Aura of a Genius Actor

Chapter 35: One of Them is My Actor

༺ One of Them is My Actor ༻

Whoaaaaa—

Just now, Seo Ryu Shin’s performance had ended.

Massive applause and cheers resonated throughout Betty Hall.

From the beginning, the audience had fallen in love with the actor on stage.

Dr. Jekyll was as pure and noble as the untouched first snow. A demeanor so refined and elegant that it naturally brought smiles to those who watched.

It was as if they were witnessing a real-life angel.

That was all shattered in Act 1, Scene 3.

Hyde smiled innocently like a child and trampled an old pedestrian with his foot.

He kept both hands in his pockets as if he didn’t want to get them dirty.

From the back of the stage, Assistant Director Ji Hyung peeked through the curtain and contemplated Director Yu-ri’s evaluation while looking at Ryu Shin’s performance.

— Shin Yoomyeong’s Jekyll and Hyde might have a good emotional connection with the audience and high immersion, but the one who initially steals the show would be senior Ryu Shin’s Jekyll and Hyde.

And so it was.

From behind the stage, Ji Hyung faced the audience and could faintly see the expressions of the people in the front rows.

It was as if they were shuttling between heaven and hell, utterly enthralled by the extreme character transformations.

And that tension was maintained all the way to the climax in Act 2, Scene 7.

“…Show me the truth.”

At those words, Hyde gulped down a bottle of medicine in one go. And then…

Unlike the bizarre and spasmodic transformation of the previous day,

Swoosh—

It changed smoothly and gently, like flowing water.

A subtle change began to ripple calmly, similar to waves.

It was a method of connecting expressions that was famous in method acting.

Ryu Shin asked Yoomyeong how he managed to bridge two entirely different expressions, and Yoomyeong relayed the advice Miho had once given him.

And after a grueling month of practice, he had successfully mastered it.

From a devilish expression to an angelic one, the transition was uncannily smooth.

The audience shuddered at the eerie transformation.

‘Even without a sample, he’s impressive. Truly an actor who fits the term ‘chameleon’…’

Ryu Shin was worthy of acknowledgment as a rival.

Yoomyeong gave generous applause to Seo Ryu Shin’s performance, which he saw in the audience for the first time.

*

On Gwanak University’s homepage, student square.

Today, there was an unusually high number of posts with the header [Wanted].

———————————————-

[Wanted] Looking for a ticket for tomorrow’s 3 PM Oedipus performance.

If anyone cannot attend, please let me know.

I’m willing to purchase it even above the MRP value, as long as it’s not too expensive.

[Please suggest a price if you’re selling.]

———————————————-

└What’s going on here? Posts like this have been popping up since yesterday. Is this some viral marketing?

└(Original) I watched the Thursday performance and it was legendary. I want to see it again.

└It’s not marketing. Our tickets sold out a week ago. – Oedipus Planning Team

└(Original) Oh no. Do you have any spare tickets, even just one? Please, I beg you.

└I wanted to watch the Friday Dr. Jekyll performance, but couldn’t because it was sold out. Why do they unnecessarily double cast…

└I’ve seen both versions. Thursday was amazing, too. I’m going to watch both the morning and afternoon performances tomorrow. This is a show that should be watched in all its rounds.

└Because of people like this, I couldn’t get a ticket. Please restrain yourselves.

Indeed, it was sold out.

A unique cast and a striking poster.

With the combination of Oedipus’s reputation, Seo Ryu Shin’s stardom, and the newly risen star Shin Yoomyeong, this Oedipus performance sold out faster than any other.

One post on the school website’s internal event promotion corner had an unusually high number of comments.

———————————————-

[Club Event] Oedipus: <Jekyll and Hyde> Fall Regular Performance (74).

———————————————-

A single photo file was attached to the main text.

It was a performance poster that the planning team had put a lot of effort into.

On a screen divided into four sections with alternating black and white, Dr. Jekyll by Ryu Shin, Hyde by Ryu Shin, Hyde by Shin Yoomyeong, and Dr. Jekyll by Shin Yoomyeong were vividly contrasted.

└I’m really looking forward to the performance. Oedipus, fighting!

└Ryu Shin never disappoints!

└I couldn’t get a Ryu Shin ticket. I settled for the Thursday one, will it be okay?

Initially, the comments were filled with anticipation, support, and doubts.

└Wow… this Oedipus performance… is no joke.

└I’m a theater fan, and I dare say the Oedipus performance was better than some of the recent professional ones I’ve seen in Daehak-ro.

└Shin Yoomyeong. I didn’t even know this actor, but I was completely captivated. From now on, I’ll watch any show he’s in.

└I couldn’t get a ticket even in the flea market. By any chance… is anyone here selling their ticket?

They were quickly flooded with glowing praises.

00:00.

The clock at the bottom of the homepage reset, cleanly erasing the day and starting a new countdown.

Today was the last performance day of <Jekyll and Hyde>.

*

A man with messy curly hair and horn-rimmed glasses crisscrossed the main campus, looking around.

‘Please, this time…!’

The man pulled out a notebook from his pocket. In it were the names and performance schedules of many college troupes and amateur theater groups. Most of them were marked out heavily with a pen.

Only two names remained at the end.

<Jekyll and Hyde> – Gwanak University Theater Arts Performance. 031129, 15:00, 19:30.

<Dreamer> – Yonhak University Drama Team Performance. 031129, 19:00.

There were a total of three tickets in the man’s pocket.

He had reserved both times for the Gwanak University performance because of the double casting, but he planned to switch to the Yonhak University show without hesitation if he wasn’t satisfied after the first show.

‘Is it this way?’

As he got closer to Betty Hall, there was no need to look for a campus map. Despite it being a Saturday, many people were hurriedly heading in one direction. They were the audience for the show.

He arrived at the front of Betty Hall, presented his ticket, and was guided to his seat. Sitting in a seat about halfway up, he marveled as the 500-seat theater filled up completely.

‘For a college troupe, their ability to draw an audience is quite impressive…’

And soon, the performance began.

Act 1, Scene 1.

Jekyll appeared on the podium of an academic conference.

“Ladies and gentlemen. The debate on whether humans are fundamentally good or evil has long been a topic of contention in both religious and philosophical history.”

From the very beginning, his voice captivated the audience.

The man, struck by the voice filled with kindness and goodness, dropped the notebook he was holding.

The actor descended from the podium, spreading his arms wide as if embracing the audience.

His straight forehead shone with firm conviction.

Pure goodness, so radiant it seemed as though there could be no trace of evil intent.

‘What was the name of that actor…?’

It seemed that the notebook had fallen below the seats. The man tried to pull it closer with his foot, but it was pushed further away.

The main actor’s name for the reserved performance was listed in the notebook. He wanted to check it quickly, but out of decorum, he only fidgeted with his foot.

The performance continued.

Act 1, Scene 2. This time, a different actor took the stage. It was a bold choice to cast the roles of Jekyll and Hyde separately.

He recognized the actor, Ryu Shin. A child actor who, despite his young age, had delivered outstanding performances and then disappeared at one point. This was also a reason why he had high expectations for the Gwanak University’s performance.

The actor’s portrayal of Hyde was also impressive.

He exuded a chilling cruelty, akin to a child who enjoyed dissecting insects.

The portrayal was strikingly different from Jekyll’s in the first scene, yet curiously, the underlying tone was the same. As if it was played by the same person.

Feeling a deep curiosity, he took off his glasses, cleaned them, and refocused.

The subsequent scenes unfolded.

The face of the watching man grew increasingly serious.

And in Act 2, Scene 7, Hyde stood before Dr. Lanyon.

“Dr. Lanyon, aren’t you curious about Dr. Jekyll’s discovery?”

With a leisurely tone as if mocking Lanyon’s bewilderment, he slowly presented a choice.

“…Show me the truth.”

At those words, Hyde gulped down the contents of the vial.

He then crept behind a silkscreen on one side of the office, which was covered with printed research materials, moving like an insect.

The lighting at the center of the stage dimmed slightly, and from behind the screen, a spotlight aimed at the audience illuminated Hyde’s silhouette on the screen. The shape behind the screen began to wriggle.

“Uh…ugh.”

The silhouette twisted and writhed like it was disassembling and reassembling, creating a bizarre shape.

Dr. Lanyon watched that figure and retched.

With eerie music, the figure gradually calmed down.

The actor who came out again from the opposite side was…

Not Seo Ryu Shin.

It was the actor who had played Jekyll earlier.

‘How is it possible…?’

How could there be no sense of discomfort when a character was replaced by another actor in the middle of the play?

Among the audience who bought tickets without knowing that the roles would be divided and played by different actors today, there might be some who believed without doubt that they were the same person.

Even with the same makeup and costume, people’s auras differ… Yet, something astonishing was happening on the stage right now.

Whoa!

As soon as the performance ended, the man hurriedly bent down to find his notebook.

[15:00 Jekyll role: Shin Yoomyeong, Hyde role: Seo Ryu Shin.]

[19:30 Jekyll role: Seo Ryu Shin, Hyde role: Shin Yoomyeong.]

In a performance of such quality that it was hard to believe it was a student production, there was an unbelievable synchronization between the two actors who were performing divided roles.

Both of them were extraordinary.

He felt that he needed to see the 19:30 performance to reach a conclusion. Boldly, he crumpled up the ticket for Yonhak University’s performance.

‘One of them is my actor…!’

His sharp eyes hidden behind his glasses shined.

*

“Tha… that was amazing.’

Professor Lee Jae Pil, who sat in front of him, also calmed his surprised heart.

Having gained a reputation as a theater critic, he had noticed Shin Yoomyeong’s intention from the first scene.

It was completely different from Shin Yoomyeong’s previous performance. It was as if…

‘It was Seo Ryu Shin’s character from yesterday.’

Had he abandoned the character he had created and acted out the same lines and scenes with a character created by someone else?

When it came to that young man, it had become difficult for him to discern the possible from the impossible.

What was even more terrifying was that his performance wasn’t just a mere imitation.

It was acting that had fully internalized and owned Seo Ryu Shin’s interpretation of the role. The character concept was the same, but the nuances in speech and movement were subtly different. While he harmonized perfectly with Seo Ryu Shin’s Hyde, he was not a carbon copy of Seo Ryu Shin’s Jekyll.

‘Could it be… that the evening performance will also showcase a Hyde adjusted to Ryu Shin’s Jekyll?’

Lee Jae Pil shivered uncontrollably.

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