Life, Once Again!

“Should we try expressing an object?” Gyeonmi asked after looking at her bag, which was in one corner of the practice room.

“An object?”

“Yes, an object. Thanks to our reckless fellow Lee Heewon, who did the wrong homework, we can’t exactly proceed with the class as I planned. I can’t let that fellow play around though, so let’s have a refresher and become objects.”

Refresher - that was the word she used. Gaeul noticed that this assignment was definitely not going to be easy after seeing Gyeonmi’s smile.

“I’ll give you one minute. Go look for an object nearby that you want to try expressing.”

As soon as she said those words, Heewon lay down on the floor.

“What are you doing?”

“I found mine.”

“Already?”

“She said an object. Everything around us is an object, so there’s no need to go looking for one. I’d rather just lie down for a minute.”

Heewon put his face on the floor as he laughed. Even a sloth would tell this guy to move a little. Gyeonmi was drinking water without saying anything. It didn’t look like she had strict standards when it came to choosing objects.

Gaeul looked around the practice room. She couldn’t find any object that she wanted to express, so she left the practice room. When she walked through the colorful corridor and arrived at the lobby, something entered her eyes. It was a recycling bin, and it was shaped like a frog.

‘Maybe that?’

After engraving the figure of the frog crouching down into her eyes, she returned to the practice room.

“Have you all decided?”

Heewon and Gaeul both replied yes at the same time.

“Then shall we start with Gaeul first? Heewon started off last time.”

Gaeul nodded and stood in front of Gyeonmi. She was at a loss on what to do now that she had to do it, but she decided to embody what she saw as it was. She curled her body slightly and made a ring with her arms like a basketball hoop before sitting down. She could feel Gyeonmi staring at her. She thought about adding elements to it, but nothing came to mind.

‘It’s still a trashcan after all.’

This should be enough to represent an immobile object, no? She decided to be confident about it.

“Are you done?”

Gyeonmi asked about 20 seconds later. Gaeul curtly replied before standing up.

“Haewon, what do you think Gaeul was trying to represent?”

“The trashcan in front of the elevator. There’s one shaped like a frog.”

Gaeul smiled at Haewon before showing him a thumbs up. She felt happy that he recognized it immediately.

“Were you reminded of the trashcan after what you saw Gaeul do? Or did you think about what she was trying to do and the trashcan came to your mind?” Gyeonmi asked.

Haewon made an awkward smile before slowly speaking.

“I was reminded of the frog trashcan immediately. It’s something I see every time I come here after all. It’s quite eye-catching too.”

“You’re saying that you’re reminded of it because it’s something you’re used to seeing. Does that mean that Gaeul’s expression itself doesn’t easily remind you of the trashcan?”

“Honestly speaking, yes, you’re right.”

Gaeul also nodded as she listened to Haewon’s answer. Actually, anyone not familiar with that frog trashcan would be hard-pressed to know what she was doing from just that. In fact, some might think of toilets instead.

“Was there a standard that you chose your object on?”

“No, I didn’t find anything suitable in the practice room, so I left, and the recycling bin was just what caught my eyes.”

“I also know what that frog trashcan looks like. If someone in the know saw your actions, they should easily be able to deduce the frog-shaped trashcan. I won’t say much since we didn’t set up any conditions, but personally, it’s a little disappointing.”

I feel that way too - Gaeul inwardly replied. She wondered if it might have been easier if she expressed a moving object. Of all things, it was the trashcan that caught her eyes. As disappointing as it was, she had to take a step back for now. Once Heewon does his, Gyeonmi would probably explain more in detail.

“Lee Heewon.”

“Yes.”

Heewon stood in the center and suddenly lay down. It seemed that he was about to begin.

“Fuuuuuuu.”

Jutting his lips out, Heewon made an air leaking sound and started rolling from side to side. Gaeul jumped in order to avoid Heewon who was coming her way. Those mysterious actions continued after that. Heewon, who rolled around everywhere in the practice room, returned to the center.

“Haewon, what do you think that was?”

“At first, I thought he was trying to be a vacuum cleaner, but there isn’t one in the practice room. Hm, I don’t know.”

“What about you, Gaeul?”

Receiving Gyeonmi’s gaze, Gaeul fell into thought. What Heewon showed just now definitely shouldn’t be a prank. He was someone who couldn’t be bothered to do anything, but he wasn’t the type of person who would half-assedly do something he had to do. Heewon rolled around everywhere in the practice room in random directions. Besides that, there was that weird sound he made. Just then, something came to her mind. Gaeul looked up at the ceiling. There was cool wind flowing out of the ceiling air conditioner which had air vents in four directions.

“Don’t tell me it’s the wind from the air conditioner?”

Pfft - she couldn’t help but laugh. Should it be called ingenious or strained? However, compared to her, who stayed still in one posture, his act was definitely more liberal and irregular.

“Ding dong. That’s correct,” Heewon said.

“Teacher, I believe that Gaeul-noona’s act was splendid. I understand after seeing my brother’s,” Haewon commented.

“Gaeul, what do you feel?”

Gaeul looked at Heewon, who looked like he was fine with anything, as she spoke,

“Leaving aside whether he expressed it well or not, I think he is definitely interesting whenever I look at Heewon. That just now is the same. I had to look around to guess that it was the air from the air conditioner, but that doesn’t mean that his way of expressing it is strange. In fact, I think that’s the correct way to do it.”

After hearing that, Gyeonmi loosened her crossed arms.

“First, Gaeul focused on the external looks. You expressed what you saw. Meanwhile, Heewon put more focus on the properties. He brought to sight what cannot be seen.”

Bring to sight what cannot be seen. Gaeul thought that Heewon was a step ahead this time as well. Perhaps what Gyeonmi wanted was that. Even a grade schooler could imitate something externally. As an actor, realizing what was abstract was much more…

Just as she was about to continue that train of thought, Gyeonmi asked her a question.

“Gaeul, which one do you think was better?”

“I think I have to say that Heewon’s was better. My method is something that anyone can do after all, and I didn’t do a good job at it either. On the other hand, Heewon’s method was novel and ingenious. I’ve never even thought that wind could be expressed like that.”

She gave her honest opinion. However, Gyeonmi’s expression wasn’t that bright. Although she had a stiff demeanor about her usually, it wasn’t to the point that it was unpleasant, but her current expression was enough to startle her.

“What about you, Heewon?”

“Is there something better? I think they’re the same.”

That answer sounded like him.

“Both of you, well done. Let’s take a break. Also, Gaeul, can we have a talk for a second?”

Gaeul followed Gyeonmi out of the practice room. Gyeonmi headed to the 5th floor without even looking back. There were a few employees resting on the nice and warm rooftop.

Was she angry? Just looking at her back made her feel that Gyeonmi’s expression was on edge right now. Gaeul had a vague understanding of why. Self-confidence. This was probably the problem.

“From your expression, I think you know what I’m trying to say. That’s why I like you, Gaeul. You can think for yourself. Dumb people are honestly quite hard to deal with.”

“Was my answer wrong after all?”

“What part of your answer do you think was wrong?”

“I think it’s a matter of self-confidence. I think I might have answered that vaguely because I didn’t have confidence in my own acting.”

“So you do know about it after all.”

Gyeonmi gestured to her to come over. Gaeul leaned against the banisters. Behind her, she could see the road and cars.

“Gaeul.”

“Yes?”

“Do you understand what it feels like to see color from emotions?”

So it was about Heewon - Gaeul shook her head.

She felt that Heewon was a peculiar guy the first time she met him at the agency. Leaving aside the way he acted, she felt like he was looking at the world in a different way than her. That assumption turned into assurance when she took the same class as him. Heewon said himself that he saw colors from emotions. Gaeul could neither understand what that meant nor even begin to grasp what that would feel like. At best, she only assumed that warmth was red and coldness was blue.

“I don’t know either. Usually, emotional things are represented by red, and rational things are represented by blue right? This is the same for all things like literature and art. But Heewon, that kid, is different. He sometimes says that he sees green when he sees someone angry, and sometimes even purple. Even if I ask him what those colors mean, he can’t answer. Perhaps those colors contain too many meanings and can’t be expressed in words. It’s something that ordinary people can never understand nor sympathize with.”

Gyeonmi looked away. Gaeul followed her gaze.

“In the end, Heewon is definitely different from us. His character, his immersion, his acting skills. Everything about him is special. Though it’s not too special that it looks out of place among normal people, and he has the potential to mix in with the others. No, he might be able to lead the trend. In other words, he’s a genius.”

“Ah….”

“Gaeul. What do you think about taking classes separately from him?”

“Eh?”

“I know the depression you get when you stand next to a talented person as an ordinary person. If it’s someone you can chase after, then you might try harder, but if that gap is too wide, most people just give up. Then, they’ll either admire or disrespect that person. These days, I kinda think that putting you two together might have been the wrong decision.”

Gaeul sealed her lips. She was envious of Heewon’s character. She even felt jealous when she saw him come up with awesome answers for every assignment. Perhaps those kinds of emotions piled up inside her, and made her feel dejected recently?

After pondering, she spoke,

“I want to keep taking classes with him.”

“Are you saying that out of stubbornness?”

“No, it’s not like that. It’s just that I think that avoiding talented people doesn’t make me do better.”

Gaeul clenched her fists.

“Heewon is definitely different from me. He’s an amazing guy. As you said, perhaps I was jealous of him, and maybe that’s what made me turn timid. No, if I look back at it now, I’m sure that’s what happened. However, that’s all the more reason I want to keep taking classes with him. I feel like I would be stuck walking on the same spot if I take a step back now.”

“So you’re going to try to catch up to him, are you?”

“I might not be able to, but I want to try at least. Actually, Heewon told me this before. He acts because he wants to.”

“You do realize that you might subconsciously compare yourself to him and become dejected if you keep taking classes together, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re still doing it?”

“Yes. I might be able to learn a thing or two if I stay next to a genius, you know? Plus, now that I have a clear understanding of how I feel, there’s no need to be depressed either. I’ll do things properly from now on. I’ll focus on my acting and my acting only.”

After hearing those words, Gyeonmi faintly smiled.

“I see. If you feel that way, I will not mention this again. Do your best and make Heewon feel uneasy because of your skills.”

“Yes, I’ll do just that.”

“Now that I look at you, you have a bold side to you, huh? I’ll go down first, so you can take a breather and come down after a minute or so. I think you’re a little too agitated right now.”

“Yes!” Gaeul replied energetically.

Gyeonmi turned around and started walking away. At that moment, a question popped up inside Gaeul’s head.

“Uhm, teacher.”

“Yes?”

“In your eyes, how was Heewon’s expression of his object? I mean, the wind from the air conditioner.”

“Oh, that.”

Gyeonmi smirked.

“It was utterly pathetic and I could clearly tell that he did it because he wanted to lie down. But it was quite eye-catching.”

Gaeul nodded after hearing that answer.