An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 73

73 #16 – The Person Riding the Wave and the Person Swept Away by the Wave (1)

A large light.

Next to it, a monitor for instant photo review.

And a camera mounted on a tripod.

Finally, the day of the drama poster shoot had arrived.

It wasn’t my first time shooting a poster.

But I hadn’t done it a lot either.

This shoot was only my second time.

When I played supporting roles, I didn’t appear on the poster, so I never had the chance to shoot one.

And the first time I played the lead role was in a one-act play, not a mini-series.

That one-act play was a short, one-episode story, so we didn’t even rent a studio to shoot a poster.

The first poster I ever shot was for the recently released movie, ‘I Became a Genius Salesman.’

Having experienced only one poster shoot with Choi Seo-bin was all I had.

I only remember being so busy shooting that it was over before I knew it.

Besides, my part wasn’t that big, so I can’t really say I’d experienced it properly.

And today.

It was the day I was shooting a poster for the first time as the lead in a drama mini-series.

I felt a sense of novelty as I headed to the poster shoot.

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel the pressure of being the lead role.

But more than that pressure, I was filled with the desire to do well and excitement.

I left earlier than usual to arrive on time, so only the staff had arrived at the set yet.

As I was greeting the staff, that’s when.

“Hello.”

A person came in, greeting with a lively voice.

It was Seo In-woo.

“In-woo!”

I welcomed Seo In-woo more enthusiastically than anyone and approached him.

“Hee-sung, how have you been?”

The two of us have become much closer.

Just then, I ran into Shin Min-young, who was arriving late.

She looked at me and Seo In-woo alternately, as if she was amazed.

Seo In-woo approached her and said, “Hello, how have you been?”

“Yes, hello.”

Since we hadn’t met separately after the script reading, we exchanged greetings and chatted.

Click, click!

Perhaps because we took so many shots in quick succession at the beginning, everyone seemed to have relaxed.

“Yes, good.”

Photographer Jo Choong-hyun smiled and continued, “Can you smile at each other a little more affectionately?”

“Hahaha.”

We turned our heads back and forth, looking at each other and laughing.

Click, click!

The shutter sound kept going off.

“Great.”

He lowered the camera and said, “Let’s go for a two-shot of actors Jin Hee-sung and Shin Min-young.”

At the photographer’s words, the supporting actors, including Seo In-woo, bowed their heads and stepped aside.

And the shooting continued again.

Shin Min-young and I faced each other and exchanged glances.

No words were spoken, but we continued our eye acting, using only the sound of the camera shutter as our conversation.

At that moment.

Director Yoo, who was watching the monitor with his arms crossed, carefully walked to the photographer and spoke.

“Hey, photographer, I was wondering if we could shoot these two lead actors with this kind of feeling….”

Directing at the poster shoot isn’t really his job, unlike during the drama shoot.

Of course, he was making suggestions and discussing with the photographer during the shooting.

Director Yoo spoke in a soft tone, not an overbearing one.

The photographer nodded and listened to him.

Their conversation went on for a while.

We paused to wait for the direction.

Our eyes met awkwardly for a moment.

Shin Min-young smiled awkwardly.

In an atmosphere where I felt like I had to say something, I asked her, “Min-young, you took a break after the movie and then joined this drama, right?”

She smiled even brighter, as if trying to shake off the awkwardness, and said, “Yes, I took a few months off this time.”

“Then did you go on a trip or something?”

“No. The period was ambiguous, so I just spent almost all my time at home doing hobbies.”

I nodded and responded, “That’s right. You worked hard for a few months, so it’s best to rest at home doing what you want to do.”

“What do you usually do when you rest, Hee-sung?”

Early in the conversation, before we’d even found a common ground, we started asking about each other’s tastes, like a first meeting on a blind date.

“I like to drink coffee, so I go to cafes….”

Before I could finish my sentence, she clapped her hands and said, “Have you ever been to a board game cafe?”

I was surprised by her voice and my eyes widened, but I soon smiled and replied, “I haven’t been there recently, but I’ve been there a few times with my friends in college. I usually like board games, so I buy fun ones and play them at home.”

At my words, she opened her mouth wide and said, “Really? I love board games too.”

She smiled brightly like a child and looked at me.

We continued talking non-stop with just one common interest: ‘board games.’

“Then Hee-sung, have you ever played that board game?”

Shin Min-young stared at me with wide eyes and asked.

I was also interested in the topic, so I answered enthusiastically, “Which one?”

“There’s an opponent’s hand, and on top of that….”

Thanks to the long conversation between Director Yoo and the photographer, we were able to get closer.

***

“We’ve arrived.”

At Team Leader Kim’s words, I straightened up.

“Did you get some sleep?”

“No, I just closed my eyes.”

Because the shoot started early in the morning, Team Leader Kim advised me to sleep as soon as I got in the car.

But there was no way I could fall asleep with the first day of drama shooting waiting for me.

I just closed my eyes and rested, but my eyes kept turning to the window because of my pounding heart.

He looked at my flushed face and said with a stern expression, “Are you nervous?”

But it seemed like Team Leader Kim was the one who was nervous, not me.

I looked at him and smiled, answering, “I think you’re the one who’s nervous? Haha.”

“It’s not that I’m nervous, but it’s your first time as the lead, so I’m a little excited.”

“I’ve practiced a lot, so I’ll do well.”

He smiled slightly and nodded.

Seeing Team Leader Kim’s sincere attitude toward my role and the shoot touched my heart.

Before getting out of the car, I took a slow, deep breath.

The drama ‘So Good at Cooking’ had quite a few similarities to what I saw in my dream a few weeks ago.

Of course, the type of food and background were different.

The drama about a rookie chef’s hardships and adversities, and the growth story of overcoming them, had quite a few scenes similar to some of my dreams.

That image I saw in my dream.

I recalled that vivid scene.

An unknown confidence welled up from deep within my heart.

Soon, my heart was burning hot.

I barely cooled it down and took a step onto the set.

“Hello.”

As I approached the set, the staff came up to me and greeted me.

“Yes, hello.”

It was a first.

It was the first time the staff greeted me like this.

I was always the one who said hello first.

And I thought that was natural.

A staff member said to me and Team Leader Kim, “Today’s shoot will start as we told you in advance, and if you need anything, please let us know at any time.”

“…Yes.”

I blinked and answered.

The outdoor shoot continued for a long time.

Around the time my stomach clock rang.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The morning shoot was over.

And the smell of food wafted in.

It was a food truck set up on one side of the set.

I headed to the food truck with the supporting actors who had been shooting with me.

As always, I took my place at the end of the long line.

“Wow, I came after finishing the shoot, and the line is huge.”

The supporting actor next to me looked at the line in front of him and said.

“I know.”

I smiled slightly and agreed.

At that moment.

Director Yoo came up and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Hee-sung, just a moment.”

“Ah, yes.”

I stepped out of line and followed him, and Director Yoo smiled brightly and said, “It’s your first day of shooting today, so you’re working hard. Let’s go out and eat something delicious.”

“Yes.”

I answered quickly.

But many thoughts flashed through my mind.

Of course, lunch on set was usually eaten after waiting in the long line.

There were no exceptions for staff or actors.

When I went to the set as a supporting actor, I always stood in line and ate.

Of course… that was normal.

Things that I thought were ‘natural’ were not all natural today.

The only thing that had changed was just one thing.

I went from a supporting role to a lead role, that was all.

“Director!”

At that moment, Shin Min-young approached from the side and spoke.

“Oh, Min-young. Let’s go eat quickly.”

Judging by the fact that Director Yoo wasn’t surprised, it seemed like he had already offered her a meal.

So the lead actors, me and Shin Min-young, and Director Yoo went to a restaurant instead of the crowded food truck.

Just because it was a meal with the director didn’t mean the food would be special.

Because the set was far from the downtown area, we went to a spicy pork stew restaurant that was said to be a local favorite.

Spicy pork stew, *ssam* vegetables [leafy vegetables used for wrapping meat], and various side dishes were laid out on the table.

We quickly picked up our spoons.

Even while shoving rice into my mouth, I couldn’t help but smile.

Rather than smiling at the amazing food, it was just the fact that I came out to eat separately with Director Yoo just because I was the lead role.

That alone was enough.

Director Yoo wrapped a full *ssam* and put it in his mouth, chewing for a few seconds.

He quickly swallowed the food and said, “It’s the beginning of the shoot, but because I’m arranging the locations, it looks like we’ll be moving the shooting location briefly next week.”

At his words, Shin Min-young and I looked at Director Yoo at the same time.

“Where to?” she asked.

He rolled his eyes and answered, “Where to… um.”

Director Yoo hesitated, looking at Shin Min-young’s expression instead of mine.

He made a *tsk* sound [a disapproving sound] and continued, “It’s a deserted island, you know?”

Shin Min-young’s eyes widened at the words “deserted island.”

“Yes?”

Director Yoo quickly added, “It’s a deserted island, but it’s near Geoje Island. We’ve rented a boat, so we’ll shoot every day and come back to the mainland to rest.”

Director Yoo repeated, as if he was watching Shin Min-young’s reaction, “You don’t have to worry. It’s not a very remote place….”

Perhaps because he thought it would be uncomfortable since she was an actress, he was watching Shin Min-young’s reaction more than mine.

But contrary to expectations, Shin Min-young smiled brightly and answered, “Wow! I’ve never been to a deserted island before.”

When she smiled shyly, Director Yoo drank water in gulps as if he was relieved.

“We’ll prepare everything and go, so it’ll be okay. I was going to go a little later, but it’s next week. Hee-sung, are you okay too?”

I looked at him and nodded.

“Of course.”

A deserted island….

I was also quite interested because I had never been to a deserted island for filming.

This is going to be fun?

And at that thought, I snapped my fingers.

“Ah, Director. But I heard there’s a cameo in next week’s shoot, who is it?”