Chapter 31

A few months ago, Seojun watched a documentary.

Hollywood's leading actor, Swarlin An, known for his great acting, talked about how he does acting.

[I think the basis of acting is, understanding. An actor needed to understand the history of the character.]

History?

Seojun, who was studying acting while watching a documentary with his father, tilted his head.

Lee Min-joon smiled as he watched Seojun lying on the floor, drawing worms with crayons on a large sketchbook.

He didn't know that the earthworm-like drawing were letters that only Seojun could understand by mixing monster letters, Korean letters, and alphabets.

[Knowing the History seems difficult, but it was simple to understand how the character was born and raised, and the process of his development. For example, the main character of Soldier, who I starred in....]

Swarlin An talked about the growth process with Venter's parents.

He talked about the reasons why he had to have such a personality and the motivation behind his actions in the movie.

[But there are characters who are difficult to acquire his history with. Those extra.]

[Extra characters passing by the main characters without any lines will have their own stories. But there's no reason for screenwriters to make a history for extras. They are too busy with the main characters busy, so it is useless.]

Swarin An, who was smiling lightly, hardened his face.

As a middle-aged man with a deep impression hardened his face, the atmosphere became serious in an instant.

[But good actor has to understand the history of even an extras.]

"How?"

Seojun, who dropped a crayon from his hand, was stopped by his father trying to sit in front of the television.

He couldn't take his eyes off Swarin An's serious face even within his father's arms.

[Make it.]

[There are many clues. It's all in the script. You have to analyze, understand, and make a story even in the slightest clue.]

So Seojun made it. He made a history of the Extra he was playing.

The clue is teddy bear, the mother and his smile.

Director Ryan Will's voice was heard from the distance.

"Ready, action!"

***

William is now four years old.

He received a teddy bear, that was in his hand, for his 4th birthday.

From every gift he received, he liked this teddy bear the most because his dad gave it to him.

Talking to the teddy bear while in the garden was William's favorite game.

There wasn't much story Seojun could make of.

He thought that today's breakfast was delicious. Cookies are the best snack. Shall he play with teddy again today? Should he play with that?

William may have thought that today was an ordinary day. The weather was chilly, so his mom dressed his thick.

William sat in the yard where he played with the teddy bear.

"William!"

His mom called him.

William looked up to where was his mother's voice coming.

The mother was looking at the baby in the opened door.

William loved his mother.

He really loved when his mother's calls his name.

"William!"

His mom came running.

At the sight of his mother running with her arms outstretched, William also held out his hands with a teddy bear in his arms.

William smiled happier than ever because when his mother hugged him, she gave him delicious cookies.

But…

It was dark before he could knew it.

His whole body was cold.

"Cut! Okay!"

Ryan's shout stuck in Seojun's ear.

Seojun opened his eyes wide.

"Huh?"

What? When did the shooting started?

With a blank face, Barren's worried face came into his view.

"Are you surprised? Did I pull you too fast?"

Barron hugged Seojun and rolled around.

When Seojun stretched out his arms toward Melissa, seemed to be a good timing, so he quickly grabbed Seojun's side and pulled him down.

Then he looked at Seojun's condition right away.

In previous shoots, other child actors began to cry at Melissa's voice when she screamed.

Even though they barely passed the scene, they would cry and freaked out when Barren tried to grab the child actor's side.

But Seojun didn't cry and has his eyes closed tightly.

His lips were also a little blue.

Was he cold?

But Seojun's body in Barren's arms was warm enough.

Worried about his comolexion, Barren asked again.

"Are you okay, Jun?"

"What's going on, Barren?"

"No, Jun...."

"I'm okay!"

Director Ryan's voice brought Seojun to his senses and shouted.

Barren, who was patting Seojun on the back, dropped Seojun on the ground.

Two people he came with, ran towards him

"Aren't you scared?"

"No, it was fun!"

In fact, he couldn't think of anything else. Seojun just thought about William. Happiness, his Mom, and being pulled in the wormhole.

Cold, dark.

Seojun tilted his head.

What is it?

Ryan and the camera director were talking while looking at the monitor with a serious look on their faces.

On one side Melissa was wiping tears with a handkerchief.

Barren was surprised to see Melissa like that.

He knew she was working hard, but he didn't know that she would be so immersed to the points that she was crying.

Besides, it was the 5th same performance today.

He didn't expect her to have such kind of power remaining.

"You were so immersed in it?"

"Oh, that's…."

Melissa, who was trying to answer Barren's question, saw Seojun holding Barren's hand and began to shed tears again.

Barren and Seojun were flustered and didn't know what to do.

"Why are you crying?"

"Melissa, why are you crying?"

"Oh, my. I feel so bad for William.…."

Eventually, the other staff took Melissa to the waiting area.

The faces of the staff taking Melissa were bright. It was because the OK sign finally fell out of Ryan Will's mouth.

Everyone look at Seojun once and give him a proud look.

Barren shook his head as he looked at Melissa's back going to the waiting room accompanied by the staff.

"I don't think there are only good things about immersed acting."

"Immersed Acting?"

"Want to know, Jun?"

"Yes."

How should Barren tell this to a 4-and-10-months-year-old baby?

Barron thought about it for a while, but decided to trust the smart Seojun.

He explained it slowly with easy to understand words.

"Immersed acting is to become the character itself instead being just an actor.

Melissa, for example, is usually Melissa, but during this filming, she forgets herself and becomes William's mother."

"William's mom...."

Seojun thought hard.

Wouldn't his current situation be the same thing?

Seojun forgot that he was Seojun and became William.

He knew that he was being dragged into a wormhole, but he also knew it was Barren, not a real wormhole, yet he still felt his body getting cold and dark.

Is this what immersed acting is like?

"Immersed acting is good, but it's not easy to get out of character like what happened to Melissa after filming."

"Get out of character?"

"Melissa needs to forget being William's mother and becomes Melissa again."

It was different again.

As soon as he heard Ryan's "cut," he was not William anymore.

Seojun tilted his head.

"How do you do the immersed acting?"

When asked by Seojun, Barren awkwardly coughed and said in a serious voice that was so unlike him.

"The basis of all acting is understanding. Character's role...."

"I understand what's going on!"

"Understanding the History...?"

"Swarlin An!"

Barren's neck and face turned red at Seojun's words.

"…Did you also watch it Jun?"

"…You saw it."

"I am a fan of Swarlin An." Laughing shyly, Barren said.

"He is also my favorite actor." Seojun laughed too....

Clap!

Seojun slapped both of his hands. (TL: The type of slap that look like a clap because he is doing it to himself. Truthfully I don't know if it was arm or hands that he was hitting.)

'I didn't laugh yet!'

Clap! Clap!

'I didn't laugh!'

Fortunately, his ability was not activated.

Barren didn't know what to do when Seojun suddenly clapped hard and made voice as if he was hurt.

"Are you all right, Jun?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really!"

His palms were hurting and his face was having muscle cramp, but it was fine. Really.

'I'm going to sleep as soon as the shoot is over.'

* * *

"Ready!"

Ryan shouted loudly.

A tightly closed door appeared above the monitor screen.

On the other screen showed Seojun sitting on the floor.

"Action!"

The door opened and Melissa appeared.

The camera shot Melissa's face.

Ryan looked at her face.

She seemed desperate and was a bit of a poor performance in his eyes.

She was a mother who ran out because of the emergency news.

Among them, Melissa's face had to be filled with the belief that her son would never disappear, and anxiety, but Melissa's face had only the urgency of looking for her son.

Maybe it's because they filmed too much. Ryan was about to shout NG but because he knew that the staff and actors had suffered all day, he decided to watch Seojun's performance.

He thought if this kid was terrible, he'd just delete this scene.

"William!"

Melissa's scream was heard and Seojun rose from the screen.

"That's...."

William got up.

The little baby stood up and welcomed Melissa with a big smile.

[The illusion of the mushroom smiley fave is triggered]

Not only people but also Seojun, who was into acting, could not hear any sound.

When Seojun's smiling face was zoomed in, director Ryan Will, who was monitoring, and camera director James Landon, who was filming the scene, swallowed their breath.

Melissa, also had her jaw-dropped. Jonathan, who was among the tall staff, opened his mouth wide.

It was the smile of a child smiling brightly, he may looked happy but his heart was choking and shaking.

It's been as if they were stuffed up.

It was unbearable to know that the child would soon disappear inside the wormhole.

"William!"

Melissa, who saw the wormhole, shouted, no… she was now William's mother.

"Oh, my child! My precious child!"

Mom shouted.

"No!" She felt as if she had eaten a ball of fire.

There was no sound as if his throat was clogged.

William disappeared into the wormhole with a smile on his face till the end.

Now, he only have one shoe left.

The mother, who had become emotional, collapsed in the yard.

Mom couldn't take her eyes off from the place where the wormhole disappeared. Tears fell from her eyes.

It was Ryan Will who came to his senses first within this suffocating situation. He shouted loudly, forcing his throat to utter sounds.

"Cut! Okay!"

Everyone who were immersed in their acting was having a hard time breathing, but everyone returned to their senses at the Director's cut.

The waiting staff approached Melissa.

Meanwhile, director Ryan Will and the camera director, James, secretly wiped away the tears that were falling from their eyes, and Jonathan went to the corner weeping.

While the staff were organizing the scene, the two directors went to watch the scene once again.