An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 324

324. Influence (1)

“Hyung!”

“CEO Kim, we’re here.”

As Director Park and I entered the office, CEO Kim greeted us warmly, opening his arms wide and quickly approaching us.

“You’ve all worked hard.”

“Not at all.”

“Is Hee-sung feeling any better?”

CEO Kim asked with a worried expression.

“Of course, I’m always great.”

Seeing us smile brightly, CEO Kim raised his eyebrows and asked again.

“I see. You both seem unusually cheerful?”

At his words, Director Park patted his protruding belly and replied.

“Yes, we came straight from a Korean food party after arriving in Korea. Haha.”

“So that’s why you both look so radiant?”

I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yeah, Tae-hyun hyung and I really missed Korean food in LA. Right, hyung?”

At my words, Director Park smiled and grabbed my shoulder, a sight that CEO Kim watched with a pleased expression.

“It seems like you two have gotten even closer since I returned to Korea first?”

In response to CEO Kim’s words, we deliberately put our arms around each other’s shoulders in an even more friendly manner.

“Of course. Now, Director Park is by my side more than CEO Kim.”

“That’s right. CEO, aren’t we supposed to be the closest?”

CEO Kim narrowed his eyes and playfully glared at us.

“Are you saying I, the CEO, should just step aside?”

“CEO Kim, don’t be jealous, okay? Haha.”

We reunited in such a friendly atmosphere.

CEO Kim smirked and then snapped his fingers.

“Right. There’s something I wanted to show you, Hee-sung, as soon as you arrived.”

“What is it?”

I asked, raising my eyebrows, and CEO Kim gestured for me to follow him.

He headed towards a space used as a storage room in the office.

It was a place where gifts from fans were always kept.

Even before the door opened, I asked CEO Kim.

“Could it be… gifts from the fans?”

Despite my question, CEO Kim didn’t respond and abruptly opened the door.

And I widened my eyes at the piles of gifts and exclaimed.

“Wow… what is all this?”

“While you were in America, Hee-sung, this place was like a battlefield.”

“What do you mean?”

CEO Kim wiped the sweat from his forehead and said.

“Every time I came to work, *택배* [packages/deliveries] were piled up so high that the entrance door couldn’t even open.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And you know what else?”

He lowered his eyes and looked down at the floor.

“There wasn’t enough space here, so we piled up more gifts in the underground storage area.”

At CEO Kim’s words, I stood there with my mouth wide open.

“That much?”

Director Park, who was standing next to me, also opened his mouth in surprise.

“But now that I think about it, the number of overseas fans suddenly increased.”

I nodded vigorously at his words.

“That’s right. I even posted a picture of us eating on SNS [Social Networking Service]. And in the comments, there were more languages like English, Thai, Arabic, and Japanese than Korean.”

CEO Kim smirked and cleared up our curiosity.

“The movie ‘Undercover’ is a global sensation right now. It’s spread not only to Southeast Asia but also to the Middle East.”

“Wow… no way….”

He raised his chin and shouted.

“First, I’ll show you the gifts that have arrived. Let’s go to the basement.”

“Okay.”

The underground storage we arrived at with CEO Kim.

It was a place that used to be dirty because it wasn’t used.

But it was so clean that not a speck of dust came out, as if it had been thoroughly cleaned.

CEO Kim smiled brightly and opened the door, and my jaw dropped again.

“…Wow.”

The boxes and shopping bags felt different from the gifts I had seen before, and their size was so overwhelming that they filled the warehouse.

Director Park frowned and exclaimed as he looked at the gifts piled up in the warehouse.

“Could it be… are these all luxury brands?”

At his question, CEO Kim nodded.

“Yes, these are all gifts sent by fans from the Middle East. They’re all luxury brands.”

I was so overwhelmed by the fans’ enormous gifts that I felt dizzy.

I was amazed by the sincerity of sending gifts to Korea for me, but I was rather embarrassed by these expensive items.

“I’m grateful, but… these are too expensive.”

CEO Kim clicked his tongue and replied.

“It’s the Middle East. Oil money… the scale is really enormous.”

We left the gifts behind and headed to the conference room, and CEO Kim brought up an unexpected story as soon as he sat down.

“Hee-sung.”

“Yeah?”

“You can tell just by looking at the gifts, right?”

I tilted my head at his words.

“What do you mean?”

“You now have fans all over the world, not just in Korea. You’re on a different level now.”

“Ah….”

“Not just a domestic top star, but a true global star. A world-class star.”

Director Park smiled happily at CEO Kim’s words and clapped his hands.

“It’s really amazing.”

“I can’t believe it.”

Seeing my bewildered face, CEO Kim smiled and handed me a photo.

The photo he handed me contained my appearance in LA.

“What is this?”

“When you were in LA, a paparazzi shot came up.”

I stared at the photo and said.

“This was just on the way back to the *숙소* [dormitory/lodgings] after the talk show?”

At my words, CEO Kim smirked.

“That’s right. That’s why there was such a fuss.”

“Why?”

“This car is a *현량* [Hyundai] Genesis, right? The internet was buzzing about it. Especially in *현량* [Hyundai].”

CEO Kim continued in an excited tone.

“They asked if Hollywood provided Jin Hee-sung with a *현량* [Hyundai] car, and WOM [Worldwide Omnimedia] replied that it was what Hee-sung wanted.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Right. WOM is such a big company. The cars provided to actors who have contracts with WOM are at least sports cars—R company, L company, etc. But you’re driving a *현량* [Hyundai] Motors Genesis, so that’s why there’s so much interest.”

I nodded at his words.

Indeed, WOM seemed quite surprised when I asked for a Korean car.

“With just this one photo, Hee-sung’s fans around the world are ordering Genesis and going crazy.”

“In other countries?”

“Yeah. Especially in the Middle East, orders for Genesis cars have exploded. So *현량* [Hyundai] contacted us.”

“What did they say?”

At my question, CEO Kim exclaimed in disbelief.

“*현량* [Hyundai] said they’re so grateful and want to use you, Hee-sung, as their advertising model.”

“Wow… *대박* [jackpot/amazing].”

“For 5 years!”

I couldn’t close my mouth at his words, and Director Park, who was next to me, also opened his eyes wide enough to pop out and shouted.

“5 years?”

“Yeah, the advertising model for *현량* [Hyundai] Motors is usually 6 months, 1 year at most. Besides, the advertising fee for cars is enormous.”

CEO Kim handed over the advertising model proposal for *현량* [Hyundai] Motors and added.

“A new concept car is also coming out for the car advertising model, and they said they’ll provide it.”

I scratched my head at his words.

“But I… I’m not really interested in cars. I just chose Genesis because a lot of people around me were driving it, and it looked comfortable.”

I wrinkled my nose and recalled the car I drove in Hollywood.

“Hollywood especially has trailers on set. So I just chose a comfortable Korean car for commuting to and from the set, but it turned out like this.”

CEO Kim gave a thumbs up and replied.

“But because you’re driving a *현량* [Hyundai] Motors Genesis in your position, this kind of effect happened. Anyway, you know the Southeast Asia fan meeting I mentioned last time? I added a Middle East course to it. Is that okay?”

I couldn’t refuse his question.

No, there was no way I would refuse.

Because it was a place where fans who liked me were.

“Yeah, sure.”

***

After taking a short break in Korea.

I was preparing for the fan meeting with a forced march.

A fan meeting tour that starts in Southeast Asia and goes around the Middle East.

It was the first opportunity to meet overseas fans in person, and I had to make thorough preparations to stand in front of them.

From dance to song, I prepared and practiced repeatedly, focusing on things that fans would like.

That’s how the fan meeting tour schedule approached, and the first country in Southeast Asia I visited was the Philippines.

I arrived at the airport in the Philippines, which would be the first stop.

I was leaving the arrival hall with CEO Kim, Director Park, and a few bodyguards.

“Wow… I’m nervous.”

It wasn’t just me who was nervous.

CEO Kim licked his lips, as if they were dry, next to me and replied.

“Me too… I’m nervous.”

“I don’t think there will be any fans at the airport, so aren’t we overprepared?”

At my words, he waved his hand in the air.

“No. Even if there’s no one, we have to be careful wherever we go because we have to go around overseas fan meetings for a long time.”

“Okay….”

As I was answering CEO Kim, I was speechless at the sight that appeared as soon as the automatic door opened.

“Kyaa!”

“Jin Hee-sung!”

“Wow!”

A huge crowd and bursting cheers.

I felt my heart burn at the sight of the fans standing densely as soon as I left the arrival hall.

Then I waved my hand at them and smiled.

“Wow, Jin Hee-sung! Jin Hee-sung!”

The fans sent tremendous cheers to every gesture and expression I made.

Contrary to our worries, the airport was full of fans, and then Filipino officials ran towards us.

“Have you arrived?”

“Yes, hello.”

I and CEO Kim greeted them with a smile, but they conveyed the news to us with serious faces.

“There are so many fans gathered right now that the way to the exit is blocked.”

“Yes?”

“More bodyguards will come in and clear the way, so you have to follow very carefully.”

At the officials’ words, I nodded with a bewildered face.

Is the airport going to be paralyzed?

***

The next day.

Numerous fans welcomed me so loudly that my ears were numb.

It wasn’t even the start of the fan meeting, but the cheers of the audience in front of the stage were already echoing through the building.

CEO Kim approached me and said with a serious face.

“Hee-sung, should we eliminate direct communication with fans on stage at this fan meeting?”

At his words, I shook my head.

“Hey, we came all the way here, so it’s not good to just perform on stage and come down.”

But he answered firmly.

“You had an accident when you had a fan meeting in Korea. This is overseas, and there may be more dangerous things.”

“That’s true, but… I still have to do it. It’s my job, and besides, they’re fans who came for me.”

At my words, he bit his lip and sighed.

“If that’s what you think… I’ll deploy more guards on stage. Let’s proceed with enhanced security.”

“Okay.”

“Instead, if you see any strange signs or if it seems dangerous, I’ll unconditionally stop the fans, so be aware of that.”

At his words, I smiled and nodded my head.

Several tens of minutes later.

The fan meeting started with tremendous cheers.

My heart was pounding at the first meeting with overseas fans.

The fans burst into laughter at every word I said, every bright smile, and every small gesture, and cheered for all my actions.

I shouted in their language that I had practiced in advance.

“Thank you for liking and supporting me. I will always repay you with good acting and a good image.”

“Wow!”

“Kyaa, I love you!”

“Jin Hee-sung, I like you!”

The fans shouted with all their might so that this place would be *떠나가도록* [deafening/as loud as possible], and to answer their words, I raised my hand above my head and made a big heart.

“I love you.”

At that time.

Suddenly, a Filipino female fan standing in the very front seemed to lose strength in her legs and collapsed to the floor.

Then, her eyes seemed to close slowly.

At that sight, I urgently shouted to the guards.

“Here… a fan has collapsed, medical staff… hurry!”