The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 166

‘Monster.’

After a four-hour meeting, Team Leader Choi Eun-seok defined Lee Yeon-jae that way.

Lee Yeon-jae was not a talent that one could simply decide to bring into their team.

He was just a born genius.

‘I was worried for nothing.’

Team Leader Choi clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘That’ was not something he could handle.

For four hours, Lee Yeon-jae had almost talked by himself, but there was no sign of fatigue on his young face.

‘Even his stamina seems good. Crazy.’

It felt like facing something non-human.

Team Leader Choi naturally covered his goosebump-ridden arms and smiled.

“Thank you for your hard work today, actor. I will reflect on what you said and deliver the new proposal. Thank you for signing with us.”

“Yes. See you next time. Please get home safely.”

The boy with the clean face even had neat parting words.

Team Leader Choi tried to make small talk, asking if he was going home to rest now.

But the reply he got was surprising.

“Pardon? No. I have to go practice.”

“…Practice what?”

Lee Yeon-jae looked at him with a face that seemed to question why such a thing would be asked of an actor.

“Acting practice.”

“…”

Sure, you be an actor. Be an actor for life.

Team Leader Choi respectfully saw off the car Lee Yeon-jae was in without raising his head until it left.

He paid his respects to the fact that a genius born with talent in all fields loved only acting.

* * *

A few days after the preliminary meeting, I received the final proposal from Team Leader Choi and set the filming date.

On the day of the shoot, I woke up early in the morning and got into the car.

Today was finally the day I was going to shoot my second commercial.

“Actor, have you fastened your seatbelt?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’ll start. It will take about an hour. Get some sleep.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Pardon?”

A voice full of surprise cracked.

I met the bewildered gaze through the rearview mirror.

I held back laughter at Jin-bae hyung’s bewildered expression.

“They say it’s not polite to sleep next to the driver. It’s supposed to be good manners.”

“…What book have you been reading this time, actor?”

Realizing I was joking, his tense face relaxed.

“It’s polite not to sleep if you’re in the passenger seat, but it doesn’t apply to the back seat. So please get some sleep.”

Responding gently to his coaxing voice, I closed my eyes, but sleep did not come.

‘I want to get to the filming location soon.’

I had been feeling restless for a few days.

I wondered why, but the more I had meetings with Team Leader Choi, the more excited I became.

It was only when I saw my words turned into text and put into the proposal that I realized.

The feeling I was experiencing was ‘anticipation.’

‘Have they prepared everything as I requested?’

Every time I said something, Team Leader Choi nodded, saying it was correct, and even included me in meetings with the planning team.

Of course, I was paid for my participation in the planning… but honestly, I didn’t care about the money. It was too fun.

‘From the start, the Myung-woo brand itself has an ambiguous position. It’s a benevolent company that donates a lot, but the products they sell are all expensive.’

‘Yes. You’re right, actor.’

‘I’ve said the same thing several times―. Anyway, if we’re going to shoot a commercial, we should do it properly. We need to clarify the purpose of the commercial and then rewrite the story.’

Myung-woo Company replied that they had no intention of lowering the bed price.

In other words, we had to create an advertisement that maintained the image of a ‘good and kind company’ while selling expensive beds.

To do that, I had to appropriately use my image and benefit from it too.

During the preparation period, it was a constant struggle that felt like my head was burning.

Despite that, it was fun.

‘I want to shoot quickly.’

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel my pulse pounding around my neck.

Previously, it felt like I was just dipping my toes into a prepared filming set, but now the feeling was completely different.

“Actor, we’ve arrived. Wow, it’s really impressive.”

“…Yes, it is.”

Getting out of the car and quietly looking around, I saw that the filming set was filled with everything I had requested, from the background to the props.

My whole body tingled.

It felt similar to the muscle pain you get after over-exercising the day before.

‘In a way, it’s the same as muscle pain.’

Rather than just dipping my toes, I had filled the water container myself.

This place was the set I had created.

“…”

My fingertips tingled.

The tingling in my chest didn’t stop there, and it eventually reached my lips, making them curl into a smile.

I felt alive.

* * *

Kim Min-hyuk, who effortlessly acquired the position of ‘Director of Myung-woo Company’ through his bloodline.

“Director, they say the shoot is about to start.”

“Oh, really? Just a moment.”

Kim Min-hyuk hurriedly got up from the sofa at the secretary’s words from beyond the door.

After checking in the mirror to ensure his hair hadn’t gotten messy while he was lying down, he smiled in satisfaction.

‘As expected, I’m handsome.’

The man nodding in the mirror was fantastic. He oozed style.

After spending quite some time in front of the mirror acting out various scenes, he cleared his throat and opened the door.

“Ahem, let’s go.”

“Yes, Director.”

The secretary bowed respectfully.

Led by the secretary, Kim Min-hyuk gracefully stepped into the elevator.

Kim Min-hyuk was on his way to the set of the new bed commercial launched by Myung-woo Company.

‘Having celebrity connections isn’t bad.’

The celebrity for this commercial was the hot topic Lee Yeon-jae.

A friend had said it was all the rage these days, so he reluctantly watched the movie ‘Twins,’ and the lead actor had a familiar face.

For days, he muttered to himself, wondering where he had seen the actor before, until the secretary pointed it out.

It was the kid he had met at the orphanage a few days after securing the director position.

The shabby kid he had seen years ago was now an actor attracting worldwide attention.

‘He really hit the jackpot in life.’

Though he didn’t want to admit it, Lee Yeon-jae was pretty decent-looking.

‘Of course, he’s not as handsome as me.’

Feeling a bit unsettled, Kim Min-hyuk stubbornly held onto his thoughts.

‘In the end, being handsome makes life easier.’

Just like Lee Yeon-jae and himself, it was a world where being handsome made living easier.

Thinking he should become friends with another handsome person, he got off the elevator.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the set and couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Wow… What is all this…?”

The filming site was incredibly spacious.

No, spacious was an understatement; it was incredibly long.

A single set filled that long filming site.

“What is that?”

“It’s a set made specifically for this commercial. For a one-take shoot―.”

“What’s a one-take?”

“…It’s a filming technique where you shoot everything in one go without cuts. When I reported about the costs the other day, Director―.”

“Oh, right. So all the expenses were because of this.”

Kim Min-hyuk nodded in realization.

‘Geez, stop interrupting me.’

The secretary gritted his teeth and smiled faintly.

Unaware that his secretary was suppressing homicidal urges, Kim Min-hyuk looked around.

The set, filled with various complex setups, was evidently on a large scale.

‘No wonder it costs so much.’

He had wondered why it was so expensive to shoot a commercial, but now he understood.

There were even a lot of people.

From staff members for the shoot to extras in various costumes.

‘Ugh, this is so chaotic.’

He hated crowded places except for clubs.

Kim Min-hyuk thought about getting Lee Yeon-jae’s number and escaping as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to search for long.

Among the many people, there was someone shining.

Kim Min-hyuk was about to approach when he hesitated.

‘…Is that really the kid I saw years ago?’

Kim Min-hyuk was confused.

Where was the small kid who barely reached his chest?

In just a few years, the boy who barely reached his chest had grown tall enough to reach his shoulders.

The boy was warmly smiling and chatting with the people around him.

‘It’s so cool! My dream is to work for a company when I grow up.’

‘Pfft, what kind of dream is that?’

He vaguely remembered the voice, which had been youthful and childish. But now…

“Hello, Director. I’m actor Lee Yeon-jae.”

“…Yes. Hello.”

The boy approached and greeted him first.

Kim Min-hyuk, with a dazed look, barely managed to respond, and Lee Yeon-jae smiled softly.

“Do you remember meeting at the Morin Orphanage about three years ago? You might not remember because you were very busy…”

“Oh, I remember. That’s why I’m here.”

“It’s an honor. Please feel free to speak comfortably, Director.”

“Yes, uh, sure…”

Kim Min-hyuk awkwardly replied.

Though

his voice was still not fully that of an adult man, it carried a maturity that made it seem different from what he had heard back then.

‘What is this feeling?’

Flustered, Kim Min-hyuk couldn’t respond properly to Lee Yeon-jae’s words.

Yet, Lee Yeon-jae didn’t lose his smile and continued the soft conversation.

The secretary watching them thought to himself.

‘He’s quite the sly one.’

The secretary also remembered clearly, having attended the Morin Orphanage visit.

The boy who had met Kim Min-hyuk back then had been very bright. And clever too.

The boy who had laughed while drinking hot chocolate was gone, replaced by this young man with a gentle smile.

‘He outshines Kim Min-hyuk, even in full formal attire.’

Wearing a double suit and having his hair done at a salon in the morning, Kim Min-hyuk was less dazzling than Lee Yeon-jae in a simple white T-shirt.

And it seemed Kim Min-hyuk was aware of it, as his expression darkened.

‘I need to step in.’

Though Kim Min-hyuk was a despicable person, he was also the one who paid the secretary’s salary.

The secretary, feeling obliged to protect his paycheck, timed his intervention.

“Director, you need to move on to your next schedule.”

“Oh, I’ve been holding up a busy person. It was nice meeting you again.”

“No, let’s meet again. Please take care of the commercial today.”

Kim Min-hyuk, smiling awkwardly, naturally stepped back.

Lee Yeon-jae returned to his position at his manager’s call.

‘Tsk, I was curious about the shoot.’

However, staying here when the secretary had mentioned another schedule would have looked bad.

Dragging his feet, Kim Min-hyuk tried to delay leaving as much as possible.

“Alright! Let’s start shooting! Think of it as a practice run, so don’t feel too pressured.”

Lucky.

Suppressing the urge to smile, Kim Min-hyuk spoke calmly to the secretary.

“The schedule isn’t urgent, so let’s watch the first shoot.”

“Yes, Director.”

Kim Min-hyuk took a seat where he wouldn’t be noticed by others and smiled.

‘In a way, isn’t this kid’s success partly thanks to me?’

Honestly, if he hadn’t visited the orphanage, the photographer wouldn’t have gone either, and Lee Yeon-jae wouldn’t have been scouted.

Kim Min-hyuk was thinking, ‘I should write this in my autobiography later,’ when he heard the staff shout.

“Shooting starts. One, two― action!”

The camera’s red light turned on at the staff’s cry.

Lee Yeon-jae, who had his eyes closed, opened them simultaneously.

‘…What is this?’

Kim Min-hyuk, forgetting to manage his expression, opened his mouth.

The kid he had seen at the orphanage and the actor Lee Yeon-jae he had just greeted were nowhere to be found.

Someone he didn’t know stood there.