CH5

Waiting for the results was now even more arduous than before, all thanks to the man they had partnered me with. Would they disqualify us both for ignoring the options, or would they find it impressive that I had continued as though we had planned it all along despite knowing that was impossible.

I couldn’t let the pressure get to me, however, as any sign of weakness meant I was not ready to deal with the stress of being an actor.

After what seemed like forever, the judges had made their choices and called us back over to get the results. Despite working in pairs, some groups only had one of them pass to the next stage. That gave me hope that I might still get through.

As soon as it was my turn to be judged, the woman who had done most of the talking was glancing down at the notes in front of her. She was quiet for some time before finally saying, “we said this was an improvised session, so it is no surprise you went with a whole different scene than what we asked, Mister Wulf. She then looked at me and offered a smile. And Mister Smith, it is impressive how you could continue without knowing he would do that.”

That sounded like we had impressed them, but that meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The man in the hat leaned over and whispered something into her ear, causing her to titter. She then nodded and looked back at me. “For now, we have allowed you both to pass, but please be mindful to take things seriously from here on out, Mister Wulf,” she said, looking back at him.

I let out a long sigh of relief. His recklessness had paid off for both of us. However, I hoped to God that they would never pair me up with him again. He had seemed nervous before, but now he looked smugly at me.

Trying my best to ignore the Wulf person, I smiled at the judges and dipped my head in thanks to her praise. I had made it through to the next round of people. That meant they liked what I could do, and despite the odds, they could see I could handle myself even if a situation didn’t go as planned.

After everything, there were only six of us left now. I wondered if there would just be one of us going through to the spot, or if it would be two or more of us. I knew they had said they had little room for all of us, but that meant they had room for over one person, right?

With that in mind, I mulled over those of us who were more likely to pass whatever test they gave us next. I was sure I could succeed against the others. So long as nothing else went wrong with the interview, then I was sure that I had this job in the bag.

The next part of the interview was more in line with the usual interviews every job required you to go through. Answering questions the interviewer asked. This is where I knew I would struggle more than with the acting itself. I had never been to an interview before and had no experience in the real world outside of school.

They took us all to another part of the building and had us wait outside one of the main offices as they interviewed us one by one. When it was my turn, I sat on the chair facing the woman who had been most active in the previous section, and the man in the hat, along with another man. The others had left to continue with other jobs in the building, or so I assumed.

“Now, Mister Smith, why don’t you tell us more about yourself. Your form here says you’ve gone to a few different schools, any reason behind that?” Asked the woman as she pulled out the form I had sent in a while back.

I sat up straight. I had a feeling that would be something that would come up, though I wish it hadn’t.

“Because of my status as an orphan, I’ve been moved around the country a bit,” I replied honestly. “However, that has not stopped me from joining every acting class within each school and learning everything I could to pursue this as a career.”

The three looked at one another for a moment before the woman nodded her head and wrote something on a piece of paper. She then continued with, “I see. It has paid off, usually, one who moves around as much tends to not do so well. I am glad to see that is not the case for you.”

The man in the hat remained quiet. He did nothing unless it was to whisper into her ear. The other man, however, asked the next question, “and do you have any experience in this field at all?”

“I’ve played some roles in school plays,” I began, but instantly, I knew that wasn’t what he was looking for. They wanted to know if I had at least been in something a bit more professional. Unfortunately, I had no experience outside of that. I hoped that wouldn’t bite me in the ass later.

The woman scribbled a few more notes on her piece of paper. Then she spoke up again and said, “and why do you wish to work for our company? There are many out there that one can choose from. Why this one?”

She wasn’t wrong. There were many other rival companies, but this one was the best. Though the main reason was that my favourite star had grown up in this company because of his father owning it and was now the CEO. However, I couldn’t say that as my answer, even if it was true. No one would hire a star-struck young adult man. If I was a woman with an impressive body, then maybe I’d have had more of a chance… no. I couldn’t think of that right now. I had to give a suitable answer.

“This company has the best instructors and equipment for me to hone my skills in both acting and singing that the other companies lack. I know for a fact that within this company, I can push myself to new heights and show off what I am really capable of,” I replied, hoping that was an appropriate answer for them.

There were a few more scribbles on the paper by the woman before the man without a hat said, “we have a TV drama that we have been looking for someone to go on, though it will require a few certain things. How confident are you about showing off some skin?”

I could feel my cheeks flush from the question. It wasn’t like I was self-conscious about my body, but I didn’t exactly have a toned body at all. Other boys at the different schools had always teased me about it. Still, I knew when going into this line of work, they might expect me to show off more than a little skin.

Before I could even answer the question, the man in the hat finally spoke up to say, “would you mind showing off for us now?” His voice was warm, like honey, but had an air of lofty tones. I knew exactly whose voice that belonged to, and that made my heart swoon. Though naturally, I couldn’t show how excited I was.

The other two interviewers didn’t seem surprised by him speaking up for himself and I could only guess he had made the same request of the other candidates, too.

“If you would like?” I replied, trying to not let my heart leap out of my throat.