I Will Live As An Actor - Chapter 84:

Chapter 84

The dim light of the borderlight resembled a full moon.

The streets of Gyeongseong were covered with thick fog.

The crickets chirped, expressing Baek Muyeol’s complicated feelings.

An owl perched on a cherry blossom branch, its eyes shining as it watched the two people.

They were Baek Muyeol and Kang Heesoo.

“Please hurry.”

Kang Heesoo asked in a trembling voice, in response to Baek Muyeol’s question.

“Can’t you come with me?”

“The agents of the Governor-General’s Office have already stormed the palace. We can’t let them capture all the members of the Gyeongseong Righteous Army. I’m already exposed, and I can’t escape from Joseon. If I go with you, you’ll be identified too.”

“Still.”

“Come on! Don’t you remember the oath we made together? This stubborn life, let’s at least save one of us and reclaim the spring of Joseon!”

Baek Muyeol held Kang Heesoo’s trembling hand and smiled.

He looked different from his usual confident and witty self as a modern boy.

He took off the watch on his wrist and handed it to Kang Heesoo. Then he said in a calm voice.

“Use this to pay for your trip to Manchuria. I’m sorry this is all I can give you. Thank you for everything. I wish we could have met in a better world, in a different way.”

Baek Muyeol sent her off with a bow and turned around hastily. He headed to his ancestral home.

His family, which was once a wealthy and influential clan in Gyeongseong, was now in ruins, as if a typhoon had swept through it.

The gate was broken, and the dirt floor was stained with blood.

The agents were standing with torches, even though it was midnight.

Chun-sam, who was covered in blood, looked at Baek Muyeol with a shocked expression. His eyes seemed to say,

‘Why did you come here, young master?’

Then the lieutenant who was beating Chun-sam mercilessly walked over and checked Baek Muyeol’s face.

“You’re a big shot, aren’t you? I thought you had abandoned your family and run away from Gyeongseong. I never dreamed you would come back on your own. I don’t have to waste any more manpower to chase you down. Do you know who I am?”

“You’re nothing but a pig who has lost his pride as a Joseon person. Yeah, you became a lapdog of Japan and got the rank of lieutenant. Are you satisfied with that? Lieutenant Kim Daegyeong, or should I call you Hiroshi now?”

“Huh, you seem to know the structure of the Governor-General’s Office very well. You’re still so mouthy even in front of death. But there is a way out if you want to live. Tell me right now where Kim Sangok is, and I’ll report it to the higher-ups and get you a pardon. It’s better to rot in prison for a few years than to die from torture.”

Baek Muyeol was unfazed by Hiroshi’s harsh threat.

“Do you know? Even now, there are comrades who share our goal dying in Manchuria. I heard that our comrades fought against Japan’s Mukden Army in Fengwudong. That’s why our comrades are suffering from torture in the basement of Seodaemun Prison. How can I sell out their names just to save myself? So.”

He couldn’t finish his sentence, as Hiroshi swung his baton and hit Baek Muyeol’s shoulder.

“You won’t get anything out of me, even if you take me away. You Japanese dog.”

***

A month ago.

“I can understand why you chose Jang Youngguk as the male lead, Baek Muyeol. But do you really need a rookie for the female lead too?”

Actor Lee Changhoon asked the playwright Jeong Yongdae, who nodded briefly.

He knew why Lee Changhoon was worried.

They were both new actors. Jang Youngguk was a sensation last year, so he was a good choice for publicity. But the latter was uncertain.

Especially since she had never been on a stage before, let alone a child actor.

“Just read the script to the end.”

Jeong Yongdae handed him the script without a word.

As Lee Changhoon read the script, his eyes sparkled.

Soon, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

The main plot of the script was this. Baek Muyeol, the best playboy in Joseon, seduced women with his sweet words.

The last one he met was Misaki, the only daughter of the Governor-General Terauchi Arasuke.

With her help, I was able to easily succeed in the assassination mission of the Righteous Army, but among them, Baek Mu-yeol fell into an unknown current with another woman, Kang Hee-soo, a member of the Righteous Army.

Misaki, who knew that, told the governor-general about Baek Mu-yeol’s identity out of jealousy.

“So there are two female leads?”

“Yes. In the template that is known to the audience, the name of the female lead is Yeon-soo, and the name of the supporting actress is Park Sang-ah. But in reality, there are two. Baek Mu-yeol, the best libertine of Joseon, will choose the pearl lead as his last woman.”

It was a play planning method that I often used in the past. As with any work, but especially with play tickets, the name value had to be a topic and increase sales, so who the lead was also very important.

Moreover, Park Sang-ah was an actress who appeared in similar roles in morning dramas after leaving the play scene.

No matter how you look at it, putting Yeon-soo, who had gained popularity with historical dramas, on the list of female leads would stand out more in terms of buzz.

Then, actor Lee Chang-hoon flipped through the pages of the script and tilted his head.

“Is the last scene still not done? Who does he choose? It wasn’t written.”

“I’m going to finish it while rehearsing. I haven’t fully figured it out yet. The most important thing is Baek Mu-yeol’s heart. So I’m going to ask the actor Jang, who will play Baek Mu-yeol, for his opinion.”

Playwright Jung Yong-dae recalled the face of Yeong-guk.

“If you were Baek Mu-yeol, who would you choose between Misaki and Kang Hee-soo?”

***

Time passed and the stage became a courtroom.

The judges in robes took their seats in the upper seat with the jurors.

Baek Mu-yeol was in a blood-stained uniform on the opposite side of the upper seat.

He raised his head toward the upper seat. His eyes were sharp and his shoulders were straight.

He looked like he had no shame or fear at all.

Rather, he shouted with a relaxed look.

“How can you stand there in robes with the names of the invaders as a Joseon person? Now I see that the dogs of the invaders were not me, but you in robes. Aren’t you ashamed of the robes that should be fair and uphold justice being tarnished?”

The judge sitting in the upper seat of the court looked at the criminal with angry eyes. He was a person who was called a libertine of Joseon.

But looking at his actions, he was no less than an independence fighter. He coveted the wives and children of those who held high positions under the Japanese rule and caused all kinds of debauchery, not to mention taking out the secrets in the Governor-General’s Office through them.

“What did you do with the documents? What do I know? They must have been used for them who are running towards the wilderness of Manchuria, leaving my hands. I’ll gladly tell you about the past with the women I’ve met. There, sitting in the jury seat, Misaki is the only daughter of the Governor-General’s Office’s Derauchi Arasuke, and a woman who loved me passionately.”

Baek Mu-yeol looked at the woman in kimono in front of his eyes. She was the child of the Governor-General’s Office, which was built on the basis of the Eulsa Treaty. Baek Mu-yeol was a man who met many women on the streets of Gyeongseong. The peculiarity was that they were all Japanese women.

That’s why many people called Baek Mu-yeol a dog of the invaders. But there was a reason why he embraced Japanese women so much.

“Thank you. Misaki, you worked for the brightest day in Joseon, and I will not forget your love either.”

Misaki, who was sitting in the jury seat, looked at him with a complicated feeling.

In fact, she still loved him deeply. But when she saw Baek Mu-yeol with Kang Hee-soo, she couldn’t stand the anger and jealousy that welled up.

Now he is in torn prison clothes after all the hardships, and it’s too late to regret.

The judge ordered Baek Mu-yeol to reveal the independence fighters who colluded with him.

Surely there are still countless people who are roaming the streets of Gyeongseong with the information from Baek Mu-yeol.

Especially, Kim Sang-ok’s whereabouts is a matter of concern for the Governor-General’s Office.

At that moment, Baek Mu-yeol took a step toward the audience.

His gaze sweeping the audience pierced the belly of the people who enjoyed a rich life under the Japanese rule and the judges.

Under the creepy gaze, Baek Mu-yeol raised his head proudly.

His appearance showed the spirit of an independence fighter.

He shouted from his throat, which he breathed in as if to enjoy the coming spring day.

“I have no shame in looking up to the sky for the action of finding the spring of Joseon.”

He smiled and said to the judge.

“You can sentence me to death.”

***

The audience sitting in the seats looked at the stage with their mouths covered by their sleeves.

In their eyes, sadness and anger were mixed.

On the stage, Baek Mu-yeol was being tortured. His appearance reminded them of the hardships of the real independence fighters in the past.

“What a stubborn bastard. He doesn’t give up even after his fingernails and toenails are all pulled out, and his fingers are cut off one by one. Is this really the Parak-ho who is famous in the streets of Gyeongseong? He is the most bull-headed among the righteous army members I have ever met.”

The jailer sprinkled water on Baek Mu-yeol, who had lost consciousness.

Baek Mu-yeol regained his senses and glared at the jailer with his teeth clenched.

The jailer spat out his saliva as if he was disgusted and turned away.

Just then, another jailer entered the torture room to take turns.

“Sowujiro, how is it? Did he talk?”

“Not a word, not a word. He doesn’t say anything, even though he didn’t cut his tongue. He doesn’t even make a groan, even if we pull out his nails or cut his fingers. We have to find out where the remaining traitors are hiding from his mouth right now.”

At that moment, Baek Mu-yeol’s eyes widened like lanterns.

“Where did you get that watch!”

The new jailer looked at Baek Mu-yeol with a puzzled look.

“This watch? I see you’re not a mute after all. Why are you coveting a watch while you’re dying?”

Baek Mu-yeol’s pupils were shaking violently.

The watch that the jailer was wearing was none other than the one he had given to Kang Hee-soo.

The scratches on the surface of the watch, as well as the engraving of his seal, were clear. The jailer, seeing the change in Baek Mu-yeol’s calm demeanor, scratched it and bragged.

“It was worn by a woman who was captured a few days ago, a righteous army member. She was a fine woman. I would have liked to keep her as a concubine, but how could I keep such a vicious woman as a concubine. She kept the watch in her bosom, so I snatched it away.”

“What, what happened to that woman.”

“She would have lived longer if she was a traitor like you, but she was frail. She collapsed after a few beatings.”

“Then what happened to her!”

“What happened, she’s already buried under the outhouse. But how dare you raise your voice like that!”

The jailer beat Baek Mu-yeol again.

Baek Mu-yeol, who was tied to a chair and endured the harsh beating with his eyes wide open, bit the jailer’s wrist with all his strength.

He couldn’t bear to look at the wrist that was wearing his watch.

The jailer screamed and finally pulled the trigger on Baek Mu-yeol’s head.

Bang!

The stage went dark with the gunshot.

-If people like me become dirt and dust, piled up one by one, maybe someday spring will come to this barren land of Joseon. So let’s have a cup of coffee and chat in the next life. Then there will be the scent of spring in Joseon. I, Baek Mu-yeol, will only look at you for a lifetime then. So don’t be sad. I don’t want to leave you with just painful memories.

The stage lit up again with Baek Mu-yeol’s calm voice.

It was the street of Gyeongseong.

There were no Japanese wearing clogs, nor the building of the Governor-General of Joseon.

A modern boy in a black suit and a fedora was standing on the sunny street of Gyeongseong.

He looked like he was waiting for someone, looking at his wristwatch and adjusting his clothes.

Soon, a woman got off a rickshaw.

The woman who got off the rickshaw was Kang Hee-soo, wearing a pure white hanbok.

She reached out her hand shyly to Baek Mu-yeol.

He took her hand and was about to walk with her.

Baek Mu-yeol looked at the audience with a calm and sorrowful gaze.

“There”

And,

“Has spring come to Joseon.”

The play was over.