“You didn’t want to see me?”
Maru looked at
her
, who was hesitating. He grinned when he saw that
she
licked her
lips wondering about what to say. Actually, he was aware that it was
her
being considerate of him that they didn’t meet recently.
“Looks like I was the only one who wanted to meet.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then you wanted to see me?”
“Do I really have to say it?”
“That’s right.”
“Fine, I wanted to see you. Satisfied?”
Seeing
her
pout, Maru nodded his head. The place they were in was filled with the smell of pizza. It was the pizza restaurant they visited before. Right now,
she
was slicing a piece of pizza with cherry tomatoes and basil on top, and was putting it on a plate.
“Here.”
Maru received the pizza that
she
cut for him. The glistening surface made it look delicious. He took a bite before looking in front of him.
She
was eating her
pizza with a happy face.
She
looked like a rabbit when she
was chewing. Thinking back, a lot of
her
actions reminded Maru of rabbits. That was also why he gifted her
a ring that was shaped like a rabbit.
“Wasn’t there a rabbit in one of your nicknames?”
“Didn’t you know that already?”
She
spoke as she showed off the ring she
was wearing.
“Rather than that, how could you call all of a sudden and tell me to meet you? What were you going to do if I had acting club practice?”
“Who was the one that said there was no practice this Saturday when I called on Thursday?”
“...Did I tell you that?”
“I thought that was your way of indirectly threatening me that we should meet. It wasn’t?”
She
turned her
head away slightly and made a strange smile.
“It’s dark already.”
“It’s past seven.”
Maru looked outside as well. Lights were starting to appear from parts of buildings that were darkening due to the dusk. Various colored signs drove the darkness back, and people were walking in the brightened streets. Most of them were students. There were also some young couples. The next block over should have some salarymen wearing suits. After all, that block was filled with bars and restaurants that sold alcohol.
At that moment,
she
, who was looking outside, flinched for a moment before turning her
head around to the table. Maru wondered what was going on and looked at the place where
she
was looking. There were girls wearing the same uniform as
her
outside the restaurant. They were staring his way and they started whispering among themselves before entering the restaurant.
“I knew it!”
The girls shouted as soon as they came in.
She
raised her
head and laughed awkwardly. It seemed that they were her
friends.
“What. You told me you had something to do, and it was a date?”
“Uhm… yeah.”
She
smiled in embarrassment. Maru waved at the girls that looked at him.
“I’m right. It’s the boy from back then.”
“Wow.”
Did these girls know him? Maru tilted his head.
Her
friends started giggling and started talking about the event that happened at the Center of Culture and Art in Ansan. He did remember shouting at
her
that he would go to her. Now that he thought about it, it embarrassed him to no end.
“Hey hey. Let’s get going. We can’t disturb them. Bunbun
[1]
, see you tomorrow. See you later too, Mr. Boyfriend.”
Her
friends then disappeared in an instant. Maru covered his mouth and chuckled.
She
also smiled.
“Your nickname is Bunbun?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s cute. I should call you that too.”
“Please don’t.”
Although
she
was saying that, her
eyes were smiling.
She
didn’t seem to hate it that much. Thanks to her
witty friends, their time together did not get reduced. It was a thankful thing.
“Oh right. I heard you went to a shoot suddenly today. What happened to that?”
“I did well.”
“An extra this time as well?”
“No, a minor role this time. I don’t know the specifics, but I might go there a few times more.”
“Really? Congratulations.”
She
put down her fork and leaned forward.
She
rejoiced like it was her
own matter. Maru thought that this was why he couldn’t help but fall for her
.
“You have lines too?”
“A few.”
“That’s good. Ah, I want to try shooting a drama too. It sounds fun.”
She
looked upwards and smiled. It seemed that
she
was imagining what it would be like at the scene. Maru watched her
for a while before speaking.
“If you want to go to a drama set, do you want to try a part-time job for a supplementary role?”
“Can I?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but I can ask a guy that works there.”
“Then, yes. I want to try.”
“But are you okay with that? You have acting club activities.”
“I can miss a day or two. It’s not that strict.”
“Then I’ll try asking. It’s not a surefire method, so don’t expect too much.”
“No, I’m going to expect a lot.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have said that. Wait a sec then.”
“You’re going to ask right now?”
“Since we’re at it, why not?”
Maru called Woojoo. Thankfully, Woojoo was on break and didn’t have any problems with having a call right now.
“A friend of mine wants to try the supplementary role part time job. If it’s not too much, can I ask how to apply for one?”
-If it’s like that, then sure, I can do that. I received some help from you as well.
Since he was willingly helping him out, Maru didn’t see a reason to refuse. He asked whether there were any roles for a girl that was held within the capital and the surrounding regions.
-I can ask the leader and he’ll probably reply immediately, so I’ll get back to you soon. But a friend of yours, huh. Does she do acting as well?
“Yes.
She’s
good.”
-Then I’ll tell the leader just that. I’ll get back to you.
“Sorry for bothering you.”
-I’m paying my debt, so you don’t have to be.
He hung up and looked at
her
.
Her
eyes were filled with expectation. Maru felt that he would have to look into other methods of getting
her
the part time job if this wasn’t possible. He didn’t want to see
her
disappointed.
After finishing their meal, they went to the café next door. There was a buy-one-get-one-free event for Americano coffee for students only. They entered the crowd of students and ordered two cups of coffee. For some reason,
she
ordered an Americano as well.
“I thought you didn’t like bitter stuff.”
“But this one’s free.”
She
took out some money from her wallet with a smile. Maru put back the credit card he was fiddling in his hand into his wallet.
“Maru, you should really save up on money. It looks like you’re splurging whenever I meet you.”
“Well, I guess I should. If I think about the marriage expenses, furniture, and even the honeymoon, I guess I indeed should save up. Is a monthly lease better than a
jeonse
[2]
? What do you think?”
“Isn’t a
jeonse
better?”
“....”
She
nonchalantly replied and sucked on the straw. Maru was planning to tease
her
, but since her
reaction was so smooth, it made him flustered instead.
She
looked at him in the eyes before giggling.
“What? You look disappointed.”
After saying that,
she
frowned.
She
opened the lid and poured a lot of syrup inside.
She
really couldn’t eat bitter things.
“It’s not tasty.”
“I told you you should’ve gone with your usual menu.”
They took the coffee and left the café. The evening winds were quite chilly, and the warmth emanating from where they were holding hands felt quite good. Maru held
her
hand and walked along the streets.
“I have something to buy.”
She
walked ahead of him. The place
she
arrived at was a local dollar store. They had a variety of products ranging from cosmetics to kitchenware. This place was filled with students as well. On the entrance were the words ‘Fee of 100 times the price if anyone gets caught stealing’.
“What are you going to buy?”
She
didn’t say anything and walked up to the place where cosmetics were lined up. In this place where Maru didn’t even know any of the brands,
she
picked a few facemasks that were displayed on one side. Maru didn’t know what it was, but he could understand the words ‘skin calming’.
She
picked up five of them before walking towards the counter. While
she
paid for those things, Maru had a glimpse of her
wallet. It was completely empty.
“Give me your bag.”
Maru watched as
she
stuffed the facemasks into his bag.
“You’re giving them to me?”
“Good skin is crucial for both actors and actresses.”
“I don’t need these things.”
“You should start managing your skin when you’re still young.”
Why was it that
she
reminded him of his grandma that stuffed his hand with a 5,000 won bill when he visited her with his family, saying that he should keep it a secret from his mom? After putting them inside the bag,
she
smiled with a sense of achievement. Was this something to rejoice about? At that moment, Woojoo gave him a call.
-The leader says we need one for Youth Generation, how about it? As for clothes, just casual clothes are fine. For now, she only needs to do crowd scenes, but she might get more if her acting skills are up to par. I think it’s quite okay since it’s the same drama. The date is next Sunday, and the meeting time is 6 in the morning.
“Please wait a moment.”
Maru looked at
her
. Although
she
would say that she
was fully grown up, in Maru’s eyes,
she
was still a child. He would be much at ease if he could be with
her
rather than having her
by herself.
“There’s a spot in Youth Generation, do you wanna try? It’s next Sunday and the meeting time is 6 in the morning.”
“I do, I do,”
she
spoke as she
closed her
face against his.
She
was close. It also seemed like
she
smelled of baby powder. Maru pushed on
her
forehead with his index finger as he spoke,
“Yes, hyung.
She
says she’ll do it.”
-Really? Then I’ll tell the leader about it, so that friend of yours needs to message the number I’m about to send you now.
She
has to send whether she’s participating or not on the day itself, so don’t forget.
“Alright. Thanks.”
-You’re welcome. Also, see you on set. I think I’m going to be going there for the foreseeable while.
“Okay, see you then.”
He hung up and told
her
that the schedule was set.
She
rejoiced like a little child. Maru told
her
the number that Woojoo sent him.
She
quickly inputted the number into her
phone before sending a text message right away.
“So, we’re shooting together then?”
Hearing those words, Maru flinched. He was not one of the main characters, so there was no way he was required to show up to every shoot.
“You might have to go by yourself.”
“Ah, okay.”
She
looked slightly disappointed. Maru pondered for a brief moment. Next Sunday. Today was the 24th of July, and the preliminaries for the acting competition was the 8th of August. He would probably have to practice on Sunday. Maru thought about that for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s go together on Sunday.”
“But you said you might not have a shoot that day.”
“I’ll just be your manager for the day.”
“Can you do that?”
“Is there a reason I can’t do that?”
“How about practice?”
“I can take a day off too.”
“Really?”
She
looked slightly down. It seemed that
she
was worried. Maru reached out and grabbed
her
cheek and twisted it slightly before letting go.
She
pouted before stroking her
cheek against his hand.
“Let’s go. It’s getting late.”
Although the acting club and its members were important, they weren’t as important compared to
her
. Also, he wasn’t in a bad condition where taking a day off would have him worried. If he didn’t have such confidence, he wouldn’t even be thinking about getting the grand prize in the first place.
She
didn’t say anything for a while, but after that,
she
said that she looked forward to it with her
unique relaxing smile. Maru also nodded.
They waited at the bus stop briefly until the bus headed for
her
house came.
“Get on then.”
“Yeah, I’m off.”
She
tagged her transportation card. The bus slowly started driving.
She
waved her hand through one of the back windows of the bus. Maru also waved at her.
“Rather than that, she likes
jeonse
better, huh.”
And it would be better if they lived in Seoul as well. A
jeonse
in Seoul… Maru heaved a deep sigh. Although the 300 million won in his bank account was a large sum of money. It was pitiful compared to the real estate prices of Seoul. Also, since he wanted to present his daughter with the best possible things, it seemed that he had to start saving up money very strictly.
“Am I going too far?”
Maru looked at the bus that had
her
in it. What would he do if there came a day when
she
came up to him and said that
she
liked someone else better? Maru pondered about that for a moment before grinning. He had thought about that problem numerous times in the past, but there was only one conclusion: he had to become a man
she
could never give up on. It was that simple.
A bus arrived. It was the bus to his house. Maru took out his MP3 player from his bag before getting on the bus. He put his earphones on and started enjoying some music.
Just then,
“...Wait.”
Maru stared outside the window. He could see a boy and a girl walking together on the streets. Both of them were people he knew. The problem was that he knew them
too
well.
Maru stroked his chin before taking out his phone. Then he made a call. Of the walking duo, the girl stopped and answered her phone. That was proof enough.
-What?
Bada replied in a picky voice. My dear sister, I’m watching you right now.
“Where are you?”
-Why do you ask?
“I just wanted you to buy some snacks when you come home.”
-Gosh, please stop asking me for that stuff.
“Credit card.”
-...What shall I bring you, my dear brother?
“Something with chocolate on it. It would be better if it tasted like love.”
-What the heck are you saying.
“Hey, hand the phone over to Dowook who’s standing there like a complete idiot. Also, if you came all the way here because you didn’t want to be caught, I’d like to tell you that that’s not necessary.”
At that moment, Bada hung up. Maru saw her frantically scanning her surroundings. The bus that stopped because of a red light, started driving again and Maru could no longer see the two. He then messaged Dowook.
-Hang out healthily, okay? Healthily.
He got a reply immediately.
-I was kidnapped.
Oh, really now?
Bada had a rather reckless side of her just like her mother. If she took after her father a little more, she would’ve become a more cautious and earnest girl….
Maru smiled and closed his phone. Since this matter concerned the two of them, it was up to those two to decide what they did. It was up to them to go out after all. As for marriage, though… that required a detailed examination with a microscope.
At that moment, he got another message.
-You’re so dead. DEAD!
It was from Bada.
She was one scary sister alright. She paid back his graces with revenge. Maru thought that the first thing he had to do after going home was to lock his door.
[1]
Rabbit -> Bunny -> Bun -> Bunbun… Original is 토순이. I’m open to suggestions
[2]
Wikipedia for more info
. Basically, another method of getting a residence that is somewhat unique to Korea.
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