Chapter 132: A Fish in Water

“What? What’s with his outfit?”

Unlike Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae, who were dressed neatly, Mu-young was wearing sweatpants and baggy pants. His shoes were tattered sneakers.

He looked more like an unemployed person than a celebrity.

“Why? He’s done a great job analyzing the character.”

Kang Ok-kyung casually replied to Team Leader Park’s words.

He was a semi-unemployed building owner who had been preparing for the police exam. He looked exactly as described in the novel. Everything was perfect, from his unstyled hair to his natural makeup.

‘That’s funny. Is she smitten?’

Kang Ok-kyung smiled faintly as she flipped through the files.

Once he caught her eye, everything he did seemed meaningful. Other employees also murmured as they scanned the three of them.

“Isn’t he dressed like that because they’re going to watch the action scenes?”

“Comfortable clothes are good.”

“With so many eyes on him, how can he dress like that?”

While the company officials were chattering like that, the subcontractor’s CEO and director took their seats.

In the first audition, the company’s preferences were important, but now the actual production team’s scores would determine the outcome.

‘The employee scores are evenly distributed.’

Of course, Kang Ok-kyung would give Mu-young the highest score, and Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae would also have someone’s pick as a base.

“Well, let’s get started.”

Team Leader Park arrogantly grabbed the microphone.

“Uh, first, please introduce yourself. Look at the camera. Yes, yes.”

As soon as he spoke, an employee pressed the record button. It was for a camera test. The three men appeared on the screen at once.

“Hello, I’m Cha Seung-on.”

“I’m Kim Min-jae. Nice to meet you.”

Whether they were nervous or it was their original personalities, the two men’s greetings were stiff. And then it was Mu-young’s turn.

“Hello! I’m Ha Mu-young!”

A bright smile and a loud greeting.

Everyone on set smiled faintly. They said he was the youngest, and he certainly looked fresh.

“How about that?”

Kang Ok-kyung, unable to take her eyes off the screen,

casually asked the employee sitting next to her.

“That’s strange. Only Ha Mu-young’s pixels are different.”

“What? Haha. That’s a fresh analogy.”

But it was true.

Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae were also handsome men. Since they were already established actors, that was a given.

But why, when the three of them were together, did the eyes go to Ha Mu-young first?

“Why is he so clear?”

“He has a good impression. A good impression. He’s kind, you know. The kid.”

“If anyone saw this, they’d think Ha Mu-young was the team leader’s son.”

“What? If our son heard that, he’d be sad.”

Kang Ok-kyung whispered, even throwing in a joke.

The outfit was secondary. What was truly important was the overwhelming aura an actor could exude. Since they were people who lived by capturing others’ attention, that was the most crucial aspect.

“Yes, I’ll hand out the scripts now.”

Team Leader Park, telling the two to be quiet, proceeded with the audition in full swing. Since it was an open warehouse studio, other participants, aside from the staff, were sitting in the corner, watching.

“There are three scenes written here, and we’ll do them one by one.”

Mu-young received two pieces of paper from the employee.

The first scene was dialogue-heavy. The second scene mixed dialogue and gestures. And the third was a scene showing intense action without dialogue.

“Then, let’s go in order. Since there’s a lot of CG and action, post-sync recording is essential. Voice acting is important. First, Cha Seung-on?”

“Yes.”

Clear pronunciation and delivery, like a voice actor. And it was important to convey as much emotion as possible. Cha Seung-on scanned the script and began reading the lines.

“You’re the one who’s been acting like a king here, aren’t you? Come in. I’m going to get the usage fee you’ve been using properly.”

Pouring out anger at the villain messing around in his building.

“The Han River, the Han River is open! Let’s all run!”

The urgency of crossing to Gangbuk from the Han River, infested with monsters.

“I need to rest a bit. I’ve worked too hard today.”

Even the fatigue accumulated from managing the district.

Indeed, acting experience wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae were quite impressive. Mu-young listened with admiration, his ears perking up.

‘Everyone has such good voices, too.’

It was a competition but also a learning opportunity.

Mu-young quietly listened to their acting and interpreted the script along with them.

‘Oh, Cha Seung-on has a unique breathing point. But that’s not bad either. Ah, you can hit it like that, too.’

Mu-young was so busy digesting it all by himself.

The turns of the two men passed, and soon it was Mu-young’s turn. He cleared his throat for a moment and lowered the script he was holding.

“You’re…… the one who’s been acting like a king here, aren’t you?”

Just one line.

Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae, who had been silently staring ahead, turned to look at Mu-young.

‘Oh, really.’

There were four ways to make people focus with words. Speaking suddenly quickly, or suddenly slowly. Or loudly, or softly.

The important point was ‘variation,’ and he was doing the exact opposite interpretation of what the two before him had done.

“Come in. I’m going to get the usage fee you’ve been using properly.”

Since it was anger, the two had spoken quickly with intense emotion. But Mu-young slowly chewed and savored each syllable, muttering leisurely.

‘I really don’t get it.’

‘The kid’s cute.’

Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae managed their expressions, holding back forced laughter. Of course, there were no special directions in the stage directions, so there was no problem.

But it just felt that way, you know? If they had gone slower, they could have shown a special ‘variation.’

“I need to rest a bit. I’ve worked too hard today.”

Even the last line was cleverly delivered, with a different atmosphere from the two before him. Unlike emphasizing ‘fatigue,’ he added more ‘pride.’

“Good. Let’s move on to the next one.”

The judges were scribbling something on the profiles. Momentary thoughts or scores were listed without being organized.

“Next, let’s start with Ha Mu-young.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Good. Let’s see this time!

Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae rejoiced inwardly while maintaining a blank expression. Since it was a group audition, the order was more important than they thought.

“Is the camera ready?”

“Yes.”

The staff nodded, pressing the record button again. Mu-young, flipping through the paper, suddenly hesitated.

[Situation 1: The protagonist, having successfully upgraded the building, holds a banquet with the villagers. The protagonist enjoys dancing happily.]

In the wide-open studio, there were dozens of eyes watching, and most of them were strangers.

And what about the atmosphere? It was so quiet and serious that it felt suffocating, and he was supposed to dance here? Without music?

‘Yeah, my specialty.’

No problem! Mu-young confidently stuffed the paper into his pocket and began an unidentified jig. It was a drinking game punishment dance he had learned from his friends on an MT trip.

“……!”

“Puhahaha!”

“Oh my!”

And that wasn’t all.

He even hummed as if genuinely enjoying himself, which made the judges, who had prepared with an ‘Let’s see what you’ve got!’ attitude, feel rather embarrassed.

“Here, have some of this, too!”

Alone, yet not alone, his lines and gestures came out very naturally. Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him happily swaying with a drink in hand.

“Oh my. What’s with him?”

“Is age a bully? He’s cute.”

“Hahaha! He dances well! Huh? He dances well.”

If he had shown even a little hesitation, the viewers might have felt embarrassed for him. But Mu-young was incredibly shameless.

As he became immersed, the others couldn’t help but become immersed, too.

The problem was Kim Min-jae and Cha Seung-on, who came after Mu-young.

‘Shy, shyX…….’

‘Does he have a poker face?’

How could they follow that?

There had to be something to immerse themselves in.

Mu-young, proudly finishing his dance, wiped his nose and laughed. It was fun, but he couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed once the acting was over.

“Yes, well done. Next, Kim Min-jae.”

“Huh? Oh. Yes, yes.”

Kim Min-jae hesitated for a moment and then danced with awkward gestures. But what came back was an awkward silence. Setting aside the flailing movements, he was too embarrassed to act at all.

‘It’s over…….’

His face was expressionless, but his neck was so red that everyone felt embarrassed for him. Even Mu-young, watching from the side, was shocked enough to cover his mouth. Empathetic embarrassment, is that what this is?

‘Oh my God, Jesus. What should I do?’

If he had been a little worse earlier, it wouldn’t have been this bad.

Mu-young, not knowing that, simply felt sorry and clicked his tongue inwardly.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”

Cha Seung-on wasn’t much different.

Aside from the shameless and unreserved Mu-young, how many people could do that? The officials whispered among themselves and proceeded with the final audition.

“This is the last one, and we’ll only be looking at the action. The situation setup is actually in the script.”

The staff became busy preparing the wires.

“The monster ‘Wobble’ is only 1 meter in diameter but crosses the land by drawing in water with its enormous energy. The protagonist’s building is right in its path. There’s a protective barrier on the building, but it has its limits. The protagonist ‘climbs’ through the water to destroy Wobble’s core.”

Mu-young pondered for a moment to understand the instructions.

So, in other words……

“You’re asking me to act out underwater action?”

“That’s right. We’re going to film the protagonist, who has encountered the sea on land, climbing through the water.”

It was the most expensive scene in the work.

Not only the CG but also the scale of the filming itself would be enormous. Everyone was determined to create truly impressive visuals and imagery to match.

‘Underwater action……. And not falling into the water, but climbing up through it.’

Cha Seung-on and Kim Min-jae looked only at the wires in confusion. They had done countless scenes of punching and flying around, but underwater action? Well……

“Should Kim Min-jae go first this time?”

He took the first turn in order.

Kim Min-jae lightly stretched his body and strapped on the wire. The line rose smoothly with the signal. His body floated lightly, his toes dangling.

“Now, I’m climbing.”

“……Yes!”

A less than enthusiastic response. But the line was pulled, and Kim Min-jae’s body slowly rose into the air. He flailed his hands and toes as if swimming.

“Heuk!”

Kim Min-jae swung his hand as if driving a stake into the core. Everyone watched him without much expression.

“Let’s try coming down, too!”

“Yes!”

And again, he acted out swimming without any particular action while coming down. Kim Min-jae, landing on the mat, took off his belt, sweating.

“Next, Mu-young?”

In fact, it was a difficult scene to handle without much direction. It would be fair to say they were only looking at wire handling ability.

“Yes!”

Mu-young answered cheerfully and strapped on the wire. As his body floated, his heart began to race with excitement.

‘If it’s a monster that draws in water with energy——’

The flow of the waves would surely be fierce.

Mu-young slowly bent his waist and extended his hand.

“……?”

“Pull me up!”

Mu-young shouted, ready.

As the staff slowly pulled the line, he twisted his body slowly and moved flexibly. The high-difficulty movements of a dancer he knew flashed through his mind.

‘If I’m wearing this——’

I can do anything!

Mu-young, like a fish swimming through rough waters, sped through the air.

And at the moment of destroying the core.

Whoosh——!

He spun like a shuriken and kicked, his movements sharp and fluid. Everyone watched in surprise, their eyes fixed on him.

“Did he do ballet?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Kang Ok-kyung also responded, flipping through the profile.

As the wire slowly descended, Mu-young performed aerial acrobatics as if riding the waves.

“Ah, that’s it. Acrobatics.”

By combining action with acrobatics, a more colorful and natural spectacle was created. Team Leader Park muttered, lightly biting his pen.

“A fish in water, completely.”

Without realizing he had pulled off an advanced technique, Mu-young was thrilled, spinning and laughing in the air.

“This is so fun——!”

Whoosh——!

Mu-young performed a front roll on the mat, landing perfectly. With just the wire, it felt like he could do anything. He felt invincible!