Han Seongtae was able to receive a script from Choi Yechan.
The script, titled He Comes, was also the name of a work familiar to Han Seongtae.
‘I remember this barely passing a million in my previous life.’
According to his memory, He Comes had barely managed to pass one million viewers.
Not exactly a low number, but not a high one either.
Han Seongtae did not think the reason He Comes had performed poorly was because of the script.
When he watched the film, there had been no problems with the story or the directing.
It had been entertaining enough.
‘It just didn’t have impact.’
The story was definitely entertaining overall, but it only flowed along steadily, without anything that could truly seize the audience’s attention.
‘That’s not what I need to worry about right now.’
Han Seongtae did not worry too much about that part.
Choi Yechan was a capable person, and the future was changing.
And one million was by no means a low number.
There were plenty of people who said a film had done well if it passed one million.
Just looking at the films currently in theaters, there were many that could not even pass a million.
“Seongtae-ssi, you just need to take the role of the tattooist. The one who appears at the end.”
“The alley tattooist?”
“Yes.”
At the sight of Choi Yechan nodding, Han Seongtae answered that he understood and opened the script.
Seeing him slowly looking through it, Choi Yechan fell silent.
Han Seongtae looked through the script quickly.
He Comes was a crime-action film.
‘A typical revenge story.’
A work that portrayed a protagonist who moved forward using the grief of losing his family as his driving force.
It was a common revenge story, but Choi Yechan had added the element of tattoos to it.
Each time the protagonist completed an act of revenge, he would tattoo on his body a mark symbolizing the target of that revenge.
Because of that, within the work, the protagonist was also called a sketcher or a gangster cop.
Since the protagonist even tattooed up to his neck, he could leave an even stronger impression on criminals.
As long as the tattoos were not visible when he was wearing his uniform, the protagonist had no hesitation in getting them.
In the end, the film ended with him receiving one final tattoo after completing his last revenge.
And the role Han Seongtae had been given was that very tattooist who did the tattooing at the end.
‘The content itself is interesting.’
It was the kind of revenge story that could be called typical, yet it was still a story you could call entertaining.
If Choi Yechan’s directing and editing were added to it, the finished result would surely be even better.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ says it is not bad, just an average script.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says it is not bad, but also a little disappointing, and clicks his tongue.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says it follows only clichés too closely, so it ends up merely average.]
Han Seongtae could agree with the gods’ words.
Really, it was exactly that kind of work. Solid.
Nothing more, and nothing less.
But so what?
He was only appearing in this work as a cameo.
He was not receiving anything, and Han Seongtae had no intention of trying to get something out of it either.
It was more than enough that he could help Choi Yechan and gain a chance to receive help from him someday in return.
If he could put someone like Choi Yechan in his debt, who would refuse that?
‘Though I don’t even plan to use that in the first place.’
Han Seongtae was satisfied just with the fact that he could grow a little closer to Choi Yechan.
“What do you think?”
“I think it’s good. The element of tattoos is interesting too, and overall it feels like it moves forward in a refreshing way, so I think it’s pretty solid.”
“That’s a relief. To be honest, I was a little worried. I thought maybe the story was too predictable.”
“Ah.”
“That’s why I added the tattoo element too.”
At Choi Yechan’s words, Han Seongtae gave an awkward smile.
This was Choi Yechan’s work.
It was not easy to tell him what he should or should not do with his own work.
“Let’s do well on this shoot too. With Seongtae-ssi here, what couldn’t we do?”
“Then I guess I’ll have to work even harder to live up to those expectations.”
“What more could you work on? You’re already doing well. If you just do what you always do, that’ll be more than enough.”
At Choi Yechan’s words, Han Seongtae gave a quiet smile.
Having someone who believed in him really did feel good.
It made him want to act even harder.
“When are you going back to America?”
“It hasn’t been fixed exactly yet, but I think I’ll be in Korea for about two weeks.”
“In that case, we’ll have to shoot before then.”
“Is that possible?”
“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be. We can definitely do it, so Seongtae-ssi, don’t worry about anything and just focus on acting.”
At those words, Han Seongtae nodded right away.
That was right. There was nothing for him to worry about.
He just had to keep acting hard, like he was now.
“Then I guess we’ll meet next on set.”
“Yes.”
“It was good seeing you today. Get home safely.”
After parting with Choi Yechan, Han Seongtae returned home and sat down on the edge of his bed.
Only now did he finally have some personal time.
There was still a bit of time left until his next appointment.
He had more than enough time to sit on the bed and relax.
The problem was,
‘It’s uncomfortable.’
Han Seongtae found it uncomfortable to be at home.
When he had been in Boston, he had stayed in a hotel.
Since it was a five-star hotel, the facilities and convenience had naturally been top-class.
After living there, it was hardly strange that staying in a small, shabby one-room apartment now felt cramped and uncomfortable.
“I wonder if Dusik-hyung is busy right now.”
After looking around the studio apartment, Han Seongtae immediately called Jung Dusik.
A strong desire to move was driving his actions.
—Yeah. What is it? Weren’t you resting?
“I wanted to ask a favor.”
—A favor? What is it? Go ahead, anything.
“I’m thinking of moving, so could you help me look for a place?”
At Han Seongtae’s words, Jung Dusik’s voice disappeared for a moment.
While Han Seongtae waited for an answer, Jung Dusik’s voice came back.
—Yeah. Good thinking. I was worried about the place you’re living in anyway. I’ll find you somewhere good.
“Nothing too expensive. Just somewhere decent enough to live in. Anywhere would be better than here.”
—That’s true. The place you’re in now is… tsk. Okay. Got it. I’ll look into it right away and get back to you.
“Yes. Thank you, as always.”
—What do you mean thank you? I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do. Get some proper rest, and we’ll talk later. I think Team Leader is calling me right now.
“Yes, hyung. Sorry, I feel like I took your time when you were busy. Take care.”
After ending the call with Jung Dusik, Han Seongtae lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
All he could do was sigh at the sight of the ceiling, yellowed as if stained with age.
‘I really need to leave now.’
Just as he was closing his eyes, thinking he needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
Bzzz.
He opened them again right away at the vibration he felt from the phone resting in his palm.
“…Huh?”
His eyes trembled slightly the moment he checked the name.
On the screen were the three characters: Ma Seokdong.
“So you’re meeting Actor Ma tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
At Kim Minseok’s question, Han Seongtae, who had been tearing into a chicken drumstick, swallowed what was in his mouth and nodded.
The day after he finished his call with Ma Seokdong, Han Seongtae had immediately barged over to Kim Minseok’s house.
For a moment he simply felt glad to see his friend again after so long, but the two of them quickly moved on to sharing updates about their lives.
Han Seongtae mentioned that he was meeting Ma Seokdong tomorrow, and hearing that, Kim Minseok was looking at him with a slightly surprised expression.
“Why?”
“He said he had something to talk about related to a project. So I just said yes right away.”
“Wow… the man Ma Seokdong is calling. Seriously, that’s cool. As expected of a great actor.”
“What do you mean great actor?”
“Why? Someone at your level definitely counts as a great actor. You’ve even filmed in Hollywood.”
“It’s not like that.”
At Kim Minseok’s teasing words, Han Seongtae laughed and shook his head.
If going overseas to film automatically made someone a great actor, then why would the term great actor even exist in the first place?
That expression still did not suit him yet.
Though he was working hard enough to earn that title one day.
‘If I have the gods of acting, it’s not impossible.’
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ shows interest in the chicken you’re eating.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ reacts with strong disgust, saying the food you eat dulls the body.]
They sometimes showed amusing sides like that, but when he acted with them, there was nothing more reliable.
Han Seongtae intended to make all of their acting know-how his own.
To do that, he would have to work even harder than he already was.
“I’m just working hard, that’s all.”
“Right, right. Look at you, all impressive. Must feel real nice to be that impressive.”
“It’s not bad.”
“…”
“…”
“…You know sometimes you’re really irritating, right?”
At Kim Minseok’s words, Han Seongtae answered only with a shrug.
Watching him, Kim Minseok let out a sigh, then immediately changed the subject.
“So how was filming overseas? It was directed by Britton Lee, right? Tell me what it was like.”
“It’s not like there’s much to say about what it was like. It was just good.”
Seeing Kim Minseok listening closely to him, Han Seongtae let out a laugh and continued.
One by one, the things that had happened during his overseas filming came out of his mouth.
Kim Minseok’s expression changed moment by moment as he listened.
“Ah, right. I even got an invitation from Dom. Oddly enough, the invitation was beer.”
“Who’s Dom?”
“Dominic.”
“…Dominic, as in the one I know?”
“Yeah. That Dominic.”
“Instinctive Rush?”
“That’s right.”
The moment Han Seongtae nodded, Kim Minseok leapt to his feet.
He was looking at Han Seongtae as if he could not believe it.
‘Ah… come to think of it, Minseok was an Instinctive Rush fan.’
Just like Han Seongtae, Kim Minseok was one of the fans who had greatly enjoyed Instinctive Rush.
No, Kim Minseok loved Instinctive Rush even more than Han Seongtae did.
There were posters for every series of Instinctive Rush hanging in his house right now, after all.
“This is insane, seriously. To even get invited by Dominic. You really are Han Seongtae, right? Not somebody else?”
“Then who else would I be if not Han Seongtae? Want me to get you an autograph later?”
“You call that a question? Of course you have to get one for me. Absolutely.”
“Got it. I’ll tell Dom my friend is a huge fan and wants an autograph.”
“Tell him I’m really enjoying the movies too.”
“Got it.”
Only after getting a firm promise several times did Kim Minseok calm down and sit back down.
Watching him, Han Seongtae let out a laugh and casually turned his head to look around the house.
It was such a contrast to the studio apartment Han Seongtae was living in.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“How much does a place like this cost?”
“Here? I rent it for three thousand deposit and one hundred twenty a month.”
“That’s expensive.”
“It’s more expensive because it’s near the university. But why, are you trying to move?”
“Yeah. I asked Dusik-hyung to help me look for a place.”
“Good. You make good money, so it doesn’t even make sense for you to still be living in a place like that.”
At Han Seongtae’s words, Kim Minseok nodded.
Han Seongtae could only laugh hollowly at how Kim Minseok immediately told him he did well.
How was it that every person around him, the moment he mentioned moving, immediately said he had to move?
All those similar reactions just made him laugh.
Looking at Kim Minseok, Han Seongtae changed the subject.
“How about you these days?”
“Me? Well… same as always. I’m working under Director Yeon and preparing the project.”
“Is the preparation going well?”
“Don’t worry. I’m doing it properly. When you see it later, you’ll be shocked.”
“Okay. I’ll look forward to it.”
At Kim Minseok’s confident appearance, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
Seeing that his friend was doing well naturally made him feel good too.
Han Seongtae spent an enjoyable time with Kim Minseok, and before long, the day of his appointment with Ma Seokdong drew near.
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