After Story 192

This line from Kangseo, isnt it a little iffy? Haneul asked as she pressed the pen on the paper.

Daemyung, who was looking at the same part, twitched his lips.

What about it?

He sounds too indifferent when hes supposed to be expressing his feelings after breaking up with his lover. It makes me wonder if Kangseo is really the type of guy who would say such things.

You cant sympathize at all as a woman?

Thats not it, but theres something stuck on my tongue.

Isnt that what makes it better?

Haneul thought for a moment before putting a star right next to the line. This was a part that she would come back to later.

Lets have a coffee break.

She felt sore after sitting down for two hours. She opened two instant coffee sticks and put one with some sweetener into her mug. Daemyung went with black coffee.

You wrote the scenario, so why do you sound so unconfident? Daemyung said as he drank some coffee.

I cant get a feel on how it should go. No matter how many times I do it, my confidence level suddenly drops when I work on a scenario. For other things, Im confident in them because I did them to death, but for this, I cant get used to it no matter how many times I do it.

How many times did you do it even? Daemyung said with a smile.

Try doing all sorts of things throughout so many reincarnations that you cant even remember how many times you did one thing; I literally did it to the death. Haneul swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue with the coffee.

But is it really helpful for me to tell you all this? I dont think were making any progress since were retorting every single element in the story.

Thats enough. Im not in a hurry anyway. Im going to polish it slowly so that everything from the writing to the shoot will be perfect.

A person I know told me not to put so much effort into my first attempt, saying that first attempts are bound to fail.

Thats not wrong, but I dont plan to fail.

As Daemyung said, if this was her first attempt in her life, then she would not have pursued perfection. The realm of perfection was something that only experienced people could reach. It was only right for a newbie to prepare for the next attempt while failing the first.

However, she was no rookie. She had pride as a director and could not put out inadequate work.

Maybe that required being hung up on every single detail to the point of being excessive. She did not even think about going to the next part while leaving it in a vague state.

Did you bring the scenario that you wrote?

Its in my bag.

What are you doing? Take it out already.

Its not fun and even less helpful, you know? Its terrible.

Daemyung took out a clear file from his bag. Haneul took out the bundle of paper inside the file.

I didnt know because I never showed my work to anyone else, but this is more embarra.s.sing than I thought. Daemyung smiled awkwardly.

Thats what it means to show your writing to someone else. Its not just writing either. Showing the work you put a lot of time and effort into practically means showing your face to the world, so its perfectly normal to be embarra.s.sed. But youll feel okay after experiencing it one or two times.

Haneul emptied the sweet coffee in her mug in one go. Her brain had gotten stimulus from the sugar and caffeine and started reading down the text.

She looked at Daemyung a few times throughout and saw that he was waiting nervously.

Im not a.s.sessing anything, so dont worry.

I know.

Despite saying that, Daemyung couldnt stop giving her glances.

Go play on your phone or something. Thatll make you feel better, Haneul said before going back to the text.

The story Daemyung wrote was a rather popular type of writing. And as such, it was easy to predict the placement of the characters, the story, as well as the plot design and expressions.

There was none of the superfluousness unique to writers writing for the first time. The writing smelled like an experienced writer but in a good way. So this was his first work?

It seemed that the Park Daemyung of this life was born with the talent to be a writer.

Whats this? Daemyung suddenly said as he looked at his phone.

What is it?

Theres something on the main website of the web portal.

Haneul looked at the phone screen. She didnt know what to look for, so she glanced at Daemyung.

Look at the thumbnail right below the middle.

Below the middle? Haneul looked there. There was a photo of a man grabbing a mic under faint lighting. When she had a closer look, she saw that it was her husband.

Give me a sec.

She took the phone from Daemyung and clicked on the thumbnail. It was a link to someones personal blog.

She read the t.i.tle at the top: I cant tell if hes an actor or a singer. Who is this man?

Is it an article about Maru? Daemyung asked.

No, its a personal blog from someone, but it has gained enough popularity to be put on the main site.

Haneul moved her fingers to look at the blog post. The post, which was riddled with all sorts of ridiculous emojis, basically said this: I like actor Han Maru.

Her husband had gone to Yoo Jichans concert two days ago, and it seemed that he ended up singing there. Haneul played the video at the top of the post.

She put down the phone on the table and raised the volume. Daemyung also focused on it. Under the lighting, her husband started singing. A voice that she never got fed up with flowed out through the speakers.

She looked at her husband inside the screen and smiled. This was a serenade. Regardless of gender, everyone at that concert wouldve fallen for Marus voice.

Theres no way this is true, Daemyung said.

Why?

Ive known this guy for years, and its been excruciating to go to the noraebang with him ever since we were in high school. He didnt know anything about singing, but he really liked it. He would scream like crazy or act all queasy. Even the girls would quietly go to the bathroom if he grabbed the mic.

Really?

Yeah. But hes like a totally different person now. Did he receive vocal lessons while acting?

Lessons, sure.

In his previous lives

Haneul raised the volume a little more. It had been a while since she heard him sing like this. He would often propose to her while singing shyly in that voice.

After the song, there was a few seconds of nothing before a round of applause. The camerawomans cheers were mixed in as well. She could imagine how raved the audience must have been.

The people there were lucky.

Getting to listen to Maru singing is lucky?

Its quite expensive if you want to pay to hear it.

Daemyung frowned. He was probably thinking that it was some ridiculous notion between a pair of lovebirds.

But it was the truth. She thought back to the days when her husband was a musical actor. The black market prices of his musicals towards the end of the season were nearing the level of being ridiculous.

I think you two suit each other, quite a lot, Daemyung said with a smile.

The video has over 200 thousand views.

200 thousand is a lot. Maru should really thank the person who wrote that post.

The comments under the blog post and under the youtube video were all full of praise. As his popularity had gone up quite a lot thanks to Case Number 0, many people recognized him as well. Many people said that it was interesting to see a new side to him.

Looks like his payment will rise the more well-known he gets. This is a pain, Haneul said as she put down the phone.

Its good for you if his payment rises. Why do you say that?

This scenario you and I are writing, hes the guy Im casting. But hes being petty and wont give me a family discount, so I have to pay full price, and at this rate, I think his payment will be quite considerable by the time I adapt this into a film.

Im sure its just a figure of speech. Theres no way hed do that for his girlfriends work.

That guy sometimes stakes his life on things he says as a joke. Hes like a total kid.

She grabbed the scenario she put to the side again.

Lets get back to work. I need to make this before the main actors payment rises even more. I know Im using someone elses money, but I should do my best to save on money since Im a creator.

Daemyung sat upright and spoke, Now that you mention it, whos the person thats paying for the production costs?

Hes called Na Baekhoon, and he does various businesses.

I feel like I heard about him somewhere.

After fiddling with his phone, Daemyung spoke in a surprised voice,

Is this the person?

The person on the screen was Na Baekhoon. Haneul nodded.

Hes famous in many industries. This guy is investing in you?

Yeah.

Why?

Why do you think? Haneul answered a question with a question.

Daemyung thought about it for a long while before speaking,

Charity?

No way. Park Daemyung, weve only known each other for three days, but isnt your a.s.sessment of me too low? You couldnt even look at me properly in the eyes when we first met.

How are those two related? Rather than that, whats the real reason? I can understand if he was investing in your aroma business, but I dont see what he sees in you on the movie side.

You really dont see it?

Nope.

Actually, he fell for my perfect appearance.

...You and Maru really do suit each other. Dont break up and live the rest of your lives together. You two are practically a match made in heaven. Theres a limit to how much you can boast.

You dont believe me.

Itd be strange if I did.

Actually, he fell for my beauty. Thats why hes giving me full support, and the same is true for Maru.

I dont believe you.

Its real though.

You cant write like that, people wont get it.

Haneul pouted before sighing.

Fine, dont believe it then. I wouldve thought that he was a scammer if this was my first time experiencing that. You need to know that there are all sorts of people in the world for your eyes to truly open. Its too early for you, Daemyung.

h.e.l.lo? You know youre the same age as me, right?

Are we though?

Why, were you born earlier than me?

Not just early.

In terms of age, Im probably tens of thousands of times older than you she stretched her arms out before grabbing her pen.

Her husband was going ahead of her, so she had to move busily as well.

Should we go to the next part? she said as she poked the paper with her pen.

* * *

If youre unlucky, you might break your nose despite falling on your back, but if youre lucky, you might end up finding money on the ground if you fall on your back.

Park Yeonjin truly believed that so as he looked at Maru who went to Jichans concert.

I didnt know it would become an issue like this, he said as he looked at the article on the internet.

As Maru was an actor who also had singing skills, he became a hot topic in many places.

Due to the change in the times, agencies placed just as much importance on the internet as TV media, so the video with nearly 500 thousand views became quite helpful to Maru.

What did?

What else? The video of you singing.

People still watch that?

What do you mean still? This is just the beginning. People are spreading the video around by themselves. Were you always this good at singing?

Originally, no originally. Maru smiled.

Looks like youll get invited to music programs. They invite people that become quite an issue as a guest at least once.

Ill do my best no matter what it is. Hyung, we can go now, Maru said.

Yeonjin started the car. Maru, who sat in the back seat, took off his coat and started reading.

Yeonjin thought as he looked at Maru: People were bound to become loose when they earned popularity at a young age, but Maru had none of that. He didnt have the slightest arrogance or the desire to show off. From a certain angle, he looked like a middle-aged veteran actor immune to worldly opinions.

Can I put on a song?

Sure.

He played an idol song and hummed along. It would take three hours to get to the destination. He saw Maru jerk his shoulders along with the song.

But arent you going to be tired? Volunteer work will be quite hard.

Its okay. Above all, Sir Yoon will be there. Im sure itll be very enjoyable and not hard at all.

You really like him, huh? I didnt know that.

Looking at Maru through the rearview mirror, he had a thick smile on.

Get some shut-eye if youre tired. Itll take quite some time.

Yeonjin decreased the volume and sped up a little.