After Story 216

After Story 216

“Geunsoo, you met Maru before?” Ganghwan asked.

“Didn’t I tell you before? I met him when I went to present the awards at the Short Film Festival. We didn’t exactly have a talk, but I did meet him,” Geunsoo replied as he put his seatbelt on.

“I thought you wouldn’t remember me. We only met for a brief moment on the stage,” Maru said.

“If it was just that, I wouldn’t have remembered you. The Form of Love, wasn’t it? When I was invited to be one of the honorary judges, that was one of the works I watched. It had a lot of unnecessary stuff, but I gave it my vote because it felt good. I didn’t know it’d get the grand prize though.”

“So I guess I got the grand prize thanks to you, then, senior.”

“If we’re going to talk about direct influence, Sir Yoon definitely had a lot more than me. Sir Yoon Moonjoong said that he found it impressive. He wasn’t appointed as a judge, but it’s more than obvious what kind of effect his words would’ve had.”

“I see. He didn’t tell me about such things, so I didn’t know that at all.”

“He’s not someone who would say things like that. Actually, he talked to me about you a lot. He said that you and he get along pretty well. He also told me that you’re quite slow-witted in that you got caught with the alcohol by the madam just like I did.”

“I got an earful from her as well. She told me she’d throw me out in the middle of the night like she did with Geunsoo if I didn’t give her the rice wine I hid. Oh, did you really get thrown out?”

“I had to stand outside for about five minutes before being allowed back in again. The madam keeps her word. She is pretty affectionate, though, and is easily forgiving.”

Although it had been less than five minutes since they met, they had no problems conversing thanks to the shared topic that was the elder.

Maru thought about the numerous Hong Geunsoos that lived.

A serious Hong Geunsoo, a chatty Hong Geunsoo, a cold-headed Hong Geunsoo, a spiteful Hong Geunsoo — there were many Hong Geunsoos with different personalities, but there were two things that never changed:

Hong Geunsoo is crazy about acting. And Hong Geunsoo respects the elder.

“Don’t just talk among yourselves and let us join. What are you talking about with so much interest?” Ganghwan said when the car stopped in front of a traffic light.

“Please leave me out of that ‘us.’ I’m fine with listening.”

Suyeon faintly smiled before focusing on her book again. I don’t have anyone on my side? — Ganghwan grumbled before stepping on the pedal again.

“Where are we going?” Maru asked.

The car, which was driving on the Olympic highway, had now exited the highway in the direction of Hanam.

“I’m planning to earn some money by kidnapping you. Got a problem?” Ganghwan said as he turned on the radio.

“Rather than me, the one sitting next to me will sell at a much higher price.”

“I’m going to sell him as well. Geunsoo for 5 million won, and you, 500 thousand.”

Suyeon, who was listening, said that their destination was a private house on the outskirts of the city of Hanam.

“It’s a place we go to when we want to play by ourselves. It’s a shared private house under our president’s name.”

“Can we go anytime we want?”

“There’s someone who manages it, so we can go anytime. However, it’s not a good idea to go there when the president is there.”

“No matter how close you are to the president, is it too much to rest in the same area as him?”

Suyeon, who had been replying with her eyes fixed on her book, turned around. She looked more serious than ever.

“No, if we go there when the president is already there, we become toys.”

“Toys?”

“Toys for the dogs. I can still remember being buried under ten puppy retrievers. It wasn’t a bad memory. They were cute and adorable. It was just that I lacked the stamina to play with all those dogs.”

Having said that, Suyeon became quiet and went back to her book, looking slightly worn out. It looked like she became more fatigued with every word she said. Just how someone like her became a chatterbox during her radio program... Maru wanted to just applaud her professional mindset.

“You know that the president like dogs, right?” Geunsoo asked.

Maru talked about how he shot a public service advertisement about abandoned dogs and met president Lee Junmin through that.

“So I guess you can meet him that way too. This country is pretty small, alright.”

“Rather than the country being small, don’t you think he just has connections to too many things?”

“That’s true as well. But still, it’s good that you like dogs. Because he likes dogs so much, there was once a rumor that you have to adopt a dog if you want to join JA as an actor or an employee.”

Ganghwan, who was driving, started laughing. The car, which was driving on a highway, exited onto a road that led to a mountain. There were private houses built along the stream. When they stopped, they were in front of a white-colored house.

“Let’s eat first. Maru, you follow me.”

He followed Ganghwan to the back of the house. When he lifted the blue tarpaulin, he saw a bunch of firewood.

“We’re eating outside?”

“Winter’s past us, so we should have a barbecue outside.”

“These are all wet, so it’ll take a long time to set them on fire.”

“It’s just to place on top of the charcoal for the fragrance.”

Ganghwan picked up a bunch of firewood and placed them on top of Maru’s arms.

“Take that to Geunsoo. It’s for the stove.”

“There’s a wood burner stove here?”

“There’s one that was brought here when the boiler for the house was broken. Since then, we’ve been using it a lot; it sets a good mood too.”

He went inside the building with the firewood. Suyeon was preparing something in the kitchen, and Geunsoo was washing the barbecue grill next to her.

Everyone looked proficient as though they were proving that this wasn’t the first or second time they came here.

“Senior, Ganghwan-hyung gave me these, but should I put them in the stove? They’re wet, so they won’t burn well.”

Geunsoo had a look at the firewood.

“They’re all wet from the spring rain. It looks like water seeped underneath the tarpaulin.”

“We can’t use them, can we?”

“For now, place them next to the stove. We’ll use them as dry firewood the next time we come here.”

Maru put down the firewood and approached Suyeon.

“Do you need any help?”

“Do you know how to get the taste right for doenjang-jjigae? We’re going to put it on the grill.”

“I’m good at that.”

He took the ceramic pot that Suyeon was holding. When he opened the fridge, he saw a bunch of seasonings and condiments. Those that could be stored long-term seemed to be stored in the fridge constantly.

After chopping up some vegetables, he sliced some of the meat they were going to grill and put them in the ceramic pot. He first stir-fried the meat a little before adding some doenjang, ssamjang, pepper flakes, and spicy peppers.

“Do you cook often?”

He stopped as he was chopping up some zucchini and looked at Suyeon. Geunsoo was watching next to her as well.

“It’s a hobby.”

“That’s a good hobby. Mr. Yang over there is usually busy eating.”

As soon as Suyeon said those words, the door opened.

“You weren’t talking bad about me, were you?”

It was Ganghwan. Suyeon spoke in a soft voice with her eyes round.

“He’s a stupid guy, but he’s quick to catch on.”

“Right.”

Suyeon smiled and put some rice into the rice pot. With four adults perfectly distributing the jobs, meal preparations were finished in no time.

They went outside with the food that just needed heating. Charcoal was burning red hot under the grill.

After putting some seafood and meat on the grill, they put some mushrooms in the space left over. The meat was fully cooked by the time the jjigae started boiling as well.

Maru snatched the tongs from Ganghwan, who insisted that he wanted to grill the meat, and cooked the meat himself.

“It’s a champagne from a region in France called Cramant. I had an opportunity to try it out, and it was good, so I brought some,” Suyeon said as she raised a bottle of champagne.

Maru cut up the meat into bite-size pieces and distributed them to people’s plates.

“Whether it’s the way you hold a knife or the way you cut up meat, I don’t think cooking is simply a hobby for you,” Geunsoo said before eating.

Maru smiled and urged the seniors to quickly try the meat. Suyeon, who was chewing quietly, spoke in a soft voice,

“I think we should bring Maru every time from now on.”

“I thought that too.”

Ganghwan held out his plate. Maru cut some of the tenderloin that he grilled fully on the outside and put it on the plate. The three of them all ate with happy faces.

“You need to drink at a time like this.”

Ganghwan poured the champagne that Suyeon brought. The champagne gave rise to white foam as it was poured into the glasses. Maru tilted the glass to drink some.

The champagne had a soft texture and was pretty acidic. Maru thought that the opinions were going to be really split on this, and as he had expected, Ganghwan tilted his head.

“It tastes too sour at the end.”

“I like it though.”

Suyeon poured herself another glass and appreciated it slowly.

“Aren’t you going to drink, senior?” Maru asked Geunsoo, who was not drinking.

“I have to go back to Seoul. You should drink comfortably.”

“I also have to go home after chatting for a bit. I actually came out without thinking much when he told me that we should eat out together, and then I was kidnapped and brought here.”

“Ganghwan, that guy, is pretty reckless. Then we should go back together after dinner. Those two are planning to stay here for the night,” Geunsoo said as he looked at Ganghwan and Suyeon.

The two of them were “talking” as they looked at each other. One was talking, and one would smile every once in a while with a nod.

“I thought they didn’t suit each other, but they actually go together quite well.”

“People often say that opposites attract, but you find that people with the same wavelength get along more, right? But those two aren’t like that. They’re totally different, but they suit each other.”

They were almost done with the meal.

Ganghwan and Suyeon stood up, saying that they were going to go for a walk. The way they walked while holding hands made them look like husband and wife without a doubt.

“Wouldn’t they be in trouble if they got photographed while walking around like that?”

“I guess they just don’t care since they’ll get married soon.”

“Did they decide on a date?” Maru asked back in surprise.

“I’m not sure about the details, but I’m pretty sure they’re getting married next year at the latest. From what I know, they had their family greetings a long time ago.”

“Looks like entertainment journalists will be busy for a while.”

“I’m sure it’ll be noisy.”

Maru asked Geunsoo if he was going to eat more while looking at the remaining meat. Geunsoo nodded without hesitation. Now that he thought about it, Geunsoo was quite a big eater.

“What are you doing these days?” Geunsoo asked as he ate a piece of sirloin.

“Resting wholeheartedly.”

“Not getting ready to do work?”

“And that too. A director close to me just got discharged from the military. Oh, he’s the director of ‘The Form of Love’ that we talked about in the car.”

“Really?”

“So I’m going to work with him again. He’s passionate enough to write a scenario in the military.”

“If he’s dedicated enough to prepare something in the military, then he’ll be successful. Did the president allow it?”

“I reported to him about it for now. I’m sure you know better than me, but the president doesn’t stop actors from doing what they want.”

“He’ll give you support unless it’s something totally weird. But since you said he just got discharged from the military, he must be still in college, huh.”

“Yes.”

“Can he handle your pay?”

“I’m planning to get paid in passion. It’s something I want to do. I have high hopes because I feel like I can show the masses that the actor Han Maru has a side like this.”

“So you like acting, huh?”

“Of course.”

“Me too. Money is good and all, but I have to find the fun in it. How can I act well when it’s no fun?”

Geunsoo held out an empty plate. Maru looked at him in wonder. Geunsoo told him to give him some more.

Maru looked at the grill. It was totally empty.

“I saw some seasoned ribs, so should I cook that?”

“Sounds good.”

“I didn’t know you could eat so much.”

“I sometimes marvel at myself for having such a big stomach.”

Geunsoo’s eyes as he saw the meat sizzling looked like those of a child. Maru cut up the cooked ribs and put them on the plate. Geunsoo, who had served another bowl of rice for himself before Maru even realized, placed a piece of meat on top of the rice.

“Then I guess you must be pretty busy, huh.”

“Busy? I’m not really sure. I think I’ll be doing a drama too, but if I have to do both at the same time, the schedule is going to be pretty tight.”

“Really? Then would it be too hard to work with me?”

“What?”

Geunsoo continued as he ate some more rice,

“I’m going to start a historical drama soon, and there’s a role that hasn’t been cast yet. I was thinking that you were suited for that role and told the director about it.”