“I started designing an open stage-play like this one year ago when I lived homeless for a while,” Ganghwan, who sat at the edge of the stage, spoke into a microphone.

The performance was over, but the audience stayed in their places.

“I came across all sorts of people in front of the station. Those that were born and raised in Seoul, those from Incheon, Busan, et cetera. Not only were our hometowns different, but our stories were also different as well. Writing a debt guarantee for someone else, failing business, familial trouble, and someone even told me that he was just fed up with the world. I could write dozens of books just by writing down the stories I heard there.”

The reason why people, despite the cold and the time, still stayed was probably thanks to Ganghwan’s voice. The strong sense of faith embedded in his nonchalant voice was what attracted people.

“Everyone was different, but there were a few things that were the same. It was that they all wanted to tell their story. They always said that they wouldn’t be in that situation if someone listened to their story. At that time, I felt the need for a window of communication. However, I didn’t want to do something amazing. That’s why I thought about something that I could do in a small scale play. That’s how this came about. I created a stage where anyone can talk about themselves. But today, I was a little overwhelmed, overjoyed, and even a little worried when I saw so many people here.”

Maru started cleaning things up as he listened to Ganghwan’s story.

First, he had to collect the heaters. As they weren’t topped full of lamp oil in case of an accident, they should all have been turned off by now. If they knew that so many people would’ve gathered, they would have prepared more oil.

“Anything I can help you with?” She, who was watching from the side, asked.

“Sit down. You’re a guest, you don’t need to do anything.”

“I don’t want to just stay still. Should I collect the blankets?”

She wasn’t someone who would stop just because he told her to, so he asked her to do it. She hummed as she walked amidst the people.

“Your girlfriend’s pretty,” Sooil approached him and said in a small voice.

“She sure is. Not only that, she is cute and kind to boot.”

“Good for you. You’re dating and all.”

“You should do it as well.”

“I want to do it, but I can’t.”

“Is it because of your contract?”

“Our president isn’t that petty. It’s just… I become hesitant due to various reasons.”

“Sure, you do, even though you’re so young.”

Sooil raised his head and said that ‘he was an expensive man’. Maru suddenly remembered the lady in front of Sooil’s apartment last time. He came across that woman as he was going home after taking the drunk Sooil home. The way she offered him a 100 thousand-won cheque like it was nothing and then throwing it on the ground after he refused left a deep impression on him.

“Are you the youngest of your house? Did your parents dote on you when you grew up?” He asked in a roundabout way.

“I do have an older brother, but that doesn’t mean I was doted on when I grew up. I was raised quite strictly actually.”

“Really?”

An older brother huh. Then was that woman he saw back then a relative of his? Or perhaps his brother’s girlfriend? As it was never fun to pry into someone else’s family circumstances, he decided to put his curiosity to rest there.

“Please collect the heaters on that side.”

Sooil nodded and walked to the other side. Maru gathered the heaters on one spot before stretching his waist. He could see her walking amidst the audience collecting blankets. He would probably get hit if he described her as a weasel, so he decided to describe her as a squirrel instead. She was able to shuffle around in the crowd so easily yet she was had such a hard time joining the audience before.

“Here!”

She returned with her arms full of blankets. She looked dispirited when she was sitting down, but right now, she was full of vitality.

“She probably has itchy feet or something.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Rather than that, aren’t you cold? The weather’s gotten really cold. You should’ve worn pants instead.”

“So, you don’t like it?”

“It’s pleasing to my eyes for sure, but I was worried that you would feel cold.”

“Urgh, you’re such a creep when you talk.”

“Aren’t you used to it by now?”

“I hate myself for being used to it. Wait, now that I think about it, are you sure you didn’t get that habit from Hanna-unni?” She asked as she looked at Hanna on stage.

Maru shook his head lightly once.

“I’m still far off from reaching her level. The sheer concentration of jokes is different when it comes to her.”

“Well, I guess that’s true. If she decides to go at it for real….”

She became silent as though she had remembered something. The fact that her cheeks turned red shouldn’t just be because of the cold. Maru wanted to ask her what she heard, but he didn’t say anything when she clenched her fists and got into a boxing position. Just where the hell did she learn boxing?

“Do you know when it’s going to finish?” She asked carefully.

Maru was startled and looked at his watch. It was just past 9 p.m.

“Wait a minute.”

“Uhm, I can just wait. I asked just in case. I mean it.”

Maru looked at her, who grabbed his arm and shook her head.

“Have you had dinner?”

“N-no.”

“When did you come to Daehak-ro?”

“Around four, I think? I walked around by myself for a while and then watched a play before coming straight here.”

“Hey, you should get your meals on time at least.”

Maru clicked his tongue as he looked at the back of her hands, which had turned pale. He told her to stay before going to the stage. On the stage was a man with a camera as well as a woman with long hair. Since their performance was over, Ganghwan and Hanna shouldn’t have invited someone on the stage, so he was confused. Just then, he saw Sooil, who was standing by the heaters.

“Who are they?”

“Journalists apparently. They’re doing an interview.”

“For TV?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s the local newspaper.”

“Really?”

“Anyway, that’s some proper advertising. Low investment, high returns. My father would love to hear that.”

Sooil smiled bitterly as he turned around.

Ganghwan’s voice echoed in his ears. Maru remembered him saying that he could write dozens of books if he compiled the stories he heard from other people. It seemed that this boy over here also had a story long enough to write a whole book. Maru patted Sooil’s shoulders. Sooil blinked his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? I’m encouraging you. It’s free, so you can take as much as you want.”

Sooil chuckled before moving away, saying that he was okay.

“Anyways, is she going to keep waiting there?”

Sooil pointed at her, who was looking at the stage from afar.

“I was just about to tell Ganghwan-hyung that I was going to leave first. But now seems like a bad time.”

Maru looked at Ganghwan and Hanna who were doing an interview. They were holding a conversation amidst the applause of the crowd, and it was somewhat unfitting to interrupt at this point. He watched for a while before sneaking up the stage when they were taking photos.

“Uhm, hyung.”

“Oh, Maru. I was just looking for you. Let’s take a photo together. Where’s Sooil?”

“Over there.”

Ganghwan shouted at Sooil, who was below the stage, to come up.

“Hyung, I think I need to leave first.”

“Right, she must be waiting. Sorry about that. I should’ve thought about it. Then go after taking a photo. I don’t want you to be disappointed by not being in the photo after preparing all this time. Uhm, sir, I’m going to put these two in the photo as well. Half of this play can be attributed to these two after all.”

The four of them stood in a line and hung their arms around each other. After a few shutter sounds, the man with the camera said that it was done.

“Then I’ll take my leave first.”

He was just about to leave after saying goodbye when the female journalist held him back.

“Is your name perhaps Han Maru?”

“That would be me, yes.”

“Aha, then you must know who Mr. Kim Seokjoon is, right?”

Kim Seokjoon? Maru shook his head. He had never heard that name before.

“But he seemed to know your name though… he’s the man who became a hot topic recently. He said that he was able to restart acting thanks to you.”

“Oh, do you mean the man who said he was afraid of the camera…?”

Maru thought about the man who decorated the final piece of the puzzle during their first trial run. The man who had spoken about his life. Actually, what left an impression on him was not the man’s life itself, but the strange phenomena that happened to him back then.

“That’s him. He wanted to thank you since it was because of you that he was able to talk about everything that day.”

“Ah, right.”

“Don’t you have anything you want to say to him? I want to put it as a question when I interview him again.”

“Just tell him that he shouldn’t miss the opportunity he got again. Also, I didn’t do anything. It was his courage that allowed him to grab the opportunity.”

Maru bowed to her before getting off the stage. A shutter sound could be heard once again.

“That person seemed to be asking you about something, what was it?” She, who was waiting below the stage, suddenly asked.

“There’s an actor who participated in our performance two weeks ago. She asked me whether I had anything I wanted to say to him.”

“Oh, that person.”

“You know him?”

“It’s thanks to him that the Acting Street blog became so hugely popular. Even I read that post over and over again. But why would she ask something about that man?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that he picked acting back up again.”

“Really? I’m so happy for him.”

She breathed out in relief as though it was directly related to her.

They say the slightest opportunity triggered a man to change, and it seemed that that man was at the center of a hot issue. The foolish man in love with acting. Was there an item more suitable for advertising than him? Perhaps some theater troupe or some production company might have approached him already. It was a great opportunity to raise a positive image, so what kind of businessman would forgo that?

Like what Sooil said, it was a low-investment, high-return means of investment.

Maru turned around to see the stage. It seemed that things weren’t entirely going as Ganghwan initially wanted. So many people had gathered today. If that man’s story spread to others, there might be some people seeking to use that stage as an opportunity to make themselves known. Perhaps there were some in today’s performance as well.

People with bad intentions always flocked to a large piece of pie. Perhaps today was the last opportunity to watch the play without frowning.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. I just thought that not everything done with good intentions leads to good outcomes.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Kids don’t need to know. Rather than that, it’s cold out here.”

Maru grabbed her hand.

“You must be hungry, right? Let’s get something to eat. I’m hungry as well.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“Meat or noodles. Take your pick.”

“Noodles! With soup!”

“A ramyun restaurant recently opened nearby. Should we make a visit?”

She pulled Maru by the arm as though no further discussions were necessary. Maru followed her footsteps, as his arms were shaken back and forth by her.