“Hey, Yooil’s here?”

Han Yooil nodded in response to Jung Suho’s greeting.

“Hello, hyung.”

‘…?’

While the assistant director maintained a stoic expression, staff members who were new to the rehearsal space exchanged surprised glances.

“…Did they know each other before?”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”

The unusually cordial duo attracted curious stares from the staff, but Jung Suho nonchalantly put his hand on Han Yooil’s shoulder. The warmth of their interaction caused the staff to momentarily forget their bewilderment and simply watch the two actors.

Seo Mihee, who had been checking the script with her beanie pulled down, stood up abruptly.

“Is everyone feeling alright?”

“Yes.”

Han Yooil responded plainly, and Jung Suho, smiling with his eyes, said,

“Thanks to the director.”

“Oh, come on.”

Seo Mihee chuckled at his banter and clapped her hands loudly.

“Alright, let’s start the rehearsal. Yesterday, Yooil was the boy, so today, Suho, you’ll be the boy.”

“Understood.”

Han Yooil walked towards the center of the rehearsal space, marked by white tape.

This had been their practice stage up until now.

Han Yooil slowly moved to the center of the rehearsal space, recalling something Brion had mentioned a few days ago.

【Stanislavski said an actor must invest in the stage. Only by maintaining interest in the stage can an actor preserve concentration.】

The rehearsal space Yooil was in was large and crowded. Naturally, his attention could easily be scattered.

He had already performed in the school’s small theater and proven his skills in auditions. However, a vast theater was different, especially maintaining concentration in an open and spacious rehearsal space was more challenging than one might think.

【…Such ‘boundaries’ must not waver for the audience to stay focused as well.】

Lately, Brion had been focusing on training Yooil to improve his concentration.

As always, it was a tough regimen, but it definitely had its effects. Now he could maintain maximum concentration even in a not-so-quiet rehearsal space.

Seo Mihee and Jung Suho praised Han Yooil for his improvements every rehearsal. Especially, Jung Suho persistently asked how he practiced.

‘…Come to think of it, Brion hasn’t been threatening recently.’

As Han Yooil was mulling over this thought, Seo Mihee spoke up.

“Then, let’s begin the rehearsal.”

Yooil lay flat on the floor.

As soon as he lay down, Han Yooil ceased to exist. There was only the vampire.

The vampire slowly opened its eyelids.

It was a mechanical movement.

The assistant director, standing next to Seo Mihee, watched in awe.

‘…It’s fascinating every time I see it.’

Although Han Yooil’s portrayal of the ‘boy’ was impressive, the assistant director had a slight preference for his ‘vampire’ role.

Han Yooil as the vampire was truly ‘inhuman.’ The stark contrast between this portrayal and Han Yooil’s usual demeanor was one of the reasons that made his performance so captivating.

The vampire and the boy meet.

The boy speaks to the vampire.

The vampire ignores the boy.

The scene was gradually moving past the beginning.

“…It’s difficult to move, isn’t it? There are too many stones here. They keep increasing….”

As the boy spoke sorrowfully, furrowing his eyebrows, the vampire, who had turned slightly to look at the boy, moved his fingers minimally.

With just a gesture, the boy’s body was freed.

“…Huh?”

Surprised, the boy tentatively began to move his body, which had been crouching.

The debris of the building that had begun to constrain him was getting lighter. And that wasn’t all. The space around him was expanding. The boy blinked and slowly tried to stand up.

“Did you see this…? I got up!”

At the boy’s words, the vampire let out a small sigh.

“Do you know why?”

“Because you’re… a wizard?”

“No.”

For the first time, the vampire lifted his body from the ground. His head, neck, shoulders, and spine rose smoothly off the ground with an unbelievably fluid motion.

He gazed at the boy with an expressionless face.

“Our kind make our prey dream when we catch them.”

The vampire smiled, a smile devoid of any joy.

“We eat the prey when they’re immersed in ecstatic states. That’s when they taste the best.”

The vampire’s dry explanation continued. The boy, unable to move, just stared at the vampire.

“Are you… going to eat me?”

The boy asked again, his face turning pale.

“Do I taste good?”

“You’ll know once you try.”

The boy asked, trying to suppress his trembling.

“Then, how did you make me fall asleep?”

The expressionless vampire’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly. It was a subtle change, imperceptible to those seeing him for the first time, but discernible to those who had been watching him continuously.

He was intrigued.

“I didn’t make you sleep. You slept.”

He added smoothly.

“I merely made you dream.”

“Then, you don’t eat people who are awake?”

“That’s right. At least, I don’t.”

The boy asked with genuine curiosity.

“Why?”

Now the vampire started to feel a bit confused. If his memory served him right, the vampire had just declared that he would devour the boy. Yet, the boy seemed unafraid.

‘Why?’

The vampire was used to seeing humans either blissfully lost in the beautiful dreams he conjured or trembling in fear.

That’s why the boy’s reaction was unfamiliar and even somewhat intriguing. But that didn’t mean the boy wasn’t bothersome.

Of course, the vampire found it less bothersome to converse through dreams than to move around in reality, so he decided to address the boy’s curiosity.

The vampire opened his cold mouth.

“…It’s troublesome when the prey is awake. You have to keep catching them if they move, and chase them if they run away.”

And then he spoke with a face void of all emotion.

“I don’t want to do anything.”

His face resembled that of a mannequin.

Though he was moving and speaking, his face felt as if it would be hard to the touch.

The boy opened his eyes wide and asked,

“…Were you lonely too?”

Instead of responding, the vampire chose silence and let out a shallow sigh.

He thought it was time to stop all this play and consume the boy.

Just as he was slowly moving towards the boy, the stage went dark.

The remaining debris trembled, and once again, rocks covered them both.

“…!”

The sound team staff, who had been watching the stage with bated breath, played an effect sound. The sound reminiscent of a landslide echoed through the rehearsal room.

The boy, as if awakened from sleep, whimpered softly in the same or even more crouched position.

“Mom…”

It was impossible to discern the vampire’s expression. People could see his face, but they couldn’t find any expression in it.

All they could see were his smooth features and pale skin.

“Wow…”

The stage team staff, seeing them after a long time, kept exclaiming in admiration.

“He’s really good.”

He stared, mouth agape, at Han Yooil and Jung Suho.

Jung Suho’s portrayal of the boy was excellent, but Han Yooil’s vampire was truly captivating.

“This is going to be a sensation.”

After the day’s rehearsal, on the way back, the stage team staff left a message to a friend who liked plays, along with a reservation link for “From the Ground,” saying, ‘Book it.’

– What’s this?

– Oh, is this the play you’re doing?

– But why would you promote it like this?

“You’ll thank me for this.”

Shaking his head, he put his phone back in his pocket.

The play was bound to be a success.

* * *

Han Yooil’s winter passed faster than ever. Each day disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Of course, no matter how busy, the joy outweighed the pain. It was fun to see visible growth with each practice, and being able to act every day was great.

He looked out the window on the bus to the rehearsal room. It was snowing in the streets.

‘Beautiful.’

Watching the snowflakes slowly fall gave him a sense of leisure.

‘…Can I live like this in the future, too?’

【You will live like that for the rest of your life.】

“I wondered why you weren’t saying anything.”

Han Yooil smiled slightly and leaned back in his seat.

The New Year was soon approaching.

* * *

A tired office worker, forced to attend the play by a friend who was part of the play’s staff, sat down after pushing through the crowd. With mixed feelings, the office worker sent a message to the friend.

– I’m going to have to work late tomorrow because of this; if it’s boring, I’m suing you

“Please turn off your phones or switch them to airplane mode!”

Sending a text with a hint of annoyance, the office worker switched the phone to airplane mode and put it away.

Not long after, the curtain rose. The office worker leaned back and watched the stage.

Though having threatened to sue if bored, at heart, the office worker was someone who enjoyed the stage.

The heart started beating a little faster as the cool blue lights shone long on the stage.

The flickering lights went out completely.

And then, a crumbling sound, enough to shake the entire body, was heard.

A few seconds later, the stage became visible again. Now, two shadows could be seen on the stage.

A boy crouching on the stage and a man lying down were slowly revealed.

The office worker blinked and then focused on the stage.

“It’s cold…”

The boy shivered. Then he noticed the man lying beside him. The boy, curled up, seemed to be in pain. Still, he tried to move his body somehow, inching towards the man.

And he kept talking to the unresponsive man.

The office worker narrowed his brows and watched.

The office worker knew Jung Suho, who played the vampire, as he was already famous. The surprise came from his counterpart.

‘…!’

Different.

This actor was of a different caliber from the ones seen before.

‘Who is he?’

It wasn’t just a thought that he was acting as a boy. He truly seemed like a ‘child.’

Before long, the office worker was looking at him, mouth slightly open.

‘His name was… Han Yooil.’

The office worker couldn’t help but empathize with the friend.

Knowing this actor today was enough for the office worker to be satisfied.

While the office worker was watching the stage with these thoughts, the boy on the stage slowly opened his mouth.

At the moment when the vampire revealed the truth to the boy, the precariously hanging debris collapsed again.

The office worker’s eyes widened at the scene that unfolded next.

“…!”

A sharp piece of stone in the boy’s hand shone.

And the sharp end of the stone piece aimed at the boy’s own throat.

“Just this last time… just once, help me.”

The boy, pointing the stone like a knife at his own neck, spoke.

“If you want to eat me.”

The office worker stared at the boy’s face, dumbfounded.

And at that moment, the office worker had an inkling that this play would be watched over and over again.

* Konstantin Stanislavsky, “An Actor Prepares”