The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 179

‘Mist didn’t feel this heavy before.’

Of course, Mist always appeared as a four-year-old when I held him, so comparing him to eight-year-old Han Ha-ram was inappropriate.

Still, I didn’t expect him to be this heavy.

“Jin-bae hyung.”

I called out to Jin-bae hyung with a calm expression as best as I could.

“…Ah, yes! Actor.”

Jin-bae hyung responded with an unusually flustered look.

For some reason, the people around who had been dazed snapped out of it.

They glanced at me while doing their tasks, which was a bit unsettling, but I got straight to the point.

“Can I stay in the car with Ha-ram for a bit?”

There must have been something on my face.

Right now, my arms felt numb, which was more urgent.

“Of course. Should I carry him to the car for you?”

Jin-bae hyung looked at Han Ha-ram in my arms and asked.

I almost nodded involuntarily.

To be honest, I desperately needed help.

However, as soon as Jin-bae hyung spoke, Han Ha-ram burrowed deeper into my arms.

I tightened my grip. Please, stay still…

“No, just open the car door for me.”

With Ha-ram like this, I couldn’t hand him over, so I just endured it.

I left the set holding Han Ha-ram.

‘Wow…’

I thought I parked nearby.

‘This is really crazy.’

Every step was a struggle.

My arms were so numb that I thought it might be better to just cut them off by the time I finally reached the car.

Jin-bae hyung quickly opened the car door, so fortunately, I didn’t need to cut my arms off.

“I’ll knock when the director returns. Please relax until then.”

“Thanks.”

I sat in the plush car seat and finally relaxed.

I vowed never to underestimate the weight of an eight-year-old again.

“You’re really heavy.”

“…Am I heavy?”

“Yes, you’ll grow tall.”

Han Ha-ram stayed quietly in my arms, unaware that my arms were about to fall off.

“Ha-ram.”

“Yes?”

“It’s okay now. It’s just the two of us.”

How long does he plan to stay like this?

I meant for him to get down without directly saying it, but maybe I was too indirect.

Instead of getting down, he burrowed deeper into my arms.

“(Thank you for calling out earlier… And for holding me now. You’re really kind and warm. It’s amazing. I’ve never met anyone like you. It’s like seeing an alien. Thank you so much. It feels like I’m dreaming.)”

Han Ha-ram whispered incessantly in English.

Even without responding, he kept mumbling to himself, seemingly still not in his right mind.

‘I need to calm him down first.’

I thought maybe stroking his hair might help like before, but it wasn’t easy.

Because of the white wig I was wearing for the shoot, every time I moved my hand, the wig got tangled.

“(Were you trying to touch my hair? Should I take off the wig??)”

His voice from below was filled with anticipation.

Sorry, but that’s not possible.

“If you do that, the stylists will have to redo it. Let’s take off the wig after the shoot.”

“…”

Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel Han Ha-ram’s disappointment.

I consoled him by patting his back instead.

‘Raising a kid is really no joke.’

I often thought Noh Bi-hyuk acted like a kid, but seeing a real child made the difference clear.

Bi-hyuk was mature. I felt a bit sorry.

I patted Han Ha-ram’s back for a long time.

While he rubbed his face against me, I thought.

‘How should I resolve this?’

Since I got involved, I needed to finish what I started.

I couldn’t just pat his back; I had to find a solution.

‘He lacks the basics.’

The acting I saw from Han Ha-ram earlier was the worst.

There was no way his skills would suddenly improve with just a few minutes of teaching.

Even if he improved a bit, he’d just be average…

‘But being average is better than being the worst.’

I pondered deeply before speaking.

“Ha-ram.”

“Am I heavy? Should I move aside?”

“No, it’s fine. I want to talk about your acting. Can I ask you a few questions?”

Han Ha-ram hesitated for a moment before nodding.

I spoke as gently as possible, fearing he might lose confidence.

“Did you find anything difficult while practicing acting?”

“Well… It wasn’t exactly difficult… Just a bit chaotic.”

Han Ha-ram cautiously started to speak, glancing at me.

“(Honestly, I still don’t understand the story. I don’t get why Horn reacts like that… The part where he talks with Kang Seok is especially confusing. I got the script yesterday and read it several times, but―)”

“Wait, you read the script yesterday?”

“…Yeah.”

You must be joking.

I barely managed to keep my expression from crumpling.

‘No wonder it was the worst.’

Giving a script to a child with no acting experience the day before the shoot. How does that make any sense?

Of course, Han Ha-ram didn’t have many scenes.

There were only scenes where the young Horn showed hostility towards the facility staff, met Kang Seok for the first time, and gradually warmed up to him.

At most, he had two lines.

‘You could move aside.’, ‘I’m not human.’ That was it.

With so few lines, it wasn’t a particularly difficult role.

Not that facial expressions are easy, of course.

But there’s a clear difference in difficulty between acting with and without lines.

Things like the intensity of speech, the height of the tongue, the trembling of the voice, the opening of the mouth, etc.

There were fewer things to worry about.

‘But it’s not a scene for a beginner to jump into right away.’

I wanted to look into the mind of the woman who was Ha-ram’s mother.

How foolish must she be to push him into this without thinking?

Not only did it affect the shoot, but the actor also wouldn’t enjoy it.

‘Han Ha-ram is the one who’s struggling.’

I almost clicked my tongue but held back because the kid was right in front of me.

At least now I knew why Han Ha-ram’s acting was terrible.

Now I just needed to find a solution.

‘The good thing is he’s not shy in front of the camera.’

Maybe because of his photo shoot experience, he didn’t seem awkward in front of the camera.

As Ha-ram said, he just didn’t understand the story at all.

‘Of course.’

If he didn’t understand why Horn said or did certain things, it would be impossible to know what expressions to make.

‘How should I handle this…’

While I was racking my brain, I heard a knock.

“Actor. They’re ready for the shoot.”

“Yes, I’ll be out.”

After answering Jin-bae hyung, I looked down.

Han Ha-ram looked sullen again as I asked him.

“Ha-ram, can you do me a favor?”

“Huh?”

Facing his puzzled expression, I made a resolution.

Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.

* * *

An Jin-bae waited patiently for the car door to open.

Maintaining a blank expression under the staff’s gazes, his mind was full of questions.

‘Does the actor like children?’

Since living with him, the actor visited the orphanage at least once a month.

An Jin-bae had accompanied him enough times to see the actor’s kind smiles towards the children countless times.

But he had never seen him like just now.

‘Han Ha-ram!’

The actor’s face clearly showed a distinct emotion anyone could notice.

‘It was unmistakable anger.’

One single emotion filled the actor’s face.

‘Were they acquainted?’ he wondered, but it didn’t seem likely.

He had heard from the staff that Han Ha-ram was cast just yesterday.

‘Wow, is he a nephew? Does that mean the originally cast kid was suddenly dropped?’

‘This industry is like that. But Han Ha-ram does have a better face than the original actor. He looks similar to Lee Yeon-jae.’

‘So what. He can’t act to save his life. Did you see PD Kang getting so pissed?’

‘It’s his own casting, so what can he do. But his acting is terrible. His face is nice, so we hoped it wouldn’t be the worst…’

Based on his memories, there was no point where Han Ha-ram and the actor would have crossed paths.

‘So they’re meeting for the first time today.’

But for a first meeting, the actor’s gaze at Han Ha-ram was deep.

An Jin-bae set aside various theories and shook his head.

‘He’s not someone I can easily understand.’

He just needed to focus on helping the actor live safely and act happily.

If the actor cared for Han Ha-ram, he would do the same.

While he organized his thoughts, the two came out of the car.

“Hyung, thank you for waiting.”

“No problem. Actor Han, are you okay now?”

“Yes…”

Han Ha-ram awkwardly replied, probably due to his large build.

Unlike when he entered the car, he was standing on his own, indicating he was feeling better.

An Jin-bae glanced at the actor, who was holding Han Ha-ram’s hand tightly.

“Hyung, I need to ask a favor from the PD

.”

Since he had already anticipated this, he responded right away.

“Yes. I already informed him. He’ll be waiting by the trailer.”

“Thank you.”

The actor smiled at him.

In his dark eyes, there was a sense of trust as if looking at a reliable ally.

An Jin-bae liked that very much.

After exchanging a few words with the PD, the actor returned to the set.

The PD who returned with him loudly announced to the staff.

“Attention everyone! To help Ha-ram get the hang of it, Yeon-jae will act out the scene. We’ll record it like an actual shoot for behind-the-scenes. Everyone, get moving!”

As expected.

An Jin-bae nodded slightly.

‘He’s so kind.’

Could someone be so kind to a stranger?

He felt proud to serve such a remarkable person but also felt a pang of bitterness.

A person’s kindness brought peace to those around them, and warmth spread with it.

It was a blessing to the world, but showing kindness required caring and paying attention to others.

In other words, it inevitably took a toll on oneself. But…

‘The actor will definitely do well.’

His actor would surely find a way.

Being wise, he would find a way to be kind not only to others but also to himself.

Until that day came, he just needed to do his part silently.

* * *

“Ha-ram, think of it just like a photo shoot. Just like you posed by looking at references, copy my acting. Got it?”

His voice was kind, but Han Ha-ram was still scared.

So, he spoke with a trembling voice.

“…Yeon-jae, what if I mess up?”

Despite all the help, he was afraid of messing up.

He didn’t even think about getting scolded by his mom.

He was just terrified of disappointing the person who had shown him kindness.

Having tasted kindness for the first time, it scared him and made him greedy for more.

Han Ha-ram swallowed his anxiety, but the voice that responded was full of certainty.

“Then have confidence.”

“…”

“(I know it’s burdensome. But we’re already here. The fastest way to get rid of your burden is to finish the shoot properly.)”

His seemingly indifferent dark eyes met Han Ha-ram’s kindly.

“(If we do it together, it’s possible. At least I think so, what about you?)”

“(…)”

“(Can you do that for me?)”

After a brief hesitation, Han Ha-ram nodded.

“(Yes. I’ll try. I’ll really do my best!)”

It was amazing. The more he nodded and spoke, the more confident he felt.

‘Lee Yeon-jae’ smiled warmly and stepped onto the set to demonstrate.

“Ready—Action!”

And as soon as the red light on the camera turned on, ‘Lee Yeon-jae’ disappeared.

The acting he saw was so unbelievable that as the shooting repeated, Han Ha-ram’s performance became more stable.

It was a few hours later that Han Ha-ram learned the person he spent the whole day with, ‘Lee Yeon-jae,’ was the youngest actor to win the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival.