An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 133

133. #25 – A Crisis for Some, An Opportunity for Others (2)

[Lead Actor Im Ha-jun of the Wednesday-Thursday Drama ‘Blackman’ Indicted on Charges of Marijuana Use…]

What is this?

The first article I checked as soon as I hung up with Choi Seo-bin.

I was so shocked by the article that I jumped up from my seat.

“No way…”

And from then on, articles began pouring out like crazy.

[Past Propofol… Im Ha-jun, Booked on Marijuana Charges Immediately After Comeback…]

[Propofol Im Ha-jun, This Time ‘Falling into the Marijuana Swamp’]

[‘Blackman’ Rising Viewership… Stumbles Because of ‘Im Ha-jun’…!]

[‘Blackman’ Halted Due to Im Ha-jun’s Arrest… Filmed Footage Buried As Is…]

News articles about Im Ha-jun’s marijuana use came out one after another.

I stared at the articles one by one, my mouth agape.

Im Ha-jun had previously faced a red light [a setback] in his thriving acting career due to propofol addiction.

And he went into a long period of self-reflection.

Then, with news of his comeback.

The work he chose for his comeback was ‘Blackman,’ which he was doing with Choi Seo-bin.

I didn’t have good feelings for Im Ha-jun, who had committed a crime in the first place.

I was worried if something would happen again….

In the end, he committed the illegal act of smoking marijuana and was sent to the prosecution again.

The article contained detailed information.

-The ‘Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Narcotics Crime Investigation Unit’ stated that they conducted a hair test on actor Im Ha-jun. And as a result, a positive reaction was found regarding marijuana use….

After his comeback, Im Ha-jun, who was gaining popularity and establishing himself, applied the ‘Act on the Management of Narcotics, etc.’….

The first person who came to mind after reading the article was not Im Ha-jun, but Choi Seo-bin.

Of course, Im Ha-jun deserves to be punished for committing an illegal act.

But the drama Blackman, which he is currently appearing in, had the number one viewership in its time slot.

And the drama wasn’t even halfway over yet.

When I heard from Choi Seo-bin on the phone a little while ago,

he said that the drama wasn’t even in the middle of filming yet….

The most worrying thing was the staff of the drama and Choi Seo-bin.

“Seo-bin sunbae [senior colleague]… what should I do?”

Out of worry, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.

I kept checking the articles that kept coming up, and I couldn’t put my cell phone down.

I wanted to call Choi Seo-bin as soon as possible.

But because he would be the most distraught right now, I could only watch the situation.

***

The next morning.

I wanted to wake up late, but habits are hard to break.

My eyes popped open early in the morning, and I ended up getting out of bed.

I didn’t have any schedules, and I couldn’t just leave far away.

Because a reward vacation was waiting for me soon.

I decided to postpone traveling alone for a while.

I quickly finished getting ready to go out, opened the door, and went out.

The place I arrived at before long:

“Hello.”

The person who burst into laughter as soon as he saw me, bowing, was Manager Kim.

“Hey, I told you to rest. Why did you come to the company?”

“I had to go somewhere, so I came out. Somehow, I ended up at the company again.”

Looking at me saying that with a smile, Manager Kim shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.

“Don’t tell me… you’re not going to work again, are you?”

His eyes narrowed, and he looked at me anxiously.

I smirked at him and replied.

“No. I was just bored at home and was going to wander around, but I stopped by the company for a while. I’m going to have lunch with you, hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Okay. Please rest from work. You have to think about your health while working.”

“I will.”

Manager Kim pointed outside with his chin.

We left the office, which was full of employees, for a while and headed outside.

And as soon as I opened the door, I asked Manager Kim.

“Hyung, did you see the Im Ha-jun article yesterday?”

At my words, he quickly frowned.

“Of course. The company is in chaos right now.”

“Because of Seo-bin sunbae?”

He sighed deeply and nodded.

Manager Kim walked to a secluded place and said quietly, “Blackman is on hiatus right now.”

“Wow….”

It was a natural result, but I gasped at the news that the drama was on hiatus.

A mini-series of 16 episodes is long if it’s long, but it’s only a short two months.

Suspending the drama was a huge loss.

The rising viewership will be cut off.

Even if they start again, it is uncertain whether they will bring in the existing viewership.

“Well, they can’t just broadcast the parts that Im Ha-jun was in.”

“Yeah, they’re throwing away all the footage they shot.”

“Oh, what should Seo-bin sunbae do….”

Manager Kim clicked his tongue and replied.

“Im Ha-jun, that guy will pay a lot of penalties, and the drama will end up losing money, but the problem is the rest of the actors and cast.”

“I know. It’s such a nuisance and a mess for a drama that was doing well.”

He nodded and said.

“Yeah. If the viewership was low, they would have just thought they stepped in poop [had bad luck] and somehow finished it… but it was such a popular drama.”

From the perspective of the same actor, I felt overwhelmed when I thought of the actors who were appearing in Blackman.

I quickly became empathetic to them.

I drooped my eyebrows and asked Manager Kim with a worried face.

“Hyung, then is the drama completely canceled?”

At my words, Manager Kim pulled his body towards me and said in a small voice.

“Actually… I heard it this morning….”

I perked up my ears and shook my head, bringing my ear to Manager Kim’s mouth.

“But?”

“It seems like they’re trying to bring in a substitute without canceling it.”

“That’s a relief!”

At my words, he brought his index finger to his mouth and said.

“Shh, it’s just a rumor inside the company.”

At his words, I also lowered my voice and asked.

“But who is coming as a substitute?”

Manager Kim pursed his lower lip and shook his head.

“That’s the problem.”

“Why?”

“Who would come to that drama? Honestly, it’s obvious that the viewership is hitting rock bottom, so who would go to Im Ha-jun’s place.”

At his words, I stroked my chin.

Manager Kim sighed and continued.

“I wouldn’t want to take over the role that a criminal was in. The role changed in the middle; who would watch that drama? The flow is all broken.”

“I guess so.”

“Of course. If the main character of a drama that I was watching diligently suddenly appeared as a different person one day, the immersion is completely broken.”

At Manager Kim’s words, I became even more worried about Choi Seo-bin.

Thinking of him, I kept sighing.

***

Pitch-black darkness.

The only things that emitted bright light in between were the few remaining stars.

Darkness fell on downtown Seoul.

Honk honk-.

The cars filling the road were shining their lights and running.

I was wearing clothes that were darker than the night and quickly scanned the surroundings.

And the moment I felt the energy.

“Hmm….”

I took a deep breath at the strange feeling.

But there was nothing to feel in my nose.

Not even air.

And I could tell right away.

This is… a dream.

Honk honk-!

The cars honking their horns.

A bustling street where countless people pass by and talk.

Looking at this extremely ordinary street, I smirked.

“Haa… a lot of people are going to die today.”

And I muttered as I looked at the woman who caught my eye.

“It’s a good day to work.”

I didn’t do anything, just stared intently at the woman who was clearly visible in the distance.

A petite height of just over 160cm [approximately 5’3″].

I don’t know what happened, but as I expected, her body had no strength.

As if she would fall over if someone just touched her.

I tilted my head and stared at her intently, then moved only my eyes to check my wristwatch.

“It’s 8:02 now… 4 minutes left.”

Then I turned my black eyes back to her.

Her steps were trudging somewhere.

“Shall I start moving too?”

I got up from the bench.

Moment.

A body that became too heavy as if someone was pressing on my shoulder.

“Agh.”

I struggled to get up, but my body didn’t listen easily.

“What the heck….”

“Hey.”

I barely moved my head and lifted my head at the voice calling me.

In front of me, a tall man was looking down at me.

It wasn’t someone I didn’t know.

He was like my rival in the same industry as me.

At my blunt words, he also replied in an unkind tone.

“I’m taking that woman….”

At his words, I exerted tremendous strength and jumped up.

I shouted at him.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s a list that fell to me. Who are you….”

“Don’t touch that woman.”

Cutting off my words, I sinisterly twisted my mouth at his words.

“Why, is she a woman you have a story with… what, are you by any chance human right now… ?”

“I clearly warned you. If you touch her… I don’t know what I’ll do then. Keep that in mind.”

“If you warn me, I…!”

Moment.

His figure disappeared like a mirage in front of my eyes.

I slammed the bench with my fist.

I glared and looked at the woman standing far away.

But his one word ‘warning’ tormented my head in confusion.

I bit my lip and couldn’t move my feet.

“Damn it.”

Flash-!

I blinked my eyes and took a deep breath.

“Haa… a dream. I think it’s been a long time since I had one.”

Bright sunlight was seeping through the curtains.

I woke up and went straight to the study.

Surely, it’s like a scene I’ve seen somewhere?

I rummaged through the scripts piled up in the study and started looking at them one by one.

It didn’t take long to find the script I saw in my dream.

“I found it!”

I quickly found the scene, closed the script, and looked at the title.

“…Blackman.”

The drama that Choi Seo-bin was in.

So it was a scene from the drama ‘Blackman’ that was suspended due to Im Ha-jun’s crime.

At that moment, goosebumps ran all over my body.

Surely the reason I rejected Blackman was because of the scene I saw in my dream.

In the dream, I appeared as a supporting actor, no, a character even worse than a general extra.

I rejected Choi Seo-bin’s offer because I thought the role I had to play didn’t suit me.

But the figure I saw in my dream now was the role that Im Ha-jun played in Blackman.

It was exactly that figure.

Recalling the scene in my dream, I became so excited that I became interested in the drama.

“What the heck?”

Resetting my past memories, I sat down and calmly started reading the script from the beginning.

“Okay, let’s read it again slowly.”

How many hours had passed?

Forgetting to wash and eat, I read all the scripts.

I bit my lip and became convinced.

Then, without hesitation, I picked up the phone and called Manager Kim.

-Hello?

“Hyung.”

-Yeah, what’s wrong?

“That Blackman, did you get a substitute for Im Ha-jun’s place?”

-Are you suddenly calling to ask that? You must be very worried about Seo-bin?

Manager Kim said with a faint laugh.

I replied to him in a serious voice.

“Hyung, if you haven’t found a substitute for that, can I do it?”