“Thank you for your hard work!”
The voice of a minor actor rang loudly through the filming set of City of Criminals.
Starting with him, the people on set exchanged words of thanks and hard work with one another.
Han Seongtae was mixed in among them, greeting people here and there.
The filming for City of Criminals was finally over.
There was still filming left, but Han Seongtae would not be part of that shoot.
With the scene just now, everything Han Seongtae had to film had been completed.
“They say there’s a wrap dinner later. You’ll come, right?”
At the staff member’s question, Han Seongtae nodded.
It was the final wrap dinner for City of Criminals, so of course he had to go.
After hearing Han Seongtae’s answer, the staff member smiled brightly and ran off toward where the others were.
As Han Seongtae was watching that and letting out a small laugh, Jung Dusik approached and spoke to him.
“Seongtae, International Film contacted us.”
“International Film?”
“Yeah. They asked if you’d be interested in going on a talk show.”
Why was a talk show suddenly coming up?
At Jung Dusik’s words, he tilted his head.
It was not strange for a film production company to contact an actor, but he could only wonder why they were proposing a talk show appearance.
“Do you know The Light Show?”
“If it’s The Light Show… Isn’t that an American talk show? It’s a really famous one.”
“Yeah, that’s right. They want you to go on it. They said if you go, Rogers will go with you.”
“Ah.”
At Jung Dusik’s explanation, Han Seongtae twitched his fingers.
If it was The Light Show, it was an extremely famous entertainment program.
‘No, not just extremely famous.’
It was a major talk show that competed for first and second place in America.
It was a long-running program that had steadily recorded a 10 percent viewer rating for over ten years since it began airing, and it boasted tremendous popularity.
Among Hollywood actors, there was hardly any famous person who had not appeared on The Light Show.
Appearing on a show like that also proved just how famous an actor had become.
It was a place Han Seongtae in his previous life could not even have dreamed of.
“I’m going on The Light Show?”
“Yeah. They said it’s possible right away if you say okay. You’re going, right?”
Was he asking whether he would go?
Why was he asking something so obvious?
“Of course I should go.”
This was a chance to make the name of the actor “Han Seongtae” known to the whole world.
Han Seongtae was not thoughtless enough to let such an incredible opportunity slip by.
“Yeah. I knew you’d go. I’ll contact them right away.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll have to adjust the schedule again. If we consider the talk show schedule, it’ll be pretty tight.”
Listening to Jung Dusik mutter, Han Seongtae smiled.
It seemed his schedule for going to America would be moved up by a lot.
“Passengers, please slowly…”
Inside the plane, Han Seongtae walked along while following the announcement.
Because his schedule had been moved up, he had headed straight to New York, and he had just arrived.
Bzzzz.
The moment he turned off airplane mode, Han Seongtae’s smartphone began to ring.
It was Rogers.
— “You should be arriving around now. Did you arrive?”
“I just arrived.”
— “Really? Then are you going straight to your lodging now? Did you book a place?”
“Yeah. The company booked a place for me.”
— “Nice. Send me the address. I’ll come visit later.”
“I’ll ask about it later and let you know right away.”
— “Okay. Ah, since you’re in New York, come to my house sometime too. I’ll invite you. Let’s have a drink together.”
“Sounds good. Ah, Emily’s here. I think I have to go.”
— “Got it. You’ll have a lot to deal with. See you at the broadcasting station.”
After ending his exchange with Rogers, Han Seongtae approached Emily, who was waving a sign.
“Welcome to New York. Han, Jung!”
“Yes, I’m glad to see you again too, Emily.”
“Have you been well?”
Toward her as she warmly welcomed them, Han Seongtae and Jung Dusik answered with smiles as well.
The greeting was brief.
There were many people at the airport, so they could not stay in one place for long.
“Should we go in my car? It’s right out front. I had people load all of Han’s luggage, so we can move right away.”
At her words, Han Seongtae immediately nodded.
Emily was someone who was good at her job.
The things Han Seongtae and Jung Dusik could not pay attention to, she quickly caught and resolved.
Emily’s car was stuck in traffic.
Perhaps because it was the middle of rush hour, the car moved extremely sluggishly.
It was so frustrating that horns could be heard blaring from every direction.
While the drivers were feeling annoyed, Emily chatted away with an excited face.
“Han, how was Dominic’s party? I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to hear about it then. I really wanted to hear about it when you came next.”
“I see.”
“I’ve never been to one of Dominic’s parties. I’ve only seen them on Onstar. How was it?”
“It was nice. Everyone talked comfortably in a light atmosphere. It was a place where I could get to know a lot of good actors.”
“Wow… I’m so jealous. I wonder when I’ll ever be able to go somewhere like that.”
At her words, Han Seongtae laughed and explained what he had seen and felt at Dominic’s party.
Emily’s expression looked delighted as she listened to him.
Aside from Dominic’s party, many other topics came up.
From Han Seongtae’s upcoming schedule to small bits of news.
There was a surprising amount he could hear through Emily.
As they talked without even noticing the time pass, they arrived at the lodging.
“Thank you for driving us. See you next time.”
“Yes, I’m really happy I get to be in charge of Han again too. If you need anything, please contact me anytime.”
When Han Seongtae smiled and nodded, she handed the car keys to Jung Dusik and left.
Jung Dusik jingled the car keys he had received from Emily and turned to Han Seongtae.
“Then shall we go?”
At his words, Han Seongtae took his luggage and entered the lodging.
The lodging the company had booked for him was a very nice hotel.
It was a place that did not fall short at all compared to the lodging International Film had booked for him.
He could feel that PAN Entertainment had really put effort into it.
While Han Seongtae was organizing his luggage to one side, Jung Dusik approached and touched his arm.
“Seongtae, you can organize your luggage later, so let’s go for now. We’re a little pressed for time.”
“Yes. I’ll go now.”
Han Seongtae had a meeting scheduled on the day he entered the country.
An appointment with David, the director of International Film.
He followed Jung Dusik and went straight to the place where David was.
David was wearing a suit.
He rose from his seat, approached Han Seongtae, and held out his hand.
“It’s been a while, Han.”
“Yes, it has been a while.”
“Please sit here.”
At his words, Han Seongtae nodded and sat down right away.
Tap.
Coffee was placed in front of Han Seongtae.
At the same time, David opened his mouth.
“Han, I saw your acting. It was very good. I was admiring it the entire time.”
“Everyone worked hard together.”
“Truly, I could feel how hard everyone worked. I didn’t know you would do this well. I’m starting to think the best thing I did while participating in this project was bringing Han in.”
It was excessive praise.
Among the compliments one could receive from a director, what could be greater than this?
A smile naturally formed on Han Seongtae’s lips.
“Han, you heard that you’ll be appearing on The Light Show, right?”
“Yes, I heard.”
“You’ll be going on with Rogers. I received the script in advance, so it will be easier if you familiarize yourself with it before going.”
Han Seongtae took the script David handed him and quickly looked through it.
The script contained the questions the host would ask.
He simply had to answer based on those questions.
“While the talk show is in progress, we’ll reveal the trailer midway through.”
“The trailer on the talk show?”
“Yes. It will be released worldwide along with the talk show. Since the talk show will be broadcast live, I think we can look forward to the viewer ratings this time.”
David’s explanation continued.
“After filming the talk show, we’ll begin post-recording right away. I believe you were told about this in advance. Is that correct?”
“Yes, I know.”
“That’s a relief. There isn’t anything particularly difficult, so you can just do as you usually do.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, and Han. There is one thing you must keep in mind when you go on the talk show.”
The expression with which he looked at Han Seongtae turned serious in an instant.
What was he going to say that he had to set the mood like this?
Han Seongtae was looking at him when David spoke.
“You absolutely must not spoil anything.”
“Excuse me?”
“Spoilers. You absolutely must not give any.”
Spoilers.
At those words, Han Seongtae smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry.”
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ laughs, saying he worries about the strangest things.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says that such a thing will not happen.]
Because there was no chance he would give any spoilers.
Time passed, and the filming day for The Light Show arrived.
Han Seongtae went to the broadcasting station with Rogers, David, and Jung Dusik.
“Han, you must remember what I told you. Please refrain from spoilers as much as possible.”
David seemed worried, and kept reminding Han Seongtae again and again.
Since this was Han Seongtae’s first talk show, he was apparently worried he might make a mistake.
If The Light Show had been a mediocre talk show, he probably would not have worried this much.
But The Light Show was a talk show held by one of the largest broadcasting stations in America.
The moment he made a mistake, the entire United States would see it.
It would be stranger not to worry.
Knowing that, Han Seongtae only smiled and told him not to worry.
“David, Han isn’t a child. Aren’t you worrying too much? Han will do fine on his own.”
“Mm…”
“Han is someone who knows how to do well. Rather than him, please worry about me. My heart is pounding so hard I feel like I’m going to die.”
Seeing Rogers speak while his hands trembled, David let out a faint laugh.
Rogers, a veteran among veterans who had appeared on every kind of talk show, was nervous?
There was nothing funnier than that.
When David laughed, Rogers laughed too.
“Han, if things get too hard once we go up, leave it to me. I’m a professional at this kind of thing.”
Rogers confidently spoke while patting Han Seongtae’s shoulder.
That made him feel quite reliable.
It was true that he was reliable, but Han Seongtae had no intention of leaning on him.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ says it has been a long time since he was on a talk show, and that his mouth is itching.]
[‘The One with a Thousand Faces’ says he looks forward to seeing how well modern hosts conduct their shows.]
He was confident that he would do well on the talk show.
With gods of acting right beside him, what could there possibly be that he could not do?
“You may go up now.”
At the staff member’s signal, Han Seongtae moved without hesitation.
His steps were filled with confidence.
Leave a Reply