An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 35

#35 #9 – Unable to See an Inch Ahead (3)

“Are you cold?”

The final game of the Blind Mission.

The game was to complete the given mission on a cold sledding hill and be the first to enter the building.

We each wore long padded coats provided by sponsors and opened our mouths.

“No. Since I’m wearing a padded coat, I don’t even realize it’s winter.”

“That’s right. I could stay outside longer.”

As we praised the advertised padded coats, the MC smiled and asked me.

“Haha, so Heesung would like to stay out a little longer before coming in?”

I quickly rolled my eyes and awkwardly forced a smile.

“Hahaha, but I think it would be much better to wear a good padded coat and win first place in the game!”

Then the staff on site burst into laughter.

“Now, everyone, look at the missions in front of you and recreate them exactly to succeed.”

A long table was placed before us.

On it were different missions.

In front of me were colorful blocks scattered around.

They weren’t square blocks, and their odd shapes made me wonder how I could stack them.

“Wow, Heesung got the highest difficulty!”

The guests who came with me stared at my mission with their mouths open.

“I’m so glad I got an easy one.”

The actors laughed as they looked at my mission.

Thanks to the most difficult mission, all the cameras were pointed at me.

“Then, let’s start right away.”

The MC stretched out his hand and shouted.

“Ready… Start!”

I hurriedly moved my hands to build the tower model in the picture.

Cold weather, and to make matters worse, white snow began to fall.

I had to handle the blocks precisely, but my freezing fingertips couldn’t manage it.

“Haa….”

I warmed my hands by blowing on them with my breath.

The blocks kept falling, making noise, and I ended up monopolizing several cameras.

“I did it.”

“Oh, Han Sojeong succeeded!”

The MC’s voice was heard.

“Kyaa.”

Han Sojeong was lucky enough to get the easiest mission.

She shouted at the MC’s words of success.

“Am I in first place?”

“Yes, Sojeong, you can go into the warm indoors and enjoy the hot food prepared.”

Han Sojeong smiled brightly and said.

“Then I’ll go in and enjoy it first. Everyone, fighting!”

She waved to me and went inside.

After that, one more guest succeeded.

The only ones left were me and Min Wooheon.

As time continued to pass, my hands and cheeks became increasingly red.

“To help Heesung and Wooheon here, let’s have one staff member attach to each of them.”

At the MC’s words, the staff rushed over as if they had been waiting.

Next to Min Wooheon was a large camera director, and next to me came a young-looking junior writer.

“You can’t directly participate in the mission. You can perform the same mission next to them and tell them verbally.”

At his words, the junior writer quickly started building a model next to me.

She built the tower in an instant.

I stared at her, momentarily lost in thought.

“Wow! Writer, how did you do it so quickly?”

She said with an awkward smile.

“I created this mission.”

“Ah… so that’s why you did it so quickly.”

I quickly pulled myself together and asked, clenching and unclenching my hands several times.

“Please tell me too. How can I do it?”

She rebuilt her tower with a serious face.

“Look. Like this….”

I concentrated and moved my hands following her.

Before I knew it, I had forgotten that my hands were frozen, and the tower went up one by one.

“Oh, Wooheon, are you going to lose to Heesung like this?”

The MC kept moving back and forth between me and Min Wooheon, not stopping his commentary.

The junior writer also concentrated as if it were her own work and said, closely attached to me.

“Like this, as much as possible…!”

She turned her head and looked at me, continuing her words.

“Try to follow me.”

At her words, I swallowed once and shouted.

“As much as possible!”

“No.”

She straightened her back and shouted.

“How can you follow *that*? I mean, follow the action of raising it as much as possible.”

“…Ah!”

The set was filled with laughter at my words.

Even the camera director filming me laughed, causing the camera screen to shake wildly.

The uncontrollable laughter spread to Min Wooheon.

I was standing there blankly, not even knowing what I had done wrong because I was so nervous.

The MC came to me, patted me on the shoulder, and said.

“Hahaha! Everyone, we have found a treasure of entertainment.”

He clapped his hands and looked at me.

“Heesung, where have you been all this time? Let’s do entertainment with me from now on!”

The main PD [Producer Director] sitting in front burst into laughter and gave me a thumbs up.

***

Finally, the last episode of ‘The Clockmaker and the Dancer’ aired.

The 16th episode recorded 15.8% viewership, successfully concluding the series.

KTS’s drama had 7.2%.

PBC’s drama had 9.8%.

We confidently took first place in the same time slot with a huge difference in numbers.

Considering recent drama viewership ratings, 15.8% was a very excellent result.

Moreover, it started with 10.3% in the first episode, so it can be said to be a successful conclusion.

The wrap-up party I’m attending now has a tremendous party atmosphere.

Of course, I’m a supporting actor, so I didn’t receive the spotlight.

Still, I’m satisfied enough because I occasionally received rave reviews as a scene-stealer.

The wrap-up party started in a friendly atmosphere.

A place where all the actors and staff who appeared were together.

It seems they rented out the entire meat restaurant because of the large number of people.

It was a place full of celebrities, but since they were all drama-related people, there was no need to be conscious or lower our voices.

Director Bae filled his glass with alcohol and shouted.

“Everyone worked hard filming, and anyway, I’m even happier that it ended with good results.”

He raised his glass high.

“Then let’s drink up and drink all night tonight. Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

In the festive atmosphere, no one skipped the drink and everyone drank up.

The meat grill was changed several times, and liquor bottles piled up on the table.

At my table were Shin Seonghyun and Go Ahyeon, who played supporting roles.

And Choi Seobin ended up sitting with us.

“Shall we cheers?”

Go Ahyeon said, holding up her soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] glass.

At her words, we nodded and joined her.

“Everyone worked hard.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Clang-

The glasses clinked and the alcohol overflowed.

As much as that, laughter bloomed on the table.

Kuhh.

The feeling of my stomach getting cold from the soju I kept drinking.

“Heesung.”

Shin Seonghyun filled my soju glass and said.

“You said this drama is your first mini-series?”

“That’s right.”

He gave me a thumbs up.

“It’s really amazing that your mini-series debut is MBS [Major Broadcasting Station].”

“Haha, thank you.”

After receiving the soju bottle from him, I poured him a drink.

“Besides, it was even more of an honor because that work was ‘The Clockmaker and the Dancer.’”

Choi Seobin, who was listening to our conversation, opened his mouth.

“It’s a successful start. Congratulations.”

He tapped me on the shoulder, and I raised the corners of my mouth.

“I was lucky.”

So we kept drinking soju.

As it was a place where actors were gathered, the topic of our conversation naturally shifted to the next drama schedule.

“Ahyeon, what are you preparing for your next project?”

At Shin Seonghyun’s question, Go Ahyeon showed a shy smile.

“I’m going into a movie this time.”

Our eyes turned to her, and judging from her constant smiling, it seemed like she was going into a great project.

“What movie?”

“It’s a romantic comedy movie, and I’m playing the role of the main character’s friend there too.”

I nodded at her words and asked.

“It’s amazing that you’re going in right away without resting.”

Go Ahyeon leaned her body towards the inside of the table and said in a small voice.

“But actually… it’s Director Jungbin’s work.”

My eyes widened at her words.

One of the guaranteed hit directors in the romantic comedy movie industry.

It’s faster to pick out the failed movies among the works he’s made than to pick out the successful ones.

Moreover, he is a famous figure as a prolific director.

At her words, Shin Seonghyun opened his mouth wide.

“Wow! It’s a guaranteed box office movie, that’s really great.”

She nodded with a shy face.

“Thank you.”

“That’s right. If you just appear in Director Jungbin’s work, subsequent works will come pouring in. Congratulations.”

Go Ahyeon drank with a flushed face at our congratulations.

The flow of conversation was cut off as she drank.

Only then did Choi Seobin open his mouth.

“Heesung, what about you?”

Surprised by his words, I looked at Choi Seobin, and he asked again.

“Do you have anything you’re preparing for your next project?”

In an instant, the gazes shifted, and their eyes were full of anticipation for my answer.

“I don’t think I can be a lead yet, so I’m looking at scripts focusing on supporting roles.”

Choi Seobin pursed his lower lip and nodded.

“Even if I can’t be a lead, I want to play a supporting role with a significant part if possible.”

Shin Seonghyun replied to my words.

“That’s right. There are several levels of supporting roles.”

“Yes, a lead-level supporting role has a lot of screen time.”

“That’s right. I want to do a lot of work quickly and try being a lead once. Haha.”

Shin Seonghyun gave a bitter smile.

“Seonghyun, what about you?”

“I’m also choosing a work to audition for.”

At his words, Go Ahyeon asked.

“Seonghyun, are you going to do a drama?”

“Yes, my parents always only watch TV. They never go to the movie theater.”

“So you only do dramas.”

Shin Seonghyun raised the corners of his mouth thinking about his parents.

Then Go Ahyeon snapped her fingers and looked back and forth between me and Shin Seonghyun and said.

“I saw a few good male supporting roles in drama scripts….”

At her words, Shin Seonghyun straightened his posture and began to listen.

Several tens of minutes passed, and Go Ahyeon moved to the next table.

“I’m going to the bathroom….”

Shin Seonghyun, with a flushed face, staggered up from his seat.

After he left, only Choi Seobin and I were left at the table.

“Senior, I’ll give you a drink.”

As I handed him the alcohol, Choi Seobin held up his glass.

“Heesung, what are you doing this Friday?”

Then he received the bottle from me and poured alcohol into my empty glass as well.

“Friday… I’ll probably just be looking at scripts.”

“Is that so?”

Choi Seobin sipped his alcohol and took out his cell phone from his pocket.

“Then….”

He trailed off while tapping on the keyboard of his cell phone.

I stared intently to hear Choi Seobin’s next words.

Ziiing.

At that moment, my cell phone, which I had placed under the table, vibrated.

I was talking to Choi Seobin, so I didn’t shift my gaze to my cell phone.

As I was looking at him, Choi Seobin put down the soju glass he was holding in one hand.

Then he pointed to my cell phone under the table with his chin.

I quickly checked at his gesture.

When I opened it, a text message had arrived.

It seemed he had been fiddling with his cell phone and sent me a text message.

I hurriedly clicked on the text message box.

-Seocho-gu, Seoul….-

The content he sent was none other than an address.

I tilted my head and looked into Choi Seobin’s eyes.

Then he nonchalantly poured the remaining soju into his mouth and replied.

“Come to that address by 6 o’clock on Friday.”

“Yes?”

Choi Seobin looked at me sideways and asked.

“Why, do you not want to?”

Without telling me what was going on or where that address was.

Just that look and tone as if telling me to trust only him and come.

Because he is such a publicly recognized top actor in Korea, I didn’t have any strange suspicions.

But I couldn’t know him for sure yet.

However, I immediately opened my mouth at his suggestion.

“No, I will.”

As soon as Choi Seobin heard my answer, he curved the corners of his mouth.

“Okay, then I’ll see you then.”

…Uh.

What on earth?

Why does he want to see me separately?