I’m Not That Obsessive

Chapter 73

Mitchell wasn’t managing his expressions because others were watching. He was genuinely smiling.

Of course, there are various types of smiles.

A smile of joy, an awkward smile, a smile of disbelief.

And that smile… contemplating how to kill me…

I gulped. Distracted by acting after a long time, I had forgotten how possessive Mitchell was. He was someone even I found overwhelming.

“Geon-woo, don’t you think that acting will turn out well?”

Just then. This crazy Thompson guy suddenly tried to act friendly with me, not understanding the current situation. He even did something he doesn’t usually do, rubbing my shoulder and arm with his palm.

I frowned openly out of surprise, but the oblivious Thompson stood close beside me. Meanwhile, the director approved this scene.

“Let’s use this one. Both of you did well. Alright, prepare for the next scene!”

Amidst the busily moving people, Mitchell had disappeared. I thought I should explain something, but the person in question was absent.

Even though I knew it was just acting, I felt extremely anxious. Something had gone terribly wrong. It felt as if I had chosen to obsess over someone else instead of Mitchell, and Mitchell had caught me.

Mitchell was clearly the only one for me, and my mind was full of only Mitchell.

I felt like I was going crazy from the injustice, but the filming continued, oblivious to my numb feelings.

Mitchell, who had returned at some point, quietly watched our filming from a distance. The expression of a murderous demon had disappeared, but knowing what kind of person Mitchell was, I could only feel uneasy.

He used to prepare for the next step in that way. First, he would put people at ease, and then explode with a bang.

“Geon-woo, what are you thinking about?”

Thompson shook me out of my reverie. He grabbed my wrist and thrust his handsome face close to mine.

Thompson had something strangely similar to Mitchell. It was arrogance.

While Mitchell’s arrogance seemed to stem from his actual position, Thompson’s arrogance made me want to tell him, “Know thyself.”

Mitchell’s didn’t bother me at all (from my perspective), but Thompson’s slightly irritated me. It was annoying that this bundle of arrogance kept touching me.

“Do you have something to say to Mitchell? You keep looking over there?”

“No… It’s just that Mitchell is watching, so I feel nervous.”

I wasn’t the type to get irritated at a colleague without reason. I answered as politely as possible, maintaining some distance and staying calm.

“Well, I was surprised when Mitchell came too. It’s nerve-wracking to act in front of such a great actor, right? Mitchell is practically the best in Hollywood right now. To think that I’m Mitchell’s replacement… tsk.”

“……”

Oh? This guy, he’s not bad after all?

Thompson, whose arrogance had been sky-high, changed his self-evaluation after meeting Mitchell. The fact that he clearly knew how great Mitchell was deserved praise.

It seems I had misjudged him.

I thought he was an unpleasant person, but after talking, I realized he had his head on straight. Thanks to this, his previously irritating image disappeared from my memory, and only his praise for Mitchell remained.

I grinned and put my arm around Thompson’s shoulder. If Thompson acknowledged Mitchell, he was practically my best friend. So I promoted Mitchell to Thompson a bit more.

“That’s right. Mitchell is the best in Hollywood. He’s handsome, and his acting is beyond words. Where else can you find someone like Mitchell? He’s a once-in-a-century talent. I’m grateful to be born in the same era as Mitchell. I can see his amazing acting up close. He’s really incredibly cool.”

“Wow, Geon-woo, this is the first time I’ve seen you so excited. Every time we met, your expression was so stiff, I thought you were the quiet type. I guess I misunderstood you.”

“Me? Quiet? I’m super light. Just touch me lightly and I’ll fly away. I’m easy. Too easy. Touch me and I’ll fall for anything. I wish I had some of the steadfastness of our great actor Mitchell.”

I talked about Mitchell while chuckling.

I quickly forgot the serious situation and got carried away praising Mitchell. Isn’t it just like a parent’s heart to stay up all night bragging about their child?

Talking about Mitchell, our Mitchell, I momentarily lost my mind and thus revealed my sin.

There’s a limit to how stupid one can be!

I was chatting with Thompson while Mitchell was surely watching me. It was obvious he couldn’t have heard what we were saying given the distance. It would have been better if he had heard.

The moment I came to my senses, I froze. Sparks flew beside my face.

I turned my head very slowly, like a rusty machine creaking, towards where Mitchell was.

That’s how our eyes met as Mitchell stood there with his arms crossed, looking at me. He wasn’t just looking, he was glaring. No, not even glaring, he was practically shooting lasers.

No, that’s not it.

It’s not even that.

I received an invitation through his gaze.

From: Hell.

It’s ominous how the area around where Mitchell is standing has turned bright red. As if the gatekeeper of the abyss is beckoning to me…

‘You are invited to hell.’

It seemed to be spewing nonsense.

Just as I was about to melt under Mitchell’s piercing gaze, Thompson pulled my arm.

“What are you doing? We’re starting to film.”

Mitchell’s gaze moved downward and stopped at my arm held by Thompson. Hell’s fire ignited there.

***

“Alright, let’s stop here and have lunch first. It’s already past 2 PM. We’ll take about an hour break and then resume. Alan, can you…”

“Yes, director!”

As soon as the lunch break was given, I went looking for Mitchell. He had suddenly disappeared after being by my side all this time. If he had left for his own film shooting, I would be grateful… There would never be another moment when I’d be as reluctant to see Mitchell as now.

“Why isn’t he answering his phone though?”

He should at least be reachable, but he wasn’t answering at all. Thinking it’s better to face the music sooner rather than later, I searched the entire set while calling repeatedly, but couldn’t find him.

“Is he that angry…?”

Because there were quite a few people on set today, a buffet was prepared instead of lunchboxes. Everyone was excitedly helping themselves, but I wasn’t in the mood to mingle. I just grabbed a drink and a sandwich.

Then I headed straight to my car. It was the large van Mitchell had gotten for me.

When the shooting started, Mitchell insisted I should have a car and even provided a driver. I later declined the driver but kept the car.

My injured leg is the left one. I only drive with my right foot, so it wasn’t a problem.

Originally, I wasn’t going to accept the car either. But then he suddenly dragged me out to the front yard, pointed at the empty space of our house plot, and said one thing that made me unable to refuse.

“Just use it.”

Apparently, the car was included in the house price.

Whether bought or rented, I did need a car. I said thank you and didn’t argue further.

I planned to have lunch in the car while trying to contact Mitchell. Resolving Mitchell’s anger was the priority, so I kept calling even while walking. It was on the third attempt, just as I was opening the car door.

Click.

“Oh!”

Mitchell, whom I had been looking for, was in my car. Just as a smile of relief was about to form, I realized – ah, I’ve walked right into hell with the invitation.

“You… were here?”

Mitchell was sitting in the back seat, leaning against the chair with his eyes closed. He was holding the neck area of his shirt as if it was uncomfortable. Judging by his heaving chest, he looked like someone who had just run 100 meters.

I quickly got in, closed the door, and put my hand on the inside of Mitchell’s thigh. It was my form of defense. I needed to soothe him before he could make a scene.

“I’ve been looking for you. I thought you had left. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I didn’t answer because I knew you were coming to the car.”

“What if I had gone somewhere else?”

“Then I would have called you.”

Mitchell opened his eyes and quietly looked down at my hand embracing his thigh.

“Did you have a spare key? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I just learned about the spare car key now. It wasn’t really an issue, but given the current situation, I felt I needed to find something to nitpick about.

My palms were sweating because of Mitchell’s unexpectedly calm demeanor. I ended up wiping my sweat on Mitchell’s pants.

“You know now, don’t you?”

“Y-yeah. Now I know, so it’s fine.”

“But, Geon-woo.”

“…Yeah?”

Mitchell put his hand inside my T-shirt and pinched my chest. The forceful gesture made me frown, and I felt sorry for my poor chest, but this wasn’t the time for me to intervene.

My body, I’m sorry for being such a powerless owner.

“Ugh.”

I let out a short groan but forced a smile. I tried my best to act affectionately and match Mitchell’s mood.

“What is it?”

I asked kindly, dragging out the end of my words, trying to sound innocent and harmless.

“What’s the matter?”

As I grabbed his wrist and asked, Mitchell said with an expressionless face:

“What were you talking about with that bastard earlier?”