Two weeks earlier, on the day they joined July.

“How is it?”

“Quiet and clean. Much more comfortable than the basement rehearsal room we used before.”

“By the way, doesn't this building feel familiar to you?”

“The Theater Company July building? I've come here a few times to watch performances, so I guess it does.”

On the day they first entered July's rehearsal space, Yu Myeong had asked the question out of nowhere.

He knew Ryu Shin wouldn't remember after the reset, but he asked anyway.

There were two reasons he had deliberately chosen July instead of Comet, where acquaintances were already positioned as backup for this production.

One reason was his promise to Baek Yi Shin.

The other was...

Ryu Shin.

The life of the former child actor and future face of July had been drastically altered because of Yu Myeong's regression.

It might have been a meaningful choice for Ryu Shin personally, but for July, it was undoubtedly a major loss.

In fact, in recent years, July had often been criticized for lacking a young leading actor capable of carrying the next generation. Failing to gain Ryu Shin's presence had probably played a role in that.

The performance slot competition...

When Yu Myeong first heard about it, he thought it was an excellent opportunity.

A chance to stimulate July's actors.

And a chance for his own team to be challenged as well.

They had intended to participate anyway.

It was only because an existing actor team had stormed in on the very first day, bristling with hostility, that he had casually accepted the provocation.

“We'll participate in the competition too. That's what you want, isn't it?”

He answered calmly, concealing the fact that he actually considered the situation ideal.

After the visitors left, Seol Su Yeon nervously asked,

“Is this really okay? Won't all the actors here end up rejecting us?”

Ryu Shin smiled as if he found the situation amusing.

“Great. So what should we perform?”

Then Yu Myeong replied.

“Don't worry, Su Yeon. They're people who've devoted their lives to acting. If we show them good acting, they'll acknowledge it. As for the play... I suppose it has to be a two person piece?”

“Probably. At least for now.”

Ryu Shin glanced briefly at Su Yeon and agreed.

She simply wasn't ready to be cast in a stage production yet.

Then he asked again.

“But aren't we supposed to compete using the play we'd actually perform?”

“Normally, yes. But we don't have much preparation time. If we can earn recognition through the acting itself, I think they'll accept something that isn't necessarily our actual production.”

Yu Myeong wanted to break down Su Yeon's walls and have her stand with them during the main performance.

But if he put her into July's internal competition in her current state, she'd only become a laughingstock.

That meant separating the competition piece from the main production.

“So, any ideas?”

“What famous rivalries are there?”

“Liu Bei and Cao Cao? Batman and Joker?”

“What about Richard the Lionheart and Saladin?”

Various rival pairings were suggested.

Then Su Yeon cautiously joined in.

“Um... what about Gentleman Thief Lupin and Sherlock Holmes?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, that's interesting.”

Yu Myeong and Ryu Shin reacted simultaneously.

And just like that, the piece they would prepare for July's internal competition became Lupin vs. Holmes.

 The July Theater on the first floor of the July building.

Today, dozens of people had gathered there, including full members, probationary members, and administrative staff.

Everyone was present except for a handful of actors with outside schedules.

Sitting among the judges alongside the company director, Baek Yi Shin's expression was slightly stiff.

At the moment, he felt rather guilty toward Yu Myeong and Ryu Shin.

“Sorry. I should've controlled the situation.”

“No, it's fine, Senior. If those are the rules, we'll follow them. We're okay with it.”

“Still...”

“We accepted because it sounded fun too. Don't worry about it.”

Still, it was true that the atmosphere within the company had become livelier afterward.

Stage actors possessed a particular sort of pride.

Some remained in theater because they genuinely loved the stage.

Others joined theater companies to learn acting before moving into film or television.

But one thing was undeniable:

Theater acting was a hungry profession.

Many actors couldn't survive on stage work alone and had to take part time jobs.

To people like that, screen stars and television stars who achieved massive success without passing through theater naturally inspired a certain resentment.

But if the acting is impossible to deny...

The July actors didn't know it, but Yu Myeong and Ryu Shin were both stage actors at heart.

Yi Shin had personally witnessed the performances they once gave.

Performances so captivating that he literally couldn't look away.

And now, after nearly three years, their acting had probably become even more extraordinary.

He only hoped the actors who shared meals under the same roof at July wouldn't be narrow minded enough to dismiss that kind of acting after seeing it.

More importantly... I'm looking forward to this.

Five teams were participating today, excluding the main production team.

Four were existing July teams.

The fifth was Yu Myeong's.

Among them, the teams worth watching were Team A, led by veteran actor Im Si Seong, and Team B, led by Yoon Jung Gun and Chu Se Mi, the pair responsible for the recent incident.

Team A's production was Faust.

Team B's was City Men and Women.

And the newly registered guest team's production was Gentleman Thief Lupin and Sherlock Holmes.

Lupin and Holmes...?

A devoted mystery novel enthusiast, Yi Shin's eyes sparkled.

The other company members also murmured with curiosity at a repertoire they had never seen before.

“That's not an existing play, is it?”

“Right? Is it an original work? Maybe they already had something prepared.”

“I heard their competition piece is different from the actual production they're planning.”

Ignoring the whispers, Yu Myeong's team sat quietly in one corner.

The rules required each team to perform three selected scenes.

Each presentation would last around ten to fifteen minutes.

Since they had only been given about two weeks, they adapted just three scenes from Lupin vs. Holmes.

Rather than polishing a script, they focused on understanding and sharing the characters.

“How are we assigning roles?”

“Do you want to choose, Senior?”

“Let's leave it to chance.”

A coin toss settled it.

Ryu Shin became Holmes.

Yu Myeong became Lupin.

As an observer and audience member of their rehearsals, Su Yeon recalled the astonishing past two weeks.

She slowly swept her gaze across the theater.

The anxiety that had filled her eyes when she first heard about the competition was gone.

Now they were completely steady.

She had no doubt that those suspicious looks would soon turn into shock.

 The company director and several senior actors took their seats.

The competition began.

Team A's Faust was serious and remarkably stable.

Im Si Seong's portrayal beautifully conveyed Faust's endless yearning despite receiving every possible benefit the devil could offer.

Team B's City Men and Women, on the other hand, was a lively romantic comedy.

Two people obsessed with evaluating romantic partners through cold calculations, both determined to gain the upper hand in every relationship.

Their endless schemes and counter schemes drew constant laughter.

“Team B is... surprisingly good.”

“Right? July's been lacking an easy to approach genre like that for the last year or two.”

“Yeah. The themes are more thought provoking than they seem. Se Mi really suits a subtly materialistic character.”

“And Jung Gun's improved a lot too. His chemistry with Se Mi is excellent. I keep telling you—good rivalry produces good results.”

The director smiled with satisfaction.

“Hmm... By the way, Team Leader Baek... even if Team A or Team B ends up performing better than the guest team... we should still choose the guest team, right? We did invite them here.”

Seeing the director cautiously testing the waters, Yi Shin asked,

“Are you regretting it now that Team B is doing better than expected?”

“No, not really. We can always use Jung Gun's team in the fall. That's not it. It's just... the members are watching. If we force everyone to accept something obviously inferior, people will talk. And the guest team only had two weeks to prepare. Talented or not, they're all young actors.”

Yi Shin wasn't offended.

He merely smiled faintly.

“Director.”

“Y Yeah? You think so too, don't you?”

“You don't need to worry.”

“Really?”

“Really. Those kids aren't ordinary.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. If you genuinely prefer Team A or Team B, then choose them. The people over there aren't lacking enough pride to insist they won when someone else was better. But...”

“...?”

“That won't happen. July hit the jackpot.”

Yi Shin smiled with the sharp eyes of a gambler evaluating an opponent.

“And remember something, Director.”

“What?”

“I was the one who brought them here.”

After Team C and Team D finished their performances, the guest team finally took the stage.

“Hello. I'm actor Yu Myeong, and I'll be working with July for a short time.”

“I'm Ryu Shin.”

“I'm Seol Su Yeon.”

As team leader, Yu Myeong stepped forward and announced their piece.

“Today we'll be presenting three adapted scenes from Maurice Leblanc's Lupin vs. Holmes. We'll begin now.”

The guest team's performance started.

 Light on.

The stage brightened.

Seated in a chair at the far right of the stage was Seol Su Yeon.

Assigned only a minor role that required a few reactions, she sat motionless, her face slightly pale.

Fortunately, that pallor suited her character perfectly.

From the opposite wing entered Holmes.

Ryu Shin.

Though he wore no elaborate costume, a single beret symbolizing Holmes rested on his head as he carefully surveyed his surroundings and stepped onto the stage.

He looked down below the terrace.

Examined marks left by a ladder.

With a sharp flick, he extended a measuring tape and took measurements.

Excellent mime.

The shape of the measuring tape and the tapping motions alone made it clear that a ladder was being examined.

No explanation was necessary.

His expression was cautious.

Exceptionally cautious.

As he inspected each object one by one, the audience began to tense up as well.

Then he approached Su Yeon—

or rather, the Baron.

“It's a fabrication.”

“Pardon?”

“The evidence you described, Baron. Every piece of it was fabricated.”

“The marks on the railing?”

Under the gaze of dozens of people, Su Yeon's eyes trembled.

Fortunately, the trembling could easily be interpreted as the Baron's agitation and confusion.

Most eyes remained fixed on Holmes.

“Exactly. They were made with sandpaper.”

“Sandpaper?”

“I found this nearby.”

With precise, deliberate movements, he displayed a piece of sandpaper held in a pair of tongs.

“Then the marks below are fake as well?”

Holmes nodded expressionlessly.

Then his speech quickened, pressing forward relentlessly.

“Correct. They're not the same marks. The marks beneath the terrace are twenty three centimeters long. The marks along the fence are twenty eight. They're not even perfectly parallel. Someone simply used a piece of wood to create a rough imitation.”

“My God...”

“I found a mud covered block of wood beneath a laurel planter. The dimensions matched perfectly.”

“Then it wasn't an outside intruder after all...”

“It was an insider.”

Holmes smiled.

The smile sent a chill through the members of July.

A brilliant man.

Accurate.

Cold.

Someone who had moved with machine like precision throughout the scene.

And the first emotion he revealed was—

the exhilaration of finally encountering a worthy rival.

A smile filled with confidence.

A smile that quietly declared his intention to crush the opponent.

“There is an accomplice of Lupin inside this estate.”

“Lupin?”

“Without question. The day your letter arrived, a letter from Lupin arrived as well. He advised me not to take this case.”

“That can't be!”

At that moment, a voice called from the wing.

“Telegram!”

The Baron reached toward the wing, accepted the telegram, and handed it to Holmes.

As Holmes unfolded it, a narration emerged from backstage.

Yu Myeong's voice.

Or rather—

Arsene Lupin's.

Playful, yet carrying an undercurrent of seriousness.

"My dear Mr. Holmes.

You are making remarkably swift progress.

But you should never have accepted this case.

The outcome will be unfortunate for everyone involved!

Your friend,

Arsene Lupin."

Holmes clicked his tongue.

He handed the letter to the Baron.

The Baron groaned.

“So it really is Lupin.”

“Yes. That man possesses an extraordinary number of eyes and ears.”

As Holmes wore a strangely unreadable expression, the lights went out.

Ho...

The first scene ended.

The members of July found themselves deeply impressed by Holmes.

Even without elaborate stage devices, Ryu Shin had created the unmistakable feeling of a detective.

More than that, they were frustrated that the competition format would force them to skip ahead.

They wanted to see what happened next.

As expected... Ryu Shin was famous for his acting even as a child actor. He's grown exceptionally well.

Then what about the other actor...?

As they waited in the darkness for the second scene to begin, Ryu Shin remembered a moment during rehearsals when Yu Myeong's insight had once again left him astonished.

“What do you think about using an echo structure?”

“An echo structure?”