Chapter 79: The Pill Before the Performance

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Yeah, could he be nervous now that it’s time to perform?”

In the waiting room, Hyungkyu and Hayoon, monitoring the broadcast, noticed something was off.

“No way that’s the case.”

There was absolutely no way. 

Hyungkyu knew Hyunjae wasn’t the type to show nerves like that, no matter how tense he was.

“Now, let’s have each contestant draw their scene in order.”

The MC continued the proceedings, while Hyungkyu kept watching Hyunjae’s condition with anxious eyes.

“Wait a second. I’ll go check on him…”

Just as Hyungkyu reached for the waiting room door to check on him in person, the door flung open with a bang.

“Huff! Huff!”

Standing there was Jiwon, panting heavily.

“Huh? Hyunjae’s friend…”

“Friend?”

Hyungkyu didn’t know Jiwon, but Hayoon did.

“The pill! Did you find a pill that was dropped?”

“A pill?”

“Oh, I picked it up and put it in there.”

The stylist pointed to the shopping bag Jiwon had left behind.

“Phew, thank goodness.”

Seeing Jiwon’s relief, Hayoon felt a chill run down his spine.

“What… what kind of pill is it?”

“It’s just something I take personally. I almost got in big trouble…”

Before Jiwon could finish, Hayoon’s face turned pale, and seeing this, Jiwon realized something had gone wrong.

“No way someone took it, right?”

“Please tell me that’s not true.”

Hyungkyu, picking up on the situation, desperately hoped it wasn’t the case.

“It said it was for calming the body and mind, so I thought it was something like a herbal calming pill…”

“We’re screwed.”

Realizing the full situation, Hyungkyu clutched his head in despair.

“I’m so sorry.”

“What kind of calming pill is making him look so out of it?”

“It’s a bit strong, but it shouldn’t have that much of an effect…”

Jiwon had developed a tolerance from taking the pill for a long time, so while it was strong, it shouldn’t have caused such a noticeable effect so quickly.

“What do we do? How is he supposed to act in that state?”

On the screen, the light in Hyunjae’s eyes was slowly fading.

“That was an amazing performance. I was completely drawn in. Now, moving on to the next…”

The actor in fifth place for text votes had just performed, and the next actor was picking their scene. 

Hyunjae’s turn was second to last.

“We need to call a doctor right now…”

“By the time a doctor gets here, his turn will come first. We need to go talk to him.”

Hyungkyu rushed to the set.

***

“Once becomes twice, twice becomes thrice, and because of you, others are living in pain!”

The actor in front of Hyunjae was performing a lawyer role from a popular drama a few years back. 

While pretending to focus on the performance, Hyunjae glanced sideways and saw Hyungkyu frantically waving his hands behind the camera.

Huh?

Catching Hyungkyu’s eye, he focused on the shape of his lips, trying to make out what he was saying.

Calming… pill? The pill?

So it’s because of that pill? 

Jiwon gave me something like that? 

It didn’t sit right, but knowing the cause gave him some relief.

I’m okay.

He signaled with his eyes to Hyungkyu, who was mouthing to ask if he was alright. 

He had to hold on for the remaining hour, no matter what.

I can’t miss this chance.

Moving from a supporting role to the male lead was a huge barrier, one that usually required a special case to overcome. 

He couldn’t let a stupid mistake like this ruin such a rare opportunity.

Get it together, Jung Hyunjae!

He steeled himself and tried to focus. His body wasn’t quite cooperating, though.

“That was fantastic! It felt like we were seeing a true righteous lawyer.”

Luckily, with each actor performing one at a time, the spotlight was on them, giving Hyunjae time to hold out until his turn.

“Now, only two scenes remain…”

Before he knew it, only he, in second place for text votes, and Kim Minjun, in first, were left. 

There were two scenes remaining: one was a confession scene from a drama about adult romance, and the other was that scene—the one everyone gasped at and wanted to avoid.

“Now, Hyunjae-ssi, please draw your scene.”

Hyunjae stood up from his chair and walked forward, while Kim Minjun, standing beside him, clasped his hands together, focusing on him—likely praying he wouldn’t get that scene.

“Only two scenes left. Is there one you’re hoping for?”

“I… have one in mind.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then draw it now!”

What Hyunjae wanted was…

“Even Butterflies Fall Sometimes.”

It was the scene everyone wanted to avoid. 

As Hyunjae took the difficult scene, Kim Minjun’s face lit up with relief.

“Then let’s watch a VCR of the scene Hyunjae-ssi will perform.”

The scene he was to act out played on the monitor in front.

Haa…

A frail man collapsed weakly, struggling on the ground a few times before shouting.

“Aaaagh! Haa… sob…”

The man’s desperate screams turned into sobs, and with an expression like he’d lost the world, he lay looking up at the sky.

“I tried, didn’t I? I held onto hope, I worked hard, I did everything I could. So why is this happening to me?!”

His voice was filled with rage, but tears streamed endlessly from his eyes. 

This was the Lou Gehrig’s disease patient scene that had earned an acting award that year. 

It was a challenging role for Hyunjae, but in his current state, it was his only hope.

“Wow, such an iconic scene. You’ll have 30 seconds to prepare, and then we’ll start right away!”

He had already memorized the lines but skimmed through them one last time to prepare.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

As he answered, most of the cameras on set turned toward him, and the MC gave the signal to start. 

Closing his eyes briefly to gather his emotions, he walked to the center of the set with weakened legs.

“Haa… haa…”

Then he collapsed to the floor. 

Without resistance, he fell with a thud, his shoulder and knee aching from the impact, but he had no time to care.

***

Just finish the performance safely.

That was his only goal.

ㅋ ??? He’s doing that scene?

ㅋ Isn’t that too much for a rookie?

ㅋ 100% guaranteed to be a cringe moment ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kim Minjun’s taking first place.

ㅋ The PD has no sense. Why include that scene?

ㅋㅋㅋ How do you even do that? That’s something only Lee Myungmin could pull off.

The audience was stunned by the extreme difficulty of the Lou Gehrig’s disease patient scene.

ㅋ But doesn’t he seem a bit off?

ㅋ Looks like he took the wrong calming pill ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

ㅋ His condition looked bad in the second part. How’s he supposed to do that scene like this? ㅠㅠ

ㅋ He’s trying so hard to stay focused, it’s kind of pitiful.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Hyunjae’s performance began immediately. 

For a few seconds, no comments appeared on the community boards, then they flooded in all at once.

ㅋ Haa…

ㅋ What? Why is he so good?

ㅋ This has to go to Jung Hyunjae.

ㅋ I’m shocked.

ㅋ This is how legends are made.

ㅋ I genuinely wanted to wipe his tears ㅠㅠ

ㅋ He’s not actually sick, right?

Jung Hyunjae brought it to life.

Honestly, how fun could an actor audition with unknown rookies be? 

But Hyunjae’s performance turned the atmosphere around in an instant.

“Why… me?! What did I do so wrong… sob…”

He wanted to curse the heavens for giving him Lou Gehrig’s disease, but he portrayed the character’s powerlessness so vividly that no one would think it was acting. 

Hyunjae’s performance was so raw and heartbreaking.

Give it to him.

ㅋ But will Kim Minjun take it?

ㅋ Still, Taewoon and Park Jaehoon posted support messages.

ㅋㅋ Even with that, it’ll be tough. How many of their fans will actually vote?

ㅋㅋ Such a shame. A talented guy finally shows up.

ㅋㅋㅋ No, Hyunjae helped Taewoon’s fans before, so they probably voted a lot.

ㅋ I’ve had my eye on him since Blue Sky Spring. I wish I’d seen him in another project.

ㅋ What a pity. A guy like this should win.

ㅋ Everyone, vote! You never know.

ㅋㅋ Voted!

ㅋㅋㅋ I voted too.

Despite the stellar performance, people didn’t hold high hopes since the text vote gap from the first part was significant.

However, with the title “Rookie Performing Even Butterflies Fall Sometimes Live,” Hyunjae’s acting video spread rapidly on V and community boards. 

Comments from people who came to watch bad acting but ended up voting for Hyunjae kept pouring in.

ㅋ Wow, the comment count on Hyunjae’s video is insane.

ㅋㅋ It’s spreading so fast.

ㅋㅋㅋ Please, let our Hyunjae win…

I thought Kim Minjun would take it for sure, but now I’m not so sure.

ㅋ Who’s gonna win?

After Hyunjae’s turn, Kim Minjun’s performance followed as the last one.

Pretty decent ㅋㅋ

ㅋ He got the best scene, didn’t he?

Kim Minjun fits pretty well too. If he gets the lead, make Hyunjae the supporting male lead.

ㅋㅋ That combo sounds good.

ㅋㅋㅋ Donghyeok was great in Blue Sky Spring. He’d fit that role too.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Canceled.

After Kim Minjun’s performance, a short commercial break aired, followed by an animated version of the Love Some webtoon. 

The female lead in an office look grabbed the hand of the male lead in a school uniform, running across the school hallway. 

With each step, the black-and-white screen turned to color.

ㅋ I wasn’t expecting much, but this makes me kinda excited.

ㅋ The webtoon’s art style is genuinely pretty.

ㅋ It was my favorite webtoon until the story went off the rails.

ㅋ I hope my pick becomes the lead…

ㅋ Please make it well.

ㅋ I hope they adapt it well and make a proper youth drama.

The fresh and thrilling scene naturally raised viewers’ expectations.

[“With the warm spring, Love Some comes to you.”]

The final message appeared, and a countdown signaled the end of text voting.

“Now, we ask for your love and support for Love Some, coming next spring. And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for—we’ll announce the one person who will take on the male lead role for Love Some.”

The MC finally set the stage for the male lead announcement. 

Many expected Kim Minjun, but some held out hope for Jung Hyunjae.

“Thank you so much to all five finalists for being here with us…”

ㅋ Ugh, so typical of a Choi Jintae production, dragging it out like this.

ㅋ If this was a one-off, imagine how bad a full show would be.

ㅋ Jintae should stick to idol auditions. The camera work during the acting was awful.

ㅋㅋ Why are you dumping this on us? We don’t want it either.

ㅋ At this rate, they’ll make everyone give a speech.

Jung Hyunjae looks half-dead ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Just announce it already.

ㅋ So funny ㅋㅋㅋ “This is what happens when you take the wrong calming pill.”

ㅋㅋㅋ It’s hilarious how he was amazing during the performance but looks like that now.

The broadcast tried not to focus on Hyunjae, knowing his condition, but he inevitably appeared on screen a bit, and viewers found it endearing.

“Now, we’ll announce the final first-place winner who will take on the male lead role for Love Some. The combined results of video views, hearts, and text votes are…”