An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 39

#10 – Not One or the Other (1)

With both a drama and a movie offer on the table, the thought of having to turn one down did cross my mind.

Kim wore a troubled expression.

But I felt a little different. I struggled to suppress a smile, cheering inwardly.

I had always read through dozens of scripts for open auditions.

From those, I auditioned for roles I wanted, especially those I thought I had a chance of getting.

Afterward, anxiously waiting for the results became a daily routine.

But this time, the offers came to me first.

I was in a situation where I could choose between two projects.

That alone was proof that I was starting to be recognized as an actor.

It wasn’t about which project was better, or whether it was a drama or a movie, that made me happy.

It was the fact that I was establishing myself as an actor.

Kim flipped through his planner and began to speak.

“Hee-sung, let’s decide whether you want to choose one of the drama and movie, or do both.”

“Okay, what’s the deadline for deciding?”

He stroked his chin and replied,

“We need to give them an answer in about… ten days.”

I nodded at his words.

“You can think it over thoroughly before deciding.”

“I will.”

After Kim left the conference room, I was left alone.

I scrolled through my phone, looking for Director Jang’s number.

Although Choi Seo-bin introduced me to him, Director Jang was the one who cast me, so I wanted to thank him.

I hesitated over the call button for a moment, then closed my phone.

Since I hadn’t accepted the casting offer yet, I thought it would be better to thank him later. It’s never too late to express gratitude after accepting the role.

Instead, I reopened my phone and called Choi Seo-bin.

The call rang and rang. Was he filming?

Just as I was about to press the end button and take the phone away from my ear, his voice came through.

-Hello.

I quickly put the phone back to my ear.

“Senior, it’s Hee-sung.”

-Oh, Hee-sung.

“Is this a good time to talk?”

-Yes, but I’m filming, so it can’t be long.

The surrounding noise was loud. He must have been walking to a quieter place to talk because the noise was gradually fading.

-My call time was a while ago, but the previous shoot was slightly delayed, so everything is delayed.

“Then do you have to go in right away?”

-No, I have about… five minutes before the shoot?

At Choi Seo-bin’s words, I quickly replied.

“Okay, I’ll be brief.”

-Okay, what’s up?

“I got an offer thanks to you, Senior.”

-An offer?

“Yes, I’ve been cast in Director Jang Ho-cheol’s movie ‘I Became a Genius Salesman’.”

-That’s great.

He replied with a laugh.

“Thank you, Senior.”

-No, it’s your talent. You don’t have to thank me.

“Still, I got the offer thanks to you, Senior.”

-So, what are you going to do? Are you taking it?

I paused for a moment at Choi Seo-bin’s words. Then, in a calm voice, I carefully opened my mouth.

“To be honest, I haven’t decided yet.”

-Why?

“I’m so grateful, and I know it’s a good opportunity, but…”

Choi Seo-bin interrupted me.

-Then you should take it.

“Yes, but a supporting role in a commercial film is such a big deal.”

I swallowed hard and continued.

“Besides, it’s really because of Senior’s recommendation, and I don’t think my skills are good enough yet.”

He sighed at my words.

-Hee-sung.

“Yes, Senior.”

-If you weren’t good enough, would I have recommended you?

“…….”

-You earned that spot with your own skills.

“Thank you for saying that.”

-Don’t think about me recommending you; just watch the movie and make a good decision.

“Yes, Senior.”

-I have to stand by now. Let’s grab a meal next week.

“Yes, I understand!”

After hanging up, I stared at the two scripts side by side.

Can I do well?

***

A vast stage.

Brilliant lights shining down.

The spotlight brightly illuminated the spot where I stood.

And in front of me, countless spectators were shouting at me.

I shielded my eyes from the dazzling lights with my hand, then took it away and smiled at the audience.

The audience erupted in cheers at my expression.

No music was playing, but my heart began to pound at the cheers of the crowd.

Thump, thump.

My heartbeat was audible, and just as it overlapped with the cheers, only the voices shouting from the audience were clearly audible.

“I love you!”

Their voices echoed through the large venue.

I nodded and murmured into the microphone.

“Me too.”

The cheers doubled at my short words.

“Kyaaa!”

“We love you more!”

I looked at them all, from left to right, and made eye contact.

When I reached out and waved to those waving glow sticks in unison, another exclamation poured out.

A large banner could be seen in the distance.

‘Chan, I love you’

‘Chan is our pride’

The various affectionate messages were enough to make the corners of my lips turn up.

And in the audience, some spectators were holding up and waving signs.

I put my hand close to my eyebrows because of the strong lights and read the words.

‘Oppa [term used by younger women to address older brothers or male friends], marry me!’

‘I only know Kwon Chan’

‘Shining Chan. Please sing like that forever.’

At that moment, a soft melody came to my ears.

“Kyaa!”

The people shouted in extreme excitement, and some of the glow sticks that had been turned off were lit again. They stretched their hands high into the sky and began to wave them from side to side.

Then I put the microphone in my hand to my mouth and closed my eyes tightly.

“So much us-♪”

“Ugh!”

The audience erupted in cheers at the first verse.

I still closed my eyes and only raised the corners of my lips.

The fans’ voices drowned out the music coming through my in-ear monitors.

Eventually, I put my hand to my in-ear and pressed it tightly to hear the music and focus on the song.

The song ended, but the fans’ cheers did not stop.

I brought the microphone I had put down back to my mouth.

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes!”

“Thank you for coming today, everyone.”

“No!”

“Don’t go!”

I bowed and looked around the audience. Some fans were wiping away tears.

Numerous cameras of all kinds were in the hands of the fans. Large black cameras, often called bazooka cameras, were everywhere.

“Thank you for always liking me without any compensation, and everyone, don’t get sick….”

The fans shouted before I could finish my sentence.

“Chan, don’t get sick either!”

“Haha, I will. I hope you all stay healthy and happy.”

I started to say my closing remarks, but the fans who had no intention of letting me go shouted.

“No!”

“Encore! Encore!”

“Please do an encore!”

The encore for the concert was already decided, but I bowed to them and then turned around and started walking backstage.

The loud voices of the fans crying out:

“Don’t go, don’t go!”

Thud-

As I disappeared from the stage, the lights were turned off one by one.

“Kwon Chan, Kwon Chan!”

The name was shouted so loudly that it seemed to shake the auditorium.

“Kwon Chan!”

“Ah-”

The stage was dark. Only my voice echoed as if testing the microphone.

And the concert hall became quiet as if by magic. The audience held their breath and focused on my voice.

“Everyone, are you disappointed?”

“Yesss!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

The lights on the stage lit up at the shouting voices.

Pounding heart. Soaring adrenaline.

I drank bottled water with a trembling and excited heart. Then I shouted into the microphone in a gentle voice.

“This is the last song. The only fast-tempo song among my songs.”

The cheers could be heard even backstage.

“My dance song, right?”

The fans burst into laughter at my words.

“Well, a fast-tempo… ballad!”

I walked out onto the stage and shouted.

“Give me the music.”

The prelude began to play immediately.

“The moment I saw you-♪”

“We are!”

The fans shouted the song’s cheering slogans in unison.

“Together like fate-♪”

I went to the end of the stage and made eye contact with the fans. The difficult sight of them stretching out their arms and holding up their cell phones to take pictures of me.

Looking at them barely stretching out their arms, I thought I should go to them.

A low stage.

After aligning my feet with the end of the stage, I put a lot of strength in my knees.

Down the stage, in one step.

Pot-

A silent space.

The lights that were so bright that I couldn’t open my eyes were gone. All I could see was a white ceiling and old fluorescent lights.

What, is this a dream?

I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my face hard with my hands. I opened my eyes again, but the scene didn’t change.

It was definitely a dream, but the cheers remained in my ears. My heart was still pounding from the vivid dream.

It wasn’t just about being a singer or an idol; it felt like I had experienced the feeling of being a top star.

It was a feeling I had never felt before—the sight of someone cheering for me and crying. Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two spectators. The audience was packed so tightly that I couldn’t count them.

Just imagining the scene in the dream made my heart swell.

Is this the life of a star?

Top star….

I desperately wanted to become such a person.

I’m not dreaming of becoming a singer because I’m terrible at singing anyway. I just want to be a ‘top star’.

If I become the top among actors, I will be able to receive the same treatment I saw in my dream.

And one person came to mind. It was Choi Seo-bin.

Choi Seo-bin, a self-proclaimed top star actor, must always receive such cheers. That image of being loved by fans must be a daily occurrence for Choi Seo-bin.

I jumped up from where I was lying. A heat was boiling from deep inside my heart, and the motivation was surging as if it would explode.

Could there be another dream as good as this?

I quickly got ready and decided to head to the practice room to burn this motivation.

My footsteps headed to the bathroom.

“Heeeuuueung-♪”

I stopped abruptly while humming.

What?

That’s weird. It feels like my humming is better than usual…?

The various dreams I had last time. After having those dreams, I was able to immerse myself in the roles as if by magic. When I acted, it felt like I was sucked into the role of that time.

Is it like that with singing too?

It was a studio apartment where I lived alone, but I turned my head and looked around the house. I couldn’t see anything outside the window, but I quickly closed the curtains out of embarrassment.

Then I played an idol music video on my phone. I started shaking freely while entrusting my body to the music.

My dancing skills were reflected in the mirror in the bathroom. I stopped the music in a hurry at the sight.

It was so bad that it couldn’t even be called dancing, let alone a gesture. It was like a kindergartener’s ‘rhythmic exercise’.

Okay, let’s not do it….

I sighed deeply, and suddenly some scenes came to mind.

That’s right. I think I only sang dozens of ballads day and night in my dream, not dance songs?

Huh?

I definitely only saw the last song and the encore song in my dream.

When I recalled the dream, the memories of the concert remained vividly in my head—from the first opening stage to the last encore song I saw in my dream.

Everything.

The parts I didn’t dream about weren’t just piecemeal, but all the scenes were vividly recalled in detail, even the scenes where I communicated with the audience and shared comments in the middle of the song.

…Wait a minute.

There was definitely my name at that time.

I closed my eyes tightly and began to recall the memory, and I snapped my fingers at the memory that came to mind.

“Kwon Chan!”

I quickly opened my phone and searched for the name ‘Kwon Chan’.

Contrary to my expectations that there would be no search results, dozens, no, thousands of data poured out.

And one last article caught my eye.

‘Singer Kwon Chan, who died young in 2015, became a star on the 10th anniversary of his debut.’

Became a star?

I quickly clicked on the article.

Popular singer Kwon Chan was buried in the hearts of fans on the 10th anniversary of his debut.

……