An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 65

65. #14 – Being Recognized (4)

“Haa, I’m tired.”

There are already eight scripts piled up on the practice room table.

When reading a script for the first time, you get a feel for it after reading only the beginning.

If a script seems decent, you have to read through the middle or even the end to get a sense of it.

There are quite a few works where the script’s content goes off track after the middle part, or the character’s personality changes.

So, when you read in depth, time flies by before you know it.

It’s been about four hours since I came to work and started reading scripts.

I got up to stretch my stiff body from sitting for so long.

After a short stretch, I sat back down.

The scripts piled up on the right.

These are scripts I’ve already read once.

In other words, they are the ones that didn’t make the cut.

And several scripts scattered here and there on the left.

These are the ones I have to read now.

The reason I didn’t stack them in order and spread them out so they don’t overlap.

It was to look at them at a glance and pick up the ones that caught my eye.

“Which one should I read this time….”

I muttered to myself, waving my hand in the air above the scripts.

Tap.

My hand naturally stopped in front of one script.

Why am I drawn to this?

I picked up the script and leaned back in the chair.

How many tens of minutes had passed?

I couldn’t take my eyes off the script and read more than half of it.

The more I concentrated, the more my brow furrowed.

It wasn’t because I didn’t like it, but because I was concentrating all my attention on reading it.

Knock knock.

Kim, the manager, knocked on the practice room door.

He carefully entered the practice room, seeing how focused I was.

Then, without saying a word.

He started clearing the scripts piled up on the right.

“Hyung [older brother or male friend],”

I put down the script I was holding on the table and called out to Kim, the manager.

“Yeah.”

He answered, looking at the script.

I held the script in front of his face.

“Check out the audition for this script.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Kim, the manager’s eyes widened, and he sat down.

“What, did you find something good?”

He seemed excited at the mention of an audition, as he had been dedicated to finding a script for several days.

“Yeah, I think this one is good, what do you think?”

Kim, the manager, snatched the script from my hand.

“Wait a minute.”

Then, he began to read the script with a serious face without opening his mouth for a few minutes.

After looking at the first three or four pages of the script.

Kim, the manager, opened his mouth.

“Hee-sung, I’ll read the rest carefully. And so far, the script is good?”

“Right?”

He nodded and jumped up from his seat.

“Just a moment, I’ll go get my diary.”

He quickly went to his seat in front of the practice room, rummaged through his diary and a few pieces of paper, and said.

“It’s an MBS drama, and the roles we can get are supporting roles at the lead level.”

“Yeah, that character seems good.”

I already felt that way while reading the script.

Although it varies from work to work, most lead roles are often cast by designation rather than auditions.

Moreover, the role I wanted to play in this work was not the lead, but a lead-level supporting role.

It was a perfect fit.

Kim, the manager, nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that role would suit you well, Hee-sung.”

“Can I audition for it?”

Kim, the manager, ran his hand over the letters on the paper and said.

“Yeah, they’re doing a full audition for that role without casting.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But since it’s an MBS drama, the competition will be fierce.”

I nodded at his words.

MBS, one of the top three broadcasting stations.

I thought that many people would flock to the audition since they were conducting a full audition without conditions.

But I couldn’t give up because of the high competition.

Because I haven’t even started yet.

I judged that it was worth challenging enough.

Looking into Kim, the manager’s eyes, I said.

“I still want to try.”

Noticing my confident expression, Kim, the manager, smiled.

“Yeah, actors from large agencies will come too, but with your acting skills, it’s worth a try. Let’s do it.”

Kim, the manager, shifted his gaze back to the script and continued.

“This work, the director’s name is good too.”

“Isn’t the writer good too?”

“The writer… has a lot of mediocre works, but there are also dramas that have been successful from time to time. With this level of writer-director lineup, it’s good.”

I nodded.

“Besides, I like the story.”

“Then that’s it. Let’s give it a try.”

Kim, the manager, raised his eyebrows and looked at me.

“The audition schedule is… ah?”

He stopped talking as if he had found something in his diary.

He frowned and slowly raised his head.

“This, Baek Young-hoon is also auditioning?”

“…Huh?”

***

As expected, the audition venue was as crowded as a marketplace.

So many people.

I saw quite a few familiar actors.

Actors from other large agencies also attended the audition.

I had practiced enough.

But seeing the formidable candidates with my own eyes, I started to get nervous.

It doesn’t matter if you are in the top few among these many competitors.

Only the first place, the first person to be selected, can win the role.

I can only participate in the drama if I beat them all.

I wasn’t the only one nervous and trembling.

The actors waiting around me were also seen trembling, constantly muttering their lines.

And I often saw people taking calming pills.

I didn’t have time to look at them.

I was just focusing on practicing my audition acting.

In addition, I thought it was most important to relieve tension.

If you get nervous at the audition, you won’t be able to show as much acting as you practiced.

I closed my eyes tightly.

And took a deep breath.

I slowly exhaled that breath through my mouth.

Let’s be as natural as possible and show only as much as we practiced.

At that time.

A person approaching me from afar.

I strained my eyes at the familiar face and stared at him.

It’s Baek Young-hoon.

I knew it in advance from Kim, the manager.

A junior [someone younger/less experienced] in the same company and an actor called a rising star.

It hasn’t been long since he joined HS Entertainment.

He was currently finishing his first work and choosing his next one.

I had only talked to Baek Young-hoon once.

When he came to greet the manager when he joined the company, that was it.

“Hello.”

Younger than me, he bent over deeply and greeted me.

I heard from people around me that he and I had similar vibes.

A subtly created rivalry.

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t care about those words.

I looked at his moves a little.

I became interested.

I heard that he also asked about me through the manager several times.

So, although I was a little wary, Baek Young-hoon sat next to me with a bright face, contrary to expectations.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, I haven’t had a chance to see you since I greeted you at the company.”

Baek Young-hoon continued in a soft tone.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. I heard that Young-hoon also finished filming a while ago, are you starting right away without resting?”

“Yes, I thought it would be harder if I rested.”

As I nodded, his body came closer to me.

“Can I… call you hyung [older brother/male friend]?”

Unlike what I had been wary of, he treated me so kindly.

Like a close neighborhood younger brother.

I didn’t want to remain stiff with him as a senior and junior.

We were family in the same company, and we were running out to become good actors.

I raised the corners of my mouth and nodded.

“Sure.”

He put his hands together and answered.

“Please speak comfortably, hyung.”

“Haha, should I?”

While I was spending time talking to him, the audition turn came.

The audition was conducted in pairs.

Damn it.

The person who was grouped with me was none other than Baek Young-hoon.

But even if we weren’t in the same group, we would already be auditioning for the same role, so we were competitors in the first place.

However, we can only enter the audition hall together and see each other’s performances.

“Hello, my name is Jin Hee-sung.”

As soon as I finished greeting, the director sitting on the judge’s seat opened his mouth.

“Shall we watch the acting right away?”

“Yes.”

We started acting right away.

All of us finished the prepared acting.

The director, casting director, and writer sitting side by side in front.

They looked at me and Baek Young-hoon with satisfied expressions.

I couldn’t tell whether they would fail or pass from their eyes.

However, it seems that they liked Baek Young-hoon’s and my acting.

Furthermore, Baek Young-hoon’s acting that I saw was also excellent.

He was definitely good at acting.

When he showed his acting, I admired it inside.

Of course, I also gave a performance without regrets.

I relieved some of the tension by talking to him in the waiting room.

I showed everything as much as I had prepared.

I’ve done everything I can.

Now, only their choice remains.

The director raised one corner of his mouth and said.

“I enjoyed the acting. You are both from HS Entertainment?”

“That’s right.”

Baek Young-hoon and I opened our mouths at the same time.

“As expected of a large agency, both of you are good at acting. If you fail… you should think of it as a difference in color.”

In other words, they will find someone who is more suitable for the role.

An actor with a color that suits this character better….

At the director’s words, the writer sitting next to him replied.

“That’s right, director. It’s going to be a difficult choice?”

The director nodded at her words.

***

The day before the results are announced.

I would be so happy if I passed, but I cannot rule out the possibility that I might fail.

So, I haven’t stopped practicing since the audition.

Because I couldn’t spend time just waiting for the results.

The results will be out tomorrow, but I couldn’t allow myself to rest while looking at that.

“Hee-sung, shall I get you some coffee?”

At his words, I put down the script I was holding.

“No, I’ll get it myself.”

I stretched out my hand to stretch my stiff body.

“Let’s go together. I’m tired too, so I need to move a little.”

He also got up from his seat, loosening his shoulders.

On the way to the pantry after opening the practice room door.

“What time will the announcement be released tomorrow?”

At my words, Kim, the manager, rolled his eyes and replied.

“I heard they’ll let you know in the morning.”

“Haa- I wish it would come out soon.”

“I know. Still, I’m glad the results of this audition didn’t take long….”

Beep beep.

At that time, Kim, the manager, quickly picked up his cell phone when the bell rang.

“Hee-sung, I’ll take this call and go in.”

“Okay. I’ll make coffee for you, hyung.”

Kim, the manager, turned around, politely answering the phone with both hands.

I burst open the pantry door and went inside.

Baek Young-hoon, who was inside, greeted me with a surprised face.

“Hyung!”

“Oh, Young-hoon was here?”

He put down the coffee he was holding and smiled.

“Yes, I’m going to have a cup of coffee. Would you like a cup, hyung?”

“No, I’ll drink it myself.”

Baek Young-hoon smiled brightly, took the coffee, approached the table, and leaned back in his chair.

“Hyung, have you eaten?”

“Of course.”

I pressed the button on the coffee machine and asked him.

“Are you here to practice today?”

I had never encountered him at the company before.

Each of our schedules was different, but Baek Young-hoon did not usually come to the company to practice.

He hesitated to answer my question, rolling his eyes.

“Ah, well….”

Ziiiiing.

At that moment, a fierce vibration rang from the cell phone placed in front of him.

Baek Young-hoon immediately opened his mouth to me.

“Hyung, just a moment!”

“Yeah.”

“Hello? Oh, really? Ah, I see.”

His expression became serious rapidly after receiving the call.

Sensing that it was an important conversation, I withdrew my gaze from him.

And I fixed my eyes on the coffee machine.

But Baek Young-hoon’s voice that I heard struck my ears.

“Oh, hyung. If it’s the conference room… I can go quickly because I’m in the pantry.”

Baek Young-hoon opened his mouth again, twitching his lips.

“Yes, I will. It won’t take a few minutes.”

It seemed like he was talking to his manager.

With those words, Baek Young-hoon hung up the phone.

He hurriedly poured the remaining coffee into his mouth.

Then, he jumped up from his seat and immediately approached me.

Worried about his serious face, I carefully opened my mouth.

“Young-hoon, what’s wrong?”

When I asked, raising my eyebrows, he put his lips inside.

“Um….”

A faint smile could be seen on his face as he slurred his words.

How should I put it… a slight sense of superiority?

I felt a strange feeling that was somehow unpleasant.

Soon, he drooped his eyebrows and looked at me pitifully.

“Hyung… I’m sorry.”

Baek Young-hoon, who was looking straight at me and blinking his eyes, turned around and left the pantry.

Baek Young-hoon, what is it?

…Could it be?