After taking a shower, Maru poured some green plum concentrate in a cup of water before bringing it to the living room. He opened the veranda and went outside.

“It’s pretty quiet.”

For some reason, the lights were off all the way from the distant apartment complex to the residential area nearby. It was 11:40 p.m, pretty early for everyone to be sleeping, but for some curious reason, other than the street lights, shop signs, and car headlights, there was no other source of light. When he turned his head just a little, he saw the streets, which were bright due to the lights. He observed the boundary between blocks which looked way too distinct. The stage and the audience seats - Maru was reminded of that place, which he had become familiar with now. Eventually, the lights along the streets started turning on. It seemed that there was a temporary blackout. He brushed the droplets of water on the surface of his cup and shook them off the veranda before turning around.

Thinking that he should watch one last video, he sat down on the sofa and played the video. The contents of the video hadn’t changed for the past few videotapes. What was different was that the videos, which were taken every two weeks or so, were now taken every three - or even two - days. Most of it was about some chatter between the members of the troupe, practice, as well as Haejoo and Junmin’s lecture.

-You need to show yourself a little more.

Maru put down his cup. Junmin’s...