A Glimpse into Ordinary Life

From the morning, a welcome phone number lit up Kang Tae-san’s screen.

“Yes, hyung.”

—Senior!

“Yes?”

Startled by Min Jin-cheol’s booming voice suddenly calling him “senior,” Tae-san pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment before asking again.

“This is Tae-san. Did you dial the wrong number?”

—From now on, I, Min Jin-cheol, shall regard the noble Kang Tae-san as my elder.

“I heard the news, hyung. You’re starting work today?”

—Yes, Senior Tae-san. When you return home today, this humble one shall personally deliver the iron pot.

“And drop the honorifics already, hyung. Puhaha.”

Kang Tae-san burst out laughing while holding the phone to his ear.

After a round of playful banter, Min Jin-cheol shared some good news.

—Oh right, the client called last night. They were really pleased. The CF views already passed five hundred thousand. Thanks to that, my department evaluation score went up right after joining.

“That’s a relief.”

Tae-san answered briefly while stirring the instant coffee in his mug.

—Not just a relief, it’s a huge success. The CEO even told me, “That Kang Tae-san guy is a gem, so make sure you hold on to him.” Hahaha.

Min Jin-cheol laughed cheerfully, then added,

—You’ve got acting lessons today, right? Once you’re done, I’ll come pick you up and take you home.

“It’s fine. The subway’s quick.”

—What kind of actor takes the subway! What if fans recognize you? Your face is already on TV, so the company said no going out without protection—you’ll get photographed.

“Who’s going to recognize me?”

—They might not recognize the actor, but the company will, and then I’m the one who gets scolded.

“Then…… let’s do it that way.”

—Good. Fighting, then. See you later!

Click.

When the call ended, Tae-san stared at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his phone with an awkward expression for a moment.

He had satisfied the client, gained enough fame that people on the street occasionally recognized him, and the agency seemed to be giving him special care. By all accounts, he was finally on track, yet he himself felt no particular sense of reality.

When he pushed open the practice room door, a faint smell of stale cigarette smoke drifted out.

In the middle of the room sat Koo Yang-man, wearing an old canvas jacket and holding a teacup.

He glanced at Tae-san and spoke shortly.

“You’re here.”

“Yes.”

Koo Yang-man tapped the script on the table with his finger.

“You said you’re preparing for an audition today?”

“Yes. The scenario.”

“It’s Director Mo Yeon-hee’s project. She’s famous for being picky. All right, show me what you’ve practiced.”

Tae-san picked up the thin script stapled onto A4 paper from the side of the room.

The cover read the role name: “Gong Geon-ah.”

“Try this scene. ‘I like you. I just liked eating together.’ Without emotion, keep it casual.”

Following Koo Yang-man’s instruction, Tae-san took a breath and recited the line plainly.

“I like you. I just liked eating together.”

A brief silence followed.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“What was that just now? Was that supposed to be liking someone?”

“Pardon?”

“You say you like her, yet your voice is full of killing intent. Don’t you know what liking someone feels like?”

Tae-san blinked.

“You told me to do it normally……”

“I told you to play an ordinary character, not to act with ordinary skill. This is the most basic kind of acting even rookies can do.”

He stood up and patted Tae-san’s shoulder.

“Relax your shoulders, but put the feeling of liking someone into it and say it plainly.”

Koo Yang-man ran a hand through his hair.

“You’ve dated before, right?”

“Um……”

Seeing Tae-san unable to continue, Koo Yang-man let out a sigh.

“Come on, with that face and at your age, there’s no way you’ve never dated.”

“It’s possible. I was too busy living to date.”

“You’re a ridiculous guy. Then what did you do in college?”

“I’m a high school graduate.”

“Then what did you do in high school?”

“I worked. Until dawn after school.”

“Aigoo, so you lived diligently. Geez. How are you going to become an actor when you’ve never even dated?”

Portraying ordinary dating and the conflicts between men and women was the most basic level of acting, something even F-rank and D-rank unknowns could usually handle when it came to simple romance scenes.

Of course, the role Director Mo Yeon-hee had offered was a supporting male lead—essentially a main supporting role—so it wasn’t something F- or D-rank actors could easily audition for. To play it, one had to go beyond simple romance and portray a delicate yet twisted desire, which made it a high-difficulty part.

Still, to reach that level, one first had to be able to handle basic romance and melodrama acting.

“If you can’t even do that, you’ll never get this movie.”

The practice room air grew heavy.

Tae-san lowered his head while holding the script.

“You’ve been on dates, right? That thing—what do they call it these days—‘something’ or whatever. You must have tried that at least.”

“No.”

“Aigoo. If I had your face, man. Whatever. Forget it.”

Koo Yang-man stood up, pointed at the door, and issued an expulsion order.

“Instead of sitting here, I’m giving you homework today. Go on a date or something that feels like a date. Anything that might help your romance acting—just do it and come back.”

“Do I really have to go that far?”

“What’s your role right now? A supporting male lead full of jealousy and clumsy at love. You need to know what it feels like to like someone. Only then can you show jealousy and that awkward feeling. Don’t you think?”

Every word was correct.

Tae-san bowed his head and left the practice room, pulling out his phone.

Min Jin-cheol’s name, whom he had just hung up on, appeared on the screen.

He thought of the female contacts he knew.

At best, there were Eun Chae-won, Choi Song-ah, and Song Yoo-na.

Calling Eun Chae-won, a senior at the same agency and a top-tier actress, to ask for a date was insane even for Tae-san.

He also felt reluctant to act ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overly familiar with Choi Song-ah, who had openly declared herself a fan, while maintaining the fan-celebrity boundary.

That left Song Yoo-na, though he didn’t particularly feel like dating her either.

—What are you doing?

—I’m on set today. Why?

—Never mind. Good luck with work.

Song Yoo-na seemed busy too.

Tae-san took the script out of his bag again and read it slowly.

‘Diligent engineering student, clumsy with emotional expression, falls in love at first sight with the female lead and is quick to fall for someone, but later becomes obsessive and tries to possess her.’

Reading the brief character description, Tae-san muttered to himself.

The explanation sounded complicated, but in the end, it was just the kind of person you could find anywhere—an inexperienced dater or someone with a warped view of relationships.

“Hey, so what happened with you two yesterday!”

“I don’t know~ It feels like we’re just circling around each other.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!”

Through the corridor window, he could hear a group of college students laughing and chatting as they passed by on the street.

It was a sight that felt unfamiliar to Tae-san.

The days he had lived just to survive.

He had been poor, had no leisure, and would be fired the moment he made a mistake.

He had never relied on anyone.

So how could someone like that portray the heart of an ordinary college student?

“……”

Tae-san threw his empty coffee cup into the trash bin.

The stain on the rim of the bin caught his eye strangely.

He took a handkerchief from his bag and wiped the stain away.

Looking at the now-clean trash bin, Tae-san murmured without realizing it.

“Yeah. I should at least clean.”

The thought had come to him suddenly.

To understand someone’s life, he had to experience it directly.

That was the method he had always used.

From Seo Chae-hyuk and Yoo Pil-joo, he had learned the chilling psychology of criminals. When he experienced a housewife’s life, he had felt the warmth of family.

Both were things Tae-san had never possessed.

This time, he needed to experience the life of an “ordinary person.”

He took out his phone.

When he unlocked the screen, the Smile App icon caught his eye.

If it weren’t for this cleaning app, he wouldn’t be where he was now.

“This is perfect.”

Tae-san immediately accepted the cleaning request from client “Lee Jae-yoon.”

If he was a developer, there was a high chance he was an engineering student. He would be able to experience what kind of life he had lived and what kind of relationships he had.

While he was accepting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the new cleaning request, a black Carnival had stopped by the roadside.

The driver’s window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.

“Tae-san, over here!”

“You got here fast, hyung.”

Tae-san smiled and opened the passenger door.

Min Jin-cheol seemed excited, perhaps because he had landed a proper new job.

It was the overly kind and sincere expression typical of a new manager.

“How was the lesson today?”

“Hmm…… It was difficult.”

“What part?”

“I have to do romance acting, but I’ve never dated before.”

“Haha, well, that’s true. You’ve strangely never dated since way back. Even someone like me got married.”

“That’s the problem, apparently.”

Outside the car window, the evening rush-hour crowd was visible.

People lined up at every bus stop.

Tae-san suddenly recalled his past self mixed among them.

The days when he would sit hunched over on the bus stop bench, waiting for the bus before heading to his evening part-time job, suddenly felt distant.

Though traffic was quite heavy, they arrived home in thirty minutes.

Tae-san called out to Min Jin-cheol, who was about to leave.

“Hyung. Are you taking the company car straight home today?”

“Yeah, probably. Why?”

“Perfect. The car has plenty of space. Later, take some tuna from our place.”

“Tuna? What’s with the tuna all of a sudden?”

They rode the elevator together up to Tae-san’s apartment. When Min Jin-cheol saw the enormous stacks of tuna gift sets piled like a wall inside the entrance, his mouth fell open.

“Whoa, what’s all this?”

“The CF client sent them as a gift last time. There’s way too much for me to eat alone even if I tried. Take ten boxes.”

“Ten boxes? Well, I’m not complaining. Uwahaha. It’s not even a holiday, and they’re sending tuna gifts. Our actor is the best, seriously the best.”

Each box was quite heavy, but Min Jin-cheol made two round trips by himself and quickly loaded all the tuna into the car.

Min Jin-cheol asked in an excited voice,

“If you’re just going to stay home today, want to come over to my place for dinner? Yeon-joo said to bring you over to eat.”

“No, I have a separate schedule tonight.”

“Looking at your schedule, there wasn’t anything personal listed. If it’s a schedule even your manager doesn’t know about, is it something private?”

“Yes, just…… something small.”

“Don’t tell me…… After our conversation earlier……”

Min Jin-cheol rested his chin on his hand and looked at Kang Tae-san with a serious expression.

“Did you get a girlfriend?”

“I’ve told you several times that I don’t, and that’s the problem.”

“If you do have one, you have to tell me, okay? The company warned us to be extremely careful about these things. One scandal can be fatal for an actor.”

“I’m just going to do some cleaning.”

“Cleaning?”

A brief silence passed before Min Jin-cheol’s expression shifted subtly.

“Housework?”

“It is house cleaning, but someone else’s house.”

“Do you really have to?”

“Yes. It pays decently, and it’s good for clearing my mind.”

He wondered if he should explain further in case Min Jin-cheol found it strange, but after staring at Kang Tae-san for a moment, Min Jin-cheol simply nodded without asking more.

“All right. If it’s something you need to do, then it’s fine.”

Min Jin-cheol checked the time on his phone.

“If going to clean is something you need, then that’s also part of your schedule. I’ll go with you.”

“No, hyung. There’s no need for that.”

“I learned that this kind of thing is also part of a manager’s job. Besides, you’ll need to bring cleaning tools, and public transportation would be inconvenient. Hurry up and get in.”

Kang Tae-san smiled awkwardly at Min Jin-cheol.

He felt truly fortunate that someone with this personality—someone who helped without prying—had become his manager.

After gathering the cleaning supplies, Kang Tae-san got back into the car with Min Jin-cheol at the wheel.

When the door opened, Min Jin-cheol pulled out a thick mask and waved it.

“Wear this.”

“It’s fine. Why?”

“Not because of dust while cleaning. An actor who’s been on TV shouldn’t go around cleaning with his bare face. What if someone recognizes you and it ends up in an article?”

“Is cleaning really that strange to see?”

“It’s not that it looks strange, but it’ll be annoying if someone recognizes you.”

Thinking that might be true, Tae-san accepted the mask.

The large mask covered half his face.

Looking in the mirror, it looked almost like a disguise.

“Why is the mask so big?”

“Really? It was a bit tight on me. Yeon-joo bought it to fit my size.”

Because of the difference in head size, it was loose on Tae-san, but the larger surface area had the advantage of covering his face better.

A little later.

“That apartment complex over there, right?”

“Yes, I think that’s it.”

Kang Tae-san arrived in front of a tall, newly built apartment complex near Balsan Station in Gangseo-gu.

After registering the Carnival as a visitor vehicle, they entered the underground parking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lot.

It was the newest building among all the places he had cleaned so far, and the fact that it was an apartment made it feel fresh.

“I’ll wait nearby, so take your time finishing the cleaning.”

“Yes, hyung. I’ll be quick.”

At the end of the underground parking corridor, he could see the entrance connected to the apartment elevator.

Tae-san double-checked the unit number and pressed the intercom button.

Ding-dong—