Life, Once Again!

as about to begin.
Producer Jayeon was shouting within the set.
Once the shouts died down, the standby sign should probably fall.

“Looks like there’s no helping it.
You usually don’t like to do anything, but you’re stubborn and you’ll never relent once you’re set on something.”

“Me? I’m like a reed compared to you.”

“Leaving that aside, now that I think about it, I think I pushed myself too.
Perhaps my desire to make you succeed contained my disappointment regarding the things I gave up on.
Maybe that was why I was even more persistent even though I knew that I was ruining my body in the process.”

“Yes, so take some rest.
And do the things you wanted to do.
You said you wanted to go traveling, didn’t you? How about Hawaii? Or Japan? Even Jeju islands fine since it’s close.”

“That’s good, but I thought of an even better method.
As you said, there’s probably no one else but me who can control you.”

“I’m not some robot that needs controlling.
It is just that if you aren’t my manager, my plans of fleeing will just have a higher chance of succeeding.”

“Not only that, I also don’t want to stop being your manager.
While I did say I gave up on many things, strictly speaking, I chose to become your manager because helping you is more fun and profitable for me.
It’s definitely quite hard to bring someone as stubborn as you to various places, but I think it’s quite suited for me.”

“So take a two-year break and do….”

“Joint enlistment.”

Heewon blinked several times.
Joint enlistment was a program where two people would be able to enlist into the same boot camp and get assigned to the same service base.
Haewon’s mention of that would mean none other than going to the military alongside him and spending two years in the same space, but it also meant that the hellish nagging would follow him for another two years.

“I didn’t mean that.
I was telling you to take a two-year break while I’m not here.”

“Compared to what I’m doing right now as your manager, the military is practically a vacation for me.
Don’t worry about me.”

“That’s not what I’m saying.
Listen to me.
I’m going to the military and-”

“So am I.”

“No.
I’m saying we should spend the two years apart.”

“That’s just terribly inefficient.
We should take a two-year break simultaneously and return to work together.
Now that I think about it, I don’t think going to the military is a bad idea.
As long as you leave a deep enough impression on the audience through this drama, it might even bring about a good reaction from them.
There are many people who are getting in trouble because of military service, aren’t there? But here, there’s an actor who goes to the military on his own accord when everyone else is delaying it until they’re 30? This can even make the news.
I should talk to some journalists about it.
I think we can also fool the enlistment date by a day.
Then, the articles would go something like this: Lee Heewon’s silent enlistment; His distinct choice.”

“I think you’ve been staying too close to the president.
No wait, your words just now sounded like Han Maru’s.”

Heewon told him to reconsider, but his brother didn’t seem to have any will to relent.
He immediately looked up joint enlistment on his phone and even put in a query on the military’s website.

“Hyung, let’s leave behind a really deep impression through this drama.
Maru-hyung is here too.
I’m sure it’ll go well.
I mean, Maru-hyung’s acting is exceptional, isn’t it? He’ll definitely support the drama well.
You’ll be shooting the best drama before you enlist.
Good, that’s splendid news material.
I’ll go talk to Maru-hyung for a bit.”

“H-hey! Haewon, Lee Haewon!”

Heewon desperately called out to his little brother, but he rushed over to where Maru was without even listening.
Now, it looked like he had to suffer for two years more from super close range under his scolding.

“Should I just keep working?”

His regret was a little too late.

* * *

“It is better to go to the military as early as possible.
But why do you look like you’re going to die?” Maru asked as he grabbed Heewon’s shoulder.

Heewon looked like his soul had left him.
He chuckled like he had lost it, muttering that he hated his brother.

“Stop your nonsense.
The director’s coming.
She seems to be looking for you, so go on.”

“If I fail this drama, I wouldn’t be able to leave behind an impression, and I think I would be able to reconsider going to the military.”

“Why don’t you pray for our doom instead?”

“You don’t know how I feel.”

Maru greeted Jayeon instead of Heewon, who kept sighing.
Jayeon looked at Heewon, who had shriveled up, before asking in a small voice,

“What’s up with him?”

“He’s just a peculiar guy.
Don’t worry about him.
He’ll do well once he starts acting.”

“Well, for me, I don’t care as long as the outcome is good.
Rather than that, my husband has been nagging me these days.”

“You mean producer Park Hoon?”

“Yes.
He’s grumbling about how I got to work with you before he did.
No matter how many times I tell him that you’re just a minor role and that you won’t appear that much, he keeps acting mad like he’s some kid.
Hey, I heard you told him that you were definitely going to work with him but didn’t live up to that promise?”

“Yes, I did that.
That’s why I promised him that I’d definitely do it the next time he calls for me.”

“He’s not a kid.
Anyhow, I’m really tired from receiving that man’s grumbles all week.
It’s partially your fault, so don’t you dare make any NGs.
I’ll definitely nag you about it.”

“I have full faith that director Yoo Jayeon isn’t someone who would let her personal feelings get in the way of work.
You’re known to be very fair.”

“You’d at least look cute if you didn’t retort like that.
Seeing how your mouth hasn’t changed, it puts me at ease to see that you’re just like how you were five years ago.
Err, lord main actor, this humble producer has come, so can you please say hello?”

Heewon stood up powerlessly.

“Let’s do this.
This is the first shoot.”

Jayeon grabbed Heewon by the arm and walked towards the set.
Maru smiled at Heewon, who waved his arms around in a flurry as though he was asking for help, while waving at him.

“Standby!”

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