SCT-Novel Chapter 18: The View from Above, The View from Below
Chapter 18: The View from Above, The View from Below
chapter 18: the view from above, the view from below
༺ the view from above, the view from below ༻
cheol-joo blankly followed the afterimage of ryu shin.
ryu shin approached someone behind him.
“ah, did you come to see the performance, brother? thank you.”
“i’ve seen all the previous performances.”
“huh, really? was it an analysis of changcheon’s performance as the president of oedipus...?”
cheol-joo’s ears perked up.
“no. i didn’t come to see changcheon’s performance...”
“...?”
“i’m not interested in the performance, except for one ‘actor’.”
cheol-joo’s face indescribably soured when ryu shin handed the bouquet to yoomyeong. he seemed about to say something but then stormed out of the theater.
“thank you.”l--b1n.
“your acting was good. but next time, i want to see your best performance.”
“huh? what does that mean...?”
“i mean, it’s not that you didn’t do your best, but i want to see you act in an environment where your best becomes the greatest.”
ryu shin left after delivering those cryptic words.
his retreating figure crossed paths with a crowd of junior business students, and yoomyeong busily posed for photos, clutching the bouquet.
the flowers he received from this one performance seemed to outnumber those he had received in his entire previous life.
*
after the play is over, i’m left all alone in the audience.
have you ever seen the stage after the lights went out?
bang— kwang—
heave... heave... huff—
the stage was being torn down.
tears filled the eyes of the troupe members as they destroyed the passion they had built up over three months with their own hands.
as if to mock their sorrow, the sound team always played that song. the young troupe members cried out in genuine grief.
amidst this, yoomyeong silently swung his hammer with dry eyes.
‘i feel surprisingly calm, and a bit bitter...’
fifteen years before his regression, 23-year-old yoomyeong cried more than anyone else as he destroyed his first stage.
the novice actor was touched simply by the fact that he had his share of attention.
he cried all night after the performance ended because he felt sorry for breaking the stage, reluctant to leave his role, and found his colleagues who had been with him so endearing.
but what was different now?
the reason that yoomyeong followed the changcheon minor role route as before in his regressed life was...
‘at first, it was a test.’
although miho gave him presence, he couldn’t anticipate how much he had changed. he couldn’t feel that his acting itself was good except for his presence.
however, when he had the opportunity to play the role of freddie in the middle, he became sure that he was not his former self. there was a slight thrill in his heart when ryu shin later proposed his admission to oedipus. it was obvious that the quality of acting of the actors performing with him would be different.
but the reason he stayed at changcheon was...
kwang—
yoomyeong hit the last adhesive part of the wall hard and the detached wall fell to the ground.
the crash made a loud noise.
thus, the stage was completely destroyed. he picked up the fragments scattered on the floor one by one.
‘haa...’
...the reason he stayed at changcheon was for a requiem for his former self.
a nameless actor without presence who was overwhelmed by the smallest attention.
on his own birthday, he filled his empty stomach with water while waiting for 14 hours on an overnight shoot.
he endured his minuscule pay, unable to protest for fear of not being called again.
and he had his role taken away by a newcomer who joyfully filled the vacant position.
it was a tribute to the first stage of an actor who had filled 15 years of unpaid time with only love and passion for acting.
‘with this, let’s put an end to the self-pity.’
in his previous life, he had pride in changcheon. he thought that it was a good theater troupe full of passionate and talented people. but changcheon, seen upon his return, was very different.
why was the view from above so different from the view from below?
[15:00, 19:30. a 95-minute performance]
———————————–
‘it seems like this is the piece today. could it be based on ‘that’ original novel?’
{the one that was made into a movie? that should be fun!}
‘i wonder. i’m curious about how they performed grenouille.’
while imagining grenouille, an insane murderer who couldn’t understand human emotions, yoomyeong wondered how he would have performed the role.
just thinking about it was challenging. however...it was also a bit exciting.
“please give me one ticket for perfume.”
he purchased a ticket at the entrance.
the 3 pm performance was currently ongoing, and there were plenty of tickets left for the 7:30 pm performance.
‘it’s not sold out even though it’s a theater festival performance?’
tilting his head, yoomyeong headed toward his appointment.
*
“ah, you found your way here.”
“that’s true. the theater was so small that it was hard to find it.”
at yoomyeong’s joke, sung-jin chuckled.
“what’s that?”
“i bought a ticket to see the theater festival after the tour.”
“oh really? you should’ve told me. i could’ve gotten you a ticket.”
“no, i’m grateful enough just for the tour!”
sung-jin glanced at the ticket in yoomyeong’s hand.
“theater troupe
“is that so? but this is based on a famous novel, isn’t it? i have no idea how they got the author’s permission.”
“that caused quite a controversy, but i heard that the script was wasted.”
“so that’s why it wasn’t sold out...”
“let’s go now. luckily, the sujeondang is still empty.”
the su (秀) was the signature super theater of hyejeondang.
following sung-jin, yoomyeong entered the backstage.
“you’re lucky. when they’re preparing for a musical or opera performance, you often can’t enter due to security issues. you could see other theaters, but it feels different from seeing sujeondang, right?”
“there’s no performance in the sujeondang today?”
“have you heard of shin juyeon, who came in second place in the liszt piano competition? she has a homecoming concert this whole week. since the concert setup finished on the first day, the staff won’t arrive until about 5 pm today.”
“i see.”
a top laureate of the world-famous liszt international piano competition. she was the person who caused a commotion in the media for a while for promoting national prestige.
indeed, one must be at that level to be worthy of the sujeondang. yoomyeong began to feel a little excited.
the backstage was tremendous.
there were conference rooms, a lounge with temporary beds, and personal lockers. several private rooms for important people were equipped with separate dressing rooms and bathrooms.
and that wasn’t all.
there were luxurious facilities that were hard to find even in most theaters 15 years later such as a revolving stage, adjustable stage devices, lifts, side options, and a scaled-down model of the theater which was installed in the middle of the conference room.
“wow... it’s... i’m at a loss for words.”
“it’s a killer, isn’t it?”
sung-jin looked pleased at yoomyeong’s surprised expression. he proudly introduced the best theater in korea, which he acknowledged while studying lighting abroad and visiting world-renowned theaters.
“let’s go to the stage now.”
thump—
yoomyeong’s heart started to pound when it was time to see the actual venue.
the statement of his dream about being a lead actor in the sujeondang was half an exaggeration to cover sung-jin’s misunderstanding.
however, after returning and getting a taste for acting over three months, he found himself reflecting on his words. and now, after taking a close look at the sujeondang, that feeling grew stronger.
the theater was dazzling.
the grandeur of the largest audience in the country with 3,500 seats encircling the stage was overwhelming.
the golden dome-shaped ceiling and the beautiful seats wrapped in red velvet had a dignity reminiscent of the vienna court music hall. a single steinway piano leaning to one side of the stage added to the atmosphere.
“wow...it’s...it’s incredibly amazing.”
sung-jin playfully grinned at yoomyeong’s reaction.
“go up and see.”
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