Rebirth: King to Superstar

Joon-won was now standing outside the house talking with Kar Jung and Kar Min at their doorstep. He was done with dinner and was ready to go back.

"Thank you for the dinner, Ms. Kar. It was really tasty." He didn't forget to thank the lady for the delicious meal she provided for him. The lady was kind, unlike her husband who had a grumpy look on his face. He always had that face whenever his wife was friendly to him. 

"Oh, it's alright. You should have stayed for the night Joon-won. We have an extra room if you want to. It's already late at night and you need to go back to your university at this time." Kar Jung smiled and asked to stay at their house for the night as she had been during the whole dinner.

Joon-won shook his head and replied, " No, I'm alright Ms.Kar. I'd rather go back to my apartment. I have work to do early in the morning. Thanks for the food once again." He already sent a text to the Store Manager Gim Da that he was free Saturday and if they needed an extra hand. Gim Da immediately agreed and told him to come in.

"Yeah, let him go. Don't hold him back." Kar Jung butted in and supported the idea of sending him away. He already completed his part of the job and gave the guy some insight on his acting. Now he wanted some alone time with his wife like they usually have.

"Don't speak like that. Why are you so rude today? You aren't even going to drive the young man to a nearby bus stop." Kar Min scolded her husband again. She asked Kar Jung to drop the young man off but he denied and told her he was too tired and didn't want to even step out of the house anymore. 

"It's alright, Ms. Kar. l can go back alone. Both of you should take care of yourself. Bye." He walked out of the front lawn and was now on the road. 

Ms. Kar waved her hand and reminded him, "Alright then take care of yourself. Send a text to Kar Jung after you go back home." Joon-won nodded and started walking down the street. He already got Kar Jung's phone number during dinner from his wife and as promised will send a text.

Not before long he was out of the community and was back on the main roads. The time was already 10 and there were still many vehicles on the road. The streets still looked bright and the night looked young with many people roaming around. 

He looked around and noticed a bus stop not far away from him. He walked up to the stop and saw a few sleeping office workers on the bench. Joon-won checked the board and noticed he had just missed the bus and another one would take 30 minutes to arrive. Lamenting his bad luck he just shrugged it off and took a seat before taking out his phone. 

He learned a lot that evening. He finally found what his problems are and knew the biggest thing he had to change about him was the way he sees his own acting. If he continued as he was, he would have to depend on others to show his problems for him every time. That wasn't the prettiest idea. 

The only way he could think of to change the way he observed was to consume more movies. He had to watch more movies and see how the actors were before comparing himself to it. He would then have a rough estimate of his level and problem. 

Time went by and before he knew it another bus to the university arrived. He quickly got onto the empty bus and took a seat by a window. He looked out to see the bright city and remained silent. The bus ride was peaceful and he quickly got home. He took a shower and jumped to bed.

The next day he was standing in the theatre watching the practice. By the time he came from his shift at the supermarket they already started practicing and so he quietly stood at the end and observed it. This was a full-on final practice with all the costumes and props. Even San Min was there to observe and correct and mistakes noticeable.

He noticed Kar Jung in his costume and as he suspected his role was that of a minister. A very important one too. He had many lines in the story and his acting was very versed. The whole drama was smooth from start to finish with very few mistakes. San Min sat in one of the seats and after everything was done she stood up and went on stage. 

As she got on stage every actor was on alert and ready to get some good lashing from her. San Min was a very strict director and if she found even a small mistake the actor should be ready to get a good earful. Joon-won actually liked that about San Min. It was this intensity that she brought into this club was that made the club so successful. 

"Alright, that was a good run. Most of you are good as always. There were a few mistakes I noticed. Some of you fumbled on lines making some parts more awkward. Do not forget your lines. That is the first thing they teach you. How can you forget your damn lines? You had 3 days to remember and practice. The script does not change to excuse you like in the movies where there would be constant script changes." And she started educating the actors. This continued for another ten minutes before she gave them a 10 minutes break before the next start. 

Joon-won was now sitting in a seat at the back to watch the practice. At the break, he took out and called Min-Seok to ask how things were back at home. It didn't take long for Min-Seok to respond, and both talked for a few minutes. 

According to Min-Seok it looked like his plan really worked. Yun-hee continued to go home and use all the time to study so that she could cover up the time she lost when working. Her exams were now less than 2 weeks away. They were from the 20th and spanned the entire week with one exam after another without preparation time in the middle. So all the preparations should be done before they start. The results would come by the end of June and they had to choose a University by the middle of July. July was the most hectic time for the students. 

As he talked he noticed someone sit beside him and looked to see it was San Min. San Min looked at him and gestured to him to continue the call but he quickly said goodbye to his dad and looked at her, puzzled. She didn't understand why she was there. 

"You should have talked to your father some more. By the looks of it you and your family are close." San Min commented while she looked at the empty stage. 

Joon-won, who didn't even see his father and sister in this world after changing bodies, shrugged and replied, "I guess you could say that. I think the least a child can do to a parent is to call them once in a while and just ask them how they are doing. Those words of concern are enough for most parents out there." 

It was his genuine thoughts. As a retired king, most of his time was free. He didn't have his wife to spend time with and couldn't disturb his children who had to look after the kingdom. But he always did feel a bit happy when all his children would come to meet him at least once every two weeks. It's difficult for them to make time for an old man like him but the fact that they do was a warm feeling. He knew that was how Min-Seok also felt and would regularly call him to check on him.

"Parents ha. Well, it almost looks like you have experience being a father with grown-up kids by the way you speak." San Min sighed at first before looking at him with a chuckle. 

'I was not only a father but my eldest child was even older than you.' Joon-won ridiculed her back in his mind. 

Joon-won shrugged and asked, "So what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be up in the front for another practice? After all the break you gave is almost done." 

"Oh, nothing really. I just saw you sitting in the back all alone and observing our practice very keenly. What do you think?" She asked him back. She was very proud when it comes to the drama house and the kid next to her was a genius in Theatre from what she saw in the clip Do Hwan gave her. So she wanted to know his opinion.