An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 293

293. #53 – Misunderstandings Lead to More Misunderstandings (2)

The commotion echoed all the way to the waiting room hallway.

My heart pounded in sync with the incessant noise.

Then came the knocking.

Knock knock.

“Heesung!”

Kim, my manager, burst through the door, his face flushed as he spoke.

“More flower baskets have arrived.”

My eyes widened.

“From where?”

Kim read the notes scribbled on the small cards.

“This one’s from Director Park, and this one seems to be from IBH Investment.”

“Wow… I’m grateful.”

“Oh, and that one’s from Yoona.”

“Really?”

He pointed to a flower basket.

It was overwhelmingly large.

“Wow, Yoona’s scale is… no joke. Haha.”

I gaped, nodding in agreement.

“Right. The ones from earlier were all from fans, right?”

“Yeah, along with lunch boxes, cakes, and gifts…”

The brands I had advertised.

And the staff I had worked with, the staff I would work with, and the company.

Add to that Song Yoona and the fans.

The spacious waiting room was quickly filling up with flowers and gifts.

“I’m really grateful to everyone. They really didn’t have to do this…”

“It’s your first fan meeting, so they wanted to congratulate you.”

I took it all in, one by one.

“These are all acts of gratitude I need to repay. I’ll have to work hard to pay them all back.”

Kim smiled.

“How are you feeling? It’s less than thirty minutes away. Nervous?”

“Of course. Hyung [older brother or close male friend], I feel like my heart’s going to explode. I can’t even remember the last time I was this nervous.”

“I can imagine. I’m nervous too, so how much more nervous must you be?”

“Hoo…”

He smiled brightly, trying to ease my tension.

“Don’t worry. I went out and saw the fans waiting, and all the people who always come to support you at events are here. You’ve seen them a lot, so don’t be too nervous.”

“I’m still nervous, even if they’re people I’ve seen before. They’re spending their time and money to come see me. I want to show them as much as I can and satisfy them.”

“Just show them what you’ve prepared. It’s okay to make mistakes. That’s part of the fun of a fan meeting.”

I shook my head.

“No. I want to do it perfectly. I just hope I don’t make any mistakes…”

I gulped down water, trying to suppress my trembling heart.

Thirty minutes passed.

Finally, the fan meeting began.

Spotlights flashed, illuminating me.

I looked past the lights at the fans filling the audience seats.

“Hello, I’m Jin Heesung!”

As soon as I spoke, the place erupted in cheers.

“Kyaaa!”

“Waaah!”

“Heesung oppa [term used by younger women to address older male friends or idols]!”

“I love you, Jin Heesung!”

“Aaaah!”

The cheers and applause of the fans.

After my greeting, I couldn’t say anything, just looking at the fans.

Clap clap clap-

“Waaah…!”

The fans’ shouts and the pounding of my heart.

My heart beat faster and faster.

I felt something hot bubbling deep inside my chest.

The cheers made every nerve in my body tingle, and it felt like my cells were expanding to the point of bursting.

“Haa…”

I put down the microphone, overwhelmed by this unknown emotion, and let out a gasp.

Even though I had only greeted them, the fans were shouting and cheering for me.

Their very existence filled my heart.

“Oppa, I love you!”

“Jin Heesung! Jin Heesung!”

The fans chanted my name repeatedly.

As I froze, Park Sehyun, the host, finally came out and shouted.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Park Sehyun, and I’ll be hosting actor Jin Heesung’s fan meeting today!”

At his voice, I started to move, as if I had been tagged by a chaser.

And so, Jin Heesung’s, or rather, my fan meeting began.

After exchanging greetings, I immediately moved on to the song I had prepared.

And as soon as the song ended, applause erupted.

“Waaah!”

“Oppa, that was amazing.”

“The song was crazy good!”

The fans showered my song with lavish praise.

Park Sehyun approached, clapping.

“Wow… Heesung-ssi [honorific title], I thought you were just good at acting. Is it fair to be this good at singing too?”

I smiled awkwardly.

“No, I practiced hard because I wanted to show it to my fans today.”

“This isn’t a skill you can get just from practicing. Right, everyone?”

The fans went wild.

“Yes!”

“Oppa, become a singer!”

“Release an album.”

I smiled at the fans’ responses.

“I’m not good enough to release an album. But if I have another opportunity like this, I’ll work hard to prepare a good song for you.”

Park Sehyun’s eyes widened.

“Ah, Heesung-ssi. I heard you prepared a dance in addition to the song today?”

I nodded.

“Yes, it’s not a great dance. I’ve prepared a little dance to a recent boy group’s song.”

“Wow… If you’re good at dancing here too, I really can’t live. If you’re this perfect, how am I supposed to live?”

“Haha, no. I’m not very good, but I’ve worked hard to prepare, so please enjoy it.”

I immediately stretched and struck the prepared pose.

Soon, the lights went out and the music began to play.

♪♬-

As soon as the music started, I surrendered my body to the beat.

Because I had practiced so hard, I didn’t miss a single move despite being nervous.

Each dance move was ingrained in my body.

I shook my body to the music with all my might.

Before I knew it, beads of sweat were forming on my forehead and starting to trickle down.

“Haa, haa…”

Rough breaths escaped my lips.

Nevertheless, I didn’t let up and passionately bent my joints.

“Kyaaa!”

The fans cheered every time I bent my body and did a wave.

I raised the corners of my lips and moved my body more vigorously.

And so the song came to an end.

“Haa… haa…”

I caught my breath and gave the fans a passionate look.

Then I heard Park Sehyun’s footsteps approaching.

“Wow… everyone, Heesung-ssi has worked so hard to prepare this. Please give him another big round of applause!”

Clap clap-

I bowed my head, and Park Sehyun smiled and held out his hand.

“God is fair after all.”

“Yes?”

“Heesung-ssi, I would have been really sad if you were perfect at dancing too. Haha.”

His playful joke.

The fans didn’t take offense; rather, they laughed.

The fans giggled and clapped.

At their reaction and Park Sehyun’s words, I waved my hand and replied.

“But everyone, I really worked hard to prepare. I may not be like a boy group, but wasn’t I close?”

At my words, the fans and Park Sehyun burst into laughter again.

“I think Heesung-ssi is loved because he’s sincere and works so hard like this. I also want to join Heesung-ssi’s fan cafe, Jin Heesung Mania, today!”

The fans seemed to cheer even more for my imperfect appearance and clumsy dancing skills.

* * *

The fan meeting, which lasted over two hours, came to an end.

Park Sehyun bowed deeply, looking at the fans in the audience.

“And so, actor Jin Heesung’s first fan meeting comes to a close…”

Before he could finish, the fans cried out in disappointment.

“No…!”

“Don’t go!”

“Don’t end it.”

At the fans’ outcry, I pursed my lips and nodded.

“I’m so sad too.”

The fans cheered, and I looked at Kim, my manager, below the stage and asked.

“Manager, can I talk to the fans a little longer?”

Kim checked the time and raised his hand, giving the okay sign.

“Waaaaaa!”

The fans shouted at his gesture.

And so, bonus time was given.

In other words, an encore communication time began.

In fact, if the fans wanted it, I wanted to create this time even after the regular fan meeting time was over.

Park Sehyun led the stage as he had planned.

“Everything we’ve prepared for today is over. So, how about we invite some of the fans to the stage through a lottery now? We can take pictures too, how does that sound?”

The fans stretched their hands high into the sky and shouted.

“Kyaa, that’s great!”

The fans were excited at the thought of seeing me up close and taking pictures with me on stage.

Park Sehyun looked at me and asked.

“Then, for the first fan, Heesung-ssi, please ask a question. Which fan would you like to come up?”

“Hmm… everyone who came here likes me, so… is there anyone who has a special reason for liking Jin Heesung?”

At my question, all the fans stretched out their hands and waved.

Park Sehyun stood up and looked at them.

And he pointed to one person.

“Oh? Is that man at the end there… did he come alone?”

* * *

The people sitting tightly on both sides, front and back.

They glanced at the man wearing glasses.

The man wiped his nose at their gazes and muttered.

“Hmm, hmm… these people are all being played by Jin Heesung.”

The man pushed up his glasses, which seemed to be fogged up, from the bridge of his nose and rubbed the tip of his nose.

His name was Hwang Hanbeom.

He bit his lip and glared at Jin Heesung, who was smiling brightly on stage.

Hwang Hanbeom shifted his gaze to Song Yoona on the background screen of the cell phone in his hand.

He had been a fan of Song Yoona for a very long time.

He was happy watching Song Yoona’s works, advertisements, and all her activities.

Then, one day, Hwang Hanbeom was overwhelmed with a tremendous sense of betrayal towards Song Yoona.

The day the dating rumors between Song Yoona and Jin Heesung broke out.

Hwang Hanbeom didn’t even leave his house, feeling like the world had collapsed.

And since that day, the word Hwang Hanbeom uttered the most was ‘betrayal.’

He seemed to think that she had betrayed fans like himself.

That thought gradually became more and more twisted.

Now, his thoughts seemed to have finally… become distorted.

“That’s right… our Yoona has no faults or problems. All of this… that bastard, Jin Heesung, corrupted our Yoona.”

Hwang Hanbeom clicked his tongue as he looked at the fans cheering for Jin Heesung next to him.

“These X’s will also be corrupted by Jin Heesung… that bastard…”

He muttered throughout the fan meeting.

But it was so noisy here.

And no one noticed the sound that he was only mumbling.

“If it just ends soon…”

The moment Hwang Hanbeom, who was glaring at Jin Heesung, flinched.

People began to raise their hands at Jin Heesung’s words.

Hwang Hanbeom, who was looking around and reading the room, raised the corners of his lips and stood up, stretching his arm out as far as it would go.

“Oh? Is that man at the end there… did he come alone?”

The question from Park Sehyun reached none other than Hwang Hanbeom.

People looked at Hwang Hanbeom with envy.

He fidgeted with his glasses at the sudden attention.

“…Yes, I came… alone…”

“Wow, it’s really rare for a male fan to come alone to a male actor’s fan meeting. Heesung-ssi, if it’s okay with you, shall we invite that fan to the stage to say hello?”

Jin Heesung smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes, that would be great.”

A little later.

Hwang Hanbeom, who came on stage, approached Jin Heesung’s side, feeling awkward.

Park Sehyun asked him, who was sticking close to Jin Heesung.

“Since when and for what reason did you become a fan of actor Jin Heesung?”

Jin Heesung also looked at him with interest.

Hwang Hanbeom muttered softly without looking into Jin Heesung’s eyes.

“The person I like… is a fan of Jin Heesung…”

“Ah…”

A slightly strange answer.

Jin Heesung asked him, an ironic question for someone who came to the fan meeting alone.

“If it’s someone you like, can I ask who it is?”

Hwang Hanbeom grinned slyly and replied.

“Song Yoona.”

In an instant.

The atmosphere turned cold.

Not in other places, but in Jin Heesung’s fan meeting, the name ‘Song Yoona.’

The word ‘dating’ itself was an unspoken taboo.

Kim, the manager, sensed a dangerous person.

He hurriedly signaled to the bodyguards.

Jin Heesung switched the topic with an awkward smile.

“Ah… thank you for coming to see me today…”

Hwang Hanbeom cut him off and brought his mouth close to the microphone.

“I’ve been a fan of Song Yoona for a long time…”

Hwang Hanbeom, who was flinching, turned his head and shouted at Jin Heesung.

“Long before you even knew Song Yoona!”

Then, he took out the knife he had been hiding in his sleeve and rushed at Jin Heesung.

Hwang Hanbeom climbed on top of Jin Heesung’s body, who had fallen to the floor, and roared.

Thud-

“Die! Just die!”