Chapter 62

* * *'The People of Dalseok-dong’ was a fun play. What drove the play wasn’t the tension between the characters. The driving point of the play was rather how different they reacted to the new arrivals in their town. The comic reactions of the characters was what moved the play.That was why a lot of the play looked like a stand-up comedy. The goal of the play was to make the audience laugh with little jokes here and there. “And that’s why you need good acting for a successful play. You’ve heard of this line before, right? Actors don’t cry, they make people cry. It’s like that for this play, too. To the people in the play, the entire situation isn’t funny at all. But it needs to look hilarious to the audience. That’s what makes comedies hard.”Miso scanned the club once.“It’s pretty easy to make people sad. Doing the opposite is a little bit different. Everyone has their own sense of humor. That’s where acting comes in. It’s up to you whether or not you can make the audience laugh.”Comedies need to follow a set code, but also needs to have a special comedic element. That special factor can’t be annoying or intrusive either. In a comedic play, the expressions of the actors mattered before all else. This was a teen play. For teenagers who only do acting in their free time, making the audience laugh with their acting was a very difficult thing. Despite this, Miso didn’t discourage the kids from doing it. As a matter of fact, Miso came to the club, with the intent of making the kids do comedy. What the club needed was impact. They would prepare as much as they could, and show those judges from spring what was up. But to do that, she needed the kids’ cooperation.“This’ll be harder than June. Are you guys ready?”“Yes!”“This time, we’ll even record our runs and review it. I’m serious about this. We’re going to win, we’re going to get money, and we’re going to sweep all of the awards at that competition. And then we’ll go for sashimi with that prize money. How does tuna sound?”Miso motioned the group closer to her with a clap. It was September now. They needed to prepare with the competition in late October in mind. That is, the teen acting competition at the Anyang Art Festival. Other cities could join the festival, which was exactly what Miso had in mind.“Maru,” she called out. The boy’s been just staring dumbly at the air since morning. She’s never seen him like this. Maru just came to the club today like a person who left his consciousness back home. It wasn’t like she could ask him if anything happened, given his state.[I don’t know what happened.][He’s been like this all week.]Miso asked Dojin and Daemyung if anything was wrong, but they were just as confused as her. Miso walked up towards him.“Did anything happen?” she asked carefully.“No. I was just thinking.”“Thinking?”Maru nodded, gesturing at her to stop trying to pry further.“You’re alright?”“Yes.”“If you happen to need help...”Right then, Maru looked up to stare at Miso.“This is my business.”Miso wasn’t able to say anything. Looking at Maru’s crestfallen face made her realize how rude she sounded when she offered her help. Right then, she got annoyed at the fact that she just got intimidated by a kid and tried to say something. She immediately felt bad about how crestfallen he was though, and closed her mouth.‘Surely this kid is older than my dad or something. Surely.’But the same quality was what made the boy so tempting for her. Well, she was an adult. She needed to give him some advice regardless. “If you need to think, try going somewhere with a good view. For me, that would be Hyehwa station.”“Hyehwa station?”That’s when Maru’s expression changed a little bit. Almost as if he realized something he didn’t even think of before. How interesting.‘Maybe I can use this...’“Instructor.”As she started thinking to herself, Maru spoke out.“Yes?”“Thank you.”“W-what?”“Hyehwa station.”“Ehh?”Miso was clueless, but it looked like Maru had resolved himself somewhat. His expression had relaxed a lot more to return to his normal self. Was there something up with him and Hyehwa station? Miso decided not to think about it, and turned back to look at the club.‘Good.’Miso decided to change the schedule.“Everyone, change your clothes. It’s time for a field trip.”“Field trip?”“We’re going to the sanctuary of all actors, Hyehwa station.”