By Zephyria 
“Repeat the scene from last time.”
“We’re doing the same scene again?”
“Because I’m not satisfied yet.”
“Understood.”
He wasn’t satisfied with that acting. There was nothing he could do if that’s what he said. He wasn’t someone who would listen to others.
Scene number seventy-eight… seventy-eight… As I turned the pages of the script, Yoon Joo-ho’s voice, uncharacteristically serious, was heard.
“Don’t get attached half-heartedly.”
“What? What is it?”
When I casually looked up, I met Yoon Joo-ho’s gaze, which was fixed on me.
“The cats. Don’t be overly friendly or meddle if you’re not going to take responsibility. It’s meddling.”
“……”
Song Hyun-soo moistened his lower lip with his tongue. He slowly closed the script and placed it on the seat beside him. After taking a sip of the warm tea Director Bang had prepared, he let out a deep sigh.
“Who decides that?”
“What?”
“Did you ask the cats, Senior? Did the cats say not to be interested or friendly if you’re not going to take responsibility to the end?”
“What are you talking about?”
Yoon Joo-ho frowned.
“Abandoning something after accepting it is irresponsible, but saying that being interested and friendly is also bad is too much. Is indifference better than friendliness?”
“What’s with this all of a sudden?”
I know he’s sharp-tongued. As Director Bang put it, I’m starting to understand a little that his heart isn’t as rough as his words. However, the word ‘meddling’ did sting a bit.
“It’s the same with human relationships. We connect with people, get along well, then lose touch, and then new connections appear. Life is a cycle of meeting and parting. The decision to only get involved with people you’ll go all the way with is itself meaningless…”
On a night when the rain poured down like a deluge.
Giving a stray cat, soaked in rain and starving all day, a corner of my room for just one day. Is that irresponsible? Who decides what is responsible and what is irresponsible? Did they conduct a survey of a hundred cats? Would cats truly resent a person as irresponsible for letting them in for a day and then putting them out on the street the next morning with a wave?
“You’re quite enlightened.”
Yoon Joo-ho, crossing his legs and folding his arms, provoked me as if daring me to continue. Song Hyun-soo gladly accepted the challenge.
“If you’re not going to solve all my problems, then it’s meaningless, so get lost. I used to think that way too. But I realized it might not be the case. Sometimes, just talking and listening can be helpful. As long as I know that person is genuinely listening.”
“Is Jung Ji-in that kind of person to you, my junior?”
“Yes.”
“……”
“I found out thanks to you, hyung. Fortunately.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s head tilted further sideways. Song Hyun-soo finished what he was trying to say.
“That kindness is better than indifference, even if you don’t take full responsibility.”
I didn’t intend to give such a long lecture, being uneducated. Feeling a belated embarrassment, I averted my gaze, put down my teacup, and picked up my script again.
“And he said you shouldn’t try to stop affection from forming. If you force it to stop, it becomes resentment.”
“Who said that?”
“My grandmother.”
I opened the page for scene number 78 and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
“You’re starting, aren’t you, Senior?”
I felt Yoon Joo-ho’s hot, or perhaps piercing, gaze fixed on my profile. But I didn’t have the courage to meet it. I unconsciously raised my face towards the front, avoiding Yoon Joo-ho’s left side.
The red indicator light on the camera was on. It was already recording.
■■■
Do rich people eat different fruits than me?
After practice, the strawberries Director Bang gave me were incredibly beautiful in shape and tasted as sweet as if they had been sprinkled with sugar.
“Director Bang, this is the first time I’ve eaten strawberries like this.”
“My Hyun-soo eats everything deliciously and is truly blessed.”
“Please have some too, Director Bang.”
Sitting on a high bar stool in front of the kitchen island counter, Song Hyun-soo, with his cheeks puffed out from the strawberries, gently pushed the plate towards Director Bang across the counter.
“I’m sorry. Did I eat too much all by myself?”
“No, no. I put them out for you, Hyun-soo. Eat plenty.”
Director Bang pushed the plate further in front of Song Hyun-soo with a pleased expression.
“Hyun-soo, where do you live? If it’s on the way, it would be good if Joo-ho could give you a ride.”
“No, it’s okay. I can take the bus.”
“You don’t have an agency yet, do you? It must be inconvenient for you to travel.”
Song Hyun-soo’s hand, which had been poking another strawberry into his mouth before finishing the one he was eating, paused for a moment.
It seemed unlikely that Director Bang had figured out on his own that he didn’t have an agency yet. Yoon Joo-ho must have told him.
Come to think of it, when I first came to this house, Director Bang opened the front door and said I must have had a hard time coming in the cold. As if he knew I would be coming on foot using public transportation, not a private car. And the young man at the security booth, not the underground parking entrance, recognized Song Hyun-soo immediately. Had Yoon Joo-ho made arrangements in advance? If Yoon Joo-ho had that kind of meticulous side, it would be truly unexpected.
“You still haven’t found a company?”
Song Hyun-soo twisted his body at the voice from behind him. As Yoon Joo-ho walked out of the room with a door lock, he was slipping his arm into the sleeve of his coat. Just wearing a coat, it was like a free advertisement. An unfair world. The entire nation has been deceived by that face for 30 years. The reality of a national deception.
“You told me to save it, not that you needed the old company.”
“Where’s your place?”
“It’s okay. I can take the bus.”
“I asked where your place is, not if I’m giving you a ride.”
“Bogwang-dong.”
As Yoon Joo-ho walked up to the island counter, a strong scent of perfume wafted over. It smelled like he had put on new perfume after a shower. Director Bang handed him a sports bag. Yoon Joo-ho took it, slung it over his shoulder, and gestured with his chin towards Song Hyun-soo.
“Come down with me.”
“It’s alright. You’re busy.”
“I’m not saying I’m sacrificing myself for you, I’m actually on my way to Pilates.”
Ah, right. If it weren’t on your way, you wouldn’t have given me a ride at all, would you? I almost made a big mistake. Anyway, you have a talent for doing good deeds and still getting yelled at, our sunbae.
For the national actor Yoon Joo-ho to personally drive me home. It was an opportunity any citizen of South Korea would want. Even someone who didn’t like Yoon Joo-ho would consider it a lifelong memory. However, I hesitated a little due to the awkward atmosphere throughout the practice session.
Did Director Bang interpret that Song Hyun-soo couldn’t get up because of the strawberries? Director Bang grabbed Yoon Joo-ho’s arm.
“Hyun-soo, wait just a little longer for him to finish all the strawberries.”
Ah, Director… that makes me look like I’m obsessed with strawberries…
Like a teenage boy complaining to his parents for treating him like a child in front of someone he likes, Song Hyun-soo resented Director Bang. Yet, he stuffed as many strawberries into his mouth as he could.
He could feel Yoon Joo-ho’s astonished gaze, but even if he looked like he was obsessed with strawberries, he couldn’t give up the Geumseil strawberries the size of a baby’s fist.
“Ah, I’m done. I’m done.”
I’m done. Let’s go.
After finishing every last strawberry, Song Hyun-soo got up from the bar stool and pushed Yoon Joo-ho’s shoulder. Ignoring Yoon Joo-ho’s expression, which seemed to ask if strawberries were that important, he pushed him hard. What would you know, with your hundreds of billions, your trillions? Pride is fleeting; if I leave these strawberries behind, a greater regret will find me tonight as I lie in bed.
Director Bang escorted the two to the elevator.
“Manager Han will arrive in about 30 minutes. I’ll leave after confirming the cleaning is done.”
“Ah, hyung. Thanks for your hard work.”
“See you tomorrow, Hyun-soo.”
“Yes, Director. Please go in.”
Song Hyun-soo bowed his head towards Director Bang, who waved with a friendly face. As the elevator doors closed, leaving them alone in the narrow space, Yoon Joo-ho’s perfume scent more intensely enveloped his senses.
Leaning against the back wall, Yoon Joo-ho stood with his arms crossed, silently watching him. The tension of being observed made Song Hyun-soo tap the bar handle with his fingertips.
Unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, Song Hyun-soo spoke first.