An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 231

231. #41 – Fruits of Labor (1)

As soon as the movie was released, I started getting calls from various production companies and advertisers.

However, I didn’t immediately respond to or reject any of them.

It hadn’t even been a week since the movie’s release, and I felt it was too early to decide on my next project or film commercials.

My market value would increase significantly depending on the movie’s success, so my agency was postponing all such decisions.

Beyond just the financial aspect, I wanted to choose my next project carefully.

Since this was my first Hollywood movie, I had to decide whether to continue working in Hollywood or return to acting in Korea.

After the meeting at the agency regarding future activities and advertising inquiries,

Kim and I left the building together and headed to a cafe.

“You must be tired from the meeting this morning. Let’s grab a cup of coffee.”

“Sounds good.”

Kim and I arrived at the cafe in the building, and we immediately ordered coffee.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], are we putting all the commercials on hold, then?”

At my question, he stroked his chin and replied.

“Yeah, probably. Or we’ll reject most of them. Advertisers who understand that your value will increase further depending on the box office success are rushing to make advertising proposals now.”

“Wow, it’ll go up even more from here?”

I was already surprised by the amount of money I was receiving for commercials.

I couldn’t even imagine being able to shoot commercials in the past.

And when I received my first commercial offer,

I still can’t forget the excitement I felt back then.

As time passed, I felt my value increase while acting in Korea, and I was amazed by the scale of the entertainment industry.

Now, just entering Hollywood has doubled my value.

And now, the advertising fees are skyrocketing depending on the movie’s success….

All of this still feels like a dream to me.

Kim raised his eyebrows nonchalantly at my surprised reaction.

“Don’t be surprised; you’re just getting started.”

He smiled, took a sip of his coffee, and then looked at me and spoke again.

“Hee-sung, what do you have planned for today?”

“Nothing. I don’t have any schedules, so I’m free.”

I thought I would be busy as soon as the movie was released.

But since everything was postponed depending on the box office success, I didn’t have a packed schedule.

The movie promotion had been ongoing little by little before the release, and I continued to promote it by appearing on the radio or simple programs.

So, I didn’t schedule anything separately after the release.

Kim checked his watch and asked me.

“Then… do you want to go see a movie together later?”

“You and me?”

It wasn’t that I was surprised to be seeing a movie alone with Kim.

For me, whose job is acting, watching a movie in a theater was a very natural thing.

But going to the movie theater as a celebrity wasn’t as easy as I thought.

So, I always went to see movies with my manager, Kim.

I enjoyed watching late-night movies when there weren’t many people.

But going to see a movie in broad daylight like now was a first.

When I was surprised and asked him back, Kim nodded and replied.

“Yeah, of course.”

“It’s not a late-night movie; there will be a lot of people if we go now, right?”

“That’s why I’m suggesting it.”

At his words, I tilted my head.

Kim looked at me and continued.

“This movie is different from what you’ve filmed so far. Don’t you want to see the audience’s reaction firsthand?”

At his words, I bit my lip.

Whenever a movie I filmed came out, I would watch my acting in the theater at a premiere.

But I didn’t go to see it in a regular theater myself.

But this time, as he said, I was more curious about the audience’s reaction.

My performance acting alongside foreign actors.

And I was so curious about how the audience would evaluate my acting in English and how they would perceive the movie.

I hesitated for a moment and then shook my head.

“Okay, let’s go. But there will be too many people if we go now. Will it be okay?”

“If you want to see the audience’s reaction, it’s better to go when there are many people like now. Let’s wear hats and masks and go in when it gets dark, just before the movie starts.”

“Okay.”

We finished our coffee, got up, and headed to the movie theater.

A few hours later.

At the movie theater near the agency,

As the ending credits began to roll,

Kim and I sat in the corner, waiting for people to leave.

If we went out now, we would encounter many people in a brightly lit area.

If they recognized me, they might rush towards me.

And the news of me coming to see my movie might spread online, so I waited quietly in my seat for everyone to leave.

More people than I thought stayed in the theater to watch the ending credits.

So, people were whispering about the movie.

“Wow, the movie is a hit.”

“Yeah, I heard it’s number one right now.”

“Wow, Jin Hee-sung’s acting is amazing. Let’s watch that other 9/11 movie, too.”

“Wow…. I cried so much during the terror scene earlier.”

“Jin Hee-sung is really good at acting. Did he study abroad? His English pronunciation was crazy.”

People were sharing their evaluations of the movie and their reviews of my acting.

Kim and I couldn’t help but smile at the reactions, which were more favorable than we had anticipated.

Hiding among the people, we talked in low voices.

“Wow, hyung. The movie’s getting a good response?”

“Of course. See? Isn’t it nice to come and see the real-time audience reaction like this?”

“Yeah.”

Kim smiled and said to me.

“Shall we book tickets for the next showing, too?”

“Should we?”

***

The box office performance of the movie ‘September 11’ was literally a huge hit.

In just two weeks since its release, the number of viewers in Korea exceeded 5 million.

It continued to break records every day.

“Hee-sung, the movie will hit 10 million, right?”

Kim showed me the audience count on his phone screen with an excited voice.

I suppressed a smile and said,

“I’m going to wait without expecting too much.”

Even at my words, he still replied with a face full of anticipation.

“This is definitely going to hit 10 million. It’s still number one at the box office in North America.”

I looked at the movie rankings on my cell phone and said.

“‘Terror’ is in second place.”

“Oh, James’s movie is in second place. But ‘Terror’ has never beaten ‘September 11’ since its release.”

At his words, I nodded.

The success of this movie was important, but.

The most important thing was whether I could outperform James’s movie.

Jeffrey and James were rivals, so I naturally wanted Jeffrey, whose movie I was in, to win.

But the biggest reason was that I had initially considered James’s project before ultimately joining Jeffrey’s.

If I had chosen only Jeffrey’s project from the beginning, I wouldn’t have cared about James.

But I shook hands with him and then backed out.

I wanted to prove even more that my choice was the right one.

James’s movie also featured an Asian actor, and the Asian in that movie was Japanese.

So, it was a natural outcome that Jeffrey’s movie, in which I, a Korean, appeared, was a hit in Korea.

Unless the movie was exceptionally bad, Korean audiences would prefer the movie I was in over the one featuring a Japanese actor.

So, the success in Korea was important, but I was curious about the rankings and success in other countries.

I thought that would be a more objective measure.

“I need to see the Hollywood reaction.”

At my words, Kim nodded and started searching for articles.

I also looked at my cell phone and began to examine the Hollywood reaction.

Soon, Kim spoke up.

“Your movie is number one here, too.”

Kim held out his screen to me.

I looked at James’s movie, which was right below the number one movie.

“But the gap between number one and number two isn’t that big, is it?”

At my words, he pouted and nodded.

“Well, James’s genre overlaps too much. It’s not just that the terror genre overlaps, but the theme of the 9/11 attacks is the same.”

Kim sighed and said to me.

“Yeah, so the audience is divided between the two movies, or they watch both movies. That’s a bit disappointing. But it’s good that your movie is number one in a head-to-head competition.”

“That’s right. So, I’m glad.”

At my words, he quickly rummaged through his cell phone and then showed me the articles and comments.

“Look at this. There are a lot of posts asking who the Asian actor in Hollywood is.”

When I looked at my cell phone at Kim’s words, there were quite a few comments about me.

-That Asian actor is really good at acting. And he’s a fresh face.

└That’s right. He’s a Korean actor, so recommend his other works.

└The actor’s name is ‘Jin Hee-sung’.

-Casting an Asian seems to be a stroke of genius!

-I started watching K-movies [Korean movies] after watching this movie. There are many fun ones.

-Are there any other movies starring that Asian actor? Not Korean movies.

└This is his first time.

└Wow, no way. But he’s so good at acting?

└I thought he was a Hollywood actor.

I smiled as I looked at the comments.

Kim had the same expression as me.

“Hee-sung, it seems like there’s not much left for you to become truly world-class… right?”

He bit his lip and smiled brightly at me.

***

Bang-!

Harrison, who was sitting in front of him, flinched in surprise at the sound of the table being slammed.

“Haa….”

Director James sighed repeatedly as he looked at the video playing on the tablet PC.

Harrison pursed his lips at the sight, watching Director James’s reaction and holding his breath.

“Are they comparing Jeffrey’s movie and my movie like this?”

The video he was watching.

It was a video comparing ‘September 11’ and ‘Terror’, two 9/11 movies dealing with the same theme.

Tak-.

Director James, who was furious, turned off the tablet PC and slammed it on the table.

“No matter how I look at it, our work is much better than Jeffrey’s movie. What do you think?”

At his words, Harrison nodded and replied.

“That’s right, Director. I’m not saying that because I work for you, but I really think our work is objectively much better.”

“Right?”

Harrison replied with eyes full of confidence.

“Yes, in fact, if you look at the comparison videos, the overwhelming opinion is that the content of ‘Terror’ is better.”

“Haa… but why are we still in second place!”

Director James ruffled his hair and expressed his annoyance.

Soon, he rolled his eyes and muttered.

“…This is the actor’s fault.”

Then he bit his lip and continued.

“Hiroto also acted well in our work… but Jin Hee-sung acted too well in Jeffrey’s movie, like a crazy person.”

As if agreeing with his words, Harrison nodded vigorously.

“I thought so too. Jin Hee-sung gave a great performance. Looking at the public’s evaluation, there’s no mention of Hiroto in the reviews of our movie, but there are a lot of comments about Jin Hee-sung in the ‘September 11’ reviews.”

Director James closed his eyes tightly and shouted.

“It’s absurd. I discovered that Korean, Jin Hee-sung, and brought him to Hollywood.”

He clenched his fist.

He muttered, tightening his fist until it trembled.

“I shouldn’t have put him in an audition with the Japanese actor at that time; I should have just cast him. Haa, missing out on Jin Hee-sung was a mistake.”