Chapter 224 (1/2)

“I very much enjoyed your performance.”

“Too late for that now. You should at least say that before I called out to you. Why did you try to leave without saying anything? Do we amount to just that?”

Maru replied to that while evading the jab that Miso threw at his chest.

“There’s a saying that people will get bored of one another if they see each other too much. I think there is a need for us to distance ourselves a little.”

“Ugh, you and your retorts again. It would be good if you showed your obedient side a little more.”

“I’ll consider it if you become quiet, Miso-seonbae.”

“I should just…,” as Miso approached Maru with a death glare, Ganghwan also waved at the audience one final time before walking over.

“I thought you’d be visiting with your friends at the club, but surprisingly, you’re here with someone else.”

Hearing that, Maru corrected him immediately.

“He’s no friend. He’s more of a foodie. I saw him for the first time today.”

“Yeah?” Saying that, Ganghwan had a look at Jiseok. Even though he was supposed to feel ashamed, Jiseok asked Ganghwan for a handshake with a bright smile.

“I decided to become friends with Maru starting today. Friends aren’t friends for a reason, right? Maru is avoiding me because he feels embarrassed, but I don’t mind at all. And also, if it’s not too much to ask, can I ask for your autograph right here?” Asked Jiseok as he took off his blue shirt and showed Ganghwan the back of it. Ganghwan seemed a little taken aback. Maru shook his head when Ganghwan gave him a glance.

‘That thing is a rare species. Do as you see fit.’

“An autograph is nothing special. But this is a permanent marker. Is that alright with you?”

“Actually, I’m glad that it is. It wouldn’t get erased from washing the clothes. Also, I want your autograph too, noona. Is that alright with you?”

“Sure.”

Receiving the autographs of the two people, Jiseok put on the shirt with an expression of complete satisfaction.

“That’s one energetic friend you have there.”

“He’s too energetic for his own good. And I’ll say this again, I’m not friends with him,” after saying that, Maru gave a glance to the people moving busily behind Miso, who had a smile on her face. They were the ones who changed the stage layout during the play.

“Are all of them actors?”

“Them? Yeah they are. They’re idiots who keep doing this job even though they know that this industry has zero stability.”

Although her words were harsh, her gaze as she watched them was warmer than ever.

“I’ll help out as well!”

Jiseok spoke as he walked towards the stage. This guy must think that staying still is a sin. Although the others found him awkward at first, they soon started giving him tasks to do. Really, his sociability was top notch.

“I met him at the interview. He’s a little… I mean, very strange.”

“Why is your evaluation of him so low? I think he’s alright from what I saw so far,” Ganghwan spoke. It seemed that he took a liking to Jiseok. Ganghwan was no less peculiar than Jiseok, so those two would probably get along well. No, actually, it was obvious that putting those two together would be the cause of something huge, so they had to be separated no matter what.

“What about the interview?”

“I did well.”

“Well, from your confidence, I guess you really did do well.”

“Actually, all that happened was a simple round of greetings and a few lines of conversation, so I couldn’t have done bad.”

“There are plenty of people who can’t do those ‘few lines of conversation’. In that regard, your nonchalance is a gift from heaven.”

“I guess you’re right in some sense.”

Maru smiled hearing those words. ‘Gift from heaven’ wasn’t entirely wrong. The fact that he was able to restart with his experiences intact was thanks to god’s interference.

‘No, to be exact, I guess it’s thanks to her?’

The grandma that gave her opportunity at reincarnation up to him. Now, he wasn’t able to remember what she was like since all of his memories after his death were blurry, but he could still make out the figure who was smiling warmly towards him. The experiences he had were his, but the fact that he could start over was thanks to her.

“Since you’re confident about the interview, I guess you should prepare for the audition now.”

“Even though I’m trying to, I don’t really get what I should prepare. Free acting and script acting. That’s all the information I have about it.”

“They want to know how you would act in that situation. Also, they get to see the range of your acting. Don’t get nervous just because it’s the audition. There’s nothing more ugly than an actor getting nervous in front of the audience,” Ganghwan patted Maru’s shoulders as he said that.

“Well, you’d probably do fine on your own.”

“You don’t have any tips for me?”

“To tell you something, my picky disciple, don’t standardize the character you’re acting and try to force yourself into being that character. A film director will have an image of what the character should be like in their heads, but more often than not, that image would change during the audition. A friend of mine who auditioned for a murderer role wore a suit to the audition and spoke his lines like a british gentleman. He got that role in the end. ‘isn’t there anything more boring than a psychopathic murderer that screams like mad?’ - that’s what he told me after that interview.”

“He shouldn’t have been picked if acting like a gentleman was all he did, right?”

“Of course. When he took the audition, there were four judges, and he only gave a glance to one of the four. Everyone said that he was no good, but that one person said that he was the one. This is actually quite a famous story in this field. In the end he was picked for the reason that ‘that dude might actually stalk someone in the middle of the night and stab someone’.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

“It means that he was that good at acting.”

“Did he become famous?”

“Unfortunately, the film was cancelled and he quit being an actor. He’s running a cafe in Hongdae (Hongik university region) now.”

“Why is the ending to such a good story so depressing?”

“If it had a sweet ending, it would be a drama. It’s bitter because it’s life.”

“It’s a little too bitter.”

“Should I sprinkle some sugar?” Just as they were conversing, Jiseok came back, sweating profusely. This guy really had poor stamina. One of the actors that moved around the stage props brought him a cup of water with a pitying expression.

“Th, thank you.”

Jiseok drank the water while panting.

“Are you aiming to become an actor as well?” Miso asked Jiseok.

“Yes. My dream is to become an actor.”

“It’s tough, you know? It’s better to give up right now.”

“If it was something easy, I wouldn’t have tried. It’s because it’s hard that it’s worth challenging. Now that I heard something like that from someone who’s actually working in the industry, I want to do it even more. Haha!”

Miso seemed to like that answer. Maru looked away when Miso looked towards him with the ‘this guy is pretty decent’ gaze.

“Why are you trying to become an actor? There should be some trigger that made you think that way, right?” Miso asked once more.

“I can make my name known to other people. I can be remembered. I was envious of that. When I thought about how many people would remember me, I felt really excited. That’s when I decided. ‘Oh! I will become an actor’.”

“So the conclusion is that you want to become famous?”

“Hm… it’s a little different than that, but It is true that I do want to make my name known, so it shouldn’t matter.”

That was rather unexpected. Jiseok’s smile wasn’t the clueless smile that he showed since morning. There was a thick hint of sorrow in his smile right now. It disappeared immediately, but it left a deep impression inside Maru.

“Uhm, can I ask you to shine the stage lights on me?” He asked Ganghwan after returning to his usual easygoing attitude.