An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 121

121. #23 – Between Trash and Masterpiece (4)

Ding-dong.

The elevator quickly arrived at the CEO’s office on the 9th floor.

My heart rate began to quicken.

An unexpected meeting with the CEO of WG Entertainment.

I had only seen his face once since transferring to WG Entertainment.

And that was just for a brief moment.

Even then, it was just a greeting with other actors, not a one-on-one.

I saw CEO Park Seo-won of WG Entertainment more often on TV and through various media than in person.

Because it was such a large entertainment company.

He was already as famous as the actors in Korea.

“Haa…”

As I let out a tense breath, Manager Kim looked at me with a stiff face from the side.

“Nervous?”

He was no different from me as he asked.

With trembling hands and a shaky gaze.

“Yeah, but you seem like you are too, Hyung [older brother or close male friend]?”

“Hoo… It’s my first time meeting CEO Park alone like this too.”

He placed his hand on his chest and took a deep breath.

I could feel his nervousness.

Before we knew it, our steps stopped in front of the CEO’s office door.

I swallowed hard and knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

Opening the door, I saw the large CEO’s office.

A dark, luxurious executive desk caught my eye.

Next to it, various plaques and photos were displayed all over the bookshelf.

The enormous amount of awards made my eyes widen.

CEO Park got up from the large desk chair and approached us.

“Welcome. Is this Hee-sung and Manager Kim’s first time in the CEO’s office?”

CEO Park, who appeared to be in his late forties, was smiling.

But the charisma behind that smile overwhelmed us.

Even without doing anything, the aura emanating from him made our mouths drop open.

At CEO Park’s greeting, Manager Kim and I bowed without hesitation.

“Yes, it is our first time.”

“Hello, CEO.”

We greeted him loudly.

CEO Park nodded in response.

Then, he gestured with his chin towards the sofa, telling us to sit down.

Manager Kim and I quickly sat down where he had indicated.

CEO Park leaned back on the sofa in his seat.

Perfectly creased suit pants.

And shiny shoes without a speck of dust.

CEO Park crossed his legs, revealing his gleaming shoes.

We naturally placed our hands on our knees and straightened our backs.

“How is it being at WG Entertainment? Are you settling in okay?”

CEO Park looked at Manager Kim and me with a gentle face and asked.

We nodded repeatedly.

“Yes, we are happily working here.”

Manager Kim replied with a smile on his face.

I also smiled brightly and said to him.

“They are actively supporting us, and the company’s practice environment is so good that I look forward to coming to work every day.”

CEO Park, who didn’t show much change in expression even at my words, raised his eyebrows and said.

“That’s a relief.”

And then came the silence again.

I definitely wanted to meet the head of the department and talk about the drama in detail and persuade him.

I had no doubt that I could do it.

But the person in front of me was the CEO, much higher up than the head of the department.

How should I bring up the fact that I wanted to do the drama to CEO Park?

Moreover, the fact that he called me here directly meant that he was trying to dissuade me from appearing in the drama.

How should I persuade CEO Park, who has such sharp eyes and a firm voice?

I nervously licked my dry lips.

Then.

Thump-.

CEO Park placed the script he had prepared on the coffee table.

The script was, of course, ‘The Mistress’s Temptation’.

He leaned back on the sofa again, crossed his arms, and raised one eyebrow as he said.

“So, you want to do this drama?”

CEO Park’s face was full of ease.

Of course, it was not him who was nervous here, but me, who had to persuade him.

Rather, his peaceful appearance made me even more nervous.

But I couldn’t give up on this drama just because I felt intimidated.

I straightened my back even more and turned my head to look at CEO Park.

“Yes, I really want to do it.”

He slightly raised one corner of his mouth.

Then, he stuck out his lower lip and raised his eyebrows.

“I heard from the head of the department that he was worried that the drama wouldn’t be of much help to Hee-sung?”

As expected.

CEO Park was also not in favor of me appearing in it.

As soon as I heard his words, a drop of sweat ran down my spine.

Rather than trying to persuade him that this script was to CEO Park’s liking,

I wanted to sincerely explain why I wanted to do this work, why I had to do it.

“CEO.”

“Yes, speak.”

“As you may have heard, it is true that the subject of this drama is adultery.”

He listened to me without interrupting and nodded.

“But I didn’t think that my image would be tarnished if I appeared in this work, like a so-called 막jang [over-the-top, sensational] drama. No, I didn’t.”

I moved my gaze to the script.

I opened the script and continued.

“I think it depicts not only sensationalism but also human nature and depravity. And everyone standing on the edge of that cliff in great detail.”

I swallowed hard, speaking as if I was giving a passionate speech, and looked back at CEO Park.

My eyes were already sparkling as I explained the work.

“It doesn’t damage my good image that I have built up while acting, but rather, I can showcase various aspects of acting. Such an actor….”

Suddenly.

CEO Park raised his palm and extended it towards me.

I trailed off at his gesture.

Because CEO Park had never interrupted me while I was speaking.

I was flustered by his gesture and couldn’t close my mouth.

At the same time, Manager Kim and I fixed our gaze on CEO Park.

He stroked his chin and moved his mouth.

“…Hmm, then give it a try.”

I frowned at his words.

Manager Kim, who had been quiet all along, opened his eyes wide and exclaimed.

“CEO!”

Then CEO Park raised one corner of his mouth and replied.

“The actor has a work he wants to do, and he wants to do it this much. Is there any reason to stop him?”

“Still….”

Manager Kim couldn’t finish his sentence.

CEO Park smiled at me and squinted.

“Isn’t that why you came to our company?”

***

“Wow… I thought the CEO would stop you, but he immediately said okay.”

Manager Kim said to me with a blank face.

I smiled brightly and patted his shoulder.

“Haha, so I’m going to be in that work?”

Manager Kim leaned against the practice room wall and nodded.

“Yeah, the CEO ordered it, who would stop you? Now that you’re in it, the drama has to be a big hit, okay?”

I smiled so much that my eyes narrowed into slits and said to Manager Kim.

“Hyung, of course!”

Manager Kim sat down heavily.

He picked up ‘The Mistress’s Temptation’ script on the table.

“Are you going to read it again?”

At my words, he replied while keeping his eyes fixed on the script.

“Yeah, I have to support you in this drama now. I have to read it again properly.”

I smiled at his words and took a seat opposite him.

Manager Kim, who was turning a page, quickly raised his head as if he had remembered something.

“Oh, right, Hee-sung!”

I flinched for a moment, surprised.

Manager Kim snapped his fingers and continued.

“I heard when I went to get the script earlier, that the script Seo-bin sent me last time, right?”

“‘Blackman’?”

“Yeah, he’s been confirmed to appear in it.”

I nodded at the news that Choi Seo-bin had finally decided to appear in the drama that I had rejected.

Then who is taking my place?

“Then what about the other leads?”

Manager Kim tilted his head at my question.

“Ah, I didn’t ask about that. I have to go get another copy of the script anyway, so I’ll have to go ask.”

“Let’s go together.”

“Okay.”

I was so curious about who the actor who would be taking my place and who would be working with Choi Seo-bin.

I got up from my seat following Manager Kim.

We left the practice room as it was.

“And that drama is on Wednesday-Thursday. Ours is on Monday-Tuesday. Fortunately, we won’t be competing.”

This time, I breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that I would not be competing with Choi Seo-bin in the same time slot.

Thinking about the last time we competed with the release of a movie around the same time still makes my head hurt.

“That’s a real relief.”

Then.

The person I saw in the distance.

It was Choi Seo-bin.

Since he doesn’t usually come to the company, I bowed to him with a very happy heart.

“Sunbae-nim [senior colleague]!”

Choi Seo-bin blinked at my call.

He looked at Manager Kim next to him and bowed slightly.

His attitude was so different from usual.

I quickly opened my mouth to him with a bright face.

“Sunbae-nim, are you busy today?”

Choi Seo-bin frowned at my question.

“Why?”

His cold reaction.

I hesitated at Choi Seo-bin’s unfamiliar tone, which I was experiencing for the first time, and carefully said.

“If you’re okay, how about a drink at the usual bar in the evening….”

“I have a prior engagement today.”

“Ah….”

“I’ll go first.”

After refusing me, Choi Seo-bin greeted Manager Kim and brushed past me.

He had changed since he refused to film the drama together.

I let out a long sigh at his cold attitude.

…It’s uncomfortable.

***

♬♪♫-.

Pounding beat sounds.

Ceaselessly flashing lights were leaking out from the door.

A large logo was attached to the entrance of the building.

As a car stopped there, a man in a suit approached the car.

“Have you arrived?”

Im Ha-joon, who got out while being greeted by him, frowned and said.

“Are the kids all here?”

“Yes, they have all arrived.”

As Im Ha-joon nodded, the employee looked around and took him inside the club.

♪♫-.

A large room where Im Ha-joon arrived.

Inside, the music was playing softly, unlike outside.

“Oh, our star has arrived!”

Im Ha-joon’s friends leaned back on the sofa and shouted at him.

“You bastards, you already cracked open the whiskey without me.”

“Hey, we just set it up because you were coming.”

Im Ha-joon walked straight to the innermost seat and leaned back on the sofa.

Whiskey and food were overflowing on the table under the dim lights.

Im Ha-joon seemed to be intoxicated by the atmosphere here.

“Okay, let’s have a drink since Ha-joon is here.”

About two hours passed.

Im Ha-joon’s friend, Shin Min-hwan, asked him in a loud voice.

“Hey, aren’t you doing propofol [anesthetic drug] these days?”

Im Ha-joon distorted his face at his question.

“Crazy. That was in the news last time.”

“Oh, Im Ha-joon! I guess you’re not doing it because you got caught once?”

Im Ha-joon spat on the floor with a displeased face at Shin Min-hwan, who was speaking sarcastically.

“Shut up if you don’t know. You have to go to the hospital to do that. You don’t know anything.”

“Hey, celebrities all call them to their homes to do it?”

“I got caught once, so the doctors all refuse, so I can’t do it. X발 [a Korean curse word].”

Shin Min-hwan pouted and nodded.

Im Ha-joon slammed the table with his fist and shouted at Shin Min-hwan.

“And what do you know about celebrities?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned fierce.

Jang Jae-hyuk, who was next to him, approached them and reached out his hand.

“Hey, hey, that’s enough. Let’s not raise our voices at each other.”

Jang Jae-hyuk, who grabbed Im Ha-joon’s arm, raised the corners of his mouth and pointed to the bag next to him with his eyes.

“Okay, shall we start now?”

Everyone in the room turned their gaze to the bag at once.

Jang Jae-hyuk quickly put the bag on the table.

“I got this with some difficulty this time, you bastards.”

At his words, Shin Min-hwan poured alcohol into his mouth and replied.

“Yeah, marijuana is much better than propofol.”

“That’s right. You don’t have to go to the hospital for this.”

Im Ha-joon smiled.

He looked at the closed door and asked Jang Jae-hyuk.

“Hey, what about the kids outside?”

“X발. This is my club, isn’t that obvious?”

“Jae-hyuk, hurry up and take it out.”

After a while.

The eyes of those in the room lost focus.

They were sprawled on the sofa, muttering with half-closed eyes.

“Heuaa… X is so good….”