Life, Once Again!

After Story 48

“I was a bit loud, wasn’t I?”

“Uhm, just a little?”

Seungah immediately laughed after saying those words.

“I was joking. You weren’t loud. Still, it was rather peculiar. The auditions I’ve been to until now were mostly person by person, and even when in groups like this, we usually stayed quiet before acting.”

“I got into the wrong habit so I can’t get a feel of things if I read quietly. That’s why it’s quite messy when I practice.”

“So what? There’s no one who’d ask an actor to practice quietly.”

Seungah sat next to the man, intending to chat with him until director Cha came back. She wanted to know how much experience he had, what acting school he went to, and what kind of practice he did. From what she saw, this man’s acting skills were extraordinary. While there might be various standards to judge acting, she believed that the power to draw in the viewer was the most important.

The man managed to attract the eyes of everyone present. Was it talent? Or was it a product of effort? She wanted to know.

“This is our first meeting, right?”

“I don’t remember meeting you anywhere, so probably.”

“That’s strange. If you’re this good, it shouldn’t be strange to have run into you at some other audition.”

“This is my first drama audition.”

“Really? So you’re in a theater troupe, huh.”

While rare in recent years, she had heard that there were people who joined theater troupes at a young age to learn acting. They would start by cleaning the theater, then selling tickets, then playing minor roles, then leading roles. Now that she looked at it, she felt like she could see the experience on his face. Though, that might be just because she had seen his immersive acting.

“I don’t belong to a theater troupe.”

“Oh, a college student then. You’re doted on by your professors, aren’t you?”

The man smiled with his nose twitching. He seemed to be saying no. She clicked her fingers. Now there was only one option.

“You’re gaining experience and entering a college later, right? I’ve seen some people do that in acting schools. There are many field actors who join theater departments after debuting too. Which acting school is it? If it’s in Gangnam, it wouldn’t be strange if we ran into each other before.”

While there were many people who tried to become one, a very extreme minority succeeded in the actor market. As such, the ones who were pretty good in acting schools would be quite famous.

She had never heard the name Maru before. Maybe he was learning in an acting school that wasn’t in Gangnam.

“I’ve never been to an acting school either.”

She missed again. At this point, she couldn’t back out. She rummaged through her mind to ask questions to narrow down the answer.

Oh, there was one more. She thought about the easiest method to become an actor in the recent era. She was so focused on the occupation of actors that she had forgotten. There was one job that could easily acquire the title of actor despite not being an actor.

“You’re preparing to be an idol, right?”

The man wasn’t that good-looking to remind her of an idol. But, he didn’t look too bad either. If she had to pick, his face looked like he was the ‘main vocalist’? He should be the type to win over the stage with his talent rather than his looks.

“Twenty-two is a little too late to be an idol these days. Also, I don’t think a face like this would work. Look at the people who appear on TV these days. They are all people who might slap actors in the face in terms of appearance, so if someone like me is among them, I’ll just look bad.”

She thought as she listened to the man’s words: He wasn’t an idol trainee either? He wasn’t acting learning in college either, wasn’t affiliated with a theater troupe, and didn’t have experience going to an acting school.

There shouldn’t be zero cases like that. There were bound to be people who recklessly charged head-on wherever they were.

If the man showed terrible acting, then she would’ve just stopped thinking about it. Seungah looked the man straight in the face and asked,

“Then where did you learn acting?”

The man, who had been answering her smoothly until now, hesitated this time. His eyes were headed to the ceiling. It was just as she was thinking that it was rather strange since her question wasn’t something difficult,

“From here and there.”

“Where is here and there?”

He might think of her as a persistent woman, but she was purely curious. It was genuine curiosity. Just what did he learn from to possess so much absorptive power at a similar age to her?

“Dramas and movies. YouTube videos also helped out.”

“You’re saying that’s how you practiced acting?”

“I could see the best instructors right in front of me. Is there any other way to see such realistic acting from famous actors that anyone would know?”

“You’re not wrong, but….”

She felt like she just heard ‘I studied mainly from textbooks and went to Harvard.’ There was no logical flaw in that. After all, the media that the best actors in the era did their best in were dramas and films. It was a method to look at the essence of acting up close, so it was not wrong to say that they were the best instructors.

Still, that didn’t feel right. Her lips twitched.

“That’s it?”

She had a hunch. The man’s rolling eyes told her that he was hiding a secret. Perhaps he was taking an amazing acting class that he wanted to hide?

“Actually, I have memories of my previous lives. I have memories of being an actor, so I benefited from that.”

She blinked a few times before chuckling.

“Fine. I’ll stop asking.”

“It’s true.”

“Oh yeah, sure.”

The man ended up throwing out a joke since she kept asking despite him telling her the truth.

“Oh, right. We don’t know each other’s names yet. If things work out, we might be working together. I’m Choi Seungah. I heard the director call you Mr. Maru before.”

“I’m Han Maru.”

“That’s a good stage name. Maru, it sticks to the mouth.”

“It’s my real name.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Seungah looked at Maru, who was scratching his cheeks. This man was outside her expectations in every part. It was interesting. He didn’t gloat at the compliments, and he didn’t act too humble either. She liked that as well.

“I’m twenty-two as well, so since we’re at it, should we drop the honorifics?”

“Okay. Being more comfortable should be better.”

Just then, director Cha returned to the room.

“Sorry to make you wait. Someone was looking for me, so it took a little longer than expected. Let me get this out the way first, but you all showed good acting. You all have unique traits, so I’m sure you’ll become good actors in the future. As for the roles, you’ll be contacted in three days at the earliest, or a week at the latest. Thank you all for coming.”

After saying those words, director Cha put his phone against his ear and left the room. Seungah placed the script in her hand on the table. She felt quite good about the audition, so it shouldn’t be that bad to have some hopes.

She returned the way she arrived and headed to the lounge on the 1st floor. On the elevator down, the participants exchanged greetings. Good work, see you next time, and the like.

Amidst the scattering participants, she looked for Maru.

“Hey, Han Maru!”

Maru stopped in front of the rotating door.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No.”

“Then let’s kill some time together. I don’t have anything to do either.”

She couldn’t just send off this interesting fellow who supposedly learned acting through the TV. She also wanted to have a talk with someone around the same age who took the same audition as well. The fact that he was someone unfamiliar to her was also rather good. She felt like she could talk about some stories that she couldn’t be open about with her friends.

“I won’t take too much time.”

He didn’t answer, so she added that. Maru nodded and left through the door. Seungah also left the building.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Seungah pointed at the food trucks lined up on the road in front of the TV station; There was fresh fruit juice, coffee, paninis, and steaks. She couldn’t just pass them by.

“Let’s buy something and go to the nearby park. The weather’s good too.”

After negotiation, they decided to buy paninis. She waved her hands in dismissal at Maru who was taking out some money from his wallet.

“I’m the one who asked you to hang out with me, so why are you paying?”

She handed the food truck owner some money and ordered two cheese-bulgogi paninis, not forgetting to act cute and ask for some extras.

Coffee was a must with some hot panini. They bought some coffee from the next truck over. Maru paid for the coffee. She said she would pay for it, but he did not put the money back in his wallet.

“I said I’ll buy it for you.”

“Earning food from someone without reason usually ends in something bad from my experience.”

“How stingy.”

She found the rather upright part about him rather cute. They went to the city park. They took a seat on the bench under a tree. Sunlight scattered through various leaves fell on her hands. The breeze was cool and the sun wasn’t so hot. It was the perfect weather for a picnic.

“So you’re in a college theater department?” Maru asked. It seemed that he was pretty hungry as he had finished half of his panini in that short time.

When she looked at the halved panini, Maru said that it had been a long time since he ate something like this because he was on a diet.

“I was preparing to get into college, but I decided to put it off. I met my instructor at that time.”

“Instructor?”

“My acting teacher who helped me make the most important choice in my life. I was studying acting in order to get into college, but I changed course after meeting my instructor. I was cast in a drama too. I didn’t appear that much, but it became a major turning point in my life.”

“Oh, you’re a senior with at least 3 years of experience then, huh?”

“To be precise, I’m in my 4th year. Of course, I didn’t appear in anything after that. Instead, I shot a few commercials though.”

“So you were a star.”

Maru joked around with an indifferent expression. Seungah put her mouth on her straw. When she made her debut as a supporting character, she thought that she would grow up to be successful just like many other star child actors. She had heard many times that it was difficult to become an actor, but she believed that she wasn’t related to that. Only after two years did she admit that she had a long way to go.

“How was it in your eyes?” Seungah asked as she looked at the tip of a tree branch. It was a question she never asked her acquaintances.

“What do you mean?”

“What else could it be? I mean my acting. How did it look to you? Do you think I have promise as an actor?”

“If I don’t say you aren’t good, then does that make you not good?”

“Maybe.”

“Then I’ll say you show promise. You have plenty of the potential to be an actress.”

“That’s quite the flattery. Tell me more realistically. I’m asking you because you don’t have to be conscious of my responses. I don’t say these things to people around me. I end up interpreting their answer in a negative way whether they encourage me or criticize me.”

“There’s a reason you bought me this alright. I shouldn’t have bought the coffee. The cost of this kind of consultation is pretty steep.”

Maru crumpled the packaging paper and put it on his right.

“Strictly speaking, anyone can become an actor. That elderly man over there, and that kid over there can do it even. If you’re asking if you can become an actor that sells well, then I cannot answer that. Only God can answer that. No, I’m pretty sure God will find it puzzling too.”

He leaned forward and drank some of the coffee.

“But if you still need something objective, then I didn’t dislike your acting. That’s a pretty important thing. You look like you’ve been diligently learning. I like how you didn’t try to show too much at once. If there’s something lacking, then it’s your hand gestures. I’m not sure if you know this, but your hand gestures are awkward. You looked like you didn’t know what to do with your hands. In my case, that happens when my thoughts are divided. I have to say my lines, hold my expression, and think about what’s coming next. The moment your head becomes complex, it will show up through your body.”

Seungah slowly turned around. It was similar to what her instructor told her: You forget how to use your body if you lose focus, fix it. The instructor told her that she had to move her body intentionally to bring the subconscious into the consciousness.

“You’re… sharp.”

Was it a coincidence? Or was it so awkward that a beginner could catch it? Whatever the case may be, the advice was rather unsettling.

Half of her wanted consolation, while the other half wanted a strict rebuke, but Maru’s words patted her mood.

“Whatever it is, it takes time. Don’t give up becoming an actress midway. If you keep doing it, you’ll find that you’ve become an actress,” Maru said with a smile.