The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 92

I pressed down the hat I borrowed from Kim Hye-yoon and headed to the playground.

As soon as I spotted In-yeong sitting on the rusty swing, words spilled out of my mouth involuntarily.

“Jeong Han-na!”

At my impulsive shout, someone looked up.

I sighed as I saw the sunset’s red hue spill across her face.

‘I’m screwed, really.’

It was a face I was so familiar with, I was tired of it. At least, that was how it felt a few days ago.

A face I saw more than my own, which had left me unimpressed, had begun to look different recently.

As soon as our eyes met, my lips softened into a smile, so I frowned and sat down next to her.

“You’re here.”

“Why did you call me out all of a sudden? I’m busy as hell.”

“You don’t have anything to do anyway. You don’t even have friends without me.”

“What are you talking about? I have other frie—”

I tried to glare at her, but I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips when I saw her staring right at me.

Ah, I really felt like a pushover.

“You don’t have friends. How can you be so smart?”

“Don’t smile like an idiot.”

“I don’t want to~.”

I purposely exaggerated my grin and poked Han-na’s shoulder playfully.

Still, I subtly watched her expression to see if she got annoyed.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be bothered, but the atmosphere felt oddly heavy.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look good.”

“……Haa.”

Han-na let out a deep sigh, which was uncharacteristic of her.

Having known her since kindergarten, I hadn’t seen her in such deep contemplation often.

“What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say.”

“It’s me you’re talking to, what’s embarrassing? Just say it.”

Even though it was awkward that I had come to like her, it wasn’t weird for us to share everything with each other.

As I felt a strange sense of pride in the indescribable bond between us, I grinned.

“I got dumped.”

“What?”

“I got dumped. Ah, I’m so embarrassed I could die… I thought they liked me too.”

“…….”

The smile that had been rising on my face froze.

Dumped? Who dumped you?

Wait, you confessed to someone?

‘……To whom?’

I swallowed the words that were about to spill out.

I was so confused I didn’t even know what I was thinking, but I knew I shouldn’t ask that now.

If I heard the answer, I wouldn’t be able to control my expression.

But this annoying girl beat me to it.

“Honestly, didn’t you notice? Ju Ji-hyuk was interested in me?”

“Ju Ji-hyuk? From the library club? …That Ju Ji-hyuk?”

“Do we have another Ju Ji-hyuk in our school?”

I stared blankly at her as she laughed with a deflating sound.

Han-na, looking awkward, gave me a sheepish smile.

“Hey. Just make fun of me. You being like this makes me regret telling you.”

“Ah… sorry…. I didn’t know you liked someone….”

“Past tense. I don’t like him anymore. Ha, it’s so embarrassing.”

“Bad guy, bastard, piece of trash―.”

Rough curses poured out of her mouth.

As I listened in silence, her voice gradually lost its strength.

I listened quietly to her trembling voice and then took off my hat.

I forcefully placed the hat on her small head.

“Ah, what the heck?”

“Just stay still.”

I held her head down to prevent her from lifting it in surprise.

“He’s really a bad guy. Why did you like such a guy?”

“…….”

“He’s probably regretting it now. Just wait a day. Who knows?”

But you don’t suit him at all. Jeez, Jeong Han-na is too good for him.

As I teased, a slow smile spread beneath the hat.

When she commented that even my comfort was typical of me, she said, “Oh, really?” and shook her head, making the hat wobble.

Still, I didn’t let go of the strength in my hand.

“Ah. My neck hurts. Let go of this.”

“I don’t want to see your face. It’s too ugly.”

“…? You said I was too good for him five seconds ago. You idiot.”

At her incredulous reaction, I did my best to sound playful.

“Of course, you’re too good. Who else can eat ramen in one minute like you?”

“Do you want to die?”

Even though her voice had returned to its usual vigor, I still couldn’t let go of my grip.

I had to keep her from lifting her head.

I didn’t want her to see my tear-streaked face.

At least, not her.

“Cut! Oh, that was fantastic~!”

The PD shouted okay without even checking the footage.

Just from the excited tone of her voice, I could tell she was satisfied.

Regardless, I blinked a few times.

When I quickly came to my senses and lifted my head, Han Se-young was quietly watching me.

“What?”

“……Your acting has improved again.”

“Thanks.”

I laughed lightly, thinking she was just saying it, but she didn’t respond.

“Are you taking acting lessons separately?”

“Hmm?”

“Is it an academy? Or one-on-one? How long have you been taking them? Can you introduce me too?”

Confused by the barrage of questions, I shook my head.

“I’m not taking lessons. I just practice on my own.”

“Really? I swear I won’t tell anyone else. Promise.”

“I’m really not taking lessons, noona.”

Even though I repeatedly assured her, Han Se-young didn’t stop looking at me skeptically.

Fortunately, the PD came bounding over with an excited look on her face, so the questions didn’t continue.

“It was perfect. Now we’ll do the close-up shots. We might be able to finish today.”

“Up to the scene we just shot will be in the first episode, right?”

“Yes, yes. Most of the other parts have been edited. We just need to add today’s scenes.”

The first episode was airing this week.

With such a tight schedule, I wondered if it was possible, but it seemed it was.

Unlike Director Yoon, who would retake scenes multiple times if he wasn’t satisfied, the PD of ‘Goodbye, My Summer’ passed scenes unless there was a serious NG.

You might think this made filming easier, but it was quite the opposite.

Since I couldn’t insist on retakes for scenes the director approved, I had to get each scene perfect in one take, which meant more practice.

“That expression! Not too much, just right.”

The PD admired the footage as I glanced at it.

The screen showed me, eyes crinkled, trembling mouth trying to smile.

Luckily, it wasn’t too bad.

“We’ll do a cross-edit with that expression and the hat-pulling scene. First, we’ll shoot a close-up of the hand! Make sure the logo on the hat isn’t covered since it’s PPL.”

“Got it.”

Han Se-young and I returned to our positions.

As I held the hat, waiting for the signal, the PD approached hesitantly.

“Yeon-jae, can you roll up your sleeve?”

“Sleeve?”

Puzzled, I rolled up the sleeve of my hoodie.

When she asked me to flex a bit, I did so, and the PD smiled in satisfaction.

“Great. Let’s go with the sleeves rolled up.”

“…? Sure. Got it.”

I didn’t know the reason, but I figured she had something in mind, so I just focused on acting.

With that, all the filming for today ended.

“Noona, great work today.”

“You too. It was nice filming with you again.”

As she thanked me with a smile, Han Se-young said she’d keep in touch and left.

“Actor, shall we go?”

“Yes. Thank you for waiting.”

“Don’t mention it. Are you too hot?”

The summer sun was blazing, and the filming set was scorching with all the equipment.

But thanks to Manager An Jin-bae, who hurriedly ran over with a neck fan during breaks, it was bearable.

“Thanks to you, I’m fine. Let’s go home quickly.”

“Alright. Ah, and Actor Lee Jung-hyun said he’s coming over on Saturday.”

“…?”

Seeing my puzzled expression, Manager An laughed out loud.

He sounded refreshingly cheerful, as if he wasn’t tired at all.

“It was an out-of-the-blue statement, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. It was really unexpected.”

I didn’t find it surprising that Jung-hyun hyung was coming over.

I found it surprising that he even bothered to mention it.

After finishing his movie shoot, Jung-hyun hyung often came to our house, saying he felt lonely.

I was so used to seeing him lounging on the living room sofa when we left for shoots that it was normal.

“I was a bit taken aback too, but I think he wants us to have dinner together.”

“Saturday… Oh, the first episode airs that day?”

The look in Manager An’s eyes said I’d guessed correctly.

Although I appear in the first episode, my screen time was less than five minutes.

It wouldn’t be very impactful… was there a need to watch it together?

It felt a bit awkward, but I couldn’t say no, so I agreed.

I’d just tell them not to be disappointed because my screen time was short.

* * *

“Bi-hyeok, it’s been a while. Have you debuted yet? You already look like an idol.”

“Thanks for the compliment~ haha, how have you been, hyung?”

Watching Noh Bi-hyeok chat with Jung-hyun hyung with his usual cheerful demeanor, I suppressed a bitter laugh.

Anyone would think they saw each other just yesterday.

Who would believe they hadn’t seen each other in a year?

“Actor, it’s five minutes to go. I’ll move the bowls now.”

“Okay.”

Today was the Saturday when the first episode of ‘Goodbye, My Summer’ was airing.

It wasn’t surprising that Jung-hyun hyung had been at our house since Thursday, but I couldn’t understand why Noh Bi-hyeok had rushed over right after practice.

It wasn’t as if my screen time was significant enough to watch together.

“Huh? The video is already up? Ah, it’s a timer.”

“Livestreams are possible these days. Fascinating.”

The first episode, which would be uploaded to a free video site, had been live for an hour already.

The screen displayed a countdown timer, and the chat window became more active as time passed.

“Wow… there are already over seven thousand viewers?”

“Wow, amazing.”

Watching Jung-hyun hyung and Noh Bi-hyeok look back and forth between the TV and their phones, I spoke again.

“Hey, about my screen time―.”

“We know. You don’t have much screen time. We got it. How many times are you going to say it?”

I wanted to ask why they were making such a fuss today.

If they knew, why did they gather like this?

I could already imagine everyone looking disappointed after the first episode, while I awkwardly scratched my neck.

“It’s starting!”

At Noh Bi-hyeok’s words, all three pairs of eyes turned to the screen.

I sighed and grabbed a melon.

Fifteen minutes later, just as expected, the three of them were silent.

Even after the end credits rolled, the living room was filled with silence.

Jung-hyun hyung broke the awkward silence by saying it was really good, which led to some half-hearted compliments.

Noh Bi-hyeok didn’t even look at me.

After thanking them, I went to my room.

‘Was it really that bad?’

I thought it turned out better than expected.

It wasn’t worthy of a group viewing, but…

Even though it wasn’t my idea to gather, I felt embarrassed.

Staring blankly at the floor, I decided to sleep early and lay down on the bed.

And the next day, Manager An Jin-bae told me my fan club membership had surpassed fifty thousand.