An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 327

“Heesung, you’ve worked hard.”

As soon as we got in the car after the script reading, Manager Park looked at me and said.

“You too, hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

“What’s there for me to work hard on? Your acting was really good today.”

Manager Park, who came into the script reading room and watched my acting, gave me a thumbs up.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Manager Park began to tell me about what had happened during the script reading.

“Robert is good at acting too. And Carly is definitely good.”

“Right. I was so surprised when those actors started acting at first.”

“Well, they are famous actors in Hollywood.”

He clicked his tongue and then looked at me and spoke again.

“But when you were acting, Heesung, the staff and officials behind you went wild.”

“Really?”

Manager Park, as someone who saw the scene from a wider perspective behind the actors, told me the whole story.

“As soon as you started acting, Heesung, the investors kept whispering, admiring you and feeling pleased.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But Carly, who was doing the tiki-taka [quick back-and-forth exchange] acting with you, seemed a little surprised when you started acting. Haha.”

Manager Park smiled proudly, as if he had seen it too, and I nodded.

“Well, they didn’t expect an actor from Korea to be so good at acting. Haha.”

I said, joking in front of the comfortable Manager Park.

He also played along and praised me to the fullest.

“Of course. You beat all the famous Hollywood actors today, Heesung.”

We were talking and laughing heartily.

Then, Manager Park said to me with a serious face.

“But this role seems to suit you particularly well.”

“A killer?”

“Yes, a killer, and when you’re acting as a victim possessed. Reborn into many lives and possessed… what should I say, it feels like you’re acting as Jin Heesung himself?”

At his words, I laughed and jokingly said,

“What, are you saying I’m like a killer? Haha.”

At my words, Manager Park was startled and shook his hand.

“Oh, no, that’s not it. But when you act in various roles, the investors and officials are amazed.”

“I have to work harder. I really want to do well in this project.”

“You’ll do well if it’s you, Heesung. Go and get some rest. Shall we head straight to the accommodation?”

“Yeah.”

The car immediately got on the road, and I stared blankly out the window, thinking about my performance at the script reading.

Manager Park said that this role suits me so well.

I also agreed to some extent.

Because it was a role that I was more eager to play than ever before.

So, as I played this role, my desire for acting soared.

In the past, I just wanted to be a successful actor.

But with this project, I somehow wanted to perfectly embody the work and my role.

A work that captures the essence of all my efforts so far.

I had a strong desire to deliver such a performance.

There will be other opportunities in the future, but it seemed difficult to find another role that could showcase myself more than this one.

There was no particular reason.

It just felt like it would be even more difficult to find a project like this in the future.

It felt like there wouldn’t be a work that fits me as much as this, regardless of my ability.

So, I just wanted to give it my all.

The role I play in this work is a killer, but after facing death, I keep returning to the people I killed in the past.

So, the killer himself is me, Jin Heesung.

But when I’m possessed by the victim, my voice must be added through narration.

In addition, since the two characters had to be overlapped with CG [computer graphics], after the victim actor acted, I had to perform the same acting once again in my appearance.

So, the amount of acting I have to do in this work is twice as much as usual, or more.

Killer acting and acting as someone chased by a killer.

Because I have to do both.

The amount of filming being doubled wasn’t really that important.

It was just busier and harder than usual.

However, the reason why it was difficult to take on two roles was different.

Immersion in the role.

Actors usually take time to get out of the role they played after filming a work.

Of course, it varies greatly depending on the actor and their personality.

Most actors don’t just immerse themselves in front of the camera on set and come out of the role with the cut sign.

They tend to be soaked in the role.

This is because it allows them to deliver a more perfect performance.

If the role becomes me and I become the role, the audience can’t help but fall in love with it.

But two roles in one work.

Moreover, the role of a killer who kills and the role of a victim who faces death.

In order for me to deliver a perfect performance with these two conflicting roles, I have to immerse myself in both roles.

So, it was clear that the mental fatigue would be greater than the physical fatigue due to the busy schedule.

I closed my eyes tightly and retraced my memories.

My past 10,000 years of life.

It was to recall whether there was a similar life among the lives I had in my long life.

And without much effort, all the memories came to my mind vividly.

“Ugh….”

Numerous swirling memories.

I rummaged through my head and searched for similar memories and retraced them.

***

A dark night with drizzling rain.

The only lights on the street were the faint electric lights coming from the houses that were occasionally turned on.

This narrow alley.

Even in this alley surrounded by a bleak atmosphere, no one was felt.

Thud, thud-

I was wearing dark, faded shoes and walking at a fast pace without avoiding puddles.

“Haa… Haa….”

The sound that surrounds my ears is my rough breathing.

And the sound of the rain falling and my shoes splashing in the water.

Other than that, no sound was heard.

Then.

Whoosh-

“Oh, cold!”

The voice of a middle-aged man heard as soon as I turned the corner.

He shouted in a blunt and annoyed voice, as if the water from the puddle had splashed on his ankle.

As soon as I heard that sound, I frowned.

Then, without hesitation, I started to follow him.

“What kind of bastard is breaking my silence on this quiet night?”

The man’s footsteps.

Panting breath.

The sound of splashing water.

Everything was getting on my nerves.

I lowered my head and glared at him as I followed him.

“Hmm hmm….”

The man was humming a song, unaware that I was following him.

His clumsy humming made my nerves even more tense.

One step.

Two steps.

The closer I got to him, the more excited I became.

Killing someone… it’s quite an interesting thing.

The middle-aged man finally felt that I was following him and turned his head to look at me.

When our eyes met, I raised one corner of my mouth at him.

For a moment, the man’s face seemed to get goosebumps, and I burst into laughter at his expression.

“Haha… Haha.”

Now there was nothing to hesitate about anymore.

Thud… Thud….

I started to get closer to him step by step.

Thud, thud, thud!

My steps gradually quickened and were closer to running than walking.

I quickly followed behind the middle-aged man, and I took out the knife I had hidden in my sleeve and brought it to his waist.

Stab-

“Aagh….”

The man stabbed by my knife couldn’t even scream loudly.

He was so scared that he couldn’t even make a sound.

“Why… why….”

He knelt on the soggy floor, and I looked down at the man’s face from above and raised the corners of my mouth eerily.

“Why did I stab you?”

The man trembled with the knife in his body, and I laughed as I looked into his eyes.

“You were bothering me. So what can I do? I have no choice but to kill you.”

***

A peaceful day like any other.

Everyone is busy moving, but I am still lying in the hospital room today, starting the day relying on a respirator.

A crowded hospital.

Doctors and nurses came and went to my hospital room.

All I could see was the pure white hospital ceiling.

And the many people who visit the hospital tell stories in front of me.

“So, can he live?”

“Oh, how can he live? He can’t even move his body. He’s just relying on a respirator to get through each day.”

“It’s as good as dead.”

“That’s right. I wonder if he can hear our stories.”

They seemed convinced that I wasn’t listening to their stories.

They were nonchalantly evaluating my life and death.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just die like this?”

“But there’s still work to be done, right?”

“Ah… so that’s why he’s still on the respirator? Haha.”

They talked about me with sinister smiles.

There was nothing I could do with my stiff body.

All I could do was listen to their stories and blink my eyes.

How many thousands or tens of thousands of times did I blink?

A darkened hospital room.

Thud, thud.

A heavy footstep was heard in my ear, and a man in a black suit and mask came into my sight.

“Hehe… Hyung [older brother or close male friend] is going like this too.”

He, who was like a brother to me… grabbed my respirator with a vicious smile.

Taat-

As the respirator, which was barely holding my life, moved away from my mouth, I opened my mouth and gasped for breath.

Haa… Haa….

I breathed in and out with all my might, but I couldn’t make any sound out of my mouth.

And my stiff body couldn’t make any gestures.

The pain I felt for the first time in my life.

I was struggling in agony, but there was nothing I could do to live.

Just facing death in pain.

***

“Ah… no!”

As I struggled and shouted, Manager Park, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, was startled and looked at me.

“Heesung, what’s wrong?”

At his question, I answered, taking a rough breath.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Are you really okay?”

Nevertheless, Manager Park asked me with worried eyes, and I answered with a nod.

The car stopped at a signal.

Manager Park turned his body and looked at my complexion.

“Heesung, did something happen to you at the script reading?”

“Huh?”

“You looked like you were in good condition when you went to the script reading earlier, but now you look so bad.”

At his question, I smiled and shook my head.

“No. I think I’m tired because I worked too hard earlier.”

“I’m glad if there’s nothing wrong. I’ll go to the accommodation soon. Get some rest.”

“Yeah.”

I answered Manager Park and leaned back on the chair again.

My past that I recalled for the role of the killer and the role of the victim.

Among the 10,000 years of my life.

There were more lives that I lived as a murderer and lives that I lived as a victim than I thought.

It was so overwhelming just to recall it for a while.

But I couldn’t stop reminiscing just because it was hard.

The more I recall my past 10,000 years of life, the more realistically I can portray the acting.

I knew it was mentally difficult, but I closed my eyes tightly again and recalled the past again.

Several hours later.

The body collapsed on the bed as soon as I arrived home.

It was so overwhelming just to reminisce.

The life of a murderer and the life of a victim were quite painful just to recall.

I, who was exhausted from using all my energy, slowly closed my eyelids.

But even in the moment of closing my eyes and falling asleep, I struggled in pain.

The dreams about the past that I hadn’t had for a while.

Whether the will to act well is expressed unconsciously, memories come to mind when I close my eyes.

Again, those countless past memories were unfolding in my dreams.