{I have a habit of saving the best bite for last. People also say that eating too quickly can give you indigestion,} Woo-Jin remarked.
{Huh?}
Hugh was confused by the Korean actor’s statement.
{You gave me two weeks to make up my mind, so I wanted to make the most of that time. Casting me in your movie must be a risk and a completely new experience to both of you, but I can say the same. I couldn’t recklessly depart on a brand new adventure with no preparations.}
When Woo-Jin explained how he had used the given time productively by pondering on many things, Hugh couldn’t help but laugh. He then remembered an interview with the director of Red Enemy that the interpreter had read out loud. The director had mentioned how Chae Woo-Jin had initially caused him trouble by refusing the role several times. However, he added that he was grateful towards the actor for doing so. Previously, Hugh hadn’t understood the meaning behind those words, but now he could somehow relate.
Many actors saw movies and roles as stairways to success. But those who saw them as challenges instead were always more honorable and resplendent. Woo-Jin was shining brighter than anyone else in Hugh’s eyes right now.
{So what do you think now that you’ve spent your time contemplating?} The screenwriter asked.
{My answer was already set in stone from the beginning. I’m not so stupid as to let go of ‘Jin.’ I was planning on contacting you today, but that seems unnecessary now as we’ve ‘coincidentally’ run into each other.}
Although this appeared to be a fateful encounter, the reality couldn’t be further from that. Woo-Jin had actually come to the park the previous day but quickly left when he noticed Rayford and Hugh. He had been totally unprepared and hadn’t known what to say if they started a conversation.
Woo-Jin had heard from the agency that the two visitors were earnestly looking into him. The information came directly from the interpreter that CEO Jang Soo-Hwan had introduced to them. Hugh and Rayford regularly went out to find Chae Woo-Jin, but fortunately or unfortunately, they always seemed to be a step too late. So when he was informed that the two would be revisiting the park today, he had been fully prepared to meet them.
Woo-Jin had even prepared a speech to proudly accept the casting proposal without appearing rude. He listened to Kang Ho-Soo's advice on behaving more confidently and treating the two young and spirited American filmmakers as peers rather than the usual humble attitude while interacting with his Korean counterparts.
{I will soon send a formal response to LL-Studio regarding my decision.}
{That’s great news for us. All those administrative matters regarding the contract and other nitty-gritty can be left to the office workers and lawyers. Right now, we are simple tourists on a leisurely trip, so thanks, but no thanks. We'll reject any complicated work.}
Hugh had the most authority in LL-Studio. Yet here he was, flailing his hands, saying he had nothing to do with the complicated matters, and claiming to be on a carefree holiday while pretending to be easygoing.
Before long, another one of Lee Hyung-Jin’s songs ended. Woo-Jin stated that they should arrange a meeting to discuss the details and was about to quickly make his way to Lee Hyung-Jin when suddenly, Hugh grabbed him and held him back.
{Ray and I indeed happened to ‘coincidentally’ enter this park, but what about you? What is your relationship with that singer?}
Hugh was curious why the busy actor had specifically made time in his schedule to see that singer’s gig.
{We’re on friendly terms, but I am also his fan. This is the only place in the world where I can listen to his songs,} Woo-Jin answered.
Woo-Jin wasn’t wearing his usual hat or glasses today. He did have a scarf hiding the bottom half of his face, but he had already loosened it during his conversation with Hugh. The people around slowly noticed Woo-Jin’s presence, and as time passed, the area had become rowdy.
Many among the doubtful and hesitant crowd gathered around Lee Hyung-Jin recognized the actor. Chae Woo-Jin was initially worried that wrapping a scarf would make him unrecognizable, but Hwang Yi-Young assured him otherwise. In the end, his fashion coordinator was right, and his concerns were futile.
Their goal had always been to act mysterious to trigger people's curiosity instead of avoiding being recognized. Thus, Woo-Jin calmly walked past the people staring at him in astonishment.
Reenacting his Moses act from Street Date, Woo-Jin effortlessly parted the crowd like the Red Sea and formed a path to Lee Hyung-Jin in front of him. Although the crowd was much smaller in comparison—numbering 50-odd people—the visual impact was still as strong.
Each time Lee Hyung-Jin finished a song, he had to manually start another instrumental track on his own. Once he finished adjusting his equipment and grabbed his mic again, he saw someone approach him and sit on the ground at the front. An ambiguous expression formed on Lee Hyung-Jin’s face as he recognized Chae Woo-Jin.
Lee Hyung-Jin had realized that Woo-Jin believed in him when the actor first came to see him. However, never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Woo-Jin would continue visiting him regularly after that first visit. Lee Hyung-Jin had thanked him but firmly stated not to come again as he worried for Woo-Jin’s public image.
Woo-Jin visited again and again nonetheless. Lee Hyung-Jin now had mixed feelings about the attention he received from the public, thanks to the actor’s actions.
“This next song is called ‘Comma.’”
Before long, Lee Hyung-Jin moved his gaze away from Woo-Jin and put all his effort into singing his song.
“You wrote a full stop as I ran endlessly.
You were already at a standstill, but I continued confidently,
Not once looking back, believing in your presence following me,
Thinking you’d be there behind me, slow but steady.”
Lee Hyung-Jin had spent long, difficult years feeling guilty about his friend’s death. But he had finally begun to move onwards in his life, forgetting about it. Yet, an unexpected rumor ruined his career, and he fell into a bottomless pit of despair. Feeling bitter and wronged, he began to abhor the entire world.
Lee Hyung-Jin wrote countless songs during the year he spent stuck in his home. Among all those, this was the only song about his deceased friend. At first, his mind was a mess and his emotions a big jumble that he simply couldn’t express himself properly. In fact, he wanted to avoid the problem and kept himself busy with other issues, drowning in alcohol and music. He screamed words filled with rage and resentment towards the world for not believing him.
One day, after drinking way past his limit the previous night, Lee Hyung-Jin woke up in the afternoon, not knowing whether a day or two had passed.
Suddenly, he realized that death could come to him at any time while he spent his days drinking alone in his single-room apartment, with no one checking on him. Immediately, a sense of dread took over him. He wasn’t afraid of death, but it would be too unfair to die with the nation against him because of a false rumor. He shivered as he imagined the public mocking him and gossiping at the news of his death for less than a day before moving on with their lives.
Death was a state where the body and mind came to a halt.
Lee Hyung-Jin didn’t care about the death of his body as he already didn’t want to do anything. But the mind was a different issue. Lee Hyung-Jin still had dreams and pondered on various subjects.
What tormented him was that his thoughts were neverending, including thoughts on what could come after death. Lee Hyung-Jin could’ve taken his own life if he had stopped caring and had no more lingering feelings. However, he couldn’t do it.
There were too many things he wanted to do, too many songs he wanted to sing. He was still afraid of people’s attention and bore a grudge for their misunderstanding. But if he died here, he would never be able to do anything again. All the possibilities would disappear, and Lee Hyung-Jin would be placing a full stop on his life.
Sudden, unavoidable death would be a different issue, but Lee Hyung-Jin could not, and would not, purposefully invite death. There was too much he couldn’t give up on.
The day this realization dawned on him, he ended up crying all day. One had to be totally apathetic and lifeless to abandon their dreams and not fear what came after death. Lee Hyung-Jin finally began to understand how much despair his friend must have gone through to take his own life.
He started imagining his friend’s worries and the things he had to give up while making such a terrifying and difficult decision. His friend had already placed a full stop, while Lee Hyung-Jin was still considering it.
The very next day, the singer finally stood up again after dusting himself off the past burdens. He had realized that he was currently at a comma of his life, not a full stop. With that realization, Lee Hyung-Jin wrote the song ‘Comma.’
“You gave me your comma as I forgot you.
The story we write as only memories remain.
Your feet are still at a full stop while I rest at a comma,
But we’re both standing on the same paragraph.
Yet I still have much to go before my story ends.
I will continue the story you finished.
My comma always remembers your final sentence.”
Lee Hyung-Jin was a sentimental and straightforward person who used to sing jolly, sweet, and lovely songs in Woo-Jin’s memories.
But in the past year, he became a composed and reserved person with a heavy presence. Although Woo-Jin could no longer see the bright smile on his face anymore, he sensed that Lee Hyung-Jin’s soul had grown and matured. Having gained a deeper understanding of love, hate, and sincerity, the earnest singer’s songs now dug into people’s hearts and struck a chord where it hurt most.
“Lost in the countless stops, the comma lets me breathe, understand your pain.”
Woo-Jin sat cross-legged under the warm autumn sunlight as a cool wind blew, listening with utmost concentration to Lee Hyung-Jin’s song. The crowd that had gotten rowdy with Woo-Jin’s arrival soon calmed down as they observed the actor’s attitude.
The scene between the two was so beautiful that the audience thought they were watching a movie. In the scene, Woo-Jin sat on the grass—listening to the music—and the only sound coming was Lee Hyung-Jin’s song, the soundtrack of the movie.
Despite the lack of action, the spectators weren’t bored of the scene. In fact, their hearts were fluttering. Woo-Jin’s facial expression was in constant change, reacting to the music. Thus, the crowd soon began to listen to the song’s lyrics that they had always been ignoring. The little sympathy and empathy they felt created ripples, expanding and slowly shaking their hearts.
Songs were like magical spells that appealed to emotions.
Lee Hyung-Jin sang two more songs after finishing ‘Comma,’ then expressed his gratitude to his audience and began to pack up his things. He couldn’t just sing and leave immediately as he was carrying too much equipment with him.
As he put away the speakers, mic, and cables, Woo-Jin approached the singer and lent him a helping hand. This had never happened before, as Woo-Jin always left when the gig ended. Lee Hyung-Jin sent the actor a questioning glance.
‘Why are you doing this?’
All the people Lee Hyung-Jin used to consider his friends had turned their backs on him. He had already cut off his school friends from his life due to the betrayal he felt with his friend’s death.
Meanwhile, the friends he made in the entertainment world also turned their backs on him when the false rumor started spreading the previous year since they didn’t want to get involved in the scandal. Now that all those he considered his friends had abandoned him, Lee Hyung-Jin was dumbfounded by Chae Woo-Jin’s actions, who was only a ‘friendly junior’ in the past.
Moreover, this ‘friendly junior’ was currently a superstar who had no reason to approach him. There were no benefits for Chae Woo-Jin, as he didn’t need any noise marketing to increase his popularity that already far overshadowed Lee Hyung-Jin’s from his prime.
“Because I’m your fan, hyung.”
Woo-Jin said in response to the quiet inquiry.
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