The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 105

“You don’t have to answer. Just forget about it.”

“Um….”

Seeing the puzzled expression, I shook my head belatedly.

I turned my gaze back to the script, but undefined thoughts floated around in my head.

The silence, which had lasted for a while, was broken by singer Kang Se-hyun.

“Are you worried about something? Did you fight with a friend?”

“No. I was just curious. I wondered if there was a specific reason you became so close.”

“Hmm… Is the reason that we’re in the same group not enough of an explanation?”

He still looked like he didn’t understand my question.

Since I didn’t know what I wanted to ask either, it was only natural.

The frustration that couldn’t be expressed in clear language somehow made it hard to breathe.

“What I’m curious about is… being members means being colleagues, right? You met as colleagues, spent a long time together, and naturally became close. I get that. But I was wondering if there was a specific reason for getting close.”

Singer Kang Se-hyun thought deeply about my question for a while.

Then, scratching his head with an embarrassed expression, he said,

“Sorry. Honestly, I don’t get what you’re saying.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t understand it either. Just ignore it.”

As I unknowingly tidied up the crumpled script, a hesitant voice settled in my ears.

“I don’t know what you’re curious about… but In-joon is no longer just a colleague. He’s family.”

“……”

“As for a reason… I think it just happened that way. But isn’t that how it usually goes? You become close as you spend time together, not because you have a specific purpose for getting close.”

I looked at him as he laughed, saying it was the first time he had heard such a question.

The word “usually” gave me a strong sense of alienation.

As if I was looking at someone living in a different world, I opened my mouth and thanked him for his answer.

* * *

“It’s the grand finale of the shoot! We have a wrap party today, so make sure everyone attends! Let’s do our best!”

“Yes!”

“Fighting!”

The staff raised their voices in response to the assistant director’s shout.

I didn’t know where the funding came from, but the wrap party budget was quite generous for a web drama.

The staff, who had eaten beef several times at the wrap parties, were happily setting up equipment while humming.

As soon as I spotted someone standing alone amidst the busy set, I ran over.

“In-joon, what are you doing here?”

“Ah, should I go? Am I in the way? The PD said I could watch the shoot!”

“Haha, no. You were just standing there, so I asked. You can sit over there instead of standing.”

The staff member, who smiled like a mother, set up a chair smoothly and disappeared.

The problem was where the chair was placed….

“Hyung, are you uncomfortable?”

“No, no.”

It was next to Lee Yeon-jae, the actor Choi In-joon had been fangirling over recently.

“Don’t mind me, actor-nim. I’ll stay quiet.”

Feeling like I was disturbing the actor who was focused on the script, I sat down as carefully as possible.

As I fidgeted with my fingers and glanced sideways, my eyes met his dark ones.

‘Wow, he really looks like Bambi.’

As I was absorbed in thinking about how neatly he was put together, I snapped out of it when I saw his awkward expression.

“Oops, sorry! I didn’t mean to stare.”

“…It’s okay. Hyung, you can speak casually to me.”

“Should I? Okay, Bambi— I mean, Yeon-jae.”

Even though the informal speech was a bit awkward, Bambi nodded calmly.

I didn’t notice the time passing as I kept sneaking glances at his eyes focusing on the script again.

When the announcement came that everything was ready, Bambi looked at Choi In-joon.

“Hyung, I’m going now.”

“Okay! Do well! Fighting!”

“In-joon, aren’t you going to cheer for me?”

Ah, right. He was there too.

Choi In-joon, who had completely forgotten about Kang Se-hyun standing next to him the whole time, smiled shamelessly.

“Hyung, you’ll do well on your own.”

“Hah. They say raising a kid is pointless…. I raised you, and this is how you repay me.”

“What are you talking about? I was in middle school when I debuted.”

As Kang Se-hyun tried to mess up his hair, Choi In-joon dodged while giggling.

He felt someone’s gaze.

Being sensitive to attention like any successful celebrity, Choi In-joon discreetly glanced sideways and saw Bambi watching him.

He had a somewhat peculiar expression.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

For some reason, the sight of him lost in thought looked elegant like a deer. As expected, our Bambi is the best….

“We’ll start filming scene 57-2 now!”

When the staff shouted, Choi In-joon snapped out of it and lifted his head. By then, Lee Yeon-jae had already entered the set.

“Yeon-jae, I think we need to touch up your makeup a bit. The lighting is washing out the red.”

The PD, checking the camera, hurriedly called the staff.

While the staff touched up the red around his eyes, Bambi looked slightly dazed.

“He’s acting strange today.”

“Eh? Why Bambi?”

“He doesn’t usually zone out like that on set. Is he sick?”

Kang Se-hyun gave Lee Yeon-jae a curious look, reflecting the odd question he had asked earlier.

Whether he cared or not, Lee Yeon-jae finally looked up when the noise grew louder.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, the makeup needs to show you’ve been crying all night, but adding more red might look too much.”

As the debate on whether to turn off the lights continued, Lee Yeon-jae raised his hand to settle it.

“So, you’re saying it doesn’t look like I’ve been crying?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll cry. Just give me ten minutes.”

“Excuse me?”

And with that, tears started pouring out of Lee Yeon-jae’s eyes.

As he stared at his reflection in the mirror, tears fell silently, leaving everyone speechless.

The staff hurriedly stopped him from roughly wiping his eyes with a tissue handed by his manager.

“If you do that, the makeup—.”

“It’s okay. Ah, I guess we’ll need to redo the makeup. Sorry.”

He hadn’t thought of that, he said with an awkward grimace, tears still flowing down his face.

It was strange to see tears streaming down his face with a bored expression, rather than looking heartbroken.

As promised, Lee Yeon-jae cried for ten minutes straight before stopping and checking his watch.

He roughly wiped his eyes with a tissue again, resulting in swollen, red eyes that makeup couldn’t replicate.

The PD, hiding his astonishment, clapped vigorously to snap the staff out of their daze.

“Fix Yeon-jae’s makeup quickly. Everyone, to your places!”

Choi In-joon watched the scene unfold with his mouth agape.

Our Bambi…. I knew he was a good actor, but he’s a real genius.

Just when he thought he couldn’t be more surprised, Lee Yeon-jae started acting in earnest, and Choi In-joon’s jaw dropped even further.

“Kim Ho-yoon! Aren’t you eating? Stop crying and come out to eat!”

“Who, who said I was crying?!”

Bambi, no, Kim Ho-yoon, who had buried his face in the bed, shouted in response to his mother’s voice coming from outside the room.

Even from his red eyes and slightly stuffy voice, anyone could tell he had been crying all night.

Could that expression come from someone who was perfectly fine just ten minutes ago?

Every time Choi In-joon came to his senses, he consciously closed his mouth but eventually gave up.

He had kept his mouth open so long he felt a dull pain, but he couldn’t look away.

There was no longer the mysteriously charming actor Lee Yeon-jae, nor the bright Bambi from his phone screen.

There was only a boy who had just ended his passionate first love in heartbreak.

The scene of Kim Ho-yoon being dragged out to the living room by his mother was completed without incident.

The dinner table, set more lavishly than usual, had five place settings.

Mom, Dad, Kim Hye-yoon, and me. So why are there five?

Kim Ho-yoon, who raised his head with a puzzled face, was shocked to see Han Yeoreum.

“Hyung, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m Hye-yoon’s—”

“When our daughter said she had a boyfriend for the first time, of course, we had to have him over for dinner. I told her to bring him. Do you have a problem with that?”

With Mom’s straightforward words, Han Yeoreum shyly lowered his head.

“Boyfriend…” Kim Ho-yoon muttered, glaring at him.

If I had confessed properly, I could have brought Hanna over, too.

Thinking of Hanna again, Kim Ho-yoon’s mouth turned down sadly.

Noticing the gloomy atmosphere emanating from somewhere, Kim Hye-yoon, who had been beaming at her cute boyfriend, flinched.

Seeing her younger brother standing there with a face like he was dying after his first breakup, she smacked him on the back.

“Ow, why did you hit me!”

“You’re going to collapse from dehydration. Eat your food if you’re going to cry.”

“You’re standing right next to your boyfriend, and you can’t talk nicely?!”

“What, he already knows everything.”

“Ah, noisy! You two, stop it! Hurry up and get some food! Yeoreum, you sit down since you’re a guest.”

The silent set was filled with the actors’ back-and-forth banter.

Having already rehearsed before filming, the lines came in perfectly timed, like pieces in Tetris.

‘How do they all act so well…?’

Choi In-joon was even moved, thinking he was watching professional actors perform right in front of him.

The scene of them sitting at the table was completed without a single NG, flowing smoothly.

After the camera was set up again, all the actors sitting at the table, the shoot resumed.

“My, how wonderfully you eat.”

The boyfriend her daughter had brought home for the first time was a polite, well-mannered kid with a nice face.

Mom couldn’t hide her pleased smile as she piled side dishes into Han Yeoreum’s bowl.

“Mom, don’t try to steal my boyfriend.”

“Please. I’m already taken.”

“Haha.”

Even Dad’s relaxed laughter was picked up by the audio, making the atmosphere incredibly warm.

Except for the one person who was exuding a gloomy aura in the corner.

Seeing her son shoveling food into his mouth with his head down, Mom clicked her tongue.

“Son, eat some side dishes too.”

“Yeah, you’ll get indigestion eating like that.”

“You take care of your own boyfriend, Hye-yoon. I’ll take care of my son.”

Mom glared at her grumbling daughter and grabbed Kim Ho-yoon’s cheek.

Forcing his head up, his eyes were filled with tears.

A sigh escaped at the pitiful sight.

“Son, it’s natural to feel sad. You don’t have to force it down or hold it in. Crying when you’re sad is what a real man does. But eat first.”

“That’s right, just like your mom said, you shouldn’t starve yourself. You won’t have much of an appetite, so just eat a little.”

Following Mom’s strong advice, Dad’s gentle words continued.

Kim Ho-yoon pouted his lips, looking at the lotus root his father placed on his spoon.

He had held back his tears when Hanna rejected his confession, but now, with his face looking oddly tender, he started to sob.

It was natural. This wasn’t a street full of strangers walking by, nor was it an alley where his crush rejected him. These people were….

“If you’re having a hard time, talk to us. If it’s hard to talk to Mom and Dad, you can talk to your sister.”

“What? I didn’t agree to that.”

“You really want to be like that to your family?”

The camera captured Kim Hye-yoon laughing and Han Yeoreum smiling at her, then moved to Kim Ho-yoon, who had his head down.

Now, if Kim Ho-yoon lifted his teary eyes and shouted, “I don’t need a sister! I just need Mom and Dad!” the scene would be over.

“…….”

The problem was that Kim Ho-yoon wasn’t lifting his head.