Chapter 174

Chapter 174

“Yes, teacher . ”

- Are you busy?

Suyeon could hear loud noises from over the phone . Was he at a set?

“Nope . I’m always free if you need me . ”

- That’s good . I’m at Kyungbook . Can you come here right now?

“Kyungbook? Why?”

- I’m scouting out a location for filming, and you came to mind . You don’t have to come if you can’t .

“Calling me from Kyungbook on such a short notice? That’s a bit too much, don’t you think? I’m in Seoul . ”

Even as she said this, Suyeon was already working the navigator . Junmin wouldn’t call people out without a reason .

“Where exactly in Kyungbook?”

- You’re coming?

“Why wouldn’t I go?”

- Juwangsan National Park . Call me when you arrive, I’ll give you the details when you’re here .

“Looks like I’ll be there in six hours . Do they provide meals when I get there?”

- Of course . It’s six right now, so you’ll probably be able to arrive before midnight if you leave right away .

“I’m going to take it slow . But scouting? Since when were you a location manager?”

- Well, I got a picture of a decent place I was told about, and I had a good feeling . So I came here to check it out for myself .

“I mean, that place is already famous for filming . ”

- It’s a bit away from the actual park . Almost a wild mountain . Looks good, though .

“Ugh, you’re too much . I’m an established actress, you know that? Not a personal servant . ”

- You don’t have to come then . Ah, put that over there .

A voice belonging to a different man spoke over Junmin’s, Suyeon felt one of her eyebrows twitching .

“Teacher . ”

- What .

“Is there someone next to you?”

- People .

“I think I heard Mr . Geunsoo just now . ”

- He’s here . He was my driver .

“How could you just use such quality people for menial tasks like that?”

- Because I pay them . Anyway, get over here . You might catch us leaving if you dally for too long .

“Fine! I’ll be there quickly, so don’t say something so scary . ”

She revved up the engine after hanging up . She thought about her day thus far . She didn’t have much to worry about since her drama was over . It was the evening of a weekday, the highways should be clear right now . She should be able to get there before midnight . She bought some food from the convenience store before coming back to her car . Right then, her phone rang . Was it Junmin? Ah, Geunseok .

“Ah, there was him, huh . ”

She forgot she even had a lesson with the boy and didn’t much care for it . She originally got close to the boy in the hopes of closing in on Geunsoo . At this point, she might not really need him .

“Yeah, Geunseok?”

- I’m about to arrive, coach .

“Sorry, something urgent came up today . I don’t think I can make it . ”

She got in her car with her phone sandwiched between her shoulder and cheek, she could hear Geunseok’s surprised voice from over the phone .

- What? But today’s when we have the lesson…

“Sorry . Just rest for today . Maybe go play with friends?”

- Coach .

The boy was calling out to her desperately . Ugh . This was why kids were annoying to deal with, they just didn’t know when to give up . They wanted to always take, take, take from a give and take relationship .

“Geunseok, I’m disappointed . ”

- What?

“You’re not like a man at all . I thought you were a gentleman who cared for ladies . I’m very disappointed . ”

- No, that’s not it at all .

“Right? I’ve been mistaken, right? Anyway, don’t come over . I won’t be there . ”

- Are you going far?

“What does that matter to you?”

- . . . Never mind .

“I’m hanging up . ”

- W-wait!

Suyeon hung up without hesitation, he was getting more and more annoying to deal with . Probably time to draw a line at this point .

‘And here I thought he was someone smart . ’

She thought the boy would strike deals with the other side’s desires in mind . In the end, he just turned out to be a stupid gambler, one that chased after short-term gains . Suyeon mentioned Geunsoo in their meetings once or twice, Geunseok definitely noticed what she meant whenever she mentioned his brother . That’s when the boy was supposed to introduce her to Geunsoo, but the boy just kept pushing it away . Likely because he was afraid of losing her .

“Are they really brothers?”

She threw the phone to the passenger seat . It was still vibrating, but she didn’t even look at it . Geunsoo and Geunseok . They’re brothers in that they’re both very talented, but their personalities were vastly different . Geunsoo had a powerful aura to him, she knew the man would succeed when she saw the independent film he was starring in . He looked like a great person, so much that he is one of the biggest reasons for her six-hour drive . Geunseok wasn’t like that at all . He was talented, sure, and had some leadership qualities . That was it though, a genius with no charm at all .

Of course, life experience might change the boy, not she has the time to wait . Especially with all of the already magnificent men shining around her .

“I hope I get paid for how much I’ve worked so far . ”

Junmin was calling her out, this might turn out to be a great chance for her to form a connection with Geunsoo .

“Being a delinquent is the best . ”

Suyeon drove with a pop song playing on the speaker .

* * *

“Damn it . ”

Geunseok fell back on his bed after coming back home . His silver lining for the week was gone, just like that . Suyeon didn’t tell him anything, either . She probably left the city . He was annoyed . Club work included, there wasn’t anything that was going his way . He called a few girls he knew out of frustration, a few of them readily agreed to come out .

‘Should I play?’

The girls were nothing special compared to Suyeon, but whatever .

“I’ll be out for a bit . ”

His mom gave me a bit of allowance on his way out, he has been getting first place at the academy he went to every week . His dad gave him a brand watch as a reward, there was a bit of pressure to take first place on the next test, but he wasn’t worried . He should be able to take first place easily with some work . He met the girls in front of a karaoke nearby, they all dressed up for the occasion, but they all seemed awkward .

“I’m paying . ”

“Wow, as expected of Geunseok . ”

He was letting out stress at the karaoke with the laughing girls . Right then, he got a call from her brother . It wasn’t a great call, but he took it for now .

“What?”

- I was just curious about how you were .

“Well . ”

- Good to hear . How’s the club? I heard you guys were in a bit of trouble .

“Trouble? From who?”

- Maru .

“Why would you listen to an idiot like that? I’m in charge of the club and I’m telling you there’s no problem . I’ll take care of it, so you work hard yourself . How long are you going to chase your dreams? Dad is incredibly worried about you . With you rolling in the mud in the independent film industry and all . ”

- Haha, true that . Good to hear that you’re focused . Mom and dad must be happy .

His brother sounded as positive as ever . Geunseok was sick of it .

“I’m hanging up . ”

- Geunseok .

His brother didn’t respond even after calling him . Just before Geunseok hung up with a click of his tongue, a voice came through the phone .

- You’re doing acting because it’s fun, right?

“What are you talking about?”

- You’re acting because you’re desperate for acting and for no other reason . Right?

Geunseok let out a little laugh . What the hell was he on about?

“Is that important? I’m talented as all hell . ”

He dropped the phone call and went back into the room, his annoying emotions disappeared as he heard the cheery beat inside . His worries were fading in an instant .

* * *

“The first movie I ever watched starred Jackie Chan, I still remember it very well . I actually watched it several times over in just one day . He was jumping over cars, beating people up with just clothes, and… when I learned that he was doing that with only practical effects, my mind was set . I want to be like Jackie Chan . ”

The boy seemed completely serious . Well, at least he was passionate about what he wanted to do .

“We don’t teach stunts here though . ”

“But I heard the training here is difficult . I learned that overexercising from a young age can ruin your joints or your growth . That’s why I planned on exercising in high school and joining a stunt school afterwards . ”

The boy actually seemed to have a plan, thankfully . Maru was a fan of that .

“I don’t know how much we’ll be of help, but we’ll do our best if you join . ”

“Thank you!!”

“Shh!”

Maru gestured at Bangjoo to lower his voice, the boy nodded with a shocked look .

“So you want to be an actor like Jackie Chan?”

“Yes . I know it’s a ridiculous dream . But that’s why I want to be here . ”

Bangjoo’s shining eyes were a bit intense, Maru gave the boy another bottle of yakult to try to change the mood . The boy grabbed the bottle with his two hands . Now that he looked at it, he was pretty well-built . He must’ve exercised hard already .

“Are you exercising, by any chance?”

“I’m boxing a bit . ”

“Really? I used to box too, just a little . ”

“Is that true?”

The boy’s eyes were starting to shine again . Maru just responded with a “just a little bit” with an awkward smile .

“As I thought, judging by your physique . ”

Bangjoo nodded in understanding . He must be living with his grandparents, judging by how he constantly brought up his grandmother as he talked . Well, at least his manner of speech was very polite .

“Um, senior . The others . . . ”

“They’re all out because of personal matters . I’m here by myself today . ”

“I see . Then, could you tell me how many other freshmen are here? I’d love to know how many comrades I have in arms . ”

Bangjoo clearly seemed very eager to know . Maru hated that he’d have to tell this young lamb the truth of the club, but he had to . He explained the situation shortly to his junior .

“So if three people in total, including me, don’t join . . . ”

“This place will disappear . ”

“That can’t happen!”

“Um, don’t get too fired up . We still have four days, so we have time to think . ”

Saturday was the last day for clubs to turn in their members list, Maru needed to bring the club registration forms from the new members to Taesik by then .

“Please tell me if I can help . I can do anything . ”

Maru felt like he was about to get burned by Bangjoo’s passion, he was very interesting for sure .

“We need to promote the club . Ideas?”

“To promote the acting club… There’s no better thing than acting, right?”

“Mm, that’s true, but . . . ”

Maru gave Bangjoo’s body another glance . He probably had a lot of stamina .

“Are you patient?”

“I’m very good at staying patient . My sister trained me in that department well . ”

“Sister?”

“ . . . Yes, I have an odd elder sister . You don’t have to worry . She’s odd, strange, and monstrous . ”

Bangjoo shuddered like a mouse in front of a snake when he talked about his sister . Trying to know more felt like it would bring Maru trouble, so he decided not to pry .

“Can you stand still for about an hour?”

“Of course . ”

“Alright, help me out tomorrow then . ”

“I understand . ”

“Ah, you might have to skip lunch . Is that okay?”

“ . . . . . . ”

The boy looked the same as when he was talking about his sister, he must care about meals a lot .

“You can eat bread to take care of hunger . ”

“That’s fine, then . ”

He looked brighter already .

“But senior, what are we going to be doing tomorrow?”

Maru decided to give the boy the shortest, most direct answer .

“Performance art . ”