An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 50

50. No One is Forever the Boss, Forever the Underling (8)

Inside the car, speeding along without a moment’s rest.

“Hmm-♪”

The only sound in the quiet car was Kang Chan-sung’s humming.

Since Kang Chan-sung was always so sensitive, his humming was enough to surprise Manager Shin.

Manager Shin quickly glanced at Kang Chan-sung through the rearview mirror, trying to gauge his mood.

In that instant.

Their eyes met.

Manager Shin quickly averted his gaze.

Because whenever their eyes met in the rearview mirror, Kang Chan-sung never had anything good to say.

However, the words that came out of Kang Chan-sung’s mouth were unexpected.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], are you tired?”

At his words, Manager Shin swallowed hard, the sound audible.

‘What’s going on?’

Manager Shin quickly plastered a smile on his face and looked at Kang Chan-sung through the rearview mirror.

“No, I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

Manager Shin gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, fixing his gaze on the road ahead.

Then, Kang Chan-sung spoke again.

“Hyung, did you see Jin Hee-sung’s manager’s face when he apologized earlier?”

Manager Shin was standing next to him when Manager Kim apologized to Kang Chan-sung, so there was no way he couldn’t remember.

Manager Shin hurriedly nodded.

“Yeah, I saw it. Why?”

Kang Chan-sung smirked, leaned forward, and said.

“That manager is Jin Hee-sung’s lackey; he came in place of Jin Hee-sung.”

Manager Shin’s brow furrowed for a moment.

He also held the job of a manager, no different from Manager Kim.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t feel good about the fact that Kang Chan-sung didn’t seem to care about him at all and was speaking so inconsiderately.

“He’s just a salesperson at best, so making such an apology and sucking up is… probably nothing to him.”

Kang Chan-sung continued, laughing in an excited voice, without any regard for Manager Kim’s feelings.

“Still, it was funny to see him trembling when he bowed to me.”

Even though he had finished speaking, when there was no response from Manager Shin, Kang Chan-sung tapped the driver’s seat and asked.

“Don’t you think so, Hyung?”

Manager Shin twitched his lips and swallowed a sigh.

Soon, he gave a bitter smile and replied.

“Yeah… I guess so.”

Kang Chan-sung stared into space, lost in thought, and then burst into laughter.

“Haha, and Jin Hee-sung’s expression was hilarious.”

“Jin Hee-sung?”

“Yeah, his manager apologized, so he must have been pissed. But he couldn’t say anything, and his face was all sour.”

Kang Chan-sung clutched his stomach and laughed heartily.

Manager Shin glanced sideways at Kang Chan-sung and quietly sighed, clicking his tongue.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it for a day or two, but he still couldn’t get used to that crazy side of him.

“That’s why he should be more successful than me if he doesn’t like it.”

Kang Chan-sung, raising himself up, leaned his face towards the driver’s seat and said.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

Surprised, Manager Shin quickly nodded.

“Yeah, of course. In this industry, you have to be successful like you, Chan-sung.”

Kang Chan-sung’s lips twisted into a smirk.

“Where does some supporting actor dare to stand up to a lead, no, a top star like me? Without any manners.”

Leaning back in his seat, Kang Chan-sung crossed his arms and muttered softly.

“Talking about it makes me think of that time….”

Manager Shin’s eyebrows twitched as Kang Chan-sung moved his lips.

“About what?”

“When I first filmed a movie, that bastard.”

At his words, Manager Shin quickly racked his brain.

If he didn’t quickly remember something about Kang Chan-sung, he would surely hear an earful.

Fortunately, he seemed to remember it quickly, and Manager Shin snapped his fingers.

“Ah, Choi Seo-bin?”

Kang Chan-sung nodded and sighed deeply.

“Yeah, he played the lead role in my first movie.”

“That’s right. It was when Choi Seo-bin was sweeping up lead roles in movies.”

At Manager Shin’s words, Kang Chan-sung made a displeased face and made a tsk sound.

Realizing he had made a mistake from his expression, Manager Shin quickly changed the subject.

“But why Choi Seo-bin?”

“What, don’t you remember?”

Kang Chan-sung frowned and glared at Manager Shin.

Manager Shin was busy avoiding his eyes.

Just when he thought he would be scolded by Kang Chan-sung, he twitched his chin and opened his mouth.

“It was my first time in a movie, and that bastard kept telling me not to do drama-style acting.”

“Ah….”

Manager Shin let out a sigh as if he finally remembered.

It wasn’t just Kang Chan-sung who was having a hard time back then.

Kang Chan-sung, who was always making NG’s [no good takes] on the movie set, was constantly being nagged by Choi Seo-bin, the lead actor.

All the stress and anger that Kang Chan-sung received from Choi Seo-bin was passed on to Manager Shin.

“If that bastard hadn’t kept talking about dramas from the start….”

After that first movie shoot, Kang Chan-sung became convinced that he couldn’t escape the stigma of ‘drama-style acting’.

Afterward, he ruined three more movies.

After that, he didn’t even get movie casting offers.

As if that memory had resurfaced, Kang Chan-sung squeezed his eyes shut.

“Haa… Choi Seo-bin, you son of a bitch.”

Manager Shin looked at Kang Chan-sung through the rearview mirror and opened his mouth.

“I heard Choi Seo-bin is quite close to Jin Hee-sung.”

“Is that so?”

At his words, Kang Chan-sung twisted his lips suspiciously.

“That’s even better.”

***

As the dark night arrived.

At the same time, the 4th episode of ‘Entertainment Extra’ began airing.

Watching the live broadcast was a dream due to the endless busy drama shooting schedule.

But today, thanks to the sudden heavy rain, I was able to comfortably watch the broadcast at home.

I always had food with me when watching dramas, but today I didn’t hold anything in my hands.

Because filming will start early tomorrow morning.

Swelling on the face is no different from an enemy of the camera.

I quickly adjusted my posture.

And began to concentrate as if I would be sucked into the TV.

A little over an hour passed.

The drama ended without a preview.

Advertisements immediately followed on TV, but my posture remained frozen as if I were still watching the drama.

Monitoring only with my own eyes can only lead to subjective results.

If you want to hear objective stories, the opinions of viewers are the best.

I quickly checked the viewers’ reactions online.

And as I looked at the stories and evaluations about me, the corners of my lips naturally rose.

Not bad screen time and share of the viewers’ bulletin board for a supporting role.

At this rate, the reaction was quite good, better than expected.

The drama’s viewership started at 3.7%, and the 3rd episode, which aired yesterday, showed a rising graph to 4.8%.

Comments continued that the 4th episode, which aired today, was more interesting than the 3rd episode.

It was enough to expect that the viewership would be even higher by tomorrow morning.

After checking the comments, I nodded and got up from my seat.

It was clear that my filmography was steadily building up.

My heart was full as I imagined the future unfolding.

And a smile escaped at the sight of my successful self, envisioned alone.

But the more it is like this, the more careful you have to be.

It’s just growing, and nothing has been achieved yet.

It’s just climbing the stairs one by one.

I cooled down my insides with ice-cold water so that my heart wouldn’t get carried away.

You must not settle for reality.

It’s definitely not what I decided to climb only this much.

You have to grow more, more…!

After turning off the TV, I took a seat in front of the table instead of the bed.

And I reopened the script that I had covered.

To make people see only me when they see my acting, not an actor who catches the eye merely as a ‘supporting role’ to the public.

You have to put in more bloody effort.

So today, I spent a passionate night analyzing and practicing the script.

***

“Hello.”

As always, the first thing to do on set today was to greet people.

There’s no investment like greeting that doesn’t cost money.

After the shooting scenes pouring out from the morning, I hurried back to the car.

The stylist was organizing the clothes to be filmed today.

Manager Kim was standing with the script to explain to me.

“Hee-sung, I’ll tell you the shooting order for today before you change your clothes.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of shooting today, right?”

He raised his eyebrows and replied.

“Yeah, there are a lot of scenes for you today, Hee-sung, but I’m a little worried about the very first scene….”

At Manager Kim’s words, I nodded with a sullen face.

“You’re talking about the scene with Kang Chan-sung, right?”

“…Yeah.”

There was another confrontation scene with Kang Chan-sung today.

A scene where emotions become more intense than the last confrontation scene.

A scene where my older brother in the drama, Kang Chan-sung, hits me.

Of course, he doesn’t actually hit me.

Because sound effects can be added later in the drama.

But what I’m worried about is whether I’ll get too immersed in filming an emotionally charged scene.

In the first place, the relationship between him and me is no different from the relationship between the two in the drama.

No, maybe it’s worse than in the drama.

At Manager Kim’s words, I rather raised the corners of my lips and said.

“Don’t worry, Hyung.”

“I thought you’d be uncomfortable.”

I waved my hand in the air.

“I’ve practiced a lot. Besides, it’s a scene where I don’t have to make an effort to immerse myself.”

Manager Kim burst into laughter at my joke.

“Still….”

At Manager Kim’s worried face, I shook the script and replied.

“I don’t want to make a mistake in the scene with Kang Chan-sung either, never.”

He smiled at my firm expression.

“Hyung, I’m going to practice the script a little more.”

At this, Manager Kim looked at his watch and opened his mouth.

“Okay, there’s still some time left. It’s enough to practice and then change your clothes.”

He patted me on the shoulder and headed to the stylist.

I steeled my heart and began to review my lines.

“We’re going to start filming. Stand by!”

At the staff’s shout, I handed the script I was holding to Manager Kim.

“Hyung, I’ll be back.”

He rubbed my shoulders and replied.

“Okay, we’re going to film the next scene right away, so I’ll be watching right in front of you.”

As I walked to the set, I calmed my breathing.

The most emotional scene among the scenes I’ve filmed so far.

I’ve practiced countless times, but it’s true that I’m nervous about this scene.

But I have no intention of making a mistake.

A scene with only Kang Chan-sung and me, without other actors.

If I make a mistake in this filming, it’s obvious that I’ll be called out.

As I walked to the set where the setting was complete, I quickly began to immerse myself.

I imagined the situation in the drama in my head and fell into it.

In that moment, one person broke my immersion.

“Hey, Jin Hee-sung.”

It was Kang Chan-sung’s voice.

After that day, Kang Chan-sung and I didn’t exchange greetings even when we ran into each other on set.

Even before that, Kang Chan-sung didn’t respond well to my greetings.

Sometimes when our eyes met, I would just bow my head.

That was it.

But I frowned at his attitude of suddenly calling my name.

I turned my head and looked at him, and he was glaring at me with a displeased face.

I also greeted Kang Chan-sung with a stiff face.

“You should greet your senior when you see them. Aren’t you going to greet me?”

Many staff members were present.

Instead of answering, I just nodded to him.

“Tsk.”

Kang Chan-sung clicked his tongue and walked to the set.

Thanks to that, my immersion in the drama was naturally recharged.

“Okay, let’s start filming right away.”

Director Lim’s voice echoed through the set.

The first line is Kang Chan-sung’s turn.

We looked at each other as if we had never had a war of nerves.

The start of the first line was Kang Chan-sung.

He stared intently into my eyes and raised the corners of his lips with a smirk.

What is it?

Why is he smiling?

“Ready, action!”

The red light of the camera came on with Director Lim’s sign.

Kang Chan-sung lowered the corners of his lips that he had raised in an instant, and his eyes changed.

…I’m uneasy, this bastard.