An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 165

165 #30 – The Weight of the Lead Role (3)

It had been three months since I started preparing for the drama ‘Doctor.’

Besides acting practice, my preparation involved gaining weight.

I was given the enormous task of gaining 30kg [approximately 66 pounds].

I constantly strived and worked hard to reach that target.

I would wake up in the morning and eat two bowls of rice, of course.

And not only lunch and dinner but also late-night snacks.

I gained weight every single day.

I happily devoured food, thinking that gaining weight would be easier than losing it.

But constantly filling my body with food every day wasn’t as easy as I thought.

Since I wasn’t particularly greedy about food, I struggled to keep eating.

However, every time I saw my weight increasing on the scale, and every time I noticed my body getting bigger in the mirror, the sense of accomplishment was indescribable.

After taking a deep breath, I carefully placed one foot on the scale.

The numbers were going up like crazy.

-92kg [approximately 203 pounds].

“Wow!” I exclaimed as I checked the final number on the scale.

My original weight was 72kg [approximately 159 pounds].

And my target weight was 95kg [approximately 209 pounds].

I had gained a whopping 20kg [approximately 44 pounds], and now I was only 3kg [approximately 6.6 pounds] away from my target.

I smiled and quickly started getting ready to go out.

When I came out of the house and got into the car, Manager Kim greeted me with a surprised face.

“Hee-sung, you’re here? You look like you’ve gained a bit more weight?”

At his words, I smiled proudly and replied, “Is it obvious?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing every time I see you. How do you gain weight so easily?”

“Haha, Hyung [an honorific term used to address an older brother or male friend], gaining weight is so hard. I gained it with a lot of effort.”

“You’re amazing, really.”

Manager Kim poured out admiration and grabbed the steering wheel.

I looked at the back of his head and said, “Hyung, let’s go to the pork bulgogi [Korean marinated grilled pork] place for lunch today.”

“You mean the one we went to last time?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and replied.

“Okay, that place was good. It’s close, so we’ll get there soon.”

Manager Kim hurried to move.

The restaurant we arrived at in just over ten minutes.

Manager Kim and I devoured the food that came out quickly.

We focused on the food without any conversation.

In an instant, Manager Kim stared blankly at me and opened his mouth.

“Hee-sung.”

“Yeah?”

“You used to have a sharp look, but now you have a more… round impression.”

I nodded vigorously as if agreeing with his words.

“Yeah, Hyung. I have 3kg [approximately 6.6 pounds] left until my goal.”

At my words, his eyes widened, and he replied, “What, you’re already 92kg [approximately 203 pounds]?”

“Yeah, isn’t it amazing?”

“Wow, no wonder I thought your whole vibe had definitely changed now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, I focused on the rice again.

I looked up at the empty rice bowl and raised my head.

“Hyung, this is a bit short, should I order another bowl of rice?”

“…….”

He stared at me silently.

I tilted my head at Manager Kim’s attitude.

“Why?”

“But Hee-sung, won’t it be really hard for you to lose weight later?”

Manager Kim’s words and expression showed he was worried about after the drama.

At his words, I raised the corners of my mouth.

“Hyung… I’m Jin Hee-sung.”

With that one word, Manager Kim burst into laughter and nodded.

“That’s right. I was worrying about nothing. Hee-sung, you’ve always done whatever you set your mind to.”

“Then I’m going to order more rice, what about you, Hyung?”

“I’m good with this.”

At his words, I quickly ordered more food.

Manager Kim flicked his fingers and said to me, “Oh, right. Our script reading date has been set.”

“Oh, when is it?”

“It’ll be next week, and the lineup is all set now.”

At his words, I put down my spoon and focused on Manager Kim.

“What’s the lineup like?”

Manager Kim also put down the spoon he was holding and swallowed hard.

“First of all, the most important thing!”

At his words, my eyes sparkled.

Manager Kim continued, “Your co-star is… Song Yu-na.”

***

-94kg [approximately 207 pounds].

Now, with only 1kg [approximately 2.2 pounds] left until my goal, I was once again confident that I would reach my target weight before the start of filming.

And finally, I arrived at the script reading site.

The car stopped in the spacious parking lot.

I checked my clothes and got out of the car.

“Hyung, I’ll go up first and get ready.”

“Okay.”

After getting out of the car, I hurried towards the script reading room.

At that moment, the sound of murmuring from behind.

I turned around at the sound, and there was Song Yu-na, her stylist, and her manager walking together.

After confirming it was Song Yu-na, I quickly stopped walking because she was my co-star and someone I was already acquainted with.

There was no way I could just pass by after seeing it was her.

“Yu-na-ssi [a polite suffix used to address someone],”

When I called her, she, who had been frowning and looking down, raised her head.

“Yu-na-ssi, hello.”

At my greeting, Song Yu-na simply blinked and nodded slightly and quickly walked past me with quick steps.

“…….”

What is it?

Does she only accept greetings when she wants to?

Shouldn’t she accept greetings by now?

I tilted my head and turned forward again.

Of course, I knew that Song Yu-na was cold, but still, we were going to film a drama together, so I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed in her sending such a perfunctory greeting.

In an instant.

“Huh?”

Song Yu-na, who had passed me and was walking, stopped a few steps away.

Suddenly stopping, she turned around and stared at me.

“Are you… Jin Hee-sung?” she asked me with eyes full of suspicion.

At her question, I raised my eyebrows and shook my head.

“Yes, why suddenly that….”

I was so dumbfounded by her asking if I was Jin Hee-sung that I scratched my head.

As my words trailed off, she took a step towards me and shouted with a surprised face, “Oh, it’s really Hee-sung. Why did you gain so much… weight?”

“Ah….”

Her face seemed genuinely surprised.

It seemed like she didn’t know I was Jin Hee-sung when we greeted each other earlier.

Moreover, she’s not the type to ask something like this, so the fact that she turned back and asked must mean I really gained a lot of weight.

At her gaping appearance, I smiled and replied, “The character I’m playing needs to be chubby….”

I explained the reason for gaining weight.

Only after listening to my story did she exclaim, “Ah, that’s right. Hee-sung’s role was supposed to have a plump impression.”

“Yes, so I talked to the director and gained weight.”

She glanced at me and said with a worried look, “But it’s going to be hard to lose it later….”

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t have been able to gain it if I thought about that.”

At my words, she nodded and replied, “Contact me when you’re dieting.”

***

Song Yu-na and her staff arrived near the script reading room.

The stylist whispered to Song Yu-na, “Unnie [term used by females to address an older sister or female friend], but Jin Hee-sung looks like a completely different person since he gained so much weight, doesn’t he?”

At her words, Song Yu-na shrugged her shoulders with a disinterested face.

When Song Yu-na didn’t answer, the stylist opened her mouth with an awkward smile.

“Unnie, I’ll be right back to get some stuff.”

“Okay. Hurry back.”

“Yes.”

After the stylist left, Song Yu-na bit her lip and recalled Jin Hee-sung’s face from earlier.

“What… Jin Hee-sung is round, but how are his features still the same?”

A soft smile spread across Song Yu-na’s face as she thought of Jin Hee-sung.

And bursting into a chuckle, she covered her mouth and muttered in a small voice, “He seems a bit… cuter?”

At that moment, the door burst open, and Jin Hee-sung was approaching.

Song Yu-na quickly erased the smile from her face.

As if she had never thought of Jin Hee-sung, she crossed her arms and shifted her gaze to the window.

***

“Wow, Hee-sung-ssi. You’ve really gained a lot of weight,” Director Hong said as soon as he entered the script reading room, looking at me with a gaped.

“Is that so?”

“It must have been really hard to gain that much.”

“Haha, it wasn’t easy, but I worked hard.”

He rubbed my arm with his hand and said, “This is enough. You don’t have to gain any more, do you?”

“I’m going to gain just 1kg [approximately 2.2 pounds] more.”

Director Hong gave a satisfied look and raised his thumb.

“You’ve made your body like this in such a short period; you’re really Jin Hee-sung. Haha.”

“Thank you, Director.”

I bowed to Director Hong.

He smiled brightly and took his seat.

“Okay, let’s start the script reading as soon as we’re ready.”

“Yes.”

We in the script reading room shouted as if in unison.

Each of us prepared for the script reading by clearing our throats or drinking water.

The main actors sat in order at the table.

Song Yu-na and I sat side by side and turned the first page of the script.

And so, we began acting as we had each practiced.

“Get out of the way. It’s an emergency patient!”

At my first line, the script reading room became as quiet as a mouse, as if it had never been noisy.

Everyone focused on my acting.

“This patient comes first. No matter how VIP they are, surgery should be performed on emergency patients first….”

“No. Judge the situation correctly.”

Every actor here continued the reading with a serious attitude without exception.

After several hours passed, darkness had fallen outside the window.

We turned the last page of the script with enthusiastic applause.

Clap clap clap-.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your efforts!”

We were exhausted from the non-stop script reading, but the actors, including me, exchanged greetings with each other with bright smiles.

Director Hong stood up from his seat with a proud face and clapped his hands.

“Ah, it was so good. If we keep going like this, our drama will definitely be a hit.”

“That’s right.”

“Until filming, please check the feedback you received in the middle.”

“Yes.”

Director Hong shouted with a clenched fist, “Let’s work hard to film ‘Doctor’!”

“Fighting!”

Once again, the sound of applause and cheers that did not stop spread in the script reading room.

Director Hong looked around at us and opened his mouth.

“We’ve worked hard reading the script today, and we’ll be seeing each other every day from now on. How about we all have a company dinner together?”

His gaze started with me and swept through all the actors once.

I quickly opened my mouth.

“Sounds good.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the other actors continued to speak.

“I’m available too.”

“Me too.”

Director Hong smiled and nodded.

“Then let’s go to a nearby restaurant.”

At his words, we organized the scripts and our belongings in front of us.

One by one, we began to get up from our seats.

At that moment, supporting actor Jo Choong-min, who was sitting at the end, asked Director Hong, “Director, has our broadcast schedule been released?”

At his question, Director Hong nodded and replied, “Since this is pre-production, it will probably start airing around June.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

He bowed to Director Hong and said to supporting actor Jang Tae-joon next to him, “June is perfect, isn’t it?”

At his words, Jang Tae-joon rolled his eyes and tilted his head.

“Oh? It’s going to overlap with that work in June.”

Their conversation was clearly audible in my ear.

I packed my things and listened to Jang Tae-joon’s words.

“What work is it?”

Jo Choong-min shrugged and asked.

Jang Tae-joon stretched out his finger and replied to Jo Choong-min, “You know, the drama that Kim Ji-bin is starring in.”

“Ah… Kim Ji-bin’s drama is also airing in June?”

“Yeah, I remember it clearly!”