The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 97

Kang Se-hyun remained silent for a long time.

Just when I thought he should be getting up soon, he asked in a small voice.

“So what you’re saying is… it’s not important to be sincere about acting, but it’s more important to act well.”

“That’s what I think.”

Kang Se-hyun seemed to be mulling over my casually thrown words for a long time.

Then, he suddenly asked.

“Do you really think my acting is good?”

“Yes. It’s good.”

“Where? Can you tell me in more detail?”

“Hmm… First of all, your diction is clear, so the dialogue is easy to understand, which I think is your biggest strength. Above all, you don’t overact.”

He furrowed his brows as if he didn’t understand what I meant.

“First of all, ‘Goodbye, My Summer’ is basically a light high-teen genre. There are almost no emotional scenes. Most of it is daily acting, and you deliver your lines naturally, without overthinking how to act better and ending up overdoing it.”

Kang Se-hyun, who had been listening quietly, lowered his head deeply.

After a long while, he mumbled.

“But I’m not an actor. I must be lacking compared to other actors…”

“Hyung, are you going to sing later?”

He furrowed his brows slightly as if he didn’t understand my question and shook his head.

“No. What are you talking about?”

“Exactly. We have to shoot the scene we couldn’t finish last time.”

“…?”

Seeing his puzzled expression, I said calmly.

“You came here to act today. So right now, you’re an actor.”

“……”

“Just focus on the scene we’re shooting today. If you act well today, you’ll have done your part.”

“Got it…”

Kang Se-hyun nodded obediently but then paused.

Then, stammering, he asked.

“So what you’re saying is… not to be a burden to others and to act well today, right?”

I answered, puzzled by his unsure expression.

“Yes. That’s right.”

I wondered why he was asking something so obvious, but his face, which was looking at me, suddenly went blank.

“……Ha, seriously.”

After a slight pause, he burst into laughter.

I watched him, puzzled by his laughter full of absurdity. What’s with him?

“Wow… really… You said it so kindly that I thought I misunderstood for a moment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind, you punk.”

Kang Se-hyun brushed off the remaining laughter and stood up abruptly.

“Let’s go! We should practice our lines while we have time.”

His sudden change in attitude was unexpected, but the refreshing smile on his face didn’t look too bad.

As I watched his much more relieved expression, I quietly got up.

I signaled to Manager An Jin-bae, who was watching us from a distance, that everything was fine by nodding once.

As we approached the people, the PD, who spotted Kang Se-hyun, beamed.

“Se-hyun, did you have a good rest? You must have been through a lot. You’ve worked hard.”

“No, PD. I’m really sorry for delaying the schedule because of me. I’ll work hard from now on.”

“It’s okay. We already announced a one-week break anyway. We can just hurry and shoot the remaining scenes!”

Fortunately, the PD didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

It was probably because the view count for the first episode was increasing even as we spoke.

The view count, which wasn’t bad originally, was smoothly rising like a sail in the wind, thanks to Kang Se-hyun’s incident.

Moreover, with the school violence rumors cleanly resolved, there were no problems other than the urgent shooting schedule.

“Let’s work hard today too! If we finish early, we’ll have a wrap party!”

“Oh! What are we eating?”

“Pork! Let’s go to an all-you-can-eat place!”

The staff cheered at the PD’s enthusiastic shout.

It was a scene that naturally made one smile, but Kang Se-hyun’s expression alone was stiff.

Then, with a very serious face, he said,

“No. I can’t go to such places.”

“Ah…”

At his statement, which ruthlessly killed the excited atmosphere, everyone hesitated for a moment. But then a voice much louder than before rang out.

“Today’s wrap party menu is Han-woo beef! I’ll cover everything from start to finish, so let’s shoot without any NGs today!”

As expected from a singer, his loud voice was different from the rest.

Everyone paused for a moment at the extraordinary volume, but as soon as they understood the content, they covered their mouths.

Soon, cheers erupted as they saw him raising his card like a hero who saved the nation.

Watching the faces full of excitement, as if they were going to toss him in the air, I laughed and thought.

‘So, when are we going to practice our lines…’

* * *

“Um… who are you?”

As I frowned and spoke, the person suspiciously standing in front of my house turned around.

The man had a very striking face.

‘Wow… he’ll be popular with the girls.’

Simply put, he had a handsome face that looked like he should be an idol.

Of course, it didn’t matter to me whether he was handsome or not.

“Ah, sorry. My… friend lives here.”

I briefly eyed his awkward attempt to continue talking and then understood by looking at his clothes.

He was wearing the same school uniform as Kim Hye-yoon.

“Only my family lives in this building. Are you Kim Hye-yoon’s friend?”

He scanned the name tag on my chest that read ‘Kim Ho-yoon’ and nodded.

“Should I call Kim Hye-yoon for you?” I asked, but he quickly shook his head.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Um… alright. But, hyung.”

The face in front of me flinched.

He seemed awkward at my friendly address, but I didn’t care at all.

“Even though I don’t mean to make strange assumptions, usually when a guy lingers around a girl’s house, it looks very suspicious.”

“Ah… I didn’t mean to. I made a mistake with Hye-yoon… I came without thinking to apologize.”

Even his embarrassed smile looked handsome.

Kim Hye-yoon is amazing. How did she catch someone like him?

It seemed like talking any further would just be about things I wasn’t interested in, so I was about to go into the house when a sudden thought crossed my mind.

“Hyung, did you and Kim Hye-yoon have a fight?”

“Uh… rather than a fight, I made a small mistake―.”

“Then you need to apologize. I’ll help you!”

“No, it’s okay―.”

“Don’t refuse! I’m really close with Kim Hye-yoon, no, with my sister. My word will solve everything!”

As I approached with a sly smile, the man took a step back.

I quickly scanned his name tag.

“Wow, Hyung’s name is Han Yeoreum! Even your name is cool.”

At my friendly compliment, his face turned into a subtle grimace.

“Thank you…”

“No need for formalities between us. Just call me ‘Ho-yoon’.”

Ignoring the “Who do you think you are?” expression on his handsome face, I continued to chatter and approach step by step, slowly cornering him like a beast driving its prey into a corner.

His face filled with confusion when he realized he had nowhere left to retreat.

“Hey, you’re too close.”

“Hyung. I’ll help you make up with my sister, so you help me with one thing. It’s simple.”

“What…”

I had no one to ask about how to approach Han-na, but this was an opportunity from the heavens.

Seeing his face, which was uncomfortably scrunched at the proximity, I smiled widely.

“Dating advice!”

Wait for me, Jang Han-na.

I’ll definitely marry you!

“Cut!”

At the PD’s words, I came to my senses.

A couple of blinks were enough to shake it off.

Manager An Jin-bae, who hurried over to cover me with an umbrella, looked surprised.

“You’re getting faster, actor. Really impressive.”

I lightly smiled at the familiar praise.

It was definitely easier to get out of character with this role, which was the shallowest among those I had played.

And Kang Se-hyun’s acting was good today as well.

It might have felt awkward to call it excellent, but it was definitely not lacking.

As soon as the shoot was over, we moved to the dinner venue.

Kang Se-hyun, who had been pouring drinks for each staff member, plopped down next to me.

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

“You’ve worked hard. Eat some meat.”

“I’m on a diet, so I can’t. You eat a lot.”

His gaze at the juicy meat looked a bit pitiful.

Instead of teasing him, I put down my chopsticks.

“Hyung. Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“How much do you practice acting? You’re so good at it.”

“You really need to cut back on the compliments. When you say stuff like that, it makes me feel oddly inadequate.”

I didn’t understand what my compliments had to do with his sense of inadequacy.

Seeing my confused expression, Kang Se-hyun waved his hand dismissively.

“I don’t practice for long. Including classes, about four hours a day? I’ve been doing it every day lately.”

That seemed a bit short. But I guess it’s normal.

Maybe I had a bias because he was an idol.

“Why are you asking all of a sudden? By the way, how much do you practice? Do you take private lessons?”

“I practice by myself. My practice time varies depending on whether I have school.”

“You’re on break now, right? How much do you practice these days?”

Well,

I never really kept track.

When I hesitated, Manager An Jin-bae, who was next to me, answered while placing meat on my plate.

“Yesterday, you practiced for 11 hours.”

“What?!”

A thunderous voice came from beside me, almost making my heart drop.

People who had been eating meat diligently all looked this way in surprise.

The person who shouted quickly stood up and apologized several times before sitting back down and urgently grabbing my shoulder.

“11 hours? What… you’re not even twelve yet?”

“I’m fourteen.”

“Anyway!”

He glanced at Manager An Jin-bae behind me and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“…Are you doing it because you want to?”

What is he talking about?

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

“Don’t exaggerate. If you say that, the person behind me will get more complaints. He’s already telling me to reduce my practice.”

“It’s not an exaggeration… What kid practices for 11 hours? Isn’t that child abuse?”

“You’re right. I’ve told him countless times―.”

“Hyung, eat this.”

I shut Manager An Jin-bae’s mouth by giving him some beef.

“My friend at school is a trainee at WB Entertainment, and he practices this much on weekends. Didn’t you, hyung?”

“Well… during special training, we practiced all day…”

See?

I shrugged my shoulders as I put the meat in my mouth, and Kang Se-hyun scratched his head with a confused expression.

“But we had classes and chatted with friends during breaks.”

“I don’t just practice one role. I switch between various characters.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

He looked frustrated, wanting to argue but not knowing what to say.

After a while, he sighed deeply.

“Sigh… never mind. I thought you were naturally talented, but you’re a hard worker. But don’t just practice, have some fun too. If you don’t play now, when will you?”

“Of course, I don’t only practice. I watch a lot of movies and dramas when I have time. It’s good for reference.”

“…You know that saying you’re not serious about acting doesn’t sound credible at all, right?”

Seeing his serious face, I chuckled.

Who else acts with such an ulterior motive like me?