I will live as an actor Episode 132
Court Kwon Geun (æ³é æ³è¿).
Between the steep hills, shabby buildings that look like matchboxes are stacked close together. Down an alley where telephone poles are tangled like a spiderâs web, there is a snack bar where you can fill your stomach with just one 5,000 won bill. The outfits of those eating are similar, as if they were all copied.
He is wearing a loose-fitting detective ring and wearing high-precision glasses. On one side of the table is a thick law book, as if he is holding a ancestral rite. The fact that they couldnât put down their law books even while eating was probably a testament to their nervousness and desperation.
However, on the other hand, there are many cases where law books are pawned because they cannot pay for food. Sometimes, snack bars in gosi villages repeatedly become restaurants and then pawn shops.
âAuntie, I ate well!â
Just looking at his dark horn-rimmed glasses and messy hair, he looks no different from the old men of the gosi village. However, if you are a person who has passed the exam, you cannot find a law book that you can carry around in your hand like a sinjut jar. As he leaves the snack bar, he holds only a small notebook and pen in his hands.
âGwangtae, are you here again?â
âEven if I couldnât come, I came. They bring me coffee every time, so this was enough to pay for the place.â
âWhat kind of campaign is it that you got from the vending machine in front of you? I guess itâs because I donât understand why a guy who isnât even studying for the civil service exam is killing it in front of a used bookstore on the day of the second-hand book sale.â
âHow many times have I told you that I came to study people?â
This is a used bookstore located in a gosi village. Just as snack bars and bars located in gosi villages sometimes serve as pawn shops, used bookstores are where items that cannot be reunited with their owners end up. There are many civil service books covered in traces from the previous ownerâs hands. Looking forward to finding a new gosinangin.
âIt always starts the same.â
Most new recruits entering the gosi village are similar. They all pass the exam and enter the country in triumph, as if they will soon return home, but that remains the same no matter how many years pass.
Looking at the ronin who wander around the gosi village like Ji Bak-ryeong, I promise that the majority will not end up like them. But there is one thing they overlook. Success in the gosi village is not passing the exam.
âSuccessâ in the gosi village refers to those who are the first to get out of this swamp-like place. Whether it passed or not. Look even now, arenât the Ronin who have become Jibakryeong raising their voices at each other?
âNo, really, I caught it first!â
âWhat are you talking about? I chose the criminal policy first!â
âNo, your eyeballs are like Dongtae?! I obviously took out the book and left it for a while to look for something else, but how can you just take it away and throw it away!â
âI did the calculation first, so itâs mine, so who cares?â
The test takers are fighting with each other. This often happens when a rare new book that doesnât often appear in used bookstores is about to appear. Itâs not even an annual event. It seems like something that definitely happens once a week.
Those who pride themselves on having studied law for longer than anyone else fight as pettyly as a three-year-old child at this point.
âThe cancer law is far away, but the fist is close.â
A light argument ensues and eventually escalates into a collar grab. I canât help it. For those who have passed the civil service examination repeatedly for a long time, new books that appear in used bookstores will feel like a treasure of gold and silver.
The man sitting in the corner of the used bookstore describes their conversation and appearances in detail in his notebook. As if to show that it is not wrong to say that we are studying people. When they are about to raise their fists, the man closes his notebook and stands up.
âfor a moment-!â
The two gosinang people exchange a puzzled look at the sudden shout.
âIf we fight with each other like that, if the police come, we will definitely go in on both sides, and you who are holding the book now will be added to Article 261 of the Criminal Act for special assault. Do you really have to go this far? I mean, is it okay for people studying law to hit and beat each other with their fists? It would be better to go first. âThis guy who rises to the bottom wins, right?â
Isnât there a saying that a good month is recited every three years of a Seodang? Itâs already been almost a year since I visited the gosi village to study people. At the refereeâs sudden intervention, the two gosinangs glare at each other and quickly let go of their collars.
When the two students leave, the man sits down in the corner of the used bookstore as if nothing had happened. The used bookstore owner, who was looking at this scene, clicked his tongue and spoke.
âSomeone would think he was a gosi village sheriff or something.â
âWhat about a sheriff? For someone with a decent job.â
âLetâs see, Gwangtae, what did you say your occupation was? My memory is vague. Did you just say you were unemployed?â
Go Gwang-tae, the man in charge, holds up his notebook and shouts.
âIâm a writer, so tell me a few times!â
* * *
There are many types of genius. While there are people who are born with talent, there are also those who work hard and stay up at night until their eyes bleed. However, if one were to choose Kim Dong-jinâs type, it would definitely be a lazy genius.
âYou said you prepared all of this?â
When I found out that I was in the same group as Kim Dong-jin in the criminal mock trial group formation, my head started pounding.
Wasnât he a man who didnât even have the slightest hint of preparation? Looking at his habit of studying like cramming until the day of the exam, it was surprising how he got into the law department at Korea University.
âMan, even though Iâm like this, Iâm a person who really hates being a trouble to others. Whatâs our family motto? Letâs live without being a trouble to others, right? Do you think England put you in our group for no reason?â
âWhere did you get the genealogy or something?â
âWhat kind of genealogy is there? There is no genealogy for the criminal mock trial. In particular, the group mock trial that replaces the final exam is evaluated directly by the professor, so if you do the same thing that your seniors used in the past, you will get a pistol (F).â
âher.â
I couldnât help but express my admiration when I saw the criminal mock trial scenario Dongjin Kim had prepared. Although there are definitely a few parts that need correction, the quality is so great that it gets a thumbs up for being prepared by an undergraduate student.
âIt seemed like you were having a hard time because you didnât come to school for the past few days, so as a senior, I wanted to help you out. If you donât like it, should I change you to another group?â
Arthur, changing groups now would be the same as falling off a running horse. When I shook my head, Kim Dong-jin smiled as if he knew that would happen.
âThe other group members can meet at the next class anyway and be introduced, and England, you donât have any classes left today, right?â
âYes, but.â
âThen letâs have a meal with me. Thereâs someone I can introduce you to. Donât drink the kimchi soup because Iâm not introducing you to a woman.â
âWho said what?â
âTsk. I donât know how to tell jokes. When I was a freshman, my wish was to go on a blind date with girls from the nursing or dance departmentsâ¦â
No matter how you look at him, heâs an unusual guy. If everyone feels like they draw a certain line when dealing with me, Kim Dong-jin shows no such sign at all. Anyway, who are you introducing me to?
âMy uncle on my motherâs side is a writer, and he said that England would really like to see you at least once⦠Itâs okay to say this because we are blood relatives, but he is an unusual person. So just think of it as a service by having a meal together and come along.â
I have no idea to what extent Kim Dong-jin is unique. Before you can answer, Kim Dong-jin wraps his arms around your shoulders. and.
âOh really-!â
The smell of sweat stings my nose. President Shin Jae-hee looks at the two people walking away with narrowed eyebrows. It was as if he wanted to be among them too.
* * *
With his messy hair and loose hair, anyone who didnât know him would be suspicious of him as a homeless person in Seoul Station. Contrary to his statement that he had just had lunch, the sight of him constantly using chopsticks to stir-fry stir-fried pork makes him look like he has starved for three days and nights.
âDongjin, are you still playing rugby? Did you enter physical education school?â
âUncle. How many times have I told you that it is a law school, not a physical education school? And I have already forgotten who asked me to introduce him as soon as I heard that one of my juniors in the law department was an actor. Anyway, the person who asked me to introduce him to someone is going to keep eating like this all the time? â
âItâs all about making a living. Letâs fill in the essentials first and get to the point. Isnât that right, handsome man?â
His grinning teeth are full of red pepper powder. No matter how you look at it, it seems clear that Kim Dong-jin was outsourced.
âUncle, just listen to your grandmother and get a job. I guess Iâll have to continue living like a beggar like this.â
âWhy would Kim Dong-jin speak so harshly to his uncle, whom he has seen since he was a snobbery? Now he nags me every time I meet him because my head has grown a little. And what kind of a piece of shit am I? Have you ever seen someone this handsome?â
ââ¦â¦.â
No words come out. Like Kim Dong-jin, he seemed like a gentleman who didnât really care about his own behavior. In the end, the uncle puts down his chopsticks after scraping the bottom of the stir-fried pork. With a loud burp.
âKkeok. It was a good meal. As expected, the stir-fried pork here is delicious.â
âIt looks like you come here often?â
âEngland, you see, my uncle is also an alumnus. He graduated from Korea Universityâs Department of Geography and traveled all over the country, but now he wants to become a writer and goes to a gosi village to write. Ugh. Let me stop talking. I heard there is no such thing as Kimsatgat.â
The more you listen, the more surprising it becomes. Your job as a writer is amazing, but I never thought you were an alumnus of Hankuk University. At that time, my uncle raised a glass of water, moistened his mouth, and spoke.
âI heard from Dong-jin that heâs a pretty famous actor?â
âDonât you know me?â
âI canât watch TV because Iâm constantly traveling all over the country. I donât even have time to go to the movies.â
âUncle, you probably donât have any money.â
âYou idiot keeps interrupting me when Iâm talking to an adult. Huh. Itâs not anything else, Iâm writing a script, and no matter how I look at it, itâs fun, but no film company or agency would accept it. Whatâs the best thing in Korea? Itâs not school-related, itâs not Dong-jin. âHe said there was an actor in his department, so I immediately said I wanted to meet him.â
It was understandable that the film company or agency would not accept the synopsis. Isnât he a novice writer who has never even entered the profession? In fact, this is true even when called a writer. But my uncle still doesnât seem to care.
He eventually takes out a thick script from his shabby bag. Who in this world would write a screenplay by hand? It clearly shows signs of having been rewritten in several places.
âLetâs bring a script written on the subject of court authority. The law is far away, but the fist is close. I brought it to you and asked you to take a look. I really wanted to show it to my junior actorâs agency.â
âYeah, thatâs not a problemâ¦â
âThen?â
âEven if I take the synopsis, there is no guarantee that it will be made into a film.â
âIâm sure Iâll be full from just the first spoonful. Iâm just here to get lunch as well, so donât feel pressured.â
âUncle, how can you talk so easily about getting food from your nephew?â
âHmm.â
My uncle rubs the bridge of his nose. At that time, I see the name written on the shabby screenplay.
âGo Gwang-tae.â
Iâm sure Iâve seen this name somewhere. Memories of my past life begin to pass through my mind like a flash of light. And only then does someone come to mind.
âMitchie of Chungmuroâ¦!â
âHuh? Suddenly Chungmuro is crazy? What are you talking about?â
âOh no. Is your name Mr. Go Gwang-tae?â
Go Gwang-tae nodded briefly, then tilted his head back and said to the restaurant aunt,
âGive me one more plate of stir-fried pork.â
He shouts. Seeing that, Kim Dong-jin sticks out his tongue and asks if he wants to eat again. As I look at that scene, a helpless laugh bursts out.
Wasnât it almost impossible to recognize him because of his messy hair and bulging guessing ring? A famous director who created a huge sensation in Chungmuro in his past life.
Go Gwang-tae.
Yeah, this guyâs nickname.
âHe was a madman in Chungmuro.â