Chapter 64

* * *“What’s up with him recently? Is he in love? Is that it?!”Daemyung shook his head as he looked at Dojin. Clearly, Maru was acting strangely today, but he didn’t think it was because of love. ‘Then again, Maru definitely looked odd this morning talking to those girls.’The first thing Maru did after coming to Hyehwa station was to go talk to those girls. Daemyung had no idea what the other boy talked about, but he did notice that the boy was incredibly agitated for some reason.“We should visit Blue Sky now,” Miso said, gathering all the club members together.Blue Sky?Daemyung looked down at his jersey. Did she mean the place where the jersey was made or something?A few moments later, Daemyung learned that a theater called Blue Sky existed near the station. He even got to exchange a few words with the actors. The words from actual pro actors spoke pretty deeply to Daemyung. At some point, he stopped treating acting as a hobby, and started treating it as a real passion. He didn’t care all that much about being the main character, instead placing his care on the completion of a play. At every chance he got, he started taking notes of what Miso wanted out of the club. Instead of acting, what he wanted to work on was staging a play.‘It’s not like I want to stop acting, but...’Main characters were amazing for sure. They managed to enthrall an entire audience when they did their job well. But at the same time, Daemyung found himself developing respect for stage managers who managed to actually “make it all happen”. Like the audio and lighting technician who managed everything from the operating room. Daemyung had a certain respect for the man capable of enhancing the quality of the play without even being on stage.‘Some day, at the Seoul Arts Center...’Once again, the desire to stand at the nationals started flickering brightly inside Daemyung’s chest.

* * *Throw away shame. Maru didn’t quite understand what that meant at first. Well, he had an idea, but this was far from what he had in mind.“D-do I really?”“Of course.”Yoonjung looked in front of her. They were standing at an alleyway full of cafes, at dinnertime. There were tons of people walking in the alleyway, trying to enjoy the night air.Currently, Yoonjung was standing in front of one of the cafes within the alleyway. There was an outdoor terrace with six tables laid out in front of her. The girl swallowed her saliva. Right now, no one was paying attention to her. They were all busy talking about their own lives.But…What if she starts saying her lines loudly in front of them?‘Ahhh, what do I do?!’She had just received her lines, without any chance to practice a single word. Trying to say lines that she had practiced was infinitely different compared to trying to say lines she’s never seen before. On a stage, an actor was in a contract with the audience.The actor would perform, and the audience would watch. But this was a cafe. There was no such social contract present with the couples, salarymen, and the students there. Without such, Yoonjung couldn’t help but become nervous.Her heart was starting to race. All she had to do was just spit out her lines, so why?‘I’m scared.’What if they decide to ignore her? Just that thought was enough to make her spiral into darkness. She knew that she just had to say her lines, but… Gulp, Yoonjung swallowed her saliva.Doing and knowing were two very different things, she realized.

* * *He had to say, this was very much a Miso thing to do.“They’re cute kids, aren’t they?”“What the hell do you think you’re doing at my store?”“Hey, don’t be like that. It’s a nice event. I’ll pay for the customers’ coffee too, so don’t worry about it.”“God, you’re just… well, I guess the customers wouldn’t mind all that much. We’re stopping as soon as they become uncomfortable though. Got it?”“Don’t worry. That’s never happened so far, you should know that.”“That’s true.”Miso was currently chatting away with the owner of the cafe happily at the counter. The club members all looked at Yoonjung, who wasn’t really able to do much outside.The cafe was getting strangely nervous inside. Maru took a look at the other kids. They were all glaring at Miso woefully.“...Man, how do people even do street performances?”“That clown guy from a few days ago seems a whole lot more respectable to me now.”Dojin and Daemyung noted. It was decided that the second years would be the first to go. It would’ve been less nerve-wracking if they went in pairs, but Miso forbid it completely. Yoonjung, as the president, volunteered to go first, but… The result was as plain as day. She wasn’t even able to speak after five minutes. It was pretty understandable, considering the number of people sitting at the terrace and the number of people walking in the alleyway.‘It’d definitely help her, though.’Maru opened up a magazine as he ate some of the cake rolls the owner gave him. He didn’t feel nervous, for whatever reason. Going out to speak to strangers didn’t seem all that foreign to him, despite him never really doing it in the past.As a matter of fact, he felt somewhat comfortable. Maybe this came from the time he worked as a bus driver in the past?‘Whatever it is, it’s nice.’He was able to enjoy all this in peace thanks to it.Of course… the other kids all looked like they were about to die.