Chapter 46: The Role that was already claimed.

However, in this industry, there were many people frantic to extract provocative articles regardless of the director’s will.

Once the audition ended today, whether the director wanted it or not, the world would be in an uproar with news of Yoon Sayoung’s participation in the audition.

The corners of Yoojun’s mouth crept up and then returned to their original position.

It occurred to him that although it would naturally be hard to find good words at first, it would be quite fun to watch how Sayoung changed that atmosphere.

And above all.

Yoojun glanced at Jaewoo sitting to his left.

Perhaps having poured all his attention on Yoojun, Jaewoo quickly turned his head, met his gaze, and smiled brightly.

Judging by his wits, it was clear Jaewoo didn’t know Sayoung was here.

Then Sayoung, who already knew the variable, had the advantage.

Could Han Jaewoo maintain his composure the moment he encountered Sayoung?

Imagining that made his heart flutter for no reason, so Yoojun willingly smiled back at Jaewoo.

****

In fact, Jaewoo had lost interest in this audition a long time ago.

Of course, since he considered his image extremely important and possessed a natural talent for embellishing himself in front of others, he was quite skillfully pretending to watch the participants’ acting carefully with concentration.

However, his head was full of other thoughts.

To give a proper reason, the audition was too boring.

There was absolutely no one worth watching.

The director probably wanted an actor with a fresh mask and charm that attracts people even if a little clumsy, but the problem was that even now, as the audition passed the midpoint and approached the end, there was no one particularly striking.

It wasn’t that there was no one worth watching at all.

Since it was such a good role, not only rookies but also many so-called talented actors participated.

Among them, there were certainly actors who suited the role of Seo Danwoo quite well.

But if they were going to pick an actor just ‘quite well suited’, why would they waste time and money holding an audition with all this fuss?

If so, it would have been beneficial in every aspect to just personally send the scenario and cast someone.

‘What a spectacle….’

Jaewoo thought inwardly while watching an actor acting while shedding tears in front of him.

He couldn’t understand how that actor interpreted the character of Seo Danwoo.

Claiming to have received only a very small part of the script couldn’t be an excuse.

At the very least, there were characteristics one could know just by reading a few lines of character description.

The explanation that Seo Danwoo had a fragile and pitiful appearance that naturally evoked protective instincts upon encounter wasn’t everything.

As stated in the character description, inside, he was a character with a stronger and more fiery soul than anyone else.

He was an upright figure who kept his loyalty to the end despite suffering all sorts of hardships between the Crown Prince whose life was threatened and the Grand Prince who constantly coveted the Crown Prince’s position.

However, most participants acting as Seo Danwoo seemed to have decided to focus more on expressing pitifulness than his spirit.

The reason was simple.

Because it was easy.

Escalating emotions while shedding tears could show much more attractive points in a short time.

It wasn’t that he didn’t understand, but seeing similar acting every time, it was true he got tired of it.

Normally, he planned to narrow the distance with Yoojun in advance by chatting about this and that during the audition, but perhaps because of the subtle discomfort he felt earlier, he didn’t feel excited at all either.

Waiting for the next participant to enter, Jaewoo barely held back a yawn and flipped through the documents of the now few remaining participants.

The moment he stopped all movements, held his breath, and opened his eyes wide was right then.

Yoon Sayoung.

That single name came clearly into Han Jaewoo’s eyes.

****

Yoojun quite joyfully enjoyed Han Jaewoo exuding anxiety with his whole body next to him.

He could notice that he realized Sayoung’s existence without even bothering to turn his head to look aside.

Starting from a certain moment, Jaewoo could hardly focus on the audition.

Although he pretended not to, Yoojun, who was paying attention to him right next to him, could feel his changes quite minutely.

But the reaction Jaewoo showed now was intense and explicit, unlike before.

Yoojun thought that not only he but others as well would have noticed such changes in Jaewoo.

Because Yoojun wouldn’t be the only one watching Han Jaewoo’s reaction here.

Those who attached great meaning to Sayoung saving Yoojun would watch this strange three-way encounter with interest, and those who were very interested in Jaewoo and Sayoung’s marriage life might be sympathizing with Jaewoo’s reaction and cursing Sayoung’s shamelessness.

Perhaps the ones really being auditioned were themselves, he thought.

In this messy three-way encounter, who would be more composed and who would crumble more?

Who would show a more unsightly appearance and who would be more agitated?

Those with the eyes of judges would be making solemn judgments with their own observation points.

“Finally, the next one is Mr. Yoon Sayoung.”

At that moment, it was Director Jung who spoke to Yoojun quietly and subtly.

Yoojun made a surprised face and looked back at the director.

The director was looking at Yoojun with a smile of unknown meaning.

When Yoojun asked back, ‘Yes?’, the director said again.

“I didn’t know he was preparing to start acting again.”

“Ah, Mr. Yoon Sayoung. Yes. I was surprised too.”

“A long time ago, I once saw that friend’s acting very favorably. I thought I wanted to capture him in my work someday.”

The director spoke with a generous laugh, as if he were a person who knew absolutely nothing about all the scandals surrounding him.

When reaching that level of position, there were many cases where they looked down on actors and treated them recklessly no matter how successful the actors were, but Director Jung was a rarely polite and courteous person.

Yoojun likewise smiled lightly and nodded.

“Ah, I see. I’ve also seen a few of Mr. Yoon Sayoung’s works.”

“He acts quite decently, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. Honestly, even though it wasn’t a genre I liked, there was an aspect that caught my eye.”

Contradicting his declaration to Sayoung that he wouldn’t give a speck of help regarding casting, Yoojun answered with a quite favorable attitude.

Anyway, if Sayoung messed up the audition, this kind of lip service couldn’t have any influence on someone of Director Jung’s stature.

Plus, seeing Han Jaewoo focusing all his attention on the conversation between the director and himself next to him was quite a sight, so even better words came out for no reason.

“Next participant.”

After a short organization, a staff member’s voice, somewhat more excited and tense, was heard.

Jaewoo took a deep breath, Yoojun straightened his posture, and the director, pushing up his glasses slightly, muttered as if to himself.

“Let’s see how he is now.”

Only then could Yoojun solve all the questions about why Director Jung didn’t particularly filter out Sayoung coming for the audition, why he didn’t stop Han Jaewoo from coming here even knowing their relationship.

And why he didn’t give a hint to Han Jaewoo in advance.

Director Jung clearly expected that if Sayoung maintained his past acting skills, he could be the actor who would express Seo Danwoo most beautifully as he envisioned.

Therefore, this audition wasn’t simply an audition to see acting ability only.

Even if Han Jaewoo was there.

Even if there was a complicated past between the two.

Even if people chattered noisily and gazes that were never friendly watched.

Still, whether Sayoung was really prepared to pull it off, the director wanted to check all of that.

Whether he could really entrust Seo Danwoo to Sayoung despite all those handicaps.

Yoojun straightened his back and caught his breath.

A tension different from the anxiety Jaewoo felt spread through Yoojun’s veins to his fingertips.

Like the director, Yoojun intended to check right here whether Sayoung really possessed the determination and ability to carry out this revenge to the end.

****

The moment Sayoung stepped inside, a sound of someone gasping for breath was heard from somewhere.

The surroundings were silent.

It was an atmosphere quite different from when other participants entered and everyone bustled about checking cameras and such.

Sayoung’s hiatus, having left the entertainment industry almost simultaneously with marriage, was a whopping 5 years.

In a flow where everything changes rapidly like these days, a gap of 5 years was never negligible.

It was enough time for someone who was sparklingly beautiful to become unrecognizable due to a dissipated life soaked in alcohol, or for a singer with an upright and sincere image to become a criminal exercising violence on the weak.

After news of his audition participation spread among the staff, a distinct Yoon Sayoung must have existed in each of their minds.

Some would have recalled his past appearance, but probably many expected a ruined appearance like the rumors.

Yoojun was willing to bet big money that most people here imagined Sayoung as venomous, soaked in jealousy and envy, unable to overcome inferiority complex, and ultimately divorced, created by Han Jaewoo.

And to such people, his appearance right in front of their eyes now must certainly be a shock.

Sitting with a fairly relaxed attitude, Yoojun appreciated Sayoung stepping onto the stage with a pale face and neat steps, and the surrounding reactions watching him.

Sayoung had clearly changed.

He was no longer a person with the fresh and lovely atmosphere of his 20s.

He was tired from long ordeals, somewhat broken, and because of that, became a person with a somewhat gloomy and cool atmosphere.

But surprisingly, that change made Sayoung charming.

Even if annoyed inwardly, even Yoojun had to admit it.

Instead of fresh and lovely, Sayoung was pitiful.

Though not warm like sunshine, he was beautiful like moonlight on a winter night.

Though not healthy like a flower in a greenhouse, he was like a wildflower swaying in the wind, sufficient to capture the eyes of passersby.

There was life’s sorrow in his pupils, and affectionate sorrow lingered in his eyes.

At that moment, very resentfully, Yoojun had no choice but to be convinced.

Seo Danwoo of the movie Summer Solstice was right there.

No one who appeared before could express Seo Danwoo better than that person.

Although he hadn’t even seen the acting yet, Yoojun felt the premonition rising violently within him with his whole body.