An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 36

#9 – Unpredictable (4)

I rushed straight home from the company.

Finally, today.

The day my first-ever variety show, “Blind Mission,” which I filmed last time, airs.

I absolutely have to watch it live.

Usually, I would monitor [watch and analyze the broadcast] with Manager Kim.

We would watch together unless we had other pressing matters, but today, Manager Kim couldn’t make it due to important family matters.

He really wanted to be there for the monitoring of my first variety show.

Manager Kim had been expressing his apologies and regrets incessantly since leaving the company.

So, I’m monitoring alone.

Unlike dramas, variety shows rely heavily on editing.

The fact that footage filmed all day without a script is edited down to an hour both excites and worries me.

I have no idea how I’ll appear on TV.

Still, I calmed myself, thinking I hadn’t made any major mistakes.

There’s still an hour left until the broadcast.

The live broadcast is during the weekend evening slot.

Weekend variety shows are meant to be enjoyed with dinner.

I opened my phone and clicked on the delivery app.

Chicken is the perfect thing to eat while watching TV.

I was about to order my favorite crispy fried chicken when I remembered my weight management.

I looked down to check my body condition and shook my head, moving my hand away from the click.

So, I compromised with grilled chicken and beer.

No, grilled chicken and zero-calorie cola.

Isn’t this a great diet meal?

Grilled chicken isn’t fried, and the fat is rendered out during grilling, so it won’t make me gain weight.

And zero-calorie cola is a diet drink.

Today, I justified it to feel better.

After placing the order, I set up the low table in front of the TV.

Chicken delivery and a variety show.

A perfect plan.

Vibration.

Just then, the phone on the table vibrated intensely.

I hope my chicken order wasn’t canceled?

Anxious, I carefully picked up the phone, which was face down.

It was a text alert, not a call.

I opened the screen and saw it was from Han So-jung.

-Are you busy?

Her short text.

Why is she contacting me?

I tilted my head and sent a reply.

-No, what’s up?

As soon as I sent the reply, Han So-jung read the message as if she had been waiting.

She must have been waiting for my reply.

Is it urgent?

Before I could think about what it could be, the phone I was holding rang.

“Hello?”

-Hi, Hee-sung, is it a good time to talk?

Her voice was bright.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it wasn’t anything serious.

I was surprised by her call because we weren’t particularly close, and we didn’t usually contact each other.

“Yes, what’s going on?”

-Oh, it’s nothing like that….

Han So-jung trailed off, then asked again in a cheerful voice.

-Are you watching the show by any chance?

“Of course. I have it on now and was watching the commercials. What about you, So-jung?”

-I just turned it on too. I thought you’d be watching, so I called.

“I see. It’s my first variety show, so I’ve been thinking about the broadcast all day.”

-I know. I’m so nervous right now.

Her trembling voice was conveyed through the receiver, as if she was very nervous.

“Well, we had fun filming, so we should hope it turns out well.”

-I hope so. While waiting for the broadcast, I was thinking about the day we filmed.

“It was really cold that day….”

She sighed as if reminiscing about that day.

Then she asked me in a loud voice.

-By the way, do you use SNS [Social Networking Service, like Instagram or Twitter], Hee-sung?

“No.”

-Oh… I see. No wonder I couldn’t find you when I searched.

“Pardon?”

-I was looking to follow you.

She trailed off with a disappointed tone.

“The company told me not to create one yet.”

-Well, it’s better to start SNS slowly when you’ve just entered the entertainment industry.”

“Let’s follow each other when I create one later.”

-Okay!

“Enjoy the show today, and let’s see each other again soon.”

-Yes, you too, Hee-sung.

After ending the call with her, the chicken arrived shortly after.

So, with the food and TV set up.

As the broadcast began, I held a chicken leg in one hand with a nervous heart, my eyes fixed on the TV.

Before I knew it, the leftover chicken had gone cold, and all the fizz in the zero-calorie cola had disappeared.

“Blind Mission” was heading towards the final game.

As expected, the editing of variety shows is a stroke of genius.

Watching myself, I burst out laughing without realizing it.

Did I really say that there?

I had been seriously monitoring, but at some point, I switched to viewer mode and was watching the show.

I put down the zero-calorie cola I was holding and opened my phone.

And immediately clicked on the real-time reactions of viewers.

-LOL, why is he so funny, LOL.

-Jin Hee-sung is totally hilarious, LOL.

-I thought he was handsome when I saw him in the drama, but Jin Hee-sung is a gag character. Or is it that he’s so handsome that everything seems funny? LOL.

-└ Right, LOL. Because his face is handsome, everything looks funny.

-Why is it so touching that Han So-jung took care of Jin Hee-sung’s sled ㅠㅠ.

-Min Woo-hyun and Jin Hee-sung seem to have really different characters.

-Doesn’t Jin Hee-sung seem a bit clueless?

-└ Rather than clueless, it’s more like untainted innocence? Purity?.

-└ Right, a quirky feeling.

-His 말투 [manner of speaking] is 은근히 꼰대 같아ㅋㅋㅋ (His way of speaking is subtly like an old man’s, LOL).

-└ He seems like a Confucian man of this era, LOL.

-└ If he’s that kind of old man, I want to go and get educated?><. I refreshed the comments and read them all one by one. There were more favorable reactions than I thought. What was certain was that there were no mistakes in this variety show. Besides, my screen time was quite a lot. Quirky, clueless, funny, and so on were various reactions. Anyway, being funny on a variety show is a compliment… so it must be a good thing? I tilted my head and put the remaining chicken in my mouth. *** "Hyung [older brother or close male friend], I've read all the scripts that were on here, do you have any more?" I pointed to the scripts on the table and asked. Manager Kim's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. "You've already read them all?" "Yeah, I found a few decent ones, but I want to see some more." "Just a moment…." He brought back a pile of scripts that were on his desk. "Here." Manager Kim put the scripts on the table and then snapped his fingers. It seemed like he remembered something. "Ah, Hee-sung!" I put down the script I was holding and looked at Manager Kim. "The variety show from last time had a good response, so we got another offer." "Really?" My pupils darted around, and my breathing quickened. Hearing that we got a variety show offer, two emotions coexisted. Being offered a show after seeing my appearance on the variety show was a good thing, so I was excited. But on the other hand, I was worried. I vividly remembered sweating in that cold sledding hill as if I had stage fright during the last filming. If I film another variety show, will I be able to do well? Fear preceded expectation. Manager Kim raised one corner of his mouth and said. "But I rejected it." "Why?" "Because the actor's image shouldn't be overused. If a comedic character becomes fixed, it will be difficult to do serious work later." I nodded at his words. "Variety shows are enough if you're appearing for promotional purposes after filming a drama or movie. Right?" "That's good." Like this variety show, rising rookie specials were also good. But as Manager Kim said, I thought it would be good to go out once in a while for promotional purposes after I became a little more well-known. To do that, I have to run harder first. *** Friday afternoon. I was approaching the meeting place at the appointed time with Choi Seo-bin. The address he gave me. What on earth is that place…. I searched it, but the building was full of high-end restaurants. Did he make this appointment to have a meal alone with me? If so, was there a need to meet so secretly? What's going on, is he meeting with other people as well? I had so many questions, but I missed the timing to ask. Besides, judging from Choi Seo-bin's style, he probably wouldn't like being questioned so closely. Anyway, he wouldn't recommend anything bad. I decided to trust him and go. When I told Manager Kim this story, he said he would take me to the meeting place. I refused the offer. Anyway, it was my personal appointment. Manager Kim said in a worried tone, just in case, to call him no matter what time it was if anything happened. A luxurious door made of wooden slats. From the entrance, it was full of a 'private' feeling. When I opened the door and went inside, a staff member wearing a suit smiled and approached me. "I'll guide you." Without even hearing who I was or where I had a reservation. I tilted my head at the words that he would guide me right away. He whispered softly through the radio earpiece. "Mr. Choi Seon-joong's reserved room guest has arrived. I'll guide you now." Choi Seon-joong? I frowned at his words. But I could understand it quickly. Probably, if he put the celebrity name Choi Seo-bin as the reservation name, it would be obvious, so he reserved it under another name. After following him for a long time inside, I finally arrived at the reserved room. A private room where no one would ever know who came. Knock knock. The staff knocked lightly in front of the door and then opened it. When the door opened, Choi Seo-bin inside greeted me brightly. "Hee-sung, you're here?" "Yes, Senior." I took a step inside and bowed to him. Next to Choi Seo-bin, who was smiling, was a person with a benevolent face. Wait a minute. That face, it's familiar…. I recognized who he was at once and bowed immediately. "Hello, I'm Jin Hee-sung." It was Director Jang Ho-cheol. The director of the modern fantasy film "Prosecutor's Success Story." The recently released film was a moderate hit, attracting 5 million viewers. Saying it was a moderate hit, the films released together were so strong that 5 million was a huge number. As I straightened my back, Choi Seo-bin said to me. "This is Director Jang Ho-cheol. You know him, right?" "Of course. How could I not know Director Jang Ho-cheol." Director Jang raised the corners of his mouth at my words. Choi Seo-bin smiled and said to me. "I called you today because I wanted to introduce you."