I Will Live As An Actor

Chapter 101

‘Am I nervous?’

Actor Park Sang-chul licked his dry lips. 

He had been proud of himself as a theater actor, having worked for a long time in a troupe. 

He thought drama would be no different from theater acting, but he was overconfident.

But the script reading was on another level. 

Unlike theater, where the actor’s blocking was the main focus, drama required acting within the frame of the camera.

‘The pressure is immense.’

There was no camera in the script reading room. But the acting of the other actor made it feel like a shooting scene. 

The person in front of him was clearly in casual clothes, but watching his acting, he felt like he was facing the emperor in a red dragon robe. 

As proof, cold sweat ran down Park Sang-chul’s spine.

‘The seniors are amazing too.’

Actress Cha Hye-jin looked around and admired. 

It was a fact that there were many elderly actors because of the genre of historical drama. 

The seniors who had been through many hardships in the drama industry did not lose their composure in the script reading room.

But the atmosphere changed when the actor Jang Young-guk, who played the role of the emperor, set off a flare with his acting. 

Everyone acted as if they could not lose to the junior, with veins popping in their necks. In the heated atmosphere, Cha Hye-jin, or Jang Nok-su, got lucky.

“Baek-dol (the emperor’s childhood name), why do you pick so many celestial beauties? If you like the new woman, Moon-ha-mae, so much, go ahead. Don’t you miss my embrace? If you keep avoiding your mother, I will not hold you anymore.”

She did not hesitate to act like a wicked concubine, with impudent words and actions. 

She called him by his childhood name, and referred to herself as his mother, showing her cunning and flattery. 

Cha Hye-jin was about to recite her next line when she looked at the emperor.

‘Gasp.’

She involuntarily held her breath at the emperor’s sharp gaze. But she had to act as the audacious Jang Nok-su, even in this situation. 

She was the one who the emperor loved the most, wasn’t she? But.

“If you ever touch my hem, I will punish you severely, Baek-dol.”

She stuttered on her line. 

It would have been an acceptable mistake on the shooting set, but in the script reading room, everyone looked at her with strange eyes. 

Cha Hye-jin wanted to run away from the emperor’s eyes that were staring at her.

At that moment, the emperor, or Young-guk, smiled under his twinkling eyes.

‘Wow.’

Reporter Kwak Myung-hwan watched the actors’ reading scene from a corner of the room, holding his breath. 

He had participated in the script reading of the previous drama ‘Youth’, but the atmosphere was completely different. 

There were many new actors in the script reading room at that time, but now there were many experienced actors, creating a somewhat stiff atmosphere. 

Even so.

‘He has grown more.’

There was a halo that only actors had. 

In that sense, actor Jang Young-guk’s appearance was so impressive that even someone who did not know acting would feel the pressure. 

As proof, the faces of the senior actors in the script reading room were all tense with the halo of the junior Jang Young-guk.

How could such a momentum be felt from a young actor who had not even become an adult? 

Reporter Kwak Myung-hwan looked at actor Jang Young-guk, who had grown more in just a year, and his throat bobbed.

***

“Come on in!”

As if fireworks exploded under the night sea, a splendid feast was spread out in the Namhang market. 

The merchants who had finished their hard day’s work headed to the merchant association building without anything to do.

Some brought snacks in case people were bored, and others sliced fresh seasonal raw fish to make it easy to eat. 

And there were also those who brought crates of soju. 

Were they having a year-end party? 

The reason was simple.

“They say Young-guk will be on soon!”

It was the day of the live broadcast of the Blue Dragon Film Awards. 

The merchants wanted to see the boy who had become their pride, surpassing the attraction of Namhang, Young-guk. 

They had been working all day with tourists and sea breeze, and their bodies were exhausted, but their faces were full of smiles.

“What is Young-guk doing, huh?”

“I’m cutting the boiled pork.”

“Wow, you must be tired after working all day. What are you doing here?”

“I have to treat you well since you came all this way.”

In a makeshift kitchen in a corner of the merchant association building, slices of pork belly are being cut with a savory aroma. 

The sight of the tender and moist meat makes my mouth water. 

These are the people who treat my son like their own. 

At the entrance of Namhang Market, there is a placard with the name Young-guk written in three letters.

‘I’m so grateful.’

I never thought this day would come when I first opened a fish stall in the maze-like alley of Namhang Market. 

The vast sea took my husband away, and I felt like everything collapsed as if I was left alone on a deserted island.

But the one who supported my shoulder was none other than my son with fern-like hands. 

How hard he worked to make ends meet because of my poor situation. 

I felt tears welling up as I thought of the past years. 

Then.

“Are you Young-guk’s mother, ma’am?”

She is a young girl who looks barely old enough to be in middle school.

“Who are you?”

“You know, the tiny side dish shop that opened last month at the corner of Namhang Market. I’m the daughter of that place. My dad told me to bring you some kimchi and radish pickles. But why did you make so much pork belly? It looks really delicious.”

“Everyone should eat well, and you should too, dear.”

“Can I? I was hungry, so I’ll help you. I learned how to chop vegetables from my dad. It will take a long time to slice all this pork belly.”

She is a friendly girl who reminds me of Young-guk when he was young. 

She not only brought a pile of kimchi and radish pickles, but also rolled up her school uniform sleeves and helped me.

She seemed to be telling the truth that she helped her dad at the side dish shop. Her skill of slicing pork belly was quite impressive. 

And as we talked, she had a lot of laughter that made me smile. It was as if we were mother and daughter.

“Ji-soo, are you here?”

He is a middle-aged man who looks different from the people of Hanggu Manri in his skin and appearance.

Unlike the rough accent and tan skin of the sailors, he speaks standard language and has fair skin. 

He looks like a typical office worker in the city.

It turns out he is Mr. Kim, who opened a side dish shop in Namhang Market last month. 

He greets me awkwardly and takes care of his daughter.

Soon, all the people of Namhang Market gather in the merchant association building. 

The fresh seafood and the savory pork belly aroma make a perfect feast.

And the sight of them tilting their soju glasses is as lively as any banquet hall. 

They all look at the TV and wait for the awards ceremony to start. Then, Mrs. Yang, who runs a grocery store, explains to me.

“Do you see that Mr. Kim sitting over there? I heard he quit his city life and came back to his hometown.”

“The one who opened the side dish shop?”

“Yeah, he lost his wife and came back. He looks too gentle to do this kind of work, but he’s surprisingly good at it. I’ve tried his side dishes a few times and they’re better than mine. And he’s a nice guy. He even gives free side dishes to the old ladies who pick up trash.”

“Is that so?”

At that moment, my eyes meet with Mr. Kim’s. We both nod briefly and quickly look away at the TV. Then, the merchant association president, whose nose is red from soju, shouts at the TV.

“Young-guk is on!”

***

It is the Blue Dragon Film Awards, a feast of stars. Famous actors and directors from Chungmuro are all present. As the actors in tuxedos and dresses walk on the long red carpet, the reporters’ cameras flash. Among them, the most attention-grabbing star is.

-The team of The Priest’s Confession is entering.

As soon as the red carpet announcer finishes his words, the fans erupt in thunderous cheers. 

The actors in tuxedos and director Shin Seong-hyun walk together. 

Especially, the fans’ cheers for actor Jang Young-guk are overwhelming compared to the previous actors. 

Under the dazzling spotlight, Young-guk waves his hand to the fans.

At that moment.

“Why did I have to get vocal cord nodules right now! How are we going to fix this situation? Should I tell all the ENGs who are filming live to stop? Say something if you have a mouth. The red carpet time is almost over and the first part is about to start!”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“Pull in the people from the second part somehow, finish the first part somehow, and find a substitute for the second part.”

“The thing is, the sessions for the second part haven’t arrived yet. They said they might be late because of the traffic…”

“What kind of nonsense is that, didn’t they rehearse? How did they do it then?”

“They just did it without accompaniment.”

“Then why don’t you just combine the singers from the second part and the session from the first part!”

“The thing is, the first part was a solo stage for the singers, so there was no session.”

“Ugh! I’m going crazy, really!”

The face of Bae Jin-seok, the production director of the Blue Dragon Film Awards, turned red and blue. 

It was already a time when there were a lot of talks about the awards ceremony. 

There were also calls to separate the Blue Dragon Film Awards and the newspaper, and there were cases where they did not submit their works because of political tendencies.

It would be horrible to imagine a live broadcast accident at this time. 

The celebration performance planning team leader bowed his head endlessly and avoided the vice president’s gaze.

“Call the nearby agencies right now and ask for any singers who are available, no matter how much they charge for their appearance fee, just tell them to come right now.”

“The thing is, we already contacted them, but the traffic is so congested that they might not arrive on time…”

“This kid, at the end of every sentence!”

That’s when it happened.

“Director Bae, what’s going on?”

Just then, actor Ahn Jung-hyun, who attended as the chairman of the jury, appeared. 

He was a national actor, and he had a great influence in the Korean film industry.

Director Bae Jin-seok had no choice but to tell him about the accident that had just happened. 

It was not something he could hide. 

Ahn Jung-hyun, who had been listening carefully, nodded his head slightly.

“So you’re saying you don’t have any singers for the celebration performance?”

Of course, it was the film awards ceremony that was taking place in the middle of Seoul. 

How could they have a celebration performance unless a singer fell from the sky? 

And even if there was such a singer, it was doubtful whether they could arrive on time in the congested traffic. 

At that moment, actor Ahn Jung-hyun smiled faintly as if he had thought of something.

“There is one person who might be able to do it.”

***

Seo Min-hye, who was hosting the Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony, felt hot on her back in a dress that was deeply cut. But she managed her expression as if nothing was wrong and prepared for the ceremony. 

Why did the side slit of the dress she got sponsored from Versace have to tear? Because of that, she had to wear a more provocative dress than the one she had prepared.

Did she know that this dress would make her the permanent MC of the Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony for years to come? 

So much so that she would later get the nickname of the Lady of the Blue Dragon. 

That’s when it happened. A staff member handed her a paper in a hurry.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, Min-hye?”

The male actor who was co-hosting with her asked curiously. 

At his question, Seo Min-hye opened her eyes wide and looked at the paper again. But the content of the paper that the staff gave her was unchanged.

“The list of the celebration performers has changed. But is this right…”

“Really? Who is it?”

The seats of the film festival were already filled with countless actors. 

Among them, the most noticeable thing was none other than the team of Priest Confession. Kim Hyung-seop, who played the role of Jacob in Priest Confession, asked director Shin Sung-hyun.

“Director Shin, where did Yeong-guk go? He was here until we came in.”

“He went out for a while because the production team asked him to see them urgently. But the first part will start soon and he doesn’t seem to have any intention of coming back. By the way, why did the production team suddenly drag him away?”

“Are they trying to give him an award in advance?”

“Come on, that can’t be true. They don’t usually announce who wins what award at the film festival in advance.”

He had a point. 

The actors might have skipped the ceremony if they knew the winners beforehand. 

After all, they were so proud and sensitive about their work. By the way, the seat where Young-guk should be sitting was still empty.

‘What the hell.’

At that moment, Young-guk was wearing a tuxedo and letting out a bitter laugh. 

Behind the stage, numerous staff members were clinging to him, checking the earpiece and the route for the congratulatory performance. 

In the midst of this sudden situation, Young-guk swallowed another bitter laugh.

‘Really, uncle.’

It was actor Ahn Jung-hyun’s recommendation. 

The sudden cancellation of the first part congratulatory performance singer. 

It was as difficult as picking a star from the sky to find a substitute singer in this situation. 

Especially since there was less than thirty minutes left until the congratulatory performance.

‘It’s the second time.’

He had done it once before, when he was a child actor. 

He filled in for a congratulatory performance at the MBC Acting Awards. 

The situation was similar to then. 

The faces of the staff behind the stage were full of tension. 

They were worried if Young-guk could pull off the congratulatory performance.

‘The one who should be nervous is me.’

Contrary to his thoughts, there was no sign of nervousness on Young-guk’s face. Rather, he was relaxed.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to make them owe me one.’

The Blue Dragon Film Festival was hosted by Dongseon Ilbo. It was not just a simple film festival production office, but a major media company if you looked at it broadly. 

It was a profitable business. 

Rather than making enemies of the press, he had many opportunities to embrace them like this.

He had also experienced the congratulatory performance stage before. 

He could decorate any congratulatory performance to his liking. 

Whatever song he sang, he had a request to finish the first part congratulatory performance safely. 

At that moment, a staff member gave him a sign from behind the stage. 

It was a signal that Young-guk had to go up on stage soon. And then.

-The grand opening of the first part of the Blue Dragon Film Festival will begin. For the congratulatory performance that will announce the opening of the Blue Dragon Film Festival, a tremendous actor has prepared. Our MCs also just learned this fact and couldn’t hide their surprise. Maybe the actors who filled the scene and the viewers beyond the brown screen will also be surprised. Then, Seo Minhye, shall we shout out the name of the actor who will do the congratulatory performance together?

The curtain of the first part of the Blue Dragon Film Festival rose.