Chapter 823. Sequence 9

After the microphones were set up, Shin Gyeongah said hello to the audience.

“I’m Shin Gyeongah, your host for today. I’ll be glad if you remember my name, but not many of you probably will, right? If anyone remembers my name at the end of the GV, I’ll buy them a drink.”

Shin Gyeongah refreshed the atmosphere after checking the microphones before giving a signal. Sora took a short breath before standing up. She looked at the large screen and went forward before turning around. A hundred pairs of eyes all looked at her. She liked getting attention from young and would smile when she got it, but now that she was facing hundreds of eyes, the muscles around her mouth stiffened up and did not move. When she barely managed to put on a smile, she thought that she was going to spasm. She took glances at Maru next to her. He was looking at the audience like a lively fish that had just jumped into the sea. It was probably the leisure of a man who had lived on the stage every day. She clasped her hands behind her and pinched the soft part between her thumb and her index finger with her fingernails. The sharp pain buried the sense of nervousness.

“Would you two please introduce yourselves?”

Sora put the microphone against her mouth and spoke,

“I’m Kang Sora, the producer of ‘Starting Point.’”

“Yes, that was director Kang Sora.”

“Hello. I am Han Maru, and I played Jinho in the film. I thought there would be a lot of empty seats today since the time is a little early, but seeing how it’s full just makes me think about how impactful Mr. Yoo Sooil’s help was. If possible, I would love to have called him here, but he’s a busy guy, so I wasn’t able to do that. I’d also love to have a life-size cutout of him next to me, but I refrained since I felt like I would look ugly. Aren’t I pretty decent without him here?”

Someone shouted ‘you’re good looking’ from the audience. Maru immediately ran over to the lady who said those words before giving her something from his pocket. It seemed to be a piece of chocolate.

“You were way too obvious, but that’s enough. Don’t forget to do it again in 10 minutes. You just have to say ‘you’re handsome’ in a really loud voice, okay? Here’s your compensation.”

His whispering voice was caught by the microphone. Seeing his reaction to her words, the lady who received the chocolate covered her face and stomped her feet. Sora saw that the awkward eyes of the audience were now focused on Maru. The couple that was looking forward with an indifferent gaze started smiling, and the four ladies at the left, who seemed to be friends, kept shouting ‘you’re handsome.’ Maru returned to his place while reacting to those words before saying ‘stop’ in a small voice. It seemed like a well-thought-out skit.

Sora wondered when he had the time to prepare something like this. She only told him that there was a GV today a few hours ago. Sora clicked her tongue when she looked at Maru exchanging looks with the people in the audience and sometimes even winking at them. She even wanted to pay him to learn that skill to liven up the mood and even react to that woman’s spontaneous shout.

Shin Gyeonah also seemed relieved to see the atmosphere a little loose as she put on a relaxed smile and continued with the program,

“Before we get questions from the audience, I’ll ask you a question since I’m personally curious. I heard that you haven’t received any specialized education related to video production, director. Am I right?”

“Yes. I am studying by myself; I have never taken lessons related to it or go to college for it. I do want to focus on it and study it one day, but for the time being, I’m doing it as a hobby.”

“I find that amazing. People who are interested in film production know how difficult it is. Isn’t it a little too difficult to enjoy it as a hobby?”

“There definitely are difficulties. The first one is money. With equipment, the cost of renting for a day or two isn’t that expensive but using professional actors is. That’s why I always strive to be an amateur and to leave it as something like a social activity. Actually, film production can be done on a single phone. Of course, the quality wouldn’t be that great, but don’t you think that that’s also a charm of indie film? The quality of a film doesn’t entirely come from great production skills.”

“I think so too. But isn’t there something surprising about this work?”

“You mean Mr. Yoo Sooil’s participation?”

Shin Gyeonah nodded. She also said beforehand that this would be the thing that the audience wanted to know about the most. Why did Yoo Sooil participate in the work of a nameless director? Not only that, he had to look like a corpse while doing so.

“If I had to cast him officially, I wouldn’t have been able to bear the costs. He is an expensive person after all.”

Sora realized that her mouth had gotten a lot more relaxed. The residual sense of tension in fact made her slightly excited. She no longer felt pricked by those gazes. In fact, she now had the leisure to make out their facial expressions.

“I met him due to a complete coincidence. It was an occasion to celebrate the opening of a restaurant. I happened to have the script with me, and I asked him to participate as a joke of sorts, but he actually gave the okay. Of course, I don’t think that’s the only reason he decided to participate.”

“Are there other reasons?”

“First, he is friends with Mr. Han Maru here. I mean, who would want to help if a complete stranger asked you for help? Also, the most important thing is that the script was good. I was in charge of the production, but the one who created the script, the backbone of our work, is writer Park Daemyung. He’s sitting over there.”

Sora pointed at Daemyung who was sitting in the middle. She wanted to boast that a writer who wrote such a good piece was right here. The people around him gave him glances and some even applauded. Daemyung seemed at a loss on what to do because of the sudden attention and just nodded at those people.

“I think that a good piece attracted a good actor. Mr. Yoo Sooil also decided on his participation after reading the script on the spot. If he didn’t like it, I’m sure he wouldn’t have decided to do it.”

“There are definitely actors who would lower their guarantees to work on something that they think is good.”

“For attractive works, I think it’s valuable just to participate in it. Money becomes secondary. Of course, I’m not saying that I’m a supporter of passion pay[1]. I’m saying that actors just get the impulse to want to do it. I also thought that I wanted to produce it when I heard the synopsis from the writer. I spent my weekends, work leaves, and even my own money to shoot it. It’d be great if the film gives me a profit but even without it, the shoot was fun. The other staff and actors probably felt the same as me.”

“How was it for you, Mr. Han Maru?”

Maru raised the microphone.

“Honestly speaking, things were so busy that I didn’t even have time to feel anything. We did the shoot of a 25-minute movie across just two days. However, there was a great sense of satisfaction when I heard the cut signal for the last scene: Ah, I’ve shot a great piece with great people. I was convinced that I created a proper story. There’s nothing better than that as an actor.”

Maru spoke in a slow manner after putting away his prankster attitude. His eyes were faintly smiling, his voice was quite low, and his calm gestures seemed to convey his genuine feelings. Just from his words, one could tell that he was truly satisfied and truly happy when the shoot was over. However, Sora had to hold herself back by biting on her lower lip as she listened to him. That guy couldn’t be any more shameless. He was speaking as though he was recreating each scene on the spot, and it was incredibly exaggerated.

Bangjoo’s dangerous role as Sooil’s double in that sleeping bag, a passionate director who did not tolerate a single mistake and repeatedly took cuts, the use of alcoholic drinks for the sake of acting – he wasn’t entirely wrong; however, Bangjoo was not in danger inside that sleeping bag, the reason she kept taking repeated shots was because they had time left over, and above all, those two drank because they wanted to, not for the sake of acting. If Maru worked in insurance marketing, he would probably be the agent of the month, no, the agent of the year. Maru finished his fleshed-out piece of drama by saying that it was a meaningful shoot.

“I can imagine what the set was like just from your words.”

“It became unforgettable memories.”

Sora glanced at him, who was showing with his whole body that he had gone back to those times. Maru slightly turned his head before winking. This guy was really shameless.

“Anyway, it’s time to talk to the audience about this film. Can you raise your hand if you have any questions?”

About ten or so people raised their hands. Some of them were picked and they asked questions. The questions were just like the expected questions they got before the film was screened. Sora answered the ones she could and gave Maru the microphones for the ones that he had to answer. This was a short film, and it wasn’t like the story contained a profound meaning or anything, so there weren’t a lot of questions about the content itself.

“Are you of the mind that there is no such thing as a coincidence, director?”

That was the only thing worth discussing. Sora looked at her watch. It had only been 20 minutes. It seemed that the audience didn’t have any questions for a nameless director and an unknown actor. While she had expected this, she was put in a tight spot because no one in the audience was willing to participate any longer. It didn’t look like she could expect anything from Maru’s talking skills either. He was signaling her that he wouldn’t be able to do any more good. Just as she thought that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to end it early, she saw someone enter through the entrance. Some people in the audience turned around when they heard the door opening. That was when it started. People started cheering in an instant. The wave of exclamations that started from the back soon reached the front seats. Everyone turned around and screeched.

“Sorry I’m late. I wanted to come earlier, but the thing I was doing ended a little late.”

Sora felt complex when she saw Sooil who stood there as though it was natural. He said he wouldn’t be able to make it because he was busy. Maru shook hands with him naturally. He didn’t look surprised at all. In fact, he knew that this was going to happen.

“Weren’t you supposed to be busy?”

“The guy standing next to you told me to come if possible. My previous schedule ended earlier than expected, so I came here to give you guys some face.”

Sooil got a microphone from Maru and said hello. The level of applause was on a completely different level from before. Everyone took out their phones and shot photos and videos. Sora felt a little disappointed that those people were leaning forward like they were in a concert after sitting down calmly all this while, but what else could she do? Yoo Sooil was here. Actors were definitely above directors.

The members of the audience, who had been quiet until now, raised their hands and started asking numerous questions. They asked questions unrelated to the film itself as though they suddenly became curious about everything. The GV turned into a fan meeting in an instant. She couldn’t say anything either because she was afraid that she might buy the ire of the audience if she tried to stop them. The entire cinema seemed to have heard the news of his arrival as people started peeking inside the 6th room. Even the staff, who were supposed to be blocking them, had come inside. In the end, Shin Gyeongah took over the microphone.

“I hope that was a meaningful time for the audience, the director, and the actors. We’ll end the GV for ‘Starting Point’ here. Those of you who want to take photos, please come forward.”

As soon as those words ended, a long line formed in front of Sooil. People even rushed in from the outside, causing the theater to become total chaos. Sora was swept up by the wave before barely managing to leave through the exit. She looked for Maru, who was with her, and found him next to Sooil. He was taking the phones of the audience and taking photos with them.

“He’s not going anywhere, so take your time. Oh, give me your phone.”

It wouldn’t be strange for him to get upset at the difference in treatment, but Maru smiled and volunteered to be the cameraman. Watching him from afar, Sora thought that he was really unpredictable.

[1] As explained before, this is when you’re doing something out of ‘passion’ and don’t actually get paid.