The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 10

Lee Jung-hyun, who suited the epithet “an actor you can trust,” transformed into the worn-out and jaded “Joo-won” in an instant.

As he trudged over, picked up the ball on the bench, and flopped down, one could feel the exhaustion.

Although he wanted his younger sister to be able to do everything she desired, he hadn’t wished for her to insist on doing something to this extent.

He’d told her several times that it wasn’t a matter a newly appointed teacher could handle, but she didn’t listen at all.

It was the first fight since their parents passed away, and Joo-won let out a deep, long sigh.

“Sir! Is that ball yours?”

At that moment, a child wearing a yellow hat approached Joo-won and spoke to him.

Though not particularly small in stature, the boy was hard to see as anything but a child because of his bright smile.

Especially since he pronounced ‘yo’ as ‘yeo,’ making him seem even younger.

“No.”

Joo-won replied without even looking at the boy, his voice clearly indicating his irritation.

“Then can I use it for a moment? I’ll put it back!”

But the boy was undeterred.

He smiled even more, his fluttering eyelashes drawing attention.

“Hey, stop bothering me and go away.”

Excellent diction! Great expression!

Joo-won’s face turned fierce, and the boy stepped back, his eyes widening in fear.

Now, the child actor would exit the camera angle, and Joo-won would sigh deeply, signaling the end.

Kim Johan smiled contentedly as he watched the camera.

The combination of Joo-won, who seemed like he was under dark clouds, and the bright child was better than he had expected.

The child actor, who claimed he had never acted before, looked even more natural than the real actors. Most importantly, he wasn’t greedy.

‘I’m glad I didn’t cast an actor.’

Kim Johan insisted on on-site casting because he wanted the extras to fulfill their roles sincerely.

Actors are often greedy for screen time. Whether adults or children, if they are actors, it’s inevitable.

If you give actors a couple of lines, they think it’s an opportunity to break through their limits and show their capabilities, which is absurd and arrogant.

Kim Johan hated seeing them inject profound interpretations into short lines, so he insisted on casting on-site until the end.

‘He must be quite fearless.’

According to the staff who introduced the child actor, he had a very bright and lively personality.

Maybe that’s why he seemed to be acting according to his personality rather than performing a role.

As if there was something more important—his boldness in not caring about how he appeared on camera was extraordinary.

Kim Johan was thinking about how he could soon call cut with a satisfied smile.

“Petty….”

Until the extra threw in an ad-lib.

* * *

Oh, so that’s real acting.

I watched in amazement as actor Lee Jung-hyun’s expression changed the moment the camera started rolling.

His gentle eyes, which seemed like they wouldn’t know how to get angry, turned fierce in an instant, and his tightly furrowed brows and dragging steps clearly conveyed his displeasure.

Actor Lee Jung-hyun, transformed into Joo-won, trudged toward the bench.

Once Joo-won sat on the bench and took a deep breath, I had to swiftly make my entrance.

While focusing on timing my entrance, I kept repeating the words I had been mumbling to myself.

‘I am Kim Su-han, I am Kim Su-han.’

Kim Su-han was my partner for the last semester of fifth grade and the one who asked me to go to the PC room together on the day of the closing ceremony.

To put it nicely, he was lively, but he could also seem a bit frivolous.

Kim Su-han was always smiling, but unlike Park Ha-eun, he used his facial muscles more sensitively.

While Park Ha-eun had a neat and straight smile, Kim Su-han’s smile felt loose yet sharp.

I once stared at him intently, curious about where that subtle sensitivity came from, and it was most pronounced when he talked about his older brother.

‘Yesterday, my brother teased me with the game console again, and I was so annoyed I almost died.’

‘All older brothers are like that. I also got beaten up a lot when I asked to borrow the PlayStation yesterday.’

‘Doesn’t it really annoy you? Even though he saved his allowance to buy it, he never lends it to me… like a petty person.’

To concentrate on my thoughts, I recalled every aspect of Kim Su-han that I could remember.

Kim Su-han, annoyed because his brother wouldn’t lend him the game console, Kim Su-han, smiling even when getting scolded for not doing his homework, and Kim Su-han, wriggling in his seat before the bell rang so he could dash to the PC room.

I mentally revisited all these images before entering the designated spot.

“Sir! Is that ball yours?”

By the time I uttered these words, I had already stopped thinking.

Just a moment ago, it felt like I had been deeply immersed in something, but now, I was standing there as Kim Su-han.

“No.”

“Then can I use it for a moment? I’ll put it back!”

The cold wind brushing against my cheeks made me slightly irritated.

I had forgotten to bring out the ball, and I was sure that I wouldn’t come back out if I went home like this.

I wished he would give it to me quickly… The man holding the ball seemed to be in a terribly bad mood for some reason.

A nervous laugh escaped me, trying to lighten the mood in front of the intimidating man.

“Hey, stop bothering me and get lost.”

The man ignored my laughter and instead got angrier.

His menacing demeanor made me step back involuntarily, feeling a bit embarrassed as I turned away.

Darn, I might as well just go home. There’s nothing to do at home anyway.

My brother would hog the game console again. What’s so hard about lending it to me?

“Petty….”

Those words slipped out unintentionally.

The man couldn’t just let it slide, thinking I was just a thoughtless kid, and suddenly raised his voice.

“Petty? Petty?? What did you just say, you little brat?”

I flinched at his bellow. The man looked extremely upset and angry.

Before I could even open my mouth, the man spewed out words in a heated tone.

“You’re just as much of a brat as my sister! Do you think I’d give you this ball, which isn’t even mine, just to deal with the hassle if something went wrong?!”

“…….”

“You and my sister are just alike! Acting all high and mighty without taking any responsibility, and calling me petty?Petty??”

The man fumed for a while and then slightly calmed down when he got no reaction from me.

Watching him, I couldn’t help but blurt out.

“Don’t you lend your game console to your sister either?”

“What?”

“My brother always tells me to buzz off, saying I’m annoying, and never lets me borrow the game console. So petty… he always keeps the good stuff to himself.”

The man now stared at me in disbelief.

It was the first time I had bad-mouthed my brother to a stranger, and it felt slightly thrilling.

“Don’t you keep all the good stuff for yourself too?”

“Hey, you… just go away, will you? You talk too much.”

Seriously, he had talked way more, and now he was acting all annoyed.

I puffed my cheeks in defiance and continued.

“When I grow up, I’ll buy a game console better than my brother’s with my own money. And I won’t lend it to him.”

“Do whatever you want.”

“You should lend your game console to your brother before it’s too late. You’ll regret it if you wait too long.”

At my words, the man made a strange face, as if he’d never seen someone like me before.

Even so, he had a peculiar expression that was hard to describe but strangely familiar.

“Cut!”

The voice snapped me back to reality.

I turned my head to see people with stunned expressions.

Among them, the man with the widest-open mouth was… the PD.

Oh right, this was a drama shoot.

My rationality returned at last.

I had gone too far. I had gotten too carried away.

I immediately bowed my head and apologized.

“I’m sorry—”

“I got chills! PD, did you see that? Wow, you really should be an actor!”

Cutting me off, actor Lee Jung-hyun excitedly approached, asking if I’d really never acted before, and how I could ad-lib so naturally, pulling my cheeks in playful admiration.

The staff, smiling warmly, watched us as the PD approached with a stern expression.

“Did you… read the script?”

“What?”

“The script! Did you see it before you said that?”

Not knowing how to respond, the photographer who introduced me rushed over.

They said I had been given the script, but only the page related to this scene. The PD, still in disbelief, kept glancing between me and the air.

Lee Jung-hyun, ignoring the PD, lifted me up, calling me a genius actor.

“Um, sir.”

“Call me hyung! I told you to call me hyung.”

“Oh, yes. Hyung… could you put me down now?”

Not knowing what to do in a position I’d never been in before, I bowed my head.

The hand lifting me by the waist felt unfamiliar.

It held me firmly, so I didn’t feel insecure, but it felt strange.

Then actor Lee Jung-hyun ruffled my hair, saying my embarrassment was cute.

“PD, the ad-lib was great, right? It connects well with the previous scene where he fights with his sister. I think it works well as is.”

“No. Let’s go again.”

As actor Lee Jung-hyun was about to show a disappointed expression, the PD suddenly lifted his head.

His piercing gaze was fixed on me.

“We’ll keep the lines, but reset the positions. In the middle, child actor, you—”

“PD, his name is Yeon-jae, Yeon-jae.”

“Oh, yes. Yeon-jae, move to the side and deliver the remaining lines, and Joo-won, look astonished. Can you do it like before, Yeon-jae?”

So, I squeezed onto the bench in the middle, delivered the remaining lines, and the shoot ended with Joo-won looking at me in a bewildered yet subtle manner.

Unlike the previous shoot, which focused solely on actor Lee Jung-hyun, this time we cut in between and captured various angles.

There were scenes where I had to speak directly to the camera, but I was so focused on immersing myself in Kim Su-han’s character that I had no time to feel pressured.

Except for the part where actor Lee Jung-hyun lifted me up again later, saying we should definitely act together, the shoot went smoothly.

* * *

“Test success~! Amazing! Haha!”

“Okay, now put me down….”

My voice, filled with exhaustion, trailed off.

Mist, transformed back into actor Lee Jung-hyun, cheerfully tossed me in the air. Stop it already, you jerk.

“Every day has been so fun since I met you! How can this be?! You’re the best!”

The test was a huge success.

The moment I thought and acted like Kim Su-han, the misfortune factors supposedly fell off.

Of course, they reattached as soon as the shoot ended, but the scheduled misfortunes didn’t occur because the flow got disrupted by the brief separation.

“What are you going to do from now on? How about pretending to be a different person every day?”

“I don’t know. It’s not that simple.”

Pretending to be someone else was much more exhausting than it seemed.

“Besides, pretending to be someone else in everyday life, not in front of the camera, has its limits.”

“Really? I think it’d be fun!”

“Even if it’s fun for you, the director won’t find it amusing.”

Was there no way to avoid misfortune without people around me finding it strange?

‘I wish I had one more chance….’

I leaned back in the chair Mist had created and drifted into thought.

And that chance came unexpectedly the next day.