When I emailed Chester, he replied as if he had been waiting.
He asked if it was fine that he would arrive in LA a few days after the date I booked because of work.
It did not matter. I could travel first and then meet Chester.
Coming on a trip like this with Sanghyeon was something I could not even have dreamed of in my previous life.
The thought made me pretty excited.
Sanghyeon and I boarded a plane and headed to LAX.
From the departure airport onward, Sanghyeon’s smile would not leave his face, he was that excited.
“Business class really is nice.”
As soon as we arrived at LAX, Sanghyeon said,
“We were on the plane so long and my back does not even hurt. You can even choose the meal. This is innovation.”
With his cheeks lifted high since Incheon Airport without a break, Sanghyeon gave me a thumbs up and said,
“Thank you, my brother. Hehe. To bestow such honor on your humble younger brother.”
“Then do the thing I asked you to do later and do it well.”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
After we cleared immigration, the arrivals hall was crowded with people waiting for someone.
Maybe because it was America, I saw a truly diverse range of races.
Among them, I saw a man who was about two handspans taller than the people next to him, so he caught my eye at once.
He was holding a fairly large placard, but his size ignored the laws of perspective, so even the placard looked small.
As we got closer, I could see that what was written on the placard was my name.
[Director Gyeong Chanhyeon. Chester sent me. Welcome to the United States.]
The big white guy in sunglasses waved at me broadly.
Wherever he moved, the people around him were practically swept aside like waves, frowning as they went.
But no one said anything.
Seeing that, I had a strong feeling that something was off.
“Hyung, it is not that guy, right? But no matter how I look at it, that really looks like your name.”
“Looks like Chester sent him.”
“At that size he is a lethal weapon. Look at those arms. They are going to pop any minute.”
“Let us just go. I think he already spotted us.”
When we approached him, the big white guy reached his hand out to me first.
A neat shirt and black pants. He gave off a vibe like a special agent, and for some reason I felt a certain pressure.
“You are Gyeong. Chan. Hyeon, right? Mr. Chester specifically told me to pronounce your name properly. My name is James. I am a security agent hired by Mr. Chester.”
He had a shaved head and a low voice. There was a large scar on his left cheek.
Through the sunglasses his eyes looked as if they could shoot lasers.
“Ah, yes.”
“Is this gentleman your interpreter?”
At the man’s question, Sanghyeon nodded with a thoroughly stiff expression and answered,
“Yes. Th-that is right.”
“This is my younger brother, Gyeong Sanghyeon. I heard it will take a while for Mr. Chester to arrive. I plan to do some sightseeing with my brother.”
Sanghyeon looked slightly surprised to hear me speaking English.
“Yes. LA is not a dangerous city to tour, but Mr. Chester asked me to pay special attention. Shall I take you straight to the hotel you booked. You must be tired after the long flight.”
“Yes. Please.”
His words were extremely gentle for his size, so my tension began to ease.
Jinsu hyung had been the same, a bear in size but really a teddy bear, after all.
I wondered if James might be that same kind of person.
“Give me your luggage. I will carry it.”
James did not bother to roll the huge wheeled suitcases. He lifted one in each hand and led us to the car outside the airport.
“He really is a human weapon. With him, we could go to Harlem. Are those forearms bulletproof or what?”
Listening to Sanghyeon’s amazement, we stepped outside the airport.
The weather was hot, but it was not humid, so if you stood in the shade the breeze felt pleasant.
“The weather is amazing. Look at the color of the sky.”
A blue sky without a single cloud, sunlight naturally embroidered in golden threads.
Looking at it reminded me of the joke that Californians are mostly positive because of the good weather, and I could not help smiling.
After loading all our luggage, James got into the car and, once seated, offered me gum from the passenger seat with a smile.
“Would you like one?”
“Thank you.”
Not long after we started the car and set off, James looked as if something was missing and asked me,
“Do you like music by any chance?”
In the heat, James wiped the sweat from his forehead once and asked.
“Of course.”
“Please open the glove box there.”
When I opened the glove box in front of the passenger seat, it was full of albums.
“The albums in there will make you feel like you have truly arrived in LA just by listening. Haha.”
Mötley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and so on.
From LA metal to thrash metal, it was a lineup of metal albums that made my heart pound just hearing the names.
“You seem to know them well. Young folks these days seem to prefer mixing things rather than this living music. They even have DJs in bands now, right.”
“Haha, that kind of music is good too, but music that goes back to the essence is also good. Seeing these bands live is one of my dreams.”
The first album I picked lightly was Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction.
No matter how much time passes, a pageant of masterpieces that never gather dust had me bobbing my head, and James looked at me with a satisfied smile.
Then James’s phone rang.
He turned the music down from ear-splittingly loud and answered the call.
“Yes, Mr. Chester. Yes. I have met Director Gyeong Chanhyeon.”
He handed the phone to me.
“It is Mr. Chester. He wants to speak with you.”
“Ah, yes.”
When I took James’s call, I heard a very cheerful voice.
“You are here. Finally. Heh heh.”
“Yes. But was not that cursing a bit much? Who curses someone that much just because they did not check email.”
“Heh heh. I figured that was the only way to make you check it or not. You know you were at fault too, right. There are not many film directors on American soil I would wait for. My friend. But to make me wait for weeks. Consider yourself lucky it ended with just cursing.”
Chester spoke, mixing in a jovial laugh.
“But your English has improved, has it not?”
“Yes. I practiced quite a bit.”
“Now I can hear it straight from you. The time it takes to talk will go down. You remember the friend we met together at Cannes. He kept saying things strangely, so it took forever just to understand. I still do not know what saving the film industry was supposed to mean. When we meet later, explain it to me yourself.”
“Haha.”
I felt somewhat relieved at Chester’s misunderstanding.
It was better for him to think it was Junseong’s fault than believe I had said something like that to someone I had just met.
“Anyway, have fun, and the day before you meet me, rest up well. Do not get drunk and pass out like last time. Heh heh. Got it. Ah, and James. Stick with him as much as you can. He is all right, yes.”
“Yes. You can tell just from his taste in music.”
At my words, James snorted with a laugh as he drove.
“Tsk. I thought the only flaw with that guy was his taste in music. Looks like you have gained a flaw of your own. All right, I will hang up. Have a good time.”
After hanging up with Chester, I looked out through the car window.
The scenery outside looked like something out of a drama.
With a fast rhythm playing, we passed down a quiet road lined with long palm trees, and it was like a scene from a movie.
“Wow, this is great.”
When a gasp escaped me, James seemed very pleased and said with a bright smile,
“You feel empty passing here without this kind of music. You know what is what. Haha.”
The palm-lined road ended and we entered what seemed like a city, but instead of a downtown like Seoul filled with high-rises, there were pretty private houses with yards one after another.
After a while driving farther, we arrived at a hotel in Hollywood.
“This is crazy. We are really staying here.”
With his mouth hanging open, Sanghyeon stared dumbly for a moment at the hotel through the car window.
A huge, pristine swimming pool.
A clean outer wall decorated with Doric columns that made you think of the Parthenon.
And the Griffith Observatory, which has appeared in countless films, visible in the distance, and that white sign that makes your heart race even from afar.
[HOLLYWOOD]
Seeing in person what I had only ever watched on TV felt completely different.
“Wow.”
I silently pledged that someday I would be able to shoot a film here.
That I would be able to shoot proudly.
“Are you all right?”
James went into the hotel to call a bellboy and, returning, asked us.
Sanghyeon still seemed not to hear James, as he was lost in admiring the hotel.
“I do not think it could be better than this.”
“Good. Will you rest today or…?”
“I will rest. I am a bit tired.”
“Then shall we meet tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, let us do that. Haha. Thank you for your work today. I appreciate it.”
When I bowed my head in thanks, James smiled brightly.
“A Chan Ho Park style greeting. Haha. Thank you.”
James bowed his head just like me.
Hearing a very familiar name from his mouth, I grew curious.
“Ah, are you a fan of Park Chan Ho by any chance?”
“Yes. A huge fan. Since he first came in 96. I especially liked that momentum of his. He did go to Texas, but even so, the poster on my wall is still the Dodgers him. Haha.”
If the player is like that, the fan would be too. Once baseball came up, James started talking without stopping.
With an excited look, he started asking a flood of questions, from how he had a Park Chan Ho signed ball, to what his status was like in Korea.
The bellboy waited in confusion, saying nothing at all.
Seeing this giant white man chattering away with such delight, I figured no one would dare stop him, so I jumped in first.
“Oh. The bellboys are waiting over there. We should go.”
“Sigh. I still have a mountain of things to say. What a shame.”
“It is only the first day. There is plenty of time. Haha.”
Next to me, Sanghyeon was still spaced out, admiring the hotel’s exterior.
I gave him a tap on the back, and he finally seemed to come to his senses.
“Huh, what?”
“Time to go in. You going to sleep outside? How long are you going to stare?”
“Oh, right.”
Following the bellboy’s lead, we went into the room, and the room was so comfortable for two people that it actually felt a little overwhelming.
It seemed the same for Sanghyeon. As he looked around every corner of the room he said,
“Are you some honored guest to the person who invited you? What is this treatment? They even assigned you a lethal weapon, and then booked a room like this for seven nights. You are not some world-famous superstar, so why do they just do all this?”
“That is the level I am at.”
“To think the same person who slouches around the house in shabby sweatpants gets this treatment outside.”
A glossy hotel, and the best room among them.
Unpacking in a room said to be used by rock stars who come to perform in LA felt strange.
“If I had not come, I would have regretted it for life.”
“But you did not forget your real job, right?”
“Your English is pretty good. Watching you talk with James.”
“Then at least do your job as a porter properly.”
At my words, Sanghyeon chuckled and answered,
“Did you not see James carry the luggage earlier. I will just serve as your secretary. Or your drinking buddy.”
I could not even remember when I had last had a drink with Sanghyeon.
“Then go down and get the welcome drinks. A cold beer for each of us.”
“Understood, boss.”
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