Life, Once Again!

Gaeul looked at the reporter standing in front of the hospital and raised the TV volume. Lee Miyoon had never failed to climb down from the real-time search rankings since New Years. Today was the 4th, and she was finally talked about on the mass media. Since the main news programs of each TV station were focusing on it, the news would reach even the generation who were distant from the internet. It was bound to get noisy for a while. The dark side of the ‘national mother’ was being revealed after all.

Last night, she got a call from her mother. As she had a foot in the entertainment industry, she should have heard rumors about Lee Miyoon and should have known what kind of relationship Gaeul had with that woman. Gaeul honestly told her that she was feeling relieved. Her mother consoled her, saying that she must have had a hard time until now.

Lee Miyoon, sitting down in a wheelchair with a haggard face, was captured on camera. Having found the camera, she boldly came forward and said that she had done nothing wrong and that this was all unjustified crime pinning. She glared at the camera, saying that the truth would be revealed soon. She was unyielding until the very end. It seemed that Lee Miyoon would never admit to anything of her own accord. She would probably claim innocence even as she was being cuffed and dragged to court. That was the kind of woman she was after all.

“She’s amazing in some ways,” Maru said, sitting on the bed.

He was holding a triangular rice ball he bought from the convenience store.

“She would earn sympathy points if she at least acted like she was truly repenting, but it seems like her pride doesn’t allow that.”

Gaeul received the plain yogurt that he tossed over. It had been five days since she drove during the night to come to Ulsan. During this time, she had all the rest she needed at the hotel. When she woke up, she would walk around the city of Ulsan without makeup on. She looked up some tourist attractions on the internet and went around, and before she knew it, she would find the sun setting. At night, she would go to the cinema and choose a movie to watch based on the poster alone. The sci-fi movie she saw yesterday was terrible, but the thriller she watched the night before was so good that she would love to watch it again. When she returned to the hotel, she would then wait while being on her phone, hoping for Maru to have finished the shoot early and contact her. When Maru came to the hotel in the middle of the night, they would sit by the window where they would see the city of Ulsan and talk about various things. They intentionally avoided talking about Hong Janghae, Lee Miyoon, and Kang Giwoo. They didn’t even have time to look at each other\'s smiles.

“Where should we go today?”

Gaeul thought about it when Maru asked that question. During the past four days, she had visited all the famous places. Kang Giwoo had also returned to Seoul, so she went around touring without hesitation, but looking back, she thought that she should have left a place to go with Maru. Perhaps she had been too excited because she hadn’t had this much rest in a while.

“Where should we go?”

Since it was like this, it was better to ask instead. Maru smiled and spoke,

“So it looks like you don’t have any more places to go after going around everywhere for the past four days, huh?”

“Was it written on my face?”

“It’s not written on your face, but it’s definitely written on the messenger. Just looking at all the photos you sent me, I can tell that you’ve been all over Ulsan,” Maru said as he showed her his phone.

Gaeul smiled awkwardly. More than half the time, she was telling him that they should come together next time when she uploaded the photos.

“If Ulsan is no good, we can go a little farther. We don’t have a shoot today.”

Gaeul lay on the bed and looked at the photos she took. While Maru said that it was okay to go a bit far, there was a shoot tomorrow morning. There was no need to push themselves. They could just go to one of the places she already went to.

“How about this place? I went there three days ago, and it’s quite relaxing. The snow is pretty too.”

Gaeul showed him a photo she took in Seoknam Temple. It was a place she liked since it wasn’t crowded even with a lot of tourists around. It was also perfect to have a talk on the pine tree road on the way to the temple.

“I heard that there are many people here.”

“They won’t recognize me if I put on a hat and a mask. It was like that when I went there before. Everyone’s focused on talking to the people they came with and have no interest in others. How about it?”

Maru had a look at the photo once and said that he liked it and that they should go.

“Let’s eat rice with thistles near the temple for dinner. It says ‘temple food’ on the sign, and it’s really savory.”

Maru should like it since he disliked salty food. They changed their clothes and left the hotel.

“You’re going to have to go back to your schedule tomorrow, huh?” Maru said as they got in the car.

Gaeul sighed, thinking about her schedule, which was jam-packed until the end of April.

“I took a week of rest, so I should work hard again. Once I’m done with the shoot tomorrow, I’ll have to go back to Seoul and get ready for a photo shoot.”

“Should we return to the hotel early in the evening? It might be better for you to get some rest.”

Gaeul shook her head.

“Rather than the room, I want to have a walk. I don’t care where. I just want to go on a walk. It’ll be hard to go traveling together after today.”

“That’s true. Then shall we go to the nearby sea after dinner? Not too far though.”

“Sounds great.”

Maru smiled and started the car.

* * *

“Man, she’s totally hot now that I see her in person,” Gyungjin said as he slapped down on Maru’s shoulders.

First, there was Kang Giwoo, and now it was Han Gaeul. There had been talks about it last night about how an actress who’s really hard to see these days because of her popularity was coming to the shoot just to play a minor character.

“Please take care of me.”

Han Gaeul bowed to everyone while standing next to director Park. She was an actress who was much prettier in real life than on screen. Her face was very three-dimensional, and the view of her from the side was especially great.

“Do you like her that much?”

Yoojung pressed down on his shoulders, telling him to stop overreacting.

“It looks like there is a god after all. I prayed to god to bring Miss Gaeul to come to the shoot when I was watching the end-of-year award ceremony. I think he didn’t even bother checking and just approved it.”

“Looks like you’ll need to serve director Park as a god from now on. It’s thanks to him that you got to see Miss Gaeul. But she gives off a totally different vibe from when she appears on the screen. It might be because all of the roles she played were intense, but I thought she would have a really strong look to her. But now that I see her today, she seems as docile as a baby.”

‘Docile as a baby’ was an expression that suited her well. Having just applied some BB cream, Han Gaeul was far from a woman gnashing her teeth after being betrayed or a doctor standing in front of an operating table with a cold face. She was an actress with a great atmosphere around her, totally different from those embarrassing girls who only rose up because of their appearances and it was shameful to even call them actresses.

Gyungjin placed his arm around Maru’s shoulder.

“You sure you’re close to Miss Gaeul?”

“We’re just friends.”

“That’s good enough. I heard that she’ll be going to Seoul right after the shoot today.”

“Probably. She’s a busy person.”

“Can you get her to have a meal with us before she goes? If you can, I’ll try to hook you up with someone.”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you yet, did I? I have someone I’m dating.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll treat you to a good one later, so set me up with Miss Gaeul. It’s not that I have any bad intentions. It’s just my wish to have a meal with her as a fan.”

Yoojung nearby also asked if she could join. Gyungjin said he didn’t care. He wouldn’t hesitate if they could develop into lovers like in dramas, but if life was so easy like that, he might as well have been born a chaebol in the first place. He truly wanted to just have a meal with her as a fan. He also wanted to hear about the epic battle with Lee Miyoon she had, of which there were rumors floating around.

“I’ll talk to her about it.”

“Thanks. It’s my greatest blessing to have gotten to know you in my life, Maru.”

“You’re giving me so much pressure. What are you going to do if it doesn’t work out?”

“Then it won’t be my greatest blessing, but it’ll still be a great blessing. Also, don’t forget to tell her that a handsome, promising thirty-year-old actor is waiting for her.”

“Should I tell her that exactly?”

“...Just tell her that an introverted fan wants to say hello.”

“I will.”

“But how is she really? Apparently, she’s scary to the point that other people can’t approach her when she fights with senior Lee Mi… no, that’s not right, that Lee Miyoon woman. Is it true?”

“She’s usually very cheerful and smiles a lot, but she doesn’t bend and usually goes to the end with people she clashes with. But in one aspect, she bottles up her feelings inside since she’s really shy about expressing herself.”

“In one aspect, you say?”

“That’s a little hard to explain. It’s just the kind of thing you get to see if you know her for a long time. It’s one of those things.”

“I get what you’re saying. In any case, she’s pretty ordinary, huh.”

“Yes. She’s an ordinarily good girl.”

Maru finished talking and looked at Han Gaeul in the distance. Gyungjin also looked at her, who was greeting the camera director before having a glimpse at Maru. He was blatantly looking at her with a satisfied look on his face. They say there’s no ‘friendship’ between a man and a woman, and it seemed that Maru had Han Gaeul in his heart as well. He was probably bitter about the fact that he could not take the relationship further. He could understand that.

“You can’t go confessing to her, okay? You’ll get in big trouble. You know what I mean, right?”

Gyungjin tapped Maru’s arm with a fist, gesturing for him to cheer up. If they were friends after knowing each other for a long time, the possibility of developing into lovers should be even slimmer than a man and a woman meeting for the first time.

“What do you mean?”

“I know how you feel. But you should be careful. I’ve known some people who have gotten into an awkward relationship after finding out that only one side has feelings for the other.”

Maru, who was watching him quietly, put on a smile.

“I told you, I have someone I’m dating.”

“I know, I know. So just treat that girlfriend of yours really well.”

“I am doing my best even if you didn’t tell me. She’s so busy, so I can’t really do much.”

“Your girlfriend is working already, huh?”

“I guess you can call it work. There’s a CEO, manager, and everything.”

It was a strange answer, but Gyungjin did not pry into it. It was rude to ask in-depth after all. He looked at his face through his phone camera. It was a pity about the beard he was currently sporting because of the role he was playing right now, but he looked pretty good.

“Now, the actors should say hello.”

Han Gaeul came over with director Park. Gyungjin smiled brightly and greeted.