Chapter 117

Chapter 117

“Stop . ”

The children let out deep sighs as they relaxed; the last run through had ended . Ganghwan gestured for everybody to gather in one place . Like always, the practice would be concluded by everybody reflecting back on their own performance .

“I wanted to use stronger intonations to speak louder, but it didn’t go as I wanted . It was hard to control my breathing as the pronunciation became stronger . Anyway, it was hard . ”

“Even if you gather strength in your stomach to voice out the sounds, in the end, the voice is formed by your mouth . If the form of the vibration is changed, then the balance will break . It would be nice if you could overcome it by controlling your breath, but if it’s hard, it should be better to give a point to one word, rather than emphasizing the entire speech . Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I’ll try it once . ”

“Good, next . ”

Ganghwan looked at a girl standing next to them . Lee Yoojin, she attended Bosung Girls High . She received an Excellent Acting Award at the Youth Theater Festival that was held this year . Her team performance resulted in the Best Acting Award just short of the grand prize, but individually, her acting was superior to everybody else here . She’s already made her debut through the TV as well . Despite being a minor role, the experience she gained from working together with professionals couldn’t be ignored .

“It felt good because a lot of my nervousness disappeared . I could see more of the stage too . I was only able to see the center of the auditorium yesterday, but today, I was able to see the sides too . ”

“Good . The fact that your field of view widened means that you’re more relaxed . Was there anything you didn’t like about your performance today?“

“Nothing in particular . ”

“You’re confident, I like it . ”

In the end, they were the first ones to see their own acting . It wasn’t possible to please others if they themselves weren’t pleased with their own performance, actors had to carry a bit of arrogance that came from believing that their acting was the best . It was a world that they couldn’t survive in by just being flung around .

“Is there a role that you’re aiming for?”

“I would like Seulmi . ”

“Hm, the female lead . The competition will be fierce . ”

She could be called the protagonist of the scenario, ‘Year 3 Class 3’, that had been chosen for the practice performance this time around . In addition to Seulmi, there was the class president, teacher, and Chuljin . These four characters made an appearance in all the scenes . Ganghwan went a step further and extended the script for these four characters while creating a point of conflict amongst them .

Twelve students were participating in the play and there were four major roles, the auditions starting tomorrow would be competitive . The students that were here were all greedy for acting, nobody was doing it half-heartedly . On top of that, Yoojin, who already starred in a TV program, had been gunning for the main role .

Look at their eyes .

There were five girls out of the twelve students . The five of them had to fight for two main roles, Seulmi and the teacher that could be played regardless of gender . It was obvious that they all wanted one of the two .

It’s going to be fun .

Ganghwan went across the four remaining girls and asked .

“Is there anybody else who wants to play Seulmi?”

Three people immediately raised their hands . The one person who didn’t raise her hand said that she wanted to play the teacher .

“4 people . Are all of you confident?”

“Yes . ”

Nobody backed off . Everybody had an expression that showed the role was theirs . As I thought, kids these days are scary .

“Good, then Seulmi will be the first role that we’ll be auditioning tomorrow . Everybody should come prepared . Let’s see who best fits the role of Seulmi . Ah, I won’t be doing this evaluation by myself . You’ll be doing it as well . However, my evaluation will carry the most weight . ”

“How will the evaluation process be done?”

The one who asked the question was Maru . Ganghwan spoke as he stroked his chin .

“It won’t be split into detailed categories . You’ll be stating your impressions, while I’ll be giving the overall score . It’ll probably be fun . You’ll get to be the judge while also being judged . ”

Ganghwan took out his phone and checked the time . It was almost time to wrap up .

“Good work today too . Pack your stuff and let’s leave . ”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The children stretched after giving a short bow .

“Han Maru . ”

Maru was preparing to go back with her, but looked back after being called . Ganghwan made a hand gesture . I wonder what it is .

“You have time today right?”

“Huh? Why are you asking?”

“Don’t ask . Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I don’t have any appointments . ”

“That’s good . ”

Ganghwan took out his phone and made a call somewhere . He had a bright expression as he took the call . His first words were, “Senior Junmin . ”

“Teacher?”

“Senior, I’ll be leaving with Maru right now . Yes, yes . I’ll see you in front of Teacher’s house . I’ll be there soon!”

Ganghwan ended the call and walked towards the door .

“What is it?”

“We’re going to have to go somewhere together . ”

“Where?”

“To the house of a teacher who I respect . ”

“Huh?”

“That teacher wants to meet you . Bastard, you’re pretty popular . You probably don’t know because you’re young, but he’s called Yoon Moonjoong…”

“Ah, it’s that elder?”

“You know him?”

“Yes, I met him by chance when I went volunteering at a nursery . ”

“I see, so that’s how he knows you . Anyway, let’s go . ”

“Right now?”

“Yeah, right now . Stop talking and follow me . ”

Maru scratched his eyebrows . It wasn’t that he had other plans, but going to the house of somebody he’s only met a single time bothered him . On top of that, it was somebody who Ganghwan addressed as teacher . It looks like Teacher Junmin will be joining too .

-He was a super popular actor back in the days .

Maru remembered the words of the director from yesterday . It appeared to be true .

“Can you give me a moment?”

Maru went out the exit and looked towards the bus station . She was standing there while looking around, she didn’t get on even when a bus that headed towards her house had arrived .

I forgot .

He had made a promise to go back together . Maru felt sorry while running towards her .

“Where were you? The bus already left . ”

“Sorry, I have an appointment . ”

“An appointment?”

Maru pointed at Ganghwan who was walking towards a black car .

“With the teacher?”

“Yeah, he suddenly wanted to take me somewhere . ”

“Ah, you should’ve told me earlier if that was the case . ”

She pouted .

“Sorry . ”

“You were the one that wanted to go back together . Whatever, it’s fine . It’s not like we went back together before anyway . You can go . ”

It was extremely uncomfortable . If he turned around like this, it was clear she would nag at him later . He knew from his numerous experiences . What should I do . .

“Follow me . ”

“Huh?”

Maru grabbed her hands and walked towards Ganghwan’s car . Ganghwan opened his eyes wide as he looked back .

“Huh?”

“Coach . ”

“Uh, yeah . ”

“I have a request . ”

“People without girlfriends are going to be too lonely to live . ”

“Don’t be like that, it’s too late to send a girl back by herself . I planned to take her back home but I can’t do anything about it because of the appointment . ”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the best . ”

They were on their way back to Seoul after going to Suwon from Myeongdong . It was almost 10pm . Ganghwan stepped on the gas after getting on the Gyeongbu Highway .

“I can’t believe I’m acting like a chauffeur for a kid at this age . It’s sad . ”

“I’ll introduce a girl to you next time . ”

“What, really?”

“If possible . ”

“I have faith in you . ”

Ganghwan’s mood did a 180 . Maru knew that Ganghwan wasn’t behaving like that because he was lonely, it was just a habit . He never once saw Ganghwan go out of his way to attempt to be in a relationship, acting always came first . That’s why Maru was curious how Ganghwan would react if he really did introduce a girl to him .

“Anyway it’s getting pretty late, will you be ok? Teacher said it’s fine if we meet at a later date . ”

“They say to take the iron out while it’s hot . We might as well go since the situation is already like this . ”

“What about school?”

“Please take care of me . ”

“… . ”

“I already let my mother know that I won’t be able to go back home tonight . ”

“You need to respect your coach a bit more . I’m going to tell you right now, but I’m not your chauffeur . ”

“I know, but I believe that you’ll take me to school . You know Suwon’s a bit too far from Seoul . I’ll spend a night at the elder’s house before going back down . ”

“You’re really shameless, asking to sleepover at a person’s house you’re visiting for the first time . ”

“The situation calls for it, and I already received permission . ”

“What? When?“

“Earlier through the phone . I asked if I could spend a night because the distance was too far . ”

“Meticulous kid . ”

“I’ll take it as a compliment . ”

Ganghwan clicked his tongue and turned the steering wheel .

Ganghwan turned off the engine of the car that was parked in front of a house . There was a pine tree in the courtyard that looked over the house, with an old chair in front of it . A pathway built out of pebbles led to the residence . It felt more cozy than elegant . The steel door attached to the wall was slightly open . Ganghwan couldn’t find a doorbell no matter how much he looked, so he ended up making a phone call outside the door .

“Yes, senior . I’m here . Ah, you want us to just come in? Yes, okay . ”

It appeared that permission had been granted, Maru took a step inside the door . The sound of pebbles being stepped on could be heard, followed by faint barking from inside the house . A savory fragrance wafted over .

“It’s meat and pine mushrooms . As expected, beef goes together the best with pine mushrooms . ”

Ganghwan hummed as he opened the door to the house . Maru took another look at the old chair that was left by itself in the courtyard before going in . As soon as he was inside, the strong scent of beef filled the air along with the smell of the pine mushrooms .

“Teacher!”

“A pleasant guest is here . ”

Moonjoong and Jumin were sitting on the floor . He wondered why they left the perfectly fine sofa to sit on the floor, but it was because they were lighting up the stove in front of them . The beef and mushrooms were being cooked on top of the small stove .

“Hello . ”

Maru bowed in the direction of the two teachers .

“Welcome, it was an unreasonable request, but thank you for agreeing to it . Come sit, let’s talk after eating . ”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s listen to the teacher and eat first . ”

Maru placed down a drink set that he brought as a gift by the entrance .

“You’re empty handed?”

“Haha, teacher . I’m the gift, you’re being too stingy when we haven’t met for a year . ”

“Tsk tsk, you can’t help but hate him . ”

It looked like Moonjoong and Ganghwan had a good relationship from the level of friendliness they showed . Maru grinned and took a seat .

“Maru . ”

“Yes . ”

“Do you like pine mushrooms?”

“Of course, I can’t eat it because I don’t have any . ”

“Haha, that’s good . ” Moonjoong laughed out loud . Judging from his face that had a red tint, it appeared that they already had a drink or two . As if to prove this, there was a ceramic bottle next to the box of mushrooms, with the words Andong Soju engraved .

“Hey, come here and flip over the meat . ”

“Yes, Teacher!” Ganghwan answered merrily .

“We’re going to go out for some fresh air . ” Junmin took the drunk Ganghwan out with him . Ganghwan wanted to stay inside because it was cold, but Junmin brought him out .

“Who did you learn how to drink from?”

“My father taught me . ”

“Good job, it’s good practice to have your first drink with an adult . If you make a mistake with the first drink, you won’t know the true taste of alcohol . ”

Maru kneeled and held out his cup . It was already the third cup .

“This is the last cup . ”

“Thank you . “

The soju flowed out and made a circle in the cup . It was Maru’s turn to take the ceramic bottle and fill Moonjoong’s cup .

“You don’t need to force yourself to drink it . ”

“It’s a precious drink, I can’t waste it . ”

“Hut hut, this child . ”

The two people quietly emptied their cups . Maru placed some meat and mushrooms on top of the empty grill .

“What made you start acting?”

Maru took a moment to think, and spoke truthfully .

“I’m not acting because I like it . I’m doing it to earn money . ”

“To earn money… Good, that’s good . I was like that as well . I wanted to become a singer at first, but my father said he would break my legs if I became an entertainer, so I ended up becoming an actor instead . It’s strange, they’re both occupations that deliver joys and sorrows to others, but one has a higher status than the other . ”

“I heard it was like that in the past . ”

“Everybody’s trying to become a singer now . It’s a good job . People shouldn’t be treating it so disdainfully . ”

Maru took notice and filled up the glass again . Moonjoong drank a bottle and a half by himself, but he was perfectly fine, he has amazing alcohol tolerance . Maru thought as he put aside the bottles .

“I heard you were late because you wanted to take a girl home . ”

“Yes, I was scared of sending her back alone . I’m sorry . ”

“No, no, I was the one that made the request, so there’s no reason for you to be sorry . She must be a precious friend . ”

“She’s somebody who I’m giving all of my heart to . ”

“Hut hut! You’ll get headaches later if you start talking about love at such a young age . ”

“I think so too . ”

The flow of the conversation was comfortable . As expected, a quiet seating like this suited Maru more than mindlessly talking with other kids . The sizzling of the food being cooked, Moonjoong’s soft laughter, as well as the occasional sound of the wind blowing through the window created a tranquil atmosphere in the living room .

“Is the reason you’re acting because of that girl?”

“… . . Was it that obvious?”

“How would I not be able to tell when such a clear child starts grinning nonstop when talking about her . So it’s for love . That’s also good . ”

Moonjoong made a pleased smile and turned towards Maru .

“I felt this when I first met you, but you’re really mature . However, it’s almost weird because the maturity seems so natural . When I look at your peers, I can roughly tell what kind of life they’ve been living, but it’s different when it comes to you . ”

“… . ”

“The reason I wanted to meet you tonight isn’t anything special . I just wanted to know a bit more about you . Would it be possible to tell me about yourself? Anything is fine . If you have any concerns, I can listen to them as well . The wits of an old man can sometimes become medicine . ”

Concerns .

Maru put down the chopsticks that he had been holding . It wouldn’t hurt to talk about some of the things I’ve been worried about to a senior in life .