Chapter 230

No two people would experience the exact same feelings even when looking at the same thing. But anything outstanding and remarkable would always capture one's heart and attention. Even though there was a difference in their feelings, people instinctively knows a good thing when they see one, and nobody could deny it.

But it's a different story when it comes to acknowledging it out loud. Particularly when the consequences intersected with one's own belief. It could mess with one's head.

{Choi Woo-Jin was good, but...}

The abrupt change of his last name was confusing for a while, but people quickly got used to Woo-Jin's new last name. Daniel Hunts naturally referred to him as 'Choi Woo-Jin'; he was a cultural critic that was recommended by the Consccia Foundation as a judge.

Having mixed feelings and feeling more confused than anyone else, he acknowledged Woo-Jin's acting skills with a bitter look on his face. Even though there were nine actors, none of them could match up to Choi Woo-Jin. Unlike the actors who acted out extreme emotions on the surface, Choi Woo-Jin expressed a very wide range of emotions.

It wasn't the case where the other eight actors who took part in the audition were bad at acting. They did well enough and adeptly showed the inner workings of the character in their performances and proved that they were deserving of high praise -- at least up until he watched Choi Woo-Jin's performance. In truth, Daniel even felt sorry towards Woo-Jin for evaluating the performances of the other eight actors together with him.

However, he couldn't impulsively pick Choi Woo-Jin to play Lloyd. It wasn't because he had personal connections with the other actors, nor was he a white supremacist who felt that Lloyd had to be a White man. He simply couldn't shake off the mindset that Lloyd from White Confession had to be an American.

From the very beginning, he had found it hard to comprehend that an actor from another country would be playing the main character of a film that represented America. Thus, he strongly opposed the method that was currently used to conduct the auditions.

There were several complaints questioning why they were auditioning foreign actors for a movie that represented America. Daniel didn't hide his thoughts on it, and as soon as the plan for the auditions was announced, he acted aggressively to criticize it.

Nevertheless, the Consccia Foundation still recommended Daniel Hunts as a judge. It was evident that if he became a judge, he would do his best to prevent foreign actors from being selected. As an investor, the intentions of the Consccia Foundation might seem questionable on the surface. But if one were to dig a little deeper, they'd know it was an effort on their part to reduce potential future conflicts that might come up as much as possible.

There were quite a number of Americans who shared the same sentiments as Daniel Hunts, especially those who had never read Confession of White before. When they heard the plan for the audition, their first reaction was to question 'Why?'. Even though they didn't know the content of the book, they knew its title, so there was also a lot of resentment towards the fact that foreigners were auditioning for a role that an American was supposed to take.

The Consccia Foundation selected Daniel as a judge after taking those people into consideration. It might have been a condition that was extremely unfavorable and unreasonable towards the foreign actors, but if they were to pass the audition, there was no better advertising than this. As someone who protested the most as compared to anyone else, Daniel giving them a passing score in itself was a very symbolic move.

{Choi's performance was outstanding, but doesn't Edwin Rucker look more like Lloyd?}

Lina Owen quietly supported Edwin Rucker after looking at the speechless Daniel. Lina Owen was the director of Midas Agency; she simply couldn't let go of the idea of Lloyd being a White man. This all happened because Choi Woo-Jin did remarkably well, and not because the other actors couldn't act.

Edwin Rucker had the best performance out of the other eight actors, and his appearance was the closest to Lloyd's. The nationality of the actors didn't matter to her -- she placed the greatest emphasis on their appearances, in the sense that they had to look as close to Lloyd as possible.

Daniel and Lina had already made it clear what their judging criteria were in the many interviews they had with the media. And Ilya actively recommended the two biased people as judges. As the person pulling the strings behind the scenes, Ilya quietly laughed after hearing what they said.

{He's English, isn't he? Choi Woo-Jin is a better choice.}

Since Edwin Rucker was not an American, Daniel argued that acting was more important than appearance.

{Still, Edwin's mother is American.}

Lina appealed to Daniel by pointing out the traits he looked for in an actor. She didn't care if Edwin and Choi Woo-Jin were Americans or not. On the other hand, the most important factor to Daniel was that be it White or Asian, they had to be an American, and the candidate who fufilled both their conditions was Edwin Rucker.

As expected, Daniel's eyes started shaking violently after hearing Lina's words, so everybody could clearly feel how he felt about it.

{If Christopher had stepped up a little more, we wouldn't be in this position...}

Nevertheless, he blamed Christopher for the disappointment he currently felt. Christopher was the best actor among the American candidates. Unfortunately, he paled in comparison to not only Choi Woo-Jin, but also to Edwin. Ever since Daniel saw the list of final candidates, he had more or less expected this outcome, but now that the audition was over, the outcome was even more disastrous.

Daniel had considered Christopher to be a great actor, but there wasn't enough depth in his acting. He was good at acting out emotions at extreme ends of the spectrum, but not so much inbetween it. His acting was worse than Tenno Terua, who fortunately was the first to be eliminated because of his pronunciation.

As a result, he ultimately decided to go with Edwin, who had a slight connection to the United States. However, Daniel and Lina were not the only judges there. And the other two judges had different opinions from them.

{In other words, both of you have no objection when it comes to Choi Woo-Jin's acting, right?}

{I'm very satisfied with Choi's appearance. Out of the nine actors, wasn't he the only one who looked so beautiful, with almost no blemishes on his face?}

{That's right. Rucker's cold image seemed to go well with Lloyd at first, but Choi Woo-Jin's fragile yet beautiful appearance certainly stood out. Frankly, Lloyd isn't a character that has only one fixed image, right?}

Director Pharrell and Ian agreed. The two judges were satisfied with Choi Woo-Jin's acting and appearance. Meanwhile, Daniel and Lina were sticking with their stubborn ways, and were simply frustrated and annoyed.

If they had nitpicked on Choi Woo-Jin's performance, the other judges would have suspected they had ulterior motives, but that wasn't the case. Since it was a hill they were willing to die on, it made it harder to get through to them.

{I have no complaints about Choi Woo-Jin's acting. I acknowledge he's a great actor who captivates anyone the moment they lay eyes on him, but isn't Confession of White a film that represents America? Throwing the symbolism away undermines the work. But since our actors have a lot of shortcomings, Edwin is our best option.}

{Objectively speaking, I'm well-aware that Choi Woo-Jin is better looking. But image is important. Lloyd as an Asian? I've never once thought of him as an Asian man! And i'm not the only one who thinks this way.}

The opinions of the readers who supported the hypothesis of Lloyd being Asian weren't important. In any case, that was merely one of the many hypotheses out there, and many people, including Lena Owen, had naturally assumed that Lloyd was White.

{After seeing Choi Woo-Jin's performance, I can't imagine any one else as Lloyd, though?}

{It's the same for me. When I watched his performance, I thought about how I'd like to work with him as well. Why can't you consider things for the greater good of the film, instead of obstinately sticking to your own views? I love Confession of White more than anyone else, and in my opinion, there isn't an actor as good as Choi Woo-Jin for Lloyd's part.}

Strangely enough, a tense confrontation ensued between the two pairs of judges over their difference in opinions. Even though they gave the actors a score when they were evaluating them earlier, after watching the final candidate's performance, the scores were rendered meaningless.

Even Daniel and Lina had given Woo-Jin the highest score. He was no longer an actor who was graded and ranked. The two judges merely had their own outrageous criteria and insisted on eliminating Choi Woo-Jin, while pushing for Edwin to be selected as he was the best among the remaining actors.

{What are your thoughts on this, sir?}

Director Pharrell suddenly asked Ilya for his opinion. They had momentarily forgotten about his existence because he had been so quiet. In this intense two versus two situation, Ilya could end this tedious debate if he took either side.

As a director, his desire to work with Choi Woo-Jin was stronger than anything else. But he had also prepared himself to accept the outcome if Ilya were to pick Edwin. This was how much he valued the opinion of the author he respected.

Since the other judges felt the same way, all four of them shifted their gaze to Ilya together. They were hoping that Ilya would share the same opinion as them, but even if it wasn't the case, they were able to accept Ilya Turner's decision and give up because the decision came from him.

Ilya had been silently listening to the judges' arguments. As soon as all their eyes were focused on him, Ilya tapped on the table with his fingers without saying a single word. The judges were frustrated by his slow actions, but at the same time, they were looking eagerly at him as though he was their one and only savior who could solve their current predicament.

{If you really want my opinion, the actor I choose is Choi Woo-Jin.}

After hearing Ilya's words, two of the judges smiled, while the other two looked like they were about to break down.

{But I think the other two judges' opinions are also valid. People's expectations and the symbolism of Confession of White cannot be disregarded.}

This time around, the reactions were reversed -- the smiling and contorted faces were switched around. Ilya didn't pay any attention to their reactions; he calmly continued saying what he wanted to say.

{Hence, my suggestion to all of you is to hold a final round of auditions and pit Choi Woo-Jin against Edwin Rucker, while dressing them as Lloyd.}

Ilya paused for a moment and looked at the judges. His gaze fell upon Ian last; it was colder than usual, but his voice remained calm and soft.

{Mr. Essery becomes Albert and acts alongside each of them. If appearance is that important, we have to see who resembles Lloyd the most. And more importantly, wouldn't it be important to see how they act together with Mr. Essery as well?}

While acting was important, if they didn't emit Lloyd's aura even after applying makeup, it would naturally be the reason for eliminating them. It was a suggestion that couldn't be said to be unfair to anyone until they were dressed as Lloyd.

Even though the way the final round of auditions would be conducted didn't mean much for Daniel as he was someone who valued nationality, it sounded tempting to Lina. By dressing Choi Woo-Jin and Edwin up as Lloyd and comparing them, she would be able to clearly appeal to them what she had been asserting the entire time. Lina was very much in favor of it; after giving her approval, Daniel ultimately agreed.

They couldn't change their nationality anyway. Since it was impossible for him to fight for an American actor whose acting skills were lacking, it was better to do everything to ensure they would pick the best out of the two actors. Daniel felt that if Edwin were suited to play Lloyd, it would shake off his remaining hesitations. Pharrell and Ian also agreed, and with that, the final round of auditions had been decided.

***

Woo-Jin fulfilled all his friends' wishes when he advanced to the final round with Edwin Rucker. Since there were only two men standing in the final round, it naturally meant that he had beaten Tenno Terua and Christopher Eggers. But Woo-Jin had no time to concern himself with that since the final round of auditions was scheduled on the very next day.

Kang Ho-Soo and Hwang Yi-Young didn't mess with Woo-Jin's state of mind by not informing him about the reactions of the general public back home. Everyone was happy and cheering him on, as though they themselves were the ones advancing. But even that could be burdensome to Woo-Jin. In particular, the people who were rooting for Tenno Terua had even higher expectations of Woo-Jin.

It had been a very long night for the candidates, their fans, and the judges. Dressing as Lloyd was the most important part of the final audition. Thus, the makeup wasn't done by the actors themselves, but by a special makeup team hired by the production crew.

Since they had already concluded their discussions with regards to Lloyd's makeup, the team proceeded without any hesitation despite the sudden unforeseen situation. And to ensure fairness, Woo-Jin and Edwin were dressed as Lloyd in the same fashion as much as possible. Because of that, they had to sit next to each other in the same place to get their makeup done.

Since they had to be in the same room for several hours, Woo-Jin greeted Edwin first. Edwin returned the greeting with a simple nod and an expressionless face. Even though it was rude, it didn't feel like he was disregarding or discriminating against him, unlike what Christopher did. Edwin was a cold person who had no interest in others to begin with, so he seemed to regard being acquainted with a fellow competitor as a useless waste of energy.

Shortly after, Woo-Jin stopped paying any attention to him too. The ambience might be awkward, but that was the most comfortable way for them to be around each other. The makeup artists were the only ones busy moving around the silent actors.

The actor who would be playing Lloyd would be bleaching their hair and dyeing it white when they had to shoot the movie. But since it was just an audition today, the makeup artists used a one-time color wax and spray to make their hair white. Their faces and visible skin were also painted with white cream and powder before being fixed in place with a setting spray.

If they were to simply paint the entire face white, it would be hard to distinguish their facial features, so their faces would look very flat. Thus, the makeup artists prevented it from happening by using shading techniques.

After they were done with the makeup, the two actors wore red contact lenses, as well as the outfits that were prepared by Midas Agency. Both of them wore suits to the audition the day before, but now, they were wearing the exact same pair of old and shabby jeans, coupled with a stylish T-shirt. They looked just like twins, but their personalities were distinctly different.

{I feel like I know what the outcome is going to be, even before watching their performances.}

One of the makeup artists muttered softly as they watched the two actors head towards the audition venue.

{Shall we bet on it?}

After hearing someone's suggestion, the makeup team became excited and made a betting book. However, no bets were made that day.

***

Once again, Ilya and Selena were watching the auditions on a monitor in a separate location.

{Wouldn't watching the auditions in person allow you to make a more accurate judgment?}

Thanks to Ilya, Selena was able to watch the judging process in real time, even though she wasn't a judge. It was good for her, but she thought that watching the actors' performance in person would help Ilya make a more accurate judgment.

As Ilya didn't want to make things difficult for the actors who auditioned yesterday, he had a reason to judge from a separate location. There were only two candidates left, and if they had a mental breakdown because they were too conscious of Ilya's presence, that would be an even bigger problem.

{Unless it's a play, what you see on the screen is more important than anything else. I'm trying to judge that aspect. Besides, even if I sit there, it's the same if I'm monitoring their faces from an angle where I can't see.}

In any case, the audience would be watching the edited footage that was filmed using the cameras. In the event their faces and acting looked different in real life and on screen, the latter was more important to a movie star.

At first, what Ilya said made sense. But to Selena, who had witnessed him crying the day before, it sounded like an excuse. It was only for a very brief moment -- he quickly regained his composure and wiped his tears, so it was a scene that seemed like an illusion, making Selena question if it really happened.

She thought it was fortunate that the other people didn't get to see that, and she also wanted to know what triggered Ilya's emotions. But it was probably someone else's job to figure that out. Most importantly, the energy she felt from him today was clear and peaceful. Selena welcomed this positive change, as it was her first time seeing him like this.

{Unfortunately, it seems like Choi Woo-Jin looks worse on screen as compared to real life. Isn't it disappointing?}

{Nothing can be done about it because it's his destiny. We're not just judging Choi Woo-Jin alone today.}

Selena had a meaningful look on her face after hearing Ilya's normal response.

{Indeed, Rucker's fate today depends on how much better he looks on screen as compared to Choi Woo-Jin, who looks worse on screen compared to real life.}

All the judges were focused on whether or not Edwin Rucker would outshine Choi Woo-Jin in any aspects during today's audition. Whether Daniel and Lina could win the other judges over also depended on how well Edwin fared today.

{Oh, it's starting now.}

The moment Ilya spoke, Choi Woo-Jin and Edwin Rucker entered the audition hall, both dressed as Lloyd.

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