After Story 129

He met head manager Choi and director Lim Hwanggeun in the room he was guided to. It seemed they had yet to start drinking as director Lim scanned Maru from top to bottom.

“It seems I’m late.”

“No, not at all. You’re here just in time. Director, this is Maru.”

Director Lim nodded.

“I can tell from looking. There’s no way I don’t know the face of someone I called here myself. Dinner?”

“I had a light meal before coming,” he said as he sat down on the chair head manager Choi pointed at.

“Then let’s have a talk over a simple meal. First of all, have a glass from me.”

Maru picked up the glass in front of him and held it out with both hands.

“I’m sure you’re rather taken aback because I decided to see you all of a sudden. Anyway, thank you for coming.”

“Not at all. I’m thankful that you called me here. Allow me to pour you a glass as well.”

“No, I can pour mine. To commemorate, let’s toast.”

Director Lim held out his glass. Maru and head manager Choi held out their glasses to toast as well.

“Now that I look at you like this, you’re giving me just the impression I want. You know, I’m asking just in case, but can you cut your hair short to follow the character? I’m talking about something nearly a buzz cut.”

“If necessary, sure.”

Director Lim looked at Maru from side to side.

“Director, if you do that so suddenly, Maru here will be confused. You’re good at everything else, but you really aren’t good at explaining.”

“That’s why I like you, head manager Choi. You know what’s necessary.”

Director Lim put a piece of sushi in his mouth and swallowed it after not chewing that many times. He ate three pieces like that in a row.

“What kind of movies do you like?”

That question was aimed at Maru.

“If you’re talking about genre, then there’s nothing I tend to avoid.”

“Really? Then what do you dislike?”

“If I had to pick one, it’d be horror.”

“Horror movies, huh? I don’t like stuff like ghosts either.”

Director Lim poured a glass for himself before drinking. From how he was drinking Japanese Sake with a high alcohol content like it was water, he seemed to be quite the alcoholic.

“Hey, have you ever seen any of my movies?”

“I have.”

“Which ones?”

“I’ve seen Gawol-dong.”

It was the piece that engraved director Lim’s name in the hearts of the public, as well as the work that labeled him as a sneaky man that aimed at festive seasons[1]. People went as far as to call him the godfather and the grim reaper of comedic mafia movies.

“Did you enjoy them?”

“Yes, they were enjoyable.”

“I’m glad that they were enjoyable at least. If I couldn’t make that happen, how would I have any shame to lift my head in public?”

Director Lim sniffled once before drinking straight. If not for director Choi holding him back, he might have emptied all the sake in the pot.

“Hey. Are you going to shoot a mafia movie if you’re told to?”

“If the work is good, then sure.”

“If it’s bad, you aren’t going to shoot it?”

“I’m not sure. I can only tell whether a scenario is good or not after I see it.”

“Hey, young fella. You should learn how to talk sweet lies and make people feel proud, you know? You’re making me feel embarrassed.”

“I thought you wouldn’t like something like that, director.”

The director scoffed.

“If I can lament while I’m drunk, I regret every day that I became a film director. I don’t know why I have to suffer so much because of this trashy job.”

“Seeing as how you didn’t quit, it shouldn’t be just all suffering, I see,” Maru said.

Director Lim, who leaned backward with his arms drooping to the floor, gave director Choi a glance before looking at him again. His eyes looked like his interest in this young man had been piqued.

“Let me take a call real quick.” Head manager Choi left the room.

Director Lim leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. When he sighed, there was a thick sweet smell of alcohol.

“You know what? When people’s wallets become thick, they start wanting something else. Back when I was shooting Gawol-dong, I was more in it for the money than the work itself. Even if it was criticized as being terrible, the money transferred to my bank account was quite a lot. But after I finished that movie, people started looking down on me. They said they’d rather quit this line of work than earn money like how I did.”

Director Lim reached out to the sake pot. Maru grabbed the pot in director Lim’s stead since he was swaying left and right.

“You’ve drunk quite a lot.”

“Drinking alcohol is about getting drunk anyway. Give it to me.”

“Then have just one more glass.”

“Alright, just one more glass.”

Maru filled director Lim’s glass about halfway. Director Lim looked at him in dissatisfaction, but he drank without saying anything to him about it.

“Do you think that too? Do you think it’s better to quit than make money off of trashy movies?”

“Who in the world pays money to watch trash? I, at least, haven’t seen anyone who does that. People watched Gawol-dong because it has its own unique taste.”

“Hey, you can actually be quite a sweet talker, eh?”

“I did sweeten up a little bit, but it’s also my honest opinion. If it were truly trash, no one would’ve watched it. Do you hate Gawol-dong, director?”

“Me? I like it. Think about what would happen if all movies were serious and heavy. Who would go to the cinema? It’s because there’s a choice that it’s worth going. But honestly, I know it too. My film is lower quality compared to the ones that are critiqued as being good.”

He followed up.

“I’m fed up with consoling myself by calling it the limitation of entertainment films. That’s why I’m planning to have a go at it. This Lim Hwanggeun is gonna have a shot at it. Yer think I don’t have the desire to do good work? I do. Of course ah’ do. I’m filled with the desire to shoot a real good noire film rather than some ridiculous comedic stuff.”

“So you’re having a go at it this time?”

Director Lim nodded. From how his eyes were semi-loose and he kept licking his lips, he seemed to be very drunk. Maru thought he was good with alcohol from the way he drank all that sake, but he turned out to be wrong.

“Liszen to me. I’m going to talk about the mafia real properly this time. A fucker good at scheming, a sucker who trusts his punches, a back-stabbing motherfucker, a loyalty-crazed weirdo. It’s gunna be a movie with lotsa blood in it. Sounds interesting, doeznnit?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to look at the scenario to be sure.”

“Hey, you damn prick. It sounds interesting even from that, doesn’t it? I’ve been holding onto this for six yearsh. I kept changing the cast in my brain and edited the story and now I finally put a dot on it. Then I saw you. Damn, man. That was a way to die.”

Maru smiled.

“As soon as I saw that scene in the drama, I thought this little shit is gonna be the real deal. That’s why I called you here. How ‘bout it? Wanna do it?”

“If the scenario’s good, of course I’d want to do it.”

Director Lim suddenly slapped down on the table. The glass dishes all made spinning sounds before stopping.

“Scenario this, scenario that. Hey! You acting expensive in front of me?”

“I’m very cheap. If it’s a minor character, then I’m willing to play anything. But if you called me all the way here to talk about the movie and even lament in front of me, then it makes me think that the role you want me to play is at least a supporting character. If that’s the case, I’ll have to look at the story.”

“You sayin’ you gonna assess my work?”

Maru didn’t say anything. If it were a background character or a minor character, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it since those characters had less weight in the story and had no influence in the grand scheme of things.

However, if it was about playing a character on the level of a supporting role or higher, he couldn’t simply accept everything. When he said he wanted to become a soju-like actor, he meant he would become an actor that could be used for any type of role, not that he would appear in whatever work that came his way.

If the density of the story was high and the plot was interesting, he would take them up on it. Otherwise, he would refuse. This was the part that he placed the most importance on when it came to choosing a scenario. Commercial success came after that.

It wasn’t like an individual could predict the commercial success or failure of a movie anyway.

“What a petty prick.”

Director Lim pressed his eyes before falling over. Maru called out to him but to no avail.

“This fella, he’s down like this again,” said head manager Choi when he returned. “What’d he say?”

“I’m not entirely sure because he spoke without any context, but I think he wanted to cast me.”

“Are you going to take him up on it if you’re offered to be cast?”

“I’ll decide after I have a look. I can’t just say yes based on words alone. Also, for a while, any work I do will have to go through the president, so I can’t decide anything by myself.” Maru looked at the director. “But what now? I don’t think we can talk anymore, and I think we should bring the director home.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take him home.” He carried director LIm along with head manager Choi. After pushing director Lim into the back seat of the taxi, head manager Choi spoke to him,

“Good work. Watch out on your way home.”

“Yes.”

He heard the head manager speak as he got in the car — director, I told you to take it easy on the alcohol, you really never listen — they seemed to be on close terms.

Maru walked to the nearby train station. Although it was way past rush hour, it didn’t change the fact that it was still crowded.

He put himself on the crowded train. He shrunk himself as much as possible and grabbed a handle. It was around when he arrived at Sadang station in the big crowd that he got a phone call. It was from head manager Choi. He got off the train and picked up.

“Yes, head manager.”

-Director Lim says you should come to an audition in two days.

“In two days?”

-Yes. He says he’ll show you the scenario depending on how you do. He mentioned that it was his last pride or whatever. Just what the heck did you two talk about?

“Nothing much. Rather than that, has this gone through the president?”

-Why do you think I’m calling you? The president has already read the scenario that director Lim wrote.

“It must’ve been okay then.”

-It wasn’t okay… it was great. I’ll send you the lines you have to practice tomorrow. You should prepare that along with a free skit. I’ll write to you the place you need to go to as well.

“Okay.”

-It’s an audition where you’ll be competing for one role. I think he’ll gather veterans and choose from them. Try to do well. It looks like director Lim has set his mind this time.

Head manager Choi then hung up. A work that already went through the screening of the president, huh?

When he arrived at home, he checked his email. The lines for the audition had arrived in his inbox. There were three different scenes. While he printed out the lines, Haneul came over.

“An audition?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me have a look.”

She slowly looked through the lines that were printed.

“It looks like you’re going to blow away the cultured image that you got through the documentary if you do this properly.”

“How is it? Do you think it’s a good character?”

“I can’t tell from this alone. But I feel like it will suit you, sweetie. But if you want to go with this image, I think you’ll have to cut your hair short. An intense impression is better after all.”

“The director said that to me too.”

“You look like a thug if you cut your hair short.”

“That’s just right for this character, then.”

He grabbed the paper and went to the living room. Then he asked the judge with the most accurate eyes above all for some help.

“Look at me and see how I do.”

“You’re prepared to hear some rough things, right? I’m ruthless when it comes to looking over your acting, sweetie.”

“Don’t just give me the whips though.”

Maru stood in front of his wife who sat down on the sofa. He was only given two days. It was a period of time that allowed him to tell what director Lim was thinking: he was thinking of Maru as someone he looked forward to, but wasn’t entirely necessary. Then, there was only one thing to do – to become the man director Lim needed.

“It’s meh,” said his wife.

Maru smiled bitterly. Before he caught director Lim’s eyes, he had to get this woman to like it first.

[1] TVs will show ‘festive season movies’ during festive seasons, so you can watch such movies without going to the cinema. It’s a bit like how Home Alone is aired every single Christmas. Here (and before too), ‘festive season’ refers to Lunar New Years and Thanksgiving in Korea (Chuseok)