* * *
Half- Month of practice flew by.
It was a short time for adults, but for children, it was not.
The children were only awkward to Seojun at first, soon they forgot that he was a famous actor and they became close to each other enough to play pranks on him.
Parents and academy instructors, who were disappointed that their children couldn’t practice with Seojun, were satisfied at the sight of the kids playing with him.
“Seojun! Eat this ice cream! My mom bought it!”
“Yes, I’ll eat it.”
In particular, buying snacks was the easiest way to bring the children scattered in different practice rooms together.
Most of the snacks were simple such as ice cream, bread, and milk, but Seojun would sometimes bring pizza or hamburgers.
“Seojun, let’s eat chicken next time!”
Lee Da-jin, who plays the role of a hunter said while holding an ice cream cone in his hand.
This was his fourth time to act in a play, but this was his first time to eat snacks every day of practice.
“Shall we?”
“I want pizza.”
“Noona. We already ate it last time.”
The guardians eagerly filmed the children enjoying themselves while eating.
Their kids have a video with Lee Seojun! This could be used as brag to their families and friends for at least a whole year!
When they made eye contact with Director Park Ji-soo, she pretended to zip her mouth with her hands.
Director Park Ji-soo nodded awkwardly, hoping that the secret could still be kept even if they took a video.
“We’ll start group practice from today.”
For the next two weeks, group practice was scheduled to begin on the stage where the play will be held.
The children arrived on the stage where they auditioned.
Unlike during the audition, empty boxes containing props that the stage production team was making, was scattered on the stage.
“Let’s check the formation first”.
Director Park Ji-soo guided Choi So-young, the main character of “Spring.”
The background was already completed. The spotlight coming from the above showed the fantasy-like background. It was a cute background that matched the children’s play.
Finally, it was Seojun’s turn. Seojun went up to the stage at the gesture of Director Park Ji-soo. A white cloth fell from the ceiling and spread out. The Blue Dragon was suspended in the air and it looks like it was flying.
“Wow!”
At the shouts of the children, Seojun also admired it. It was a Blue Dragon. A wonderful Blue dragon painted on a white cloth.
“This is the Blue dragon. It is now Seojun’s role. Seojun can speak through the microphone here.”
Seojun stood at the location pointed by Director Park Ji-soo.
A thin board stood in front of Seojun, with a round hole in the middle. He could see the stage regardless of whether it was tailored to match Seojun’s height or not.
“I made sure Seojun can see the stage here. Of course, the audience will not be able to see you. When you act with So-Young, you have to look at So-Young and get the timing right. Got it?”
“Yes!”
After the children learned their position, they started practicing on stage to familiarize themselves.
While the children were practicing individually, Director Park Ji-soo checked the time and clapped to attract the children’s attention.
“Then we’ll start our last practice today! We will be using the same lighting, music, and sound effect as if it is the real performance. Even if you get the lines or timing wrong, you are going to continue until the end. Don’t let your mistake overwhelm you just continue.”
The children looked at the stage with nervous faces.
This was unlike the sound effects and lighting in the practice room made by the teacher’s voice. This was the real deal!
“Spotlight!”
*Bam*
“The background has changed.”
The children, who will appear in the first scene, stood first on the stage. The staff also moved the box away from the stage to give space for the first scene.
The children in the second scene were standing close to each other so that they could easily climb up the stairs. Meanwhile, the other children were standing or sitting nearby waiting for their turn.
Seojun, who will only appear at the end, sat a little away from the chair to not interfere with the children’s movement. Seojun’s gaze didn’t look away from the stage, not even a second.
Cameras were installed on several audience seats to monitor the children from the audience’s view.
“Let’s start!” Director Park Ji-soo shouted when the staff sent a signal that It was all ready.
The music started playing.
Unlike in the practice room, where the children fumbled to find their position, the story progressed step by step while acting timidly.
Choi So-young led the children like a veteran.
Director Park Ji-soo was sitting on the front row while taking notes where the children did wrong. She considered the location of the background, the location of the props, and the lighting every time a child did something wrong.
The last scene, it was now Seojun’s turn.
The children, who had already finished their turns, were comfortably sitting among the audience, while their guardians were busy taking pictures of their children with their phones.
The staff also sneakily sat down among the audience in order to watch Seojun’s acting.
At director Park Ji-soo’s gesture, the blue dragon white fluttered from the ceiling, and Seojun put the microphone close to his mouth.
[Hatchling Blue Dragon’s aura- Low level]
Seojun’s black eyes turned blue. The tip of his black hair also turned blue. His whole body’s senses, especially the hearing, were enhanced to the point he could even hear Daho’s breath sitting among the audience.
A bit more. A little more.
Two hard horns grew in Seojun’s black hair. On the chubby cheeks that were pinkish, soft blue scales appeared.
Seojun looked at the blue scales on the back of his hand.
[Hatchling Blue Dragon’s aura- Low level]
This is the Aura of a young Blue Dragon.
Aura alone shows the difference in ‘class’ among the other monsters.
Depending on the intensity of the Aura, a part of his body will become blue.
‘That’s why I couldn’t use this in the practice room.’
At the audition, everyone was far away, and can’t see the color of his hair closely, let alone the color of his eyes.
However, in the practice room, So-young Noona act close to him. He didn’t use his ability because she will see it.
In other words, the intensity of his aura was weak during the practice, and he did not use more than that.
People were satisfied with how he is acting, but Seojun wasn’t satisfied with it.
He could have done better. Now that Seojun was covered by the board, this was an opportunity to show off his skills to his heart’s content.
Inhale, exhale.
And…
A blue dragon appeared in the theater.
After the stage, everyone looked at the blue dragon installed above the stage, regardless of the children sitting in the audience, the guardians or the staff.
The wind was not blowing, so it should’ve been just a plain ordinary painted white cloth.
“… What device did you use for that?”
When asked by a guardian, the staff shook their heads.
It was just a painting of a blue dragon.
“Wow. I thought it was a real Blue Dragon.”
“I know! It really felt like I was making a wish to the Blue Dragon.”
As the children chatted, the adults finally came to their senses.
Director Park Ji-soo and the president, who came to watch their first group practice on stage, look alternately between the blue dragon painting and Seojun, who was drinking water while sitting in the auditorium.
“This is such a waste…”
“I agree.”
“What a waste!”
“I agree a hundred times. No! A thousand times.”
A person approached the two people talking to each other how it was such a waste.
“Such a waste…”
“Excuse me, boss.”
“Yes…Oh, yes. What’s going on?”
He was a stage director.
He unfolded the note he had taken while watching their performances.
“I thought about it while watching the practice earlier, but I hope we could put more props here. Like a real world. Trees, flowers, houses… In particular, the blue dragon should be three-dimensional or add something to the cloth to give more volume…….”
The stage director continued for a while. The president and Director Park Ji-soo nodded one after another while listening to the list. In the meantime, the Assistant director checked the time and sent the children and guardians home.
The President counted the remaining dates. Two weeks. There are two weeks left before the performance.
“Would the props be made in time?”
“We have time but…… Budget….”
The stage director held the back of his neck. The background and props he wanted to make now was different from the props he tried to make it cuter. How much will it cost if he tried it to be realistic?
The stage director’s eyes wondered while waiting for the President response.
“Don’t worry about the budget.”
When he saw Seojun’s performance and heard the suggestion of the stage director, his head couldn’t stop wondering how the scene would become.
Then he thought of a great idea.
* * *
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