Life, Once Again!

Swearing makes others shrink back. The tension multiples if the swearer is in a superior position to the one that was sworn at. If that superiority stemmed from authority, then talking back was just a dream.

One man standing behind one of the cooking tables paled. He looked at the assistant director with a stiff posture just like a puppet. The assistant director glared at that man.

"Is everything a joke to you?"

"I'm sorry."

"This is the third time you said that. Hey, is this line so hard? You have a single line, and that's too hard for you? What are you? A famous actor? Are you an actor that we have to understand even if you cause multiple NGs?"

"I'm sorry."

"You should be. You're making numerous people wait. You haven't been to the military, have you?"

"I haven't."

"This is why people need to do their military service."

The assistant director that was swearing at that man ran to the camera when the producer called him. The scolded man looked down. Maru clicked his tongue inwardly. He couldn't tell the difference between this place and a nursery.

At the beginning of the shoot, the atmosphere wasn't that bad. The assistant director didn't use any emotion-provoking words after the camera started rolling. Cues and cuts continued to be spoken, and something erupted when the shoot made some progress.

It was the scene where Lee Miyoon went around the competition area and evaluated the contestant's food. Just when she was about to say her line, she choked on the food and started coughing. Rice grains scattered from her mouth and went all over a minor actor's face. The staff quickly came and handed him some tissues, and the minor actor just calmly wiped them off his face. It was a simple accident, and nothing was strange about it until Miyoon had something to say.

"What's up with your expression? So anything that comes out of my mouth is dirty, huh?"

An actress over fifty years old suddenly started picking on a man who looked like he seemed to have entered society. The producer, assistant director, and the other staff members didn't even think about stopping her. They didn't dare. It was obvious from their face.

In Maru's perspective, the man reacted really well. He did not become angry, and he did not frown either. He just calmly wiped the food off his face. It wasn't like he could say 'that must have been refreshing for you!' or something like that. The silence was his way of being considerate, and as the elder, she could've just apologized and be done with it, yet she decided to pick on him and made everything worse.

Five minutes - that was the amount of time that the man had to listen to all sorts of curses from the actress because of his 'crime' of having 'rice grains scattered on his face'. In Maru's opinion, the man was just unlucky. It was too unfair to ask for any responsibility from the man. It's just that bird poop fell from the sky, a very runny one too. It would be much easier for the man to treat the event that way. If he thought that he was just unlucky, he could smile at least.

However, what happened after that couldn't be just described as 'having no luck'. Miyoon frowned whenever she went in front of the man's table. She raised her hand and stopped the shoot and requested for a retake, saying that she didn't like the man's expression. Being pointed out, the man showed his emotion for the first time in front of Miyoon. He made a panicked face. That became the trigger. Miyoon snorted before returning to her place. She didn't say anything. However, it was clear to everyone, especially the person in question, that it was a threat.

I boiled some eggplants and mixed it up with some doenjang. - that was the man's only line. The shoot began again. The man couldn't say that line until the end. Miyoon raised her hand and told him that he was awful.

"Is that all you can do? Have you not learned acting? What the hell is up with your pronunciation? Even a child in a nursery would do better than you. Do I really have to spell this out for you? Huh? Is that it?"

She was clearly picking on him. Maru saw her making a vile expression seeing that the man endured until the end. She seemed to be enjoying the situation. Let's see how long you last - her expression seemed to be saying those words.

That repeated until the assistant director stepped in. The assistant director chased Miyoon with his eyes even as he scolded the man. It was like he was telling her to recognize his loyalty to her. When Miyoon made a faint smile, the assistant director picked on the man even harder. Just like in the old military. If there was a canteen lid, then the assistant director would probably have told him to smack his head against the lid[1].

Maru praised the man for his calmness. Pointing out non-existent mistakes to delay the shoot wouldn't be able to last forever. No matter how famous the actress was, there was no way she could delay the time of numerous actors and staff members here. She should probably have to make compromises at some point. He thought so.

"You really don't change at all. Do it again!"

A chopstick bounced off the table before falling on the ground. Miyoon scanned the man before turning around. The man was just looking at the chopstick on the ground. Just before, he picked up the chopstick, but now he was just looking at it like a statue.

It seemed that Maru was wrong. Maru frowned. Having returned to her standby position, Miyoon laughed with her manager. Her hands were pointing at the man.

Was that what a pro was? Miyoon seemed pretty satisfied with trampling on a junior and treating him like a plaything, as she waited for the cue. This was probably the last time. Just then, the man took off his toque as he left his position.

"Hey, you f.u.c.ker! What are you doing! Go back to your position!" The assistant director took this opportunity to shout.

"I'm sorry, I can't do it anymore."

The man spoke as he lowered his head. His face looked like he was in the centrifuge. It was crumpled slightly. His unvent frustration exuded out of his entire body.

"Oh, my word. Is this what the younger generations are like these days? How scary. Are you going against me just because I admonished you just a tiny little bit? What is up with the entertainment industry these days? It's really desolate."

Miyoon spoke as she fanned herself as though she was the wronged instead. There was a faint disdainful smile as she defended herself and her 'teachings'. It was unsightly. She grew up twisted. Even if she could not help the younger generation on their path, she should at least not block them. Seeing people like her made Maru reflect on himself. He resolved not to become a twisted person like her.

The assistant director said some words out of formality. It was obvious from his tone. He spoke as though he had no intentions of banishing him. He just made excuses. Just a couple of lines saying 'I did this and this for you' just to put on a show.

The man left the set. The staff members that held their breath started breathing again and whispered among themselves. The producer declared a break. Miyoon went to a seat in one corner of the set and sat. They were reserved seats for the main actors. Suyeon was standing behind her. She was smiling kindly and was massaging Miyoon's shoulders. Miyoon's faint smile spread around the set.

"She ended up sending one away."

"This isn't the first time this happened. She's famous for it, that ahjumma."

"Phew, what a pity for that kid. He just had to catch that woman's eye."

"But I think we'll end with just one person today."

"That's good then. But the more I look at her, the more I despise her."

"What can you do about it? I thought the writer for the drama said that she's the only candidate. It's quite strange, you know? Why do people keep using that woman?"

"Because she's good at acting. She's quite well-known as well. My grandma really likes her, you know? She says that she's so gentle and how women should all be like her."

"She might faint if she found out the truth."

"Do you think there will be any rumors about her? That kid must feel unjustified, but what can he do about it? If he wants to keep working in this industry, he has no choice but to endure. But man, she really picks out people that look like they can't go against her."

That was the conversation between two staff members who were cleaning up the cables. It seemed that this wasn't the first time Miyoon bullied minor actors. Perhaps she found it fun. Playing around with an opponent that couldn't strike back had to be a form of pleasure for her. She must think of herself as above everyone here. Maru had a look at Miyoon. That woman ruled over this castle that was the set. She was someone that even the producer was helpless against. She reigned supreme here.

"Let's do this, everyone. You can do it, right?"

Acting was a scary profession. Miyoon, who had just banished a young fellow out of existence with her vile methods, was consoling the staff and the actors with a refreshing expression. If someone not in the know looked at her, they would think of her as a good senior.

The shoot resumed. There was no bullying this time. Everything went smoothly. One of the minor actors made a mistake, but this time, Miyoon covered up for her. Maru saw that the girl who received her grace was paling. She was probably thinking if the next target would be her.

Fortunately, no problems occurred. Cut, then okay. Those two words came out of the producer's mouth repeatedly. It was as though he was aware that things would go bad the moment he stopped doing so.

Next was Maru's turn. He watched as the camera moved in front of him and started chopping as soon as he received the producer's signal. He chopped up some zucchini and mushrooms and put them on a plate. He turned on the fire and put a pot on top. He saw the camera turning slightly. It was probably shooting Miyoon and Suyeon walking together. Eventually, Miyoon arrived.

"Doenjang-guk, huh. It must be hard to bring out its unique taste, but the contestants this year have a challenging mindset. It's a good thing."

"Thank you."

"But what's this?"

"It's ground shrimp. I'm planning to use it when I make a broth with anchovy."

"Hmm, ground shrimp, huh. Now that I think about it, that boy is also doing a doenjang-guk, isn't he?"

Miyoon and Suyeon spoke as they looked at the man standing behind the table next to him. He was the protagonist of this drama. Maru just looked at his chopping board and chopped his ingredients. It would be fine as long as the cut sign fell.

He waited for the producer's voice. Just then, Miyoon, who was talking to the protagonist, made a mistake, causing an NG cut.

Maru put down the knife he was holding and straightened his back. He took out a new set of zucchini and mushrooms below the cooking table for the new shoot. Miyoon had a very dissatisfied face.

Miyoon was approaching him. Maru turned around to look at her.

"Hey. Isn't your chopping sound a little too loud? I can't act because of it. I saw you look at me with a bad expression. Did you do that on purpose in order to distract me? Is that what it is?"

But I think we'll end with just one person today. - those words from a staff member came up in his mind. It seemed that it wouldn't end with one person. He felt a bad taste in his mouth. It seemed that he was this woman's next target.

"I made a mistake. I should've done it more softly."

"You get that you made a big noise?"

"Yes. Rather than that, I'm really sorry. It looks like I disturbed your great acting."

"So you know that at least."

"Actually, I wasn't able to control my grip because I was watching your acting."

"Watching my acting?"

He saw Miyoon's lips curve upwards.

"Yes. I got distracted because I wanted to learn the way you act so naturally. I should've focused on my own work."

"Well, trying to learn is not a crime."

"Thank you for putting it that way. Oh, I'll reduce the chopping noise as much as possible."

"Hm, no, you don't have to. I'm used to it now. An actress like me does not make the same mistake twice, so you can just do it as you did before. I should help out that much as a senior in acting."

"Thank you for being so considerate. I'll do my best not to make a mistake."

"Okay. You're quite polite unlike most kids these days. Geez, young ones these days live on their ego, and a feeble woman like me has a really hard time facing them."

Maru didn't say anything and nodded slowly.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Han Maru."

"Yes, Maru. What a good name. I'll remember it so do your best. You look promising."

Miyoon patted his shoulders with a pleasant smile. Maru maintained his calm expression until Miyoon and the staff members scattered. Then, he smiled disdainfully when attention was drawn away from him and the camera no longer shot him.

'Yes, of course, I'll do my best. I'm going to remember your name as well, woman.'

Maru sighed in relief as he picked up the knife. It seemed that he had dealt with the crisis. The attitude of a breadwinner that had to bow to contractors was quite useful. He could sell as many false smiles as he wanted to. His pride was quite cheap right now, after all.

"Stand by!"

The producer shouted.

[1] This position (just refer to the photos). I don't know what to call it...