Chapter 6: Practical
The day of Seoyeon University’s orientation.
The campus, quiet throughout the winter, was now bustling with activity.
The freshmen’s enthusiasm and excitement couldn’t be suppressed, not even by the cold. Having achieved this glory after a difficult entrance exam, everyone was filled with laughter.
“Excuse me.”
The student center was surrounded by a long stretch of department and club booths. A student who was guiding freshmen turned her head and hesitated.
“Where is the dormitory here?”
“Dormitory?”
‘Oh!’
Handsome looks and tall stature. Plus, a pleasant voice. Even without much effort, Muyoung caught everyone’s attention. The student stammered and pointed to one of the paths.
“Go over there, past the chapel, and it’s right there.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you a freshman, by any chance?”
“Yes. And?”
“Oh…….”
‘Wow. This year is insane!’
The student barely managed to suppress her excitement and handed over a club promotion pamphlet.
“What department are you in? Read this.”
“Global Culture Department. Thank you.”
Muyoung nodded politely and walked along the path she had shown him. He had a large backpack slung over his shoulder. The student tilted her head and watched Muyoung’s back.
“Who was that just now?”
“He’s a freshman. Isn’t he cool?”
“Wow, wow. He’s so handsome. But why is he going there? The event is about to start.”
“He was looking for the dormitory.”
“So, what department is he in?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Hey! That’s unfair!”
The people sitting at the booth talked endlessly about Muyoung’s existence. As the saying goes, a word without legs can travel a thousand miles. By the time rumors about him slowly spread throughout the school,
“Oh-”
Muyoung was overwhelmed by his heavy backpack.
He had to withdraw his rental deposit to cover living expenses, leaving him without a place to stay. When he told the school dormitory about his situation, they said he could store his luggage first.
Knock, knock.
“Hello. I’m a freshman in the Global Culture Department.”
“Oh. You said you’d store your luggage first, right?”
“Yes. What room number is it?”
The dormitory office staff checked the chart and handed him a digital key.
“It’s Room 501, but is that all your luggage? Just one bag?”
“Some summer clothes and a few books.”
“I was unnecessarily worried. I thought you had a lot of stuff because you didn’t have a home. I was thinking of lending you a storage room since it’s a four-person room.”
When Muyoung moved out of his house, he sold all his household items to a junk dealer. Every single thing, down to the last spoon. He got rid of everything that reminded him of the nightmare he had endured.
“Thank you for your kind words.”
“By the way, you’re the only freshman in Room 501. Freshmen usually use the bed closest to the door, so you won’t get confused because there’s a name tag on the desk. The rest will come when the semester starts, so make yourself at home.”
It was a good start. Muyoung was pleased with the staff’s kindness and went up to the fifth floor.
Squeak.
“Wow.”
It was more spacious than he thought.
Private schools are said to have a lot of money, and it was true. A bunk bed, a neat desk, and a well-lit window! Muyoung checked each name tag.
‘Park Moon-sung, Choi Hwan, Kim Bonggun? ……Bonggun? That’s unusual.’
What kind of people are his roommates?
Muyoung imagined the images that matched their names and smiled lightly. Whatever the case, they would be his family for a semester, so he hoped they would get along well.
“Ahhh. This is nice-”
Muyoung climbed onto his bed and lay down. He was very satisfied to have a small but private space.
Of course, he had to take out a student loan of nearly ten million won for tuition and admission fees.
“Hee hee hee.”
It was important to enjoy the happiness of the moment. Muyoung lay on his bed, still wearing his padded jacket. In the distance, noisy singing could be heard from the auditorium.
‘Should I skip the orientation?’
After all, it would only be an introduction to the school, club performances, and guest performances. It seemed better to do something more productive with that time.
Like acting practice, for example, acting practice.
“Hmmph.”
But since he was already here, it would be better to look around, right?
Muyoung stuffed his bag under the desk and left the dormitory. The street in front of the student center was still bustling with active booths.
“Tennis club rally. Freshmen are very welcome!”
“If you’re a true otaku, come here! Manga club!”
Students were working hard to recruit freshmen. Muyoung strolled slowly through the crowd, looking around. It was cold and chaotic, so he didn’t notice that everyone around him was staring at him.
‘Wow. He’s tall.’
‘Is he a freshman? What department is he in?’
‘If that guy joins a club, I’ll join too.’
‘It was definitely worth studying hard. Sigh.’
Muyoung had been rolling around and training his body every day at the academy. With the excess fat gone, he exuded a more mature atmosphere.
“Huh?”
While wandering around absentmindedly, he discovered an interesting banner.
[Theater Club Dohran]
‘Dohran’ refers to the stage makeup used by actors.
Muyoung slowly approached. Unlike the other hot booths, there was only one man sitting alone, wearing a university jacket.
“Tsk! Keep searching. The team’s luck is ruined.”
He was also focused on a mobile game.
Muyoung skimmed through the pamphlets that were laid out. They were records of the regular performances they had put on so far. One peculiar thing was that they were all original plays.
“Are you interested in acting?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
The man glanced at Muyoung and responded, but his fingers were still moving busily.
“There’s an application form over there, so take it if you want. Oh! This is a centipede! The deadline is the second week of March.”
Muyoung nodded but didn’t pick up the application form.
Theater club…… It’s good, but he thought he would learn more at the academy.
Besides, once the semester starts, he would be overwhelmed with classes and part-time jobs. Unless he had two bodies, club activities would be too much.
Ziiiing, ziiiing.
Muyoung, who was about to look through the original plays, searched for his phone.
It was a call from Junho. He pressed the call button and said goodbye to the man.
“Then, take care. Uh. Junho.”
The man, engrossed in the game, didn’t hear it. A friend who had gone to the bathroom saw the scene and rushed over.
“What just happened?”
Seol-ah, the club president. At other schools, theater clubs were said to be so popular, but she had to struggle to maintain the minimum number of freshmen.
“I don’t know. He seems interested.”
“You idiot. You were too busy playing games to explain properly, weren’t you?”
Smack!
Seol-ah smacked the man on the back of his head and growled.
“Ah! It hurts!”
“Try shaking a picket like the other guys!”
“Why should I do that? The people who come in that way won’t be any good. They’re all cliquey. The ones with real interest will find their way here anyway-”
“The club is stagnating because there are only old members. All the seniors have graduated, right? Now it’s just you, me, and the kids…… Damn it. In total, five. Five!”
“That’s perfect. It’s perfect for writing a script.”
“Kim Bonggun!”
Seol-ah shot him a laser-like gaze.
Kim Bonggun, a Korean literature student who would be sharing a dormitory with Muyoung, and the writer of all the original plays performed by Dohran.
“Stop it and let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”
“I can’t take it anymore, really.”
“Uh…….”
At that moment, a freshman approached cautiously. Seol-ah immediately put on a warm smile.
“Are you interested in the theater club?”
“The man who just came by. Is he a member here?”
“Came by? Who?”
“The tall, handsome one…….”
The freshman blushed and stammered. Bonggun looked at him with disgust and said, “Look at this.” Seol-ah subtly changed the subject and handed over a pamphlet.
“He’s not a member, but he seems interested.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Take a look at this. We only perform original plays on stage. Last year, we won an excellence award at the university theater competition and also won an award in young playwrighting. This Bonggun, I mean, this senior here, writes them, and he’s really good.”
Just catch one person!
Seol-ah was desperately trying to recruit freshmen, while Bonggun was only poking his ears and focusing on the game.
But for some reason, Muyoung’s image kept lingering. Was it because of his transparent appearance and mismatched shabby clothes?
‘The atmosphere was kind of strange.’
He even thought that the character in the new work he was writing these days would fit quite well. Of course, he dismissed it as a passing idea.
“Are you kidding me?”
Muyoung poked his head through the window of a white car. He suddenly got a call saying they were coming to pick him up! And in a car?
“Get in quickly.”
“No. Hey, do you even have a license?”
“Oh. What do you take me for? Of course I do.”
Junho confidently took out his driver’s license from his pocket. Damn it. The acquisition date was a week ago.
“The car behind us is waiting.”
“Sigh. Crazy.”
At Junho’s urging, Muyoung had no choice but to get into the passenger seat. He fastened his seatbelt as if it were a lifeline and muttered,
“Where’s the helmet?”
“Oh. You’re making such a fuss. Brother is on his way back after driving around Seoul.”
“Where did you get the car?”
“It’s what my dad used to drive. Now it’s my turn.”
The son of a building owner is indeed different. Muyoung clicked his tongue and looked ahead. Contrary to his anxiety, Junho’s driving was quite smooth.
“It’s been so hard to see your face, so I came to find you. Should I take you to the acting academy?”
“Yeah. I’ve been living there lately.”
“Come to my house.”
“There’s so much to learn that I can’t get away.”
Muyoung subtly glanced at Junho. The day he heard the news of his acceptance to Seoyeon University. He also had to hear the news of Junho’s failure.
“What’s wrong?”
Junho turned only his eyes and smiled while holding the steering wheel.
“No. I was just wondering what you’ve been up to.”
“What else is there? Dad keeps telling me to manage the building. It’s boring.”
Oh, I see. It’s not the time to worry about others.
Muyoung looked down at his worn-out sleeve.
“I didn’t really think about college, but now that I’ve failed, I’m wondering what to do. Should I be your manager?”
“Yeah. Get lost.”
Junho laughed playfully and gestured toward the back seat. Come to think of it, there were a lot of things piled up in black bags.
“What’s that?”
“My cousin works in the clothing industry. Actually, I’m on my way back from Dongdaemun. I’m going to work with my brother for a while.”
Clothing. It suited Junho well, as he liked to dress up and was sensitive to trends. Just as Muyoung was about to say something encouraging,
Swooosh-
Something floated lightly in the car. At first, he thought it was dust, but upon closer inspection, it was pollen.
“……Work hard. Everything will work out.”
“Suddenly, you sound like a fortune teller.”
They were so close that he couldn’t tell if it was Junho’s luck or his own. But what does it matter? A friend’s success is his own joy and luck.
“Stop here in front.”
“Okay.”
“Drive carefully on your way back.”
“Don’t worry. Let me know if you need a car anytime.”
“I know, so please drive safely!”
Junho just smiled and waved his hand out the window. Was it because he moved his dormitory belongings? He was exhausted after just half a day.
Squeak.
“I’m back.”
As soon as he opened the academy door, Oh Seok and the intermediate class friends were sitting in a circle. There was still some time before class, right?
“Muyoung, come here too.”
“What’s going on?”
“In about a month, all the kids will be going to college, so let’s get some practical experience before that.”
There were a lot of audition notices piled up on the table. The kids were looking through them and deciding where to apply.
“MBV would probably be better, right?”
“Terrestrial broadcasting has been picking good dramas lately.”
“It’s a new work by writer Lim Song-hwan. I’m definitely going for this one!”
“Choose between SBC and MBV.”
Everyone mostly chose big auditions. Muyoung also slowly skimmed through the papers…….
[Seoul City-sponsored promotional web drama actor recruitment.]
“Web drama? Are you really going to do that?”
“If you’re going to do it, do something bigger.”
“Right. It’s experience. Experience.”
As Muyoung stared at the paper as if enchanted, some of his friends laughed and shook their heads.
Not to mention that it was a promotional drama, but most importantly, it wouldn’t even be broadcast on TV…….
“……I’ll go with this one.”
Muyoung picked it up without hesitation.
Because an enormous amount of pollen, invisible to others, was overflowing, no, pouring out.