The Script-Eating Actor – Chapter 89

Ch 89

Gulp.

The sound of reporters swallowing nervously as they observed the script reading.

Rustle.

The sound of minor actors staring blankly before hurriedly flipping through their scripts.

“Die.”

“Ju, Jun-ah! Stop!”

“Die, you bastard!”

Do Jae-hee, Seol Gang-shik, Yeo Ho-seok.

The rough breathing of three actors, as if they were in a real battle.

All these sounds blend together, creating a kind of harmony.

The polyphony of the actors fills the reading room.

One of the reporters watching this thought.

‘This is crazy.’

The movie <7 Years of Memory> maintains high tension from beginning to end. An immersive experience that doesn’t allow you to take your eyes off it for a moment. After watching the ending of the movie, the audience will probably lean back in their chairs, exhale, and be left breathless.

And after glancing at the girlfriend who watched the movie with them, they would shake their heads and sit slumped until the end credits.

The running time was a full immersion into the movie. After enjoying the lingering afterglow while sitting in their seats, they would feel like collapsing anywhere as soon as they got up.

Because that’s what the reporters are doing now.

“Let’s take a short break before we finish.”

Even though it was a short break in the middle of the reading, no one even thought of getting up. Their hands were already drenched in sweat.

“What should I write?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t even started either.”

Most of the reporters’ laptops were blank.

They couldn’t easily tap on the keyboard, afraid that they might damage the movie with a poorly written article, or leave a scratch on the actors’ hard work.

Just staring blankly ahead.

“What on earth did I just see?”

They could only mutter.

“Why is everyone so enthusiastic? It’s just the first reading.”

“Seol Gang-shik and Do Jae-hee Ssi are known for giving their all during readings.”

“Still, Yeo Ho-seok is not like that. He’s usually someone who takes it easy, right?”

“Maybe he got caught up in the atmosphere. Everyone is so intense.”

It was intense.

The masters exchanged blows with each other.

Whether it was sword or spear, they unleashed their best, and those traces didn’t fly away into the air but piled up.

The breaths spread widely and piled up in layers. The remaining actors just had to naturally absorb those breaths.

“Hey, take it easy…”

Yeo Ho-seok, who usually preached complacency, despite his imposing figure, also had his eyes change during the intense reading.

The first half, where a storm had raged, ended, but the actors were smiling leisurely.

“Hyungnim. Do Junior? Let’s take it easy. We’ll be exhausted before the company dinner even starts.”

Seol Gang-shik Senior smiled wryly at Yeo Ho-seok Senior’s jest.

His eyes were on me.

He seemed to have something to say, but Seol Gang-shik Senior got up from his seat, came around the table, tapped my shoulder and said.

“You’re doing well.”

Then he said to Yeo Ho-seok Senior.

“Let’s get some fresh air.”

“It’s cold outside?”

“Come out if I tell you to. Can’t you see the kids can’t even go to the bathroom because of us?”

“Ah, ah.”

The seniors left their seats. As the office door opened, a bit of cold air came in, and only then did the heated atmosphere begin to cool down a little.

“Wow, wasn’t that amazing?”

“This project is truly an honor.”

While the minor actors took a breather, I sat there and reflected on what had just happened.

‘Like a wall.’

If Seol Gang-shik Senior threw a 1 at me, I, not wanting to lose, would throw a 2. Then, without fail, a 3 would come flying back.

‘You want more? Let’s see how far you can go.’

It felt like he was whipping me.

However, his energy seemed limitless, to the point where I couldn’t see its boundaries. He even seemed relaxed.

“….”

I picked up the clean, blank script.

『The movie <7 Years of Memory> has already been absorbed.』

A weight that cannot be measured by simple script comprehension or acting talent.

If I do thoroughly calculated acting, Seol Gang-shik Senior acts instinctively.

Like a beast.

If my head is filled with the life of the protagonist ‘Kang Jun’, his insides are probably completely empty.

Like a sponge, he absorbs the breath I throw at him and spontaneously emits that situation.

Making it entirely ‘his own’.

…So that’s how you can act.

It feels like I’ve discovered a new world.

And also how I should act.

I’m getting a feel for it.

*

Seol Gang-shik went out to the smoking area and grabbed Park Jin-woo, who was scribbling something on the script.

“Ah, Senior.”

“Director Park. Want to have a smoke with me?”

“Yes, Senior. I’ll just grab my coat and come out.”

While Park Jin-woo went to get his padding, Yeo Ho-seok muttered.

“It’s cold outside. We can’t even smoke indoors. I liked the old days when we could smoke freely during readings.”

But those words didn’t reach Seol Gang-shik’s ears.

His slightly hazy vision cleared up with Park Jin-woo’s reappearance.

“Okay, let’s go.”

The three of them went out to the parking lot of the film company building and each lit a cigarette.

Seol Gang-shik asked.

“By the way, about Do Junior.”

“Ah, you mean Jae-hee Actor.”

“Yeah. Does that friend always act so ‘mechanically’?”

“Pardon?”

A somewhat unexpected question.

Park Jin-woo, who was pondering for a moment what ‘acting mechanically’ meant, tilted his head.

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t quite understand what you mean, Senior.”

The character ‘Kang Jun’ in the world created by Director Park Jin-woo is perfectly embodied by Do Jae-hee.

It’s a 100 out of 100.

Then, Seol Gang-shik waved his hand lightly and said.

“No, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying he’s bad. He’s too good. I was surprised several times during the reading. Wow, this guy. He can even do this? I was surprised.”

Yeo Ho-seok chimed in.

“That’s right. He was too good, as rumored? He’s the first lead actor that Gang-shik Hyung didn’t point out during a reading. How many guys bark like dogs during readings. Hey! You! Don’t bark! Don’t bark, speak! Speak! Hehehehehe!”

“….Haha.”

But what could be the problem?

Park Jin-woo still looked puzzled.

Seol Gang-shik said.

“That’s why it’s a problem. There’s no humanity in Do Jae-hee. Everything that friend says is ‘Kang Jun’. He doesn’t show even a bit of flaw.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Park Jin-woo understand what he meant and nodded his head.

Actors have their own signature.

But Do Jae-hee’s signature is too diverse.

To the point where you can’t grasp its limits.

A clearly different acting style from a ‘monster of acting’ like Seol Gang-shik, who carries his own signature in his heart and empties his head to act.

“So, I tried making him do all sorts of things during the reading? But he follows along and does it all perfectly.”

Seol Gang-shik found Do Jae-hee strange, but he couldn’t help but admire him.

Park Jin-woo, who had been listening quietly, smiled and said.

“I don’t know much about acting… but what I’m sure of is that Do Actor is always a thoughtful actor.”

Thoughtful.

Thoughtful about how to act.

And the traces of training he did to embody the image that comes to his mind.

His voice had power in it.

“That’s why he’s a trustworthy actor.”

“….”

At the director’s trust, Seol Gang-shik admitted that he had made a mistake.

He didn’t intend to belittle him.

He was just amazed by the young actor’s unbelievable acting.

Seol Gang-shik smiled and said.

“So, he’s Director Park’s persona?”

Persona, the director’s alter ego and symbol.

Park Jin-woo denied it with a bright smile.

“No.”

Do Jae-hee, who has various signatures.

“Do Actor is probably the persona of not just me, but all the directors in the world.”

*

Seol Gang-shik has one signature.

His own humanity. He maximizes it and interprets various characters in his own way.

What the public commonly knows as, method.

Becoming that character.

During the second half of the reading, which resumed after a short break, I took the strength out of my shoulders.

After massaging my arms and neck to release the tension, I closed my eyes and focused my concentration in a short period of time.

If I had focused on the lines of ‘Kang Jun’ itself until now.

This time, I focused on my own ‘words’.

After all, the lines are flowing in my head ━ I just need to go around like a fishing boat on the river and snatch a line of dialogue.

Pababat!

“Why can’t I catch him?”

At a very exquisite moment.

At a thrilling moment.

My gaze turned to Police Officer 3.

“Evidence, confession. I got them all, but it’s not working? What does that mean?”

It was a little shaky at first, but then it gradually became more natural and began to settle in.

“….”

Seol Gang-shik Senior’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

It was probably because he noticed my subtle difference.

This tug-of-war continued.

It was my own way of thinking about acting.

Because I was genuinely impressed by Seol Gang-shik Senior’s acting skills.

But this ‘admiration’ was not just my own thought.

At the company dinner that followed after the reading ended.

Seol Gang-shik Senior, who had arrived at the restaurant first, raised his hand at my appearance and said.

“Come here.”

And then he made me sit right next to him.

I hurriedly sat next to him, and Director Park Jin-woo, who was sitting at the same table, smiled.

It seemed like they had some kind of conversation while I was gone.

“You, can I speak casually with you?”

After a glass or two of alcohol, the atmosphere at the dinner became a bit more relaxed.

I nodded my head.

“Of course, Senior.”

Then, Seol Gang-shik Senior smiled, stretching his mouth wide.

“Hehehe, all the juniors in the movie I’m filming are talking about Jae-hee. They’re saying he’s crazy. So, I was so curious about what kind of person he is.”

“….”

“I learned a lot today.”

Tap tap.

He patted my back once and then poured the drink into his mouth.

“…..”

It might just be a common greeting.

But strangely, it touches my heart.

Perhaps it’s because the person is Seol Gang-shik.

It must be because the person who contributed the most to creating the current Korean film industry acknowledged me.

It reminds me of the old days.

‘Isn’t he amazing? How does he act like that?’

‘Wow, I want to be like that too.’

High school, college days, the days in Daehak-ro.

I always admired the movies starring the senior actors in front of me.

I wanted to be like that.

My idol.

My idol raised his glass to me.

“Let’s do well.”

I filled his glass with soju and said.

“Please teach me a lot.”

Then he smiled again as if he was very happy.

“Hehehe.”

Yeo Ho-seok Senior proposed a toast and said.

“You’re good because you ‘speak’. These days, there are so many things that can’t even speak, just barking loudly, it’s hurting my ears.”

“…Thank you.”

In short, acting is in the truth.

Whether you have one signature or two. What does it matter?

If my ‘words’ can move the other person, that’s enough.

I moved Seol Gang-shik and Yeo Ho-seok today.

And I succeeded in entering his heart.

This very small and subtle difference is not just in acting.

Perhaps, it’s also applicable to singing.

That night.

A text message came from an unknown number.

1 213-925*-3◈◈◈.

After checking, the sender’s number was from LA, USA.