Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 196

[Extra Story] The Story After – (1)

* * *

Goo Shin-seung, a South Korean actor.

With a height of 185cm, striking proportions, and acting skills that rival his good looks, he has built a solid filmography.

Among male actors in their twenties and thirties, he’s consistently ranked in the top five or six, a testament to his popularity.

A ten-million-viewer actor [referring to movies that sell over 10 million tickets], most of the dramas he stars in are hits. Goo Shin-seung, known for his clean private life and excellent fan service, has another nickname: a ‘good deed maker’.

-Shin-seung? Oh, I trust him completely.

-That *oppa* [term used by females to address older male friends or siblings] is a true professional. I heard he hasn’t caused any trouble since he was a child actor.

-He’s incapable of causing accidents. After filming, he stays home and plays games alone, so there’s no chance of a scandal, which is a manager’s dream.

Fans and industry insiders attribute his acting skills to hard work. Since being street-cast and debuting in a children’s product commercial, thorough self-management has made him who he is today.

However, that’s a fabricated story.

-Shin-seung, the script?

-I memorized it after reading it a few times.

-The acting teacher?

-He told me to stop coming because there was nothing left to teach me. He advised me not to develop any strange habits and just keep doing what I was doing.

-···Let’s not talk about that when we’re out. People get too jealous of excessive talent.

A genius who effortlessly memorized scripts and displayed exceptional acting skills from childhood without any formal training.

And, as often happens with those born with many gifts, Goo Shin-seung was bored.

Until he received a call a few years ago, as his contract with his agency was nearing its end.

Noh Joong-man, who visited him out of the blue, got straight to the point.

-Come to our company.

-Me?

Goo Shin-seung knew a little about the agency founded by the middle-aged man before him.

A so-called ‘bad agency’ rescuer, known for helping actors struggling with unfair contracts and providing them with new opportunities.

However, unlike others, he had never been treated unfairly.

In his mid-twenties, with his popularity soaring. What could a male actor in his prime possibly lack?

-I’m different from the people the director has gathered. My contract is about to expire, but I don’t really want to move to another agency.

-That’s why I came.

-Yes?

-Aren’t you bored? At such a young age, you already have eyes that seem to find everything in life tedious.

-······.

-Life must be boring. Others ride bicycles while you drive a sports car alone. You wouldn’t have felt the need to work hard, nor the sense of reward or accomplishment. It’s easy no matter what you do, so there’s no way acting would be fun.

The fact that he didn’t practice acting was a secret even from the manager assigned to him by the agency.

When Goo Shin-seung didn’t respond, Noh Joong-man smiled.

-Anyway, I know you’re not thinking of retiring anytime soon. Instead of continuing down the path of success with a large agency, why not try moving to a smaller company?

-Why should I do that?

-Because it will be more fun that way.

It didn’t sound like a typical scout offer, but Goo Shin-seung actually transferred. Despite numerous objections and concerns from his close associates.

And Noh Joong-man kept his promise.

He fought with mega-entertainment companies like DG and Joinus for several years, and when the company was established, he brought in a monster of an ordinary person.

‘···Even a sports car can’t fly in the sky.’

A sports car passing by a bicycle, with a jet flying above it.

Seeing the newcomer actor Park Geon, who appeared like a comet and possessed even more dazzling talent than himself, Goo Shin-seung felt a strange sensation.

A feeling that was like a sense of defeat, yet exciting. He later realized it was the sense of interest he had lost long ago.

“No, so who is she?”

“I’m dying to know too. Has she ever been to our company before?”

“Of course not! How could we not remember if someone with those visuals came? The director must have scouted someone from overseas, it’s a big deal.”

It was said that unbelievable things always happened when Park Geon was involved.

What was overturned was not only viewership ratings or audiences, works or acting.

After his debut, he had never had a single scandal, but suddenly a platinum-blonde foreigner he had never seen before came to the agency.

-I’m looking for someone.

Insisting that she knew Park Geon, that she had made a promise with him, and that she must meet him.

Thanks to this, Roman Entertainment employees and actors were gathered in the basement of the building, in the VIP meeting room, putting their heads together.

“Okay, let’s talk one by one then.”

Public Relations Team Leader Gong, wearing a green suit, briefed first.

“First of all, there were no other orders from the public relations department. Manager Yoo?”

“Not from me either. I was so out of it yesterday because of the Aslow kids’ first concert.”

As Manager Yoo Joon-il replied, Team Leader Yang Soo-yeon next to him suggested a new possibility.

“Could it be that they deliberately didn’t give us a hint? The director doesn’t usually talk about these things, so they might have known but just left it······.”

“Team Leader Yang, don’t you know yet?”

“Yes?”

“It’s Park Geon’s business. Even if the *Samsin Halmae* [Korean goddess of childbirth and destiny] came instead of the director, they wouldn’t know.”

Team Leader Yang looked convinced. Goo Shin-seung alone was giving them a headache, but Park Geon was known as an unpredictable icon within the company.

The public relations department is always the most anxious about what kind of accident will happen next.

Team Leader Gong asked, representing everyone’s feelings.

“So, what’s going on?”

One manager and two team leaders racked their brains, but there was no clear answer.

That’s because the people who should be explaining had left the company thirty minutes ago.

-Then, I’ll go first. I have something to talk about with an old colleague.

-Goodbye, everyone! See you again!

-Uh, why me······.

With Park Seon dragged along in a daze, only speculation was rampant in the place where the three had disappeared.

Choi Phillip, who was sitting with his legs crossed, watching the situation with an interesting expression, said.

“I can tell just by looking. It’s his girlfriend.”

The words behind were drowned out by an annoyed shout.

“What girlfriend!”

“What girlfriend······.”

The two actresses, Jin Ji-yoo and Baek Ha-ni, who shouted at the same time, looked at each other.

Choi Phillip whistled.

“Look at these two. Uniting in the face of a common enemy, or something?”

Baek Ha-ni, who turned her head away, snorted.

“What common enemy? I’ve never even seen her before.”

“That’s right. It didn’t seem like they were anything special.”

Jin Ji-yoo, who was nervously fidgeting with her fingers, also joined in. Soon, the two actors began to pour out all sorts of speculations about their relationship with Park Geon.

“Or maybe they were childhood friends… They didn’t seem very close.”

“They might have met while filming a project. She’s been overseas for quite a while.”

“If you haven’t seen someone for a few years, they’re strangers. Don’t you have a lot of those people, *unnie* [term used by younger females to address older female friends or siblings]?”

“Hmph, I don’t even answer their calls. I’d rather go to a robot exhibition at that time.”

Team Leader Gong, who was watching the bizarre scene, whispered to Manager Yoo Joon-il.

“Why are those two so in sync?”

“It’s shocking. They’re in the same project, and I’m seeing the Jin-Baek alliance for the first time in my life.”

The meeting room was noisy for a while as the rest of the people joined in the reasoning.

Childhood friends, just acquaintances, colleagues they met overseas… Choi Phillip summarized the end of the reasoning.

“We can just ask him directly. We’ll probably see him soon anyway.”

Jin Ji-yoo, narrowing her neat eyebrows, asked.

“Why see him? Does *oppa* [term used by females to address older male friends or siblings] want to meet her?”

“What are you talking about, I don’t like foreigners.”

“Then why······.”

“She doesn’t look like an ordinary person, does she? She said the name of a role, God or something, when she first came. She’s definitely a related person.”

was the first overseas project Park Geon filmed.

A strange silence flowed after Choi Phillip finished speaking. As the silence continued, Baek Ha-ni suddenly stood up.

“I can’t stand to watch this patheticness. Whether she shows up again or not, why should we care?”

“Uh-oh? You can’t say that. You were curious until just now······.”

“I’m getting up. You guys keep worrying about stupid things.”

“Hey, Baek Ha-ni!”

Baek Ha-ni, who spewed out harsh words, left without a word. Before anyone could say anything, Jin Ji-yoo also quietly grabbed her phone and stood up.

“Manager, I’ll be going too. I just remembered I had a production meeting.”

“What meeting? I said all schedules were pushed back because of the company party today.”

“It suddenly came up. Shin-seung *oppa* [term used by younger females to address older male friends or siblings] and Phillip *oppa* [term used by younger females to address older male friends or siblings], see you later!”

After the meeting room door closed, people stared at each other’s faces like they had swallowed honey.

Soon, cautious opinions were exchanged among the well-informed officials.

“···Did they barge in?”

“They might have. Sparks were flying from their eyes.”

“Nah, probably… They just left.”

“But those two are amazing. Everyone, from actors to idols, has been wiped out trying to break through Park Geon’s iron wall. You have to give them credit for their persistence.”

Whatever other people’s love lives may be, office workers suffering from chronic fatigue are wronged.

Manager Yoo Joon-il muttered with a lot to say.

“Why did we gather if this was going to happen? I just couldn’t take a nap.”

*

“This is it. Come in.”

Park Geon’s apartment.

Aria, who had been amazed since she first got in the car, admired the marble floor.

“Wow, you live in a nice place.”

“It’s not that nice······.”

“It’s huge compared to the temple bedroom. Or, should I say tall?”

To the former saintess who kept looking around, Geon introduced Park Seon, who had followed him in.

“I introduced her earlier, right? This is my sister. That’s Aria Riverot, an old colleague.”

“Hello. I’m Park Seon.”

As Park Seon bowed, Aria also bowed politely.

“Ah, the hero… You said you were God’s family. Nice to meet you.”

As a dedicated manager, there was no way she wouldn’t remember her brother’s role name. Park Seon’s eyes widened when she heard the name.

“God? Is that someone you met when you were filming a movie?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“What’s a movie?”

This time, the answers differed. Seeing Park Seon looking back and forth between the two with a puzzled expression, Geon sighed and explained.

“She doesn’t speak Korean very well yet. There are a lot of words she doesn’t know.”

“Ah, I see! Then do you perhaps speak English… or French or Russian? I’m not very good at it either, but I can communicate roughly.”

“······?”

Park Seon explained in English, but Aria naturally didn’t understand.

Watching his sister struggling with a guest from another dimension, Geon recalled old memories.

‘I was like that at first too.’

When you cross dimensions, the language of that dimension is naturally applied, but you can’t understand unfamiliar cultures or unknown words.

That was why, after being transferred to the Iron Kingdom for the first time, he could speak but felt frustrated.

It took him several days just to put things like what a magic stone was, what harmony was, and tools and mediums that amplified divine power into his head.

“Then you two, feel free to talk. I’ll go buy something to drink nearby.”

Park Seon quickly left the seat, sensing that they had finished introducing themselves to some extent.

Aria, with a faint smile, said.

“You have a good sister.”

“I told you. I had to come back alive because of that kid.”

“That’s right. I’ve heard a lot about your family, but it’s amazing to see them in person.”

“I’m amazed that I met you. What happened?”

Aria’s answer was simple.

“I found you.”

“Yes?”

“In the stopped time, part of my consciousness reacted to the magic of another world that flowed into the dimension and woke up. I used that as a clue to find you again and again. The drifting was long, so it took much longer than I thought······.”

Geon was speechless for a moment.

His last work. When filming the final scene of The Lord’s Letter, the dimensions of the Iron Kingdom and Earth were briefly connected, and the two worlds stopped together.

Aria disappeared, wrapped in light, for a full year.

That was a year based on Earth’s standards, and it was impossible to guess how much time the saintess in front of him had wandered.

“···That’s a relief.”

Aria’s eyelashes gently lifted. As if he had overcome another difficult battle, Geon looked into her lake-colored eyes and said.

“I’m glad I can keep my promise.”

“I promised too. I said I would go find the hero, but I can’t lie as a believer.”

“Just call me by my name. If you call me a hero here, everyone will look at you strangely.”

Aria pouted her lips.

“I can’t get used to it. Park Geon? And I don’t know why you put Mr. or something on it. There are too many strange titles in this world.”

“Because it’s not the Iron Kingdom.”

“···You still have the habit of only saying what’s right.”

Until Park Seon came back with coffee, the two spent time sharing the backlog of stories.

She found the coordinates of Earth and transferred her body, only to find herself in the middle of Seoul, and asked passersby about the photos on the billboards to find the company.

She also said that most of the divine power from that dimension had disappeared, but her trained body and five senses were still intact.

That the dimensional rift had completely closed as she crossed over to this world, and so on.

Geon narrowed his brows as he listened to the story.

“Then that world······.”

“It will be stopped for a while. Until the existence of the three archangels disappears and the monsters of another world turn their eyes away. After that, a new beginning will begin.”

The terribly powerful archangels of Red Light, Blue Light, and Green Light came to mind.

They had been growing the dimensional rift for thousands of years, manipulating humans and demons, but even those absolute beings could not resist fate in the end.

“Anyway, what are you going to do now?”

Changing the atmosphere, Aria gave him a look as if to ask why he was asking such a thing.

“I have to live here. I can’t go back.”

“No, I mean, what are you going to do······.”

“Wouldn’t I be something? There are no demons marching to the capital in this world.”

Well, she was a former saintess who had fought every day in that harsh world. She would be more than capable of handling most things.

Geon nodded.

“You can stay here for a while. Tell me if you need anything.”

“Instead of needing something… I have something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

The first day she was transferred to Earth.

The former colleague from the Iron Kingdom asked, with her blue eyes sparkling.

“Is being an actor fun?”

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