The Genius Actor Who Lives Twice - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 17

The moment I saw the message, I turned and ran.
I arrived at the cafe, breath climbing all the way to my throat.
Ding—
A clear bell chimed from above the door as I stepped inside.
Between the cool air and the scent of coffee, two men in their twenties sat at a table across the room, and they caught my eye immediately.

“Oh, you made it. Here, over here.”

The voice calling to me belonged to Kim Seong-su.
Beside him sat a man whose face I recognized.

“Hello.”

I gave a light bow of greeting first, then took the seat across from Kim Seong-su.
I’d definitely seen that face somewhere before, but who was he?
As I wound through the gears of my memory, the man extended his hand with an easy smile.

“Good to meet you. I’m An Seok-ju.”

Right, I’d seen him at the entrance examination.
I remembered now—he was the student council president of the Acting program at Dae Ye Jong.

“You were in that musical back then, weren’t you?”
“Yes, thank you for remembering.”
“Not at all. You did it so impressively that I was genuinely amazed watching you.”
“You’re too kind.”
“I mean it. Once you’re admitted, I’ll be seeing you around a lot.”

After exchanging some light praise and pleasantries, I wrapped up the conversation with An Seok-ju.
Then I turned my attention to Kim Seong-su, who had called me here.

“How did you get the Character Analysis Sheet for ?”
“Oh, I’m interning at Kim Suk-hyun’s office.”

The same age as me, and he’s already working at a writer’s office?
Was he someone destined to make it as a writer?
Writers often worked under pen names, and there weren’t that many of them.
I thought I’d have to look into this more carefully.

“As an assistant writer?”
“No, not as an assistant writer. More like… the writer’s errand boy.”
“Come on, what’s an aspiring writer doing running errands?”

An Seok-ju nudged Kim Seong-su’s arm from beside him.
Kim Seong-su looked embarrassed.

“Anyway, I’ll give you the Character Analysis Sheet.”

Kim Seong-su pulled a paper from his bag.

“Now, don’t show this to anyone else until it’s released. Got it?”

I reached to take it, then hesitated.
If it came out later that I’d received this, what if Kim Seong-su got into trouble for leaking it?
Seeing the Character Analysis Sheet was nice, but I could still act without it.

“Isn’t this something I shouldn’t be bringing out?”
“No, no, it’s fine. Kim Suk-hyun gave me this file, and she said it’s okay to show friends.”
“Really?”
“Well, I think she’d probably say it’s not okay to actually give it away. You’re not planning to upload this anywhere, right?”

Besides, there wasn’t really anyone I needed to show it to anyway.

“Yeah. I’ll just look at it myself.”
“You really can’t leak it?”

I nodded once with a serious expression.
Then I stood up from my seat.
I couldn’t afford to squander this jewel of an opportunity that had fallen into my lap by sheer luck.

“I’m heading out now.”

I left the Cafe and made my way to Nabi Actors.
It was time to practice properly and show what I could do.

* * *

After meeting with Ki-jun, Kim Seong-su went straight to Kim Suk-hyun’s office.

“Did you give it to him—the Character Analysis Sheet?”
“Yes, ma’am.”

Kim Suk-hyun rose from her seat.

“What did he say when you gave it to him?”
“He asked if it was okay to accept the Character Analysis Sheet.”
“The kid’s got a pure heart. If it were me, I’d have taken it right away.”

Kim Suk-hyun stretched her back out.
She’d learned a great deal from watching Ki-jun’s audition tape earlier.
Having seen how well he could act—better than most rookies—Kim Suk-hyun decided to set aside the prejudice that newcomers couldn’t perform. But her worry remained the same: a rookie with no shooting experience could still make mistakes.
He could collapse under real conditions even if he’d done well at the audition.
The on-camera performance was different from the audition room.
Concerned about this, Kim Suk-hyun had instructed Seong-su to deliver the Character Analysis Sheet to Ki-jun.
It was a precaution she hoped would help him prepare.

“But why did it have to be in secret?”
“Of course it does. If the other actors find out I gave him a Character Analysis Sheet, they’ll all ask for one too.”

She was making an exception just this once.
Kim Suk-hyun crossed her arms and glanced at the calendar.
There wasn’t much time left until the Reading.

“After going this far, he won’t disappoint me at the Reading, will he?”

* * *

The Reading day that Ki-jun had been waiting for finally arrived.
Lee Hyun-jin, who had landed the role of Park Sang-jin, the protagonist of “Shipwreck,” arrived at the Reading Hall early as always.

“Mmhmm, aah. Rrrrr~”

In his parked car, he warmed up his throat, mouth, and tongue.

“Hyun-jin, a drink, please.”
“Chamomile, not coffee, right?”
“Come on, you know I’ve been working under you longer than a couple months. Of course I know that.”

Lee Hyun-jin’s manager smiled and handed him a drink.

‘Anyway, my guy here is particular about everything.’

Caffeine reduces moisture in the throat’s mucous membrane. Not ideal before a performance.
Lee Hyun-jin lived within the kind of rigorous self-discipline that made even his manager seem easygoing by comparison.

“Let’s head up.”
“No one’s arrived yet, though, right?”

Lee Hyun-jin had come so early that there was still considerable time before the Reading.

“Since you woke up early, how about resting in the car for a bit before we go in?”
“No. I should still go up and greet the staff properly, one by one.”

Lee Hyun-jin’s manager recalled something, nodding. “Right, of course.”
The truth was, Lee Hyun-jin was the younger brother of Lee Hyun-seok, the president of Baekya Film.
When Lee Hyun-jin was young, he’d worked on projects with his brother, but as he grew older and his brother married, they’d naturally drifted apart.
Then, suddenly, Lee Hyun-seok had reached out to him.
Suggesting they collaborate on something.

‘I should make a good impression on my brother’s company.’

His decision to accept the role despite the meager pay wasn’t solely because of his brother.
For one, though it was Kim Suk-hyun’s first screenplay to reach the screen, he’d been carefully following her work and genuinely wanted to perform in it.
Moreover, his image had become fixed in virtuous roles, and he’d been wanting to break free from that mold.
But no one was offering him anything other than good-guy parts.
President Lee Hyun-seok understood this and had cast him in a villain role this time.

‘Come to think of it, when will the Rookie arrive?’

He recalled his brother mentioning not long ago that they’d cast someone for the “Sky” role.

-“Among the cast for the film, there’s a rookie with solid acting chops. Treat them well.”

Working with a talented actor was always a pleasure.
Thinking this, Lee Hyun-jin climbed the stairs.
The actor likely wouldn’t be here yet.

‘I’ll greet the staff slowly….’

“The soy sauce factory manager is Manager Kang….”

Hearing a voice from deeper inside, Lee Hyun-jin stopped in his tracks.

‘Who’s here practicing at this hour?’

There were still several hours before the Reading.
Then he heard the staff talking.

“What time did Ki-jun get here today?”
“He came in around nine, when I arrived.”

So he’d been practicing since then.
That impressed him.
Creak—
Lee Hyun-jin stepped into the Reading Hall, lowering his head.
He pulled his hat down low, not wanting to add any pressure on the Rookie while they practiced.

“Oh? Hello there, senior!”

A clear, well-trained voice carried across the gap between about ten chairs.
Lee Hyun-jin looked up, wondering if another veteran actor had been cast alongside him.
But approaching him was a fresh-faced young man who couldn’t have been more than twenty.

“I’m Yeon Ki-jun, a rookie actor joining this production! I look forward to working with you!”

A bow that went nearly ninety degrees, a resonant voice.
Good attitude.

“Pleased to meet you, Yeon Ki-jun.”

Lee Hyun-jin gave a slight nod in greeting.

“Senior, this is a modest gift, but I prepared it for you.”

Ki-jun handed over a small, carefully wrapped box.

‘Pastries?’

The gesture was kind enough, but it wasn’t the most practical gift.

“Ki-jun, I don’t want to offend you, but crumbs can lodge in the throat and harm the vocal cords. I appreciate the thought, though.”
“Ah, yes. That’s actually why I….”

Ki-jun unwrapped the package and showed it to Lee Hyun-jin.

“Bananas and steamed sweet potatoes!”

Neatly arranged bananas and sweet potatoes.
They were packed so beautifully and laid out with such care.
The cheerful, endearing presentation made him smile.

“Heh. …Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh.”

Lee Hyun-jin found Ki-jun’s earnestness appealing.
But he worried that if he alone accepted the gift, the other actors and staff might view it poorly.

“I’ll just take your kindness. Why don’t you give these to Director Choi instead?”
“I already did!”

Now that he thought about it, Ki-jun’s box looked familiar—it was the one the staff member he’d passed on the stairs earlier had been carrying.
And the gifts were already laid out on the desk in front of the chairs.
With that level of preparation, he had no choice but to accept.

“Where does a rookie get the money to buy all this?”
“The company prepared it for me. And since this is my debut project, I wanted to show my gratitude.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yes! I’m going to go practice for a bit!”
“Sure, take your time.”

After Ki-jun left, Lee Hyun-jin read the small square note attached to the gift package.

—Hello!
I’m rookie actor Yeon Ki-jun!
I’m still clumsy, but I’ll learn by watching and listening from the seniors. Thank you for having me!
I look forward to our work together!

“This must be the actor he mentioned.”

Already, just as Lee Hyun-seok had said, a flutter of excitement was beginning to take hold.

* * *

“This tastes pretty good.”
“Who brought it?”
“I heard some rookie actor left it here.”

People filtered slowly into the Reading Hall.
I bowed respectfully to each one as they arrived.

“Hello, everyone!”
“Oh, nice to meet you. You’re the rookie?”
“Yes! That’s right! Thank you for having me on set!”

It was worth doing this kind of thing upfront — it made everything easier when we actually worked together later.
As I kept bowing and acting like a kid, the memory of my real age before the regression crept up on me, and I felt a pang of embarrassment.
I’m an actor, I’m an actor. A twenty-one-year-old rookie actor.
I kept repeating it to myself like a spell.
And then, at last.

“Alright, let’s get started with the reading!”

With those words from Director Choi Il-hyung, the reading began.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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