Rebirth: King to Superstar

"I mean, what's there to say? This much is expected when the drama house is one of the best in the world." He shrugged and replied to San Min. It was what he genuinely thought. When a drama house has a reputation like theirs, the practice was supposed to be better than the ones below them. It reached his expectations, and that was it. Nothing else. 

San Min looked at him for a second before nodding. She liked that answer. Even she agreed that with the reputation they had a performance like that was expected out of them and if they didn't deliver, it was a black mark on their reputation.

"Are you confident in getting a role next week?" She asked another question. 

Joon-won didn't even bother to think a second about the question and replied immediately, "If it's a drama and not a movie audition, I'm sure there is no one capable of taking a role from me." Unlike his previous confidence, this one was more believable. If he loses even in a theatre audition, then he would rather quit acting. It only meant that the decades of hard work he kept in was for nothing and anything was better than that.

"That's good. You should have confidence. I saw that audition clip and I should say, you'll be pretty good on a theatre stage." 

Joon-won nodded and replied, "Thanks for the compliment but I don't want the theatre to be my last stop in this journey." 

"Well if that's how you feel about it. Alright, then I'll go back to the front. The practice is going to start again." She stood up and walked to the front before clapping her hands and calling for everyone to start again. Joon-won also stood up and walked out. He didn't want to see the practice anymore. 

He got to know his problem yesterday and wanted to start looking for answers. But before he started looking for answers, he decided to watch a movie to get an overview of the differences from a completely changed view. He walked into the costume room and saw there were only two people in the room. Pak Shin and Seon Yun. Both were on their phone and looked up when he walked in.

"Oh, Joon-won. I thought you'll take the day off like the other two." Pak Shin asked.

Joon-won shook his head and replied, "No, I came to check on how the practice goes in this place and after that, I came here. What are you guys doing? And where are the other two?" 

"The other two asked for a leave and I agreed because we did all the costume adjustments yesterday and we both are here in case of any unforeseen problems with the costumes. Have a seat and do whatever you want for today." He waved his hands and got back to his phone. Seok Yun gave a nod to him before going back to her phone. 

Joon-won shrugged and sat in his place. This was exactly what he wanted and so he wasn't going to complain. He took out his earphones before connecting them and going through the internet for any good movies. It didn't take him long before finding an interesting synopsis and started watching it. The movie's name was Last Of Me. 

The movie was about the second world war. It was a historic event that decided how the world was now seen. It was between the two sides of the world, east and west. But mainly between two countries which carried immense power on both sides and dragged the rest countries from their side into it because of their power. 

Even Ulyss was involved in the war according to what he read in the university library but wasn't affected as much as some other countries. The hero was from the west and forced into the war. It was mainly focused on the events leading up to the war and how he had to unwillingly sacrifice himself for the sake of war. It had a lot of emotions in it and could make people cry by the end of it. 

Joon-won had to give some serious credit to the main lead. The role was not simple, and he did it perfectly. He looked up the movie and saw the name of the main lead was Guk Seong and he was actually an A-listed actor. He became very famous after this movie which was released 3 years ago and since then his fame has been rising pretty quickly. 

After checking on the actor, he thought about his acting. Now he was able to find the difference between a movie actor and a theatre actor. Guk Seong did not make mistakes as he did and was more natural. His expressions were much more natural and in tune with the environment. His eyes were also very clear and free from any natural restrictions or hesitation. 

Joon-won understood that there was a significant gap between him and a bonafide A-listed actor. The gap wasn't that easy to fill yet, but he knew, given some time, he would be there after getting some experience. He was now on par with a B-listed actor if he could make the changes and that was a good start. 

He noticed 3 hours passed by and looked around the room to see only Pak Shin in the room. The time was already 6 in the evening. Pak shin was on his desk sleeping and Joon-won decided to just go out. He walked out of the room and made his way towards the theatre. The group was still practicing and he could hear noise from the inside. 

He slowly got in and took a seat at the back, as another practice was about to start. He could see Dan Min clapping her hands and saying, "Alright guys, this would be the last one so let's get it right and go home. If I find even one mistake, then we will do it from the top once again. So be careful." 

The group started their practice and this time it went almost flawlessly. There were small mistakes he could find, but those weren't worth mentioning at all. The theatre has 2 shows every Sunday, one in the morning and one afternoon. The first show was at 10 and the second show was at 3. Each show was 2 hours long. 

The practice went seamlessly and San Min clapped her hands before saying, "Alright guys that will be it for the practice. Let's perform this way tomorrow too and please our audience." And dismissed everyone. 

Joon-won stood up and was ready to go back home before he heard San Min call for him. He turned back and saw her walking towards him. 

"Let's go to my office. You spent three days here already and I want to know how your progress is. Also, I'll transfer you the money when we are there." Joon-won nodded and followed her to her office. Everyone was making their way out and would stop to greet the boss San Min before throwing a confusing stare at him. 

After a few minutes they were in her office and she said, "I heard from Pak Shin. It looks like you were a huge help with that group the last two days. They say you should join the costume group instead of acting." Joon-won had a deadpan face when he heard her. 

'Why does everyone here want me to become a seamster? I'm only good at it because I had no choice but to make my own clothes back in the day.' 

"It's ok, I'm alright. I would rather become an actor."

San Min laughed at his expression and continued, "Well, alright then. Let's talk about something more important, your progress. How is it? Did you find anything useful about yourself?" 

Joon-won nodded and replied, "Yeah, I found the reasons why I got rejected. Now all I need to do is start fixing my problems." 

"You make it sound so simple. Knowing your problems is the most basic part of it. But you have to start figuring out how you make those changes in your acting. It's harder than you think." 

"I know, that's why I'll start from next week's drama. I'll get roles and practice making changes. It should be easier." 

San Min raised an eyebrow after hearing him and said, "You want to use my dramas to change your acting? If your half-assed acting gets my drama a bad rating, you'll not even get a chance to audition, much less a role."

"It's alright. I'll be serious when it comes to the practice. I won't do half-assed ones on stage." 

"Well, that's good then. Alright let me transfer you the money and you can go. Right, give me your account number. Right here." She took out a book and opened a page before giving him a pen.

After giving her his account, she quickly transferred the money, and he got out of the drama house. This time he made it in time for the bus and reached home before 9.