I Will Live As An Actor - Chapter 25

I Will Live as an Actor Episode 25

The panoramic view of Sanbok Road (山腹道路) is like a rising wave. The creation of the winding road, like a coiled snake, began when refugees came down immediately after the Korean War and built shacks on the mountainside to live. Although it was as rugged and steep as their joys and sorrows, it must have been their one and only haven of life.

“Aaaah!”

An old van (porter) is running along the winding road of the mountain road. A roaring sound reminiscent of a cart rang out from the engine. That’s because the bongo loading dock is already full of people and equipment. The car was old and had a lot of luggage, so it would depend on its power.

Meanwhile, the people in the back were all struggling to not fall off the loading dock with stunned expressions on their faces.

“England! All the sons of Seoul have small livers!”

The merchant president, wearing a Marine hat roughly, burst into laughter while holding the steering wheel. The rough beard seems to be dancing. There was an overall relaxed look on his face. The boy rolls down the passenger window (manual handle) and shouts to the back.

“You guys! Why are you so scared that you’re screaming like a girl!”

“Hey man, try riding here! Argh!”

“England! Over there! Over there! There’s no guardrail! Shouldn’t this stop?!!”

As Song Jeong-seok said, there are really no guardrails on the side of the winding road.

“What are you saying behind Kook-ah?”

“Oh, there’s no guardrail over there so you have to stop the car.”

“What do you mean?”

Seeing this, the president of the merchants’ association smiles and says, with a piece of tobacco in his mouth.

“It used to be over there, but so many people who came to see it didn’t slow down the car when they came down from the mountain and kept crashing into it. As a result, it naturally disappeared.” “If that’s the

case, don’t leave it over there and you’ll fall back to ancient times, right?”

“That’s right! But do you know what’s funny? That’s gone, and as far as I know, there hasn’t been a single accident. When humans see that, they’re now coming down with a turtle’s gait! Cargo, we’re on the way up, kid. We’re going slowly like this. “What are you afraid of? Don’t worry, don’t worry!”

As the bongo crosses the mountain road like a rolling wave, screams erupt from the loading dock again. If a stranger heard this, they would think they were at an amusement park. After arriving at the destination, everyone disembarks as dead bodies. Some people have already vomited it all up.

The president of the merchants’ association saw this and

said, ‘Seoul’s son is weak!’

After saying a word, I turn the car around and slowly go down the mountain road. Someone asked as they watched Bongo moving away.

“Taeseop, did you really have to choose this filming location?”

Choi Tae-seop briefly nods his head with an inexplicable, subtle smile. The boy walked among the film crews, encouraging them to gather their equipment.

“You guys, this is just the beginning, so why not spread it out already?”

“What?”

“Now is the start…?”

The famous mountain road is partly due to the rugged road, but that is not the real reason. Just as it would be sad if the red bean paste falls out, the mountain road is filled with so many steep stairs that even the 108 steps of the temple cannot be used to show off business cards.

Just as an old tree spreads out numerous branches, there were numerous stone steps between the shantytowns, making it feel like you were in a maze. Song Jeong-seok is mesmerized as he looks at the steep stone steps and chants.

“I have to climb up here…?”

Just then, an elderly woman with a cane walks up the stairs holding a black baton near the filming team.

“Grandma! Give it to me! I’ll pick it up! Where is your house?”

“That’s it! I’ve been living for 40 years because I’m paying to take care of the bachelors next to me, and this is nothing. I go back and forth every day for exercise, but it’s crazy. But how can young bachelors not be able to use that much energy? This little guy? “I got so lost in the sight of the stairs. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get married!”

Those who had been quietly listening to the grandmother’s words hurriedly gathered their filming equipment, as if they were all going to get married.

* * *

“Scene No. 57: The police officer and Ji-hwan on the mountainside road!”

It is a space in which concrete is added using bamboo as a support instead of rebar in a shabby, shabby shack that does not even have a house number. There is a refrigerator with a yellow exterior and a blue water container that used to store water in the bathroom. The wall clock whose second hand had stopped gave the illusion of being stuck in that era.

“Ji-hwan, don’t just stand around like that, sit down and get tired. I’ll make you some food after the old man burns the briquettes!”

The boy is at a loss due to the kindness of the police officer (Song Jeong-seok). I thought I would be stuck in a detention center without a move. However, the police officer himself took the boy and brought him to his house. Not only did they give us a warm bed, but we even provided them with a bathroom to remove the dirt that had been there for a long time.

“Ji-hwan, I don’t know why Dangchoi came all the way to Seoul, but I think there’s a story, so I won’t ask any more questions. Don’t keep your mouth shut and take a spoonful.” It’s made by

mixing cold rice with soy sauce and sesame oil. There is even a fried egg sizzling over a briquette fire. The boy, who didn’t even know how many days he had been starving, gulped down the back of his throat.

“If you don’t eat gomma, your uncle will eat it!”

“No! I’ll eat it!”

“I won’t take it from you, so eat it slowly. If it’s not enough, let me know and the uncle will give you another fry!”

The rice bowl exposes the bottom as if the crab is hiding its eyes. The police officer laughs at the sight, brings out an old frying pan, and puts another fried egg on it. The boy nodded briefly and shoved the fried egg into his mouth in one go. The feeling of fullness was just about to touch the tip of my chin.

“Ji-hwan, it’s not important to you what your real name is. But if you don’t tell me, I’ll have no choice but to go to the protection center. Still, why did you ask me to go up to that rock? Can you tell me?”

The boy is silent. All I did was hug the bag in my arms and arch my back.

“I’m not going to take it away, so stay comfortably. That’s it. I’m sure you’ll tell me sometime when you’ve calmed down. I’m just saying this just in case, so don’t think about sneaking out at dawn. I saw how high it was when you came up, and it’s so complicated. Wrong. If you do that, you’re likely to get lost and wander, so let’s go down with you tomorrow. I’ll take you to the seaside rock you want so much, so you understand!”

“Thank you.”

“Wow, you’re finally speaking properly.”

The reason the police officer brought the boy to his house was simple. Not only was it difficult to make him sleep on the cold floor of the detention room, but he was also afraid that he would run away if he was even allowed to sleep in an inn. This place is located halfway up the rugged mountain road, so even if you want to escape, you won’t be able to escape easily.

As the police officer first lays down the bedding, a wheezing sound is soon heard. Looking at the face of the boy who fell asleep in an instant, the police officer expressed his complicated feelings. Young face, small body. What on earth led this guy here?

The little guy said,

“Why is there so much story?”

* * *

Baaaaang—!

After finishing filming, everyone was hungry. When I opened the window and suddenly heard a horn, I saw that it was the president of the merchant association. Still wearing his Marine hat. The merchant chairman is shaking something in his thick hand.

“Newbie here!”

In the middle of the mountain road, the filming team had to carry the rice and side dishes brought by the merchant association president up to the roof of the house.

“Do you really have to do this?”

“Why don’t you just come up and show me something good for Seoul’s son!”

As soon as we got up to the rooftop, exclamations came out from the mouths of not only the filming team but also the boy. The panoramic view of Namhang (南港), with its white waves rolling over, is visible at a glance. The leisurely sight of fishing boats amidst the blue-colored scenery was like a landscape painting. As everyone opens their mouths and can’t stop admiring, the merchant president smiles kindly.

“It’s a great place for leisure! It’s a mountain road, so there’s a reason why people who live close by don’t leave for decades. Even though you can see the sea like this, the only thing you can find is clouds. That’s why we’re like immortals eating above the clouds. “No!”

Dishes filled with the scent of the sea were presented. It was so delicious that it was enough to calm the hunger of the film crew who were hungry from filming. What’s more, eating Cham with the view of Namhang made me feel like I was having fun. In Seoul, it is a rare meal that cannot be enjoyed even if you die or wake up.

“Hey, how can I feel sorry for delivering food to you like this?”

“I have a lot to be sorry about. That bachelor wants to use this house as a filming location. He asked me so many times. How could I not help him and turn him down? I own this house.”

“Don’t you live near South Port?”

“I live in Namhang now, but when I was young, I lived with a woman, but after my parents passed away, the house was empty, so I rented it out to anyone who wanted to live there, but no one asked me to come in. Even though my daughter told me I could use it for free, the bachelor kept giving me money. I made it all the way up to the level. What I just said was nonsense. As the chairman, I heard that our young man is filming. Can I just sit back and do something? I have to do something to help. Well, I’ll take a look around the house and Kai, so you don’t have to feel sorry. I’ll be very special today. “I brought a lot of fresh abalone and oysters, so don’t smell it and eat them all!”

After finishing all the side dishes brought by the president of the merchant association, the filming team each grabbed a glass of Sungnyung for dessert. Meanwhile, Choi Tae-seop looks at the beach in silence. Why was Choi Tae-seop so stubborn about this mountain road? I can not know. But his face was full of longing for the past years. Just like the Chairman of the Merchants’ Association, who took out a tobacco candle and Moon. The hazy cigarette smoke hangs over the beach, almost like sea fog.

“It will be an unforgettable memory for you.”

“Well, when I come here, I think of my parents. I always grease the gate to prevent it from getting rusty over time, and I go up and fix the cracks in the concrete every now and then. I sent my parents off to the beach, and in a way, it was a leisure activity for my uncle. “It’s so popular. So I can’t sell it, and it’s like my sanctuary.”

The merchant president is a pleasant person. Wearing his trademark Marine Corps hat, he always rushes to solve big and small issues that happen in the Namhang market. But he also had a secret story.

As the blue-colored South Port gradually becomes dusk, the fishing boats’ lights turn on one by one. The man from Madoros jumps up from his seat and shouts.

“Thank you, let’s get up! Let’s get down quickly before it gets dark!”

“Mister, can I go down by bus?”

With just one word from Song Jeong-seok, as if he was aware of it, the crowd turns upside down.

“Pas? There are only two Kana Leisure buses a day. The last one has already left!”

A van goes down the winding road of the mountain road, making a loud engine noise. As the headlights of the bongo illuminate the mountain road like the beam of light from a lighthouse, a loud scream erupts from the loading dock, just like before. Only the quiet cry of the night sea comforts them.