An Actor Who Has Lived For 10,000 Years [EN]: Chapter 81

81. The Key to Survival (3)

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

“Director, I brought the analysis data you asked for earlier.”

Chief Kang bowed towards CEO Lim Jong-ju.

“Good, have a seat first.”

They took their seats at the table in the center of the CEO’s office.

CEO Lim picked up the receiver of the phone next to the sofa.

“Bring us two cups of tea here.”

Soon, two warm cups of tea were placed in front of them.

Chief Kang handed the documents to CEO Lim.

“CEO, this is the viewership rating chart for the actors.”

He stared at the documents silently for a long time.

Holding the documents in one hand and the teacup in the other.

He savored the moment.

CEO Lim nodded with a meaningful look on his face.

“His performance is better than Baek Young-hoon’s?”

“Pardon?”

Chief Kang tilted his head and asked, and CEO Lim placed the documents on the table.

Then, he pointed to one spot with his finger.

‘Jin Hee-sung’.

Chief Kang smiled as he looked at where his finger was pointing.

“That’s right. I was worried because his drama overlapped with Baek Young-hoon’s in the same time slot, but both dramas showed decent results.”

He continued, looking at the name Jin Hee-sung.

“Especially Jin Hee-sung’s viewership ratings finished quite well.”

“Wasn’t he filming a drama to fill a spot due to someone backing out?”

CEO Lim frowned and asked.

Chief Kang quickly flipped through the papers and replied.

“Yes, so I was worried at first, but as you can see here, the first viewership rating was 8.2%…”

He began to explain, unfolding the data on Jin Hee-sung.

For a long time, their conversation revolved around Jin Hee-sung.

CEO Lim stroked his chin and nodded.

“…Not bad.”

“That’s right. He also appeared on a special HS Entertainment variety show, and Jin Hee-sung’s buzz was as good as Song Yu-na’s.”

CEO Lim bit his lower lip and seemed lost in thought.

After a moment, he spoke.

“Chief Kang.”

“Yes, CEO.”

Then, he tapped Jin Hee-sung’s photo and said.

“We need to keep him.”

Chief Kang smiled and quickly shook his head.

“I think that would be a good idea too. Should I prepare the contract then…?”

Before he could finish speaking, CEO Lim opened his mouth.

“But you know.”

The corner of his lips twisted slyly.

“Jin Hee-sung, he’s a rookie, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then we need to tie him down before he gets too big. Once these kids start to get noticed, we’ll get contacted from all over the place.”

CEO Lim continued with a meaningful smile.

“Before that… we need to quickly sign him up when he doesn’t know anything and tie him down completely. You know what I mean, right?”

Chief Kang showed a faint smile, as if he understood his meaning.

“Yes, I’ll prepare the contract.”

***

“Hee-sung, you’ve worked hard.”

Team Leader Kim patted my shoulder with a brighter face than ever before.

The final episode of the 8-episode drama had just ended.

When the commercials appeared on the screen, we looked at each other and smiled.

“You’ve worked hard, hyung [older brother or close male friend].”

“Haha, anyway, this drama was so much fun from beginning to end without any dull parts.”

He turned off the TV and said.

“I know. It’s been a while since we monitored something together like this.”

“That’s right. We used to watch together often.”

Even though it was a small house, I always invited Team Leader Kim when monitoring.

He also joined me at my place as if it were natural.

And we started preparing to celebrate as we always did.

“Should we order chicken?”

“Sounds good.”

“Let’s have a beer too; it’s been a while.”

After quickly ordering through the delivery app, I chatted with him about the drama.

“Hyung, I think this project was really good.”

He nodded in agreement with my words.

“Yeah, I regret telling you not to do it at first.”

Team Leader Kim drooped his eyebrows as if he felt sorry.

I raised the corners of my lips and shook my head.

“No, from the company’s perspective, it was natural to stop me. The viewers know it too; it’s a half-baked drama.”

“Actually, that’s how I saw it. Usually, those kinds of dramas don’t do well.”

I said to Team Leader Kim as if teasing him.

“So, are you going to trust my judgment now?”

“Of course. I’ve always trusted your judgment, you idiot.”

We laughed together and reminisced about the events on set.

After a while, when only bones remained of the chicken.

Team Leader Kim leaned against the wall, full.

“Hee-sung.”

“Yeah?”

“You know you’ve been working non-stop, right?”

At his words, I rolled my eyes and fell into thought.

Team Leader Kim was right.

Since entering HS Entertainment and taking on my first role.

No, even before that, when I was doing minor roles and extras without an agency, I never rested.

In the days when I didn’t have roles, I worked part-time every day.

But after getting cast, even in minor roles, I don’t think I ever took a break from acting.

That’s the same even after joining the company.

I was always busy looking for auditions for other roles as soon as one role ended.

I thought that in the entertainment industry, if you’re not seen in a project or on TV, you’ll be quickly forgotten by the public.

That thought still hasn’t changed.

It’s natural.

If you’re not seen, you’ll be forgotten.

There are so many people, so many actors, who can replace me.

More than anything, I liked acting.

Of course, it was necessary to rest my tired body, but I loved acting that much.

Rather, not acting and staying still felt more difficult to me.

After entering HS Entertainment, the longest I rested was…

Probably the 2 nights and 3 days I went down to my parents’ house.

That was it.

“I guess so.”

“How long are you going to rest this time?”

When I rolled my eyes at his words, Team Leader Kim quickly spoke again.

“If you don’t rest this time and start working right away again, you’re really going to be in trouble.”

I smiled brightly at his worried expression.

“No way.”

Team Leader Kim’s eyes widened.

He asked with an even more troubled face.

“…Are you really not going to rest and try to work?”

I shook my head, looking at his expression.

“No. I’m going to rest a little this time.”

“Okay, good thinking. You should rest for a long time this time and reorganize…”

Team Leader Kim shouted as if he was happy, but I opened my mouth before he could finish speaking.

“Just one month.”

“What?”

“I want to rest for only a month. And I want to work right away.”

He burst out laughing as if he couldn’t beat me.

“You’re really amazing. But it’s okay since you’re resting for a month this time. And if you rest, I can rest a little too.”

“That’s right. Hyung too… a month is enough, right?”

I glanced at him.

“Haha, of course. You can rest a little longer too.”

Team Leader Kim and I poured the last beer left in our glasses into our mouths.

“Ah, Hee-sung. And your appearance fee will be deposited soon too.”

***

Tying her hair up tightly and sitting cross-legged in her computer chair, she placed both hands on the keyboard.

“The ID is… ParkSoonHee12.”

She raised the corners of her lips and quickly logged in.

She immediately clicked on the fan cafe.

[Jin Hee-sung Actor Official Fan Cafe – ‘JinHeeSungPeak’]

Jin Hee-sung’s photos filled the main screen.

‘JinHeeSungPeak – Actor Jin Hee-sung is always at his peak. Jin Hee-sung Actor Official Fan Cafe.’

Several photos of Jin Hee-sung appeared on the screen along with large letters.

“Wow, the number of cafe members is increasing quickly because our oppa’s [term of endearment for an older brother or male celebrity] drama viewership ratings are good, right?”

Park Soon-hee scanned the new member information with a proud face.

She had to thoroughly check if there were any strange points or if they were anti-fans to be satisfied.

As always, she didn’t take her butt off the chair for several hours and concentrated as if she would be sucked into the monitor.

“Isn’t our Hee-sung oppa going to be surprised when he comes to the fan cafe and sees the increased number of members? Hehe.”

She smiled at the photo of Jin Hee-sung hanging on the main page.

She swallowed hard and started capturing his dramas and variety shows.

“Today, I’ll update oppa’s photos and…”

She was about to click on the bulletin board labeled ‘Drama – He Cooks Too Well’ but went into the ‘Boast About My Actor’ bulletin board right below it.

“Ah, I clicked the wrong…”

At that time, one ID caught her eye.

‘JungYeoJin’.

Dozens of posts with the ID JungYeoJin were lined up as if they were covering the bulletin board.

Park Soon-hee tilted her head and rolled her eyes to recall the ID.

“Surely, if someone is posting this many posts, their cafe level should be high. Why is it so low?”

She quickly clicked on JungYeoJin’s post.

The very first post that JungYeoJin uploaded was full of Jin Hee-sung’s photos.

And one question attached below the photo.

‘What is Hee-sung oppa’s favorite food?’

Due to the nature of the bulletin board, she had to attach a comment to each photo.

Park Soon-hee smiled nonchalantly at her post and clicked on the next post.

Another photo of Jin Hee-sung.

And the question below.

‘What is Hee-sung oppa’s favorite type of woman?’

.

.

.

‘What type of woman does Hee-sung oppa dislike?’

‘What is the password to the front door of the building where Hee-sung oppa lives?’

‘What color is the blanket that Hee-sung oppa sleeps with?’

‘What color is Hee-sung oppa’s refrigerator?’

‘What is the shape of the doorbell at Hee-sung oppa’s house?’

‘What pajamas does Hee-sung oppa wear every day?’

What… what is she?

Park Soon-hee’s expression, who was smiling with a proud face while looking at the post, gradually hardened.

Soon, goosebumps appeared all over her arms.

She quickly checked JungYeoJin’s member profile.

It hasn’t been two months since JungYeoJin joined the fan cafe.

“Two months means it hasn’t been long since she fell for our Hee-sung oppa…”

And Park Soon-hee looked through the photos that JungYeoJin uploaded again.

“……”

Soon, goosebumps appeared all over her body again.

“These are all photos I’ve never seen before…!”

The photos that JungYeoJin uploaded were images that had never appeared in articles, TV shows, or movies.

In other words, it was either an unreleased portion of someone taking Jin Hee-sung’s photo and not uploading it to the media.

Or it meant that JungYeoJin took the photos herself.

You could tell by looking at the composition of the photos that Jin Hee-sung was in.

It was definitely not taken by a photographer at a photoshoot or event.

Park Soon-hee thought that her love for Jin Hee-sung was greater than anyone else’s.

So there wasn’t a single new photo of Jin Hee-sung that she hadn’t seen.

She had personally uploaded all the average articles, unreleased videos, and photos uploaded by HS Entertainment to the fan cafe.

Park Soon-hee bit her lower lip and muttered softly, looking at JungYeoJin’s ID.

“Is she a reporter or a paparazzi?”

Then she frowned and continued.

“If not, could she be… a sasaeng fan [an obsessive fan who stalks or engages in other intrusive behavior]?”

Park Soon-hee captured the photos and post screens that JungYeoJin uploaded.

“Just in case, I should send it to oppa’s company to be careful.”

She started attaching them to HS Entertainment’s official email.

***

Beep, beep.

A holiday where I was going to sleep in without an alarm for the first time in a while.

I didn’t wake up even with the light coming in through the curtains, but eventually, I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing.

The cell phone I grabbed while fumbling was constantly vibrating.

I looked at the screen with slightly opened eyes.

[Caller: Team Leader Kim Ji-hoon]

What’s going on that Team Leader Kim, who recommended me to rest, is calling me from the morning?

Thinking it was important, I quickly clicked the receive button.

“Hello?”

-Hee-sung, were you sleeping?

“No. I woke up.”

-Ah, you have to come to the company today.”

At his words, my eyes widened.

“Did something happen?”

Team Leader Kim laughed at my surprised voice and opened his mouth.

-The drama did well. So the CEO is adjusting your contract!

At Team Leader Kim’s words, I finally jumped out of bed.

“What?”

I understood his words, but I asked again because I wanted to confirm.

Team Leader Kim burst into a hearty laugh.

-You’re going to make a lot of money now!

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fist tightly.

It was a silent cry.

I wanted to shout a cheer of joy to Team Leader Kim over the receiver.

I barely swallowed that sound.

Apart from the money, I was so surprised that the company would change my contract terms first.

HS Entertainment is full of competitive actors.

This huge company is one of the top three in Korea.

I was finally starting to get recognized there.