After Story 104

Daejin left the office, the location for the shoot. He scrolled through his contact list as he walked down the stairs. This would make it half a year since the last time he called this person.

“Hyung-nim. How have you been? It’s me, Song Daejin.”

-We live in an era where the name of the caller shows up on the phone screen, so you don’t have to introduce yourself. What’s up? You’re calling rather early for someone who barely calls once a year.

“I was curious about one thing, so I decided to ask.” Daejin looked up and said, “Han Maru, you know him, right?”

-I do.

“Did he really go under your wing?”

-It’s a little small to put it like that, but yes, let’s say he’s under my wing.

“You really took an unverified twenty-something-year-old kid?”

-It’s a little funny now that have I gotten a few calls like this. Think about it. Who did I take when I decided to grow JA: Geunsoo, Ganghwan, Suyeon, they were all nameless. But people have forgotten their nameless days and only think about their current, completed figures. I was someone who took on quite a challenge.

“Right, I forgot about that. I forgot that they started under you.”

Right now, JA had the image of a super agency because it possessed many actors who were A, no, S-tier actors, but it started off quite small. Although Junmin possessed a lot of capital because he was a good businessman, the actors, the main backbone of the agency, were weak and worthless like broken chinaware.

Of course, those pieces of broken chinaware that were unsuited to become bowls used for eating were now on the level of priceless chinaware that should be in museums.

“If you were going to put him in my work, you should’ve told me about it beforehand. You aren’t mad because I didn’t call you frequently, are you?”

-Why would I care about you calling me? The reason I didn’t tell you beforehand is that I didn’t know about it. It’s only recently that I signed a contract with him. Go look it up on the internet. The day the articles were released was pretty much the day I signed the contract with him.

“I called you after seeing those articles.”

Daejin put a cigarette in his mouth.

“Do you know what else I saw other than the articles?”

-What?

“Han Maru’s acting.”

-I was told that he’s a minor character who doesn’t even have a script.

“Right, he didn’t have one. I was just going to use him as a pretty backdrop, with a couple words. But when I set him up to try, how should I put this….”

Daejin flicked the cigarette. He recalled Maru acting so naturally.

-What is it?

“It’s just such a pity. I’m sure you know since you participated in production multiple times. Someone I brought wanting 20 from him suddenly showed off that he could do 80 or 90. It just makes you laugh, especially if you think that there’s a role better suited for him.”

-I know how that feels.

“Why didn’t you sign the contract earlier and tell me about him? If you did, I would’ve given him a decent role too, not a minor character.”

-Invent a time machine and go back in time or something. Don’t vent it on me.

“When did I vent anything on you?”

Daejin puffed a deep one so that the cigarette burnt until the filter. He then threw the glowing cigarette butt on the ground.

“Anyway, alright.”

-What are you going to do with him?

“What can I do? I’ll make the best use of him. I want to see him more, but unfortunately, there’s no place for him in this movie. I’ve set out everything tightly.”

-You sound confident, seeing that you’re practically declaring that you’re flawless.

“I was always confident, you know.”

-Use him well before you send him back. If you of all people are assessing him like that, he might be an important person that might represent the 20s actors of JA.

“Alright, I’ll use him well and send him back to you intact.”

Daejin hung up and returned to the office on the 2nd floor. He saw Maru standing quietly in the corner.

He really wished to create a character that didn’t exist before and give it to him, but he had already planned everything out in this movie, so he couldn’t do that.

Had it been Hong Geunsoo or Yang Ganghwan, he would create a role even if it meant increasing the runtime of the entire film by 10 minutes, but he couldn’t invest that much into that young actor. He just had to make the best use of him.

Daejin walked in front of the monitor and spoke,

“Let’s go again.”

* * *

Youngjae scooped up a large portion of jjajang-myun and put it in his mouth before spitting it back out. He looked at the actor in front of him in surprise.

Ahn Baeho scratched his head with the tip of the chopstick before kicking. The MDF flipped over, throwing the plate of jjajang-myun on the ground.

“President Choi. You don’t believe us? I told you we can make some big buck with this. These days, you can rake in all the money you want with estate agent stalls, y’know. Look, prez Choi. We buy some bankbooks and then sell them back at a premium! Isn’t that easy? President Choi, President Choi!”

Ahn Baeho sighed and threw his phone into the air. Maru snatched that phone easily with one hand.

“President, please calm down and….” Maru gave him back the phone with a smile.

Ahn Baeho looked at the phone and Maru alternately with a smirk before giving him a hard slap.

Along with a loud noise, Maru’s head turned around.

This time, he hit properly. This was… the fifth time already? As the number of takes increased, Ahn Baeho’s slaps became harder.

Maru stuck out his tongue slightly to lick his lips. He looked at Ahn Baeho with a bitter expression and left the office after notifying Ahn Baeho.

“He looks like he’s something cuz he can use his smarts a little. Hey!”

“Yes, president,” Youngjae said his line as he stood up. This time, he didn’t make a mistake.

In the previous take, he was in such a hurry that he ended up kicking the bowl of jjajang-myun on the ground.

“Go and tell that prick to fuck off. I can do this by myself. No, wait, you fuck off too. I’ll give you enough compensation.”

Ahn Baeho took out his wallet and counted some bills before eventually just tossing the whole wallet over.

Youngjae quickly snatched the wallet that fell on the ground after hitting his face before bowing towards Ahn Baeho.

“President, I’ll contact you later.”

“Bullshit, just fuck off.”

Youngjae replied yes in a loud voice before running over to the entrance of the office. He glimpsed inside the wallet in front of the entrance before turning around to glare at the back of Ahn Baeho’s head.

“Tch, it’s just two ten thousand-won bills.”

“You’re still here?” Ahn Baeho shouted while picking up the bowl of jjajang-myeon. Youngjae grinned like a fool before leaving the office. He closed the door and looked down the stairs. Maru was waving a hot pack.

“Did that go well?”

Youngjae received the hot pack that Maru gave him. It was warm.

“I was nervous that I was going to cause an NG, but I didn’t make any mistakes. Rather than that, is your cheek okay? That slap sounded bad.”

“I asked him to do it so that we can finish this for good. How was it when you looked from the side?”

“Terrific. I was worried that you were going to lose a few teeth.”

Youngjae smiled as he looked at Maru’s face. Maru’s cheek was swollen red. His own cheek ached from just looking at him.

A voice shouting cut could be heard from the office. Youngjae leaned against the door. It should be an okay this time, right?

“Okay.”

“It’s an okay.”

Director Song finally stamped the papers.

The office door opened and Ahn Baeho came out. He looked around before finding Maru and then walking over.

“I hit you too hard, didn’t I?” Ahn Baeho wrapped his hand around Maru’s face with an apologetic expression.

“It sounded loud, but it didn’t hurt that much.”

Ahn Baeho smiled kindly when he heard that. After exchanging a couple more words, Ahn Baeho then talked to Youngjae.

“Is your nose okay? It must’ve hurt because the wallet was hard. I feel like I’m hurting many people today.”

Ahn Baeho kept apologizing while taking a close look at his face.

“Throw it anytime. I’m completely okay.”

Ahn Baeho returned to the office. It seemed he went back for monitoring.

Youngjae looked down at his hands. He couldn’t believe that actor Ahn had grabbed these hands until just a moment ago.

“Mr. Maru. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“That I got to shoot like this. Actually, I heard everything yesterday, when you talked to the director.”

Yesterday, around the time the scene at the office almost ended, he saw Maru talk with the director in person. It was then he found out that Maru was affiliated with JA and that he won the grand prize in the Short Film Festival.

The intense Yeonsangun act that he showed at the lodging was not a product of coincidence, but a result of his skill. Although he realized back then that they were in different leagues when it came to acting, he didn’t know that even the support they received was different.

It was JA of all places, the place where seniors he looked up to belonged to. It was one of the agencies he only dreamed about joining, and yet, Han Maru was there. Someone who only started acting recently, who was also someone younger than him, was there.

He felt vain, slightly betrayed, and enormous envy. After realizing that this man younger than him started off on a different point and probably even had a different destination, he felt rather vain.

After the shoot last night, the director didn’t give them any further instructions, so the only thing he had to do was to go back to Seoul. Maru would probably stay behind for further shoots.

It was then that he overheard that Maru wanted to try acting with the actor he acted with during the day. A mere minor actor, someone the director could blow away with a single breath, had given the director a proposal. Maru even sounded calm and bold.

Youngjae thought: would he be able to do the same if he were in Maru’s shoes? Honestly, he would find it difficult to do so.

The words Maru said when he left the building after talking to the director were very plain: Mr. Youngjae, the director said he wants to see us again tomorrow.

Youngjae wouldn’t have felt jealous even if Maru boasted that it was thanks to him, but Maru said none of that.

“It wasn’t much. I was just asking if it would look better for both of us to be in it rather than me alone.”

“That’s what I’m grateful about. Had it been me alone, the director wouldn’t have given me a line at all.”

“I can’t say I know the director well, but I can tell that he has a picky personality. He used you because he liked your acting. If he didn’t, he would’ve been merciless.”

The production staff packed up their equipment and left the building.

“Let’s go out as well. I think they’re going to shoot outside.”

Maru stood up. Youngjae looked at Maru who stepped down the stairs. Back when they were on the train to Busan, he thought that this shoot was going to be just like the ones he had experienced before.

His mindset was that he should just make a living since rising to a star in one go was nothing more than a delusion.

Now, however, it was different. He got to say all the lines he wanted to and even worked together with senior actors on the set. It became motivation to him, who had been stagnating and exhausted after having worked part-time for years alongside acting.

He wanted to stand up again. He wanted to do better. He wanted to be like Maru.

“Wait for me.”

Youngjae pulled himself up by pushing on his knees.

* * *

“Hey, hey. Just go. There’s no need to look back. There was only 20 thousand won in his wallet. That prick will just be one of those petty criminals.”

Youngjae acted with a lot more leisure on his face, as though he got used to saying his lines now. After looking at Youngjae, Maru turned around to look up at the office. To be precise, at the camera on the window of the office.

He looked with eyes full of disdain before putting his hand into his pocket.

He walked snobbily for a bit before frowning when he looked at a cigarette butt that he kicked.

He then walked down the long, straight alley, until he heard that he was signaled to stop.

“Okay.”

“We’re done.”

He stopped and turned around. All of his appearances were now over. As he was playing a stereotypical character, there was no fun in digging deep into it, but he enjoyed everything, perhaps because it had been a long time since he last shot a movie.

It definitely felt different from shooting a low-budget film.

“It’s over now,” Youngjae said, looking rather disappointed.

“Should we go get some rice wine to drink? And some pork too.”

Maru grabbed an invisible cup and tilted it in the direction of his mouth.

“Sounds good. It’s our last night in Busan, so let’s drink a whole lot before we return.”

Just as they returned to the set while giggling,

“Huh? Maru-oppa?”

A familiar voice stopped Maru in his track.

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