Possessed 10 Million Actors

Chapter 13

“You guys are trash.”

Producer Na Jinho and writer Jo Seokwon flinched, perhaps embarrassed by the sudden onset of the acting. But I didn’t care.

I was already completely immersed in acting, and Kang Hoshin was also accustomed to uttering such remarks.

I initiated the performance, and now I have transformed into a formidable hero.

“I came to this land in accordance with the orders of His Majesty the Emperor to liberate Joseon from ignorance and develop it. You must live your whole life in gratitude for His Majesty the Emperor’s grace.”

When Kang Hoshin first arrived in Joseon, he used to convey this message to the Koreans.

I repeated those words to Producer Na Jinho and Writer Jo Seokwon, much like Kang Hoshin, with eyes fixed on them as though observing trash strewn by the side of the road.

Then, I continued speaking in an indifferent tone, devoid of the slightest hint of emotion.

“The Empire of Japan is very merciful. So, you Koreans will have no problem living as long as you do what the empire tells you to do and what the empire wants. And my order to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor is truly the order of the Empire of Japan.”

‘Indifference’ can sometimes resemble ‘annoyance’.

However, Kang Hoshin did not bother with dealing with Koreans. Instead, he viewed it as the fate of a soldier who receives orders, and he undertook them passionately and seriously.

And he never judged himself.

Just follow orders.

‘That’s why Kang Hoshin could speak more coldly and calmly than any other Japanese police officer.’

He continued to maintain a cold gaze and gathered his resolve to portray another Japanese police officer.

This performance is ‘Japanese police officer angry at Koreans’. Recalling the time when Kang Hoshin was angered by the Korean people, he slowly opened his mouth.

“You don’t salute even when you see the Imperial Military Police, so your indoctrination has not yet progressed. Take him away and give him ten lashes.”

Isn’t there someone like that? A person who is clearly very angry, but there is no change in his or her voice or expression.

When such a person gets angry, the surroundings become cold, and the atmosphere freezes. Sometimes you get goosebumps.

I was just that kind of person now.

I was as angry as ice. Cold and ruthless.

Moreover, Kang Hoshin had an aura that instilled fear in his opponents.

When I brought it to the audition room, the once quiet audition room was no longer even heard.

The more I immersed myself in acting, the more I became assimilated into Kang Hoshin’s memories and emotions, and I spat out the lines exactly as he did.

“You still harbor foolish delusions of independence. What on earth do you think of His Majesty the Emperor’s consideration and grace? I can’t forgive. Execute him summarily.”

An order to kill someone.

“The entire family is punished according to the guilt-by-association system. Send the kids who can’t decide what’s right yet to the imperial army. To be rehabilitated there.”

An order that tears a family apart.

“I’m sure they would have told me to report something like this, but no one reported it. It’s clear that everyone is on the same page. Burn the village!”

He could have easily given a ruthless order to burn down a village.

I, no, Kang Hoshin did not consider Koreans who did not follow his words as human beings.

He felt like he had seen enough of the ‘Japanese police officer who was angry at the Koreans’ and took a moment to catch his breath. It’s clear that I’m the one breathing, but for some reason, I feel a sense of strangeness.

In the next act, before the tension dropped, he began ‘A Japanese police officer is disappointed in Japan’.

Dump.

He lowered his knees to the floor. When my knees hit the stone floor, I heard a rather unpleasant sound.

When people kneel like this, everyone prefers to kneel gently.

The reason is simple.

Because it hurts if you kneel hard.

But people who are truly despairing and disappointed don’t care about that.

To a person whose entire body feels weak, whose heart is filled with unbearable discomfort, and who only has anger and betrayal in his head.

The pain of hitting your knee on the floor is nothing.

Now I did that.

I knelt down like a formidable deity who had just learned about my father’s death in prison.

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And he glared at my hand with the same fierce gaze he used to fix on Koreans.

‘Why on earth have I been living like this?’

His hands are shaking. I shook so hard that my strength began to strain. The joints in my fingers ached.

With that ‘trembling,’ I expressed a variety of emotions without a single line of dialogue.

Then, suddenly, I remembered the moments when I was loyal to Japan.

The moments when I volunteered to go to war, overcame hundreds of near-death crises, polished the medals I earned with other people’s blood every day, and bowed every day to the Emperor of Japan who did not even know of my existence.

It was a moment full of glory that turned ‘Kang Hoshin’ into ‘Nakamura’ until now.

But all of that was no longer glory. Now it’s just disgust.

When Kang Hoshin realized that, he screamed.

“Aaaahhh!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

He struck his head on the floor like a person consumed by madness beyond anger. At that moment, Kang Hoshin pounded his head until it bled, and he fainted.

But I didn’t go that far. That’s because acting is ‘too’ realistic.

I woke up slowly. There was venom in his eyes, but they didn’t feel as cold as before. Of course, there were no tears.

Because right now in front of me were two judges pretending to be ‘Koreans who held my father’s funeral on my behalf.’

In front of them, I played the role of a ‘Japanese police officer who decided to dedicate himself to Joseon.’

He uttered the last line in a somber voice.

“Thank you.”

There were so many emotions contained in one short word. ‘Gratitude’ as it is meant to be, ‘sorry’ for what I have done so far, ‘desperation’ to know that I am reflecting, etc.

When I finished acting, there was silence.

Clap, clap, clap…

PD Na Jinho and writer Jo Seokwon clapped their hands like people possessed by something.

***

“You guys… “It’s trash.”

‘Hey… ‘What the hell?’

It doesn’t take a long time to understand an actor’s acting skills. You can tell more than 70% just by looking at the first line, first gesture, and first breath.

Though he is not bragging, PD Na Jinho was confident that, with his level of experience, he could discern even more details than that.

‘What is this? ‘Is this acting?’

However, I couldn’t understand Jinseok’s acting.

Everyone has their own vibe. That cannot be easily erased, no matter how great an actor is.

‘But… he seems like a completely different person?’

The more Jinseok acted, the more these thoughts grew in his head.

“The entire family is punished according to the guilt-by-association system. Send the kids who can’t decide what’s right yet to the imperial army. To be rehabilitated there.”

I got goosebumps when I heard this line. Not only was the acting skill great, but it was almost identical to the script written by writer Jo Seokwon.

Producer Na Jinho was moved to tears while watching Jinseok’s acting without knowing why. Watching Jinseok’s acting, he felt like he was a Korean living during the Japanese colonial period.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen acting that makes me angry like this…’

Producer Na Jinho was moved to tears by the realistic acting, but at the same time, he could not hide his joy. Because this great actor was auditioning for his own work.

After a while, Jinseok screamed and hit his head on the floor.

“Aaaahhh!!!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Writer Jo Seokwon saw that and urgently spoke to producer Na Jinho.

“Don’t you have to stop him? Is that smoke?”

“Okay, let’s take a look, Writer.”

After about 5 seconds of screaming, Jinseok stood up. I took a deep sigh and spoke quietly to producer Na Jinho and writer Jo Seokwon.

“Thank you.”

A short but heavy word.

The two judges thought the same thing about those heavy words that seemed to touch their hearts.

‘done.’

‘This is it.’

Jinseok was the perfect actor they both wanted.

He is a new face, free from the public’s preconceptions, and is an actor who can portray a Japanese police officer who goes back and forth between hope and despair.

An actor who can sincerely act disappointed in Japan and sorry for Joseon.

After Jinseok’s performance ended, PD Na Jinho smiled broadly.

***

The evaluation started as soon as my performance was over. And of course, it was not a happy time for Lee Homin.

Author Jo Seokwon evaluated it first.

“Mr. Lee Homin. What did you feel when you saw Kang Jinseok’s acting?”

“···.”

“…since you don’t seem to know, let me tell you what I should have felt.”

Writer Jo Seokwon said to Lee Homin, who was looking at him without saying a word, with his arms crossed.

“I’m talking about a Japanese police officer. At that time, Koreans, or Joseon people, were not viewed as human beings.”

“···.”

“It’s not that they ignored it, it’s that they didn’t treat them like people at all. He thought like a dog. Now, here’s the question.”

Writer Jo Seokwon looked at me and smiled slightly, then looked at Lee Homin again.

“For example, a passing dog urinated on you. Then how are you going to get angry?”

Lee Homin had no answer to his question this time.

Jo Seokwon continued speaking in a serious voice.

“I’m not Lee Homin, so I don’t know for sure. But one thing is for sure, he won’t scream and go crazy like before.”

“···yes.”

“It’s funny that I say this to an actor with 10 years of experience, but… Lee Homin, when it comes to acting, you really have to study a lot. By the way, Lee Homin, how much research did you do on the role of a Japanese police officer before auditioning?”

“···.”

“Have you ever looked for books or documentaries, much less novels or dramas?”

Lee Homin opened his mouth to say something in response to the sharp criticism directed at him. But he soon closed his mouth again.

“Phew… If you take on a role, you just have to act as written in the script. But now, Homin Lee didn’t take on the role, he just came to pick it up and act without prior knowledge, right? Then next time get down to the basics of acting. Do you understand?”

“···yes.”

“First of all, thank you for your hard work. Now, it’s Kang Jinseok’s turn. Kang Jinseok’s acting… .”

Writer Jo Seok-won looked at me and said. Although I was nervous about what kind of evaluation I would receive, I hoped for good reviews.

“Honestly, I liked Kang Jinseok’s acting a bit too.”

“···?”

But it was something completely unexpected. Was Kang Hoshin, not the character you thought he was?

“ah···. yes. If you tell me what part I am lacking, I will work hard to learn.”

When I spoke in a nervous voice, writer Jo Seokwon waved his hand and laughed.

“No no. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that I was surprised because it was so realistic.”

At those words, my worries from before melted away in an instant.

‘Thank god…’

Author Jo Seokwon took out a thick notebook from his bag.

“This is a notebook in which I wrote down the research I did to create a Japanese police officer. But the acting that Jinseok Kang just showed is very similar to the Japanese police officers shown here.”

It was such high praise that I might never hear it again.

“Thank you!”

“I should be the one to thank you. I really enjoyed the good acting. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes!”

“I would rate it this way. Now, let’s listen to the PD’s evaluation.”

PD Na Jinho spoke immediately.

“If you look at the acting just now, you can’t tell who has 10 years of experience and who is a rookie.”

This was also a great compliment to me, and quite a humiliating evaluation to Lee Homin.

“Mr. Lee Homin. I directed a lot of drama, right? As that kind of person, I’m telling you to do well, Lee Homin, so don’t be offended and listen.”

“···yes.”

“It’s no longer a place that treats you just because you spend a lot of time like before. Nowadays, scary rookies are coming up like crazy. Like Kang Jinseok.”

Producer Na Jinho pointed at me. Then Lee Homin glared at me slightly.

‘Even in this situation, you build up your pride…’

Unfortunately or fortunately, PD Na Jinho did not see that. He continued to give advice in a sincere voice.

“But that doesn’t mean there is a unique image that you have created so far. When the public looks at you now, is there an image that comes to mind when they think of ‘actor Lee Homin’?”

“···doesn’t exist.”

“Yes? But why didn’t you prepare?”

Lee Homin said in a somewhat unfair voice.

“I prepared a lot! Isn’t it just that the character is different from what the writer had in mind?”

PD Na Jinho, who heard his words, hung himself. He seemed to be suppressing his anger considerably.

Producer Na Jinho took a deep breath, gathered his emotions, and spoke.

“Lee Homin, I have held the megaphone for 20 years. I’ve seen hundreds or thousands of people perform during that time. But your acting was not prepared at all it’s lacking.”

“···.”

“If you could truly put your hand on your heart and say that you worked hard… Then you need to stop acting. This isn’t really for you Mr. Lee Homin.”

Producer Na Jinho, who poured out a barrage of criticism toward Lee Homin, spoke to writer Jo Seokwon.

“Writer. I think Kang Jinseok will be fine, what do you think?”

“Yes. I’m also happy because it seems like Kang Jinseok has studied a lot.”

At those words, a smile appeared on my face without me knowing. But my joy now was bad news for Lee Homin, so I didn’t show it as much as possible.

I don’t like Lee Homin, but I thought it was the minimum courtesy as an actor.

“Then it looks like he’s got the part, so I’ll go out. I hope the drama does well.”

However, Lee Homin spoke as if he was shooting at the two people. Not only the way he spoke, but even his voice was rude.

“···Tsk.”

Then he glanced at me, clicked his tongue, and left the audition room.

Bang!

“Huh, really…”

“That person is really… It’s absurd.”

Producer Na Jinho and writer Jo Seokwon simultaneously expressed their astonishment at Lee Homin’s unexpected behavior.

‘hmm…’

What would it have been like if Lee Homin had put aside his pride and listened to the advice of writer Seokwon Jo and the advice of the producer?

‘I guess I felt a little sorry.’

That’s because I acted as a ‘possession’.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I didn’t try. Honestly, I can confidently say that I live a more intense life than any other actor.

Nevertheless, I must have felt sorry because I took a test called an audition with the answer sheet called possession.

‘But there’s no need to feel sorry for someone like that.’

As I looked blankly at the door where Lee Homin left, PD Na Jinho smiled and said.

“Don’t worry about Lee Homin, let’s talk about the important stuff first.”

“yes? Ah, yes!”

‘It’s an important matter… ‘What is that?’

While I was wondering, PD Na Jinho took out his cell phone. And after checking something, he looked straight at me.

“Because there isn’t much left until filming.”

“···.”

“Let’s set the appearance fee first.”

It was literally an ‘important matter’.