An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 13

#4 – Rivalry (1)

“Thank you!”

“Yes, you worked hard.”

The actor who auditioned bowed deeply to the director and writer.

“When will the results be announced…?”

“We’ll let you know soon. You can head out that way.”

“Yes.”

The actor gave a light nod and left the audition room.

“Ha, it’s fun and tiring to do auditions after so long.”

“I agree.”

Director Park Seung-hyun replied to the writer, then turned to the casting director sitting opposite him and said,

“I heard earlier that some of the actors came from large agencies. Which company and who were they?”

“You know Park Min-joon from WG Entertainment, right?”

Director Park raised his eyebrows, acknowledging Park Min-joon’s fame, and nodded.

“Of course. He’s famous.”

“Yes, Park Min-joon and another one named Jin Hee-sung… I’ve never heard of him, and he doesn’t have any filmography.”

“Which agency is he with?”

“HS Entertainment.”

At the casting director’s words, Director Park quickly flipped through the papers to check the profile.

“That’s right. Jin Hee-sung from HS Entertainment… Never heard of him.”

“Still, if he’s good enough to get into HS Entertainment, his skills and looks must be somewhat verified, right?”

The writer nodded subtly at their conversation, writing down the name ‘Jin Hee-sung’ on a piece of paper.

“Let’s keep an eye on him for now.”

“Yes, Director.”

Several auditions passed without incident.

Less than an hour later.

“Hello, I’m Park Min-joon.”

It was Park Min-joon’s turn to audition.

A celebrity from a large agency appearing in a short drama.

This wasn’t a common occurrence, so Park Min-joon’s appearance alone changed the atmosphere of the audition room.

The casting director looked at Park Min-joon and gave a nod.

‘It’s like a premium item came to the neighborhood supermarket. There must be a reason why he came…’

As soon as Park Min-joon finished his greeting, Director Park opened his mouth.

“Yes, nice to meet you. Shall we see the acting you’ve prepared?”

“Yes, I’ll start right away.”

Park Min-joon delivered the acting he had prepared.

Stable acting, as expected from WG Entertainment, a large agency.

Even without a camera, Park Min-joon handled his gaze neatly as if there was one.

The emotional lines and breathing were also perfectly textbook-like acting.

Director Park twirled his pen while watching Park Min-joon’s performance.

‘Wow, as expected of Park Min-joon. WG Entertainment lives up to its name. This is why people talk about agencies.’

However, Director Park maintained a poker face.

“That’s all for the acting I’ve prepared. Thank you.”

When Park Min-joon bowed, all three people sitting in front nodded.

“But why did you come here?”

Park Min-joon tilted his head at Director Park’s blunt question.

“Excuse me?”

“No, if it’s Min-joon, wouldn’t it be much better to go for a mini-series in terms of filmography and pay? I was wondering why you came to a short drama.”

At Director Park’s words, Park Min-joon answered without even thinking, as if he had anticipated the question.

“Because the script was so good.”

A short but strong statement.

That word was enough to make the writer smile.

And Park Min-joon’s following answer.

“I don’t really care about the pay. It was a script that I wanted so badly as soon as I saw it.”

In the end, the writer spoke up at his words.

“Thank you for seeing it that way.”

“No, the script was so good that I really wanted to work with the director and writer.”

Park Min-joon smiled brightly, expressing his desire to collaborate.

“Okay. It would be nice if we had a good working relationship.”

Director Park pointed to the door with his chin and said, “Then I’ll send you a message through the agency later. Thank you for your hard work today.”

“Yes, thank you. Please take good care of me!”

Park Min-joon bowed and left the audition room.

In the audition room after he left.

“As expected, a well-known actor is different.”

“That’s right. His acting is neat, isn’t it?”

“Yes, there’s nothing to criticize. As you said, the word ‘neat’ is the perfect word.”

Director Park only quietly looked at Park Min-joon’s filmography during the conversation between the casting director and the writer.

***

“Next person, please come forward and wait.”

At the staff’s words, I got up from my seat and walked to the front of the waiting line.

The person inside the audition room right now is Park Min-joon.

Could it be that I’m next after him?

The sound coming from inside the audition room was Park Min-joon’s voice.

The staff opened his mouth to me, who was perking up my ears to hear it.

“You can go in next.”

“Ah… yes.”

I’m up next after Park Min-joon of all people.

Even though we’re from the same large entertainment company, Park Min-joon has plenty of recognition and a solid filmography, while I have none.

Being next in line to be compared is not ideal.

This order was enough to make me tense, even though I had been waiting calmly.

Still, just do what you’ve been doing, just do what you’ve practiced.

After taking a deep breath with my eyes closed, I got up from my seat, and the person who opened the door and came out was, as expected, Park Min-joon.

Our eyes met, and Park Min-joon smirked.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

My brow furrowed at his words.

Before I could answer, Park Min-joon spoke again.

“Looks like I’m going to take your place, Hee-sung?”

Narrowed eyes, a twisted smile.

Unlike Park Min-joon, I didn’t even change my expression and scoffed.

“You never know until you measure it.”

A cold air lingered between Park Min-joon and me, who instantly dropped his smile.

“It’s obvious anyway, why don’t you just go back without wasting time?”

I didn’t want to talk to Park Min-joon anymore.

No, it was a challenge that didn’t need a response.

Ignoring him, I put on a bright smile and opened the door to the audition room.

“Hello, I’m Jin Hee-sung.”

The director, writer, and casting director were sitting side by side in front.

They stopped their conversation at my greeting and focused on me.

“Yes, nice to meet you. I heard you’re from HS Entertainment.”

Director Park pushed up his glasses and asked, looking at the documents instead of me.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Okay. You came from a large agency, so I’ll look forward to it. Start acting right away when you’re ready.”

“Yes.”

The advantages and disadvantages of coming from a large agency were very clear.

The advantage is that they look at my profile even once more because of the company name.

On the other hand, the disadvantage is that the expectations for acting increase just because of the agency’s name.

And I came here after a lot of practice to meet their expectations.

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat and immediately immersed myself in acting.

“Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Everyone has heard of them when they were in school. And you learn this in detail.”

I immediately immersed myself as if possessed by an astronomy professor, and the eyes of everyone sitting in the audition room were on me.

“Looking at the solar system planets that you learned simply….”

No props were prepared in the audition room.

But I continued acting, imagining that there was a large blackboard behind me.

Director Park nodded at the motion of writing and pointing in the air.

“The characteristics of the planets seen from Earth are….”

Just when the acting was about to end smoothly, the writer seemed to be talking to the director quickly about something.

“I have a question!”

Suddenly she raised her hand and said to me.

This is not a simple question outside of acting.

Moreover, it wasn’t in the script either.

Do you want impromptu acting?

You shouldn’t be embarrassed in any situation.

I answered, immersed in the role, as if a professor was dealing with a student.

“Yes, young lady. What’s your question?”

At my question, delivered with a relaxed expression without any sign of embarrassment, Director Park and the casting director looked at me with wide eyes as if they were surprised.

The writer’s following answer.

“Do you think there are no other planets besides Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune?”

At her words, I answered without a moment’s hesitation.

I was a terrible liberal arts student in my school days.

I had no interest in science subjects at all.

I answered naturally, as if possessed by an astronomy professor, without even a moment’s hesitation.

“There is something called the Titius-Bode law [a hypothesis that the bodies in some orbital systems, including the Sun’s, orbit at semi-major axes in a function of planetary sequence], which states that there is a high probability that something exists between Mars and Jupiter. But in the past, astronomers discovered that there were asteroid groups. According to the latest science, it is judged that there is a high possibility that dark matter is additionally present in that area.”

I looked at the writer, Director Park, and the casting director one by one as if I were giving an actual class, checking if they understood.

“In addition, the Titius-Bode law is….”

“Okay. I think that’s enough, Hee-sung.”

Director Park smiled and cut off the flow of acting.

“Yes, thank you.”

I, who had been immersed in the role, returned to being Jin Hee-sung and bowed to them.

“Hee-sung, what’s your major?”

The writer raised her eyebrows and asked me with an interested expression.

“Theater and Film.”

“Oh, really?”

She tilted her head and checked again, and I quickly answered.

“Is something wrong?”

I asked if I had made a mistake, but she smiled brightly and spoke.

“No, I asked a question to see the ad-lib, but he immediately talked about professional knowledge. Usually, if you’re not interested in this field, you don’t know.”

Her words were correct.

I was also spouting words I didn’t know.

I can’t say that the words came out naturally as if I was possessed.

I looked at the writer and smiled and answered.

“I like stars a little.”

Then she pouted her lower lip and nodded repeatedly as if satisfied.

“Nice. I enjoyed your acting today.”

“Thank you!”

***

“Min-joon, did you do well?”

Park Min-joon’s manager asked him as he got into the car.

“Of course, am I someone who would make a mistake?”

“No. How was the atmosphere?”

“Atmosphere… I think I’ll get it? No, I should definitely get it.”

The manager nodded at Park Min-joon’s confident expression.

“Ah, hyung [older brother/male friend – a term of endearment]. So, is it confirmed that Director Park is moving to Gen Studio?”

“Yes, I checked one more time that it’s completely confirmed.”

Park Min-joon smirked and said,

“Then, I must play the lead role in this short drama. I need to build a relationship with Director Park this time so that I can lay the groundwork for appearing as the lead in the drama he’ll be doing after he moves.”

“That’s right. That Gen Studio is an OTT [Over-The-Top – a streaming service] platform, so they’ll only be filming dramas.”

The manager asked worriedly,

“I didn’t show it, did I?”

“Does hyung think I’m a kid?”

Park Min-joon added with a glint in his eyes.

“I said I’m doing it because the script is good. Don’t worry.”

***

“No, his recognition is better, but his immersion was better, wasn’t it?”

The casting director said, looking at the profiles on the desk.

“Right? I think so too.”

The writer answered with her arms crossed, leaning against the desk.

Three people gathered in front of the desk.

Then Director Park spoke.

“But this friend [Park Min-joon] can bring in a bit of viewership.”

The other two nodded at his words.

“That’s right. But if you think about this friend’s [Jin Hee-sung’s] knowledge, it would be better to increase the work’s quality, wouldn’t it?”

She made a rebuttal, and Director Park blinked as if acknowledging that point.

And then came the silence.

Time was passing without the two candidates’ opinions converging.

“So… is it ultimately recognition or quality?”

The casting director’s words broke the silence.

Director Park nodded and stared at the two profiles.

‘The writer will want the quality, and the viewership of the short drama will be at most 1%…. I’m going to move anyway, so is there any need to insist on this viewership…?’

He pondered for a long time.

“Hmm.”

Slowly, he nodded.

“Then….”

He said, pointing to one profile with his index finger as if he had made up his mind.

“Let’s go with him.”