The Script-Eating Actor – Chapter 90

Like a text message from an anonymous number.

I hope my sincerity can move the hearts of those across the sea.

“Get some sleep.”

Jae-ik Hyung greeted me and disappeared into economy class.

Although it was an unofficial schedule, unlike when I traveled alone, Park Chan-ik Team Leader, the Planning Team Leader, Jae-ik Hyung, and stylist Jang Team Leader-nim accompanied me on the flight.

I leaned back in the first-class seat, which I was now a little used to.

No one knows. No one knows.

I’m an ordinary bird. I’m ordinary Bird man.

The lyrics make my eyes close.

*

It was 2 PM when we departed for the United States.

But when we arrived, it was 8 AM.

“Ughhh!”

Traveling back in time is still something I can’t get used to.

The weather wasn’t what you’d call warm, but it definitely felt cooler compared to Korea.

After arriving at LA International Airport and leaving the airport lobby, we arrived at the parking lot. There, ‘Bill’, the UAA agent who had visited Korea before, was waiting for us with a luxury limousine van.

“Welcome….! Huh?”

But agent ‘Bill’ muttered as he saw the staff following me like a string of sausages.

“…Oh, should I have prepared another van?”

The reason why key L&K personnel accompanied me on just one audition.

It was to show surveillance towards UAA, which had promised the best treatment, and to ‘boost my morale’.

It was to implicitly say that I was not someone who received light treatment in Korea.

It seemed childish, but this was a directive that President Lee Mu-taek insisted was necessary.

‘If it’s a yes, it’s a yes, and if it’s a no, it’s a no.’

Even though I might be the weaker party when a contract offer comes in, from the moment the contract is signed, I am a business partner with UAA.

Help each other, but never bow your head.

“We’ll prepare two vehicles next time.”

Agent Bill said that, but in reality, the van wasn’t small enough to require two vehicles.

But only then did Park Chan-ik Team Leader nod his head in satisfaction.

“Okay, two cars. Two cars.”

It was a show of his determination to get everything they could get.

The vehicle that departed from the airport drove north along Santa Monica Beach and entered Sunset Strip.

Agent Bill began to explain California like a skilled tour guide.

He said that this was a rising entertainment district in California, a place that is more glamorous at night than during the day, and that West Hollywood, where our destination, HighMount Pictures, was located, was the closest to Hollywood.

“Rest well today, and tomorrow, please be ready by 11 AM and come out to the entrance of the accommodation, where a pick-up vehicle will arrive.”

And then, he dropped us off in front of a hotel in West Hollywood.

“Not bad?”

It wasn’t a 7-star hotel, but it was a clean hotel building that looked like a 5-star.

There were nightclubs, bars, and open-type pubs nearby, so it seemed like it would be a bit noisy at night, but I was satisfied.

But Park Chan-ik Team Leader raised an objection.

“Wait a minute. Are all the actors auditioning staying at this hotel? All the same? Translate that exactly.”

At the interpreter’s translation, Bill shrugged and asked back.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Answer! Answer! Answer!”

“What’s wrong?”

When I asked, Park Chan-ik Team Leader said.

“It’s President Lee’s instruction to check thoroughly. To make sure it’s not a cheaper place than the accommodation Miyamoto Ryo is staying at.”

“….”

Oh my, President Lee.

I told you it wasn’t necessary.

“Yes. All the personnel are staying here in West Hollywood.”

Only after getting the answer he wanted did Park Chan-ik Team Leader smile with satisfaction.

“Okay.”

“….”

If my audition competitors were staying at a better hotel, he would have upgraded my room at the company’s expense.

And give them the side-eye.

‘It should be at least this good.’

“It’s not that I’m trying to demand a good hotel. It’s that I don’t want you to be evaluated lower than Miyamoto Ryo, that Japanese band vocalist, by the people here.”

“…Well, I understand.”

From L&K’s perspective, it’s a desperate matter concerning my career, so it seems they’re trying to be thorough.

“Let’s just let this slide.”

Jae-ik Hyung patted my shoulder and led the way, and Jae-ik Hyung and I entered the upscale hotel in West Hollywood.

Park Chan-ik Team Leader, stylist Jang Team Leader-nim, and the Planning Team Leader were going to visit the UAA office with Bill, and then check out HighMount Pictures in advance.

“Have a good time!”

“Yeah, rest well. Let’s have dinner together.”

“Okay.”

A spacious and comfortable VIP room that Park Chan-ik Team Leader didn’t need to worry about.

This place, one of the largest rooms in the hotel located in the center of West Hollywood, was so big that you could almost run around in it. To exaggerate a little.

I took off the sunglasses I was wearing and turned around.

“Hoo!”

The Hollywood Sign （The Hollywood Sign） visible from the room.

The mecca of movies, Hollywood!

Finally, I’ve arrived.

I took out beer and potato chips from the mini-bar and lay down on the bed.

“Wow.”

A double king-king size bed that would be enough for four people to lie down on.

I stretched out lazily and picked up the snacks.

Just as I was about to fill my hungry stomach with snacks, I heard a knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

I hesitated between English and Korean.

“…Hyung?”

I answered in hesitant Korean, and soon I heard Jae-ik Hyung’s voice.

“Dinner will be up in 30 minutes, so eat and rest well, okay? If you want to go out, be sure to call.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, Hyung!”

It seems the meal is coming to the room.

I put down the beer I was about to drink and went straight to the bathroom.

After taking a quick shower and shaking the water out of my hair, I heard a knock.

“Yes.”

The door opened, and a hotelier wearing a gown placed the food, which included a hamburger as big as my face and fish and chips.

I smiled brightly and said.

“Thank you.”

*

After finishing the meal, I lay on the bed for a long time, listening to the music on repeat. Then, I fell asleep without even realizing it.

When I opened my eyes, the sunset was already spreading over Sunset Strip.

I slept all day after arriving in the United States.

Wow, I slept a lot.

“Umm.”

I lightly washed my face and checked the time. I was supposed to have dinner at 7 PM.

The restaurant was inside the hotel.

Right on time, Jae-ik Hyung came to my room, and I changed into a clean dress shirt and went outside.

“It’s a restaurant called La Seine.”

“Oh, meat.”

The staff, including Park Chan-ik Team Leader, were seated in a corner of the restaurant.

“Did you get some rest?”

“Yes. Did you have a good time at HighMount?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t anything special. Just a bit big, I guess?”

But for someone who said it wasn’t anything special, he kept telling stories about it.

“HighMount Pictures. It’s a complete movie kingdom, you know? I don’t even know how many studios there are inside. I was going to count, but when I saw that the studio number at the entrance was 21, I gave up, I gave up.”

“….”

Ah, is that so.

The meal was a course meal.

Buttered bread as an appetizer, an appetizer with mushrooms and fruit cooked to a suitable degree to whet the appetite, soup and fried seafood salad. Soft potato dishes sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, and a perfectly cooked beef steak with red wine.

Just as we were about to finish our meal.

Stylist Jang Team Leader-nim said, with her gaze fixed on one spot.

“That’s him over there, right?”

“Huh?”

Park Chan-ik Team Leader turned his head.

Then, he started muttering, “Wow, that’s him. That’s him,” and began to gesture with his chin.

Huh? What is it?

I turned my head and looked in the same direction.

“The agent wasn’t lying when he said we’re staying at the same hotel.”

“….”

Right.

Just like Park Chan-ik Team Leader said, Miyamoto Ryo, who is called the star of Asia, was sitting at the same restaurant table with his staff.

The funny thing was, they were also aware of us.

My eyes met with Miyamoto Ryo’s.

Yeah, after tomorrow.

One will stay in Hollywood for a few more days.

And one will return to their hometown.

But, I didn’t want to have a pointless battle of nerves before the audition, so I was about to turn my head again. But.

“…”

The corners of Miyamoto Ryo’s mouth turned up.

I wondered if he had heard something funny, but Miyamoto Ryo’s eyes were on me.

Mockery, provocation?

“What’s with that bastard.”

Nice.

That’s what I wanted to say.

Stylist Jang Team Leader-nim muttered as if he was annoyed.

“What’s with that condescending look? And that old-fashioned long hair.”

I like that stylists are so straightforward with their words.

Anyway.

I, too, looked at Miyamoto with a sneer.

And I waved my hand and smiled with my eyes.

Hi, you know me, right?