After Story 97

After Story 97

Jichan smiled and turned the driving wheel. On their way, he let them listen to the song he had been working on. Seungah liked it and nodded her head according to the rhythm.

He looked at Seungah humming through the rearview mirror before moving his eyes to Maru who was next to her.

He did expect Maru to be good at acting. During the first read-through and even when he was given advice before, he thought that Maru was different from the others.

However, he didn't think that he was this good. Jichan ended up subconsciously frowning as he looked at the screen.

It was like a flashbang. It was intense. Jungho, who was Maru's partner in the act, was incredible too, but he had thought that it was Maru who produced that scene.

He had a glimpse of Maru's injury before. His skin had turned black, meaning Jungho had stabbed with all of his power.

It must have been an incredible impact. He must have suffered unspeakable pain continuously.

But he did not utter a single moan after the necessary scream. He swallowed the pain so that Jungho could get absorbed in the situation.

Jichan thought back to the nearly 10 seconds of silence that director Cha took before he said cut.

It gave him the chills. It felt like he wasn't at a shoot, but at a crime scene.

Whether it was Jungho's eyes that were colored with madness or Maru's face that lacked any vitality at all, they all looked all too real.

He could understand why Seungah mentioned the word jealousy.

Jichan cherished the emotions that sprouted inside him, wishing that someone else would feel the same way towards him after looking at his act in the future.

* * *

"I never thought I'd get treated out by a celebrity. Good, good," Seungah said as she rubbed her stomach. He smiled when he saw her satisfied.

"But isn't that bruise going to last a long time?"

Her eyes were on Maru's flank. Maru just shrugged.

"Probably a few days. But it's not like I'm going to show anyone my naked skin, so there's no problem."

"That's not the problem, is it? The problem is that it hurts."

Seungah grumbled, telling him to be careful next time.

Maru discovered a taxi coming from a distance. It seemed to be an empty one.

"You should go first."

He was about to raise his hand to stop the taxi when Seungah talked to him,

"Hey."

He stopped raising his hand and looked at Seungah.

"I think I asked you something similar last time, but I must do it again. How do you go about acting? How can I do as good as you?"

The taxi, which had changed lanes to the last lane, passed right in front of their eyes. Maru sniffled and looked at Seungah who crouched down.

"You're doing well too."

"I'm not saying I'm bad." Seungah chuckled. She didn't look like she lost her motivation or the like.

"I just wanted to know after looking at you. Just what's the motivation that makes you drive yourself into a corner like this? As for seniors, I can put it off as being more experienced, but for you, you are the same age as me. I couldn't help but be jealous when someone my age managed to produce a freakishly good scene right in front of my eyes."

"I'm no one amazing to get jealous of. Also, I'm more amazed that you can say something like that without holding back. Your acting is quite skilled."

"Is that right? Well, I guess I am good at putting on a thick face."

Seungah dusted her knees and stood up.

“When I looked at the people studying with me at the acting school, I honestly thought that they were good, but not special. If any of them were to get picked by the masses, then I too should be able to do the same.”

Seungah turned her head around. Her eyes were tense.

“But that wasn’t the case with you. You look really far away. Maybe that’s why I’m jealous… And maybe that’s why I want to do better.”

Seungah walked forward one step and reached out her hand. A taxi on the other side of the road did a U-turn and stopped in front of Seungah.

“I’ll give you men first treatment, so would you like to get on first?”

“You don’t sound cool when you say that with your nose red.”

“I was going to get on first anyway. Ladies first.”

Seungah got in the taxi. She rolled down the window and stuck her head out slightly.

“We got a new member for Hanjoo Chicken Feet Actor’s Association.”

“You haven’t disbanded that?”

“I’m the first-generation chairman. Who dares to disband it without my permission? Anyway, Jichan-oppa is also an honorary member now. I’m going to send you a group chat invite so don’t ignore it.”

“I’ll join right away.”

“Oh, and about Dawoon.”

Saying that, Seungah turned her head around. It seemed that the taxi driver asked her where she was going. Seungah’s talking speed became faster.

“Did she ever contact you on her own?”

“No. I’m curious too. How is she these days?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t understand her.”

“She doesn’t come to class?”

“She does. She talks to me like normal too. But she’s not like before. No wait, is it just me? I don’t get it. I should’ve been careful. I feel like I’ve wounded a frail girl.”

Seungah quickly waved her hand. It was the goodbye greeting. It seemed that the taxi driver urged her.

“Careful on your way.”

The taxi left. He took out his phone and opened his messenger. He looked for Jung Dawoon in his friend list. Her profile picture was of herself with a bright smile.

He flicked his fingers a few times before leaving the messenger. This wasn’t something he should get involved in. He could understand what kind of misunderstanding Dawoon got into.

There might be residual resentment between the two people. It was up to the two people to sort that out. If he interrupted between the two of them awkwardly, it would make things more complicated instead.

“My daughter will also one day reach that age.”

Puberty was one thing, but he was even more worried about what would happen to her once she was to enter college. If she were to be born delicate and full of emotions, she might get wounded from romantic relationships. He thought about how an unknown dude would make her daughter cry and ended up laughing.

He dusted off the snow piled on his hair. That was going to happen in the far future. He just had to worry about it when the time comes. He just had to break that dude’s leg at that time.

“To Suwon station please,” Maru said after grabbing a taxi.

On his way home, he got a message from the group chat. It was from Seungah.

‘Hanjoo Chicken Feet Actor’s Association.’ When he entered, he saw Seungah and Jichan talking. Not long later, Dawoon also left behind a greeting.

Contrary to Seungah’s worries, she chatted with cheerful emojis and participated in the conversation. He followed the conversation with his eyes and smiled.

Seungah asked Jichan for a self-introduction, and Jichan just plainly stated the band he was in.

Seeing that, Dawoon told him not to joke around and said she wouldn’t be fooled. Only after Jichan uploaded a proof photo did the conversation calm down.

It might be different if he saw them in person, but through the group chat at least, the three of them were getting along well.

Maru gently put down his phone. He lacked the stamina to keep up with the chatting of young people.

He rested his head on the headrest and gently rubbed his aching flank.

He thought that he should hide this from his wife. He closed his eyes and his mouth. The taxi, which was stopped because of the traffic, started moving again.

* * *

It was Yoo Jichan. Dawoon looked at the photo that was posted in the group chat for a long time. She wasn’t a diehard fan, but she did listen to his songs quite often. She couldn’t believe that she would get to talk to a celebrity she thought she would never get involved with.

Although not participating in the chat right now — perhaps due to fatigue — the center of this group chat was Maru. She could tell how much Jichan liked Maru even without him mentioning it directly. Maru was a really cool person after all.

She glared at the name that ticked her off. Choi Seungah. It would be perfect if she wasn’t in this chat room.

When Seungah apologized to her again at the acting school, she thought that Seungah was extremely good at putting up pretenses. That apology didn’t contain any feelings at all. She might be acting sorry on the outside, but she could tell what that woman must be thinking:

I reached out to you first, so I’m innocent. If you don’t grab this hand, you’re gonna look petty.

She smiled and said that she was okay. Her opponent covered herself with lies. She had to do the same.

She was no longer going to be fooled by that woman’s deceitful words.

Dawoon tossed her phone on her bed and went to the kitchen. It was time to get some exercise. She skipped all her meals after breakfast today. She despised her chubby cheeks as though they were fat. She still had a long way to go until she was to catch up to Han Haneul. She had to starve and lose weight.

She had to drag her true self out of the pile of trash that was excess flesh.

“Dawoon, aren’t you pushing yourself too much?” said her mother.

Dawoon glared at her faintly before smiling.

“It’s okay mom. Everyone does this much these days. An actress should be able to endure this, don’t you think?”

“But mom thinks you’re too skinny.”

“It’s only you who think that. Other people don’t. Look at the TV. Compared to those people, I still have a long way to go. I can still do more, and I have to do more. So mom, don’t say things like that. I’m having a hard time as is, and you’re making it even harder if you say things like that. Don’t you think so?”

“Right, I’m sorry when you’re working so hard. But still, you should eat something. You’re going to fall ill at that rate.”

“Mom!” Dawoon screeched. She could no longer hold back.

Her mother hesitated for a while before saying that fruits must be okay and went into her room after taking out an apple.

She looked at the apple before sighing.

“Why does everyone want to bully me?”

She wanted to cry. Dawoon put the plate with the apple on the table before leaving the house. She had to jog for a bit so that she could blow away all these unnecessary thoughts.

* * *

Sanghoon took out his earbuds.

“Everyone’s busy as fuck huh.”

He was trying to gather some people before classes started to go skiing, but everyone refused, saying that they were busy.

Like hell they were busy. Sanghoon looked at his juniors’ blogs. The one who told him that he had some matters at home uploaded a picture of himself drinking alcohol at a restaurant.

There wasn’t just one or two of them either. He was blatantly excluded.

They didn’t seem to have any intentions of hiding as they were taking photos of themselves and uploading them.

“Hey, didn’t you say you couldn’t hang out with me because you were sick?” Sanghoon called a junior.

She was someone who fawned over him.

-The thing is, I got well soon.

“So you went there?”

-Let’s hang out together next time, seonbae.

“Hey. Are you taking me lightly?”

-It’s not like that.

He was about to give her a harsh scolding but then she just hung up, saying that a relative was calling her.

He was fuming now. That was just rude. They were trying to step over him since he was being lenient. The class of 08 was completely crazy. He invited all the 08 class juniors to a group chat.

Before, many of them would immediately respond and greet him, but there wasn’t a single response even after 30 minutes. The number of ‘unreads’ didn’t decrease either. Sanghoon was flabbergasted.

He called another junior, a male this time. It was about time he told them the severity of the situation.

-Seonbae, you did enough. There’s a limit to how childish you can be.

“You little shit. What did you just say?”

-You must know about it, don’t you? There’s a rumor going around that you lied in order to bury some other senior. What was his name again? Han Maru-seonbae? I don’t know him that well, but you know, it’s a bit… that. It’s not like you’re playing high school delinquent again.

“Where the hell are you right now?”

-You want to come? I’m at the department office right now. You can come if you want to. But think about it carefully. Honestly, who cares about senior-junior relationships in a shitty college like this? There’s a limit to putting up with your crap. If you’re going to keep doing this, why don’t we just have a bout? You always boast about how you’re really good at fighting, don’t you?

Sanghoon immediately hung up. The junior he just called had quite a sturdy figure. It wasn’t that he was being out pressured. He just stopped the conversation there because two adults fighting would look unsightly.

“So shitty.”

Sanghoon recalled Han Maru, who actually managed to extort that 300 thousand won from him.

KTLChamber's Thoughts

I'm not worried about this Sanghoon guy, but.... I am worried about Dawoon. It looks like she's gonna turn full yandere

Editor's Note:

I don't even see the point of this needless drama. We already have all the character growth we need.