An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 229

229. #40 – Their Intentions (7)

“Hey, did you see the show yesterday?”

I asked as soon as I met Manager Kim in the morning, foregoing a greeting.

Manager Kim nodded immediately at my words and exclaimed,

“‘Chatter on Saturday’ hit the jackpot with the ratings!”

“Really? I didn’t check the ratings, but the online reaction was pretty good.”

Manager Kim smiled broadly, giving me a thumbs up.

“Hee-sung, you’re quite the talker, aren’t you?”

“Nah, it’s just good editing.”

He chuckled and said,

“Editing can only do so much. There are tons of clips of your interviews circulating online right now. Stories about you from your unknown days…”

Manager Kim seemed excited, showing me a pre-saved video of me on his phone, saying,

“So now there’s a huge buzz online about people looking forward to the movie ‘September 11th’.”

That was the most welcome news.

After all, I went on the variety show to promote the movie ‘September 11th’.

The fact that people were talking about looking forward to the movie online meant that my appearance on the variety show was a success.

I clenched my fist and shook it in the air.

“…That’s it.”

It hadn’t been released yet, and I hadn’t heard or seen public reviews, but.

I could be sure.

I was certain that if people just saw the movie, it would get good reviews.

The script and direction were that good.

I thought that if we could just get people to the theater, it was bound to be a hit.

The problem was how to get people to the theater.

Just then.

“Manager Kim, come see me for a moment!”

Team Leader Han looked at Manager Kim and waved his hand.

“Yes, Team Leader.”

Manager Kim answered immediately, patted me on the shoulder, and gestured for me to wait.

I bowed my head slightly, looking at Team Leader Han standing far away.

“Go ahead, *hyung* [older brother or male friend].”

“Should I wait in the practice room or at my desk?”

“I’ll do that.”

After Manager Kim left.

I moved to the practice room and looked at my phone.

Then, I started looking for reviews of the variety show that aired last night.

There were already plenty of good stories, but I was looking to see if I had made any mistakes.

I was searching for any negative reviews from the public or negative comments about the movie.

And before long, Manager Kim hurried into the practice room.

*Thump-*.

He burst through the door and called out to me.

“Hee-sung!”

“*Hyung*, you’re here?”

“Yeah, are you busy right now?”

I shook my head at his words and answered,

“Let’s talk in the conference room for a bit.”

Since it was a small practice room, we quickly moved to the conference room.

We sat down and faced each other.

He opened his diary, twirled his pen, and said to me,

“Hee-sung, we’re starting the movie premiere this week.”

I nodded nonchalantly at his words.

“Yeah, it’s about to be released, so I guess we’ll start the premiere. Why?”

I tilted my head at his serious expression, saying something so obvious.

Then, Manager Kim smiled and said to me,

“You have to go to the premiere too.”

“What?”

I pointed to myself with a startled look and asked again.

“I’m participating in the premiere too?”

“Yeah, I just talked to the team leader. I received it from the Hollywood side yesterday.”

At his words, I frowned and asked,

“I didn’t think I’d be going to the premiere… So, am I going back to LA this week?”

He shook his head at my words.

“No, LA isn’t first…”

Before he could finish, I cut him off.

“First…? So, I’m going to premieres in multiple places?”

“Yeah, they said you’ll be touring around the world for the premiere stage greetings.”

I couldn’t speak, my mouth wide open at Manager Kim’s words.

He looked at my stunned face and continued,

“Hollywood’s scale is no joke. You’re really going to many countries.”

“*Hyung*, but I’m a supporting actor, am I attending all those premieres?”

He smirked and replied,

“Hee-sung, you can’t call your role a regular supporting role. They want you to attend all the premieres!”

I covered my mouth at his words.

“…Wow.”

***

As soon as I arrived at the airport, I couldn’t hide my bewildered feelings.

When it comes to premieres, they usually start in Seoul and then go to Busan and Gwangju [major cities in South Korea].

We would go to theaters in major regions to greet the audience.

Even then, if it wasn’t a large-scale movie, it would end with a premiere in Seoul.

But since I was filming a movie in Hollywood.

Instead of holding premieres all over the United States, such as in LA and New York.

The fact that I was going on stage greetings around the world was simply amazing.

Moreover, I was surprised that I was appearing in such a movie.

Just participating in all these stage greetings was a very touching experience for me.

But it still didn’t feel real.

“Will it feel more real after this round of stage greetings?”

Manager Kim opened his mouth to me, who was speaking with a blank expression.

“Yeah, wouldn’t it? You can do well, Hee-sung.”

Manager Kim was giving me strength, but his expression seemed more frozen than mine.

That’s because the first country for the stage greeting wasn’t Korea, of course.

Nor was it the United States, where I had lived for several months.

The country where the stage greeting was starting was India.

Having arrived in an unfamiliar place, we waited endlessly for the plane coming from the United States.

We hadn’t met director Jeffrey and the other actors yet.

Manager Kim and I were just sitting at the airport, unable to shake off the feeling of being strangers.

But before long, the actors and staff who had worked together, and director Jeffrey, arrived at the airport.

“Hee-sung!”

I was the only actor who came separately from them.

Everyone else was in the United States, so it was only natural since I was in Korea alone.

Having met again after several months since the end of the project, we hugged each other as if we hadn’t seen each other in years.

“Charles, how have you been?”

“Hee-sung, I missed you so much.”

Actor Liam, who didn’t get along well with me.

But as if we had become a relationship of love and hate, he and I greeted each other as if we missed each other the most.

“Liam!”

“Oh, it’s been a while…”

He and I moved to the prepared car with our arms around each other’s shoulders.

Our conversation was endless.

“What have you been up to?”

“I filmed a program in Korea and took a break. What about you, Liam?”

He looked at me, raised the corners of his mouth, and replied.

“I rested too. I watched all of Hee-sung’s works while resting.”

I was startled by Liam’s words, widened my eyes, and asked.

“You watched them all?”

“Yes, K-dramas [Korean television dramas] are so famous that it wasn’t hard to find them. I could easily find the dramas, movies, and variety shows that Hee-sung appeared in.”

I burst out laughing at Liam’s words.

“You watched them all, that’s amazing. Haha.”

Director Jeffrey, who was listening to our conversation, turned around and shouted at Liam.

“Haha, Liam seems to have fallen for Hee-sung.”

Liam didn’t frown at his words, but laughed heartily and shouted.

“Yes, I think I’ve been absorbed by Hee-sung!”

With that, we recalled our recent events and memories from the set, and moved to the theater.

Watching the movie ‘September 11th’ together.

Director Jeffrey, the actors who appeared together.

And even the audience.

It was a movie that everyone watched together in one place, so my attention was focused on the audience rather than the screen.

It was my first premiere overseas, not in Korea.

The atmosphere itself was unfamiliar, so I was even more curious about the audience’s reaction.

Of course, they are the same people, but the feeling they receive may be different depending on the country.

The reaction of the people was much better than I expected.

Some people were surprised while watching the movie, and some even shed tears.

People cheered while watching the movie, enough to shake off my worries.

When the end credits came up, the audience stood up and gave a standing ovation at the same time.

The first premiere and stage greeting were successfully completed.

We all gathered in the hotel lounge to wrap up the first day.

There weren’t that many people.

Director Jeffrey, Liam, Charles, Evelyn, Bruno, and their managers and some staff.

And me.

The people who came to the premiere were the main actors and main supporting actors.

We gathered in the lounge and lightly clinked glasses.

“For the successful start of September 11th!”

“Cheers!”

Our small party started off in a good mood.

Director Jeffrey was smiling brightly, but behind that smile, there seemed to be worries and concerns.

That’s because the movie will be released next week.

It will be released on the same day as director James’ ‘Terror’.

There was no comparison yet as it was still in the premiere stage.

However, the attention of the entire film industry was on the ‘Jeffrey vs. James’ structure.

The two directors who are always called rivals.

This was the first time they had come out with a movie with the same subject matter.

Moreover, it is said that this is also the first time they are releasing on the same day, facing each other head-on.

The actors who appear in the movie didn’t say it out loud, but they were all secretly looking at the reaction of director James’ work.

Director Jeffrey would be even more concerned than us.

He smiled brightly and opened his mouth.

“I think we had a very good start in India today. Now, we plan to start in the United States, China, and Southeast Asia, and finally film in Korea.”

At his words, we shouted in unison.

“Yes.”

“The last premiere will be held in our actor Jin Hee-sung’s country, and it will be released right away. Let’s run hard.”

“Fighting!”

We clinked glasses, each engraving our resolutions in our hearts.

We sat comfortably in our seats, talking and drinking.

“That’s right. It’s my first time in India, and it’s also my first time doing a premiere overseas…”

I was talking to Charles.

Then Evelyn looked at me and opened her mouth.

“Can I sit here?”

A narrow table.

So it was a place where two or three people could sit at one table.

Only Charles and I were at this table.

At Evelyn’s words, Charles and I made eye contact and nodded at the same time.

“Yes, of course.”

Soon, Evelyn took a seat next to me with a glass of wine.

“Our movie must do well. Director James’ movie is good, but I think our work is much better.”

When Charles put down his glass and said,

Evelyn nodded as if it were natural.

“Of course. Because it’s the movie I chose. We’re definitely going to be much more successful.”

The three of us smiled with conviction and drank.

“Charles!”

Liam, who was at the next table, waved his hand and called Charles.

The first one to hear the sound was Evelyn.

She hurriedly called Charles and said.

“Charles, Liam is calling you over there, I think you should go?”

“Ah… yes, then I’ll be right back.”

Charles looked at me and raised his eyebrows.

I smiled at him.

“Yes.”

And Evelyn and I were left at the table.

She stared at me intently and took a sip of her drink.

Evelyn, who hadn’t drunk much, was looking at me with slightly loosened eyes before she put down her glass and pulled her chair closer to me.

“Hee-sung.”

“Yes?”

Her deep eyes.

Even though she hadn’t drunk much, Evelyn was looking at me with slightly unfocused eyes.

“What are you doing after this?”

“Um… after this, I should go back to my room and rest. I had a long flight today…”

Before she could finish my words, she rummaged through her bag.

*Tak-*.

She put her hand on the table and held it out in front of me.

There seemed to be something under her palm.

I tilted my head and asked Evelyn.

“What is this?”

Then Evelyn raised one corner of her mouth and whispered to me.

“I’m going up now. And this…”

Evelyn pushed her hand a little closer to me.

She got up from her seat and left the lounge.

What is it…?

With a meaningful expression and tone.

After scratching my head while watching Evelyn walk away.

I turned my gaze back to the table.

That’s when I saw the object on the table.

It was what she had given me.

‘1702’

A card with a room number written on it.

“Uh…? This is…”

It was the same shape as the card in my pocket.