We took our seats in the third row, not far from the stage.
For Daesik, Dahye, Hyein, and Arin, who were seeing a play for the first time, everything seemed so new and exciting—they kept turning their heads, busy scanning their surroundings. They marveled even at a single poster on the wall, a sparkling piece of stage equipment.
Flash.
At that moment, a yellow spotlight lit up the stage, drawing everyone’s attention. From the left aisle, a man with a thick beard glued to his chin strode to center stage with a booming voice.
“Hello, everyone!”
He welcomed the audience with a playful expression and arms wide open.
“Can you guess who I am? Here’s a hint! The man responsible for your commutes and school runs all over Seoul! A chatterbox in the car, radio DJ, and life counselor too!”
Taxi driver!
In unison, we all shouted the answer and burst into laughter.
“Ding dong! Correct! I’m your taxi driver, working hard every day!”
The actor who introduced himself as the taxi driver mimicked familiar taxi driver gestures, but before fully diving into his role, he worked to get a response from the audience.
“Alright, one more quiz! What’s my taxi fare for today?”
With a meaningful smile, the bearded taxi driver posed his second question.
“1,000 won!”
“5,000 won!”
“10,000 won!”
The audience buzzed, each calling out different amounts.
“Wow, if it’s 5,000 or 10,000 won per ride and I drive for eight hours, how much is that in a day? And with the night surcharge, wow, that’s something.”
At the absurd taxi fares, the driver made a finger-counting gesture and exclaimed in mock amazement.
“The answer is, wrong! The only money I take from you is the entrance fee you paid to get in here. So, what else could it be?”
The actor’s disappointed expression was truly amusing.
“The real answer is your laughter and your word of mouth! Will you all spread the word and laugh a lot for us?”
The taxi driver shouted, encouraging our enthusiastic response.
“Yes!”
We laughed as we were drawn into the actor’s clever banter.
“Ah, customers these days really are the best. Then, with your laughter, let’s get started and drive this taxi with all my might!”
With a playful twist of an imaginary steering wheel, he sat in the taxi seat set up center stage.
“Taxi!”
The first passenger was a high school girl in uniform.
She mimed opening the taxi door and took her seat.
“Where to?”
“To Ddaeng-Ddaeng High School, please. Wow, why do you look like a mountain bandit?”
The high school girl gave her destination while hugging her bag tightly, casting wary glances at the driver, then whispered softly as if to herself.
Pffft, hahaha.
At that, laughter broke out in the audience.
Dahye, sitting next to me, also burst out laughing at the bandit comparison.
“Miss, I can hear everything, you know?”
The taxi driver looked at the girl, feigning disbelief.
“I used to be at least twenty times more handsome than Hyunmin, you know.”
He pulled a wronged face, reminiscing about the past, and even mentioned Hyunmin, who’s all the rage these days.
Boo!!!
The audience responded with good-natured boos.
“Hey! All of you! I may look like this, but I’m only in my mid-twenties!!”
Apparently very offended, the taxi driver declared his age to the audience.
“......”
And as a result, the room fell silent. Everyone stared at him, faces filled with disbelief.
“Wh-what on earth did you eat to end up like this...”
Tears formed in the girl’s eyes.
With an endlessly pitiful expression, she fixed her gaze on us.
“Everyone, never just eat anything. It’s dangerous. Got it?”
Pfft, hahaha.
Amused by her quick wit, we laughed loudly once more.
Looking around, I saw that everyone else was just like us.
The high school girl waited for the laughter to die down, then bowed her head in the taxi seat at center stage. The mischief had faded from her face, and now her gaze was fixed on her bag’s zipper.
“Mister, there’s something I really want to know.”
Her voice dropped low, pressing the atmosphere of the stage.
The once-boisterous audience quieted, ears tuned to the girl’s words.
“Is studying... really that important in life? No matter how hard I try lately, it’s no fun. Korean, math, English—if I don’t do well, it feels like I’m lacking as a person. I just... want to do what I like. But my mom and dad say that’s all nonsense.”
Images of parents and adults treating their children like criminals if they don’t study flash through my mind.
Unable to continue, the girl paused to catch her breath. Her hands, fiddling with the strap of her bag, stilled.
“I actually have something I want to do. But my parents shut me down before I can even explain, saying it doesn’t make money, that it’s not stable.”
“......”
The taxi driver looked at her quietly, resting his hands on the steering wheel.
A bitter expression crossed his face.
“Miss, I once had a passenger who wore the same suit to work every day. One day, that person told me they’d worked at their company for over ten years, but they really wanted to write books. After college, they just listened to their parents and chose the safest path, which led them here. You know what they told me? Looking back, they never really went all in for what they loved, and they never really showed their parents how passionate they were about it. That’s what they regret most. So if you really love something, if you want to convince your parents, go all in. If you show them how serious you are, your parents will come to respect your dreams.”
Because the future is uncertain...
Parents offer their children the safest path.
No parent wants to see their child go astray, so they guide them down the road they themselves have traveled and found safe.
But, ultimately, this isn’t the parents’ fault—it’s ours.
It’s because we haven’t shown our parents enough conviction.
If you truly want something, you have to be obsessed, and you need to show it to your parents, clearly.
Changing your parents’ minds is up to us—the taxi driver was telling this to the student.
‘Yeah, that’s true. Even I was like that. If you really want something, you have to prepare, and show through your efforts until you achieve results...’
Feeling resonance with the taxi driver’s words, I nodded, taking a moment to reflect on my own path.
“In the end, that person, though it was late, quit and started writing. Now they run a small magazine company. At first, everyone was against it, and there was no money in it, but since it was what they loved, they could endure the hardship. Do you know what they told me?”
“...What did they say?”
“If you don’t give up on your dream and keep chasing it, someday the way will open.”
The lights slowly changed, illuminating the girl’s face. The gloom lifted, and a gentle smile spread across her features.
“We’ve arrived at Ddaeng-Ddaeng High School.”
At the same time, the taxi reached its destination, letting the high school girl off and heading off for the next passenger.
Next into the taxi were the girl’s parents and teachers.
Each explained their own side to the taxi driver, and he listened quietly, helping untangle each problem one by one.
Some of the stories were hard for students or young adults to relate to, but I hoped that today’s play would be a good inspiration for Daesik, Dahye, and Dahye’s friends.
The hour-and-a-half-long “Taxi Driver” wrapped up without a single dull moment, leaving us with both lessons and laughter.
8:30 p.m.
“Oppa, I had a lot of fun today. Thanks for walking me home.”
“Yeah, let’s do this again sometime.”
I dropped off Daesik oppa, Hyein, and Arin in order, then made it home myself.
Oppa went up to the second floor while I changed clothes in my room and headed for the bathroom.
Under the shower’s spray, I thought about the events of the day.
On stage, the high school girl bowed her head and spoke.
【There’s something else I want to do.】
Those words lingered in my ears.
As the warm water ran over my shoulders, Arin’s face came to mind—her sitting in front of the piano. She practiced every day since childhood, competed in contests, and even won prizes—a friend with a clear goal.
Hyein dreams of becoming a singer. She’d play her recorder and sing diligently every day, finding and fixing her mistakes over and over.
And Seunghyun oppa has been writing since middle school. His writing even won him prizes and appearances on shows and radio.
Seeing oppa work tirelessly late into the night for his goal, I was both impressed and envious.
But me?
I hadn’t done anything properly.
“Haa...”
I let out a sigh, frustrated.
After showering and drying off, I sat blankly on the living room sofa, staring straight ahead.
The white wall felt like it mirrored myself.
“...An actress, huh.”
I remembered the actors on stage today.
The bearded taxi driver who looked like a bandit. The mischievous high school girl. The quietly appearing parents and teachers.
Each completely immersed themselves in their roles, bringing the story to life.
Watching them, I suddenly realized—I wanted to stand on a stage like that, too.
‘How much did those people practice? How much time did they spend to act like that?’
Probably, just like oppa, Arin, and Hyein, they got to where they are after countless trials.
‘Could I do it, too?’
And suddenly, I found myself wanting to step onto a stage.
“Maybe I should ask oppa. If it’s him...”
I felt he would understand my feelings and help clear my frustrations.
I decided to confide my worries to oppa.
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