Life, Once Again!

After Story 218

“Allow me to guide you.”

Maru followed the waitress to a room, in front of which were three pairs of shoes. One pair of white sneakers, a pair of black canvas shoes, and a pair of green running trainers.

There seemed to be one more person aside from director Nam Goonghun and Hong Geunsoo.

He took his shoes off and slid the door sideways to open it. The three people seated around a sitting table turned around to look at him. He put on a relaxed smile and spoke,

“I hope I’m not too late.”

“You definitely aren’t.” Geunsoo pointed at the seat next to him.

Maru sat down after bowing towards the two people sitting opposite him.

“On your left is director Nam Goonghun, and on your right, the person who’s slightly more handsome than director Nam is the action director, director Kwon Joohyuk.”

After Geunsoo’s introduction, Goonghun reached his hand out.

I’m Nam Goonghun, I’m Han Maru — after a brief round of introductions, Maru said hello to Joohyuk as well.

“You must’ve been surprised since I asked to see you all of a sudden,” Goonghun said.

“I did hear from senior Geunsoo that I might get contacted soon, but I didn’t know it would be this fast.”

“I just have a rash personality. Especially when it comes to casting.”

There was a knock on the door before it opened slightly.

“May I help with your order?”

“Can you wait just a little? We’ll call you when we’re ready,” Goonghun said.

The employee put down the menu softly and closed the door.

“I tend to have an upset stomach when I talk about work during a meal. Is it okay to eat a little later?”

“Of course.”

After answering, Maru took a sip of water.

“I’m sure you’ve heard the general outline from Geunsoo, especially about what we’re working on.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that it’s a historical drama focused on action.”

Goonghun exchanged gazes with Jooyuk sitting next to him before continuing,

“There will be a lot of action. With the rising popularity of thrillers these days, action was only used as a device to increase tension. What we’re trying to do is to produce a movie that’s action-first, from the beginning to the end.”

“Like the movie Delousse?”

It was a movie that came to his mind as soon as he heard Goonghun’s words. It was a movie released in America in 1990, and more than half of the movie consisted of ‘physical’ communication.

It was an action movie under the mask of a buddy movie where the characters let their fists do the talking instead of words.

“You’ve watched Delousse?” Joohyuk said.

“I stumbled across it while I was looking for materials to learn about how to use my body. I heard that it’s like a textbook for those wanting to produce or learn action.”

Joohyuk’s expression, which had been stiff since the moment he came into the room, became relaxed for the first time. He even looked overjoyed like he had seen someone he knew in a foreign place.

“Look at you all smug. Mr. Maru, as you see, the action director is really crazy about action. Whenever we do spin-kicks, he always steps in and shows a demonstration. He’s so crazy about action that he eats into the overall schedule with demonstrations alone. What you’re about to do is shoot an action movie with such a person. Is that okay with you?”

“I never boast about my acting skills. It’s embarrassing. But, there’s one thing I can say with confidence. I have great stamina. Even with a series of action scenes one after the other, I will not fall down. Also, I like using my body.”

“For now, your nature seems to fall in line with ours. Joohyuk, what do you say?”

“I lost all my complaints from the moment he mentioned Delousse. I’m okay as long as you’re okay. But Mr. Maru. Have you ever done any action sports?”

Hearing Joohyuk’s question, Maru replied that there were a few things he learned as a hobby. In his head was knowledge pertaining to many different sports that he had learned in his previous lives, but there was a limit to how much he could recreate with his current body.

“I’m doing jiujitsu and boxing regularly, and while I don’t do as much Judo and Kendo anymore, I do it from time to time.”

“So you weren’t all talk. You should come to our acting school later. I’ll teach you properly,” Joohyuk said.

“Definitely.”

After that, he continued talking to the director. The director mentioned what kind of character he would be playing, as well as the details like the estimated number and location of the shoots.

“As for payment, I don’t think I can decide it here because I’m sure your agency has its own rules, but I’ll talk to them about it. I’m slightly worried that we might not be able to pay you since you’re a rising star these days, and the production company has enough of a headache paying Geunsoo.”

“Director, I’m still here. Aren’t you giving me too much flack?” Geunsoo said.

“I’m saying so that you can hear it.”

From how they were joking around about money, their relationship had to be pretty close. It seemed that Geunsoo and director Nam had trust in each other.

“It’s an opportunity to be cast in a good work, so I can’t miss it just because I’ll get paid less. It’s fine even if you shave off a lot, so allow me to be in it,” Maru said to Goonghun and Joohyuk.

He was getting to work with Hong Geunsoo, so money was of no importance. There would be thousands of actors wanting to join this movie based on that alone.

“It seems like we’re almost done talking, so why don’t we get to eating? I’m almost starving to death.”

Geunsoo called for a waiter. He gave the order as he looked at the menu, and the way he ordered was rather peculiar. He did not pick dishes according to the number of people present. He just asked for all the menu items on one page.

“Please give us all the dishes on this page, as well as one of each of the noodle dishes. Directors, you’re going to eat a bowl of cold noodles each, right?”

The waiter, who received the order, asked for confirmation. It was definitely a lot for just four people, so it wasn’t surprising.

“Yes, give us all of those.”

Geunsoo smiled and opened a pack of wet wipes.

Maru felt this back at the barbecue, but the amount he ate was on a marvelous level. He would probably make it big as a food fighter even if he quit being an actor.

“Mr. Maru,” Goonghun called him.

“Whenever Geunsoo asks to eat out, you should ask him who’s going to pay. Don’t even dream about splitting the bill. You definitely cannot pay for anything that he’s eating.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“Today, it’s on me, so eat to your heart’s content, Mr. Maru. Geunsoo, you eat moderately. You eat so much, but you never gain weight. It’s a strange phenomenon indeed.”

Geunsoo picked up his chopsticks, tilting his head.

After the side dishes were laid out, the employee started grilling the meat. When the meat was almost fully cooked, the owner of the restaurant opened the door and came inside. He held out an autograph paper and spoke,

“I’m a huge fan of yours. If it’s okay with you, can you both give me an autograph each? The entrance of the restaurant looks rather empty right now, so it’d look great if I could hang autographs of the two of you.”

“Of course. An autograph is nothing.”

The owner approached with glee and placed an autograph paper and a pen in front of both Maru and Geunsoo.

“There was an actor who visited last time, but when I asked him for an autograph, he snapped out and told me not to bother him. I was so ashamed. On TV, he was known to have a great personality.”

“That must’ve been disappointing,” Geunsoo said.

The owner explained the displeased feelings he had that day, saying that he felt wronged.

“Don’t take it to heart. Actors are only people. I’m sure that person must’ve experienced something bad that day to be like that.”

“Well, sure.”

“Next time, I’m sure he’ll smile kindly and do it for you. If he knows what he lives off of, that is.”

There was a bone behind the seemingly warm words. The owner seemed to have taken Geunsoo’s words as a joke.

Maru signaled the owner, who was smiling with the two autographs, that this man here was just as professional at eating as he was at acting, so he should be careful.

“Please eat to your heart’s content. You’ve given me an autograph like this, so this much is nothing. Instead, please come again next time.”

The owner left the room after leaving behind those words.

“After he said that, I’ll have to take up his offer,” Geunsoo said as he placed some of the cooked meat on his plate.

It wasn’t that he ate like a brute, and in fact, it looked like he was eating moderately while participating in the conversation, but the meat disappeared from his plate in no time.

At this point, he was an expert. Geunsoo ate a lot, but he also ate elegantly.

The waiter visited their room a few times. His expression changed slightly every time he brought meat, and he seemed to be wondering how much more Geunsoo could eat. No, rather than curiosity, it was more like anticipation.

Geunsoo put down his chopsticks, saying that he was full. There was no leftover food. Goonghun clapped as though to pay respects for Geunsoo’s appetite, muttering that he was incredible.

Leaving the room and going to the counter, Geunsoo took out his credit card. It seemed that he had no intention of letting director Nam pay. The owner, who was in the distance, quickly walked over.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to pay.”

“No, I really should.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“I’m not okay with it.”

Please don’t — the owner waved his hand in the air and told them to go. Geunsoo, who was holding on, took out his wallet again and asked one final time if it was really okay.

“I hate going back on my word. You don’t have to pay today, so please come again next time.”

“Then I’ll come next time.”

The director and Geunsoo left the restaurant. Maru followed them out before turning around to get a toothpick. Just then, he saw the owner printing the receipt. He was all smiles when he saw the group out, but his eyes were twitching now that he was looking at the long list of items on the receipt.

Maru quietly pulled out a toothpick and quickly turned around. He could feel the owner’s gaze on the back of his head.

You should’ve definitely gotten that payment — Maru said inwardly before leaving the restaurant.

“It looks like you should come again and help him sell a lot.”

When he told Geunsoo about the sad expression that the owner had, Geunsoo laughed.

“Looks like we should hold an all-out get-together here once.”

“I’m sure the owner didn’t know that you’d eat so much. Honestly, it was an inhumane amount.”

“It’s you who doesn’t eat a lot, director. Everyone eats this much.”

They moved places to a café. Sitting down with a hat deeply pressed to cover their faces, no one recognized the two of them.

They talked about personal things for a while, and when they were about to get up, director Nam spoke,

“Let’s have a camera test in two days. Also, I’m sure there will be no problems with the casting since I have a lot of influence over the company.”

“Okay.”

“It was nice meeting you today. See you in two days.”

“I’ll see you then.”

After parting with the directors and Geunsoo, he returned to his car.

“I called you yesterday, and I’m planning to go get the flowers now. Yes, okay.”

He drove the car to the florist. Among the rows of florists, he went to the one he had ordered from. From there, he brought a large bouquet for his wife and some presents for the juniors.

-Don’t forget to get a big present for unni.

That was a text from Bada. Despite being his blood sister, she looked out for his wife more than him.

Bada also wanted to come watch the last performance, but she couldn’t because she was participating as a minor actor in a movie.

He parked the car in the parking lot and took out the bouquet and the gifts. Rather than giving it to them in the waiting room, he felt like it would be better to give it to them right after the curtain call.

He sat down on his designated seat while holding the gifts. As this was a decently-sized theater, there were some vacant seats.

Not long later, the lights dimmed. Then his wife’s stage began. She instantly put the entire stage under her grasp with her acting.

He had seen it many times already, but it felt new every time. He very much enjoyed the performance as a fan of the actress known as Han Haneul.