Chapter 233 (1/2)

Moonjoong, who was reading through the newspaper in depth, closed the newspaper. He stood up as he patted Dalgu’s head, who was rubbing against his legs. It was time for his meal.

“Yes, yes. I guess you need to eat to live too.”

He poured dog feed on the pet plate before lightly eating his own lunch. After washing the dishes, he poured a pack of red ginseng extract that he received as a gift from his daughter in some hot water. The light brown red ginseng tea gave off a sweet fragrance. Perhaps this was what happiness was. Moonjoong held the mug in his hand and left his house for a bit. The rays of the sun in May were hot. He sat on the wooden chair in his garden and drank his tea. After today, he would have to say goodbye to his leisurely days for a while. He would be returning to the industry again. It was obvious that the schedule would be tight, that his acting wouldn’t go as he wished, and that there would be many trivial hiccups here and there, but he strangely felt happy. It felt like visiting his hometown after a long time.

“Maybe I should have gone with cold water instead.”

He thought that hot tea wasn’t suited in this weather. Just as he blew on his tea to cool it down a little, he heard Dalgu barking from the inside. It seemed that his phone had started ringing since the boy was usually calm. When he entered his house, Dalgu was barking towards his phone just as he had thought.

“Yes, yes. Thanks for telling me.”

After tickling Dalgu’s chin once, he answered the call.

-Sir, I’ll pick you up at seven.

“Oh, the get-together is today?”

-Yes.

“Okay, then. The weather is hot, so don’t push yourself.”

After finishing his call, he had a look at the calendar. He could see the word ‘get-together’ written in small letters.

‘Time sure flies.’

His eyes shifted a little sideways. First shoot. The filming would begin once the get-together was over. From that moment onwards, he would be very busy.

“So what’s left is how well I do my worth.”

Moonjoong’s gaze headed towards a newspaper. An article he read in the morning caught his eyes. He found that these days, they used some interesting expressions. ‘Pure’ singers and ‘pure’ actors. Moonjoong found them funny whenever he encountered those expressions. It was the epitome of irony. A ‘pure’ actor? Why did such an expression come about? An actor is an actor only when he or she is able to digest acting. A ‘pure’ actor? As an actor himself, he was very embarrassed whenever he heard those words. Just how many people entitled themselves as an ‘actor’ and disappointed the audience for such a word to be created? Moonjoong wanted to show his juniors how an actor should be through this piece. He didn’t consider himself worthy of teaching anyone, but he could give them some advice as their senior. He wanted at least the juniors he was working with to know how embarrassing the expression ‘pure’ actor was.

Perhaps noticing the owner’s heavy mind, Dalgu approached and sat down by his feet. Moonjoong felt the warmth from his feet and smiled faintly.

* * *

“Am I allowed to participate?” This was Maru’s first question when he heard about the get-together.

- The staff is participating as well. It’s not a heavy occasion like you think it is.

“If that’s the case, I’ll go. It’ll be better for me to get to know more people after all.”

- Then come to Seoul station by seven. I’ll send you the exact address through text

“Yes.”

As soon as they finished the call, the text message arrived. The location was Gangnam, Seoul. When he looked it up online, he found out that it was a ball room of about 500 pyeong (150 sqm) in area. Maru opened his closet and took out a shirt and black jeans. He didn’t know what the dress code was, but since it didn’t seem to be a formal occasion, he thought that those would do.

“Are you going somewhere, oppa?”

Bada, who peeked through the door, asked.

“I am, in the evening.”

“Where to?”

“Something like that.”

“You can tell me.”

“It’s not like not knowing will harm you.”

“Ah for god’s sake.”

He avoided his sister and went to the kitchen. It was 3 in the afternoon. There was still some time. His father went to work, and his mother started working again since her wrist became better. She was looking after the counter at a local supermarket and said that it wasn’t that hard. Maru decided not to talk about the 300 million won in his bank account if possible. Money was something that people could do with little, as well as a lot. If his family was in a bad financial situation, he would have immediately told his family to use it, but it didn’t seem that necessary. Also, his 300 million didn’t come for free, so he had to be careful when he used it. It was the price Junmin paid for his three years of high school. This money would become his lifeline in the worst possible case where he wouldn’t be able to make a living out of acting.

“Oppa, do you want to eat tteokbokki?”

“No.”

“Say yes!”

“...Fine. Let’s eat it then.”

He nodded his head since he felt like things would go really awry really quickly. Bada immediately approached him and spoke.

“Go buy it. I’ll eat it for you.”

‘What a bold kid.’

Maru threw a cushion towards Bada who had a grin on her face. It was very likely that she was born to make her brother suffer. Considering that the only conversation the two had before Maru’s reincarnation was ‘dinner’s ready’, they had gotten a lot closer, but just because they got closer didn’t mean that they didn’t fight. Though, she was quite cute.

“Ah, dammit….”

“I’m pretty sure someone’s wallet has a card under my name. Oh, I also think that someone used 200 thousand won last month. A middle school 3rd grade using 200 thousand a month, huh.”

Bada, who was approaching Maru with an angry face, gently gave the cushion to Maru with a smile as though nothing had happened.

“Oppa. I’ll go buy it.”

“I’m not going to eat a lot, so don’t buy too much.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and throw the food waste out while you’re at it.”

“But that stinks and I don’t….”

“I see you don’t need the card any…”

“Okay!”

“And buy some milk on the way home.”

“...I’ll get you back for this.”

“Sure.”

Maru pointed at the door with his chin and smiled.

* * *

Gangnam station. The place was packed with buses, cars and people.

“Why are you dressed in a suit?”

Jiseok turned around after hearing a voice from behind. He saw Maru standing there wearing a gray shirt and black jeans.

“It’s a party. So of course, a suit is a must.”

“Which country is that rule from?”

Jiseok followed Maru since he looked like he was going up by himself. The location was on the 3rd floor of a building not far away from Gangnam station.