An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 38

#38 #9 – Unable to See an Inch Ahead (6)

My heart was bursting, throbbing as if it would explode.

To receive casting offers for both a drama and a movie.

I twisted my opposite forearm hard with one hand.

“Ouch!”

Judging by the pain I felt, it was definitely not a dream.

It seems like such things can happen in my life too, if I live diligently.

In the meantime, I had taken on minor roles in quite a few dramas.

Plus, a lead role in a one-act play.

And now, a supporting role in this mini-series.

I had filmed several projects.

But movies were different.

I had only done supporting roles in independent films.

In fact, my best record in commercial films was a minor role.

And the movie I would be filming next would be a supporting role in this commercial film.

Wait a minute.

If I received offers for two projects at the same time, how would the filming schedule work?

Would I have to choose only one of the two projects?

I hadn’t seen the movie script yet, but I thought working with Director Jang alone was a significant merit.

Moreover, I had drinks with him last Friday, so it felt a bit difficult to turn down the offer.

I had read more than half of the drama script.

I loved the content and the role so much that I really wanted to play it.

First of all, the filming schedule was important.

Also, I needed to hear the company’s perspective.

Since I have an agency, I can’t make all the decisions on my own.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], if I’ve received offers for two projects, what should I do now?”

Kim, the manager, stroked his chin and said.

“First… they said they would send me the movie script that they offered.”

I nodded at his words.

“Let’s make a decision after reading the script.”

“Okay.”

I needed to think about it after reading the script, but.

Anyway, right now I felt so elated that I could fly.

It felt like only yesterday that I was anxiously waiting for the audition results to be announced.

Now, I have a role that has come to me.

Moreover, my heart was pounding at the fact that it wasn’t just one project, but two.

Being able to carefully consider the projects and make a choice.

I was thrilled by the 180-degree change in my position from before.

***

“Hee-sung, you’re here early.”

Manager Kim greeted me with swollen eyes.

“Yeah, I came on time.”

“Have you read all the scripts?”

I shook the two scripts at him.

“I read them all yesterday too. That’s why I couldn’t sleep for a few hours.”

He must have a swollen face due to lack of sleep from reading all the scripts.

Manager Kim held the scripts, gestured to me, and walked to the conference room.

We turned on the lights in the conference room and sat facing each other.

Manager Kim put the scripts on the table with a thud and asked.

“You read both scripts all the way to the end, right?”

“Yeah.”

“How was it?”

I slowly nodded and said.

“They’re both good.”

“Really?”

He picked up the drama ‘Celebrity Extra’ script, which was on top of the two, and said.

“First of all, the ‘Celebrity Extra’ project has a role as a celebrity, so I think it will be relatively easy to act.”

“Oh, the role in that is an idol.”

Manager Kim took out his diary and picked up a pen.

And when he opened the page, it was filled with writing.

It seemed like he had already organized the synergy effects when I took on the role, along with the character analysis.

He read the writing he had written down.

“First of all, because it’s an idol role, there will be many scenes where Hee-sung, you will be singing directly.”

I closed my mouth for a moment and swallowed a sigh.

It was the most worrying part that I had expected.

I wasn’t particularly talented at singing.

I just occasionally went to a coin karaoke and sang a few songs.

Even that wasn’t to sing well, but to relieve stress.

“Yeah, I’m worried about that.”

Manager Kim waved his hand in the air and said.

“But it’s okay. Because it’s filming, there won’t be any live scenes.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Of course, you have to sing with your voice, but as long as you’re not tone-deaf, you can practice vocals enough to film the drama.”

Manager Kim tried to relieve my worries.

His words filled me with confidence that I could do it.

“In ‘Celebrity Extra,’ the main character is the manager role, and the supporting role is the idol that you will play, Hee-sung.”

I tilted my head and asked.

“The manager and actor roles are the top two leads, right?”

“That’s right. The supporting roles are the idol and….”

He checked his diary and continued.

“A comedian role. This role is a slightly smaller supporting role compared to the idol.”

I nodded my head.

“No matter how much the manager is the lead role, you, Hee-sung, who plays the celebrity role, will inevitably appear frequently in most scenes.”

“Yeah, the celebrity is always next to the manager.”

He twirled the pen and said.

“So even if you go with the two-top supporting role, it has as much weight as the lead role, and I think it has enough influence on the drama.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Besides, I like the character of this idol role.”

“Right?”

He smiled as if he agreed with me.

“I also thought that it would suit you well if Hee-sung, you played it.”

I raised the corners of my lips at Manager Kim’s words.

My heart was pounding.

It’s not easy for the role and my actual personality to match like this.

If I play this role, I was confident that I could do well.

“Shall we look at the next one?”

After putting down the ‘Celebrity Extra’ script, he opened the movie script next to it.

Director Jang’s commercial film.

The work is called ‘Became a Genius Salesman’.

A story about the sales of an ordinary medical device company employee.

It was a subject that could evoke sympathy from many people by reflecting reality as it is.

“The role that came to me here is Deputy Manager Choi, right?”

There is one main character in the play.

“That’s right. It’s like the main character’s rival.”

“First of all, the script is so good.”

At my words, Manager Kim raised his eyebrows and replied.

“Yeah, it’s so realistic that you can’t help but fall into it.”

“I was reading it yesterday and I read all the scripts without moving from my seat.”

“So, how about becoming a genius salesman?”

I hesitated for a moment at Manager Kim’s words.

Of course, the script and the quality of the work were quite excellent.

To the point where there was nothing for me to pick or choose.

But because there was a role that had been given to me, I couldn’t open my mouth rashly.

The role that Director Jang had offered to cast was Deputy Manager Choi.

I felt a little uneasy about the fact that the role had already been decided.

“It’s good, but the problem is….”

Before I could finish speaking, Manager Kim opened his mouth.

“What is it? Do you think it will be a little difficult to play the villain role?”

I shook my head violently at Manager Kim’s words, who was asking worriedly with his eyebrows drooping.

“Not at all.”

“You don’t care that it’s a villain?”

“I like it even more. I’ve never played a villain before, so I think that’s a merit.”

Manager Kim raised the corners of his mouth as if he was proud of me.

And then he asked with a serious expression.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I can handle the role, but actually… there’s a role I’m greedy for.”

He tilted his head.

“What role are you greedy for?”

“Min Ji-hoon.”

“…Isn’t that the main role?”

I blinked and replied.

“That’s right.”

He made a tsk sound and avoided my eyes.

“I don’t think that would be easy….”

I nodded as if it was natural at Manager Kim’s words.

“I know it’s hard to take on the lead role. I’m just saying I’m a little greedy.”

“It’s not that you’re greedy for the lead role, but that you like the role?”

I nodded repeatedly at his words.

It was because I thought I could really play the lead role of a salesman well.

“Yeah, when I first started my acting career, I needed money, so I had a job.”

Manager Kim looked at me with interest, resting his chin on his hand.

“As a sales job?”

“Yeah, I was a pharmaceutical company salesman.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Hee-sung, you’ve done everything?”

I waved my hand and replied.

“It’s not amazing. I only did it for a very short time.”

“How long?”

“About a year after graduating from college.”

He was listening intently without blinking an eye.

“Of course, I quit after about 6 months, though.”

“How was it? Was the job difficult?”

I forced a smile and replied.

“Well, that’s also true. I dreamed of being an actor, and that was a way to make a living.”

“That’s right.”

“But as I did it, it felt like my acting career was being pushed to the back burner.”

At that moment, I remembered that time.

I looked at the air and took a long breath.

The atmosphere in the conference room became sentimental.

I clapped my hands once to change the atmosphere.

“Anyway, that’s why I thought I could do well. It’s not that I have to be the lead role no matter what.”

Manager Kim nodded.

“I understand what you mean.”

I shrugged my shoulders, exhaling through my nose.

“Hyung, and the lead in this movie is none other than Choi Seo-bin, right?”

“Oh, that’s right!”

Manager Kim snapped his fingers and continued, waving his index finger in the air.

“Choi Seo-bin was the one who set up the meeting with Director Jang back then, right?”

“Yeah, so I don’t even dare to covet that role.”

Manager Kim looked at the two scripts side by side and opened his mouth.

“Anyway, the timing of the two overlaps slightly.”

I pouted my lips and nodded.

“Then does that mean I can’t do both?”

“No. You’re not the lead, but the supporting role, so it’s possible to do both.”

I tilted my head at his words.

“How does it work?”

“The drama is all ready for production. They’re just setting up the last casting.”

“Then they’ll start filming soon?”

Manager Kim looked at the schedule in his diary and said.

“Yeah, the drama will start filming as early as the end of next month.”

This time, I picked up the movie script and asked.

“What about ‘Became a Genius Salesman’?”

“That’s still in the pre-production stage.”

“That means… the script is all that’s done now.”

Manager Kim made an okay sign with his hand.

“They have to organize the staff, casting, and even the storyboard, so it’s still far off.”

“Then when will filming start?”

“Filming for the movie will start in three months.”

I calculated the drama and movie filming dates that Manager Kim told me in my head.

And I looked at him and said.

“Then it only overlaps for about a month.”

“Yeah, but there aren’t that many schedules, so I think it can be adjusted.”

I frowned and asked.

“Then… does that mean I can film both?”

Manager Kim raised the corners of his mouth and nodded.

“But whether you focus on just one project or do both, that’s something you need to think about.”

I wanted to do both projects if I could.

This kind of opportunity wasn’t common.

Aside from that, I didn’t want to miss both projects because they were both excellent.

I carefully asked Manager Kim.

“But… what about the company?”

No matter how much I wanted to do it, I couldn’t ignore it if the company told me to focus on just one project.

“The higher-ups also recommend doing both. But the schedule is tough.”

“It only overlaps for a month?”

“Usually, you take a few months off after doing one project.”

I listened to Manager Kim’s words and nodded.

“Dramas get busy at the end because the reserves disappear [referring to time and resources].”

“That’s true.”

“If you start filming the movie in that busiest month, it will be a bit tight.”

I agreed as I listened to Manager Kim’s words.

But I was working hard on my happy circuit [thinking positively] because I wanted to do both projects.

“Hyung, anyway, it’s possible to handle the schedule, right?”

“It’s possible. There are many actors who do that.”

I turned my gaze to the script.

And I held one script in each hand and looked at them alternately.

“Hmm… I’ll think about it for now.”