Chapter 706

Maru sat down on the chair given to him by the staff. When he was part-timing as a background actor, the shade and the uneven ground was his shelter, so it did feel like his treatment had changed. When he was a supporting actor, he could sit down on a chair, but he had to find his own.

The preparations were almost done at the set, and the staff was mostly waiting for the actors.

As he was looking at his script, he saw a motorbike coming near. The man got off the motorbike after parking it against the wall before taking his helmet off.

“You’re here,” Maru greeted as he stood up.

Ganghwan came over with a faint smile as he rustled his hair.

“It feels really strange to be doing something outdoors.”

“You should get used to it. You’re the main character of this drama.”

Ganghwan brought a chair and sat next to him.

“Where are the rest?”

“Yuna should be here soon. Mira-noona and Byungjae-hyung will be a little late since their scene isn’t until later.”

“I can’t get used to things like this. I mean, the main characters arriving at different times and shooting separately.”

“It’s not a play after all. Also, don’t you need to go through makeup?”

“I do.”

Ganghwan went over to where the makeup artist was. As he was supposed to be a writer living alone in a shanty town, it didn’t seem like it would take a long time. After watching Ganghwan getting his makeup done for a while, Maru found a white sedan slowly entering the premises. As the alley was narrow and had become even narrower thanks to the various vehicles of the staff, it wasn’t able to come that far. Yuna got out of that car after it stopped in front of a small building. She started running over.

“You’ll fall over. We haven’t started yet, so take it slow.”

“But I feel nervous when I see you all together like this.”

“You can’t feel nervous already. We haven’t even started the shoot yet,” Maru said as he looked at the car that was turned off.

“Wasn’t it hard getting here? It should’ve taken ages since it’s the weekend.”

Yuna sighed.

“I might as well have walked. We tried to come into this alleyway from the main street, but a fight broke out in front of us. It suddenly turned into a fight between two groups, causing total chaos. I was going to get off and walk here, but mom said it’s dangerous and told me to stay.”

“You did well to do that. If you got off and got injured or anything, it would be very troublesome. Is your mother over there?”

“Yes. I told her that she doesn’t have to come, but she told me she wanted to give me a ride.”

“She’s sending her daughter to a shoot that’s done late at night. I’m sure she must be worried.”

Maru saw that white sedan for the first time when he went to the audition for ‘Apgu’. That day, Bitna was in the pa.s.senger seat, but today, it was Yuna instead. Both sisters were debuting on TV. It seemed that their mother’s business senses were exceptional. Yuna’s mother got out of the car. She, wearing casual clothes, walked over to where Yuna was.

“h.e.l.lo,” Maru greeted first.

After Yuna’s mother looked at him for a while, she smiled back at him.

“I did see you quite frequently during Apgu, but this is our first time talking like this, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Is Bitna doing well?”

“Of course. I’m troubled because she’s doing a little too well. How can she be so mature? I’m her mother, but I feel like there’s nothing I can do for her. On the other hand, our Yuna is an airhead and is a little too cautious with things, so I have to watch her nervously whenever she does something,” Yuna’s mother answered with a smile.

Yuna became startled and tried to push her mother away. Just from looking at her back, Maru could imagine what kind of expression was on her face right now.

“You don’t have to be so polite with me.”

“Then shall I? We might see each other often in the future.”

“Yes.”

After smiling, Yuna’s mother spoke again as though she thought of something,

“Now that I think about it, did you meet Yuna a little while ago? Bitna told me that Yuna wanted quite a bit to see you.”

“Mom!”

Maru could see that Yuna’s face had turned red even in the darkness.

“We did, and I heard a lot of good things from her.”

“From Yuna?”

“Yes, she’s an honest fellow, so there’s a lot to learn from her.”

“Then I guess that’s good. I was worried that she might have troubled you or something. Anyway, I hope you can take care of her from now on. She’s someone who does really well if people look out for her just a little.”

“I think so too.”

Yuna, who had been causing a ruckus on the side, eventually managed to push her mother away. Only after checking that she had walked away did Yuna sigh powerlessly.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. She looks like a good person. She seems cheerful too.”

“She’s way too cheerful, that’s the problem. She’s not like that around Bitna, but she always treats me like a kid.”

“It’s because you are a kid. It’s true that Bitna is a little more mature, isn’t it?”

Yuna, who looked at Maru in a daze, shut her mouth before sitting down. She looked at her script without even looking up.

“You mad?”

“I’m not. I’m just reading my script like how an adult would.”

“You know, I thought of this a while ago, but even now I think that it’s quite fun to tease you.”

“It’s not!”

When he first met her on Bitna’s introduction, he thought that she was a docile little girl, but after seeing her cry on the spot, he realized that she was someone who was honest about her emotions. She probably showed her emotions to those close to her without holding back.

“You know? It’s a good thing to be so close to your parents. There are many people who are worried because they can’t do that.”

“I know. I know about it too, but she teases me like this from time to time.”

“Pranks only work if there are people to receive it. Honestly, I don’t have the confidence to play pranks on Bitna. When I make a joke, I think she would just stare at me and ask ‘is that supposed to be funny?’ with a straight face. That’s really scary, you know?”

“Bitna is smart after all. Unlike me.”

“That’s why your mother is playing jokes on you. Just take it with a smile.”

“Fine, I get it.”

Yuna pouted as she closed the script.

“What do you get?”

Ganghwan had appeared behind them after finis.h.i.+ng his makeup. Yuna immediately stood up and greeted him.

“Hyung-nim, don’t tease her in the future. Yuna really hates it. Okay?”

“N-no! Senior, I’m okay. Maru-s...o...b..e is saying strange things.”

Ganghwan chuckled after seeing Yuna, who retorted immediately, for a while.

“I’m not sure what it is, but Han Maru, don’t tease her too much. You’re supposed to be looking out for her.”

“Looking out for others is supposed to be the job of the great senior, don’t you think so?”

“But I’m not a great senior though. Also, I have my hands full taking care of myself. Standing in front of the camera does really feel weird.”

Ganghwan walked over to Jayeon. Yuna glared at Maru and stayed standing up.

“Really, Gaeul-s...o...b..e must be an angel.”

“Why is this suddenly about that?”

“She is an angel! She accepts your teasing, doesn’t she? You really are a bad person.”

“Hey, can you say that when you put your tears, snot, and even makeup all over a person’s s.h.i.+rt on their first meeting?”

“Th-there was no snot!”

Now, even her ears had turned red. Maru covered his mouth with his script and chuckled. He decided to stop there since she might actually get p.i.s.sed if he teased her anymore.

“How is Gaeul doing these days?”

“Gaeul-s...o...b..e?”

Yuna became calm. Maru remembered that change.

“Well, I guess she’s doing good. She comes over to the acting club once every two days because she’s busy with work, but she looks out for us whenever she does come by.”

“Looks like she’s doing well. Does she look like she’s hurt or has a problem?”

Yuna’s voice became lower.

“Gaeul-s...o...b..e is always cheerful. That’s why the juniors like her. It didn’t look like there was a problem with her.”

“Then I guess that’s good.”

“Don’t you have any more to ask?” Yuna asked grumpily.

“You don’t like the fact that I asked you about Gaeul?”

“That’s… not it.”

Even though she said that, her eyes were on the ground. Her words and her body were moving separately. Maru no longer spoke. It looked like she hadn’t put aside her feelings yet.

“Sorry. I didn’t intend for things to go this way,” Yuna said after a long time.

“I want to have a comfortable relations.h.i.+p with you. We’re going to be working together for over a month from now, so it’s somewhat iffy to stay awkward all that time.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Yuna, who flipped over her script meaninglessly, spoke again only after a long time.

“But you’re quite mean too, you know? You didn’t have to ask me that.”

“About how Gaeul is doing?”

“Yes. I’m sure you must know well since you’re dating. Even without asking me, you can call her about it too. Don’t tease me like that. It was you who told me that I’ll put away my feelings soon, wasn’t it? But it hasn"t happened yet.”

After saying those words, Yuna bit her lips slightly. She then shook her head and looked like she was full of regret after realizing that she said something she shouldn’t.

Maru tapped on his script and spoke,

“I had no intention of teasing you. First, I was too short-sighted, sorry about that. I thought you were over it after seeing your expression.”

“Then why did you ask me about Gaeul-s...o...b..e?”

“Because I really don’t know.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, so I asked you. That’s all.”

“You can call her up though.”

“Unfortunately, dear Miss Gaeul doesn’t pick up my calls.”

“Why doesn’t she pick up your calls?”

Yuna’s face was colored with a questioning light. Maru didn’t explain and kept staring at her. After looking at him for a while, Yuna became stiff like a startled cat and spoke,

“D-did you get into a fight or something? Is it because of me? Is it because of my mistake?”

Maru shook his head.

“It’s not that we fought.”

“Th-then why?”

“People need some time to themselves in life, right? I think it’s that time for her right now. That’s why I asked you. I was wondering if perhaps she was worried about something. From what you said though, it doesn’t look like that’s the case. Perhaps there’s a different reason other than time.”

Maru stood up as he stretched his arms out. Romantic relations.h.i.+ps during studenthood usually ended with separating after a period like this. They were at an age where they had nothing to worry about in terms of relations.h.i.+ps. Meeting and dating were easy, but separating was just as easy as well.

After getting older, there would be a lot of things to think about. People would become cautious and would think about what the other party is thinking. There were a lot of other variables at play as well. Money, time, acquaintances, and jobs. Once a relations.h.i.+p becomes deep, it would be hard to untangle like a pair of earphones that were stuffed inside a pocket. That was why there was a need to notify the other party when there was a need to split up. Only after telling each other clearly that they were done would they be able to untangle that earphone cord.

During studenthood though, there was nothing that bound them or restricted them. There was no need to worry about social appearances, so splitting up was always done in a vague, subconscious manner. Though, the ones who knew etiquette would still tell the other party that they should get along well in the future.

Gaeul was currently standing on a very important crossroad in her life. She joined an agency and was seeking opportunities while taking lessons with a talented person. She might be psychologically and/or physically tired. Perhaps she crossed off dating from her list of priorities after realizing that romantic relations.h.i.+ps weren’t anything great. Regardless of her decision, Maru was willing to respect her for that and follow it. Even a snot-nosed brat knew that the future was more important than immediate relations.h.i.+ps after all. There was also the possibility that her agency had banned her from having romantic relations.h.i.+ps.

“s...o...b..e, there’s nothing wrong, is there?”

Yuna had asked nervously. It seemed that she thought that her presence might have influenced their relations.h.i.+p negatively. Maru put on a relaxed smile. For now, the priority was to calm her down. Just as this was an important period for Gaeul, Maru was also facing an opportunity he could not miss. Calming down his work partner and helping her focus on the drama was his priority.

“I said there’s none. We’re doing well.”

“I-if you’re curious about how Gaeul-s...o...b..e is doing, I’ll tell you from time to time. I can do that much.”

“How much of a bad guy are you trying to make me? I won’t ask about Gaeul in the future. In fact, sorry about that. I asked you something unnecessary.”

“No, I… am really fine.”

“Thanks for the words.”

Maru shoved a script in front of Yuna’s face.

“Anyway, did you memorize the script properly?”

“The script? Of course, I hugged it in my sleep.”

“Shall we go through it once before the shoot begins?”

“That’s good for me.”

“You have to do it like it’s the real thing even while practicing. You know what I mean, right?”

“Of course, I’ll do just that,” replied Yuna who had been trembling like a scared herbivore.

Maru became relieved and opened the script again.