An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 20

Episode 20 #6 – Supporting Role (1)

The man in the photo.

He wore thin, round-rimmed glasses.

Yet, he looked exactly like me.

No, it wasn’t just a resemblance; it was an identical match.

Even the mole right below his eye was in the same spot.

I quickly got up and rushed to the bathroom.

Then, I leaned close to the mirror and checked my face again.

From my hairline to the shape of my eyes, the bridge and tip of my nose.

Even the subtly raised corner of my mouth when I smiled awkwardly.

Just in case, I took out my hand mirror and closely examined my face again.

However, all the features discernible in the photo were the same as mine.

As soon as I returned to the laptop and saw the photo, I was covered in goosebumps because of the identical face.

I ran my hands down my arms and fell into deep thought.

They say you die if you meet your doppelganger….

If this isn’t a doppelganger, what is it?

No, the man in that photo couldn’t possibly be alive now.

It’s been decades; it doesn’t make sense.

If that person were alive, meeting him would be like looking in a mirror.

I chuckled at my own imagination.

I clicked on the photo to enlarge it, but.

Perhaps because it was an old photo, the quality was very poor.

I wanted to see subtle features, but a detailed comparison was impossible.

Nevertheless, the man in that photo resembled me.

No, he was clearly another version of myself.

Who on earth is that person….

***

Ring, ring, ring.

The alarm rang loudly.

Without a second of hesitation, I jumped out of bed.

The day I had been waiting for.

The audition day had finally arrived.

I had practiced non-stop for two weeks, waiting for this day.

The lines would pour out of me if you just poked me.

It was still dawn, before the sun had even risen above the horizon.

But I had to hurry.

I needed to go to the salon to get my hair and makeup done, finish practicing, and then go to the audition venue.

In the blink of an eye, several hours had passed.

The car driven by Manager Kim arrived at a building.

“Hee-sung, there are a lot of cars, so I’ll park and come up. Go in first.”

“Okay, hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

Getting out of the car and entering the lobby, it was as crowded as a marketplace.

The noisy sounds and packed people.

Are all these people here for the audition?

The auditions I’ve experienced so far felt like child’s play.

It couldn’t even be compared to the lead role audition for the recent one-act play.

The terrestrial mini-series was on a completely different level.

Looking around, there were quite a few men of similar age to me.

If there’s a supporting role in this drama around my age… it’s only my role.

In other words, these are the competitors who came to audition for the same role as me.

The number was uncountable.

Moreover, there are no lead role auditions today.

The lead roles are being discussed separately with the agencies, not through auditions.

This audition was an open audition for supporting roles, and only actors with agencies were qualified to audition.

Nevertheless, the competition ratio was hundreds to one.

“Hee-sung!”

Someone tapped my shoulder as I was staring blankly at the people.

It was Manager Kim.

“Hyung, look at the people.”

“I knew there would be a lot, but there are really a lot.”

Manager Kim was also speechless at the number of people, his mouth wide open.

“There will be four people on the judging panel today.”

Unlike previous auditions where only the casting director or assistant director conducted the interviews.

“Four people….”

“The main director in charge of directing, the writer, the casting director, and even the assistant director.”

“The assistant director….”

“Yeah, the sub-director in charge of Team B.”

I nodded at his words.

The reason why four people are judging.

That’s because supporting roles are on a different level from minor roles.

If a mini-series is 16 episodes, the supporting role appears in at least 10 episodes.

It doesn’t reach the level of the main character, but it means they have a significant impact on the drama.

Because it’s a role with settings and narratives in the story.

So acting skills are incredibly important.

If the acting of a major supporting role is awkward, the viewer’s immersion will drop significantly.

In other words, the viewership ratings will also drop.

So they have no choice but to put effort into selecting supporting roles.

I looked at Manager Kim and asked.

“Hyung, but there are so many people, will we be able to finish everything today?”

At my words, he raised the corners of his mouth and replied.

“Hee-sung, this is the morning group.”

“What?”

His answer made me doubt my ears.

“We’re auditioning as the morning group. There’s also a separate afternoon group.”

“…Crazy. No way.”

A hollow laugh came out on its own.

He shrugged his shoulders as if he had experienced this many times.

“They say they audition for three days just for the role we’re trying for.”

“Is the competition that fierce?”

“Yeah, they say there are 400 applicants.”

A whopping 400 applicants.

I couldn’t help but be surprised by the number.

Doesn’t that mean I have to beat 399 people and take first place to get this role?

My jaw automatically dropped at the number.

And I muttered to myself.

“I have to do it like crazy.”

***

“Hyung, did you wait long?”

Manager Kim smiled and shook his head.

“No. You worked hard.”

“It’s nothing.”

That’s what I said, but because it was an audition where I gave my all, I felt drained as soon as I got into the car.

He started the car and cautiously opened his mouth.

“How was it? Do you think you did well?”

Manager Kim’s gaze was on the steering wheel, not me.

It seemed like he was asking in a nonchalant way, trying not to give me expectations or pressure.

“I think I did okay, considering how I prepared, but I’m still uneasy.”

To be honest, I felt like I did better than when I was practicing.

Maybe it’s because I practiced like crazy.

The scenes from the Japanese colonial era that I saw in my dream, and the scenes of working as a watchmaker, came to mind.

Thanks to that, I was able to feel a vivid sense of immersion and act.

However, I wasn’t sure if I would pass.

There were too many strong candidates, and the number of people auditioning couldn’t be ignored.

Manager Kim glanced at me in the rearview mirror and opened his mouth.

“There’s no need to be anxious. Everyone will feel the same way.”

“Yeah, but I came without regrets.”

“That’s all that matters. You must have been nervous; you worked hard.”

At his words, the trembling in my heart calmed down.

“If I get it after all this, it’ll be really great!”

“That’s right. They say the results will take about a week.”

At his words, my eyes widened.

“So many people auditioned, but it’s coming out sooner than I thought?”

“Yeah, that’s what they say. Anyway, you prepared for it right after the one-act play ended without even resting. Let’s take some rest this time.”

He made eye contact with me in the rearview mirror.

“Oh, but I’ll rest while practicing the script.”

“Haha, okay. Rest well today, and let’s do it from tomorrow.”

I nodded vigorously.

***

I gave my all in the audition the day before, but that didn’t mean I could just rest.

The audition results were still far away.

In case I might get the role, I shouldn’t stop practicing the script.

As if representing my heart, which was filled with the thought that I might not get it and my confidence had dropped to the bottom.

The rain was pouring down from the sky as if there was a hole in it.

“It’s raining a lot today.”

Manager Kim said, looking at the rain that was slightly visible next to the blinds.

“Yeah. It looks like it’s going to rain all day.”

“It feels a bit chilly because it’s raining. Shall we take a break with coffee and then do it?”

At his words, I nodded.

He immediately grabbed a table, pulled out a chair, and asked me.

“You’re going to have an Americano, right?”

At this, I jumped up from my seat and quickly replied.

“Hyung, I’ll go get it.”

“No. You must be tired from practicing the script; take a rest. I’ll be right back.”

He shook his head and said, and I approached Manager Kim, pressed his shoulder to sit him down, and replied.

“I’m tired of sitting all the time. I’ll go get it, hyung.”

It wasn’t far; it was a coffee machine located right in front of the practice room, so I volunteered to go instead of Manager Kim.

Then he smiled brightly and replied.

“Okay, thank you, Hee-sung.”

Two mugs of steaming coffee.

Manager Kim and I leaned back in our chairs and took a sip of coffee.

“A week is longer than I thought.”

At my words, Manager Kim nodded as if he agreed.

“That’s right. Waiting for the results is harder than you thought, right?”

“Yeah, I’m going to try to let go of my mind this time.”

He neither denied nor affirmed.

The competition rate for this audition was so fierce that he couldn’t easily give me courage or expectations.

If he lifted me up with positive words and then I failed the audition, it would be even sadder.

Even if Manager Kim didn’t open his mouth, I knew his heart well, so I could understand the situation.

But I can’t just stay still like this.

Even if I fail, I should do as much as I can.

I pulled the chair closer to the table.

And I opened the script that I had covered and opened my mouth.

“Hyung, shall we start practicing the script again?”

Manager Kim looked at me with a pleased expression and replied.

“Let’s do it!”

At that time, Manager Kim’s cell phone rang.

“Hee-sung, just a moment.”

He gestured to me and then got up from his seat.

“I’ll take a call. We have to look at the script together, so take a break for a bit.”

“Okay.”

After he left the practice room.

Only the sound of heavy rain echoed loudly in the quiet practice room.

My gaze naturally went to the window.

I got up from my seat, pulled up the blinds, and stared blankly at the rain.

For this moment, the worries and concerns I had heard for a week disappeared.

I just watched the rain falling peacefully and irregularly.

Flash-!

Then, a light flickered in the sky, and lightning struck with a loud noise.

At the same time, my head started throbbing.

“Ah!”

I covered my head with my hands at the sudden dizziness.

As I covered my head and squeezed my eyes shut, a scene suddenly came to mind.

That very moment when I made eye contact with the dancer after the stage ended.

That time flashed through my mind.

Headache accompanied by it.

The throbbing in my head intensified, and it felt like something hidden deep inside my head was coming to mind.

I clenched my hair tightly as if tearing it out in pain.

My hair was full between my fingers.

The headache disappeared cleanly in an instant.

And soon the scene that came to mind disappeared.

…What the heck is this?

What the heck is going on?