End Of Last Practice

Joon-won couldn't help but shake his head at Seo Hea-Jung's indirect insult towards Roh Ji. 'This girl's words are really going to make problems for me. Even though what she said is true. Luckily that idiot isn't here and is overlooking the practice. I should first send this girl away; she only brings problems.'

"It's just bad luck, and I am fine with this role. Young miss, don't you have to go and have lunch with that friend of yours? I'm sure he is waiting for you," Joon-won said, not hiding his desire to send her away.

She smiled and replied, "It's okay. That idiot can wait. I'd rather spend my time chatting with you than having an irritating lunch with him. Anyway, I have to say once again, if it weren't for this nonsense story your class writer concocted and the small role, you could get better marks and get into the Star Batch."

He turned around, closed his eyes, and said, "I am fine the way it is. I don't see any need to get into the Star Batch. It's only a bunch of wannabes with a handful of people who can get the job done. I am willing to take the harder route if it means avoiding stupid people there," dissing her in the process.

After a moment of silence, she started laughing and stood up. While patting his shoulder, she bent down next to his ear and whispered, "I feel like you and I can become best friends. Our thoughts are too similar, and you are very interesting. Well, I'll be going for now, or the bull outside will go on a rampage. I'll come back tomorrow to watch your acting and bring a gift for you like the older sister," she said with the same smile, then leaned back and walked out of the room.

Everyone simply watched her walk out and then turned towards Joon-won. He couldn't care less about what they thought and simply closed his eyes. After a while, the practice finally finished, and everyone gathered backstage with Roh Ji at the front, making an announcement.

"Alright, guys, let's break for lunch and come back for one more practice. We still have to tweak a few things here and there," she said, clapping her hands like a boss.

Joon-won and Jung-hwa walked to a nearby stall and had a quick yet tasty lunch. They continued to talk about their plans for the summer and the exam tomorrow.

"Don't worry too much. If the judges are impartial and have even a bit of knowledge of acting, I'm sure you'll win the prize money for our drama. You are, after all, better than both the lead idiots," he said confidently. He had faith in her and his teaching.

Jung-hwa could only wryly smile at how confident he was. She was nowhere near that confident in her own acting skills and was always worrying about it. She decided to change over the course of the summer and be a better person by the start of the new semester.

She nodded, and they walked back to the auditorium for the final rehearsal. This time, without any disturbance, the rehearsal went smoothly. Joon-won spent most of his time sitting idly, scrolling through his phone for anything interesting.

The rehearsal concluded, and everyone gathered backstage for one last time. Joon-won noticed Roh Ji standing with Hyeong Myung and the drama's female lead with a few boxes beside them at the front of the group.

"Alright, guys, this is the end of our last practice for our finals. Let's clap for all the hard work we put in and hope we do our best tomorrow in front of the examiners and judges," she said, starting to clap. Joon-won almost coughed up blood at her shameless talk about 'hard work.'

"Okay, now before we go home and rest, I need to give out these costumes. The order we placed finally arrived. Those with student roles, please take one pair. You can change after coming here tomorrow. Our drama will be after the Star Batch, so let's do our best. Everyone else can leave," she said, and the majority of the group left, except for about 10-15 people.

Everyone took their uniforms, acting like monkeys. Joon-won stood there waiting with Jung-hwa. There were names on the covers, so there was no need to rush. After everyone had their costumes, Joon-won grabbed the last two on the table and handed Jung-hwa hers.

"I heard you were bad-mouthing me in front of the senior today, Joon-won," he heard a loud voice behind him as he was about to leave. He didn't want to deal with the nonsense and continued to head out.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, idiot. Are you not only poor but also deaf?" Roh Ji kept shouting and insulting him.

Joon-won looked over his shoulder to see her face twisted with jealousy and anger. He sighed and said, "And why would I do that? Even if I had a gun to my head, I wouldn't waste my breath on people like you. You are just not worth it, and I don't even know the seniors," and walked out.

He headed to the store and saw Seonu at the counter. He waved and walked inside to get a few things for dinner. He wanted to cook some meat and grabbed a few items. As he walked to the counter, the boss came out from the back door.

"Oh, Joon-won. How are you? Isn't your exam tomorrow?"