Chapter 342 (2/2)

“So you know. So you actually remembered that we belong to the same company?”

Suyeon grinned.

There was no reason to refuse since it was just a short shoot, so he accepted it on the spot. When he looked into it, his manager knew about it already.

“But why are you asking me to do it? There should be many others.”

“Is it strange for me to be considerate of my own family?”

“It is very strange.”

“Don’t be so wary. Actually, the one that recommended you is someone else. Do you know camera director Kim Jangsoo?”

He was the camera director for Youth Generation as well. When he affirmed it, Suyeon nodded once.

“We need a child actor since a retrospective scene was added, and most of the time, it’s usually handled by the writers or the directors. But I heard the camera director mentioning your name. The name Han Maru isn’t that common, so I soon found out that it was you. That’s why I recommended you to the director as well.”

“That was unexpected of you.”

“What’s so unexpected?”

“That you recommended me.”

“Consider it me paying you back for consulting me while I was drunk.”

“That doesn’t add up.”

“Emotional favors are supposed to be paid back in a vague fashion.”

* * *

The moment Maru’s consciousness returned to the park was when she waved goodbye to the dog she was playing with.

“I wish I could raise a dog like that once I live in a big house.”

“You’ll probably forget about that once you see them shedding their fur.”

“Why?”

“Because they will shed fur the size of their body. You’ll have to brush them often as well.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“Well, that’s because….”

You used to raise one before. Maru smiled instead of saying what he could not say. She looked back at him with a pouty expression.

“Let’s get going.”

“Yeah. It’s already 9.”

“I’ll bring you home.”

Maru grabbed her hand and started walking. Just then, he felt a vibration from his pocket. When he took out his phone, he saw that there was an incoming call from Gwak Joon.

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

-Are you together with Daemyung right now?

“No, he’s not here.”

-Why is he not picking up his phone?

“Did something happen?”

-I wanted to see him tomorrow, and there’s something I need to talk to him about as well.

“Wait a moment, I’ll try calling him.”

He hung up and called Daemyung. The signal dragged out before eventually reaching voice mail. It was too early to sleep now since it was still 9. At that moment, a bad premonition flashed in his head. During lunch, he left first because he had an appointment, but the rest of the members went to a noraebang with Suyeon. He did not hear what happened after that.

He called Suyeon. After about three signal sounds, Suyeon picked up.

-What is it?

“I’m just asking this in case, but is everyone there?”

-Fufu, wait a moment.

There was a noise from the phone for a moment before he heard laughs. It was from the members.

-Yes, Maru!

Daemyung picked up the call. His pronunciation was smudged, and he was giggling nonstop. Maru sighed.

“Did you drink alcohol?”

-Yeah!

He was overly cheerful.

“Hey, get yourself together and check your phone. You should’ve gotten missed calls from Gwak Joon-hyungnim.”

-Who?

“Gwak Joon?”

-Whooo?

Maru pressed the end call button right there. There was nothing more time-wasting than talking to a drunkard. He called Gwak Joon again. When he explained the circumstances, he heard a short sigh.

-I really don’t like that woman after all. I should tell her something when I see her next time.

“I left a message, so he’ll probably give you a call if he gets himself together tomorrow morning.”

-Yeah, okay then.

“Yes.”

Gwak Joon, who sounded like he was about to hang up, spoke again.

-But hey, have you been to the hospital?

“The hospital?”

-Yes.

“What hospital?”

-Haven’t you heard? Sir Yoon collapsed.

“Sir Yoon? You mean elder Moonjoong?”

-Yes.

“Did he get injured? Or did he get into an accident? Nothing big happened, right?”

He hurriedly asked, hearing that Moonjoong had collapsed.

-He told me that it was simple overexhaustion, but he never told me the details. He’s much better now, and he’s allowed visitors. I’ve been there today myself as well.

“Can you text me the address?”

-Okay. If you’re going to visit him, go around lunchtime tomorrow.

“Understood.”

Maru remembered the call with Geunsoo he had a few days ago. That was the day he met Joongjin for the first time. He called Geunsoo to ask about Joongjin, and Geunsoo sounded like he was about to say something, but did not do so. Perhaps that was about the elder?

“What happened?”

She looked at him worriedly. Maru was about to say nothing but decided to tell her the truth.

“Is he ill?”

“I heard that he’s much better now.”

“That’s good. You should make a visit then.”

“I will. He’s practically a savior of mine.”

“I hope he’s healthy.”

Seeing her so worried, Maru told her that everything would be okay.

The elder had collapsed - if the reason was due to overexhaustion like what Gwak Joon had said, it was probably due to the movie shoot. He researched and studied from early dawn to late night in order to perfect his character. Perhaps the fatigue had piled up since then and burst out in one go after the shoot finished.

He hoped that it was nothing bad. Maru reminded himself of the elder’s kind smile and sighed worriedly.