Life, Once Again!

#5 Street / Afternoon.

Gyukho approaches Gomchi, who has just left the store with some soju.

Gomchi glances at Gyukho, who is dressed neatly, from top to bottom.

Gyukho received the glance indifferently. He rustles the plastic bag in his hands roughly and walks by.

Gyukho: Hey.

Gomchi: (rather weirded out) Hey?

Gyukho: Yes, you.

Gomchi: You know me?

Gyukho: (grins) I do.

Gyukho hangs an arm around Gomchi’s shoulders. Gomchi flicks his shoulders to resist, but Gyukho does not pay it any heed and does it again.

Gyukho: Hey, don’t you want to take care of a big case?

Gomchi: What big case? Hey, let me go.

Gyukho: (closing his face toward Gomchi’s) You know Lee Dongsik, don’t you?

Gomchi pushes away Gyukho again at the mention of the name Lee Dongsik. The two stare at each other for a while.

The chatter of ladies fills the quiet alleyway. Students pass by, and Gomchi turns around after giving a glance at Gyukho.

Gyukho follows right behind Gomchi.

Gyukho: You quit your company, didn’t you? (Snatches the plastic bag) Don’t you think you should drink while doing some work at least?

Gomchi: (muttering) Mind your own business.

Gyukho: What?

Gomchi: I said mind your own business. I will take care of my own business. I don’t know how you’re related to that fucker Dongsik, but I got no business with him.

Gyukho: Why? I heard you two were close friends.

Gomchi: Bullshit. I got no business with you so fuck off. Also, tell Dongsik when you meet him that he should pay money back.

Gyukho: 10 million won.

Gomchi: (turns around while walking away) What?

Gyukho: Did the amount pique your interest? How long are you going to earn chump change? How are you going to buy a car or a house, or meet a woman like that? Dongsik said you’re a big man who can play in big waters. How about you do something big instead of earning a petty sum?

* * *

He glared at Gyukho. Ten million won. His curiosity was piqued after hearing the number, but he didn’t feel that good when he found out that this man was with Dongsik.

Who was Lee Dongsik? That dude was someone who borrowed hundreds of thousands and even millions of won from his friends and cut all contact.

The amount was not big enough to cause a big fuss over, and he just let it go thinking that he just stepped on poop, but still, Dongsik was no different from a swindler.

“Is ten million too little? Well, I guess it might be depending on the person. But ten million is just the beginning. As long as you do your work properly, we can earn tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.”

That kind of sum was a number he couldn’t even imagine, as he was someone who quit work after getting paid 1.8 million won per month at a mid-sized company.

“Who do you think you’re kidding? You’re going to make me earn that kind of money? What is this, multi-level marketing? But what are you going to do? I don’t have the money to sell your items for you.”

“Who says it’s multi-level marketing? And bluntly speaking, who would want to swindle money out of you? I’m recruiting employees. Employees for a company with a clear vision.”

His words were smooth at least.

Gomchi looked at the man who introduced himself as Lee Gyukho. This man looked to be around in his mid to late twenties. His hair had been combed neatly. He was even wearing horn-rimmed glasses, which made him look like a goody-two-shoes.

It was obvious that all of this was going to be nonsense. Where in the world was a job that could easily earn ten million won? He just had to ignore this man and go home to drink some soju.

Yet, for some reason, he could not walk a step. A ‘what if it’s true’ pervaded his mind like an overflowing river.

First of all, it was obvious that this was not going to be honest work. The fact that he had to work with Lee Dongsik reeked of illegal.

He looked down at the plastic bag in his hands. The soju bottles inside glistened.

If he went home here, he would drink them and wake up tomorrow in a daze only to grumble and look at the newspaper for some work. Then he would play games, meet some neighborhood friends, and then drink again.

He could imagine himself living a life of a hamster in a wheel as he carried around bricks at a construction zone.

It was a gloomy future far from getting a car, a house, or a woman. Sure, he wouldn’t have a problem getting by. However, that was it. He would eventually die just like that.

It was a damned, uninteresting life.

Ten million won. He thought about the number of zeros that number had.

“What’s it about?”

“Simple. We help some people in need and get some compensation.”

“People in need?”

Gyukho rubbed his lips with his thumb. “Hey, have you ever thought that insurance is a loss when you don’t get into an accident? It’s quite funny if you think about it. You’re giving a company money while worrying about an accident that hasn’t even happened yet. You’re worried about something you’re worried about. It’s a price of worry.”

“So?”

“What we’re doing is returning the money that had been extorted unjustly back to the right people. No one will receive harm.”

“So what you want to do is an insurance scam, huh?” Gomchi asked as he stared at Gyukho.

Gyukho smiled in response.

“Oh please, don’t call it an insurance scam. Call it getting back rightful money.”

* * *

Lim Hwanggeun shouted cut and approached the two actors. The two had their sweat wiped off but soon started sweating again.

“It was good, but let’s do that again. Hyuk, when you grab Maru in front of the store, you should be more greasy.”

Hwanggeun demonstrated it himself. He wrapped an arm around Maru’s shoulders and said Gyukho’s line while winking.

Kim Hyuk nodded, saying that he understood what it was like.

“Maru, you should hide your emotions a little more. It’s too obvious which makes the following plot too predictable.”

“Yes.”

If it was a mafia comedy, he would’ve just glossed this over and gone to the next scene. After all, he would invest more time in scenes where an actor’s skill could be displayed to create laughs.

However, this movie was different. The characters and the plot were more important than anything else. This was especially true for Gyukho, who was played by Kim Hyuk. If Gyukho lacked the charm, the whole story would not have as much weight.

It could be said that it was a movie by Kim Hyuk for Kim Hyuk. Following this train of thought, Maru’s role was also important.

Gomchi was going to be the trigger that would show what was at the bottom of Gyukho. He was the spice that made Gyukho more three-dimensional.

“Well, get ready. Camera.”

Hwanggeun looked at the monitor. Currently, the camera was shooting the two actor’s faces in closeup.

This was the meeting between Gomchi, who still had a shred of humanity, and Gyukho, who was a perfected evil man.

The yellow light created by the setting sun covered the two actors. Hwanggeun rather liked the light because it was a precursor of the night that would soon follow.

The minor actors he had on standby started moving first. An actor wearing a school uniform walked along the walls. A motorbike followed right behind him, and four middle-aged actresses walked past Kim Hyuk and Maru while chatting.

It was a moment where evil was birthed amidst everyday life. Kim Hyuk’s expression was shown by the camera.

Having become Gyukho, Kim Hyuk acted very politely, but his eyes were gleaming with malice. Hwanggeun could see that Kim Hyuk had analyzed this Gyukho character a lot.

He then saw Maru, who turned back around after hearing the ten million figure. His expression was a complex mix of confusion, suspicion, and hostility, all necessary emotions for this scene.

Hwanggeun crossed his arms and looked at Gomchi’s face closely. He was reminded of what his son said, about how someone who didn’t look the part committed murder and that was disgusting and ugly.

It was those words that made him decide to cast Maru.

Now that they were ten days into the shoot, Hwanggeun couldn’t imagine anyone other than Maru playing Gomchi.

Gomchi was drenched in laziness, but he still maintained reason as a citizen of a lawful country. Even through the camera, it was obvious that he disdained Gyukho for trying to commit insurance fraud.

Gyukho’s line followed up. His lines were very smooth as though his tongue was oiled. The lines Hwanggeun wrote had been slightly edited.

Kim Hyuk suggested the change, saying that Lee Gyukho would say such words, and Hwanggeun approved it in an instant.

“What’s it about?” Gomchi said.

He still looked wary, but his eyes were shaken. Gomchi, who despised his own life which did not make any progress, was waiting for an opportunity that might come one day. Gyukho provided him with that opportunity.

Gomchi knew that illegal acts were not supposed to be done and that danger would soon follow.

From the perspective of society, Gomchi was a dropout, but that didn’t mean he was stupid. He knew better than anyone what it meant to accept Gyukho’s proposal.

He also knew that he had to refuse, and yet, he would still choose to join hands, ultimately believing in the words of the snake that this boring life could be changed easily and quickly; he harbored the conviction that even if destruction was what lay at the end of it, he would not meet such a conclusion.

Maru showed the minute changes in his emotions using detailed movements of his facial muscles. It was incredible to see that he quickly understood that his emotions were too obvious and changed his acting instantly.

It was as though there was a perfect acting manual inside his head.

Maybe because of that, Hwanggeun kept having higher and higher standards. He would keep reshooting scenes he would normally be satisfied with.

There was an actor in front of him who could respond with a change in his acting at his every request, so it would be a loss if he just shot once.

They were living in an era where film rolls were no longer being used and editing had become a lot easier thanks to advances in digital technology.

As long as the time allowed it, he was going to capture acts that contained details.

“I think you can hit harder here.”

“Then how about this much?”

The sync between Han Maru and Kim Hyuk was good as well. The ad-libs that the two came up with while joking around with each other were sometimes hard to just let go of.

“Okay!”

“It’s an okay.”

Hwanggeun drank cold water and stood up from his seat. The day was turning dark. He packed up the shooting equipment and went to the next location.

“Miss Gayoung says she’ll be a little late.”

“Again?”

Hwanggeun scratched his head in vexation.

He had to accept a few proposals from the production company in order to recruit the actors he wanted, and one of them was Jung Gayoung.

“Why’s she late?”

“Apparently, the shoot for her ad took longer than originally expected.”

“It’s not like she’s the only busy person. Dammit.”

“Director, don’t be like that. Miss Gayoung looked really apologetic.”

“If she feels sorry, then she should come early! It takes ages to shoot with her since she’s terrible at acting, and she’s late all the time too. This is the third time already.”

“What can you do? She’s really popular these days.”

Hwanggeun told the assistant director to have the staff take a break.

The sun had set so they couldn’t even shoot another scene. They could only wait for the main actress to come.

“Looks like Gayoung is really busy. It makes me want to work in her place,” Kim Hyuk came by and said. Maru was next to him.

“The weather’s so hot, so why does she have to be late? We have to shoot as quickly as possible so that everyone can get some rest for the next shoot.”

“Director. Be easy on her. You know that Gayoung’s really nervous in front of you, right?”

“Let her be! If she doesn’t like that, she can be the director. Or, she can be as good as you or Maru. If an actor can’t act, she deserves it.”

“Looks like our director’s pretty pissed. Here, have something cold and ease up. I’m sure she’ll come soon.”

Kim Hyuk smiled like a good man and gave him some ice cream. Apparently, he bought them with his own money. When he looked around, the members of the staff were all holding one as well.

What a thankful guy.

Hwanggeun accepted the ice cream, and just as he was about to rip it open,

“Miss Gayoung has arrived,” said one of the staff.

Hwanggeun turned his head around. He saw a woman running over with her manager in the distance.

“I’m so sorry!” Gayoung said.