After Story 128

“Yes, look straight ahead. Good. Shall we change up the pose a little?” said the photographer.

Maru sat on the edge of the chair without a backrest and stretched out his legs. He looked into the distance and slightly tilted his chin.

“Tilt your gaze just a little to the right.”

He moved his gaze just as the photographer requested. He had done tons of photo shoots. He could determine the preferences of the photographer after a few poses.

“Shall we try walking a little now? We went with a strong image until now, so let’s go with a slightly exhausted feeling.”

“If you think I’m not doing it right, then tell me right away.”

Maru put his hand on the back of his neck and sighed a little as he walked forward. He thought about the fatigue of going home after a hard exercise; his body was exhausted but his expression was filled with vitality.

“It looks okay, but I think we should go with being so exhausted that you’re about to collapse. Throw out all the leisure and make it look like it’s hard to take a single step.”

“That’s also a specialty of mine.”

He thought about when he was working at his company without being able to sleep because a problem occurred in the production line. Back then, he experienced what it meant to be overworked to death. Even though it wasn’t like he sprinted or anything, his mouth felt dry and his eyelids kept closing against his will. It was when falling over and sleeping was his only desire.

He took a few steps like he was about to fall over before sitting down on a chair. The photographer moved left and right as he took photos.

“Good. Looks like I’m going to have to spend a lot of time choosing photos. There are many that are just too good to be thrown away.”

Maru got changed and stood in front of the computer. The photographer put the photos he just took on the screen. They were photos that only had their color temperature adjusted.

“This one and this one will be monochrome. Which one do you like from the right?”

Maru chose three of them without hesitation. They were the ones that had a decent match between the mode, clothes, and the expression.

“Your standards are similar to mine. I like those two. And also this one and this one.”

“Your skills are good, so each one of them is artistic.”

“And the model is good too. You took a lot of photos, right? That’s not an expression someone can show after just one or two tries.”

“I like taking photos by myself. I participated in club activities for a little bit, too.”

“The thing is, if the ones getting shot know how to shoot, they feel different. I had a blast shooting photos after a long time. When the person I’m shooting is just like my imagination in the frame, then the feeling of pressing the shutter is just that much better.”

As he was choosing photos with the photographer, he heard the employee putting away the clothes greet someone. When he turned around, he saw a woman in her early thirties walking over. The woolen, brown-tone two-piece dress and the teardrop-shaped buttons caught his eyes.

“Sorry I’m late. I wanted to say hello before things started, but I had somewhere I needed to be. Mr. Han Maru, right?”

The woman held out her hand. Maru realized that the woman in front of him was Han Gyungjin, the CEO of POP.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You were in the middle of work, so let’s stop the greetings here. Mr. Choi. How are the photos?”

Gyungjin walked past him. He thought the CEO would be male after hearing the name, but he was wrong.

While the photographer and the CEO talked to each other, Maru looked at his clothes in front of a mirror. He had to look at it so that he could think about what kind of poses to make to bring out the best of the clothes.

“Mr. Han, just a sec,” the CEO called out to him. “First of all, I’m really happy that I get to work with you like this. Seeing the photos multiplied that joy for me. They were much better than I expected.”

“Thank you.”

“I guess it was the right decision not to decide on a theme beforehand. They look so good that we can use them for the catalog that we provide our consumers. But…,” the CEO trailed off.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No, there isn’t a problem. It’s just I’m feeling greedy. I might be going too far with this request, but can I pour water on you?”

“Water?”

“Look at this photo.”

He looked at the photos that the CEO pointed at. They were the photos that the photographer said they should use as monochrome. It was a photo where he sat leaning against a wall and was looking down at the ground.

“This one looks good as it is, but I had the thought that it might look better if it rained. A Spring rain and a wet man. It’s a scene that gives off a decadent beauty.”

The CEO suddenly shook her head while speaking,

“No wait. It won’t look good inside this studio. The backdrops we have here are all too simple. Mr. Han, if it’s okay with you, can you spare one or two more days? Of course, we’ll give you the money for various expenses and for the photo shoot.”

Maru looked at his manager. Yeonjin came over and talked to the CEO.

“She’s normally a calm person, but she doesn’t hesitate when it’s about the catalog,” said the photographer in a small voice after approaching him.

“It must be that passion that allowed the company to grow. But the president was a woman, huh.”

“There are many people who think she’s male based on her name alone. The president seems to want people to make that mistake as well. Even though the era has changed, there are still a few people who look down on women who do business.”

The manager came over after they settled things to an extent.

“I think we should just decide on a schedule. What would you like to do? If the atmosphere was okay today, it should be okay to keep doing it. Above all, I really like her proposal to use you on the cover of the catalog.”

“Then I should do it. They’re putting me as the main face of a business that puts out 60 billion won in sales every year.”

He walked over to the CEO along with his manager. The CEO, who was looking at the photos in detail, asked if he had decided.

“I’ll do it. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

“I should be thankful instead. Actually, I didn’t expect that much from you, to be honest, Mr. Han. I admit that you’re a good actor, but how that would translate to modeling, I couldn’t be so sure. It’s not like photos contain voices. But now that I had a look, I can’t just let you be. Some of these photos are better than the ones taken by our exclusive models. We’ll need to take a few more photos to be sure, but if things go well, I hope you can manage our PB line as well.”

“I’ll do it if you’re giving me more work to do, but aren’t you deciding too whimsically? It should be okay to decide after seeing the responses,” Maru said with a smile.

“I don’t really know that much about acting. It’s obvious since I’m not an actress myself. However, when it comes to clothing distribution and clothes marketing, I know a thing or two. When it comes to themes of clothing, the most important thing is to get on the trend. Even then, it’s useless when you’re the last one on board. That’s why I need to hurry. A sloth cannot become a trendsetter.”

The CEO told the employees to bring something.

A moment later, two employees appeared with paper bags in each hand.

“This is to commemorate us working together. I got some for your manager as well. They aren’t expensive stuff, just some of the products our brand has. My dream is to have the sales of our products be higher than what I earn through logistics. If you think they’re good, you should tell the people around you about them. There’s nothing better than word of mouth when it comes to marketing.”

The CEO then left, saying that they should meet at the next shoot. While the manager was fine-tuning the schedule with another employee, he looked inside the bag. There were clothes he could wear casually. They weren’t too expensive.

“I guess not anyone can do business, huh,” he said as he left the building.

The manager started the car. “The female CEOs of internet shopping malls these days are no joke.”

The car drove off. The manager asked as he tapped on the GPS navigation,

“If you don’t have anywhere you need to go, then I’ll bring you to your house.”

“There is a place I need to go.”

“Where?”

“The bbq restaurant nearby. Let’s have something to eat together. We’re going to be working together in the future, but we haven’t even eaten together yet.”

“Shall we? I was feeling hungry too.”

“I’ll treat you this time so let’s go quickly.”

They went to a pork belly restaurant. Maru was grilling the meat when the manager’s phone rang. After checking the number, the manager hurriedly accepted the call.

“Yes, this is Yeonjin speaking.” The manager eyed him and then left.

Yeonjin only came back after the pork belly had been fully cooked.

“I was going to eat about three portions and even some kimchi-jjigae, but I guess we have to go after this one,” he said.

“Did something happen?”

“Mr. Maru, you don’t have any work this evening, do you? Please tell me you don’t.”

“Well, no, not really.”

“Then let’s go after eating this. There’s someone you need to meet.”

“So suddenly?”

“Yes. The person who called me is the head manager, and apparently, this was set up all of a sudden. Do you know about director Lim Hwanggeun?”

“I do.”

He was a person who had stayed a long time in the film industry. He was someone who made comedic mafia movies popular. Even this life’s Han Maru, who did not like movies that much, had seen director Lim Hwanggeun’s movies during festive occasions. They were just that popular with the masses.

“That person decided to eat out with the head manager, and apparently, the director wanted to see you.”

“Me?”

“I don’t know if it was the head manager who talked about you or whether he saw your acting, but in any case, things went well. Usually, casting happens in private meetings like this one, unless you’re holding a public audition. Even if it’s not related to the casting, this is an opportunity to get yourself acquainted,”

Yeonjin spoke excitedly, as though this was his own matter. Maru nodded before putting a piece of pork belly into some lettuce and putting it in his mouth.

“You don’t seem that excited? This is a great opportunity, you know?”

“I know it’s a great opportunity. But there’s meat sizzling in front of my eyes, so I can’t be too distracted. You should eat as well. For me, I’d get treated to a meal if I go, but this is your dinner, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, but I thought you’d be more excited than this.”

“More often than not, even if I do go to places like that, I’d have to leave after getting scrutinized. Even if you are called with casting in mind, there are many people who take it back because they don’t like the figure in real life.”

“Really?” The manager, who was putting some ssam in his mouth, stopped midway.

“How do you know all that?”

“I don’t know it. It just feels like that, so let’s eat first. Oh, what’s your hobby, manager?”

“Hobby?”

“I tend to find it easier to work with people I know. It wouldn’t be necessary if it’s a temporary relationship, but It seems like I’ll be working with you for a long time. The more we know each other, the closer we will be, and the closer we are, the more careful we can be around each other.”

“That’s true. Hobby, huh? For me, that’d be fishing.”

“Fishing is good. We should go together sometime.”

“Shall we?”

They talked over the meal. By the time they finished eating, Yeonjin said first that they should drop the formal speech at this opportunity.

“That’s just what I wanted. Then shall we get going?”

“Yeah. We should get going now if we want to go there by car.”

After paying for the meal, Maru got in the car.

Director Lim Hwanggeun – Maru looked him up on the way. After the mafia movie he shot 3 years ago, he had not been doing anything else. Perhaps he had finally finished planning his new work?

“It’s this place. Go inside and mention the head manager’s name, and you should be guided to the right place. I’ll wait nearby, so give me a call once you’re done,” Yeonjin said.

The car stopped in front of a high-class Japanese restaurant.

“Don’t wait and go back first.”

“Will you be okay?”

“There are plenty of buses going to Suwon from Seoul. You should go home. Let’s meet next time.”

“Alright. I’ll bring the clothes we received to your house next time. It’s nothing we should be in a hurry about.”

“Let’s do that then. Watch out on your way home.”

Maru looked at the car leaving before going inside the restaurant.