Life, Once Again!

r seemed to be looking up to him.
Uljin made the leisurely smile of the one walking ahead of one of his peers.

“But….”

The 2nd beggar looked in the mirror.
He spoke after shaking the water off his hands and redoing his wig.

“That man back there.”

Uljin felt a prickle in his stomach, but he asked back without showing anything.

“Who do you mean?”

“The man who got his fingers stepped on.”

“Ah, right.
I did make a bit of a mistake.
I really feel sorry for him.
Though, it didn’t look like he was hurt a lot.”

“I thought so as well, but he disappeared mid-way.
From what I heard, he seemed to have gone home early.”

“…Go home early?”

“Yes.”

The 2nd beggar spoke as though it was nothing much.
He wiped his mouth with his fingers and looked at Uljin.

“It’s a bit…, right?”

“Eh? Well, I don’t feel that good.
I should go apologize to him.”

Was he being condemned? Uljin felt himself shrinking back.
Did his mischief go too far after all? Should he have stopped? But at the same time, he felt a sense of resistance against this boy.
Why was he saying such a thing? Was he telling him to apologize? To feel guilty?

At that moment, Uljin heard an air escaping sound[1].
He wondered what it was.
When he raised his head, he saw the 2nd beggar making a faint smile.

“Why apologize? He chose that life?”

“What?”

“Ah, did I go a little too far? Actually, I think that there are classes in life.
Why should such a cool guy like you apologize to such a low-class person? Going home early just because his fingers were stepped on? That’s just not being a pro.
Don’t you think?”

His thumping heart calmed down as though it never raced in the first place.
He made a small sigh of relief, and at the same time, the feeling of pleasure dwelled in him.
It felt as though he met an old friend at an unfamiliar place.
The existence of a person who had the same mindset as him made Uljin excited.

However, he couldn’t just blatantly express that.

“But I am still in the wrong.”

“Wow, Mr.
Uljin.
You’re really kind.
You’re a pro, and yet you’re so kind-hearted as well.
Honestly, if it was me, I would have forgotten about it after apologizing on the spot.
I mean, he went home just because he was stepped on? Tsk.
You don’t need to be considerate of such people.
Just look at the other actors.
They stay at the shoot whether it’s raining or snowing.
Are you going to take a break from shooting just because you sprained a few fingers?”

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Right? There are dozens, no, hundreds of people working for the drama at the shoot, yet he dares to cause trouble for their schedule? I can’t understand such a life.
Well, it’s precisely because he’s such a person that he comes and does this job at his age, right?”

Uljin inwardly exclaimed.
This boy’s words were without restraint, and his ideals were the same as him.
His eyes were vivid and his face contained confidence.
This boy, it was just like looking at that friend.
Uljin barely held himself back from grinning and spoke.

“But that’s his way of living his life and….”

“You finally said something proper.
You’re right.
That pathetic life of his is just his way of life.
Someone much younger than him, yes, I mean you, Mr.
Uljin, is striving his best to become an actor, yet… nah, I don’t want to talk about it.
Such a man isn’t worth talking about.”

The 2nd beggar washed his mouth as though he ate something bitter.

Uljin’s palms felt ticklish.
He wanted to say it.
He wanted to say that he thought the same.
On top of that, he wanted to introduce that friend of his.
Having a conversation between the three of them would be much more constructive than two.

“Don’t say too much.
He must have his reasons,” he spoke as he barely held back from speaking otherwise.

When he did, the 2nd beggar covered his mouth and laughed.

“Mr.
Uljin.
You’re more naïve than you look.
You know, I honestly think that such people should become our footholds.
Bluntly speaking, even if there’s a truckload of such people, would they match up to you? People have their classes as well, from A to F.
If people like you are A-class, such a man is F-class.
It’s just like his job.
He’s an ‘extra’ in life.
Well, I’m also F-class right now, but I’m different from that man.
At least I’m not pathetic enough to leave just because my fingers got stepped on.
Don’t you think so too?”

A wet tissue flew towards the trash can.
Uljin spoke after seeing the trash fall into the trash can.

“…Well, he definitely is less-than-ordinary.”

“Right?”

“Yes.
I mean, he just went home after being slightly injured.
Does that even make any sense? He just doesn’t want to work.
He just came hearing that the part time job is easy, and just went home after getting an excuse.”

Uljin snorted and spoke.

“Did you know? Even if he leaves in the middle of the shoot like that, he will still get his pay for the parts he worked on.
That’s absurd, don’t you think? He probably left knowing full well.
He’s probably resting inside the coach right now.
Then, he’ll slowly crawl back out and join the shoot again, and get some more money while at it.”

“Really?” The 2nd beggar replied as he didn’t know.

Uljin started speaking in excitement.

“It’s true.
There’s a reason such people don’t have a decent workplace at his age.
If it was me, I wouldn’t do such a job because of embarrassment.”

“Extras… it’s an embarrassing job, isn’t it?”

The 2nd beggar asked as he walked to one of the urinals.
Uljin spoke boldly at his back.

“Of course.
I don’t even know what to say about him looking like that at his age.
Oh, I’m not talking about you, by the way.
We’re still young.
And you’re good at acting too.
You have the skill, unlike that man.”

“Yeah, yeah.
Sure.
Not having any skill at his age.
No wonder he’s looked down upon.”

“You’re right.
You should’ve seen his face when he just grinned, saying that he wasn’t hurt.
It was really pathetic.”

“Really? Haha.”

The 2nd beggar left the bathroom after saying that.
Uljin quickly walked up to him and walked next to him.
He found someone who he could talk to.
He thought that he could become friends with him.

“Uhm, what’s your name?”

“Me? Why do you want to know my name?”

“We’re the same beggar family now, aren’t we? We should get along.”

“Ah, family? Haha, family, that’s right.
We’re family.”

The 2nd beggar turned his head.

“I’m Han Maru.
But don’t remember my name.”

“Why? I think we can become friends.”

“No way.
How can a mere minor actor like me be friends with a lead actor? Just pretend like you know me when you come across me in the future.”

“No, but still….”

“I’m going off first.”

Han Maru waved his hand over his shoulders.
Uljin looked at him with a rather dumbfounded expression.
He thought that he could become friends with him since he could talk to that guy.

At that moment, Maru slightly turned around.

“Oh, right.”

Putting on a smile, he continued,

“Actually, it really hurts when someone else steps on your fingers.
I mean, it really hurts, to the point that you can’t speak.
But it’s quite incredible that he can think about his children and smile instead, right? That’s right, I think it’s incredible.
It’s an unspeakably amazing thing to do.”

Uljin stared at Maru as he thought about the incomprehensible words he just said.

[1] Psh