An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 172

172. Opportunity Like Destiny (4)

As soon as she got home, she went straight to the room plastered with Jin Hee-sung’s photos.

“Soon-hee, have you eaten?”

“Yeah, I ate and came in!” she called back.

She quickly answered her mother, closed the door, and threw herself onto the bed.

“Haa… Today was so rough.”

Park Soon-hee lay on the bed, blankly staring at the ceiling.

She fumbled around and picked up her cell phone.

“Since it was tough, I should quickly heal by looking at our *oppa* [term of endearment for an older brother or male celebrity].”

She hurriedly opened her SNS app and navigated to Jin Hee-sung’s account.

She scrolled through the posts Jin Hee-sung had uploaded.

“*Oppa*, you’re working so hard on the drama shooting.”

Jin Hee-sung’s account was filled with behind-the-scenes shots from the drama ‘Doctor’.

Photos of him smiling in front of the coffee truck sent by fans.

Photos of him diligently practicing with the script, and so on.

It was full of photos meant to connect with fans.

“Our *oppa*… It’s so great that he uses SNS.”

As if she had forgotten all the hardships of the day, a smile spread across her face.

She kicked off the bed and ran to her laptop.

“Since *oppa* updated his SNS, I should move it to the fan cafe.”

♬♪.

She hummed and turned on the laptop.

While it booted up, Park Soon-hee started browsing SNS again.

“If I look at the SNS of the actors who film with Hee-sung *oppa*, there might be pictures of *oppa*, right?”

Park Soon-hee had been a fan of Jin Hee-sung for more than just a day or two.

Her methods of finding new photos of Jin Hee-sung were endless.

“Then… #Doctor #JinHeeSung….”

Park Soon-hee clicked on search terms that would bring up Jin Hee-sung’s photos on SNS.

At that moment.

“Huh? Doctor.”

Kim Min-gyu’s SNS caught her eye.

An account named ‘Actor Kim Min-gyu’.

The account was full of posts tagging the drama ‘Doctor’.

“He’s an actor I’ve never seen before, but he must be a minor role in the same drama as our Hee-sung *oppa*.”

Park Soon-hee hurriedly looked through his posts.

Photos immediately caught her eye.

A group photo of Jin Hee-sung, Song Yu-na, and several minor actors.

“Ooh yeah! I found it.”

In the photo, Jin Hee-sung was holding a fishing rod with a bright smile.

Park Soon-hee immediately screenshotted the photo.

Then, she zoomed in and smiled at Jin Hee-sung’s face.

“Our *oppa* is so handsome!”

When she zoomed out, she finally noticed the people around him.

“What, why is Song Yu-na sticking so close?”

She immediately looked at Song Yu-na with a sulky face.

“Tsk, what’s with Song Yu-na’s straw hat? The design is really tacky. And what are these sunglasses?”

Park Soon-hee, who was nitpicking Song Yu-na’s fashion choices, stopped talking.

“…But even after doing all this, she’s definitely pretty, as expected of Song Yu-na.”

She made a “tsck” sound with a bitter expression.

“Well, she’s a celebrity, so it’s natural that she’s pretty. I’d be even more angry if a mediocre actress was our Hee-sung *oppa*’s co-star.”

Park Soon-hee immediately shifted her gaze to the minor actors next to her.

“Oh my, but our Hee-sung *oppa* gets along so well with these minor actors too….”

Her eyes were fixed on Jin Hee-sung.

It was as if hearts were dripping from her eyes.

“How can a person be so down-to-earth….”

Park Soon-hee liked the post.

She hurriedly left a comment.

-Drama Doctor Fighting!

-Please upload more photos.

-Thank you so much if you upload a lot of photos with Hee-sung *oppa*!

She smiled widely and closed her cell phone.

Then, looking at the turned-on laptop, she started collecting more photos to upload to the fan cafe.

While watching newly uploaded videos and photos on the internet.

A video that came up through her algorithm.

“Huh?”

She clicked on the video as if possessed.

“This isn’t Korea?”

The video Park Soon-hee clicked on was of a concert hall taken in New York.

“What is this?”

Her eyes gradually focused, and her brow furrowed.

The main character in the video was not a stage actor, but an audience member.

The audience member performed impromptu acting on the stage after the actor pulled him up.

Park Soon-hee recognized him at once, even before hearing the voice.

That person was Jin Hee-sung.

“Oh… isn’t this our Hee-sung *oppa*?”

***

As soon as the filming was over, I got into the car.

As soon as Manager Kim saw me in the back seat, he started talking.

“Hee-sung.”

“Yeah?”

“When you went to New York, did you go to a concert hall and perform?”

At his words, I tilted my head.

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard that you acted as a police officer while you were an audience member. Was that you?”

At Manager Kim’s words, my eyes widened, and I leaned closer to the driver’s seat.

“What? How did *hyung* [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend] know that?”

“Wow, it’s really you.”

“What is it?”

Manager Kim handed me his cell phone.

“Look at this.”

The video showed me performing with Brian, the actor I had become friends with at the New York concert hall.

Apparently, someone in the audience that day filmed the video and uploaded it.

As soon as the video ended, I asked Manager Kim with wide eyes.

“How did you find this?”

At my words, Manager Kim raised his eyebrows and replied in a somewhat excited voice.

“Hee-sung, this is amazing. This is currently the number one trending video.”

“Wow… what?”

“It’s a mess right now.”

At his words, I leaned back on the chair, dumbfounded.

“Everyone is saying you’re an acting genius. They’re saying this is real improvisation without a script.”

“Oh… that’s right.”

“So everyone is wondering who that audience member is. Not only Koreans but also foreigners are going crazy in the comments.”

I opened my mouth with a blank expression.

“Wow, this can spread like this?”

“Of course. You should have been a little better at acting! But even though the quality isn’t great because it’s a cell phone recording, everyone recognized you.”

“Is it obvious that it’s me?”

At my words, Manager Kim smiled and replied.

“Yeah, it’s obvious even to me, but if fans see it, they would have recognized it right away, right?”

I smiled and nodded.

At that moment.

Beep beep.

An alarm rang on my cell phone.

The notification sound was an email.

Usually, the only emails I exchange are with Manager Kim and related to the script.

I tilted my head and opened my cell phone to check the email inbox.

As soon as I checked the sender, my eyes widened.

[Sender: Brian]

The friend I made in New York.

Brian, the actor who was working with me in the video a little while ago.

Brian had asked for my SNS account back then.

After that, he wrote down his email address, saying that we should contact each other occasionally.

For a while, we only maintained our friendship by liking each other’s posts on SNS.

And suddenly, an email came from him.

Without hesitation, I hurriedly clicked on the email.

-Hi, Jin.

Are you doing well after returning to Korea?

I’m sending you an email because I thought of you.

.

.

.

I don’t know if it’s famous in Korea, but in the United States, the acting we improvised back then.

The video was spreading little by little through SNS, and now the video is all over the place.

Thanks to that video, my face has become incredibly well-known.

I’m so surprised that I can suddenly become famous like this; it feels like a dream every day.

Jin, thanks to you, my face became known, and I’ve made my way into Hollywood.

I was only going to do theater, but when this amazing opportunity came to me, I couldn’t refuse.

This is all because I was with you, Jin, that this result came out.

Thank you so much, and I miss you.

Jin, I’ve looked up a lot of your acting since that day.

As expected, your acting fascinates me.

If you come to America again, contact me.

I definitely want to treat you.

Then I’ll contact you again, goodbye.

At Brian’s news, I covered my open mouth with my hand.

He made his way into Hollywood because of the video we made together.

A smile naturally spread across my face.

I sincerely wanted to bless and congratulate him.

In the past, when people around me did well, I think I was jealous and felt sick to my stomach….

Now, when things go well for the people around me, I can’t help but feel proud and happy like this.

I pressed the reply button and started typing a message to congratulate Brian.

***

“Let’s get going.”

In the car that left the hotel and headed to the set.

I couldn’t help but keep smiling.

Manager Kim, who saw me in the rearview mirror, tilted his head and asked.

“Hee-sung, is something good happening?”

At his words, I shrugged my shoulders and replied.

“No?”

“But why do you keep smiling like that?”

At Manager Kim’s words, I turned my head and looked at myself reflected in the window.

Like he said, there was a smile on my face.

Come to think of it, I’ve been hearing a lot lately that my face is full of smiles.

Was it because I was enjoying this drama shoot?

When I think about it, among the shoots I’ve done so far.

I think I’m acting with the most rewarding and happy heart during the drama ‘Doctor’ shoot.

Is it because the script is better than other works?

Is it because the actors I’m working with are good?

That wasn’t it.

The previous works were all good in the same way.

But the only difference was just one thing.

That I can communicate sufficiently with the director and express what I thought.

Director Hong accepted 100% of the opinions I gave.

Occasionally, when his opinion differed from mine, he did not block my thoughts.

Instead, he explained the scene and persuaded me, or he adjusted the opinions through meetings with me.

Thanks to that, I didn’t have any burden or stress about going to the set.

A few minutes later.

When I arrived at the set, I wanted to talk to Director Hong about the contents I had checked in the script.

I hurriedly ran to find Director Hong.

“Director!”

At my words, Director Hong greeted me with a bright smile.

“Oh, Hee-sung is here?”

“Yes, good morning.”

Director Hong, who saw the script in my hand, smiled and said.

“Shall we talk about the script we’re going to shoot today?”

At his words, I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes!”

We continued the story as if we were having a discussion, looking at the same script.

“Hmm… that’s right. It would be good to go with ad-libs here, as Hee-sung said?”

“So, the ad-lib I thought of is….”

I showed him the notes I had written while practicing all night.

Director Hong shook his head with a satisfied face.

“Ah, I love it. It fits the content perfectly. Let’s go with this.”

“Yes, thank you.”

At my greeting, he waved his hand and replied.

“I’m the one who’s thankful. I’m so happy to be working with such a passionate actor. Let’s have a good shoot today.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Let’s start shooting as soon as we’re ready.”

I bowed to him and started preparing for the shoot.

A emotional scene with Song Yu-na.

We stood in front of the camera and looked at each other.

The assistant director checked us and shouted.

“If you’re ready, let’s start.”

And soon, Director Hong’s shout echoed.

“Ready, action!”

As soon as Director Hong’s sign fell, I quickly immersed myself in the scene and looked at Song Yu-na.

“It’s a situation where people’s lives are at stake.”

At my words, Song Yu-na lowered her head and opened her mouth slightly.

“I know that too. But….”

She couldn’t finish her words.

I raised my agitated heart and sighed.

“Haa….”

At my sigh, Song Yu-na bit her lip.

But she raised her head and looked at me.

“But this isn’t all my fault!”

Looking at her confidently angry even though she had done something wrong, I shook my head, dumbfounded.

Then, I took a deep breath to sigh.

A sigh written on the script.

It was to sigh as if the ground was sinking.

But to maximize the situation, I tilted my head to the sky.

And to express that I was angry to the top of my head, I shouted while looking at the sky with a sigh.

“Haa… really…!”

At that moment.

The light that was shining brightly from a high place.

The light seemed to creak from the light stand without warning.

In an instant, it started falling towards Song Yu-na, who was standing in front of me.

“…Huh?”