The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 32

“Actor! You should come this way, not there.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Please hold my hand.”

Manager An Jin-bae, with a beaming face, led me away.

Thanks to him, I avoided entering what seemed like a restaurant.

Was there really a house in a place like this?

Before my curiosity deepened, I was dazzled by the brilliantly shining marble, almost blinding me.

What kind of building was entirely made of marble?

“Hello.”

Was that an elevator?

As we approached the large gold door, the employee standing in front of it greeted us politely.

There was no button where there usually would be.

Manager An Jin-bae exchanged a few words with the employee and naturally placed a card there.

Then, the door opened silently, revealing an elevator interior that was better than my room.

“Wow….”

The resolution not to show my surprise melted away the moment I stepped inside the house and a gasp escaped my lips.

The interior of the house was far better than anything I had imagined while riding up in the elevator.

‘A house like this really exists.’

I had only taken a quick glance at the wide space that seemed to be the ‘entrance hall’ and was already overwhelmed.

How could one sleep here? If I touched something wrong, it would cost at least a million won.

“Actor, you can change your clothes in that room. There’s a bathroom inside, so wash your hands too. I’ll prepare dinner first!”

It was fortunate that I had prepared some clothes in advance for the shoot.

I didn’t expect to be wearing them at Manager An Jin-bae’s house, though.

When I entered the bathroom and washed my hands, the towel hanging there was so much softer than expected that I paused for a moment.

I stood frozen for about five seconds before finally removing my hand and changing my clothes, when suddenly, the curtains automatically descended.

By this point, I accepted it.

Yes, living in a house like this meant you could casually purchase a 700,000 won watch.

There’s no rule saying a manager can’t be rich. It was a prejudice I needed to discard.

With the mindset that I wouldn’t be surprised even if a uniformed employee holding a steak plate stood at the door, I humbly opened the door.

But what I saw was unexpected.

“Actor, is omurice okay?”

“Yes. I like omurice.”

“Good! Please sit here for a moment. I’ll make it quickly.”

Manager An Jin-bae, in comfortable clothes, was stirring a frying pan.

Although his plating was clumsy, the fluffy omurice was warm.

After cleaning the plate without leaving a single spoonful, I watched a movie in which Manager An Jin-bae had appeared.

To be honest, Manager An Jin-bae’s acting was just okay.

His eyes were too clear for me to immerse myself in believing he was a carefree gangster.

Still, when I thanked him for showing it to me, saying it was well-watched, he bowed his head again, thanking me for watching. I had to stop him with my hand. Enough.

“How could you do something like this without consulting me first!”

“Your Highness, please lower your voice.”

“I have failed to meet Mother’s expectations…, I’m sorry. Let’s go again.”

After watching the DVD, we practiced the part to be filmed tomorrow together.

Since I had never practiced exchanging lines with someone before, I kept losing concentration.

While I practiced alone, the other person’s performance always happened in my imagination.

The voice I imagined, the look I envisioned, the timing I expected.

None of them matched Manager An Jin-bae’s acting.

Since I had mainly practiced focusing on myself, wondering if my gaze was natural, if my emotional expression was convincing enough, I made mistakes when considering the other person’s performance.

Frustrated, I ignored Manager An Jin-bae and performed the pre-prepared acting, making him break out in a cold sweat and surrender.

“Are you okay? Have some water.”

“Thank you…. Phew… I can somewhat understand how Actor Kim Hyun-joo must have felt.”

Manager An Jin-bae said he felt like he was running at full speed, but the other person’s pace was so fast that he couldn’t keep up.

Seeing the other person already far ahead, he couldn’t help but be conscious of it.

Still, if I didn’t give my all, I couldn’t convey the intended persuasiveness, which was regrettable.

Finally, after two hours of nonstop practice, a sigh escaped. Matching breathing was really not easy.

“Sigh…, it’s tomorrow’s shoot, and there’s no improvement.”

“Don’t feel so discouraged. Now that you’ve practiced with me today, it will be much easier with Actor Kim Hyun-joo tomorrow. You can’t compare me to a real actor like her.”

He said if I were an animal, I would be a cheetah, Actor Kim Hyun-joo a horse, and he himself would be like a snail.

He said it’s not easy for a cheetah to walk at a snail’s pace, but since snails can’t compare to horses, there’s no need to worry.

Seeing me slumped, he spoke cautiously, word by word, and his snail-like demeanor made me laugh.

“Shall we end the practice here? We have a shoot tomorrow, so it’s better to sleep early.”

“Yes. Let’s end here.”

Though I wanted to practice more, I nodded quietly. I could always practice more with Mist.

After a light wash, we had another long debate about sleeping arrangements.

Manager An Jin-bae insisted he would sleep in the guest room and I should take the master bedroom, while I argued how could a guest sleep in the master bedroom.

After about 30 minutes of conversation, the situation ended with Manager An Jin-bae dragging the mattress from the guest room to the middle of the master bedroom.

He said he would sleep on the mattress and I should sleep on the bed. I wanted to say more but ended up nodding.

I just wanted to sleep. I was a bit taken aback by his unruffled appearance after dragging a mattress taller than himself.

“Hyung, you’re pretty stubborn.”

“……Only as much as you, actor.”

What had I done?

Lying in bed and glancing at the mattress, I heard him muttering about not being able to forget how he felt when he received 30,000 won from me.

I said it wouldn’t compare to the shock of receiving 700,000 won, and he fell silent instantly. Seriously.

The texture of the blanket wrapping around me, the softness of the mattress against my back, even the faint sound of someone else’s breathing mixed in the air, none of it was familiar.

But whether it was because of today’s first shoot or the intense practice session just now, I quickly closed my eyes out of fatigue.

I fell asleep instantly, without even thinking of the fluffy wool of sheep.

The awkward night at someone else’s house passed uneventfully.

* * *

“Ah~, great. Wow, you two are perfectly in sync. Let’s move on to the next scene right away!”

At the director’s words, the staff busily moved around to set up the next scene.

Changing the position of props, adjusting the lighting, amidst the bustling chaos, there was only silence around Actor Kim Hyun-joo and me.

“What were you thinking?”

“Huh?”

I was going over the next lines in my mind when a grumpy voice suddenly interrupted.

Whispering because she was conscious of others, Actor Kim Hyun-joo made me focus even more.

“What were you thinking while acting? Was it because I went crazy yesterday? Did you think I couldn’t act as well as you, so you decided to go easy on me?”

Her slightly furrowed brow revealed her unmistakable annoyance.

‘What’s her problem?’

Even though the shoot continued without a single NG, if she still had complaints, it was clear that nothing I did would satisfy her.

My body, which had been tense to avoid causing trouble, relaxed.

Instead of feeling stung by her sharp gaze, I felt a slight sense of futility, and my response came out with an indifferent tone.

“I had never thought you couldn’t act.”

“What?”

“You act really well. You already know that.”

Manager An Jin-bae’s words were right.

Just in case, I practiced the lines with Mist as well, but the result was a total mess.

I woke up with a heavy heart and arrived at the set, but once the cue sign was given, the queen I saw as Yu-hyeon was indeed the queen herself.

The well-organized, flawless performance provided a sense of stability that put my mind at ease.

Thus, I was able to showcase the performance I had prepared with more ease, and Actor Kim Hyun-joo’s acting, which had more spirit than yesterday, was also excellent.

As time went by, her eyes regained their sparkle, showing that she was confident in her performance.

The director’s face was also much brighter than it had been yesterday.

She must know this too. Why did she pick a pointless fight?

“If you say you dislike me, I have no words to refute, but… you don’t have to say things that aren’t true for anyone to hear.”

“…….”

It seemed like she hated conversing with me or even making eye contact.

There was no need for unnecessary conversations.

Actor Kim Hyun-joo, who had been silent for a long time, muttered that I was annoying and turned her head.

Fortunately, she didn’t speak to me afterward.

We just made sure to synchronize the parts that needed to be aligned before the shoot and then went straight into filming.

The shoot proceeded smoothly without a single hitch.

Even from a distance, I could see the staff’s bright expressions and their excited footsteps, and the director patted my shoulder with a wide smile for a long time.

Actor Kim Hyun-joo, like yesterday, greeted the director and left immediately.

She seemed to glance my way before completely turning away, but I didn’t really care.

‘As long as she doesn’t wish for my death.’

If she did, it could have caused various troublesome situations.

Instead, such petty squabbles were insignificant enough to be almost endearing.

What worried me more was the possibility of causing trouble for others.

But seeing today’s performance, it seemed that despite her personal feelings, she handled work professionally, so it was better not to worry about this issue further.

‘I have other things to worry about.’

Thinking about the perfume I had left on my desk made my head throb.

The shoot with Han Se-young was on Wednesday, only three days away.

Given Yu-hyeon’s early years, with his limited range of movement, it was no exaggeration to say that 80% of my scenes involved Na-bi.

This meant I had to spend a lot of time with the actor playing the Na-bi.

In the end, I had to get used to that damn scent as soon as possible.

Even though I could manage to act through it once immersed in the character, I wasn’t confident I could endure the scent during the waiting time.

“Is something bothering you?”

“Oh.”

Hearing the cautious voice from the driver’s seat, I realized I had sighed deeply.

It had been about 30 minutes since we left, so we would soon arrive at the orphanage. The thought made my heart feel even more stifled.

“It’s okay. It’s nothing.”

“……Alright, let me know if there’s anything you need.”

I thought about asking Manager An Jin-bae but shook my head inwardly.

It wasn’t related to acting, and I didn’t want to bother him with such things.

When I looked out the window, I saw the orphanage building in the distance.

The words “Can I stay just one more day?” rose up to my throat, but I managed to swallow them back down.

If you have to get an injection, it’s better to get it over with early.

Yes, let’s just open the lid today. What could possibly happen?

* * *

More fitting than “night,” the term “dawn” described the time when Lee Si-hyun woke up and cautiously opened the door.

‘I always wake up thirsty at this time. Annoying….’

She staggered, unable to open her eyes properly, heading to the kitchen when she heard a strange sound.

Looking for its source, she found herself moving closer to the men’s bathroom.

The sound grew clearer as she got nearer.

Putting her ear to the door, she heard someone unmistakably throwing up and knocked urgently.

“It’s me, Teacher Lee Si-hyun. Who is it? Are you sick?!”

Worried about waking the children and other teachers, she couldn’t raise her voice and kept knocking persistently.

As she knocked, the sound stopped, followed by the sound of running water, and shortly after, the door opened.

“Who―, oh my, Yeon-jae? Are you okay? Are you sick?”

When the door opened, it revealed Lee Yeon-jae’s figure, with red-rimmed eyes and a face wet with moisture.

His front hair was slightly wet as if he had washed his face.

Lee Si-hyun’s pupils shook even more violently in her panic.

She took a step closer, driven by urgency, but stopped, catching a whiff of a strong scent she couldn’t ignore.

‘What is this scent? Floral?’

The scent wafted from Lee Yeon-jae as he steadied his breathing.