OATCG 11

Chapter – 11

The people of Cheongsong reacted to Sunwoo’s acceptance more or less like this.

“Yeah, he is really good.”
“But even so, isn’t giving him a supporting role too soon?”
“Honestly, his acting really was impressive. Hard to believe it’s been less than a month since he started.”
“True. Still, he probably doesn’t even have real stage sense yet…”

It wasn’t that they were hostile toward him — but they definitely weren’t warm, either.

Right now, Sunwoo was in a position where he had to prove himself.

That his being cast as Seungdo wasn’t some kind of fluke.

The problem was time.

He had about four days, give or take. Even if Seungdo didn’t have that many lines, it wasn’t exactly generous.

Thankfully, he had a solid helper right now.

“Not easy, huh?”

Short ivy-league-style haircut, cool and refreshing impression — the kind of guy who looked like he should be holding a sports drink.
That guy, Eunseok, was his helper.

“Sorry. Because of me, you suddenly have to cram like this…”
“No, it’s fine. If anything, I got this opportunity thanks to you, senior.”
“Guess that’s true, huh?”

As soon as Sunwoo passed the audition, Eunseok came to him and said he’d help him prepare Seungdo perfectly.

It wasn’t purely for Sunwoo’s sake.

Eunseok also felt bad about having to leave the production midway for the film.

Still, the good thing was that Sunwoo followed his lead surprisingly well.

“But seriously, that’s impressive. How’d you already memorize all the lines?”
“They’re not that long… Compared to working on details and stuff, memorizing is the easy part.”
“Plenty of people still struggle with that, though.”

That might be true, but it didn’t really register for Sunwoo.

He’d never really had trouble memorizing things since he was young.

Smiling at him fondly, Eunseok spoke in a meaningful tone.

“The real hard part is something else, though.”
“…What’s the hardest part?”
“Cha Doyoung.”

A question mark popped up in Sunwoo’s eyes.

It was an unexpected answer.

Was Doyoung picky or something during rehearsals?

But Eunseok only gave a sly smile and dodged the question.

“You’ll understand once you act with him.”

That moment came quicker than expected.

Doyoung came looking for Sunwoo, saying they should practice together.

Eunseok, who had been coaching Sunwoo until then, greeted Doyoung with a slightly awkward face.

“Oh, you’re here, Doyoung?”
“……”
“…My bad, I won’t talk.”

The atmosphere was suffocating.

Stuck between them, not knowing what to say, Sunwoo just rolled his eyes — and Doyoung quietly approached him.

“Sunwoo.”
“Yes.”
“Want to run through it together?”
“Oh — yes! I’d love to!”

Sunwoo jumped to his feet.

He’d been waiting for this moment the most.

He was desperately curious what it would feel like to act with Doyoung.

The way he didn’t just color himself — but colored the entire stage…

What would it be like to face that color up close?

But—

“You didn’t come to confess your sins.
You came to announce them.”

The moment Doyoung delivered his line in front of him, Sunwoo finally understood what Eunseok meant.

Golden waves poured out of Doyoung, like they would swallow him whole at any second.

His vision — even his mind — felt drenched in Doyoung’s colors.

He knew Doyoung was amazing, but standing in front of him like this… it was hard to even open his mouth.

And that wasn’t the only problem.

My color…!

Doyoung’s color was covering him.

More precisely — it was covering the color Sunwoo had burst open over Seungdo.

And Sunwoo instantly realized what that meant.

The Seungdo he was expressing was losing color.

Losing presence under Doyoung’s pressure.

Maybe that’s why—

“Your acting doesn’t feel like what I saw last time.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Let’s take a break.”

Their first joint rehearsal was a complete failure.

He barely even managed what you could call acting.

When Doyoung left, looking a little disappointed, Sunwoo almost collapsed where he stood.

Eunseok grinned down at him.

“So? Know what I meant now?”
“…Yeah. I definitely get it.”
“Well, you still did pretty okay. Everyone freaks out the first time they act with Doyoung. I did too.”

He shrugged.

“When I’m acting with him, it still feels like I might get eaten alive if I slip up.”
“How did you overcome it?”
“Nothing special.”

He showed both palms.

“Just focus on your acting.”
“My acting?”
“Yeah. Forget about beating Doyoung, or not getting swallowed up. Just think about one thing — what you need to do in this moment.”

Sunwoo nodded.

It was good advice.

His scrambled thoughts slowly began to settle.

And he realized something — he’d been more burdened than he thought.

He couldn’t help it.

Right now, everyone in Cheongsong was watching him.

He liked doing well — but that wasn’t why he started acting.

He’d started because he simply liked acting itself.

He stared at the floating droplet of Seungdo’s color above his palm.

…Don’t overthink it.

All he needed to do was focus on his acting. Focus on Seungdo.

That was it.

As he整理ed his thoughts, Doyoung came back.

“Sunwoo. Try again?”
“Yes. I’m ready.”

He stood up and faced Doyoung’s expressionless face.

He wanted to do well.

He wanted to shine so brightly that he could dominate both stage and audience like Doyoung.

That would be intoxicating.

But that wasn’t the goal right now.

“You didn’t come to confess your sins.
You came to announce them.”

Again, the priest’s colors flooded the stage.

A golden wave, like a tidal surge.

In response, Sunwoo burst Seungdo’s color.

“…I intend to kill someone.”

The goal was simple.

Don’t get swept away by the wave — paint.

Paint Seungdo — onto himself.

So he’s human too, huh.

Eunseok laughed inwardly.

Watching Sunwoo hit a wall after acting with Doyoung reminded him of his own past.

Honestly, there was probably no one in Cheongsong who had never felt what Sunwoo was feeling now.

Anyone who faced Doyoung felt it.

A talent so overwhelming it felt unfair.

That’s why Eunseok had wanted to see Sunwoo clash with Doyoung at least once.

He thought Sunwoo had enough talent to at least be compared.

But still—

Experience is experience.

Doyoung wasn’t just gifted.

He was a fully-formed actor, built on solid experience since his teens.

If it weren’t for his attachment to Cheongsong, he might already have been a star.

Even with all of Sunwoo’s talent, spreading his wings in front of Doyoung would be hard.

Still—

“That’s really impressive.”
“…Sunwoo?”
“Yes.”

Yechaan, who had come over to watch, spoke up.

“For someone who’s never acted before… keeping up this much is rare, right?”
“Yeah. He’s really good. He barely had time to memorize the script, too.”

Sure, he stumbled a bit in front of Doyoung…

…But that’s nothing to criticize.

It would be stranger not to get intimidated.

Given his situation, Sunwoo was practically doing his best.

The only worry was — on stage, “doing your best” isn’t always enough.

He’d have to overcome it somehow.

Just as Eunseok clicked his tongue—

“…I intend to kill someone.”

The moment Sunwoo opened his mouth, the other cast members naturally turned their attention.

Something was different.

The Sunwoo who just moments ago couldn’t stand up to Doyoung… was now fully immersed in Seungdo.

They could feel it.

The stage air that had flowed only around Doyoung — was now flowing toward Sunwoo as well.

“My family’s killer. I’m going to kill him. So how will you punish this sin?”

Emotions poured out of Sunwoo, as if he might collapse at any second.

“How… will you judge me?”

And at that moment, Eunseok — no, everyone — realized it.

…Look at this kid.

Just moments earlier he couldn’t hold his own.
Now? He wasn’t doing half bad.

He’d grown — already?

Sure, Eunseok had given advice — ignore Doyoung’s presence and focus only on himself.

But does a person really change like that just from one comment?

If that were true, I would’ve been a great actor already!

…I take it back.

Eunseok clicked his tongue.

He’s not human.

He was a monster.

And of course, Doyoung noticed.

Smiling broadly, Doyoung looked at Sunwoo.

“You’re good.”
“…Was it okay?”
“Yeah. Want to try the next scene too?”
“Yes! Let’s go right away!”

Sunwoo answered energetically.

Watching the two — oddly in sync — Eunseok muttered:

“…At this rate, he’s going to get better than me, isn’t he?”

For the first time, Eunseok felt a flicker of genuine unease.