Life, Once Again!

They were words that gently pushed her on. They were also words that told her that her efforts until now had not been in vain.

She had heard similar encouragement from other people a few times, but this was the first time she felt relieved. For some reason, she felt like tearing up.

Seungah fanned herself with her hands to blow away the heat, along with her urge to cry.

"Would you like some more of this?" Seungah offered him half of the panini. She felt like she would start crying if they stayed silent like this. Crying in front of a man she had met for the first time today was something she felt like she must not do.

"They say it\'s zero calories if you enjoy it."

She handed the panini directly into Maru\'s hands. She even smiled slightly. The twinging sensation in her nose died down.

Seungah wiped her eyes while pretending to yawn. When she was young, she was quick to cry. Even during middle school, she would sometimes cry in secret from her friends while reading a short novella in the textbook.

She felt like she was being too childish and thus started holding back her tears from some time onwards. When she kept doing it, it became momentum.

She thought that it was a good thing. It was better than bursting out crying all of a sudden.

She looked at the sky while drinking the rest of the coffee.

She had forgotten. The tears she shed in her immaturity consoled her quite a lot. She took a deep breath before spitting it out. She felt more refreshed than ever.

"I\'m going to become a good actress. No one can stop me," she said with a grin and looked at Maru.

Maru told her with some food in his mouth, which caused a muffled voice, to do her best.

"Hey, did you really just practice while watching TV?"

"Do you want another answer?"

"If there is, sure. If you know how to improve your acting in a short period of time, then don\'t keep it to yourself and tell me."

"Do you think such a method really exists?"

Seungah shook her head. "Probably not."

"There you have it. There\'s no other method than learning step by step just like studying. That\'s why it\'s hard."

"Should I call you a prodigy for doing such a thing so well by yourself?"

"There are loads of people better than me at acting. What prodigy."

Maru stood up with the empty cup and the wrapping paper.

"From how you\'re going back to something we talked about before, I think it\'s about time to go home."

"Already? But you said you don\'t have anything to do today. Let\'s talk some more as fellow auditioners."

"I don\'t have an appointment, but I do have things to do."

"Things to do? Like what?"

"What do you think it is?" Maru threw the trash into the bin.

Seungah looked at Maru for a while before standing up. She received the answer through his eyes. What else could it be? Practice, of course.

She thought about her lesson room. She pictured herself practicing in front of the mirror. She felt like she could achieve a satisfactory act without hiccups today.

"Feel better now?"

Seungah stopped for a moment and looked at Maru who walked ahead. He looked like he knew every single complex thought in her mind. His mind was pretty sharp and in a way, similar to her instructor\'s.

"Yeah. I feel very good."

She took a step as she responded. Her footsteps were as cheerful as the weather.

* * *

Cha Myungjoon left the seat to his junior and left the TV station with his cardigan, wallet, and the SD card with the audition footage in it.

"Sir. I\'m outside,” Myungjoon said politely into his phone. Not to mention actors, this man was a great senior respected by the absolute majority in the industry, so he couldn’t help but change his tone.

-Wait a little. I’ll be there soon too.

Not long later, he found an elderly man walking over with bags in each hand. Myungjoon lightly rushed over to the elderly.

“Sir.”

“Have you waited for a long time?”

“No, I just had some business to attend to as well.”

“That’s good. Here, take this.”

Myungjoon took the bags from him. They were quite weighty. Through the gaps in the bag, he saw glistening glass bottles. They contained green plum extract which this elder always made around this season of the year.

“The green plum harvest was good this year as well. Share them with the people at the office.”

“Did you make them yourself this time as well?”

“I hand-picked the prettiest ones.”

“They are so precious, and yet you give them to us every time.”

“No, they’re not. Anyway, is president Park here?”

“He’s not here today. He went to Daejeon because of business.”

“Then you give this to president Park later, director Cha. But hey, you should have younger people below you for errands like this, don’t you?”

“I don’t dare brag in front of you. Call me anytime. Also, there’s a rumor that receiving green plum extracts from you is a symbol of luck. Why do you think I’m here?”

“I’d be happy if you think so.”

The elderly man dusted his hands and laughed. Myungjoon looked at the facial features under the white hair in admiration. The term ‘old gentleman’ was probably made for this man. Each and every wrinkle contained coolness. He acted as an evil politician with that heavy, yet gentle-looking face of his to get two awards last year.

Despite being over seventy, he was a field actor who still displayed passionate acting.

His speech at the ceremony invoked a hot response from the internet.

My respectable juniors, how long are you going to give this old man this award? Please take it away. Obtain it for yourself. I’m sure you can do it.

It was a stroke of fortune that he was able to work with such a man for his work this time.

“Where are you going?”

“I should go home now and walk the pups. Oh, right. How are the preparations going? This is the director’s debut drama and the writer’s debut piece too. There’s also not a lot of outsourcing as well, so I’m sure your superiors are giving you a bad eye.”

“Even if you didn’t tell me that, my mouth feels dry all day and my teeth hurt. This is my first piece that I’ve been looking forward to this whole time, but I never knew it would be such a hassle.”

“Dramas are all about directions. You should finish all the headache-inducing things before the shoot. I’m sure you know better than me, but you won’t have any time to use your head once the shoot begins.”

“Of course, I know very well. That’s why I’m doing as much as I can so that I won’t run into trouble. I’d be in great trouble if I misstep with you on board, sir.”

“Well, I don’t really care if you misstep or not since I get paid by the TV station.”

The great senior smiled. Myungjoon knew that it was a joke in order to relieve the tension.

“You said you had business to do, right? I almost held back a busy man.”

“It’s not that urgent. I just have something I want to consult writer Kang about. We held an audition today for some minor roles with quite a bit of significance. I don’t really have great eyes yet, so I’m going to make the decision after discussing it with writer Kang.”

“That’s good. A drama is bound to fail if the writer and the director start fighting over something. But they can’t yield too much to each other either. Try setting a suitable line. This is your debut piece, so you can be a little greedy.”

“I’ll do as much as my stamina allows me to.”

“Of course, you should. If you ever want to complain to someone, then give me a call. This old man will listen to everything since I’m bored and have nothing to do.”

He bowed deeply to the senior who left. Each and every word of his was golden. It was advice that came from experience.

Myungjoon returned to his office and put down the green plum extract. People soon flocked over. Everyone brought over their water bottles upon hearing the news of the old man’s green plum extract.

“I’m sure he’ll become hugely successful with this alone even if he quits acting.”

“With that nature of his, he’s bound to succeed in whatever he does. He would earn millions of won per lecture if he ever holds one, but he teaches salarymen classes for free. I would never be able to do that.”

“He can do that because he’s someone who loves acting. Anyway, the green plum extract is amazing this year as well. The ones they sell in markets are too sweet, but his extract has a deep flavor. Yoon Moonjoong Green Plum Extract. I think this is a great business item.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t take too much. This is a precious bottle made by a great senior. Let’s not take too much.”

Myungjoon also poured some of the green plum extract into his insulated water bottle and then poured some water as well. The sweet and sour scent that rose up indicated to him that an awesome green plum tea had been made.

“Don’t drink it all and leave some behind for others,” Myungjoon said to the seniors and juniors surrounding the green plum extract before he left. Now he had to meet writer Kang. He drove his car and headed to writer Kang’s house.

* * *

They couldn’t look happier. Kang Hyojung looked at the chicken in the cages on TV. If they were the ordinary kind where they could only stick their heads out from a very small cramped space to eat, then she wouldn\'t have been so envious.

She was envious because the chicken could freely roam around in a wide cage and cry and eat whenever they wanted to.

“Yeah, that’s happiness, alright.”

It had been eight years since she decided to become a writer. It was already 8 years ago when she received her first lesson at the drama writer’s association. Since then, many things have happened.

She rejoiced after winning her first spot in a documentary and then spent every day like she was in hell when she was a support writer for a drama.

As a result of enduring until now, she was now finally able to air a drama under her own name. She was happy. Her dream had come true.

However, hell unfolded the moment her dreams met reality. She had to edit her script after the item was decided, after she interviewed someone in the field, and after she came up with ideas.

It was something that she wrote, but curiously, it became more and more unfamiliar to her as time passed.

She watched TV for a long while, escaping from reality, before giving her vibrating phone a glance. Was there a person that would call her at this time? Honestly, she didn’t want to pick up. If the vibration stopped midway, she would’ve kept watching TV without minding it. She put her phone, which kept ringing, against her ear. She didn’t even see who it was.

“Hello?”

-Writer, it’s me.

She sat up the moment she heard the voice. It was producer Cha Myungjoon. Why would he call now? Did her allotment in the schedule turn into naught? Or did he not like something? Was she supposed to change episode one entirely?

All sorts of ‘what ifs’ floated around in her head.

-Writer?

“Ah, yes, director. Please speak.”

-Are you unwell? You cannot be unwell. There are three months left now. It will be the first episode in three months, so I can’t have you get sick at this point.

From the look of things, it seemed like the project wasn’t turned over. People were peculiar creatures. Just 10 minutes ago, she hated everything and wanted to quit, but now, she was worried that the production of her drama might not happen. She collected herself and spoke,

“Of course. I’ll be healthy. I’m healthy now too. But why have you called?”

-You told me last time. You said you had a minor character that you were hesitating over how to create. I held an audition this time. I think it’ll help you in writing if you see these actors, so I’m on my way to you right now.

“R-right now?”

-Yes. We agreed that we’ll decide on everything together. We decided to hit a jackpot on our first piece, so we should work our best. Are you outside at the moment?

“No, I’m at home right now.”

-If it’s not okay with you at your home, should we meet at a nearby café?

Hyojung looked around her living room. It wasn’t that dirty. She and director Cha wrote a plan last time in this place as well. She wasn’t at an age where she was uncomfortable about bringing a man to her house either.

“No, please, come.”

-Okay then.

Character, huh? Hyojung scratched her head and stood up.