Knock, knock.
There came the sound of someone knocking.
At the sound, Han Seongtae stood up from his seat.
When he opened the door, staff came in and set plates of food onto the dining table.
After giving them a tip, Han Seongtae sat down at the table.
‘This is pretty good.’
It was room service. He’d ordered it because he didn’t feel like going out, and he didn’t want to be disturbed while practicing the script.
It was his first time ordering room service in his life, but after actually eating it, he felt like he understood why people ordered it.
It was convenient, and it tasted quite good too.
Rustle, clink.
Rustle, clink.
Han Seongtae ate while looking over the script.
There were still a few hours until the script reading, so he ate at a very relaxed pace.
Bzzz.
Around the time he’d eaten about half the steak on the plate, the smartphone on the table vibrated hard.
Seeing the name on the screen, a small smile formed at the corner of Han Seongtae’s mouth.
“Hey, what’s up?”
—What are you doing?
“I ordered room service and I’m eating.”
Hearing Kim Minseok’s voice through the receiver, Han Seongtae laughed and replied.
Come to think of it, it was Kim Minseok who had told him about room service.
Back then, when he’d gone abroad, he’d ordered room service and said it was unbelievably good.
Kim Minseok had once bragged about it to Han Seongtae endlessly.
Han Seongtae wasn’t planning to brag back about ordering room service.
If Kim Minseok really wanted to, storming into a five-star hotel right now would be nothing for him.
—Room service?
“Yeah. Like you said, it really is pretty good. It’s tasty.”
—At least going overseas was worth it. Eat well. Don’t skip it just because it’s expensive.
“Yeah.”
—How about sleep? Did you sleep any? You’re a creature of habit, so adjusting to jet lag will be hard for you.
“Yesterday was kind of rough. But today I slept well.”
He hadn’t stayed up all night because he couldn’t adjust to the time difference.
Thanks to that, he’d been able to get back to a normal pattern.
—You stayed up all night again, didn’t you?
“Yeah.”
—Sigh… our Seongtae. What are you going to do without this big brother around? There won’t be anyone to look after you.
“There are people looking after me. Dusik-hyung is here, and the staff here too.”
And weren’t the gods of acting always right beside him?
Even now, seeing the gods’ messages covering the edge of his vision, Han Seongtae smiled faintly.
“There are lots of people who take care of me.”
—Good. It’s a relief you’ve got someone, at least. If it’s hard, call me. I can’t go there, but I can cheer you on.
“Forget it. You’re busy learning directing right now. How’s studying going?”
—Not bad. I definitely have a lot to learn from Director Yeon Jaehun. Taking a leave was really the right call. Well… not like you, off in Hollywood, but still.
At Kim Minseok’s words, Han Seongtae laughed and shook his head.
Sometimes, Kim Minseok had a tendency to hype him up too much.
—So what’s your schedule today?
“I’m going to the script reading later. That’s why I ordered room service, and I’m reading the script.”
—What’s with you? Everything in your life is ‘practice’ as the reason. Incredible, seriously.
“If you practice, you can act well.”
Han Seongtae kept chatting with Kim Minseok, smiling as he talked.
After ending the call and setting his phone down, he let out a faint breath.
Until the script reading, he needed to practice as much as possible.
Rustle, rustle.
Even with food right in front of him, Han Seongtae didn’t pay it any attention and focused solely on reading the script.
So he could show his best self at the script reading.
He practiced and practiced again with the script in hand.
Time passed, and before he knew it, only one hour remained until the script reading.
“Are you all ready?”
Jung Dusik walked into the room and spoke.
At his words, Han Seongtae nodded and stood up.
He’d already changed clothes too.
“Good. Let’s go.”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Han Seongtae left the room with Jung Dusik.
The script reading was being held on the 5th floor of the hotel where they were staying.
Other actors had already arrived.
“After the script reading, let’s go eat something good. I looked up a good place.”
“Sounds great.”
“Go do well. I’ll be watching from over by that door, so if you need anything, signal right away.”
“Yes.”
“Just do well like you always do.”
Jung Dusik gave Han Seongtae’s shoulder a light shove.
At his words, Han Seongtae lifted the corner of his mouth in a grin and nodded.
His steps headed toward the actors.
The moment Han Seongtae entered the script-reading room, he quickly swept his gaze around.
In the center of the room, he could see Britton Lee.
One of the few people here he could call an acquaintance.
Without hesitating, Han Seongtae walked closer to him.
Other actors were visible around them, but he didn’t shrink back because of that.
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ tells you to square your shoulders proudly.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says confidence is essential for a martial artist, and tells you to straighten your back.]
With the gods at his side, there was no reason for his confidence to falter.
“Hello, Director.”
“Oh, Mr. Han! Welcome!”
Turning around at Han Seongtae’s voice, Britton Lee looked at his face and showed clear delight.
Britton Lee clasped Han Seongtae’s hand and patted the back of it.
“How is the lodging? Is it comfortable enough?”
“Thanks to you looking out for me, I’ve been staying very comfortably.”
“That’s a relief. Still, if anything is inconvenient, tell me anytime.”
“Yes, Director.”
At Britton Lee’s words, Han Seongtae smiled gently and nodded.
Ever since they met in Korea and Han Seongtae showed his acting, Britton Lee had been showing him strong goodwill.
Han Seongtae was always deeply grateful for that.
“Ah, right. Let me introduce you. This is Rogers—our protagonist. And Rogers, this is…”
“I already know him.”
“You do?”
“Yes. We met at the restaurant.”
Rogers stepped closer to Han Seongtae.
“Long time no see, Mr. Han.”
“It’s been a while for you too, Rogers.”
Han Seongtae and Rogers clasped hands and smiled brightly.
Britton Lee looked on at the two of them with satisfaction.
Then, after a brief moment, he brought a female actor at his side over in front of Han Seongtae.
“Han, let me introduce you to her too. This is Ivy, who plays Layla. Ivy, this is Mr. Han, who plays Yu.”
Britton Lee introduced the actress to Han Seongtae.
At the introduction, Han Seongtae turned and looked at Ivy.
Her face was familiar to him as well.
Just like Rogers, she was one of the actors forming the core of <Rampage>.
“Hello. I’m Han Seongtae. Please feel free to call me Han.”
“I’m Ivy.”
“Ivy, nice to meet you. Please take care of me today.”
They exchanged greetings quickly.
If Han Seongtae were alone, it might have taken him a bit longer to get acquainted with her, but since Britton Lee bridged the gap, he was able to connect with the actors more easily than expected.
“Rogers, Ivy. I don’t know if I told you back then, but our Mr. Han is an incredible actor. The first time I saw him…”
Just as Britton Lee was about to continue after introductions, a voice cut him off mid-sentence.
“So you were all here.”
At that voice, everyone—including Han Seongtae—turned toward where it came from.
Michael was walking over this way slowly, wearing a friendly smile.
“Oh, Michael. Welcome. I was just looking for where Michael was.”
At Britton Lee’s words, Michael smiled and continued the conversation.
“With the director paying attention to me like this, I don’t know what to do with myself.”
After talking with Britton Lee for a while, Michael’s gaze turned to Han Seongtae.
“And who is this? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”
“Ah, this is Han from Korea. Mr. Han, this is Michael, who plays Hans.”
As if this was perfect timing, Britton Lee introduced Han Seongtae and Michael.
Han Seongtae stared at Michael.
He had met him at the cocktail bar.
Their eyes had definitely met.
‘Did he really not see me?’
Michael was acting like he was seeing Han Seongtae for the first time.
“I’m Michael. Nice to meet you.”
Michael extended his hand toward Han Seongtae with a warm smile.
Han Seongtae looked at the hand.
He roughly knew what kind of person Michael was.
Like Rogers, he was a famous actor, and someone who would have a small incident in the future.
If he remembered right, there had been a problem for a while due to discord with a colleague.
“Welcome to America.”
Seeing Michael readily extend his hand, Han Seongtae found himself thinking that you couldn’t trust rumors.
Unlike the rumors, Michael seemed like a better person than expected.
“Director, weren’t you about to say something earlier? Please tell us more.”
“Ah. Of course.”
The conversation, which had paused briefly because of Michael’s arrival, continued.
“I remember the first time I saw Han. He was truly incredible. The moment he started acting, I was genuinely shocked.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
“Mr. Han, I don’t speak empty words. I was truly impacted then. I didn’t expect Han to be able to act to that level.”
Ahem.
Then, from beside them, came a sound like someone clearing their throat.
When he looked over, Michael had raised a fist to cover his mouth.
Before Britton Lee had even finished speaking, that throat-clearing sound had come from Michael.
Perhaps sensing everyone’s eyes on him, he lifted his head and wore a strange expression.
“Sorry. I suddenly had to cough.”
“No. That happens.”
Britton Lee smiled and waved a hand, saying there was no need to mind it at all.
Han Seongtae stared at Michael.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but after Michael arrived, the previously good atmosphere had become strange.
“Rogers, you can look forward to it. When you see Han’s acting, you’ll all be surprised. Mr. Han is an actor who’s really making a name for himself in Korea too.”
“If the director says that much, his acting must be incredible. Besides, it’s not like the director would bring just anyone.”
Michael cut in briefly and looked at Han Seongtae.
Han Seongtae could see the corner of his mouth curl slightly upward.
“I guess there is a part we can expect something, at least. Since he’s a famous actor in Korea.”
Even if the atmosphere was getting strange, just listening to him talk, he didn’t seem like a bad person.
“But this is Hollywood.”
The moment the rest of that sentence came out, that thought vanished completely.
“Whether acting that worked in Korea will work in Hollywood… we’ll have to wait and see.”
At Michael’s words, the air froze.
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