Is this your first time with a traveling theater company? (One)

Hyejin Lee pressed the screen of her cell phone with trembling hands.

[@dwfgwWs ㅁㅊI heard you met with the traveling theater team and Yul? (post capture photo)]

The captured post was an eyewitness account posted on the community.

‘···Humph!’

Lee Hye-jin took a deep breath as she enlarged the shaky photo in the post.

The photo was blurry because it was taken from afar, but looking at the profile, it was clearly Han Yu-il.

[@yuulll_33 Is it true that Han Yoo-il’s traveling theater troupe is coming out???]

[@asdfew Wow, Uhm Ji-young, Moon Yu-hwa, and Yoon Seul-ah are appearing this time]

┗ [@dbdlf_fgdsecd An unexpected combination ㄴㅇㄱ]

┗ [@jfdrr Are you the only one in the traveling theater troupe + Eom Moon-yoon combination…? ㅁㅊ]

┗ [@yuulll_33 I look forward to it like a dog,,]

Hyejin Lee held her cell phone with a flushed face. She could no longer remember her ruined course registration.

Filming has started now, so we’ll have to wait a while for it to air…

‘I want to see you soon.’

These days, Hyejin Lee is learning that even waiting can be a driving force in life.

It was the first realization I gained as Mui.

*

“Thank you for your hard work, actor!”

Han Yu-il lowered his head.

Just like the first screening, the closing ceremony was also hectic.

It was a film festival that went by in an instant, with hours of makeup, several interviews, and flash fires.

Yoo Il saw off Ku Chan-ik and Hwang Yi-won as they returned to Korea.

– Take good pictures, Yuil. Next time, if we have time, let’s go fishing together.

– Then, let’s meet in Korea.

And now, Yuil was in the lodgings provided by the < This is my first time with a traveling theater company> team.

– Come comfortably, comfortably!

Yuil, who was relieved to hear those words, was a little embarrassed as soon as he arrived at the dorm.

“Oh my~ PD Yu, did you give us a friend like this?”

“By any chance, how old are you? No, look at the skin. It’s so white~”

“My daughter likes it so much these days~ I’m so glad~”

···Han Yu-il was sitting on the sofa, surrounded by three actors.

The bouquet and cake prepared by Yoo Il were not even visible among the gorgeous food prepared by the < Wandering Theater Company> production team.

‘···When I saw them on the other side of the screen, they were charismatic people.’

Uhm Ji-young, who has mainly taken on sharp roles with short hair, sharp eyes, and an intelligent image. Moon Yu-hwa is famous for her natural curly hair, big eyes, and slightly angular chin for her unique roles. She debuted as Miss Korea, but won the title of talented actress immediately after her first work.

They were actors that you couldn’t easily meet unless you worked together.

Bwin even said this upon hearing their names for the first time.

【Actress Uhm Ji-young, Moon Yu-hwa, and Yoon Seul-ah are all senior-junior actors in the Department of Theater at Korea University of the Arts. It is said that he is famous among his juniors as the most serious yet scary actor on set.】

…It was definitely like that.

“Wow, you’re so loud! everyone! “I have to film the opening, so please be quiet so I can hear Han Yu-il’s voice, okay?”

Instead of closing their mouths, the three actors threw one word at a time toward producer Yoo Ji-hyuk, who spoke almost like he was begging.

“No~ What kind of kids are we? Ji-hyuk, you’re doing that because you’re happy to see you! “I’m glad to see you!”

“So, thank you so much. “A young friend brought me a cake and a bouquet of flowers just because we were meeting.”

“It’s amazing, it’s amazing!”

Yuil just smiled faintly as he listened to the melodious voices pounding his eardrums.

After the greetings ended amidst a little commotion, the actual opening finally began.

“Do you know what we’re going to do this time?”

Yoo Il nodded at PD Yoo Ji-hyuk’s words.

I knew about it thanks to the script that the traveling theater company sent me in advance.

“I heard it was < The Picture of Dorian Gray>.”

“That’s right~!”

Producer Yoo Ji-hyuk responded in a bright tone.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, is a gothic novel published in 1890 and is a work that represents aestheticism.

PD Yu shouted cheerfully, pointing to the script on the table.

“This is a new play by playwright Koo Yu-ri, a new adaptation of ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ for you. “You three have already read it, right?”

“We memorized everything.”

“Already~?!”

Producer Yoo Ji-hyuk shouts exaggeratedly. Uhm Ji-young and Moon Yu-hwa glanced at him playfully and said.

“I’m PD! “We are actors, actors.”

“You got it a month ago. Of course I memorized everything~”

“that’s right. “I was curious, Mr. Yoo Il, what did you think of the script?”

Yoo Il smiled and answered Yun Seul-ah’s friendly question.

“I really enjoyed reading it.”

“I heard from the manager that Yoo Il stayed up all night reading the script!”

Yoo Il smiled awkwardly at PD Yoo Ji-hyuk’s words.

To be precise, it was because I tried acting in various ways with Bwin.

In < The Portrait of Dorian Gray>, Dorian Gray, who has a beautiful exterior but an increasingly ugly interior, appears, Lord Henry, who leads him into a life of pleasure, and Basil, the painter who painted ‘The Portrait of Dorian Gray’.

It was the story of Dorian Gray, who was said to be willing to sacrifice his soul for eternal youth, but eventually came face to face with his own terrible corrupted soul – a portrait of himself, and ultimately committed suicide by stabbing the portrait.

The adapted play had the same atmosphere and overall framework as the original.

On the surface, the difference was that the main actors were all women, but the biggest difference was another one.

The point was that ‘The Portrait of Dorian Gray’ was placed in the center of the stage.

The characters all talk while looking at the flipped canvas toward the back of the stage.

The names of the characters and the basic storyline were similar, but the characters’ large and small settings changed throughout the adaptation. Of course, if you watched the play from the beginning, you could understand it without difficulty.

“···But what is our Mr. Yuil doing here?”

“···huh? “Do you also play, Yuil?”

“No, sister. “We’ve come this far, so we should stand on stage together.”

This was a question I had been asked since our first meeting.

And Han Yu-il had a role he wanted to play as soon as he received the play script.

“jeon···”

Yuil opened his mouth.

“···!”

After hearing his answer, the three actors exchanged looks with puzzled eyes.

“···Is it possible? “Time is running out?”

The director, receiving a glance from the writer, touched the camera.

One of the several cameras started taking close-ups of Yuil’s expression.

Han Yu-il’s face captured on camera looked peaceful. Her expression showed no trace of concern.

At the end of that tranquility, there was a firm resolve that no one could break.

PD Yu, who saw Yoo Il’s face, grinned.

In fact, he couldn’t completely trust Han Yu-il.

···That’s what I thought until I saw the video shown by the second PD.

After seeing that video, I had no choice but to actively put Han Yu-il on stage.

Producer Yoo Ji-hyuk continued.

“Actually, we originally planned to ask Yoo Il to be a multi-man with almost no lines. However, the actor read the play and even gave his own opinion~”

“oh!”

“So the playwright also created a separate version with Yu Il.”

Uhm Ji-young and Moon Yu-hwa’s eyes widened slightly. There was a mixture of surprise and doubt in their eyes.

“···It’s good for us. “Isn’t the practice period too short?”

“It’s not a week, it’s just a day or two.”

Above all, the performance was two days later.

“···.”

Yun Seul-ah’s well-groomed eyebrows rose.

Even though it was a paid entertainment show, it was also clearly ‘acting’.

There was also one reason why she and her agency accepted < This Is My First Traveling Theater Company>.

It is a travel healing ‘acting’ entertainment show.

‘hmm···. ‘I thought you were a serious friend?’

He was still a young actor. So, it could have been something I spit out with a young mind.

Perhaps we are blindly believing in the power of editing.

She rested her chin and looked at Han Yu-il.

I liked him a little because he seemed like a pure and polite young man.

Yun Seul-ah raised the corners of her mouth, deeply hiding her faint disappointment.

…but a few hours later. As soon as she started practicing her acting with Han Yu-il, Yun Seul-ah completely forgot everything she had ever thought about.

*

When practice began, all three actors seemed to have become different people.

“I have never seen such a beautiful person in my life.”

Uhm Ji-young, who plays the painter Basil, mutters with an ecstatic face,

“Youth is fleeting, Dorian. “You have to enjoy this moment!”

Moon Yu-hwa, who plays Henry, shouts while stretching his arms in the air.

“If I could always look young, if it meant that the picture would grow older instead of me… if that were the case… I would do anything. I would give anything. .··Even a soul.”

Yun Seul-ah kneels down and her eyes sparkle.

The whole scene was unreal.

The traveling theater crew watched them quietly, forgetting to even breathe.

The actors seemed to have already forgotten that the production crew even existed.

‘···and.’

The youngest writer clasped his hands together.

By now, my palms had become damp.

‘This season’s members… it’s really no joke.’

As these actors have a lot of acting experience and theater stage experience, the rehearsals were also unique.

However, among them, there was a person who kept attracting attention without bowing down.

Yuil Han.

A young actor standing among older actors.

Compared to other actors, he just maintained a static posture. However, the expression changes subtly. And the fingertips moving ever so slightly made it impossible to take my eyes off him.

‘How… can you do that without even saying a single line?’

However, the youngest writer did not yet know that it was too early to be alarmed.

*

As the term ‘traveling theater troupe’ suggests, their play was scheduled to take place on a simple stage built on the lawn.

Although it was an outdoor stage, the play was performed with German and English subtitles on the screen.

Although it was not a fancy indoor theater, it looked quite decent for an outdoor stage thanks to the high production costs.

So much so that people passing by take a look.

“uh···? “What is that?”

When his friend opened his mouth in an excited voice, Bruno felt an ominous feeling.

And that premonition was correct. His friend’s eyes lit up and he started leading him towards the lawn, not the house that was his destination.

“Bruno! Look over there!!”

Bruno sighed and looked around. The cameras and filming equipment set up were visible.

···movie? Or is it a documentary?

While Bruno was thinking deeply, his friend jumped up and shouted.

“and! I know that broadcast! Variety show! “It’s really famous in Korea!”

“Jay, you know I’m not interested in K-pop.”

“It’s not a song, it’s a play! “Bruno, isn’t this so interesting?!”

“···well. “I’m a little tired.”

“Let’s take a look for just 10 minutes! “You’re curious.”

Bruno had no choice but to move forward in response to his friend’s plea and sat down on the lawn.

‘How amazing would it be if I tried it?’

He was born and raised in Germany and attended numerous theaters with his parents from an early age.

In fact, he didn’t even enjoy theater. He was just used to it because his parents were theater and ballet enthusiasts.

“···10 minutes. “After that, we’ll go right away.”

But Bruno didn’t know.

I had no idea that I would be sitting there for not just 10 minutes, but until the play ended, without being able to leave.