Life, Once Again!

After Story 142

“Five years. I’ve been working on this for five years. I didn’t write it up in a few months and stuffed it in my drawer for the rest; I really edited and edited it again for the whole five years. I didn’t write a single scene or a single line with ease. I even looked for suitable locations to shoot myself. There’s not a single spot that I did not touch in the groundwork of the film.”

Director Lim let out a heavy sigh. He was quite drunk.

Maru poured some cold water and put it in front of the director. Meanwhile, Kim Hyuk put away the bottles and Beomseok ordered some spicy jjigae.

“Just one. If there’s one thing that’s not going according to my will, it’s Jung Gayoung.”

Director Lim took a spoonful of the boiling budae-jjigae and continued.

“Hyuk, Beomseok, Maru, not to mention the three of you here, I am the one who picked Choi Jahye, Kang Gwonseok, Oh Jiyoon, Ahn Dabin, Kang Jinsoo, and Baek Yoonmi – all of them with my own hands. I have absolutely no complaints about them, you know? You can see that, right? I might shout a little, but I’ve never picked a fight with you.”

“Yes, I can,” Beomseok said.

“But Jung Gayoung isn’t like that. I’m not the one who picked her.”

“Still, Gayoung’s doing well. And she’s hardworking too,” Kim Hyuk brought that up.

Director Lim chuckled.

“Sure, she’s doing good. The production company isn’t a group of idiots who would recommend someone who has no skill at all. But a film is a puzzle. There was no Jung Gayoung in the frame that I had designed. So what if she’s good? This is my movie, and she does not belong here. Also, you guys saw how she acted right? She kept picking a fight with every little thing I said. I mean, just look at today. Jung Gayoung cut off the scene where the three of you ad-libbed smoothly. Skill? Yeah, she has the skill, but she doesn’t have the wits. She’s not suited to be here.”

“I’m sure Gayoung’s trying her best to mix in,” Beomseok said as he looked into director Lim’s eyes.

Maru also looked at the changes in the director’s expression.

While this may look like a harmonious drinking occasion, the three men were all walking on a tightrope. Director Lim would sometimes explode like a bomb without a fuse even when he seemingly looked calm.

They had to refrain from using any words that might spark him and observe him to their utmost best.

“I’m sure she’s trying her best. Not her best to do well in acting, but to win against me. Just like how you have your own network of actors, we directors have our own community as well. Do you know how she’s known among us? Everyone says she’s a sneaky fox who might look docile on the outside but is actually cunning on the inside. But she’s got the wrong man this time. You know who I am, right? I don’t lose. I was originally from a pack of wild dogs who fought dirty. It looks like all she’s faced were rather docile directors until now, but she’s met her match this time.”

Beomseok brought away director Lim after the drinking session.

“This is rather awkward,” Kim Hyuk said.

“I can’t picture the director reaching his hand out first.”

It was a battle of pride between the director and the actress. Director Lim would never compromise. Meaning, Jung Gayoung was the only one who could bring peace to the shoot.

“But that doesn’t mean that Gayoung would obediently make up with the director.”

“That’s the problem. But don’t you think there’s a higher possibility for Gayoung-noona to be the one reconciling?”

“I’m not sure. Both of them aren’t ordinary.”

“But we can’t just leave this as it is. Other people are starting to take hints.”

“We’ll have to talk to Gayoung about it.”

Maru started walking.

“Noona said that we actors should help each other out, didn’t she? What are you going to do if both of them decide to be stubborn until the end?”

“Me? I’ll have to mediate between the two. There’s nothing more terrible than causing a fight at the shoot. What will you do?”

“I’ll see how things go and stick to one side,” Maru said with a smile.

The next day, the young actors gathered together during lunch. Other than those who had a schedule, they ate at a sushi restaurant and conversed.

“If I did something gravely wrong, I would apologize and try to get along, but the director just hates me. It’s weird for me to just smile at him when he hates me too. I’m just going to do my own work,” Gayoung said.

The actors sitting next to her sympathized with her.

“But at this rate, I think there’s going to be a cold war. Don’t you think it’ll be better to yield just once,” Beomseok said.

Hearing the contrasting opinions, the actors started talking about it. They were split into a group of people who said that it was absurd for Gayoung to yield and a group who said she should yield for the sake of the shoot.

“Let’s stop talking about this. You’re putting me in an awkward spot,” Gayoung started to mediate.

While their words decreased, their conflict seemed to have gotten deeper. The director used some harsh words. It wouldn’t be strange if some of them were hurt by him.

Even now, there were three actors who said they would console and help Gayoung.

Maru drank some water as he looked around. There were signs that this was going to escalate from an individual problem between the director and Gayoung to a problem of the whole group. Whether Gayoung wanted it or not, the atmosphere at the set would be a lot stricter than before.

That was not something he wanted. This was his first work where he played a supporting character. He couldn’t afford to have the work ruined because of a petty war between the production crew and the actors.

This was no time to just observe. He had to block the leak while it was still small. If he kept watching, the crack might widen and burst.

After they finished eating and left the restaurant, he approached Gayoung.

“Noona, can we have a talk?”

“About what?”

“Well, a lot of things. I’ll buy the coffee.”

Gayoung smiled and replied yes. The two of them entered a non-franchise café that didn’t have a lot of people in it. The owner tilted his head while looking at Gayoung. He seemed to know her from somewhere.

After ordering the coffee, they sat down. A moment later, the owner appeared with the coffee.

“Aren’t you Miss Jung Gayoung?”

“I am.”

“I’ve heard from the students who come to our café. You have a shoot around here, right? Your head is really small now that I see you in real life. You’re so pretty too.”

“You look like a splendid person too, owner.”

Gayoung and the owner took a photo together. She even gave him her autograph.

“You can just take the coffee, I’ll give it to you for free. Oh, and this cake too.”

Maru sliced the cake the owner left with a fork and put a piece in his mouth.

“I was going to be the one buying, but I guess I’m getting some from you.”

“It’s not me, but the owner who’s giving it to us for free.”

“You must have it good, being treated to food by so many people.”

“It’s not always that good. People recognize me even if I want to stay quiet.”

“It’s better than having no one recognize you like me.”

“Not really, I think? Try being in my shoes. This kind of lifestyle isn’t all that good.”

He turned the handle of the coffee to his side and spoke,

“Do you really think so?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your popularity. Do you really think you want fewer people to recognize you?”

Gayoung picked up the coffee mug and looked outside.

“These days, I keep thinking about it. I want people to just let me be. Yet do you think that’s easy? Wherever I go, people would sneak up to me and ask if I’m an actress or if I’m Jung Gayoung and then they will act like they’re all close to me.”

“And you’re tired of that kind of life?”

“Should I say tired? Or should I say that I’m annoyed?”

Her eyes as she scanned the streets outside looked bored.

Maru sipped some of the coffee.

“From what I see though, that’s not true.”

“Why do you think that?”

“If you really were sick and tired of all those gazes, you would’ve quit working already or gone a period of rest. But you’re working without resting, aren’t you?”

“Trying being in my shoes. You’ll learn what it means to be dragged around against your will.”

“If you really couldn’t help it, you would’ve stopped anyway. There aren’t many people who would keep marching forward when they can feel that they’re being ruined in real-time.”

Gayoung stared right back at him.

“Your words are ticking me off. Did I ever do something wrong to you? Or what is this? It sounds like you’re picking a fight with me.”

“I’m not picking a fight with you. I just want to know what kind of person you are.”

“And what are you going to do with that information?”

“Only with it will I be able to decide what to do. First, let me be honest. I really like this movie, from the character to the story. I can’t guarantee success, but I’m sure the critics should give pretty decent reviews. I rarely feel like this about a movie. You think so too, don’t you?”

Gayoung sealed her lips and leaned back against the backrest. Her eyes were telling him to go on.

“Do you really not know why the director hates you?”

“I’m no idiot. Do you think I really don’t know? Leaving aside everything else, the fact that I’m not the actress he wanted should be the biggest reason.”

“So you do know.”

“That’s what pisses me off even more. I mean, I’m not someone who joined this piece because I used underhanded methods, am I? I was rightfully scouted, and I checked the scenario and liked the character before deciding to join. I tried to do my best too. But it seems like that’s not the same for director Lim.” Gayoung chuckled in vain before straightening up her expression. “But why do I have to talk about this with you? This is strange. I’m blabbing because of the atmosphere.”

“It’s proof that you wanted to talk about it with someone. Didn’t you say that actors should side with other actors? I’ll be on your side, so let me be blunt here. I’m wishing for the success of this movie. But the director is at odds with one of the main actresses. I don’t like that.”

He slightly rubbed his eyes as he spoke,

“Hey, you have a different image from what I imagined.”

“I’m not different. I just have this kind of side to me. I’m sure you don’t want the movie to flop either, noona.”

“Isn’t that obvious? Where can you find an actor who wants a blemish in their career?”

“That means one of you two will have to reach out to reconcile.”

“Don’t tell me to do it first. I tried my best in my own way. I laughed it off after what he said to me during the first get-together. I even held back until the second day of the shoot, but I’ve now run out of patience. Actors are people too, right? We aren’t machines who just act for money, right?”

“Right. You aren’t wrong at all.” Maru leaned forward. “That’s why it’s even more important that you match him.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have to match yourself with the kind of actress that the director wants.”

“That sounds like even more of a humiliation than apologizing to him in private.”

“The director doesn’t think that you’re a bad actress. In fact, he thinks that you’re good. That’s why he’s even more rejective of you. If you were an awkward actress, you would’ve been buried under the mise en scène of the movie and disappeared. But the color of your acting is splendid. It stands out. The director doesn’t like that.”

Gayoung crossed her arms. Her eyes were scanning the table. She seemed to be pondering.

She must know as well, that she couldn’t maintain a bad relationship with the director throughout the whole ordeal, as well as the fact that it would be her who would be ousted if they really took this to the end.

Maru thought about it after hearing what Gayoung said during lunch. Maybe she needed someone to give her a little push on the back. If she wanted to keep her pride even while meeting the director’s expectations, she would need the excuse that the people around her asked her to do so and that she had no choice because of it.

“Don’t you think it’ll be interesting? You become the perfect actress that the director wants. The director will be flabbergasted because he has been telling you that you haven’t been good enough.”

“Well, that’d look funny for sure.”

“The director might be a stubborn general, but he’s not an idiot. He’ll change his attitude if he’s given the right opportunity. And you’ll become a benevolent, generous person.”

“That’s taking things a little too far.”

Gayoung drank the iced coffee in front of her in one go.

“Hey, you’re going to go to the director too, aren’t you?”

“I’ll see how things go.”

“You really are different from how you look. I thought you’d be innocent and naïve.”

“I’m just good at noticing where other people feel itchy.”

Gayoung stood up.

“A junior with a promising future has given me a request like this, so I can’t just snap out as a senior. I’ll give your words a try.”

“That’s the answer I wanted.”

Maru smiled at her.

“You have a different image from the first impression you gave off. What were those tears you showed us yesterday?”

“Just like you, that’s also a part of me. I actually cry a lot, and I’m introverted. That’s why I sometimes wait for someone to side with me, and to provide me with an opportunity. Anyway, I’ve been persuaded by you. You do something about the director. I’ll be benevolent and generous and match his style for now.”

“That’s more than enough.”

Gayoung, who was about to leave, stopped and spoke,

“You’re quite good at acting, whether it’s in real life or at the shoot.”

“It’s how I make money.”

She smiled.

“See you tomorrow.”

Gayoung left while waving her hand. Maru let out a short sigh before drinking the rest of the coffee.

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