Chapter 950. Crank Up 6

Gaeul deleted the missed calls from the list. He kept calling despite knowing that she wouldn’t pick up.

“Unni?”

Mijoo, who was eating with her, tilted her head with a questioning look. Gaeul just told her that she was suffering from spam texts.

“What kind of advertising texts do you usually get, unni? Lately, I’ve been getting so many loan texts. I’ve been having a hard time paying my loans back as it is already too.”

“Do you have a big debt? If the interest is high, I’ll let you borrow some money.”

“It’s not that bad. If I had it that bad, I would’ve told you about it already.”

“We won’t be working together for just a couple of years or something like that, so tell me if you have any financial problems. I can help you with that much.”

“I’m thankful for the words alone.”

Mijoo forked a shrimp before handing it over to her. Just as she was about to eat it after receiving it, she heard her shout ‘wait.’

“Say ah and wait for a moment. I’ll take a photo of you.”

“It’s okay. I’ve taken plenty during the day.”

“You’ll have to take a lot of pretty photos and upload them to get loved by your fans. I saw that your Instagram has increased by about 10 thousand followers. Maybe it’s thanks to the drama. The people around me are slowly starting to take interest in Instagram too. I’m sure it’ll become a mainstream social media soon. You should take care of it early.”

“In my opinion, I think you should start your own agency. Your business skills won’t just end at being a stylist.”

“If I open an agency, will I get to sign a contract with you?”

“I’ll sign if the contract is 100:0 and you take care of my taxes.”

“I’ll keep working as a stylist then.”

While Mijoo was smiling, she received a call and stood up. It seemed that there was a problem with the clothes she was going to wear during the photo shoot tomorrow.

“Unni, I’ll be leaving first. Take your time.”

“Is it bad?”

“No, it’s nothing serious. I just have to go and check.”

Mijoo left the restaurant. Gaeul ate the remaining food and looked at the sea. She came here because it had become popular on social media for having a great view, and indeed, it was not false. She never realized that the sea at Jeju island could be so pretty. The seawater seeped into the numerous rocks by the sea. When she looked at the seawater sparkling in a golden color thanks to the sunset, she even forgot about the taste of the food in her mouth. It was a scene she didn’t feel like she could get tired of seeing even if she had been looking for an entire day.

It was like this during the vacation as well, but whenever she looked at beautiful natural scenery, she always recalled Maru. What would he say if he was next to her? She wanted to come here with just the two of them with some honeyed pancakes and some coffee. It would be good to just watch the sea without doing anything.

As she was quietly watching the sea, she heard a commotion inside the restaurant. Gaeul intuitively felt that it was because of her. The source of the commotion was a bunch of women who were entering the restaurant while staring at her. She raised her head and looked around inside the store. Just as she expected, people were taking out their phones and taking photos of her. What was rather fortunate was that they only looked at her from afar and didn’t approach her.

Gaeul finished her meal and stood up. She had to leave quickly because it might inconvenience the owner of the restaurant if she stayed any further. She quickly left the restaurant before the customers enjoying the quiet started getting annoyed. She was worried that someone might stop her, but thankfully, it seemed that her fans knew etiquette and just waved their hands. Gaeul returned their greetings. She was always fond of fans who didn’t cross the line.

She put on the hood on her padded jacket and put on a mask. This was her first walk by herself ever since she came to Jeju island for a shoot. She looked around the various cute stores before stopping in front of a life-sized signboard in front of a café. She saw Lee Heewon holding some cosmetics. The life-sized signboard had nothing to do with the café, maybe the owner was a fan of his? As she found this intriguing, she took a photo of the signboard along with the café itself.

-What’s this?

Heewon replied immediately after she sent the photo. When she explained to him that it was a signboard in front of a café on Jeju island, she was sent a reply of a bunch of laughing emojis.

-Have I ever told you that I’ll be appearing as a cameo in the film Maru will be playing the main character in?

That was something she hadn’t heard before. Gaeul immediately called him and told him to elaborate.

-I was originally planning on not doing anything since I’m going to the military, but I got an offer from director Park Joongjin, asking if I had any interest in doing a film. I was about to refuse since the timing was a little awkward, but he said it was just a cameo. I was going to think about it since there won’t be any tight schedules. Haewon also told me that I should take him up on it since he’s a famous director. That’s when I remembered that Maru was working with that director. I asked him if Han Maru was the lead character and accepted as soon as he said that he was. I’ve always wanted to work with him.

Gaeul looked at the café signboard that was shaking due to the wind. The first thing she felt when she heard Heewon’s story was jealousy and disappointment. It was her who wanted to act together with Maru on the same stage more than anyone.

“When does the shoot begin?”

-I think it’ll start soon.

“What role are you playing?”

-I don’t know yet.

“You accepted without even knowing what role it is?”

-I don’t care what the role is.

If it was any other actor that said those words, Gaeul would have understood that as ‘I have the confidence to perfectly play whatever role that comes at me.’ However, Heewon was probably different. Despite his excellent skills, Heewon never showed any confidence in his acting skills. Since I’m doing it, I’ll do it — he would always say these words whenever he felt like it. Though, he was so good that it never became a problem.

“I want to do it too. I don’t care if it’s a small role,” she said lamentingly.

As this film was commercial art, it wasn’t like an actor could participate in it just because he or she wanted to, but if she could act together with the two of them, she wanted to participate in it, even if she was just a passing role.

-Should I tell the director about it?

If it was the usual, if she was rational, she would tell him not to take it seriously as it was just a joke. Yet, what came out of Gaeul’s mouth was ‘can you ask.’

-Since we’re at it, I’ll try calling him now.

The call ended there. She looked at her phone which had turned black before coming to herself. What did she just say? She asked something absurd. Even if that did work, selecting a piece to participate in was a very sensitive matter. It was even in the contract that she must consult the president first. She could just call him back immediately and tell him that it was okay, but for some strange reason, she couldn’t get herself to do so. It was an unstoppable impulse. Even though it was a slim chance, the small hope that things might work out well prevented her from calling Heewon.

She walked in circles in front of the café. Just then, she met eyes with a pair of customers leaving the café. The couple looked at her strangely as they walked past, but even then she couldn’t stay still. Heewon should have called him and already got an answer that it was impossible, but why was she not getting anything?

Five minutes passed. The Jeju night wind she never considered cold before suddenly felt chilly. She entered the café while gripping her phone.

“It’s quite chilly, isn’t it?”

A woman in her fifties greeted her warmly. She ordered a cup of warm cassia tea upon the recommendation of the owner who had a gentle impression. She sat down in a corner of the café and drank the tea. Although it had been 10 minutes already, her phone stayed quiet. She thought about calling him back first and fidgeted with her phone but then remembered that there was someone she had to call before that.

-Hello, this is president Yoo Ahyoung’s phone of Hwan Management.

“Did the president go somewhere?”

-Is this Miss Gaeul?

“Yes.”

-She just went to the bathroom for a little bit. Oh, she’s back. I’ll hand it over to her.

It’s Miss Gaeul — she heard a small voice over the phone.

-Yes, Gaeul. Is the shoot going well?

“I’m taking a break after finishing it.”

-I’m sorry I sent you everywhere after you came back from the team vacation. I want to let you rest, but there are many people looking for you. I’ve cut down on everything and left only places with good transportation and that one in Jeju island. You know how much I care for you, right?

“Hearing you say that, it seems like there are things for me to do after the Jeju island shoot.”

-How quick-witted. As expected of someone who’s been working with me for six years. Rather than that, why did you call me? You shouldn’t have called to complain about how hard your job is. If there was a problem Chanwoo would have called me first.

“There’s something I wanted to ask.”

-Ask away. I have plenty of time.

“Are you going to permit it if I shoot a film?”

-Did you get an offer?

“No, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to ask what I should do if I want to participate in something without consulting you first.”

-Miss Han Gaeul, I believe that I told you that participation in a piece is a sensitive topic and everything must go through me first.

“I know. But what if, what if I tell you that I want to participate in something even if you are against it?”

-To be serious with you, I will not allow the value of the actress known as Han Gaeul to fall. There are some actors who can’t refuse the request of their acquaintances and participate in something strange before they fall out of popularity, but I will not let that happen. Did you get an offer like that? Did you get asked to participate in a piece that doesn’t have any worth?

“No, it’s not like that.”

Just as she was about to explain, her phone vibrated twice in short bursts. She had received a text.

Wait a moment — she said before taking her phone off her ear and checking the screen. She scrolled down the top menu bar and touched the text icon. She saw the text sent by Heewon. If you’re okay with playing a role that doesn’t have any significance, then you’re okay…. There were a few more words after that, but none of them entered her eyes. She immediately spoke to the president,

“President, there’s something I want to do.”

-Now that makes me curious since this is the first time you said that. Just what is it? You have to tell me first for me to think about it.

“It’s director Park Joongjin’s piece. I won’t be playing a big role, but….”

Before she could even finish, president Ahyoung told her to do it. Her voice was so big that it made her startled.

-You should have mentioned the director’s name first! It’s already a well-known rumor that director Park is cooking up a piece. He said he won’t be taking any recommendations and that they’ll take care of the selection, so I gave up after Heewon’s contract.

“Then can I do this?”

-You have to do it. You’re really my fortune. You landed yourself a piece like that. But how did it happen? Did the director reach out to you?

“No. I asked through Heewon just now, just 10 minutes ago. Then, I received a reply that I can participate in it if I’m okay with a less significant role. I’ll have to ask to be sure though.”

-Heewon did? Looks like he did something good after all this time, looking after his members like that. Anyway, you should contact him right away. He’s well-known for being peculiar, so you should get a proper answer before he changes his mind. I’ll hang up now. Do it quickly!

The president, who was cautious in everything she did, just allowed her to do it after listening to Park Joongjin’s name. She probably had that much faith in his brand.

Gaeul tapped on her phone without hesitation.

“Heewon, can I get the director’s number?”