The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 81

“What did you say?”

I spoke awkwardly, looking at Director Yoon’s blank expression.

“It’s just a personal opinion. You can ignore it.”

“No, say it again. What did you―. Ah, wait a minute.”

Director Yoon hurriedly called over the assistant director and the rest of the production team.

I had just thrown out a casual comment, but it was turning into a bigger deal than I thought.

Seeing the people gathered around, I repeated what I said earlier.

“We’re filming the scene where the rival gang ambushes today, right? I thought it might be interesting to slightly change Kang Tae-il’s reaction, so I mentioned it to you, Director.”

“His reaction? In what way?”

Kang Tae-il had a strong personality, whether due to his upbringing or his innate disposition.

To be more precise, Director Yoon wanted him to be ‘portrayed’ that way.

Director Yoon emphasized that Kang Tae-il’s tenacious nature when facing hardships was crucial to the story’s development.

So, during the ambush, Kang Tae-il continuously resisted.

With a nonchalant face, he would spit at the opponent or mock them.

When the gang members approached with shocked faces, he would greet them with blood dripping from his hands, asking why they were so late. But…

“I thought it might be good to show a more childlike reaction.”

“Ah, you mean a more realistic feel?”

“Yes. The current script shows the character’s traits clearly, but no matter how tough he is, wouldn’t it be more realistic for him to be at least a little scared in that situation?”

Even if he had grown up fighting gangsters, this was his first time facing violence with a purpose.

No matter how accustomed he was to violence, there was a big difference between ‘seeing it’ and ‘experiencing it firsthand.’

The assistant director nodded at my continued explanation.

“It makes sense. Did you suddenly think of this today?”

“Ah… it’s just something I’ve been pondering lately.”

Actually, I had been thinking about it since the hallucination.

The idea deepened as I kept thinking about how Kang Tae-il would have nightmares after the ambush.

I thought it was a plausible picture and, at the same time, vividly imagined Kang Tae-il’s terrified pupils.

I hesitated because it might seem rude to suggest changes to a character Director Yoon had created and mentioned multiple times.

Fortunately, Director Yoon didn’t seem upset when I glanced at him.

“As you said, it would be more realistic for him to be somewhat scared. But… making him act too much like a child is a bit…”

“Just a slight modification would be good. For example….”

I briefly showed my idea of a scared version of Kang Tae-il.

Director Yoon, who had a doubtful expression, widened his eyes.

* * *

“Let go of me!”

“Shut up. You little brat.”

My scalp stung from the rough grip.

Before I could fully register the sharp pain, I was dragged along by the man.

I flailed my hands, but they slipped off everything I tried to grab.

The strength holding my head was just too strong.

“Let―.”

While being dragged frantically, the rough hands jerked me up, and my vision cleared.

In the pitch-black night, the fragilely broken hanok door.

The cold dirt floor, surrounded by men in black.

Before I could understand the situation, a cool sensation was felt in my left hand.

I turned my head and held my breath.

“Shall we start by breaking his left hand?”

“Yeah. Do it quickly. He might be back soon.”

It wasn’t my first time seeing this. I had been caught a few times before.

But I didn’t know a hammer could feel this cold.

My thoughts didn’t connect properly. All I could think was how cold it was.

“Look at this kid. Why is he trembling like this? Hey, are you scared?”

Only after hearing the sneering voice in front of me did I realize I was trembling.

Damn it. I glared at my captor.

I saw him raise his hand, but I didn’t avoid it.

The unfamiliar stinging sensation on my cheek felt better. It was less humiliating.

“…!”

So when the hammer he raised high came crashing down, I gritted my teeth and endured it.

I was okay. I had to be okay.

“Look at this guy smiling.”

“He must be a bastard from Hanseong.”

My ears were ringing. Despite the splitting tinnitus, I kept smiling.

I didn’t know why my body was trembling. How embarrassing.

Even though I was shaking, I didn’t stop laughing loudly.

As I kept getting slapped for being noisy, my mouth filled with blood from either the hits or biting wrong.

Then, the hammer was raised again.

“You bastards!”

A louder noise erupted, incomparable to the previous ruckus.

I faintly smiled, seeing the brothers rushing over. Finally, they arrived.

“Cut!”

At that moment, someone’s shout stopped all the noise.

“Are you okay? Did I hit you too hard?”

The man who had thrown me to the ground roughly extended his hand with a worried face.

I blinked a few times and instinctively shook my head.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Sorry. It’s my first time with action scenes.”

“Really, I’m fine. It didn’t hurt.”

As I kept shaking my head at his unsure hands, Manager An Jin-bae ran over with a towel.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. But… why is this so sweet?”

I grimaced belatedly after holding it in.

As I shivered at the artificial blood’s sweetness, Manager An Jin-bae laughed and handed me a water bottle.

It was so sweet that I almost lost concentration.

“Okay~! Perfect! Let’s move on to the close-up shot!”

While thinking I should mention the artificial blood taste in my next diary entry, Director Yoon, who was checking the footage, shouted loudly.

His cheer was followed by the staff’s applause.

Since the schedule was progressing smoothly, the filming atmosphere was pretty good.

Director Yoon, who had thrown off his headphones and ran over, hugged me with a big smile.

“My lucky charm! I should call you that from now on. How do you act so perfectly? I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

“You’re suffocating me.”

I lightly hit Director Yoon’s hands as he hugged me tightly.

“So heartless. We’re going for a close-up now. Are you confident? Just do it like you did just now.”

“Yes. I’ll give it a try.”

After cleaning my face, which was a mess with artificial blood, I took my position.

After checking the camera’s movement, I tapped my dangling hands irregularly.

When the action sound came, I opened my eyes, and the camera’s red light turned on and off several times.

After shooting all day, I was exhausted.

“Are you alright, actor?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Understood. Do you need anything―.”

While Manager An Jin-bae, who was packing up, cut off his words and looked up hurriedly.

“…What did you just say?”

“Hyung, you might hurt yourself if you move your head like that.”

“Did you just say you’re not okay? Did I hear that right?”

His eyes widened in shock as he looked at me, half lying on the chair.

“Yes. I’m tired.”

Today’s shoot was especially tough.

The movements were overly complicated, and it was a scene with many people, so there were a lot of unexpected NGs.

Expressing emotions wasn’t easy, and I had to bite the capsule with artificial blood at the right timing, making it even more chaotic.

On top of that, I had to maintain a state where tears seemed ready to fall but didn’t for hours, making my eyes sting.

“Oh, what to do, then―.”

Seeing my tired smile, Manager An Jin-bae stumbled up in a panic.

He covered me with a blanket with one hand while opening a vitamin drink with the other, constantly looking for Director Yoon.

“Wait a minute. I’ll check if we can postpone the remaining scenes to tomorrow.”

“But that would mean resetting everything. I can keep going.”

I laughed and said it wasn’t like I asked for anything.

I wondered why I said something meaningless.

Tilting my head, I noticed Director Yoon approaching from afar because of the commotion.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Can we start the shoot?”

“Ah, one of the equipment broke. We’ll probably have to do it tomorrow… Will the flow be disrupted? Are you okay?”

“It’s fine. His condition wasn’t great anyway, so it’s actually a relief. Can we leave now?”

It wasn’t me but Manager An Jin-bae who answered whether I was okay.

It could have been absurd, but Director Yoon naturally shifted his gaze.

Well, it wasn’t the first time.

“Of course. Go ahead. No changes to the publication schedule, right?”

“Yes. I have exams soon, so just keep to the schedule we discussed last time.”

“Okay. Oh, are you still seeing the counselor?”

“Yes. Regularly.”

“The doctor is quite famous in this field. I’ve had a word with him, but let me know if you’re not satisfied.”

I looked at the two people discussing me with a bewildered face.

It made sense for Manager An Jin-bae, but why was Director Yoon like this?

“The counselor is good. I have an appointment tomorrow, and I won’t miss it, so don’t worry.”

“When did I worry?”

Director Yoon, unaware he was half acting like a parent, stepped back primly.

I wanted to laugh at the absurdity, but I was too tired, so I closed my eyes again.

* * *

“You look very tired.”

It was already our fourth meeting.

I awkwardly smiled at the remark as soon as I entered the consultation room.

“I sleep well… I think it’s because I have to balance acting and studying.”

“Any problems with school life?”

“No. The kids are nice, and… the teachers are very considerate because of the filming.”

It had already been two months since I started middle school, but nothing felt particularly new.

Except that the school uniform I wore for the first time felt slightly uncomfortable.

“Any particular issues in the last two weeks since we last met? Any recurrence of hyperventilation?”

I flinched at the sudden question amid our ordinary conversation.

“No. Not since the episode two weeks ago.”

“I see.”

The doctor adjusted his pen grip.

“You mentioned it was due to a nightmare last time. Could you tell me what kind of nightmare it was today?”

As always, the doctor’s gentle tone was quite ticklish.

I clenched my fists tightly to avoid the rudeness of scratching my ear and spoke.

I lied, saying it was just a dream about losing a friend, and the doctor quietly wrote something on the document.

Listening to the rustling sound, I went over the lines for the next filming scene in my mind.

“It’s already our fourth meeting. Time flies.”

“Yes, it does.”

“How do you feel?”

Smiling at the soft question, I answered, “It’s fascinating since it’s my first time in counseling, but it feels stabilizing to confide in someone.”

It was boring. Besides, wasn’t it too early to ask how the counseling was going?

Wasn’t that a question to be asked after a certain level of rapport (*a psychological term referring to a mutual trust relationship) had been established?

Recalling what I had read about psychological counseling, I wondered internally, and the doctor let out a laugh that didn’t suit him.

“No, not about the counseling.”

“Pardon?”

“Of course, the counseling might not be that great. I meant how you feel about acting every moment like that. Isn’t it tough?”

Before I could hide it, one of my eyebrows shot up.

The doctor’s laughter grew louder.