CHAPTER 67: ACTING COACH

KWON TAEYOO.

An Baekya clearly remembered the old man.

Well, he’s a lot older in my memories. But his acting skills hadn’t gone anywhere, even in the far future. He was the one who raised the acting genius Yun Yuhyun. Thanks to Kwon Taeyoo-nim’s guidance, the monster that Yun Yuhyun already was as a child had become his generation’s greatest actor.

Hence, he was thrilled at the thought of Kwon Taeyoo being his acting coach.

In the ’future’ where I came from, I became an acting coach because I was inspired by Kwon Taeyoo’s teaching method.

So, An Baekya was determined to impress Kwon Taeyoo.

"Sorry for making you wait, kid," Kwon Taeyoo said when he squatted down to meet An Baekya’s eye level. "So, why do you like acting?"

It was a simple question that An Baekya could answer with a sweet lie.

I can say what Kwon Taeyoo-nim probably wants to hear.

But he also knew that this old man was intuitive.

Lying won’t work on him, so...

"I need to act to survive, Teacher."

An Baekya decided to be honest.

After all, Yun Dujun said Kwon Taeyoo already knew about him.

That means Kwon Taeyoo-nim already knows that I was an abused child.

"Thank you for being honest," Kwon Taeyoon said, smiling warmly. And then the acting coach extended his hand to An Baekya. "I’m Kwon Taeyoo. You can call me ’Coach’ from now on."

Oh!

I passed his test?

An Baekya smiled and shook Kwon Taeyoo’s hand. "I’m An Baekya, Coach."

"Let’s get to know each other first," Kwon Taeyoo said, standing up before facing Bae Wonyoung and Yun Dujun. "Wonyoung-ssi, Dujun-ah— make yourself at home."

***

THEY’RE just talking?

Wonyoung was sitting on the sofa in the office’s reception room.

From there, he could see the studio. It was a different room, but the walls were made of glass. The black curtains weren’t drawn, so he could see what was happening inside.

An Baekya and Kwon Taeyoon were just sitting on the floor while talking.

Taeyoon-nim is talking animatedly while An Baekya looks awkward.

"Hoobae-nim, here."

Wonyoung raised his head and saw Yun Dujun handing him a can of cold coffee. Of course, the Alpha opened the can first before giving it to him. "Did you rummage through Taeyoo-nim’s ref?"

"Coach said to make ourselves at home," Yun Dujun said, shrugging. And then he sat next to Wonyoung. "Are you bored?"

"No, but I’m wondering what they’re talking about," Wonyoung said, taking a sip of the cold coffee. "Since Taeyoo-nim asked An Baekya to call him ’Coach,’ then it’s safe to assume that he accepted An Baekya as his student, right?"

"Yeah. Coach seems to have taken a liking to An Baekya."

"Do you possibly know what they’re talking about?"

"Coach talks a lot, and he can talk about anything under the sun. He’s probably trying to make An Baekya open up to him."

"Oh."

"Coach doesn’t start teaching his students acting right away. He likes getting to know his students first. After all, he designs his lessons based on each kid’s strengths and weaknesses. That’s what makes him a great acting coach."

"Aww. An Baekya is lucky, then. I kinda want to be Taeyoo-nim’s student, too."

"Coach only teaches kids, but we can ask him later."

"Nah, I want Taeyoo-nim to focus on An Baekya."

"Then do you want me to be your acting coach?"

"What?"

"You’re already good at acting, but most of your acting experience came from theatre," Yun Dujun explained. "Acting on camera is different from acting on stage. I can help you with that."

Oh, right.

Dujun Sunbae-nim doesn’t know I have experience in being a TV actor from the ’other’ world.

That was why the Alpha thought Wonyoung only had theatre acting experience.

"We used to help each other back in our theatre club days," Yun Dujun said, and it looked like the Alpha was reminiscing. "I kinda miss that. No— I actually miss seeing you act, Hoobae-nim."

"Really? But you’re the better actor between the two of us, Sunbae-nim."

"I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I like your acting better."

Hehe.

Wonyoung’s heart swelled with pride after getting praised by an excellent actor like Yun Dujun.

I only started acting because I knew I was good-looking, but I came to love it in the end.

"I’ll ask for your help with the audition when I need to, Sunbae-nim."

"Alright. I’m looking forward to it," Yun Dujun said, sipping his coffee before speaking again. "An Baekya’s reason for acting is similar to yours, Hoobae-nim."

"Huh?"

"You only wanted to be an actor at first because you thought it would be easy money. After all, you know you have the face of an actor."

"Sunbae-nim, don’t dig up my dark history out of nowhere," Wonyoung complained lightly. "But you’re right. I wanted to earn a lot of money the easy way, so I thought I should put my handsome face to good use. And I was desperate because I wanted to leave our house back then. So, just like An Baekya, I wanted to use acting to escape my shitty life at the time. I started acting for my survival."

Just like An Baekya.

"It’s fascinating how you and An Baekya have a lot of similarities, Hoobae-nim."

"Sunbae-nim, our story is a lot more common than you think. You may just not know it because you live a comfortable life, and most people around you are the same. But there are many people like me and An Baekya."

"Oh. I’m sorry. I sounded ignorant, didn’t I?"

"Well, I’ve always known how out of touch with reality Sunbae-nim could be, so..."

"So, you have to guide me. Me and our son," Yun Dujun said, looking at Wonyoung with expectant eyes. "If I raise Yun Yuhyun alone, our son will grow up ignorant like me, since all I know is a comfortable life. Like you said, I’m out of touch with reality. You don’t want our son to be like me, do you?"

Aigoo.

Sounds like bullshit.

Not all rich people were ignorant and out of touch with reality.

But then again, Yun Dujun was rich rich— his family was almost on a chaebol level.

They’re quasi-chaebol, and Sunbae-nim grew up with chaebol kids like Lee Heeju and Daepyonim. I can’t fathom how rich they are, but I’m sure they’re very different from an ordinary wealthy family.

Hence, Wonyoung kinda understood why Yun Dujun lived in a bubble all this time.

He wasn’t making an excuse for the Alpha— he was just saying that he understood.

Plus, all he does is work, so he really has no time to live the reality that most people have.

But, yeah, that wasn’t the kind of life Wonyoung wanted for Yun Yuhyun.

My son already grew up a lunatic in another timeline because Dujun Sunbae-nim and I failed as his parents, so I can’t let that happen again.

"Hoobae-nim?"

"I kinda miss Yuhyun."

"You just saw our son this morning before he went to school."

"I don’t want Yuhyun to grow like a stereotypical Alpha— you know, the rich, arrogant, and abusive type who buys Omegas drowning in debt."

Yun Dujun furrowed his brows, obviously confused. "I know the stereotype about us Alphas, but I don’t think buying Omegas drowning in debt is one of them."

Right.

I subconsciously talked about the infamous BL trope from the other world...

"Let’s pick up Yuhyun from school later," Wonyoung said, changing the topic. "Then let’s bring the kids to a nice restaurant. I’m kinda craving pasta."

"Alright," Yun Dujun said, nodding. "Let’s go to my favorite Italian restaurant."

***

"LET’S meet again this weekend, Baekya."

Huh?

An Baekya was confused.

All he did was talk to Kwon Taeyoo for almost an hour.

I can’t even remember what exactly we’ve talked about since Coach changes topic every five seconds.

"You look disappointed, kid."

"Uhm, a little bit, Coach," An Baekya said honestly. "We just talked..."

"Yes, but it helped me know you a little bit," Kwon Taeyoo said, smiling. "So, the next time we meet, I already know what exactly to teach you."

Oh.

So, all that talking served its purpose?

"And Baekya?"

"Yes, Coach?"

"You can take off your mask the next time we meet," Kwon Taeyoo said, giving An Baekya a knowing smile this time. "You don’t have to try hard to act like an average, innocent kid around me, Baekya. I practically raised Yun Dujun, so I’m used to handling children who have the maturity of an adult."

Ah.

That’s a relief.

An Baekya finally let his mask slip. "Then I’ll do that, Coach."

***

"BRING An Baekya here this weekend— we’ll begin our proper lessons by then."

Wonyoung was relieved to hear that from Kwon Taeyoo.

So, he’s really going to teach An Baekya.

That was nice.

"Then we’ll be back this weekend, Coach," Yun Dujun said politely. "Should we discuss the payment plan by then?"

"Let’s talk about that separately later," Kwon Taeyoo said, and then he looked at Wonyoung. "You can join our class if you have time this weekend, Wonyoung-ssi. Yun Dujun often praises your acting, so I want to see it with my own eyes."

Oh, an opportunity!

Wonyoung beamed. "I’d love to, sir!"

"No need to be too formal," Kwon Taeyoo said while waving his hand. "Just call me ’Coach,’ like the other brats do."

Wonyoung nodded. "Yes, Coach!"

***

"CONGRATULATIONS, Baekya— you now have a good acting coach."

Wonyoung and An Baekya were waiting in the car for Yun Dujun.

Sunbae-nim stayed in the office with Coach Taeyoo-nim to talk about the payment for An Baekya’s acting lessons.

Han Myung was guarding outside the car.

Hence, Wonyoung and An Baekya could talk freely.

"I’ll work hard, Appa," An Baekya said determinedly. "I can’t wait to learn from Coach."

"Me, too," Wonyoung said, smiling while gently patting An Baekya’s head. "Let’s work hard together, Baekya."

***

"ARE YOU still doing that method acting to gain Director Bang’s approval?"

Yes, this was the reason why Yun Dujun told Coach Kwon Taeyoo about Bae Wonyoung.

And, well, Coach knows about our state shaman.

Anyway, Yun Dujun should have known that Coach Kwon Taeyoo wanted to talk to him privately, not just to talk about the payment for An Baekya’s acting lessons, but to also talk about his personal life.

"I think it’s going great, Coach. Seo Cheolmin Sunbae-nim even warned me not to get caught because he noticed that Bae Wonyoung was important to me."

"Is that still acting, Dujun-ah?"

"Bae Wonyoung is my person because he’s the mother of my child, so I’m not faking everything. I care about him on a personal level," Yun Dujun admitted. "And I want to use my feelings for him to improve my acting, especially when I’m filming a romantic scene."

"I think you won’t just learn how to act in love with what you’re doing, Dujun-ah," Coach Kwon Taeyoo said, sighing while shaking his head. "I’m afraid you’re going to learn about heartbreak, too."

Yun Dujun tilted his head to one side, confused. "Why would I get my heart broken?"

"Dujun-ah, you should attend my acting lessons as well," Coach Kwon Taeyoo said in a serious tone. "It’s time you relearn the basics of acting."

***

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