Vroooom!
Yu wore a strange smile as he watched the car passing by at his side.
The person driving that car, racing ahead after overtaking him, was Daniel.
Just a few months ago, he had been a guy with terrible driving skills who relied only on having a good car.
Now, he was driving with proper skill.
‘Yeah, this is how it should’ve been from the start.’
Seeing that, Yu could not help but smile.
In Yu’s eyes, Daniel was someone with talent.
He did not like the fact that talent was being buried.
Because racer’s blood ran in Daniel’s veins.
Just like it did in his own.
“But you’re still a long way from beating me, friend.”
Yu turned the wheel and stepped on the accelerator.
Catching up to Daniel’s car, which had been racing far ahead, took only an instant.
Yu shot forward in a flash and crossed the finish line, then got out of the driver’s seat with a grin.
“Damn! Wasn’t it too much to cut in on me there?”
“That’s called skill.”
“You never taught me a skill like that!”
“That’s because you weren’t good enough for it yet. So hurry up and grow.”
“You bastard! I’m older than you! You know that?”
“What’s the point of being older? The way you act is worse than the little kid next door.”
At Yu’s words, Daniel kicked the ground irritably.
They exchanged rough words, but that did not mean either of them was in a bad mood.
Three months after entering prison.
Yu had become his racing mentor, and the two had gotten to know each other well.
They talked a lot, and through that, they came to know each other’s pasts as well.
The meeting between a beggar and a rich man had turned into friendship.
“Ha. When do you think I’ll be able to drive like you?”
“Not for a hundred years. You’ll have to work a lot harder.”
“Hmph. Forget a hundred years. It won’t even take one!”
“Don’t your emotions change too fast? They say if your head gets too hot, you start losing hair, so be careful. Ah, no. Maybe you’re already going bald?”
“You irritating bastard. I’m definitely going to kick your ass.”
At the sight of Daniel grumbling so much, Yu let out a quiet laugh.
He passed by Daniel and walked back toward his own car.
A track built inside the prison, and two cars sitting on it.
Standing in the middle of them, Yu tapped the car.
“You done?”
“No! Of course we’re going again! This time I’m going to beat you!”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
At Daniel’s words, Yu shrugged and climbed into the car.
—Cut!
At the same time, Britton Lee’s voice came through the loudspeaker.
“Hoo…”
Han Seongtae, who had been gripping the steering wheel tightly, only then let out a deep sigh and relaxed his concentration.
It was already the eighth time filming the same scene.
They were shooting multiple cuts out of one scene, but because he immersed himself every time, the drain on his stamina was enormous.
He was tired enough that if he lay down on a bed right now, he was sure he would fall asleep immediately.
But separate from being tired, Han Seongtae’s lips were still full of a smile.
‘This is so fun it’s driving me crazy.’
Every single moment of acting was just that enjoyable.
So much so that he felt like he would be fine acting like this forever.
“The next scene is the police talking to each other… they said it’ll take at least an hour, so I should practice the lines a bit more.”
Han Seongtae muttered quietly, voicing what he needed to do before the next shoot.
Just because filming for one scene was over did not mean he simply sat still and rested.
He kept making an effort to act better and create better scenes.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ says the obsession you show toward acting is scary.]
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ clicks his tongue in regret, saying it would have been fun to act with you.]
[‘The Actor of Eternal Youth’ says your passion for acting is good, but worries that you should not overdo it.]
Looking at the gods’ messages, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
Just as he was about to move for the next thing, he noticed Rogers and Ivy coming over and talking to him.
“Han! Did you see the monitor? Seriously… it came out insanely well.”
“I was just about to go look.”
“Hurry up and go check. Everyone’s over there watching us and marveling right now.”
At Rogers’s words, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
He had been about to go check the monitor anyway.
“It was really amazing. You two have really hit your stride lately, haven’t you? Especially you, Han. All I could do was admire your acting.”
“Thank you.”
Han Seongtae thanked Ivy for the compliment, and—
“Michael, don’t you think Han is incredible? It’s not easy to act this well.”
“Ah… yes. Right.”
At Rogers’s words, Michael gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“Rogers, Ivy. Could you come over here for a moment?”
“Yes.”
“We’re coming!”
At the director’s call, the two of them left, and Han Seongtae, left alone with Michael, looked at him silently for a moment.
‘It’s uncomfortable being alone with him.’
Because of the things he had heard from Michael, being alone with him was uncomfortable.
Since he never knew what he might say.
Han Seongtae was just about to move away, thinking he could practice the script or something.
“Han.”
“…Yes. Michael.”
“The next time we act, it’ll be different from this time.”
“…Pardon?”
What kind of nonsense was this all of a sudden?
At Michael’s sudden words, Han Seongtae could not help but feel bewildered.
He was not really paying close attention to Michael in one way or another.
Because what mattered to Han Seongtae was not Michael, but acting.
“Look forward to it.”
“Ah. Yes… well. I’ll be cheering you on.”
At Michael’s words, Han Seongtae gave an awkward smile and nodded.
He did not know what exactly Michael meant by saying to look forward to it, but Han Seongtae was not especially worried by it.
Because he was confident he could handle anything at any time.
At Han Seongtae’s answer, Michael frowned and left.
After he went off, Han Seongtae also returned to his place.
“What did you two talk about? It didn’t look like the mood was very good.”
“It was nothing. He just said we should work hard.”
At Han Seongtae’s words, Jung Dusik tilted his head.
Watching him, Han Seongtae said he did not need to worry about it and nudged his shoulder as they walked.
There was only one thing Han Seongtae needed to care about: acting.
“Haa, this is nice.”
Coming into his room, Han Seongtae let out a sigh as he lay down on the bed.
The feeling of the soft bed relaxed both his body and mind.
“…”
As he stared blankly at the ceiling, Han Seongtae’s eyes were just beginning to drift shut.
Bzzz.
The smartphone resting against his fingers started vibrating, then spilled out a ringing sound.
“It’s Minseok.”
At the familiar name on the screen, the corner of Han Seongtae’s mouth lifted slightly.
—Hey. What’re you doing?
At the voice of his close friend, Han Seongtae’s smile deepened.
Ever since coming to America, everything about life here had been satisfying.
The food, the place he was staying, the acting.
All of it was satisfying, and yet, if there was one thing that felt lacking, it was that there were not many people here that he truly knew.
There were people he had grown close to, but they could not compare to people who were like family.
So it was only natural that hearing the voice of a friend he wanted to spend a lifetime with would bring a smile to his face.
“I’m lying on the bed right now.”
—Were you sleeping?
“No. I just finished work, showered, and came out.”
—Ah, really? Must be rough. Is it manageable living there?
“Yeah. It’s not bad. The food is good, the lodging is good, and unless I start missing Professor’s home-cooked meals sometimes, I’m living well.”
—When you come back to Korea later, maybe stop by my place. I’ll ask Mom to make you a home-cooked meal. If I tell her you’re coming, she’ll be happy and cook for you.
“I’d appreciate that.”
At Kim Minseok’s words, Han Seongtae laughed.
—How’s acting? Manageable?
“Yeah. I just got praised for it too.”
—Well, if you couldn’t act, then who could?
“Hm… how’s it going there? When I’m here, it’s hard to hear any news.”
In America, Han Seongtae had been focusing only on acting.
Jung Dusik did not deliberately come over and disturb him either.
Unless it was something absolutely necessary, Jung Dusik often handled things on his own.
Because of that, there were many times when Han Seongtae did not hear little bits of news.
—I’m still learning directing under Director Yeon right now. So when you come back to Korea, I’ll have things ready so we can start filming right away, so look forward to it.
“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”
—And ah, right. Actor Ma Seokdong is producing a movie right now, apparently. They say he’s taking part in it both as producer and actor.
“Oh.”
—Director Choi Yechan is also preparing a project right now. Other than that…
The things coming out of Kim Minseok’s mouth were even higher quality than expected.
Because he was working under Yeon Jaehun, he had no choice but to know the information in that industry inside out.
Thanks to that, Han Seongtae was able to hear the news comfortably without putting in much effort himself.
—You. When are you coming back to Korea?
“I’m not sure. It’ll probably take another week or two.”
—Well, you’ll be busy filming. Contact me when you come back later. We have to eat together.
“Sounds good. I’ll contact you when I come back.”
—Okay. Keep working hard. You worked hard today, so get some good rest.
“You too.”
After ending the call with Kim Minseok, Han Seongtae tossed the phone to one side and closed his eyes.
It felt like he would be able to sleep well, in a good mood from hearing his friend’s voice for the first time in a while.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Together with the sound of the doorbell waking him—
“Hey.”
Rogers had come by.
Rogers had a bottle of wine in his hand.
The wine looked extremely expensive, and even Rogers was holding it carefully, as if it cost quite a lot.
“There’s no filming tomorrow, so we should have a drink.”
At the sudden appearance of Rogers asking him to drink, Han Seongtae let out a hollow laugh.
His visit was surprising, but it was not a problem.
Rogers had said back on set that he would come by Han Seongtae’s room.
Thanks to that, Han Seongtae had at least mentally prepared himself to some degree.
Well, he had not known whether he would actually come.
“To be honest, I like beer more. I brought wine because I didn’t know what you’d drink, but…”
“Then let’s drink beer.”
“That’s okay? I thought you’d only drink classy stuff.”
“What are you talking about? I like beer too.”
At the very least, he preferred comfortably drinking beer to trying to look serious while drinking wine.
At Han Seongtae’s words, Rogers’s face brightened.
“There’s a mart downstairs.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go right away.”
“Okay! I’ll pay! Let’s buy a ton of snacks too.”
At the sight of Rogers speaking excitedly, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
The two of them arrived at a mart not far from the hotel, chose some beer, and picked out snacks to go with it.
How long had they been walking around the mart like that?
‘Huh? Why is that person here?’
The moment he saw a familiar face, Han Seongtae’s body froze.
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