The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 93

**@onlyyeonjae**

> “10 minutes until the first episode of ‘Hello, My Summer’ airs! Let’s all watch it live together. We’ll randomly select 10 people who retweet this post to receive a gifticon! ♡Yeon-jae, I support your endless challenges♡”

The fingers of the president of Lee Yeon-jae’s fan club moved ceaselessly over the phone.

After double-checking for typos, she uploaded the post.

Then she quickly logged out of the ‘onlyyeonjae’ account and logged into her private account.

**@nararaingan**

> “Is everyone ready? Steal your family members’ accounts and make sure to play the first episode on all of them. If we don’t hit ten million views, we have no reason to live.”

The tone was slightly different from the polite tone used on the official account.

However, the people who followed her responded familiarly, “ㅇㅇ stole my brother’s phoneㅋㅋ.”

The president, who had already taken her younger brother’s phone to play the video, smiled with satisfaction.

“Ha… It has to be a hit.”

The president had a lot of worries.

It felt like just yesterday she was cheering when Yeon-jae was cast as the sole lead in a film, and even more so when the director turned out to be Yoon Kang-yeon.

There were even rumors that this work would be submitted to the competition section of the Cannes Film Festival, so she had been waiting eagerly for the movie, not even knowing the release date.

She thought it was a perfect opportunity to proudly showcase Yeon-jae’s acting skills to the world.

But then―.

> [Lee Yeon-jae to appear as a supporting role in the web drama ‘Hello, My Summer’]
>
> [From lead in a famous director’s film to a supporting role in a web drama, what caused the sudden change in position?]
>
> [Unknown actions… Woo-yeon Entertainment: “We respect the actor’s wishes.”]

The sudden news was shocking.

A web drama? Out of the blue?

Although she knew that web dramas were increasingly being recognized for their value, prejudices still existed.

It was a field that already established actors didn’t even look at.

Moreover, just by looking at the posters and trailers, ‘Hello, My Summer’ seemed like one of those mass-produced high school dramas.

> “The male lead is an idol group member? Says it all.”

On top of that, the role Yeon-jae was playing was a supporting one. She couldn’t understand why an actor who had just been the sole lead in a film by Director Yoon would make such a choice.

Of course, Yeon-jae’s acting would be perfect. As a fan, she didn’t doubt that.

But right now, that wasn’t enough.

If the quality of the work itself was low, no matter how excellent the acting, it would be evaluated accordingly.

There was no way she could influence the quality of the work.

What the president and the fans could do was clear.

Make the work popular regardless of its quality.

Their plan was to go with the narrative: “So what if it’s a childish drama? It was a hit, so what? Your home doesn’t have any hit works, right?”

In that sense, the acting of Kang Se-hyun, which she had initially thought would be a hindrance, wasn’t bad.

“Oh… He acts better than I thought.”

Kang Se-hyun, an 8-year idol of ‘Space.’

He was someone the president, who had fiercely fought in the fandom world, knew well.

For someone who was acting for the first time, it was more natural than she had expected.

Although the lines were terrible.

> [“Huh! Damn, this was a gift…!”]
>
> [“Sorry. I didn’t know you were there.”]
>
> [“What? Are you ignoring me because I’m short? Are you bragging because you’re tall?”]
>
> [“……Do you have a persecution complex?”]

From the beginning of the drama, the female lead and male lead started arguing.

Although the acting was more natural than expected, it was still inevitably childish because of the lines.

When the female lead shouted, “Hey, new transfer student! Stop right there!” in a bold tone, the president also closed her eyes tightly.

‘The lines are really crazy….’

She felt a moment of fear. Yeon-jae was going to appear soon.

Was Yeon-jae going to deliver such childish lines too?

Of course, even if he did, it would be cute like a little fawn, but it was still scary.

The passing 10 minutes felt like hell.

And with less than 5 minutes left, the face she had been waiting for appeared.

> [“Ha… Should I call first or not….”]

Her fears vanished as she was thrilled to see Yeon-jae on screen after a long time.

Just as she had confirmed in the posters, he had grown up a lot.

Lying on the sofa with messy hair, he looked like an ordinary younger brother in any household, but everyone knew that no younger brother like that existed.

> [“Ha…, I don’t have time to wash my hair… Can I wear the hat you bought last time?”]
>
> [“What? Absolutely not.”]
>
> [“Ah, please, just once.”]

And his chemistry with the female lead was better than she thought.

Thanks to the fast editing unique to web dramas, the conversation continued at a ping-pong-like pace.

When she was immersed and analyzing, smiling sheepishly, it happened.

> [“Jung Hanna!”]

When Kim Ho-yoon, who spotted Hanna, appeared on the screen, the president’s expression stiffened.

> [“How can you be so smart.”]
>
> [“Don’t smile like an idiot.”]
>
> [“But I don’t want to~.”]

The president’s uplifted lips slowly lowered.

‘What is this….’

Something felt off. Something was strange.

> [“Why are you embarrassed? Just say it.”]

The roomy hoodie, the more defined facial lines, the low, grumbling voice.

The eyes, filled with excitement, couldn’t be hidden even with the deeply pressed hat.

The playful smile and the brief glance at the other person felt strange.

‘It’s definitely Yeon-jae… my baby….’

Why… was she feeling fluttered?

Yeon-jae didn’t feel like Yeon-jae. It felt like an entirely new character.

It felt strange enough to be awkward.

Of course, there was a clear age difference, so it wasn’t a genuine flutter.

Even though he had grown taller, his face still had the typical youthful look of a middle schooler.

It was distinctly different from the pseudo-romantic feelings she often felt while fangirling over already adult celebrities.

But… his gaze at Hanna had a certain something that made the viewer’s heart flutter regardless of age or gender.

And that strange feeling peaked when he took off his hat and placed it on Hanna’s head.

> [“He’s a real bad guy. Why did you have to like someone like that?”]

His voice was filled with mischief.

The hand blocking her from lifting her head had prominent veins.

> [“Of course you’re too good for him. Where else can you find someone who can eat ramen in one minute like you?”]
>
> [“Do you want to die?”]

Throughout the conversation, the screen only showed the hand pressing down on the hat.

The camera, capturing only his natural voice and busy hands, finally turned around after the last line.

“…….”

The president could only stare blankly at the screen.

On the screen, Kim Ho-yoon was smiling as if he was about to cry.

A boy making a strange face that made the viewer feel uneasy.

* * *

“Hello, hyung.”

“Oh? Ah. Hi!”

As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Kang Se-hyun and bowed in greeting.

His face, which had been reading the script indifferently, brightened up as soon as he saw me.

His expression changed dramatically depending on what face he made.

A perfect face for acting.

“The first episode was a hit. The comments were all about you, you know?”

It was the timing to humbly deny it, but I just smiled and thanked him.

Everyone here knew it would be an empty formality anyway.

Denying such an obvious fact would be worse than not saying anything.

“I already saw posts about it everywhere. I did a quick search on my way here, and all I saw was talk about our drama.”

That was also true.

Two days after the first episode of ‘Hello, My Summer’ aired, it had already surpassed three million views.

Including the short clips circulating on social media, the number would be even higher.

It was possible thanks to the efforts of the fans of ‘Space,’ the group Kang Se-hyun belonged to, and my fans… who diligently promoted the drama.

“I kept replaying your part for two days straight. How can you act so well?”

“Thank you. Your acting was really good too, hyung.”

“You don’t have to give me such empty praise~. I don’t care about that.”

I tilted my head in curiosity at his dismissive gesture.

“It’s not empty praise. I genuinely liked it, so I said it.”

“……Really?”

“Yes. The part where you said to Kim Hye-yoon, ‘Dwarfs should be quiet,’ your acting was really good.”

It was a line that could become extremely childish.

But he maintained a nonchalant character by delivering the line in a low voice without much inflection, keeping the overall light atmosphere.

It was an excellent choice.

“Ah~, my acting teacher told me to do it that way. It wasn’t my idea.”

“Did your teacher shoot the scene for you too?”

“No, but….”

“Then it was you who did well, hyung.”

“…….”

His response to my clear words was an unreadable expression.

Suddenly faced with silence, I hesitated to say more, then turned away after greeting him.

‘He seems to be very stingy with compliments.’

Of course, it wasn’t my concern.

As long as he did well in the shoot, whether he had a serious passion for acting or not, as actress Shin Ah-young mentioned, wasn’t my problem.

Thinking it was no big deal, I changed into my school uniform and came out.

Today’s scene was the first conversation between the male lead ‘Han Yeo-reum’ and the female lead’s younger brother ‘Kim Ho-yoon.’

After having a big fight with the female lead, the male lead wanders around her house, feeling guilty, and Kim Ho-yoon spots him and approaches.

Initially wary of the unfamiliar face, Kim Ho-yoon relaxes after exchanging a few words with the male lead.

Then he makes a ridiculous request, asking if the male lead can help him with his own love life if he helps him reconcile with his sister.

On the surface, it seemed like the male lead was a love expert, and Kim Ho-yoon even sneakily called him ‘hyung’ while acting cute—a highly difficult scene.

‘Even on a second look, the lines are… really.’

There was no depth whatsoever.

The lines that Kang Se-hyun had to say were just as ridiculous, so his expression looked darker than before.

Knowing the PD’s personality, he wouldn’t take many takes, so we had to match our lines as much as possible beforehand.

Running lines one-on-one with Kang Se-hyun went smoother than expected.

It was even more comfortable than when I practiced with actress Shin Ah-young.

Although I didn’t ask him about his practice time, purely in terms of acting skills, he was much more proficient.

“Hyung, you’re really good with facial expressions.”

“I’m quite confident in my facial acting.”

Kang Se-hyun didn’t deny this praise and accepted it.

It’s said that for idols, expression acting is just as important as singing skills for commanding the stage.

Watching him smile proudly, I smiled back.

I had a feeling today’s shoot would be smoother than usual.

As expected, the shoot went seamlessly without a single NG, leaving everyone—PD, staff, and all—with bright expressions.

As the camera’s red light came on, a gentle breeze blew.

In this peaceful atmosphere, Kang Se-hyun was about to deliver his lines.

“Se, Se-hyun! Something big happened!”

Someone urgently rushed into the filming set.