t asleep?
Jeonghwan asked urgently.
“Hyung—when did you come back?”
“…?”
“Me?
I came in like… a minute ago after smoking.
You looked super focused, so I was just grabbing some water before heading back out.
Then you suddenly freaked out.”
The clock on the wall.
He’d gone to dinner at six, finished eating in twenty minutes, talked with the team leader, and come back to check the remaining break time at 6:40.
Now it was 6:45.
‘O-only five minutes?’
Ten days.
Ten entire days of nothing but vocal training.
Watching that pierrot doll closely—because even the slightest mistake meant the count wouldn’t go down.
The one saving grace was that, in the dream, he hadn’t felt hunger or thirst.
Jeonghwan, watching Yejun’s frantic eyes, poured him fresh water and handed it over.
“Here, drink some water and get a grip.
Looked like you were studying acting stuff—did you focus too hard?”
“…..”
“Damn, acting majors really are different.
I’m lucky if I don’t fall asleep reading acting books.”
That’s not it, you idiot.
“Hyung… were my eyes open?”
“What are you talking about?
Of course they were.
You were even turning pages.”
“….”
“Though… your eyes were kind of weird.
Like they were empty.”
My eyes were open.
I was turning pages.
Then that means—I wasn’t asleep.
Jeonghwan rubbed the back of his neck.
“Man, I’m beat.
Maybe it’s because today was special duty with longer hours.
You okay?”
No.
I’m not okay.
I’m one step away from losing my mind, so don’t poke me.
Jeonghwan lightly tapped his shoulder.
“Alright, let’s get ready to head back out.
Let’s touch up our makeup in the dressing room.”
After Jeonghwan left, Yejun’s gaze drifted back to the book.
Something strange was happening.
Something very strange.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Villain Will Fulfill His Role. Start reading now!
Read : The Villain Will Fulfill His Role
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