19 The Best Part of Acting Is…

Their rooms were on the second floor while the restaurant was on the ground floor. Only two stories apart, but Damian called the elevator. Rafał left the hospital today and although he was not in a serious condition, Radosz wanted the actor not to overwork.

“You know, Mońka asked about you” Damian said as they went down. “The guys in his group are very worried about you.”

“Really?” Rafał's eyes flashed with amazement and joy, just like the eyes of a boy who unexpectedly got a ball signed by his favorite footballer, and it wasn't even his birthday.

“Are you so surprised?” Radosz was staggered.

"I'm a little surprised," he admitted. "I hope Mr. Tobiasz isn't in any trouble because of me."

“Why would he be in trouble because of you? If he's in trouble, it's because of himself,” Damian said, and walked out the door of the elevator, which had just stopped on the right floor. “Restaurant, restaurant... Oh, there it is!”

At that moment he noticed that Brylski was left behind, as if he was reluctant to get out of the elevator. Radosz turned to check and saw that Rafał's eyes were worried.

“Did something happen?” Damian asked. “Did you feel bad?”

“No. I'm just concerned about Mr. Tobiasz...”

Radosz sighed and scratched his neck. This Brylski was really troublesome, but also extremely amusing.

"Don't worry," Damian calmed his companion. “I watched the accident video and Mońka is clean as a tear. Nothing will happen to him or his people. He is ashamed that he did not look after you on set and promised to look after you better now, but he thinks you are good and that you will be a good actor.”

“So he doesn't blame me for yesterday...?”

“Only the sun is to blame for yesterday. Who do you blame?”

Brylski shook his head helplessly.

“I can't blame anyone but myself.”

“Blame the sun better than yourself. It confused you and made you unconscious.”

Brylski pursed his lips and nodded with a childlike determination. Damian had to look away from him in order not to show how much he enjoys Rafał's behavior.

It's not that Brylski was funny like a comedy character, but he was really joyful. I mean, there was something in his behavior that made Damian happy.

"I vaguely remember it wasn't the sun, but I was messing around with the harness," Brylski replied gloomily.

Radosz led him to the table. It was not a restaurant of the kind where the waiter points the customer to a suitable place. You didn't even have to make reservations here. Anyone could walk in here and take an empty seat. After all, this restaurant, like the hotel, did not belong to the five-star in international standard. Probably two stars would be an exaggeration.

"I must have told you that I watched the accident footage," Damian reminded him as he took his seat at the table.

It was quite early time, dinner had only just begun, so there were still very few guests. Or maybe there weren't many visitors here at all, judging by the decor and the sloppy behavior of the waiters.

"You were practically unconscious when you started fiddling with your harness," he added reassuringly.

“So after all it was true” muttered Raphael grimly. “I thought it was a dream.”

“It was a dream” Damian felt unpleasantly sad looking at his companion's face, which had an expression of guilt.

Brylski's face was made for a smile, not for sadness, so when these negative emotions appeared in her, Radosz felt discomfort.

"Listen," Damian began resolutely, "you shouldn't have been on the roof then. You were under high radiation for too long and you had a heat stroke. But it wasn't you who insisted you get there so soon, and you didn't cause all the delays. You didn't ask for this accident. It just happened and you should forget about it. You are to focus on your work and the people from the team will take care of your safety. Mońka promised that he would look after you much better next time.”

“Next time…”

“What, you don't want to?”

"I want to," Brylski replied enthusiastically, and his eyes lit up with enthusiasm again. “Only... Różycki may decide that I am not suitable and...”

And again, the speech was suspended in thin air, as if the people from the set of The Fifth Capital were simply afraid to say a bad word about the all-powerful director.

But that could not be the case. After all, Różycki was not a captain on a lonely ship whose crew bravely traveled the ocean. The film set was not an isolated place or a place full of dangers, where total obedience to the director-captain could save everyone from extermination.

Therefore, Damian asked directly and boldly:

“Answer me honestly, is Różycki bullying you?”

"No," Brylski replied swiftly. Perhaps even too hurriedly, because he suddenly felt ashamed. “He's harsh with me sometimes, but that's because I have a lot of shortcomings and he has to endure my inexperience. Let's order something, I'm really hungry.”

"Agreed," Radosz agreed, hiding his disappointment.

But could he really be surprised by Rafał, who had no experience on the set and, wishing to develop, trusted the director? After all, this is exactly how an actor should behave, but the director should actually be trustworthy. But was Brylski in a position to judge what the director's behavior was okay and which should never have happened?

Damian had to drop further questions and changed the subject when they placed the order.

“Was changing your career to acting a difficult decision for you? You know, your studies were of a completely different nature.”

“Hmm...” Rafał Brylski thought about it, assuming a surprisingly interesting but attractive expression on his face. “It's hard to say, really. It all happened by accident and so suddenly, and since then I have had so many classes that I don't think I had time to wonder if it was difficult for me. It is definitely different.”

“You regret?”

“No” Rafał smiled and his smile was honest and light, which made something joyfully move in Damian's heart. “I liked the actor's work. I have the impression that thanks to her I can live a life that I could not even dream of.”

“What do you mean?” did not understand Radosz. Brylski's words sounded strange, as if... he was talking about escaping this world.

Damian himself did not see why he had such an association. Maybe it was something that briefly appeared in Rafał’s green eyes? It was more of an impression on Damian's part, yet he felt a certain unease.

Brylski laughed completely naturally in response.

“What else, if not acting as an actor, will give me the opportunity to live as an adventurous 16th century nobleman?” answered the question with a question.

So that was it?

Radosz also laughed. Brylski had an interesting sense of humor.

"You're right," he replied. “I never thought of playing a role as living a life. I guess that's why I missed what you meant.”

“I guess it depends on how deep you get into the role” said Rafał. “Professor Urbański said that there are two types of actors, learned and natural actors. The former are guided by technique, the latter are driven by emotions. It shows in how they discover their roles. Natural actors go deeper, as if they are actually becoming the characters they act. As if they were really living their lives. It is said that technical actors cannot be taught emotions, but emotional actors can be taught techniques.”

“And what type are you?” Damian asked, although he knew perfectly well. The answer was obvious.