Life, Once Again!

“Seonbae, are you leaving?”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Don’t say that. Do your best, seonbae. Treat us to some food if you become big later. You can’t ignore us, okay?”

Gaeul said yes to the juniors of her acting club before changing her shoes. Although club activities finished at 5 on Saturdays, she notified the teachers beforehand that she would be leaving at 2.

She took the bus and then took the train to Seoul. She grabbed the handle with one hand and held up the script that her instructor gave her in the other to read out loud.

“I like you. I don’t care what you think about me. I’m selfish? I still don’t care.”

It was the line of a woman in a movie who desperately pleaded while grabbing the hands of a man who was in a coma. When she first watched that movie, Gaeul understood what it was like to be at a loss for words due to being touched. She sniffled like a fool by herself and replayed that scene over and over again. The title of that movie was ‘Spring Calendar’.

When she went through the lines, the emotions became vivid again, making her nose tinge. It was a really good movie - just as she was thinking that, she met eyes with the woman right in front of her, who seemed to be a college student. Seeing her turn her head away in a fluster, Gaeul felt her face turning hot. She decided to go through the lines quietly, but it seemed that she raised her voice again while she was absorbed in the lines. She smiled awkwardly before turning away. When she did, she could see another lady looking at her with pity. It’s alright, go on - the lady’s eyes seemed to say.

Gaeul looked around before fleeing to the next car over.

As she stared at the train map, she eventually arrived at her destination. When she sighed and took a step off the train, she saw the college girl she met eyes with before getting off the neighboring car. They met eyes once again, and the college girl nodded in pity. She wanted to grab her and tell her that she was practicing acting, but she made a sad expression instead because she thought that it would make matters worse. She went further and even covered her mouth and pretended to swallow her sobs. After receiving twisted pity for a moment, Gaeul quickly left the station.

“Wow.”

Gaeul chuckled after looking at the script in her hands. It seemed that she was misunderstood because she looked sad. It also meant that she managed to bring out the emotions in the lines pretty well. It made her pretty flustered, but now that she took a breather, she felt good since it was like her skills were acknowledged. The lines she practiced plentily while harboring them in her heart managed to stimulate other people’s emotions. Gaeul engraved the line she put in her notes once again as she started walking.

As she was walking on the streets that she had not gotten used to yet, she saw a large poster ad on the wall of a large store. A woman wearing a black coat was looking down on the streets. The woman, who seemed to fit so well with the brand-name clothes, looked like she would rip herself out of the poster at any moment.

“Wow.”

Gaeul exclaimed softly. Ahn Joohyun, she was such a good actress. She was cool right now, but the act she showed in ‘Spring Calendar’ was charming to the point that she couldn’t forget about it. The line she was studying and practicing as an assignment right now was also her line in the movie. Perhaps it left an even deeper impression because that was the only scene in the movie where strong emotions were exposed.

She stopped and admired the poster for a while before taking out her phone from her bag and taking a photo of it. She was an actress who she wanted to have as a role model. She didn’t know if it was possible, but Ahn Joohyun was the type of actress she wanted to be.

She thought that she should hurry. Gaeul pulled on her bag straps before walking quickly. When she walked past the restaurant that she resolved to go to one day, she saw the agency building. She took out her entrance card in order to enter the company. She pushed the glass door open and went inside, walked past the people who were resting, and put her entrance card on the security gate. She stared at the plastic gates that opened sideways before quickly going inside. She came to the company by herself a few times before, but she was still not used to this place.

She took an elevator up. After getting off, she turned left and went inside the door that was right in front of her.

“You’re here.”

“Hello.”

Gaeul greeted Choi Gyeonmi, who was inside the practice room. Gyeonmi was reading a book on a tall chair without a backrest, and spoke while looking at her in a slightly glaring fashion.

“Since you’re here, you should do some stretches.”

“Ah, yes.”

She felt nervous. It was definitely a joyful thing that she got to learn from an actress who she only saw on TV programs, but being alone inside a practice room with Gyeonmi, who seemed slightly cold, definitely placed a lot of pressure on her. Gyeonmi was over 50 years old, but she didn’t look like that. The loose-fit black shirt, the contrasting white cotton pants, and glasses with a silver strap attached to it - all of these elements seemed to represent her as a cool beauty.

Gaeul sat on the ground and looked at her own body. Although she had taken good care of her body since young, she felt immensely lacking compared to Gyeonmi.

She wished that she was a little taller. She looked at Gyeonmi, who could reach the ground with her foot even on a tall chair, before calming down and starting to exercise. She did some stretches starting from the middle of her body. Just then, she heard the door open and heard a yawning sound.

“Huh?”

Heewon, who just entered, looked at Gyeonmi and made a surprised face. He quickly looked at the clock in the practice room before sighing in relief.

“Lee Heewon. Personally, I’d like you to come a little earlier in the future.”

“I don’t think I’m late yet….”

When Gyeonmi glared at him, Heewon quickly changed his words.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be early starting next time. I mean it.”

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard that already?”

“Twice…?”

“Twice after another five times.”

“Really?”

Heewon smiled brightly before slowly coming over to her and sitting down. Gaeul coughed softly before speaking,

“You should come a little earlier. You know that teacher always comes early.”

“That’s why I came 4 minutes early today. I wonder why she’s so early this time when she usually comes around 5 minutes early.”

Heewon laughed when he felt Gyeonmi’s gaze. She really couldn’t imagine how this guy would continue living if not for his little brother. Would he even eat properly? Perhaps he would even find breathing too bothersome. While Heewon sweated due to Gyeonmi’s stare, a savior appeared.

“Hello, ma’am.”

Haewon came in and greeted with a clear voice. Gyeonmi, who was sharply staring at Heewon over her glasses, made a gentle smile.

“Yes, Haewon, you’re here too?”

“Yes. May I watch today as well?”

“Sure, you can.”

“Thank you for accepting my request every time. Oh, yes, ma’am.”

Haewon took out something from the bag on his back. It was a brown paper bag, and a savory smell wafted out from inside.

“If you’re okay with this, please eat some.”

Gyeonmi put her hand inside the paper bag. Gaeul also stared at the bag.

“You don’t need to buy something like this for me.”

“I was just walking by and it smelled so nice. I thought it would be great to eat them together so I bought some. I also remembered you saying that you liked them.”

“I couldn’t buy them because I was busy, but I guess I still get to eat some thanks to you. Thank you.”

What Gyeonmi took out of the bag was a slice of baguette which had a rough texture. Now that she thought about it, the bread Gyeonmi always had by her side wasn’t there today.

“Ooh, bread.”

Heewon went over as well. Gyeonmi unwillingly gave him a piece.

“Gaeul, you should come as well.”

“Yes.”

“Thank Haewon for it. Sheesh, I really wonder who’s the real big brother here.”

“Haha, I get that a lot,” Heewon said.

Gaeul laughed inside. This guy really didn’t care about what others thought of him. Being able to say something like that without restraint was, in some way, an ability in itself. Gyeonmi pressed between her eyes and shook her head slightly. She always made that gesture after talking with Heewon.

“So delicious.”

“Hyung, take it slow. No one’s taking it away from you.”

Looking at Haewon reminded her of mothers holding their newborns. Those mothers would console and look after their babies. He would be a kind, caring father if he ever got married.

Gyeonmi shook her hands before standing up. Gaeul also cleaned the surroundings.

“Aren’t you going to eat more?”

Only Heewon stayed seated, reaching out to the bag of baguettes. Just as he was taking out a new piece of bread, Gyeonmi hit the back of his hand with her script.

“We should begin, don’t you think?”

“How about we do that after we fini… nothing.”

Heewon quickly changed his words after seeing Gyeonmi roll her book even tighter. She had seen this several times already, yet she laughed every time.

“Gaeul, you’re laughing?”

“Oh, no, I’m not.”

She ended up laughing when she put her guard down. She turned her head away from Gyeonmi’s prickly glare and saw Heewon, who had a big grin on his face. Gaeul groaned since Heewon was clearly greeting a comrade.

“Looks like the both of you have prepared the assignments I gave you perfectly, huh? Seeing as you are so leisurely. Leaving aside Heewon, Gaeul, you seem pretty confident too, huh?” Gyeonmi said as she took off her glasses.

It seemed that the class today was going to be quite strict. Haewon quietly took the bag of baguettes and moved to a corner of the practice room.

“I’ll watch from here.”

“You can freely move around and watch from anywhere. There are drinks in the fridge, so drink them if you feel thirsty. Make yourself at ease.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Gyeonmi, who looked at Haewon with satisfaction, quickly changed her expression before turning around.

“Well, then. Let’s start with Heewon, since you were late, shall we?”

“Uhm, I wasn’t….”

“Wasn’t?”

“Nothing. I was late. He, heheh.”

She moved away from Heewon, who was standing in the middle of the practice room. Gaeul slightly tapped her cheeks to shake off the leisure and prankful nature she had. From now on, she had to be very tense. She especially had to watch Heewon’s acting closely. She desperately needed the power of her eyes in order to understand that indescribable thing. In order to not miss an expression or a gesture, Gaeul took a deep breath before straining her eyes.

“Where did you get your lines from?”

“Maskman, the Warrior of Light.”

“What?”

Gyeonmi twitched her eyes. Gaeul also perked up her ears, thinking that she might have heard wrong.

“Maskman, the Warrior of Light. He transforms like this and….”

He made a weird posture before shouting ‘transform’. Gaeul palmed her face. She never thought that he would bring something like that.

“It’s really fun. I have videotapes of it at home, and I probably watched it around five times.”

“Is it something like Superman, then?”

“It’s different, but it’s something similar.”

“I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I’m glad that you’ve prepared something. I actually thought that you would come without preparing anything.”

“Oh, no. I’m not that lazy. I do it when I need to.”

“Obviously, Haewon probably had to nag you to do it.”

“He didn’t.”

“You still don’t get that lying takes skill, huh. It’s written all over your face, so stop saying nonsense and try doing it. After acting, summarize what you wanted to show me.”

“Okay. But do you really not know Maskman?”

“Do you know Moulin Rouge?”

“No.”

“Then forget about it and show it to me already.”

Heewon blinked before taking a deep breath and getting into position. He was in the funny posture he made earlier. He stood with his legs wide apart and crossed his arms before putting them in front of his face. A sigh could be heard. Gaeul turned around. She saw Heawon, who was smiling awkwardly in embarrassment.

At that moment, a loud voice could be heard.

“We fight for the peace of Earth!”

Oh my lord - Gaeul had to seal her lips tight in order to prevent herself from laughing. She was reminded of the actions that boys would make during elementary school. What Heewon was doing right now was extremely similar to that. He made a big circle in the air with his crossed arms before jumping. He seemed to be transforming(?) or something. She quietly looked at Gyeonmi. Gyeonmi had a faint smile on her face as though she was wanting to see where he was going to go with this.

“Mask Black!”

Heewon waved his hand in the air as though he was ripping out of something and then raised his head while putting one knee on the ground.

Gaeul had to turn her head away in order to hold back from laughing.