An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 57

#57 – Not Everything You See Is Real (6)

I stretched, my body stiff, and walked onto the set.

After a sleepless night of filming, I had only managed to catch a couple of hours of sleep in the car.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked ahead to see the scorching sun beating down.

Numerous staff and actors were bustling around.

It felt like just the other day we were holding the [gosajeon] ritual for the first day of filming [a traditional Korean ceremony to wish for success].

Already, we were a third of the way through shooting the movie.

It was too early to be struggling through the day, exhausted.

We were only just approaching the halfway point of this long film shoot.

Park Min-joon’s face, sporting dark circles that nearly reached his chin, walked by.

He massaged the back of his neck as he headed to his car.

Come to think of it.

Surprisingly, I hadn’t had a single argument with Park Min-joon during this movie.

The thought made me chuckle.

Was it really so surprising that I hadn’t fought with a fellow actor?

But then again, during the last drama, I had clashed with Park Min-joon in every scene.

Of course, all those arguments had been one-sided, started by Park Min-joon.

Now, he probably knew better than to mess with me and risk getting hurt.

Funnily enough, we hadn’t exchanged a single greeting on this set.

Not only were there few scenes with just Park Min-joon and me, but even in scenes with other actors, there was no need to talk to him.

More than anything, I could sense that he was wary of Choi Seo-bin.

Still, I had no intention of talking to Park Min-joon, let alone becoming friends with him.

“Oh, Hee-sung. We’ll get ready for the next scene.”

A staff member approached me as I stood in front of my car and hurried back to the set.

“Yes, I’ll be right there.”

I started reviewing my lines and checking my costume.

***

Choi Seo-bin had significantly more scenes than the other actors.

As the lead actor, it was only natural that he had more screen time.

However, Choi Seo-bin, who wasn’t new to lead roles, often looked like he was having a particularly hard time.

“Cut, NG [No Good]!”

Director Jang frowned and called for an NG.

At that, Choi Seo-bin wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His makeup smeared as a result.

The makeup team rushed to fix Choi Seo-bin’s makeup.

“Haa….”

Choi Seo-bin’s expression didn’t ease.

He stood there, letting out a long sigh as he received his touch-up.

I was waiting nearby for our next scene together, gulping down water because of the hot weather.

“Aish [Tch].”

I heard Choi Seo-bin’s brusque voice.

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

A staff member who was fixing his makeup had apparently touched Choi Seo-bin’s eye.

It wasn’t a common occurrence, but.

It sometimes happened.

Makeup needed to be fixed quickly during filming.

And actors were moving around to practice, so it was bound to happen.

It probably wasn’t the first time for Choi Seo-bin either, but he seemed particularly irritable today.

“Haa, are you still not done?”

“All done. Sorry.”

The staff member lowered their head in apology and quickly left the set.

It was probably partly due to the hot weather, but.

He seemed mostly annoyed by the frequent NGs.

After several NGs, it was finally time for the next scene.

“Sunbae [Senior/Senior colleague], are you hot?”

A one-on-one scene with Choi Seo-bin.

I approached him, greeted him warmly, and handed him a cold drink I had brought.

He took the drink and replied dryly.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

His cold reaction made it impossible for me to say anything more.

His expression was noticeably different from usual.

Choi Seo-bin had been making a lot of NGs, especially during this movie.

I thought the NGs would decrease as the filming went on, but that wasn’t the case.

He simply nodded in response to my words, not bothering to reply.

“Seo-bin and Hee-sung, let’s go if you’re ready.”

“Yes!”

As the assistant director nodded, Director Jang grabbed his megaphone.

“The sun is getting hotter, so let’s quickly shoot the outdoor scene and go inside.”

Director Jang sat down and spoke again.

“Ready, action!”

As the lead, Choi Seo-bin, and I, as his rival, was naturally the villain.

That’s why my face was constantly angry in this movie.

I probably didn’t have many scenes where I smiled, maybe just a handful.

As soon as the cameras started rolling, I frowned deeply.

“Hey, Min Ji-hoon.”

Sitting in my chair, I stared straight at Choi Seo-bin and crumpled an empty paper cup.

He put his hands behind his back and bowed his head at my words.

“…I’m sorry.”

Choi Seo-bin had a lot he wanted to say, but he couldn’t get angry at me, his senior at work.

He forced himself to swallow a sigh and apologized.

“Sorry?”

His insincere apology only fueled my anger.

I sighed and threw the crumpled paper cup at Choi Seo-bin’s feet.

“Hey, is that how you apologize?”

Choi Seo-bin raised his head and glared at me.

The stifling atmosphere made the set even hotter.

I jumped up from my seat and approached Choi Seo-bin.

My eyes were blazing.

I glared at Choi Seo-bin with fire in my eyes, and he didn’t look away either.

We stared at each other without blinking, even in the scorching sunlight.

A silence followed.

Choi Seo-bin broke the silence with one sentence.

“If you’re a senior, act like one.”

“What?”

I raised my eyebrows at his words.

“Just because I’m staying still doesn’t mean I’m letting you get away with it….”

Choi Seo-bin cut himself off mid-sentence.

“Cut, NG!”

Director Jang naturally stopped the filming.

Choi Seo-bin trembled, raising both fists to his chest.

“Ha, damn….”

It didn’t seem like he had misspoken or stumbled over his lines.

Director Jang pretended not to hear his angry words.

He raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth with an apologetic look.

“Seo-bin, shall we try one more time…?”

Choi Seo-bin looked at Director Jang and swallowed a sigh.

“…Yes, let’s go.”

“Okay, let’s do it right away.”

Director Jang looked at Choi Seo-bin with a gentle expression and replied.

“Ready, action!”

“Cut, NG!”

Again, it was an NG caused by Choi Seo-bin.

We were already repeating this scene for the seventh time.

He hadn’t misspoken once.

He simply stopped filming because he didn’t like something.

He seemed increasingly annoyed, running his hands through his hair and muttering to himself.

“Fucking….”

Of course, Director Jang didn’t hear the small voice.

Moreover, it wasn’t a curse directed at anyone.

It was just frustration he was venting because he was annoyed with himself.

Director Jang frowned deeply and gestured for a staff member.

It was a gesture to quickly fix Choi Seo-bin’s hair, which had become disheveled.

At his signal, a staff member rushed in.

Manager Kim also approached the set with them.

“Hee-sung, here’s some water.”

In the sweltering heat, Manager Kim handed me a bottle of ice water.

I smiled, took the water, and looked at Choi Seo-bin.

“Sunbae, you must be hot. Have this….”

He, who would normally have thanked me and taken my water, frowned and waved his hand in the air.

Choi Seo-bin’s frequency of irritation had been gradually increasing recently.

He was also being brusque with the approaching staff, and the atmosphere on set was becoming increasingly grim.

Director Jang, who sensed this, probably wasn’t feeling good either.

The surrounding staff members watched Choi Seo-bin and Director Jang, not saying a word for a long time.

“Cut, okay!”

After 11 attempts, we finally got the okay sign.

“Good work, everyone.”

By the time the filming was over, my back was soaked with sweat.

“Next is the indoor scene, so let’s take a short break and start.”

At the assistant director’s shout, Choi Seo-bin quickly left the set.

As I bent down to greet the staff, Manager Kim approached me with a handheld fan.

“Hee-sung, good job. Hot, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, the weather is really hot.”

I grabbed the collar of my shirt and shook it, enjoying the fan’s breeze as I replied.

“Oh, you know we have a day off tomorrow, right?”

“That’s right. They said we’re taking a day off tomorrow because it’s a holiday.”

Manager Kim nodded and said.

“So, they’re going to finish filming early today and have a simple dinner.”

“A company dinner?”

“The director and some of the staff, and the actors, I just heard.”

A dinner, huh….

The atmosphere on set had been a bit down lately, so it seemed like they were trying to lighten the mood with a dinner.

I readily nodded, as having a dinner in the middle of filming could help staff and actors get closer.

***

Only Director Jang and the assistant director, along with a few staff members, attended.

The actors, including Choi Seo-bin, Park Min-joon, and the supporting actors who had participated in today’s filming, filled the seats.

It was a simple dinner, but there were more people than I thought, filling the entire restaurant.

“We’re almost halfway done if we shoot a little more. Let’s work harder and create a great result!”

“Yes!”

Director Jang laughed heartily and raised his glass.

“Let’s become a sales genius and reach a million. Fighting!”

“Fighting!”

A hot summer.

The first drink after sweating all day during filming made my whole body tingle.

The coolness of the [somaek] somaek [a mix of soju and beer] reaching my esophagus.

Ahhh.

The gloomy atmosphere on set had disappeared, and cheerful conversations filled the air as we raised our glasses.

After a few drinks, the actors naturally started going to Director Jang’s table to greet him.

I also got up from my seat and headed to him.

“Director.”

“Oh, Hee-sung. You worked hard today.”

He greeted me with a bright smile as I sat down in front of Director Jang.

“Not at all. You’re the one who’s working hard, Director. Let me pour you a drink.”

“Haha, that’s right. Hee-sung, you’re amazing at making somaek.”

It seemed like Director Jang was talking about the time he had enjoyed the somaek I made at a drinking session with Choi Seo-bin.

“Ahhh, you remember, Director. I’ll make you a delicious one.”

“Hee-sung is good at acting, good at having fun. There’s nothing he can’t do.”

A large clock hung on the restaurant wall.

The clock hands had made several rotations.

The number of people left in the restaurant was much smaller than before.

Choi Seo-bin and I were the only ones left, sitting across from each other at a secluded table where I was sitting.

“Have another drink.”

“Yes, Sunbae.”

Choi Seo-bin’s face hadn’t changed at all, even after drinking several glasses of alcohol.

He seemed even paler.

He held out his glass.

I clinked my glass against his.

“Ahhh.”

Choi Seo-bin emptied his glass and opened his mouth without even eating any snacks.

“Hee-sung.”

“Yes.”

“But about the script.”

I put down the chopsticks I was holding and listened.

“The script… I think it’s a bit lacking.”

“Yes?”

Choi Seo-bin raised his eyebrows and muttered to me as I tilted my head.

“It’s disappointing.”

For an actor to say a script is disappointing is a roundabout way of saying ‘it’s not good’.

It means they don’t like it.

I averted my gaze and trailed off.

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah, when I’m acting, I keep getting NGs. It’s not like I’m messing up the lines, right?”

I nodded without saying anything to his words.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I know when I’m acting. But I think the script is a little… don’t you think?”

I couldn’t readily answer Choi Seo-bin’s words.

Choi Seo-bin, who had been making countless NGs from the first day of filming until now, was saying that the reason was the script.

But that was clearly not the right answer.

I thought that his style as an actor didn’t quite match the role.

So, when he tried to play the role, it felt awkward, like wearing ill-fitting clothes, which led to the NGs.

But Choi Seo-bin was just blaming everything on the script.

Choi Seo-bin filled his glass with alcohol and continued.

“It would have been better if the script was a little better. It’s disappointing, so disappointing.”

I took the bottle he was holding and poured him a drink.

Choi Seo-bin, who received my glass, looked up and asked me.

“What do you think, Hee-sung?”

I didn’t feel there was a problem with the script, but I couldn’t say that directly.

Choi Seo-bin was a senior actor.

And disagreeing with his opinion would be like saying that Choi Seo-bin didn’t have an eye for scripts.

But I couldn’t just agree either.

That would sound like I was blaming it on the script too.

I just nodded slowly and opened my mouth.

“I think I know what you mean, Sunbae.”

“Listen, I’ve been acting for….”

He didn’t ask for my opinion again and began to express his pent-up frustration.

I listened to his story without particularly disagreeing or agreeing.

In any case, Choi Seo-bin was a senior who recognized my acting and cared about me.

Moreover, he had even introduced me to Director Jang to work together on this movie.

I was grateful to Choi Seo-bin for that alone.

And if listening to his complaints and empathizing with him was what he needed, I thought I could do it as much as he wanted.

I nodded in agreement with Choi Seo-bin and continued to fill his glass.