Life, Once Again!

After Story 232

“Thank you for your work,” Bangjoo said as he took off his headband.

He slapped away the bug flying around his eyes and left the set. He couldn’t remember the number of mosquitoes he ate during the night shoot. He ate so many when he was just a minor actor who just had to shout, so the supporting actors who had lines must have eaten dozens.

“Good work.”

He met Maru on his way to the residence. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt instead of the costume for the shoot.

“I’m here to say goodbye on my way home. I’m done with my shoot.”

“I did hear that you had your last shoot. I didn’t see it though, because I was resting.”

Bangjoo thought about the conversation his team had and spoke,

“How’s working with director Kwon? Doable?”

“I had confidence in my motor skills, but it was really hard to move as the director asked me to. I still have a long way to go until I get used to them.”

“Try your best. It looks like director Kwon seems to like you as well.”

Bangjoo nodded before asking. “I heard from the director. You were the one who recommended me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you do that?”

“The director said before the shoot that he wants to raise some action actors, but there isn’t anyone who wants to do it or is good. That’s why I introduced you to him. It’s natural to place the necessary people in the right places. Above all, the overall quality of the movie would increase if you can help director Kwon out by his side, so it would be a win-win for both sides. Right?”

Place the necessary people in the right place, he said. Bangjoo accepted it, but on the other hand, he felt suspicious. He couldn’t accept other people’s goodwill for what it was.

“Are you displeased that I referred you to director Kwon without even asking for your opinion?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s something I always wanted to do, and I’m grateful that you referred me to him. I just want to know why you did such a thing without any compensation.”

Maru smiled faintly. “It seems you’ve been hurt by a lot of people.”

Bangjoo became quiet at the direct words. He couldn’t deny that.

He was proud of his sister. Not to mention the movie industry, his sister was also an actress loved by many in TV dramas.

He liked talking about his sister when he was young. He would tell his friends whenever his sister was on TV — my sister will be on the drama tonight; she’s really good at acting, and you should watch it.

He thought that it would be great if more people watched her and liked her. It was the thoughts of an immature boy. He grew up watching his sister’s acting at the house, so it was only natural that he wanted to do acting in the future.

There was someone who set fire to his wishes before he graduated primary school. The man who came to visit him on his way home from school told him that he was looking for a talented child actor and asked if he wished to do it.

What would a young child know? He liked it. He rushed to his mother after taking the paper business card that he had received for the first time in his life. He nagged his hesitant mother to set up the meeting. When they met the man at the café, the man said this before he even said his greetings:

It seems Miss Ahn Joohyun isn’t coming?

That was when he first realized that the young boy known as Ahn Bangjoo, whose dream was to become a scientist, then a fireman, and then an actor, was merely a bridge for other people to meet his sister.

He experienced similar events many times until he graduated high school. The moment people found out that his sister was Ahn Joohyun, people started looking at him differently. The people in front of him did not look at Ahn Bangjoo, but at his sister, who they couldn’t even catch the shadow of.

After primary school, he had never revealed that his sister was Ahn Joohyun. Despite that, people still found out one way or the other.

What those people demanded from him was just one thing. No, there were multiple requests, but they all came down to one thing: to let them meet his sister.

After so many of such events, he got used to them and reached a point where he no longer became angry at those gazes and that treatment. Although he found the shadow of his sister resentful when he went to audition for an acting agency, he still understood that. After all, he was able to smile and had a plentiful life thanks to her. He thought that it was up to him to remove the shadow of his sister that was cast over him and kept putting in the effort.

Then, an accident happened when he was least expecting it. It was during the winter he graduated high school. He went to his sister’s house, who was living by herself in Seoul. Although he was originally going to go with his mother, he ended up arriving first due to some circumstances.

The moment he got out of the elevator, he made eye contact with a woman standing on his left. The woman, wearing a hat, was visibly flustered. He asked immediately if anything was up. The woman did not say anything for a while and hesitated before putting her hand out. She gave him a bottle, which seemed to be filled with orange juice.

“You are Joohyun-unni’s brother, right?”

There was no way a fan who came all the way to her house would accept his words if he denied it. Bangjoo sighed and nodded.

“I made this myself. Please tell her that I’m rooting for her.”

“Okay, I will relay that to her.”

“Please have it with your sister.”

His sister had moved houses multiple times to get away from such extreme fans. For some strange reason, she had a lot more female stalkers than men that came all the way to her house, confessing their love for her.

He opened the door and went inside. He put down the luggage and flipped over a cup on the table. He then poured the drink he received from the fan in the cup. She did tell him to have it with his sister, so she shouldn’t be angry that he was drinking some.

The moment he drank from the cup, a foul stench rose up immediately. He found it strange and immediately went to the sink to spit it out, but the smell of chemicals lingered around his mouth.

His uvula felt extremely prickly. When he explained the circumstances to his mother who came later, she freaked out and immediately took him to a hospital. At the hospital, he had his stomach rinsed and got a checkup. Thankfully, there was no big problem.

The incident was resolved in an extremely short time and very quietly. The woman who gave him that chemical was a fan of a male idol and confessed that she committed the crime because she was angry that the guy she was stanning had a romantic scandal with Joohyun.

The agency suppressed the news since it involved the family member of one of their actors, so there weren’t many articles written about it.

Bangjoo said that he was okay to his sister who apologized to him in tears. However, he couldn’t help but start treating other people differently since then. He turned defensive and wary. He smiled less often and suspected others more often. The influence that one criminal had on him was teeth-gnashingly deep.

Still, he became quite a bit better after serving in the military. He had built some form of immunity after spending many hours with all sorts of weirdos from all over the country.

Bangjoo looked at Maru in front of him. When Maru said that Bangjoo must’ve been hurt by other people, he couldn’t help but remember the drink incident, as well as that chemical taste, that he tried his best to forget until now.

“Is there anyone who doesn’t get hurt by other people?”

“You’re right. They say you have to deal with people your whole life. I don’t plan to ask you to open your heart and start trusting people. If you don’t like how close I am to you, then I will step back any time. So please act as you please. I’ll conform to however you act.”

Bangjoo scratched the back of his head. This man in front of him had given him two great opportunities. He couldn't believe that he acted so pickily towards someone he should be thanking.

He knew that in his head, but his heart shriveled up instead. He found it unfortunate that he couldn’t put his hand out so willingly.

“Mr. Bangjoo.”

“Yes.”

“I like the actor known as Ahn Bangjoo. I like your genuine attitude towards acting, and I liked how you chose what you wanted to work on depending on the contents of the work rather than the authority of the director. That’s the sole reason I’m treating you with goodwill. To be more honest, I think that the price-to-performance ratio of the person known as Ahn Bangjoo in terms of acting is really good. That’s why I’m pushing you to work so that you don’t stray off to another path, even if it means making you feel indebted about receiving an opportunity.”

“Is that really it?”

“If you need any other reason to feel at ease, please tell me. I’ll give you any reason you want.”

He smiled when he looked at Maru smile so nonchalantly. It was strange. The fact that he couldn’t tell what this man in front of him was thinking made him feel more relaxed instead.

The people that talked to him ultimately showed their motives, even if they were implicit at first.

However, Maru was different. It wouldn’t be strange even if he displayed his ulterior motives at this point, but there was none of that. He truly looked like he was helping out just because he wanted to, as though they were long-time friends.

Bangjoo said something that he never said ever since high school,

“Do you know that my sister is Ahn Joohyun? The actress Ahn Joohyun, I mean.”

“Yes, I do.”

Maru admitted it so easily. Bangjoo thought that it wasn’t surprising, but he still felt rather disappointed.

“Do you want to contact her?”

“You mean senior Ahn Joohyun?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure.”

“If you need to, then tell me. Like you said, I’m indebted to you, so I should give something back.”

“I don’t want to be compensated with merely something like that.”

Merely something like that – these were words that he found rather new. Everyone else that talked to him wished to talk to his sister.

“Rather than something like that, give me something else. You know we’ll be working together in the next film, right? I guess I want you to do your best there.”

“That’s enough?”

His voice was losing power. His suspicion was dying down as well. Bangjoo found himself smiling comfortably.

“If you want to give me something more, then you can pay for the food. The people I’m shooting with have great appetites. You eat a lot too, don’t you?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Then you should pay for the food. That is multiple times better than having a call with senior Ahn Joohyun.”

“Don’t you want to meet her?”

“I do, sure. But is it really necessary to go through you? Mr. Bangjoo. I want to talk to the actor Ahn Bangjoo, not senior Ahn Joohyun.”

“If you say so.”

Maru came closer. He entered his comfort zone, but he didn’t feel displeased at all.

“Why don’t we clear up our addresses the next time we meet? I’m old-fashioned and can’t use polite speech to people younger than me that well,” Maru said as he reached his hand out.

“I’ll call you hyung the next time I see you.”

“That sounds good. Be careful with the rest of the shoot. It’d be terrible if you got hurt when we have to work together immediately in the next film. Even if director Kwon doesn’t like it, make sure to watch out for yourself.”

“I can’t do that.”

Maru smiled and let go of his hand.

“Good luck with the shoot.”

“Thank you. Good work with the shoot, have a safe trip home.”

Bangjoo lowered his head at Maru who became distant.

He felt refreshed. At the same time, the lingering chemical taste in his mouth disappeared. What remained was the sense of sourness from the exhaustion.

He looked down at his hand that shook hands with Maru. It had been a long time since he found the warmth of someone other than a member of his family or his friends nice.

“Oh, right. Mr. Bangjoo.”

Maru, who was walking away, turned around and called out to him. Bangjoo responded yes.

“Are you perhaps willing to audition for JA?”

“When is it?”

“I think it was next week.”

“Is it a public audition?”

“No, it’ll be held in private. There will be a few acting schools, some people that the president found, and some people recommended by the people at the company that will be attending.”

Bangjoo thought about it before shaking his head.

“Maybe next time. I have my hands tied preparing for the shoot in this place. I don’t have any room to prepare for an audition.”

“But I think it’d be great to try at least.”

“I don’t want to do something moderately. I also don’t like using connections. Tell me if there’s a public audition later. I’ll try it out then.”

“JA rarely holds an audition to recruit new actors.”

“Then I guess I can’t help it.”

He could see Maru nod. Although he couldn’t make out the expression because he was too far away, he could see a glimpse of his white teeth, so he was probably smiling.

“See you next time.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t forget to call me hyung next time. I’m introverted and care about those things a lot.”

“You’re both introverted and old-fashioned.”

“That’s just how you become when you get old.”

Maru waved his hand before turning around. Bangjoo also walked to his residence.

He met Gyungho who was jumping around in joy. He was rejoicing, saying that he was going to audition for JA.

Bangjoo put his earbuds on. He had to think about the acting he had to do tomorrow.