Life, Once Again!

"Give me the book."

He looked at his daughter's hand. She flicked her hand once in an urging gesture. Just when did her smooth hands become so wrinkly? He discovered the flow of time not through the mirror but through his daughter's hands.

"It's not like something will happen to me just by reading."

"I'm saying it because something happened to you already. Give it to me."

His daughter raised her voice like she was about to fight. His second daughter was a girl who got easily frightened when she was young. She cried when she saw a shadow, cried when she saw a ball rolling towards her, and even cried when her uncles peek-a-booed her. Not a single day went by without her crying, so he once wondered how such a feeble girl would live in this world. Yet right now, the same daughter was forcing him to hand over the book.

"Geez, I said I'm fine."

"Dad."

His daughter frowned. The gaze of his daughter, who was past forty now, was quite scary and Moonjoong had no choice but to hand over the book.

"Please lie down. And stop watching the TV as well. Listen to the doctor when he says you need some rest."

"I know my body the best."

"And yet you still collapsed?"

His daughter pulled the blanket up to his chest. The hospital blankets had a cold smell. He had intentionally not pulled it up because the smell made him feel like he'd become ill instead. He pulled down the blanket secretly so that his daughter wouldn't notice, but she noticed it immediately and pulled it up again. Her stubbornness was just like that of his wife's.

"Should I peel some pears for you?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You're leaving behind most of your meals as well. Is there anything you want to eat?"

"It's not that I don't have the appetite, I just don't eat a lot in general. Don't worry about me and get going. You should look after your children. Also, healthy people shouldn't come to the hospital. A sick ghost will possess you."

"Don't worry about me and worry about yourself instead. The kids aren't at home, they've gone to cram schools. Also, what era do you think it is? Even ghosts can be cured with medicine now."

He refused, but his daughter ended up stuffing a slice of pear into his mouth. Curiously, he didn't want to eat anything at all before he ate it, but after the cool, sweet juice spread out in his mouth, his stomach started accepting food. It seemed that listening to his daughter was the best choice.

"Is Mr. Park's business going well?"

"He earns enough to not let the kids starve. I'm also doing some work on the side as well. We're not as bad off as we were before, so you don't have to worry about us. Here, eat this as well."

Moonjoong gave his daughter power over his mouth. Since his refusal was no good, it would be better for him to just give up. Munching on the crunchy pear, he turned on the TV. Fortunately, she didn't turn off the TV this time. Maybe it was because he obediently ate the pear. He was reminded of when he told her that he'd buy her snacks if she ate the eggplants. His second daughter was very picky with food when she was young.

-The actor, Lee Hyuk, known for the movies 'Comet', 'Man of Six O'Clock', and the 'South of North' has found a new home, namely 'Soul'. Many of you should be aware of this name. It's the company that accepted three of the members of the boy band 'The Five' after they split up. We have news that actor Lee Hyuk has signed an exclusive contract with that agency.

A woman who seemed to be the reporter was speaking as though she was very interested. Moonjoong watched the entertainment industry news for a while before changing channels.

"Dad, do you have anything to watch?"

"No."

Moonjoong gave his second daughter the remote. She switched the channel to a cable channel.

"This drama is quite interesting."

That drama started off with the daughter-in-law slapping the cheeks of the mother-in-law. His daughter was cheering for the daughter-in-law. It was quite a chaotic drama, but it was definitely fun in its own way. This girl is the bad girl, that girl is the good girl. His daughter was earnestly explaining from the side. Actually, the drama didn't need a lot of explanation at all. The one with the thick makeup and looked evil was the bad girl, and the one that looked innocent was the good girl.

Just as the drama was at a point where someone said 'she's not your real daughter', the door to the ward opened. The one that entered was Geunsoo.

"Sir, I'm here."

"I told you that you don't have to come."

It had been ten days since he was hospitalized. Geunsoo had come to visit him four times during that while. He was young and had work to do, so Moonjoong felt both thankful and sorry that he came to visit despite the fact that he must be busy.

"Welcome."

His second daughter had gotten close and welcomed him as well. She left after saying that she wanted some fresh air.

"How are you doing?"

"Didn't I tell you three days ago that I'm fine? Everyone's making a big deal out of it. It's not like I'm going to die."

"Everyone's worried because you suddenly collapsed at your own house. If senior Junmin wasn't there…. It's horrific just thinking about it."

"I was just a bit anemic. I'm fine right now."

"If you're really fine, then the doctor will have you leave the hospital. You should get some rest until then."

Geunsoo took out a book from his bag.

"This is the book you told me to bring last time."

Moonjoong received the book and immediately hid it under the blanket. His second daughter would take it away the moment she sees it.

"I heard that you were shooting a movie."

"It was cancelled."

"Cancelled?"

"Yes. The president of the CEO company went missing. Everything is stopped now. There's a possibility that the project will be cancelled entirely. I heard that they're looking for new investors, but I don't know how that will go."

"Junmin should do it then."

"The thing is, he has a clear philosophy for investments. He also told me not to have any regrets and look for something else."

"Looks like that movie was destined to fail from the start."

"Maybe. Actually, I disagreed with him before it started. We had a look at the script together and he recommended that I don't do it. I should've listened to him back then. It seems that not anyone can be the president of a company. You need good foresight to be one."

"If you liked the work, you should've done it with all your body. You can't help if it fails, that's what the agencies are there to do. You should use Junmin to your heart's content."

"I'll tell him exactly what you said later. I'm going to use it when I defend myself."

"Sure. Oh, you should eat some pear. There's too much for me to eat by myself."

Geunsoo then talked about the post-production part of the movie.

"I think we need to post-record the market scene. The sound is too smudged and they said they'll have to record the voice of the actors again."

"It's usually like that."

"Oh, the poster for the movie that we shot last time is almost finished. Do you want to have a look?"

Geunsoo took out a laptop before putting a photo up on the screen. The photos they shot for the poster after they shot the movie scenes had been edited and changed to look very cool.

"I liked this monochrome one the best. I like how it emphasizes the hammer you're holding. It probably won't be used, though, right?"

"It probably won't get past the regulations. I once shot a poster holding a knife, but it was changed to a fruit just before it was printed. I don't know what kind of relation those two have though."

"South Korea is strict when it comes to things like that. This one, the one where you're smoking. This is good as well, but this probably won't get through either. Either they'll erase the cigarette, or they'll use the poster that looks like a family photo."

It was a bitter reality that the ones they liked were the ones that probably won't get through the regulations. Too much skin wasn't good, no cigarettes were allowed, no weapons were allowed. The poster also couldn't exclude the actor's face, and no short skirts were allowed either. It was strange. Practically half-n.a.k.e.d youngsters appeared on TV all the time, but posters were no good. It was ironic that a media that was much more accessible was more liberal. Even calling it a 'strict rule for art', did not change the fact that it was funny.

Geunsoo suddenly picked up his phone before looking at the clock.

"If you're busy, then you should get going. Also, stop coming here," Moonjoong spoke with a smile.

Geunsoo stood up saying that he will visit again. The ward finally became a little quiet. Moonjoong turned off the TV and opened the book. He was planning to read the book that Geunsoo brought when his daughter went home.

At that moment, the door opened again. He wondered if it was his daughter that returned, but someone unexpected was standing there instead.

"I'm here, elder."

It was Maru, holding a book in hand.

"Who did you hear it from? I told Geunsoo not to tell you about it."

Maru just smiled and said that he got to know of it by chance.

"I'm disappointed. Did you dislike me that much?"

"It just felt didn't feel right making people come all the way here for something so trivial. I'm going to be leaving soon, so why would I want everyone I know to come?"

Moonjoong pointed at the seat that Geunsoo was sitting on. Although he said those words, he was happy to see him here. He kept it a secret because he might induce a young boy to worry about him too much, but he found out and came anyway.

"How's your body?"

"As you can see, I'm healthy. Give me the knife and apple over there. I'll peel it for you."

"I'll do it. Oh, and I brought this because you must be feeling bored. Though, I don't know if you'll like it or not."

Moonjoong received the book that Maru handed him. It was Moby D.i.c.k.

"Looks like I'll have to settle it with the big whale."

He laughed before hiding the book under the blanket. Maru was confused when he saw that, but he could not tell him that he hid it because of his daughter.

Maru proficiently started peeling the apple with the fruit knife.

"Looks like you're quite skilled."

"I'm very good at things like this. Here, eat some."

Moonjoong ate the apple that Maru cut for him. If his daughter saw this, she would nag him for not eating obediently when she gave some to him.

"How are you doing these days? Is everything going well?"

"Yes. I'm learning a lot. Luckily, I have a lot of opportunities to learn."

"Experiences in youth will become a fortune when you grow old. It's good to do them well, but think about what remains."

"I will."

Moonjoong always felt joy when he looked at Maru. The moments he had when he drank alcohol with this young fellow were quite strange. Even children with the deepest hearts had some kind of childishness when pried deep enough, but Maru had nothing like that. That allowed him to talk to the young boy without holding back. He could tell what he couldn't to others of his age.

"Is acting fun?"

"Honestly speaking, the acting I'm doing recently is not that fun. Should I call it just doing business? There are a lot of times when I feel like I'm just doing homework."

Maru put down the apple and the fruit knife.

"Back when I had to shoot with you, elder, my head turned white from all the pressure, but it was definitely fun. But the acting I've been doing recently, while I'm doing my best, has no fierce spirit, and it drains my energy. Even if I tell myself that I shouldn't be like this, when I finish the shoot, I become absent-minded, not due to the satisfaction, but because it was too bland. I'm just holding on because it's fun to create a stage with my peers," Maru calmly told his story.

Moonjoong liked this side of him. He wasn't filled with falseness. He didn't use any roundabout expressions either. Since he was honest, he himself could reply honestly as well.

"That's proof that you're adapting well. People can't be working filled with expectations the whole time. The fact that you've become bored means that you've become used to it, so it's not entirely bad. But listening to your words, I think you do need a trigger. Did Junmin not tell you anything?"

"He didn't tell me anything specific."

"Then keep working for a while, even if it looks boring to you. Junmin is quite a meticulous guy, so he'll tell you when the time comes."

"How did you enjoy yourself at times like these?"

"Me? I drank."

"I can't do that."

"Haha."

Moonjoong patted Maru on the shoulders. Shooting something as the bottom of the rung was no fun, just like what Maru had said. They'd have to wait several hours to shoot a couple of minutes, and that was it. It would be very strange to find any fun in such a simple scene without any ups and downs of emotions. An actor only realizes the joy of acting after encountering a good role. What Maru was doing now was paving a path to meet that good role, so there was no choice for him but to endure. While it might sound foolish, that was the right way to go.

"Elder, you should get better quickly and drink with some pork like last time."

"Yeah, I should."

Moonjoong nodded and smiled faintly.