The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 90

“Actor, do you need help changing your clothes?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Today was the day for the poster shoot of “Hello, My Summer.”

As I was changing into the school uniform given to me by the production team, there was an unusual commotion outside the dressing room.

Hearing a familiar voice I hadn’t heard in a while, I opened the door with a smile.

“Yeon-jae.”

Beside Manager An Jin-bae, I saw a familiar face.

“You’re here, Noona? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, about half a year?”

Han Se-young still wore her clean smile.

She looked a bit more mature than when we filmed “Butterflies on the Burning Zelkova.”

As Han Se-young approached me, she squinted her eyes gradually.

“You…”

“Yes?”

“What’s this? Why did you grow so much taller? You grew this much in just half a year?”

Seeing her look at me in disbelief, I laughed lightly.

The last time I saw her was at an award ceremony, and she definitely appeared to be much lower in my line of sight than before.

Surrounded by people taller than me, I hadn’t really noticed it until moments like these.

“Is that a compliment? Thanks.”

“Of course, it’s a compliment. I’m jealous. I wish I could grow taller too.”

“You will. Thanks for coming on short notice, Noona. Did the agency say anything?”

“When they heard it was a web drama and you were the co-star, they quickly told me to go.”

Han Se-young laughed brightly.

Her sharp eyes curved playfully.

As she looked around the open set, the expensive equipment, and the bustling staff, she whispered quietly.

“They say web dramas have bigger productions these days. It doesn’t seem much different from a general broadcasting drama?”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Even Han Se-young, who had only done major dramas since her debut, seemed to find this environment sufficient.

It was a relief. It was possible because the investment scale was much larger than originally planned.

I remembered the PD almost bowing in gratitude after receiving the list of new investors from Team Leader Woo.

“Wow. They chose a pretty school uniform too.”

“It suits you well, Noona.”

Han Se-young quickly changed into her outfit as well.

She wore a school uniform of the same design as mine.

“Oh, stop it.”

The light blue summer uniform really suited the playful Han Se-young.

I should like this appearance now.

“Hello, My Summer” is about a male and female protagonist who transfer to a new school and repeatedly misunderstand each other before falling in love.

I play ‘Kim Ho-yoon,’ the younger brother of the female lead.

Unlike the high school protagonist, my character is a middle schooler, and being a supporting role, I didn’t have many scenes.

So, the writer added my own romance episode.

Is it even romance? It’s just me unilaterally liking someone.

“You’re playing someone who has a crush on me again.”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

And Han Se-young played the girl Kim Ho-yoon has a crush on.

It was a minor role with only a few appearances, too small for Han Se-young.

Even so, I was grateful she came without hesitation after one phone call.

“I wonder when our Yeon-jae will actually pair up with Noona.”

“Haha.”

I laughed quietly at the exaggerated sigh from the other side.

When I didn’t particularly respond, Han Se-young, seemingly bored, looked for another prey.

Singer Kang Se-hyun, who had just finished his solo shoot, walked into the net.

“Oh! You’re Actress Han Se-young. Nice to meet you. I’m Space’s Kang Se-hyun.”

“Hello. Sorry for the late greeting. I’m Han Se-young. Please take care of me.”

As someone else approached, Han Se-young immediately put on her painted smile.

Watching the two exchange sociable conversation, Kang Se-hyun glanced at me. What’s with that look?

“Hyung, do you have something to say to me?”

“Uh? Oh, no… I was just wondering if you delivered it to your friend.”

“…? Oh, the autograph. Yes, he liked it.”

I handed it over without much thought, but Noh Bi-hyuk was overly excited about it.

Seeing him not even controlling his expression and grimacing, he seemed genuinely happy.

When I thanked him again, Kang Se-hyun shook his head.

He somehow looked shy.

I was about to prepare for the shoot, but whenever our conversation was about to end, he brought up a new topic.

Our extended conversation led to personal topics, like his hobby of drawing and preparing for a solo exhibition.

I hesitated to react, wondering if I should be hearing this, but fortunately, a staff member approached to announce the personal shot.

“Yeon-jae, just like we talked about before, we’ll shoot various versions. One cut with you annoyed at your sister, one cut confessing to a girl you like. Do you need any specific guidance?”

“No, I’ll try it.”

I confirmed the references written on the board once more and stood in front of the camera.

I didn’t feel particularly nervous.

The poster shoot wasn’t much different from filming a movie or drama.

Of course, capturing intense emotions in a single shot was different, but it didn’t matter.

What I did in front of the camera was always the same anyway.

“Okay, let’s start right away!”

At the photographer’s words, I closed my eyes slowly.

I organized my floating thoughts once more and opened my eyes.

I lifted the corners of my mouth while tapping my foot.

* * *

“Wow, this is amazing. Truly amazing.”

“The next one came out really pretty too. Turn the page.”

“Better than this? Wow, really.”

Jung-hyun hyung and Manager An Jin-bae were groaning over their phones.

The phone looked ridiculously small compared to their bulk, making me laugh but also feel embarrassed.

“Ah, this is so cute. Can I keep this?”

Seeing Jung-hyun hyung admiring the small screen repeatedly made my ears itch.

I tried to ignore it, but it showed no sign of stopping, so I eventually sighed.

“Hyung, stop it.”

“Why are you embarrassed? You shot this brilliantly. The poster will cause a frenzy when it’s released.”

The screen Jung-hyun hyung was waving showed me smiling.

Facing forward with a playful squint, I looked pretty natural. I guess I did grow taller compared to last year.

But it wasn’t something to overreact about.

I stared silently at Jung-hyun hyung, who seemed to be exaggerating.

“If you keep talking, I’ll bring up your poster.”

“Huh? What poster? Haha, I’ve been in the industry for years, what could you say to embarrass me?”

“The ‘Midnight’ poster you shot three years ago.”

“Okay, let’s eat. Oh, do you want more of this? Should I give you more?”

He quickly turned off his phone and handed me some shrimp tempura.

The “Midnight” poster, the only 19+ romance film Jung-hyun hyung had done, was intense enough to match its title.

Watching his reddening nape, I suppressed a laugh.

See, you should’ve stopped earlier.

“Do you have any worries these days?”

Seeing him trying to change the subject with random words, I shrugged with a laugh.

“No, not really. But I do have a question for you, Hyung.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Looking at his kind eyes, I hesitated slightly.

It was a very personal topic, but ultimately, it was related to acting, so it should be fine.

“Hyung, how many girlfriends have you had?”

“…Suddenly?”

“I’m curious about how different it is to like someone in real life and to act that out.”

Kim Ho-yoon glancing at the girl he has a crush on, shyly talking to her, blushing—it wasn’t hard to mimic.

I didn’t need to watch a movie to see it; I’d seen plenty of it at school over the past two months.

Just thinking about how Baek Seo-jin treated me, I quickly grasped how someone with a crush behaves.

But immersion was different.

“It’s weird hearing you ask this. Is it for your upcoming role?”

“Yes, I need to act out having a crush. I can mimic the actions, but I can’t seem to immerse myself.”

“Hmm? But you’ve already done romance in ‘Butterflies on the Burning Zelkova.'”

That was different.

Yu-hyeon’s feelings for the butterflies couldn’t be simply replaced by the word ‘love.’

It was more complex and stifling, and also desperate.

In a way, it was easier to immerse myself in such complex emotions.

Puppy love, like Kim Ho-yoon’s, felt distant no matter how much I practiced.

After listening to me seriously, Jung-hyun hyung raised his hand.

“Our Yeon-jae, what to do. Maybe I didn’t love you enough. I need to reflect.”

The hand that gently patted my head was warm.

Despite his playful tone, his expression looked slightly bitter.

“You find common feelings difficult and complex ones easier to immerse in. It’s usually the opposite.”

Is that something to feel bitter about?

I wondered, but kept quiet in the delicate atmosphere.

Jung-hyun hyung patted my head a few more times and shrugged.

“My number of relationships is a secret. I want to protect your fantasies.”

“…? I don’t have any.”

“Shh. Quiet. Anyway, based on my humble experience, Yeon-jae.”

His eyes, which had been playful, now held a different emotion.

He really looked like an actor.

“Emotions change every time. Sometimes you feel like you’ll go crazy with joy, other times practical thoughts come first.”

“Yes.”

“The feelings of liking someone vary depending on who you’re with and your situation. Just as the emotions felt during actual relationships are diverse, an actor’s emotions when performing are also diverse.”

I pondered his ambiguous words and then summarized them neatly.

“It means I don’t need to obsess over how different the actual feelings are.”

“Exactly. Kids your age experience a variety of emotions when they like someone. There’s no correct answer because everyone’s different. The emotion you feel and interpret is that character’s emotion.”

It felt like I was close to understanding, but it was too difficult to grasp fully.

Still, what had been bothering me ever since hearing Baek Seo-jin’s words was roughly sorted out.

When acting out Kim Ho-yoon’s crush, I didn’t need to worry too much about how real the feelings were.

“Thank you. I’ll practice more.”

“You should stop practicing so much. Since I’m free now, how about a trip with the three of us?”

“I’m practicing with Se-young Noona starting tomorrow.”

“Oh… What about Jin-bae?”

“I have to take care of the actor.”

“…This conversation feels familiar.”

Jung-hyun hyung’s face looked sullen as if experiencing a déjà vu.

Watching that, I laughed and soon forgot about the complicated thoughts on acting.

* * *

A week later, the main and character posters for “Hello, My Summer” were released online.

The communities that were already abuzz with the news of Lee Yeon-jae and Han Se-young appearing in a web drama went wild.

The intensity of the reactions was evident just by looking at the titles of the top posts.

[What’s with this? What happened in the last half-year?]