Life, Once Again!

After Story 249

Junmin looked down at the empty teacup before moving his gaze over to Maru. He was someone who looked over all sorts of criteria when picking an actor to offer a contract to, but ultimately, he signed the contract based on one condition: How much the actor loves acting.

Most of his contracts were done that way. The prime examples of this would be Geunsoo and Ganghwan. As someone running an entertainment business, those two were practically duds. Being good at acting and becoming a popular actor that brings benefits to the company were separate matters.

If he ran JA with a businessman’s mindset, Geunsoo and Ganghwan would be working for other agencies right now.

Because of his unique contract conditions, the company ended up full of eccentric people. Among them, there were some who would never take up a role that was similar to one they did before and some who were polar opposites, doing only similar roles time after time.

There was no right answer to their methods. The former wanted to raise their acting skills in a variety of ways by experiencing many things, while the latter’s goal was to become a symbolic actor in certain fields.

There may be a difference in form, but both of those sides were always serious with their attitude to acting. They were those that were worth offering a contract to.

In that sense, Maru was slightly different. Before Junmin proceeded with any contract, he would use the people around him to gather information about them. As people were creatures that leaked information, it was possible to know multiple facets of that actor by investigating just a little.

However, with Maru, he didn’t go through that process. The reason was simple: he found talent immense enough to prioritize over his personality.

If Geunsoo, Ganghwan, and Suyeon were growth stocks that had the potential to become blue-chip stocks in the future, Maru felt like a lottery that had been checked already, one that was a huge jackpot.

There were numerous actors of whom he could glimpse their talent, but Han Maru was the first person he felt was complete as an actor despite being in his early 20s.

After signing the contract, he talked to Maru and judged that before being an actor, he had plenty of growth as a human being and was in some ways, better than himself. It was a satisfactory contract overall.

Having entered JA, Maru allowed himself to play different roles every time and most of his challenges brought good results. It seemed as though he was showing what steady growth was like.

No, ‘growth’ wasn’t the right word for it. He was already perfected as an actor, so it was just the process of revealing himself to the masses.

If the historical film that he shot with Geunsoo this time were to be released, Han Maru’s value would skyrocket even further.

While the success and failure of movies were something hard to predict, with a special case like South Korea, it was somewhat predictable. It was a movie that would be distributed by a huge company and would be shown in the majority of movie theaters.

It would practically take over the prime hours with proven actors, and the marketing would be massive as well. As long as the content was above decent, then there would be millions of people flocking to watch.

Maru was running on top of a track without stumbling even once.

Whenever Junmin looked at Maru running towards the top of the industry without a single failure despite playing the roles he wanted, his greed, which he thought had let go of before, kept poking its head up.

An unprecedented actor without a flaw in his career — he knew how absurd that was and how ridiculous it was just to talk about such an actor, but he couldn’t help but think of it when he looked at Maru.

Wouldn’t he be able to do it?

He knew that it was a foolish thought. He was the one who said that actors who haven’t experienced failure aren’t qualified to be true actors. It was just that, Maru’s talent was so great that it made him put aside those ideals for a moment.

When Maru said he was going to work with director Lee Yoonseok, Jumin felt more anticipation than worry; what kind of incredible facet of him would he show this time?

As he had expected, director Lee had extraordinary talent in production despite being young. He couldn’t exactly comment on whether it had commercial value, but it was full of originality. It even made him think that the director may one day be one of the cores of the artistic film industry.

That was why he brought up the matter of personal investment, but he got an unexpected answer back: Maru had stepped in as an investor in the film.

More than half of the actors affiliated with JA had the dream of producing their own work in the future. No, most actors should have the desire to create their own worlds, just that they didn’t say it out loud.

If Geunsoo or Ganghwan expressed the will to become a director, Junmin would’ve given them his full support. He would’ve provided them opportunities to learn things they needed as directors and even helped them out with the shoot.

However, for Maru, it felt like it was too early. Right now, he had to consolidate his position as an actor rather than show interest in producing or creating content.

If a film he participated in as an investor received terrible reviews from critics and even ordinary viewers, journalists would flock like wolves to sheep.

Actor Han Maru – a terrible film called forth by excessive greed.

The state of an actor who could not stay faithful to his original work.

A young producer’s ridiculous challenge.

He could already see the titles of such articles. The comments under those articles would be even more terrible. It was quite easy to please the masses, but they could just as easily become unimaginably cruel.

If he wasn’t good as an actor, then the only comment would be that he had terrible acting, but if a film he invested in did terrible, then he would receive unbearable criticism.

There was precedent for this as well. A few years ago, a young actor who was gaining popularity had once taken the role of director and ended up ruining the film. Back then, that actor received tons of ridicule and criticism.

Even if Maru only invested the money and did not have any involvement with the production direction, the masses would not care about that. In fact, they might think that Han Maru’s excessive involvement as an investor ruined the film.

If this film failed, Maru’s reputation would take a big hit. That was why Junmin was trying to get him a professional video editor, but Maru refused even that. If Maru looked like he didn’t know what was in store for him, then he would’ve explained calmly, but Maru looked like he knew everything already.

“Honestly speaking, I’d like to remove your name from the investor list. If you’re just participating as an actor, then the ones who would attack you even if the film fails to gain popularity will be reduced.”

“It’ll go well. Don’t worry too much.”

“I’m worried because it’s you. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t have said much because failing is also a form of experience. But for you, there’s too much to lose.”

“It was you who said that I just need to not fail.”

“I am aware. But my greed does not wish for your failure. I know how absurd an actor without flaws is, but it still makes me anticipate. This is a result of my attachments and your greatness.”

“I didn’t know you cherished me that much, president.”

Junmin laughed.

“I know well that you will not retract your decision, so I’ll stop persuading you and ask just one thing: why do you give that director so much support? You have plenty of ways to reduce your risks, so I’m curious why you’re stepping forward.”

Maru smiled.

“I don’t think you need to ask me that. You know that better than anyone else.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

He knows that better than anyone else… he ruminated on Maru’s words before laughing emptily.

“You want to raise your own people?”

“If you omit all the details, that might be the crux of it. Just like how you don’t hold back from using your own assets for the sake of good actors, I am also investing in people who show potential. And as you know, the riskier the investment, the higher the returns are. No, actually, returns are secondary. I just wanted to tell him that there’s someone who’s giving him full support, so he should try out what he wants.”

“You believe that that fellow is worth the risk of you receiving criticism from the masses?”

“Yes, I believe so. And even if the film turns out terrible and people point fingers at me, it doesn’t matter. He’ll do well next time. Isn’t opinion something that can be flipped over in due time?”

“Aren’t you worried? Your popularity might disappear overnight and you may never recover from it.”

“As long as I don’t commit a crime, I will continue to show myself on TV and in film, and as long as I can do that, I have the confidence to make a living.”

Maru turned around, his gaze on Han Haneul outside.

“Actually, it’s only possible thanks to her. She told me I should do whatever I wanted because she would feed me, so don’t you think I should do it? My goal is to become an obedient spouse.”

“So you are earning enough money so you want to do something you want?”

Maru nodded softly before asking back, “President. If someone lived a near-eternal life, tried out all sorts of things during those lifetimes, and realized that it was about time to die, what would that person do? What would you do if you were that person?”

“I don’t like what ifs, but… if it was up to me, I would do the thing that I enjoyed the most in that near eternal life. Don’t you think you need to be happy before you die?”

“And?”

Junmin thought about it a little before replying,

“If I have achieved my personal desires, then I would do something that would leave a trace of myself behind.”

He realized what Maru was trying to say. At the same time, he laughed.

“Don’t you think you’re too young to think like that?”

“You see, I’m much older than I look,” Maru joked.

Junmin thought Maru was someone who wouldn’t say ridiculous things like that, but it turned out there was an eccentric side to him as well.

“I am not sure about other things, but I thought that I was quite adept at looking into other people’s true intentions. I was surprisingly good at getting it right too. But with you, I can’t tell no matter how much I look. Maybe that’s why I’m looking out for you more.”

“Don’t look out for me too much. It’s too much for me to bear.”

“Keep on thinking like that. That way, you’ll do well.”

Junmin lifted the cats that had fallen asleep on his lap and placed them on the sofa.

“You’re leaving?”

“I will. I don’t plan to stay for long where young fellas are playing around. I also need to take that one home.”

He opened the door and left. The dog, which was playing with Haneul, panted as he came over.

Junmin opened the door and gestured to the dog. After staring at Maru and Haneul for a long time, the dog got in the car. He seemed to feel disappointed about separating.

“Could I ask you to take care of him again in the future?” he asked.

Haneul was the one who responded,

“Why don’t I take him to our house instead? I think he likes me more than you.”

“I don’t think I can cope with that.”

Junmin smiled and got in the car. He opened the window before leaving.

“Thanks for today. My wife would like to say that to you.”

“If you’re thankful, can you be the officiant for our wedding?” Haneul said.

Junmin looked at the two people before speaking,

“An ordinary present won’t cut it if you want me to be the officiant.”

“How about a box of red ginseng?” Haneul asked back with an innocent expression.

Junmin laughed loudly before saying yes.

“If we hold a preview, I’ll invite you first.”

“Yes, I’ll look forward to that.”

Junmin closed the window and turned the driving wheel.

He suddenly recalled something in the past, a time when he was filled with hopes and dreams when he met Geunsoo and Ganghwan for the first time.