The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 11

The next morning, I heard that the drama PD had called.

The PD, who said he would come without any prior notice, really came to the orphanage in the afternoon.

He came with a man with a sharp impression, who introduced himself as the main writer.

“The PD showed me the scenes featuring Yeon-jae, and I was very impressed.”

“Thank you. Please feel free to speak comfortably.”

“No, I usually can’t speak comfortably to actors.”

The writer awkwardly folded his eyes into a smile, seemingly wanting to be kind to me.

It was easy to tell he usually didn’t smile like that because the muscles around his slightly folded eyes were trembling pitifully.

“Ah… I’m not an actor, though.”

“Come on, you are! You shot such an incredible scene yesterday. No matter how natural your personality is, it’s not easy to stay calm in front of the camera.”

I felt guilty about being called an actor and tried to argue, but the PD quickly waved his hand and grinned.

“Oh, this coffee is good! Thank you, teacher. But is there something wrong? You were so cheerful yesterday, but today you’re unusually quiet.”

The PD gulped down the coffee and looked at me with a worried face.

I couldn’t answer for a moment because I was distracted by the coffee droplets hanging from his mustache, but Si-hyun, who was next to me, answered instead.

“Oh, Yeon-jae is usually very quiet. Among our children, he’s the most mature and calm.”

“Ah, I see~.”

From his kind smile, I could sense he was thinking, ‘Yeah, teachers always say that.’

Si-hyun seemed to sense it too and continued speaking with a puzzled face, but the PD’s expression gradually became strange.

An enthusiastic conversation took place next to me, but I couldn’t hear the details.

I couldn’t focus on anything else because of the writer who had been staring at me intently from the beginning.

The familiar, burdensome gaze reminded me of Mist as soon as I met the slightly frenzied eyes.

“By any chance, how did you come up with the line ‘Petty’?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s really fascinating. The PD said it was ad-libbed yesterday, but I couldn’t believe it.”

Apparently, there was a scene where the younger sister shouted at Joo-won, “Why are you being so petty?!”

After their parents’ accident, Joo-won, who had been close to his sister, was shocked by her words and ran out to the park.

That’s why they liked my line so much, saying it didn’t feel unnatural at all and rather brought the scene to life.

“They decided to keep every scene you were in yesterday without cutting any.”

“That’s good to hear.”

When I added that I was thankful, the writer seemed a bit flustered, not expecting such a reaction.

At that moment, the PD, who had been quietly talking with Si-hyun for a long time, made a serious face.

“Could we film one more time?”

“Pardon?”

I opened my eyes wide at the completely unexpected suggestion.

When I didn’t answer right away, his face turned desperate.

“After watching yesterday’s footage, I thought of some amazing scenes. But we really need you. There aren’t any difficult scenes, just for one day! We only need to shoot a few more scenes… Could you do it?”

His eyes looked as if he would beg if I said no.

Although I felt a bit reluctant, I agreed.

After all, I thought it would be good to have more opportunities.

“Ha! Thank you so much! We’ll shoot two days from now. I’ll send the script this evening. There’s nothing special to prepare. Ah! And since we’re shooting at night, you need to come with a guardian. The location is―”

As soon as I said okay, the PD quickly spat out the shooting date and location as if he had been waiting.

His words were a bit fast, but there was nothing difficult to understand.

After seeing off the PD and the writer, I was about to return to my room to get ready when someone suddenly called me from behind.

“Yeon-jae.”

It was Teacher Lee Si-hyun.

“Yes?”

“…Are you okay with the shoot? Considering the location and everything.”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Teacher Lee Si-hyun had a worried expression.

I couldn’t tell what was bothering her, but I couldn’t ask further.

She would feel awkward if I got closer.

“Come to think of it, you’ve been talking to me a lot lately.”

To be precise, she started talking to me more after the director of Myung-woo Enterprises visited.

Even though she still seemed awkward around me, she consistently initiated conversations. Why?

For the past few years, we had hardly talked, but now it felt like those times never existed.

“Then go in and rest.”

“Yes. You rest too, teacher.”

I bowed and turned around.

The gaze following the back of my head remained until I turned the corner.

Ugh, I wonder what she’s thinking.

—

At the same time, Lee Si-hyun was feeling like she wanted to die.

“Sigh….”

“Ms. Lee, why are you sighing like that? Is something wrong?”

“It’s just that I feel pathetic….”

The head of the orphanage, who heard her muttering, gave a bitter smile and patted Lee Si-hyun on the back.

“Take it slow and approach again. You weren’t planning on doing it for just a day or two anyway.”

“Sigh. Yes! I should!”

Lee Si-hyun took a short breath and exclaimed vigorously.

The reason Lee Si-hyun and the director started talking about Yeon-jae again was due to the visit of the director from Myung-woo Enterprises.

When asked to take a photo, Yeon-jae had answered with a smile.

“Even Sang-hoon is lively and cute… Well, there won’t be any unexpected accidents.”

The child wore a faint smile that was unusual for his age.

Although he spoke indirectly, everyone in the room understood the implied meaning.

“Where Yeon-jae is, problems arise.”

Four years ago, they would have comforted him without hesitation, wondering why he thought that way.

However, both the director and Si-hyun hesitated. A brief silence soon followed.

After sending Yeon-jae away, the director let out a sigh he had been holding in.

Si-hyun, looking dazed, mumbled, “Do you think he remembers?”

Probably, the director responded in a low voice.

If it were Yeon-jae, he might remember events from much longer than four years ago. He was an incredibly smart kid.

He was a child who read so many books that it was difficult to describe with the word “voracious.”

There was a time when people around him were worried about his obsession with books.

Back then, it was insane. Yeon-jae read books as if he were possessed.

It didn’t seem like he was reading for fun; it felt like a compulsion.

It looked like a desperate struggle.

As if he were searching for answers―.

“Director! Do you know where Yeon-jae oppa is?”

A girl who had recently joined approached the director, who was lost in thought.

“Huh? He should be in his room, right?”

“Um… I have a paper-folding assignment… Would it be okay if I asked Yeon-jae oppa for help?”

It was very difficult not to laugh at the child blushing with embarrassment.

The director held back his laughter and told her to go ahead and ask.

Seeing the child’s face brighten up and run off, Si-hyun mumbled absentmindedly.

“…He’s really changed a lot.”

“Indeed.”

He had changed. Lee Yeon-jae had changed.

The number of accidents occurring around him had significantly decreased, and their severity was noticeably different from before.

He still had a blank expression when reading a book or staying still, but it was different from before.

The sharpness that had subtly shown before had dulled, and he seemed strangely more relaxed.

The children were the first to keenly notice this change.

The teachers were stunned to see Sang-hoon and some other kids, who attended the same school, hesitantly talk to him.

Yeon-jae responded kindly, albeit a bit awkwardly, which created an unusual atmosphere that drew the kids’ attention even more.

Sometimes, Yeon-jae would stare at a child without reason, only to save them just before they got seriously hurt or get himself injured in their place.

The children who had previously treated him as invisible now lingered around, wanting to befriend him.

But Yeon-jae never went beyond conversations.

He spoke warmly but always kept a certain distance.

The kids interpreted this unallowed distance as “specialness,” and their affection for him grew day by day.

“Director, can I accompany Yeon-jae to the shoot this time?”

“Will you be okay?”

“Of course, I will. That time… I really misunderstood.”

The director quietly nodded at Si-hyun, who was pretending to be more cheerful.

“Then go carefully. Take good care of Yeon-jae.”

“Don’t worry.”

“How can I not worry? Especially considering the location….”

“…”

Both of them sighed at the same time.

* * *

Two days later, as soon as I arrived at the filming location, someone called out to me loudly.

“Yeon-jae!”

“Hello, hyung.”

Actor Lee Jung-hyun, dressed in mourning clothes, approached with a bright smile.

At the same time, I heard Si-hyun gasp next to me.

“I’m so glad to see you again. Oh, hello. I’m Lee Jung-hyun.”

“Of course, I know! I’m Lee Si-hyun, Yeon-jae’s teacher.”

“I heard before. Yeon-jae said you’re a huge fan of mine, haha.”

“Oh my, did Yeon-jae say that?”

Si-hyun looked at me with surprised eyes, and I awkwardly smiled, having nothing to say.

When I had asked for an autograph last time, Lee Jung-hyun had asked, “Is it for your teachers? Do you get along well with your school teachers?”

I replied that it was for the orphanage teachers, to which he casually laughed and said, “Really?”

However, I sensed his surprise in the slight twitch of his lips, so I shared various stories, including about Si-hyun, to reassure him.

“Thank you for liking me. And thanks for bringing him today.”

“Oh, no. Many teachers wanted to come, but I won.”

Si-hyun smiled proudly.

I heard yesterday that Si-hyun had won the rock-paper-scissors game, so I thought there would be another teacher.

The director wouldn’t just leave it like that.

However, the director just told me to be careful and patted my head.

It was the first time in four years that the director had patted my head.

“Yeon-jae, shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Smiling, I entered the funeral hall with actor Lee Jung-hyun, who had extended his hand.

We started filming according to the script I had received the day before.

This time, I thought of Kim Soo-han, but given the location, it wasn’t easy to smile brightly.

Behaving to match the gloomy atmosphere, I ended up delivering my lines in my natural character in the final scene.

But the PD liked it very much.

Instead of suggesting a retake, he kept saying how great it was with a gleam in his eyes… Well, if the PD said it was good, it must be good.

Unlike me, who just imitated others, Lee Jung-hyun’s acting was truly superb.

He expressed the emptiness of his sister’s death with slightly parted lips and portrayed the misery of being left alone with his eyes.

He was a completely different person from the rough image he had shown in the previous shoot.

Watching him, I realized I shouldn’t say I was pretending to be someone else when acting.

“Yeon-jae… you really act well! Oh my. I was really surprised.”

As soon as my shoot ended, Si-hyun approached me with a surprised face.

I smiled awkwardly, hoping a real actor didn’t hear this.

The embarrassment doubled when Lee Jung-hyun ran over from behind and lifted me up.

“Wow, our genius actor! What should I do? Since when did you act so well?”

“My feet… aren’t touching the ground.”

“You want to get down? If you say, ‘Hyung, please put me down,’ I’ll put you down!”

“…Hyung, please put me down.”

When I answered weakly, Lee Jung-hyun put me down and laughed for a long time.

I was really taken aback because it was the first time someone had played with me like this since Mist.

He seemed to treat me kindly last time, but is this his real personality?

“Jung-hyun, stop bothering the kid and go fix your makeup.”

“Does it look like I’m bothering him? I’m showing him how cute I find him.”

“Look at his face and then talk, you fool.”

Bending over to see my face at the manager’s words, Lee Jung-hyun burst out laughing.

As he hugged me tightly and laughed loudly, I saw someone approaching through his arms.

It was the PD, who was filming the making-of footage.