An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 195

195. #34 – Hollywood (8)

My trip to LA was only temporary.

To nail the role, I started practicing as soon as I woke up, not even leaving my room.

Then,

“Hee-sung.”

Manager Kim approached me.

“Yeah?”

“We’ve got the audition date.”

I swallowed hard and looked at him.

“When is it?”

“Next week, this day.”

Manager Kim pointed to a date on the small paper calendar in front of me.

I nodded and said,

“Okay. That’s enough time. I can practice perfectly until then.”

Manager Kim knew I wanted the villain role.

He understood me right away and gave me an encouraging look.

“There’s no way it can’t be you. You’re so good at acting, you pull it off so perfectly. It would be stranger to pick a Japanese actor.”

“Haa… I have to get it.”

I had practiced until my eyes were red.

Seeing my face, Manager Kim patted me on the shoulder and said,

“You can take a break.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll go out and get some coffee. Want some?”

I smiled at him and replied,

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Manager Kim pulled his hat down and left the hotel.

At his words, I closed the script and leaned back in my chair.

Then, while spacing out, I naturally picked up the phone in my hand.

“I wonder if anything’s happening in Korea?”

Naturally, my fingers tapped on the entertainment news app.

I searched for ‘Jin Hee-sung.’

There hadn’t been any recent official articles about me.

I searched my name without thinking, and articles were still being uploaded recently.

[Jin Hee-sung, Advancing to Hollywood?]

[Jin Hee-sung, Meaningful Personal SNS… HOLLYWOOD… ?]

[Jin Hee-sung, ‘HOLLYWOOD’ Advance to Hollywood vs. Travel. What’s the Answer?]

[‘Jin Hee-sung’ Spotted in LA, Signal Flare for Hollywood Advancement… ?]

The photo I uploaded on the plane before coming to LA.

That post, which only said ‘HOLLYWOOD’ without any explanation, seemed to have caused a bigger stir than I thought.

I frowned and clicked on one of the articles.

The content was, as expected, full of speculation.

Speculation from reporters, not confirmation through the agency.

Just one post.

All sorts of guesses followed from the short word ‘HOLLYWOOD.’

Seeing those articles, various emotions mixed and swirled.

Even my small actions can lead to articles like this.

I got goosebumps at the thought that speculation could run rampant.

And on the other hand, I felt a sense of satisfaction that my recognition had risen that much, and the corners of my mouth lifted slightly.

If I hadn’t become famous.

If I was still stuck as a minor actor, a supporting role.

Even if it was the same post, articles wouldn’t be pouring out like this; not even a small article would be written.

I accessed SNS and checked the post I wrote.

The post had thousands of comments.

And comments were still coming in.

-Wow, is our Hee-sung *oppa* [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend] advancing to Hollywood?

-It’s about time. With Jin Hee-sung’s acting skills, honestly, going to Hollywood is late. He should have gone sooner.

-What movie is Jin Hee-sung going to film? I’ll trust and watch anything he films.

-Oppa, I’ll be cheering for you in Korea!

-Whether it’s travel or advancing to Hollywood, do whatever you want, oppa ♡

-Actor Jin Hee-sung, who I trust and watch. I always support you.

-Don’t let anyone stop Hee-sung oppa!

Reading the fans’ comments one by one, a smile naturally spread across my face.

“Haa… it was hard, but reading the fans’ comments makes me feel good?”

There were no confirmed articles yet, and the company hadn’t announced anything about me.

But the fans were just cheering me on.

I felt like they were supporting, respecting, and loving me, Jin Hee-sung, itself, no matter what choice I made.

For a moment, I felt overwhelmed and squeezed my eyes shut, feeling this emotion as it was.

As much as the love the fans give me.

No, I had to repay them with acting even more than that.

That’s what they would want.

With a smile, I opened my eyes and started reading the comments again.

Trying to read all the thousands of comments without missing any, that time was bound to pass quickly.

Among the numerous positive comments, the inevitable negative comments also caught my eye.

-Huh? He just went on a trip. What Hollywood advancement lol [laughing out loud]?

-Isn’t Jin Hee-sung not at the level to go to Hollywood yet?

-Hollywood is too much for Jin Hee-sung lol

-Did the reporters rush to the Hollywood article? But it’s not? lol

-Hee-sung, let’s just do well in Korea. Make hay while the sun shines, in Korea [idiom for taking advantage of an opportunity].

-There are more than one or two actors who went to Hollywood excited without skills and failed;;

Negative comments were also noticeable here and there among the comments.

I had recently sued a malicious commenter.

After it was revealed that the malicious commenter was Shin Min-young, people were quite shocked.

Perhaps that’s why I felt that negative comments had decreased noticeably.

But that didn’t mean there were no negative comments at all.

Only the level had decreased slightly, but there couldn’t be no negative comments.

But I didn’t have time to worry about these negative comments.

Effort was needed to silence the comments that I lacked skills.

I wanted to prove it to them clearly.

I quickly turned off the phone screen and focused on practicing the script again.

I practiced like that for a while.

“Hee-sung, were you resting?”

Manager Kim, who had returned with coffee, approached me.

“Yeah, I rested and just started practicing.”

“Here, have some coffee while you work.”

“Thanks, *hyung* [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend].”

I took the coffee and took a sip, then looked at the script again.

Manager Kim took a seat in front of me.

“Hee-sung, just a moment.”

“Why?”

Manager Kim doesn’t usually interfere with my practice.

I tilted my head, looking at him calling me while sitting in front of me.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

At my question, Manager Kim nodded.

I closed the script and looked at him.

“What is it?”

“I just got a call from the company.”

Could it be that the post I uploaded on SNS became an article?

What’s the problem with that?

I couldn’t figure it out at all, and I waited for an answer, looking into Manager Kim’s eyes.

“The Japanese actor. They found out who it is.”

“Who is it?”

As soon as he finished speaking, my eyes widened as if they would pop out, and I asked Manager Kim urgently.

“Hiroto… here.”

He handed me information about the Japanese actor Hiroto.

Hiroto’s photos.

His works, his recognition data.

He was an actor I didn’t know well, but I had heard of him occasionally.

He was one of the top actors in Japan.

“I’ve seen his face a few times.”

“Yeah, me too. I heard he’s a top-tier actor in Japan.”

You could tell by looking at the Japanese dramas and movies he had done.

That Hiroto was a famous actor in Japan.

He had done a lot of work, but he had only played leading roles in all his works for the past few years.

If I had to compare him in Korea… it would be Choi Seo-bin.

In Korea, it was true that I lacked experience and recognition compared to Choi Seo-bin.

So, I didn’t feel confident, but I thought it wouldn’t be easy.

Manager Kim also muttered softly, looking at Hiroto’s profile.

“Ah… this is a bit tough?”

At his words, I sighed and replied,

“Hyung, can I do it?”

At my words, he frowned and said,

“If it doesn’t seem like it’ll work, should we just drop it?”

“Really?”

He said to me with sincere eyes.

“It’s not that you’re losing to Hiroto. But to be honest, if the role seems ambiguous, it might be better not to do it.”

“That’s true.”

“Because when I told the company about this situation… those Hollywood bastards said they’re definitely going to make it into the news.”

At Manager Kim’s words, my face contorted.

“Don’t tell me… because of the audience [ratings]?”

“That’s right. They’ll be doing Korea vs. Japan, Korea-Japan marketing.”

At his words, I let out a long sigh that I had been holding back.

“Haa… if we lose the role to Japan, it’s going to be a real headache.”

At my words, Manager Kim nodded slowly.

“Still, I’m sure you can beat Hiroto.”

Even at his words, I still replied with a stiff face.

“Let’s try it, and if it’s not a good role… let’s just not appear at all.”

“Yeah, don’t get too caught up in that thought and worry, let’s just focus on practicing as we have been.”

“Okay.”

I opened the script again.

But soon, the scenes from the dream came to mind.

I saw it in a dream.

I didn’t want to play that first, kind role.

I didn’t want to stay in Hollywood, even if it meant taking away a good role.

I decided to go against what I saw in the dream this time and started reading the script.

***

Finally, the day before the audition arrived.

As soon as morning dawned, I opened my eyes wide and jumped out of bed.

The last day.

I have to focus on practicing today.

I had already practiced countless times, so I felt like I had memorized all the lines of the other actors.

But I couldn’t neglect practicing at the end.

I closed the script and was reciting the lines when.

“Hee-sung!”

Manager Kim, who was lying on the bed, rushed to me urgently.

“Why?”

“F

… An article came out.”

“What?”

At his words, I picked up my phone with a face full of anger.

No way….

[US Hollywood – Actor J and Japan’s Actor H. Final Competition for Supporting Role….]

[Korea-Japan Battle 펼쳐지는 [unfolding] in Hollywood… Actor J vs. Japanese Actor H.]

[Korea-Japan Battle Blows into the US Hollywood Film Industry. Can Actor J Lead the Victory in the Supporting Role Competition….]

As soon as I saw the provocative article titles, I couldn’t help but frown.

“…Crazy.”

At my words, Manager Kim ruffled his hair a lot and said,

“Articles came out in Korea and Japan at the same time.”

“Haa….”

“These bastards, they deliberately released the article one day before to make it impossible to back out.”

Manager Kim and I sighed deeply.

I quickly looked at the comments on the article.

-Wow, Korea-Japan battle in Hollywood?

-If you lose in the Korea-Japan battle, you’re a traitor? Who is Actor J?

-Who is the actor who recently went to Hollywood?

-Don’t witch-hunt, find Actor J first.

-It’s a Korea-Japan battle, so don’t call him Actor J, reveal his real name?

-Korea-Japan battle in Hollywood, interesting lol

The comments were not interested in what movie it was or the context.

It was just full of stories of the Korea-Japan battle.

I looked at Manager Kim and asked.

“Hyung, how is it in Japan?”

Manager Kim, who was looking at the situation on his phone, fixed his gaze on the phone and replied.

“It’s the same in Japan. 22nd Century Fox… it’s going as those guys intended.”

“Haa… I’m so angry. I feel like I’m being used.”

If I backed out now, the Japanese side would surely say that I ran away because I failed the audition.

The stimulus of the Korea-Japan battle would be the same in Korea and Japan.

I grabbed my throbbing head in this twisted situation and said to Manager Kim.

“Hyung, is Hollywood always like this?”

“It’s America. For the sake of box office success, they’ll do even worse?”

I shook my head at his words.

“It’s a country where this is culturally acceptable.”

“Acceptable… it’s even more absurd.”

I didn’t like this situation.

And I felt even more anger towards 22nd Century Fox.

I bit my lip and was suppressing my anger when.

Ziiing.

The alarm started ringing on the phone in my hand.