An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 212

212. Episode 38 – The Same Person (2)

“Haaam….”

I greeted the morning with a yawn.

I fumbled for my phone.

It was still too early to prepare for filming.

Moreover, Kim Team Leader wasn’t even awake yet.

It was long before the alarm was set to go off.

I tried to close my eyes again, but the memory of the dream kept resurfacing, forcing me to open them.

“Did I wake up early because I’m sleeping in a different place?”

I tilted my head, shrugged it off, and got out of bed.

While I was blankly thinking.

The woman from my dream kept coming to mind.

The back of a woman’s head kept appearing vividly before my eyes.

That faint image inexplicably tugged at my heart.

What was I to that woman, anyway?

I wouldn’t feel this way just by seeing a random woman passing by….

Her image kept resurfacing, making me feel like I was falling into endless darkness.

“Let’s do something else!”

Eventually, I got up and started changing out of my pajamas.

My first morning in Nevada.

I wondered what I could do here so early.

The conclusion was simple.

“…Jogging!”

I usually enjoyed walking in new places.

Looking around at environments and surroundings I had never experienced before always made me feel refreshed.

I quickly changed into light workout clothes, pulled my hat down low, and burst out the door.

The sky was still gloomy.

It wasn’t raining, but it wouldn’t have been surprising if it suddenly started.

“Where’s the umbrella…?”

I rummaged in front of the door to find the umbrella.

I grabbed the umbrella tightly in my hand and left the hotel.

It was early in the morning, but the hotel lobby was bustling with the energy of the staff.

“Good morning.”

Their bright greetings made me smile involuntarily.

“Yes, good morning.”

“I hope you have a day full of good things.”

“Thank you.”

Their words made me feel like I could have a happy day.

There was a well-maintained walking trail near the hotel for guests.

I naturally headed towards the trail.

“Wow, it’s gloomy, but so pretty.”

The path was wide and open.

With beautifully blooming flowers and well-maintained trees.

Walking this path made the corners of my mouth turn up.

“I should come here every morning. It’s so nice.”

I bent down to look at a small red flower.

The flower made me fix my gaze on it without realizing it.

Then.

Thud-.

A drop of water fell on the flower.

“Huh? Is it raining?”

I looked up at the sky, and soon raindrops started falling on my face.

“Ah… it’s raining.”

I quickly opened the umbrella I was holding.

Swish-.

Rain was pouring down, soaking the umbrella.

It was an awkward distance to turn back.

I tilted my head, pondered for a moment, and then started walking forward again.

“I’ve already come this far, might as well go a little further.”

I kept walking forward.

This path, walked without any music.

This distance, walked with the sound of rain falling on the umbrella as background music, was incredibly healing for me.

Because I was focused on this place without any worries.

I felt like this time would become precious to me in the future.

Then.

“Oh… Hee-sung!”

I was startled by the voice calling me, and I lifted my umbrella to look ahead.

I looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from.

“Over here!”

The owner of the voice was none other than Evelyn.

“…Evelyn?”

I frowned and looked towards the end of the path.

At the end of my gaze, I saw Evelyn squatting down to avoid the rain.

I quickly approached her.

“Evelyn, why are you here?”

At my question, she jumped into the umbrella as if leaping.

“I woke up early this morning and came for a walk, but it suddenly started raining.”

She shook off her wet body and looked at me.

I tilted the umbrella slightly towards her, so that the rain wouldn’t hit her shoulder.

“I came for a walk too, but it suddenly started raining.”

“Right. Hee-sung, but isn’t it so pretty here?”

“Yes, I think I’ll come here often. The path is really pretty. If it doesn’t rain, it’s perfect for jogging.”

“I agree.”

The raindrops were getting heavier.

I peeked out and looked up at the sky.

The color of the sky was becoming increasingly ominous.

I looked at her and opened my mouth.

“It looks like it’s raining too hard, should we go back?”

At my words, she looked at the falling rain.

And quietly nodded.

“I wanted to walk around more, but I’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

“I agree. I think it’s better to go now.”

Evelyn and I shared one umbrella and headed back to the hotel.

“How is acting in Hollywood for Hee-sung?”

An awkward atmosphere.

I hadn’t even had many conversations with her.

We were stuck together under a small umbrella, so the quiet atmosphere continued even more.

Evelyn asked me a question to break the ice.

I still looked ahead and walked as I opened my mouth.

“I feel like I’m realizing every day why Hollywood is Hollywood. The scale is….”

Whoosh-.

Then, the wind started blowing fiercely.

Because of the wind, our clothes started getting soaked even though we were using an umbrella.

Swaaaaa-.

The rain was raging.

The wind blowing back and forth made it impossible for us to continue the conversation.

And then I saw the hotel.

“It’s a relief because the hotel is just a little further.”

I was holding the umbrella towards Evelyn so she wouldn’t get wet.

Nevertheless, I could see that her body was getting wet from the unpredictable wind.

If two people shared one umbrella like this, it was clear that both of us would get wet.

Moreover, since the umbrella was tilted more towards her, my body was already soaked.

I stopped in my place and looked at her as I spoke.

“Evelyn, take this umbrella and be careful not to get wet.”

“Huh? What about Hee-sung?”

Only then did she notice that I was completely soaked.

“What, are you all wet because you shared the umbrella with me?”

“No. It’s because of the wind….”

“I’m sorry. How about Hee-sung walking closer to me?”

I smiled and handed her the umbrella.

Then, I quickly opened my mouth towards her.

“Ah, now that I think about it, my manager asked me to wake him up in the morning. I think I need to go quickly. Use the umbrella and come carefully.”

“Oh… Hee-sung!”

Leaving Evelyn behind, who was calling me, I quickly pulled my hat down low and started running towards the hotel.

Since I was already wet from the rain, it wouldn’t be a problem if I got even more wet.

I hurried to the hotel lobby, looking only ahead.

Soon I was able to enter the hotel.

Evelyn, who was watching Jin Hee-sung entering the hotel.

She held the umbrella tightly in her hand and smiled faintly as she looked at his soaked figure.

***

Swaaaaa-.

The rain was still falling without stopping.

Kim Team Leader and I were preparing for filming, looking at the falling rain.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], it’s raining really hard.”

“I know. The weather is really weird.”

“Yeah, but the scenes we’re filming today are good scenes when it rains. So did they deliberately choose a day like this for outdoor filming?”

At my words, he nodded and replied.

“Well, otherwise, we would have had to pour water to create the rain effect.”

“That’s right. I should go to the filming location quickly.”

Kim Team Leader and I headed to the set together.

I checked where the actors were gathered.

I confirmed that they were in a tent and hurried towards them.

“Hello.”

At my greeting, Charles waved his hand in greeting.

Next to him was Liam, who hated me.

And who was engaged in anti-Asian discrimination.

But I didn’t want to ignore him and not greet him on set because of that reason.

Because I didn’t want to become the same person as him.

I bowed slightly to him.

“Hello.”

As expected, he glanced at me sideways and ignored me.

Nevertheless, I just smiled and exchanged greetings with the other actors next to him.

What would make Liam even more upset would be my actions like this.

Rather, when he showed anti-Asian discrimination and ignored me.

He would want me to be intimidated and grovel before him.

But I had no intention of doing what he wanted.

I had a friendly conversation with the other actors.

Liam opened his mouth to Charles next to him.

“Charles, did you see that sitcom?”

“What sitcom?”

Liam shouted loudly, as if for me to hear, so that everyone in the tent could hear.

“No, that Asian guy over there. He was on a sitcom?”

“Oh, really?”

Charles widened his eyes in surprise as he replied.

But that wasn’t what Liam wanted to talk about.

Liam clicked his tongue and shook his head.

He made a *tsk* sound and opened his mouth as if dissatisfied.

“Ugh, he just came to Hollywood, so he went out as a minor role to get his face known, how low-class.”

His words that it was low-class.

I couldn’t stand it anymore and turned around to approach Liam.

“Oh, you watched the sitcom I was in?”

At my words, he frowned and looked at me.

“What?”

“No, I thought you hated me. But you even bothered to watch the sitcom I was in as a minor role, thank you.”

Liam distorted his face at my words.

Then he pushed his cheek out with his tongue.

He plainly revealed his displeasure on his face.

I made eye contact with him, smiled brightly, and turned my head.

Just as I was about to take a step back to the actors I was talking to.

Liam grabbed his nose and spoke in a nasal voice.

“Ugh, where is this garlic smell coming from?”

At his words, Charles tilted his head and asked Liam.

“Garlic?”

“Yeah, it’s not like he sprayed garlic perfume, it really makes me want to throw up.”

Again me.

And at his words that discriminated against Asians, I barely swallowed a sigh and opened my mouth.

“Liam.”

Even at my call, he stared at me without answering.

“Garlic smell… are you talking to me?”

“No. I just smelled garlic somewhere.”

Even at his words, I didn’t respond with anger.

Because that’s what amateurs do.

Rather, in this case, responding like a magnanimous person is good for the people around me.

It was also a good way to deal with Liam, who wanted to screw me over.

I smiled brightly and replied to him.

“I like garlic a little. Haha.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the actors around me laughed heartily and said.

“Oh, I like garlic too, but do Koreans really like garlic that much?”

We casually moved on to another story.

Liam glared at me sideways and bit his lip.

***

“We’re going to start filming!”

At the staff’s words, we who were under the tent looked at the script and started preparing.

The first scene is a scene with Liam and Charles together.

No matter how much I didn’t have good feelings for Liam, there were definitely things to learn from Liam’s acting.

So I stood next to him and stayed in place to learn his acting.

Liam and Charles were still laughing and chatting.

But as soon as the shoot started, they were immediately immersed in their roles as if nothing had happened.

“Ready, action!”

At Director Jeffrey’s sign, they put strength into their eyes and started acting.

Everyone, including me, focused on their acting.

I fixed my gaze on Liam and watched his acting.

Then.

The rain was getting heavier.

The wind was also blowing fiercely.

I looked at the falling rain and quickly shifted my gaze back to the set.

The tent set up to protect the equipment.

A slightly protruding wire caught my eye.

“…Huh? What if that gets wet and sparks fly?”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the wire.

I couldn’t tell if the staff in charge of the equipment hadn’t noticed it, or if they knew about it and were just ignoring it.

I felt uneasy without realizing it.

Because it was during filming, I was carefully moving my steps towards that side.

Liam and Charles were still immersed in their roles and continuing to act.

At that moment.

Fzzzt-!

The filming equipment I was worried about.

The moment the water touched the wire, a strong spark occurred.

And I clearly saw the sparking wire falling towards Liam’s face.

As soon as I saw that, I threw my body without any hesitation or hesitation.

“No…!”