Free Web NovelShe was performing Portia's monologue from Shakespeare's .
"The contract mentions not a single drop of blood. It only specifies a pound of flesh, so take exactly one pound of flesh, as stated in the contract."
Although her voice was clear and she no longer seemed to shrink under the audience's gaze,
"However, should you spill even a single drop of blood in the process, all your lands and possessions shall be confiscated by the state under the laws of Venice. Proceed, but remember that not a drop of blood may be shed."
her immersion in the role was lacking, diminishing the value of her performance as acting.
"You must cut precisely one pound of flesh. No more, no less. If the scales tip even by the weight of a single hair, you will face execution."
Yoomyeong watched Seol Soo Yeon's performance intently. The captivating pull that had once drawn him in as a fan of her acting was nowhere to be found.
Why was that?
On the day of the Rococo shoot, she had embodied the role of a girl living alone in an empty castle with his help. Back then, there had definitely been traces of the acting prowess expected of Seol Soo Yeon, Korea's A-list actress.
Miho, who was also watching her, asked,
{Didn't you say she came to watch your rehearsal for Jekyll and Hyde at Oedipus?}
"Yeah. She left in the middle of rehearsal, and I never heard from her afterward."
{You're really indifferent, kyung. She's quite attractive, you know.}
"Uh... I was too busy preparing for the show at the time. And I wasn't interested in her that way."
As they chatted and watched her perform, her performance came to an end.
"That was Portia's monologue from The Merchant of Venice. Thank you."
Clap clap clap
A few people clapped halfheartedly.
"She's pretty, isn't she?"
"I'm curious about the person behind the mask. You can tell she's definitely beautiful just from her eyes."
"Should we ask for her number?"
Noticing that the boys were more interested in her appearance than the performance, Yoomyeong approached her as she packed up. The boys reluctantly left after seeing the confident approach of a distinctive-looking man and assuming he was with her.
"You're Soo Yeon, right?"
"Huh?"
"How have you been?"
"Yes? How did you...?"
"I've enjoyed your movies and dramas."
"It's nice to see you again after so long. Do you have time for a drink?"
They headed to the second floor of a McDonald's in Daehak-ro.
Yoomyeong brought her a cold cola as she sat at a corner table.
"Do you still get drunk on cola? Haha."
"Um... I'm a little better with it now."
She smiled awkwardly, took a sip of cola, and then stared at Yoomyeong in disbelief.
Her eyes were filled with admiration.
"Is it okay for you to be out alone like this? You're a star."
"I'm not that famous yet. But why are you here? Didn't you have an agency?"
"Ah, I left after my contract ended, so I'm independent now."
"How come?"
Perhaps it was because of the cola, or perhaps because of the good memories she had of Yoomyeong, but she gradually began to open up about her situation.
"What are we supposed to do if they send us someone who hasn't even been trained properly?! We can't work with Ga-on Entertainment again!"
"Hey! Can't you ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) act properly? Where did they even find someone who's this bad at the basics?"
Soo Yeon's agency wasn't exactly unscrupulous, but it was a small entertainment company with a poorly organized system. She received basic acting training for about a month before being sent out to auditions and roles.
At first, she managed to land some acting jobs.
However—
she didn't realize that she suffered from stage fright.
Since childhood, she had spent much of her time alone in her room, with only television and books for company. She would watch weekend movie broadcasts with rapt attention, imitate the actors she saw on TV, or entertain herself by imagining she was a character from one of her books.
In her imagination, she could go anywhere and become anyone.
But once she became an actress, she encountered an unexpected problem.
Unlike when she was alone, she couldn't act in front of other people.
Terrified by the gazes that seemed to measure her worth, she couldn't immerse herself naturally in her roles.
"Videos won't work. Let's move her into photography. What's the point of a pretty face if she's like a robot that can't even manage the basics of acting?"
As her manager let out a heavy sigh, on the verge of giving up on her as an actress, Rococo picked her up.
During those days, when being scolded and criticized had become routine and she felt herself shrinking more and more, she met Yoomyeong at the Rococo photoshoot.
"Draw a single white dot in your mind."
A pure white dot that seemed to annihilate any memory or information absorbed into it.
A comforting voice guided her—steady, trustworthy, and reassuring.
"And finally, your friend has arrived. Now, slowly open your eyes."
Following that addictive voice, she found herself immersed alongside the girl in the Rococo photoshoot.
It was a strange feeling, watching herself become someone else from within.
And that day's shoot had been fantastic.
It was her first experience acting alongside an audience and a partner.
The first time she had heard the words, "It's amazing," after a shoot.
The intensity of that experience engraved the actor Shin Yoomyeong deeply into her mind as a kind of savior.
She thought she had figured it out.
It seemed like she would be able to do it in the future as well.
But when she realized she was no different from before without Yoomyeong's guidance, she felt utterly frustrated.
The success of brought her more opportunities, and for the first time, her agency praised her.
However, she continued to ruin the shoots she participated in.
Realizing that it wasn't a matter of being completely incapable made her feel even more miserable than before.
Eventually, she sought out Yoomyeong.
There, she saw the members of acting in earnest and realized that the actor who had guided her was shining brighter than anyone else among them as he performed. frёewebηovel.cѳm
She felt ashamed.
She had relied too easily on the help of others without even trying her hardest to reach their level.
Afterward, she worked hard.
Then harder still.
She eventually became capable of acting reasonably well even under the gaze of others, and although she didn't earn much money for her agency, she didn't cause them losses either.
And when her contract expired this year, she chose not to renew it.
She declared that she wanted to start from the basics, overcome her shortcomings, and become a real actor step by step instead of remaining merely a commercial entertainer. After enduring her agency's ridicule, she was finally allowed to leave.
The reason she did not abandon her desire to act despite her limitations was simple:
"You like acting, don't you?"
As if he knew everything, that question pierced straight through to her true feelings.
Had the experience that broke open her shell become that deeply rooted in her heart?
She blushed with embarrassment after finishing her story, but he wasn't looking at her. He seemed lost in thought.
He's become even cooler now that he's famous. It'd probably be a nuisance if he were photographed with someone like me...
Although she had decided to try harder on her own and never contacted Yoomyeong again, Soo Yeon watched every performance he appeared in.
As she cried and laughed with Bohyung in and watched dozens of times, she came to realize how incredible it was to have crossed paths with someone so remarkable.
He seemed like a star who had flown off to another world, far removed from someone like her.
If they hadn't happened to meet today, she would never have found the courage to contact him first.
After sitting in thought for a while, Yoomyeong raised his head and asked Soo Yeon,
"Did you choose The Merchant of Venice because of Comet's performance?"
"Yes. I thought I might be able to see where I was lacking if I practiced on my own and then compared it to Comet's performance."
"Didn't you go to an acting academy?"
"No... I couldn't afford it, so..."
"Have you considered auditioning for a theater troupe?"
"I'm not skilled enough for that yet."
Not at all.
Yoomyeong had already seen the potential in her acting.
She might lack technical fundamentals, but her deep immersion had made even that easy to overlook during that photoshoot two years ago.
Her problem—perhaps something that interfered with her immersion—seemed to lie elsewhere.
And it didn't seem like something that could be overcome through acting practice alone.
What could it be?
Yoomyeong couldn't easily reach a conclusion.
"Since you were planning to watch it anyway, would you like to watch it together today?"
"The Comet performance?"
"Yes. I have two tickets."
Yoomyeong smiled as he showed her the tickets.
[[ Theater Troupe's Autumn Regular Performance [The Merchant of Venice] 18:00]]
The tickets had been gifted to him by Lee Seon-ha, who played Portia in this performance.
Seeing them, Soo Yeon nodded eagerly, though shyly.
"Yoomyeong! Over here."
After the performance, familiar faces gathered together.
Lee Seon-ha, Yoon Hansung, Ban Hye-Seon, Shin Suho, and Woo Jun-ho were there, along with the members of Oedipus, who were always a welcome sight.
Their curiosity was immediately piqued when Yoomyeong arrived with an unfamiliar woman.
"Wow~ What's this? Is this Yoomyeong's girlfriend?"
"What? You've been keeping a relationship secret even from your hyung? No way..."
"Wait, isn't this the person who visited our rehearsal before?"
"Suho's memory is no joke."
"I always remember beautiful people! Please, sit here."
"I brought her because she wanted to see Seon-ha after today's performance."
Soo Yeon sat down awkwardly.
While Yoomyeong explained how they had ended up watching the show together, her gaze remained fixed on one person.
"Huh? Do you have something to say to me?"
When Seon-ha asked with a smile, Soo Yeon hesitated before finally speaking.
"Your portrayal of Portia was so impressive. I really, really enjoyed watching it."
"Wow, thank you. Are you an actor too?"
"Ah, yes. I'm still an aspiring actress."
Yoomyeong quietly chuckled when she referred to herself as an aspiring actress.
Despite spending years signed to an agency, she still considered herself an aspiring actress because she felt she had never truly acted, reflecting her humble mindset.
"Wow. With a face like that, you'll shoot straight to stardom once you debut. Should I get your autograph now before you become famous?"
"I should be the one asking for yours. How were you able to portray Portia so realistically? I was completely captivated throughout the performance."
"Ah, I've always loved acting, but I owe a lot to this friend right here."
Seon-ha wrapped an arm around Yoomyeong, who was sitting beside her, and laughed.
"This kid here is annoyingly good at acting. After filming a movie with him, I felt like something changed in me too. Experiencing how my colleagues perceive my reactions somehow made my own actions feel more natural."
Yoomyeong didn't deny it and simply smiled, prompting Seon-ha to playfully smack him on the arm.
"Stop smiling. It's infuriating. How much more of a monster are you going to become when you grow up?"
"But I wasn't smiling."
"Yes, you were."
Soo Yeon watched the members of Oedipus bicker with envy.
Friends, colleagues, and people walking the same path.
She had never had companions like that.
Soo Yeon envied the person who fit among them so naturally.
To someone performing at such an extraordinary level at such a young age and receiving recognition for it, her own worries must have seemed very distant.
She sat with them for about an hour, silently soaking in the atmosphere of friendship that felt warm and wholesome even when she merely listened.
The conversation remained light and full of laughter, yet whenever it shifted toward acting, it suddenly deepened. Their broad knowledge and firmly held perspectives collided, blended, and eventually reached harmony.
I'm really envious.
If she had even one friend with whom she could share her struggles as an actor, perhaps she wouldn't feel so lost.
Unable to drink alcohol, she finished her cola, feeling slightly dejected.
"I should get going now."
"But why? Stay a little longer. Did we spend too much time talking about ourselves?"
"No, it was really fun! But I should go now. Thank you for today."
It had been enjoyable, but she didn't feel like she belonged there.
Feeling that staying any longer would only become a burden, she got up to leave.
Yoomyeong followed her out to the entrance of the bar.
And then—
"Would you like to practice with me for a while whenever you have time?"
Yoomyeong's suggestion was so unexpected that it felt as though the cola inside her suddenly fizzed over.
