Chapter 695

Are you not going to drink that? Heewon asked.

Maru handed him the cup ramyun container. Heewon stuck his nose against the container and started drinking the soup.

Did you not eat anything?

I did. Why do you ask?

Because you look like youve been starving for days.

I get that a lot.

Maru looked at Heewon who was gulping down the soup. Daemyung and Inho went into the opera house together with the shared opinion that they should help their juniors as much as possible. Dowook went back to the truck, saying he wanted to get some sleep.

Myunghwa High is at 2, right? Heewon asked as he threw away the empty container in the trash can next to the bench.

It seemed that he had downed the soup which had filled more than half of the container.

If it doesnt get delayed, then yeah, 2 oclock.

Gaeul is from Myunghwa High, right?

Yeah.

Is she in it?

No, shes a staff.

Then I guess theres nothing to see.

Heewon lay down on the bench. The bench was quite small, but he looked quite at ease. He looked pretty used to doing that.

Its the perfect weather to sleep.

Heewons eyes lost focus quickly. Maru also nodded. The sunlight seeping through the gaps in the leaves was just warm enough, and the wind was just cool enough. He stared at the round roof of the opera house for a while before speaking,

Hows Gaeul doing during lessons?

Shes doing too well. Im receiving harm because of her. Shes way too enthusiastic. She can take it easy, but shes practicing like theres no tomorrow. I cant really rest in fear of being compared.

Heewons eyes contained resentment. He truly looked rather troubled.

Help her out a little. Shes someone who likes acting.

Hell no, too bothersome.

Sheesh, you are one thing. That personality of yours didnt change after joining a company.

You tell me. I thought Id change if I became busy, but it looks like my laziness is on a completely different level. I was running for an entire day because we were shooting an ad, right? Not gonna lie, I wanted to run away. That was way too much for me.

Im surprised you didnt.

If I did, Haewon would find me and scold me.

You should really put a stop to that, you know? Your brother needs his own time. How long are you going to make him look after you?

Its been a while since we met, yet youre on about that as well? Why are there so many hardworking people around me? Theres Haewon, Gaeul, you, and even Inho. There should be just as many lazy people like me to make the balance right.

Its because you are beyond easygoing and more of a sloth.

Is that how it is?

Heewon yawned before standing up.

Talking to you made the sleepiness run away. I feel like I made a loss.

You should sleep if youre tired. Once I see that youre asleep, Ill just walk away.

I dont think I can sleep after that hey, is that school Myunghwa High?

Heewon pointed with his finger. There were students heading towards the opera house. A hundred or so students wearing black t-shirts moved in unison, which made the spectators around look at them in a daze.

Yep, thats Myunghwa High.

Thats a lot. I think theres more than a hundred in just the acting club alone.

Youre probably right.

20 people was a pain already, yet they have 100? Looks like Gaeul does an incredible job huh, being a seonbae in a club like that.

But youre the club president of Hwasoo High, arent you? Maru asked as he looked at Heewon.

Thats because Inho pushed that title onto me so that I can take care of the annoying stuff. I didnt do anything this year as the club president, but I still am. Does that even make sense?

Looks like you have everyones trust then. Oh, come to think about it, you didnt participate at all, huh? In the competition, I mean.

You want me to participate in the acting club alongside those lessons? I cant do it. I have to give up on one of the two.

Gaeul is taking those lessons with you, isnt she? Gaeul applied to be a staff member after saying that she had quite a lot of free time.

I pulled myself out early. If I participated in the club as well, I would have no free time for the entire week. Also, what fun is there in a club that relies on one person for everything? I pulled out for the sake of the members.

So you were pretending to be busy?

Well I guess you can put it that way. Its a white lie?

Well done. Thanks to you, we managed to pass the preliminaries easily.

Dont say that in front of Inho. He might try to kill me.

He probably knows already, you know? I mean, Haewon has access to your entire schedule.

Heewon made a shocked expression before muttering is that why they dragged me here? by himself. This guy was quite unpredictable. Looking at his acting, he had the skill to gain anyones applause, yet the person himself lacked the will to make use of that. He was the complete opposite of Gaeul who put her best effort into everything she did, so those two might have quarreled with each other quite often.

Are you getting along well with Gaeul?

Theres nothing to say about that, really. Shes like a bull who can only charge forward. If I want to be friends with her, I need to be working hard towards something as well, but I dont wanna do that.

Youre taking those lessons anyway, so try to get some fun out of them. And help Gaeul out when you can. If its your acting, she might feel a lot of things after looking at you.

Feel things?

Heewon made a bored expression after yawning.

Now, I wonder about that.

What do you mean?

What youre telling me is that my acting will be helpful for improving her own skills, right?

Yeah, and?

My acting will not be helpful to her. No, she doesnt need my help at all. When I first saw her, I didnt feel much about her, but she has changed a lot recently. The teacher is telling her off a lot less too. Its somewhat strange to say this, but she seems like a changed person.

Heewon stared at Maru.

For example, when I first saw your acting, the feel you gave off was a thick blue.

I think I said this before, but only you can understand that color theory in this world.

Heewon scratched his head.

To put it in a different way, youre stuck-up. Your acting style is like a rock. Its hard and heavy. If people keep watching, they might get a sense that its tiring, but its fundamentally flawless, so its something you can keep watching.

Sorry for being tiring.

Its just a form of expression. Its quite peculiar. I had to explain what thick blue is in words. In any case, when I first met Gaeul, she was yellow. She was shining beautifully. But, that was it. There was no fun in her acting. I can feel her intention of showing something, but that didnt influence her acting. It was to the point that when I blinked, I would forget what she was doing just moments ago.

The criticism was rather severe. Maru couldnt entirely agree with him, but he did nod when he heard that her acting was no fun. Gaeul had splendid skill in interpreting the script, but she lacked character. This was something that Ganghwan pointed out in the amateur acting class 2 years ago.

But its different these days. Its quite curious. Shes a rainbow. One moment, she would be red, but then she would leap to blue the next moment, followed by green. It's a chaotic and unsettling type of acting, but she draws attention until the very end. If you tell me to do that, I cant do that. Thats something like having bipolar disorder. Her emotional mood swings are way too extreme. And yet, she looks natural.

Im surprised you managed to understand all that.

Its just a gut feeling. Anyway, the type of acting she does these days is like skipping back and forth between ages from a newborn to a granny. Its unpredictable. Thats why the teacher is having so much fun these days. And thanks to that, its more tiring for me.

Maru looked at the opera house. Gaeuls acting had changed, huh. He couldnt get a feel of what that would be like. He had never seen her act recently after all.

In any case, I get that shes doing well.

Shes doing too well. I want her to be a little lazier, but I dont see that happening anytime soon.

Why dont you learn from her and change your habits? Who knows? You might change that lazy nature of yours.

You want me to live a busy life like her? If I start making money in the future, I might have no choice but to do that, but no, I dont want to do that now. Im going to embrace this leisure as much as possible. What do you have left if you live a busy life when youre a student? Dying after working your entire life sounds way too sad.

If you become a workaholic, even working should change into something fun, you know?

Whats a workaholic? Sounds like a magic spell from a game to me.

Maru stared at Heewon before chuckling.

Anyway, look after her for me, will you? I think Ill be more at ease knowing that you are taking care of her since youre by her side every day.

Even if I dont do it, Haewon is doing it as well, so dont worry about it. Geez, this is the problem with couples.

Heewon stood up from his seat and checked the time. Maru also took out his phone to have a look. It was nearing 2 oclock, the time he was supposed to meet up with the others.

Looks like I should get going. Inho told me to come inside by at least 2.

I also need to go.

Okay, see you later.

Heewon, who walked off while moving his hands back and forth, suddenly stopped and turned around.

Oh, I almost forgot.

What?

Thanks. Its thanks to you that I joined the agency. If I ever become big later, Ill treat you to something good.

Did Haewon tell you to do that?

You really are quick-witted. As expected of thick blue.

Away with your color theory. I dont understand anything.

But dont you get a feel of what it is when I say thick blue? Like wham or something? Why dont other people get this?

Whim or wham, I dont care, so dont go saying that to others. You might get reported to the psychiatric hospital.

Heewon nodded and turned around.

* * *

You did well, you did well.

Gaeul consoled the crying junior. They were reaching the climax point without any accidents when something happened to one of the first-year juniors. One of the high-heels worn by her to represent a bold new employee had snapped off right in the middle of the stage. As this was just her second time going up on the stage, that accident was something hard for that junior to bear. In the end, she froze up, and a character that wasnt supposed to be there had to hop out from behind the side curtains and bring her out. Thankfully, nothing happened after that, but the junior who was at the center of the accident was still trembling.

You were just unlucky. Dont worry about it. Well then, lets clean up, said Choi Seol.

The juniors started moving. The shaking junior also helped the others after calming down a little. It was colleagues who were helpful when people had it hard, so there were many first-year students gathered around her. It should be fine now - Gaeul sighed before helping out with the cleanup.

It was when she was sweeping the sticky notes scattered on stage with a broom. She saw someone wave towards the stage. It was Maru, wearing Woosung Highs acting club hoodie. Gaeul barely managed to smile and wave back. What happened back at the bus still remained in her heart. Honestly, she didnt have the confidence to face Maru right now.

After that short greeting, Gaeul walked around the stage in a busy manner. She wasnt that busy, so it made her feel pathetic to pretend that she was, but she wanted to avoid Maru even if she had to do that right now.

Her head was filled with the thought that she had to calm her heart and go see him next time. She looked at the exit after a long time. All the students had left. Maru wasnt there either.

Just then, she got an alert from her phone. She got a text message.

-You seemed busy, so I just left. Actually, I wanted to keep waiting, but the instructor was noisy about getting food. Sorry.

Gaeul put her broom between her arm and her waist and quickly sent a reply.

-Dont feel sorry. It was me who was in a bad condition and snapped out. Have a nice dinner and see you next time.

-Alright. Hope you feel better soon. If you get really annoyed or something, call me and vent it on me.

-Not happening.

She felt like she could hear Marus plain tone from the text. It was her who had dodged him, yet he was the one apologizing. This made her sigh. It should be fine to look at him straight and to chat with him, but why did that become so hard?

-Its because of your guilty conscience and jealousy. Its also the difference between a mature kid and a kid pretending to be an adult.

That voice suddenly spoke up. Gaeul ignored it because she couldnt retort. When she didnt retort, the voice faded away as though it had lost interest.

Its so hard, Gaeul uttered to herself on the stage after all the juniors and the audience had left.

She didnt want anything amazing. All she wanted to do was to act alongside Maru on a stage like this. Watching Marus acting, which had become so distant, she wondered if that day would ever come.

She stared at the empty stage for a while before turning around.

Today, youre a depressing sky blue.

She suddenly heard a voice from the audience seats. She stared at the dark corner towards the right.

Lee Heewon?

Yeah, its me?

Heewon looked back at her in a questioning light as though asking why she called him. Gaeul chuckled when she saw that. He was the one who called out to her first, yet he had an expression like that.

You laughed, so it means I took care of you, right? Heewon said from below the stage.

She couldnt understand a word he was saying.