Aura of a Genius Actor

Chapter 39: Internal Dialogue

chapter 39: internal dialogue

༺ internal dialogue ༻

assigned acting.

two scenes had been given in advance from the script.

ah— ah—

from the side, kwon sunghan was clearing his throat.

since it was a competition, it was decided that it would be held in front of everyone so both outcomes could be fully understood and accepted.

meanwhile, a person who looked like the film company’s employee came in and adjusted the seating.

the person performing was in the middle of the space, and the watching actors were at the back. chairs were placed for the directors on the side, and an employee sat next to seryeon and ‘uncle’.

the attendee didn’t seem to have influence over the competition results; he looked more like a figure present to facilitate the proceedings.

“scene 8, the encounter between yoon hwaran and phantom, and scene 75, the scene where phantom fiercely scolds hwaran. we’ll go through both scenes one after another. i’ll read hwaran’s lines.”

a female staff member with her hair tightly tied up proceeded skillfully.

yoomyeong spent the majority of his preparation time with director ki for these two scenes.

these scenes showcased the two personalities of phantom — the pure and gentle nature that the protagonist, yoon hwaran, mistakes for an angel of ballet, and the wild temperament he exuded when she seemed to be drifting away from ballet. it also echoed the two sides of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde that had caught director ki’s interest.

“i’ll go first!”

kwon sunghan volunteered first as if aiming for points, and seryeon nodded impassively.

he came to the center, cracked his neck, and got ready. scene 8 goes as follows:

[in a dark practice room, hwaran, who had practiced late into the night and had fallen asleep, wakes up and rushes out of the practice room and into the darkness. the exit is locked, and in her disoriented state, she searches for another exit but gets lost. soon, she finds herself in the ballet theater connected to the practice building.

the tutus and props were eerily illuminated in the darkness, and she panicked, screaming. at that moment, a ray of moonlight shines from the ceiling window, and a man wearing a mask appears.]

“child, are you lost?”

“who... are you?”

“ah, you’re one of the children performing the swan dance. what was your name again?”

“...it’s yoon hwaran.”

“well, since we’ve met like this because of fate, i’ll tell you something.”

“yes?”

“after swan lake, the next performance will be giselle.”

“...what?! how do you know that?”

“haha... i have my ways.”

[yoon hwaran first thought that he might be someone high up in the theater company. wearing a mask was a strange taste, but how would he know that the next performance was ‘giselle’ if he wasn’t affiliated with the company?

knowing in advance, she felt like she should practice for ‘giselle’. maybe she could even be considered for a role. she thought so, clasping her hands tightly together.]

[however, at 12 o’clock sharp, white moonlight from the ceiling shone down like a spotlight, creating a brightly lit stage. as if the air itself is playing, soft music starts to fill the atmosphere. and then, the man begins to dance. watching his dance, yoon hwaran was convinced that the man is an angel of ballet. his ballet was so beautiful that it seemed impossible for a human to achieve.

as the fleeting solo (dance) finishes, she asks as if spellbound.]

“are you... the angel of ballet?”

“hmm...? if that’s what you believe, then maybe. would you like to dance with me?”

it was an unusual scenario.

the script described the female protagonist’s emotions in a manner almost akin to directing. the writer who looked after the corrections knew that yoon seryeon would be acting anyway, so they hadn’t touched upon that aspect. hence, it was a screenplay that considerably immersed one into the perspective of the female protagonist.

but the phantom...

from the phantom’s perspective, how did she appear?

yoomyeong lost himself in this thought. the performance being carried out by kwon sunghan at the moment was not of his concern. what was more pressing was the performance he himself had to deliver shortly.

kwon sunghan’s acting for scene 8 and scene 75 were all done.

clap clap clap—

along with the customary applause, seryeon half-heartedly scribbled on the score sheet.

‘i didn’t expect the phantom i imagined to pop out, but...’

it felt crude.

at the beginning of the script, the phantom’s tone is like a superior looking down on a child.

the concern that it might come across as too sentimental had become a reality. suddenly, seryeon’s enthusiasm waned sharply. although she was passionate when she wrote it, she never intended to produce the script.

the reason she ended up producing it was... because of her father’s strong persuasion, who was trying to get her to do something and anything after seeing that she hadn’t shown any enthusiasm about anything for two years.

“ugh... this is annoying.”

then, the actor who had previously frowned at her appeared.

the staff member read the start of the script once more.

“at that moment, a ray of moonlight falls from the ceiling window, and a masked man appears.”

and then,

“what, dating?”

“yes, with soobin, who plays the role of albrecht.”

“what kind of timing is this...?!”

“why? giselle loves albrecht, doesn’t she? it’ll help with the emotional lines.”

“how foolish...!”

the phantom was restless and paced back and forth.

he grabbed hwaran’s shoulders and shook her.

“hwaran, i don’t even remember since when... but as far back as my memory goes, i’ve lived in this ballet theater. i’ve seen countless ballerinas, and while most only performed corps de ballet (a group of background dancers) and disappeared, a few showed shining talent. what held most of them back from taking a leap as artists were love, dating, and marriage.”

his words were laden with criticism and pleading.

“your giselle is now in the final stages. love with albrecht? fine. isn’t unrequited love the very completion of giselle? stop right there. don’t let me down.”

seryeon jolted upright.

indeed, it was him.

that desperate obsession with ballet. the image of a mentor and absolute authority persuading the protagonist, hwaran.

that was the phantom that seryeon had envisioned.

her pen furiously scribbled across the evaluation sheet.

over the name shin yoomyeong, multiple circles were drawn.

and kwon sunghan, who was watching the performance from the side, was stunned.

“i will do the free acting.”

when it was sunghan’s turn for the free performance, he changed his costume.

a ballerino’s practice uniform.

“i will show albrecht’s performance in giselle.”

after witnessing yoomyeong’s performance, sunghan felt that it would be impossible to compete through acting alone.

but maybe showing a free performance could give him a chance. he had received a supporting role in the previous movie because it involved dancing, so it might work.

“begin.”

though seryeon’s attention was already gravitating towards yoomyeong, learning that he had prepared as albrecht piqued her interest a bit.

the main theme of ballet in this script was ‘giselle’, and the fact that phantom could encompass ballet performance was a clear advantage.

she rested her chin on her hand and focused intently on his ballet performance.

la~ la-la~

the music flowed.

it was the regretful albrecht from act 2.

his movements might have looked convincing to ordinary people, yoomyeong, and the directors. however...

‘what a mess. starting from the ‘en dehors,’ (the basic ballet position where the foot is turned outward) everything had collapsed.’

to seryeon, it was far below standard.

a dance performed by a major without proper practice looked displeasing to someone of the same major.

of course, just knowing how to hold a position would help with the synthesis of doubles. but...

‘that person is out.’

neither the acting nor the ballet which seemed neglected for years appealed to her in the slightest.

‘this actor... what will he do?’

she became very curious about the free acting of the actor who had showcased a stunning portrayal of phantom earlier.

when his turn came, he brought forth an unexpected scene from the script.

“i will perform scene 34.”

scene 34.

phantom was teaching hwaran, who was pondering over her portrayal of giselle.

this was a scene that most actors preferred to be performed by a stunt double because it required essential ballet skills and an understanding of the topic, especially since phantom demonstrated how one should act.

even the stunt double had doubts about how well a male dancer could portray ‘giselle’.

“yoon hwaran. the portrayal of giselle in acts 1 and 2 must be completely different. watch this.”

he raised one hand.

‘ah, the right arm to position 3...’

the movement of the upper body expressed through ‘port de bras’ (arm movements in ballet) was...

it was giselle.

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