Life, Once Again!

Chapter 953. Crank Up 6

She opened her eyes due to sensing a presence. In her hazy vision, she saw Maru opening the door with his jersey in hand. He pulled the door slowly so that it wouldn’t squeak before going outside. Gaeul looked at the closed door for a long while, thinking that she had to get up. She had opened her eyes, but she still felt like she was in a dream. She put away the duvet and sat up. When the cold air touched her skin, her drowsiness disappeared in an instant. She went out to the living room after making the bed. She had a look at the dogs sleeping underneath the sofa before turning around to look at the kitchen.

It was 6 a.m. There was still about half an hour before the sun would rise. Gaeul turned on the lights in the kitchen and started cooking. She referred to a blog for a meal recipe on her phone while preparing the ingredients. The menu was egg drop soup, stir-fried chives and shrimp, sliced radish spring rolls, and bulgogi. Sliced radish spring rolls were tedious to create, so she focused without getting distracted. While chopping up the vegetables, she checked the time. She had to start cooking the soup in time for Maru’s return from his morning jog.

She put the bulgogi she had marinated in secret from Maru on the pan before turning on the stove for the egg drop soup. Then, she rolled some vegetables in the sliced radish and put them on a plate. Due to all the noise, the dogs woke up from sleep. She made some time to give them some food.

At 7:20, she heard the door open. It was rather fascinating how he returned at the exact same time every single time. The door opened and Maru came in.

“How come you’re up so early?”

“I woke up early to make you breakfast.”

“Breakfast?”

Seeing Maru filled with expectation blew her fatigue away. After telling him to get washed, she set the dining table. She put the spring rolls in the middle and scooped up some egg drop soup. By the time she was scooping some rice, Maru returned to the kitchen with a towel in hand.

“You must have been busy. Spring rolls are tedious to make.”

“You know your stuff. I don’t make it that often either, so it was quite awkward making it. Still, they look pretty, don’t they?”

“You can sell these if you want. Looks like the soup is egg drop soup.”

Sitting down, Maru used a spoon to drink some soup. Gaeul quietly looked at his expression. Maru, who chewed on the chunks in the soup, raised his thumb in the air.

“It’s good.”

“How’s the flavor?”

“Perfect.”

“Eat as much as you want. You’ll have more energy for the shoot that way.”

“So that’s why you’re making me breakfast.”

“It’s my way of cheering you on, so just be grateful and do your best during the shoot. As you know, the first shoot is important. Not only that, you’re the lead character too.”

“Hearing that makes me feel like I’m going to choke.”

“If you’re going to choke, do it now instead of making a mistake during the shoot.”

Maru smiled and used his spoon. Today was the 21st of December, the day of the first shoot of the film that Maru was going to play the lead character. Why did it feel like she was more nervous than he was? Gaeul scooped out a large amount of bulgogi with her chopsticks and placed it on top of Maru’s rice bowl.

“Eat a lot.”

“This is too much though.”

“Don’t complain and eat. It’s winter, so you should have a fulfilling meal.”

He opened his mouth wide and moved his lower jaw left and right. He then used his spoon to scoop both the rice and the meat and shove it in his mouth. He actually ate it in one go. Gaeul poured some water into a cup before placing it down in front of him.

“I don’t think I’ll need lunch after this,” Maru said after swallowing what was in his mouth.

Around the time he finished eating, she made some coffee stick coffee. While coffee brewed with a machine was good, she liked the light coffee mix coffee better in the morning. Maru also said that he preferred to have something sweet in the mornings.

“Is Mr. Byungchan coming to pick you up?”

“Today, I’m going to drive myself. I’ll be staying there for a while.”

“So you’re going to spend New Years there?”

“I’ll have to make some time to come home. It’ll be my first New Year in this house.”

“You should think about the schedule too. If it looks too busy, you don’t have to come. You told me that the shoot is in Gwangju and Ulsan, didn’t you? It’ll be tiring to go back and forth between those places in Seoul, so you should stay there if it doesn’t look good.”

“I’m not so weak that I’d be out of energy after driving for a few hours, so don’t worry. Is there anything in your schedule today?”

Gaeul shook her head. Thanks to the fact that she had spent a tight schedule of shooting commercials and photo shoots after her return to the country, she was able to get a good rest for a while. She had already talked this out with the president too.

She thought about the date inside her head. January 3rd. That was the date of the shoot that director Park Joongjin allocated. Her plan was to go down to the shooting location where Maru was on the 31st and surprise him.

“You’ve been making a fishy smile a lot these days. What is it? I think it’s about time you tell me.”

He narrowed his eyes and stared at her. Gaeul just replied that it was nothing. She thought about telling him beforehand, but she held back, wanting to see Maru’s startled face.

They sat down on the sofa side by side and talked to each other. He said he had to leave by 9, so there wasn’t much time left.

“It’s about time I get going.”

Maru entered the bedroom. The only thing he came out with was a single backpack. His principle was that he would supply himself with what he needed on site. She was sure that men must think that they only needed their underwear when traveling.

He rubbed the cheeks of the dogs and said goodbye.

“Don’t cry while I’m not here and have fun.”

“Who’s saying that to who? Don’t feel lonely without me while you’re down there.”

Gaeul put her arms out. He crouched down just a little and snuggled into her arms. They had a light kiss. She could faintly smell the scent of the toothpaste they used at home.

“Right, there are frozen persimmons in the freezer, don’t forget to eat them.”

“Okay.”

“And there are sliced mangos in the lower compartment of the refrigerator. They’ll go soft if you leave them out for too long, so you should eat them too.”

“Old man, stop nagging and get going already.”

She pushed him away, thinking that he might even talk about cleaning if she let him talk. Maru walked out of the door while walking backwards. The dogs also barked softly towards Maru as he left.

“I cleaned the bathroom two days ago, so….”

Gaeul winked and closed the door. Maru became quiet while talking about cleaning.

“Don’t worry about the house and just worry about your own shoot, honey. Director Park Joongjin is known to be strict during shoots. Don’t get on his bad side, and get him to dote on you, okay?”

“What, should I act like a grandson showing off his talents?”

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

Gaeul waved her hand. The elevator arrived with a sharp ‘ding’ sound and Maru got on it. Gaeul stood in front of the door and watched him until the door closed.

“I’m off now,” he said just before the door closed.

Gaeul looked at the decreasing number on the elevator before returning to the house.

“You guys, are you okay with not seeing daddy for a while?”

When she talked to them, the dogs perked their ears up, but they soon ran to the bedroom as though it didn’t matter. If Maru caught wind of this, he would surely be disappointed. Gaeul turned on the TV and lay down on the sofa. She had been holding on until now, thinking that she was going to try all sorts of things once she was given a break, but now that she was actually given a break, the person she wanted to spend time with became busy. She couldn’t throw a tantrum asking him to play with her either, so she just watched the TV in a daze for a while before checking the time.

“Time sure flies.”

It was already nearing lunchtime. What would be good for lunch? She had so much fun when she was cooking breakfast, but now that she thought that she had to eat by herself, she felt drained of energy. Perhaps she should call Seol over, or go to Chaerim-unni’s store.

Just as she was wondering, the veranda curtain entered her eyes. The ivory-colored curtain drew her eyes over. While wondering why, she walked over. She saw that the tip of the curtain had been blackened. She tapped on her lips with her finger. Why was it that she saw that all of a sudden? The crooked placement of the cushion on the sofa, the dog fur flying everywhere as the dogs ran everywhere, the flier stuck next to the refrigerator, and the dust on top of the picture frame caught her mind. Usually, she would never notice such things when she lived by herself other than on days she decided to clean.

Perhaps she had been influenced by him. By the time she came to, she found herself holding a duster. It was the one that Maru always carried around with him to the point that he even called it his favorite item. Gaeul’s lips twitched, but she started cleaning.

* * *

“Yes, hyung-nim. I’m going down right now.”

-Did I make the mistake of calling you while you were driving?

Dongwook’s voice contained a hint of laughter. Maru realized that the matters related to Hong Janghae were going well.

“Sounds like things are going well, huh?”

-Mrs. Park Okhwa took her hands off, and it has been decided that Lee Miyoon will take her place. That woman’s not simple alright. She actually managed to push her butt onto the seat she was kicked off of.

“She’s a scary woman after all. But hey, I thought it would take some time, but it went quite quickly.”

-Everyone in the industry knows that YM’s former chairman places importance on skill. Lee Miyoon must have appealed herself strongly to the point that she managed to change his mind. Above all, it must have been quite a pressure to have a new face join them in a matter where security is crucial.

“According to Lee Miyoon, Hong Janghae was the one who pulled the strings to kick her out of the chairman’s eyes. If she has returned, not even Hong Janghae will be able to do anything to her easily this time.”

-She’s not gullible enough to have the same thing down to her twice. I decided to make my move once Lee Miyoon is done organizing herself and starts doing that business. She’s gnashing her teeth to strike Hong Janghae too.

“I’m sure she’s enthusiastic. She’s trying to deal with a traitor who stabbed her back.”

-I’ll have to think carefully about this. Striking Hong Janghae is something I can easily solve with Lee Miyoon’s help, but it might be tricky to attack Lee Miyoon this way. She already has experience getting kicked out, so she’ll leave no traces this time. I’m sure the materials I have right now are enough to prove her guilty, but it might be lacking to deal a big blow to her.

“I’m okay with just her name being mentioned. Once it becomes an article and spreads around among the public, many people will find out that the rumors about Lee Miyoon will be true. That alone will push her to quit the entertainment industry. Of course, you’re not fine with just that, right?”

-My objective is to have those two shits eat prison food, but if I have to give up on one, I’ll have to give up on Lee Miyoon.

“I’ll root for you regardless. My aim is for Lee Miyoon to disappear from the industry.”

Dongwook hung up after saying okay. Maru tossed his phone in the passenger seat. ‘That’ matter was going well, so he had to focus on ‘this’ matter. He grabbed the wheel and pressed the gas pedal further. There was an hour left until he arrived at Ulsan.