-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Number One in Acting
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Slide.
The door to the teachers' lounge slid open, and Ji-woong entered carrying a stack of papers.
After Moon Kang-hyun's special lecture ended, he had collected the students' reflection essays.
Ji-woong sat right down at his desk and started checking the essays the kids had submitted.
In the process, he spotted Lee Do-hyun's.
The kid had turned in two full sheets.
Even written in tiny font, packed front and back with analysis.
This wasn't a reflection.
It was an analysis.
He had meticulously organized the lecture content, his own shortcomings, and the points he needed to overcome.
Ji-woong smirked when he saw the self-assessment on why he couldn't use vocalization like Moon Kang-hyun's.
Just as he expected.
Han Hyo-jin, sitting nearby, noticed Ji-woong's chuckle and spotted the densely packed essay.
"Eek. What's this? A reflection essay?"
When Han Hyo-jin leaned over to peek, Ji-woong didn't stop her.
Wondering what was up, she quickly craned her neck for a look.
"Whoa, impressive."
Her loud exclamation of surprise drew the other teachers over.
"Is this from the special lecture reflection?"
"From a freshman? Not bad."
As expected from an ambitious kid.
Most kids who thought they were hot stuff at school treated sessions like this as a joke, but not Do-hyun.
The more you looked at the boy, the more solid his fundamentals were.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Just then, Moon Kang-hyun walked into the teachers' lounge to meet Han Hyo-jin.
His entrance made the room feel instantly cramped, like the ceiling had dropped.
"Moon Kang-hyun...?! Hello!"
"I've watched all your performances, Actor Moon!"
"Haha. Thank you."
The other teachers rushed over in shock at Moon Kang-hyun's arrival.
He was a star among stars in the musical world, so it was only natural.
Especially since the lounge had teachers from non-performing arts subjects too.
"Wow... up close like this, your presence is even more imposing."
"Would you mind signing and taking a photo later...?"
"Ah! Of course. Shall I do it now?"
The teachers' lounge turned into a fan meet in an instant.
Moon Kang-hyun signed for them one by one with a smile.
Han Hyo-jin jumped up to greet him too.
"Senior, you're here?"
"Yeah, yeah, hold on. Let me finish this."
"Got it. I'll wait at my seat."
Acting like it was routine, Han Hyo-jin sat back down and waited for the signing and photos to end.
Once the fan meet wrapped up, Moon Kang-hyun came over to Han Hyo-jin's desk.
His eyes narrowed at Do-hyun's reflection essay in her hand.
"What's that?"
His voice was a degree colder than when he'd been chatting with the other teachers or lecturing in the small theater.
"Oh, this. It's the reflection on your lecture... from student Lee Do-hyun."
"Can I take a look?"
"Here."
Moon Kang-hyun took the essay and scanned it.
One eyebrow arched, clearly intrigued.
'At seventeen, he already noticed this? Tougher nut than I thought.'
Moon Kang-hyun handed the essay back to Han Hyo-jin and turned to Huh Ji-woong in the next seat.
Ji-woong was looking at the kids' essays, avoiding Moon Kang-hyun's gaze.
"Long time no see, and no greeting?"
Moon Kang-hyun spoke with a friendly smile, but Ji-woong ignored him consistently.
Moon Kang-hyun chuckled, as if he'd expected it.
"You suit that spot well."
At those words, Ji-woong smirked and spun his chair to face Moon Kang-hyun.
"You suit that one perfectly too. 'Korea's' musical star actor. Not quite Broadway."
Moon Kang-hyun's eye twitched at Ji-woong's flatly delivered jab.
"Lee Do-hyun."
Moon Kang-hyun already knew from Han Hyo-jin that Lee Do-hyun was Ji-woong's one-on-one student.
Ji-woong flinched and stiffened at Do-hyun's name.
Moon Kang-hyun continued, scrutinizing Ji-woong's every reaction.
"I'd like to see his skills sometime. How about giving me his number?"
Ji-woong stared at Moon Kang-hyun without a change in expression, then turned his chair back to his desk.
"Do what you want."
"You okay with that?"
"What do you mean."
"You don't want to lose your student to me too."
"Hah."
Ji-woong stood with a deep sigh and approached Moon Kang-hyun.
He leaned in close with a sneer, whispering just loud enough for Moon Kang-hyun alone.
"You still think you took him from me?"
With that, Ji-woong left the teachers' lounge.
Han Hyo-jin fidgeted anxiously as Moon Kang-hyun stood frozen, face stiff.
"Um... Senior?"
At her cautious call, Moon Kang-hyun glared down at her terrifyingly.
"Eek." Han Hyo-jin froze.
Moon Kang-hyun muttered lowly.
"Let's talk outside."
"Y-Yes."
Han Hyo-jin hurried out first.
"Then I'll be going. Take care."
Moon Kang-hyun waved goodbye to the teachers with a genial smile and turned to leave.
His expression as he turned.
It was hard to believe it belonged to the same man who'd been melting smiles moments ago.
Moon Kang-hyun's face as he exited the lounge was icy cold, like frost was about to form.
***
Moon Kang-hyun finished a brief talk with Han Hyo-jin and strode off.
He crossed the school corridor, which felt endlessly narrow to him, heading to Moon Woo-hyuk's classroom.
He recalled Han Hyo-jin's final words.
'Please don't be too harsh. The kid's mentally wrecked. Talk to him, Senior.'
Moon Kang-hyun stood before the musical department classroom.
Chaos reigned inside.
Anyone could tell the man outside the window was Moon Kang-hyun.
The students whispered excitedly but couldn't come out during class, just buzzing.
Song Ha-na and Kim Sun-woo called out to Moon Woo-hyuk, who was spacing out amid the murmurs.
"Moon Woo-hyuk."
"..."
"Hey."
Song Ha-na scowled and smacked Moon Woo-hyuk's arm at his dazed state.
"Huh. What."
She wordlessly nodded toward the window outside.
The subject teacher spotted Moon Kang-hyun too and, knowing Woo-hyuk was his son, let him step out briefly.
Moon Woo-hyuk rose with a face full of worry, like a pig led to slaughter, and exited through the back door.
Moon Kang-hyun gave a slight nod to the subject teacher and led the way down the hall.
***
At the end of the corridor, in the student lounge area with floor-to-ceiling windows for great lighting.
Moon Woo-hyuk stood there, head bowed, trembling in fear.
In front of Moon Kang-hyun, even the massive Woo-hyuk seemed smaller.
Moon Kang-hyun looked down at his son with an inscrutable expression.
After a long moment, he rested his arms on the full-glass railing, gazing out the window, and spoke.
"8th place."
The reason Moon Kang-hyun had visited the teachers' lounge to see Han Hyo-jin.
He knew there was an acting test today.
He'd come because he figured the results would be out around now.
And the result he'd heard.
"8th place. In this acting test rankings."
Moon Woo-hyuk's final rank was 8th.
Far from beating Lee Do-hyun, he hadn't even cracked the top three.
It was a humiliating rank for the trio—him, top-ranked Kim Sun-woo, and Song Ha-na—that had been hyped as Cheongyeom Arts High's freshman stars.
The worst rank of Moon Woo-hyuk's life.
Hearing it from his father's mouth made his shoulders shake even harder.
"S-Sorry..."
What kind of scolding would come? Would a hand fly? Why did I do that?
A flurry of dark thoughts raced through his mind.
In extreme terror, Moon Woo-hyuk's eyes turned bloodshot, on the verge of tears.
With his head down, Moon Kang-hyun couldn't see.
Gazing outside, Moon Kang-hyun didn't even notice his son's shaking shoulders.
Silence hung between them briefly.
"Yeah. It happens."
Moon Woo-hyuk's head snapped up in shock.
His eyes, desperately holding back tears, were still red.
Had he misheard? He doubted his own ears.
But all he saw was Moon Kang-hyun's back, expression unreadable.
"Yes...?"
"You can mess up. You can fall."
Had his father ever said anything like that?
Moon Woo-hyuk froze, feeling his nose sting painfully.
"But you have to get up."
Moon Kang-hyun whipped around to face him.
"If you fall, get up. You're Moon Kang-hyun's son."
He said it firmly, like a line from a play's pivotal scene.
Moon Woo-hyuk squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head as tears threatened.
Moon Kang-hyun passed by without a head pat or shoulder tap—nothing tender.
"Don't disappoint me next time."
With that, Moon Kang-hyun left the lounge.
Left alone, Moon Woo-hyuk stood rooted.
Relief at not getting yelled at lasted only a moment.
'Don't disappoint me'
That meant he'd disappointed his father today.
But his father had been different somehow today.
Didn't that mean he still had expectations despite it all?
His father hadn't given up on him yet.
Moon Woo-hyuk felt deep relief from that alone.
His head stayed deeply bowed for a while.
Plip. A small droplet fell to the cold stone floor.
***
That evening after the acting test, strange noises leaked from Do-hyun and Woo-sik's dorm room.
"Hnggg."
The groans wouldn't stop.
"Do we really have to do this even today?"
Woo-sik's entire body trembled like an aspen leaf in horse-riding stance.
"Didn't you see Actor Moon Kang-hyun today? That overwhelming presence from his physique. We have to train starting now to get there."
I scolded him while holding the horse stance right beside.
Of course, I wasn't shaking like Woo-sik.
My muscles had bulked up nicely—I felt proud.
"It was insane. I thought some judo coach had shown up. No wonder Woo-hyuk's built like that. Hng."
"Talky when you've got breath to spare, huh? Good. Strap on your backpack and finish with 300 squats."
"Th-Three hundred?!"
Woo-sik freaked out, collapsing from horse stance onto his butt.
I grinned at him and personally stuffed his backpack with textbooks.
Then,
Ding-!
My phone alarm rang.
[Musical Dept. 1st Year Group Chat]
[ Kim Sun-woo : Guys. Acting test scores are out. Check the subject homepages. (laughing emoji) ]
Class rep Sun-woo's KakaoTalk announced the acting test scores were posted, as expected that evening.
"Ooh! Scores are out!"
Wait, when did he even check his phone?
Woo-sik got the same message and immediately booted up his laptop.
Even I felt a slight tension.
I stood silently behind Woo-sik, peering at the screen.
"Parabara bam. Parabara bam."
Freed from squats, Woo-sik was so hyped he shook his shoulders as he logged into the homepage.
"Alright, here we go."
He rubbed his hands and clicked the notice with the acting test scores.
"What the—again?!"
Woo-sik's eyes widened as he yelled.
Then he spun around to Do-hyun, beaming.
Aigoo.
Even trying to play it cool, his mouth kept twitching upward.
Naturally, his eyes stayed glued to the monitor.
[ Acting Test Scores ]
[ 1st: Lee Do-hyun ]
Wasn't planning to, but I ended up taking 1st again.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 311 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/a-rewritten-handbook-for-musical-life
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━