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We’ve Moved! If you notice any missing, empty, or incorrect chapters, please leave a comment below, and we’ll fix it as soon as possible. Regular updates will resume on June 10th. Thank you for your patience!

Comeback: No Choice But: Chapter 12

12.

Following the guidance of the staff conducting the audition, I crossed the living room. The actor who auditioned before me had already returned to his seat and was talking with his manager. The actor waiting next in line after Choi Hong-seo didn’t show any signs of being wary of ‘Yoon Hae-an’ at all.

The staff knocked on the study door first.

“Applicant Yoon Hae-an, please come in.”

The door opened, and I entered the study, following the staff. The study, with its dark navy carpet, felt much cozier than the practice rooms or production company offices where auditions are usually held.

“Mr. Yoon Hae-an, please greet and introduce yourself first.”

After taking a deep breath, I looked straight ahead with proper etiquette. However, the simple greeting I had prepared froze in my mouth for a moment.

A long table with four judges sitting in a row. Each one of them had familiar faces. They were the production company representative, the general PD, and Director Kang Woo-hyun, whom I had already greeted when I was confirmed for the casting as Choi Hong-seo. And unexpectedly between the production company representative and Director Kang was him, Lee Hae-seong.

All my bodily functions momentarily stopped, and soon after, they began to malfunction. My breathing became erratic, my heart raced, and the script crumpled haphazardly in my hand.

“Mr. Yoon Hae-an.”

“…”

“Mr. Yoon Hae-an?”

“Ah, yes.”

As if waking up from a trance, I trembled greatly and responded to that name, which still didn’t feel like my own. The staff member looked over, more flustered than I was.

“Your greeting and introduction, please.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

Bowing deeply, Choi Hong-seo greeted confidently and firmly as he had prepared.

“Hello, I am Yoon Hae-an. Pleased to meet you.”

Next, the staff introduced the judges in a mechanical tone.

“From the left, this is the production company’s representative, the investor’s representative, the director, and the general PD.”

Lee Hae-seong had joined the panel as the investor’s representative. Leaning back loosely in his shirt with his jacket off, he was fiddling with the documents on the desk with his long fingers. His gaze seldom turned this way but remained on the papers.

This was somewhat a relief. As long as he wasn’t looking, I could watch him as much as I wanted.

Director Kang, perhaps thinking my flustered demeanor was due to the change in the panel, was the first to speak with a smile.

“The faces sitting here are quite different from the first and second rounds, right? It’s because this is the final audition. Think of them as the heads of each department for . Since I said that, is Hae-an more nervous?”

Choi Hong-seo tried to smile awkwardly, thinking Director Kang had attempted a joke.

“Don’t be so nervous, Hae-an. You did well up to the third round. Speaking of which, while getting you through the third round, I encountered quite a bit of resistance.”

“Yes…”

“Everyone told me that it would be difficult to work with you due to your terrible reputation.”

Even when I was cast as Hwang Ji-woo and had several meetings with him, Director Kang was always this straightforward. The same, with no hidden motives.

“But seeing you in person, you’re not a bad actor.”

“Thank you. I worked very hard.”

“Everyone tried to dissuade me, but your acting was good, and your image was perfect for the role, so I couldn’t give up easily. You even resembled our Hong-seo who was originally supposed to take the role of Hwang Ji-woo.”

“…”

Lee Hae-seong, who had been looking at the desk with a consistent, indifferent expression, suddenly lifted his head. His discontented eyes glanced at the audition participant and then quickly looked back at the desk.

“Is that so?”

The single statement from him, who had been quietly standing by, created an awkward silence in the room. The tone carried a hint of hostility, creating a sense of tension.

“I’m curious which part looked so similar to the director.”

His tone wasn’t dismissive or aggressive towards Director Kang’s statement. Rather, it seemed like he was dissatisfied with the comparison to ‘Yoon Hae-an.’

“Hwang Ji-woo is a mysterious figure from the perspective of the residents, right? Nothing is known about his age, family background, or occupation. So I wanted an actor with that kind of ambiguous image. Someone who seems like a boy and a young man, simultaneously shrewd about the world yet sometimes innocently naïve. But I felt that from Yoon Hae-an now. Not a boy, not a young man, neither good nor evil, like he’s teetering on a fine line?”

Director Kang enthusiastically ranted on, but there was still no change in Lee Hae-seong’s expression or gaze. It looked as if he couldn’t agree at all. His uninterested eyes sighed and his lips moved.

“Let’s see the acting first.”

His dry, monotonous voice took over the room’s acoustics like a scream or a shout.

While looking at him and listening to his voice, chills and a thrill surged through my body several times.

It felt like the first day I met him.

The sense of déjà vu, as if I were reliving a past moment.

Back then, he also spoke with a bored and disdainful voice.

【”Let’s turn off the music.”】

Despite being a small, effortless voice, everyone paid attention to his words. His words acted as commands to the others present there, even when he didn’t speak in a commanding tone.

It was our first and last encounter where he looked at me with his calm, exploratory gaze, making that day unforgettable.

If I could go back to that day and start over… how wonderful that would be.

“Well then, let’s see the free acting first. The designated acting will follow after.”

At the director’s voice, I collected myself. Turning my back to the panel for a moment, I closed my eyes and took a light deep breath.

Even though I still remembered his personal phone number, I could no longer call him. I couldn’t create a private chat room with just the two of us. I knew where he lived, and before, even if he wasn’t there, I could wait for him in his bedroom or living room. But now, I was no longer his VVIP.

So, I had to secure this role. To get closer to him, it was the only way.

One, two, three, four, five. Counting each number while folding my fingers.

“Start when you are ready. Don’t rush.”

I nodded with my eyes closed at Director Kang’s voice. Once I was ready, I opened my eyes and turned around. Approaching the staff prepared for the opposite role slowly, I began to deliver my lines.

“Listen, Nikolai.”

It was a scene from Anton Chekhov’s play .

“You probably think all this is wise and correct judgment, according to that psychology rule of yours. But to me, it’s just a scandal and misery!”

Just a scandal and misery. Though not intentionally prepared, it felt like it was my story with him.

Without looking at him, I could feel his gaze piercing my skin. The play I showed in front of him the first day we met was also from an Anton Chekhov piece.

“Nikolai, everything in the world is simple. The ceiling is white, boots are black, sugar is sweet, right? You love Sasha, and Sasha loves you. If you love, you stay, if you don’t, you leave. It’s as simple as that.”

Even during performances on stage, I felt a different kind of tension when I knew he would see me. More so when he was actually there.

This was a kind of nervousness, or rather an exhilarating excitement that no amount of finger-counting could calm.

If what I felt when looking at him was excitement, then what he felt when looking at me was a prickling, hot stimulus. That euphoria vividly revived in Yoon Hae-an’s veins, not just Choi Hong-seo’s.

“What more do you need? Money? That’s nothing! Principles, Schopenhauer… all worthless talk…”

Swallowing hard, I lowered my voice.

“Nikolai, I have ten thousand rubles hidden in the bank.”

Glancing around as if trying to hide from anyone listening, I moved closer to the stand-in. Secretly, with a touch of desperation.

And I touched his cheek. Gliding over it as if touching the cheek of a precious lover, too precious to exert strength on.

“Nobody in my family knows about this money… Take it… and leave together.”

Choi Hong-seo’s Lebedev was Ivanov’s friend, Nikolai. So, my current acting felt like I was sending off someone I love with another person, a nuance different from the original. However, it was an interpretation that could be left open for various interpretations.

About another minute of acting followed. After finishing, I bowed to both my partner and the judging panel. Director Kang was the first to speak.

“Interesting. Did you interpret the scene yourself?”

“Yes.”

We’ve Moved! If you notice any missing, empty, or incorrect chapters, please leave a comment below, and we’ll fix it as soon as possible. Regular updates will resume on June 10th. Thank you for your patience!
Comeback: No Choice But…

Comeback: No Choice But…

Status: Ongoing
※This novel contains materials such as reincarnation after jumping off a high-rise building and unwanted prostitution. It does not describe the subject matter in detail but mainly deals with the subsequent events caused by the subject matter. I jumped from the 32nd floor. There was no way I would have survived. Yet I was reincarnated. In the body of another person who has nothing to do with me. I am Choi Hong-seo, not Yoon Hye-an. No matter how hard I try, no one will believe me. Even if I were them, I wouldn’t believe it as well. Am I crazy? In reality, I am Yoon Hye-an, but I believe that I was Choi Hong-seo? The only hope that allows me to endure an unacceptable situation is the person I loved. The only person who treated me with respect. I wanted to see him up close. Since I had already died once, I had no other regrets. But he doesn’t love me, because I’m not Choi Hong-seo. “Did you know beforehand that the original owner of this role was Choi Hong-seo?” “Yes.” “So, did you use Choi Hong-seo as a reference?” “Yes?” “Simply put, I’m asking if you calculated that mimicry would give you an advantage.” “I don’t think Yoon Hye-an-ssi is suitable for the role, but if the director’s opinion is so, then I should follow it. But I want you to stop imitating him.” “…” “Just because a person isn’t in the world anymore doesn’t mean people like you can use him as you please. Do you understand?” If only I was Yoon Hye-an in reality rather than Choi Hong-seo as I thought I was. It shouldn’t hurt this much to see him treat me so coldly. This feeling and this pain couldn’t be fake.

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