The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 74

After lying down on the bed, I counted silently.

One, two, three, four, five…

When I felt my whole body floating, I slowly opened my eyes.

And as soon as I saw something in the middle of the dark space, I burst into laughter.

“Flowers today?”

“Yeah! Isn’t it nice? It’s good, right? Yeon-jae, you liked it when you received this! But I’m much bigger!”

The voice of Mist, who was excited in the air, echoed around.

Unlike his playful voice, the sky-blue bouquet, which was taller than me, didn’t move like a real object.

“Yes. It’s nice. But I prefer your human form.”

“Tch…”

“Hurry up.”

When I spoke as if soothing, the bouquet, which was fresh enough to shine, quickly wilted and shriveled up.

In the blink of an eye, the bouquet transformed into Noh Bi-hyuk, who came running towards me.

His sulky face quickly approached mine.

“Why don’t you like my gifts? You liked everything the other humans gave you.”

Mist, who always greeted me in human form, started acting strangely since my birthday.

When I opened my eyes, I was so baffled to see a yellow sports car in the middle of the dark space.

‘…What is this?’

I was so bewildered that I just stared at it without approaching. After a while, I heard a murmuring voice from the air, asking if I didn’t like it.

Only then did I realize it was Mist.

When I asked why he was in the form of a car, not understanding, he replied that he wanted to see my happy reaction to receiving a birthday present.

‘Why don’t you like it, Yeon-jae? Humans said they love this…’

It was hard to hold back my laughter at his pouting face.

I calmed him down, saying I wasn’t interested because I didn’t have a driver’s license, and teased him by asking if he didn’t care about me at all.

Since then, it was as if I had pressed a button; he prepared like that every time.

One day, the place was filled with the latest electronic gadgets with no place to step, and on another, there were piles of fluffy stuffed animals.

One day, there was only a thin sheet of paper, and when I looked at it closely to see what it was, it turned out to be a building contract.

It was unnecessarily worldly for a non-human.

“It’s not that I don’t like it. I like it now, so you can stop.”

Though it was funny, I thought I should stop him and patted his back.

Then Mist, who had been pretending to sob while rubbing his face on my shoulder, jumped up.

“Why do you want me to stop! I haven’t seen you smile yet!”

“Is that why? Here, satisfied?”

“That’s a fake smile!”

Yeon-jae, you’re a fool!

Even while shouting, Mist didn’t fall away but clung to me more. I sighed while holding him.

Why is he acting like this over a birthday?

“I didn’t celebrate your birthday either. Let’s call it even. From next year, we can be the first to celebrate each other’s birthdays.”

I was just saying anything to soothe him when I suddenly hesitated.

Does he even have a birthday?

There was no response, as if he was thinking the same thing.

“Come to think of it, I don’t know your birthday. Do you know it?”

“No…”

“Then should we share the same birthday? On the same date as mine.”

“…”

I said it casually while slowly patting his back.

Mist, who had been silent, asked quietly if that would be okay.

“Of course, it’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“…Then I’ll think about it a bit more.”

I thought it was a trivial matter, but I told him to do as he wished.

After a few minutes of holding him, Mist brightened up again and started running around.

Seeing him, I smiled.

He’s really just a kid. A kid.

* * *

The crank-in (the start of filming) was postponed.

Since I wasn’t the only one appearing throughout the runtime, casting other actors and securing filming locations required more attention.

Most importantly, Director Yoon expressed his desire to revise parts of the script, which had been finalized.

He said my conversation with him had been impressive and asked if we could meet often if I was okay with it. I agreed.

Talking with the producer was one of the best ways to deeply understand a character.

Time passed quickly with continuous practice and rehearsals.

And in February, the elementary school graduation ceremony approached.

After all the events were over, I stood blankly at the entrance of the auditorium, and from a distance, I made eye contact with Noh Bi-hyuk.

He had been turning his head here and there as if looking for someone, but as soon as he saw me, he walked over.

His expression changed strangely at some point as he approached with long strides.

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah.”

I made a mistake.

As soon as I saw his familiar face, I instinctively spread my arms wide.

It was a habit formed because Mist, in Noh Bi-hyuk’s form, often hugged me.

Unable to explain the curious expression on his face, I diverted the conversation by pretending to stretch.

“My body feels stiff. I’ve been working out lately… Why, what’s up?”

“Oh? No… I just came over because I saw you.”

Feeling awkward, I snapped at him, and Noh Bi-hyuk looked puzzled.

Looking around me, he asked, “Where’s Jin-bae hyung?”

I replied, “There were too many people in the parking lot, so he went to move the car early.”

We stood there awkwardly, just the two of us.

I had planned to hang out with Park Ha-eun to celebrate graduation, but it took a while because she was popular and had to take a lot of pictures.

“Where are your parents?”

“Both are busy.”

Noh Bi-hyuk was standing with just his bag, without even a single bouquet.

Feeling embarrassed to be holding three bouquets next to him, I gave him one.

“…?”

“It’s heavy.”

After looking at me for a moment, he smiled.

The yellow bouquet that Jung-hyun hyung had sent by courier in the morning looked more subdued than usual.

“You look good in yellow.”

“Huh?”

“I said, you look good in yellow. Try buying yellow clothes next time. Like a hoodie.”

“…Really? But Bi-hyuk, you look good in all colors~ That’s the real problem.”

“Yeah, must be a huge problem.”

“Yeon-jae, I told you to be honest if you’re going to make that face.”

Even as he scolded me, I kept a straight face, making Noh Bi-hyuk poke my cheek playfully and laugh.

‘He’s back.’

I didn’t know what song it was, but he started humming a small tune.

After glancing at Noh Bi-hyuk, who had taken out his phone, I looked ahead again.

Soon, Park Ha-eun, looking exhausted, approached.

“Ugh, I can never do another graduation ceremony. I’m so tired.”

“You were so popular. It was like you were a landmark. Graduation photo hotspot.”

“Stop teasing. I’ll kill you.”

“Ha-eun, do you want me to carry your bag?”

“No! It’s fine! You look heavier actually…”

“Hey, don’t you think you’re being too discriminatory?”

We chatted while heading to Manager An Jin-bae’s car.

To commemorate the happy day, we went all out with karaoke and a drive.

But even after all that, Park Ha-eun’s face was still full of regret.

“Ah… I don’t want to go.”

“Are you moving tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I should pack my things in advance.”

Park Ha-eun was moving to another region to enter a boarding middle school.

“It’s a shame. It was fun hanging out with the three of us…”

“It’s not like you’re going abroad. We can meet on weekends.”

“Is that so easy? Yeon-jae, you’re starting your movie shoot, and Bi-hyuk, you’ll be at the practice room all the time.”

Noh Bi-hyuk, unable to deny it, looked awkward.

Since January, Noh Bi-hyuk had been frantically attending auditions and recently became a trainee at a major agency.

Unlike Noh Bi-hyuk and me, who were attending a nearby arts middle school together, Park Ha-eun, who was moving, couldn’t hide her disappointment.

“We won’t always be filming and practicing, so let’s keep in touch often, Ha-eun.”

“Yeah. And you said you’d be at my debut stage. If you cut off contact before that, be prepared.”

“Okay…”

When Noh Bi-hyuk and I comforted her, putting rose tteokbokki in her mouth, her face finally brightened.

The power of tteokbokki was immense.

By the time the bowl was left with only sauce, she had fully returned to her usual lively self.

“Alright! Let’s eat until we drop today! One more bowl of mala tteokbokki, please!”

“Do you have an obsession with tteokbokki? That’s seriously a problem.”

“Shut up. Yeon-jae! Want to try curry tteokbokki after the mala one? It’s a new menu.”

“…Sure. Let’s eat whatever you want.”

I couldn’t say no to the excited girl with sparkling eyes, so I nodded slowly.

Noh Bi-hyuk sighed and buried his face on the table.

Saying he felt like throwing up, Park Ha-eun stuffed more tteokbokki into his mouth.

“I think I’ve eaten a lifetime’s worth of tteokbokki…”

“Me too…”

“She really needs to get checked. She might have tteokbokki sauce running through her veins instead of blood. Ah, my stomach.”

As soon as the bright-faced Park Ha-eun left, Noh Bi-hyuk and I collapsed at the same time.

Noh Bi-hyuk, looking pale as if seasick, dry-heaved.

Watching him made my own stomach churn, so I covered my mouth.

It was a bonus that Manager An Jin-bae, who had left for a while, was startled to see us sprawled on the ground.

* * *

“Hello! I’m Nam In-hoo, number 23. It’s an honor to meet the esteemed Director Yoon Kang-yeon.”

Child actors are much more mature than people think.

It could be because they’ve experienced a taste of society that their peers haven’t, or perhaps they’ve had the desire to stand in front of the camera from an early age, making them naturally mature.

Nam In-hoo was the latter.

“It’s an honor for me as well. Please read the designated lines. Start whenever you’re ready.”

Unlike his warm words, Yoon Kang-yeon’s face was expressionless.

He looked as serious as he did in interviews.

Nam In-hoo gulped at the tense atmosphere filling the audition room.

Next to Yoon Kang-yeon sat a boy around Nam In-hoo’s age, looking calm.

None of the auditionees wouldn’t recognize him.

He was the hottest actor in the industry recently.

And he was going to be the protagonist of this movie.

‘He’s really a celebrity.’

Lee Yeon-jae, one year younger than the 15-year-old Nam In-hoo, exuded an oddly adult-like aura.

His somewhat detached expression made him seem so familiar with sitting next to the director that he seemed indifferent.

In other words, he looked natural.

Unlike himself, who was trembling just by being watched by a few people.

‘He looks like he was born to be a celebrity…’

Just a glance made the distance between them clear.

It felt like they were just different species.

It wasn’t just about appearance.

The aura that Lee Yeon-jae exuded was so untouchable that Nam In-hoo felt embarrassed to even wish to emulate him.

“Yes. That was good. Thank you.”

Damn.

Caught up in his thoughts, Nam In-hoo realized he had already finished his prepared performance.

He had practiced the lines so much that he could recite them in his sleep.

‘Damn it…’

Although he maintained a calm exterior, Nam In-hoo’s mind was in chaos.

He couldn’t even remember how he performed.

While Nam In-hoo was standing there in complete shock, Yoon Kang-yeon looked at the boy next to him.

“I’m done. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes, I do.”

For the first time since entering the audition room, Nam In-hoo heard Lee Yeon-jae’s voice and snapped back to reality.

There was no time for self-reproach now.

He had studied the character excessively.

No matter what question came, he was ready to answer.

However, the question that came was unrelated to the movie and so out of the blue that it was bewildering.

“What do you think is the normal form of a family, Nam In-hoo?”