Chapter 150: What do you mean by a test?
[Welcome home, Thomas Dad.]
His gaze fixed unwaveringly toward the upper right.
[Sarah Mom, we had bacon sandwiches for lunch at preschool today.]
Upper left this time, his expression becoming slightly more spoiled and affectionate than before.
[Lucas—what? You want to play chess? No way. I have a date today.]
A trace of irritation entered his eyes, as though he were trying to shake off a clingy younger brother.
What... is he doing?
The man—
No, the actor who now seemed like a young boy—
moved his gaze from point to point as though actual people occupied the empty air.
Natalie Kassen swallowed.
The performance still appeared unrelated to any of the assigned keywords.
Doll. Sadness. Joy. Fear.
Or was it?
[I got a girlfriend today. Her name is Elizabeth. Isn't she beautiful?]
A radiant smile spread across his face as he proudly raised the doll he was holding.
The joy in that bright expression was perfectly innocent.
Yet somehow deeply unsettling.
Thomas.
Sarah.
Lucas.
Philip.
And every point in empty space where his gaze carefully landed.
It felt as though display cabinets filled with dolls occupied those locations.
Dolls staring only at the boy.
Large eyes opened wide without blinking.
Watching him.
Where were his real mother and father?
His friends?
His lover?
Why did his world contain nothing but dolls?
The doll had ceased to be a simple prop.
It had become the character's entire world.
The other thirty-nine contestants.
The three judges.
The host.
The staff.
More than a hundred pairs of eyes.
All of them became the eyes of the dolls sitting atop shelves and cabinets, silently watching the boy.
The audience sat motionless, blinking like taxidermied figures as they observed the world he had created.
Then his emotions changed.
Conflict surfaced.
[What do you mean you don't approve? Elizabeth? Why not?]
The happiness on his face twisted.
[Again?]
Again.
[You're still trying to tell me what to do. You were never there when I needed you.
Elizabeth is the woman I chose.
Not some useless family I was stuck with at birth.
She's someone I chose. Someone who will stay beside me because she wants to.]
He snapped.
Then abruptly turned away and hugged Elizabeth tightly.
The audience remained silent.
His emotions had shifted so violently that nobody dared interrupt.
His back trembled.
As though he were crying.
[That's how they've always been, Elizabeth. Always.]
His voice had become wet.
Heavy.
[They always tried to force me into the shape they wanted.
They said they loved me, but the moment they saw a side of me they didn't like, they became afraid.
"Get away from me! I couldn't possibly have given birth to something like you!"
They said things like that.
They tried to throw me away.
In the end...
all they ever wanted was a version of me that suited them.]
His back trembled like an abandoned child.
Then he turned around.
Tears glistened in his eyes.
[This is who I am.
Please love me exactly as I am.
Okay?
Mom...
Dad...
We're family, aren't we?
Isn't family supposed to love even your flaws?]
Sadness.
His voice shook like that of a child begging not to be abandoned.
The audience empathized completely.
Then—
[That's why.
That's why I turned them into dolls.]
...?
His expression changed.
The audience instinctively stiffened.
The trembling shoulders.
The tearful eyes.
And now, the smile spreading beneath them.
A smile drenched in satisfaction.
[They're family.
Family should stay together, right?
Now they'll stay beside me forever.
And they won't tell me what to do anymore.
They've become part of my beautiful collection.
Isn't that wonderful?]
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
[No, no. Their bodies aren't here.
I've stored them somewhere else.
Should I make a body for Elizabeth too?
Hmm...
My family had bodies first.
But Elizabeth got a soul before a body.
I suppose I'll have to find one for her.]
His voice was gentle.
Almost affectionate.
Like someone humming a pleasant tune.
[Should I find one named... Elizabeth?]
He lightly dusted off the doll and carefully sat it down.
Then he walked several steps, as though moving into an entirely different location.
One breath.
Then he gripped an imaginary pen in his right hand.
Something unseen rested in his left.
He mimed writing.
And asked politely,
[Next customer, please.
Ah...
Your name is...
Elizabeth?]
That expression.
The gleam in his eyes.
The look of someone who had just found exactly what he was searching for.
The smile.
The murderous delight hidden inside it.
As everyone's imagination leapt toward the same horrifying conclusion—
[That's all. Thank you.]
The performance ended.
Jerry was the first person to recover.
Seeing the two judges sitting with their mouths hanging open, he clicked his tongue.
[Hey. You two. Judges? Wake up.
I thought you were sitting there to tear these applicants apart.
How are you the ones getting blown away?]
[Ah... right. Let's all get ourselves together.]
Andrew, the oldest judge on the panel, laughed awkwardly and tapped the desk.
[I get it, though.
Even Jerry High got swept away.
Since my first love when I was eighteen, I've only ever been the one doing the sweeping.
It's been a long time since I've been the one getting swept up.
Mr. Shin Yu Myeong, I can see why Natalie remembers you.
I've memorized your name now too.]
[Thank you.]
Yu Myeong smiled modestly.
[No, seriously. We still have to evaluate him.
Natalie, have you recovered yet?
You've been acting like the strictest person alive all day, and suddenly you've turned into a schoolgirl with a crush.]
[Ah...
I think you might be right.
Though it wouldn't be my first love.
More like my twenty-third.]
Laughter erupted.
Natalie's joke carried extra weight given her history of rumored relationships with various Hollywood celebrities.
[At this rate, maybe your twenty-third love will be your last one. Want to confess?]
Natalie considered it briefly.
Then she deferred her turn.
[I'll go last.
Please, the other judges first.]
[Alright. Andrew?]
[Right.
Most contestants present their emotions as separate pieces connected end to end.
What impressed me about Mr. Shin Yu Myeong's performance was how naturally those emotions flowed within a single coherent setting.
The emotional transitions were dramatic, yet they never felt abrupt.
Natalie, did he show this level of ability in the first round as well?]
[Class doesn't disappear.]
Andrew nodded.
[Then I dare say we may be witnessing one of the strongest contenders to win Casting Boat.]
[Oooh! We're already talking about potential winners. Keaston?]
The screenwriter, who had mostly remained quiet throughout the session, looked visibly energized.
When his turn came, he immediately addressed Yu Myeong.
[Mr. Shin Yu Myeong, who wrote that script?]
[I did.]
[Really?
I heard you're already a signed actor with an agency.
This wasn't something your agency prepared for you?]
[No. I wrote it myself.]
Keaston's eyes lit up.
[Andrew focused on the acting.
What stood out to me first was the structure.
In such a short performance and on such a limited stage, you managed to create an entire world using only a handful of lines.
That was remarkable.]
Andrew immediately interrupted.
[Imagine that script performed by someone who couldn't act. It would've been unbearably cheesy. The real key was the acting.]
[Of course. But I consider it a major strength when an actor can write dialogue and shape scenes. Even outside an audition setting, analyzing and constructing a role is a form of directing in itself. And I loved the way he approached the doll. He didn't stop at the physical prop he was given. He created an entire room full of dolls through performance alone.]
[And that only worked because his acting made us believe it.]
[Whoa, whoa. Gentlemen. Stop arguing.
Aren't you both just saying it was good?]
Both judges nodded.
[Honestly, you're not even comparing two different people.
You're arguing over whether the same actor's acting or writing was more impressive.]
The two men coughed awkwardly.
[Anyway.
Let's set aside these two fools who only know how to hand out compliments.
Natalie, surely you're not going to do the same thing?
Give him some criticism.
Tell him what needs fixing.
You spent the whole day acting like a kindergarten teacher.
"This needs work."
"Do it again."
"Try it this way."]
Jerry's imitation of Natalie made the other two judges burst out laughing.
Natalie shot him an annoyed glance before turning back to Yu Myeong.
[I wasn't mistaken that day.
That was extraordinary acting.]
[You're too kind.]
[But it was so well constructed that I didn't get to see your instincts.
How about some improvisation?]
Jerry immediately pretended to recoil in shock.
[There it is.
That's our teacher.
So strict.
You want to test him again after that performance?]
[Test?]
Natalie smiled brightly.
[I simply want to act with him.
Producer, that's alright, isn't it?]
Then she stood up from the judges' table.
[Dennis. We've got a situation.]
[What kind of situation?]
[There's a contestant in Group One who's standing out.
Natalie just came down from the judges' table because she wants to do an improvisation scene with him. What should we do?]
While the main producer was overseeing the New York regional auditions, Emil Chrison was managing California.
Now he was calling in a panic.
Filming had been temporarily halted.
[Who is it?]
[A Korean actor named Shin Yu Myeong.]
[Ah. That kid.
How is he?]
[I don't know how well it'll come across on television, but everyone in the room was stunned. Judges. Contestants. Everyone.]
[Then why are you calling me?
Why haven't you restarted filming already?]
[Well... there are fairness concerns between contestants—]
[Damn it. Do you have a brain or not?
We're not the Fair Trade Commission.
This is a ratings war.
It's not like we planted him and forced the story.
He created this moment himself.
Why are you interrupting the momentum and asking me for permission?]
Emil shrank under the barrage.
Dennis Milton.
The star producer recruited from ABC during the merger between TBC and Work Brothers.
Casting Boat was his first project after the move.
[Natalie just handed us gold.
How many years have you worked in variety television?
How is an actor better at understanding narrative flow than you are?
Restart filming before the momentum dies.]
[Y-yes, boss!]
After being thoroughly scolded, Emil immediately signaled for filming to resume.
Natalie still stood beside the stage.
Yu Myeong remained calmly waiting on it.
The contestants in the audience still seemed afraid to breathe.
Natalie's enthusiasm had not diminished in the slightest.
And the man standing on stage looked no more nervous than he had a few minutes earlier.
[It's a pleasure meeting a good actor.
Allow me to introduce myself properly.
Natalie Kassen.]
[Shin Yu Myeong.]
The instant they shook hands, Emil captured the moment in a tight close-up.
He also radioed the camera operators covering the audience, making sure they caught the dazed expressions of the other contestants watching someone who clearly existed on a different level.
[Using the character from the performance you just gave, can you act within a situation I create?]
[I can.]
[Good.
What was the boy's name?]
[Martin.]
[Excellent.]
The two stood facing one another.
Then Natalie made the first move.
[Hello, Martin.
My name is Elizabeth Kassen.]