An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 170

170. #31 – Opportunity Like Destiny (2)

A small, neighborhood bowling alley.

There were a total of six bowling lanes.

Since it was away from the downtown area of Namwon, there weren’t any customers to be seen, even at this hour.

“We’re a group of six.”

Kim Min-gyu ran to the counter to tell them the number of people, and we quickly changed into bowling shoes.

“You can go to lanes 1 and 2 over there.”

The employee pointed towards the lanes to guide us.

“Thank you.”

Once we arrived, we immediately split into teams.

“We need to divide into 3:3, but how should we split the teams?”

At Park Cheol-min’s words, I immediately spoke up.

“But I’ve never bowled before…”

I searched my memories, but I couldn’t recall ever bowling in this life.

Not easily.

At my words, one of the minor actors also raised his hand and shouted.

“…Me too. Haha.”

Only he and I were beginners.

“Then how about Hee-sung sunbae [senior colleague or mentor] and Hyung-gyu divide the teams?”

At Kim Min-gyu’s words, we all nodded.

Jang Hyung-gyu and I started choosing teams with the fairest game in the world: rock-paper-scissors.

“Rock-paper-scissors!”

“Then I’ll take Min-gyu.”

At my choice, Kim Min-gyu smiled brightly and stuck close to my side.

After a few rounds of dividing teams like that.

The teams were decided.

Park Cheol-min approached me and said.

“Sunbaenim, Min-gyu and I are the same age, 25 years old.”

Hearing their ages, I raised my eyebrows and replied.

“That’s a truly enviable age.”

“Sunbaenim, please feel comfortable speaking casually.”

At Park Cheol-min’s words, I slowly nodded and said.

“Should I…?”

“Yes!”

They both answered me at the same time.

We started the game feeling like we had gotten a little closer.

The first round started with Kim Min-gyu’s turn.

He held the bowling ball with his right hand, supported the ball with his left hand, and took one step at a time forward.

And soon, the ball left his hand.

The ball rolled quickly and approached the end where the pins were standing.

Clang-!

Kim Min-gyu stood in place and focused on the pins falling.

And all 10 pins fell completely.

“Wow!”

“Wow, Min-gyu’s skills are no joke.”

I held out both hands towards Kim Min-gyu for a high five.

He scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

“Thank you, sunbaenim. Haha.”

The other team’s turn followed.

After that, it was our team’s Park Cheol-min’s turn.

He also took a professional stance and rolled the ball.

Clang-.

The pins fell one by one, knocking down a total of 9 pins.

I gaped at their scores.

“What, Cheol-min is really good too.”

“Haha, thank you. Sunbaenim.”

“You guys are like bowling players.”

At my words, Park Cheol-min said with a playful face.

“We don’t have anything to do around here after filming these days, so we always just bowl.”

“That’s right. That’s why our skills improved so quickly.”

I gave them a thumbs up.

A moment later, it was my turn.

The minor actors were looking at me with expectant eyes.

I took a deep breath.

Carefully, I took one step at a time forward.

The ball slipped out of my hand and rolled onto the lane.

Thud-.

Unlike Kim Min-gyu or Park Cheol-min, my ball fell weakly.

Soon, the ball fell into the gutter instead of the center of the lane.

“Ah… it fell into the gutter.”

I turned around with a gloomy face.

Seeing that, Kim Min-gyu drooped his eyebrows and shouted.

“That’s too bad, sunbaenim.”

At his words, I burst into laughter.

“Haha, too bad? It fell into the gutter from the start, didn’t it?”

At my words, Kim Min-gyu and Park Cheol-min also burst into laughter.

And then my turn came again.

“Even though you didn’t knock down any pins just now, it’s a spare if you knock them all down this time.”

Kim Min-gyu approached me as I was holding the ball.

“I’m worried it’ll fall into the gutter again.”

“If you’re okay with it, can I give you some pointers?”

Kim Min-gyu said to me in a polite tone.

I smiled and nodded.

“I’d be grateful.”

“Then hold the ball like this, and think of your left hand as just supporting it. And the stance is…”

Kim Min-gyu looked at my stance with an enthusiastic expression and tone, explaining.

“Now, carefully approach from here and throw the ball in an arc…!”

At his coaching, I placed the ball on the lane.

Clang-!

The ball fell softly and rolled.

“Ooh.”

Including our team’s Park Cheol-min in the back.

Even the opposing team held their breath as they watched my ball roll.

“Wowwww!”

And finally, a shout of cheers erupted.

All 10 pins fell.

“Wow, what’s going on?”

I looked at Kim Min-gyu with a surprised face.

He raised the corners of his lips and ran to me, slapping my palm.

“Sunbaenim! Wow, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

“It’s all thanks to Min-gyu. Haha.”

“No. Who can do it in one try just by explaining this? You’re completely overpowered.”

Park Cheol-min nodded and gave a thumbs up.

“That’s right. Who would knock down all 10 pins by doing exactly as explained? Sunbaenim is really… Jin Hee-sung himself.”

“Haha, what does that mean?”

“Jin Hee-sung did what Jin Hee-sung does. Something like that. Hahaha.”

We continued the game, laughing all the time.

***

The last ball rolled.

“Wowwww!”

In the end, the game ended with our team’s victory.

We clapped our hands and got up from our seats.

“Shall we go wash our hands?”

Everyone nodded and headed to the bathroom at Park Cheol-min’s question, pointing to the bathroom.

Before washing my hands, I hurried to the counter.

The losing team was supposed to pay, but.

This was a place where all the minor actors gathered.

I also had times like them, so I couldn’t let them pay.

After finishing the payment and receiving the card and receipt, at that time.

“Ah… Sunbaenim!”

Son Seong-jin from the opposing team was running from afar.

He hurried to me and handed his card to the counter.

“He already paid for everything here.”

The employee pointed to me and said, Son Seong-jin looked at me and opened his mouth.

“Sunbaenim, we lost, so I’ll pay.”

“No, thanks to you, I had so much fun, so I’m paying.”

“Still…”

“It’s okay. The kids are waiting, let’s go out quickly.”

He bowed his head to me.

“Thank you, Sunbaenim.”

We came out of the bowling alley and gathered in a circle at the entrance.

“Sunbaenim, your hotel is near here, right?”

Kim Min-gyu looked at the hotel nearby and asked me.

“Yeah, I’m at that hotel. Is your accommodation far from here?”

“No. It’s not far for us either. We’ll take you there.”

“Hey, you don’t have to take me.”

At my words, they waved their hands and replied.

“You’re so famous, it’s dangerous to go alone. Let’s go together.”

At his words, Park Cheol-min joined in and spoke.

“That’s right. We actually have nothing to do even if we go into our accommodation. We want to talk with Sunbaenim while going.”

At Park Cheol-min’s words, I chuckled and replied.

“Okay.”

The hotel was not far from the bowling alley.

Throughout the walk to the hotel, they bombarded me with questions.

“Sunbaenim, how do you practice then?”

“I tend to live immersed in the role I’m assigned to during filming. Rather than acting, I think of myself as that character.”

“Oh, so that’s why such chilling performances come out.”

New questions followed with every step I took.

“Ah, Sunbaenim. I heard you’re close with Choi Seo-bin sunbaenim, did you become close while working on a project?”

“That’s right. I’ve worked on a few projects with Seo-bin sunbae. So…”

As we were talking and walking, we quickly arrived in front of the hotel.

Suddenly.

Park Cheol-min’s stomach was growling.

Grumble-.

At that sound, I looked at my wristwatch.

Come to think of it, after finishing filming in the afternoon.

We hadn’t eaten anything.

Everyone was enthusiastically bowling and only drinking beverages, so they didn’t feel hungry.

“What about your dinner?”

“Ah, that’s right. We should eat dinner soon.”

I looked at Kim Min-gyu and asked.

“Are you all getting meal allowances?”

At my words, he glanced at the surrounding minor actors and then said.

“Yes, we’re all getting meal allowances. We get 6,000 won each [approximately $4.50 USD], and we usually eat near our accommodation. Sometimes we pool it together to order chicken or go to the convenience store.”

6,000 won…

It could be a lot of money for a meal allowance for someone, or it could be a small amount.

But I thought it was woefully insufficient to fill the hungry stomachs of those who were acting and struggling as actors.

It wasn’t just for a day or two, but they had to endure for months in a limited place called Namwon.

Thinking that they always go to convenience stores to eat, I felt sorry for them.

I smiled as I looked at them.

“Thank you for bringing me here, let’s have dinner together.”

At my words, they all waved their hands and replied.

“Ah… no.”

“I’m grateful, I want to buy it for you.”

Kim Min-gyu looked up at the hotel and shook his head.

“Then can you buy us something simple nearby? It seems too expensive here…”

At my words that I would buy, he was even worried about my financial situation.

I raised my eyebrows and replied.

“It’s delicious here. Still, we’ve come all the way here, let’s eat and go.”

“Still… there’s a Chinese restaurant in front, can you buy it for us there?”

I couldn’t help but know that they didn’t really want to go to a Chinese restaurant with that expression.

They were saying Chinese restaurant, but.

Their eyes were looking at the restaurant attached to the hotel lobby.

They were saying Chinese restaurant because they felt sorry.

I quickly pulled their arms and said.

“Then I’ll buy you Chinese food next time we come again. We’ve come all the way to the lobby today, let’s eat this.”

They raised the corners of their lips at my words.

“Then… thank you.”

“Wow, a hotel restaurant!”

“Wow, this is my first time coming to a place like this.”

“Hey, let’s not act like country bumpkins. Haha.”

“It seems expensive here…”

They followed behind me, muttering in small voices.

I smiled, recalling old memories at their appearance.

***

Hotel cocktail bar.

Sitting in the same seat as last time, Song Yu-na had already emptied two cocktails neatly.

“What…”

She looked at the cell phone she had placed on the table and checked the time.

“Time has already passed like this, why isn’t he coming?”

The person Song Yu-na was waiting for was none other than Jin Hee-sung.

While waiting for him, her third cocktail had already been placed in front of her.

Song Yu-na was sipping her cocktail and staring blankly at the time.

“I don’t have filming tomorrow morning, so I always come to the cocktail bar on days like this… Why isn’t he coming today?”

Squeak-.

At that time, the sound of the cocktail bar’s large door opening was heard.

She, who had been resting her chin on her hand, jumped up from the table and turned around.

But it wasn’t the person she wanted; another person was coming inside.

Song Yu-na looked at the cocktail in front of her again with a disappointed look.

“Hmph… What’s so great about Jin Hee-sung, why am I only waiting for him?”

Song Yu-na frowned with a sulky face and shook her head vigorously.

“That’s it. In the first place, I didn’t come to see Jin Hee-sung, but to drink alcohol. Hmph.”

She poured the half-remaining cocktail into her mouth.

She said to the employee.

“Please give me another one of the same.”