Life, Once Again!

ector said some words out of formality.
It was obvious from his tone.
He spoke as though he had no intentions of banishing him.
He just made excuses.
Just a couple of lines saying ‘I did this and this for you’ just to put on a show.

The man left the set.
The staff members that held their breath started breathing again and whispered among themselves.
The producer declared a break.
Miyoon went to a seat in one corner of the set and sat.
They were reserved seats for the main actors.
Suyeon was standing behind her.
She was smiling kindly and was massaging Miyoon’s shoulders.
Miyoon’s faint smile spread around the set.

“She ended up sending one away.”

“This isn’t the first time this happened.
She’s famous for it, that ahjumma.”

“Phew, what a pity for that kid.
He just had to catch that woman’s eye.”

“But I think we’ll end with just one person today.”

“That’s good then.
But the more I look at her, the more I despise her.”

“What can you do about it? I thought the writer for the drama said that she’s the only candidate.
It’s quite strange, you know? Why do people keep using that woman?”

“Because she’s good at acting.
She’s quite well-known as well.
My grandma really likes her, you know? She says that she’s so gentle and how women should all be like her.”

“She might faint if she found out the truth.”

“Do you think there will be any rumors about her? That kid must feel unjustified, but what can he do about it? If he wants to keep working in this industry, he has no choice but to endure.
But man, she really picks out people that look like they can’t go against her.”

That was the conversation between two staff members who were cleaning up the cables.
It seemed that this wasn’t the first time Miyoon bullied minor actors.
Perhaps she found it fun.
Playing around with an opponent that couldn’t strike back had to be a form of pleasure for her.
She must think of herself as above everyone here.
Maru had a look at Miyoon.
That woman ruled over this castle that was the set.
She was someone that even the producer was helpless against.
She reigned supreme here.

“Let’s do this, everyone.
You can do it, right?”

Acting was a scary profession.
Miyoon, who had just banished a young fellow out of existence with her vile methods, was consoling the staff and the actors with a refreshing expression.
If someone not in the know looked at her, they would think of her as a good senior.

The shoot resumed.
There was no bullying this time.
Everything went smoothly.
One of the minor actors made a mistake, but this time, Miyoon covered up for her.
Maru saw that the girl who received her grace was paling.
She was probably thinking if the next target would be her.

Fortunately, no problems occurred.
Cut, then okay.
Those two words came out of the producer’s mouth repeatedly.
It was as though he was aware that things would go bad the moment he stopped doing so.

Next was Maru’s turn.
He watched as the camera moved in front of him and started chopping as soon as he received the producer’s signal.
He chopped up some zucchini and mushrooms and put them on a plate.
He turned on the fire and put a pot on top.
He saw the camera turning slightly.
It was probably shooting Miyoon and Suyeon walking together.
Eventually, Miyoon arrived.

“Doenjang-guk, huh.
It must be hard to bring out its unique taste, but the contestants this year have a challenging mindset.
It’s a good thing.”

“Thank you.”

“But what’s this?”

“It’s ground shrimp.
I’m planning to use it when I make a broth with anchovy.”

“Hmm, ground shrimp, huh.
Now that I think about it, that boy is also doing a doenjang-guk, isn’t he?”

Miyoon and Suyeon spoke as they looked at the man standing behind the table next to him.
He was the protagonist of this drama.
Maru just looked at his chopping board and chopped his ingredients.
It would be fine as long as the cut sign fell.

He waited for the producer’s voice.
Just then, Miyoon, who was talking to the protagonist, made a mistake, causing an NG cut.

Maru put down the knife he was holding and straightened his back.
He took out a new set of zucchini and mushrooms below the cooking table for the new shoot.
Miyoon had a very dissatisfied face.

Miyoon was approaching him.
Maru turned around to look at her.

“Hey.
Isn’t your chopping sound a little too loud? I can’t act because of it.
I saw you look at me with a bad expression.
Did you do that on purpose in order to distract me? Is that what it is?”

But I think we’ll end with just one person today.
– those words from a staff member came up in his mind.
It seemed that it wouldn’t end with one person.
He felt a bad taste in his mouth.
It seemed that he was this woman’s next target.

“I made a mistake.
I should’ve done it more softly.”

“You get that you made a big noise?”

“Yes.
Rather than that, I’m really sorry.
It looks like I disturbed your great acting.”

“So you know that at least.”

“Actually, I wasn’t able to control my grip because I was watching your acting.”

“Watching my acting?”

He saw Miyoon’s lips curve upwards.

“Yes.
I got distracted because I wanted to learn the way you act so naturally.
I should’ve focused on my own work.”

“Well, trying to learn is not a crime.”

“Thank you for putting it that way.
Oh, I’ll reduce the chopping noise as much as possible.”

“Hm, no, you don’t have to.
I’m used to it now.
An actress like me does not make the same mistake twice, so you can just do it as you did before.
I should help out that much as a senior in acting.”

“Thank you for being so considerate.
I’ll do my best not to make a mistake.”

“Okay.
You’re quite polite unlike most kids these days.
Geez, young ones these days live on their ego, and a feeble woman like me has a really hard time facing them.”

Maru didn’t say anything and nodded slowly.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Han Maru.”

“Yes, Maru.
What a good name.
I’ll remember it so do your best.
You look promising.”

Miyoon patted his shoulders with a pleasant smile.
Maru maintained his calm expression until Miyoon and the staff members scattered.
Then, he smiled disdainfully when attention was drawn away from him and the camera no longer shot him.

‘Yes, of course, I’ll do my best.
I’m going to remember your name as well, woman.’

Maru sighed in relief as he picked up the knife.
It seemed that he had dealt with the crisis.
The attitude of a breadwinner that had to bow to contractors was quite useful.
He could sell as many false smiles as he wanted to.
His pride was quite cheap right now, after all.

“Stand by!”

The producer shouted.

(just refer to the photos).
I don’t know what to call it…