Life, Once Again!

ed around and looked around the set.
His eyes looked pretty serious.

“Please take care of me, hyung.
Let me become a star producer with your help.”

“Why are you suddenly putting me on a pedestal? You’re making me uneasy.”

Ganghwan left the room.

“How about the other sets?”

“That one over there is for Maru and Yuna.
There’s a limit to the area we can use, so I think we have to assemble and disassemble every time.
Anyway, that one over there is for Mira and Byungjae.”

“The TV station set area is really wide huh.
I thought what I saw in dramas were actual houses that they rented.”

“Are you really someone who’s been staying in this industry for over a decade? You don’t even know stuff like that?”

“Well, I never showed up on TV.
At most, I just showed up briefly as a cameo or something.
This is my first time on a set too.”

“Why don’t you come over to the drama side using this opportunity? I think with your skills, you’ll be able to have your name known to all the major producers, you know? Also, what company do you belong to? It’s JA, isn’t it? It must be easy for you to find connections.”

“I thought you hated stuff like using connections.”

“I mean to say that I can’t have that stuff interfere with my work, not that I’m rejecting it entirely.
I mean, you can’t keep working in this industry if you ignore it.”

“The reckless street thug can now think for herself huh.”

“I’ve always been smarter than you.
But really, why don’t you think about it seriously? I mean, about switching to camera acting.”

Jayeon cautiously looked at Ganghwan’s face.
Leaving aside personal feelings, when viewed objectively, the actor known as Yang Ganghwan was a very desired talent.
Watching his act would make anyone excited.
Yes, excited.
There was no other word that described Yang Ganghwan’s acting more properly than that.
The viewers would forget that they’re ‘watching’ something and become synchronized with his act.
They would become objectified by his acting before being drained of their energy, and only after his act ended would they start breathing again and exclaim.
Ganghwan was a merciless actor who sucked in everyone’s gazes.

“Camera acting just doesn’t suit me.
I also don’t like the fact that I’m restricted by the location.
I heard that shooting a drama is like war, right? You need to be fierce when you’re preparing for plays too, but it’s not as bad as dramas.
I want to do the leading, not chasing,” Ganghwan smiled as he spoke.

He didn’t look disappointed at all.
Jayeon immediately gave up on the idea.
There wasn’t a method to grab a star in the skies after all.
Unless that star came down by itself, there was no way of touching it.

“Superstar Yang, it sounds good too.”

“I’ll introduce you to Hong Geunsoo later, so go chase him.
He was born to live in front of the camera.”

Ganghwan said he’d look around the set a little more before walking over to another set.
Jayeon shrugged.
In a world where there were as many actors desperate to debut on TV as there were grains of sand on the beach, this man was rejecting the opportunity.
She would understand if he was lacking skill, but he was acting like despite having more than enough skill, so she only found it unfortunate.

“Hello.”

Another one of the main characters, Byungjae, arrived.
He had cut his hair cleanly like college students these days.
His clothes weren’t too flashy either.
If he walked around a college campus right now, he would be one of the ‘handsome oppa on campus’.

“Are those clothes sponsored?”

“No, they’re mine,” Byungjae replied with embarrassment.

“They suit you.
Who did the styling?”

“A friend of mine.”

“That friend of yours has good taste.
You said you don’t have an agency yet, right?”

“Yes, I’m by myself.”

“Then have your phone with you at all times.
The assistant director or I will call you quite frequently.
If you don’t pick up, be prepared for the consequences.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Byungjae raised his head to look at the ceiling.
His mouth became open and his expression looked so pure that Jayeon subconsciously smiled.

“Is it your first time at a set too?”

“Yes.
In fact, it’s the first time I came to a TV station.”

“Oh my word.
Was I too focused on the acting skills? You should have a look around as well.
Watch out for the cables on the ground.”

“Yes!”

Byungjae trotted away like a kid on a field trip.

“Looks like he doesn’t need to do acting at all.”

He seemed like he came straight out of the script.
Of course he’d suit the character since she picked the one that suited the image, but Byungjae especially had no difference from the character in the script when compared to his real character.
Whether this was an advantage for him or not, she would have to find out once they began shooting.

“But hey, the oldest one arrived at the scene first, huh.
What a lax atmosphere.”

Jayeon looked at Ganghwan, who was taking Byungjae around the set.
There were 30 minutes until the appointment.
She would scold the latecomers without mercy.

* * *

“It’s big,” Yuna said in front of the TV station.

Maru tapped on Yuna, who was gasping at the building, and pointed at the building next to it.

“We’re going that way.”

“Eh? Isn’t it this one?”

“That one over there is the building with the sets.
This place is for broadcasting and office work.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“I’ve been here a few times after all.”

They walked past the guard post for cars and entered the 5-story building.
The 1st and 2nd floors were combined into a huge warehouse-like area, and that place was the drama set.
On the ceiling, which was high above, were bars installed at regular intervals on which lights could be installed.
He took Yuna, who was marveling at the forklifts that were used to move the walls of the sets, to Jayeon, who was standing in front of a completed set.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

As soon as they greeted, Jayeon placed a finger on her mouth, signaling them to keep quiet.
Maru shut his mouth and directed his gaze to where Jayeon was looking.
He saw Ganghwan leaning against the wall behind the door to the set.
He flipped a page of a book with a bored expression before he expressed his annoyance and rolled on the ground.
People laughed when a grown adult was acting like a child throwing a tantrum, but they soon became quiet upon Jayeon’s glare.
After rolling around in his room for a while, Ganghwan slowly stood up and sat at his desk.
Only his back could be seen, but Maru could tell that Ganghwan was pondering.
He heard a soft sigh.
Ganghwan was clutching his hair as well.
While his expression couldn’t be seen it could be gleaned from his actions alone.

“About that much, maybe?” Ganghwan said as he turned around.

Maru subconsciously nodded.
This person is an actor after all – these thoughts filled his mind.

KTLChamber's Thoughts

Can we have the title of the drama please…?

Editor's Note:
Man, I always want to watch these serious moves/dramas/plays that they talk about.
This time is no different.