It was ‘Soldier America’.

He played one of the central heroes in ‘Heroes’ alongside Billion Man.

The actor playing Soldier America, a hero-fied former American soldier, was Chris Moore.

It seemed that Chris Moore, as expected, had also been invited to Herbert’s party today.

With blond hair, blue eyes, as well as a high nose bridge and a cool mouth shape, Chris Moore had a classic American handsome face. It was a face worthy of getting cast as a hero that represented America.

Furthermore, just like in the movies, he had a sturdy physique as if his muscles might burst at any moment. He seemed to have built up his muscles more than usual for the movie.

Do Wook also had a tall stature of over 180 and a solid physique, but there inevitably was a gap in their physiques. Standing next to Moore, Do Wook felt small in comparison.

Therefore, he felt that he had really met the character ‘Soldier America’ from ‘Heroes’, even more so than when he had met Herbert.

“Mr. Chris Moore?”

When Do Wook asked, Moore frowned and looked down at Do Wook.

Looking behind Moore, Do Wook immediately understood why Moore was on edge.

‘As expected of a Hollywood star … ’

Behind Chris Moore, there were at least 2-3 paparazzi following him.

Compared to Korea, Do Wook was living a relatively private life in America, but Do Wook also understood Moore’s irritation.

Do Wook had also been harassed quite a bit by obsessed fans in Korea.

“My name is Kang Do Wook…but I think it’d be better to do introductions inside.”

“…Ah! Do Wook! Ah, sure.”

Moore, who had realized belatedly who Do Wook was, briefly seemed happy to meet him but immediately hardened his expression and responded.

Moore, as expected, agreed with Do Wook that it’d be better to go in first before exchanging greetings.

It wasn’t a meeting that would be problematic if they were photographed by the paparazzi, but still having their photo taken in a very private space rather than on a filming set was not desirable.

The two of them quickly rang the doorbell of Herbert’s villa.

Soon, someone inside opened the door after checking who they were.

Only after they entered the villa did Chris Moore loosen his expression completely and speak to Do Wook.

“I had heard about you from Herbert! It’s nice to meet you! I almost made a mistake on our first meeting. Sigh…They stuck to me all day so I was annoyed!”

In the film, Chris Moore was so reserved that people even said he was frustrating, but in real life, he seemed to be quite talkative and gave off a lighthearted vibe.

Even if he hadn’t said much, you could easily tell from just his current expression and tone.

Do Wook’s English had steadily improved while doing activities overseas, and while preparing for the film, it had reached almost the same level as Kim Won’s.

Thanks to that, he easily understood that the words Chris used and his intonation were an informal style that didn’t fuss over formality.

Herbert’s personality perfectly fit that of ‘Billion Man’, so Do Wook was fascinated by the difference in Chris Moore’s personality.

“It’s understandable as it was all day. To think that they’d follow you all the way to Hampton…”

“That’s what I’m saying. Vicious. I actually have a lady friend I’ve been hanging out with lately, maybe they got a whiff of that and came charging…I’m so sick of it.”

Listening to Chris Moore vent about the paparazzi, whom he was truly fed up with, they quickly reached the villa’s main building.

The front door of the main building was wide open.

Right before he entered through the front door, Do Wook checked the time and sent a message to the group chat with the KK members.

The members were going to see a performance and enjoy the night in New York. They had also said they were going to go have a drink together when they were done. Do Wook messaged the members saying he would likely be late and not to wait for him at the lodging.

The party seemed to have already started and it was bustling inside. The most famous DJ in New York clubs these days was DJing in the center.

Those invited to the party were scattered here and there, chatting while sipping champagne brought by privately hired waiters.

“No way, did you start already?”

“Moore, long time no see!”

“What do you mean, ‘long time no see,’ we saw each other on set two days ago.”

“It’s just a courtesy.”

The person who had greeted Moore was the ‘Shark’ actor.

All the main heroes from ‘Heroes’ had definitely been invited here.

But it wasn’t just the heroes who were invited. Beautiful women wearing rather revealing dresses were mingling with actors here and there, laughing.

Even next to the ‘Shark’ actor, a woman with softly ash-colored hair was sitting with her legs crossed in a seductive manner, delicately stroking his thigh.

Do Wook had expected a calmer vibe when he had heard of the party at a villa. He had imagined a party where wine was more fitting than champagne, and Waltz was more fitting than a DJ.

It was hard to imagine a party hosted by Herbert being this wild.

‘It doesn’t seem like a place where I can talk with the actors…’

Do Wook furrowed his brows slightly.

Paying no attention, Moore grabbed Do Wook’s arm and led him.

“Ok, this is Do Wook! I met him outside. Isn’t he somewhat mysterious? Is this what they mean by Eastern beauty? I can understand why Martin had personally picked him as Real Man.”

Moore introduced Do Wook in a chatty manner. No matter how many times he saw it, Do Wook couldn’t get used to how chatty America’s textbook handsome man was.

Only then did the Shark actor break away from the woman and formally extend a handshake.

“Oh…it’s nice to meet you. I’m Jake.”

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

Just then, Herbert came down from the second floor. Dressed in comfortable clothing, Herbert had an entire bottle of strong liquor in his hand.

“Herbert is, well…you could pretty much call him an alcoholic. If we drink with him, we won’t survive. Drinking the same alcohol as him…just thinking about it makes me nauseous.”

Moore said, but Herbert’s gaze had already locked on Do Wook.

Herbert called Do Wook over to the bar and asked to drink together. Moore and Jake said they didn’t want to go hard and ran away.

It was difficult to tell if it was because they didn’t want to drink with Herbert or that they wanted to enjoy their time with the beautiful women that were invited.

Either way, Do Wook ended up sitting down and drinking with Herbert.

Do Wook wasn’t really one to enjoy drinking. However, it was only for self-care, his alcohol tolerance was pretty high.

It was fortunate.

Contrary to the concerns, Herbert did not pressure Do Wook to drink.

Rather, it seemed like Do Wook just needed to match the mood enough.

Herbert started by asking Do Wook how his acting suddenly improved during the first shoot, and then he also asked about KK.

There was no way of knowing whether it was because he had seen ‘Blue Whale’, which was screened at Cannes, or because he was curious about Do Wook being in a world-famous boyband, but either way Herbert was quite interested in Do Wook.

Thanks to that, Do Wook was able to talk a lot with Herbert.

Compared to Do Wook’s relatively short acting career, Herbert was an actor with a solid foundation, having risen from the bottom over ten years in Hollywood, a long time.

That was ‘The Hollywood’. The competition was on a different level from Korea. In that world, Herbert had to endure all sorts of hardships before becoming ‘Billion Man’.

“The opportunity found me when I really wanted to give up. There was strong opposition around me saying I’d end up a beggar lying on the side of the road if I kept it up, but…my pride wouldn’t let me give up there. Well, you can call it stubbornness…Anyways, stubbornness won.”

Listening to Herbert’s story, Do Wook nodded his head deeply.

Opportunity had come to Do Wook when he ‘had already given up’, but he agreed.

‘At least one…really, at least once…opportunity comes’.

Do Wook was able to learn a lot from Herbert through their conversation.

If this kept up and ‘Heroes 2’ was released without any major problems, it would mean that moving forward, Do Wook would have the opportunity to continue his acting career not only in Korea but also in Hollywood.

Do Wook was able to hear about the finer details of what it took to live not only as an actor in Hollywood but also as a star in America—things you can’t understand unless you’ve experienced them.

‘It was definitely good that I came. I was able to learn a lot…like about the vibe around here. Though, it looks like it’ll be hard to become close with other actors besides Herbert…Acting wise, trying to match them on set should be enough.’

However, it didn’t end there.

Even amid the noisy atmosphere, the actors often came to greet the host, Herbert, and each time Herbert introduced Do Wook properly, even with his pronunciation slightly slurred.

Thanks to that, Do Wook was also able to have quite a variety of conversations with the actor who played a villain on ‘Heroes 2’ but was very well known in Hollywood as a serious actor.

He didn’t know Do Wook at all, but after having a few words with him, he concluded, ‘he’s not ordinary’.

Hearing that, Herbert, drunk, laughed twice as hard than his usual voice and said,

“That’s right! He’s not ordinary. He has it. That something. This aura I’m feeling isn’t just because he has black eyes.”

“If you’re talking about black eyes, I have black eyes too.”

“Rather than black, yours is more…murky isn’t it?”

“What, you…so rude!”

They were about to give Do Wook, who was still very young and had just arrived in Hollywood, a favorable assessment.

Then Chris Moore, who was more drunk than Herbert, approached them.

His face was flushed bright red, and his eyes were glazed over. Moore said as he lifted Do Wook from his seat.

“Why is someone young and handsome hanging out with geezers, huh? Let’s enjoy ourselves!”

Those words made Do Wook flustered, but Herbert’s reaction seemed like he was not surprised at all. Herbert frowned and waved his hand in refusal. It was like he was saying that it was a hassle to deal with him, so to just take Do Wook and go.

Do Wook was dragged away by Moore and ended up by the living room sofa.

Unlike the area by the bar table, which had been quiet, this area was noisy with many people. On the sofa, a supporting actor whom even Do Wook knew, was sharing a passionate kiss with a blond beauty.

“Ok, we’re going to play poker, how about we play one round together? Hey, Eric! Do the rest in the upstairs guest room!”

Even with his face flushed from being drunk, Moore said something fairly reasonable to the supporting actor.

It seemed like Chris Moore had taken a liking to Do Wook. He asked to play a poker game together so they could get closer, so there really was no reason to decline.

However, whether it was due to the lewd atmosphere lingering in the parlor or Moore’s drunken flushed face, Do Wook found it hard to shake off an uneasy feeling.

“I guess you can hold your liquor? You’re fine even after drinking with Herbert. Drink this too.”

Do Wook sat at the seat next to Moore and the man across from them started to quickly deal cards.

Moore offered the red liquor that had been on the side table to Do Wook.

“Ah….”

Do Wook, who had been given the liquor, was about to drink it.

What Herbert said during their conversation crossed his mind: Don’t carelessly eat something you come across. It was brought up figuratively when they were talking about how, even if you’re in a hurry, you shouldn’t just accept any role.

And in Do Wook’s mind, an article he had seen in the past came to mind for the first time in a long while.

The reason for the uneasiness became clear.

‘I don’t think I should drink it.’

Next chapter: Do Wook has good reason to decline the drink, will it turn into a big deal?

in the 200’s!! 5 chapters left!!!

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