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“Hyung, did you do something to him?” He glanced at the man blowing his nose through the side of his vision. He had found out that the man’s name was Park Joohwan from the ending credits of the 3rd film.

“It’s the first time I’m seeing him today.”

“So why does he keep looking at you? He doesn’t look like he’s picking a fight.”

“Maybe it’s not me, but you he’s looking at?”

Yoonseok crouched down, pretending to do his shoelaces. Joohwan took the opportunity and stared at Maru right in the face. Even Maru’s iron face, trained through all sorts of trials, was almost put in jeopardy by the blatant gaze.

Maru looked at Joohwan with a questioning gaze. He was curious as to why he was being stared at.

Joohwan stared at him for about five seconds before turning around to look at the screen again.

It was a rather lukewarm result considering that two males had exchanged gazes.

There should be sparks of competition or white flags raised out of defeat, but Joohwan’s gaze belonged to neither. He looked like a zoologist that found a peculiar animal. That was the impression Maru had from looking at Joohwan’s eyes.

‘The Form of Love’ reached its end.

Yoonseok, who was uneasy, also fell into the world he created. His black irises were scanning every corner of the screen. He probably had all sorts of thoughts going across his head.

I should’ve done this better, I should’ve placed this here, I should’ve looked for a better place — these kinds of disappointments would become the stepping stone for his next work.

“Well done,” Maru said as he looked at the ending credits.

Actor section: Lee Jungho by Han Maru. This was his first film in this life, and also his first lead role. He came across a good director, and his film was also screened, so this could be considered a successful debut.

Just like before with ‘Water Fog’ someone in the audience started clapping.

Maru looked back. Jiseon and the others who participated in the production were also turning around. Two women, who seemed to be friends, as well as a man seated in front of them were applauding.

“Director Lee. Have a good look at them. They might be your very first fans.”

Yoonseok looked at the audience with as much seriousness as when he was watching a film. There was probably no other moment that was as thrilling as this for a new director.

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“This is good. I like everything. I didn’t know I would be so happy. This feels even better than when I got an A on CSATs. No, that can’t even compare. It’s really unbelievable that people like what I created. It’s something that feels really amazing.”

“That’s why directors can’t put down their megaphones. They have a lot they want to say, and they want to see people who listen to their stories.”

Good work, director Lee — he patted Yoonseok’s shoulders as he added that.

After the ending credits, the lights in the theater were turned on.

“Did you enjoy the films?” The MC came up on the stage.

On the screen were the words ‘Talk with the Audience,’ as well as the titles and the names of the directors of each film.

“Let’s call up the directors and actors on stage. Please give them a round of applause!”

The helper led them onto the stage. Another helper with a camera around his neck started taking photos.

“Here are your mics.”

A helper in a blue uniform handed out microphones to the directors. Yoonseok kept fidgeting, as though he wasn’t used to holding a mic.

“Stand upright,” Maru said in a small voice.

Yoonseok, who was in a daze, came to himself and looked at the audience as he straightened his back and shoulder.

“We should have a light introduction first, shouldn’t we? Please introduce your film and names, starting from over here.”

A director held a microphone up to his mouth. He wasn’t nervous, as though he was used to receiving attention by nature.

The first director finished the greeting with a cheerful voice before the second director got the mic.

“Hello.”

When he stood there in a daze after a greeting, the MC guided him slightly.

“We have a director with a good voice here. Would you like to introduce yourself and your work to the audience?”

“Ah, yes! I’m Choi Joonhyuk. I was in charge of producing ‘Soon, Later.’”

The microphone then went to the actor next to him. The actor also introduced himself with a nervous voice. The audience applauded, as though to tell them that they should relax.

“Uhm, err. I’m Lee Yoonseok, who produced ‘The Form of Love.’ Please take care of me,” Yoonseok took a deep bow after saying those words. The MC laughed.

“You’re very polite. Maybe I should greet like that too. Please take good care of the Q&A session. You can’t stay silent.”

The MC folded his waist in half and greeted the audience. Yoonseok, who was frozen, smiled in relaxation as he saw that. Maru thought this during the opening speech, but the MC really had great proficiency and consideration.

“Hello. I’m Han Maru, and I shot the film with the polite director right next to me. I was worried since the weather is so good, as I thought you’d all cancel the tickets and go on a picnic or something. Seeing the seats filled like this makes me want to thank you.”

“I was slightly worried too. Isn’t the weather perfect for a picnic today?”

“Tell me about it.”

He exchanged some words with the MC. This was just the introduction, so it would be rude to speak for a long time. He took his mouth off the mic and looked at the woman to his left.

“I’m Moon Jungah. I’m the director of ‘Water Fog.’ I wonder why I’m so nervous when I’m just introducing myself.”

She was someone with a loud voice. Her pronunciation was clear as well. She said she was nervous, but her eyes and posture said otherwise. She must either be good on stage or have experience with it.

Joohwan, who stood next to her, grabbed the microphone from her.

“I’m Park Joohwan, who will become a good actor,” he said with strength in his voice. His bold claim didn’t sound ridiculous. He looked serious to the point that it made those looking at him nod in acceptance.

Maru thought that this fellow must have a healthy mind.

“Sorry.”

After saying those words, Joohwan turned around and blew his nose. He had a healthy mind, but not a healthy nose. The audience laughed.

“The weather’s good, but it has gotten slightly cold. Well then, since we’re done with introductions, I guess it’s time to listen to our audience. If anyone wants to say something, our helper will give you a microphone.”

The helper with the camera around his neck waved his hand and smiled. The MC followed up.

“Also, we’re going to take some photos and videos to create a video for the Short Film Festival, so if any of you don’t want your face to be shown, please tell us and only your voice will be in it.”

The people on stage took a step forward according to the MC’s words.

“Okay. Please raise your hand if you have any questions.”

As soon as those words ended, the majority of the audience raised their hands. As they were people who had a lot of interest in film to the point of attending this festival, they had no hesitation.

Maru saw Yoonseok flinching, surprised that the participation rate was so high.

“We have a lot of eager people in the audience. Very good. Then first, the one at the front who made eye contact with me.”

The helper gave the man a mic.

“First of all. I’d like to say that I enjoyed all four films. I want to ask director Lee Yoonseok a question. Unlike the other three, the perspective of love your work had was… how should I call it, special? Your subject was the illusion of a dead girlfriend. How did you decide on it?”

Just as Yoonseok was about to pick up the microphone and respond, a loud thud echoed in the theater.

Yoonseok frowned and covered his mouth. It seemed he had hit his mouth with the microphone due to nervousness.

“Our director has been looking into comedy recently, so he’s like this a lot.”

Maru bought some time for Yoonseok. Yoonseok wiped his mouth and looked at the man who asked the question.

“Sorry. I think I’m a little nervous.”

“You seem even more nervous than me. Sorry for asking.”

“No, no, don’t say that. First of all, thank you for the question. To answer your question, I found that idea in my dream. I forgot about everything, but I remembered that the woman who married me was an illusion. That was how the story started.”

“You could’ve used ghosts. So, why did you go with an illusion instead? Is it because you saw it in a dream?”

“I thought about that point quite a lot. I thought about portraying love between a living person and a dead person just like the old classic ‘Ghost’ from 1990, but I wanted to be more realistic. Also, I wanted to throw in a question about ‘existence.’ In a story, ghosts are usually the souls of the dead person, right? In some sense, they exist for real. However, an illusion is a misconception that only one person can see. I wanted to know if it’s possible to keep living on while loving that misconception.”

“Is ‘The Form of Love’ your answer to that?”

“To a certain extent. It’s unstable, yet he accepted the illusion as a form of forfeit, but I think that’s also a form of love.”

“One last question: Do you think Lee Jungho was happy?”

“I’m not sure. I hope he is, but illusions are bound to disappear one day.”

After asking, the man sat down with a satisfied smile on his face.

Yoonseok put down the microphone. From the way he was breathing, he seemed to be having difficulties. Maru patted his back. Although he started off stuttering, his meaning became more apparent and so did his voice as time passed. Since he had solved the difficult first step, it would be a lot easier from now on.

People continued to ask questions. The majority of them were directed at Yoonseok and Jungah. As unfortunate as it was, this was not something the MC could resolve. It was natural for people to be more focused on better works.

“I’d like to ask something from actor Park Joohwan,” said a woman who was given the opportunity to speak.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Your acting looked really natural. Was your acting something the director asked you to do? Or is that a reflection of your everyday lifestyle?”

“To use a percentage, 99% of it was the director’s request. I like to be quite clean, so I can never stay in a dirty house like that.”

Maru nodded as he listened to Joohwan’s answer. He agreed entirely with what he said.

“Did the director give you directions even down to the details?”

“Yes. There were a lot of detailed directions. Actually, the character portrays the lifestyle of the director. She has one messy room.”

Jungah’s face became red, almost like the color of her knitted sweater.

What was interesting was Joohwan’s expression. He looked like he was just saying simple facts.

The audience all burst into laughter.

“You must have had a hard time acting.”

“The hardest thing was to keep floundering in the apartment without folding the blankets. I’m totally serious. I felt like this wasn’t suited for me when I did it.”

“Even then, I think you were very good. Personally, how high would you rate your acting?”

“About 97 out of 100.”

People exclaimed here and there. Joohwan looked serious this time as well.

Maru felt that he really was someone with a strong ego. The more he looked at him, the more he liked this junior.

Putting down the microphone, Joohwan looked at him, seemingly asking him how he was.

Maru just raised his thumb just like he did when he was watching the film.

Joohwan nodded just like before.

The questions made rounds. Eventually, Maru was asked a question.

“What were you concerned with the most when expressing Lee Jungho?”

“It was my eyes. I had to give them a lot of change in order to portray the feeling that only I’m the one seeing that one thing.”

“That’s just how I felt. Did the director ask you to do that?”

“The character analysis and expression were left entirely up to me by the director. Thanks to that, I was able to try various things.”

The man who asked the question nodded before asking again.

“Lastly, I’d like to ask the same question someone else asked earlier: What would you rate your acting?”

“It’s very hard to put a score on acting. I think it’s impossible, even. But if I have to score myself…,” he looked at Joohwan and said, “About 98 points.”