ACT FOUR
Scene One

Park bench.
A wind howls and then dies. Repeatedly.
Rain is expected.
Taemin fiddles with his wrist watch.
Eonsook studies him through it.
She wears a scarf to hide the bruises from before.

Taemin: Thank you. For not pressing charges.

Eonsook: He said he was losing his mind.

A long minute of silence.
She doesn't repeat her question.
Even if it wasn't a question but a restating
Of unbelievable facts.
He hesitantly turns to her, then turns back to look ahead.

Taemin: (nods silently)

Eonsook: Tell me what he meant.

Taemin: (rubs at his face and sighs) What good is closure going to do you six years hence?

Eonsook: Just… tell me, Taem. I need to know. I need you to tell me. Please.

Taemin: I won't make it pretty for you.

Eonsook: And that's why I didn't go to Junghee.

A bus passes by with a loudly rattling engine.
Leaves blow over, some dirty with wet clay.
They pay no heed to any of it.
She waits. He weighs.

Taemin: (hangs his head) They’re called fugue states. The times when he suddenly changes into another character. It’s a dissociative disorder. That’s what his doctor said. It's like... (gestures) like his head shuts off for a millisecond and when it reboots it's all confused. He goes to another place in those milliseconds. He returns with no memory of what he'd been doing just before. Frank Abagnale becomes Clyde Barrow becomes D'Artagnan becomes Mikhail Bulgakov. It doesn’t last as long as in usual cases, but it can get... pretty bad.

Eonsook: How bad is pretty bad?

Taemin: He… (holds his forehead as if in distress) sometimes he doesn’t remember his episodes. It’s like waking from a dream for him. Except it was a nightmare. For those on the outside. (chuckles despite himself) I get envious of him. Where does he go while I wait for him to get back? What does he do there while I stall the audience here? What does he see while I search his face? I... I find myself wanting to follow him. Be where he is. Do what he does. See what he sees. But when I ask him about it... the slate is always clean.

Eonsook: Why is it happening to him?

Taemin: (shrugs uneasily) Depression, trauma, the alcohol… It could be anything. We don’t know.

Eonsook: Wait, wait, what do you mean by depression? He’s not depressed! He's not traumatized!

Taemin: (blankly) You said he was your everything. What the do you think you meant to him? When he found out you were with someone else, what do you think it felt like inside him?

Eonsook: (warns) Don’t make this about me! And anyway, I told him it wasn’t cheating, I just wanted to—

Taemin: (livid) That’s not how it was for him, Sookie! (runs a hand through his hair) Do you really believe he understood that? The fact that you were ing someone else for entertainment?! You think he took it with a pinch of salt and brushed it off his shoulder?! No! He swallowed all that salt and walked away with its weight still inside him. He felt tortured! Imagine being told by the love of your life that they’re bored of you!

Eonsook: (shakes head frantically) I didn—

Taemin: (holds up a hand) Don’t talk to me about this. I will always take his side.

Eonsook: (weighs her words) Why do you talk to me like you love him?

Taemin: (purses his lips) Maybe I do...

Eonsook: (shifts to look at him with incredulity) D-does he know?

Taemin: (with finality) I'd never allow it.

Thunder is tumultuous.
A light drizzle begins to sprinkle their clothes with dark spots.
They stand and begin to walk towards stage right.

Eonsook: What does this mean for the play, then?

Taemin: The end.

Lights dim with their footsteps and then go out.
Exit all.

Scene Two

Kibum’s home.
Two sofas aligned to face one another.
An empty plate and a pair of cups wait to be cleared away.
Sounds of a fire crackling.
A woman places her recorder back in her purse.
A man crosses his arms and legs, leaning away from the table between them.

The interview has ended.

Minjung: Thank you so much for taking your time out for this, sir. And may I say I’m so honored to have been allowed to meet you—

Kibum: Kibum. (nods) Just Kibum is fine.

Minjung: (shyly) A-aniyo. You’re such a big actor. I’m—I’m just a smalltime reporter for the entertainment page.

Kibum: (indulgently) Sweetheart, people only read the entertainment page these days. (long pause) By the way… you pointedly steered away from personal questions. I must thank you for such courteousness but it still remains… why’d you do that?

Minjung: I…

Kibum: Wanted to make it off-the-record?

Minjung: No.

Kibum: No?

Minjung: (reluctantly) … y-yes. (trying to clarify) I—I mean! Uhm… only out of personal curiosity. But of course I couldn’t ask you anything you’d be uncomfortable with.

Kibum: (teasing) My~ you’re generous!

Minjung: … A-and are you?

Kibum: (laughs, wagging a finger) Well played, Minjung ssi! (nods appreciatively) OK, then. Ask me what you want to know. But only on one condition! (points at her) You’ll have to go out with me. A round of wine and dinner after the premiere of As You Like It. And... (cheekily) maybe possibly ice-cream after. No, don’t ask for any leniency! I’m a very strict follower of equivalent exchange. Alchemic, almost.

Minjung: Uhm…

Kibum: So? Do we have a deal? You can say no, I won't be offended.

Minjung: (nodding shyly)

Kibum: Alright, then. (claps his hands) What rumor do you want cleared up?

Minjung: You've... you've been in love before?

Kibum: (long pause) It’s a difficult question.

Minjung: How so?

Kibum: (shrugging) Just is… I (fiddles with armrests) I suppose I was in love. Once. Unbearably deep and low in love. It was—a large burden to heft around. That’s probably why you call it baggage, I suppose. (chuckles)

Minjung: (solemnly) It sounds like a sad thing. I’m sorry… some wounds must never be scratched over.

Kibum: (shakes his head dismissively) What else do you want to know?

Minjung: Uhm. You and Taemin ssi… what are you?

Kibum: (amused) Well, now, that’s interesting.

Minjung: (leans forward) All your plays are together. You're a team with him. As in, (gesturing) a team of actors. That's never been done before in Korean theatre. You never take up plays unless he’s a co-star, or at least a standby to your role. There's been a lot of talk that you’ve refused to be paid more than him even when your parts were bigger or more important. I assume you choose what play suits him as a person and then yank him on board? And—and I’m not sure he’s held the same consideration for you. So... it sounds like a one-sided love to me.

Kibum: (looks at her with interest) You sure you write the entertainment section and not the relationship advice column? Ask Auntie Choi, that sort of thing?

Minjung: (flustered) A-aniyo!

Kibum: (sighs deeply) Since you've asked. (gets a faraway look) Taemin is… everything.

Minjung: Everything?

Kibum: Everything. Because you see, since a very young age I liked playing pretend… For a long time I wanted to be someone else. I used to dream of being not me. Not normal. Not ordinary. I’d wish to be some other person. Someone better. Someone more glamorous and fashionable and popular. And once we started acting in plays, it was possible for me to be those things. Even if just for a short while in the day.

Minjung: Right….

Kibum: (pause) I found my bonus in Taem because he’d seen the real me and the pretend me, yet preferred the former. He’s the only one who understands that after I’ve stopped changing, after I’ve stopped wanting, I’m… I’m not nothing. I’m still here. It—it wasn’t as fortifying as it was validating. And because of that… because of that he is more than a friend, more than a brother, more than a lover.

Minjung: (speechless)

Kibum: You seem lost (chortles heartily)

Minjung: I… I just feel like you're so much wiser than you're meant to be. Why is that?

Kibum: (sighs loudly, slumps tiredly) Who knows, Minjung ssi? Who the knows?

A clock ticks somewhere in the room.
He looks like he's expecting more.
She looks like any more might be cruel.
He reaches forward and picks up a crumb from his plate.
She reaches for her bag, making to leave.

But stops.

Minjung: (hesitates, then blurts) And your affair with Lee Eonsook?

Kibum: What of it?

Minjung: Well... (pauses a long while) barring the media fiasco that followed your breakup, what happened?

Kibum: Nothing.

Minjung: Nothing?

Kibum: Hmm~ (smiles) you want to know if I still have feelings for her. So, I ask you Minjung ssi--do you have feelings for me?

Minjung: S-sir... that would be highly unprofessional.

Kibum: (annoyed) Nothing is unprofessional about feeling a certain way. It's a human thing to feel. If your idea of professionalism is being a robot then you wouldn't be half the reporter you are today. If you like me, say it out loud. Like a real woman. Don't cower behind your recorder.

Minjung: (sits up straighter) Then... are you still in love with Lee Eonsook ssi?

Kibum: On some days, yes. But not today.

Minjung: That's a very strange answer.

Kibum: Well, I'm a very strange man!

Minjung: Yes, but--how could you love and not love someone that simultaneously? It's not a switch. I mean, (shakes her head, gesturing) For a whole week the newspapers printed nothing but details of your wedding. The cake, the flowers, the dress, the guest list. There was all the hype about a church ceremony following one in a temple. You gave rise to the biggest fanclub any celebrity couple Korean entertainment has ever seen. The two of you were... like the prince and princess of a romance novel.

Kibum: I prefer the term horror story.

Minjung: (pitiably) What happened that shattered the glass for you?

Kibum: Reality. I found out that we weren't, in fact, made for each other. She was here, and I was me. We were never us. No matter how much we tried to pretend. (picks at armrest) So I went my way, and she followed to steal jobs from real thespians (chuckles)

Minjung: Does your past make it difficult to work with her?

Kibum: And my disease.

Minjung: Ah... (looks ashamed) I'm sorry. I heard what happened after your last rehearsal. Your co-actors at the presscon said you acted crazy, that you were out of your mind. I am... (looks lost for words) I am so sorry.

Kibum: Crazy. Heh. Colloquial for dissociative disorder, yes.

Minjung: But you agree, that was definitely unprofessional.

Kibum: It was what it was, I wouldn't pay it much mind. People say whatever they want because they have mouths. I choose not to shut them up. Never been one to dirty my hands, quite frankly... So! (stands, begins to clear the table) Would you like to stay for lunch? I'm ordering Chinese.

Lights fade out.
Exit all.

Scene Three

Stage lights focus on one man.
There is stunned silence as he speaks.
A woman intently listens from the front row.
Two others watch from a backstage wing. One is proud, the other is nostalgic.
A man, in the opposite wing, smiles affectionately.

Somewhere, in the back of their minds, they are listening to their friend and lover and employee’s life being recited.

Kibum: … And then the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier, full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice, in fair round belly with good capon lined, with eyes severe and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws and modern instances; and so he plays his part.

He walks around the stage, casually running his fingers
Along a large array of rainbow-colored strings.
From infantine blue, to lusty red, to envious green, to confident yellow.
His hand slides along the fabric as his mouth counts his emotions.   

The sixth age shifts into the lean and slippered pantaloons with spectacles on nose and pouch on side, his youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide for his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, turning again toward childish treble, pipes and whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, that ends this strange eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion…

(stands with his arms crossed over his chest) sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Uproarious applause.
Lights glimmer out, then focus on activity backstage.

Enter Taemin and another actor.
They play out their scene silently.
Meanwhile the ladies are heard speaking backstage.

Eonsook: (to Junghee) I should thank you for letting him do this. Even without his condition, very few people would—

Junghee: (holds up hand) I only did it for the money.

Eonsook: (snorts) You don’t have to lie when he’s not around. I know you have a soft spot for him. It’s painfully obvious.

Junghee: (laughs with ridicule) That sort of thing might be common in the film industry. This is theatre. We don’t do any of that . If you’re talented, we’ll give you a shot. If you’re not, maybe you should get the out of here.

Eonsook: (nods appreciatively) Direct. You must be a heartbreaker.

Junghee: I prefer bones to muscles. More permanent damage.

Eonsook: What are you even—

Light switches back onstage, where someone is singing a sonnet.
The other players circle around him in various states of attention.
Then resume dialogue from the play, which is heard only faintly.
Enter Junsu and Baekhyun.
Lights swing backstage again.

Junghee: Listen. (seriously) I’ve been under a lot of stress for this particular show. As you can see Kibum is a ing mess. And initially the producers didn’t even ask for him. They (hesitates) they only wanted Taem. “He’s not as unpredictable,” they said. “He may not be the best choice but he can remain in the same character for the entirety of a scene, at least.” And I had no rebuttal to that.

Eonsook: You mean…?

Junghee: There was a time limit to the offer. I had to decide soon. How was I to help anything? (bites lip) I… was going to sign the contract. I was going to… to let it slide off to Taem doing it alone.

Eonsook: (smirks) .

Junghee: Yah…! (smarting) But you’re right. (shrugs) Anyway, Taemin refused. He said he wanted to do it together or not at all. It’s weird because he’s usually not shown that sort of… solidarity. Particularly where Kibum is concerned. Remeber last year when he did that regional play by himself, and it ran for five whole months? Kibum had no schedules that entire time, it was a little sad even. But Taemin never gave in. So I thought it was especially odd since a big role like Orlando…

Onstage, all exit except Taemin.
The ladies watch him intently, applauding
When he's done with his part.
The reporter in the front row is smiling wide.
Perhaps their little comedy is a success after all.

Exit Taemin, enter Kyuhyun with another actor.
Lights go up backstage again.

Eonsook: So.

Junghee: So they agreed to let Kibum on the list. Of course. They had no choice. Nobody really does theatre anymore, you know?

Eonsook: (raises eyebrow sarcastically) You’re joking.

Junghee: Pssht! (looks out to the stage) Anywho, the point is. What’s stressing me out is not Kibum at all. I mean, yeah he might screw up if he suddenly turns into Psychobabble one-oh-one or whatever. But it’s not him I’m worried about.  It’s… (turns to the other) you.

Eonsook: (surprised) Me?

Junghee: You antagonize him. It aggravates him. (confused, tilts her head) Aggravates it...? (annoyed) The whole thing, damnit.

Eonsook: Whatever happened to “women stick together”?

Junghee: (sighs) I know, I know. (with more strictness) But this is hurting him. You’re hurting him. You always have. I didn't know him when you were together, but I knew what was left of him when you were done. Sookie, he was... a total mess. I felt more like a rehab officer than a manager with him in those early months. He was swimming in booze, swimming! And you coming back into his life like this is just—you've seen how smashed he gets at parties.

Eonsook: I didn’t come here by choice, if that’s what you’re saying.

Junghee: No, I’m not saying that at all. What I’m saying is you can leave by it.

Eonsook: Huh...?

Junghee: Quit the play.

Eonsook: (incredulous) What?!

Junghee: (hisses) Come on, don’t make me say like that a second time.

Eonsook: Didn’t look very bothersome the first time!

Junghee: Sookie…

Eonsook: No, I won’t!

Junghee: Sookie, please… This is a man’s sanity we’re talking about here.

Eonsook: Tell him to leave then. Like you said, he isn’t even supposed to be here.

Junghee: You know I can’t do that. Neither professionally, nor logically. (lowered tone) Theatre is his life. You’ll do this play and go back to the movies. If it’s a success, whatever. If it’s not, you’ll very well forget any of this ever happened. But Kibum? (shakes head) This is the pinnacle of Kibum’s career. This is probably as good as it gets for him. And you want him to quit? He can’t.

Eonsook: (tutting) Why does anybody have to quit in the first place?! Why is it always about quitting with Kibum?

Junghee: I don’t know what happened six years ago. I also don’t know the reason behind it. But I do know that he has never been happy since. Sookie... (with worry) He was suffering from strange psychological conditions even then. He was so troubled by the tiniest of changes. And so scared! Of people, of places, of something as simple as the utterance of a few words! Sometimes I can't believe how scared he looks of the most normal things... And now that you’re back in his life, it’s gotten worse. Like his mind has just one direction to roll. Downhill.

Eonsook: H-how can you blame me for this?

Junghee: I can’t. And I won’t. (pauses) But it’s obvious you upset him. You need to go.

Eonsook: No, I don—

Junghee: (nudges insistently) No, I mean you need to go right now. As in it’s your scene next.

Eonsook: O-oh. (smoothes her wig down) Right.

Lights brighten as Eonsook steps out onto the stage, then dim gradually.
Exit all.

Scene Four

Park bench.
A man occupies it. Alone.
He doesn't remember the last time he sat alone here.
He's always been here with her. Or him. Or someone.
But today this bench is his, only his.
Sounds of bicycle bells and laughing children in the air.
Pink strings flutter in the wind. Flutter past his sight.
They fly loose, unhooked to any system, unsuspended from any control.
He reaches a hand out to catch one.
He fails.
He tries again.

Enter Minjung.

Minjung: Kibum ssi? Have you been waiting long?

She hands him a bouquet.
He laughs and accepts, drinking in the smell of fresh flowers and letting out a satisfied ahh~

Kibum: (slides to make place for her) Not at all. (grins and rubs his hands together) So. I noticed you had a front row seat~ What did you think?

Minjung: (blushing) I... always like your work. Even if it's a terribly written experimental play with strange symbolism like raining salt and--

Kibum: Oh, Hades (slaps forehead) You went to that disaster... I still can't believe I agreed to something like that. What was I thinking... (shakes head)

Minjung: (giggles) It wasn't too bad. I could sit through it.

Kibum: (nudges her) You're being sweet.

Minjung: (nudges back) There's nothing else to be~ Shall we go?

Kibum: (smiles and nods)

Lights brighten until nearly blinding.
Sound turns to happy music.
Exit Kibum and Minjung, hand in hand.

There. End. Might change a few things here and there. But basic skeleton so far. I made it meatier. Enjoy.

~IQ