I Will Live As An Actor - Chapter 29

I Will Live as an Actor Episode 29

“Young-Kuk, are you shaking…?”

Song Jeong-seok asks in a low voice. When I think of Song Jeong-seok in my past life, I can’t help but laugh, but I can’t help it now. He is a person who lived his entire life as a minor. It would be my first time receiving so much spotlight, let alone a red carpet. Moreover, since he appeared in a van, all the reporters’ attention was on him, so it was a burden.

“Yes, really. Taeseop, are you okay?”

gulp.

Seeing Mokuldae shaking so loudly makes it a pointless question. After all, what’s different about Choi Tae-seop? Isn’t he a young man who has just graduated from college? The corners of his eyes, which had been slightly trembling since he walked on the red carpet, now look as if they are going to twitch. At the photo line, the trembling gets even worse.

“Please tell us briefly what the independent film To Ji-hwan is about!”

“For student Jang Young-guk, it is known that this is his first starring role. What is the difference between it and the previous dramas he appeared in?”

“You must have experienced many difficulties while preparing an independent film. How do you feel about being selected as the opening film of the Busan International Film Festival?”

The faces of the two people looked as if they were about to faint at any moment as they were bombarded with countless questions from reporters.

“Is there anyone who can answer?”

In times like this, I have no choice but to step forward.

“Maybe it’s because we’ve been riding in the car for a long time, but we’re all a little motion sick, right, hyungs?”

“Uh huh.”

“Now! I’ll answer on behalf of our director! For Ji-hwan, this movie is like a portrait of his childhood! If you remember the name of a friend who is in a corner of your memory, the movie will leave a deep impression on you!”

“Then, to those who are watching TV right now, please describe the independent film To Ji-hwan in one sentence!”

This guy is really persistent. Song Jeong-seok and Choi Tae-seop can no longer speak. Just because an actor or director is not necessarily good at speaking in public settings. A national MC must have had a good understanding of society from the beginning. As he gains experience and becomes more skilled, his agility increases. Just like me now.

“Friend! I miss you!”

Unlike the humorous photo line, the opening film screening began in a solemn atmosphere. This situation is happening not only to filmmakers around the world but also to the general public. Unusually for an independent film, it was translated into English and even included subtitles.

‘My heart is pounding.’

The feeling of seeing your first work on a huge screen is like experiencing the birth of life. The same goes for Choi Tae-seop and Song Jeong-seok. The tension from the photo line seems to have gone away and now they seem to be concentrating on the movie. What will everyone think when they watch the movie they directed and starred in on the screen?

-Mister, why is my friend still fourteen years old?

The movie ended with the main character’s monologue. Because it was a director’s cut, the running time was long for an independent film, but no one left. The moment when no one could continue speaking on a blacked out screen.

match!

Just as a gentle wave becomes a huge wave. Starting with someone applauding, the audience rose from their seats one by one and began giving a standing ovation. Choi Tae-seop is shaking his shoulders with emotion. The same goes for Song Jeong-seok. Isn’t this a barrage of applause from filmmakers from all over the world? I will never forget the excitement of this day until the day I leave this world. It will become the cornerstone of their future films and an echo that will bring them back to their original intention. It was then.

‘Why does it sting so much?’

The back of my head stings. It was a moment when my head turned without me even realizing it. The old man sitting in the judges’ seat was looking intently at me. My body stiffened when I met his gaze. As if time had stopped.

* * *

White tiger.

When you look at his shiny eyes, white hair, and handsome appearance, you automatically think of a white-haired tiger. I don’t know how I ended up here. It was obviously after the screening of the opening film ended. The office staff hurriedly found me and led me somewhere. They said there was a customer waiting.

“Teacher Baek Jang-hoon?”

“Do you know me?”

How could you not know! He is a master whom I longed for so much in my past life. To exaggerate, the idol of most Korean filmmakers would be this gentleman.

“If you watch the video for a long time, you can see the director’s values and plans in it. Independent films have a clearer color than commercial films, so general audiences often show resistance. It was the same for Ji-hwan, but that resistance was alleviated. “It was your acting.”

gulp.

“From what I heard, you said you’ve never studied acting. Is that true?”

“Yes sir.”

“Then how was it possible to control the audience beyond the screen like that? Especially the last scene where you swallow inside as if screaming. I felt a shock as if they had inserted a scene where the waves crashing against the shore break down silently. I thought to myself when I saw that. “I wonder if what I’m seeing is really a child’s performance. I wonder if there’s someone else inside.”

He is not a virtuoso for nothing. Isn’t your eye sharp this sharp? However, at times like this, I don’t panic and keep a shallow smile on my face. Like a child who is happy to hear a compliment. After all, I can’t confess that I have a middle-aged actor inside me.

“Thank you for looking at me that way. It’s all thanks to the directors who gave me good acting guidance. It’s okay to say what you feel comfortable with.”

“You must be humble at such a young age, and it’s really something you should live to see in this world. I never thought I’d meet child actors like you. So, can I ask you a friendly question, as if I were treating you as a grandson?”

Baek Jang-hoon’s white eyebrows are strangely curved.

“Would you like to study film acting with this spare money?”

“yes?”

“I’ll be on vacation soon, so how about spending some time studying film in general in Seoul? If I’m going to pursue acting as a career in the future, I’ll really need some field experience, so it would be nice to study while making a cameo appearance at the same time. I’m also working with you. “Wouldn’t it be a beneficial time if we shared various things and opinions together?”

“I am so honored that you said that. But I don’t have a place to live in Seoul, so I think it will be a little difficult.”

“Why do you hate this spare house?”

As Heo Baek Jang-hoon said, it is truly something to live and see for a long time. I never thought I could learn film acting from a master. And that was under director Baek Jang-hoon, who is called the godfather of the Korean film industry. If it had been like my previous life, I would have gone under him even if it meant putting aside 10 days. but.

“Then I also have a condition.”

“condition?”

This life is different. Although it is during winter vacation, I cannot help my mother with her work. Therefore, it had to be something of value to me. Isn’t there a saying called equivalent exchange? Baek Jang-hoon told me to think of him like a grandfather, so I should at least smoke like a grandson.

“In the future, please make me appear in your grandfather’s works as a lead role, not a cameo.”

It was after the boy left. Baek Jang-hoon’s wrinkled eyes are filled with gunfire. He had photographed numerous works so far. He has gone through many hardships in the film industry to the point where he is called a veteran of all battles. The foundation of the film industry was laid in Seoul, which was devastated immediately after the Korean War.

All of the friends I started making films with have either turned their backs on the world or left the film industry. Didn’t they say that location makes the person? When he began to be called a virtuoso, no one could keep his intentions straight in front of him. Except for the boy I met today. At that moment, as if to awaken my thoughts, I hear a knock on the door.

“Sir, there will be a meeting with the judges in a moment.”

“Has it happened already?”

Baek Jang-hoon glanced at his watch. Thirty minutes had already passed since the boy left. Wrinkled eyes scan the empty space. It was definitely sitting there. The child who may become the persona he has been searching for for so long over the years.

* * *

The severe cold of winter has arrived so that even ice from ice plants is no longer needed. Thanks to the district office’s attention to the Namhang Market, simple tents and windbreaks have been built over the fish stalls, and the warmth of the briquette stove lingers throughout the market.

“Britain, son of Nanhang—!”

A business name becomes cool. Fortunately, my mother got a small store in Namhang Market. This was thanks to CEO Kim Seong-hwan’s promised down payment as well as help from nearby merchants. Didn’t everyone help their mother open a store like it was their own? Envy and jealousy were nowhere to be found. In fact, there were more people who expressed their gratitude, saying that thanks to his son, the Namhang market gets a big boost every day.

“Youngkuk, now you have to do well when you go up to Seoul. Don’t take it carelessly even if someone you don’t know offers you something. Got it.”

“Oh my gosh, let’s not worry about England! England is smarter than our Seok, who returned from military service! Let’s take care of it!”

“Okay! If anyone sees it, they’ll think I’m going to the military! At best, I’m just staying here during winter break! I’m worried that if I keep going like this, England will become a big star! Aren’t you going to pretend not to know my aunt?”

“Of course! If you pretend not to know my spirit and aunts, you’re not even human!”

My mother’s store sometimes became a hangout for my sisters and a place of eye candy for tourists who came to buy fish. It was talked about a lot because of its unique appearance at the film festival, and the number of people visiting Namhang was increasing day by day as ‘To Ji-hwan’ was unusually screened in theaters across the country.

“Can I help you, Mom?”

“It’s okay, now you can do it on your own!”

It’s not a lie. My mother has now become skilled not only in business skills but also in preparing fish. I feel a little relieved now that my mother has so many good people around her. At that moment, warm sunlight shines through the winter wind. I raised my head and glanced at the sun.

Migratory birds flying across the sky in the distance announce that winter is fast approaching.

* * *

The charnel house is a place where one lives with longing. After holding on to the shadow of the person who left and shedding a lot of tears, the person who has turned into a handful of ashes remains in a small box. In a place where numerous emotions intersect, Choi Tae-seop kneels and looks at his friend.

“Ji-hwan.”

The urn, which was clearly visible straight in front of my eyes when I was young, is now in a position where I can barely see it until I bend my knees. I was really busy last fall. After the independent film was selected for the opening ceremony at the Busan International Film Festival, wasn’t ‘To Ji-hwan’ screened nationwide?

“Do you remember? When we first met at the hospital, I was crying because I didn’t want to get a shot, so you gave me some snacks, asking me why I was crying. At that time, I thought you were older than me. And when you were scolding me on the roof of the hospital, you deliberately gave me a lot. . At that time, I was afraid I would cry again. You thought I didn’t know that, right?”

Choi Tae-seop recites memories to his old friend.

“You said I wanted to write a movie script when I grow up. Let’s go see my movie together when it’s released later.”

It’s a monologue that seems to echo in the air, but I can assure you that my friend is listening. Time has passed, but Choi Tae-seop, who was sitting in front of the charnel house of his friend who is now fourteen years old and talking for a long time, holds up something as if bragging. This is the award plaque received at the international film festival.

“Do you see this? I borrowed your name. If you are dissatisfied, come and talk to me in person. I will repay you with a lot of interest. So, stop by at least once in your dreams, man.”

friend.

Choi Tae-seop’s steps as he walks out of the charnel house are light. The winter wind was so strong that it felt like my coat was closing, but instead of being cold, my heart was filled with warmth. Under the warm sunlight, Taeseop Choi raised his head. I can’t express the gratitude I owe to that boy who made me remember my friend perfectly.

“I said Seoul.”

As the saying goes, words go to Jeju and people go to Seoul, the boy also headed to Seoul. He will also pursue his dream of becoming a screenwriter again in Seoul. I don’t know when it will happen, but I wanted to project the boy into my script once again.

Perhaps reading his thoughts, the unknown bird flying across the sky turns sharply as if responding.