The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 51

“Isn’t this worth trying? ‘High Teen Medley,’ where members of an elementary school choir club, now in their 30s, gather to reminisce about the past―.”

“It’s outdated. Such an old-fashioned sentiment. Our CEO’s eye for scenarios is dead.”

Jung-hyun cut off CEO Jang’s words, appearing harsh.

After glaring at Jung-hyun for a moment, CEO Jang changed the target of his question.

“Do you think the same, Manager Woo?”

Manager Woo, who had been quietly skimming through the scenario, lifted his head at the question.

A smile formed on the man’s wholesome-looking face.

“Yes. It’s quite outdated.”

“…….”

CEO Jang couldn’t bring himself to say anything to Manager Woo and pouted as he sat down quietly.

Manager Woo, who managed Management Team 1, to which I belonged, was reputed to be so talented that other companies often scouted him.

Perhaps that’s why CEO Jang was unusually quiet today.

By now, he should have grumbled to Jung-hyun, “Why do you keep interfering when you’re not even the one going out?”

That’s right. We were discussing my ‘next project.’

“There shouldn’t be a long gap. You need to jump into a project right away.”

CEO Jang’s voice lowered as he stood alone in the middle of the office.

He seemed to be trying to create a serious atmosphere, but I was the only one looking at him.

Without even glancing, Jung-hyun retorted.

“What gap? Anyone would think the drama was over. There’s still a week left.”

“The serialization ended a long time ago. The gap starts from then.”

“…….”

When Jung-hyun continued to flip through papers without a word, CEO Jang muttered that Jung-hyun had gotten spoiled since he got famous.

Watching CEO Jang grumble to himself without any response from the others, I thought.

‘Does he have nothing to do?’

A CEO shouldn’t be this idle.

It’s understandable that Manager Woo is involved since it’s his team’s actor, and Jung-hyun is Jung-hyun, but does CEO Jang really need to be part of this discussion?

And in the CEO’s office? Why?

As I looked around at the piles of papers filling the office with a reluctant gaze, CEO Jang suddenly turned to me.

“Yeon-jae, do you see anything you like or want to do?”

“He’s reading the scenario, don’t disturb him, CEO.”

“How about it, speak comfortably.”

Ignoring Jung-hyun’s restraint, CEO Jang looked very enthusiastic.

Why is he so eager?

Though I felt reluctant, I quickly formed a smile and gave the same answer as before.

“I’m really fine with anything.”

Since the character doesn’t matter when it comes to getting rid of the misfortune factor.

I almost said we should stop meeting weekly.

* * *

It’s been about three weeks since CEO Jang brought up the next project.

With two episodes of “The Zelkova Tree” left, I was struggling with a never-ending flood of interviews.

I was overwhelmed by the amount, and Manager An Jin-bae explained that these were already heavily filtered.

‘Our agency has a strong image of gathering skilled actors, so we usually avoid non-acting activities.’

Actors from Woo-yeon Entertainment rarely do variety shows or interviews unless necessary.

But as a complete rookie, declining too many offers would create bad rumors, so I had to accept the unavoidable ones.

That day, after yet another interview, CEO called me in and asked what my next project would be.

I was bewildered by his tone, as if I had options to choose from, and calmly said I needed to know what auditions were available to answer.

His response was even more bewildered.

‘You’re going to audition?’

‘Yes?’

‘Why? Is that more comfortable for you?’

‘…?’

I was puzzled by his words, but I soon found out the reason.

In just a few days, scripts under my name had piled up to the point of forming a tower.

These were roles that were confirmed right after a light offline meeting, without any separate auditions.

This was unprecedented for a rookie.

Of course, none were main roles; they were all supporting or cameo roles. Still, it was something.

But after discussing with Manager Woo, Jung-hyun, and Manager An Jin-bae, we decided to decline all the roles offered.

The reason was that they were too similar to my previous role as ‘Yu-hyeon.’

‘You need to take a role that can give a different image from Yu-hyeon in the next project. Once an image gets fixed, it’s hard to break away from it.’

If it was because of limited acting skills that I could only do one type of role, then there was nothing to be done. But that wasn’t the case for Yeon-jae, was it?

In front of Jung-hyun, who said this, I couldn’t argue and just smiled.

He really seemed to think highly of me.

CEO Jang wondered why we had to reject all the scripts that came in.

He felt that being too cautious during a peak period could kill the momentum.

But he nodded in agreement with Jung-hyun’s opinion that rushing could ruin everything.

Though, this didn’t stop him from bringing up the next project like a loan shark.

I couldn’t understand why he was so persistent.

Anyway, Manager Woo, Jung-hyun, Manager An Jin-bae, and all the agency staff agreed that there was no need to hurry.

They advised me to take my time reviewing the scripts and not to be anxious since it was an important period.

The problem was that I was the one feeling anxious.

‘I need to start practicing another character soon.’

Immersing myself in Yu-hyeon alone wasn’t enough to fend off misfortune all day.

Two days ago, I bumped into something while walking.

I hit it so hard that it made a thud, and later I found a bluish bruise on my knee.

Manager An Jin-bae, who was next to me, panicked and checked my knee, but I was frozen.

I got chills because…

‘There was nothing there.’

Sure, you can bump into something even if you’re walking straight.

But it felt too unsettling to dismiss.

I’m not usually that clumsy, and more importantly, I was too familiar with inexplicable accidents.

As expected, when I asked Mist about it that night, it turned out to be a preordained misfortune.

The misfortune factor had started to return to its place faster.

After that, I changed the character I was practicing.

I began practicing a character from one of Jung-hyun’s dramas that I watched often and started checking in advance what might happen the next day, just in case.

I could mimic characters from dramas or movies, but reading a script helped me understand a character better.

When I asked Manager An Jin-bae if he had any leftover scripts, he was puzzled but gladly provided them.

“Actor.”

“…….”

Today’s script was about a delinquent gangster.

It wasn’t the first time I was surprised by such blunt expressions. Holding the now familiar curse words in my mouth, someone gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Actor, it’s your turn.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Lee Yeon-jae? Please come this way~.”

I got up immediately, handed the script to Manager An Jin-bae, and followed the nurse.

“Spread your arms, tuck in your chin. Okay, now take a deep breath~.”

Following the nurse’s kind yet mechanical instructions, I obediently took a deep breath.

I had come to the hospital for a check-up that Manager An Jin-bae mentioned earlier.

I didn’t know what kind of check-up he had scheduled, but there were so many tests.

The checklist of tests to be checked was overwhelming.

Honestly, it was tedious and boring.

Practicing during this time would be better for my health. And it would save money.

Still, I tried to maintain a composed expression so Manager An Jin-bae wouldn’t feel uneasy.

A week later, the check-up results arrived by email.

Manager An Jin-bae, who was staring at the laptop with a serious expression, focused on one section for a long time.

“How is it? No problems, right?”

“……Seems so.”

His slightly furrowed brows suggested he couldn’t believe it, but his eyes still looked gentle.

The section he was staring at was the ‘Symptom and Behavior Assessment Scale’ results.

The part where it said ‘more stable than average.’

This test, used for screening depression, indicated a more positive assessment with a lower total score.

I scored 11 points.

With a score of 16 or higher requiring close observation, 11 was quite appropriate.

From Manager An Jin-bae’s perspective, it was an unexpected result.

With no physical illnesses, the cause of my hyperventilation was psychological, but the test results didn’t indicate anything significant.

He must have felt like he missed something. But that’s because…

‘I’ve taken this test so many times.’

I didn’t know if other places did it, but at Morin Orphanage, we did this test every year.

To check if the children were experiencing strong feelings of depression or anxiety, it was a medical service conducted as part of child welfare.

I used to be classified as needing special attention and had to take the test every quarter.

I got so tired of it that I roughly knew which answers would yield which results.

“It’s really fortunate that there’s no problem. But you know, if you want to talk about anything―.”

“I’ll tell you right away, Manager.”

Preempting what had become a familiar line, he laughed sheepishly.

‘I feel bad for deceiving him, but….’

Even if I went to counseling, the topics I could talk about were limited.

Considering the high cost of counseling, this was more convenient.

Looking back on the moments I experienced hyperventilation, the common factor was that I panicked and fell into a state of shock.

So, if I manage my mental state well, I should be fine.

Especially if I can meet Mist without any issues, there shouldn’t be any big surprises.

Just in case, I always carry a plastic bag in my pocket. That should be enough.

“How about shrimp fried rice for dinner?”

“Sounds good.”

As we closed the laptop and discussed dinner plans, a phone vibrated somewhere.

Without any hesitation, Manager An Jin-bae pulled his phone from his pocket and froze when he saw the screen.

Who could it be―.

“Yes, CEO.”

Oh, really.

My face unknowingly showed an annoyed expression.

Manager An Jin-bae glanced at my face and lowered his voice.

“Yes. I understand. I will visit the office tomorrow― Oh, now is a bit….”

He wants to meet now? At 7 PM on a Sunday?

Never mind me, Manager An Jin-bae is a company employee.

He asked him to come to the office on a weekend so easily.

My affection for CEO Jang plummeted rapidly.

I won’t say where it started.

Seeing Manager An Jin-bae looking troubled, I was about to ask him to hand over the phone.

For some reason, his usually gentle eyes widened, and he unintentionally raised his voice.

“Yes? A variety show?”