Chapter 590 (1/2)

“Have a good day.”

Maru smiled bitterly as he left. He visited a local electronics store after parting with Yuna just in case, but unfortunately, all he heard was that they weren’t selling VCRs. The once must-have item for marriage had disappeared into the annals of history ever since it abdicated its throne to the CD player. As electronics stores usually handled the latest devices, it would indeed be quite strange for them to have something that was past its popularity.

It seemed that the answer was to go to Yongsan after all. While Maru was thinking about the maze-like dungeon of Yongsan, he got a call.

-How was the meeting?

It was her.

“If you ask that all of a sudden, then I guess I can only say that it went pretty well.”

-You did treat her nicely right? Yuna, that girl, might seem spirited at a first glance, but she’s quite feeble at heart.

Feeble, huh. Definitely. Maru replied as he rubbed the makeup stain on his chest.

“I did treat her nicely, so don’t worry about that.”

-Somehow, that makes me even more worried.

“Why can’t you trust me? Rather than that, how’s dinner going?”

-Don’t even start. Those two are hugging each other and laughing. Alcohol clearly got the better of them.

“Looks like you must be having a hard time then. Don’t worry, I won’t make you worried over something like alcohol.”

-We’ll see about that.

“Oh? So you’re saying that you’re going to continue watching me in the future? Why don’t we set an engagement date right now?”

-Hell no.

Low laughter tickled his ears. He felt like it was yesterday when she became all embarrassed and snapped back at him due to it, so he felt really pleased when he heard the smooth reaction.

“You know, you should really listen to what Yuna has to say. I feel like she’s at a loss on what to do, and it’s a lot easier to have someone to talk to at times like that.”

-Did something happen?

“Ask her yourself. If she doesn’t answer, then don’t pry her. Actually, she should’ve looked for you instead of me. She made the wrong choice.”

-She said she had something to ask you as an actor. So you… are better than me.

The voice from the phone became smaller as though it was coming from afar. Maru stopped walking and spoke.

“You don’t sound energetic.”

-It’s not like that.

“It clearly is. What’s wrong?”

-There’s nothing like that.

“I just opened up a consultation business that is free of charge, and I’m worried because I’m not getting any customers. I wonder if there’s one nearby?”

-When did you open a consultation business?

“Just now. Don’t make me start imagining what’s happening and just tell me. If it’s really not anything much, tell me anyway.”

She didn’t answer for quite a while. Maru went into the nearby convenience store and bought a packet of soy milk. He sat under the parasol[1] and waited for her to speak. After a while, her voice could be heard again.

-These days, I sometimes think that maybe I don’t have any talent as an actress.

“Did someone tell you that you were bad? If it’s the producer of the sitcom you did last time, then….”

-It’s you.

He momentarily couldn’t understand what she was saying. He even wondered if ‘It’s you’ had any other meaning.

“Me? Did I ever say something like that to you?”

-You didn’t. You wouldn’t dare.

“Can I ask what you mean then?”

-I don’t want to say since I might sound like I’m complaining.

“One way of using a man is to complain to them. Moreover, it’s 8:40, the perfect time to listen to complaints.”

-Do you always prepare commentary like that?

“You didn’t know? I have multiple scripts when I’m talking to you. Just consider how far this man goes to entertain you… and just tell me about it; what I did to you. You know that I’m kinda stupid and won’t understand if you don’t say it properly, right? Consider it as talking to a bear and tell me in detail.”

-What are you going to do if I say that we should just forget about this?

“I’ll just let you be. I don’t plan on forcing you to tell me something you don’t want.”

-You know what?

“What?”

-If you say something like that, it makes it even harder for me to hide things from you.

“I know that. That’s why I said it.”

-How sneaky.

“Why don’t you call me a splendid businessman instead?”

-Fine. You’re the type of guy who would pick up a rock in the middle of nowhere and then sell it to a complete stranger saying that it’s a gem with special powers. At an expensive price too.

Maru smiled and perked up his ears. He could hear her coughing to calm down her voice.

-When I just watched you, I didn’t feel it that much. You’re rather good at acting - that’s the only impression I had of you after all. It was the same when we were a part of the amateur acting class in first year. No, honestly back then, I thought I was better than you.

“In acting?”

-Yeah.

Maru nodded as he looked at a couple that entered the convenience store.

“And?”

-It came to me when I shot the film with you. We only did it three times, but it is clear that there’s a big gap between us.

“So you feel hasty now?”

-A little? I told you, didn’t I? I want to go to Joonga[2] university.

“Yeah. Thanks to that, I also decided to go there.”

-I’m not sure if I can pass the practical exams. It’s not like I don’t have the confidence, but when I watch your acting, I honestly feel really uneasy. How far can I go with my current skills? Jiseok seems a lot better than me too. So… I just don’t know.

“You’re doing plenty well.”

-Thanks.

“I can tell that you’re down just from your voice. You know? There’s one thing I can say for sure. You aren’t lacking. You are definitely improving. How would I know that? Just like you have been watching me, I’ve been watching you. I understand that you’re hasty. When you look back, the path you’ve walked on until now seems really short, while the path that other people have taken looks really long. Everyone has experienced something like that. You entered puberty just like everyone else once did. Congratulations. All that’s left for you is to be true to your desires and push forward.”

-This is why I didn’t want to tell you about it. It puts me at ease. It’s like I was stupid for being worried in the first place.

“That’s why I’m here. So use me anytime you want.”

-No. I’m going to do things my way.

“Being stubborn as always, huh.”

-Today though, it doesn’t make me refreshed from the bottom of my heart. This is all because of you. Why did you make me jealous?

She spoke as though she had shaken her worries off somewhat. However, the moment he heard her words, he realized that her worries weren’t something so simple that they could be resolved with a simple talk. There was a thick shadow behind her words.

“Should we meet up?”

-Right now?

“Why? You can’t?”

-Sorry. I can’t exactly leave the house right now.

“Then I’ll go there instead.”

-What?

“Oh, and since we’re at it, do you have a VCR at your house?”

-VCR? You mean the thing you use to watch videotapes?

“Yeah.”

-We do. Though, it hasn’t been in use recently.