An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 331

331. Whirlwind (4)

My arms were straining, my hands frantically tightening around his neck.

In that instant.

The reason I had lost myself returned, and the face before me was Robert, the white actor.

Robert’s face was filled with terror, his eyelids fluttering as he beat at my hands covering his neck.

A faint strength could be felt in his fingertips.

It seemed his body had gone limp because I was squeezing his neck so tightly.

Startled, I released his neck and hurriedly checked on him.

“…Robert!”

Brushing off Robert’s crumpled collar beneath me, I slumped back.

“Kheluk, kheluk… Kek…. Cough… Cough, cough.”

Robert coughed, gasping for breath that I had almost cut off.

“Are you okay? Robert….”

I carefully helped him up, concerned about his well-being.

“Kek… Cough, cough. Ah, yes….”

Robert nodded, breathing deeply as he leaned on me to stand.

“I’m really sorry. Really….”

Looking at me, unsure how to react to my apology, Robert gave a playful smile.

“Luckily, I didn’t die.”

Seeing him joke despite the situation, I looked at his reddened neck.

“Your neck is red. I’m really sorry.”

“I was surprised, but I’m okay.”

Robert scratched his head awkwardly and said to me.

“I could have just called Hee-sung, but I secretly and carefully came to play a prank…. It’s my fault.”

“Still… but are you really okay?”

I asked, examining his face and neck.

As I touched Robert’s clothes here and there with my arm, he shouted with a startled expression.

“…Huh?”

Surprised by his reaction, I tilted my head.

“Hee-sung, are you okay?”

“Me… why?”

Robert pointed to my arm with his finger, his mouth wide open.

“Hee-sung, there’s blood on your arm….”

Following his fingertip, I looked at my arm and saw red blood flowing down my forearm.

When I quickly subdued him in response to Robert’s prank, it seemed I had been scratched by tree bark in the process.

But it seemed more serious than I thought.

The blood wasn’t just pooling; it was dripping to the floor.

The pain rushed in as soon as I saw the blood.

“Ah… that’s right.”

Just as I was about to wipe away the blood in extreme pain,

Robert, who was in front of me, began to spin.

“Huh…?”

Suddenly, my vision blurred, and then it closed completely.

“Hee-sung!”

***

A firmly closed vision.

In the black darkness.

As I slowly regained consciousness, I heard a murmur in my ear.

The faint voices were those of Manager Park and a stranger.

Though my mind was hazy, I tensed my body and tried to open my eyes.

팟-! [Sound effect, similar to ‘pop’ or ‘snap’]

And then I saw a pure white ceiling.

As I blinked, Manager Park’s faint voice and his face came into view.

“Hee-sung!”

Blink, blink-

“Hee-sung, are you okay? Are you coming to your senses?”

Manager Park looked at me with tearful eyes, as if tears would fall if he was touched.

“Yeah. I’m okay. What happened?”

I tried to get up by supporting myself on the bed with my arm, but Manager Park pressed my shoulder with a startled face.

“You don’t have to get up. You haven’t finished your IV yet.”

“Ah, why am I in the hospital?”

He swallowed hard and said.

“Don’t you remember? You collapsed in the forest earlier.”

At Manager Park’s words, I frowned and traced back to where my memory went.

And the last scene came to mind.

Robert was pulling me into his arms as I was about to fall.

I had no memory after that.

Because I lost consciousness as it was.

“Ah… right. I remember being in the forest with Robert.”

“Yeah, Robert is making a fuss now, saying he’s sorry for playing a prank.”

Robert’s situation as told by Manager Park.

I was also filled with apologies to him.

Of course, I subdued him because of his prank, but because I was sensitive, I pushed him harder than usual.

I was filled with guilt at the thought that I had lost my mind and strangled his neck.

The doctor, who was standing next to us listening to our conversation, cleared his throat, letting us know he was there.

“Ahem.”

At the sound, Manager Park reached out and pointed to him.

“Ah, doctor. Is our Hee-sung’s condition okay?”

Only then did the doctor explain my condition to me and Manager Park.

“You don’t have to worry too much about the patient’s wound.”

“Then, is it because of excessive bleeding that he collapsed? That’s more dangerous.”

Manager Park lowered his eyebrows and asked the doctor.

“It’s not excessive bleeding. I think he collapsed because he was surprised. More than that….”

The doctor, who was looking at Manager Park, turned his head and looked at me.

He flipped through the chart and made a *tsk* sound.

“I did a simple examination, and your health is not good.”

At his words, I tilted my head.

“Me?”

“Yes, haven’t you been taking care of your nutrition lately?”

At the doctor’s words, I thought about my recent eating habits and my physical condition, and then nodded.

“Yes, I think I’ve been like that lately.”

Since taking on the role of the killer.

I think I had been mind-controlling myself to have the sharp and sensitive senses that fit the role.

In fact, I didn’t make any effort to mind-control myself.

It was natural that my 10,000 years of past and practice made me as sensitive as a killer’s life.

It wasn’t like I was deliberately starving myself, but I had lost quite a bit of weight.

That was also natural.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I devoted myself to practice without putting anything in my mouth, skipped lunch and immersed myself in practice, and practiced and reminisced until dinner.

I had no desire for food even though I kept skipping meals.

I simply didn’t feel hungry, so I didn’t feel the need.

At my words, the doctor said to me with a firm face.

“Then you will have to. No, you must eat and take care of your nutrition thoroughly.”

I raised my eyebrows at his resolute attitude and asked.

“Is it that serious?”

But the doctor’s answer did not waver.

No, it became even stronger.

“Yes, you have to do it that seriously. It could be dangerous.”

“Ah….”

It wasn’t just me who was surprised by the doctor’s words.

Manager Park sighed repeatedly, perhaps because he felt guilty for not taking good care of me.

His face was even more serious than mine.

“And you should get a proper physical examination. This time, you just collapsed lightly because you were surprised, but it may not be just that.”

At his words, I nodded.

“Yes, thank you.”

***

After that day.

I didn’t attend the filming site for a week.

I was given a week’s rest.

“Wow, even so, they give you a week’s break?”

At my words, Manager Park blinked his big eyes and replied.

“Of course. Hee-sung, your body is in this condition!”

“Oh, *hyung* [older brother/male friend], you heard it too. I don’t have excessive bleeding, and the wound isn’t serious.”

Nevertheless, Manager Park shook his head firmly.

“Let’s eat well and get your body in good shape during this week and come back.”

“Okay.”

I recalled the filming site in Korea and clicked my tongue.

“But it’s amazing. If it were the Korean film industry, you’d be very conscious of it, even if they gave you a break.”

Manager Park agreed with my words and replied.

“Well, even top actors are conscious of it themselves.”

“That’s right.”

“But in Hollywood, the health recovery of actors is the top priority.”

He looked at my arm and continued.

“If a cast member gets hurt here, the movie side has to pay a huge amount of money.”

“The welfare is no joke.”

“That’s right. So this time, make sure to take the rice and medicine that I bring you.”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

Even at my words, Manager Park glared at me with narrow eyes.

“If you don’t eat like last time, I’ll stay in this house until you eat?”

At his words, I waved my hand and quickly replied.

“Oh, I understand. I’ll eat really well. Wait, are you going to sleep at *hyung’s* place?”

“Okay.”

Manager Park put the food he had brought on the table and said.

“Then eat this and make sure to take your medicine.”

“I will. Thank you, *hyung*.”

“No. Thank you. If you’re bored being alone, should I stay here?”

I burst into laughter at his persistent behavior and pushed him away.

“No, *hyung*, go and rest. I’m going to eat and practice.”

“What? You can just rest for a week.”

“What are you going to do for a week? The filming is next week anyway, so I have to practice.”

“You’ve practiced a lot during that time.”

“Hey, there’s no end to practice. I want to practice more. Hurry up and go to your dorm and rest.”

At my words, he wrinkled his nose and headed for the front door.

Even so, he grabbed the door, still worrying about me.

“Don’t overdo it, and call me if anything happens.”

“Yes, go in. Manager.”

쿵- [Sound of something heavy closing]

After Manager Park left.

I picked up the script again.

In fact, I had been suffering from headaches while working with him.

I had been holding back to avoid being caught by him because of the headaches caused by reminiscing about my 10,000 years of life.

If I had expressed my pain, Manager Park would have taken me to the hospital right away.

But I had to go to the study, not the hospital.

Because that was the only way to relieve my headache.

The medicine I needed for my headache was ‘acting’.

I continued to practice, holding on to my throbbing head.

***

That week passed quickly.

The wound on my arm is still faintly visible, but my condition has completely improved.

Of course, the headache was still with me.

I didn’t go anywhere other than the hospital for a week.

My week’s life was simple.

Except for the time I spent visiting the hospital for recovery, I focused only on practice.

So, despite missing a week of filming, my condition was even more immersed in the killer.

More sensitive and sharper eyes.

I got into the car, reviewing the acting I would perform when I returned to the set, and Manager Park greeted me with a smiling face.

“Hee-sung, good morning!”

Even at his words, I didn’t smile, let alone smile.

“Yeah.”

Manager Park also noticed my condition and tried to ease my sensitive state.

It seemed that he couldn’t see my health deteriorating again due to my sensitivity.

“Hee-sung, there’s a lot going on in the Korean entertainment industry these days?”

On the way to the set.

I just wanted to immerse myself in the role and recall the lines, but Manager Park kept chattering and throwing words at me.

“You know actor Jang Joon-woo, who filmed Undercover with you?”

He glanced at me through the rearview mirror, confirmed that I was awake, and then opened his mouth.

“Actor Jang Joon-woo is on set this time….”

He seemed to be trying to relieve the dark and heavy atmosphere around me, but this atmosphere did not lighten easily.

It was because I had no intention of accepting his bright atmosphere.

I fully understood his efforts and worries, but I was satisfied with my current state.

As soon as I arrived at the set, I had to return to the role of the killer, not Jin Hee-sung, and perform the acting.