An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 340

340. Episode 61 – The Realm of Acting (5)

New York Airport.

As soon as we arrived, Manager Park, far from being tired, said to me with a happy smile,

“Thanks to you, Hee-sung, I get to ride in such nice seats every time. It’s great.”

“Hey, why is that thanks to me? We’re working together; it’s only natural.”

At my words, Manager Park grabbed my arm with a pleased look.

“Thank you for saying that. Let’s go quickly.”

“Okay.”

In New York, too, a car prepared by WOM [World of Music, the entertainment company] was waiting in the airport parking lot.

This time, our car was also a Genesis from Hyunliang Motors.

Manager Park got into the car and asked me,

“Hee-sung, I told you that you could choose a different car to ride in New York, but you chose this one again?”

At his question, I pressed down on the seat firmly and answered without hesitation.

“Of course. Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable for you and me to ride in a sports car for commuting every day?”

“That’s true.”

Manager Park smiled and started the engine.

And just like that, we quickly left the airport.

The car sped along.

As we gradually approached the downtown area, I could feel that I had come to New York.

“Looks like it rained?”

I said, blankly looking out the window.

Manager Park nodded, holding the steering wheel.

“It seems so. It would have been better if the weather was nicer.”

I reached my hand out the window and felt the occasional raindrops.

“But New York in the rain… isn’t it charming and cool?”

He heard my words and then raised the corners of his mouth.

“Now that you mention it, it does seem that way. This road and the wet streets because of the rain. It feels like… New York from decades, no, centuries ago.”

Suddenly.

Throb-

At the same time as Manager Park’s words, my head throbbed, so I quickly covered my head with my hand that was stretched out the window.

As Manager Park said, there was a time in the past when I lived in New York.

Well, out of my 10,000 years of life, I lived in New York at least three times.

Even back then, I liked New York in the rain.

The reason was no different from now.

The sparkling lights, the puddles on the ground reflecting that light.

The charming streets of New York were mesmerizing.

As soon as I reminisced about that time, my head started to throb, but I had to hide this pain.

I tried to swallow the pain with my mouth tightly shut, but it was not enough.

As soon as Manager Park saw me through the rearview mirror, he was startled and shouted.

“Hee-sung, are you okay?”

However, all I could do was pretend to be okay.

I quickly relaxed my crumpled expression and replied.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep well on the plane, so I’m just tired.”

“Is that all?”

“Of course. Anyway, you’re acting like you’ve lived in New York before? Haha.”

“Hey, I’ve seen it all in pictures.”

I quickly changed the subject.

I couldn’t tell Manager Park that I had a headache after reminiscing about my 10,000 years of past in front of him.

The car drove along the road for a while.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at Times Square, the heart of New York.

Crowds of people regardless of the rain that had fallen.

It was filled with people from many countries around the world, so much that I couldn’t even recognize their nationalities.

I looked around and said to Manager Park.

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], shall we get off and walk around a bit?”

At my words, he opened his mouth wide and nodded.

“Can we do that?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve never been to New York before. It’s really cool here….”

Manager Park got out of the car with a flustered expression and was immersed in the streets of New York, but still, as a manager, he stayed by my side.

“Hee-sung, even so, people might flock to us. Make sure to stick close to me….”

Contrary to his worries, no one recognized me and rushed toward me in this noisy place.

There were occasionally Korean tourists or overseas fans, but it wasn’t as bad as I had feared.

Thanks to that, Manager Park and I were able to enjoy New York comfortably as tourists.

***

Before even adjusting to the time difference.

The musical practice started the next day in the morning.

“Hee-sung, I’ll park the car and go up.”

At Manager Park’s words, I nodded and opened the car door.

“Okay, I’ll go up first. Take your time.”

At that moment.

“Hee-sung, this!”

He handed me a bag and said.

“What is this?”

“I brought it from Korea. You’ll be using your voice a lot for the musical, so there’s tea and honey good for your throat… this is warm water, and this is vitamins….”

Vitamins, snacks, and drinks filled the bag.

I looked at the bag and clicked my tongue.

“Hyung, you brought all of this?”

“Yeah, take it in between practices. I’ll be in the back of the practice room anyway, so tell me if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Hyung.”

At my words, he raised the corners of his mouth and crinkled his nose.

“No need to thank me. Anyway, do well. I’ll be up soon.”

Manager Kim used to take care of me more than my own family.

Now that he has become the CEO of the company, I thought I would never meet such a manager again.

There are many people who are good at being a manager, but since we met through work.

It’s impossible to please each other completely.

However, my heart ached at the fact that I had Manager Park, who worried about me and cared for me as much as CEO Kim did.

I looked at him and waved my hand.

“Hyung… thank you so much.”

I headed to the practice room with the bag that Manager Park had given me.

When I arrived there, Robert and Callie were waiting for me at the entrance.

“Hee-sung!”

“It’s Jin Hee-sung!”

They greeted me enthusiastically and came to me.

We burst into laughter the moment we saw each other, without anyone saying anything first.

We’ve become so close now that we laugh just by seeing each other.

“You guys saw it on the Korean news, right?”

At my words, Robert shrugged his shoulders and opened his mouth.

“Of course. That news interview was even on an American program, you know?”

He opened his cell phone and showed me the video.

Then, he said again as if he was proud.

“See, Callie and I went to see you and boosted your spirits, Hee-sung.”

At his playful tone, I frowned and shook my head.

“No. If only you two had come, no one in Korea would have been interested. It’s because I was next to you. Haha.”

At my words, Callie came to me, put her arm around my shoulder, and replied.

“Guys, I’m the one who’s so cool that I was on the news. Right?”

We laughed and talked non-stop.

And soon, the directors of this musical ‘Karma’ arrived at the practice room.

After all the actors and staff arrived, we exchanged greetings as befitting our first meeting.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Patrick, the general director of this musical ‘Karma’.”

Clap clap-

Applause followed for him.

“I heard that the movie filming was successfully completed. I will work hard so that our musical Karma can also start successfully like the movie. Please take care of me.”

“Yes!”

When we shouted towards Director Patrick as if singing in unison, the man next to him also stood up from his seat and smiled.

“Hello, I’m Director Ronaldo, the music director of this Karma musical. Let’s do well in the future.”

There is one director for movies or dramas.

However, in musicals, music and songs are as important as acting, so there is a separate music director.

Director Ronaldo has worked as a musical music director for numerous musicals in the United States.

He was already a very famous person on Broadway.

So much so that his face was widely known even though he was a director.

Director Patrick looked at me and gestured with his eyes, and as soon as I saw that gesture, I stood up from my seat and bowed my head.

“Hello. I’m actor Jin Hee-sung. It’s my first time in a musical, so there will be many shortcomings, but I will work hard to fill them with effort. Please take care of me in the future!”

Shortly after.

Before starting the actual practice, we talked with the directors to grasp the overall flow.

And in this industry, music director Ronaldo’s power was as great as director Patrick’s.

Director Ronaldo shouted, leading the scene.

“Musicals are completely different from the movies or dramas you’ve been doing. The fact that not all the actors who filmed the movie ‘Karma’ have moved on to the musical. That’s because of the nature of musicals. Musicals are….”

He laid out an explanation of musicals with a solemn face.

We concentrated only on the shape of his mouth and listened to the story.

“I think the singing skills of the actors who have come to the musical have already been verified. So, I hope there won’t be frequent mistakes. Time is gold for us.”

A heavier atmosphere.

Accordingly, Director Patrick also nodded and focused on his words.

Director Ronaldo looked at me and moved his mouth.

“I know very well that Hee-sung is good at acting. But you can’t act like that in a musical. Musicals are performed on stage without any NGs [no-good takes], right?”

“That’s right.”

“Of course, mistakes in lines and lyrics are unacceptable accidents. Besides, we have to have different vocalizations from the start.”

I nodded and wrote down his words in my notebook.

“The musical theater is bigger than you can imagine, and even if the voice goes out through the microphone, if the delivery is not good, the audience sitting at the end of the audience will not be able to understand what the actor is saying.”

I also thought that pronunciation and vocalization were the most important things when practicing musicals in Korea.

In movies or dramas, if there is a pronunciation mistake, you can film again.

Because the word ‘NG’ does not exist in musicals.

Even a small mistake was like committing a sin against countless audiences.

So, musicals come with pressure and a sense of weight.

To deliver lines and make sure the lyrics are heard clearly when singing, you had to use a completely different vocalization than when acting.

“So, today, before we go into practice, I’m going to start with musical vocalization.”

At Director Ronaldo’s words, my heart started to beat faster.

It was a thrill and excitement that I felt after a long time.

Of course, I was always excited whenever I acted or went to the set, but it was a different feeling from then.

Not just acting that I had always done, but musical-specific emotions and songs were added.

Because it was a challenge to a new genre that I had never done before.

As much as I had practiced and prepared for a long time, I was filled with anticipation rather than worries.

“Then, Hee-sung, the lead actor, would you like to try this line with musical vocalization, thinking of it as a stage, not in front of a camera?”

At Director Ronaldo’s words, I nodded and cleared my throat.

“Yes, ahem.”

Then, I quickly immersed myself in the role and carefully opened my mouth with the musical vocalization I had prepared in Korea.

All the actors and staff held their breath and looked only at me.

I looked at the air and shouted.

“Do you have any last words to say before your life ends here?”

Soon, Director Ronaldo and Director Patrick spoke in unison.

“Oh, good vocalization?”

“Wow… you’ve practiced a lot, Hee-sung?”

I bowed my head with an awkward smile.

Director Ronaldo narrowed his eyes and looked at me, raising the corners of his mouth.

“I thought you were only good at acting… but you also have a talent for musicals?”

***

Practice continued for several hours.

Soaked in sweat, I leaned back in my chair, drinking the tea that Manager Park had prepared to quench my thirst, when.

[Sender: Jang Jun-woo]

Jang Jun-woo’s call came after a long time.

I hurriedly clicked the receive button at the welcome name.

“Jun-woo, it’s been a while.”

-Oh, Hee-sung. How are you doing?

“I’m good. Aren’t you filming?”

-Yeah, I’m taking a break from filming, but I thought of you and called.

“Thank you.”

-You went to New York, right?

“Yeah, news travels fast.”

-Of course. Korea is buzzing about Jin Hee-sung right now.

“Haha, stop it.”

-I’m serious. I was browsing the internet and saw your article and called you.

“My article?”

-Yeah, everyone’s talking about that ‘Seoul Full Course’ right now.

“Oh, that’s what it is. That keeps coming up… it’s nothing….”

-Right now, Callie and Robert’s places have become pilgrimage courses because Jin Hee-sung visited them. Jin Hee-sung’s power is no joke.”

“…No, to that extent?”

-Yeah. There’s an article saying that the number of tourists in Seoul has increased sharply.

“Really?”

My eyes widened at the surprising news.

Jang Jun-woo went on to tell me even more surprising news.

-Not only that, but your brand power is number one in the first half of this year, right?

“I’m number one?”

…Crazy.