“Okay, hyungnim. As long as Lee Miyoon does well, everyone can return to their original positions. What I’m worried about is that the chairman might choose not to use Lee Miyoon again.”
-That’s something Lee Miyoon is confident in, so we have to let her do it. If she can’t, we can only try attacking Hong Janghae with the evidence we have procured until now.
“We have a witness, but not clear evidence, so I don’t think that will be enough. Unless the procuress in Japan gives us evidence directly, then maybe, but she’ll likely focus on cleaning her hands off it, so she’ll likely erase all evidence that might be used against her.”
-Ultimately, it comes down to people. I’ve prepared as much as I could, so I should pray for the rest. Alright, good work. We’ll have to watch for a while, so you should focus on your work.
“You should get some rest too. If you have the time, you should visit journalist, no, owner Choi’s florist shop too.”
-I’m planning on not seeing her until I finish this. I think that will be better for both of us. Lee Miyoon might start suspecting if I start visiting her.
“That’s true.”
-I will call her though.
“Alright. I’ll visit you on the weekend. Let’s go over what we should tell the others in the future while eating.”
-Then see you on Sunday. Good luck with work. I’m hanging up now.
“See you.”
Dongwook hung up. It seemed that Park Okhwa decided to turn around. There was probably no one who would daze out in front of the tetrapods when they knew that a tsunami was coming. She should be starting to clean up her surroundings and creating a reasonable excuse to cut ties with Hong Janghae. Yoojin’s rebellion against her probably helped her make the decision as well. It was great that she was not a parent who treated her child like an auxiliary piece like Hong Janghae.
He took a shower and had a look at the time. It was 10 a.m, about time to leave. He put his coat on and consoled the two dogs that tried to follow him out before going down to the parking lot. When he got in his car and turned on the radio, Gaeul’s voice started coming out. There was no way it was a live radio from all the way on Jeju island, so it was probably a recording. A trot song started flowing out, along with the words that it was requested by a bus driver in his fifties. Maru hummed along and tapped along with the rhythm on the driving wheel. Not long after he went on the road, he saw the destination. It was a restaurant that specialized in a baby’s first birthday party. He parked the car in the underground parking lot and went up to the first floor lobby. He looked at the guidepost at the front desk and headed to the 2nd floor.
“You’re here?”
Director Park Joongjin greeted him. The hall was completely empty with only a ritual table in the middle. The pig’s head, the main character on the table, was grinning widely. At the head of the table was a sign that said ‘wishing for no accidents.’ Usually, it would read ‘wishing for fortune’ instead.[1]
“It doesn’t matter if the piece does well or not, you see,” said Joongjin as he pointed at the sign.
To Maru, it sounded more like ‘success is guaranteed anyway, so I hope no accidents happen.’
“What about the others?”
“They’ll come soon. This is a small-scale one, so there won’t be many people. I was originally not going to do this, but I felt like it would bring bad luck to the title.”
“I thought you were someone who didn’t believe in such superstition.”
“Luck is something I cannot control. If I can benefit a little by doing this, then it won’t be a bad thing.”
While he waited, some people started arriving. They were the actors, production staff members, as well as the writer.
“I’ve never taken up work after seeing just the name of the director in my entire life. If it wasn’t you, director Park, I wouldn’t work like this. Did any of the actors receive a script?” asked head manager Moon, who introduced himself as the producer.
Maru did not raise his hand and looked around. The other actors also stayed still as though they did not receive the script.
“The only thing you have heard is a couple of lines about the synopsis from the director, right? If it was any other director, people would’ve quit already and the project would’ve been scrapped because of failure to upkeep the contract and whatnot. Heck, if we were using investor money to shoot this film, the company would have sued the director a long time ago. But look at him. He’s using his own money for the production, his own men, and only people that trust him, so there’s not a single complaint in a situation like this. That was when it occurred to me: ah, if I don’t brace myself, this film might get demolished before the crank-in.”
Head manager Moon spoke with a chuckle,
“That’s why I brought you into the team, head manager Moon. I’m going to have you take care of things outside the shoot. I believe in you. Don’t overwork yourself.”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here. Anyway, please take care of me. I’m going to be acting as the supervisor for our director here.”
Head manager Moon made big gestures whenever he talked. His talking skills reminded Maru of an American stand-up comedian, and Maru watched him like he would a performance. After talking about how he almost fell to his death at the Grand Canyon, head manager Moon looked at the door and waved his hand. Maru turned his head around. The baggy hoodie and cargo pants with lots of pockets caught his eye. The woman, wearing a large pair of horn-rimmed glasses, took off her hood and greeted slowly.
“You haven’t started yet?”
“You’ve overslept again, haven’t you? You should reduce your sleep.”
“I get sleepy no matter how much I sleep, and if I reduce my sleep any further, I might as well go into a coffin. Hello everyone, I’m Park Jiseon. I’m supposed to be the assistant director, but I’m not sure. Director Park is so great, so I wonder if there’s anything for me to do. I just plan to fill the headcount at the shoot.”
Park Jiseon sniffed before sitting down. Maru had a close look at her face. It seemed like she was the same person after all. She was the director of the commercial for a telecommunications commercial that he shot with Sooil a long time ago. She looked just as tired as she did back then. The bags under her eyes remained unchanged too.
“Looks like all the important people are here. Let’s do the ritual and go for a meal.”
Joongjin stood in front of the table. The other people also stood up. Joongjin inserted some money into the pig’s nose and kowtowed before giving everyone a glass of liquor. Considering that he rented such a large hall, the ritual was rather simple.
“Shall we go?”
“You called all of us so early in the morning to do this? With people you’re seeing for the first time, no less?”
Head manager Moon clicked his tongue. Park Jiseon complained as well, saying that she had two hours less sleep than usual to come here. Other than the two though, none of the others said anything. It seemed that only these two were able to grumble in front of the director. Even the person who introduced herself as writer Jung looked at everyone nervously. Maru stood next to writer Jung. Writer Jung, who had been walking while looking at the ground, flinched before giving way. She seemed startled.
“Did I approach you too quietly?”
“No. I was just thinking about something else and suddenly felt someone next to me. I wasn’t startled. I mean it, really.”
Writer Jung kept emphasizing that she was not startled. While they stopped for a while, the other people all left the hall. The employees came in and started cleaning up the table as though it was agreed upon beforehand.
“Is the script finished?”
“I’m not sure.”
Writer Jung looked away. Her eyes were relatively big compared to her small stature, so her eye movements looked really flustered. Joongjin said that he was going to write the script himself and that it would be finished soon. This was why Maru paid attention to the woman who introduced herself as a writer when she showed up. Was she like a writing assistant and in charge of looking up materials?
“Did you write the script yourself?”
“To a certain extent.”
“How’s the story? Do you like it?”
Writer Jung frowned. She raised her head and spoke,
“You’re probing me out because the director isn’t telling you, aren’t you?”
“It’s not necessarily like that.”
Writer Jung turned around before rushing over to Joongjin, who was walking at the front. Maru could see her whispering something to him. She also pointed at Maru from time to time. She looked like an elementary school kid going to the teacher to rat people out. He could see Joongjin smile. Maru stopped and watched the two. After finishing the conversation, Joongjin walked to the exit, while writer Jung stomped her way back.
“The director told me to tell you that you shouldn’t be worried since he’ll tell you today.”
“Okay.”
Writer Jung looked back for a bit. The moment she saw Joongjin leave through the glass door, she raised her voice,
“Hey, you aren’t doubting our director, are you? He might look like he lives without a plan, but he’s actually very meticulous. There is a reason he’s not showing you the script and has gathered us only now.”
“I know. He’s not ordinary. I’m sure he must have his reasons.”
That didn’t seem to be the answer she was expecting as writer Jung couldn’t speak for a while. The hateful glare softened up eventually, and a faint smile was hung on her face.
“What, so you know how amazing he is? I thought you were looking down on him.”
Writer Jung reached out her hand, asking for a handshake. He grabbed the small hand and shook it up and down.
“Let’s work well together.”
“Yes.”
Peculiar people gathered up in one spot. Maru believed that he was the most ordinary among this bunch. If he did not brace himself, he might get swayed by these uniquely distinct people.
“You were Mr. Han Maru, right?”
“Yes.”
“You’re rather peculiar.”
“I am?”
“Leaving aside the others, weren’t you worried when you didn’t even get a script despite being the lead character? You really are rather unique.”
Writer Jung winked before walking towards the exit. Maru whispered in a small voice — not as much as you.
It seemed that peculiar people only attracted peculiar people?
“Come on. Everyone’s waiting outside.”
“Okay, coming.”
He followed writer Jung, who ran outside with her short legs.
[1] This is a Gosa(고사). A shamanistic ritual (usually) wishing for success. Some talismans that contain their wish are put in the mouth of the pig’s head mentioned below and the participants would kowtow towards that pig’s head. This is usually done prior to opening a business or in the face of a big project. It is a mostly deprecated custom, especially for the younger generation.
