Rebirth: King to Superstar

"Well, alright then, let's start with something slow. Perform Act-3." The director flipped the script in his hand with a smile and told him which act he could start with. Joon-won nodded, closed his eyes for a second, and recollected everything he had on the act the director just asked. 

The Act was really slow; it had no conversations as the MC was only sitting alone in a park thinking aloud about the things in his life. On the surface, this was the easiest, but there were deeper feelings the MC kept inside which he didn't show and Joon-won needed to do the same. 

Joon-won found a chair a few feet away from him, grabbed it, and placed it in the center before sitting on it. He looked towards the judges, no he looked past the judges with a reminiscent look in his eyes, as if he was remembering things from the past he buried deep inside. 

"How did it come to this point? Everything was going well, a nice job, a beautiful and caring girlfriend, and good friends. I thought I had it all. How did I lose everything one by one? Was god bored and decided to play with me?" His voice turned hoarse and spoke out his lines. 

The people in the room could hear and feel the sadness and self-pity Joon-won carried out when he delivered his lines. Director Sun and Cho Deasham raised their eyebrows seeing him. Both of them glanced at each other, finding the same expression, while Do Hwan remained silent and had the same expression.

"Things were supposed to be alright. We were supposed to go on a week-long vacation to enjoy and relax. I was supposed to get a promotion and shares in the company. Why? WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?" Joon-won slowly muttered and started shouting at the end while gripping his hair and looking down. 

After a moment of silence, he started laughing and said, "This must be karma. All the things I did in the past caught up and took everything away in one big swoop. Hahahaha, I deserve it." And continued to laugh for a few seconds with a maniacal expression before returning to normal. 

He stood up and looked at the judges, waiting for their response. Do Hwan had a small smile on his face while the others too were dazed with their mouths slightly open. 

"That was pretty good, Joon-won. As I expected, you are good at acting." Do Hwan was the first to compliment and woke the other two with it. Director Sun and Cho Deasham looked at each other awkwardly and a bit ashamed. 

Especially Director Sun, who was called in by the producer wanting him to check out an audition for the still empty role. He didn't think about it much and came in because he should Do Hwan some face. But right now he awkwardly stared at the student in front of him with surprise. 

Coughing a little, Do Hwan nodded and said, "Yeah, that was good. So let's do another one. Let's go with Act-7." And had an expressionless face. This time he didn't want to embarrass himself like earlier and became serious about the audition. 

Joon-won nodded once again and remembered the act. This one had high emotions, but it was more clear and not inner feelings. This was due to the anger and frustration of the character.

"Fuck. Why did you do this to me? I thought we were partners in this. You sold me out for 200k? We could have gotten way more if we went through this and succeeded." His eyes became slightly red and they could see veins as he clenched his hands tightly. 

"No no, I shouldn't get caught and my life shouldn't end like this because of a guy like you. My life was supposed to be peaceful and new after today, but now there is nothing in it. Why should I have nothing while you have everything? Come to hell with me." And acted out as if he whipped out a knife and plunged it into a gut. His eyes were crazy and he laughed like a crazy man. 

He suddenly went silent after the laugh and looked down before snickering at something and murmuring, "Hey, you wanted a happy life after selling me out? Let's meet in hell." And swiped his hand across his neck as if he was slashing it.

The Scene ended, and he stood there once again looking at the silent judges. Unlike before, Director Sun had an expressionless face and his hands before his face while thinking about something. Cho Deasham had an eyebrow raised and also was contemplating something while closing his eyes. 

Do Hwan had a smile while Hea-Jung looked very excited. She was the first to speak up, "Little brother, you were so good just now. Even better than the first one." While clapping her hands. Joon-won nodded at her enthusiasm and looked at the people who would decide if he gets a role or not. 

As usual, the first to criticize was Do Hwan while the other two seemed to be thinking. With the same smile, he nodded and commented, "That was good. Better than the previous one." Joon-won nodded back at him and looked over to the other two.

The other two remained silent. One looking at him with his hands in front of him while the other closes his eyes thinking. The silence persisted for a whole 5 minutes until Director Sun placed his hands down and Cho Deasham opened his eyes. 

Both looked at each other as if communicating their thoughts mentally with magic and Cho Deasham said, "I think we both have the same thoughts about this director. So you can go ahead and address it." Director Sun nodded and looked at Joon-won. 

"You did really well that I was a bit taken back on your first act and didn't see properly. You are better than many of the newbies in the industry and probably even better than the C-rated actors out there." Joon-won nodded and got ready for the upcoming parts. 

"On Sunday I was actually surprised when a producer called me and it turned out to be Do Hwan. He said he might have a solution for that one role that is keeping us from starting our production for so long already. I was highly skeptical. But I had to agree, after all, it was the movie's biggest producer and the request wasn't that big."

"So, I agreed and dragged Cho Deasham with me as he is after all our main lead in the film and the role you are auditioning for is pretty important. So I had to take his input, and he showed up with much reluctance." 

"But I'm glad that I came today to see a talent like you. It looks like Do Hwan was finally able to catch the right fish after many errors in the last few years."

He continued to praise Joon-won while building up more and more tension in the room. Even Hea-Jung, who hated things being delayed, did not snap at him and instead just waited for his prologue to get done and to give the final result. This was like he was building up for something big and he hoped that something big was an approval for the role. 

"But you aren't ready yet." He shook his head, and the room went silent. The tension vanished and everyone except Cho Deasham looked at the director in silence for a reason. Hea-Jung and Do Hwan were slightly shocked, but both looked like they expected the result.

"Even though your skills and the way you present the role and yourself is fantastic, you are still not ready for the movie stage. As of now, you are still only fit for dramas and not movies. As I watched you act the character the second time, I confirmed my speculation." 

"As you are now, you would thrive and make it big on a drama stage. But not in a movie, especially not in the role which is available. Most of your skills looked like they were honed solely to act in some drama houses and not movies."

As his explanation went through, everyone in the room, even Hea-Jung, slightly nodded. Joon-won was shocked for a second after hearing his rejection and reason. He failed because he had so much pride and confidence in his experience on a drama stage. The same experience and method of acting led to his rejection and not being eligible for a movie yet.

"The director is right. Many people struggle when it comes to acting in movies. Most of them are due to not being able to transfer their skills on the stage to a movie and that is you right now." Cho Deasham voiced out after the director was done. He felt the same thing. Many of Joon-won's actions felt perfect for a theatre than a movie. 

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