Life, Once Again! Chapter 298

The school gates were grand and they looked as though the pillars were removed from the Parthenon. Byungchan said something about the school being comparable to a college campus, and indeed, just the school gates alone were different to other schools. When Byungchan was about to drive through the gate, someone walked out from the janitor's office. A man wearing a blue security guard uniform walked towards the driver's seat.

“Where did you come from?” The man asked politely.

Byungchan told him that they were here for the drama.

“Please park your car behind the school. There might be problems if you park it elsewhere, so try to park it as deep inside as possible. I hope you can park next to the people from the TV station. Did you get that?”

“Yes, I'll do that.”

The man then saw them off by touching his security uniform hat once.

“Phew, it's somewhat nerve-wrecking.”

“Do most schools have a janitor's office at the school gates?”

“Well, the school I went to certainly didn't have one.”

“Mine doesn't have one either.”

Byungchan slowly drove along the edge of the school field to the back of the school.

“Wow, this place is huge.”

Even Maru was slightly shocked when he saw the parking lot and another school field that was hidden behind the school building. Two school fields for one school? The field near the entrance had grass and soccer goals, but the field at the back had tracks for the track and field activities. There was also a tennis court, a basketball court, and a futsal field around the outside.

“This place must be operated by some large foundation or something.”

“This place is incredible.”

Byungchan spoke nervously. Maru wondered what it was about and looked where Byungchan was looking. There were cars on either side of the parking lot, and every single one of them was a high-class sedan. On the left were cars produced within the country, and on the right were imported cars. It looked as though a slight nick would cost an average man's salary. Even the wheels looked premium and just looking at them made Maru laugh in vain.

“Why are there so many cars that people would never be able to afford with a teacher's salary?”

“How would I know? Hey, look at that one. Isn't that a sports car where you can open the roof?”

“Wow, that probably costs as much as a house right there.”

They finally understood the reason why the janitor warned them to park their car 'deep inside'. There was no way teachers drove such cars, so they must belong to the parents of the students here. Maybe there was some kind of parent meeting? In any case, Maru was flabbergasted at the completely different scale of fortune displayed here.

“It's over there.”

Sighing in relief, Byungchan escaped the row of expensive cars and parked his car next to a vehicle with the RBS logo on it. People were moving around busily as they were rushing to prepare. People with boxes on their shoulders were heading somewhere inside the school. Next to them were some women following them with school uniforms in their hands. Those women were probably the coordinators.

“When does the shoot begin?”

“Uhm, it's 12 according to the schedule, but it probably won't start exactly at that time. I have a lot of experience taking part time jobs like this one, and there was always some wait.”

Just then, Byungchan got a call. While he was on the phone, Maru looked around. He saw someone giving orders with a walkie-talkie in hand. He was probably the producer or the assistant producer.

“Supplementary characters, please gather round!”

A woman who had tied up her short hair above her head used a cone as an amplifier to shout. Maru tapped on Byungchan's shoulders to get his attention and pointed at the people gathering around. Byungchan covered the microphone on his phone and told him to go.

Maru walked past the school building sandwiched between two school fields and walked along a clearly landscaped path until he reached a smaller building compared to the main building. It was a building that couldn't be seen from the school gates. It was a gym building with the entire front wall covered with windows. So schools like this do exist, huh.

“Please find a gym uniform that matches your size and change into it.” 

The woman with the red cone pointed at the gym uniforms as she spoke. There were around ten people that came with her. They all started rummaging through the pile of clothes before going to the toilet inside the gym to change. Maru also changed into a gym uniform of suitable size. There was no smell since they seemed to have washed them properly.

“They're currently shooting in the main building right now, and after that, we'll shoot a basketball scene in the gym. There are students in class right now so don't disturb them and try to move around on this side as much as possible. It's also absolutely forbidden to smoke here so don't smoke. I won't be responsible if you get caught smoking, okay? You'll have to wait just a little until the shoot starts.”

“Okay.”

The supplementary characters replied in a calm voice. They looked young, but they all seemed to be in their 20s. After the woman left, people gathered under a shade. Although they all looked different to each other, they took similar courses of action - dazing out. Some people started to read books, but not long later, the books became pillows instead. Maru also took out an MP3 player. He decided that he should enjoy this moment.

People started lying down on the cement floor one by one. They were still getting paid for this, right? This was a very good part time job.

“Stand up, all of you.”

Maru opened his eyes when he heard the sudden voice. There was a man standing in front of the sun. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and had a handkerchief tied around his head. He looked at the supplementary actors with sharp eyes.

“This is supposed to be a road for people to walk on. Who told you that you can lie down? Huh? Sit down if you're going to wait.”

Hearing his words, some supplementary actors sat up like new soldiers that just entered the military, while the rest just slowly sat up while trying not to piss him off any further.

“Geez, this is why we can't pick just anyone.”

After grumbling, the man left.

“Who the hell is he?”

“He's the leader. Is this your first time doing this job?”

“Yes.”

“You can just ignore him if you don't plan on doing this for long, but if you do want to do this for a long time, you should really not piss him off. He's the one that decides which actors to pick for the supplementary roles.” 

“Ah, okay.”

Maru found out the identity of that man after overhearing the conversation. Leader, huh. Any kind of workplace had a management-level personnel in one form or the other, so it wasn't that strange for there to be one for supplementary actors.

“He's quite a picky man. I heard that he was promoted to leader after working 8 years as a supplementary actor. He's someone that knows the hardships of this job well, but he never cares about us.”

“That's not good.”

“But what can we do about it? He has a lot of connections around here so we have to get on his good side. There are about three places that get their work through him. He does swear at me a lot, but I'm still thankful for him since he provides work for me.” 

“You must have it hard. Have you done this job for a long time?”

“Me? I think I'm in my third year now. I was originally an aspiring actor, but I didn't pass any auditions. I don't belong to a company either.”

As the man had a good way with words, people started gathering around him. Maru also took off his earphones and sat with the group.

“Today's my first time doing this job, is it hard?” A man with a neat haircut asked. The man at the center of attention groaned slightly.

“It's different for each person, but scenes like this where we're just people in the background, aka, 'crowd scene', is easy. Most of the time, it just ends while you daze out. The leader doesn't say anything most of the time either.”

“So we can just stand still today as well?”

“Probably. I don't have a script, so I don't know that much.”

“We don't get a script?”

“We don't. Supplementary actors don't get things like scripts. Sometimes, there are scenes where we have lines, but for those, the leader will tell us beforehand.”

“Aha, so that's it.”

The man explained in kind. Maru had a look at his bag for a moment. He had a script inside, but he stayed quiet since there was no need to take it out.

“Have you tried acting with actors?” A man wearing glasses suddenly asked.

“Yes, I have. A few times. This might be a part-time job, but your experience does count. You know, in scenes where a security guard says stuff like 'you're not allowed to do this here' if the main character goes to some super huge company and complains about his poverty. I had a few roles like that. It's not much, but it does help out in your acting career. For scenes like that, you'll have to mind about the camera, as well as the rhythm with other actors.”

Maru looked at the man explaining. He clearly seemed like he had pride in his job. These kinds of people were bound to succeed no matter what they did.

“It's just a part-time job in the end.”

Just then, a man sitting further away from the group spoke. He didn't give off a deep impression, and when he received attention, he immediately started fidgeting. Other people started whispering about him. 

“You're right. It is just a part-time job. I'm sorry if you found it disturbing. It's just been a while since I received so much attention, haha.”

The man smiled and stopped speaking. People scattered since the mood was all ruined. It was as though all that talk just now was a lie. A bored atmosphere started appearing again. Maru looked at the man making a bitter smile. He said that he was preparing to become an actor. Taking part-time jobs like this was probably in order to get some experience. His efforts were downright ignored so it wouldn't be surprising even if he became angry.

They say that carelessly throwing a stone might kill a frog. The one that ruined the mood just now probably didn't say his words with that kind of intention. He probably said it just because of the piled up stress due to the hot weather, and the waiting time getting longer. As evidence, he was looking down with an apologetic face.

It would've been better if he apologized, and he probably knew that as well, but knowing something was much easier than putting it into action.

“Isn't something like a traditional drama much harder?”

Maru approached the man who was looking into the distance and asked. He felt that the youth felt hurt because of those careless words when he was putting all of his effort into his work, so he decided to help him out.

“Wh- what was that?”

“You know, in traditional dramas, even the clothes look heavy. Unlike modern day-themed dramas where you can use pretty much any clothing.”

“That's true.”

The man showed a kind smile to a high schooler that suddenly approached him. The man was neither particularly handsome nor did he have clearly outlined facial features, but he had a good feeling about him. Perhaps it was thanks to the natural smile on his face.

“A soldier outfit is actually quite hot. Waiting a couple hours under the sun while wearing that is just hell.”

“But the pay is the same, isn't it?”

“They sometimes pay more for those. But even so, most people tend to avoid traditional dramas. Sometimes, it's the opposite and you have to wait for hours wearing a single piece of clothing during the winter. And just when we get a portable heater, they say they're starting. It drives people mad sometimes. The main characters get to stay next to the large heater, but for us… well… we have to fend for ourselves. But it's much easier if you find a team that cares about their supplementary actors. Those people feed you well too. But wait, I am talking to you without any honorifics, but you are actually younger than me, aren't you?”

“I'm in the 2nd year of high school.”

“Really? You did look young, but I never realized you were that young. But wait, you're in high school?”

Just as the man looked at him with confusion, Maru pointed at the staff. The man followed his finger.

“The leader's coming.”

“Ah, it looks like it's starting.”

The leader of the supplementary actors shouted at the people.

“Get up. We're starting. There are students in the gym, so follow instructions and don't cause any accidents. We're going to shoot the scene where you cheer from the side of the basketball court. There's nothing difficult so just follow the instructions, okay?”

“Yes.”

At that moment, there was some commotion on the main building's side. Girls' screeches could be heard all the way from there. A group of handsome boys and girls appeared amidst the cheers.

“Move the equipment! Be careful not to cause any accidents with the students. It'll be a big matter if they get injured or something so watch out for the heavy equipment and the cables.”

One man, who seemed to be the producer, walked into the gym along with the actors. A procession of the managers, coordinators, and makeup artists all followed in like vassals following their king.

“Now that's some treatment…”

When Maru spoke in a small voice.

“Of course they get special treatment. They're paid several times the amount we do.”

“Several times? You mean several hundred times.”

The man's eyes were filled with a mixture of envy and regret. Ganghwan was probably worried about people like him. They were running out of jobs. It was now an era where effort did not equal to result.

“Supplementary actors! Follow me!”

Hearing the leader's words, Maru picked up his bag and started moving.

'We're like labor workers being driven into a construction scene.'

Well, leader or foreman, they were pretty much the same thing.

Chapter end