Editor: Veris
“Ah, that’s…”
If I say I couldn’t do it because I felt embarrassed, I’ll probably get negative points.
In any game, momentum was the most important thing. A strong presence that could make the opponent misjudge often led directly to victory. I confidently replied with determination, focusing my gaze.
“I thought it wouldn’t be an ordinary zombie.”
Director Park Jun-dong had his hand on his chin, wearing a look that said, ‘Look at this guy,’ in response to my answer. Regardless of whether it was correct or not, the fact that I had a different perspective from others must have sparked his curiosity. Because while everyone else was performing typical zombie acting, I wasn’t.
I had his reasons for this of course since I roughly knew the plot of this production. The role ‘Zombie A’ was the king of the zombies, so to speak. Of course, nowhere in the script was there a detailed character analysis for this role.
But…
“At what point did you come up with that idea?”
“I tried to deduce it from the first script.”
After I finished my answer, everyone read the very first line of the script.
“It was strange. A zombie awakened in Deoksugung’s Seokjojeon. He was distinctly different from other zombies. There was power in his eyes…”
“Hmm.”
Director Park Jun-dong nodded silently without saying a word. The expressions of the participants who had auditioned were suddenly darkened from what seemed to be approval.
‘It seems like they’ve been caught unprepared.’
I silently celebrated inside. Somehow, things were unfolding too easily from the very first hurdle.
At that moment, the martial arts director, Ha Jae-woong, threw the second question at me.
“Which action school are you affiliated with, our friend?”
This question was also a positive reaction. It implied that my acrobatic performance was excellent enough to have received specialized training from an action school.
In a way, it was only natural. As a former track and field athlete preparing for admission to a physical education college, mastering gymnastics on the side was a piece of cake for me.
Even the more difficult maneuvers posed no problem.
“I currently have no affiliation.”
“Oh, really? Is that so?”
“Yes.”
I felt the martial arts director’s gaze on me, somewhat greedy.
“You will be notified individually of the audition results after three days. Thank you all for your hard work.”
With no more questions, the staff began to usher out the participants, but the martial arts director, Ha Jae-woong, suddenly stood up and walked over.
His cheeks sunken into his tough body. Intense eyes with thick eyebrows.
Looking like a typical yakuza, he grabbed my shoulder and handed me a business card.
“What’s this, Director Ha? Aren’t you being too greedy?”
“Oh my, you’re right. This is our movie audition venue, not an action school interview.”
“Haha, I’m sorry. But you all understand why I’m doing this, don’t you?”
As the friendly group of staff laughed and chatted, a business card was suddenly pressed into my hand.
[JW Action School]
“Kang Jang-gu, right? If you’re interested in being a stuntman, give me a call.”
The offer was sudden but appreciated. At the very least, shouldn’t I remember the name and consider the proposal?
* * *
“Wow, Kang Jang-gu. What’s that in your hand?”
Seong Jun-won dashed towards me, making a fuss. His gaze, starting from his expression and scanning my entire body, seemed to try to assess whether I passed the audition or not, finally landed on the business card in my hand.
“Wow. JW Action School? Insane.. It’s really famous here.”
He held up the card, seemingly trying to verify its authenticity by examining both sides.
“What’s up? What happened? Say something quickly, come on!”
“He said to contact him in three days.”
“What’s the card for?”
“He said to contact him if I’m interested in being a stuntman.”
“Huh?”
After a moment of thought, the crazy guy, Seong Jun-won, burst into laughter.
“But isn’t this saying your face is nothing special, but your body’s worth using?”
I couldn’t argue with the crazy guy’s remark, given that I had also seen myself in the mirror.
“Hey, but you’re in great shape, aren’t you? You may not be good at exercise, but I guess you’re not completely hopeless. Weird…”
Without saying much in response, I followed Seong Jun-won to the parking lot.
It was surprising to hear that he had been clueless about exercise. What kind of life had he lived with this physique? I felt the need to understand the basic specs of this character named Kang Jang-gu.
“Still, JW Action School is really amazing. All the top actors go there to train for action movies. Jjang-gu. What on earth did you do to come out with this?”
The problem was the fact that I had been cast as a stuntman, not an action actor. The job of performing all sorts of dangerous scenes under the shadow of the actors.
“Hey, you know what? I didn’t realize it, but it seems like the zombie role has quite a bit of importance. Honestly, I was just messing around when I put your name on the list. …but.”
Now the mystery was solved. This crazy guy had applied for a role that suited him perfectly, while he had applied for me to try the zombie role. I had wondered why I had chosen to audition for that role among so many others.
“Huh.”
As he nodded his head in a manner suggesting he had more to say,
“You know East, right? The idol group.”
Even those who didn’t like idols knew East in South Korea. Before various controversies caused their activities to decline, East was a global idol group with members from Korea, China, and Japan.
“Seo Woon-chan went to audition for the same zombie role as you.”
Seo Woon-chan was a well-known figure who had gained recognition as an actor, playing various roles.
“Wait a minute…”
It was only now that I began to remember the faces of the actors cast in “Seoul Square: The Last Day,” which I had forgotten about.
‘So he was an idol.’
Although his performance was overshadowed by the tremendous zombie makeup, I vaguely remembered that some of the people cast were rookie actors, and among them, an idol.
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Don’t worry. Jjang-gu, this hyung told you, you have a zombie free pass. For this your face is more perfect than an idol’s.”
It seemed like the crazy guy definitely needed a muzzle..
* * *
After the audition ended, tension filled the conference room. While opinions on all roles were narrowing down, surprisingly, the role of ‘Zombie A’ remained undecided.
“Director, obviously, this role should go to Seo Woon-chan. That way, the production company and investors will be pleased.”
Despite the controversies surrounding East, they were still one of the top idol groups in South Korea. Among them, Seo Woon-chan, the visual center, was a card not to be ignored for the success of the movie. Furthermore, his genuine determination to become a proper actor was evident, as he had come to audition directly, not through his agency.
In short, it was like winning the lottery.
“Why are you hesitating?”
“Isn’t Seo Woon-chan also a good actor? He’s passionate too.”
“Just the fact that he applied for the role of a zombie among many others shows his ambition in acting.”
For several minutes, the director had been holding a pen without marking anything, frustrating the staff around him.
Breaking the long silence, martial arts director Ha Jae-woong spoke up.
“Hmm. I think I know why the director is hesitating. Is it because of that guy?”
Only then did the clear gaze of the director, who had been lost in thought, focus sharply.
“Wasn’t Ha Director okay with him? That guy?”
What Director Park was holding was the script for the role of Zombie A. He repeatedly read the first line he had written, lost in thought.
“A zombie like a human… I couldn’t even imagine it when I wrote this. But you know, it makes sense. I already thought he was somewhat lacking as a villain. Suddenly, this bland character became three-dimensional.”
Upon hearing the director’s words, the staff praised him.
“Oh, I also got chills earlier.”
“I don’t know about others, but he was really good at pretending to be a zombie.”
“Other guys didn’t scare me because they didn’t have makeup, but I really felt scared.”
“The mask itself looked manly and scary.”
As the praise continued for Kang Jang-gu, the martial arts director, Ha Jae-woong, who had been silent, raised the corners of his mouth and spoke up.
“Above all, it was that guy who portrayed a zombie. There was no one else like Kang Jang-gu.”
In response, Director Park Jun-dong let out a deep sigh and raised his pen above the casting board.
“Alright. Decision made.”
* * *
“Method acting is when an actor actively immerses themselves into the role, becoming the character itself. As Constantin Stanislavski…”
Seong Jun-won and I were sitting in the back row of the classroom, listening to the lecture for ‘Theater 2’.
Watching the guy next to me dozing off, probably due to heavy drinking the night before, I glanced around the classroom.
‘Korean National University of Arts, Department of Acting, is indeed different.’
Interestingly, not only the professor lecturing but also the students sitting around seemed to have quite recognizable faces.
Among them, there was a guy who had played a significant role in a mega-hit movie that drew tens of millions of viewers, and another who was rising to fame as a musical actor, and even one who had debuted as an idol and made a big splash.
About one-third of the classmates sitting in the classroom seemed to be individuals whose faces one might have seen on TV at least once.
“Huh?”
And then…
There were also faces that I had seen more often in the business section of sports entertainment rather than in sports entertainment itself.
“That person…”
Seated in the far-left corner, wearing glasses and focusing on the lecture, was undoubtedly someone I knew.
Back when I was a professional swimmer in my past life, she had been there when LS Entertainment and sponsorship contracts were being signed.
“The daughter of the CEO of LS Entertainment.”
We had briefly exchanged greetings at a party after a press conference. Because it was from my past life, I remembered her face vividly. Her name was quite unique, if I recall correctly…
“Hey.”
When I nudged him with my elbow, Seong Jun-won, who had been startled awake, widened his eyes and was about to let out a surprised sound, but I quickly covered his mouth to prevent it.
“Hey, why are you sleeping? What was her name?”
As I whispered, Seong Jun-won, who had just rubbed his face, turned his gaze in the direction I was pointing. The girl adjusting her glasses met the tip of my pointing finger with one corner of her mouth raised.
“Why? Oh. Jjang-gu (1), are you officially starting to hunt for new students?”
The crazy guy, who had never opened his eyes once during the lecture, suddenly became clear-eyed.
“Enough. Go back to sleep.”
As I tried to close his eyes again, I noticed the professor closing his laptop.
And then, at that moment,
My phone received a call from an unknown caller.
A system notification appeared before my eyes.
Congratulations! You have successfully landed your first role!
Your reward has arrived.
Would you like to check it?
“Huh…?”
Editor’s Note:
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Jjang-gu is Kang Jang-gu’s nickname.
