Chapter 600
Life, Once Again!
âWhy are there so many people who are good at acting these days?â
Joomin sat down while sighing. Dongho also nodded.
âApparently, heâs training to be an idol.â
âAn idol?â
âYou didnât know that, noona?â
âI didnât.â
âI asked and apparently heâs going to make his debut soon.â
âAn idol, huh. Is that why he looks polished?â
The two people looked at the boy they were talking about. Maru also followed their eyes. Ever since New Semester started its school bullying arc, they got a new character, which was played by him. He had joined them a while ago and was shooting with them.
âAre idols equivalent to general entertainers these days?â Joomin wondered as she rested her chin on her hands.
âThey do everything. Donât you think heâll gain quite a bit of popularity when he makes his debut? What do you think, noona? Does his face work on girls?â
âWell, he does have a pretty face. Itâs not a face that I like that much, but I donât hate it either. Itâs just moderately good, I guess?â
âLooks like heâll definitely make it big then. I shouldâve tried to be an idol too.â
âWith a face like that?â
âWhatâs so bad about my face?â
âNothing, I mean that youâll do well. You should definitely make your debut later. Oh, yeah. You remember the last time we went to the noraebang together, right?â
Hearing Joominâs comment, Dongho shut himself up.
If it was about the noraebang, Maru remembered that as well. The always confident and proud Dongho was strangely quiet at the noraebang and thinking that it was strange, Joomin forced him to take the microphone. Following that, a song that completely ignored pitch and rhythm could be heard. Ever since that day, Dongho wouldnât give a glance to such places.
âMaru, what do you think? Donât you think heâs pretty good at acting?â
âHe is. Producer Park Hoon didnât make comment about him either.â
âThatâs true, he scolded all of us once.â
Joomin seemed a little dejected when she thought about how all of them were scolded before.
âA friend of mine is also preparing to become an idol, and itâs really no joke. Noona, you havenât seen aspiring idols during training, have you? They learn something every single hour like squirrels on squirrel wheels. There are those that only prepare their singing and dancing, but these days, the trend is for them to compose and write their own songs or even do acting.â
Dongho locked his fingers and put them behind his head.
âThat makes me worried. Do you think we need to learn some specialties too?â
âI thought you majored in chemical engineering. Why donât you go with a smart image? You should go to Seoul University then.â
âSeoul University isnât the name of someoneâs dogâs house. Itâs not a place you can get into just because you want to. Anyways, Dongho, why donât you go with an actor whoâs terrible at singing?â
âStop teasing. There are only four verses in the national anthem, yet you were trying to sing a fifth. Iâm never going to a noraebang again.â
âLetâs go again. I think that was the biggest laughing moment in my life. Where would I see something like that again?â
While Joomin and Dongho quarrelled with each other, Maru read the text he got from her yesterday.
-I signed the contract. I guess this is the beginning for me now, too. I feel uneasy, but Iâm more excited than uneasy. I feel like Iâm getting a sense of belonging here already. Since Iâm doing this, my aim is to be an actress with 10 million views!
He could imagine her jumping around while making that text. Everything had changed now. While they might have started off on the same line, her life had definitely taken a different path now. The steering wheel of the car that was driving down the road of life had been turned. It turned onto a new road, and ahead was the unknown. Her life of entering a theater troupe had been erased. What was left was a blank diary that would be written over.
âWhat is it? Did something good happen?â Joomin asked.
âA friend of mine signed a contract with an agency. Her dream was to become an actress, so Iâm relieved. I was actually quite worried.â
âWhich agency?â
âHwan.â
âThatâs a good place. Iâve never been there, but there are many good rumors about them.â
Joominâs words put him at ease one more time. He checked over and over again, but since this was related to her, he couldnât help but be concerned about it. Whenever people around him said that Hwan was a good agency, he felt relieved, and at those times, he realized just how much he loved her.
He was about to put his phone away after checking the text when his phone vibrated. He got another text from her.
-Thereâs something I didnât tell you yesterday. You probably wonât be seeing this right away since youâre in a shoot, right? Itâs about the stage name. Itâs been decided that Iâll go with Han Gaeul. The president likes it so call me Han Gaeul a lot in the future. Apparently, being called by my stage name will make me lucky. While I donât believe in things like that, now that Iâm in such a situation myself, I end up believing it. Youâre the first one to know that my stage name is Han Gaeul. Of course, except mom and the president. Work hard during the shooting. Also, thanks.
âHan Gaeul.â
Maru rolled that name several times in his mouth. It was a name that made him smile warmly. Han Gaeul. He decided to call her that loudly the next time they met.
âUhm, Han Maru, right?â
Maru raised his head when he heard a voice interrupt his thoughts. The actor that was participating in the drama as the bullied kid for three episodes was standing in front of him.
âUh, yeah.â
While they were introduced to each other as a group, he never got to know this person personally. Other than the fact that his name was Song Siwoo and that he was an aspiring idol, he knew nothing about him. The fact that he was an aspiring idol was also something he just found out thanks to Dongho.
âDo you perhaps know Heewon and Haewon?â
âHeewon and Haewon?â
Just as he was thinking that they were unfamiliar names, the name Hwasoo High flashed past his mind. He was reminded of the faces of the brothers he met last year. The lazy-looking big brother and the very quick-witted little brother. The big brother was Lee Heewon and the little brother was Lee Haewon.
âI do.â
âI knew it. A couple of peculiar kids entered our agency last year. Lee Heewon and Lee Haewon. It was pretty peculiar since the little brother is the manager of the big brother. I talked to them out of curiosity and we ended up talking about you.â
âReally? So he got into an agency too, huh. Why would you talk about me though?â
âHaewon said that it was thanks to you that they could join the agency.â
âI didnât do anything. I just told them the location of Film, the academy. The fact that he managed to join an agency probably means that he stood out even at Film.â
Lee Heewon. He was a peculiar guy. He didnât have a clear image of the guy since he only met the guy a couple of times, but the acting he showed was deeply engraved in his mind. Perhaps that was what it would look like at the epitome of instinctive acting. His acting did not use any of the standard methods or gestures of acting and yet still managed to pop out. It was something that only he could do. If another young actor tried to imitate the way he acted, it would either be overly exaggerated or look strange.
âDo you know Heewon well?â
âNo, I only met him a couple of times.â
âReally? From what Haewon said, it sounded like you were close.â
âI talked to Haewon for a bit, so I guess Iâm closer to him than I am to Heewon. But I still canât call it âcloseâ. Weâve never contacted each other since last year. Oh, I guess I did receive a message of thanks. Anyways, why would you come to me to ask about Lee Heewon?â
âBecause heâs pretty strange. We get the same acting lessons, and what should I call it⦠it feels like heâs living in a world of his own. The instructor doesnât touch him either and just gives him assignments.â
âWhy didnât you try talking to him?â
âHe couldnât be bothered with anything in life, so I donât get a satisfying answer even if I ask him something. Having Haewon next to him makes it a little better, but Heewon is the only one there during practice. Oh, yeah. Did you hear this from him as well? That he can see colors from emotions?â
âI did. He said it himself.â
âDo you think that makes sense?â
âI donât see why it would not.â
In a world where a dead man comes back to life, what wouldnât make sense? Maru smiled as he looked at Siwoo.
âActing is something hard to describe, isnât it? Heewon should feel like that too.â
âIs that how it is?â
Siwoo scratched his head before flinching and taking a step back. He seemed to have realized that Dongho and Joomin were staring at him. Siwoo, who probably had no idea that he was the topic of conversation until just now, looked at the two people alternately, clearly clueless.
âUhm, can I ask you one thing?â Joomin asked.
âAh, yes.â
âI heard that you were an aspiring idol, am I right?â
âYes. We formed a team and weâre getting ready. I think weâll be able to make our debut soon.â
âIdols usually sing and dance, donât they? Do you have to learn acting too?â
âHm, these days, the boundary between the two has thinned quite a lot. Itâs thanks to the seniors of TTO. Before, everyone glared at idols when they were trying to do acting, but itâs not like that these days. In fact, I believe that making a debut as an idol has its advantages.â
âThatâs true.â
Joomin nodded. Her expression wasnât that bright. Rather than being dissatisfied with idols, it seemed that she was worried about the fact that the position of actors was being narrowed.
âIsnât it hard to act while being an idol?â Dongho asked.
His words contained thorns. Siwoo also seemed to have noticed the dissatisfaction in his gaze and smiled awkwardly.
âIâve never taken acting lightly. Iâm putting in just as much effort as the others, if not more. I canât have people swearing at all idols because of me.â
âNo, well. Itâs a world where focusing on one thing is hard enough, and focusing on two things is a bitâ¦.â
Just as Dongho got up to that point, Maru covered Donghoâs mouth. Dongho flinched before moving his head backwards.
âYou were good. Iâm sure youâll become a good actor.â
âAh, uh. Thanks. Iâm also watching your acting a lot. I think I have a lot to learn from you. Itâd be good to talk again later. Weâre friends who are both learning acting, arenât we?â
Siwoo slightly bowed before returning to Yeseul and Giwoo. Yeseul, who was glaring at this side, probably because of Siwoo, turned her eyes away. Giwoo was maintaining his polite smile.
âYou shouldâve been harsh on him at this opportunity!â
âYou know well that thatâs no different from embarrassing yourself. Heâs good at acting. Isnât that good enough? Not only that, he can dance and sing as well. You said it yourself, didnât you? That idols have a huge amount of practice to do. If you look down on something heâs practiced so hard to gain, what does that make us, who are on a similar level to him?â
âI know, but itâs annoying. You know it too, donât you? That acting is only a form of insurance for them. If it doesnât work out for him, heâll just change lanes to singing and dancing and come back later. I donât like that.â
âDo you think heâs going to beat you at acting?â
âMe? Hell no!â
âThen thereâs nothing to worry about, right?â
âThatâs true, but still.â
âNow then. Letâs have a look at the script one more time. Being harsh on him when he came here to greet us with a smile is something you shouldnât do. If you want to tell him that acting is not something you do on the side, you should prove that during the shoot. You should just get the producer to tell you that youâre on a different level. Of course, I canât do that, but what about you, noona?â
âI think Donghoâs going to do something big today. Iâll be cheering for you. Should I tell the director that Donghoâs resolve is different today?â
âF-forget it! I just tried saying it. Do you have to go this far?â
Dongho turned his head away violently like a horse. He was really easy to handle. Maru exchanged gazes with Joomin and smiled.
âAh! Hwan!â
Dongho suddenly shouted when he just started reading the script.
âWhat the heck was that all of a sudden?â
âItâs Hwan.â
âWhat?â
âHeâs also in Hwan.â
Dongho pointed at Siwoo who was sitting behind Maru.
âHis agency is Hwan?â
âYeah. Didnât you say that a friend of yours joined Hwan? That person is not going to start off as an idol and switch to being an actor later, right?â
âYouâre being too worried. Itâs not like that, so donât worry about it.â
Rather than that, if she was in Hwan, she might have met the brothers already. Maru texted with one hand to her, Gaeul, about the two brothers.
-Is there someone named Heewon there? If there is, try to stay close to him. You should be able to learn a lot of things from him. You wonât understand him since his acting is peculiar, but it will still help to broaden your horizons.
He hit the confirm button. A winged-envelope special character appeared on the screen before it disappeared.
âShall we go through our lines?â
That was Giwooâs voice. Maru looked at the two next to him before standing up. Gathering at Giwooâs signal before the shoot began had become a routine for them. Giwoo was now clearly at the center of the young actors.
âLetâs go,â Maru said