An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 19

#5 – The Girl from My Dreams (4)

Pat.

Familiar ceiling in sight.

For a moment, I was dazed, blinking several times.

I opened and closed my eyes repeatedly, but the background didn’t change.

Fluffy blanket and pillow.

It was reality.

Damn it.

To wake up the moment I was about to talk to the dancer.

I haven’t even heard her voice yet…

I haven’t even exchanged a single word with her….

I placed my hand over my chest, feeling my heart pounding unusually fast.

Even though I was awake, my heart was racing as if I were still seeing her in the dream.

It wasn’t just my heart racing from the shock of returning to reality.

It felt like falling in love, my heart out of control.

My face flushed red and felt hot, and I vividly felt the excitement I had felt when I saw her.

Now that I’ve woken up from the dream, the dream I had just had came back to me so clearly.

The dance she was dancing.

From the moment I saw it, I couldn’t do or think anything, just completely mesmerized.

It felt so vivid, like something I had just experienced, not a dream.

At that thought, I smiled, lying down.

A thought flashed through my mind.

‘The Clockmaker and the Dancer.’

The name of the drama audition piece I’m preparing for.

I’ve been practicing for days, so I know the drama inside and out.

The scenes I saw in the dream.

The settings were eerily similar to the drama.

To be precise, it’s subtly different from the script.

It’s the same that he is a clockmaker, but the character I’m practicing in the play was desperately poor.

But in the dream, I seemed to belong to a moderate middle class rather than poverty.

That’s the only difference.

Other than that, there were too many similarities.

Could I continue the dream if I try to fall asleep again?

More than curiosity, I wanted to continue watching the scene that was interrupted by waking up.

To be more precise, I want to see the dancer, her, one more time.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes tightly.

Several seconds passed, but I couldn’t fall asleep, and all I saw was darkness.

I slowly recalled the dream in my head.

Wait a minute.

That dancer’s face….

It looks like a face I’ve seen somewhere before?

With my eyes closed, I rolled my eyes, trying to recall her face.

Song Yoona!

Clearly, the dancer had Song Yoona’s face.

The moment I thought of her, I was wide awake.

The excitement disappeared in an instant.

…I should get up and wash.

***

A bookshelf filled with the entire wall.

The bookshelf was filled with countless plaques.

Next to it, a long desk stretched out.

A crystal nameplate was placed in the center.

The inscription ‘CEO Lim Jong-joo, HS Entertainment’ was clearly visible on the nameplate.

White blinds covered the glass windows.

The warm sunlight seeping through the gaps brightly illuminated the CEO’s office.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

A staff member opened the door and entered at CEO Lim’s words.

The staff member, who walked in slowly, placed the two cups of tea he was holding on the sofa table where CEO Lim was sitting.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Then…”

As the staff member left the CEO’s office, CEO Lim opened his mouth.

“Team Leader Kang, have a seat.”

“Yes, CEO.”

CEO Lim, leaning back on the large sofa with his legs crossed, had an air of leisure on his face as he picked up the teacup.

CEO Lim, with his deeply double-lidded eyes, raised his thick eyebrows and asked.

“How is the actor team doing these days?”

At his words, Team Leader Kang hurriedly put down his teacup on the table and answered.

“It’s much better now. The actor pool that had been depleted has been refilled, and it’s slowly becoming solid.”

“Yeah, you have to move busily to fill the missing actors.”

“That’s right.”

Team Leader Kang gathered his legs and sat politely, nodding his head.

CEO Lim took a deep breath through his nose and said.

“It’s a bit of a shame that we missed Choi Seo-bin….”

At his words, Team Leader Kang quickly lowered his head and replied.

“I’m sorry. WG Entertainment set the options too high, so we couldn’t keep up with all of them.”

“It’s okay. I’m just saying it’s a shame. I’m not blaming Team Leader Kang.”

CEO Lim raised the corners of his mouth kindly and changed the subject.

“How are the new rookies doing?”

“They’re doing well.”

“That’s a relief. I heard there’s one good kid among the actors who came in this time? The one who looks decent….”

Team Leader Kang opened his mouth as if he had immediately remembered.

“Are you talking about Jin Hee-sung?”

“Oh, I remember him because his last name is unique. Jin Hee-sung.”

CEO Lim raised himself from the sofa and asked.

“How is he doing? What’s he up to these days?”

Team Leader Kang checked the diary he had brought and answered.

“He’s finishing up a one-act play and immediately preparing for a supporting role in a mini-series.”

“Already? Wasn’t the one-act play just finished?”

“That’s right. The one-act play he filmed is getting quite good reviews.”

CEO Lim raised the corners of his mouth and listened attentively to his words.

“His acting skills were better than I expected. I’m going to try to push him this time.”

“Good.”

He nodded his head and asked.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“It’s okay.”

“If you need a position or anything, let me know. If it doesn’t work out this time, I can try to help in some way.”

Team Leader Kang smiled brightly and bowed his head.

“Yes, he’s still a rookie, so I think it’s okay to let him bump into things a little more.”

“That’s right. When else would you do that?”

“That’s right. Besides, he has the ability, so I expect he’ll win something within the first half of the year if he keeps bumping into things.”

“I’ll be waiting for good news.”

“I’ll do my best, CEO.”

They lifted the still steaming teacups and quenched their thirst.

“Team Leader Kang.”

“Yes, CEO.”

“You know I trust Team Leader Kang, right?”

“Yes, I know that very well.”

CEO Lim crossed his legs again and said.

“This time, I even invested in an OTT [Over-The-Top, a streaming service] platform for the actor team. I hope to see some results soon.”

At his words, Team Leader Kang straightened his back and raised his voice.

“Yes, I will work hard!”

“Yeah, and the overseas branch team is scheduled to return with singers and actors, right?”

“Yes, we are checking the dates.”

“Even if they return from Hollywood defeated, the domestic atmosphere must be good for them to return.”

CEO Lim sighed deeply and continued.

“To push them into dramas, variety shows, or movies, the domestic kids have to secure their positions now.”

“I will try to raise them as much as possible.”

“I’ll be watching.”

At Team Leader Kang’s confident words, CEO Lim blinked and replied.

“And how is the recruitment of Black Mask Joo Sun going?”

Team Leader Kang shook his head and replied.

“We’re talking, but it doesn’t seem easy.”

“Is it because of the contract fee?”

“It’s not that, it seems he has an attachment to his existing group….”

***

Audition is not far away.

I devoted myself to practice all day, except for meals and bathroom breaks, for perfect preparation.

Thanks to that, darkness had fallen deeply by the time I arrived home.

In the dark house, I groped along the wall for the switch and turned on the light.

“Ha….”

I threw my tired body onto the bed as if throwing it away.

As I stretched my hands above my head, I unconsciously let out a groan.

“Ugh.”

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Then, an annoying sound lingered in my ear.

Am I just too tired and sensitive today?

The sound from the wristwatch I always wear was irritating me today.

I pulled my body up from lying down and sat on the edge of the bed.

And as I looked at the watch on my left wrist, it was as if I was looking at a perspective drawing.

Flash-!

The watch structure came into my head.

‘I think one of the teeth on the gear next to the hour hand is missing?’

Without hesitation, I grabbed a small tool box.

Then, as if possessed, I started to open and check the inside of the watch.

In the quiet room,

Creak. Creeak. Rattle.

The sound of opening the wristwatch with a screwdriver echoed.

Other than that, only my rough breathing.

Before long, I straightened my bent back and lifted a small part.

“That’s right, this gear!”

In an instant, I came to my senses and rubbed my eyes, looking at the watch.

Why did I disassemble this watch?

I could have left it at the watch shop… why did I….

What was even more absurd was that.

My intuitive guess that the gear tooth was missing was actually true.

I put down the watch and tools I was holding and shook my head.

That’s strange.

I think this is probably due to the influence of the dream.

Like the astronomer last time.

The dreams I’ve had so far.

I don’t think it’s a problem to just pass over.

There’s definitely something there….

Should I keep a record of the dreams?

But there’s no need to do that, the dreams I had last time.

Especially the dreams related to the role, I remembered them all vividly without forgetting them for a single moment.

As if I had experienced them.

What the heck is it…?

***

The next day.

I had memorized the script to some extent, so now I started researching the background of the play.

This is a necessary task to understand the drama more perfectly.

Especially since this historical drama is a year I have never experienced, I was curious.

What kind of life does the character I’m practicing live?

What kind of facial expressions and tone of voice should I use to make it look more realistic?

An actor must constantly research to blend into the role.

As I studied that era, memories naturally surfaced.

That’s the dream I had that day.

Even though it had been quite a while since I had the dream, the memories from the dream felt clearer and more vivid whenever I looked at the materials from that era.

That’s why Song Yoona’s face, who appeared as the dancer, didn’t fade from my memory.

I shook my head violently and got up from my seat, drinking a glass of cold water.

And then the data research started again.

I found a blog while searching for content related to the work on the Internet.

It was the blog of the writer who created the work ‘The Clockmaker and the Dancer’.

She seemed to have recorded the data she had researched while writing the work in great detail on her blog.

Writer-like writing skills.

Attracted by the power of her writing, I looked through it non-stop until the laptop got hot.

That’s how the pages of the blog were turned non-stop.

And I found a post called ‘Reference Photos’.

The post had dozens of photos uploaded, including several photos from the Japanese colonial era.

‘Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen photos like this before?’

The scroll went down quickly, and soon there were only a few last photos left.

Photos from the Japanese colonial period, which is the historical background of the play.

Swallowing 침 [pronounced chim, meaning saliva], I looked at the photos one by one with interesting eyes.

Then, the moment I saw the last photo, I let go of the mouse.

At the same time, my brow was furrowed.

Then I brought my face close enough to touch the monitor.

Wait a minute….

No way.

That person… looks exactly like me…?