I Will Live As An Actor - Chapter 18

I Will Live as an Actor Episode 18: Jumbachi

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It is a Gyeongsang dialect that refers to a fortune teller. In the old days, there were a lot of Jumbachi in Yeongdo. Refugees who were pushed down immediately after the Korean War were scrambling to find out about the fate of their families, and there were many who came to Jumbachi with a feeling of grasping at straws. A neat-looking middle-aged man dressed in a suit entered the most famous Jeombachi house in Yeongdo.

“Is this Granny Gom’s house in Yeongdo?”

“Oh, you won’t know if you look at it?”

If a bear resembles a person, this is what it would look like. A grand old woman greets the man. It is a fortune telling house with a small shrine and full of old books on the science of fortune telling.

“What are you doing if you’re not sitting down?”

“Aren’t you asking why I came?”

“What does it matter whether you came or not? If you came to Jumbachi, you would have come to see Jumbo!”

Kim Seong-hwan, CEO of Songwon Entertainment, sat on a cushion with a faint smile on his face. He has a lot of faith in fortune tellers. Why don’t they just knock on the stone bridge and tell them to cross it? Whenever I was faced with a choice when doing business, I would look for a helpful fortune teller like this.

“For 30,000 won for 30 minutes, I will give you a free trial after watching the basics. If you have any questions, ask them.”

For an affordable fortune teller, the prices are quite reasonable. You’ll have to try it to find out whether the cheap ones are expensive or not, but in Seoul, there’s nothing like this. Once you go to a fortune teller who is said to be gentle, the price you pay is high, so every time you go, you end up emptying your pockets.

“Do you have a business?”

“How do you know that?”

“The guy who came here dressed in a suit in broad daylight on a weekday is either running a business or a swindler. That’s what Greco Shinsoo said. Is business going well for people?”

“yes?”

Seonghwan Kim thought with his eyes wide open.

‘Oh my gosh, this old lady is really a ghost.’

The entertainment industry was truly a people business. The value varies depending on the actor. The grandmother paid no heed to Kim Seong-hwan’s surprise and began to take turns looking at the fortune telling paper and the ornament he gave her.

“The official palace is spacious and looks like a field, and the head is small, but the cheeks are thick and the face is full of wealth. The cargo fortune is pretty good, the date and time of birth is good, and the name and geography of birth are also taken into consideration, so the parents are interested in this. “There were a lot of them. Be good to your parents. Thanks to them, you have good character and are born with good manners.”

“thank you.”

“I’m not finished talking yet. But you trust people too much, so it’s a shame. The edges are thin and the corners are dented, and you have a weak heart, so you’re destined to be cut in the foot by the ax you trust. Even if you hold a handful of sand, the pebbles are not good enough. Don’t trust people too much because it’s bound to come along. All you have to do is trust in this. Are you here to look for someone today too?”

“Huh.”

It was not a threat from the agency’s actor, Park Soo-young, but a result of intimidation. Didn’t you say that you felt like you found a worthy actor? Park Soo-young, who had been active in the theater company for a long time, was recognized for his insight. They say there is a goose that lays golden eggs, so why not go anywhere?

“Can we meet?”

“I already know where he is, so what’s there that I can’t meet? That noma is going to be a very noble person.”

“Will that noble person become mine?”

It was then. Grandma Bear held up three fingers. What does it really mean?

“Thirty minutes are up. Three more minutes to extend!”

* * *

Port Manri (港口萬里) South Port is a place with many stories.

“Scene number 11: A scream for mother!”

These people have lived lives as full of ups and downs as the rolling waves of the waves. The same was true for the boy looking down at the beach from the coastal cliff. There is a small box in the boy’s arms. My mother was reduced to a handful of ashes without even a funeral. With everyone’s attention focused, a sad voice came out as if a trigger had been pulled.

“Why did you go so fast?”

A mother who devoted herself to her son.

“What are you doing to get me to bed so quickly? Tell me! Why not tell me!”

I shouted, but as expected, there was no answer. Only the waves crashing against the cliff moistened the boy’s heart. Even when I saw my mother as thin as a withering flower petal, I didn’t know she was sick. The boy was such a heartless son.

“It’s foolish! It’s truly foolish! What are you doing? You’ve been working until you die! What are you doing? You’ve been living like this. For what, for what..”

The boy held the small box until it broke. The small shoulders shook violently. Everything felt like a lie. I wanted to deny the fact that your mother had turned into a handful of ashes and was in a small box. My mother was unable to receive even modest medical treatment due to lack of hospital expenses. A self-deprecating laughing voice flowed from beneath his shaking shoulders.

“I have a mother. I really liked it when I walked around holding hands with my mother when I was little. Everyone envied me, my child. My mother had such a great time, no one would think she was a fisherman, so my father’s eyes ran to the top of my head and caught a big fish. . That’s right, if it weren’t for that, my mother would have married my father who is like a mountain farmhand.”

It was my mother who died in a yellow inn room, covered with an old blanket. You may not have been able to stretch your feet comfortably even once.

“That’s right, what’s so bad about my mother? She was tall and had a beautiful face, and she was a famous beauty in the bottom of Yeongdo. My father is Gyetangeoje’s mother. Let’s go and sleep comfortably. Don’t fall asleep and make sure to stretch out your feet.”

A handful of ash is scattered on the swaying sea waves.

“Mom, mom, mom!”

The boy’s scream continued. I cried out loud, but there was no answer. The only sound was the gentle sound of waves pounding the boy’s chest. Tears flow endlessly from my red eyes. He takes out the new god from his chest and places it on the cliff. I wonder if I might get sick on the way there.

“You’re going to meet your father, so please don’t wear your old shoes and wear these.”

Even as he was dying, he only worried about his son and said,

‘What should I do because my Jin can’t eat?’

My mother kept repeating this over and over again. Why did you have to live like that?

“Don’t worry about your poor son when you go there. I’ll live well without worrying! I’ll live well! Mom, rest in peace now!”

Yoo In-myeong was unable to shout ‘cut’ as he saw the boy on the tally screen. The final filming in Yeongdo was already beyond the scope of the scene, but I didn’t want to do that. The waves ripple mournfully as if measuring the boy’s heart.

“Oh, my mother! In the next life, I won’t be born as a mother. If I lived that difficult life once, that’s enough. Don’t do it anymore…don’t do it anymore.”

Gaiso, holding hands with his father, lived in peace together….

The boy never once said that he loved him. I felt so sorry that I couldn’t even dare to say it out loud.

Her slightly quivering lips barely managed to smile as if they were curved. The reason why he was smiling hard even though his eyes were crying was simple. For my parents who might be watching from the sea.

* * *

The sound of soju glasses clinking under the rolling waves and the boisterous laughter never ceases. Cinematographer Kim Deuk-hyung puts a spoon inside an empty soju bottle and sings a delicious song. Her shoulders are shaking as if she’s dancing, and not only the filming team but even the aunts at Dapotjip are laughing out loud.

“Producer Yoo, was the cinematographer really that exciting? I thought he was a typical blunt man from Gyeongsang Province.”

“He’s a cheerful person, but how easy is it for a senior person to come forward and make things easier for the youngest members of the filming team by saying they had a hard time? Ugh, I can’t do that. By the way, writer Choi doesn’t have to go to Seoul?”

“Are you worried about me? Or are you worried that the script will come out?”

“both!”

Writer Choi Eun-sook came down from Seoul in person to film the final scene. The scene was originally supposed to be played by young Kim Ha-jin, but the script was hastily revised for young Kim Ha-jin. At that time, Park Soo-young, who was sitting across from me, hinted.

“Writer Choi, you must invite me in your next work.”

“Do you have any concerns? I’m in a situation where I have to kneel down and bow down to an actor like Sooyoung.”

“By the way, you said hello to our CEO earlier, right?”

Park Soo-young touched CEO Kim Seong-hwan, who was sitting next to him, with his elbow. Only then did Seonghwan Kim come to his senses. The thrill I felt at the filming site still hadn’t gone away.

“I would like to formally greet you. This is Kim Seong-hwan, CEO of Songwon Entertainment. I saw something truly unique today. I thought it would be because it featured a child actor, but I had no idea it would be so impressive. Of course, it’s all thanks to the producer, the writer, and the filming team.”

“Thank you for saying that. Actually, it was a scene we weren’t sure about.”

“Huh? What is that…”

“Originally, it was a scene that was supposed to be filmed with the main character as a young man. It was a scene where the main character, as a young man, was giving a monologue while reminiscing about his mother who passed away when he was young. Even though it was a hastily changed picture, it came out so well. “It’s all thanks to our writer Choi.”

“Director, but England isn’t coming today? No way again.”

“No. I decided to come right after helping my mother organize the stall.”

Even the tiger said he would come if I told him to, but it seems he can’t be a nobleman. When the boy entered the pot house, the cinematographer, who was already drunk, hugged the boy and said,

‘Are we lucky enough to have arrived!’

shout. The famous figure further elaborated on the appearance.

“Writer Choi, by the way, what did you think of Ha Jin’s line? Although the time was short, it was chosen very well.”

“Producer, I didn’t show you the changes I made to the script today.”

“I only explained the shooting composition and didn’t tell you the lines. You said it would be a good idea to see it and feel it for yourself, right?”

“Actually, I didn’t even give England a revised script.”

“what?”

“I thought about it carefully. I was wondering what the last thing young Kim Ha-jin would say to her mother was. But I couldn’t come to a conclusion. There were a lot of lines, but I was really worried about what young Kim Ha-jin would confess to her mother. I managed to revise the script, but the young Kim Ha-jin “As soon as I saw Kim Ha-jin’s face, I felt impulsive. That’s why.”

“so?”

“In the end, I decided to leave it to Kim Ha-jin in the script. You can cry, you can scream without saying anything, you can just stand silently. Show me what you think of Kim Ha-jin. If you are not confident, I will give you a revised script. Do you know what I am saying?”

Eunsuk Choi thought of the boy. A child who knew the world outside the script better than anyone else. In some ways, I felt that the actor may have surpassed his capabilities as a writer. And the child’s subsequent answer confirmed that thought.

“He said he would give it a try as if he had been waiting.”

“…!”

Even actors with experience in long takes are reluctant to create lines. It’s different from ad-lib. Because the actor had to recite the monologue in a scene where the screen and space were integrated, there was nothing that could help the actor.

It is an advanced task that requires the use of props, processing of gaze, setting movements within the frame, and even creating dialogue. The lines in the script are the author’s thoughts and agony, created through careful calculation. Therefore, even if you brought some of the greatest actors to Korea, it was clear that people would shake their heads. As proof, Park Soo-young was already unable to keep his mouth shut. It was then.

“Let’s listen to our UK song!”

The cinematographer hands the boy a spoon or an empty bottle. Suddenly, the boy’s attention is focused, and he looks around the crowd without any sign of shame.

“Then I will carefully add a verse!”

A small boy with raven hair sings a trot tune that sailors often sing. Everyone’s eyes immediately widened at the unexpected singing ability. I knew right away that you had good vocal skills while filming, but I can’t believe you also have singing skills. Not only the filming team, but even the aunts working in the kitchen are already watching in fascination.

“Kiya, let’s do a trot!”

With a warm response from the cinematographer, my shoulders are shaking as the Daepot restaurant is about to leave once again. Several people, including famous people, look at the boy. What kind of actor was the boy they were witnessing? The boy’s colorful eyes seemed to contain the substance of rolling waves and sailors. Looking into the boy’s eyes, I wanted to ask him how he came up with that line.

“Shall we do one more song?”

“Okay, England. This time we’ll do a duet, Bourjay!”

“Director of photography! I want to hear England do it on his own!”

The last night in Yeongdo was coming to an end. No one will know that the boy’s words to his mother, who had turned into a handful of ashes, were a confession about his past life.