After Story 269

The float, which was moving along with the waves, suddenly jerked up and down. Daemyung started reeling when he felt resistance from the end of the fishing rod.

He finally thought that he was going to put a fish into the empty water bucket, however, the elastic resistance from the fishing rod soon disappeared, and there was nothing on the end of the fishing line.

He looked at Maru, who looked like a dot in the distance, and made a call.

“I got nothing here. How is it on your side?”

-How is it here, you ask?

Maru hung up and came over with his equipment. Daemyung had a look at the bucket in Maru’s hand. It was a clean bucket without a single strand of seaweed.

“It’s empty?”

“It’s empty.”

“Where’s Mr. God-at-fishing-Maru, and why is there only an empty bucket?”

“It looks like the fish have gotten smarter these days. It’s not like before. They won’t give me any opportunity to reel and just flee, and I can’t do anything about it.”

Maru smiled awkwardly. The confident look on his face from three hours ago couldn’t be seen anywhere. It seemed that Mr. Good-at-anything was helpless in front of whimsical fish.

“I looked it up and saw that there’s a really good spicy fish stew restaurant nearby. Let’s go and eat there.”

“I thought it would come to this.”

Daemyung smiled and packed up his equipment. They went back to the tent and cleaned up before loading everything into the car.

“Hey, my clothes stink.”

His whole body smelled terrible because he slept outside while sweating like mad. Maru also smelled his own sleeves before chuckling.

“Let’s eat and get washed.”

“Go camping twice and I might have fungi growing on my body.”

“But wasn’t it fun?”

Daemyung nodded at Maru’s question.

“Sure, it was fun. If camping with a friend you get along with isn’t fun, that would be strange instead. But let’s go somewhere nicer next time. Or let’s come back in autumn.”

“How about a day trip in winter?”

“Don’t you think we’re too young to freeze to death?”

Maru started the car. The restaurant that was known to be good wasn’t that far away from the camping site.

When they went inside, they saw a few of the faces they came across during camping. It seemed that it was a tradition of sorts to eat spicy fish stew after camping.

“People don’t recognize you, huh?”

“I look like this, so I would find it strange if people do recognize me.”

“Well, I guess we don’t exactly look like humans right now.”

They grilled meat on a bonfire in the middle of summer and went fishing at the sea early in the morning. Their hair was pushed down because they were wearing hats, their faces were haggard, and they both stank like crazy.

“It’s hot, so be careful. If you need any more side dishes, then tell me.”

The lady at the restaurant brought over some boiling hot spicy fish stew. Maru thanked the lady while receiving a bowl of rice.

“Coming from camping?” asked the lady as she took away the food tray.

Daemyung picked up his chopsticks and replied,

“Yes. We look terrible, don’t we?”

“It’s normal around here. Half of the customers I get are coming from the campground.”

“We saw on the internet that this place has really good spicy fish stew, so we came over on the way home.”

“That’s correct. The fish in the stew at our restaurant is really thick and flavorful because we catch them right off the shore. Come over again next time when you come camping here. I’ll give you lots of service.”

He predicted that she was the owner of this restaurant because of how she was so nice. Daemyung talked with the owner lady for a while before looking at Maru.

“Uhm, auntie. Don’t you think you’ve seen this fellow somewhere before?”

The owner lady’s gaze was directed at Maru. Maru smiled as he ate.

“Well, I feel like I saw him somewhere before.”

“He’s good-looking, isn’t he?”

“Both of you look very nice. This one’s tall, and you look buff.”

The owner lady left, saying that they should ask for more if they needed any. Daemyung spoke as he scooped up some stew,

“She didn’t recognize you even from up close.”

“That’s how it is.”

They stood up after finishing their meal. Daemyung bought some vending machine coffee and handed one over to Maru.

“I’ll buy lunch.”

“Whoa, Daemyung. You’re a big spender. Thanks for the food.”

“Like hell it’s a lot of money.”

Daemyung took out his credit card from his wallet and handed it over to a girl who was overseeing the counter. The girl who received the counter tried to proceed with the transaction a few times, but she eventually tilted her head in confusion.

“Please wait a moment. Mom! This doesn’t work!”

The owner lady came out of the kitchen. She opened the terminal and swapped out the roll of receipt paper.

“I told you this before, and you forgot already?”

“You didn’t tell me this.”

The girl grumbled and swiped the credit card again. There was a sound of the receipt being printed.

“That’s done. Please come again next time.”

Just as Daemyung received the credit card and the receipt and was about to put them in his wallet, the girl at the counter tilted her head and looked past his shoulder. Daemyung turned around. He saw Maru sipping on some coffee.

“Uhm, is that…”

“Do you recognize him?” Daemyung asked back, getting all excited.

Maru was someone who everyone would recognize if he looked clean, but ever since they started camping, not a single person recognized him. He was rather disappointed that this was the case when that girl suddenly gave Maru a gaze of suspicion.

“I think it’s him, but then, not…”

“Look at him closely. Don’t you think you’ve seen him somewhere?”

Seemingly having heard his voice, Maru made an awkward smile and waved his hand in denial. He seemed to be asking him to stop. Daemyung wanted to take the joke a little further because he liked seeing his friend in a predicament, but he decided to stop since Maru might find it unpleasant. His ideology was that the more comfortable he was with a friend, the more he should watch out for them.

“Han Maru, right?”

Maru’s name popped out from the girl’s mouth first.

Daemyung made a satisfactory smile and stepped back. The girl stepped out from behind the counter and stood in front of Maru, jumping around. Seeing that made him feel proud for some reason. It wasn’t even about him, but he felt pleased. He said to the girl who took out her phone,

“I’ll take a photo for you.”

“Could you? Thank you so much.”

He captured the girl and Maru standing side by side and pressed the shutter button.

“I didn’t recognize you at first. You look different from when you’re on screen.”

“I look terrible, don’t I?”

“A little?” the girl said with a pinching gesture. “I was just joking with you. It’s good to see you being so liberal and different from how you’re on TV. Are you here camping?”

“Yes. I heard that there aren’t many people here and that it was pretty good, so I tried visiting.”

“This place is perfect for camping. I hang out a lot with my friends, setting tents and all.”

“Really?”

The two of them conversed naturally. A celebrity is a celebrity alright – Daemyung thought as he looked at Maru handling a fan. The fellow who was talking about nonsensical things while eating fish stew just ten minutes ago had changed completely in front of a fan, whether it was the words he used or the way he treated her with respect so that she didn’t feel emotionally hurt.

There should be many things he should watch out for since he had an occupation that was loved by many, but Maru seemed to know where the suitable line was incredibly well.

Despite having become a young actor who could be considered to be at the top of the actors in their 20s due to a series of successes in various dramas and movies, he didn’t have a single scandal related to him.

In fact, there were only good stories about him, saying that he looked out for members of the production crew and background actors. He was someone who could be endlessly mischievous on private occasions, but he was a professional with meticulous self-management at work.

“Hey, it’s Han Maru.”

“What? Really?”

With them taking a photo right at the entrance, the people at the store soon recognized Maru as well. Everyone took out their phones and came over.

Those who were middle-aged and above were putting their distance, wondering who he was, but the younger generation all recognized Maru.

“Please stand in line. I’ll take photos for all of you.”

Just why was it so fun taking photos for his friend… he used dozens of phone cameras and took photos earnestly.

“Dad, he’s the main character of the drama you keenly watched.”

“You’re right, he is. I don’t know your name, but I really enjoyed your drama.”

The last ones to take a photo seemed to be a dad and his daughter.

“Okay then, here it goes.”

Daemyung checked the photo he had just taken and handed the phone back to the woman.

“Mr. Han Maru, was it? It must be fate that brought us here, so why don’t you receive a glass from me? This is some fruit wine my daughter made, and it has a really good scent.”

“I don’t think I can drink alcohol. I came here in a car.”

“A car? Isn’t that manager fellow over there going to drive? I’m not asking you to drink a lot. It’s just one glass. When else would I get to offer a celebrity a glass of wine?”

“Right. Oppa, it’s just one glass. I sell this wine online, and the reviews are really good.”

Daemyung turned into a manager all of a sudden, but he didn’t care. He was planning to tell Maru to accept it. After all, public opinion of him would go up even more if he accepted the goodwill of a fan. When Maru refused once more, the man frowned. Looking at him again, he seemed to be pretty drunk.

“Geez, you’re such a tightass when it’s just a glass of wine. Hey, is it so hard to receive a glass of wine from an elder? That manager over there can drive, can’t he?”

His tone suddenly became rude. The daughter, who was talking with excitement, started pulling on her father’s arm looking apologetic. It looked like things would become chillier.

It was just as Daemyung was about to step in,

“You seem to be very drunk.”

“What, I can’t be drunk?”

“Getting drunk is up to you, sir, so I don’t see why not. But you can’t just treat other people like they’re below you just because you’re drunk.”

Maru spoke politely. He did not use a single offensive word and his tone was very soft, but for some strange reason, there was a sense of tension. Daemyung could feel this when he was watching from the side, so what would it be like for the man talking to him?

Whether he sobered up in that brief moment or was dispirited by the fierce gazes of those around him, the man turned around.

“Also, he’s not my manager, but a friend. He’s definitely not someone you can point fingers at and be rude to.”

The fans around also glared at the drunk man and whispered. Some even spoke out loud. The daughter kept apologizing and took her father back to their seats.

“He really doesn’t have manners. Mr. Maru, don’t worry about him.”

“Celebrities aren’t pets.”

“It’s people like him who always leave bad reviews on the internet. He doesn’t even remember what he did wrong.”

The fans all sided with Maru.

“He did it because he was drunk, so that couldn’t be helped. It looks like I made the atmosphere bad here. Please enjoy your meals and have a nice day.”

After saying goodbye, Maru and Daemyung left the store together.

Daemyung got in the car and spoke,

“Why didn’t you just accept it? The atmosphere was good and rowdy.”

“Accepting people’s good will is good and all, but I don’t want to deal with people who don’t know respect.”

“Actors don’t have it easy huh? There should be a lot of people like that, right?”

“The bodyguards during events aren’t there for nothing. In fact, that much is nothing.”

“If it was nothing, then you should’ve accepted it. Someone said that it’s people like him who leave bad reviews online.”

“If I was going to fall because of some bad online comments, I would’ve quit a long time ago.”

Daemyung nodded.

“But a manager, huh? Do I look like a manager?”

“Did that make you feel bad?”

“No. It’s not really an insult. I was just thinking that maybe I should become your manager if I fail all the writing I’m preparing.”

“If you fail everything, I’ll have the manager spot open for you, so you can come.”

“I can’t talk because you’re so serious about it.”

He looked outside the window before speaking.

“But having you say that I’m a friend and not a manager made me feel good.”

Maru smiled and spoke.

“Once we get back to Seoul, we should get washed and go see your mother.”

“You’re coming over?”

“It’s been a long time, so let me go over. We can talk about the medical checkup as well.”

“Mom is stubborn and will never do it.”

“Just lie to her by saying that it’s free. I’ll pay for all the expenses.”

“Why are you treating me so well? Are you going to extort me later?”

“I’ll extort you to death. Why?”

Daemyung smiled and looked forward, thinking that putting everything aside, he had made a really good friend.