An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 350

350. Episode 63 – The Actor Who Lived for 10,000 Years (5)

After Jin Hee-sung’s funeral concluded.

People felt Jin Hee-sung’s absence and returned to their respective lives.

Everyone was struggling with emptiness and longing for Jin Hee-sung.

Jin Hee-sung’s parents, Song Yu-na, many colleagues, and Jin Hee-sung’s fans as well.

Everyone had to return to their lives, but it wasn’t easy.

Because Jin Hee-sung’s absence was so profound, the Korean film industry was filled with a wave of mourning for Jin Hee-sung.

Every day, Jin Hee-sung’s photos appeared in the news, coloring the streets with his memory.

That’s how much influence Jin Hee-sung had on the Korean entertainment industry.

Mourning Jin Hee-sung, who had become a star, and grieving.

That’s how they were sending Jin Hee-sung away in their own different ways in the darkness.

At the same time.

Jin Hee-sung’s house.

A man opened his eyes as the pure white bedding rustled.

팟-! [Sound effect, like a sudden intake of breath]

“Haa, haa….”

The person who opened his eyes, gasping for breath, was Jin Hee-sung.

He looked around with a startled face.

“What, why am I here…!”

Jin Hee-sung looked around the house with a confused face; it was definitely his house.

“I… died. Wasn’t I dead?”

He ran to the mirror to look at his face and hurriedly went to the living room, turned on the TV, and watched the news.

But the news was about things Jin Hee-sung already knew.

-After the funeral of Jin Hee-sung, a big star in the entertainment industry….

It was certain that Jin Hee-sung had passed away.

And the news even showed where he was cremated.

“No, then what am I?”

Jin Hee-sung frowned and looked at his reflection in the window, and then snapped his fingers and shouted.

“Crazy…!”

It was certain that he had died.

And the fact that he opened his eyes again like this….

Meant that a new 10,000 years had begun.

Living for 10,000 years and then dying in Jin Hee-sung’s body.

Because I chose reincarnation, I have to spend another 10,000 years after that.

I knew all of this very well.

But the reason I’m so surprised is… because of my current appearance.

I have to start a new 10,000-year cycle and live a thousand lives, but I never expected that the appearance of my first life would be this face and body.

To wake up with Jin Hee-sung’s face, body, and appearance exactly as they were.

Because the memories of the previous 10,000 years and the time I lived as Jin Hee-sung are so vivid to me.

Right now, I feel like I’m living as Jin Hee-sung before I died.

However, the outside world now knows that Jin Hee-sung is dead.

In fact… it’s true that Jin Hee-sung died.

I am not Jin Hee-sung now, but just someone who looks like Jin Hee-sung.

“If I live the first life of 10,000 years with this appearance… isn’t this both a pain and a blessing?”

Whenever I lived in a new body for 10 years, the first thing I did was:

To find out what that person does.

And what they want to do.

The reason was obvious.

Because I had to live in that person’s body for 10 years now.

But this time, there was no need to do that.

Because I am in Jin Hee-sung’s body now.

However… now I have another concern.

I stared blankly at the TV and fell into deep thought.

“So… Jin Hee-sung is now a non-existent person in the world, and I was born with Jin Hee-sung’s appearance….”

-Actor Jin Hee-sung, an entertainer among entertainers, who became a star.

Amidst the continuous mourning for him….

I watched the news and stroked my chin.

“Whether to live as Jin Hee-sung again, or to hide my identity and live as a new person….”

I started to calmly think about what I wanted to do.

***

One year later.

The world was changing rapidly.

The Korean economy and the overall 모습 [moseup – appearance/shape] of society as well.

Many things had changed in just one year.

However, the entertainment industry after Jin Hee-sung’s departure still hadn’t found anyone to replace him.

Perhaps that’s why it was filled with people who missed Jin Hee-sung even more.

It wasn’t just Korea that missed Jin Hee-sung.

Hollywood and Broadway were also buzzing with memories of Jin Hee-sung.

Waiting for another Korean actor to take his place.

After a year, there was no one to replace Jin Hee-sung.

“Wow, it’s already been a year since Jin Hee-sung died?”

“What? Already?”

People passing by were talking about Jin Hee-sung.

“Oh, look over there. It’s on the news on the electronic display?”

When she reached out and pointed to the electronic display, a video about the memorial for Jin Hee-sung was playing on the screen.

“Yeah. Jin Hee-sung was amazing.”

“Of course. Besides, he was so young, and he died when he was at the very top….”

“That’s why his death was even more tragic.”

“So it’s his first anniversary, and it’s even on that electronic display. Amazing.”

At that moment, while they were shaking their heads while looking at the screen showing Jin Hee-sung.

In the middle of Seoul, a gathering of fans was being held to commemorate the first anniversary of Jin Hee-sung’s death.

A street flowing with mourning.

The fans were holding Jin Hee-sung’s photos and missing him.

“I miss Hee-sung oppa [term used by younger women to address older brothers or male friends].”

“Hee-sung oppa will be resting happily in a comfortable place.”

“Are you watching us from heaven, oppa?”

“Hee-sung oppa… it’s like he’s living somewhere in the world.”

The fans were in tears as they thought of Jin Hee-sung.

And the news was playing on the electronic display they were looking at.

-Do you all remember?

Actor Jin Hee-sung, who left our side a year ago.

Mourning for him continues in various places.

The entertainment industry after Jin Hee-sung’s departure.

There was such a shining star in Korea….

.

.

Hollywood actor ‘Callie’, who was friends with him, said this.

She missed him, saying that no one could follow Jin Hee-sung’s acting….

Not only in Korea, but people all over the world remember and cherish him….

When the video about Jin Hee-sung came on the screen, the fans and passersby stopped and watched the video.

A moment later.

The screen switched and another video came on.

It happened to be an interview from Entertainment Center.

The person being interviewed on the screen was none other than Song Yu-na.

Her face was filling the screen, and the reporter asked her.

“…Don’t you want to go back to that time?”

At the reporter’s question, Song Yu-na smiled faintly and rolled her eyes.

Then, with a strange expression, she looked at the camera, not the reporter, and opened her mouth.

“I miss that time, but… going back to that time, well….”

Song Yu-na then raised the corners of her mouth and continued.

“Because I have to live my life in the future.”

***

Three years later.

The 대학로 [Daehakro – University Street] Theater Street was crowded with people.

Everywhere, people who came to see a play were looking at posters and choosing a play.

Among them, Park Soon-hee and her friend Joo Seo-hyun were also standing together.

“Hey, Soon-hee. Is there a play you want to see?”

“Um… not really. You can just watch what you want to see.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I got my salary, so I’ll pay.”

When Park Soon-hee flicked her hair back and shrugged, Joo Seo-hyun gave her a thumbs up and said.

“Yay, then can’t I see that play, 언니 [Eonni – term used by younger women to address older sisters or female friends]?”

Park Soon-hee smiled and replied to Joo Seo-hyun, who was blinking her eyes.

“Okay, 동생 [Dongsaeng – term used to address younger siblings or friends]. 언니 [Eonni] will let you see that play.”

“As expected… my friend who earns money is the best.”

Joo Seo-hyun put her arm around Park Soon-hee and pulled her.

They moved their feet to the theater in front of them.

Two hours later.

After the play ended, many people rushed out of the theater, exclaiming in admiration.

“Wow… the acting is really good.”

“This play is so much fun?”

“I have to leave a review. The male lead is really handsome.”

“That’s right. That male lead is totally my style.”

People exclaimed and scattered into the streets.

Park Soon-hee and Joo Seo-hyun also came out of the theater, shaking their heads.

And Park Soon-hee frowned and tilted her head.

At that sight, Joo Seo-hyun asked her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Seo-hyun, didn’t you see him?”

“See what?”

“The male lead!”

At her question, Joo Seo-hyun shrugged and replied.

“I saw him. He was handsome, wasn’t he?”

“No, not that.”

“Handsome, good at acting… and….”

As soon as she heard her answer, Park Soon-hee shook her head violently and shouted.

“No, that actor… he looks like our Hee-sung oppa. Doesn’t he?”

At Park Soon-hee’s words, Joo Seo-hyun sighed and muttered.

“I was wondering what it was. I heard people talking when I went to the bathroom earlier; they said that actor’s nickname is Fake Hee-sung.”

“Fake Hee-sung?”

“Yeah. He looks like Jin Hee-sung, but he’s fake, I guess.”

At her words, Park Soon-hee made a sound and asked.

“Not fake… it looked exactly the same….”

Then Joo Seo-hyun burst into laughter.

“Hey, exactly the same? His eyes are similar, but his nose is different, right? You’re the president of Jin Hee-sung’s fan club, how can’t you tell the difference?”

Park Soon-hee scratched her head.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I became a fan because you talked about Jin Hee-sung so much. But even I can see that it’s a little different.”

“It looked so much the same to me….”

“You have to tell the difference properly. You’ve seen Jin Hee-sung’s face more than anyone else in the world!”

“When you keep saying that, it doesn’t seem like he looks like him….”

Joo Seo-hyun poked Park Soon-hee’s arm and said.

“Why don’t you let Hee-sung oppa go now and become a fan of that actor?”

“No way. Hee-sung oppa is the last celebrity for me.”

***

At the same time.

After the play stage ended, I came down from the stage, sweating profusely.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

After saying goodbye to the fellow actors, I headed behind the stage to change clothes.

I could accidentally hear the stories of the audience who hadn’t left yet.

“Hey, that person is Fake Hee-sung, right?”

“Yeah. They say he looks like him, but in my eyes, he looks completely different from Jin Hee-sung?”

“That’s right. He looks different to me too. Everyone misses Jin Hee-sung, so they’re trying to make it fit.”

“Well. That person is good at acting, but it’ll be hard for him to become famous because he looks like Jin Hee-sung.”

At their conversation, I covered my mouth and swallowed my laughter.

“I’m not someone who looks like him, it’s me….”

Then I looked at my face in the mirror.

“Hmm… I’m Fake Hee-sung….”

People were calling me Fake Hee-sung because of the beautification of their memories of Jin Hee-sung in the past.

When they thought of Jin Hee-sung at that time, it seemed like they felt that I was a little lacking now.

“I’m not fake, I’m real.”

After all the audience had left.

I stood there and suddenly remembered that day.

That day three years ago.

When I opened my eyes again in Jin Hee-sung’s body.

I looked at myself and 고민했었다 [gominhaesseotda – was in agony/worried].

“Whether to live as Jin Hee-sung again, or to hide my identity and live as a new person….”

And that 고민 [gomin – agony/worry] could only end in an instant.

Here.

Because I chose to live as ‘Jin Hee-sung’ without any hesitation.

I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to live as Jin Hee-sung himself, since my face was already known as much as it was.

Nevertheless, I decided to live as Jin Hee-sung as he was.

Because I will be Jin Hee-sung, not someone else, in the future.

That’s me.

Although it’s a new identity, I, Jin Hee-sung, will live as an actor again.

An actor with a dream in acting.

Actor.

Actor!