A Thousand Faces (Soon to be Published)

Chapter 20

Mansik and Junwoo sat at a table in a restaurant.

After finishing the preliminary audition, Junwoo was starving.

Mansik fidgeted nervously in his seat as Junwoo quickly finished his food.

'He said it was an impromptu performance. I'm so curious.'

Mansik was dying of curiosity about how shocked the industry people would be by Junwoo's performance, and what they would say.

On the other hand, he was also worried. He wondered if they would be able to appreciate Junwoo's true talent.

With a face full of curiosity, he was waiting for Junwoo to finish his meal.

"Whew, finally some breathing room."

As if waiting for Junwoo to finally put down the spoon, a question popped up.

"So, how was it? Tell me about it."

"I thought I was going to starve to death waiting all day. You should have warned me about it."

"I've never been to an audition before. But that's not what I'm asking. How was the scene?"

"Hmm..."

The scene. People waiting for their turn with desperation. A girl named Kim Yoojin who didn't give up on her script, even in despair. Junwoo's lips curled up as he quietly thought about the day's events.

"I didn't know there were so many people like me."

"People like you?"

He had asked about the audition, but there was no mention of it.

"That was a real eye-opener. I learned a lot."

Mansik was stunned for a moment. Junwoo's thoughts on Actor Kingdon seemed far from competition, skill, or evaluation. He appeared to have simply enjoyed the scene itself.

'I had worried that he might lose interest due to the overwhelming gap in skill between him and the other participants. But it seemed like that wasn't important to Jun-woo at all. It seemed like he had a deeper love for acting than I thought.'

Well, what's the point of asking about the results? Mansik's mind flashed back to the day he first had dinner with Jun-woo at this restaurant. He had been so shocked that he sat there like a stone for a long time. Jun-woo was the same now. He was just calm.

The pre-determined winner of Actor Kingdom. Mansik suddenly thought of that existence. He was worried that people like Yoo Sang-jun might interfere with Junwoo's entertainment because of him.

"Did he also come there?"

"Him?"

Junwoo made a soft "ah" sound, looking at Mansik slightly puzzledly.

"Kang Hyeok?"

***

The Actor Kingdom set.

An enormous studio located in the high-rise building of W Broadcasting Station.

Today, the first round of the finals will be held here.

The site for the first broadcast was busy. Producers and staff members were frantically communicating with each other through headset microphones.

On the large stage, there were about a hundred participants who had made it to the finals.

When the lights suddenly turned on the signboard with the large letters "Actor Kingdom: The Birth of a Star" on the back wall of the stage, the participants gasped and murmured in admiration.