TL: Aniea
"Wasn't the setting that of an evil 'wizard'?"
"That's why he creates a sword with magic."
"What kind of wizard fights with a sword like a knight?"
"Hey, haven’t you even watched ? Gandalf defeats the Balrog with a sword too. If anything, this is closer to classic fantasy."
"......."
"......."
At Director Kang In-ho’s words, everyone fell silent. Even the person who brought it up seed dumbfounded by his own statent and shut his mouth tight.
Then, naturally, all eyes began to gather in one direction. There stood Jung Ha-rin.
As if she had expected this level of reaction, she lightly shrugged her shoulders and began to speak.
"I'm not saying this because I’m the writer, but I really think this script is the best we can do. What we’re doing here is a ‘theater’ performance, after all."
"Writer-nim is right."
"......?!"
When I sided with her, everyone’s eyes widened as they turned toward . I calmly flipped through the script with an indifferent expression and added an explanation.
"Theater is a genre that communicates in real-ti with the audience. Naturally, since editing or CGI can’t be incorporated, expressing sothing as complex as magic is very difficult."
"That may be true, but...."
"On the other hand, a lightsaber, with just a bit of stage direction, will instantly capture the audience’s attention. Just like the live-action stage plays in Japan that are gaining huge popularity lately."
Live-action adaptation.
It refers to bringing comics and animation into the real world by hiring actual actors to play the roles.
In Japan, they often attempt to recreate character appearances, techniques, or backgrounds exactly as they appear in the manga, which frequently results in ridiculous portrayals.
As a result, related s have circulated across global communities, becoming a source of mockery, but this was limited to movies and dramas.
‘Stage plays and musicals, on the other hand, often receive positive reviews.’
Due to the nature of the dium, exaggerated expressions and costus are frequently used, which to so extent aligns with the stylized elents of manga.
Especially these days, with the advancent of related technology, stage sets can rotate entirely, or be complented with large screens, leading to the ergence of a new term, 2.5D.
“Hmm.”
The staff mbers nodded slightly at the explanation. Since they were all involved in the broadcasting industry, they had only envisioned what is delivered through a screen.
Still, since everyone had experience in the field, they quickly understood the intent of my words and began expanding their line of thought.
"...That’s definitely true. Since the dia platforms are completely different, the delivery thods are bound to differ too. With that in mind, scenes that seed overly exaggerated now make more sense."
"I was worried there were too few scene transitions, but it turns out there are practical limitations. You can’t just jump locations like in a drama."
"I think I need to see the stage once to get a clear sense, but I have a vague understanding of the feel now. If we were to adapt this back to dia again...."
Hmm-hmm-
As they looked at the script with a fresh perspective, the staff mbers began to gaze at Jung Ha-rin with renewed admiration.
"To write a script like this in just a few days...."
"As expected of Writer Jung Ha-rin."
"And Kang Woo-ju ssi is also amazing for recognizing it imdiately."
Hehe-
Delighted once again by everyone’s complints, Jung Ha-rin twisted her whole body in embarrassnt.
But only for a mont. She glanced at Kang Woo-ju, wearing a slightly apologetic expression.
"Honestly, I don’t deserve the praise. I did refer to as many materials as I could, but this isn’t exactly my area of expertise, so there are a lot of rough patches. I received a lot of help from teacher Kim Kaelin and Actor Kang Woo-ju. More than anything...."
"???"
Everyone perked up their ears at Jung Ha-rin’s hesitating tone. As attention gathered, she hesitated for a long while before barely parting her lips.
"To be frank, this script should be considered ‘unfinished’. All I did was set the background and frawork. The rest, I left in the hands of the actors, trusting their acting ability...."
Jung Ha-rin’s voice grew smaller the more she spoke. Maybe no one else noticed, but she herself could clearly see all the shortcomings in the script.
'...This is why geniuses are what they are.'
I clicked my tongue inwardly. The fact that she managed to produce a script of this caliber in less than a week was already impressive enough.
Of course, as she ntioned, there were so lacking parts here and there that made it fall short of being ‘perfect’. But such issues could be resolved one by one through actual rehearsals.
“This is more than enough. You’ve done a great job.”
“......!!”
Perhaps due to the emotional toll she had endured in silence, Jung Ha-rin looked as if she was about to tear up, moved by my words. Watching her, Kang In-ho let out a deep sigh and changed the subject.
“By the way, can this be done within a month?”
"We'll have to make it possible."
In response to Director Kang In-ho’s question, I nodded calmly. Of course, the tiline was tight, but it wasn’t unmanageable.
‘The kids shouldn’t be too much of an issue.’
Based on the intention of becoming clowns for the children and for various practical reasons, Seo Jun-woo and I were cast as the leads of the play.
Thanks to that, the parts involving the children were significantly reduced, and the corresponding burden also decreased considerably.
On the other hand, the roles the adults had to take on increased, but this was our profession.
Seo Jun-woo, who had been acting since childhood, and I, who had spent a fair amount of ti in the theater troupe, could handle this amount of workload without any particular issue.
'We've also boldly removed the songs.'
While Jung Ha-rin was writing the script, we weren’t just sitting idle either. We held several etings during that ti.
After much deliberation, we decided to entrust all the music in the play to a choir.
That’s because realistically, it would be too much to rehearse both acting and singing within a month.
The choir also selected songs that focused mainly on harmonies with relatively simple lyrics, agreeing in the end that they would serve as a sort of background music.
‘...And Eun-ha ssi also took care of the stage production.’
I wasn’t sure just how grand they intended to go, but it seed they had hired professionals to create a stage befitting the play.
They were in the middle of constructing a stage in a suitably-sized theater located near Seoul.
Thanks to that, the screen laid across the back of the stage would help break the wall of reality to so degree.
‘Once the stage is completed, we’ll also need to rehearse syncing with the video…’
Regardless of the difficulty, the thought of sothing I had only imagined in my head actually unfolding in front of my eyes made my heart pound.
“Well then, I’ll head over to rehearsals now.”
“Alright, Dong-gyu will follow the theater team with a cara. anwhile, we should think about how to capture the play on screen.”
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Kang In-ho waved his hand as if to hurry along. Leaving him behind, I exited the lounge.
*
The theater team’s rehearsal took place in the auditorium located in one section of the orphanage. Apparently, it’s a space the kids use as a gym when it rains.
‘It’s not even surprising anymore.’
Just like the neatly arranged facilities of the orphanage, the inside of the auditorium was also extrely tidy.
There was a proper podium at the front, and a stage space that extended to the back, making it more than suitable for rehearsals.
“It’s oppa!”
“Hello, sir!”
“...Ah, hello.”
As I gathered my thoughts and entered the auditorium, the kids who had arrived earlier and were waiting greeted cheerfully.
The younger ones who hadn’t yet entered elentary school ca running from afar and clung to my legs.
Kim Cheol-su, who had been harshly scolded previously, stood ramrod straight in a posture so stiff it could make a private cry, showing that he was thoroughly disciplined.
Next to him, Kang Han-na greeted with a voice noticeably louder than before (though still barely audible).
“Oppa. Hurry and hug .”
“I want a piggyback ride!”
“ too, too!”
I walked forward with one kid wrapped around each of my arms and another clinging to my neck.
Whether it was due to the unexpected weight of the children or sothing else, I felt a heavy sensation in my chest, but I didn’t let it show outwardly.
'...Well, it's good that they're cheerful.'
At first, I had no idea how to interact with the children and hesitated, but since they clung to on their own, I was actually grateful.
“Didn’t unnie tell you not to bother oppa?”
Eeek-!
At the sudden voice from behind, the children clinging to flinched and scattered away in shock.
When I turned my head, I saw Kim Eun-ha walking in from the very entrance I had just co through.
“Eun-ha ssi? How are you already here...?”
“I left it to Secretary Yoon.”
"Is that okay?"
"That's what I pay her for. I’ll still co in to work every day, but I’ve delegated everything except the essential duties.”
"......"
Though she called it delegation, given Kim Eun-ha's personality, she wouldn't carelessly pass her duties to others.
Surely, what she ant by “essential duties” still accounted for 70 to 80 percent of her original responsibilities.
Still, since working more than 100 hours a week was her baseline, even if soone else took on only 20 to 30 percent of that, it would be a hellish workload for any normal person.
I silently offered a bit of sympathy in my heart to Secretary Yoon, who was probably on the verge of tears by now.
“You kids. You always act up the mont I take my eyes off you.”
“We weren’t bothering him-”
“We just wanted him to play with us.”
“Woo-ju oppa…”
When Kim Eun-ha scolded them with a stern expression, the kids pouted and hid behind my back.
“Alright now, let’s all calm down…”
“You too, Woo-ju ssi. It’s great that you’re playing with the kids, but if you indulge them too much, they’ll get spoiled. Mina, co here.”
Hic-
The girl whose na was called hiccuped in surprise. She looked up at with pleading eyes, asking for help.
“...Sorry. Even oppa can’t do anything when unnie gets serious.”
As I raised both hands to signal my powerlessness to resist, Mina slowly ca out from behind with a tearful expression.
Kim Eun-ha crouched down on her knees and sat on the floor, eting Mina’s eyes, then gave her a gentle scolding.
“That’s a nice sight.”
“…Sorry?”
Just then, Oh Dong-gyu, who had been silently filming us from behind, spoke up. A rare, content smile played on his lips.
“You two really seem to suit each other. Watching you reminds of the sweet tis I had with my wife.”
Mmm-
Even as he nodded slightly, Oh Dong-gyu kept the cara completely steady, demonstrating his skill.
Caught in an awkward position where I couldn’t exactly deny or affirm his comnt, I chuckled awkwardly and changed the subject.
“I’ve heard the assistant director is known for having a wonderful marriage. I believe you have three daughters? I’ve seen you video call with them several tis on set.”
"What wouldn't one do to survive?"
“Sorry?”
Swoosh-
Suddenly, Oh Dong-gyu leaned slightly toward . Then, in a voice so low only I could hear it, but one that carried unexpected weight, he continued.
“Enjoy it as much as you can while it lasts. That’s the only advice I can give you.”
“...But you’re happy, right?”
"......"
“…Director?”
"Ah, of course. I'm happy. I have to say I'm happy."
Hahaha-
Oh Dong-gyu’s laughter was full of sincerity. In response, I turned to look at Kim Eun-ha, who was now surrounded by children, a bright smile lighting up her face.
It was amazing how popular she remained even though she scolded them so often. If Kim Eun-ha ever had children of her own, would she look like this?
‘Well, not that it’s ever going to happen.’
Knowing how responsible Kim Eun-ha was, I had no doubt she would make a great mother. That thought crossed my mind unexpectedly.
To be honest, I’d been worried whether Kim Eun-ha could pull off the scene where the princess gets along with the dwarves, but now it seed that concern was completely unfounded.
‘…This is going to be fun.’
Imagining the play with Kim Eun-ha made the corners of my lips lift without realizing it. Feeling like an excited child, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Shall we get started now?”
“What about Seo Jun-woo ssi?”
“He has a separate schedule today, so he said he’ll join in the evening. For now, let’s rehearse the first part among ourselves. Starting with the scene where the princess is born…”
And so, rehearsal began.
We all entered a new chapter.
*****
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