An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 158

158 #29 – Something I Didn’t Know (1)

Pop-!

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling.

Using the blank, white ceiling as my canvas, I tried to recall the wide, serene sea I had seen in my dream.

Soon, the white ceiling seemed to be dyed the blue of the sea.

The yacht from my dream and the people freely running around.

Even my own figure among them was vividly drawn before my eyes.

For some reason, I felt such peace in those images that I couldn’t even feel my heart beating.

“What is this feeling?”

Not a single worry, concern, anxiety about the future, or stress from malicious comments crossed my mind.

This calm and peaceful feeling naturally made me smile.

And so, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed, wanting to hold onto that scene from my dream.

I just lay there, doing nothing for a long time.

Even without doing anything, I felt so happy and peaceful.

How many tens of minutes had passed?

I snapped out of it and slowly sat up in bed.

“Haa… I feel refreshed.”

A refreshing feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time after waking up.

With a smile, I left the bedroom and headed to the bathroom.

The moment I saw my face in the mirror, I instantly realized it.

What I needed was ‘rest,’ not my next project, advertisement, or program.

“Right, if I jump into another project now, I’ll really be buried in my work….”

I couldn’t even remember the last time I had this genuine smile on my face.

Of course, I had smiled in front of the camera, in front of fans, in front of people.

But when was the last time I smiled with happiness when I was alone?

And then I remembered the story I heard while having drinks with Choi Seo-bin.

His advice about not getting exhausted and taking it easy.

It hadn’t resonated with me at all then….

Now, his words struck a chord deep within my heart.

Realizing that earnestly, I quickly started getting ready to go out.

***

“Hee-sung, you’re here?”

Team Leader Kim greeted me with a wave as I arrived at the company.

“Yeah, hyung [older brother/male friend]. Can we talk in the conference room for a bit?”

At my words, he raised his eyebrows and replied.

“Of course. I was just about to suggest we go straight to the conference room.”

It seemed he had something to say to me as well.

As we entered the conference room, scripts were piled up on the table, forming a small tower.

He pointed to the scripts with a proud look on his face.

“Hyung, what is all this?”

“What else? I got them because you said you wanted to look at scripts. The historical drama we talked about last time, the writer and director….”

Before he could finish, I sat down and looked at him.

“Hyung, I have something to say.”

At my words, he nodded and took a seat in front of me.

“Yeah, tell me. Is there a project you want?”

Team Leader Kim continued, flipping through the scripts in front of him.

“I thought you wanted a historical drama last time, so I mostly picked out historical dramas this time.”

“No.”

At my firm words, he stopped picking through the scripts.

And with a surprised look, he raised his head to look at me and asked.

“Is something wrong?”

“Hyung, I want to rest for a bit.”

After saying that to him, I swallowed hard.

Since starting this job, since working with Team Leader Kim, I had never once said such a thing to him.

After a project ended, I always asked him for scripts.

I said I needed to jump into the next project quickly.

Rather, it was Team Leader Kim who suggested I take a break.

Team Leader Kim was worried that I was running too hard without rest, but as always, I rejected his suggestion.

Well, I had taken short breaks once in a while.

Like visiting my parents’ house or Choi Seo-bin booking a trip without me knowing.

I had taken short breaks like that.

But this was the first time I had expressed my opinion that I wanted to rest first.

Team Leader Kim looked a little surprised.

He stared blankly at me with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Seeing his reaction, I opened my mouth again.

“I want to rest, is that okay?”

No matter how much I wanted to do as I pleased.

I wasn’t just an individual, but someone belonging to WG Entertainment.

So, instead of notifying him that I would rest, I had to ask if it was okay to rest.

As I carefully asked him the question, a smile of relief spread across Team Leader Kim’s face.

“Hee-sung, you thought well.”

“Huh?”

I was more surprised by his reaction.

“I’m even more grateful that you said you’d rest.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was so worried about you working without rest like that. I always told you to rest, but you only worked. I was afraid you’d get exhausted or hurt yourself.”

At Team Leader Kim’s words, which genuinely worried about me, I bit my lip instead of smiling.

I was grateful, but on the other hand, I also felt sorry for causing concern to someone close to me.

Soon, I relaxed my stiff expression and asked him.

“But is the company okay with me resting?”

He waved his hand as if there was nothing to worry about and replied.

“Of course, it’ll be fine. I’ll talk to them. You’ve never rested before, so it’ll be possible. Besides, you’ve been hitting it big with projects recently, so what’s not to like?”

“Haha, still, hyung.”

Team Leader Kim shrugged his shoulders with a look that said he would take care of it.

“The company was already asking if you weren’t going to rest. I’ll talk to them.”

At his words, I nodded.

Team Leader Kim looked at me and asked.

“So, what are you going to do while you rest? Have you made any plans?”

“Not yet.”

“What, you said you wanted to rest. You’re not just going to rest at home, are you?”

At his words, I pouted and shook my head.

Come to think of it, I had only thought about wanting to rest.

I hadn’t thought about where to go or what to do.

I just wanted to rest.

Seeing my expression, Team Leader Kim spread his fingers and said as if suggesting.

“There’s nothing better than traveling to heal. Resting at home is good too, but you’ll become lethargic if you rest for too long.”

He was right.

If I stayed at home, I would inevitably end up going to the company before long.

“…I should go on a trip.”

At my words, Team Leader Kim smiled.

“It’ll be hard to travel alone in Korea or Asian countries because there are so many people who recognize you.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. You’re already famous. If you get caught in a crowd after going on a trip alone without me, that’ll be a headache too. Instead of Southeast Asia, how about going on a trip far away?”

At Team Leader Kim’s words, I stroked my chin and replied.

“…Should I?”

***

Beep, beep.

[Sender: Team Leader Kim Ji-hoon]

“Hello.”

-Hey, Hee-sung. Are you up?

“Yeah, I just woke up. What’s going on so early?”

-You said you wanted to rest.

“So?”

Team Leader Kim delivered good news to me in a bright voice.

-I talked to the company. Go on a trip.

“Really?”

-Yeah, hurry up and book your plane ticket.

“Thank you, hyung. I’ll have to look into it quickly.”

-Let me know where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone when you book it.

“I will.”

-You have to buy me a souvenir when you go!

“Haha, of course.”

After hanging up with Team Leader Kim, I quickly started looking for plane tickets.

I wanted to leave as soon as possible, so the plane ticket and accommodation were the most important things.

I jumped up from my seat and headed to the study.

I quickly opened my laptop and bought a plane ticket.

“But where should I go?”

A trip without deciding where to go.

“First… excluding Southeast Asia, Italy? Switzerland?”

Without looking up any articles, I frowned while looking at the world map.

Then, one country caught my eye.

‘America’.

The moment I saw the word ‘New York,’ my heart started pounding.

New York, a place I had only seen on TV or in movies, I couldn’t even imagine I would ever go there.

Apart from money or time, it was just a dreamlike place for me.

My heart raced at the fact that I could go if I made up my mind now.

With that excitement, I immediately went to the airline’s website and clicked on a plane ticket to New York.

After several tens of minutes passed.

“Done!”

After successfully paying for the plane ticket, I smiled while looking at the completion screen.

New York bound, first class.

“Right, it’s a trip I’m taking after working hard without rest. I should book a good seat if possible.”

The corners of my lips went up as I looked at the first-class ticket.

I immediately searched ‘New York Hotel’ on the internet.

“After all, where I sleep is important….”

The location of the hotel in New York.

As I looked for a room, considering the size of the hotel room, the bed, the bathroom, etc., one by one.

Before I knew it, the price of the hotel was gradually increasing.

But in proportion to that, the corners of my lips were also gradually curving.

“It’s not a trip I take often, and it’s a trip for me, so I can splurge this much, right?”

I moved to the final payment window and completed all the payments for the hotel.

And I prepared minor things such as visas and travel insurance one by one.

Before long, I had finished preparing to go to New York.

“I’ve lived diligently, so I should take this luxurious trip.”

I smiled while staring intently at the laptop screen where all the preparations were completed.

***

The time spent in the sky to get to New York was only 14 hours.

But this time didn’t feel long at all.

No, I didn’t even want to get off the plane.

The course meals I enjoyed leisurely while sitting in first class and the mattress as comfortable as a bed.

There was a reason for booking an expensive plane ticket.

The beginning of the trip is not from arriving at the airport in that country.

The trip starts from the time you leave Korea, from the time you leave your house.

So, I didn’t regret this expensive first-class ticket at all.

Even this was part of my trip.

“Haa… this is so good.”

Before I knew it, the plane was preparing to land in New York.

I raised myself from the lying position.

New York John F. Kennedy Airport.

The bustling people.

There were so many people that the immigration checkpoint was packed like a marketplace.

A line that looked like it would take a long time to wait in at a glance.

But this wait wasn’t a stress factor for me.

Even this line made me realize that I had come to New York.

I waited for my turn with an excited heart.

I was able to find all my luggage and get out of the airport without taking as long as I thought.

And finally, the moment I opened the last airport door.

New York unfolded before my eyes.

“Hmm….”

I opened both my nose and mouth to inhale the air of New York.

Droplets of rain falling, drip, drip.

It was a slightly cloudy day, but a smile kept flowing from my lips.

To the point where it was overflowing.

“It’s New York!”

New York in the rain.

It was more romantic and overflowing with emotion than I thought.

Dragging a large carrier in front of the airport, without any thoughts or worries.

I just stood there blankly, looking at the rain falling in front of the airport.

Because I didn’t have to do anything, I didn’t have to rush to make the next plan.

That’s what a trip is.

The people passing by me busily.

Dozens, no, hundreds of people passed by, but not a single one of them recognized me or came up to me to talk to me.

It had been a long time since I felt this unfamiliar feeling.

Even when I was a minor actor who wanted to become an actor, I desperately wanted someone to recognize me.

I wanted them to say that they were my fans.

Now, I loved this space where no one knew me even though I was in such a large crowd.

After standing there for a long time, I widened my eyes and moved my feet.

A feeling that something fun was about to happen.

I bit my lip and pulled the carrier.

“New York… let’s go!”