Life, Once Again!

Chapter 825. Sequence 9

Sora was confused when the man in the Hawaiian shirt shook hands with Maru, then frowned when she heard the man’s name, and finally widened her eyes when she recalled the name of a certain director from her memories. Park Joongjin. He was the director of ‘Corporate’, a huge film that was released one year ago.

If he was not a different person with the same name, the man in front of her was a bigshot who had achieved the 10 million sales legend. He was also one of the judges for this Ttukseom Indie Film Festival.

“What brings you here?”

“I’m one of the judges. Did you not know?”

“I didn’t know at all. If I had, I would have said hello before and scored some points from you.”

“Maybe I should have told you about it so that I could have said hello beforehand. Actually, the scale of the festival is small plus we didn’t accept applicants for long, so I was quite worried that I may not be able to see a proper piece at all, but I was glad to see two familiar faces in the second film.”

Park Joongjin and Maru seemed to be on pretty close terms. She probed her memories, but there was no case where Maru participated in Park Joongjin’s film. At least, not one that was released in the past four years.

“I had a talk with the director already. She was quite interesting to talk to because she had clear ideas.”

Joongjin smiled at Sora. Sora used her hand to stroke her hair forward and smiled back. Had she known that he was director Park Joongjin, she would have clung to him earlier and asked him to talk some more or if he had anything more to say. She wanted to try and join their conversation, but she only licked her lips because director Park Joongjin never gave her a single glance. She waited for her opportunity to speak after he finished greeting Maru, and her chance finally came. Before Park Joongjin looked away, she spoke as though to interrupt him,

“I watched the movie you made last year five times at the cinema.”

“That’s a waste. Why did you do that? You could have just watched it once.”

“Because it was so refreshing. It was so refreshing that I even forgot about the hot weather. I was really surprised by how you completely hid the leaked documents at the last bit. It seemed like a textbook version of a commercial-oriented cliché.”

“So you caught my signal. That’s how commercial films are supposed to be made. I can’t do art with other people’s money.”

“You have the same thought as me. I believe that if you receive capital, you should create a film that is true to that capital. You have to pursue commercial success and apply your artistic senses in a way that the film’s value wouldn’t be degraded.”

“I see you already have the basics down. You would be able to create a good film if you meet a good investor.”

“Can’t you help me meet that good investor?”

“I’ll have to think about that. This piece was definitely interesting but that had more to do with the script and the skills of the actors than the direction itself. Once you get a grasp of what your capability is like, the people who have money will flock to you.”

“Or I’ll have to use my own money like you did, right?”

Joongjin nodded before putting his palm out. She stared at him because she didn’t know the meaning behind that gesture, so he asked for her phone,

“If it’s not too rude of me, I’d like to give you my number.”

“Really?”

Sora immediately placed her phone on his palm. There was no way she would get a call immediately but just receiving his number was meaningful. Sora took a step back after seeing the number saved on her phone. She had achieved everything she wanted. She had to leave while she could, otherwise, she would lose whatever good intentions she managed to invoke in him.

“Should we switch places if you’re going to talk some more? I’ll buy you two some coffee.”

“That’s good. It’s not something I can talk about while standing.”

Sora led the way after getting permission.

* * *

Sora put down the coffee and sat opposite them. It seemed that she wasn’t planning to leave unless told otherwise. Joongjin also didn’t seem uncomfortable with Sora being here as he didn’t say much.

“I heard through a contact of mine that you’re shooting a drama.”

“I was lucky enough to find a minor character to act as. Are you taking a break since you did a piece last year?”

“Since I had earned enough money, I was planning on eating good things and lazing around for a while, yet maybe it’s because I’ve gotten old, but boredom really got me. I heard that playing golf is a good way to pass time, but it didn’t suit me when I tried it, and as for fishing, it’s good when I catch something, but the waiting time is frustrating. The fellow that took me fishing told me that the waiting is the good part about fishing, but I didn’t find it that way. Do you like fishing, Mr. Maru?”

“I don’t go that often, but I do like it. Though, I’m more interested in the menial things, so I’m more focused on cooking ramyun than I am on fishing. The one who likes fishing is the one next to me, Sooil.”

Sooil started praising fishing saying that he’d fall in love with sea fishing if he tried it out.

“I’m the type to get seasick just by looking at a rocking boat, so sea fishing is definitely a no for me. Maybe I’m not suited to being active. I’m used to be a numbers guy since I was young, so I’m really bad when it comes to anything that uses the body.”

Joongjin pushed up his glasses with a smile before asking about their recent activities. Sooil said that he was going to shoot a film soon.

“I only have about two shoots a week and I’ll be at home otherwise.”

“You have nothing else?”

“I’d love to have something, but unfortunately, not yet.”

“Then why don’t you do a side job with me? You said you didn’t have any work, so I’m sure your president will give the okay.”

“A side job?”

Joongjin spoke after circling the coffee mug around his nose,

“Shall we do a piece together?”

* * *

Joongjin shook hands with a young man named Bangjoo. He heard that this young man had appeared as an extra when he shot his comeback commercial film a long time ago, and he remembered immediately. It was that cheerful boy next to Maru. He was quite interested in the boy because he said that he dreamed of becoming an action actor, which was quite rare in South Korea. Actors these days focused on expressions and emotions, not action. They considered action as one of the things that they should learn on the side, but this young man staked his life on action. Not only that, he was Joohyun’s little brother.

“Let’s meet again once you become a good actor.”

He said goodbye to the rest of the people before shaking hands with Maru for one last time. When this young man became silent without a single piece of news, he thought that a promising actor had turned his back on the entertainment industry because of life’s hardships. When he heard that he had gone to the military, he was even more sure that it was over. There were numerous actors who received attention with great acting but got buried under the sand in an instant. He wanted to use this man once if the opportunity arose since he was attracted by how he did not gamble with his acting skills, but as disappointed as he was, a snapped flower was useless. A flower bud nipped from the stem would rot after all.

He heard news of Maru again in Daehak-ro. Apparently, there was a strange actor who didn’t have any notable experience but had a great ticketing power. Maru, who stood on a play stage, proved his worth once again and expressed that he had not lost his senses. It was not the skills of an actor who had let go of everything. He made the audience enamored with his acting as though the two years of military service were not a blank period but a period to hone himself. That day, Joongjin was reminded of the words ‘a rotting herring is still a herring.’

However, that was it. There were numerous actors on his level in Daehak-ro. Maru’s acting was definitely worth watching and had attractive power, but Joongjin wanted something beyond that. He wasn’t shooting a ‘film’; he needed an actor for a ‘piece.’ If all he needed was monetary profit, he could just use obedient puppets, but if he was to do a piece that interested him, he needed actors who would reject the world built by the director or supplement it just as Haejoo did in the past.

There were a few actors that he really liked, but all of them were busy people. Not only that, it was hard to pay their price without getting any investment. He couldn’t do ‘art’ with other people’s money, so he had to look for low-cost actors. If that wasn’t possible, he was planning to do another commercial film. Maru, who stood on stage, was ‘usable’ but not in a state where he could work with him. He was just about to forget about him and leave him for the next time when he came across this film.

“I don’t know what happened.”

Joongjin turned on the radio and stepped on the gas pedal. The Maru on the screen had changed completely from the time he stood on stage. Joongjin saw true desperation in his eyes. The scar of hesitation that he couldn’t find when Maru was on stage could be seen from time to time. Leaving aside the acting, he must have experienced a big change himself. He couldn’t totally tell through the film, so he went looking for the man himself. After seeing his eyes, Joongjin consolidated his thoughts and decided that he wanted to do a piece with him. What stood there was not a puppet but a man. An interesting man who had become a lot firmer but simultaneously a lot more unstable. That was the kind of man he needed to do a piece with.

Joongjin raised the radio volume. A jazz song he didn’t know the name of was coming out of the speakers as though to tell him that the things that were about to happen were going to be interesting.

* * *

It was a sudden offer, but he accepted it without much hesitation. This was a shoot with director Park Joongjin. He would have to make time to do it even if he had other things, so it was unnecessary to show hesitation. On his way back, he thought about what meaning there was in leaving an earnest life when he was bound to die anyway, but his thoughts soon straightened. His life was going to be 45 years long at maximum. Rather than dying a miserable death on the side of the street, wouldn’t it be better to die in a luxurious house in Gangnam? Perhaps the whimsical god might allow him to live until the end of his life this time.

He returned home and fed Woofie. As he looked at the pouring dog feed, he was reminded of the film that Joongjin talked about. The director said that he was going to do what he wanted to do since it was not one that had a huge influx of capital. In fact, he even said that he was doing it as a hobby, so there was less pressure on him. He knew that the director had shot several experimental films in the past, and so he asked if it was like that this time as well. Those pieces failed to become popular and failed to be recognized for anything. The director told him that he was not doing it to spend money but for fun, and therefore, it wasn’t entirely experimental. It would probably be something similar to ‘Spring Calendar’ – he said that in a small voice as though he was revealing a secret.

“Woofie, I’m apparently a lead actor,” Maru said as he petted Woofie’s head.