The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 78

Thus, I ended up spending the night with the two of them.

There was no reason to refuse, nor did I particularly want to.

If they had just barged in, I would have firmly kicked them out, but Sung Lee-jun was watching me from behind, which made me feel uneasy.

I told them they could sleep in the guest room, but Nam In-hoo asked if he could sleep in the same room as me.

Of course, Sung Lee-jun urgently exclaimed, “Me too…!”

Manager An Jin-bae, watching this scene, brought a mattress from the guest room, and only then did they quiet down.

Fine… I don’t know what you guys are up to, but do whatever you want.

“Can I sleep in the same bed as you?”

“…”

“Just kidding.”

For a moment, I was really taken aback.

Even if it was a joke, Nam In-hoo just laughed heartily at my disgusted expression.

Even if you said it as a joke, the guy next to you doesn’t know that.

Sure enough, Sung Lee-jun raised his hand quickly, then pretended to sneeze and changed his mind.

“Sleeping just like this feels a bit sad. How about we all play a game?”

“I have something to do. You two go ahead.”

“Huh? What do you have to do…?”

I shook my head at the bewildered Sung Lee-jun, saying it was nothing.

When I left the room, the two followed me closely.

Thinking nothing of it, I went to Manager An Jin-bae’s room, and as if waiting, the door opened.

“Actor— oh, you both came too.”

“You must have work to talk about. Then we’ll go to our room.”

“No, it’s not work-related…”

As Nam In-hoo spoke, Manager An Jin-bae glanced at me.

It seemed like he didn’t want to say it himself, so I said casually,

“I have to write a post on the fan… cafe today. I’ll write it and come back, so just rest.”

It was a task that would take at least an hour, so I hoped they’d fall asleep by then.

However, as Nam In-hoo watched me, he smirked. It was chilling.

“Can I watch from beside you?”

“Me, me too…!”

“Sorry, but the computer is in Jin-bae’s room.”

“I don’t mind, actor.”

“….”

Thanks to Manager An Jin-bae, who wasn’t helpful at all, I ended up writing the post with three people behind me.

I thought about kicking them out if they even slightly disturbed me, but unfortunately, they were quiet.

I only heard occasional whispers.

“Oh. There’s even a category for ‘Yeon-jae’s Diary.'”

“When I contacted the fan club president, they created it right away.”

“The fans will love it…!”

Since my birthday, I had been uploading a post once a month.

I had suggested it first, thinking it would be too stingy to only leave a message when receiving gifts, and within half a day, the category was created.

At first, since the word ‘diary’ was in the name, I planned to upload one post a day.

However, seeing me write, Manager An Jin-bae firmly shook his head.

‘Actor, have you finished writing?’

‘Not yet.’

‘…It’s already been two hours.’

That was because it had taken me a full three hours to write the first post.

It was even more daunting without the clear subject of a gift review.

Manager An Jin-bae said I could just write about what I did today, like a diary, but who would be interested in that?

Today, after much consideration, I wrote about how “movie shoots are less time-pressured compared to drama shoots” and “I got a stain on the tip of the shoes I was gifted, but luckily I found a way to clean it thoroughly.”

‘This post seems more substantial than the last one.’

Maybe because I explained the cleaning method in detail, it showed that I put effort into it.

When I looked at the clock, an hour had already passed.

I just needed to write the concluding remarks.

As I was typing “Please take care of your health,” which I had been consistently using, I remembered a comment from a previous post.

―Yeon-jae ㅠㅠ It feels too stiff. Write comfortably without any pressure ㅠㅠ

Recalling the comment that said my concluding remark was too stiff, I deleted the text.

Indeed, it was a rather distant expression.

This was already the fourth post, so it was time to be a bit more friendly.

After contemplating for a while, I wrote, “Thank you for reading today as well. Have a good night.”

This should be friendly enough, right?

Feeling satisfied, I lifted my hands from the keyboard.

Even though it was unusually quiet behind me, I didn’t have time to pay attention as I checked for typos.

“I’m done.”

“…Good job.”

“You wrote it very politely…!”

When I turned around, I saw Nam In-hoo with a somewhat bitter expression and Sung Lee-jun trying hard to smile.

I wondered why they were like that, but Nam In-hoo urged me to play now that I was done, so we returned to my room.

I wondered how we would spend time with this combination, but fortunately, they fell asleep quickly due to the exhausting shoot.

Listening to the breathing sounds from below the bed, I slowly closed my eyes.

* * *

“Yeon-jae!”

When I opened my eyes, Mist was running toward me.

“You were so cool today! I watched without realizing how much time had passed!”

“Really? Was it fun?”

“Yeah!”

Since the start of the Twins shoot, Mist’s tension had been much higher.

He seemed to be somewhat discouraged after the incident with Oh Seung-hyun.

Watching him bouncing up and down in place made me laugh.

“You seem to prefer thrillers over romance.”

“Really? I’m not sure! I just find it so fun to watch you act out two different characters alternately. Hehe!”

I’m glad.

Even after chatting for a while, Mist still seemed to have a lot to say, so I suggested we sit down on the sofa.

Mist, who had been following obediently, suddenly pulled his hand away in surprise.

“Uh, can you hold this hand instead?”

“…”

The hand I had grabbed was Mist’s right hand.

Ever since removing the sticky substance, it had remained black.

Whether it was Noh Bi-hyuk or Sung Lee-jun, his right hand remained black.

Watching him awkwardly offer his left hand instead, I asked.

“Why? Does it hurt if I touch it?”

“No… It’s not that…”

His lips moved a few times, but then he fell silent.

It wasn’t the first time I had seen him like this.

Mist, who would run to me and talk about anything, always went silent when it came to anything related to the sticky substance.

As I stared at him, his already wandering eyes moved even faster.

I was hesitating whether to ask more, when suddenly Mist looked up with a start.

His eyes, wide with surprise, opened even wider.

“Yeon—”

As he urgently began to speak, he suddenly scattered into fragments.

It was only after I saw the scattered powder that I realized my body had also disappeared.

It was a very strange feeling.

The feeling of not existing in this world.

With a strong impact as if someone had hit my head hard, I lost my words.

It felt dizzying, as if something was about to spill out at any moment.

My vision kept flipping, mixing everything up.

I floundered in a world turned upside down.

I regained my senses amidst the seemingly endless chaos due to the sensation.

The sensation of someone shaking my shoulder vigorously.

“—Huff!”

“Yeon-jae. Are you okay?!”

Someone was speaking next to me, but I couldn’t respond.

I was gasping for air, feeling like I was about to suffocate.

Through my blurry vision, I saw Sung Lee-jun, looking pale and terrified.

Or was it Mist? Was it really Sung Lee-jun? I couldn’t tell.

If that’s really Sung Lee-jun, then where’s Mist?

“Hey, try to breathe!”

I couldn’t calm down easily.

There was a sound of something crashing, followed by a familiar voice in my ear.

“Actor. It’s okay.”

The voice, which had been faint, gradually became clearer.

“It’s okay. Look at me, actor.”

Hearing the clear voice, I felt a sense of relief.

When I opened my eyes, my blurry vision wobbled.

A large hand brushed my eyes, and then my vision cleared.

I met gentle eyes.

“Good job. Now try to exhale slowly. One at a time.”

I followed the breathing instructions mindlessly.

Repeating it several times, my trembling body slowly calmed down.

It probably didn’t take that long in reality, but it felt like I had been struggling for a whole day.

“Sor…ry….”

“It’s okay. You can relax more.”

I couldn’t muster any strength.

I barely managed to breathe, leaning against something solid.

Sweat trickled down my jaw, feeling sticky.

“…”

I needed to apologize to Sung Lee-jun and Nam In-hoo too.

But even turning my head was difficult.

I blinked slowly, feeling the hand patting my back gradually move away.

I think I fell asleep again.

I didn’t know how much time had passed.

But it was unusually noisy around me.

“…this guy.”

“Stop it already….”

Whose voice was this?

The excessive noise made me frown without realizing it.

Then, someone with a gruff voice shouted loudly.

“Hey, wake up, you brat!”

“—Huh.”

Startled by the loud noise that sounded like a siren, I lifted my head.

‘

My ears hurt.’

Who was the crazy person shouting right next to my ear?

When I tried to open my eyes, a splitting headache made me just groan.

As I covered one ear and still kept my head down, the man with the gruff voice spoke urgently.

“Hey. What’s wrong. What’s up. Are you hurt? Damn, if you’re hurt, say something.”

“Shit. Waking the kid while he’s sleeping?”

“No, you told me to wake him up?!”

“Shut your mouth. The kid’s sleeping.”

Why were these people so foul-mouthed? Who were they?

Even in my groaning state, I tried to figure out the unfamiliar voices.

‘I was just leaning against Manager An Jin-bae a moment ago.’

Was this a dream? What about Mist? What was going on?

My head was spinning too much to think clearly.

The headache was so severe that I clenched my teeth and opened my eyes. Then….

“Are you in pain? Is it because of the nail?”

“Huh. Still in pain because of that? Hey, at your age, I walked around laughing with a cut finger. This kid’s got an easy life.”

“Damn, you old geezer. It’s been less than a week. He could still be in pain. If you’re going to say that crap, just get lost.”

“All of you shut up. You’re so damn noisy. Someone get some medicine! The kid says he’s in pain!”

Rough words I had never heard before poured out all at once.

As I stared blankly at the fierce faces, I heard the sliding door open forcefully.

“Is the little one sick?!”

Bang! The sliding door made a loud noise, as if it would fall off.

That sound echoed from all directions, and people appeared from everywhere.

“The baby is sick?”

“What medicine! Where does it hurt?”

Faces covered in scars, large tattoos visible through sleeveless shirts, and rough words mixed with swearing.

Slowly looking around, I began to regain my senses. The faces were familiar.

‘Why are these people like this…’

They were all actors I had seen during the script reading.

Actors who seemed natural delivering rough lines.

“…Excuse me.”

“Seems like he’s really in pain. Isn’t he acting dumb?”

“Using such pretty words in front of the kid. Damn.”

“Speak nicely if you’re going to scold him.”

I barely managed to say one word, but their words mixed roughly again.

As I closed my mouth, a man carrying a large medicine box looked at me worriedly.

“Are you okay? Tae-il? Where does it hurt?”

“…”

These were the gangsters who raised Kang Tae-il.

That is, in the story.

…Where exactly was this place?