After Story 127

After Story 127

“Even a glass of beer is still alcohol. I know that you’re strong with alcohol, that you talked for hours after that single glass, and that one glass won’t affect you at all. But you know, I don’t plan to nag you about drinking one glass because of the atmosphere. Of course you can do that. But don’t grab the driving wheel after drinking. I know that you’ve lived for a long time and know a lot of things, but you aren’t omnipotent.”

He couldn’t make any excuses, so the only thing he could say was sorry. His wife glared at him sharply before sighing.

“Don’t make me worry. If something happens to you I might pass out.”

“I’m sorry. All I was thinking about was that I should watch out for my condition and get home as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. You’re not someone who would grab the wheel because you don’t want to call chauffeur service.”

His wife looked down next to her, gesturing to him to sit down. Maru quietly sat down on the sofa.

“What did you do with everyone?”

“Nothing much. I just thought I had to put in a lot more effort when I looked at them. I am climbing up steadily right now, but I don’t know when I’ll slip down again.”

“It’s good that you’re striving to do better in work, but you’re my husband before you’re an actor, and before you’re my husband you’re mother-in-law’s son. How many times do you think I’ve seen you get into a traffic accident? How many times do you think mother-in-law experienced that? I can endure everything else, but not a call from the ER.”

“I’ll watch out.”

She pressed down on her eyes. Her eyes were stiff as well due to nervousness. It wasn’t that she was acting weak and making a big deal. She was a strong woman, someone who overcame crises by herself. However, she had always witnessed Han Maru’s death, left by herself. Even as his consciousness was snapped off and sent into the afterworld, she must have witnessed his last moments very vividly.

The death of a family member must be excruciating. She had endured that pain tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of times.

Now that they had regained all of their memories, horrible memories he probably wouldn’t be able to fathom were probably remaining inside her frail body. She must have built countless tombstones in her heart.

“I’ll live a long, healthy life. I will definitely not die in vain. Today will be the last time I make a mistake like this.”

“My husband is someone who keeps what he says. So don’t you ever do that again.”

“Okay. Should I hand in my keys at this opportunity too?”

She let out a chuckle.

“Go and get washed. I’ll put a facial mask on you.”

“Okay.”

He turned on the cold water and put his head under the shower.

“Get yourself together,” Maru said to himself.

Just because there was a lot in his head didn’t mean that he was perfect. Knowledge that could not be used properly was nothing more than information. The actions he took were irresponsible, stemming from his shallow thought that he would be okay this time since he had never run into an accident after a single cup of beer.

A gambler would’ve scoffed at him. You rolled sixes this whole time, so you think you’re going to get another six? Too bad, it’s one this time.

“What am I supposed to do without you?” he said to her, who was sitting down with the facial mask in hand.

“You just found out?” Haneul tapped on the floor. Maru lay down, resting his head on her lap.

“Don’t leave me behind and go by yourself,” his wife told him as she applied the facial mask on him.

He responded by nodding.

“Maybe I’m being too sensitive. I try to be calm, but then those memories come to me. The memories where your life fades away right before my eyes.”

He grabbed her hands tightly.

“I’ll stay next to you until you get sick of me.”

His wife, above his head, stayed silent for a moment before starting to hum. It was a nostalgic tune that brought him to his hometown in an instant.

“I think it’s been a long time since I heard it directly like this. Sing some more.”

Maru grabbed Haneul’s hand and closed his eyes. In his dream, he saw his wife sitting by herself outside the ER. He sat down next to her and consoled her, telling her that he was sorry that he left her by herself.

His wife cried again and again like a child.

* * *

Her husband cried. She didn’t know what he was seeing in his dream, but he let out shaking breaths as he kept crying. Haneul put strength into the hand that her husband was holding. Then she patted him on the shoulders.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Not long later, he fell deep asleep. His breathing became more relaxed as well.

She thought about waking him up and sending him to bed but decided not to after seeing his face. He was so sound asleep that she felt sorry for waking him.

Even though she prided herself on the fact that she knew everything about him, at times like these, she felt like she knew nothing about him. They had lived such a long time as a married couple too. It was such a curious matter.

“Did I pain you?”

After she patted him on the head a few times and was about to stand up, she found that he wouldn’t let go of her hand. He was just like a baby desperately clinging to a milk bottle.

“You’re going to have to pay us back for all the food you ate today.”

She pulled her hand out by force and put the cat’s paw in her husband’s hand. The cat lay down with her paw still as though she would stay still for the day.

Haneul brought some blankets from the bedroom. She turned on the heater and also closed the curtains.

She also brought some pillows. She peeled the facial mask on Maru and put a pillow under his head.

She laid down next to him. She looked at her sleeping husband for a long time before closing her eyes. She heard breathing. It was a sound that she was more used to hearing than her own.

* * *

In one hand, he was holding her hand, and in the other, he was holding a cat paw. Maru looked at both alternately before chuckling.

He crawled out of the blanket, being careful not to wake his wife up. He threw the facial mask on the floor into the trash.

The cat, sensitive to her surroundings, quickly woke up and followed him. She looked proud for some reason. She looked like she wanted a reward because she did something great.

“I don’t know what it was, but thanks.”

He gave her some food and some snacks on top of that.

He checked the time. It was 10 in the morning. He felt like he had fallen asleep around ten last night, too. It seemed that he had gotten some deep sleep.

As he had a schedule today, he didn’t go on his morning exercises. Instead, he prepared some brunch. He thought he was being quiet, but he saw Haneul rub her eyes and wake up.

“Was I too noisy?”

“Just a little. Making breakfast?”

“It’s spinach doenjang-guk. Also, it’s closer to lunch than breakfast.”

“So it’s so late already. When do you have to leave again, sweetie?”

“At one. I still have plenty of time.”

His wife sniffled and walked over before staring at him.

“What is it?”

She smiled without saying anything. Only when he asked once again did she utter some cryptic words.

“You’re such a crybaby.”

“I am?”

“If you don’t remember, then forget it. I’ll go get washed.”

Now that he thought back, he felt like he had a dream last night. He didn’t remember what it was about, but there was a weird sensation of a mix of pain and refreshment.

“Crybaby? Do you know something?” Maru asked the cat eating by his feet.

The cat replied — meow.

“Forget it.”

He had a meal with his wife. They talked about his schedule today, and he got some advice as well.

“There are multiple brands that go out of business every day, but this brand looks decent. They aren’t pushing themselves to open offline stores, and they’re only opening stores where it matters. The CEO of the brand looks to be investing in just the necessary parts. Have you heard about the reason they’re using you?”

“Apparently, the CEO likes a challenge. They seem to like using new entrants as their models.”

“There are quite a lot of people who made it big after going through this place, and it didn’t take that long too. This person seems to have good eyes.”

“Looks like I should stay contracted for a long time.”

After their meal, they had some tea and it soon became one o’clock. Maru’s manager contacted him saying that he would be arriving soon.

“I don’t know what kind of clothing you’ll be putting on, but you do know that a forceful, masculine image suits you better than the gentle one, right?”

“I’ll try to appeal that.”

“Do your best. Modeling for a clothing brand can be helpful in promotion.”

“I will.”

He left behind Haneul who saw him out and left the house. He saw Yeonjin in the car outside.

“Get on, we’ll get your hair done first.”

He was brought to Seoul in the car. Yeonjin said that it was a shop that actors affiliated with JA Entertainment often used. He entered the shop after seeing the name ‘Fille.’

“Welcome.”

“We have a reservation, it should be under JA’s Park Yeonjin.”

“Ah, we’ll call the director.”

He walked past the waiting room that looked like a café and went inside.

“A new face. Hi.”

A woman in her early forties with bleached hair welcomed him. The director introduced herself as Eunji and pointed at a chair.

“Usually, I would see the person a few times to learn their style but you said you have work to do today, so I’ll go with a more general styling today. But the president seems to dote on you a lot, huh?”

“On me?”

“He called me last night to look after you well. So which style do you prefer? If you cover your forehead and comb your bangs sideways, you’ll look softer, and if you raise it, you’ll give off a sharper impression.”

“I’d like to go with the sharper one. Someone who knows me told me that I’d look better emphasizing my masculinity.”

“That friend of yours must have good eyes. Your facial shape is definitely more suited to be macho than round. From how barber shops are opening one after another lately, a pomade style might catch the trend, so it shouldn’t be bad to try it early on. Though, for today, I’ll just be doing some small touches.”

Once he consolidated his position, the first thing he had to do was to find a makeup stylist and a photographer. From how president Lee was having all JA actors get taken care of by her, Eunji’s skills must be exceptional, but he would have to look for other places if he personally didn’t like it.

“How is it?”

He looked at his hair after the shampoo and the styling was done. He put on a satisfied smile and nodded. He liked it to the point that he didn’t feel like he needed to look for a stylist.

“It’s good. I don’t think it needs anything else.”

“It’s a simple style, so if it gets toned down throughout the shoot, you just have to wax this part and spray this part. As for the products, do it with the ones we’re giving you. They’re the best ones. I left them with your manager so use them when you need to.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m getting paid for this. But hey, your face does look good. It isn’t just pretty-looking, but masculine.”

He looked at the mirror again. The power of styling was scary.

He put on a smile before going to the resting room. He could see some of the people waiting while drinking tea giving him glances.

“Your style became a lot more vivid,” Yeonjin said.

“It’s a face that will sell a lot, right?”

“Yes. But rather than casual, I think a formal suit might be better.”

“I think so too.”

He did shoot quite a lot of suit commercials in the past too.

He took the car to the appointed place. It was a building that used the entirety of the first floor as a clothes warehouse.

Inside, he saw shooting equipment set up. There were also many walls of different colors.

“Hello.”

Maru greeted the photographer first. This photographer was in charge of all the clothing photos of this brand, POP.

“Even if it’s your first time, don’t be nervous and relax, and most of it should be fine. At first, we’ll shoot from the front to get you used to it, and we’ll change the position little by little after that, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll do my best. If there’s a pose you’d like me to take, then please tell me. I’ll do my best to do it.”

“I like that confidence. Should we go with a knitted sweater first?”

Maru put on the clothes, being careful not to ruin his hair styling, and stood in front of the camera.

“Let’s start,” Maru said to the photographer.