A Thousand Faces (Soon to be Published)

Chapter 13

"...This is a bit tough."

Sigh...

Creak, creak.

Mansik's Theater.

From early morning, Mansik, wearing gardening gloves, was busily turning something on the stage.

Crick.

"Is it done?"

Standing a foot away, Mansik checked the equipment he had just touched. He had a satisfied look on his face.

Thinking about the performance that would be held on this stage soon, Mansik hummed a tune without realizing it.

Then,

"Hmm... My stage, with that guy and Gil Jun-ho performing together? I can't believe it."

His face showed that he couldn't believe it the more he thought about it.

Gil Jun-ho. His name alone would sell out a small theater like this immediately. Mansik was already worried about how he would handle the crowds that would come.

In his wandering years, Mansik had only ever seen a superstar like Gil Jun-ho on the silver screen. Now, he was going to bring that same superstar to his own stage. This was a gift to Mansik, who was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the constant defection of his actors.

Mansik shook his head in disbelief. He still couldn't believe it was real.

But more than that,

"What have you been doing here since the morning?"

The guy who had come into the theater asked from behind.

"Oh, you're here?"

Mansik's face lit up.

Mansik, who had been sitting cross-legged on the stage since early in the morning, cleaning and reorganizing the stage equipment, stood up.

In fact, he had been thinking about Junwoo all this time.

"Why are you doing that when there are employees here?"

"Go practice or just rest. You need to recharge your batteries. Go out and have some fun."

Mansik waved his hand as if to shoo Junwoo away.

Junwoo blinked his eyes in surprise at Mansik's sudden change of attitude.

Mansik turned his head away. He was secretly beaming with pride.

The boy's first performance on his stage a few days ago was something he could never forget.

It was a moment of awe. It was more than just support.

It was the thrill of discovering a hidden genius.

His growth was unbelievable at every moment.

Watching the boy's hidden passion for acting slowly blossom was Mansik's daily joy.

The boy would soon be standing in front of a large audience.

Money was not an issue.

Since falling in love with theater, Mansik had never wanted someone else's success more than his own.

All he could do was fix the stage.

He refurbished the stage for each performance. Mansik had loved theater for a long time.

He had studied the stage until he was sick of it. Even if he couldn't do it as well as the boy, he could at least use his budget to upgrade the current stage to the highest quality. He touched it, feeling the memories of what the boy used to do on stage every day from over his shoulder.