An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 117

117 #22 – Rooting in a New Place (5)

A bright sky.

Even the gentle breeze caressing my cheeks.

Could the weather be any more perfect?

Fluffy clouds filled the sky, as white and pure as if painted on a canvas.

Looking up at the bright blue sky, a smile came naturally.

“Wow, the weather is really great.”

I stopped and tilted my head back.

And I took a deep breath to feel the breeze.

“Hmm….”

Wait a minute.

The refreshing breeze should be filling my nose….

But no air was entering my nose.

I quickly looked around.

This feeling of awkwardness and discomfort.

This is… a dream.

BEEP BEEP-!

The loud blare of a car horn.

I turned my head from the sky and looked at the cars honking.

“They could just yield, why are they honking like that?”

I covered my ear and walked on.

I hurried towards my destination.

An old overpass.

Since I had to cross it, I sighed as I looked at the high stairs.

“Haa… it’s so far.”

As I climbed the stairs, panting, a person walked towards me from the opposite side.

A tall man, about 183cm [approximately 6 feet] tall.

The jet-black hair contrasted sharply with his pale skin.

Before I could even admire his neatly styled hair,

My eyes were drawn to his skin.

Had I ever seen such white skin? Skin whiter and more radiant than flour.

My gaze lingered on his skin, which was so bright it looked almost unhealthy.

The black hair made his skin even more noticeable, but he didn’t look sick at all.

He seemed to have a tall height, broad shoulders, and even solid muscles.

The perfectly tailored black suit suited his well-proportioned figure and made him stand out.

Also, his confident stride was enough to captivate anyone’s attention.

Even as a man, I found him attractive enough to look back at.

Is he a health trainer?

He’s even handsome; is he a model or a celebrity?

I tilted my head and stared at him.

I couldn’t help but turn around and watch him walk in the opposite direction.

Instantly.

My feet followed him, as if against my will.

As if possessed, I headed towards the tall, likeable man.

And went back down to the overpass where I had been before.

BEEP BEEP-!

The sound of the car horn rang out again.

But the feeling was different from before.

BEEP BEEP BEEP-!!

The sound of a loud horn blaring in succession made me frown and turn my head.

The car was speeding at 120 km/h [approximately 75 mph].

Who in their right mind would drive 120 in the city?

Screech-.

Bang!

It was an accident that happened in an instant.

The car crashed into an old woman with a cane on the side of the road.

The vehicle, which had finally come to a stop, seemed to have braked from several tens of meters away.

Long black lines, skid marks, were etched on the road.

“Oh my, what should we do!”

“He’s crazy. He hit a grandma.”

People buzzed and ran to the old woman who had been hit by the car.

The car, which had stopped at the end of the skid marks, was emitting white smoke, and a man was slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding from his head.

I also ran to the old woman who was bleeding on the ground after being hit by the car.

The sight made me scream without realizing it.

“Agh!”

I was overwhelmed with fear at the gruesome sight.

People were divided between the grandmother lying in front of the car and the man inside the car.

I was in front of her to check if the grandmother was alive, not the man who caused the accident.

“Grandma… I think she’s dead.”

“Well, she was hit so hard… there’s no way she could have survived.”

But.

The man I saw on the overpass earlier was also standing in front of the grandmother with me.

His expression was strange.

Everyone, including me, frowned or contorted their faces at the horrific sight.

Some even had tears in their eyes.

But the man with the white skin was different.

He was just staring intently at the old woman with a blank face.

No, it even looked like he had a faint smile on his face.

Slightly parted lips, eyes fixed on something.

‘What the heck is that guy?’

My gaze shifted from the grandmother to him.

His eyes were fixed on the grandmother’s face.

Flash-!

At that moment, my eyes popped open.

I checked the ceiling and immediately gasped for breath.

What kind of dream is this?

I got up and pondered.

It wasn’t long before I could recognize the situation.

A few days ago.

The script that Choi Seo-bin had given me.

‘Black Man’.

It was so similar to the scene in that script.

“That’s right, the Grim Reaper!”

I clapped my hands at the sudden thought.

I quickly unfolded the script that I had left in the living room.

The man I saw in my dream, the tall man with the white face.

That person was the Grim Reaper.

No wonder….

He didn’t look sad as he watched the grandma get hit by the car.

Even his slightly parted lips looked like he was trying to absorb her soul.

I got goosebumps all over my body.

And I recalled the scene from the dream again and pondered deeply.

Clearly, I wasn’t the Grim Reaper in that dream.

Just an ordinary human being with no abilities.

In the script, my role was the Grim Reaper, the main character along with Choi Seo-bin….

But in the dream, I was just a regular person who was swept up in the crowd and screamed when the old woman died.

In terms of roles, it was like Extra 1, who appears briefly in one episode.

In other words, it meant that there was no importance, regardless of whether it was a main role or a supporting role.

Can I even do this drama?

But if I tell Choi Seo-bin that I can’t do it, he definitely won’t like it….

***

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], have you read the script I told you about?”

Today, I visited the company’s practice room without fail.

I looked at the ‘Black Man’ script in front of Manager Kim and asked.

He nodded as if it were natural and said.

“I read it right away that day.”

“How is it?”

Manager Kim asked a different question instead of answering about the script.

“You said Seo-bin gave you this script to work with him, right?”

“That’s right.”

“What’s your role here?”

I pointed to the role in the script and answered.

“Leading role. But Seo-bin is the main lead, and I’m a lead, but my part is a little smaller than Seo-bin’s.”

He stroked his chin and nodded at my words.

He hadn’t said anything yet.

But Manager Kim seemed to be thinking the same thing as me.

I immediately laid out my thoughts to him.

“Hyung, isn’t this character a bit ambiguous?”

At my words, Manager Kim immediately pursed his lips.

“Well… the drama itself is fun.”

He made a ‘tss’ sound and continued to speak to give his opinion.

“But how should I say it… this role doesn’t seem to suit Hee-sung’s image very well….”

I completely agreed with Manager Kim’s words.

The first thing I felt was ambiguous about this drama was my character.

Of course, I think a good actor should be able to handle all roles.

But it’s also the actor’s ability to choose a role that they can bring to life.

Regardless of whether I can bring this role to life or not.

I didn’t think I was right for this role.

Moreover, I couldn’t forget my appearance in the dream, like an extra.

The importance of the leading role, which was no different from a supporting role, also played a part.

“Besides, your stock is rising right now. But this kind of rom-com [romantic comedy] might be a bad move.”

The genres that I have established myself in as an actor in various movies and dramas.

There was not a single rom-com, romantic comedy.

Of course, I wanted to try romantic comedies.

But as Manager Kim said, I didn’t think it was the right time yet.

I nodded at his words.

“I agree with you, hyung.”

“I was worried about how to tell you if you wanted to do this drama. I’m glad you feel the same way.”

Manager Kim said with a smile.

I looked at the script and opened my mouth to Manager Kim as if I had made up my mind.

“Let’s find some other work.”

***

As the sun was setting.

I was still alone in the practice room, continuing to practice acting with the script.

“Why are you doing this to me!”

I raised my emotions to the maximum and looked at the small camera installed in front of me.

“No. I will never live like you. Never….”

As I stared intently at the camera and acted with my eyes.

Knock knock.

The sound of knocking on the practice room door.

I suppressed my deep emotions and turned my head.

Choi Seo-bin was standing at the door with a bright smile.

“Sunbae-nim [senior colleague]!”

He shook the coffee he was holding and opened the door.

“You’re practicing hard again today?”

“Haha, I’m just coming out every day.”

I got up and greeted him.

“What brings you to the company, sunbae-nim?”

I asked him with a surprised face because Choi Seo-bin, who didn’t come to the company except for contracts.

Choi Seo-bin pointed at me with his chin and answered.

“I came to hang out. And have a cup of coffee with you.”

“Wow, I’m touched.”

He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee through the straw.

“So are you going to keep resting this month?”

At my words, he smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, I need to rest a bit before starting a project. You should rest while you work, you idiot. Why are you such a workaholic?”

Before I knew it, the coffee in the takeout cup was empty.

We spent time continuing our daily conversations.

Then suddenly.

Choi Seo-bin looked at the script in front of him, his eyes searching for something.

I could tell right away.

That the script he was looking for was ‘Black Man’.

He may have come to the company to play and talk with me.

But he must have come to hear the answer to the offer to appear in the drama together.

I thought countless times about what to say to refuse without making him feel bad.

But I couldn’t find a clear answer.

Anyway, he would feel disappointed in the fact that I was rejecting his offer.

However, I couldn’t appear in this drama to accept Choi Seo-bin’s request right now, which is the most important time for me.

Because my position can still be swayed by one drama.

“Hee-sung, have you thought about it?”

As expected.

Choi Seo-bin immediately asked me about whether I would appear in the drama.

I bit my lower lip and carefully opened my mouth.

“Um… sunbae-nim.”

“Yeah, speak comfortably.”

“I think the script you sent me is great. But I don’t think it suits me very well.”

At my words, Choi Seo-bin’s eyes twitched for a moment.

It seemed he had not expected me to refuse at all.

Then he swallowed and asked me.

“Why, what don’t you like about it?”

“Rather than not liking it, I don’t think the role I have to play suits me.”

I told him the truth in a small voice.

“I was worried about how to tell you, but I thought it would be better to tell you honestly than to make excuses.”

He stroked his chin at my words.

“You said you were grateful to me, so you would appear in my work. So that’s the work I chose.”

It was a tone full of disappointment.

In addition, his expression showed a slightly bad face beyond disappointment.

“I’m really sorry that I’m answering like this when you took the time to tell me.”

I lowered my eyes and expressed my apologies to him.

He sighed and answered me.

“Well… if you’re saying this, I guess you’ve already made up your mind.”

“I’m sorry, sunbae-nim. Next time in another work….”

Before I could finish speaking, he smiled faintly and opened his mouth.

“Let’s work together next time if we have the chance. Well… you said you didn’t like the work I chose, so what can I say?”

Choi Seo-bin filled his cheeks with air and took a deep breath.

He got up from his seat and said.

“Go practice, I’ll go first.”

“Sunbae-nim, are you leaving already?”

I got up from my seat and followed him.

He shook his head at me with a displeased face.

“You have to pick your next project soon. I think I’m getting in the way.”

“No.”

I quickly answered him.

But Choi Seo-bin shook his head and waved his hand at me.