Chapter 390 (1/2)

Above all, he couldn’t feel the sensation of turning each page over. The vertical presses of a key didn’t feel right when moving to the next page. Only when feeling the sensation of paper rubbing against each other as he turned the page did he feel like he was properly reading. To borrow the younger generation’s words, he was ‘behind the times’.

“Hey, I gave you food just a moment ago.”

Yoon Moonjoong watched Dalgu as he wagged his tail by his feet and eventually closed his book with a smile. He hadn’t been taking him out on walks recently.

He put on a leash and opened the door. It was August 21st. The sun was scattering rays of heat as though to boast that it was nearing the end of summer. As soon as he took a step outside, he missed his spot in front of the fan, but he couldn’t win against Dalgu, who was urging him to go with his tongue sticking out.

“Let’s go slowly.”

Dalgu was becoming stronger by the day. Moonjoong wondered if he found some ginseng or something in the mountains without him knowing. When he climbed the slow slope, he saw his neighbor who had come out to buy some groceries. She was a fine lady that moved in not too long ago with her husband and handed out some rice cakes.

“Hello.”

“Ah, hello.”

“Looks like you’re going on a walk.”

“This fella was probably feeling itchy. He was urging me too much to go.”

Dalgu would be happy to meet strangers, even if it was a thief that got into the house, so he wagged his tail.

“Uhm, sir.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“If it’s not too much of a bother, can I take a photo with you? My mom’s a huge fan of yours, and she says she wants to come to my house when I told her that the actor Yoon Moonjoong lived next to me. And she lives in Daegu as well.”

“Haha, do take a photo and send it to her. Don’t make her come all the way here.”

She took a photo of him with Dalgu in it. The newlywed lady politely greeted him before leaving. The reason Moonjoong never left the house he moved in with his wife for more than ten years was because of the warmth of this place. Even people that just moved in would become a single family with the rest of the village.

He took Dalgu and strolled around the village. As Dalgu was even more popular than him around here, anyone they passed by gave him food. Perhaps this was what Dalgu was aiming for.

“Since we’re here, let’s go see your mother.”

After climbing a bit, he left the official trail. He greeted the climbers that were going to the mineral spring and then took a path that led slightly downwards. There was a bulging grave amidst the flat grassy terrain. It was his wife’s. Dalgu, who always wagged his tail, would obediently roll his tail up in front of that grave. Looking at him, who would sit obediently in front of the grave, Moonjoong realized why people considered dogs better than humans.

After sitting down on the dry ground, Moonjoong stroked Dalgu’s head. Next to the grave of his wife, who gave Dalgu his name, was a smaller grave, and that was Dalgu’s mother’s grave.

“Hey, is it cool in there?”

Moonjoong sat in front of the grave and looked down at the neighborhood for a long time before standing up. He took Dalgu and climbed down the mountain. Dalgu obediently followed him. It seemed that he also wanted a rest.

Arriving at his house, Moonjoong looked at the clock. It was 11 a.m. Almost time for his schedule. He went to the bathroom to wash his hands before changing clothes. Since that person was very accurate when it came to time, the bell would soon ring.

“Sir, it’s Park Changjin. I’m here to pick you up.”

It was just as he had expected. He told Dalgu to wait quietly and opened the door. Park Changjin, the manager Junmin assigned to him, was waiting for him.

“Are you ready?”

“I am. Mr. Park, have you had breakfast?”

“Yes. I had a fulfilling one. Have you had breakfast, sir?”

“I also had a fulfilling one.”

Led by Mr. Park, he sat in the back seat.

“Then I’ll start driving.”

Just as Moonjoong nodded, the window opened slightly.

“I’ll turn off the air conditioner.”

It seemed that he remembered that Moonjoong disliked the wind from the air conditioner. The car departed softly. Moonjoong took out his glasses from the glasses case.

“The script is in front of you.”

“Oh, I left empty-handed, thanks.”

He took out the script from the pocket behind the passenger seat. The title was on the cover.

‘Apgu.’

Moonjoong turned the page and started reading the script. Today was the day of the first read-through. He would return to his acting career again. He was cast in a historical drama, though he didn’t have an important role. A writer he was acquainted with, had requested for his appearance and he accepted after seeing the scenario and the role he had. His screen time on camera didn’t matter. The question was whether he wanted to do it or not, and Moonjoong really liked his role that appeared for a brief moment at the beginning of the piece.

“We’ve arrived.”

He only flipped a few pages, but he had already arrived at the TV station. He got out of the car and went to the 4th floor of RBS. He saw journalists waiting outside. There were quite a lot of people as well.