Chapter 584 (1/2)

“Help me out at the petrol station, will you?”

“Is it that bad?”

“The guy that said he was going to work ran again. We pay more than everyone else around, but we still can’t get anyone.”

“You must be having a hard time, but what can you do about it? You’re going to succeed the business, so you have no choice but to do it.”

Dowook climbed down the stairs after complaining.

“I’m leaving as well. See you around, you two.”

“Have fun making gukbap.”

“Why don’t you visit and eat some? Missus hasn't been looking good recently since sales are dropping.”

“You’ve totally married into their family now, huh. You just have to deal with it. Have fun too, Iseul.”

Maru waved his hand at the two people that left.

“They’re like workers,” Daemyung said, standing next to him.

“They are workers, and also students. Both Dojin and Dowook that is.”

“Sometimes, I envy them. I feel like they’ve grown up already.”

“That’s nothing to be envious about. It’s best to delay jumping into the working force as long as possible. The best scenario is to not have a job forever and just live off rent if you’ve inherited a building from your family or something. We have sad lives because we can’t do that.”

“Did you have to make it that depressing?”

Maru shrugged before looking at the staircase to the 3rd floor.

“You’re going up, right?”

“Yeah, what about you?”

“I can’t do today.”

“Do you have a shoot for the film?”

“No, that’s on Wednesdays. Today’s a personal thing.”

“Everyone should be waiting for you though.”

“Waiting for me?”

“When we scattered last night, all the first year students were talking about you. It seems like you left a deep impression on them.”

“What an honor. Oh, for Chihwan, it’d be better if you have him do practice runs rather than read-throughs. Putting him on stage will benefit him more.”

“The plan was to rehearse as a whole starting today anyway.”

“Really? Instructor Miso is coming, right?”

“Yeah. Everyone seems to be happy that basic practice is over and they’re going to do a play, so I feel kinda sorry for them.”

“They’ll find out today that their happy times are now over and hell is about to start. After all, what awaits them when they make a single mistake is a 1-to-1 meeting with the grim reaper after all.”

The first year students would find out today how the word ‘again’ can drive a person crazy. Miso would no longer be lenient once practice runs started. If they made a mistake, they would receive near-traumatizing additional instructions and would have to sweat even in winter. After a few rounds of that, they would start to think that they should stop making mistakes because they would drive them crazy.

“I’ll go up then. See you tomorrow.”

“Keep up the good work. No wait, I guess I should tell that to Aram now, huh?”

“She’s just as tough as instructor Miso, so she should be fine. Probably.”

“Nah, she can’t match up to Miso-noonim.”

“So you think so too, huh?”

Daemyung, who climbed the stairs with an awkward smile on his face, suddenly stopped.

“Did you bring a videotape again today?”

“I forgot that I had an appointment, so I brought one. I won’t have any time to watch it though.”

“Can I watch it with you if the time is right? If that lady is someone amazing like you said she is, I definitely do want to watch them.”

“I’ll go through them and show them to you once I feel like I saw something important. The videos taken in 1987 probably won’t be that helpful.”

“Alright, then.”

“Good luck with practice.”

Just as Daemyung was about to climb the stairs again, he stopped and took out his phone before sending a text with a difficult expression.

“What’s making you so serious?”

“I-it’s not that serious. It’s just that I’ve been asked to eat out together… but I’m a bit scared.”

“You’re scared of eating out together?”

Daemyung smiled wryly before turning around. From the way he acted, it didn’t seem to be that serious. It seemed that he just got a text from someone who he has a hard time dealing with.

Maru hung one of his bag straps on his shoulder and looked at his watch. It was 5:16 p.m. The students that chose to stay behind after school for self-study sessions all rushed out of the building to play soccer on the school field. Maru mixed in with the group and left the school.

“Hey, you should just go study at home.”

“Shut up. Han Maru, you should hang out with us as well.”

Maru waved his hand. These people had gathered together with the aim to enter Seoul National University through special college entrance requirements, but their objective seemed to have been kicked into the horizon with the ball they were kicking around as they seemed to have turned into a soccer group instead.

“Dreams are the best when they are still dreams. Have fun.”

He left the school after watching his friends running towards the ball for a while. After getting on the bus, he called her.

-Hello?

“You’re about to receive a human parcel.”

-Can I reject it?

“I’m sorry, customer. This product cannot be returned. You’re at school, right?”

-I’m packing up to go home. There’s no practice today after all.

“Should we hang out after I meet Bitna?”

-Unfortunately, I have a prior appointment, Mr. Han Maru.

“Prior appointment?”

-I promised I’d eat with mom. Oh, and Hanmi-ahjumma as well. It seems like she has taken a liking to Daemyung. She said we should invite him as well.

“So that’s what it was.”

-What are you on about?

“Daemyung received a text just now and froze up when he read it. I heard that writer Lee Hanmi is quite picky, so it’s not like I don’t understand.”

-She does talk a lot about work even when she eats. She probably told Daemyung a lot of things as well. Heck, even I got nagged at the last time we met. She told me that I’m bad at bringing out emotions.

She laughed awkwardly. Being able to eat with a big-shot writer was definitely a good opportunity, but for a sensitive guy like Daemyung, he should have his troubles.

“But Daemyung probably won’t make it today because of practice.”

-I know. That’s why she seemed a little disappointed. From what I think, Hanmi-ahjumma seems to consider Daemyung as a disciple she’s going to raise in a strict fashion.

“I feel like he’s gained a lot of recognition without me knowing.”

Maru spoke as he looked at the students who were getting off the bus.

“Where should I go after I get there?”

-She should be waiting for you at the school gates.

“You’re going to be there too, right? Let’s meet up.”

-I don’t want to.

“Why are you being so cruel? You don’t want to see me?”

-We’re going to meet tomorrow anyway. You’ll see me as much as you want when I go to your school tomorrow, so hold it for today. I need to go right now.

“Alright, alright. I guess I have no choice but to play with Bitna. I should tell her about how I got thrown away by my girlfriend.”

-I’ll kill you if you tell a kid something like that.

“Violence isn’t good. Anyway, wouldn’t it be strange if a small girl is standing in front of a high school by herself?”

-Bitna’s big sister will be there as well. She’s a junior of mine named Yuna. She’s a good kid. Plus, she’s really cute too.

“I guess I’ll just have to play around with two cute girls then. My girlfriend isn’t here for me after all.”

-Be prepared to get hit tomorrow.

“Please come over to hit me. And shoot the movie while you’re at it.”

He could hear a laugh over the phone. Maru focused on his hearing. Her happy laughter was always pleasant to hear.

-Anyway, take good care of my junior. She’ll be with you since she can’t leave Bitna alone. Oh, right. She also said that there are some things she wanted to ask you. She’s an aspiring actress too.

“How do you feel having a popular guy as your boyfriend? Don’t you feel uneasy at all?”