Life, Once Again!

After Story 39

"I think that's enough."

"Wait a sec. We'll try a few more."

"There's still more?"

"Of course. I've prepared twenty sets."

Maru turned his head to look at the clothes hanger. His wife would only let him go in satisfaction after he tried out all of the clothes hung on it.

"Let's go with this for the suit. Classic charcoal is the way to go for beginners. Straighten up a little. It's ready-made, but it should fit you."

They had lived with each other for centuries. His wife was as knowledgeable about his own body figure as he was.

He put on the white shirt and buttoned it up. Behind him, Haneul put his jacket on him.

"The shoulder width is right and I've left some leeway for the chest. That's the norm after all."

"You mean there's a suit that fits just right?"

Haneul pointed at a suit on the hanger. It was a blue-colored set. Below that was a pair of dress shoes and a pair of casual shoes.

"Turn your head around a little."

He turned his head as Haneul said. She, who was looking from the front, seemed to have taken a liking to his clothing and told him to stand under the lights.

"I wanted to do this earlier, but I didn't have the time. Also, since we're doing it, I wanted to do it properly. You haven't shot your profile picture yet, have you?"

"I shot something like a passport photo and used that for my profile."

"I'm surprised you managed to get auditions with that."

She told him to pose. Maru posed without hesitation. He was used to taking profile photos after all.

Ordinarily, brightly, depressingly — he shot many different shots so that he could use them when applying for different roles.

"Don't sit too close to the edge."

"Isn't this better?"

"It's terrible." His wife was quite firm when it came to evaluation.

He changed clothes, then shot photos, changed clothes, and shot photos again. He repeated that many times over.

"If you manage to meet a good photographer later, you should do a reshoot then," she said as she looked into the camera.

"This is enough," Maru replied, taking off his hoodie.

They had shot for two hours without rest. He looked at the monitor and picked out the B-cuts and threw them away.

"This one looks the best. If the agencies don't have a specific photo they want, this should be fine for the main. What do you think, sweetie?"

"If you're fine with it, then I have no qualms with it either. You have more accurate eyes than anyone."

Haneul sent him the photos by email. Meanwhile, Maru organized the clothes on the floor. He folded them according to their folds and hung them on the hanger.

"You borrowed this one, right?" He had a look at the brands as he cleaned up. These were considered quite a high-end line among the ready-made ones. They were about 600 thousand won per set at least. Considering their financial situation, he was blessed to have even tried it on.

"The president introduced me to someone he knows. Thanks to that, I was able to borrow it without any cost." Haneul put the clothes other than the suits in a paper bag.

"These are your gifts. They suited you when you tried them on."

"Thanks."

"You should repay me later. Personally, I like high heels."

"But of course."

He could only be thankful that Haneul looking out for him.

"You should shoot your profile pictures too."

"I shot mine when I took photos for product advertisements. It's not that I'm not preparing to become an actress. I've taken some auditions too. None of them reached out to me though."

"The production companies don't have any eyes, missing someone like you."

"True."

After cleaning up the studio, they left. They went grocery shopping together before heading to Haneul's house.

They talked as they walked on the streets with the street lamps on; about the short film, business, and marriage.

"There are a lot of things we have to do," she said.

"We're just starting off. We should take care of them one by one."

"I hope it goes well."

"It will." Maru grabbed Haneul's hand.

* * *

It was at 6 am when he got contacted. Maru put down his jersey and looked at his phone.

-Mr. Han Maru, can you work today?

It was the leader from Hallim Arts. He did register on that platform, so he got a text a few days ago as well. Back then, it was a group message, reaching out to anyone that could work on the 11th of September. He didn't reply, thinking that working as a background actor once was enough.

But today, he got another text, not a group message, but a personal one.

He put on his jersey and left. He went down the stairs and sent a reply: he couldn't make it. The first shoot for the short film was in two days. He wanted to spend more time analyzing the character.

Character analysis was something he found himself lacking the more he did it. He had to cling to it until the last minute.

Just as he arrived at the entrance of the park, he got a call this time. It was the leader this time as well.

The first thing he felt was suspicion. Even if no one could make it, they usually wouldn't reach out to him like this.

He picked up the call first.

"Yes, leader."

-Uhm, Mr. Han. Can you really not make it today?

"Sorry. Please look for someone else."

-No one else will do. I, no, director Lee Jihoon needs you.

"The director?"

The one looking for him was not the leader, but the director. Just as he was about to ask back in wonder, the leader told him to wait and hung up.

As he was wondering if he should fix his phone on his armband and start running or wait, he got a phone call.

It was a number he didn't know, but he instinctively thought that it must be from director Lee Jihoon.

-Mr. Han Maru. I'm Lee Jihoon, I wonder if you remember me?

"I do, director."

-That's good. The reason I'm calling you is because I want you to come.

"Is there a specific reason you need me? If it's a background actor you want, you can just use other people."

-Normally, I would do that. It's true that it's not a big problem if I use other people too. But not today. No, actually, it started yesterday. I had a vague hunch that it would happen, and it really came to me today. Today's that day.

"That day?"

Director Lee Jihoon explained in an urgent voice, about how he would sometimes be haunted by malignant stress and that he would find everything bothersome except actors.

-It might not sound like anything much, but it's pretty serious. I'm even getting consultations, but it's not something that I can fix in a short time. I have to digest 15 scenes today too because things got delayed, but at this rate, I wouldn't even be able to do 8. These are important scenes, so I can't have the assistant director do them for me either.

"And you're saying that your symptoms will calm down if I go there?"

-Not just calm down. You're a living tranquilizer. I knew it instantly when I saw you that day. I usually don't make requests like this, but you know that TV media is a battle of time. I have to shoot these in outside sets, so I can't do it unless there's another weather like today. That's why I need to get these done today, but I need you here with me.

"Even if you say that, I just got contacted."

-How long will it take you to come to Anyang?

He lived in Suwon, so it didn't take that long to get to Anyang.

-It's near the Anyang sports complex. If it's not too far, I hope you can come.

"Well, I can get there in an hour."

-Can't you do anything about it? From what I saw, you seem to be preparing to join the industry. It might be short, but there's a shot with only you in it. I know it must not be an enticing offer for you, but can't you just help me out this once? I'm so desperate that I'm calling you at this hour.

The director sounded like he was about to cry. He seemed to be unable to control his emotions. Maru knew how stressful a director could feel. They had to mediate between writers, actors, and various problems of reality, from the beginning to the end of the drama.

Maru looked at the park in front of him. It was slowly waking up from being submerged under the purple light of dawn.

He unzipped his jersey and turned around.

"Alright. I'll head off now. Send me the address."

-I'll give you the transportation fee and even a lot of payment, so get a taxi. We're starting the first shoot at 8.

He then immediately got a text. It contained the address, as well as what clothes to bring.

Three casual clothes, and two suits, if possible. It also said that he could come without anything if he didn't have them and that he should come as soon as possible.

Having arrived back home, he walked past the cat that was staring at him and entered his room. He put the clothes Haneul gave him in a bag and put a suit in as well. He also put in a pair of dress shoes and sneakers as well before leaving his house, only to return again. He forgot to feed his cat.

"Watch the house," he said to the cat before leaving the house.

* * *

"You're here!" Jihoon walked up to him with large strides the moment he saw Maru show up wearing a cross-body bag. He probably wouldn't be as excited even if he met his first love.

He grabbed his hands and shook them up and down. It felt like the stabbing pain in his temple that he felt since last night had died down in an instant.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm all cured after seeing you. Curious, isn't it? This never happened to me before."

He first told him to get some rest. He had someone from the crew give him a chair as well. He also had him sit down next to the production crew instead of the background actors.

"He's here?" the assistant director said as he looked at Maru.

"If he didn't come, things would've gone really bad today. I'm already on a tight schedule, and my head is in a mess."

"What can you do? A friend of mine also received mental care because of neurogenic stomach pains, but he didn't get cured for a long time. You're better off compared to him since you say that man puts you at ease."

"Honestly. Was he my soulmate in my past life? Why is someone who has no relationship with me so soothing?"

"I'm sure you just like him that much. Should I have the actors on standby?"

"Yeah. Let's get this done quickly. We have a few hard scenes today, so we must allocate time well. You know that, right?"

"What do I know? I'm just doing everything you tell me. Anyway, I'll have everyone get ready."

After seeing the assistant director walk towards the youngest member of the crew, he turned his head around. He saw Maru looking at something while on the chair.

He didn't remember giving him a script, so maybe it was a book? He picked up a canned coffee and walked over to Maru.

"Here."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I should be thanking you. But hey, did someone give you the drama script?"

"No, this is something I brought with me."

When he had a look, he saw a storyboard. There wasn't a single word of professional jargon on it either. From the format though, it seemed like a film.

"Graduation piece?"

"Not really. A bunch of college students, who aren't even majors, are shooting a short film, and I'm participating in it."

"Looks like I've made someone busy make some time. Your schedule didn't overlap, did it?"

"It's okay since the first shoot is in two days."

"That's good. I almost became a bad guy."

After a short conversation, he turned around. He gave Maru some glances from time to time as he prepared for the shoot. The way he looked at his script without being distracted in this messy shooting location made him look like a veteran actor.

The production crew was right next to him, so it wouldn't be strange if he got curious and observed them, but he didn't give them a single glance as though he was used to them.

"He's an interesting guy."

"What?" the camera director next to him asked. Jihoon pointed at Maru.

"Oh, I was wondering who it was, so it's that fellow from last time. It's the guy you called separately, isn't he?"

"You remember him too?"

"I do. I thought he was pretty good when I shot him. He was in the middle of the camera, but the way he loosened up made me think he's a promising talent. But are my memories wrong? He gives off a different impression from last time."

"I was just thinking that too. He seems to have lost some weight as well."

"So he can manage himself. Well, I guess all youngsters are really good at managing themselves. It's becoming harder and harder to become an actor."

Jihoon took his eyes off Maru. The actors, who were called, were entering the open-air set.

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