Life, Once Again!

After Story 20

The question was out of the blue. It was difficult to even discern who ‘you’ was in ‘it’s you isn’t it?’. He didn’t seem to be referring to Junghyuk and Minyoung who were sitting on either side of him, so Maru put down his chopsticks. The elderly actor was staring holes at him, so there was only one ‘you’ he could be referring to.

“What is it?”

It was hard to discern what the elderly actor’s expression meant. He seemed to be pissed, annoyed, and yet somewhat joyous as well.

“You don’t know me?”

He couldn’t even tell what those series of questions were meant to ask. Perhaps Maru made a mistake during the shoot? Just as he was about to apologize out of habit,

“I guess you don’t. Everyone’s like that. They know my face, but not my name. I used to be pretty famous, you know?” The elderly actor joined them like it was natural.

Junghyuk and Minyoung scooched sideways to put some distance from the elderly actor. As a result, Maru ended up facing the elderly man face to face.

“The one calling out names in front of the interview room. That was you, wasn’t it?”

Only then did he realize what ‘it’s you’ meant.

“Yes, that was me.”

“You seem totally different from when I saw you back then. I thought you’d be all skinny, but you’re actually quite decent with your shoulders straight like this,” said the elderly actor while staring at his face. “You were giving glances at me during the shoot, weren’t you? I asked the director about it, and he told me he didn’t ask you to do it. So you tried that out on the spot?”

“I tried it because I thought it would look better.”

Perhaps he was ticked off by the fact that a background actor without any role did awkward acting? It was something to apologize about if he made an actor uncomfortable.

“If I’ve made a mistake in any way….”

“No, no. I did think that you were daring, but I don’t think you’ve made a mistake at all. If you were half-assed about it, I would’ve shouted on the spot to remove that punk. But you blended in quite well. You had the opportunity, so you wouldn’t be a man if you didn’t display your skills.” The elderly actor took out a cigarette.

Maru put his hands inside his pocket subconsciously before remembering that he threw away all of his cigarettes.

“You weren’t going to light me up?”

“I forgot I quit smoking.”

“You quit something good like this? You’re quite tenacious for a young’un. Just smoke. The lifespan of man is up to the heavens. One of the seniors I know drank heavy liquor every day and smoked two packets, but he passed away after living all the life he could. Meanwhile, a dude who exercised every day to live a long life went earlier than me due to liver cancer.”

The elderly actor looked at Junghyuk, seemingly asking for a cigarette.

“I don’t have one either.”

He then looked towards Minyoung before making a ‘tsk’ noise and shouting to the back.

“Oi! Bring the lighter over.”

A man Maru thought was his manager ran over with an empty can and a lighter. The elderly actor thanked him with a grin on his face.

“I don’t have to ask you young’uns for permission to smoke, do I?” Saying that, he puffed a deep one. As for the smoke, he turned his head away and spat it out towards a place without people. Though, that didn’t mean that the smoke didn’t stay and the smell didn’t exist.

“You might be wondering why some random old guy came over. I don’t plan to stay for long, so don’t worry. I may look like this but I’m pretty busy.”

The elderly actor stuffed the cigarette that had become ashes in no time into the can.

“Have you done this work a lot?”

“Today’s my first day.”

“First? You’re doing this for money?”

“Money is one thing, but I wanted to have a look at the atmosphere at the shoot.”

“Right. You shouldn’t be here just for the money. You want to become an actor?”

“If possible.”

“Now that you had a look, what do you think? Does it look easy?”

“I’ll have to try to see.”

“Right, you have to do it yourself. You can’t tell just by looking.” The elderly man stood up while shaking the can. Maru also stood up.

“I’m just a nosy guy. I can’t stand still when something catches my eye. I don’t care what it is. You can aim for money or fame. Just don’t throw away the thought of becoming an actor.”

The elderly actor gave him the can, seemingly asking him to throw it away for him. Maru received the can.

“I’ve approached a few people like this during shoots. Do you know what happened to them?”

“I don’t know,” Maru responded as he shook his head.

The staff members eating dinner started gathering towards the set. The elderly actor looked towards the staff and said, “I don’t know either. I’m no stalker, so how am I supposed to know what happened to them? But you know, I don’t have to stalk them to know how a few of them turned out. How, you ask? How could I not know when they’re acting alongside me? Acting is really strange. There are times you prepare to death and it still looks crappy, and there are times when you just give up on it but get results beyond your imagination. It seems like it’s impossible to predict. But when you keep trying it out, you change your mind. The ones who really clench their teeth and give their all manage to climb. Acting is a long-term fight. It might not look any different, but once you taste it, you feel the difference. The degree in taste depends on how long it has been cured.”

The manager who gave him the lighter came over again. He said in a small voice that the shoot would resume in 10 minutes. The elderly replied in understanding.

“Anyway, the point is this: if you’ve prepared a lot, then do it until the end. I don’t know if it will go well or not though.”

It was rather random, crude, and at a glance, disdainful to an extent, but it was strictly encouragement. It was also the essence of experience and a whip he was giving to a nameless junior of the next generation. The affection displayed for him by this nosy senior made Maru smile.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t call me sir. I’m going to live a young life, so you should go stick that stinky title to doctors or something.”

“Then I’ll call you senior.”

“Yes, that’s better. But don’t feel disappointed just because I don’t recognize you later. You don’t know my name either, do you? I don’t know you as well. Also, I’ve told this to many people. Anyway, if you do well and we shoot a good piece together, reach out to me. I’m always up to drinking with a junior. Or we could go fishing together.”

Just as he was about to turn around, he turned back around to Maru again and patted Maru twice strongly on the shoulders. Tap tap— the palms that hit his body were more direct and intense than any verbal message when it came to consolidating his will to become an actor.

“He’s actor Bae Jungwoon,” Minyoung said as soon as he left. It was only now that Maru found out about his name.

“The way he acts in dramas is no different from real life. I saw him play similar roles on TV. Maybe it’s because he has a similar personality in real life. But Maru, you might really be able to become an actor. A field senior has cheered for you.” Minyoung got all excited before getting disappointed about not being able to take a photo.

Maru followed senior Bae walking away with his eyes. He was a humble man who wasn’t stuck up about formalities. There might be people who might be uncomfortable with such an attitude, but Maru believed that displaying it on the surface was much better than hiding it.

“I should’ve heard something like that too. Looks like I’m still far from ready. Maru, if you ever become successful, you should call me to play a role in whatever you’re doing,” said Junghyuk. His words were semi-serious and semi-joking.

“If I ever become successful, I’ll ask the director for a role,” Maru received the banter lightly. If he tried to awkwardly console Junghyuk’s semi-serious words, they would both become uncomfortable around each other.

Just as senior Bae said, no one knew what the future held. Just because he got some encouragement didn’t mean that he would absolutely succeed, and just because Junghyuk didn’t receive it didn’t mean that he would absolutely fail to make it. It was just mental relief.

“Junghyuk. I’m sure you’ll do well. I have good eyes. Oh yeah, do we have to keep waiting?”

Cheered on by Minyoung, Junghyuk laughed comfortably, telling her to stop praising him. It didn’t seem to be a lie when she said that she tried hard to look extroverted. She was incredibly good at reading the atmosphere and changed the atmosphere suitably.

“I want to ask too.”

The staff were returning to the set to prepare, but meanwhile, the leader didn’t give them any instructions. It seemed that the scenes didn’t need any background actors.

“There are many cases where we’d go home just like this. Even actors are not exempt from this, and we’re only part-time workers,” Junghyuk said.

“Even actors just go home?” Minyoung asked as she put trash in the trash bag. Maru also helped with cleaning.

“Not to mention just going home, there are times when they’re called back after being sent home. Once, I went to a drama shooting set thanks to a professor of mine, and I saw a lead actor being sent home after doing nothing but waiting for 4 hours because the shoot was canceled. The shoot is mainly focused around lead actors, but if things go wrong and the shoot gets dragged out endlessly, forget lead roles and whatnot, everyone’s gotta wait.”

“I don’t think being an actor is a good job now. Also, I was shocked when I shot outside during the day. Just how many times were they going to shoot that jogging scene? It was the same lines and the same people, but I think they shot at least ten times.”

“The people and the lines are the same, but the composition is different. You saw the camera move right? When you watch dramas, they change the angles so that the audience can get immersed more easily. If the composition is similar, there are times when two cameras are used simultaneously, but when it comes to full shots and high and low angles, they have to change the positioning of the camera itself, so they have no choice but to repeat it,” Junghyuk lightly explained.

“That’s so much pain. Wait, then do people have to repeat crying acting like that as well?”

“That will depend on the director, but if the cut is separated into multiple angles… then it will be a repetition of crying and stopping.”

“I can see why actors use eye drops now. When I heard that actors use eye drops, I thought that they were being unprofessional, but if you have to do that multiple times… heck, even the most depressed person would run out of tears.” Minyoung frowned before looking at Maru. “No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I can become an actor. You two can try hard by yourselves. I’ll be satisfied with just watching TV.”

They threw away the trash and waited outside. Not long later, the leader appeared with a big frown on his face.

“Let’s end it here today. There are taxis around the area, so you can go home on those. Your fares will be paid for, so you don’t have any problems, right?”

The leader was called and went back to the set as soon as he finished his words.

“What the. We were told to wait, and all we did was eat dinner and that’s it?”

“I told you it’s common.”

They returned to the rest area at the set. Maru changed his clothes and got his luggage again. Minyoung called for a taxi and said that they should go together.

“I’m tired even though I didn’t do anything. Waiting while doing nothing is pretty hard too, huh.”

“But it’s over now, so just hold on until you get home,” he said.

Just as he was about to leave the set through the parking lot, he got a call from an unknown number. When he received it, he heard the leader speak in an urgent voice,

-Where are you?

“I left. I’m about to go home.”

-Oho, no you didn’t. Didn’t I tell you to wait?

“You did not.”

The leader smacked his lips. He seemed to be annoyed slightly, but he seemed to remember that he never told Maru to wait and moved on to the main topic,

-The director asked me for your number so I told him. He told me he wants you if you ever want to do drama work again through this line. You’re going to do it, right?

“Well, I’m not sure.”

-You’re not?

“I don’t know what will happen, but I don’t plan to do any more for the foreseeable future.”

He had no reason to keep clinging to a job without a stable income. He also checked that his senses were still there, so there was no reason to continue doing it either. Experiencing the scene for himself was something he had to keep doing in the future, but he would do so through other means than part-time jobs.

-Gosh, this is bad. Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.

Maru took his phone off his ear. Junghyuk asked what it was about.

“Nothing much. It seems like the leader misunderstood something.”

Minyoung, who was walking ahead, waved her hand, telling them to hurry. Maru saw a black taxi waiting in the distance. It sure came early.

“Yoido station please,” Minyoung said after getting in the taxi.

Maru looked at the set becoming further away before letting out a deep breath. For some reason, he felt like smiling.