After Story 227

“Me?” Maru responded.

“You are playing a lead character in your mid-twenties already. I’m envious. You’re both skilled and good-natured. I can’t find a flaw in you.”

“I was just lucky.”

“And you’re humble too. How can luck be responsible for everything? It’s all talent. An actor without skill like me won’t be able to do what you did even if I am given the opportunity.”

“That, you never know.”

Gyungho took a sip of rice wine before speaking,

“I don’t even want that big of a role. I wish I could play a small character that just has a name. I’ll start from an insignificant role and become bigger over time. Isn’t that what acting is about?”

Maru did not speak and kept smiling.

“But I can’t seem to find an opportunity like that. I don’t have enough connections so I’m kinda sad.”

Having come this far, he could take out his actual agenda naturally like he was just joking. Gyungho looked at Maru.

“Mr. Han. Don’t you have a director that you know? Please introduce me to one.”

It was just words he threw out there, but Maru shouldn’t be able to refuse easily. Maru was still smiling. Regardless of how he felt on the inside, he should look kind on the outside, and he probably didn’t want to let down those expectations.

After a while, Maru spoke,

“Introduce you? Well, sure. You’re a good actor, so there’s no reason for me not to.”

Gyungho smiled pleasantly. That was exactly the kind of answer he was expecting. The members of his team started showing interest as well. Anticipation colored their faces.

“Delivery.”

Gyungho quickly stood up to get to the door. When they were halfway through the food that they ordered at the beginning, he called another restaurant to order. He put down the gamja-tang inside a big plastic container on the floor.

“That came at just the right time. Well then, let’s continue drinking.”

“This will be my last cup.” Maru raised the paper cup that was about half full of rice wine.

“I want to offer you some more, but I’m sure you’ll have a hard shoot tomorrow, so I guess we should drink by ourselves.”

“Drink to your heart’s content.”

Gyungho used a spoon to drink the soup of the gamja-tang and looked at Maru. He had brought up the topic of asking to be introduced to a director, but he had yet to get his answer. If they separated without a clear answer like this, it would be awkward to bring it up again.

“I’ll make a call for a bit.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Maru left. Gyungho spoke after checking that the door was fully shut,

“See that? I told you.”

“Would he really set you up?”

“There’s all the things he said, so he should try to keep those up. Even if he doesn’t, he should feel sorry for me, so I just have to try again later.”

He gulped down the cool rice wine. The sweetness was just right. The taste was great and his work was going well too.

“I’ll try urging him. I’ll ask him to set us all up instead of just me. So don’t ask him to introduce you to someone before I do that. If the atmosphere turns strange, he might just leave us.”

“We’ll just follow along, so make sure you do it well. Also, from looking at him, I feel like he’s an innocent man who’ll listen to everything.”

“Right. Did you see that? He enjoys being a good person. If we humble ourselves and ask for a favor, he’ll listen to it. He’s a good person, isn’t he?”

Gyungho looked at the team member that was eating quietly this whole time. He was the one who had been against it since yesterday.

Everyone was getting on the bandwagon, while he was the only one acting proud. In some ways, it felt pitiful.

“People get tired if they try to stay away from others the whole time.”

He spoke quite loudly, but that person didn’t show much of a reaction.

What an inflexible person. It wasn’t that he disliked people with a firm faith, but it was quite frustrating that he couldn’t read the mood.

Gyungho was trying to spoon-feed him, but he wouldn’t open his mouth. What could he do about that?

“The rain has subsided a lot now. I don’t think there will be a problem with the shoot tomorrow,” Maru said as he came into the room. The rain hitting the window had died down a little.

“Your cups are empty, huh? I’ll pour a cup for everyone one last time.”

“That’s great. When else would I have a lead actor pour rice wine for me?” Gyungho said as he picked up his paper cup.

Maru picked up the bottle of rice wine and poured everyone a cup each.

“I’ll pour my own. Please give me the bottle.”

Maru raised the tilted bottle. The person that held his hand out instead of his cup was the one who stayed aloof from the conversation until now.

Gyungho clicked his tongue. That man didn’t change until the end.

“But I’d like to pour you a cup.”

“It’s okay.”

“Don’t say that and let me.”

He thought Maru would smile and hand the bottle over, but Maru stood right in front of that team member.

After twitching his eyes, that person eventually raised his paper cup.

“You look like the youngest in team 1,” Maru said after pouring some rice wine.

Gyungho replied instead of the team member who stayed quiet,

“He looks young, but he’s actually the same age as me. He’s twenty-seven, so that would make him two years older than you.”

“Really? That’s peculiar.”

“There’s nothing peculiar about it. He can be a frustrating fellow at times, but he’s a good person. I do wish he would get closer to us sometimes, but he doesn’t seem to want that, so I can’t help it.”

Maru looked at Gyungho and that team member alternately.

“You all belong to the same team, so why do you act distant?”

Despite being questioned, that team member kept drinking as though it was none of his business. Gyungho quickly stepped in.

“Mr. Han. That’s just how that fellow is. He doesn’t have any malicious intentions so don’t think of him too badly. You just have to let him do his own thing.”

Maru went back to his position with a smile as though he understood. For a while, they praised Maru’s acting skills and his discerning eyes for good work. Flattery was given to the person who was hungry for it.

Now that the car had been fueled again, he needed to start it.

“Erm, Mr. Han.”

“Yes?”

“I’m quite shy, so I’ll ask again, but you didn’t forget to introduce me to a director, did you?”

He mentioned the topic at the height of laughter.

“Of course I remember. I was calling a director because of that too. Since we’re at it, should I call him now?”

Gyungho gulped dryly and watched Maru’s fingers. His thumb tapped on the screen a few times.

“You’re on speaker mode. Introduce yourself to everyone,” Maru said as he put down the phone.

-Hello. I’m honored to introduce myself like this.

The voice sounded quite young. From the way Maru talked to him, this director seemed to be in his early twenties. Among the directors Gyungho knew, there was no one so young. He put aside his questions and introduced himself for now,

“Hello, director. I begged Mr. Han to introduce me to you.”

-Oh, really? I’m no one that great.

“Yes you are, you’re a film director. I’m not that good at acting, but I can tell you that I’m hardworking. Of course, I guess skill matters more than effort.”

-No. I place a lot of importance on effort. I also lack skill, so I have nothing but my passion to put forward.

The director paused for a moment before continuing.

-I heard from Maru-hyung that you wish to participate in my work.

“Yes, of course. I’m totally free once I’m done with this movie. If you call me, I can run all the way to the end of the country.”

-The plan is to shoot near Seoul, so you don’t have to go that far. But are you really okay with it?

“With what?”

-Working with me. I’d be honored if you do. It means I can work with people who have appeared in commercial movies.

Gyungho rolled his eyes. The conversation was heading in a strange direction.

“Don’t mention it. But director, what are you working on? If you can’t tell me the details, then just tell me what production company you’re working with.”

-There’s nothing grand like that. I’m just a student so where would I get support from?

“What? A student?”

It wasn’t that he had heard wrong. Gyungho looked at Maru, who was still smiling brightly.

He got himself together and waited for an answer from the director.

-Yes. I’m still in college.

“Are you shooting your graduation piece then?”

-No, I’m not a theater major, so I don’t shoot things like that. When I graduate, I’ll help out with a few of the experiments in my department and take a graduation test.

“You’re not a theater major?”

-That’s right.

The back of his head felt numb. He wanted to complain to Maru and ask if he was just teasing. This director wasn’t even a famous indie director and was just a student. There was nothing to gain from participating in his work.

-Also, I’m worried about your payment if we get to work together. I’m looking into loans right now, but I didn’t know that bank loans were so tricky. I also applied for support programs for independent movie productions that the city arranges, but I don’t think the possibility of getting those is high either.

“...That sounds tough,” he barely managed to speak.

Loan? Support program? This wasn’t even funny. If he uploaded his profile to film production internet cafés, he’d get tons of calls. Directors on this level were a dime a dozen.

He didn’t ask Maru for a favor just to get to call with a student director like this. He couldn’t tell whether Maru couldn’t read the mood or whether he was just acting gullible until now.

Without being able to reveal what he was thinking, Gyungho groaned. The young director started talking about the thing he was working on. In truth, he had long since lost interest, so he couldn’t hear any of it.

He just pretended to listen while drinking rice wine. The other members of the team looked bitter just like him.

Gyungho reevaluated Maru in his head. He thought Maru was just an innocent lamb, but he was a devious snake. Even though he must have realized that the atmosphere of the room had turned frosty, he did not say anything.

-And like that, I plan to depict the feelings of a man chased out from the neighborhood.

“That’s a great story.”

-Thank you.

“But I’m sorry to tell you this, but I don’t think it’s right for me. I really don’t have any confidence in that kind of acting. It’s such a pity.”

The student director paused for a moment before laughing.

-Then let’s work together if there’s an opportunity next time.

“Of course. I’ll be your fan starting today, director.”

Maru, who had been listening quietly, spoke,

“Mr. Gyungho here says he can’t do it. What about the others?”

The members of the team who made eye contact with Maru all smiled awkwardly. That reassured Gyungho. Maru wasn’t just kind. The fact that he was introducing a student director was basically his way of screwing with them.

There were numerous directors working on their graduation pieces, and there was no actor here who would want to dedicate their time to a student who was shooting a film as a hobby.

Gyungho was angry and bitter, but he did not show it on the surface. He had to end things on a good note to try again next time.

“If you’re a student and looking into loans, then the payment will be almost none, right?”

The team member who had been staying quiet this whole time spoke. He was on his own island until now, so Gyungho was curious about why that guy suddenly showed interest.

-Yes. I’ll do my best to give you proper payment, but it’ll probably be hard.

“Can you handle transportation and food costs at least?”

-Of course I can.

“Then can I contact you separately? I like the content.”

-Yes! But you’re a different person from the person before, right?

“Yes. My name is Ahn Bangjoo, and I’m twenty-three this year. I’m probably around the same age as you, director. Though, I may be wrong.”

Gyungho indifferently listened to that person speak before his eyes widened.

Twenty-three? – he looked at that person with a frown.

“Then Mr. Bangjoo here will talk to you later. Director, see you later.” Maru hung up.

Gyungho immediately talked to that team member, Ahn Bangjoo.

“Twenty-three?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why are you so rude? You kept using informal speech.”

“That’s because you talked to me with informal speech from the get-go.”

“You’re crazy.”

“If you treated me with respect, I would’ve done so too. But why would I use formal speech to someone who ordered me around from our first meeting?”

“Then you should’ve asked my age.”

“It’s you who misunderstood me for being twenty-seven, so it’s your mistake.”

“Wow, were you living in America? This is the first time I’ve seen someone like this.”

“I saw plenty of people like you in my lifetime, so I’m used to it.”

“You crazy punk.”

When he tried to stand up, the other members of the team grabbed him. In truth, Gyungho had no intentions of fighting either. From what he heard, Ahn Bangjoo had been doing a lot of sports since he was young. Even his arm was quite thick compared to his physique. He didn’t want to get into an unsightly fight either.

In many ways, he felt terrible. The sweet rice wine tasted bitter as well. Now that the fun was lost, it was time to wrap up. Maru also stood up, looking like he had no more intentions to stay.

“Please call me again next time. I’ll be the one buying at that time.”

“Yes, okay.”

After smiling, Maru looked at Ahn Bangjoo.

“And Mr. Bangjoo. I look forward to working with you in our next work.”

While throwing away the trash, Gyungho turned around to look at Maru. What did that mean? Next work?

“I decided to work with that director I just called. He’s really skilled. Apparently, no one has gotten the grand prize from the Short Film Festival after he did. I’m sure he must’ve improved since then, whether it’s the story or the production skills, so I have high hopes.”

“You’re in it? In that director’s drama? You were cast?” Gyungho asked in a hurry.

The other members of the team looked at him in surprise.

“I asked him to. There are many people taking interest as well. Anyway, Mr. Bangjoo. It’s been a long time, but please take care of me. Oh, I misspoke when I said it’s been a long time.”

Maru waved his hand before leaving the room.

Gyungho looked at Bangjoo who quietly cleaned up. The opportunity he wanted so much was flying away right in front of his eyes.

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