âHeewonâs acting has energy. Heâs eye-catching no matter where heâs standing on the stage. This is definitely an advantage. However, since you attract more attention, I think thereâs a need for you to be clearer in your movements. Your expression of emotion looks good, but once you get agitated, your actions become hurried and you move so quickly that itâs harder for the audience to catch up. Other than that, I donât have anything to tell you. It was good.â
After saying those words, Maru looked next to him and asked his club members if they had anything to add. Everyone shook their heads.
âHeewon, hear that? You should slow down a little.â
âI canât do that as I wish.â
He sighed disinterestedly and looked away.
âThen I guess thatâs about done. Letâs see, the time isâŚ.â
Inho took out his phone to check the time. The others also looked at their watches or their phones. It was 8 p.m. Maru thought that it was pretty late.
âI guess we should turn off the lights. I told the teachers that weâd be using it until eight. If you guys donât have anything else to do, I think we should wrap things up here.â
Inhoâs question was directed at Daemyung. Daemyung nodded his head as he stood up.
âWe donât have anything else.â
âAlright, then letâs clean up.â
Under Inhoâs instructions, the first years of Hwasoo High started putting away the chairs and mattresses. Woosung High just watched them from the side. As they didnât take out a lot of things, it didnât take a lot of time to put them back.
They all left together after getting their bags. The people from the local soccer club couldnât be seen anymore on the school field.
The lights between the school field and the school building turned on. Someone that looked like the security guard stared at them from the main entrance before going inside.
âThanks for telling us so many things today.â
âDonât thank us. We learned a lot too.â
âWhy donât we meet up from time to time like this and practice together?â
âSounds good.â
Inho and Daemyung walked at the front. It seemed that the two club presidents liked todayâs practice.
âAh, right. This guy was the president.â
Maru looked at Heewon, who was walking with his arms crossed. He kept saying that it was cold. When his brother Haewon took off his coat for him, he wore it once before returning it.
âItâll be even more troublesome if you catch a cold.â
After hearing Heewonâs words, the students of Hwasoo High laughed and agreed with him.
âHeâs right, Haewon. Heewon wonât be able to do anything if youâre sick.â
âHeewon-seonbae would probably come to school without eating breakfast. No, I wonder if he would be able to wake up in the first place.â
âDonât worry about your brother and worry about yourself first. Only when youâre healthy will Heewon be able to live normally.â
Heewon grumbled, asking if he was a kid or something, but the people around him just laughed without listening to him. In the end, he agreed with them and started laughing together.
âUhm, Maru-hyung,â Haewon said.
âWhat is it?â
âCan I ask you a question?â Haewon looked hesitant.
From his expression, it didnât look like he had a simple question. Maru walked away from the main group. Haewon naturally followed.
âWhat is it?â
âWhat do you need to do to become an actor?â
âYouâre talking about Heewon, right?â
âYes.â
âWhy donât you think about it after asking for his opinion first?â
âMy brother⌠probably wonât care. Although he finds everything bothersome, he is the type to do it when it matters. Also, itâs somewhat weird for me to say this, but he doesnât have anything he wants to do yet. All heâs passionate about is playing games at home, I think.â
âThat sounds ordinary. Isnât everyone like that?â
âI guess thatâs true.â
Haewon laughed while scratching his head.
âMy brother doesnât like starting something himself. This club and playing games at home are the same as well. He only does it since his friends around him told him to. Iâm not saying itâs a bad thing. He didnât stray onto a wrong path after all.â
âAnd?â
âI told you right? My brotherâs acting is somewhat special. Oh, how was it?â
âIt was good. It definitely isnât easy for a beginner to show so much emotion like that. I think that his expressivity is really good, too. Oh, not that Iâm in a position to judge anyone. Personally, I thought he was really good.â
Haewon nodded his head.
âI talked to him before, but apparently, he feels emotions as colors. I didnât really understand since it was such an abstract concept, but when I look at his acting, I can feel that somethingâs different about him. I told you about it, right? I like watching plays. He might be lacking in the technical aspect compared to people actually acting professionally in small theaters, but I feel like he isnât losing when it comes to the feeling. No, I feel like heâs superior.â
âYou sound confident.â
Maru saw Haewon being flustered and taking a step back. His face turned red.
âSorry. I said something strange, didnât I? I know that the entertainment industry isnât something that you can stive in with confidence alone. I was just all excited by myself andâŚ.â
âI didnât say it with a bad meaning, so you donât have to panic so much. I just thought that you really care about your brother.â
There shouldnât be that many younger brothers that were so seriously worried about their elder siblingâs future. While Maru felt that he was rather awesome, at the same time, he found it weird.
Maru gestured for him to come closer. Haewon carefully approached him.
âI think we strayed off for a bit. So, in the end, youâre saying that Heewonâs interested in working as an actor, right?â
âHm, rather than explaining, Iâll just show you.â
Haewon called out to Heewon. Heewon left the group and asked what was up.
âHyung.â
âUhm, yeah?â
âIâm serious about this. Think about this carefully before replying.â
âWh-whatâs this about?â
He flinched and looked at Haewon and Maru alternately.
âHyung. I want you to become a doctor.â
âA doctor? What is this about so suddenly?â
âHyung, I know youâre smart. You have good grades too. You told me that youâll become a doctor and look after me in the future.â
âD-did I, now?â
âSo, how about it? Becoming a doctor, that is.â
âEven if you tell me that so suddenlyâŚ.â
After twitching his lips, Heewon fell into thought for a moment before replying.
âAlright, then. Iâll try. But isnât becoming a doctor really hard?â
âYou can do it.â
Heewon closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before saying âalrightâ in a small voice. Maru laughed when he saw that. Haewon just shrugged.
âLee Heewon,â Maru called Heewon.
âWhat?â
âAre you seriously going to try to become a doctor if your brother tells you to?â
âItâs not like thereâs something I really want to do. I never went wrong listening to his words. Iâll have to do something to make a living. A doctor doesnât sound so bad.â
âWhereâs that confidence coming from? Can just anyone become a doctor?â
âIâm quite good at studying.â
âQuite good, you sayâŚ.â
Saying that, Maru looked at the banner hung at the front of the school. He didnât see it when he was walking towards the hall. The content was about a list of names that went to certain universities, but those universities werenât really ordinary.
There were at least five of the top universities in the country, the National Police University, the National University of Transportation as well as various prestigious medical schools and law schools. Next to those education facilities was a list of student names.
Maru pointed at the banner.
âOh, that? Thatâs the list of students that passed the examination tests for those universities last year. They hung that up for two months before the CSAT. Apparently, itâs for motivation. Once we get this yearâs, theyâll probably renew it with this yearâs entrants,â Haewon explained.
If any of Woosung Engineering Highâs students got into any of those universities, there would probably be a party. Perhaps that person might get called out by the principal himself and be introduced as the person that made Woosung High shine. Yet here, there were two digits worth of students that passed the exams to such universities.
âDo you always send that many to those universities?â
âHwasoo High is quite well-known in the area for its high advancement rate into higher education. I barely made it here as well. I had to study quite a lot to go to the same school as my brother.â
Maru looked at Haewon, who smiled in embarrassment, before looking at Heewon.
âYou guys⌠are really good at studying.â
âJust a bit.â
âI guess I do decently.â
Maru palmed his head.
âFine, become a doctor. And forgive me for laughing at you just a moment ago.â
âNo, Maru-hyung. My brother is more suited to become an actor.â
Heewon interrupted, asking what it was about.
âActor?â
âHyung, you said that you find acting fun, right?â
âIt is, I guess.â
âI never saw you say that something is fun with a bright smile like that before. I want you to strive for a dream that you like.â
âWh-what about a doctor then?â
âTo become a doctor, you would have to study really hard. I guess becoming an actor is the same, but acting is fun, isnât it? How about it? Between a doctor and an actor, which would you rather be?â
âUhm, thinking about it like that, Iâd rather be an actor.â
âThen youâre going to become an actor, right?â
âFine then. Iâll become one.â
When Haewon raised his hands and cheered, Heewon followed.
To Maruâs eyes, they looked like a dolphin and its trainer. He understood what Haewon was trying to say.
âHis future career has been changed in just a minute.â
âThatâs also one of his good points.â
âHey, what are you two on about, you called me all the way here.â
Heewon, who was listening to their conversation, made a sour expression. Maru turned around to look at Heewon.
âYour brother wants you to become an actor. Are you really going to do it?â
âIâll try. Itâs not like thereâs anything else I want to do anyway.â
âIâm not sure if youâre cool about things or if youâre just a simpleton.â
In any case, they were definitely an interesting pair of brothers.
âIf you want to become an actor, you should look into acting schools first. The easiest way is to find an opportunity for an audition through those academies. If youâre tall enough and good-looking, you can look into street casting, but Heewonâs not that good.â
âI think so too,â Haewon agreed.
âYouâre quite rational about it. I thought youâd find everything about your brother good.â
âIâm able to discern that much.â
âHey, what the hell are you guys on about?â
Heewon muttered from the side, but the two lightly ignored him. Heewon felt that he was unnecessary and just pouted.
âThereâs also the method of going to places that are looking for high school student background actors, and then catching the leaderâs eyes to become a minor actor, but I donât recommend this method. Youâll just be used as a background actor after all. There wonât be an opportunity to display your skills.â
âThen the most realistic method is to find and enter an acting school?â
âThatâs right. Knocking on the doors of an agency is also a good way, but I heard that being good-looking is really important for child actors. Though, that goes for adults as well.â
âThanks for telling me this. Iâll talk about it with my brother.â
Heewon[1]Â smiled as though he was done with the matter. Maru tilted his head and asked,
âThatâs it?â
âYes.â
âReally? I thought youâd try to get me to introduce someone to you.â
Heewon[2]Â gave an awkward smile.
âIâm not so shameless to ask you for that much. That was still very helpful. Iâll try to make something out of it after talking to my brother about it.â
Shame, huh. Maru really liked that word. So, he decided to give them one more act of kindness.
âIâll recommend you an academy. Thereâs an academy called Film in Gangnam. When I looked last time, they were recruiting for a special class. You have to do various menial chores in compensation for not paying tuition, but you can try your hand there. Of course, just going doesnât mean that youâll get in for sure. Theyâll probably do a test. If you pass, youâll land yourself a pretty good opportunity.â
Hearing those words, Haewon bowed to him. Maru wrote him the academyâs number. He wasnât planning to directly connect them to Miso. That was outside of his abilities. Introducing them to a place they could grab an opportunity was the best he could do.
Haewon returned to the group, and just as Heewon was about to follow suit, he stopped and turned around.
âHey.â
His face was filled with curiosity.
âWhat?â
âCan I ask you one thing?â
âYou brothers sure have a lot of questions. What is it?â
âThat stage. Did you find it fun?â
âFun?â
âYeah. For me, I stand on the stage because I find acting fun. But all youâre doing is the extra roles. I also feel like youâre holding yourself back even though you can do better.â
âYou could tell?â Maru asked in surprise.
Heewon just replied âsomewhatâ.
âMaybe your brother is right after all. Maybe you really do have the talent. Well, to answer your question, itâs not that fun.â
âThen why do you do it? Thereâs no reason to do it if itâs not fun, is there?â
Maru pointed at Haewon who was walking ahead.
âWhat about my brother?â
âWhen your brother told you to become a doctor, you said you would try, right?â
âYeah.â
âThatâs not something fun. Then why did you say youâd do it?â
âBecause thatâs not something I should find fun in. Being a doctor is about earning money. I have to look after my brother, no matter what. It doesnât matter whether thatâs fun or not.â
âThis has been on my mind before, but what about your parents?â
âThey should be doing well somewhere.â
There was faint rage burning on Heewonâs face as he said those words. Maru nodded once.
âItâs just as you said. Iâm the same. It doesnât matter whether itâs fun or not. This work will be the thing that will feed my family.â
Heewon looked as though he had understood a little.
Maru added,
âAlso, Iâm saying that itâs not as fun as when Iâm playing the main character, not that the play is not fun at all. The stage is not something one person can create alone after all. Someone will have to become the floor, and if doing it myself is the most efficient way to do it, I just do it. Thereâs no fun in the acting itself, but thereâs the fun of completing the whole play.â
âThe fun of completing the play, huh. Hm, I donât like that because it sounds too bothersome.â
âI can understand that too.â
âAlso, can I ask one more thing?â
Maru said âsureâ.
âDo actors have to wake up early in the morning?â
Hearing that question, Maru laughed and shook his head.
[1]Â See [2]
[2]Â Author has put Heewon (elder brother) for both of these lines, but theyâre clearly meant to be Haewon (younger brother).
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