After Story 206

“Don’t you feel like we got swept into her pace?” Sinhye asked.

“It’s not that I feel like it. We did get swept in her pace,” Joonsoo added.

“Why is Joohwan chatting over there?”

“He’s like that all the time. And it’s not like Miss Haneul said anything wrong.”

Everyone became quiet at Joonsoo’s words. They all knew that what Haneul said wasn’t wrong.

“It’s next week. Even if we all started practicing together immediately, we can only practice for about three days. I know what Miss Haneul said is right, but can we digest all that? From what she said before, it seems like she’s going to overturn everything and start from the foundations,” Joonsoo said as he looked around.

There was silence for a while.

When everyone was hesitant, Sinhye put her fingers inside her hair and rustled it relentlessly.

“I’ll be frank here. My heart is on Joohwan’s side.”

“You too?”

Sinhye nodded. “I’m going to continue acting. Among all of us here, who is better than Joohwan at acting? I know he’s dim-witted and c.o.c.ky, but he’s smart and has good acting skills. Even then he uses his head to never do things that might bring him losses. Such a guy went to Han Haneul’s side. What do you think that means?”

“It means that it’s beneficial to go to her side,” Jungah responded.

“But it’s not like we saw that person’s acting properly. What if she’s all talk?”

“She’s a businesswoman, so it’s maybe a given that she can talk well, isn’t it?”

“The part she did with Yoonho was smooth, but even I can do that much. No, anyone here can do that much. She’s saying stuff like psychology and that expressing emotions wasn’t everything, but she’ll probably tire every one of us out if she’s all talk, you know? I mean, everyone here knows how terrible seniors who are all talk can be.”

The opinions were split.

Jungah found it hard to speak. If this was a performance she was preparing during a semester, if they ran into this situation while they were all still students, then her hesitation wouldn’t be long.

Let’s do it. Let’s go back to the basics. Let’s work hard together — she would have said such positive words to create a new stage.

“Let’s work hard together… was it always so hard to say that?” Jungah said as she looked around, “Let’s become honest just like Joohwan and Sinhye. I’ll say this upfront. I also have the desire to polish this stage. It’s natural to dream of putting on a better performance.”

She looked at Haejung on the other side. Haejung sighed softly and spoke,

“If I was still in college, then I would’ve said the same thing. I would’ve said that we should invest more time and effort in a better stage just like Jungah said. But do you remember what we said when we started this? The most important thing for us is to create our own memories.”

“Right.”

“It’s for one month. Going by performance count, it’ll be around 10 times. Some people, including me, will be busy preparing for employment, some are busy studying, and some are busy with their social lives. We barely managed to sc.r.a.pe enough time together to put on this performance, didn’t we?”

“We did,” Sinhye replied.

“I’ll be honest since Jungah told me to. I don’t have the energy. I can’t put any more energy into the play. I don’t really want to invest more time into the play like what Miss Haneul said. We weren’t bad together, were we?”

“We didn’t make any mistakes and while the seats weren’t full, we always had more than half. The results were pretty decent considering that it was just a bunch of nameless college students,” Joonsoo nodded.

“I think this is enough. I’m really grateful for Miss Haneul’s pa.s.sion. I know I was quite picky in my response before, but if you think about it, this is a totally unrelated matter to her, isn’t it? I’m thankful that she stepped in to help us despite that,” Haejung looked down at her own hands and continued speaking, “But I don’t want to invest anymore effort into a small stage for a performance that we won’t even be doing that many times in front of what, thirty or so people? I know that this is my last performance, but employment matters a lot more.”

The fact that they weren’t students felt more bitter to them.

Employment preparations might change their very futures, while this performance was going to just decorate a single page in their memories. It was obvious to see which side held more weight.

Jungah looked at the others. Just like Haejung, they were people who were preparing other things in order to live a better life.

“It’s not possible to make more time to practice. Let’s just conclude that we’ll just do it like usual and do the remaining performances. That’s okay, right?” Jungah concluded after gathering everyone’s opinions.

“Let’s go tell her. If Miss Haneul says no, then we can just wrap up here. As for the rental fee, we can just take it that us friends took a great photo in a studio somewhere.”

Jungah clapped and approached Haneul, who was waiting.

After having heard everything, Haneul tapped on her chin with her finger.

“You’re all in your mid-twenties and have graduated college. It’s a very important time indeed.”

“Yes.”

“You cannot invest any more time for a stage that not many people even watch. That’s a very honest answer. If it’s okay with you, may I ask who said this?”

Haejung stepped forward without hesitation.

“I’m sure you don’t like it, but…”

“No,” Haneul cut her off. “I was actually waiting for an answer like this. What truly lies in your heart; your true reasons, not excuses.”

Haneul looked at them more amicably than before. Jungah stepped in.

“We said everything we have to. We don’t care even if it’s mechanically showing our audience what we prepared just like what you said. That’s easier for us both physically and mentally.”

“I understand.”

“What are you going to do now? I don’t think we can practice and perform the way you want. No, Joohwan and Sinhye can probably make the time to do so. But not the rest of us.”

“Plays are often practiced in parts. It’s not efficient to have everyone’s schedules match. But we do need a full rehearsal.”

“We can do it once or twice before we perform on stage. That’s the limit for all of us.”

Haneul nodded as she listened and returned to the audience seats.

What could she be up to? A moment later, Haneul returned with a tablet PC in hand.

“I understand your circ.u.mstances. And I’m grateful that you told me the truth. So now, would you like to listen to my genuine feelings?”

Haneul waved both of her hands and told everyone to gather. Everyone gathered in a semicircle in front of her.

“Can you hold it for me?” Haneul said as she gave the tablet to Maru.

“Naturally, president Han.”

Maru held out the tablet.

“First of all, is sixteen the total number of members?” Haneul asked.

Jungah said yes.

“I’ll take a survey right here. How many of you have to go to work?”

Five of them raised their hands.

“I’ll put aside Miss Jungah, Mr. Joohwan, and Miss Sinhye since these three said they can make the time. The remaining eight of you. You are preparing to get employment or are studying. Am I correct?”

They nodded.

“Good. I know the composition now, so I’ll tend to each problem individually,” Haneul said.

Jungah quickly stepped in.

“Err, Miss Haneul.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to do something like this. You just have to decide whether you’re just going to go with what we said or just leave after this…”

“Please ask that again once I’m done and you don’t like my suggestion. At that time, I’ll do as you say. So can you give me just ten minutes? Is that okay with you?”

They permitted Haneul to speak. They were all probably curious about what she wanted to say, even going as far as bringing a tablet.

“First of all, the ones going to work. I’m sure you’re beginning your careers. It must have been at most a year or two since you joined the company, correct?”

“Yes,” said one of them who commuted to work.

“In a company, the important thing is to have achievements, but the more important thing than that is a monthly salary, right?”

Hearing the word salary, everyone smiled. How many things were there to talk about work other than salaries?

While Jungah had not yet jumped into the frontlines of employment, she knew the greatness of a salary whenever she saw her friends become full of vitality on the day they get paid.

“I’m sure all of you don’t have enough money as someone who just joined society. There must be times when you spend more than you get. So, allow me to give you an offer. Alongside preparing for the play, you’ll sign a contract with me for a movie. Of course, you’ll just be minor characters who’ll be appearing for a brief moment, but I’ll pay you more decently than short-term part-time jobs.”

“You’re paying us money?”

That was totally unexpected. Jungah looked at her employed friends who looked better and better even as they looked confused.

“Yes. You all have jobs, so the important thing is the cash. There must be people doing part-time jobs on weekends due to not being satisfied with their salaries. If you can earn extra income while doing acting, the thing you like, don’t you think that’s a really good deal?”

Haneul showed a makes.h.i.+ft contract and the payment on the tablet. It was just as she said. The amount was quite high considering that it was just a part-time job on the weekend.

“Including practicing for the play, you’ll be paid 500 thousand won per shoot for a movie that will occur later. This is the highest treatment you’ll get in the industry.”

“You’re really going to give us this much?”

“Giving what people need and getting their time in return, that’s the basics of business. How is it, pretty okay, don’t you think?”

The employed people agreed without a moment of hesitation. That was natural. They had more leeway than those who were preparing for employment.

“And those of you preparing for employment. Don’t you need things that you can write down on your resume?”

Haneul slides the tablet over to another screen.

“I’m sure some of you may know already, but my name is on the list of board executives for Friendly Aroma. Thanks to that, I have a few connections to human resources departments in some of the companies we’re doing business with. Isn’t an interns.h.i.+p in a pretty well-known logistics company a decent place? If you have an interest in our company, then I’ll help you apply to our side too.”

Hearing the word resume, the eyes of the people getting ready for employment all changed.

Even those that weren’t sure of the actress Han Haneul seemed infinitely trusting of Han Haneul who was a crux of a company.

From some time onwards, everyone was listening to Haneul’s words while nodding.

“I’m sure none of you here hate acting. If you did, then you wouldn’t have thought about putting on a play in the first place. It must be just that you had to give up on it because you have things to prioritize above that. I’m going to support all of you so that you won’t feel like you’re undertaking losses while finis.h.i.+ng off this performance.”

“Are you serious? Are you really going to do what you said?”

“I tend to lie a lot, but I don’t plan to lie to all of you. Also, there might be additional benefits for you other than the things I said. For example, putting on your final performance in a place larger than this.”

Jungah’s friends said in unison that they wanted to follow Haneul’s schedule. Not a single one was opposed to it. Partic.i.p.ating in practice was not just beneficial, but profitable. Who would be opposed to it?

They would catch both rabbits at once: the play and their livelihood. Haneul gave them an ideal offer that they didn’t even wish for.

Maybe the ‘Haneul’ in ‘Han Haneul[1]’ meant the person in the heavens? Jungah chuckled to herself. At least in this small theater, Haneul was their Lord and Savior.

“Let’s tune the schedule in detail after we eat. Let’s make a dent in Mr. Han Maru’s credit card.”

Maru shrugged and took out his wallet.

Jungah waited for a moment before talking to Haneul who was left by herself.

“Uhm, can I ask one thing?”

“Yes. I like questions. Ask me anything.”

“Why are you helping us so much?”

“Is it suspicious? Because someone you saw for the first time today gave you conditions too good to be true?”

“I’m not really suspecting. I’m purely curious.”

Haneul turned around. She put on a faint smile.

“It’s because that’s what Maru wants. What’s important to him is important to me.”

“That’s… it?”

“Isn’t that enough? That’s more than enough reason for me.”

Haneul stiffened up before making a mischievous smile.

At that moment, Jungah recalled a scene. A cut from the movie she saw in the Short Film Festival 4 years ago.

“Didn’t you appear in the short film that senior Maru shot? The one that got the grand prize at the Short Film Festival.”

Haneul responded with a nod. Jungah finally felt her sense of deja vu being resolved. She had seen this person through the short film before the movie.

“It sounds like you’ve known him for a long time.”

Haneul tilted her head before turning around.

Jungah could hear her speak softly as she walked out the entrance.

“It has been. It’s been a very long time.”

Haneul glanced at Jungah before speaking,

“Let’s go. We have a lot of things to do, so let’s eat.”

[1] Haneul means “sky”.