An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 305

305. #55 – A True Friend (5)

“Cut, okay!”

As soon as Director Park gave the signal, we shouted our congratulations to him and each other at the top of our lungs.

“Good work, everyone!”

“That was really tough.”

“Everyone worked so hard.”

Clap clap-

Applause and cheers echoed through the set.

With this scene, the filming of the movie ‘Undercover’ was over.

And in the distance, two large cakes were being brought in.

Cakes prepared by the staff and other actors for Director Park and me.

“Thank you for your hard work, Director, and our lead actor!”

My cake had a character that looked like me drawn on it, and looking at the cake and those who prepared it, the tip of my nose tingled.

“I don’t know what I did… Thank you so much. And thank you all for your hard work.”

We were finishing up on the set like that.

A few weeks prior.

After seeing a ghost on set.

The steps to the abandoned hospital felt heavy, but soon I adapted to the place and continued filming without any major problems.

Jang Jun-woo’s words to me.

I gained strength from his words that seeing a ghost meant the work would be a big hit, and I even felt happy to have seen a ghost.

That’s probably why I worked even harder on filming.

Since then, there were no major accidents on set, and all the staff and actors worked together to finish filming.

A few hours later.

The afterparty continued at the pension [a type of boarding house or small hotel, often in a rural area].

“Let’s have a big afterparty in Seoul later, but today, let’s finish the local filming with some fun at the pension!”

At Director Park’s words, we laughed and clinked glasses.

Clink-

And I smiled and began to speak.

“I’ve filmed many projects, but I don’t think there’s been one with as many dinners as this one. Haha.”

At my words, the other actors laughed heartily.

“Me too. I have so many memories of drinking during this project. Haha.”

“I think it’s because we’re so close.”

Our last dinner party was filled with laughter.

And I looked around the pension at the friendly faces and smiled.

I’m glad I stayed at the pension instead of the hotel….

I met these people and continued filming happily.

And Jang Jun-woo next to me.

I was so happy that he and I had become such good friends.

The dinner party continued for several hours.

Before I knew it, some people had returned to their rooms, and the food in front of us had been replaced several times.

“It’s the last night, so I feel bad going to sleep,” Jang Jun-woo said with a slight frown, and I looked at him and raised my glass.

“That’s right. It’s our last time here, let’s enjoy ourselves until we leave.”

“Sounds good!”

Clink-

Close to midnight.

The actors and staff who remained were in small groups.

Our posture was relaxed, and a free atmosphere had developed.

Some were playing games, and others were leaning against the wall and having serious conversations.

And Jang Jun-woo, a few actors, and staff were sitting in front of the TV, holding their glasses.

“Shall we turn on the TV and drink quietly?”

At the words of a staff member, I nodded.

“Sounds good.”

As soon as I turned on the TV, a popular entertainment program was playing.

Our eyes naturally turned to the TV.

“This is a big hit these days. Do you all watch it?”

“Ah, if you come out as a guest on this entertainment show, you get so many clips the next day. It’s really funny, that program.”

The glasses were just a formality, and we were focused on the TV program.

“Haha, look at that. It’s so funny.”

“Hahaha.”

We were laughing while watching the entertainment program when the TV switched to a commercial break.

“Shall we have a quick drink during this break?”

Clink-

The moment we clinked glasses again and poured our drinks, an advertisement for the soju [a Korean distilled spirit] we were holding was playing.

Jang Jun-woo raised his eyebrows and pointed to the TV.

“Huh? Isn’t that Seo Gyu-ri from the girl group Ping Pong?”

At his words, the staff nodded and replied.

“That’s right. The Ping Pong group fell apart because of one member who was involved in school violence. After disbanding, they’re all working separately.”

I glanced at her, Seo Gyu-ri, whom I had met at the hospital, and looked at her with an uninterested gaze.

The staff who had been staring at the advertisement tilted his head and spoke again.

“But that soju advertisement… Song Yu-na was originally the advertisement model. Has it completely changed to Seo Gyu-ri now?”

Instantly.

The screen changed, and the staff turned his head back to us, and as soon as he looked at me, he flinched and seemed embarrassed.

Everyone here knew that my girlfriend was Song Yu-na.

But I quickly turned my gaze to my glass so that he wouldn’t be embarrassed.

* * *

As soon as I returned to Seoul, I dragged my tired body home.

And again, a headache rushed in.

I grabbed my throbbing head.

“So, was acting the answer to getting rid of the headache?”

The pain that keeps bothering me.

The way to overcome this pain is acting and….

Ding-dong-

The doorbell rang, and the person entering my house was Song Yu-na.

“Yu-na!”

As soon as she opened the door and saw me, she hugged me tightly as if she was happy to see me.

“Have you been well?”

Song Yu-na’s face was a little haggard, probably because filming was hard, but I frowned slightly while looking at her.

“Of course. Did the filming go well?”

“Yeah, I have to rest for a few days and then get back to my schedule.”

“You’re going through a lot. Come in quickly.”

We moved to the living room and sat side by side on the sofa.

Just being with Song Yu-na made the headache go away like magic.

Back when I met her at the hospital.

The headache didn’t decrease even when I saw Song Yu-na.

But now, just being with her again, the pain has completely disappeared.

After all, what I want to do… is acting.

And is it just being with Song Yu-na, the person I love, that makes my pain disappear?

I stared at her.

“Oppa [term used by a younger woman to address an older brother or male friend], is your filming all over now?”

At Song Yu-na’s question, I blinked.

“Yeah, unless there are additional shoots, it’s completely over now.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Yu-na, why have you lost so much weight? Was it very hard?”

A question I asked her with concern.

This question of whether it was difficult contained a lot.

There was also the question of whether she was having a hard time because her schedule was busy, but the soju advertisement I saw the day before was an advertisement model that Song Yu-na had been doing for a long time.

Advertisement models tend to change when the contract period expires, but Song Yu-na had renewed her contract twice as the soju model.

So this change of advertisement model must have been disappointing and upsetting to her.

Knowing she was already upset, I didn’t want to openly bring up the story of the termination of the advertisement model first.

Song Yu-na shrugged and smiled.

“No, it’s manageable.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But why are you staring at me like that?”

She tilted her head and asked me, and I smiled shyly and replied.

“Just because.”

“What, you’re boring.”

Even if I didn’t hold her hand, just being in the same space with her, there was no pain left.

“Ah, I’ll get you coffee.”

“Okay.”

I jumped up and prepared coffee.

I still felt a little distance from Song Yu-na.

Even though it was awkward, I didn’t feel like my feelings for her had changed.

“Here’s coffee.”

“Thank you.”

We drank coffee and had small talk, but we couldn’t enjoy any special dates other than that.

While we were spending time together at home like that, the sun began to set.

Song Yu-na checked her cell phone and got up from her seat.

“Oppa, I have to go now.”

“Where? You don’t have a schedule today, do you?”

“I told you I had an appointment. It’s an appointment I can’t miss, so I have to go.”

At her words, I nodded.

“That’s right. I haven’t been able to stay long, it’s a shame.”

I got up with her and handed her her coat, and Song Yu-na put on her shoes and said to me.

“I’ll be back in Seoul next week.”

“Okay, let’s have a proper date next week.”

At my words, Song Yu-na got up, smiled, and replied.

“Sounds good.”

* * *

As soon as Jang Han-min got off the plane at the airport, he stretched his stiff body.

“Haa… When will I get used to flying to America?”

At his words, Hwang Dong-hoon massaged Jang Han-min’s shoulders and replied.

“Hey, how can you get used to a flight that’s over 10 hours, senior [term used to address someone with more experience or higher rank].”

Then, he smiled at him as if flattering him and continued.

“Senior, thank you for bringing me on this business trip to America.”

“Thank you? Do you know how hard it is to go on a business trip to America? There’s nothing good about it.”

“Hey, but it’s my first overseas business trip, I wanted to come so much.”

Jang Han-min shook his head and said.

“Look. Airplane tickets and accommodations to America… cost a lot of money. Then we have to do our job properly here, right?”

“Um… I guess so.”

“That’s right. We have to make a sure investment. If we do it wrong, the company will suffer a lot.”

Jang Han-min looked straight at Hwang Dong-hoon and asked.

“Can you do well?”

“Yes, I will work hard with my eyes on fire. No, I will learn properly!”

At his words, Jang Han-min chuckled and said.

“Check the data properly too. Let’s go quickly. We’re going to be late.”

“Yes, senior.”

The place they arrived at after leaving the airport was in front of a building.

“Is this it, senior?”

“Yeah, it’s time. Let’s go in quickly.”

And they went straight to the meeting place.

People were welcoming them.

“Hello, I’m Jang Han-min from Korean IBH Investment.”

“Yes, nice to meet you. I’ve been waiting. I’m Thomas.”

“Nice to meet you, Thomas.”

“Please sit down quickly.”

Thomas guided Jang Han-min and Hwang Dong-hoon to their seats, and they sat down and started talking to each other.

“Did you just come from Korea?”

“Yes, we came here as soon as we arrived.”

“You’ve worked hard. Shall we get straight to the point?”

They continued the conversation without delay.

Jang Han-min nodded and said to Thomas with a confident expression.

“I’ll tell you right away. We have an amazing actor right now.”

“Um… What kind of abilities does the actor have?”

“He sings well too. He played a role in a Korean drama where he sang a song. The response to the song was so good that album requests even came in.”

“Oh, can I see some of his singing skills?”

Jang Han-min raised the corners of his mouth and replied.

“Of course.”

Then he gestured to Hwang Dong-hoon sitting next to him.

“Take out the tablet PC.”

“Yes, senior.”

As soon as Jang Han-min checked the file, he handed it to Thomas.

“Here, this is a scene from a Korean drama. I’ve edited and collected the singing parts.”

“Yes, Entertainment Extra… The title is interesting. Does the actor in this drama play the role of a singer?”

“That’s right.”

As soon as the file was played, the actor’s face filled the screen.

And the scene of him dancing and singing came on.

Thomas focused intently so as not to miss a second of the scene.

“Um….”

He quickly wrote down the evaluations and contents of the scene in his notebook.

The video continued for several minutes.

When the video playback was over, Thomas raised the corners of his mouth.

Seeing that, Jang Han-min immediately tried to gauge his reaction.

“How is it?”

“He sings quite well.”

“Yes, so I was wondering… what do you think about proceeding with this actor?”

At his words, Thomas hesitated for a moment. There seemed to be something bothering him.

“To be honest… I’m worried because he’s Korean. Even though there are many cases of Asians coming in, I’ve never seen a Korean actor come into this scene as the lead….”

As soon as Thomas finished speaking, Jang Han-min nodded.

That’s because it was also the first time he was pushing a Korean actor as the lead in this scene.

But he had confidence, so he had no intention of giving up on that idea.

“Then why don’t you watch his acting?”

“Acting?”

“Yes, you said okay to the singing, so I was wondering if you could watch his acting and think about it.”

At his words, Thomas bit his lip and postponed his answer.

Jang Han-min hurriedly continued.

“It’s a work that will be released soon, and his acting is really amazing. You might be surprised to see it. Haha.”

The confident reaction of the investment company.

Thomas’s firm mind seemed to be wavering a little at the sight.

“Um… Then let’s at least watch it.”

As soon as he passed the file on the tablet PC in front of Thomas, the video began to play.

As soon as the file was played, Thomas moved his body closer to the tablet PC as if he was going to be sucked into the screen.

“Wow….”

As the acting continued, Thomas repeatedly exclaimed.

“This is…!”

Thomas’s eyes widened as he looked at the actor acting in the tablet PC.

Then, before the video was over, he looked at Jang Han-min and asked.

“What did you say this actor’s name was?”

“Jin Hee-sung. The surname is Jin, and the name is Hee-sung.”

Jang Han-min smiled and added in a confident tone.

“How is it, are you a little interested now?”