Life, Once Again!

The first thing he saw when his eyes adapted to the darkness was the glow-in-the-dark tape. The first piece of tape was on the hanger, the second was on the desk, and the rest were on the floor. He blinked a few times. He could faintly make out the outline of the stage. After seeing Daemyung's figure on the other side of the side curtain, he started walking.

He stepped on the waxed floor and walked into the holding cell. Dowook, Jiyoon, and Bangjoo all checked their respective positions before sitting down. With that, they were ready to start. Maru signalled Bangjoo who was staring at him.

"I get it so be quiet already!"

The lights turned on along with a loud shout. Daemyung clicked his tongue as though he was tired of the fuss and hung his black jacket on the hanger.

"Don't stand over there and come here already."

He shouted to the side curtain. Aram could be seen taking a deep breath.

'Don't get nervous and take your time.'

Maru tapped Jiyoon who was looking at Daemyung absent-mindedly. The play had started already. It wasn't just the ones talking on stage that were acting. In fact, the ones that didn't have lines had to be more careful when acting.

Jiyoon fixed her expression immediately and looked towards the audience. The others also acted as they practiced beforehand and formed the right atmosphere within the holding cell.

"Do you know who I am?"

"I don't, so go in for now. I'll listen to the full story once the related people are here tomorrow morning."

"Are you really allowed to put innocent people into cells like this?"

"Excuse me? We are allowed to lock you up because you've committed a crime. Also, if you really didn't commit anything, then you'll be able to leave in 48 hours so don't worry about that."

"But…."

Aram entered the cell with a crying face. She must have been nervous because her act was what started off the whole play, but she finished it without making any mistakes. Maru nodded slightly towards Aram, who sat opposite to him. Aram faintly smiled back before returning to her normal expression. Maru saw that Aram's left arm, which was on the floor, was shaking. So she was acting in that kind of state. She was a cool junior.

* * *

"They look a little tense, right?"

"Yeah. But it's still okay right now. There weren't any big mistakes either. However, it does look a little unstable. The first years are doing well, but I can't shake off the feeling that they're barely making it. Although it looks okay right now, if that persists, the audience will feel uncomfortable as well. That will probably affect the scores."

Yoojin was analyzing the stage. She agreed with her. It was true that they were doing well. They were five minutes into the play. Their lines were smooth, and their movement didn't look messy. However, just like what Yoojin said, she couldn't erase the feeling that they were on a tightrope.

Why was that so?

"Hey, over there! Be quiet! Are you going to cause a fuss even in the cell?"

"Who's causing a fuss?"

Daemyung and Aram exchanged lines. When she saw that, she finally realized why this stage looked like they were on thin ice.

"The gap is too big," she spoke in a small voice.

Daemyung had completely dissolved into the role of the police. He had become a stubbly policeman in his forties. His speech and even his habit of pushing his belly outward indicated that he had done a lot of research and practice.

The first years were definitely doing well. However, they looked immature compared to Daemyung. Viewed separately, there was not that much of a discrepancy, but put together, the gap was obvious, making the audience tilt their heads in confusion.

The astute people among the audience were probably thinking that something was off. What was fortunate was that the first years did not notice that. The moment they pushed themselves to imitate Daemyung, the balance would break.

If she, a non-expert, could feel it, the judges would have noticed already and it would consequently affect their scoring.

"Since they're taking turns, I guess it should be Maru's turn soon."

Yoojin leaned forward and focused on the stage. She also became quiet and looked in front of her.

* * *

Pilhyun was startled by the twitching and woke up from sleep. When he looked next to him, he saw the theater troupe leader scratching his head with an awkward smile. It looked like he had a bad dream.

Since he felt embarrassed as well, he picked up his pen and looked at the scoring sheet. How is the stage layout? Is there a clear thematic consciousness? Was the expressivity good? They could give points out of five for each category. That score would decide whether or not a team would advance into the finals. Of course, after the competition, the three would discuss together which teams to send to the finals. However, most of the time, the teams were at similar levels so the scores would decide everything.

When he looked next to him, he saw that the professor had a bored expression as well. There were eight teams yesterday, and there were eight teams today. They had run out of energy yesterday.

'This is the third team, so there are five teams left today.'

They were tied down to this place for around six hours. It was actually quite energy-consuming. He wriggled around to relieve some fatigue around some parts. Since his job was to write text while sitting, his waist wasn't in a good condition. He wriggled around in his seat in order to straighten his waist.

Just then, a crisp voice entered his ears. This was a voice he had heard during the beginning of the play. He dozed off as soon as the play started, so he didn't know what the story was, but the voice was definitely good. When he had a look at the stage, he saw that the play was set in a police station. A rather chubby boy was talking non-stop in front of everyone. Was he the police? His diction was good, and his pronunciation was on point.

He was definitely better than most of the students he saw until now, but that didn't mean that he decided to start watching properly again.

Thanks to a little sleep, he became clear-minded. He didn't want to make his clear mind rot by watching little children showing off their little skills.

He put a piece of paper on top of his scoring sheet and wrote down ideas that popped up in his head. He was drawing a mind map. He organized his thoughts in order to break down the writer's block that stopped him from writing his scenario.

"Kids these days just don't know what suffering is. It wasn't like that when I was young."

That was the voice he heard after the shout from the previous boy died down. Pilhyun stopped writing with his pen at that moment. The voice was rather calm. It was neither powerful nor powerless.

If it was just that, Pilhyun wouldn't have raised his head. The weight contained in the voice was different. The boy that played the policeman wasn't that bad. He watched for a brief moment, but he felt nothing off. His acting capabilities were decent for a high school student. However, that was it. That boy lacked the uniqueness that an actor had to possess. It was natural. There was no way he would have something unique about him when it was just a high school club play done with friends. Just being 'different' from the others wasn't enough to be called 'unique'. It was only 'unique' when someone showed a special talent or wisdom that was clearly a level above others.

That voice just now.

Pilhyun looked at the small stage. It was just one line, but the quality was different. It felt like someone started playing the violin amongst kindergarteners playing the castanets.

The owner of the voice was behind bars. He was wearing a grey-toned suit. Even though it was a high school student wearing a suit, it didn't look awkward at all on him. It was even a grey-toned suit that the older generation would wear and not the navy-toned ones that the younger people wore. Moreover, since suits brought as stage costumes were borrowed from a.d.u.l.ts most of the time, they usually didn't suit the body figure of the wearer, but that boy looked like the suit was tailor-made for him. It didn't look out of place at all as though he had been wearing it for a long time.

That boy, leaning against the bars of the cell, started talking with the girl opposite of him. For the first time, Pilhyun focused on the play. The girl seemed to have been caught scamming someone, while the boy in a suit looked to be some executive at a large company.

"You have bad eyes. Rather than that, tell me this Daeyang group guy you know."

He put his head on his hands and spoke to the girl. Pilhyun subconsciously leaked a laugh when he saw the boy being so natural. He exuded arrogance. That boy had the disdainful eyes unique to the ones that stepped above all others. Where could he have seen such eyes? On TV? Or from his father?

In the end, acting skill could only be directly proportional to experience. High school students. They were at an age where they were just getting to know the place that was society. They should have heard about how hard, dirty, and underhanded society is.

However, the idiom 'viewing is better than a hundred questions' didn't exist for nothing. Would an ordinary high school student have experienced the cruel realities of society? They would feel down if their grades went down and perhaps might be scolded by their parents, but they wouldn't be left alone. After all that was said, they were being protected. The problems arising in that situation, no matter how difficult it may be, was a drop in the bucket compared to the problems encountered in society.

This was one of the reasons why student actors looked very awkward when they played a role that talked about the problems of society. How hard would it be since they were acting without any experience?

Yet, that boy over there was speaking as though he had experience. His lines didn't just sound like lines, they sounded vivid.

"It's quite funny, you know? I'm the one who hit him, and he's the one giving me presents and apologizing. Do you know the saying, money turns crime into innocence and the lack of money turns innocence into crime?"

The boy smirked as he stood up and scanned the audience. He didn't look unnatural at all. In regards to acting, 'feel' wasn't enough to bring an act to life. Behind the acting that looked 'instinctive' were dozens to hundreds of rounds of repetitive practice and calculations.

How many times did that boy practice in order to possess such a smirk?

Pilhyun put down his pen. His brain told him that this was a play worth watching.

The ones sitting either side to him seemed to be thinking the same thing. The troupe leader who was dozing off until now placed his head on top of his locked hands and watched the stage with incredibly sharp eyes. To be exact, he should be looking at the boy.

The professor was the same. She had uncrossed her legs and sat upright as she watched the stage. The scoring sheet that she always left aside was in her hands. He could feel her intention to judge things properly from where she was sitting.

At that moment, the boy's mouth opened once again.

* * *

He could have walked ahead. He could have exaggerated more than he was doing now. If he did, then the play would have been much more interesting to watch, but the balance would have been broken.

Maru looked around him even as he said his line. Everyone was still going strong. They had all adapted to the stage. He had to maintain this pace.

"It's quite funny when you think about it. That subordinate said the right thing. Meaning, he used forthright words. Isn't there a saying that you should keep a man that speaks bitter words nearby? That he is the most loyal subordinate? But you know? There's a limit to being bitter. Can't it be a little sweeter? Who the hell is he to tell me what to do? You don't live in society with your mouth. This world is all about power, authority, and lastly, politics. You should know how to suck up to people, and how to mix lies within your words so that you can survive in this jungle like company. The young ones are only full of spirit. They only know about justice! Does justice give you food?"

He divided up his breath into precise parts when he said his line. He had checked his breathing several times when he practiced. Long lines like that one couldn't be said without thinking. Where to take a break, where to look, and everything else had to be decided beforehand.

Emotions were the same. If he got all emotional just by himself, it would break everything. He wished he could show more emotion, but that was likely to break the rhythm. That would mean doom.

He had to set his rhythm to match his juniors. As long as he continued his acting so that he didn't break that rhythm, they would be able to finish this play safely.

He looked into Jiyoon's eyes as he said his line. She wasn't able to show the s.e.xy smile that she had practiced until now, but she didn't make a mistake in saying her lines. Being able to show everything that she practiced would make her a professional. For today, this was enough.

At that moment, Aram, who was next, stumbled just as she stood up. It wasn't her fault. She wasn't able to find balance because one of her heels had slipped. It wasn't a fatal mistake, but Aram dazed out since she missed the right timing.

This was dangerous. Missing one line would probably make her forget all the following lines as well. It was a chain reaction. It was just like how one wouldn't be able to remember the following melody if they forgot about the beginning part.

Daemyung was too far away. Moreover, he was looking at the front, so he wasn't aware of the situation here. Dowook, who was sitting next to him, also looked dazed. Maru and Daemyung had told the others multiple times that there would be mistakes, but it would actually be incredibly difficult to stay calm in the face of an actual mistake.

Jiyoon? She wasn't skilled enough to cover up someone's mistake. Bangjoo had the next line, so he was no good either.

Maru had finished organizing the situation in an instant and stepped out. This wasn't in the script. He approached Aram and grabbed her shoulder.

"Scammer lady, why don't you get yourself together?"

Get yourself together- this was originally Aram's line. His role was an arrogant company executive. This action wasn't that out of line with the play.

Receiving the hint, Aram's expression brightened up in an instant. She was a smart girl at heart, so she regained the rhythm and continued with the line immediately. Maru turned around to the audience and showed Aram a thumbs-up so that the audience wouldn't see it. Aram smiled faintly before sitting down.