An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 168

168. The Weight of the Lead Role (6)

“Good job, everyone!”

After saying my goodbyes and leaving the set, I headed towards Manager Kim, who was waiting for me.

“You worked hard too.”

“Thanks. How was it just now?”

“Here, take a look.”

Manager Kim always made sure to film my scenes separately.

Of course, compared to the drama’s actual filming camera, the video and audio quality were inferior.

Regardless, he filmed my acting from his perspective.

It allowed me to see my performance more objectively.

I focused on the video on his phone.

And I lowered my head as if I was about to be sucked into it.

Just then.

Manager Kim tapped my shoulder and stopped me.

“What is it?”

At his call, I raised my head.

Standing next to me was none other than Kim Min-gyu, the supporting actor I had just filmed with.

“Oh, Min-gyu?”

“Yes, *sunbae* [senior/mentor]. I have something to tell you.”

At his words, I raised my eyebrows and looked at him.

“Is something the matter?”

He waved his hands and smiled.

“No, I just wanted to thank you.”

I tilted my head at his words.

Kim Min-gyu pointed to the set with an awkward expression and replied.

“Thanks to the ad-lib you threw me a little while ago, I was able to say my lines. Whatever the reason, I’m grateful.”

He bowed deeply.

Looking at him with a satisfied expression, I opened my mouth.

“I thought you seemed very nervous. When I was a supporting actor, my mind would go blank whenever I stood in front of the camera.”

“Seriously, *sunbae*?”

He widened his eyes with a disbelieving expression.

“Of course. I also had my rookie days like Min-gyu. Back then, instead of the script I had memorized, other ad-libs would come out of my mouth without me even realizing it.”

Kim Min-gyu nodded.

“So, I threw an ad-lib at Min-gyu hoping it would help, and I’m grateful that you received it so well.”

As soon as I finished speaking, he bowed his head again.

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing. Don’t think that the hard work you put in practicing has disappeared. Think of it as a foundation for further growth. Let’s work hard and act together in the future.”

“Yes, I really hope the day comes when I can act with you, *sunbae*.”

At his words, I smiled brightly and clenched my fist.

“I also want to work with Min-gyu again. Fighting!”

Kim Min-gyu clenched his fists and raised both hands high into the sky.

“Fighting!”

Kim Min-gyu and I exchanged eye contact, and he bowed his head once more.

Then, he left the set.

Watching Kim Min-gyu’s retreating figure, I murmured softly.

“I hope that actor… does well.”

At my words, Manager Kim raised one corner of his mouth and opened his mouth.

“Have you seen him a lot?”

“No. Not really, but you know the space where I rest? There’s a place next to it where the supporting actors rest.”

“Ah, I know where it is.”

I nodded, recalling Kim Min-gyu at that time.

“But he always works hard. Well, it’s not that other actors don’t work hard, but Kim Min-gyu seems to have… a passion, I guess?”

Manager Kim replied as if he agreed with me.

“I know. Just by hearing you say that you hope he does well, I can tell how hard that actor practices. I’m rooting for him too, Kim Min-gyu.”

We watched the departing Kim Min-gyu in silence.

And I was reminded of my own past, and a smile spread across my face.

***

“How about we hang out in our room today?”

“Ooh, that’s great. Sung-jin scolded me for not cleaning up after hanging out in his room last time.”

Kim Min-gyu burst out laughing at Park Cheol-min’s words.

“Haha, that’s right. We didn’t clean up. Let’s go to our room today instead of Sung-jin’s.”

“Okay!”

Park Cheol-min nodded as he entered the pension.

“I’ll bring the others to your room right away.”

“Okay, I’ll set things up.”

Kim Min-gyu hurried to his room.

And soon, there was a knock.

Knock knock.

“Why are you knocking? Just come in.”

Park Cheol-min and Son Sung-jin, the supporting actors who were hanging out with him, opened the door and entered.

Son Sung-jin looked at Kim Min-gyu and opened his mouth.

“Who has filming tomorrow?”

At his words, Park Cheol-min and Kim Min-gyu raised their hands at the same time.

Kim Min-gyu tilted his head and asked Son Sung-jin.

“But don’t you have it too?”

“Oh, right.”

“Yeah. We have a group scene early tomorrow morning, you idiot.”

Kim Min-gyu then took out coffee, not alcohol, from the refrigerator and sat down.

“Since everyone has filming tomorrow, let’s just have a cup of coffee.”

Park Cheol-min and Son Sung-jin sat opposite Kim Min-gyu and nodded.

“Let’s do that. I’m already nervous, so if I have a hangover, it’ll be really tough.”

“Yeah, but should we at least toast to get in the mood?”

“Sounds good.”

They inserted straws into their coffees, raised them up, and clinked them together.

Clink-.

“Cheers.”

“Everyone worked hard today.”

They drank their coffee like alcohol and exclaimed.

“Ugh, that was tough today.”

At Park Cheol-min’s words, Kim Min-gyu raised one corner of his mouth and replied.

“You had one scene today.”

“Min-gyu, do you even know how important that one scene is?”

Son Sung-jin burst out laughing at his playful joke.

“Oh my, Cheol-min’s scene was just passing by Hee-sung *sunbae*, wasn’t it?”

“I always have lines, but today was the only day I didn’t. Besides, today my eyes were captured on camera for a full scene.”

They laughing and drinking coffee again.

Son Sung-jin put his coffee on the table and asked Kim Min-gyu.

“Didn’t Min-gyu have a scene with Hee-sung *sunbae* today too?”

At his question, Kim Min-gyu widened his eyes as if he had been waiting for it and pulled his body closer.

“Hey, don’t even get me started. Today was really amazing.”

At Kim Min-gyu’s words, they focused on him with interested faces.

“Why, what is it? Did the director scold you?”

At Park Cheol-min’s words, Kim Min-gyu frowned and shouted.

“Ugh, are you kidding me?”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Getting scolded by the director is almost a daily occurrence. Haha.”

Kim Min-gyu made a bitter smile and joked.

“Still, Min-gyu is less nervous in front of the camera now.”

“No, I was so nervous today that the director even took away my two lines.”

“Seriously?”

Son Sung-jin’s eyes widened as he asked.

“Yeah, of course, it’s because I was so bad and kept making NGs [no good – filming term for mistakes]. Even I thought it was too much.”

“Then what’s so amazing?”

Park Cheol-min tilted his head and asked.

“Ah… that’s why all my lines disappeared.”

“So you just did facial expressions like me?”

At Park Cheol-min’s story, Kim Min-gyu chuckled and continued.

“No. So I was completely frustrated, but at the end, boom!”

“Boom… what is it?”

Son Sung-jin frowned as he asked Kim Min-gyu, who was cutting off his words as if creating tension.

“Hee-sung *sunbae* suddenly ad-libbed to me.”

“Wow. And then?”

“So, without even realizing it, an answer popped out….”

Kim Min-gyu vividly reenacted the situation where he worked with Jin Hee-sung, as if telling a heroic tale, and continued talking for a long time.

As Kim Min-gyu’s words ended, applause erupted from Park Cheol-min and Son Sung-jin.

“Wow, that’s really awesome.”

“Hee-sung *sunbae* was trying to give you at least one line.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said.”

Park Cheol-min shook his head and kept clapping his hands.

“There was a reason why Jin Hee-sung *sunbae* is so popular. His personality is really crazy [amazing]. How can he be so handsome, act so well, be so popular, and have such a good personality?”

As his words ended, Son Sung-jin bit his lip.

“Actually… Kim Ji-bin *sunbae* said in an interview that Hee-sung *sunbae*’s popularity is all hype and that his personality is terrible, so I thought he had a really bad personality. But it’s not like that at all.”

Kim Min-gyu nodded vigorously at Son Sung-jin’s words.

“Yeah, not at all. It’s not like it’s fake, we’ve already seen him for a long time. And that’s on set all the time. They said he’s abusive on set and stuff. None of it is true.”

“Yeah, that’s true. He’s very kind to the staff on set, too, isn’t he?”

Kim Min-gyu stroked his chin thoughtfully and said.

“At this point, isn’t Kim Ji-bin the one who’s weird?”

At his words, Park Cheol-min and Son Sung-jin shook their heads in agreement.

“I second that.”

“Yeah, me too!”

Kim Min-gyu raised one corner of his mouth and said.

“Kim Ji-bin… isn’t he feeling a rivalry? He’s just jealous, so he’s trying to put him down.”

“Maybe. He’s feeling threatened in his position.”

Park Cheol-min clicked his tongue and said.

“Tsk, how pathetic. I’m going to support Hee-sung *sunbae* even more from now on!”

***

After filming, the only place to go was ‘the hotel.’

The actors at the hotel were me, Song Yu-na, and two senior actors who were much older than us.

Song Yu-na went back and forth to her home in Seoul every weekend.

I didn’t know her schedule on weekdays when there was continuous filming, like today.

We weren’t that close.

And the senior actors were old, so they always rested in the hotel except for filming.

Other supporting actors and extras had fun and spent time together.

I wanted to spend time with them, but it seemed like I had already risen to the position of a very difficult senior to them.

“Haa… what should I do today.”

I always spent time looking at the script and monitoring [reviewing footage].

But after finishing all that, I wandered around the hotel lobby to refresh my mind.

The hotel wasn’t very big, but it still had a cocktail bar, sauna, and gym.

I headed to the cocktail bar.

I wouldn’t have been able to come on a normal day, but tomorrow was the only day I didn’t have filming.

Several tens of minutes passed.

At that moment when I was emptying my first cocktail glass at the cocktail bar.

“Oh? Hee-sung.”

Song Yu-na, who was opening the door to the cocktail bar, called my name with a surprised look when she saw me.

“Yu-na?”

Then, she naturally came to my side and sat down.

“What are you doing here, Hee-sung?”

That was what I wanted to ask.

I always thought she was just in her room, but she was here, and next to me.

“I came for a light drink because I have a day off tomorrow. I was bored of just being in my room. What about you, Yu-na?”

“Oh, me too. There’s a group scene with supporting actors and extras tomorrow morning, so I have a day off tomorrow too.”

I looked at her and raised my eyebrows and said.

“That’s great, then shall we have a drink together?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Normally, she would have moved away with a blunt expression.

But she must have needed someone to talk to rather than drinking alone, so she readily nodded.

The cocktail she ordered came out in front of her.

“But Hee-sung, how did you gain so much weight?”

“Ah, well, I just ate a lot. Haha.”

“It’s hard to lose weight, but it’s also hard to gain weight on purpose.”

She asked with wide eyes as if she was really curious.

“That’s true, but I had to adjust my body to play the role I was assigned.”

“Wow, wasn’t it hard?”

“A little. But does it look like it fits the role perfectly?”

At my words, Song Yu-na chuckled and nodded.

“Well… you do look like a cuddly teddy bear that fits the role well.”

I burst out laughing at her words.

“But Hee-sung, it doesn’t seem like you have any actors you’re close to this time?”

I was surprised by her question and blinked repeatedly.

It wasn’t the content of the question that surprised me.

Has Song Yu-na ever spoken to me so actively?

Was she such an interested person in me?

And soon I could be sure.

It wasn’t that Song Yu-na suddenly became interested in me, but that she must have been bored because there was nothing to do on set in Namwon.

I was the same.

I didn’t have any actors I was close to, and I couldn’t make any friends, so I was just staying at the hotel.

I was also extremely bored, so I was always wandering around the hotel.

The fact that the blunt and cold Song Yu-na came to the cocktail bar alone must be because she was extremely bored.

We didn’t say it to each other, but we could tell.

We met in our respective boredom and naturally became close by talking to each other for several hours.