An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 140

140. Episode 26 – Overflowing Reward (2)

A reward vacation.

After successfully finishing the drama ‘Temptation of the Other Woman’.

For the first time in my life, I was offered a reward vacation, but I couldn’t go because I joined ‘Blackman’.

It’s not that I longed for or regretted the reward vacation.

I felt I had gained something better than that.

But on the other hand, I did wonder.

When would the day come when I could go on a reward vacation again?

I had doubts, but I never regretted joining Blackman.

It’s just that I sometimes thought about missing out on the experience.

But the fact that Choi Seo-bin, not the Blackman production team, suggested it to me was still surprising.

There was no way PBC [a broadcasting station] would have given it to us.

If that were the case, all the staff would have gone together.

But this reward vacation, well, it was called a reward vacation.

It was just a trip for the two of us, Choi Seo-bin and me.

Choi Seo-bin was grateful that I joined Blackman.

It seemed like he wanted to repay me for that.

I also joined Blackman to repay him for his gratitude.

I refused the money he was spending, but Choi Seo-bin didn’t listen to me.

Moreover, I wanted to go on a trip with Choi Seo-bin.

There were no special schedules, but a trip that required me to leave Korea for a few days.

I had to report it to the company, so I quickly called Team Leader Kim.

And after a short ringing tone, Team Leader Kim answered the phone.

-Hello?

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], are you busy?”

-Ah, I can talk for a bit. I was going to call you anyway.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Team Leader Kim asked me with a worried voice.

I carefully started telling him that I was going on a trip.

Since Team Leader Kim was the one who had suffered with me, it wasn’t easy to tell him that I was going alone.

“Hyung… well, I don’t have any schedules for a while, right?”

He answered my question without hesitation.

-Yeah, you can rest until the next project. Why?

“I was wondering if I could go on a trip.”

Team Leader Kim answered as if he had been waiting for my words.

-Of course, you can. Please rest, Hee-sung.

“Really? I’m thinking of going abroad….”

-With Seo-bin?

Team Leader Kim asked me as if he already knew.

I was surprised by his question.

“What, hyung? How did you know?”

-How else would Seo-bin know to book a plane ticket for your schedule? Haha.

I nodded, my mouth open at Team Leader Kim’s words.

“I knew it. I was wondering how Seo-bin knew the date and my passport.”

-Everything has been discussed with the company, so go and have fun. This is the first time you’ve gone on a trip like this since you started working.

“I guess so.”

-Don’t think about work at all, just have fun.

“I wish you could come with me. I’m sorry because you’ve been through a lot too, hyung.”

-It’s okay. I can’t go even if you ask me to. You know, I’m managing another actor right now. I came to work today too.

He was my manager, but during these long breaks, he also worked as a manager for other actors or singers.

Because the company doesn’t know how long I’ll be resting or when I’ll get a job, they can’t just leave the manager idle.

“Next time, let’s talk to the company and go on a trip together.”

-Okay. Don’t feel sorry for me at all, just have fun.

Team Leader Kim’s words, which were considerate of me, relieved my feelings of guilt.

Only then did I smile.

“Hyung, but what did you want to say?”

-Ah, that’s right. The company will be doing settlements today [financial reconciliation/payment of earnings].

“Is it today?”

-I was going to let you know because the date was changed this month.

“Ah… I see.”

-I haven’t heard the amount yet, so let me know if there’s anything wrong with the deposit amount.

“Okay, but aren’t you working, hyung?”

-Yeah. If it’s urgent, you can call the finance team instead of me and ask them directly.

“I will. Well, nothing will be deposited incorrectly.”

-I guess so. I have to go see the filming.

“Okay. Hyung, have a good one.”

As soon as I hung up the phone with Team Leader Kim, my cell phone alarm rang.

Ding-dong.

-XX Bank Deposit ₩503,180,000 WG Entertainment.

It was the settlement deposit that Team Leader Kim had mentioned.

I smiled and checked the deposit amount.

“One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand… hundred thousand… million…. Five hundred million?”

I was so shocked by the huge amount that I rubbed my eyes and checked the numbers again.

“What, is it five hundred million?”

I had been talking to Team Leader Kim while rolling around on the sofa.

I jumped up from there and headed to the study.

I quickly pulled out a chair and started scribbling in my notebook.

I knew that this settlement amount was for ‘Temptation of the Other Woman’ and ‘Blackman’.

I wrote down the contract amount for each drama.

“Temptation of the Other Woman was 10 million won per episode, and there were 16 episodes in total.”

160 million written in the notebook.

“Plus, I got a 50% bonus for doing well, so that’s a total of 240 million won.”

No matter how I calculated it, 240 million won was all.

Even if I calculate the fuel tax and the 7:3 ratio between the company and me… it’s only about 150 million won at most.

“…The problem is the remaining 350 million.”

I couldn’t figure out the amount, so I called Team Leader Kim.

But.

-The customer is not answering the phone….

Team Leader Kim didn’t answer the phone because he was already filming.

I knew that the company has never deposited even 1 won differently.

I was going to wait for Team Leader Kim’s call, but I couldn’t stand it and called WG Entertainment’s finance team.

-Hello, this is Kim Si-won from WG Entertainment’s finance team.

“Hello. This is Jin Hee-sung, an actor from WG Entertainment.”

-Ah, yes. Hello.

“I just received a settlement and I have a question.”

-Yes, is it because of the settled amount?

“Yes, I’m curious about how the amount was calculated.”

-Just a moment.

I focused on the sound of her typing over the receiver, swallowing hard.

After a short wait, she opened her mouth.

-Ah, Hee-sung. Is it okay if I explain it over the phone?

“Yes, it’s okay.”

-First of all, the amount per episode of the drama ‘Temptation of the Other Woman’ is 10 million won….

As I expected, she explained the 50% bonus, fuel costs, and the 7:3 ratio.

As a result of that calculation, she informed me that the profit I earned from the drama ‘Temptation of the Other Woman’ was 150 million won.

There was also the most questionable remaining 350 million.

“Yes, then what is the remaining 350 million? Is it all for the next drama?”

She answered my question in a bright voice.

-Yes, that’s right. The remaining amount of a little over 350 million is the settlement for the drama ‘Blackman’.

I frowned and tilted my head at Kim Si-won’s explanation.

How could I receive 350 million from Blackman?

I was wondering for a moment.

She hurriedly listed the settlement amount.

-The appearance fee per episode of PBC Blackman is 15 million won per episode, and the total is 240 million won. And….

I interrupted her words because of the strange calculation.

“Wait a minute.”

-Yes?

“I appeared in Blackman for a total of 10 episodes, so isn’t it 150 million?”

-PBC gave us the calculation based on 16 episodes, not 10 episodes. And the bonus amount is… 260 million.

I couldn’t say anything to her words.

I just blinked with my mouth wide open.

I only filled in for 10 of the 16 episodes.

I was surprised that they gave me the appearance fee for all 16 episodes.

To top it off, the bonus was 260 million won, which was more than the total appearance fee of 240 million won.

I felt dizzy at the number.

I stared blankly into the air with a dazed face.

Kim Si-won opened her mouth again when I didn’t say anything.

-So the total amount received from PBC is 500 million, and the fuel tax amount is….

She finished her explanation of the final amount to me.

“Um… but do they usually give this much?”

Kim Si-won smiled faintly at my question and answered.

-No. As far as I know, PBC gave it to you as a special reward for your hard work on this project. It seems like a special bonus.

“Ah….”

I kept exclaiming at the amount, which was too large for a special bonus.

I quickly said goodbye to her.

“Thank you for letting me know.”

-You’re welcome. Do you have any other questions?

“No. Everything is resolved. Thank you so much.”

After hanging up the phone with the finance team, I checked my cell phone’s deposit history again.

-XX Bank Deposit ₩503,180,000 WG Entertainment.

The 500 million was still there.

My heart was pounding at the number.

It was worth running without rest.

I could feel that the reward was certain as much as I had suffered.

Now I realized it by looking at my bank statement, and I smiled and leaned back deeply in my chair.

***

“Sunbaenim [senior colleague]!”

I headed to Choi Seo-bin, who was waiting for me at the airport, pulling a large carrier.

“Hee-sung, you’re here?”

Next to Choi Seo-bin, who was waving his hand while wearing sunglasses, was a carrier as big as me.

“Wow, I’m going on a trip with Sunbaenim like this, and it’s even a trip abroad.”

I said to him in a somewhat excited tone.

Choi Seo-bin also answered me in an even more upbeat voice.

“I’ve only been to Australia for filming, but it was nice. I’m excited to go with you like this.”

“Haha, Sunbaenim, are you more excited to go with me than to go to Australia?”

He gave an awkward smile and made a gesture as if he couldn’t help but nod.

We laughed from the beginning and headed to the entrance.

The plane’s departure time was getting closer.

“Sunbaenim, thank you for giving me this trip opportunity.”

I sincerely greeted him.

But Choi Seo-bin frowned and answered me.

“Hey, how many times have you said hello already?”

“Hey, you’ve prepared everything from the plane to the accommodation, so I’ll say hello whenever I think of it until I come back to Korea.”

He chuckled at my words and shook his head.

“Oh, that’s enough. I’m just taking you because I’m bored going alone.”

“Then I hope you’re always bored. Haha.”

Choi Seo-bin put his arm around my neck and joked at my teasing.

At that time, an announcement rang out.

We hurried to the plane.

The moment I sat down in my seat with guidance, I felt something strange and looked around.

“Huh?”

The empty plane.

I brushed aside the thought that I got on too early, but I tilted my head at the feeling that no one else was getting on.

I leaned back in my chair.

But even after a few minutes, the only people were Choi Seo-bin and me, and a few crew members.

I felt something was wrong, so I quietly spoke to Choi Seo-bin.

“Sunbaenim.”

“Why?”

“Why isn’t anyone else on our plane?”

I got up and looked around the plane and asked again.

“Look. There’s no one else, are we the only two people going to Australia?”

I asked Choi Seo-bin with a puzzled face.

Choi Seo-bin raised one corner of his mouth and answered.

“Ah, didn’t I tell you?”

“Yes? What….”

“This is a chartered plane.”

My eyes widened as Choi Seo-bin said that.

I exclaimed and answered.

“A chartered plane?”

My voice echoed throughout the plane.

Choi Seo-bin smiled faintly and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s a sign of gratitude.”