Legendary Superstar

As the producer left the applicants alone to fend for themselves, multiple sighs sounded in unison. 

"A one-page script?"

"Just for a small part? They're making us audition with a whole page of dialogue?"

"Ha… I've never memorized this fast in my whole life." 

"Help..." 

"Nah man, this is torture."

"Well, don't worry, I'll get the role."

"I'm confident too." 

"At this point, I should just really be a robber. That seems easier than memorizing all of this." 

"Anyway, imma stop talking now. I'll memorize this shit."

"Me too."

The applicants voiced their complaints, yet, at the end, they still memorized it. Exerting their best effort, some of them even stood up to find quiet spaces that may help with their focus.

'I wonder how they will do this,' Minjae thought. However, instead of thinking about others, he decided to focus on himself and do what he needed to do so he could just relax later on. 

'Thirty minutes? Good thing I arrived late. Still, I think I can memorize it just enough.' Minjae was determined. He had read thousands of pages of script in his entire life, so this thing should be familiar to him.

Minjae started skimming through the script, his mind already picking up the rhythm of the lines. As he went through them, he realized that it was quite long. But still, he didn't become nervous. 

One tip that he personally learned was that if you can't memorize the lines as a whole, then get the main points and personalize it as you give life to it. After all, scripts were most of the time, flexible. 

"This character's been betrayed and pushed to the edge," he muttered, reading between the lines. It was a character that demands depth and vulnerability.

'So how can I make this like my own?' Minjae reflected on himself. It was his one way of setting the mood and letting out emotions from within. 

The character wasn't just any thief or a man who was betrayed — he was someone who had been shattered and betrayed by those he trusted but was still fihtin for his life. Forced to survive, and for his 1-year-old daughter, he could only cling to his crimes as his sole means of survival.

"So that's why there needs to be an audition for this" Minjae whispered, his tone shifting in realization. 

This role demanded so much depth. To pull off this character, the emotions had to be real. The robber should be someone the audience would pity, even if his actions weren't admirable.

Now, to do that, Minjae needed to channel the right emotions, the pain of betrayal and the struggle just to survive.

'Wasn't this similar to my situation right now?" 

Minjae was confident he could pull this off perfectly as it wasn't so different from the battle he was currently fighting. The only thing he was nervous off was if he would be able to do it the way he liked.

Relaxing his shoulders, Minjae began committing the lines to memory, sinking into the character's shoes easily.

This might just be an audition, but it was his first one in this body. He wanted to honor the original Minjae with this performance. 

30 minutes quickly passed and the energy in the waiting hall shifted as the first group of ten applicants was called. 

"I'm so nervous." 

"I think I might need to pee." 

"Should I shit first?"

"I just really want this role…" 

The nervous shuffling of feet and murmur of hushed voices filled the air. Minjae immediately noticed the anxiousness of the other applicants. They looked like soldiers heading to battle, and Minjae felt a small sympathy for them, knowing they'd face a tough audience.

After half an hour of waiting, the 10 contestants that were initially called, returned, visibly shaken. Several looked on the verge of tears, while others could only stare at the floor, lost in their thoughts. 

"Fuck! Is the audition that bad?" 

"It's my first time seeing someone go out of an audition like that." 

"I thought this was just a normal audition…" 

Their reactions stirred a wave of uneasiness to the rest of the applicants. Murmurs of doubt echoed through the room as the reality of the audition's difficulty set in.

Next to Minjae, the young man he'd spoken with earlier shifted nervously.

"Why do you look so… calm?" The man whispered, his voice showinng his anxiety as he turned sideways. 

Minjae glanced at him, smiling faintly. " I'm nervous too," he uttered, keeping his voice low. 

"But being nervous won't help me remember the lines or play the part any better." He gave the man an encouraging look. "Just focus on your breathing. The calmer you are, the easier it'll be to remember the script." he gave a small tip, one that he always uses. 

The man looked at him, surprised by the advice, but he took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. 

"Thanks," he said, nodding appreciatively. "I'm Jin, by the way."

"Minjae," he replied, reaching out to shake Jin's hand.

"I'm number 110, what about you?" Jin questioned with pure curiosity as he showed the number on his hand. 

"109." Minjae answered. 

"Ohhh, I see, I see. We'll be in the same group, but you'll go first. Good luck." Jin sincerely smiled, raising his fist in the air, as if cheering for Minjae.

"Thanks. Good luck too." Minjae returned the favor.

As they waited for more, Minjae continued to study the script, replaying each line in his head. A few more rounds passed with each group returning with more discouraged faces than the last. 

Jin occasionally glanced at Minjae, taking note of how relaxed and composed he appeared compared to the others. He couldn't deny that it helped steady his own nerves.

And after what felt like an eternity, their turn finally came. 

"Applicants 101 to 110. Stand up and follow me."

Minjae rose from his seat, along with Jin and the rest of their group. Waiting for them after the door was an old staff who was holding a few folders in his hand. The ten of them carefully placed their folder on top of other before proceeding. 

Just then, a voice rang in his head. 

[Do you need assistance, host? The System would gladly help in flashing the lines of the script.] 

"No," Despite the kind offer, Minjae firmly declined. 

'I got this.'