An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 177

177 #31 – Opportunity Like Destiny (9)

It had been months since I last slept and rested at home without any worries.

Even when filming in Namwon, North Jeolla Province, I occasionally had two consecutive days off.

But the travel time to and from Seoul was a waste and exhausting, so I didn’t come up often.

If I had a schedule in Seoul, I would come up then.

Even then, I had to practice the script for the drama I was filming again.

I used my home as a place to catch some sleep.

So, taking a break without any worries or concerns like this was…

The first time since the drama filming started.

“Haa… This is so good.”

I opened my eyes when the sun was high in the sky.

Still, I rolled around on the bed, enjoying the rest.

Then.

Bzzzz.

[Sender: Manager Kim Ji-hoon]

The cell phone next to my head vibrated.

I reached out and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

– Hee-sung, did you just wake up?

“Yeah, what about you, hyung [older brother/male friend]?”

Manager Kim, also just waking up, yawned repeatedly and said.

– Me too. Do you have anything to do today?

“No. I’m just going to rest. Why?”

– Have you eaten?

“Of course… not yet, haha. What about you?”

– Good. Then, should we go to that restaurant we kept talking about in Namwon?

The restaurant where Manager Kim and I used to rave about in Namwon.

It was a crab restaurant we often went to in Seoul.

“Wow, sounds great. When should we go?”

– Haha, I knew you’d like it. Should we go eat right away?

“Okay. I’ll get ready right away.”

As soon as I hung up the phone with Manager Kim, I jumped out of bed as if possessed.

Then, I started getting ready to go out, humming a tune.

An hour later.

The crab restaurant that Manager Kim and I arrived at.

It was well past lunchtime, so the restaurant, which was usually crowded,

Was quite empty.

“Wow, I missed this place so much during filming.”

At my words, Manager Kim swallowed hard and nodded.

“Right. We talked about this place whenever we were having a hard time, haha.”

“Yeah, we’re finally eating it.”

We stared intently at the kitchen, waiting for the food.

And soon, the food was set.

Crabs filled with clear, orange-colored roe.

Next to the soy sauce marinated crab, there was also a spicy marinated crab covered in delicious-looking red sauce.

“Wow! This is it.”

We smacked our lips and picked up our spoons.

After that, not a single word was exchanged at our table.

Only exclamations were uttered as we ate.

“Wow.”

“Wow… look at the meat.”

We devoured the food like people who hadn’t eaten for days.

Several tens of minutes later.

The plates in front of us were empty.

Manager Kim stared at me, clutching his full stomach.

“…Hee-sung.”

“Yeah?”

Manager Kim’s gaze passed me and moved to the dishes piled up next to me.

The empty dishes were stacked high.

And two empty rice bowls were piled up.

In front of me, the third rice bowl was showing its bottom.

“…Aren’t you full?”

At Manager Kim’s words, I smiled faintly and nodded.

“Not yet.”

I took another spoonful and suddenly realized.

That it wasn’t just that the rice was delicious, but that my appetite was enormous.

I had tried to gain weight while filming this drama.

That eating habit was still there.

The increased stomach size and appetite at that time had not decreased at all.

The hand that was about to add another bowl of rice naturally came down.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“I think I need to lose weight.”

At my words, Manager Kim nodded without hesitation.

“Yeah, if you’re going to do another project, you need to lose some weight.”

“Haa… I thought gaining weight wasn’t that hard. Now I’m going to have a hard time losing it.”

Manager Kim forced a smile with a worried look.

“But you usually exercise, so you’ll lose it quickly. Now, adjust your diet a bit.”

I finally put down the spoon and nodded.

“I need to start exercising right away.”

***

The next day.

I threw away the habit of being lazy under the pretext of resting.

I woke up early in the morning and headed to the company.

I wasn’t preparing for the next project yet.

But because it hadn’t been decided what project to meet or prepare for.

I was trying to prepare my body first.

It was more convenient to come to the gym in the company than to find a gym around my house.

The gym in the company, not a gym that you have to pay for separately,

Was available for free to affiliated actors.

And there was also a trainer who already knew my body well.

“Hello.”

The trainer greeted me as soon as he saw me, and then quickly scanned my body up and down.

“Hee-sung, it’s been a while.”

“Yes, I just finished filming, so I came to exercise.”

He swallowed hard and his eyes lit up.

“So, it’s okay to lose weight now, right?”

At the trainer’s words, I smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I have to lose all the weight I’ve gained, but is it possible?”

He shook his head without any hesitation, even at my worried words.

“Of course. Shall we start right away?”

“Yes.”

After exercising with the trainer for two hours.

I wiped the sweat off my face with a towel and said.

“Haa… It’s been a while since I’ve exercised like this, I’m going to die…”

Before I could finish speaking, the trainer raised the corners of his mouth and said.

“It’s good to do it after a long time, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

The trainer laughed heartily and patted me on the shoulder.

“People don’t die easily. We warmed up today, so let’s run harder tomorrow.”

“More than today?”

He pressed my arms and thighs with his hands and replied.

“Of course. We need to prepare for the next project soon.”

“Yes, we have to.”

The trainer nodded with a satisfied look and looked at the treadmill.

“Finally, do some cardio to loosen up your body and go in.”

I was already exhausted.

Thinking about the increased weight, I nodded.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work today.”

“Hee-sung, you worked hard.”

After making eye contact with the trainer, I immediately put my feet on the treadmill.

Several tens of minutes later.

“Huff, huff…”

I breathed heavily and moved my feet.

Then.

The person who comes up on the empty treadmill.

“Oh? Hee-sung.”

It was Choi Seo-bin.

“Seo-bin sunbae-nim [senior colleague]!”

Out of joy, we slowed down the treadmill and greeted each other.

“What, did the filming end?”

“Yes, I came up the day before yesterday. I was going to contact you when I came up.”

At my words, he smiled and replied.

“But our Hee-sung… you’ve gained some weight, haven’t you?”

Choi Seo-bin looked at me and said.

I pressed my arm with my hand and replied.

“Yes, I’ve bulked up a bit. Haha.”

“Really?”

“Just kidding. I had to gain weight for this filming, so I gained a lot, and now I’m trying to lose it again, so I started exercising today.”

We walked slowly on the treadmill as if walking on flat ground and continued talking.

“Then is the filming completely over?”

“Yes, it’s a pre-production, so it’s being edited now.”

Choi Seo-bin nodded and asked.

“Then when is the broadcast?”

“The month after next.”

“Oh, I’ll definitely watch it when it comes out.”

At his words, I smiled and said.

“Yes, thank you. What have you been up to these days, sunbae-nim?”

Choi Seo-bin shrugged his shoulders with a relaxed face and replied.

“I’m resting these days.”

“Ah, did you just come to exercise?”

“Yeah, I’m just playing around and eating, so I’m gaining weight quickly.”

“That’s right. Once you gain weight, it’s hard to lose it.”

Choi Seo-bin nodded and asked me.

“By the way, what are you doing tonight?”

“I don’t have any schedule today.”

He gestured as if he was offering alcohol at my words and asked.

“Then shall we have a drink tonight?”

As soon as he finished speaking, I turned my head and looked for the trainer.

And after confirming the trainer was far away, I sent a smiling eye smile to Choi Seo-bin and shook my head.

“Sounds great.”

***

Clink-.

Choi Seo-bin and I clinked glasses before the food came out and said.

“It’s been a while since the two of us have been together.”

“You’re telling me. I think it’s been three months since I’ve had a drink.”

The cold soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] that goes down on an empty stomach.

“Keah.”

The tingling feeling caused by alcohol spread throughout my body.

I shook off the glass and refilled Choi Seo-bin’s empty glass.

He took the bottle and asked me before pouring my glass.

“That’s right. But come to think of it, aren’t you on a diet?”

At his words, I nodded.

“But is it okay to drink like this?”

I raised the corners of my mouth and replied.

“Of course. I’m bulking up. Haha.”

“Hey, it’s not bulking up, it’s dieting.”

I soon clinked glasses with Choi Seo-bin and replied.

“Hey, I don’t think drinking for a day will make me gain more weight from this weight?”

“Haha, that’s true. It’s been a while, let’s just drink today!”

“Yes, sounds good.”

We met after a long time and emptied our glasses quickly, relieving our stress.

When the bottles were piling up one by one.

“Did you hear the news?”

When I raised my eyebrows at Choi Seo-bin’s words, he continued with a serious face.

“Didn’t you hear about HS Entertainment?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything, but is there something going on there?”

Choi Seo-bin clicked his tongue and said to me.

“They’re about to go bankrupt.”

At his words, I put down the soju glass I was holding on the table.

I looked at Choi Seo-bin with a face that quickly became serious.

“Why?”

The agency where I first set foot in my acting career.

Of course, the process of leaving the company was not good.

“I’m not sure, but they recently tried to expand their business into content and got a big hit in the back of the head from China.”

At Choi Seo-bin’s words, I nodded with a serious face.

“So?”

“So, their asset situation is quite precarious.”

“HS Entertainment is still a large agency, but it can be shaken like that.”

Choi Seo-bin pouted his lips and said.

“That’s right. The investment amount must have been quite large. I don’t know the exact amount. I just heard that it’s very precarious.”

I grew up a lot at HS Entertainment.

It didn’t remain a good image.

CEO Lim, who always pursued ‘money’.

In the end, I had a bad ending because of him and the medium of money.

Of course, the fact that a company is going bankrupt doesn’t have a good or bad influence on me.

I just smiled bitterly at the fact that CEO Lim was in danger because of money.

And at the same time, I had a thought.

Not CEO Lim of HS Entertainment, but the actors belonging to that place.

I was also one of the affiliated actors.

I raised my eyebrows and asked Choi Seo-bin.

“Sunbae-nim, but if a company becomes so precarious and goes bankrupt, what happens to the affiliated celebrities?”

“Um… if they stay until the end, they lose their agency overnight.”

Choi Seo-bin made a tsk sound and continued.

“But if they’re not rookies, they’ve already heard this news. Wouldn’t everyone find their own way to survive?”

“I guess so. If we’re hearing about it, the celebrities affiliated with HS Entertainment already know the company’s situation well.”

“That’s right. Everyone must be in a mental breakdown right now.”

We clinked glasses again.

I shook off the glass and fell into thought.

‘Come to think of it… Song Yu-na is also with HS Entertainment, isn’t she?’