The sky was blue.
As if reflecting Han Seongtae’s mood, the sky he was looking up at was clear, without a single cloud.
“…”
His face, as he stared up at the sky, looked a little vacant.
There was nothing in his hands.
Not even the script he carried with him every day.
‘How long has it been since I took it this easy?’
Once the filming for Baeknyeoncho ended, Han Seongtae had planned to start practicing for A Day right away.
For him, rest was nothing more than a luxury.
He had tried to keep running without a break, but the people around him would not leave him alone.
― Seongtae, working hard is good, but at least take a day off. Your body is not a machine.
That was Jung Dusik’s request.
― How can a person keep running nonstop? Do not come to action school tomorrow. You need to rest.
Jeong Jae-in kept him from coming to the action school.
― How about getting some fresh air? You worked hard filming the drama. A day of rest will not hurt you.
Even Hwang Gyeol showed concern.
It was not just them.
Everyone who was close to Han Seongtae complained that he did nothing but work and worried about him.
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says that sometimes you can gain inspiration through rest.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ emphasizes that rest is necessary, if only to let your muscles recover.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ smiles and says it is good to live for yourself, at least for one day.]
Even the gods were telling him to stop, so he could not stubbornly insist on practicing.
‘Well, fine. There are days like this too.’
Since he had decided to rest anyway, Han Seongtae chose to let his mind settle.
If he did not properly rest when he was supposed to rest, that would be its own kind of regret.
“Thinking about it, I really have been running nonstop this whole past year.”
A year had passed since he regressed.
Han Seongtae had lived like a person who did not know how to rest.
There were plenty of days when he slept only two hours, and even on days he slept “a lot,” he never went over five hours.
His body had already been trained into that pattern, so he could not sleep whenever he wanted even if he tried.
Because of that, his fatigue had been quietly, steadily piling up without him realizing it.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says that while training does increase stamina, it does not magically erase fatigue, and states this quite firmly.]
Letting out a dry laugh at the gods’ messages, he lowered his head and started walking.
His first real stretch of free time.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
Glancing around, he just wandered aimlessly.
He had never really taken a proper break before, so he had no sense of what he should be doing now.
He had come outside because he could not fall asleep even when he tried to nap, but…
Maybe because he had nothing to do, it felt like time would not move.
― Minseok, I came out on the street. What am I supposed to do out here?
― Kim Minseok: Where are you exactly?
― Just the neighborhood street.
― Kim Minseok: When you say “neighborhood street,” you mean near your place?
― Yeah.
Kim Minseok’s reply was slow.
As if he were mulling something over.
― Kim Minseok: Then how about going to Hongdae?
― Hongdae?
― Kim Minseok: Yeah. There is a mural street there and busking at the Hongdae Playground. Lots to see.
― Really? Hm… I guess I can try going.
Turning off his phone, Han Seongtae immediately started walking.
He arrived at the Hongdae mural street.
“…”
His expression went blank as he stared at the walls along the Hongdae street.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ quietly marvels that it is quite an impressive street.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says it feels free here, that it is the kind of place where inspiration flows.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ looks around and says if a place like this existed, you should have come long ago.]
True enough.
Seeing this place, he found himself thinking he really should have come at least once to look around.
‘So taking it easy is not such a bad thing after all.’
In both his previous life and this one, he had always been busy.
He never rested, just repeated the same routine of endlessly practicing acting.
There was hardly a trace of “leisure” in his daily life.
So he had never had time to look around him.
“This is not bad.”
A faint smile appeared on his face as he walked along the painted walls.
The scenery of the street was brimming with inspiration.
Wandering the street together with the acting gods, he came to a stop in front of the playground.
Whrang!
Boom, badoom!
He could hear music.
The Hongdae Playground, gradually darkening.
He could see people who had come out to busk there.
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ lightly suggests that you might as well listen for a bit.]
At that message, Han Seongtae immediately nodded.
He had plenty of time, so there was nothing wrong with listening to a few songs before he left.
― Ah, ah, mic test.
He saw the vocalist holding a microphone.
His face looked very young.
He let out a faint breath, as if he were a little nervous.
Even though his hand, gripping the mic, was shaking, the young man kept speaking.
― The song I will be singing today is Stagnation. I am still lacking a lot, but I hope you will listen kindly.
The man gestured to his bandmate sitting behind the drums.
Boom, badaboom!
At his signal, the drummer started to play.
The electronic keyboard and guitar joined in time with the drumbeat.
In the middle of it all, the young man took a deep breath and opened his mouth.
“How was your day today?
Was it the same as yesterday?
Is every day just repeating itself?”
His voice was gentle, yet carried strength.
A day in a routine where every day is the same.
“Now it is time for things to change.”
The song felt like it was speaking directly to Han Seongtae.
That his time, which had been at a standstill, had begun to change.
That now he should live a new, changed life.
After slowly closing and opening his eyes, he lifted his head and looked off to the side.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ smiles and says it is a good song.]
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ says the tone is nice and pleasant to listen to.]
Watching the gods’ messages, Han Seongtae quietly spoke.
“Thank you, for everything up until now.”
His life had undergone a massive change thanks to the acting gods.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ stares straight at you.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ listens carefully to what you say.]
Without them, he would never have been able to come this far.
Knowing that so well, he was grateful.
“I will be counting on you from now on too.”
A calm confession of his true feelings.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ looks at you with a gentle smile.]
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ watches you with a pleased smile.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ pats your shoulder and says they will be counting on you as well.]
Beyond the gods’ messages, he could see the sky.
As evening turned to night.
The sky was lit up in orange, beautifully closing out the end of the day.
― Seongtae, it is time to head out.
After getting a message from Jung Dusik, Han Seongtae left home right away.
“Are you all ready?”
“Yes, hyung. Sorry I am a little late.”
“No, no. This is nothing. It is not like you are that late.”
At his apology, Jung Dusik shook his head with a smile.
‘So it is today. The You Quiz taping.’
Leaning his body back against the seat, Han Seongtae let out a quiet breath.
Then Jung Dusik handed him a script.
“Hyung, what is this?”
“They said that is today’s script. Just give it a light read. They did say things might change in the middle while they are filming, though.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Taking the script from him, Han Seongtae nodded.
The script started from the greetings and included the MC’s questions.
He had been looking through it for a while when:
“We are here.”
“Yes!”
You Quiz did not film in a fixed location.
This time, the shoot was at a café.
They had rented the whole place in advance, and outside the building, he could see people who had come just to watch.
‘The national MC is the national MC, after all.’
All of them were people who had come to see the MC of You Quiz, Yu Jaehyeok.
And while they were at it, they would also get to see the celebrities appearing as guests.
Taking in the sight of them, he headed into the café.
“Huh?”
“Isn’t that… him?”
“Ji Yeonwoo… I think that is Ji Yeonwoo!”
There were people who recognized him.
Hearing their voices, he gave a faint smile.
“Welcome.”
“Wow, can’t believe we are seeing actor Han Seongtae here!”
The moment he stepped into the café, the You Quiz shoot began.
So this was what they meant by a real variety show.
They even clipped on his microphone while filming.
“Looks like our Seongtae is pretty taken aback.”
“Exactly. Is this your first variety show?”
They looked at him and spoke to him with easy smiles.
“Yes, You Quiz is my first variety show.”
“Oh, really?”
“Wow! Then we are your first time?”
“Joseph, what do you mean ‘first time’? Be careful about how you phrase things.”
“Ah! I am sorry!”
At Yu Jaehyeok’s words, Jo Sehun pretended to hurriedly cover his mouth.
That bit was written in the script.
An action that came out naturally.
They kept joking with him, as if to help loosen up his nerves.
‘So this is what experience looks like.’
Watching Yu Jaehyeok’s quick wit, Han Seongtae could not help but be impressed.
As he talked with Yu Jaehyeok, he realized that at some point, his tension had melted away.
“Seongtae, you know that Race Start was released on Netflix, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“And you know it is getting a really strong response overseas right now?”
“I am just grateful that people are reacting so positively.”
At Yu Jaehyeok’s question, he smiled and nodded.
Race Start was currently being distributed on Netflix.
Thanks to that, viewers overseas could watch Race Start through Netflix.
He had recently found out that the reception was not bad at all.
“Seongtae, you seem very humble. People around you must really like you.”
At those words, he just answered with a smile.
“Everyone keeps saying how good your acting is. So, is there anyone you particularly respect? Someone whose work helped you in your acting?”
“Ah…”
At the question, his gaze drifted into empty space.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ listens closely to what you are about to say.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ stares straight at you.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ squares his shoulders and looks at you.]
The acting gods were waiting for his answer so keenly it was almost burdensome.
“I respect all the actors who worked in the past. And those who are active now as well. All of their performances have been a great help to me.”
“If you had to pick just one?”
“They each have their own unique style, so it is hard to single out just one person.”
At his answer, the acting gods showed an ambiguous reaction.
Regretful, yet as if to say it was not a bad answer.
Seeing that, Han Seongtae let out a small laugh and lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
The atmosphere on You Quiz grew warmer and warmer.
T/N:
Hongdae Mural Art (11 years ago)
This chapter made me think of Tales of Herding Gods, wherein the MC is being watched over by experts xD
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