Life, Once Again!

Chapter 964. Crank Up 7

He didn’t like the bed. When he sat down, the bed sunk in. Even the bed sheet was tucked awkwardly. It was clearly not the job of an expert and was most likely the work of a cheaply hired cleaner. Below the sofa was trash thrown away by the previous visitor. If he could see it by just lowering his eyes just a little, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like in the unseen areas. He wanted to call the counter and tell them how terrible this place was, but he did not pick up the phone. The actor Kang Giwoo did not nitpick over something like this.

The phone he placed on the table had been vibrating for a while now. The caller was Han Maru. He intentionally did not pick up after seeing the name, wanting the guy to be nervous for a little.

He got washed and checked his phone. There was one missed call and one text message, which told him to give him a call if he saw the message. Giwoo crossed his legs and sat at the edge of the bed. When he met Maru in the lobby, that guy did not look surprised. It seemed that he had heard from director Park. He gripped his hand and loosened it again, as it still felt sore. That guy was ridiculously strong. Giwoo only tried to taunt him lightly, but he thought that his bones were going to break. That guy must have not liked him poking his face into the piece that he was playing his first lead character in. Or perhaps it was because of that. Giwoo lay on the bed and tossed his phone around a little before calling Maru.

“You called, huh? Sorry. I went to wash right away so I didn’t check.”

-I’m sure you intentionally didn’t pick up after seeing it in the elevator, but you said it’s not like that, so I’m sure it isn’t.

“Why would I intentionally ignore your call? You’re a close friend.”

-Then as a close friend, let me ask you one question.

“Forget one, I can answer two if you want.”

-Why did you participate in this film? You must be busy, so I’m curious as to why you came all the way here, even if it means playing a background character.

It’s to check the relationship between you and Han Gaeul — Giwoo swallowed the words echoing in his mouth and gave the answer he prepared beforehand.

“I said it when I was on the first floor. I wanted to participate in director Park’s work. It’s not just me, any actor would love to have an opportunity like this.”

-For that to be true, your participation was rather sudden.

“Sudden, sure. If I was just a little late, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. It’s a pity that the roles were assigned already, but I guess I should be grateful that I can come to the shoot at all. Also, is it just me or is there a thorn in your words? You sound like I came here because of some other intentions and not just because I wanted to participate in the work of an exceptional director.”

-Did I sound like that? You gripped my hand so tightly when we just met, so I thought you had business with me.

“I was happy to see you so I didn’t notice.”

-I was also a little happy so I put in a little strength.

“How happy were you? It hurt my hand.”

-Not as much as you.

Giwoo felt this since their first encounter, that he would be at odds with this guy from a to z. The moment he first imitated this guy’s acting, the tenacious ties of fate were formed, and they reached all the way until now without being able to sever it. Sometimes, he would feel confident that he had polished himself without having to watch that guy’s acting, but when he looked back at the previous videos, he found new elements to steal. This guy was definitely different from Lee Hyuk. With Lee Hyuk, Giwoo would understand the mechanisms of acting from just seeing him a few times.

With Han Maru though, this guy’s method of acting, as well as his expression of characters, changed every single time. It was as though a different person was acting with the shell of Han Maru every single time, and he could not find any common ground between all of them. Whenever he displayed a new type of acting, Giwoo would replay the video recording numerous times to engrave it into his eyes and dissolve it into his body.

When Maru disappeared to the military, he thought that it was all over now. He believed that there was no more need to study him. However, Han Maru returned as though to fool his thoughts, showed up in a drama, and once again, displayed a completely different character from before. Giwoo felt a headache whenever he watched ‘Doctors.’ He had never encountered a target that was so difficult to imitate.

To Giwoo, Han Maru was a strange creature. They would’ve gone separate ways or become friends a long time ago if it was anyone else. However, his relationship with Han Maru had become neither, and it instead became its own region. He boldly took root as an ‘enemy.’ His eyes looked similar to Giwoo’s grandfather’s; they both had a pair of eyes that were looking so far into the future that it was disturbing. He looked impermeable to everything, but he first showed his opening when he separated from Han Gaeul.

When Giwoo saw him hit on Kim Suyeon to start anew, Giwoo felt relieved, thinking that this guy was also just a male in the end.

However, he recently started suspecting the relationship between him and Kim Suyeon. He heard reliable information through a reliable source, and it was about how Kim Suyeon was dating a man. He naturally thought that it would be Han Maru, but a completely different name was mentioned. It was Hong Geunsoo. It was rather strange. Where did Han Maru go off to and where did Hong Geunsoo come in all of a sudden? Maybe there was nothing between Han Maru and Kim Suyeon after all? When he thought of that, he also thought of this: why did Han Maru have to go so far to lie that he even went as far as to recruit Kim Suyeon into it?

Giwoo did not underestimate that guy. In fact, he viewed that guy more highly than anyone else he had met until now. The conclusion he reached was very humiliating but also explained the situation. If Han Maru and Han Gaeul were still dating and only put on a show in order to prevent that news from leaking….

It was only a hypothesis, but there was considerable weight to it. It was also probably not a coincidence that Giwoo managed to witness his weak point that he had never managed to see before.

“When is that fellow coming?” Giwoo asked in passing.

Now then, how would that guy answer his question, which just mentioned ‘that fellow’?

-If you’re talking about Lee Heewon, then I don’t know. I didn’t know you were coming either.

“There’s another one besides Lee Heewon.”

-Besides Lee Heewon?

Giwoo perked his ears up, in order to catch any trivial changes. Maru asked back if anyone else was coming. He seemed completely oblivious. Was this an act as well?

“I must be mistaken. I forgot that that person was supposed to come here, but did not make it in the end. So, is that all you wanted to ask? You’re suddenly curious about why I’m here?”

-I don’t intend to say anything to an actor wanting to participate in a good piece. However, if you’re thinking about doing some unfunny pranks again, then you should best reconsider. There are many sensitive people with good hunches other than me here. If you try to do your old habit again, you’ll become very controversial in no time, so you better watch out.

“Why are you acting so scary? I really want to become friends with you, but you always push me away. I told you already didn’t I? That was just a deed of a friend of mine when I was immature. Of course, I’m not saying that I’m not in the wrong since it is wrong for me to just let him do it when I knew about it, but there’s no need to go that far, is there?”

-And you’re mature now?

Giwoo silently chuckled as he looked up at the ceiling. For now, Han Maru did not seem to know that Han Gaeul was coming here. If he did, then he would have tried to probe out what he meant when he mentioned ‘that fellow.’ From how he ignored that completely, Giwoo could tell that he had no other information.

Just as his tangled lump of thoughts was being loosened, it suddenly stopped. Assuming that Han Maru and Han Gaeul were still dating, there was no way they didn’t know about each other’s schedules. This was especially true if they cherished each other to the point that they wanted to continue their relationship even if it meant bringing Kim Suyeon to play along with their act.

Perhaps Giwoo was just imagining things. Perhaps Kim Suyeon just dumped the worthless Han Maru and switched to Hong Geunsoo. This hypothesis was well-grounded too. Although she had been quiet for a few years now, Kim Suyeon once switched out numerous men. However, the hunter living inside his head whispered to him that what was happening in front of him was just a trap. He needed conviction; conviction that the two didn’t scheme against him and conviction that they actually got separated.

“Anyways, is it going well with senior Suyeon?”

-We may be close, but we aren’t close enough to talk about each other’s romance, are we?

“I was just a little curious. The two of you suit each other, so try working things out with her.”

-Even if you don’t worry, I’m getting along well.

“Really? Then that’s good.”

Just then, the private investigator he tagged Han Gaeul with sent him a message through the messenger app.

“Let’s talk about the rest later. We need to get close as fellow actors working in the same film.”

He hung up without listening to Han Maru’s words. When he suspected the relationship between Kim Suyeon and Han Maru, he immediately had someone tail Han Gaeul. He asked that person to regularly take photos of Han Gaeul and send them to him, but this was not the specified time. Perhaps there was an urgent inquiry.

He opened up the messenger. What the private investigator sent him was a short line of text and a few photos. Giwoo looked at the screen for a long while. Veins bulged on his temples. He felt like he was burning inside. He put down his phone and went to the bathroom. He needed some cold water. Without shivering-cold water, he would not be able to calm this anger down.