"The whole drama was so bad I wanted to puke."
Everyone in the room froze. The bluntness of his statement was shocking. He continued, "The writing was atrocious. The directing was non-existent. And the acting? The only reason I stayed was to see if it could get any worse.".
Jung-hwa was stunned by the harsh critique from Do Hwan. A few sentences from his mouth made the temperature in the auditorium drop by several degrees. Everyone was silent at how blunt the man was as his eyes swept through each person on the stage. His eyes briefly stopped at only two places: one on Jung-hwa and the other on Joon-won.
The room was deathly silent. Even the usually cocky Hyeong Myung seemed to shrink. The special judge, Mr. Hwan, wasn't done
"You call this acting? It's garbage. You call this a drama? It's an insult to all the dramas out there. Do you call that a story? You better die than write another story," he hammered on, each word like a nail in the coffin. Some students' bodies went weak, needing the support of their friends to stay upright.
The Vice-dean turned his head and looked at the young man beside him with a tinge of appreciation. He was telling the students the hard truths that the Vice-dean couldn't, due to his position.
"When I came here, I didn't have high expectations because of your age and this being many of your first times on stage. But after seeing this horror, it seems like even the normal standard I was expecting was too much to ask from you guys."
As he talked, they all heard a giggle in the silent auditorium. The people on the stage didn't need to turn their heads to know who was laughing at their misery. Joon-won glanced at Hea-Jung, who was holding her stomach with one hand and her mouth with the other, trying to stop herself.
'This idiot must find this part of the whole thing funnier and more entertaining than the actual drama she was supposed to enjoy. She really doesn't care about what others think,' he thought and let out a sigh.
He noticed the Vice-dean sigh as she laughed, and the producer's mouth twitched. But he still maintained a straight face and continued, "The story was very bad. It had the worst ending ever. You completely forgot about the villain who suddenly popped up when you needed a convenient way to bring the hero and heroine together, but he never came back after two scenes. You gave the villain two scenes? The villain was better than the hero himself. His acting was better than this idiot."
"It looks like you never really cared about the whole exam and the drama while writing the story. You only cared about that guy and how good you wanted to make him look as the hero." His every word cut deeper, and everything he said was the truth. Roh Ji had made the drama to maximize Hyeong Myung's role, making the whole drama a complete mess.
Roh Ji was slowly wobbling as almost every single drop of blood vanished from her face. The drama she was so confident in was completely disregarded as trash.
"I will tell you this at the end. Do not write another story in your entire life. If possible, do not step into the industry itself. If you ever write a story, I can guarantee you that no human who values their money would ever produce it. Even if you somehow find an idiot or self-produce a movie, no actor who wants to keep their career would agree to act in it. No audience in their right mind would buy a ticket with their hard-earned cash for the film. So end your dreams here and go work for your parents, who probably are already rich." With that, Roh Ji took the support of her friend standing behind her to stay on her feet.
"Now, the hero of the drama. Was that your acting skill? With how you are now, people wouldn't look at your face a second time. Did you think you could cover your bad acting with your looks? No matter how much you try to cover it, it will always be visible, and the smell would be obvious to people who have at least a bit of experience in the industry."
Hyeong Myung was now gritting his teeth at the humiliation he was receiving. He had never felt so ashamed in his entire life. He couldn't look into the man's eyes anymore and just stared at the floor like most of the students.
"There was obviously a better actor than you in this group who could have taken that role, but it seems like the director was that bad and conceited." This made people raise an eyebrow, especially Hyeong Myung, who was shocked and wanted to know who acted better than him in this class full of "idiots."
"Now, even though the so-called Star Batch of this place was also bad, at least their drama was okay. This one was worse, and the only reason I didn't stand up from this seat and walk out was because of two people in this group. Even in a place where there was no good acting from both groups, two people stood out."
He glanced at the Vice-dean and said, "Vice-dean, I heard you are giving a monetary prize for the student who acts the best in this group. Can I pick who will receive it?" Now, everyone's eyes were on the Vice-dean. Most of the people did not care about the money, but receiving it meant that the person was the best actor among all of them.
The Vice-dean looked at all the students and said, "I think both you and I have the same person in mind. So go ahead, Mr. Hwan," permitting him.
Do Hwan nodded and pointed at Jung-hwa. "Hey, you. Come forward. Only you deserve this monetary prize. You were one of the two reasons this drama is even getting evaluated. Even though you are still rough around the edges, if you continue like this and improve in your second year, I can tell that you will be able to land a few roles by the end of it. So do a good job."