Life, Once Again!

Chapter 843. Sequence 12

Yoo Jayeon pressed the bell and waited for a bit. The sensitivity of the woman curling inside this place was even worse than an exam student, so she would hide in a corner like a snail going inside its shell if she touched her. After waiting for about five minutes, the door opened slowly. Eunbin greeted her in pajamas with a pair of really tired eyes.

“Come in.”

“Did you get some sleep?”

“No, I didn’t get any sleep because of a horrible stomach ache.”

“Did you check the viewing rates again?”

“I couldn’t help it. That’s the first thing I see when I open the internet. We lost this time as well. The production was really good, so it seems like my writing is terrible.”

“When are you going to stop depreciating yourself? Also, the drama is ultimately created by both of us, so it means that the production is terrible too.”

Jayeon pushed away the underwear strewn across the floor as she headed to the kitchen. The pizza box she saw when she came here last week was still placed under the dining table. It was fortunate that Eunbin washed the dishes in time though. If there was a pile of greasy plates in the sink then she might have gone back out without a second thought.

“Good thing I called. I came here just in case since your voice didn’t sound that good, and you were like this after all. I told you that you should stop eating convenience store lunch boxes and start eating proper food.”

“How can a writer with terrible viewing rates eat proper food? I should just go and die.”

“You’re saying that, but you are going to eat it if I cook you food, right?”

“The viewing rates might be bad, but I don’t want to die of starvation.”

“I’ll get you some food, so clean up your house a little. Don’t you feel sorry for this poor little thing?”

The cat came around to her feet and rubbed her face all over her legs. She looked as though she was saying ‘my caretaker is half crazy’ with her eyes. Jayeon opened the window and even the front door. It made her feel tragic that she had to clean another person’s house in the middle of the day, but she still moved busily in order to take care of the glass-like will of the writer who held the destiny of the drama.

She finished the cleaning by tossing out the food waste that she didn’t even want to imagine how long it had been there. It was rather fortunate that it was dirty only to the point that it was cleanable. It seemed that Eunbin hadn’t completely given up on being human. Though, with more time, it would have become a pigsty for sure.

“I do respect you as a pro for being so harsh on yourself, but you’re clearly taking things way too far. If you let go of your pen because you get sick, then it’ll be us who gets in trouble.”

“Okay.”

The side dishes that she made for her husband disappeared into Eunbin’s mouth. The woman, who was slow to act like she had lived her entire life, changed dramatically once she picked up a spoon and started eating away like a wrestler. It was good that Jayeon had brought a whole load of side dishes. Had she brought a handful of each, Eunbin might have finished them in one sitting.

“They’re delicious.”

“It’s good that you find them delicious.”

Eunbin seemed to have gained some energy as she did the dishes and brewed some coffee for Jayeon, though it was quite late.

“I told you, unni. All you have to do is just stop checking the viewing rates. If it’s bad, you fall into this state, and even if it’s good, you start worrying about how it might fall. Why do you do something that makes you stressed out no matter what you do?”

“Jayeon.”

“What?”

“Do you check the viewing rates or not if a list goes up in the production department?”

“I do.”

“Do you always feel good?”

“No.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“Because it’s work.”

“Then am I playing around?”

She didn’t have anything to retort to that. After all that was done and said, both of them lived lives that were dictated by viewing rates. They may talk big by saying that they were putting life into the drama or making art, but their emotions were bound to be swayed by viewing rates after all.

“The gap is even bigger than last week.”

“But it’s still a single-digit percentage point difference. Even Doctor’s Office hasn’t gone past twenty percent. It’s a number that we can catch up to. The ads are selling well too.”

“Just because the ads are doing well doesn’t mean that I would get paid for my manuscripts or that the viewing rates will get better.”

“At least it increases my reputation so stop frowning. You were so energetic when you were eating.”

“Why don’t you try reaching my age?”

“If someone heard that, they might think we’re ten years apart or something. You're thirty-five, and I’m thirty-three. We practically lived at the same time yet you’re always bragging about your age.”

“You’ll soon realize that those two years is an incredibly long time.”

“If that’s how you want to do things, I can’t help but bring up marriage.”

Eunbin, who was sipping on her coffee while resting her chin, suddenly started sniffing and looked down. It seemed that she had lost her will to fight.

“Fine, you have it good, getting married like that. I’m thirty-five but never brought a man into my house even once.”

“But you meet a lot outside.”

“Men I meet because of work aren’t men. They’re just characters. What a sad life is this? I’m sure I’ll become an old hag while typing away on the keyboard of a laptop with a cat in my arms. I should just get ready for my later years after saving up my manuscript fees.”

Eunbin buried her face in the table. She hadn’t changed at all since before. She was feeble by nature, but she was nearly national athlete-level when it came to being harsh on herself, so she would nearly self-destruct once she started working. As a result of that, she would become powerless and forget about everything but her manuscript.

“How many people do you think work as the writer of a mini-series at thirty-five? You know that there aren’t many skilled writers your age.”

Jayeon had to bring back her will to live before she became so depressed that it broke through the ground. After all, she didn’t come all the way here with side dishes in hand just to rebuke her. When she teased her and then flattered her discreetly, Eunbin would always regain her energy. As she was a writer that become Jayeon’s first friend after entering the TV station, she knew her personality quite well.

“What good is that? This is how my life will end.”

‘Young writer’ and ‘skilled writer’ were two terms that were emergency pills that always resuscitated Eunbin, who was drowning in viewing rates. Even when she was in despair about the lack of results, she would always come back to herself with a laugh when those two terms were brought up, but for some reason, it didn’t work today. There were still shadows on her face.

“Did something happen?” This time, she asked as a close friend, not as a producer to a writer.

“The fire lit in my heart simply won’t die out.”

“Hey, you’ve gotten strange since you’ve been living with texts for a long time. Just what happened?”

Eunbin refused to talk, sealing her lips like the gates of a warring castle. If it was someone else, Jayeon would’ve thought about coaxing them to talk, but she just watched without doing anything as it was Eunbin. This unni, who kept sighing while looking into the distance, was never able to hold herself back from talking. She would get into verbal arguments with paper, which couldn’t say a single word. Usually, writers who had to fight themselves were split into one of two types: those who refused to talk as they had gotten close to solitude and those who struggled to not break the silence as soon as they had the opportunity. Eunbin was clearly the latter. Although she was holding on with a face that looked like she was resolved to not talk, she would probably exhaust herself and speak soon.

“Actually, the thing is….”

Indeed, she didn’t betray her expectations. Jayeon just went along with her words so that she could continue talking. From now on, those lips would utter everything, including secrets that she shouldn’t talk about.

After listening for a while, one of Jayeon’s eyes twitched. She spoke,

“Kang Giwoo is lingering in front of your eyes? You think you’re lovesick?”

“Yeah.”

“Unni, you should act more like your age.”

“I thought you’d say that. I’m an idiot for telling you.”

“There’s no one who doesn’t know that Kang Giwoo acts kind to everyone. He literally does that to every single person.”

“Then why do you think he called in the evening to ask me out to dinner? Don’t you think that he has the hots for me? What’s the possibility that he likes me?”

“Unni, are you serious?”

“Do you think I am? I was just saying. But it’s true that his handsome face is lingering in front of my eyes. The reason I can still breathe despite the fact that the pressure from the viewing rates is making me sick is thanks to his handsome face.”

“Unni, you like anyone who looks handsome, don’t you?”

“I’ll be fine as long as it’s a man.”

“You really are sick, alright. But what do you mean by that? Kang Giwoo recommended an actor?”

“It wasn’t a strong recommendation. He just told me that I should make more use of an actor in passing. I didn’t think much of it when I was there, but when I watched the previous episodes of Doctors after I got home, I felt like he was right.”

“Which actor was that?”

“Bigfoot. Uh, what was his name again? I do remember his first name because it was rather peculiar, but I can’t remember his surname. Anyway, the actor known as Maru.”

“Han Maru.”

“Right, Han Maru. Since we’re talking about it, how is he? I didn’t see him during the read-through since he was just a minor actor. I think he’s pretty good when I see him acting the character I created, but that character is pretty one-dimensional, so I also think that anyone else could do that much. What kind of actor is he in the eyes of the director?”

Jayeon replied without a shred of hesitation,

“If I had the rights to casting then I would definitely give him a big role.”

Eunbin put down her mug and spoke,

“How long have we known each other?”

“You and me? If you count the time you were a writer for an entertainment program and I was a new recruit, then about nine years.”

“We’ve known each other for that long, but I’ve never seen you say that about someone with so much confidence. Is he someone you know personally?”

“He’s the main actor of my debut piece.”

“The boy from ‘Pojang-macha’? That’s him?”

“Yep.”

“How long ago was that? Six years?”

“About that much. Unni, you told me over the phone back then that the boy was good.”

“I did. So that’s him. Then you should’ve told me about it. If it was your recommendation, I would have thought about casting him too.”

“He suddenly disappeared to the military when he had to be going up. After he came out, he did see some popularity in Daehak-ro for about a year but honestly speaking, he was a little too unstable for me to use him. I do believe in his qualities, but leading a whole drama is a different story after all. That’s why I gave him a minor role to test him out, and he really was good after all. He has that spice to him. Even though his lines are short and his scenes are shorter than that, the set completely changes with him in the mix. I also found out that he is a long-time friend of Heewon too.”

“Kang Giwoo talked about him and now Lee Heewon? Isn’t he a jewel that’s too good to waste?”

“Maybe.”

“Looks like I should consider this properly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Creating a side story for that character. What do you think is the biggest problem with Doctors as the producer of it?”

“If I were to be honest, it’d be that there aren’t many elements to get attached to. I’m not saying that your story is terrible. It’s just that the topic is lighter compared to ‘Doctor’s Office’, and the progress is quite slow, so it just needs more time for the interactions between characters to come to life. I believe in the power of the characters you created. That’s why I don’t say anything during our script meeting.”

“It’s nothing new, but thanks for trusting me.”

“I’m trusting you because you’re doing well. If you were bad then I would be ruthless.”

“I know that. Anyway, like what you said, the fact that the progress is slow means that it’s not closely knitted together and there’s room to insert something in there. If we reduce shooting locations a little, it’s possible to put another character on the side.”

“Do you think that will help with the progression of the drama?”

“I’m not sure yet. But you said he’s an actor you can trust in, didn’t you? If there are good ingredients, you just can’t help but want to cook. If I do it and it does decently, then I can always add more.”

“And take him out if it’s no good?”

“The forums will decide that. Though, it’s all ultimately up to me.”

“Think about it, and tell me once you decide.”

There was no reason to hold her back when she was motivating herself to work.

“Before that, can I see him?”

“You mean Maru?”

“Yeah. Since I’m going to insert him anyway, I should tailor it to him. I should meet him and see what he’s like.”

“Should I call him here then?”

“Doesn’t he have a schedule?”

“He’s probably playing with his dog at home, I think?”

Jayeon picked up her phone.