"It's time…"
Minjae took a deep breath as he walked forward to the center of the room. He was stabilizing his breathing, feeling the anticipation in everyone's eyes.
Director Kang's voice cut through the silence.
"We'd like you to perform Scene 14, as written in the script. Do it your own way. Take a moment if you need it."
"No need. I'm ready." Minjae gave a slight bow.
"Go on then."
As Director Kang's words sounded, all eyes immediately focused on what was Minjae about to do.
Minjae closed his eyes. He took one long and slow breath before his gaze dropped to the floor. There, he relaxed his shoulders, slumping them in as if had just done something tiring.
When Minjae opened his eyes, they were already filled with unshed tears. However, there was something in his look. It was as if he was sad, but emotionless at the same time.
Minjae imagined himself as the character.
In his mind, he was a young man who was exhausted from years of hiding and running away. He was lost in a foreign city without a choice but to fend for himself if he wanted to live again.
One chilly night, just after he had come at the right age, he went back to his family's house which was now long gone and was just a piece of land with buried bodies.
This must be why the room was larger. For them to have free will if they want to move their bodies as if they were really the main character of the script.
Minjae walked a few steps ahead as if approaching a headstone. His steps were slow and hesitant. His body slowly trembled and slowly, he knelt on the ground.
Silence filled the audition room as they watched Minjae with keen eyes.
"Mother… Father… This son of yours had come back to greet you." Minjae's voice cracked as he said those words.
Since the drama was set in a history with all the traditional and old elements, the lines were more formal.
Minjae placed both palms on the floor, lowered his upper body, and bowed deeply in a traditional bow. It was a full Korean bow that was usually performed in front of graves to show your utmost respect.
Minjae's forehead nearly touched the cold tiles. He stayed there in position for longer than expected as if he was showing how badly he wanted to do it for so long.
His actions weren't forced. It wasn't rushed. He just looked as if he was honoring the dead, even if they were only in his imagination.
When he rose, Minjae's hands trembled as he gently pressed them together in front of him, his gaze never leaving the invisible graves before him.
"I've come back…" His voice was quiet and soft.
"I'm sorry I left all of you. I'm sorry I left this place empty. I've left your headstones cold and lonely all these years, didn't I?"
To level up the scene, Minjee stretched his hands in front of him as if he was imagining that there were things there. He acted as if he was reaching for offerings. Every movement of him was precise.
He even acted as if he was lighting up an invisible incense stick. He held it with both hands and bowed once more.
"Forgive me… It's been a decade. Ten long years…"
"I was just a boy. I had no power. No strength to fight back… I had to run, or I would've died too." Minjae's voice wavered again, the emotion beginning to swell in his throat.
"But every night… I saw it. Every night, it hunts me." A tear fell in Minjae's eyes before his hand went to his chest.
"I keep seeing it in my dreams. All of you…lying there. The fire. The screams. The b-blood." Minjae's voice broke off as he completely slumped on the ground as if he was reliving the horror again.
His eyes darted to the sides, unfocused. In there, he saw the other established others watching him with interest in their eyes.
"I heard it all. Again and again. The way they laughed. The way they slaughtered you like animals. That day... replayed in my mind that I could still remember the sound of your voices."
A bitter smile appeared on Minjae's lips. As he returned his gaze in front of him, looking at the judges, the expression on his face changed.
Minjae stood up as if he suddenly got the determination for it.
"But no more."
Minjae took a step forward as if he was showing to everyone that he was stronger now. That he wasn't the same kid in the past.
"I've returned, Mother, Father. I survived. I endured everything they threw at me."
"I've waited years for this moment. All the suffering, the pain, the emptiness—today, it ends. I swear on your graves, I will make them pay."
"All I've done, all I've sacrificed… it's all for this"
"And I won't stop... not until I've given you the justice you deserve. I won't stop until I've destroyed everything they built. You're the last ones left to witness it. You'll see the blood of our enemies fall, just as they made you fall."
A long silence followed his words. His chest rose and fell heavily as he stared at the floor, still half-lost in the emotion.
Then, slowly—he gave one final bow, deeper than before.
"I swear—this time, they'll be the ones running. They'll feel the fear we felt."
"I will make them all pay. For you… for us."
Minjae stood still, letting the silence wrap around the room. It was close to the end of Scene 14.
As Minjae straightened his back from the bow, a smile slowly crept on his lips. It wasn't sad, or angry. Instead, he looked happy as if he had seen something so good right in front of his eyes.
"I'll make sure that they're going to beg on their knees too..."
"I'll make sure to hear their cries as I kill them with my own hands."
It was the end of the scene.
Minjae quickly regained his composure again. The air in the room felt different now.
Director Kang didn't speak right away. Neither did Writer Mirae nor Actor Lee Jimin.
Their faces remained neutral but there was a look of surprise in their eyes. Even the three established actors on the side were amazed at it.