Chapter 076
“I’ve never watched a stage play before, so I’m really excited. If I’d known it would feel like this, I should’ve bought some popcorn.”
Mun Chang-su, who had come with me, spoke with ridiculous excitement.
“Seriously, you’re such a country bumpkin. And what do you think this is, a movie theater? Why would you bring popcorn?”
As expected, Cha Seung-jun immediately scolded him.
Ha... Why did these guys have to cling to me right up until the very end before I enlist...?
Ever since I told them I was joining the military, Cha Seung-jun and Mun Chang-su had practically moved into my house.
They stayed beside me almost twenty-four hours a day.
“But aren’t the others coming? What about CEO Ma and Hyun-bin hyung?”
“Ah, Hyun-bin hyung happened to have a commercial shoot today, so Sang-hee went with him.”
Mun Chang-su explained.
“Couldn’t they have adjusted the schedule with the advertiser? It’s her opening performance. Bo-young noona probably would’ve been happy if everyone came.”
“We tried to do that, actually. But Bo-young noona said there was no reason to cause trouble for everyone just because of her.”
I turned my attention away from Cha Seung-jun and Mun Chang-su, who continued bickering beside me.
For no particular reason, I opened the pamphlet in my hand, closed it, then opened it again.
Before long, the lights on the ceiling began going out one by one.
The whispers among the audience naturally faded as well.
When the final light disappeared and the theater fell completely dark, I stared at the stage.
A short while later, a spotlight came on from above.
Underneath it stood Gil Bo-young, dressed in a one-piece hospital gown.
For the next seventy minutes or so, the play continued.
And throughout the entire performance, I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage even once.
After the play ended, Cha Seung-jun, Mun Chang-su, and I headed toward the waiting room.
The small room was chaotic.
The actors who had just finished performing were changing their clothes and removing their makeup.
Gil Bo-young happened to be sitting in front of a mirror, wiping off her makeup.
When she noticed us peeking into the waiting room, she quickly came over.
“Wow! When did you get here? I didn’t even know you came.”
Since it was her first performance, Gil Bo-young had already been nervous enough. She explained that because of the stage lighting, she couldn’t even see the audience seated directly in front of her.
She looked genuinely delighted to see us.
“Oh? Seung-jun oppa came too? Wow, I’m honored.”
“Come on. Of course I had to come when Bo-young was performing. Besides, I don’t have much work these days anyway. Oh, and here. These are for you.”
Cha Seung-jun practically snatched the bouquet I was holding and handed it to Gil Bo-young.
She laughed, clearly amused by him.
“Noona, I really enjoyed the performance.”
“Thank you so much for coming, Gi-baek.”
We occasionally spoke on the phone, but it had been a long time since I had seen Gil Bo-young in person.
Seeing her face again made me unexpectedly happy.
“Ah, I just need to change my clothes. Could everyone wait outside for about thirty minutes? Since you came all this way, we should at least have dinner together. Besides... once Gi-baek enlists, we won’t be able to see him for a while.”
The old restaurant carried obvious traces of many passing years.
Despite its age, it was packed with customers.
An elderly man who seemed to be the owner recognized Gil Bo-young and guided us into a private room instead of seating us in the main hall.
“Today was your first performance, right? How was it? Did many people come?”
“Yes. We had enough people to fill all the seats. And the performance went really well too.”
Gil Bo-young explained that the theater troupe often visited this restaurant and that they were regular customers.
Apparently, the owner himself had once been a stage actor.
“Sir, five servings of pork belly, please. And bring us soju and beer too.”
“Huh? Noona, are you sure you should drink? Don’t you have another performance tomorrow?”
“It’s fine. On weekdays, we only have evening performances.”
Gil Bo-young smiled reassuringly at Mun Chang-su.
“Besides, this might be the last time I see Gi-baek before he enlists. We should at least have a drink together.”
She seemed much more cheerful than usual.
We ate grilled pork belly, drank soju, and talked about all kinds of things.
Once enough alcohol had gone around, Cha Seung-jun and Mun Chang-su began giving me endless advice about how I should behave once I entered the military.
“When you’re standing night watch, try not to look toward the windows.”
Mun Chang-su, who had completed his military service immediately after graduating high school, spoke with an unusually serious expression.
“You might make eye contact with a ghost.”
I stared at him.
“What kind of nonsense is that? Ghosts don’t exist.”
“That’s what I thought too! Before I joined the military, I absolutely didn’t believe in ghosts.”
He leaned closer.
“But I’m telling you, they’re real.”
Cha Seung-jun looked at me and spoke.
“Don’t worry. This bastard has such strong energy that most ghosts probably wouldn’t even dare come near him.”
Then he clicked his tongue at Mun Chang-su.
“And instead of that nonsense, give him some practical advice.”
“How is this not practical? I made eye contact with a ghost while standing night watch and nearly had a seizure!”
Cha Seung-jun shook his head helplessly.
“When it gets really cold, put some newspaper inside your shirt. It’ll keep you much warmer.”
“Oh!”
Gil Bo-young immediately became interested.
“That actually sounds like a useful tip.”
Cha Seung-jun nodded proudly.
“Anyway, you only have to endure two years. Back in my day, it was two years and six months.”
He sounded deeply wronged.
Tch.
Talk about showing off in front of an expert.
I went through military service twenty years ago, and now I have to do the whole thing all over again.
And this guy is whining in front of me because he served six months longer?
I took another shot of soju to calm my complicated feelings.
Just then, the door to our private room slowly opened.
Moon Hyun-bin suddenly poked his head inside.
“Are we too late?”
“Huh? Hyun-bin oppa?”
A moment later, Ma Sang-hee entered the room with him.
“I thought you couldn’t come because of the commercial shoot?”
“We came straight here as soon as it ended.”
Moon Hyun-bin smiled.
“It’s the end of the year. If we don’t all get together at a time like this, when will we?”
He glanced at me.
“Besides, if I missed today, I felt like Gi-baek would enlist before I even got to see him.”
With Moon Hyun-bin and Ma Sang-hee joining us late, everyone was finally together again for the first time in quite a while.
The conversation became even livelier.
“Seol In-hwa?”
“Yes. She’s the actress who performed with Bo-young noona today.”
I showed Ma Sang-hee the photograph of an actress in her early forties printed inside the theater pamphlet.
“If possible, you should definitely recruit her to Starlight.”
“Oh? You noticed In-hwa unnie too?”
Gil Bo-young immediately supported my opinion.
“Actually, I’ve been keeping an eye on her while preparing for the play with her.”
She smiled.
“Her acting is really flavorful, isn’t it? She brings every scene to life.”
In truth, Seol In-hwa would never become the kind of actress who regularly took leading roles.
However, after spending many years as an unknown actress, she would eventually become active in cable television dramas and earn a strong reputation as an excellent supporting actress.
She would become one of those actors whose presence alone could greatly improve a drama.
I also advised Ma Sang-hee that from now on, Starlight should become more aggressive in recruiting actors.
“But to do that, we’d need more money...”
Ma Sang-hee seemed hesitant about expanding the company so suddenly.
“In that case, why don’t you officially look for investment from a VC?”
“A VC?”
“Venture capital.”
I continued.
“If the terms are reasonable, I think accepting investment in exchange for equity could be a good option.”
Ma Sang-hee hesitated for a moment.
“Actually... when I went to Hong Kong with Hyun-bin for that commercial shoot last time, someone who said he was a friend of the advertiser came to the set.”
She paused.
