Chapter 11

Chapter 011

The next day, in the late afternoon, Cha Seungjun, I, and Producer Jeong Inbeom headed to Paju to meet the village head.

Producer Jeong’s accompanying us had not been part of the original plan, but since he could no longer delay securing the abandoned factory, he decided to come along and settle the matter once and for all today.

When the village head saw us visiting again, he furrowed his brows fiercely.

“Good grief, you people are really troublesome. How many times do I have to tell you that it’s not possible?!”

“Village Head, we didn’t come today to ask you to lend us the location.”

“You didn’t come to ask me a favor…?”

“No, we didn’t.”

The village head blinked in confusion at my words.

“Then… why did you come again?”

“Instead, please give me exactly one hour of your time from now. If you do that, I promise we won’t bother you again.”

“One hour?”

“Yes. One hour is all I need.”

The village head looked at me suspiciously because I was suddenly asking for exactly one hour without giving him any explanation.

“Really? No going back on your word. You won’t come here again after this!”

“Then I’ll take that as your permission.”

“But what are you planning to do for an hour…?”

“Ah, you’ll find out if you come with us.”

At my request to follow us, the village head glanced at the already darkening sky.

“It’s right in front.”

I started walking first, and the village head followed me with a doubtful expression.

In front of the village hall, Producer Jeong and Cha Seungjun had installed the beam projector just as I had instructed.

The projector screen was shining onto one side of the village hall wall.

“Hello, Village Head. How have you been?”

Cha Seungjun greeted him first when he spotted the village head approaching.

The village head gave Cha Seungjun a displeased look.

“Hello, my foot. What is all this?”

Just then, several villagers who had come out for an evening stroll after dinner noticed the beam projector installed at the village hall.

Wondering what was happening, they began gathering around.

“What’s all this? Is there some event here today?”

“Really? I didn’t hear anything about it…”

Producer Jeong kindly explained the situation to the villagers who had gathered in small groups.

“Ah, there’s no event. We’re going to screen a movie here today.”

“A movie?”

“What movie?”

“It’s a movie made in the 1970s. The elderly gentleman standing over there, Village Head’s father, Mr. Jo Chunsam, was one of the people who helped make the movie we’re about to show.”

Producer Jeong pointed toward the old man who had been hiding around the corner of the village hall.

Only then did the old man awkwardly step forward.

Actually, as soon as we arrived here, we had secretly called the old man out.

Then we told him about our plan to show his movie to the village head.

At first, the old man tried to stop us because he was afraid his son might scold him.

But after I persuaded him, saying that perhaps he should let his son see the movie he had made at least once in his life, the old man finally agreed to the screening.

“A movie? Wait, Old Man Jo made a movie?”

“Ah, I think I heard something about that. I heard he used to work in the movie business.”

“My goodness. That’s amazing. I never knew someone who made movies lived around here.”

The village head stared at his father in bewilderment at the unexpected situation.

“What on earth is going on…?”

“It’ll take just one hour. Please watch the movie with us for just one hour.”

The village head looked extremely uncomfortable and frowned deeply.

But perhaps because the villagers were watching him, he held back his anger.

“You can sit over there.”

I guided the village head toward one of the simple chairs we had prepared beforehand.

Reluctantly, the village head sat down.

I raised my hand toward Cha Seungjun, signaling that he could start the screening.

Soon, black-and-white footage began playing from the beam projector.

While the movie was playing, the villagers became absorbed in the story.

They burst into laughter at the actors’ performances and sometimes wiped tears from the corners of their eyes.

The movie had a running time of a little over eighty minutes.

But even after the promised one hour had passed, the village head did not leave his seat.

He remained there until the ending credits rolled and the three characters, Jo Chunsam, appeared on the screen.

After the movie ended, the villagers reacted enthusiastically.

“My goodness. I never knew you had made a movie like this, Elder. It brought back so many old memories. I really enjoyed it.”

“I had a terrible day today, but after watching that movie, I forgot all about it. Hahaha.”

“Village Head, you must be proud to have such a father.”

“Indeed. It would be nice if we could all get together and watch movies like this from time to time.”

Despite the villagers’ reactions, the village head’s expression barely softened.

“Why exactly did you show this to me?”

“There’s no special reason. I simply heard that you had never seen the movie your father made…”

I kept my mouth shut for a moment before speaking again to the village head, who was deep in thought.

“Anyone can experience failure in life. And during the process of failing, we can unintentionally disappoint or hurt someone. I was the same.”

“I only ever gave my mother, who was always worried about me, disappointment and concern.”

The village head stared at me intently.

“But just because a life was unsuccessful, does that mean the life itself was meaningless?”

“Of course, perhaps I’m meddling in something that isn’t my business.”

“But I wanted you to see even a little of the passionate life your father lived.”

The village head looked at me as if he found my words ridiculous.

“Hmph. It’s funny hearing a young man whose blood hasn’t even dried on his head talk about failure in life.”

I realized I had made a mistake.

But I had no way of taking back the words I had already said, so I simply smiled awkwardly.

“I don’t know what my father told you, but I’ve never resented him.”

“He just thinks that I do.”

“Then… why…?”

“Because it seemed like my father regretted his own life, and I simply hated seeing that.”

“And because I thought he would never want to see a movie being filmed again, I refused to let you film here.”

I was caught completely off guard by the unexpected story that came from the village head.

Damn… I completely misunderstood everything!

I awkwardly tried to hide my reddening face.

Then the village head spoke again.

“But seeing my father like this now… I guess it’s all right.”

He quietly smiled as he watched the old man happily surrounded by the villagers.

On the way back to Seoul, Producer Jeong and Cha Seungjun kept teasing me.

“Well, you completely misunderstood the situation, but thanks to that, we still got permission to film at the abandoned factory.”

“So I guess we should call it a success?”

“I’m telling you, when Gibaek said to the village head, ‘Anyone can experience failure in life, and just because a life failed doesn’t mean that life itself was meaningless,’ I was so nervous.”

“I thought you were going to get punched. Hahahaha.”

“Can you stop already?”

“Are you seriously going to keep teasing me until we reach Seoul?”

“No.”

“I’m going to tease you until this movie is finished. Hahahaha!”

Even though Producer Jeong kept teasing me, I could tell that he was genuinely impressed that I had come up with such a plan for the old man.

Of course, I had hoped that the old man and the village head would resolve all the resentment they had held toward each other according to the scenario I had imagined.

I had even hoped they would end things with a touching embrace and a dramatic reconciliation.

But what could I do?

Things had turned out differently, but that was fine too.

For the first time in a while, I felt a strong sense of satisfaction.

And it made me feel genuinely happy.

The day of the audition finally arrived.

Director Song borrowed a studio from a photographer he was personally acquainted with and held the auditions there.

The auditions began at 11 a.m.

We told the audition participants to arrive in groups of five, with each group assigned a one-hour time slot.

As eleven o’clock approached, five participants arrived at the studio for the audition.

Inside the office separated by glass doors, Director Song, Producer Jeong, the assistant director, Scriptwriter Jeongin, and the cinematographer were seated.

Outside the office, in the waiting area, Cha Seungjun, the assistant director’s staff member Taesu, and I watched the situation inside while managing the actors waiting for their auditions.

One of the actors who had entered the office earlier finished his audition and came outside.

“Kim Cheolgyu?”

When I called his name, a man waiting nearby raised his hand.

“You can go in now.”

Following my instructions, the man entered through the glass door.

His audition lasted around twenty minutes.

By three o’clock, the studio had become crowded with actors who had not yet auditioned as well as actors who had just arrived for their auditions.

Moon Hyunbin was scheduled to arrive at three.

“Hyung, has Moon Hyunbin arrived yet?”

Cha Seungjun checked the audition participant list and shook his head.

“I don’t think he’s here yet.”

I looked through the waiting actors to see if Moon Hyunbin had arrived.

Then, at the very end of the waiting area, I noticed a slender woman with long, straight hair sitting alone.

Huh?

I don’t think there was supposed to be a woman in this group.

I walked over to her.

“Are you here for an audition?”

The woman raised her head and looked at me.

“Ah, no.”

“My friend is supposed to audition, so I came with her.”

“She just went to the restroom for a moment.”

Although she had pulled her hat down deeply over her face, I recognized her immediately.

Gil Boyoung.

She’s Gil Boyoung, the former child actress!