An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 349

349. Episode 63 – The Actor Who Lived for 10,000 Years (4)

“Wow, today’s performance was insane.”

“Did you see Jin Hee-sung’s last act?”

“It was amazing. Truly a performance of a lifetime.”

As the audience members left the theater, they buzzed with excitement about the show.

“I’ve become a fan of that Korean actor.”

“I’ve been a Jin Hee-sung fan from the start. That actor is really talented.”

“Sounds like it. I should go home and look up some of his movies.”

“Okay. I’ll give you some recommendations.”

With the final performance of the musical concluded, the praise for Jin Hee-sung was endless.

And another person was leaving their seat in the audience.

It was Park Soon-hee, a dedicated Jin Hee-sung fan who had traveled all the way from Korea.

Wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks, she exclaimed, “Hee-sung *oppa* [term of endearment for an older brother or male friend], you’re so cool!”

Park Soon-hee captured the empty stage with her camera and murmured, “I’m so glad I became a fan of Jin Hee-sung. Hee-sung *oppa*, I hope you come to Korea soon and have a fan meeting. I want to see you in person.”

She hurriedly posted on the fan cafe [online community for fans].

-I went to see the 15th and final performance of our Hee-sung *oppa*’s musical ‘Karma’!

It was a performance that made me so proud to be Jin Hee-sung’s fan.

I’m going to check Hee-sung *oppa*’s schedule for coming to Korea through his agency and look forward to the day I meet him.

I’m also attaching the photos of Hee-sung *oppa* that I took during the final curtain call.

Everyone, have a good day while looking at Hee-sung *oppa*’s photos!

Ah, Hee-sung *oppa* shone on stage again today♡

As the final performance of the musical came to an end, Korean news articles were also being uploaded non-stop.

[Musical ‘Karma’ Successfully Concludes on Broadway]

[Musical ‘Karma’ – Jin Hee-sung Receives Overwhelming Praise…]

[‘Jin Hee-sung’ Elevates the Status of Korean Actors, Sparking Interest in His Filmography…]

[Interest Surges in ‘Jin Hee-sung’s’ Next Steps in US Musicals, What Will Jin Hee-sung’s Next Role Be?]

It was truly a Jin Hee-sung craze.

Not only in Korea, but also in New York, stories about Jin Hee-sung were everywhere.

With the final performance of the musical, curiosity about Jin Hee-sung’s schedule exploded.

Every industry was eager to cast him.

Meanwhile, at the same time…

The backstage was filled with panicked shouts of Jin Hee-sung’s name.

“No!”

“Jin Hee-sung!”

As soon as Jin Hee-sung collapsed backstage, Callie and Robert were the first to rush to his side.

They started shaking Jin Hee-sung’s shoulders.

“Hee-sung, wake up!”

“Jin Hee-sung… Hee-sung!”

In an instant, the backstage became chaotic, but the audience out front had no idea what was happening.

Director Patrick, with a pale face, shouted at the staff next to him, “911, call 911 quickly!”

Because it was such a major performance, medical staff were on standby in case of an emergency.

The collapsed Jin Hee-sung was moved to the ambulance before long.

The ambulance sped through the streets of New York with its siren blaring, and the situation inside the car was utter chaos.

Jin Hee-sung, with his eyes closed, showed no signs of waking up.

The medical staff were sweating as they took all sorts of emergency measures they could in the car.

Park, the manager, who was riding next to him, sobbed and urged the medical staff, “Please save him, please… save him!”

“How much time is left until we get to the hospital?”

“10 minutes left.”

“The patient’s condition is critical, faster!”

***

The face of Jin Hee-sung, smiling brightly.

An expression that showed no signs of hardship, pain, or suffering.

The image of a cheerful Jin Hee-sung greeting people with a gentle smile.

And Hee-sung’s parents approaching Jin Hee-sung with expressions that contrasted sharply with his.

The father lit incense for the extinguished scent with empty eyes.

Then, he placed the lit incense in front of the photo containing Jin Hee-sung’s face, smiling brightly.

“Haa… Hee-sung….”

The father’s voice was thin, as if he had cried too much.

Behind him, Hee-sung’s mother stared at her son’s portrait with swollen eyes.

“Our Hee-sung, who smiled so brightly… brain tumor…. How hard and painful it must have been, our son….”

She trembled her lips and shed tears.

The father, who approached her, sat next to the mother and stroked her shoulder.

“Let’s stop grieving so intensely, Hee-sung’s mom. If we cry and cling on like this, Hee-sung can’t leave peacefully.”

“Aigoo [expression of grief], my son, aigoo….”

“Hee-sung’s mom, I didn’t believe the nonsense that our son’s destiny was to die in his early 20s, but I was always anxious, we were.”

At his words, Hee-sung’s mother continued to shed tears.

“That’s right. That’s right, I was always grateful and thankful that he lived by my side….”

“Yeah, he always endured it. Our Hee-sung….”

The father got up from his seat, looked at Jin Hee-sung’s photo, and murmured, “Hee-sung, thank you for living as my son… thank you so much for enduring and enduring this difficult path. Just rest easy now, son.”

The funeral hall was crowded, with barely a place to stand.

The actors who had worked with Jin Hee-sung all came to pay their final respects without exception.

And the names of Jin Hee-sung’s acquaintances began to fill the guest book one by one.

-Choi Seo-bin.

-Han So-jeong.

-Shin Min-young.

-Kim Ha-na.

-Seo In-woo.

.

.

.

And there were many actors who came from faraway America to be with Jin Hee-sung in his final moments.

Robert and Callie were the first to arrive in Korea and filled the mortuary with their grief.

“It can’t be….”

“If we had known this would happen, we should have stopped Hee-sung’s performance at all costs.”

“No. This is what Hee-sung wanted.”

They shed tears and realized Jin Hee-sung’s sincerity.

“That’s right. He wanted to die on stage, even if it meant dying.”

“Hee-sung endured to the end. Until the moment the 15th performance ended.”

“He’s really cool and amazing until the end. My friend….”

The funeral hall was more splendid than any movie premiere or awards ceremony.

An enormous number of celebrities.

Even actors who are hard to see together in the same movie as Hollywood actors gathered in one place.

They all missed Jin Hee-sung and shed tears.

Actor Jang Jun-woo, a friend Jin Hee-sung held dear.

Like Jin Hee-sung’s brother, he stood next to his parents in the mortuary.

He comforted Jin Hee-sung’s parents and stood by them firmly.

Jang Jun-woo’s face was also gaunt, as he had cried so much.

“Jun-woo, thank you.”

Hee-sung’s mother said, holding his hand, and Jang Jun-woo shook his head and replied, “No. Mother, please get some sleep, even a little. You’re going to collapse.”

“No. How can I sleep? Don’t do that, Jun-woo, take a rest too.”

“I’m okay.”

And another person guarding the mortuary.

It was Song Yu-na, Jin Hee-sung’s lover.

She was staring blankly at Jin Hee-sung’s photo with a desperate face.

Her lips, which hadn’t tasted a drop of water, had turned white, but even so, Song Yu-na’s eyes were dry.

She didn’t shed a single tear throughout the funeral.

At that sight, some people glanced at her and whispered.

“Song Yu-na, she was still dating Jin Hee-sung, right?”

“Of course. That’s why she’s been guarding the mortuary all along, right?”

“I guess so. But how can she not shed tears?”

“Maybe she knew he was sick… but it’s still sad.”

“Song Yu-na is famous for being tough, but she can’t be this tough.”

“Amazing. Weren’t they just a business couple?”

People whispered stories about her.

Such stories reached Song Yu-na’s ears, but she didn’t care at all.

Her ears, eyes, and mind were already focused solely on Jin Hee-sung.

“Yu-na… have some food.”

Hee-sung’s father, who approached Song Yu-na, carefully opened his mouth, but she replied with a faint smile, “I’m okay. Father hasn’t eaten either. Please eat….”

At her words, the father reached out to Song Yu-na.

“Don’t do that, let’s eat together with me and Hee-sung’s mom.”

“That’s right. Yu-na will collapse before us.”

Hee-sung’s mother also reached out to her, and Song Yu-na eventually nodded her head.

“Yes, thank you.”

Thus, Jin Hee-sung’s parents and Song Yu-na silently picked up their spoons to eat, to keep living.

Hee-sung’s mother didn’t know whether she was eating rice or tears because of the constant tears.

A quiet and sad meal continued.

Even at midnight, when dawn was approaching, the stream of mourners for Jin Hee-sung’s memorial service did not stop.

***

3 days later.

Song Yu-na, who was in the car with a haggard face, stared blankly out the window.

“Yu-na… why don’t you go to the hospital and get an IV drip?”

Chief Choi asked Song Yu-na, but she didn’t answer.

“…….”

“Shall we go to the hospital?”

He carefully said to her again, but Song Yu-na shook her head instead of answering.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Song Yu-na’s house.

Chief Choi said to her with a worried face, “Yu-na, make sure to eat and call me right away if anything happens.”

At his words, Song Yu-na replied with a forced bright face, “I will. Thank you for your hard work, *oppa*.”

“…Okay.”

Song Yu-na headed home without looking back.

And she arrived at her house.

A quiet house, a space where no sound could be heard.

Thump-

Song Yu-na collapsed on the shoe rack as soon as the front door closed.

“What should I do….”

Then she began to shed the tears she had been holding back.

“Haa… sob….”

Song Yu-na’s crying filled the empty house.

Without even taking off her shoes, in the same spot.

She cried and cried for hours.

“Hee-sung… Jin Hee-sung…. How do I live now….”

The air seemed heavy with sorrowful crying.

“I miss you, so much….”

She shed tears as if wondering how she had endured it for so long.

Song Yu-na shouted, hitting her chest with her fists.

“Jin Hee-sung, how do I live without you now…. Jin Hee-sung, are you listening? Hey, Jin Hee-sung!”

Her face was covered in tears.

She collapsed on the shoe rack and leaned her head against the front door, wailing.

“Haa… what if you leave like this. This is all a lie, a dream… a dream!”

Song Yu-na ruffled her hair, pinched her cheeks, and hit her thighs hard.

It seemed like she wanted to wake up from her dream no matter what she did.

But the reality was cruel.

Reddened cheeks.

Even her thighs with red handprints.

Song Yu-na desperately tried to ignore and disregard the fact that this moment was not a dream.

“This is a dream… when I open my eyes, Jin Hee-sung will be there. This doesn’t make sense. Why, why did you die….”

How long has it been?

Song Yu-na fell asleep exhausted while crouching on the shoe rack, woke up, and hurriedly opened her cell phone.

Still, the reality had not changed.

The news of Jin Hee-sung’s passing was all over the internet.

Also, texts worrying about Song Yu-na, who was his lover, filled her phone.

The moment she saw those texts.

Song Yu-na realized it again.

That Jin Hee-sung’s death was real.

And again, she began to sob.

“Jin Hee-sung… I miss you. What do I really do, mom….”

The next day.

She cried until the sun rose.

Song Yu-na spent days without getting out of bed.

She cried until she was exhausted and fell asleep, and when she opened her eyes again, she shed tears at the reality that Jin Hee-sung was not there.

As her eyes closed and opened several times.

A strange sound was heard in Song Yu-na’s house, which was usually too quiet.

Beeing-

The vibration sound from her cell phone.

It was a different sound than Song Yu-na’s sad crying.

She groped for her cell phone, looked at it, frowned, and rejected the call.

“Why do you keep calling with unknown numbers….”

When she pressed the rejection, a sign appeared on the screen.

-Missed call 010-xxxx-xxxx (5)

It was the fifth call already.

Song Yu-na started to get angry at the calls that kept coming from the same number.

But.

She turned her cell phone over and stared blankly at the air again.

But soon, another vibration.

“Why do you keep…!”

She frowned at the phone ringing again, picked up her cell phone, and this time clicked the receive button instead of rejecting it.

“Who the hell…!”

She was shouting in a voice that didn’t come out well because she cried so much, but she was speechless at the unexpected voice.

-Yu-na.

“…….”

A short voice calling her name.

Song Yu-na could recognize it at once.

It’s definitely that voice.

Jin Hee-sung’s…!