The Face Genius Actor

Episode 003

I approached the white half-mask.

Up close, it looked just like the Phantom’s mask from “The Phantom of the Opera.”

I cautiously reached out towards the white half-mask.

The texture wasn’t as hard as I expected.

It felt soft in my hand, like plastic coated with velvet.

Despite being a simple white half-mask, it was clear that care had been put into its creation.

‘Did I have something like this around this time?’

I pondered for a while but couldn’t find an answer.

I couldn’t find any memory of owning such a white half-mask.

To begin with, it wasn’t common to personally own such a mask.

‘But why is it here?’

As I was handling the white half-mask, I naturally brought it towards my face.

After all, the true value of any mask is revealed when worn.

Surprisingly, the white half-mask fit my face perfectly, as if it had been custom-made.

At the same time, my vision blurred and the world turned completely black.

It was strange that my entire vision went black when only half of my face was covered by the mask.

It felt just like wearing VR goggles.

As expected, text began to appear in my now completely black field of vision.

[Method Mask System Synchronizing]

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[Verifying Method Mask User]

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[Method Mask Connection Complete]

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[Loading Content from Work Analysis Notes]

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[Starting Play Rehearsal]

Through this loading screen-like scene, I was able to gather some information.

First, the identity of the white half-mask seemed to be a ‘Method Mask.’

It felt somewhat coincidental that the word ‘method’ was used out of all possibilities.

But that feeling wasn’t as strong as when the sentence about loading content from work analysis notes appeared.

The moment I heard the words ‘work analysis notes,’ I couldn’t shake the feeling that this Method Mask was strongly connected to me.

And that feeling reached its peak when I saw the words “Play ”.

“The Stranger” was the name of the performance by the Sorisaem theater company I was part of around this time.

‘Could such a coincidence exist?’

No. It couldn’t.

The fact that I had regressed proved that.

The Method Mask was certainly part of the extraordinary phenomenon I was experiencing.

‘What on earth is happening to me?’

I felt fear and had a strong urge to take off and throw away the Method Mask.

But I couldn’t.

Because a new situation unfolded along with the words [Starting Play Rehearsal].

The novel “The Stranger” depicted the story of an unusual character named Meursault, who gets involved in an accidental incident after his mother’s death, kills a person, and ends up receiving a death sentence.

It was a masterpiece of existentialist literature containing Albert Camus’ philosophy of absurdism, and Sorisaem had adapted it into a play for a small theater.

And one of those theatrical situations unfolded before my eyes.

It was the scene where Meursault, now imprisoned, meets the prosecutor.

At first, I didn’t realize this, but as I confirmed my surroundings, I became certain.

A spotlight slowly lit up above my head, brightening the surroundings, and simultaneously, with a creaking sound, iron bars opened.

In front of me sat a prosecutor wearing a black suit, while I was wearing shabby prison clothes.

My beard had even grown unkempt, as if I hadn’t shaved for days.

This was all part of Meursault’s makeup that I had to do for “The Stranger” play.

As I was checking my condition,

The prosecutor looked up at me and spoke.

“You’re here? Sit down.”

Then, before I could properly grasp the situation, my mouth opened on its own and a indifferent voice flowed out.

“Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.”

The most famous opening line of the novel “The Stranger.”

This line also perfectly decorated the opening of the play “The Stranger.”

The surprising thing was how incredibly calm my emotions were as I said these words.

It was chilling.

‘It feels like I’ve really become Meursault. Is this even possible?’

But I couldn’t continue my train of thought.

Because the dialogue continued as the prosecutor responded to my words.

“Ah, that story. We’ve already confirmed it several times. In fact, your mother didn’t die today or yesterday.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It was five months ago. More importantly, how’s life in prison these days? Is it always painful and distressing as usual?”

“It’s passed. At first, my desire was boiling uncontrollably, then I desperately craved cigarettes, and recently I found it extremely difficult to sleep, but I’ve gotten used to it all now. After all, the essence of punishment is taking away freedom.”

“You’re indeed a strange person to understand that.”

“Am I strange?”

“Most people don’t understand that. Even if they do understand, they still long for and suffer from all those things.”

“I see.”

“So, are you enjoying your time in prison now?”

“It’s not enjoyable. I just sleep most of the time. When I’m awake, I spend time eating, using the bathroom, reminiscing, and thinking about Czechoslovakia.”

“Czechoslovakia? Have you been there? I didn’t see any such record.”

“I’ve never been to Czechoslovakia. I just happened to read a newspaper article. It was stuck between the mattress and the bed frame in my cell.”

My will wasn’t reflected in this process at all.

My mouth just naturally opened and the conversation proceeded smoothly.

It felt as if I had possessed Meursault’s body.

Not only did my mouth open on its own and the conversation proceed, but I could also fully feel Meursault’s emotions that I was supposed to feel.

However, even though I was possessed, I couldn’t move Meursault’s body as I wished.

But I didn’t feel any regret about that at all.

Rather, I felt as if the hair all over my body was standing on end.

It wasn’t simply because I had goosebumps.

‘I’ve become a character in the play!’

It was exhilaration.

Becoming a character in the play and experiencing real life.

For someone like me who could never overcome the limitations of being uncoordinated no matter how hard I tried, this was a dream-like situation.

Perhaps that’s why I naturally had to focus on observing Meursault’s emotions.

Even Meursault’s expressions and gestures were moving in perfect harmony with his emotions.

‘It’s a perfect teaching aid. What if I could absorb this?’

While I was thinking this.

Before I knew it, the conversation between Meursault and the prosecutor was reaching the climax of Act 1.

“You were lucky. What was the content of that newspaper article?”

“It was the story of a man who returned to his village after becoming rich in 25 years.”

“Becoming rich. His family must have been very happy.”

“No. His sister who ran an inn and his mother didn’t recognize him.”

“Oh my… Well, after 25 years, that could happen. If they had recognized him easily, it would have been less believable.”

“Maybe. Anyway, he intended to play a prank, so he took a room and showed money to his sister and mother.”

“A large sum? Your sister and mother must have been very surprised. They would have immediately realized he was a valuable guest.”

“Well…”

“No?”

“That night, his sister and mother beat him to death with a hammer, stole the money, and then threw the body into the river.”

“Oh my…”

“And the next day, his identity was revealed. In the end, the mother hanged herself and the sister drowned herself in a well.”

“…It’s a very tragic story. I’m speechless.”

“Hmm. Now that I hear it, it does seem so.”

“Don’t you think that story is tragic?”

“No, I do think it’s tragic.”

“Then why did you sigh so calmly?”

“No particular reason.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t find this sad, just like when your mother died?”

The prosecutor asked, his eyes flashing sharply, and I stared at him calmly.

It was clearly a provocation from the prosecutor, but no emotion welled up in my heart as I became Meursault.

Rather, I conveyed my feelings concisely and clearly.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s true that I’m not sad about my mother’s death, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy she died. Rather, I think it would have been better if she hadn’t died.”

* * *

With the last line, which I wasn’t sure was mine or Meursault’s, the surroundings darkened.

Act 1 had ended and the stage had gone dark.

At the same time, a sigh of relief escaped from my mouth.

“Phew…”

As the lingering feeling of that strange experience dissipated into the air with the sound of a sigh.

Letters appeared again in the now darkened space.

[You have not yet completed the task of Act 1 of the play “The Stranger”. Would you like to try again?]

Simultaneously, as if the sigh of relief I had just let out was a lie, excitement bloomed in my heart.

If I tried again, it was clear that I would be able to become a character in the play once more and feel all the expressions, gestures, and emotions.

‘Even with just one experience, I was able to feel what I had never felt in my entire life.’

But what if I could repeat this experience over and over again?

Swoosh.

A thrilling sensation ran up my spine.

Just imagining it overwhelmed me with immense joy.

‘Even the most uncoordinated person…’

If one repeats the same action thousands or tens of thousands of times in the right way, they can achieve it 99 times out of 100.

The reason I couldn’t improve my skills despite practicing constantly for 7 years was because I couldn’t repeat acting in the right way.

Expression, gesture, emotion.

I couldn’t do all of these correctly, and even if I managed to do it once, I couldn’t repeat it.

So no matter how much I practiced, I was stuck in the same place.

‘Even when I went to acting teachers for lessons out of frustration, the result was the same.’

If the expression was good, the gesture was off, if the gesture was natural, the emotion was awkward, and if the emotion stuck, the expression was distorted.

But not now.

With this unbelievable practice method, it was possible to repeat the same action correctly over and over again.

Unable to hide my joy, I immediately tried to gauge the date and realized it was Sunday.

‘That means…’

It meant I had two days left to practice.

‘If I could practice enough for two days and then get on stage at the theater company?’

It seemed possible to experience success in real performance, which I had never tasted before.

In fact, around this time, I was facing a crisis at the Sorisaem theater company.

‘As acting ability issues arose, I lost the role of Meursault to another actor.’

I couldn’t remember exactly when that was.

But I was certain it was sometime in April.

After losing the role of Meursault, I had to play the role of a guard with only one line of dialogue for quite a long time.

‘While harboring childish resentment towards the theater company members who couldn’t recognize my skills…’

Then one day, I caught the eye of a casting manager who happened to visit the small theater, and I changed my affiliation and acted like a wild child.

No matter how many times I look back, it was an embarrassing past.

So I resolved once again not to repeat such a past.

The only thing that was okay to repeat was practice.

As I was reminiscing about the past.

Once again, letters appeared in the black space.

[You have not yet completed the task of Act 1 of the play “The Stranger”. Would you like to try again?]

I found myself smiling and answered in my heart.

‘Of course.’

Then my surroundings brightened, and I could become Meursault again.