Life, Once Again!

"Sora, let's go to the noraebang together after school."

"Can't. I have an interview after school today."

"An interview?"

Sora waved at her clueless friends before leaving the classroom. Two days ago, she received a call. A movie magazine named 'Movie Sound' wanted to do an interview. She was drowsy when she got the call, so she was in a daze for a while. When she got herself together, she thought that it was a prank call. If the journalist did not explain clearly, she would have pressed the end call button and gone to the land of dreams.

"Maru-seonbae."

She opened the door to 3rd-year electrical engineering class 2. The seniors sitting at their desks all turned their heads around and looked at her. Sora smiled awkwardly at the teacher who was standing at the front before closing the door. They hadn't finished their homeroom yet. She was waiting outside while looking at the time when the front door opened along with the last greeting. The teacher in charge of the acting club told her to be careful. Sora apologized.

"Why were you in such a hurry?"

"Because there's an interview!"

"There are 20 minutes left."

"We should go there early."

"You're way too excited."

"I can't help it. It's an interview, you know? An interview with a famous magazine too. When else would I get a chance like this in my life? Well, you might not feel much because you show up on TV every weekend, but that's not the same for me."

"Yes, yes."

Sora dragged the grumbling Maru by the arm. 'Movie Sound' was a long-time movie magazine that filled up one wall of the film production club. She couldn't help but be excited since she got an interview from such a major magazine.

"Quickly."

She urged Maru, who was changing his shoes leisurely, and then left the school gates and crossed the road. They crossed the city park and a pedestrian overpass, before reaching a commercial district. After seeing the coffee shop, the place they were appointed to meet, Sora told Maru to come quickly before opening the door.

"There are 10 minutes left."

"You shouldn't have too high hopes, you know?"

"Why?"

"It's just a student interview, there's nothing amazing about it."

"I heard it'll fill up 3 whole pages."

"3 pages?"

Maru made a confused expression. Sora also maintained her calm before she heard the length, but when the journalist told her that she'd take up 3 whole pages including a photo, she couldn't stay still due to excitement. She had seen the magazines in the clubroom, so she knew how much 3 pages were worth.

"Should we order something?"

"Do it when the journalist comes."

"Seonbae, what time is it now?"

"Check over there," Maru replied back before taking out his notepad from his pocket.

Sora was curious about what was in it but did not ask. His eyes were really scary when he looked at that notepad. She felt like she would get cut if she touched him.

Sora grew up hearing that she was quick-witted. Just like what others said about her, she was talented at reading other people's moods. She was complimented a lot by adults for knowing when to approach and when to leave them alone. Her intuition told her that this was the time to leave him alone.

Maru kept flipping over the pages before returning to the first page. He wrote something with a pen before flipping again. He kept going through that process. Although she was sitting at the same table as him, she felt like he was really distant.

His notepad returned to his pocket when the journalist came. The female journalist, who had on a pair of catchy white glasses, asked them what they wanted to drink before she sat down.

"Kiwi juice for me."

"Cappuccino."

The woman ordered the drinks before returning. She smiled and said that she enjoyed the film.

"You watched our film?"

"Yes. It was really well-made."

The female journalist took out a notepad and a device that looked like a voice recorder.

"Can I have a look at this?"

"The voice recorder? Sure."

Sora turned on the voice recorder and tried recording. When she played it back, she heard a clear voice from the device. It finally felt real to her that she was doing an interview. While the woman got ready to do the interview, Maru brought over the drinks.

"Shall we have some drinks for now?"

"Yes."

She drank a sip of the juice as she observed the woman. She was a fashionable person with catchy accessories. She was wearing a white bracelet to match her white glasses and was wearing a trench coat for the autumn season.

"Shall we have a light talk first? Don't be too conscious of the fact that you're doing an interview and just think of it as chatting with a girl older than you. It tends to make things a lot easier."

"Yes."

"First up, are you two a couple?" the woman asked while locking her hands.

Sora smiled as soon as she heard that question.

"Do we look like one?"

"You two do suit each other."

"No, he's just a seonbae."

"How unfortunate. If you two were dating, there would be a lot more to write for the interview. When did you start taking interest in film?"

"If it's watching, I liked it since I was young, but I only thought about creating one for the first time when I was in my 3rd year of middle school."

"Was there a trigger of some sorts?"

"I watched a movie on TV and it was terribly boring. That's when I thought that I could make something better than that. Now, I've come to understand how hard it was to create even that. Shooting is a really hard process, huh."

"You realized a lot in just one year. Oh, you are in your first year, right?"

"Yes."

"What kind of genre interested you the most? Documentary-style that touches on controversial topics like 'Classroom' which you did?"

"No, I originally liked action movies. I mean, hot action has that taste."

"Really? Then I guess you must have been rather disappointed when you were creating your piece this time. There was a genre you wanted to do after all."

"Not necessarily. When I made synopses, I did make some of them with action in mind, but when I actually thought about enacting them in reality, I hit a limit pretty fast. Action movies aren't something you can shoot in a day or two either. It was then that I came across a piece of news."

"So you got your motif from there huh? A bullying accident?"

"Yes. I thought about doing a refreshing revenge story, but that usually doesn't happen in real life. That's when I thought about showing bullying for what it is."

The journalist nodded. She was drinking coffee with one hand when she suddenly made an expression that looked like she had remembered something she had forgotten.

"Oh right, I haven't told you my name yet, have I?"

She took out a business card from her wallet and pushed it forward. Sora accepted the business card. 'Movie Sound, Koo Yura' was written on it.

"A movie critic, who was one of the judges for the festival, praised it for the structure of the plot. A drama writer did the same."

"Really?"

"Apparently, they liked how it showed everything for what it is so indifferently. They said that you're bound to use different techniques if you were greedy to show off, but you focused on the story instead."

"Actually, the scenario I first came up with is really different from the one we used for the movie."

"What do you mean by that?"

Sora looked at Maru, who was just quietly drinking coffee next to her, before speaking,

"I think I need to clear this up first. Maru-seonbae originally didn't have any intentions of shooting with us. Meanwhile, I was of the opinion that nobody else would do except him."

"Was there a problem?"

"He was of the opinion that the scenario is too incomplete and thus will not participate. Honestly speaking, I was a little angry back then. He just disrespected my scenario after all."

Journalist Koo Yura looked at Maru. Maru just shrugged.

"But that turned out to be a good thing. If he didn't point out the problems back then, the final product would look a lot different from how it is now. I thought about it again after getting an earful from him. What am I trying to show through this film; where am I going to put my focus? That's how the edited version of 'Classroom' came to be."

"Sounds like there were a lot of ups and downs."

"Yes."

"I don't think there's a film in this world that goes smoothly from beginning to end. There are many big titles that start crashing midway. The crux of the issue is how to get up from that crash and how to clean it up."

"I think so too."

Sora spoke with excitement. The journalist induced her to say everything she wanted. She kept asking questions so that she didn't stop talking, and Sora was impressed by how she induced her to keep speaking. She felt that not just anyone could become a journalist for a major magazine.

"Our boy here is a little quiet," journalist Koo Yura talked to Maru this time.

"I don't think it's my turn yet. Also, I believe that it's only proper for the director to do the talking."

"From what Sora said, it sounds like you participated in the production instead of just the acting. Am I wrong?"

"I just said what anyone else could say from the side. There will always be busybodies in whatever you do. There are things that you can see from the sidelines that you can't see it while doing it yourself."

"How humble of you."

Journalist Koo fiddled with the pen between her fingers.

"Since we're at it, I do want to hear something from you too, Maru."

"Yes, go ahead."

"Maru, you are an actor who has shown your face on public TV programs, right?"

"Well, I'd be rather embarrassed to call myself an actor with the things I have done."

"If you're earning money at your age, you can be considered an actor. There aren't many people who can win a fixed role in a series while they're still in high school. Moreover, I heard that you were starting another mini-series soon, right? No wait, have you begun shooting already?"

So she dug into him already. Sora thought that they came across a good journalist. She was worried that they might end up talking about just trivial stuff without getting into the important details but seeing that journalist Koo had done her research put her at ease.

"The shoot began, yes."

"How's the atmosphere there?"

"There are times when it's good, and there are times when it's bad."

"How about the people that shoot with you? Do they treat you well?"

"There are times when they treat me well, and there are times when they don't."

Sora looked at Maru. All he gave were vague answers. Even journalist Koo tilted her head since he looked like he was dodging the questions. He looked like he was in a bad mood before, so was this related to that?

"In your shoot for 'New Semester'…."

"Miss."

Before journalist Koo could finish her words, Maru interrupted. Sora felt nervous. The smile on Maru-seonbae's face looked frosty.

"As far as I know, this interview is supposed to be about the youth film festival. Am I wrong?"

"That's right."

"Then I see no relation to my dramas."

"But the people who read the magazine want to know more about the interviewees, so it's fine to say what you're up to right now."

"If it's like that, then just go with 'I'm shooting a drama and preparing for one as well'. This girl is supposed to be the main character, so I don't think there's a need to talk about me in so much detail. Don't you think so too?"

"That's true, but I still think this much is fine."

"Yes, this much is fine. If it's just this much."

Sora looked at Maru and journalist Koo alternately. There seemed to be a mental war between the two. But why?

"Fine. Shall we go back to talking about the film then? Based on what Sora said, it sounds like you didn't have any intentions of proactively participating in the film."

"I did try to proactively participate in the film."

"That's not what I heard from her."

"I'm not sure from what perspective you're asking, but from mine, 'proactively' doing something is doing something properly. The scenario that Sora showed me back then was unpolished. That's why I said I will participate if the scenario becomes better."

"Really? Then can I ask you one more thing? Leaving aside Sora, why did you participate in the film festival?"

"Someone I know told me that there was something called the youth film festival that began this year, and they told me that some people at my school are preparing for it. That's how I met her."

"So you didn't participate in it on your own accord, but because of someone else's advice? So another person's advice played a bigger role in making you participate?"

Sora felt like journalist Koo's question was loaded. Just then, Maru audibly laughed before replying,

"Of course not. Are you going to quit your company if I 'advised' you to quit? Advice is just advice. It's me who makes the decision. I did it because I wanted to. I'm rather confused because you're being roundabout for such an obvious thing."

Maru had spoken as he wiped the lip of his cup with a finger.

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