The Script-Eating Actor – Chapter 82

Ch 82

An artist’s pride in the song they will write.

Ellani O’connor’s insistence on not giving her song to just anyone was quite serious.

‘I want to hear it again.’

In that brief moment when Do Jae-hee sang, a power that could not be easily described in words stole her gaze.

And then, they happened to meet on the train.

A moment too dramatic to simply dismiss as coincidence.

The moment when coincidence turned into ‘fate.’

That’s why she impulsively accompanied him to Rome.

‘I’ll be back by tomorrow morning.’

Leaving just a single text message.

It felt like it would be a good ‘stimulus.’

The song work that had been stagnant was suddenly caught in a whirlwind in an unexpected place, becoming ‘inspiration’ that brushed past her.

And the result is now.

The ‘conviction’ that she wanted to meet him again.

As Ellani O’connor boarded the last train from Rome to Milan, she kept glancing back.

“….”

It’s strange.

Why do I feel this regret?

Her mouth was covered by a mask, but she couldn’t hide the smile in her eyes.

‘Hmm.’

She had a feeling that a good song would come out.

And one more thing.

She also thought that it would suit him very well.

*

A musical film.

Yes, that’s all good.

But she had never heard of an American-style musical film with an Asian lead.

A character wearing tacky clothes and playing the accordion in Koreatown flashed through her mind.

I shook my head and brushed away the thoughts.

‘Let’s not think about work.’

I erased the day with Ellani O’connor, which had passed like a fleeting dream, from my mind and enjoyed the last of Rome.

A new morning in the Vatican.

A midday brunch in the Spanish Steps.

A late dinner at the Trevi Fountain.

And now.

“Did you have a pleasant trip?”

At Leonardo da Vinci Airport, I marked the end of my short but long 20-day trip.

“It was very good.”

━ I’ll be at the airport on time.

A text message from Jae-ik Hyung saying he would wait for me at the arrival time, and a first-class ticket that the company upgraded for me.

Perfect.

I bypassed the long boarding line and passed through the bridge. I hesitated for a moment at the completely different seat structure from economy class.

“I will assist you with your guidance.”

I quietly followed the guidance of the skilled flight attendant.

A spacious cabin structure in the shape of a ‘ㄷ’. A private bed attached to the side of the cabin seat. The flight attendant laid out the bedding, and the food was a feast that rivaled any restaurant.

“We will make sure you are comfortable.”

Even the co-pilot came to greet each of the first-class passengers.

Wow, it’s really not for nothing that they say first class is a hotel floating in the sky.

As expected, those who have used money know how to use it well, and it’s good to experience things like this sometimes.

But the most welcome thing among all of this was.

“Is there anything else you need?”

Korean, which I hadn’t heard since London, after a long time.

I smiled at the flight attendant.

“I’m fine.”

Smiling brightly.

After the flight attendant disappeared, I turned my gaze to the window.

Chasing the flowing clouds ━ on the way back to Korea.

Even first class, the plane noise is louder than I thought.

I put earphones in my ears.

And Ellani O’connor’s song flowed out.

♪Take me home.

♪Now get back to normal.

Take me home.

Let’s get back to normal.

When I closed my eyes, the past trip slowly flowed by.

A bit of curiosity, a short busking stage I stood on, intoxicated by the angels of music, and the rests in Paris and Switzerland. A short but intense connection with Ellani O’connor.

The clouds outside the window, the noise of the plane. Ellani O’connor’s sweet voice all blended together.

Soon, I was filled with an emotional feeling, as if someone had turned on the BGM for my life.

Music and reality meet, and my mood floats up.

The OST of this moment.

But one thing I must not forget.

There is no background music in life.

*

That’s right.

There is no music in life, and there is no device to maximize my life.

I was briefly intoxicated by the fantastic trip of the past 20 days, but.

The moment I take out my earphones now.

I face the same ‘reality’ as always.

The end of a long flight that exceeds 12 hours.

As soon as I got out of the plane, Jae-ik Hyung, who was standing in front of the gate, recognized me at a glance and hugged me.

“Hey! Jae-hee!”

“Ugh, I can’t breathe. Have you been well?”

“Of course! You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Ah, that’s a relief!”

It seems he was very worried.

After a brief greeting, Jae-ik Hyung grabbed my carrier and started a phone call with the company right away.

“Yes, I met him now. I’ll pick him up and let him rest today. Yes, yes, I’m just going to drop off the synopsis at home.”

And he turned to me and chuckled.

“You look good? Yes, yes. Did you meet a woman or something? You’re glowing. Come on, do you think he’d tell me if I asked? Heh heh. Anyway, he needs to rest for a few days.”

“….”

Is he a ghost?

That woman isn’t that woman, but anyway.

After hanging up, Jae-ik Hyung looked at me and said.

“You’re tired, right? I’m sorry to talk about work as soon as you get back to Korea, but I have to. There’s a lot piled up.”

The reality I faced after taking off my earphones was.

‘Work’ pouring in as soon as I arrived.

We put the luggage in the car and sat in the back seat.

Jae-ik Hyung took out a notebook from the passenger seat and started the ‘status report’ right away while checking the notebook.

The first word he took out was ‘musical.’

“A musical offer came in. Because of that London YouTube video of you…”

While traveling, a young Asian man had spontaneously joined in, and it turned out he was a famous Korean actor. In these days where busking has become a culture.

It seemed to be quite stimulating the curiosity of foreigners and artists.

The typhoon caused by the video has stopped, but the aftershocks remain.

The number of views is still slightly increasing and spreading around the world, and the reaction is still hot.

“Were you originally interested in musicals?”

“No.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“Um, I was caught up in the atmosphere?”

“Thanks to that, it’s chaos right now. Heh heh. Several musical companies have contacted us… It’s not just because of the atmosphere. They’re saying you’re the next generation musical star and whatnot. What should we do?”

“I don’t know.”

I tilted my head.

“I did learn the fun of singing, but a musical is a bit…”

Jae-ik Hyung smiled as if he expected that and muttered “rejected” before drawing a line through it.

The musical disappeared from my schedule.

“Next are the schedules that need to be handled immediately.”

There are many schedules for me to handle in December.

“There’s a support meeting for movie people related to childhood cancer. SAFA asked if you could attend the year-end film festival… And in the rural areas…”

Even excluding these one-day film-related events.

Director Park Jin-woo has proposed his major debut work to me, so I had to check it, and directors who want to make a drinking party to cast me are also waiting.

The stage has only changed from drama to film, but the casting war is still ongoing.

“Let’s read the synopses first, and then have meetings in order of the good works.”

“Okay, let’s do that… Next is the awards ceremony.”

Awards ceremony.

The year-end ‘settlement’ to wrap up this year and leap forward for next year remained.

“First of all, at the TV-K Awards, you’re a nominee for the Grand Prize. You, Yang Ik-chan, and some others… To cut a long story short, you’re the most likely.”

It’s already noisy with talk about who the nominees are and who is a shoo-in.

“It seems like they’ll give us a heads-up before the awards ceremony. The rumor is that you’re 100% certain, so prepare your acceptance speech. Next is the Daejong Film Awards.”

Daejong Film Awards.

and .

Both were nominated for the Daejong Film Awards.

Again, winning is certain. The only question is how many awards you will receive.

Anyway, right after flying for 12 hours, I’m completely out of it with the work talk pouring in.

“Okay, I understand.”

When I showed a slightly tired look, Jae-ik Hyung threw out a word.

“ has surpassed 470,000.”

This was an energy drink with a perfect effect that could make me jump up from exhaustion.

“Huh?”

I was startled and opened my eyes wide.

Just a few days ago, I was happy that it had surpassed 130,000.

But in just a few days? How?

“They drastically increased the number of theaters. This is now history, history.”

The movie that started in 8 theaters nationwide has drastically increased the number of theaters nationwide in just 20 days of release.

At most, 20,000-30,000.

Box office hits are around 50,000.

Independent films that surpass 100,000 are rare, and they have to rely on VOD sales revenue because they can’t break even.

A score of 470,000 is a living legend itself.

And this is also still ongoing.

“It’s hard to even guess the total expected audience now. It’s still spreading by word of mouth. The reaction is like a fire, so it seems like it will be in theaters for quite a while.”

Of course, there is the legend of the independent film , which mobilized 2.9 million viewers, but director Park Jin-woo is closely chasing it, creating an unprecedented history of independent films.

The total expected audience may even exceed 3 million.

“It’s all because of your name value. Director Park Jin-woo also used his head well. If it had been released normally last year, it wouldn’t have gotten this kind of result.”

It took a full year from the time the movie was first released through the ‘Seodokje’ to when it was released in theaters.

In the meantime, the movie traveled the world and made its name known.

I have firmly established my position with domestic fans, going back and forth between dramas and movies.

It is possible because the director and actor have made remarkable achievements in the past year.

On top of that.

“This is a running guarantee, right?”

“…”

Ah, we signed with a running guarantee.

“If you calculate this profit… ugh…”

Jae-ik Hyung shook his head as if he had given up on calculating it.

Now, with 470,000 people, and if it keeps increasing…

We signed a contract for 150 won per audience member, and even if we set the break-even point at a maximum of 100,000 people. How much is it?

Even if I don’t know, if it continues at this pace, it will far exceed my guarantee for appearing in .

“….”

The goose that lays the golden eggs had its belly cut open, and countless gold and jewels poured out.

With this, director Park Jin-woo has achieved the unprecedented success of , and now has a huge burden for his next project.

This is not much different for me either.

My worries deepen.

How can I maintain this rising momentum?

What kind of work should I choose to steadily continue to build my career?

“Are there any good works?”

At my question, Jae-ik Hyung pointed to the passenger seat and said.

“We have to find them from now on.”

The box under the passenger seat was full of scripts and synopses.

“Let’s find them together.”

It’s a battle with synopses.

“Euchha!”

I stretched out and leaned back in my seat, then closed my eyes. I wasn’t sleepy, but I closed my eyes to suppress my excited mood.

But I opened my eyes again at the strange smile that was spreading.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Um, it feels like I’m finally home.”

Leaning back like this, it feels like I’m finally home. And that home was just this four-wheeled limousine van.

“Right. You’re home, so get some rest.”

Home.

When I closed my eyes, music turned on in my head again as if a candle was lit.

A jazz intro that slowly starts up.

What kind of work will turn on the BGM in my life this time?

What’s certain is.

My head has become very clear.

With the way I feel now, I feel like I can do any work.

Even a slightly different environment.