After Story 203

He seemed to be calling the actress that could help them out. Jungah looked at Maru whispering into his phone. He was standing at the back of the audience seats, so his voice couldn’t be heard.

“Is he scouting someone?”

“I guess so, right?”

“It won’t actually be Kim Suyeon, will it?”

“No way.”

“But the person he’s calling now… they must be really close. Look at senior Maru’s expression.”

Everyone became quiet after that. Maru ended his call and was coming over while waving his phone.

“I did make a call for now.”

“Who is it? Is it really actress Kim Suyeon?”

“If you want, I can ask her as well. But can you handle her payment?”

“I was joking. But really, who were you calling? You seemed really close.”

“Someone I know. Anyway, she said she’ll call back after checking her schedule because she has work to do. You all better pray to the gods you believe in so she can come to this place.”

“Is she that amazing?”

“In my standards, yes.”

Maru’s phone started ringing again.

Wait – Maru said before picking up the call.

“If he’s going as far as saying that, who did he really call?”

“I’m not sure who it is, but I’m sure she can become our savior.”

While they were chatting, Maru hung up his call. Jungah looked at Maru’s lips which were firmly sealed in a straight line.

“Jungah.”

“Yes?”

“All the actors are here, right?”

“Other than Jimin, everyone else is here.”

“Good. Can you give me the script?”

Jungah brought the script from the waiting room behind the stage and handed it to Maru.

“That friend of mine is coming, but there is a condition. She said she’ll decide whether to help out or not after seeing how good the play is.”

“Then shall we prepare right now?”

“You don’t need to prepare any outfits or stage devices. You just need to show it to her once like you’re doing a rehearsal run. I’ll take the role that Jimin played. I’ll just go with the flow, so show her what you did as is.”

Jungah looked back at her friends. They all spoke in dissatisfaction.

“Senior Maru is someone we can rely on, but how are we supposed to trust the person that’s coming right now?”

“Can she really arrive at an answer if she sees our acting? I’m grateful that she’s coming to help, but it feels like we’re being tested when she said she’ll decide after watching.”

“There’s no way senior Maru called someone inadequate, is there? I’m sure he’s introducing her to us because he can rely on her. No one else here can resolve Jimin’s problem, right? I think it’s better to go with what he told us.”

“I’m not sure about anything else, but I’m honestly quite worried. We’re getting paid to host this play. Do you think the person that’s coming now can join us immediately? Jimin’s role is quite finicky.”

Jungah looked at her friends exchanging opinions before turning her head to look at Maru. He looked at them as though he knew what they were talking about.

“I’ll say this beforehand. This is a test. The person that’s coming now is very picky when it comes to standing on a stage.”

When he affirmed that this was indeed a test, everyone else looked complex.

“If this was a school activity or a volunteer play, then she wouldn’t have said that she needed to have a look. For those, other things matter more than the play itself. But this play you’re doing is something you’re selling tickets for in a theater in Daehak-ro, right? Since it involves money, this person will be very meticulous about it. Pride as an actress is one thing, but the more important thing is the position of the customers who will be paying money to watch,” Maru said as he raised his phone in the air. “If you don’t like this person’s conditions, then just tell me. I’ll tell her not to come. Ultimately, this is your stage. Your opinions matter the most. However, let me tell you that I will no longer be able to help with Jimin’s problem. Calling this person is the best and most reliable option that I can think of.”

Jungah bit her thumb and looked at her friends. Although only in name, she was their representative.

Maru gave her an option that left no room for negotiation. She either had to accept or refuse.

“I don’t get why you’re all so uncomfortable with getting tested,” Joohwan, who had been listening this whole time, suddenly interrupted and said.

“I’m good. I have the confidence. I am overjoyed that I can show my acting to a guest that the senior is calling over. Acting is an occupation that receives assessment. If you don’t like showing yourself to someone else, then there’s no need for you to be an actor.”

“Damn punk, I was wondering why you were quiet this whole time,” Sinhye immediately retorted. However, there was a smile on her face. “I know the way he speaks is really frustrating and he lives for his own good, but I think what he said is right. Hey, honestly speaking, are we bad? I think we’re better than most professional theater troupes, you know?”

When Joohwan and Sinhye stepped in, everyone started taking it positively.

“We’ll be the ones testing her. We’ll assess whether she’s fit to join us or not.”

Sinhye spoke to Maru,

“Senior, tell that person to come. We’ll show her how good we are.”

“Is that your decision?”

“Yes. Jungah, right?”

Jungah nodded. They had no great method to resolve Jimin’s absence, so they had to listen to Maru’s words anyway. She was worried that things might flow in a bad direction, but it was resolved well thanks to help from Joohwan and Sinhye.

“Instead, we’re going to assess her as well. It’s just as you said, we’re receiving payment to do this, aren’t we?”

Maru responded with a smile. “It’s just as Sinhye said. It’s important for you to check her as well. I’ll be watching from the sidelines, so you guys can decide for yourself whether the person that’s coming is qualified to stand on the same stage as you or not.”

“Senior, what are you going to do if we say we can’t do it with her?” Sinhye, who became excited, added.

“Jungah, you said last time when we were out drinking, right? That you want to move into the studio in front of the station,” Maru said.

It was rather sudden, but Jungah replied yes for the time being.

“Sinhye was wondering about changing her phone, and Joohwan, you said you wanted to go traveling to Australia, right? Boyeon said she wanted a new laptop, and for Jungman, was it a new road bike? As for Seonae, I believe it was…”

Things they said in passing, that even they didn’t remember, came out of Maru’s mouth.

“If you reject that person, I’ll resolve everything that I just talked about.”

“Resolve it? Are you saying you’re going to buy me a phone? With your own money?” Sinhye asked back in surprise.

Joohwan did the same, asking if he was really going to send him to Australia. The other members all asked the same with a smile. They seemed to be treating it as a joke. The same could be said for Jungah as well.

“Senior, the deposit for that house costs 50 million. I’m not moving in because I don’t have that much.”

“And I’m saying I’ll take care of that for you.”

“Don’t joke with me.”

“Do I look like I’m joking? I’m pretty serious right now. I’ll really take care of everything that I said before. That is, if you reject that person.”

As soon as Maru finished his words, Sinhye put her arms in the air in joy.

“Tell her to come quickly. I’m definitely going to say no.”

“Me too.”

“I’m not agreeing either.”

Their friends all smiled as they spoke. That was ridiculous. If he really granted everything they said, then he would have to spend hundreds of millions.

“I’m not joking though.”

Maru scratched his eyebrows.

“Senior, I get it, so stop it now. I’m really going to ask you for a phone, you know? If you keep going on with your jokes, we’re going to fall out with each other,” Sinhye said.

Maru just kept smiling, which provoked them even further. Jungah’s lips twitched as well. Sure, Maru was a senior they respected. She was also grateful to him for having helped her out on so many occasions. He was someone whose flaw was hard to find.

Maybe it was because of that, but she wanted to see him flustered because he was taken aback. Jungah looked at the others. They also seemed to be of the same opinion as well, as they nodded with a slight smile.

“Don’t you regret it, senior. You know we can be petty, right? If you break your promise, I’m going to follow you every day and nag you to buy me stuff.”

“Go ahead.”

Maru was firm until the end.

Jungah couldn’t help but ask, “Senior, what are you going to do if we really say no?”

“I have the conviction.”

“What if we refuse even if that person is good? We are very greedy for money, you know? Our pockets aren’t that deep either.”

“If that happens, then I guess I can’t help it. But if it was me, I wouldn’t miss this opportunity to stand on the same stage as that person because of a mere phone or a laptop. Oh, I guess Jungah might reconsider. 50 million isn’t a small amount.”

“What would you do, senior? 50 million won versus putting on a performance with the person that’s coming here. What if you had to choose just one of the two?”

“If it was up to me….”

Just then, Maru smiled and picked up the phone. He exchanged a few words with the caller before going over to the entrance.

“She says she’s here. For now, you said you’d show her the performance, so get ready. I’ll go pick her up.”

“Okay.”

After Maru left, Jungah prepared to perform with her members.

“I’m sure senior Maru is saying that because he knows we can’t refuse.”

“I’m really going to ask him for a phone if I don’t like her, you know?”

“I’ll get a new bike too at this opportunity. If it comes down to it, we can resolve Jimin’s role or just stop the performance outright. I mean, this is an opportunity to get a gift that’s worth millions, so even if we stop the play, it’s not a loss for us. Jungah, you really should ask him for that deposit, okay?”

As they were talking about various things, Maru brought the guest. She was wearing a white casual suit and a pair of glasses.

“That unni has a strong character.”

“I can tell her from her jawline that she must be celebrity-tier.”

“Are you sure she isn’t a celebrity?”

Maru put forward the guest. Having come forward to the stage, the guest took off her sunglasses.

Jungah found the person in front of her very familiar. She felt like she had seen this person somewhere before.

The other girls were the same. They all titled their heads as though they saw her somewhere before. Meanwhile, the boys were just praising her looks.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Haneul.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Were you upset that I said that I’ll decide after having a look?”

“No, not really.”

“Even if you were, I can’t help it. If the stage we’ll be creating is a mess, I don’t plan to do it.”

Her words were slightly on the offensive side. Jungah held her hands behind her back. Although they were an amateur theater troupe who were putting on their final performance, it wasn’t that she didn’t have her pride.

“I’m sure it’s not a mess, we prepared hard for it,” she said with emphasis.

“That’s good. I heard you hadn’t eaten yet. Let’s do this quickly and get some nice food. Maru said he’d be the one buying.”

Haneul sat in the middle of the audience seats. Maru also got on the stage.

It was decided that Maru was just going to act simply while looking at the script, and he would be told how to move when the time comes.

When they almost finished preparing, Haneul spoke,

“How much does the ticket cost?”

“Ten thousand won.”

“You said you already performed twice, right?”

“Yes.”

“How was it? Was your performance worth ten thousand won?”

She couldn’t easily respond yes. Jungah looked at the faces of her friends and spoke,

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll look forward to it. I really like doing plays. So much so that I sometimes fight over it,” Haneul said with a smile.

Jungah found that smile ominous for some reason.

“Let’s do it perfectly so that she becomes speechless,” Jungah said before they started the performance.