Chapter 174

Chapter 174
Chapter 174
“Yes, teacher . ”
- Are you busy?
Suyeon could hear loud noises from over the phone . Was he at a set?
“Nope . I’m always free if you need me . ”
- That’s good . I’m at Kyungbook . Can you come here right now?
“Kyungbook? Why?”
- I’m scouting out a location for filming, and you came to mind . You don’t have to come if you can’t .
“Calling me from Kyungbook on such a short notice? That’s a bit too much, don’t you think? I’m in Seoul . ”
Even as she said this, Suyeon was already working the navigator . Junmin wouldn’t call people out without a reason .
“Where exactly in Kyungbook?”
- You’re coming?
“Why wouldn’t I go?”
- Juwangsan National Park . Call me when you arrive, I’ll give you the details when you’re here .
“Looks like I’ll be there in six hours . Do they provide meals when I get there?”
- Of course . It’s six right now, so you’ll probably be able to arrive before midnight if you leave right away .
“I’m going to take it slow . But scouting? Since when were you a location manager?”
- Well, I got a picture of a decent place I was told about, and I had a good feeling . So I came here to check it out for myself .
“I mean, that place is already famous for filming . ”
- It’s a bit away from the actual park . Almost a wild mountain . Looks good, though .
“Ugh, you’re too much . I’m an established actress, you know that? Not a personal servant . ”
- You don’t have to come then . Ah, put that over there .
A voice belonging to a different man spoke over Junmin’s, Suyeon felt one of her eyebrows twitching .
“Teacher . ”
- What .
“Is there someone next to you?”
- People .
“I think I heard Mr . Geunsoo just now . ”
- He’s here . He was my driver .
“How could you just use such quality people for menial tasks like that?”
- Because I pay them . Anyway, get over here . You might catch us leaving if you dally for too long .
“Fine! I’ll be there quickly, so don’t say something so scary . ”
She revved up the engine after hanging up . She thought about her day thus far . She didn’t have much to worry about since her drama was over . It was the evening of a weekday, the highways should be clear right now . She should be able to get there before midnight . She bought some food from the convenience store before coming back to her car . Right then, her phone rang . Was it Junmin? Ah, Geunseok .
“Ah, there was him, huh . ”
She forgot she even had a lesson with the boy and didn’t much care for it . She originally got close to the boy in the hopes of closing in on Geunsoo . At this point, she might not really need him .
“Yeah, Geunseok?”
- I’m about to arrive, coach .
“Sorry, something urgent came up today . I don’t think I can make it . ”
She got in her car with her phone sandwiched between her shoulder and cheek, she could hear Geunseok’s surprised voice from over the phone .
- What? But today’s when we have the lesson…
“Sorry . Just rest for today . Maybe go play with friends?”
- Coach .
The boy was calling out to her desperately . Ugh . This was why kids were annoying to deal with, they just didn’t know when to give up . They wanted to always take, take, take from a give and take relationship .
“Geunseok, I’m disappointed . ”
- What?
“You’re not like a man at all . I thought you were a gentleman who cared for ladies . I’m very disappointed . ”
- No, that’s not it at all .
“Right? I’ve been mistaken, right? Anyway, don’t come over . I won’t be there . ”
- Are you going far?
“What does that matter to you?”
- . . . Never mind .
“I’m hanging up . ”
- W-wait!
Suyeon hung up without hesitation, he was getting more and more annoying to deal with . Probably time to draw a line at this point .
‘And here I thought he was someone smart . ’
She thought the boy would strike deals with the other side’s desires in mind . In the end, he just turned out to be a stupid gambler, one that chased after short-term gains . Suyeon mentioned Geunsoo in their meetings once or twice, Geunseok definitely noticed what she meant whenever she mentioned his brother . That’s when the boy was supposed to introduce her to Geunsoo, but the boy just kept pushing it away . Likely because he was afraid of losing her .
“Are they really brothers?”
She threw the phone to the passenger seat . It was still vibrating, but she didn’t even look at it . Geunsoo and Geunseok . They’re brothers in that they’re both very talented, but their personalities were vastly different . Geunsoo had a powerful aura to him, she knew the man would succeed when she saw the independent film he was starring in . He looked like a great person, so much that he is one of the biggest reasons for her six-hour drive . Geunseok wasn’t like that at all . He was talented, sure, and had some leadership qualities . That was it though, a genius with no charm at all .
Of course, life experience might change the boy, not she has the time to wait . Especially with all of the already magnificent men shining around her .
“I hope I get paid for how much I’ve worked so far . ”
Junmin was calling her out, this might turn out to be a great chance for her to form a connection with Geunsoo .
“Being a delinquent is the best . ”
Suyeon drove with a pop song playing on the speaker .
* * *
“Damn it . ”
Geunseok fell back on his bed after coming back home . His silver lining for the week was gone, just like that . Suyeon didn’t tell him anything, either . She probably left the city . He was annoyed . Club work included, there wasn’t anything that was going his way . He called a few girls he knew out of frustration, a few of them readily agreed to come out .
‘Should I play?’
The girls were nothing special compared to Suyeon, but whatever .
“I’ll be out for a bit . ”
His mom gave me a bit of allowance on his way out, he has been getting first place at the academy he went to every week . His dad gave him a brand watch as a reward, there was a bit of pressure to take first place on the next test, but he wasn’t worried . He should be able to take first place easily with some work . He met the girls in front of a karaoke nearby, they all dressed up for the occasion, but they all seemed awkward .
“I’m paying . ”
“Wow, as expected of Geunseok . ”
He was letting out stress at the karaoke with the laughing girls . Right then, he got a call from her brother . It wasn’t a great call, but he took it for now .
“What?”
- I was just curious about how you were .
“Well . ”
- Good to hear . How’s the club? I heard you guys were in a bit of trouble .
“Trouble? From who?”
- Maru .
“Why would you listen to an idiot like that? I’m in charge of the club and I’m telling you there’s no problem . I’ll take care of it, so you work hard yourself . How long are you going to chase your dreams? Dad is incredibly worried about you . With you rolling in the mud in the independent film industry and all . ”
- Haha, true that . Good to hear that you’re focused . Mom and dad must be happy .
His brother sounded as positive as ever . Geunseok was sick of it .
“I’m hanging up . ”
- Geunseok .
His brother didn’t respond even after calling him . Just before Geunseok hung up with a click of his tongue, a voice came through the phone .
- You’re doing acting because it’s fun, right?
“What are you talking about?”
- You’re acting because you’re desperate for acting and for no other reason . Right?
Geunseok let out a little laugh . What the hell was he on about?
“Is that important? I’m talented as all hell . ”
He dropped the phone call and went back into the room, his annoying emotions disappeared as he heard the cheery beat inside . His worries were fading in an instant .
* * *
“The first movie I ever watched starred Jackie Chan, I still remember it very well . I actually watched it several times over in just one day . He was jumping over cars, beating people up with just clothes, and… when I learned that he was doing that with only practical effects, my mind was set . I want to be like Jackie Chan . ”
The boy seemed completely serious . Well, at least he was passionate about what he wanted to do .
“We don’t teach stunts here though . ”
“But I heard the training here is difficult . I learned that overexercising from a young age can ruin your joints or your growth . That’s why I planned on exercising in high school and joining a stunt school afterwards . ”
The boy actually seemed to have a plan, thankfully . Maru was a fan of that .
“I don’t know how much we’ll be of help, but we’ll do our best if you join . ”
“Thank you!!”
“Shh!”
Maru gestured at Bangjoo to lower his voice, the boy nodded with a shocked look .
“So you want to be an actor like Jackie Chan?”
“Yes . I know it’s a ridiculous dream . But that’s why I want to be here . ”
Bangjoo’s shining eyes were a bit intense, Maru gave the boy another bottle of yakult to try to change the mood . The boy grabbed the bottle with his two hands . Now that he looked at it, he was pretty well-built . He must’ve exercised hard already .
“Are you exercising, by any chance?”
“I’m boxing a bit . ”
“Really? I used to box too, just a little . ”
“Is that true?”
The boy’s eyes were starting to shine again . Maru just responded with a “just a little bit” with an awkward smile .
“As I thought, judging by your physique . ”
Bangjoo nodded in understanding . He must be living with his grandparents, judging by how he constantly brought up his grandmother as he talked . Well, at least his manner of speech was very polite .
“Um, senior . The others . . . ”
“They’re all out because of personal matters . I’m here by myself today . ”
“I see . Then, could you tell me how many other freshmen are here? I’d love to know how many comrades I have in arms . ”
Bangjoo clearly seemed very eager to know . Maru hated that he’d have to tell this young lamb the truth of the club, but he had to . He explained the situation shortly to his junior .
“So if three people in total, including me, don’t join . . . ”
“This place will disappear . ”
“That can’t happen!”
“Um, don’t get too fired up . We still have four days, so we have time to think . ”
Saturday was the last day for clubs to turn in their members list, Maru needed to bring the club registration forms from the new members to Taesik by then .
“Please tell me if I can help . I can do anything . ”
Maru felt like he was about to get burned by Bangjoo’s passion, he was very interesting for sure .
“We need to promote the club . Ideas?”
“To promote the acting club… There’s no better thing than acting, right?”
“Mm, that’s true, but . . . ”
Maru gave Bangjoo’s body another glance . He probably had a lot of stamina .
“Are you patient?”
“I’m very good at staying patient . My sister trained me in that department well . ”
“Sister?”
“ . . . Yes, I have an odd elder sister . You don’t have to worry . She’s odd, strange, and monstrous . ”
Bangjoo shuddered like a mouse in front of a snake when he talked about his sister . Trying to know more felt like it would bring Maru trouble, so he decided not to pry .
“Can you stand still for about an hour?”
“Of course . ”
“Alright, help me out tomorrow then . ”
“I understand . ”
“Ah, you might have to skip lunch . Is that okay?”
“ . . . . . . ”
The boy looked the same as when he was talking about his sister, he must care about meals a lot .
“You can eat bread to take care of hunger . ”
“That’s fine, then . ”
He looked brighter already .
“But senior, what are we going to be doing tomorrow?”
Maru decided to give the boy the shortest, most direct answer .
“Performance art . ”