Chapter 187: Non-human acting.
The opening was spectacular.
The camera facing the audience swept rapidly across the faces of viewers left spellbound by the raw intensity of the live performance.
The speed at which the text message votes poured in shot upward.
This wasn't remotely the story I was expecting from a mother and son. Putting the pieces together... the setting is an apocalypse. A mother and son are the last survivors. The son was infected by something first. To keep himself from killing his mother, he planned to infect her using someone else's bodily fluids. And the mother... because she loves her son, she's trying to let herself be eaten by him?
It was a truly horrifying story.
What kind of world had given birth to a story like this? And just what was "that thing"?
While the audience was busy wondering, the other contestants were reeling for an entirely different reason.
A prequel to the next performance...
None of them had even considered it.
Even if the idea had crossed their minds, there was no way anyone could have created such a tightly woven backstory for two characters in that short amount of time, let alone improvise it convincingly as a two person performance.
The gap in ability was overwhelming.
The realization shook them to their core.
Among everyone present, however, no one was hit harder than Antoine.
"And now, your second assignment, which you'll have one week to prepare..."
"'Playing a non human species.'"
A week earlier, when Jerry had announced the live broadcast assignment, Antoine's eyes had lit up.
A non human species.
Creatures that were not human. The most familiar examples in film were vampires, werewolves, and zombies.
"You're free to perform scenes from existing works or create your own original story. But don't forget one essential requirement."
"You must include the transformation."
The human state.
The non human state.
And the process of becoming one.
Antoine had practiced that transition until he was sick of it.
After all, in the film he had shot with Hugo, his character had been a vampire.
So that's what Hugo meant...
When Hugo had left after the previous assignment, he'd smirked and said, "The next challenge should suit you perfectly. Do your best."
"So we'll have two vampires, two werewolves, and two zombies. Choose whichever species you want. If too many people choose the same one, we'll adjust the assignments."
Antoine had chosen vampire without a moment's hesitation.
I'm not arrogant enough to think I can beat him.
When he had first decided to come here...
Yes, part of it had been competitive spirit.
He had always considered himself an easygoing person, but after seeing Yu Myeong's "Mumu" performance, he simply couldn't forget it. He had wanted to witness that level of acting with his own eyes... and challenge it.
But after meeting Yu Myeong again...
He realized that dream had been nothing more than wishful thinking.
He didn't regret coming.
Watching the way Yu Myeong approached acting had taught him an incredible amount.
But...
He had completely accepted one undeniable truth.
He belonged at the level of chasing Yu Myeong.
Not competing with him.
Still... if it's a vampire...
Hugo had driven him relentlessly while preparing that role.
He had dissected vampires, researched them, absorbed every detail.
If it was this role...
He might not surpass Yu Myeong.
But perhaps...
Just once...
He could perform on equal footing.
And he had succeeded in securing the vampire role.
For the past week, Antoine had practiced with everything he had.
Yet the confidence he had painstakingly built was mercilessly shaken the instant he watched Yu Myeong's prequel.
The improvisation assignment came to an end.
Watching Group One's performance had clearly rattled the other contestants, but thanks to the experience they had accumulated throughout the competition, they managed to complete their own improvisations without falling apart.
While the actors went backstage to prepare for the main assignment, the judges began giving their commentary.
"Now then, everyone knows the real fun starts when the performers aren't here to hear it. While they're backstage, let's hear the unfiltered truth. George, what did you think?"
Antoine and Marta had portrayed a couple taking humanity's very first journey into space.
Their buoyant movements convincingly conveyed reduced gravity, and they transformed an ordinary lovers' quarrel into something refreshingly original by making use of the inconveniences unique to outer space.
The judges found it particularly memorable.
Priya and Kai had performed Romeo and Juliet.
Since both were relatively inexperienced, many felt they had chosen a safe option.
It was, after all, the quintessential story of children born into feuding families.
Their performance was charming and lively, but compared to the acts that had preceded it, many thought it lacked impact.
What intrigued everyone was that every judge postponed commenting on Yu Myeong and Selina's performance.
"Huh? Even Eva? You were completely captivated earlier, and now you're withholding judgment? Why?"
"Because it's impossible to evaluate Team One properly... not yet."
"What do you mean 'properly'? An evaluation is an evaluation. Writers really are impossible to understand."
Jerry tilted his head before continuing.
"All right! At last, it's time for the main assignment!"
"The theme this time is..."
"'Playing a non human species!'"
"Wooooo!"
Nearly a third of the broadcast had already passed, and the audience, energized by everything they'd seen so far, responded enthusiastically.
"There are three possible species: vampires, werewolves, and zombies."
"Antoine and Marta, Priya and Kai, Selina and Yu Myeong—each pair will perform the same species."
"Yep. Same teams as before."
"The Casting Vote production staff are just that evil."
"They're openly inviting you to compare two actors side by side."
Jerry exaggeratedly whispered his criticism toward the production crew, drawing helpless laughter from the staff.
"Now then, our first performer is Antoine."
"Hmm... he's such a handsome actor that I hear his fanbase is pretty intense."
"Any Antoine fans in the audience?"
"I am!! Vampire Project!!"
"Wow, you've got quite the voice."
"That's right."
"Those of you who remember him as a vampire before..."
"Are you looking forward to seeing a former vampire play a vampire again?"
"Yessss!!"
"Excellent."
"Antoine, you're ready?"
"Let's begin."
Looking far more solemn than usual, Antoine stepped into the spotlight.
His vampire performance began.
"Once you press this, the tube hidden near your head will burst, and blackish red liquid will pour down."
"You only get one use."
"If you press it by accident, it'll be a disaster."
"Got it!"
Backstage, as a special effects technician explained the equipment being attached to him, Yu Myeong found himself once again reminded that he was in Hollywood.
Zombies drenched in blood and putrid fluid.
Vampires with lengthening fangs.
Werewolves whose claws and fur burst forth beneath the moonlight.
Because the assignment required the transformation from human to non human to happen during the performance itself, elaborate makeup wasn't practical.
Instead, the production team had brought in a professional film makeup crew and devised mechanical effects no one had anticipated.
His costume was filthy and torn.
His hair had been deliberately mussed.
To create the look of prolonged starvation, dark gradients had been brushed heavily across his cheeks.
Once everything was ready, he returned backstage to wait.
Then he watched Antoine's performance unfold.
Antoine Monier...
Yu Myeong had seen Vampire Project.
Antoine had played an irresistibly charismatic aristocrat who dazzled high society.
In reality, his seductive charm existed solely because he needed blood to survive.
As his character uncovered the truth that his transformation into a vampire had been part of a secret experiment and pursued those responsible, Antoine Monier had fully demonstrated his ability as an actor.
Antoine really does need Mr. Hugo.
Whenever Yu Myeong had spoken with Antoine, the actor had adamantly insisted he had no intention of working with Hugo again.
"He's a great director," Antoine had said, "but we're completely incompatible."
Yu Myeong disagreed.
Maybe it's simply his nature... but he always seems to hold back about twenty percent.
Mr. Hugo, on the other hand, drags one hundred percent out of anyone.
Perhaps leaving that margin untouched was what created Antoine's relaxed elegance and effortless charm.
But if the goal was growth as an actor...
The answer was still Hugo.
Hugo knew exactly how to strip away every last ounce of an actor's hidden potential.
Of course, no matter how maniacally he tormented performers, he couldn't force more than one hundred percent out of them.
But with someone as naturally gifted as Antoine...
There was no doubt he would become even stronger under Hugo's direction.
Just as he had during Vampire Project.
Either way... he's an exceptional actor.
Watching Antoine's fangs slowly lengthen...
Watching sorrow, weariness, and the elegant nobility of a creature of the night settle across his transformed face...
Yu Myeong couldn't help admiring him.
I've met so many remarkable actors through Casting Vote.
{Quite a few of them are going to become major stars five or ten years from now.}
Was the original story's Casting Vote this impressive?
I can't compare it objectively anymore since I've become part of it, but... I don't remember there being this many talented actors or the show becoming such an enormous sensation.
{That's because of you.}
...Me?
{You displayed talent nobody expected. The contestants and even the judges have all been influenced by it. The world we're living in now... isn't the same one as the original story anymore.}
The words struck Yu Myeong with sudden clarity.
{They'll probably become even bigger stars than they did in the original story... because of your influence.}
He had simply lived as earnestly as he could.
Yet without realizing it...
He had already begun changing the world around him.
Domenico Blante sat in front of the television, crunching on a massive potato chip.
Ordinarily, Friday nights were reserved for the gathering of himself and his esteemed companions—
The League of Obsessives in Love with Logic and Paradox (L.O.A.).
But tonight every single member had unanimously agreed to replace their in person meeting with an online chat.
The reasoning was impeccable.
A live broadcast had to be watched live.
[domi] So today's the day we'll finally find out whether Y's acting was polished in post production... or genuinely that good.
[b.qao] If today's excuse is "he wasn't as good because he was tired," cough cough, I'll blow TW to pieces.
[est] Personally, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. As members of L.O.A., we're naturally suspicious of manipulation through editing, but if they really wanted to manufacture a hero... would they honestly have chosen an Asian actor?
[blanc] We've already watched his previous work from his home country and concluded that he's genuinely talented. But even if that's true, artificially exaggerating his brilliance still wouldn't be justified.
[domi] Let's watch first. We always reach conclusions based on evidence. There'll be plenty of time to argue after we have proof.
As the group's founder, Domenico calmly mediated disputes whenever they arose.
The club discussed all kinds of subjects, but nothing reflected their obsessive personalities more perfectly than film.
They delighted in dissecting a movie's themes, social significance, acting, direction, and every conceivable detail.
The first silence arrived when Y's opening performance began.
Normally, the chat room averaged nearly eight hundred keystrokes per minute, messages flying so quickly that people's hands moved faster than their eyes.
Now...
It was as though the entire server had frozen.
No one typed a single word.
Crunch.
Without even noticing that his potato chips had spilled onto the floor, Domenico stared fixedly at the screen.
Only after Y's performance ended did messages slowly begin appearing again.
[est] My God. Well, we can safely discard one hypothesis. His performance definitely wasn't created in the editing room. But now we have an entirely new question. That was supposed to be improvisation?
[b.qao] Wait... was that... a zombie? The final surviving family at the end of an apocalypse? Oh my God. How do you arrive at that from a mother and son improv exercise?
[blanc] ...Well, there goes the five dollars I bet. He's definitely not a bluff.
A bad feeling settled over Domenico.
There's something about that story...
Something that goes beyond ordinary improvisation...
He prided himself on rejecting blind faith and pursuing reason above all else.
Yet today...
He had the unsettling feeling that conviction was about to collapse.
The premonition became undeniable reality only a few dozen minutes later.
"And next..."
"We'll be watching contestant Shin Yu Myeong's zombie performance."
Zombie.
That was his main assignment.
And moments ago, during the improvisation challenge...
He had portrayed a son who had just become a zombie.
Don't tell me...
That really was... the prequel?!
Domenico found himself unconsciously leaning farther and farther toward the television.
Beneath him...
The potato chips that had fallen onto the sofa were crushed into crumbs.