“Let’s take a 10 minute break! Those of you who want to go to the bathroom should go now, and those of you who want to drink something, there are drinks right there so drink as much as you want. Let’s start again after we take a break.”
As soon as Daemyun’s words ended, Chihwan sat down on the ground. The others also sat down on the floor as though they were falling.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this even after a year.”
Chihwan wiped his sweat. Even though they had finished only their streches, his whole body was aching. ‘Stretching’ was supposed to be something done lightly before an actual sport or other activities, but it had a completely different meaning within the acting club. Extreme exercise, that was another name for stretching in the acting club.
“That seonbae is sewing again today.”
“You’re right.”
Chihwan’s colleagues were whispering to each other. Maru had shown up to practice after a long time, but what he did was always the same: making props. Most of the props that were piling up inside the container had been created by Maru’s hands.
“I wonder why he’s not doing acting.”
“He must be busy.”
“Really? He doesn’t even show up on TV that much though.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. In last week’s episode, we only got a brief glimpse of him from the side.”
“Did he get edited out because his acting was bad?”
“No way.”
“I saw on TV last time that there are people who only show up for a minute after shooting for five hours. Dramas must be the same, right? If they aren’t good, they just won’t show up.”
“I guess that’s plausible. I only watch New Semester for Giwoo-oppa.”
“Isn’t Kang Giwoo so handsome?”
“You can say that again. A friend of mine sneaked out of her house and went to Daejeon to see him last weekend.”
“I also chased after TTO oppas a lot once. Though, I stopped doing any fan activities since they haven’t been active recently.”
“Have you seen TTO in real life?”
“I did. Man, they’re no joke. Do you know what a halo is? Those oppas had halos so bright that I couldn’t see them properly.”
“Giwoo-oppa must be even cooler from up close then, right?”
“Of course. I’ve been chasing after media people for 2 years. Even the best idols can’t hold a candle to handsome actors. You know Lee Hyuk, right?”
“I do!”
Chihwan looked at the two girls when they raised their voices. The girls lowered their voices after looking at him. However, they still looked excited. Was the guy named Lee Hyuk that good?
“I saw Lee Hyuk-oppa from up close, and I almost fainted. His eyes, nose, and mouth are like they have been sculpted. I thought he was a foreigner at first.”
“I also saw the movie. I was really surprised when I watched it, you know? Lee Hyuk-oppa looked so handsome.”
“I almost dazed out as well. His looks are just, whew. Also, you know that there were bad rumors about him, right? There were talks about how he is an actor with a pretty face but terrible acting because all the pieces he shot produced bad results, but those allegations faded away with this movie. He’s too good at acting. I even watched it twice.”
“Really? That’s awesome.”
“At first, I watched it without thinking, but when I watched it again, I saw things I didn’t the first time. Especially Kwon Dayoon’s acting. Honestly, I haven’t looked at her in a good light ever since Blue split up, but Kwon Dayoon was different.”
“I know right? I didn’t realize it was her at first.”
“She was an idol, but her acting was so good. I saw from a fan café that the reason Blue split up was to let Kwon Dayoon debut as an actress. Being dubbed an idol actress does sound a little cheap after all.”
“Didn’t they split up because they had a bad relationship? I heard that someone got pregnant.”
“Maybe that happened, but Kwon Dayoon’s acting is so good that it wouldn’t be strange for her agency to give her their full support, right? Seeing as how Kwon Dayoon didn’t leave the company even though the group split up, I think they terminated Blue because they wanted to turn her into an actress. Was it Lee Chaerim? She switched to acting as well, didn’t she? I’m sure that acting makes more money than being an idol.”
“Right. I heard that actors earn a huge amount of money through commercials. If I was the president, I would let someone as good as Kwon Dayoon be an actress and not an idol.”
“My words exactly.”
“I guess the reason she doesn’t show up recently is because she’s practicing acting. I almost fell in love with her when she snapped out in the movie. I originally didn’t like her that much, but I feel like becoming a fan is okay after looking at her acting.”
“Me too. I shivered when I saw her.”
The girls started talking about the movie ‘Those Guys’. Rather than talking about Lee Hyuk being cool, they were talking about how Kwon Dayoon’s acting was good.
“It’s not that her acting was good, it’s that the direction was good. You don’t know your stuff,” Chihwan said after listening for a while.
“What direction?”
The girls looked at him. Chihwan made the biggest smile he could. Maru and Bangjoo, with who he watched the movie, definitely said that the movie was good because of the direction.
“The direction of the director. It’s not the actors who were good at acting, it’s the editing that made them look awesome.”
“No it isn’t. Their acting was good. Did you even watch the movie?”
“I did.”
“And you can still say that? What direction. Dayoon-unni just had awesome acting.”
“You really don’t know your stuff. Listen up. Maru-seonbae said that it’s a victory for directing after seeing the movie.”
“So what?”
“Do you want me to explain in detail? Who is Maru-seonbae? He’s an actor who has acted in dramas and movies, right? Who do you think knows more about movies? Him, an actor? Or us, an audience? Of course it’s h….”
“That’s not right! I get that Maru-seonbae is on TV, but whether he is good at acting is another story,” the girl said after giving a glance in Maru’s direction.
Chihwan raised his eyebrows. She dared to say something that was disrespectful.
“Maru-seonbae’s acting is awesome!”
“It’s not in New Semester.”
“Can you still say that after seeing Maru-seonbae in Those Guys?”
The girls widened their eyes.
“Maru-seonbae was in Those Guys? I watched it twice and I don’t remember seeing him.”
“Me neither. He wasn’t in it.”
“When did he appear?”
The girls glared at him and asked. Chihwan did not step down before their fierce gazes.
“You know, the fighting scene at the beginning.”
“The fighting scene? Oh! The scene where there was no sound? Maru-seonbae appeared there?”
“Yes! He shot together with the Kwon Dayoon that you’ve been praising.”
He thought that they would look at Maru differently now, but the girls’ reactions were lukewarm at best.
“What the heck? He’s just an extra then. He barely showed up as well. I actually expected something because you said he was in it, but it turns out it was nothing much.”
“See? That seonbae isn’t anything much.”
“If he was really popular, why would he come to the acting club? He should be busy shooting. He just got lucky to show his face here and there.”
Chihwan felt like he was going to become angry. The girls were respectful to the other seniors, but it was easy to see that they were disrespectful to Maru.
‘Fine, I get it. I get that seonbae doesn’t show up that much and is always by himself, so it’s not surprising that they don’t know about him. But this isn’t right.’
Chihwan was deeply impressed by Maru during the audition the film production club held. Although they had the same role, Maru showed him a completely different side to acting and made him realize what acting was about. If the girls watched him properly that day, they wouldn’t say such things.
Chihwan stood up and walked over to Maru. The girls were frightened and grabbed him, but he shook them off and stood in front of Maru.
“Seonbae-nim!”
“What?”
“Show us your acting. Those girls are looking down on you.”
Chihwan pointed at the girls. The five people who were sitting in a circle stiffened up like concrete. They didn’t dare say what they said directly to his face. Chihwan boldly looked at the girls like they deserved it.
“Chihwan.”
“Yes, seonbae-nim!”
“If you have energy left over, go run a lap.”
“What?”
Chihwan looked at Maru with a dazed expression. He had told him that the juniors were being disrespectful to their senior, yet this was his reaction.
“Seonbae, I said they are looking down on you.”
“Three laps.”
“No, but, seonbae!”
“Four laps.”
“Fine, I won’t say anything.”
Maru hinted at him to walk away. Chihwan sighed and turned around. The girls seemed to have realized what had happened and started to laugh about it.
“See? Maru-seonbae doesn’t have anything to say about it either.”
“Also, did you actually just tell him? Are you really a man?”
“Stop overreacting to jokes. Maru-seonbae must feel that it was absurd as well.”
The girls chuckled. Chihwan glared at them and sat in front of them. The girls who met eyes with him fiercely looked at him for a while before turning away.
“Are you trying to pick a fight or what?”
“He’s so ridiculous.”
“What a cocky guy.”
Cocky? Chihwan tried to go up to the girls to nitpick them, but he couldn’t do anything thanks to the other boys coming up to him and holding him back.
“Why don’t you calm down a little, dammit.”
“I’m going to kill you if our relationship with the girls goes bad.”
“Did you forget that we were going to hang out together? Why are you fighting?”
His friends smiled like idiots while looking at the girls. Chihwan was boiling inside. At first, he was angry at the boys, but it soon turned into disappointment towards Maru. Wasn’t he supposed to protect his pride as a senior? Maru treated Chihwan like that, yet he didn’t say anything to the girls. He simply couldn’t understand. It would’ve been great if he showed them his acting and had them shut up about his skills.
Chihwan walked to Maru again.
“Seonbae.”
“Yeah, what.”
Maru was focusing on sewing and didn’t raise his head. Chihwan pouted.
“Isn’t hierarchical order important in group activities?”
“That’s right, it is. In that sense, what am I supposed to do with you when you keep interrupting me while I’m making props?”
“No, seonbae. I’m on your side. I’m Ahn Chihwan, the man who knows honor. I am taking your side with the resolve to fight against the girls.”
“Good for you.”
“That’s it?”
“Why are you being so naggy when you’re so big?”
“I’m not being naggy. I like you. That’s why I can’t stand you being disrespected.”
“Why can’t you do that?”
“Because a senior shouldn’t be ignored.”
“Is this the military or something?”
“Are you fine with being ignored?”
“I am, so please be quiet while I sew this. Or you can help out. Daemyung, that guy, he gave me a mountain load of work with a smiling face, so I don’t have any time to rest.”
“What? Here I was prepared to fight the others because of you.”
“No, no, not because of me, but because of you.”
“Because of me? Of course not! I said because of you.”
Maru raised his head. He yawned before starting to speak.
“I’m fine with it though.”
“Even if you are, I’m not.”
“See? It’s because of you. You aren’t my manager. Why do you care about my reputation? If you have time to think about that, then go read the script one more time. You have a role, don’t you? Is your acting perfect? Can you say that your acting is perfect?”
“It is perfect!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“Then do it.”
“What?”
“I said do it. Think of this place as the stage and do it.”
“…Fine. But you have to do it too. It’d be weird for only me to do it.”
“You really know how to annoy a person, huh. Fine, instead, you have to do this as well,” Maru said as he pointed at the pile of clothes next to him.
“Okay! But it would be no fun to just do it, so let’s make a bet. If you win, then I’ll help you out until you finish.”
“You really won’t stop until you have everything done your way, huh. Fine, a bet or whatever. Do what you want.”
“Since it’s a bet, I should get something if I win as well.”
“How meticulous. What do you want?”
“Teach me acting.”
“The others are teaching you already. Instructor Miso comes here too.”
“I want to learn from you. Your acting is really good.”
Chihwan looked at Maru. Maru palmed his face.
“Just where did a guy like this come from….”
“You should be prepared to accept me as your disciple. I’m not sure about anything else, but I really did memorize everything about this play perfectly.”
Chihwan turned around and shouted at everyone else.
“Everyone! Listen up!”
