Chapter 52

Two days later, I ascended the summit of Gwanak Mountain, absorbing its vital energy.

On the way down, I visited Gwaneum Temple and greeted the monk.

"Receiving good energy."

"Namu Amitabha."

It felt good to hike after a long time, and I felt healthier.

"It's been so long... I didn't expect it to be this tiring."

After briefly stopping by the welfare center to check the drama content.

Climbing through the steep slopes of Gwanak Mountain and visiting the temple took about five hours.

Thud, thud—

Maybe it's because I haven't exercised much lately, but my legs are trembling.

I soon sat on a wooden chair at the foot of the mountain and opened my laptop.

I had already peeked at the drama at the Gwanak Central Welfare Center.

Tap, tap—

"Overseas Sales Team 3, Kim Nayoung, Part 4"

I wrote leisurely, thinking I could still check it at the center later.

"There's still plenty of time."

Practicing writing like this helps improve my skills.

Even when watching the same drama, interpretations can vary widely depending on the writer and the situation.

Tap, tap, tap—

Part 4 continues from the previous episode, starting with a scene of a business trip to Vietnam.

A character dispatched to the local area, showcasing fluent English skills.

"Yeo Minseo…"

I ended up registering, so I had no choice but to continue writing.

Before and after registration, it was almost identical.

"The similarity rate is 99%, so it's natural."

A character who excels in work and is a love expert.

Over the four parts, I feel a strange sense of rivalry with Yoo Seol-a.

This is almost like a real-life copy of Yeo Minseo.

I can guess why the similarity rate is so high.

"By the way."

The chemistry between the characters deepens with each episode.

Yoo Seol-a's work skills are becoming more solid day by day.

In contrast, she faces difficulties in human relationships.

Excessive ability as a new employee can sometimes be a poison.

The more she is favored by higher-ups, the sharper the scrutiny from her direct supervisor becomes.

"I can't remember the lines well."

I'll write according to my style, fitting the situation.

I need to finish quickly and go to get my homework checked.

Tap, tap—

I need to be quite diligent since I have to stop by the center again.

* * *

A theater troupe located in Daehak-ro.

The atmosphere of the troupe has noticeably improved over the past few months.

"Senior, thank you for your hard work today!"

Jin-sung, who looks gentle but has arms as thick as thighs, is a hardcore gym-goer.

Hye-jeong started telling stories to a junior who had come in after a long time.

"Jin-ho, you're really lucky. Latte... "

"Ah, um…"

Jin-ho regretted starting a conversation.

A senior who could easily talk for 30 minutes once he started.

"Latte couldn't even drink water easily."

"Ah, then how did it get better?"

"Didn't you hear from a senior? One of the seniors went to an audition and came back changed."

"Wow, what a good senior."

"No, that person couldn't adapt and left."

"Ah, ah…"

At that moment, a senior approached and rescued Jin-ho from Latte's swamp.

"Hye-jeong, you're on cleaning duty today."

"Ah, yes, senior."

Cleaning duty comes around once a month.

Now, everyone, regardless of seniority, takes turns cleaning.

The so-called 'rookie day' bad habit has been gone for two months.

"Senior, I'm also on duty today."

"Ah, really?"

"Yes."

Jin-ho subtly asked Hye-jeong.

"Senior, I watched the pilot program recently."

"Oh, you watched it?"

"Yes."

Recently, thanks to the pilot variety show, Hye-jeong has gained some audience.

Moreover, several young and talented actors have joined.

Among them, Jin-ho stands out with his exceptional acting skills.

At first, he seemed too obsessed with exercise, but he turned out to be a great person.

"Come to think of it, you're similar to Kang Jun when I first met him, especially in acting skills."

"Such high praise...!"

"Really."

The son of a famous actor, Lee Hyung-gon, and a golden spoon in the acting world.

Despite that, he isn't arrogant and is popular among seniors.

"Senior, I want to meet actor Kang Jun once!"

"Hmm... That's not easy."

"Please!"

"Okay! I'll appreciate your sincerity."

"Thank you, senior!"

"What for."

Hye-jeong decided to show special favor to the ace of the troupe.

Ring, ring—

-Hello?

"Kang Jun? Aren't you busy? How did you answer the phone in three seconds?"

-Oh... I was just using my phone.

"Want to meet tomorrow?"

-Um, let me check my schedule...

"If you're busy, next time…"

-Oh, no! I have some free time.

"Really? Okay. See you tomorrow."

-Yeah, sure.

Click.

Hye-jeong smiled proudly at the junior.

"Senior is amazing."

To have such a close relationship with the top male lead of a 16-episode drama.

Jin-ho looked at Hye-jeong with bright, admiring eyes.

"You have a great father."

"Hey, it's different with family."

"Family? Hmm…"

Thinking about it, Jin-ho isn't the only one with a great family.

'What is my brother doing so early in the morning…'

Hiking, volunteering, why is he so busy all day?

* * *

"Minseo, I'll call you later…"

"Never mind. I'm off work."

"Still…"

"It's okay."

"Ah, right. Then."

The manager answered helplessly.

Vroom—

The van he was driving slowly moved away, and the woman slowly walked towards the building in front of her.

Thud, thud—

Yeo Minseo, wearing comfortable sneakers and joggers, appeared.

Soon, a staff member from the center came out barefoot to greet her warmly.

"Oh, Minseo is here?"

"Auntie, I couldn't come last week because of my schedule."

"Of course, if you're busy, you can't come."

The frequency of her visits was such that the staff member could speak casually.

"By the way, there's one more volunteer today."

"Really?"

The staff member led Yeo Minseo to the laundry room.

As the staff member said, someone was sitting in a corner, folding towels.

'Ah, that's not how you do it.'

Seeing the towels being rolled up haphazardly, Yeo Minseo sighed, thinking she would have to start the new training from scratch.

"But… something about the back of his head seems very familiar."

"Really? He's a new guy today."

"Really?"

The staff member spoke in a slightly apologetic tone.

"Um, there's a lot of laundry today…"

"Ah, it's okay. I'll do it."

A welfare center for children without parents and the elderly.

There was a lot of work due to an event yesterday.

"I feel so bad for our actress…"

"It's okay. I'm here to work."

"Hopefully, there's one more volunteer today. I'll go talk to the new guy…"

"Auntie, just watch. I'll talk to him."

"…Okay. The new guy will faint when he sees the actress."

"Hey, there are people who don't care about celebrities. He might not even know who I am."

Of course, it's rare for someone not to know Yeo Minseo.

Thud, thud—

Approaching the man in the corner.

The closer I got, the more familiar he seemed.

Tap, tap, tap—

A man who had stopped folding towels and was typing on a laptop.

The sound of typing in the welfare center's laundry room was strange.

'A bit of an odd person…'

Come to think of it, there is a similar odd person at Tempest Entertainment.

A writer who types on a laptop regardless of time and place.

"Excuse me."

The moment the next odd person after Kim Jin-woo turned his head.

Yeo Minseo exclaimed in disbelief.

"Why are you here!?"

* * *

Isn't that what I should say?

Meeting an unexpected person in an unexpected place left me speechless.

"Then, why is Yeo Minseo here…?"

"…I come here often."

Yeo Minseo often visits the welfare center.

"Are you in self-reflection?"

"…Do you fight well, writer?"

"Ah, no."

I wondered why the welfare center was chosen as a writing location.

If Yeo Minseo often visits here, it fits perfectly.

'One of the two has always been the case.'

It's related to the drama's background.

Or a place visited by a registered actor.

"I didn't know the actress was so dedicated to volunteering."

Maybe it was because our first meeting wasn't good.

I seem to have misunderstood her a bit.

"Looks like you're writing a script here."

"Ah, yes. I like to write immediately when inspiration strikes."

There was an awkward silence for a while.

Then, Yeo Minseo sighed deeply and spoke.

"If you don't have any urgent script to write, follow me. I have work to do."

"???"

Following her awkwardly to the next room.

"What is this?"

"What is it? Laundry, of course."

"Um… I came here to work, not to do laundry… ha ha."

"Bring a blanket and follow me."

"Um…"

Whoosh—

After saying her piece, Yeo Minseo disappeared in an instant.

'Why…?'

It's not a reasonable amount for one person to carry.

Just as I was about to ask her to help me carry it.

"Are you just standing there?"

She was holding a volume of laundry as big as her body in the next room.

"Ah, I'm doing it."

"Phew, how long will it take you! Hurry up."

"…"

I grabbed the blankets with both arms and followed Yeo Minseo.

'Today's quota, plus four parts of the script…'

I didn't forget my duty as a writer even while doing laundry.

There's a difference between revising immediately after writing and revising the next day.

"Try to step on it properly."

"…Why are you treating me like this?"

"Then, do it properly! You keep looking at your phone!"

"You're talking to me like I'm a child!"

"Hey!"

I'm really doing laundry because…!

'But why is there so much?'

Even after focusing on laundry for a while, it didn't seem to decrease.

This is crazy. This is crazy.

It's so tiring and there's no end.

"Isn't there a washing machine here?"

"The washing machine is for something else. This has to be hand-washed."

"…"

I glanced at Yeo Minseo.

She was processing the laundry like a machine, and I couldn't help but admire her.

"What are you looking at?"

"…"

You are amazing.

Now that I see, you're the type who picks fights out of habit.

There's no particular intention, just pure mischief.

Sunja is right.

My feet started to feel numb.

There's a way to deal with this.

"Minseo, how long have you been volunteering?"

"Over half a year."

I deliberately asked a question to distract her.

"Any special reason…?"

"Stop asking pointless questions. I won't do it properly, really?"

"…Sorry."

She overpowered me with her superior skills, leaving me speechless.

'…Why do I keep feeling like I'm losing?'

I don't even know why I'm apologizing.

After an eternity, the laundry slowly decreased.

"Hey? I had feeling in my feet, but now it's gone."

"What?"

"Feeling in my feet."

"…"

Finally, after finishing the laundry, a sense of accomplishment washed over me.

"Ouch, my back hurts."

"Just because you did this much, you're hurting?"

It's my first time stepping on blankets to do laundry.

"Wait and see."

"???"

Soon, Yeo Minseo disappeared somewhere.

In the meantime, I moved to a bench in the yard.

Children around elementary school age were playing with chalk on the ground.

A simple game called 'land grabbing' that I played when I was young.

Throwing a stone to avoid a certain area and running around.

There are still kids playing this game.

"Here."

"Ah!"

I didn't notice when Yeo Minseo appeared, handing me a can of drink and sitting down next to me.

"Thank you."

"Thank you?"

We sipped the drink and watched the children play for a while.

Then, one child accidentally threw the stone outside the line and made a sad face.

Yeo Minseo elegantly crossed her arms and slowly spoke in a sophisticated manner.

"You're really bad at this."

"…"

What is an actress?

"Writer."

"Yes."

"Aren't you going home?"

"I'm about to."

"Nice."

"…?"

"Maybe I'll go with you. You go first."

"…"

I thought we had become a bit closer while doing laundry, but it was just my imagination.

"Okay. See you next time… Oops."

"Writer, you made a mistake."

"Right. Almost made a mistake."

"Be careful."

As I got up to leave, a scene from the drama came to mind.

Yeo Minseo's image that lingered in my mind while writing Part 4 today.

"Hey. Yeo Minseo."

"What?"

"Overseas Sales Team 3, Kim Nayoung, did you read the script?"

"…It wasn't good."

"There's no way."

"Um, you're full of self-love."

"You didn't read it, did you? Try reading it once."

"…"

Yeo Minseo looked at me with disbelief.

"Okay."

"…"

I headed to the laundry room to pick up my laptop, leaving her behind.

Since I've taken refuge in the Buddha today.

If there's a connection, it will happen. If not, it will flow away.

Buzz—

At that moment, I received a call.

"Ah, Hyo-ju."

-oppa, I finished preparing the drama meeting materials.

"Really? Perfect?"

-Yes, almost nothing to fix.

"Wow, God Hyo-ju. Praise the Lord."

-This is nothing.

"Send me the materials."

-Cut!

It was a few days before the drama meeting with MBS.