The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 38

The sky was a bright blue, dotted with fluffy clouds. The hillside was densely packed with flowers of lovely colors.

In the midst of this drowsy scene, something stood out, utterly alien and starkly present.

A boy, in neat but slightly worn clothing, was taking one step at a time.

However, his steps seemed very unsteady.

The sound of his labored breathing came one after another, and his shaking pupils reflected the sunlight.

“Gasp… huff….”

The boy was in great distress.

As if wanting to tear his chest apart, one hand rose up but could only flail helplessly in the air.

In contrast to his pitiful hand movements, his eyes were fiercely determined.

Although he appeared fragile and on the verge of collapsing, his eyes seemed ready to rip his opponent apart.

When the camera captured those persistent eyes, the viewers watching the screen collectively sighed.

“He’s crazy….”

“……Just look at those eyes. He’s gone mad.”

The words spilled out unintentionally, not meant maliciously, but they were a clear disturbance.

The assistant director frowned and gave a warning, calming the noisy atmosphere.

On the screen, Lee Yeon-jae, no, Yu-hyeon, was gasping for breath.

We go through countless big and small sad events in our lives.

We cry, get angry, and suffer from unexpected incidents.

When completely immersed in emotion, we have no idea what kind of expressions we are making.

We can only vaguely guess by watching actors’ expressions in movies or dramas.

Yes, I had been that troubled back then. I must have made that kind of expression.

But the expression Yu-hyeon was making now didn’t allow for such thoughts.

It was a sadness that made one wonder, ‘Have I ever been that deeply troubled in my life?’

Everyone was overwhelmed by the unfathomable depth of his emotional expression.

A sadness of a different dimension created a sense of distance, making one’s mind go cold.

As a result, the beautiful scenery around Yu-hyeon stood out even more in contrast to his feelings.

Amid the numerous flowers transplanted one by one by the production team, Yu-hyeon, gasping for breath, looked bizarrely beautiful.

“Hah… ha… sob.”

Even though he clenched his teeth so hard that dimples formed in his cheeks, sobs eventually leaked out through his trembling lips.

Unidentifiable words, laden with tears, poured out.

As the stiffness in his eyes gradually loosened, his expression finally crumbled to match his age.

Yu-hyeon lay down on the hillside, uncaring of the dust on his clothes, and sobbed.

It was the first time he had ever poured out his emotions without caring about anyone else’s eyes, a sobbing filled with complicated relief.

Everyone held their breath at the long sighs that filled the wide filming set.

For Yu-hyeon, crying was a sin.

Not only was it unseemly in itself, but it was also an inappropriate action for a crown prince.

But now, there was no need to care about that. It didn’t matter whether he was a crown prince or not anymore.

Even if I cry so pathetically like this, Na-bi will look at someone else.

Like that night when I hid myself miserably like a worm and watched the two of them.

‘……Does it really not matter?’

The shoulders that had been trembling weakly suddenly paused.

Na-bi―, Na-bi is different. Na-bi wouldn’t just leave me alone while I’m crying.

If I cling to her while crying, or if I strip that lowly guy of his dragon robe to reveal only his vulgar body, things might change.

That dragon robe is mine.

Despite the fact that her affection had been towards the one who saw him as Yu-hyeon, not the crown prince, Yu-hyeon easily fell into a fallacy.

He thought Na-bi would feel the same. That if she knew he was the true owner of that position, those shy eyes would look at him.

As the thoughts continued, the trembling that had enveloped his body slowly subsided.

His hand that had been covering his face slipped down, and his tear-stained eyes blankly stared at the sky.

In the brief moment it took for the tears to flow sideways, his expression changed countless times.

From the hope that he didn’t have to give up yet, to the sudden surge of anticipation, to the desperation that only someone with water up to their chin could feel.

The subtly raised corners of his mouth were both incredibly out of place and painfully fitting.

“……Cut!”

The director’s voice echoed loudly, but the silence remained.

Even the director seemed dazed.

As they blinked in uneasy peculiarity, fearing everything would end the moment they made a sound, someone broke the silence.

“……Should I keep lying here?”

It was Lee Yeon-jae. Everyone came to their senses at his bewildered voice.

The director, having checked the footage, shouted an enthusiastic “Okay” with a flushed face.

There wasn’t any line to be heard. All that was captured was the labored breathing and sobbing.

Expressing what a character is thinking without lines is a challenging performance, even for adult actors.

Originally, they planned to insert scenes of Hyo-won taking the dragon robe and Na-bi shyly looking at Yu-hyeon in between to make it easier for the audience to understand. They were also planning to add narration.

However, the scene they had just shot… Yu-hyeon’s thoughts were clearly visible through Lee Yeon-jae’s acting alone.

‘We might not need additional explanation at this level.’

Should they keep this scene as it is? Would they go for an experimental direction or a safer choice?

While PD Kim Min-seok was lost in happy contemplation, actor Kim Seok-jun just stood there, dazed.

He watched Lee Yeon-jae talking amicably with the staff who were dusting off his clothes.

‘How can that kid be like that…?’

He already knew Lee Yeon-jae acted well.

Anyone who had seen Lee Yeon-jae act even once would realize this.

Even if they didn’t think so, no one would say it out loud.

Because if they did, they would look like idiots.

Unlike playing an instrument, acting has no set scales or rhythm.

Because there are no definite answers, a performance that amazes some might be deemed excessive by others.

Even considering those points, Lee Yeon-jae’s acting was generally well-composed.

Actor Kim Seok-jun had purely admired him and thought he was an unusual kid. Until he saw the acting just now.

Looking around, it seemed he wasn’t the only one shocked.

Han Se-young and Sung Lee-jun were both out of it. Except for one person.

Lee Jung-hyun was smiling like a proud parent, as if he had birthed Lee Yeon-jae himself.

‘……So, I have to play the adult version of that?’

What he had joked about had become a reality.

He began to regret taking on this drama seriously.

The thought of leading Yu-hyeon, whom that audacious kid had portrayed, made his vision go dark.

‘He said he seemed to love acting,’ ‘He said he was cool enough.’

When had he stirred people’s hearts with such pointless words?

The person in question was smiling as if he knew nothing, making it even more infuriating.

Damn it, this wasn’t the time for this.

Kim Seok-jun, without thinking to say goodbye, turned on his heel.

It was a small voice that stopped his hurried steps.

“Where are you going?”

“…….”

“To practice acting?”

There was a faint trace of laughter in the low, soft voice.

Even though he sensed it, knowing why he was laughing, he couldn’t say anything.

Kim Seok-jun turned to look at Lee Jung-hyun.

“Even if you know, pretend you don’t, man. Don’t tease me.”

“Ha ha, okay. I’ll tell Yeon-jae that you left so he doesn’t get upset. Don’t worry and go.”

Upset? That kid wouldn’t care.

Those dark eyes that never revealed their thoughts were the epitome of indifference.

Even if Kim Seok-jun got up and left in the middle of a conversation, Yeon-jae would just think, ‘Whatever.’

Of course, Kim Seok-jun had no interest in Yeon-jae either, and he didn’t bother to hide it.

But it was also true that he found it funny to see Yeon-jae responding with indifference after several attempts to gauge him.

It was the first time he’d seen a kid as indifferent as himself.

“Our Yeon-jae, reforming so many people….”

He was infuriated by the faintly heard comment from behind, but he walked on in silence.

Crazy recognizes crazy. That person, uttering such affectionate words to a kid with no hint of cuteness, was no ordinary crazy person.

“Got involved with the wrong one….”

He waved his hand dismissively at the manager, who was fussing over why he had come out so quickly.

As he got into the back seat with movements laden with irritation, the manager, reading the mood, quickly climbed into the driver’s seat.

Kim Seok-jun stared out the window until the car merged onto the road, then took out his phone.

[Teacher. Are you available to come in today? I need to intensify my practice.]

After sending the text to his acting coach, he looked out the window again. He was in for an all-nighter starting today.

Suppressing his frustration, Kim Seok-jun let out a long sigh.

* * *

“Okay, let’s take the picture. One, two~ three!”

After all the filming was done, the remaining people gathered for a photo.

My filming was over, but the filming for the adult versions of Na-bi, Hyo-won, and Yu-hyeon was just beginning.

Even Han Se-young and Sung Lee-jun had schedules next week.

This wasn’t something to make a fuss about. I looked awkwardly at the photo on the phone.

Seeing people huddled together amid the unremoved lighting equipment and the messy set made me feel strange.

“You worked hard. We’ll see each other at the production presentation next.”

“Yeah. You too, take care with the remaining filming.”

There was no fragrance in Han Se-young’s smile when she said it would be easier without me in the scenes left to shoot.

I tried to smile as brightly as possible out of gratitude, but Han Se-young told me not to charm her and then disappeared.

For some reason, Sung Lee-jun, who had become more shy, also said goodbye, as did the PD and staff.

Then, Jung-hyun hyung, Manager An Jin-bae, and I went to a Korean restaurant.

Jung-hyun hyung smiled and placed a thick piece of fish on my spoon.

“The fish here is mild, so it should suit your taste. Eat a lot.”

“Yes. Thank you. You too, hyung.”

“I’m already eating. Jin-bae, do you want me to give you some fish too?”

“No. I can serve myself. Thank you!”

I can serve myself too.

I looked slightly embarrassed at the fish on my rice before quietly putting it in my mouth.

The combination of the tender fish meat and the glossy rice was excellent. It was really delicious.

“Watching you today, you were so good I didn’t know what to say. Everyone seemed surprised.”

“Your acting was always good, but today it was incomparable!”

“I’m curious about how you’ll act with others. Though I’m sure you did well.”

“At first, you struggled to match your breath, but you adapted quickly as if nothing had happened.”

“Really? Wow, I guess a genius actor is different.”

“……Thank you. The food will get cold. Please eat.”

Though I thought I had gotten used to their compliments, hearing it from the two of them together made me feel like I was starting over.

Feeling my ears itch, I put some seasoned ferns on each of their plates. Just stop talking and eat.

But they seemed too happy about it, which made me even more flustered.

Especially Jung-hyun hyung, who acted like a parent receiving a carnation from their child for the first time on Parents’ Day.

He trembled with emotion, so I looked closely and saw that he was performing an exaggerated act.

I wondered why he was doing that, but when Manager An Jin-bae expressed his gratitude as if not to be outdone, I roughly got the idea.

I shot them a cold look to stop their performance, and they finally started laughing.

Only, Manager An Jin-bae looked at us in confusion, making Jung-hyun hyung laugh even more.

Really… they must really enjoy teasing innocent people.

“I’m so full.”

“It was delicious!”

As the chaotic meal was coming to an end, Jung-hyun hyung casually brought up a shocking topic while we were eating dessert.

“Yeon-jae, why don’t you join my agency?”