After Story 244

Reminds me of a close friend I had in school.

Maru took his eyes off the script. Seokjin, who was looking at his script, smiled and looked directly at him.

That guy had really good handwriting. And he was good at taking notes too. He was so good at it that he became famous in our year. Everyone tried to get notes from him. Your script feels exactly like that.

Seokjin asked if he could have a look at it. Maru handed over the script.

You wrote every little thing down.

It became a habit of mine. It makes me uneasy if I dont write them down because I feel like Im going to miss them later.

I guess that meticulousness of yours is reflected in your acting too. I really like your acting. There are no flaws in it, and even then it doesnt feel stiff. I should strive to become like you too.

Seokjin returned the script. He was an honest person who respected others regardless of age and strived to learn. Maru liked that honest part of Seokjin.

Youre doing plenty well yourself.

But I want to do better. Have I told you this before? Back when I first started acting, I always wanted to play supporting characters. I know that lead characters are too much for me and beyond my league. Instead, it became my objective to play supporting roles that add spice to the story and help the story progress.

I think you achieved your goal already.

Seokjin chuckled.

I do feel satisfied, but as I got older, I started getting greedy for money. Lee Dongseok, Park Junghan, Yoo Ul, Lim Jinseo Ill become high-cla.s.s supporting actors like those people and get paid a lot. I wanna get married, but a single-room bas.e.m.e.nt apartment is not good, is it?

Youre getting married?

Hopefully.

What the heck? Is there someone youre seeing?

Maybe sometime in the future.

Seokjin smiled with a mischievous expression. The way he used himself as a topic of his jokes was one of his specialties. Being someone who was considerate and good at talking, it was natural that people flocked to him.

Well, except one person.

Maru sipped some of his coffee before speaking,

Are you still in a cold war with Haeun?

Its not really a cold war. We just pretend we dont know each other.

Personally, I dont mind whether the two of you get along well or stay enemies as long as you dont cause problems, but it seems our director Lee is quite concerned about it.

Thats because Yoonseok is too good for his own good.

You see, this is his second work, and for his first, his friends helped out as members of the staff. Sure, there were quarrels, but generally, they were harmonious throughout the whole thing since they were friends.

That kind of atmosphere is good, but its only possible when youre doing a project with friends. This isnt a place to reaffirm friends.h.i.+p, but a place where people get paid to do work. I know thats a bit too extreme, but its the truth.

My words exactly. Itd be great if everyone got along, but even if it doesnt, it should be okay as long as the project is going well.

Seokjin rubbed the back of his neck.

Looks like Ive been causing trouble for our director. Geez.

Hyung-nim, Maru said as he looked at Seokjin, What happened between the two of you? I thought something mustve happened the moment I saw you two say h.e.l.lo at the first get-together. Im not a kid, so it wouldnt be funny if I asked every little detail, so Ive been staying still until now, but I think Im starting to see a few things.

What do you see?

Youre both consuming your emotions because youre conscious of each other. You dont really have a problem, but Haeun does. Her acting is all over the place on days youre here. Im honestly worried because she has talent, but her skills are diminis.h.i.+ng as time goes on.

If other people can spot it, then I guess it is?a problem.

Im sorry Im telling you something like this, but I want to finish off this film well. As much as director Lee.

Me too. No, Im sure everyone here feels the same. Who wants a work under their own name to do badly?

Seokjin reached his hand out, asking for some coffee. Maru handed over the coffee he was drinking. Seokjin emptied the cup in one go before standing up.

Ill go ask her now. Its not something I can decide by myself.

If its something too difficult to talk about, you dont have to.

No, actually, this is the perfect opportunity.

Seokjin looked around before moving. He was heading over to Haeun. The two had a conversation.

Maru looked at the two people for a while. Both of them spoke awkwardly before finis.h.i.+ng things off with apologetic smiles.

Seokjin returned and spoke,

For now, I hope only Yoonseok and you know about this. Its not something were really proud of.

Of course.

And also, I might be overstepping my boundaries here, but I hope you can tell director Lee to adjust the schedule a little so that Haeun and I dont overlap. I think thatll be better for both of us.

.

Maru nodded. That was the easiest solution, so there was no problem with that. Seokjin coughed wryly before speaking.

I used to date Haeun.

...What?

That was an answer he didnt expect at all.

Everyone reacted the same way. Were pretty far apart in age, I mean, 12 years is quite a lot.

Seokjin looked at the floor.

A nameless actor whos old enough but doesnt have a stable income and an actress just starting off with her lessons. If I think about it now, we should never have started our relations.h.i.+p in the first place.

Seokjin spoke quite plainly. He said that he rejected Haeuns confession and that later they ended up dating. Then, once the affection cooled down, they were hit with a realistic problem until they broke up.

If it was some amazing story instead, I would make it sound really cool, but its just a typical relations.h.i.+p between a man and a woman, so it was hard to bring it up. I heard that people in America maintain good relations.h.i.+ps with ex-spouses, but thats kinda amazing. I dont think Haeun and I can ever be like that.

This is the first time youre seeing each other after you broke up?

Seokjin nodded. I almost freaked out when I went to the get-together. I mean, I was like this, so what would it be like for her? Something bad happened between us when we broke up, so I just pretended I didnt know her. I had forgotten her number as well, so I hadnt even contacted her after that. When I saw her face at the first shoot, I told her that this is work we have to do, so we should pretend to not know each other.

I guess Haeun couldnt do that.

Thats because shes a kind girl. She should just ignore someone like me and focus on work. Anyway, thats how it is. It feels really embarra.s.sing after saying everything.

Seokjin stood up after thanking him for the coffee.

You tell director Lee about this. I feel too embarra.s.sed and ashamed to talk about this all over again. As for the schedule, please adjust according to Haeuns no, Miss Haeuns schedule. I have all the time in the world, dont I?

Ill tell Jiseon to adjust the schedule so that neither of you will feel uncomfortable. If it doesnt work out, Ill try to make some time on my own, so dont worry about it.

I cant be asking the main character to take the risks. Dont worry about me and just schedule me in the middle of the night or whenever.

Seokjin turned around with his unique, hearty laughter.

Dating someone a dozen years apart, huh? That was such a big age gap that Maru hadnt even thought about the possibility. They were probably unbelievably uncomfortable. Seokjin said something bad happened between them when they broke up, so they were probably reminded of that every time they met at the shoot.

Fortunately, scenes that included both of them were all shot last week. As long as their schedules were adjusted, they shouldnt ever have to meet at the shoot again.

Excuse me.

Just as he was thinking about what to say to Yoonseok, he found the other person involved standing next to him.

Do you have something to tell me? he asked Haeun.

Youve heard, right?

If its what happened between the two of you, then Ive heard the gist of it from Seokjin hyung-nim. There was nothing sensitive, so dont worry about that. Only I and director Lee will be the ones in the know about this. We have to know the circ.u.mstances if we want to change the schedule.

Haeun sighed.

Can I sit down next to you for a second?

He pointed down next to him. Haeun sat down.

He still resents me a lot, doesnt he?

If youre thinking about consulting your worries with me, then youd better stop. Like I said before, he only said what was necessary, just enough so that I could understand why you two are acting like you do. So you should stop at that level as well. Im not the slightest bit interested in what happened in the past between you two nor about what led you two to break up. He then looked at Haeun and continued, Making sure that there is no problem with the shoot, and if there is, fixing the cause of it. We managed to resolve these two problems, so the rest is up to the two adults involved. Am I right?

Yes, thats true.

Im going to adjust your schedules so that you dont come on the same day. That way, you can focus on acting. Theres no choice for get-togethers, so youre on your own when it comes to that.

Yes. Im sorry for making you concerned. Also, for the schedule, adjust it to whatever time Seokjin-oppa is comfortable with. I dont mind when I shoot.

Okay, Ill do that.

Haeun left. Maru picked up his script and looked for Yoonseok. He found him eating a lunch box in front of the bookstore.

Lets have a little talk.

He called Yoonseok out separately and explained the situation. Yoonseok widened his eyes in surprise.

The two of them used to be in a relations.h.i.+p? How many years apart are they?

It doesnt matter to us what kind of history those two had, so dont take interest and just adjust their schedules. You dont have any scenes with changes, do you?

No. The two of them wont be facing each other either. But cant they just let things go and shoot like normal?

You think they can do that when even you reacted like how you did when you heard the story?

Yoonseok nodded in agreement.

Ill tell Jiseon to adjust the schedule. The two of them shouldnt have that many scenes left, so it shouldnt be that hard.

Change Miss Haeuns schedule. Leave Seokjin hyung-nims as is.

If I change hers, shell have to come only on the weekends.

Go with that then.

Is there a reason?

Respect for the elderly, duh.

Maru didnt know the exact details of what happened between the two of them, but he could tell that Haeun was the one feeling more guilt. Changing her schedule would lessen her sense of guilt, and only then would her wavering acting skills return to normal.

Well, Ill do that for now. Man, thats such a weird thing to happen. Having heard you tell me that, I can understand that awkward smile and that awkward gaze. If I think about it now, those two must have felt really uncomfortable, Yoonseok said.

Dont show it and act like usual. And watch out for your mouth.

I can think for myself. I feel responsible as the director too. One thing that I deeply realized while shooting with people I dont know is that not everyone needs to become close. I can finally understand why you told me the things you did before we started the shoot. Is this how people feel when they go to work every day?

Thats why everyones first goal is to quit the company when they join one.

You havent worked normal jobs, dont act like you know.

You might not know, but I actually worked a normal job for a long time.

When? You had the time?

In a previous life.

...Then I was the CEO of a huge company in my previous life.

Yoonseok called out to Seokjin in the distance and ran over.

Maru shrugged and turned around before he made eye contact with Haeun. Haeun put on a more comfortable smile than in the morning before walking into the shade with a lunch box.

Just as Maru was about to get a lunch box of his own and go inside the bookstore, his eyes caught a customer sitting down in the caf on the other side of the road. A woman in a jersey, wearing gla.s.ses with thick rims kept glancing their way.

For someone watching a shoot, her actions were rather cautious. She made glances, turned around, and then would make glances again.

He looked at the place where the woman was looking. It was where the lighting director was eating with the others.

Just what was she looking at so intently? as soon as that thought came to mind, he suddenly found the side of her face rather familiar.

If she lost some weight from her face

Oh.

He smiled and looked at the woman.