Life, Once Again!

>I’m staying because this looks interesting.
Oh, am I a nuisance?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“Then I’ll keep watching.
Let’s have a talk after the class, over a meal or something.”

“Alright, then.”

Miso gave glances at the three people that were looking their way.

“To think that you have the time to think about others, that’s amazing.
Looks like you already realized the meaning behind what I said, right? Very well.
Start acting again one by one in front of me.
Just how good are you to be distracted when you don’t even have enough time to think about yourself? Let’s see, shall we? Ah, for your reference, you will be spending more time moving your body rather than sitting down.
You can all do leg splits as the basics, right?”

Miso crossed her legs in front of the three.

“Go ahead, then.
If I don’t see any changes in you from last time, I’ll have no choice but to give you an earful.”

* * *

“I’ll finish up things here for today.”

Sungjae fell backwards as soon as he heard those words.
He felt like he was getting leg cramps.
He turned his head to look at the other two who were leaning against the wall.
They were looking at him as though he was some amazing person.

“Mr.
Sungjae.
You seem like you did some exercise.”

“Yes.
I’m an idol after all. *pant, pant*.”

“I like your stamina.
You’re quite flexible as well.
You seem to know how to use your body, so I’ll decrease training that just focuses on stamina for you.
However, the two of you should get ready to run just like today.
Why are your bodies in horrible states even though you are actors? Bear this in mind.
Unless you are an actor that can speak with just your eyes alone, you need to practice so that you can move every part of your body, from your fingertips to your toes, to your will.
Anyway, thanks for today.”

Sungjae lied on the floor and watched as Miso left the class.
He felt like he went back to his trainee days.
It had been a really long time since he received training as intense as this.

“Wow, hyung.
I can’t believe you managed to go through all that.”

“Are you okay?”

He said that he was okay to Gwangseok and Gyunglim who approached him and stood up.
After resting for a while, his legs felt better.
He remembered practicing like this when he went to acting schools when he was still a student.
His heart was satisfied even though his body was tired since he felt like he was learning properly.

Just as he wiped his sweat off with his sleeves, the man that entered mid-way through class approached them.

“All three of you look passionate.”

Sungjae looked at the man.
The man was wearing a casual-style suit and a fedora.
Although he looked to be over forty years old, his prankful smile made him look younger.

“Are you all dreaming about becoming actors?”

“Of course.
But who are you, sir?” Gwangseok asked.

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet, I guess.
My name is Park Joongjin, and I’m just a nameless movie director.”

Park Joongjin? Sungjae had never heard of that name.
He calmed down his breathing and asked.

“Do you have any business with us?”

“That I do.
I am trying to shoot a movie right now, so if it’s okay with you, would you like to participate?”

“In a movie?”

It was a rather sudden proposal.
The first feeling Sungjae had was rejection.
He thought about stories where scammers approached people and ripped money off them by coaxing them that they will make them idols.
Scams like that were everywhere in the entertainment industry.
When he looked back at the man warily, Joongjin laughed.

“I’m just giving you an offer right now.
Actually, my main business here was with instructor Yang Miso.
Let’s talk about the details later, and so? What do you think about appearing in my movie? Of course, I don’t mean that you will be the main characters.”

Just as Joongjin was about to continue, Miso came back in.

“Director, let’s go.”

“Ah, alright.
Anyway, the three of you, please think about it.
Well, then.”

Joongjin left the lecture room with a smile on his face.
Miso watched him leave before approaching the three of them slowly.

“What did he tell you?”

“He asked us whether we wanted to appear in his movie or not.”

“His movie?”

Sungjae nodded and affirmed her.

“But is he really a movie director?”

“Yes, he is a director.
He’s quite famous too.”

“I see.”

“He’s a very peculiar person, so I don’t know what intentions he had when he said that.
Don’t mind him too much for now.”

“Okay.”

“Then see you tomorrow.
Don’t forget to relax your muscles.”

Sungjae said goodbyes to Miso who left.

“Hyung, he probably said that as a joke, right?”

“I don’t know.”

Gyunglim, who was listening as she packed her bag, spoke.

“He must be joking.
Where do you see a director that asks a person to feature in the movie on their first meeting?”

“That’s true.”

Sungjae packed his bag as well.

“Hyung, why don’t we eat dinner together?”

“Dinner? Shall we?”

“Yes.
Also, you should tell me about the entertainment industry.
There’s a pork BBQ restaurant nearby so let’s go there.
Oh, wait.
People might flock if they recognize you.”

“If I wear a cap, not many people recognize me.”

“Really? That’s good then.
Let’s go!”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yes.
Oh, there’s Gyunglim as well.”

Gwangseok shrugged before calling Gyunglim.
In the end, they decided to eat with the three of them.
He walked along the corridor while stretching his sore neck when Gwangseok went ahead saying that he had to go to the bathroom.

“Uhm, Sungjae-oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“Can you eat dinner with just two?”

“Why? You have an appointment?”

Sungjae wondered if she was busy or something.

“N-no.
I meant the two of us.”

Gyunglim looked flustered after saying those words.
It seemed that she was indeed not on good terms with Gwangseok.
First, it was Gwangseok who tried to leave her out, and now Gyunglim was saying this.

Just then, Gwangseok came back.
Gyunglim stayed quiet and started walking again.
Sungjae smiled bitterly between the two who only talked to him and not to each other.

* * *

He just got a message from Miso.
She said that she accepted the offer since the time looked right.
Instead of saying well done, Junmin told her to rip a lot of money off him.
Miso also replied that she intended to.

“Refusal and yielding is a foolish thing, huh.”

He didn’t know whether Joongjin did it intentionally or it was just a coincidence, but he was somehow acquainting himself with the people around him.
If he was someone that was obsessed with the past, he might be planning a petty revenge.

“Perhaps his intention is to steal things away from me since I stole from him.”

Junmin drank the red tea that was steaming as he looked at his monitor.
Park Joongjin.
After all that’s said, he was a genius.
They should be able to learn a lot from him.
Since they found the opportunity to grow, he decided to leave them alone.
If he stole them, then he had to think about it at that time.
He had confidence though since the man named Lee Junmin reached all the way where he was purely through managing other people.

Junmin clicked away on his keyboard.
He had a mountain of work to do.
The market was changing rapidly, and the ones that could not adapt would be swept away by the waves.

“A true actor.”

He said those words out of habit before pressing enter.