章 23: Meal

"Well, that's it for my role. It's pretty small and mostly narration. We wasted time practicing this role. So now, tell me which part you want to start from," Joon-won said as he sat back on the chair.

"It's okay. I got to see you act for real. It looked like you were genuinely angry at the two leads. How do you control and twist emotions like that? It was very expressive. I want to do that too. Give me a few hints," she asked excitedly. His acting was that good, the best out of all the students she had seen.

Even though his standards were still far off from the star actors in their country, he was good enough to be ranked highly in the middle ranks like C and B. Actors were categorized into different groups based on their popularity, from D to S, with above S being the heavenly kings and queens.

If anyone knew her evaluation of Joon-won, they would brush it off as crazy and inexperienced. But given what she saw, she believed he could do more.

"It takes a lot of time and visualization. I told you this before, and I'll tell you again: practice and dedication can either make or break a person's life. If you have both, the sky's the limit. But if you don't, you're destined to only look at the skies and dream."

"Ah, you say that so easily. Do you really not believe in talent?"

"I think talent is something we humans invented to excuse ourselves when we feel inferior. Sure, some people are naturally better at certain things, but they won't stay better if we put in the effort."

Joon-won meant it. He never had a knack for acting; it was the countless hours and countless dramas that honed his skills over decades. Only after doing the same thing repeatedly for so long did it become second nature to him.

"Well, it looks like I shouldn't be wasting my time as I did last year. It's a pity that your role is so bad and small that it doesn't even have an ending. I guess Roh Ji was too busy making her dream lover Hyeong Myung look good to care about other characters," she commented.

"Well, she has the brain of a chicken, only thinking about one thing. Leave it; it's not like we will fail. Her writing is very bad, and if she passes, it's either that this university's quality is declining, or she knows someone to pass her," he shrugged it off.

"Okay, enough gossip. Let's continue practicing your role. We only have a few hours left. So start turning pages and decide which part," he said, changing the subject.

Both of them continued to practice all the parts Jung-hwa found difficult. Time passed, and the sun was already setting. They decided to end their practice session, and Jung-hwa offered to treat him to dinner for helping her.

Joon-won didn't reject her kind offer and accepted. They walked out of the campus after Jung-hwa dropped the keys at the staff room. Joon-won followed her as she led him to a ramen stall near the university.

"The ramen here is very good. I eat here at least once a week," she commented as they sat at the counter. She looked at the man preparing ramen for the other customers in the stall and ordered their food. Joon-won, on the other hand, was excited to try a new type of food.

After his passion for acting, the only other thing he got into after leaving it was food. Back when he was a king, he had an urge to try all different types of cuisine. He even held a grand contest for cooks every year, open to chefs from all over the world.

After coming to this world, he thought about the food, but he was too poor to afford good meals every day. Following Jung-hwa's recommendation, he looked at the food before him.

'This looks similar to a cuisine from my world, but it smells different. That cuisine mainly had sweets, but this is the exact opposite. I can smell the spices,' he thought, peeking at Jung-hwa to see how she ate it and mimicking her.

He picked up the chopsticks and spoon, following her movements and slowly slurping some noodles along with the broth. He couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh when he swallowed. It was really delicious.

'This ramen is really good. The spice and salt are well balanced. It's very savory. The soup complements the noodles perfectly. But I shouldn't eat this daily, maybe just once a week—it's too unhealthy,' he evaluated the dish.

Putting his thoughts aside, he continued eating the ramen. Jung-hwa paid for the food, and they walked back to the campus. He felt bad about taking a meal from her just for some advice, so he promised to treat her after the exam was over.

Returning to his apartment with a satisfied stomach, he noticed it was only 7 PM, giving him some spare time. After entering the apartment and considering his options, he decided to watch another movie on the television.

He settled onto the couch and turned on the T.V., scrolling through the available options. He chose a highly-rated film he had heard about and started watching. As the movie played, he analyzed the acting, the direction, and the storyline, making mental notes about what worked and what didn't.

The movie ended, leaving him with new insights and ideas for his acting. He stretched and looked at the time. It was almost 10 PM. He decided to get ready for bed, reflecting on the day's events.