Free Web Novel“I think I should show you my Hyde again.”
At those words, the atmosphere inside the practice room seemed to ripple.
Was he saying he wasn’t satisfied even with ‘that’ Hyde and had created another one?
Suppressing her surprise, Yu-ri sat back down.
“Go ahead. Act 2, Scene 5. Hyde’s monologue after the death of Sir Danvers.”
“I’ll begin.”
For a brief moment, their eyes met. Ryu Shin was staring at him with the gaze of a predator, his hands clasped over his knees, fists clenched tightly enough for the veins to stand out.
Yoomyeong steadied his breathing.
He cast aside the Jekyll he had embodied only five minutes earlier...
And immersed himself once again.
‘Hm?’
Watching him, Yu-ri felt puzzled.
Compared to the previous Hyde, this one stood straighter and seemed physically larger. The hunched posture from before had portrayed Hyde’s grotesqueness perfectly, so why had he abandoned it?
Stretch—
Standing at the center of the crowd, the actor rose onto his toes in a slow stretch before lowering his gaze.
As though something lay far below him.
What was it?
Most likely, a corpse.
“Hehehehahahahaha—”
A disturbing laugh burst out, thick with grotesque delight.
Everyone flinched at the sound and instinctively tensed.
“Is he dead? Really? Just like that? Ah...”
He lifted his gaze and drew a shallow breath. His face was overflowing with unbearable ecstasy. In stark contrast, his hands were still trembling.
“You should have refrained from such pointless nagging, Sir Danvers Carew. Those endlessly chattering lips of yours will never open again. And to think... humans die so easily. Arms and legs, snap-snap, torn apart.”
Snap— Snap—
It wasn’t the sound of words, but the click of his tongue.
The sound reverberated against the roof of his mouth and clung unpleasantly to the ears.
“It’s quite amusing, watching humans writhe in pain. Poor old Henry Jekyll. To resist such pleasure all this time.”
Unrestrained desire radiated from him, utterly devoid of self-control.
Compared to the simple darkness of the Hyde Yoomyeong had portrayed before, this Hyde was filthier, more corrupted. There was a far stronger craving for degradation within him.
It stood in sharp contrast to Dr. Jekyll, who seemed as though he would never allow himself such impulses.
They existed at complete opposites, yet sprang from the same root.
Jekyll’s obsessive rejection of filth, cruelty, and pleasure.
And Hyde’s obsessive craving for them.
‘Ah... so that’s it.’
Yu-ri had thought the previous Hyde and the current Jekyll worked well together.
But the current Hyde and the current Jekyll didn’t merely complement each other now. They were perfect together.
‘Incredible...!’
The moment she saw that Hyde, Yu-ri decided to change the casting without a second thought.
Still, there was one thing she needed to ask first.
“Your Jekyll and Hyde are extremely impressive. They differ from the original interpretation, but they’re far more convincing. However, I do have one question. Your earlier Hyde had such a strikingly twisted and shrunken physicality that it almost seemed inhuman, so why is this Hyde...?”
Though still smaller than Jekyll’s frame, Hyde’s body now appeared noticeably larger than before.
The other members nodded at Yu-ri’s question as well.
Yoomyeong answered calmly. freēwebnovel.com
“That Hyde was from Act 1. This Hyde is from Act 2.”
“...And?”
“In the original work, Dr. Jekyll’s evil self is described as being physically smaller than his good self, which is why Hyde initially appears grotesquely small and hunched over. But as the story progresses and the evil self grows stronger, Hyde’s physique gradually becomes larger as well.”
“I see... but still...”
“I intend to stay faithful to that progression. He’ll begin with a hunched body, then gradually straighten until, in the end, he physically overwhelms Jekyll.”
A chill ran down everyone’s spine.
He spoke about an incredibly difficult performance as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Naturally, the most shocked person there was Ryu Shin.
This performance couldn’t simply be explained away with ‘he’s a genius.’
After returning from the stage, Ryu Shin stared intently at Yoomyeong, who was breathing heavily.
His normally healthy complexion looked rough. The dark circles beneath his eyes revealed severe sleep deprivation.
The stapled edge of the script was worn down, several pages nearly falling out.
‘A genius... and a hard worker.’
Had he really pushed himself that far?
In only two weeks, he had created a character like this. Ryu Shin had believed he himself had devoted every possible resource to practice, but...
‘I thought I still had a chance to turn this around...’
Ryu Shin clenched his trembling hands tightly.
“The role of Jekyll and Hyde has been reassigned to Shin Yoomyeong.”
In the end, the announcement he had anticipated was made, and Ryu Shin lowered his head.
“Would the actor who did not receive the role, Ryu Shin, like to apply for another role?”
The phrase ‘the actor who did not receive the role’ pierced deeply into his chest. It was the official expression Oedipus used during auditions to fuel competition among the actors. Until now, he had never realized how cruel those words could feel because he had never lost before.
“I’ll take the role of ‘Extra 1,’ ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) which was originally played by Shin Yoomyeong.”
No one misunderstood the meaning behind those words.
It meant he intended to see this through to the end. It was a declaration that he had no intention of giving up.
Yu-ri looked into his burning eyes and silently nodded.
After rehearsal ended, Ryu Shin extended his hand toward Yoomyeong.
“Your performance was excellent. But I’ll definitely take the role back.”
“...I’ll look forward to it.”
Then, after a brief and awkward silence...
Perhaps trying to ease the tension, Yoomyeong repeated a phrase he had said many times before.
“You should speak casually, hyung, like I told you.”
Usually, Ryu Shin would laugh whenever he heard that.
But today he couldn’t hide what he truly felt.
Looking directly at Yoomyeong, he answered seriously.
“If I speak casually, I think I’ll lose my focus. This is more comfortable for me.”
A sharp tension lingered between the two.
“What? You changed the casting?”
“Yes. Shin Yoomyeong created an overwhelming interpretation of the character.”
“...I object.”
“What?”
Resting her chin on her hand, Min Juran met Yu-ri’s gaze and repeated herself.
“I said I object.”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. The authority over casting decisions belongs entirely to the director.”
“And that’s exactly what’s absurd. In television dramas, writers participate in casting discussions, and in film, they can influence decisions depending on the circumstances. Theater is the only place that insists casting belongs solely to the director.”
“Hey, Min Juran.”
“Whoa, don’t look at me like that. I’m just as baffled as you are. What exactly did I ask for beyond casting Ryu Shin as the lead? It’s not like I’m asking for someone unsuitable. I’m asking for an actor who’s already recognized.”
“I’ve told you repeatedly that you cannot interfere with casting. You haven’t even seen the kind of character Shin Yoomyeong prepared.”
“Even if his acting is better, I still prefer Ryu Shin.”
“Why?”
“Star power. I’m not interested in building some warm and humane portfolio. I only intend to put ‘rising stars’ in the lead role section of my projects. This Shin Yoomyeong may become one eventually, but not now. So I’m not interested.”
“Ugh... honestly...”
“You think I can’t pull a script that’s already been distributed?”
Yu-ri’s expression hardened.
She swallowed back the words ‘get out’ rising in her throat.
“We’ll discuss it... and I’ll contact you again.”
“Fine. I’m protecting my own interests too, so let’s not make this personal. You know I like you, right?”
Min Juran waved playfully as she left.
“What? Is she insane?”
“Haa... what are we supposed to do?”
An emergency meeting was called.
Only three people attended: Director Seon Yu-ri and the two actors at the center of the issue, Seo Ryu Shin and Shin Yoomyeong.
Worried that the atmosphere within Oedipus might destabilize, Yu-ri had first chosen to speak only with the two of them about Min Juran’s demands. Ryu Shin reacted first.
“What do you mean, ‘what do we do’? We cut ties with her.”
“But there’s no alternative. As you know, the existing scripts are terrible... Even if we find another playwright, there’s no guarantee of quality, rewriting will take time, and it’ll burden the actors to memorize a completely new script...”
“Don’t worry about the last part. I’m fine with it. What about you, Yoomyeong?”
“I’m fine with it too.”
After all, the lines for Jekyll and Hyde alone made up more than half the production.
Yu-ri felt slightly relieved by the confident support from the two dependable actors. Even so, the core problem remained unresolved.
“The issue is still the new adaptation... I absolutely refuse to change the casting, but maybe I should try persuading Juran?”
“Let’s start looking for someone else immediately. A director shouldn’t compromise her pride so easily.”
“Senior, if it’s for the sake of creating a good production, I can bend my pride.”
“Protecting your pride isn’t always the most important thing. You and I, as actors, will face plenty of outside pressure in the future. There will be times when we’ll have to compromise. But compromise should be reserved for something worthwhile. An arrogant rookie writer without a single official credit to her name isn’t worth it.”
Yu-ri bit her lip tightly.
“I’ll look for another writer. You should look too. Completely rewriting the adaptation at this stage would be difficult, so let’s focus on revising the version we used during casting. We’ll make up for the weak points with our acting.”
As he listened quietly to their discussion, Yoomyeong suddenly thought of someone.
“Ah, I have a friend who writes scripts. Should I ask him?”
“Huh? Who?”
“Who?”
Their voices overlapped. Yu-ri’s sounded especially desperate.
“He’s a classmate of mine. He’s been writing diligently on his own for a long time. From what I can tell, he’s talented and passionate, but he’s still an amateur, so I can’t guarantee the quality.”
“Ah... I see.”
“Yes. Nothing’s decided yet, but should I at least ask whether he’s interested?”
“Yes, please.”
Yoomyeong immediately called Jun-ho and turned on speakerphone while everyone leaned in to listen.
RRR—
{Yoomyeong, what’s up?}
“Jun-ho, I need to ask you something. I’m currently in a meeting at Oedipus, and the director and another lead actor are listening too.”
{Uh...? Okay... Ah, hello.}
“Do you have any experience with adaptations?”
{Adaptations? Yeah, I’ve done a few before using novels I had at home.}
“Would you like to try adapting a script for an Oedipus production?”
{...What?!}
“We’ve run into some issues with the writer, so the script’s become a mess. We’re looking for a new writer. Honestly, even if you do it, there’s no guarantee your version will be selected. We can’t use an inadequate script for the main production. But I recommended you because I think you can do it. Do you want to try?”
{...}
Jun-ho’s hesitation didn’t last long.
{Okay! I’ve been writing every day anyway, even without expecting any of it to go onstage. Are you... are you all listening? I’ll try. And if it’s not good enough, please tell me what’s lacking.}
Hearing Jun-ho’s excited, trembling voice, Yu-ri’s expression softened.
“Yes, we’re the ones asking you for a favor. We look forward to working with you.”
“Jun-ho, how long do you think it’ll take?”
{You said Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, right? I’ll go buy the book right now. If I stay up all night... maybe two or three days?}
At that answer, both Yu-ri and Ryu Shin stared at him in disbelief.
