An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 67

67. #14 – Being Recognized (6)

It didn’t take long to choose a script.

No, it did take a long time.

It just felt shorter because I was cutting down on sleep to read them.

There were more decent scripts than I thought.

Of course, that meant there were scripts that would be more commercially successful than these.

Out of the 30 or so scripts I read, one captivated me.

Just one script.

The moment I read it, I was so immersed that I read it in one sitting.

Moreover, I felt that I could play the role in that script better than anyone else.

The moment I made up my mind.

I immediately told Kim about the script.

He shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.

“You really want to do it with a project here?”

“Yeah, I think I found it for sure.”

Kim stared at the script I handed him and muttered.

“Okay, this has to be a diamond in the rough….”

He widened his eyes and raised his voice.

“The most important thing is whether this script will be produced or not.”

“Yeah, please check it out.”

“Okay. But if it doesn’t get produced, you’ll drop it immediately, right?”

I nodded vigorously.

“Of course.”

***

“Hee-sung!”

Kim burst into the practice room without knocking.

Then he came up to me, panting.

“What’s wrong?”

“That script you asked me to look into….”

Before he could finish, I asked him.

“Are they producing it?”

The corners of his mouth twitched subtly at my words.

“Uh, it is being produced, but….”

“But?”

Kim trailed off.

I tilted my head.

“Of course, the writer is a rookie, and a rookie director will be in charge too.”

I nodded at his words.

I expected that a work that barely won an award in a contest wouldn’t get a good director.

I had hoped, but it seems a rookie director will be in charge after all.

Not stopping there, Kim clicked his tongue and continued.

“Plus, it’s a fill-in.”

“What do you mean?”

Kim rolled his lips inward and swallowed a sigh.

Then he winked and said.

“There’s a historical drama that KTS [Korean Television System] was originally going to produce. But the lead in that drama got injured.”

“So, it’s going into that drama’s slot?”

“Um… well, yes. But the broadcast isn’t completely delayed, just by about a month.”

Kim looked at the desk calendar and continued.

“So, an 8-episode drama is going in to fill that delayed slot.”

At his words, I looked at the script again.

The script I saw was a drama planned for 16 episodes.

But if it’s being replaced by 8 episodes,

Of course, the synopsis and storyline of this drama will be reduced to half, 8 episodes overall.

Kim shook his head and tapped the script.

“This is 8 episodes. So, it’s completely cut in half.”

His attitude suggested he didn’t like it.

But I actually thought it was a good thing.

“Hyung [older brother or close male friend], this script is about pacing. So, it’s a better opportunity, right?”

Kim frowned at my bright smile.

Not because he was upset, but a surprised look as if he couldn’t believe my words.

He stared at me blankly with his jaw dropped.

“No, Hee-sung. Are you really going to do it?”

I nodded in response to his words.

Then Kim pressed his lips together and raised his arms onto the table.

“Hee-sung, this won’t even be considered a lead role. In short, it’s a half-lead.”

He rested his chin on his hand and looked at me, opening his mouth in a persuasive tone.

“You’ll just be treated as a supporting role with lead billing. Do you still want to do it?”

I didn’t even hesitate at Kim’s words.

My mind was already made up.

“Yeah, I want to do it.”

Seeing that there was no backing down, Kim stared intently into my eyes.

We exchanged glances in the air for a moment.

Each seemed to be silently persuading the other.

And soon Kim’s gaze dropped.

He nodded and opened his mouth.

“Okay. Then… I’ll have a meeting with the higher-ups about this.”

***

It took longer than I thought for Kim to return.

He didn’t appear in the practice room until I had reread the script several times.

I couldn’t help but feel anxious as he didn’t show up for a long time.

Even if it was a project I really wanted to do, I wouldn’t even be able to audition if the company opposed it.

That was still my position.

I could express my opinion on what projects I wanted to do and what projects I didn’t want to do.

But it wouldn’t be reflected as is.

It would have to go through the higher-ups.

In particular, the higher-ups would have no choice but to consider projects that make money and projects that will become famous.

Therefore, I expected them to think like Kim, rather than like me.

Nevertheless, I waited for Kim with just one word, ‘maybe.’

The letters began to blur as I read the script repeatedly.

And as it gradually got dark outside.

I heard footsteps walking towards the practice room.

Not very cheerful footsteps.

Could it be that it was rejected?

My gaze was fixed on the door.

Soon, Kim came into view.

His expression was neither dark nor bright.

But I jumped up and greeted him.

“Hyung!”

Kim gave a faint smile and sat down opposite me.

“Hee-sung, the meeting just ended….”

“How did it go?”

I couldn’t help but interrupt him.

I looked at him with my eyes wide open.

Kim burst into laughter at my desperate expression.

“Haha, you really want to do this project?”

When I nodded, his cheekbones rose.

“Let’s do this project.”

“Wow!”

An exclamation burst out without me realizing it.

I hadn’t been cast in the project yet.

But I was excited just by the fact that I could audition.

I thought the higher-ups would stop me, just like Kim said.

Soon, he erased the smile from his face and opened his diary.

“You have to go for the lead role in this project, no matter what.”

“Okay.”

“And KTS and the OTT [Over-The-Top] platform are investing in it. Citizen will exclusively rebroadcast it.”

I nodded repeatedly as I listened to him.

“KTS is still broadcasting it, right?”

“Yeah, it’ll go into the broadcast time slot that the historical drama was delayed for.”

Kim clicked his tongue and continued.

“Still, it’s a lead role. The conditions are good.”

He twitched his lips as if there were still some regrets.

“But the fact that it’s a fill-in is already widely known among netizens, so the results won’t be very good.”

“I guess so?”

He nodded at my words.

“Yeah, and the fact that it’s a rookie writer and a rookie director is also a problem.”

“Ah….”

“The perception that it’s a fill-in will be bigger than you think.”

Kim’s heart was full of the desire for me not to appear in this drama.

He hated the fact that his celebrity’s first lead role was in a situation where the results were predetermined.

Of course, I could feel his heart full of wanting me to go into a better project.

I felt grateful to him for feeling that way.

But I was so drawn to this drama.

I couldn’t erase the desire to do it.

I opened my mouth to Kim, who was stroking his chin and deep in thought.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“But it’s my first lead role.”

He raised his eyebrows at my words.

“So, that’s why I wanted you to start with a better project.”

Knowing Kim’s heart well, I smiled and replied.

“I want to decide my first lead role.”

He nodded slowly.

“Okay, do what you want to do.”

I widened the corners of my mouth at Kim’s words.

And he stretched his fingers into the air and continued.

“But if this doesn’t work out, you’ll do whatever the company tells you to do for the next project, right?”

“I will.”

***

Another audition.

The scale was much smaller than the last audition.

But my trembling heart was no different from before.

A project that I was doing with a different opinion from Kim.

And a project that could be my first lead in a mini-series.

My heart was pounding more than usual.

The pounding heart felt like it was about to explode.

I closed my eyes and recited the lines.

“Hoo, ha….”

A slow and long breath.

I gradually began to find stability.

Then, a loud laughter was heard in my ear.

“Haha! Don’t be nervous. If you’re nervous, you won’t be able to perform as well as you practiced, you know?”

The voice made my eyes flash open.

When I looked in the direction of the sound, I saw a man smiling brightly and talking to an actor who was waiting.

But I could tell from the other person’s expression and tone.

That they were strangers.

I raised one corner of my mouth at him.

He’s not nervous and has good social skills.

He was a type of actor I had never seen in an audition room.

The audition room is a place where all actors are nervous.

The only difference is who is more nervous and who is less nervous.

It’s a place where everyone can’t help but tremble.

But here he is, approaching strangers and telling them to relax.

That didn’t look bad.

A warm impression and a bright voice.

He just seemed like a nice actor.

The moment I looked at him, our eyes met.

As expected, he came straight to me.

“Hello.”

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

He sat down next to me and held out his hand.

“I’m Seo In-woo.”

“Yes, I’m Jin Hee-sung.”

“I know.”

When I raised my eyebrows at Seo In-woo’s words, he opened his mouth.

“I enjoyed your work.”

“Thank you.”

He began to pour out his age and stories.

In a short time, I learned so much about him.

That he was the same age as me.

That he was a rookie actor.

That it was his first audition.

As Seo In-woo poured out his stories to me,

I also briefly answered my age and my stories.

I exchanged many stories with a stranger.

And I felt close to him in an instant.

“Next, please come in.”

As I was talking to Seo In-woo, it was my turn to audition.

The audition was conducted in pairs.

It just so happened that Seo In-woo and I were in the same group.

I had been talking to him while waiting.

I was surprised that I had to audition with him.

But that fact didn’t create tension.

Because Seo In-woo and I have different paths.

“Hello, my name is Jin Hee-sung.”

After a brief greeting, the eyes of the people on the judging panel were fixed on us.

“Then, Jin Hee-sung, please start with the lines.”

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes and took a long breath in and out.

Then I opened my closed eyes and looked at Seo In-woo.

I quickly immersed myself in him, making eye contact.

After swallowing a dry saliva, I opened my mouth.

“You shouldn’t have come out like that.”

The corners of my mouth twisted in an instant.

I slightly squinted one eye and continued the line.

“Living the way you want is not something you can do.”

The audition room became silent in an instant at my line.

Everyone quickly moved their hands at my tone and expression.

The score being marked on the evaluation sheet.

Without paying attention to that, I glared at Seo In-woo.

Seo In-woo turned his eyes to the air and sighed deeply.

“Haa… you. Then how should I have come out instead?”

At that moment.

My whole body flinched at Seo In-woo’s line.

The corners of his mouth stretched long to one side.

A seemingly relaxed gaze.

I immediately frowned and focused on his next line.

“Why, can’t people living on the ground live like that?!”

I couldn’t hide my surprise at his shouting.

…What, this guy.

Voice tone, acting skills.

And even the absorption was chilling.

I stared at Seo In-woo and raised the corners of my mouth.

Seo In-woo, are you really a rookie?