The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 189

“Bi-hyuk, eat some more of this.”

“I’ve eaten a lot.”

A lot? Yeah, right.

“You call eating three pieces a lot?”

“……”

I couldn’t hide my disbelief.

As I stared at him intently, Noh Bi-hyuk avoided my gaze.

The silence was broken by Space Choi In-joon, the singer.

“Bambi, give him a break. Before debuting, there’s a lot of pressure from above about weight.”

“Where does he have any weight to lose?”

I immediately retorted, but both Noh Bi-hyuk and Choi In-joon shook their heads simultaneously.

They looked exhausted, shaking their heads, saying it wasn’t easy surviving as an idol.

“Then at least you should eat, hyung.”

“I can’t. I’m preparing for a comeback soon.”

Seriously, then why did we meet at a restaurant?

I didn’t understand, but seeing their happy faces, I held back my criticism.

It had been a while since I met Choi In-joon, and he had spent an hour talking about a live broadcast from last week as soon as we met.

If I were alone, I would have just let him talk, but since Bi-hyuk was there too, I tried to intervene….

‘Senior, did you see this guy sing “Weather” at the end? He wouldn’t have had any songs to sing without me. He said it was his first time going to karaoke with me.’

‘Wow, really? Thanks.’

And he made things worse.

Noh Bi-hyuk looked as proud as if he had established a nation, while Choi In-joon seemed equally dumbfounded.

Thanking him with all kinds of gratitude fit for a national hero, the two of them kept talking about me for a long time.

‘I set this meeting to help Bi-hyuk with his debut.’

I arranged this meeting because I heard Choi In-joon debuted when he was in middle school.

But it seemed like we would part ways only talking about me.

Whenever I tried to steer the conversation towards debut tips, it would somehow circle back to me.

“I cried so much watching Kim Ho-yoon cry at the end.”

“No, if we start talking about ‘Goodbye, My Summer’… we won’t be able to leave today.”

“I have plenty of time. Can I guess your favorite scene, senior? It’s the scene where Kim Ho-yoon cries, right?”

“Wow, how did you know?! Didn’t Ho-yoon cry so beautifully? The camera director captured our Bambi so well beside him—”

Please stop talking about me.

I was mortified.

The two of them, eyes gleaming, chatting away, seemed to get along well.

It wasn’t an unpleasant sight.

But this wasn’t right.

“Our Bambi, when I see your posts on the fan cafe, I wonder when you grew up to write like this.”

“…Sigh, hyung. I’ll be sixteen soon.”

The over-the-top affection was overwhelming.

I wasn’t so foolish as to seek help from Noh Bi-hyuk, who was chuckling beside me.

Determined to change the subject, I looked at Noh Bi-hyuk.

“Is anything bothering you lately? No conflicts with your members?”

“Nope. The hyungs are all kind. They take care of me because I’m the youngest.”

That’s a relief.

Noh Bi-hyuk was set to debut early next year in a five-member boy group.

Based on the expected debut date, he would be the youngest at sixteen.

The leader was an adult at twenty, one member was nineteen, and the other two were eighteen.

‘What if he gets bullied?’

It was hard not to worry, considering he was four years younger than the leader.

Choi In-joon, who had been quietly watching us talk, spoke up.

“You two must be really close. It’ll be nice to see more of each other once Bi-hyuk debuts.”

“Will it?”

I thought we might see less of each other after he debuted.

The thought still left a bitter taste.

I couldn’t fully wish for my friend’s success; I wasn’t cut out to be magnanimous.

“Hey, Lee Yeon-jae.”

Then Noh Bi-hyuk grinned and poked my cheek.

“Don’t worry and focus on your filming. Make sure you eat properly.”

“I eat more than you do.”

“Eat more. You need to catch up to my height.”

Anyone would think he was 180 cm tall.

What’s the difference between us, really?

‘I’ll grow taller than you, just you wait.’

As he continued to smile triumphantly despite my protests, I ended up giving him a playful smack on the head.

“Ouch!”

That was the point.

Ignoring his complaints, Noh Bi-hyuk grumbled that he might have gotten a bump.

“……You two are really cute.”

Choi In-joon was smiling softly.

Maybe it was because of his flushed cheeks, but somehow….

‘He looks like a pervert.’

But I didn’t want to criticize Bi-hyuk, so I held back.

Apparently, Noh Bi-hyuk had developed some immunity to Choi In-joon, as he naturally changed the subject.

“So when is ‘Killing Horn’ going to be released?”

“Around February next year?”

“Oh, that’s around the time of my debut. I’ll be so busy that I won’t have time to watch it, but I hope it becomes popular before then. It’s on ☓flix, right?”

What is he talking about?

“Bi-hyuk, don’t forget it’s rated R.”

“……Ah, come on, Lee Yeon-jae.”

What do you mean, come on?

There would be plenty of violent scenes with people’s heads getting blown off, and I couldn’t let him watch that.

Shaking my head with a stern face, Noh Bi-hyuk looked frustrated.

“So you’re not going to watch it either?”

“Yeah, of course not.”

I said confidently, and Noh Bi-hyuk was at a loss for words.

“No way…, really? You’re not going to watch it? You’re the lead.”

“It’s not that I won’t watch it, it’s that I can’t. And you shouldn’t either.”

“Wow, this is so unfair.”

Seeing his speechless face, I laughed.

I really had no plans to watch it. Not in Korea, anyway.

‘I’ll watch it with Mist in my dreams.’

As I said before, dreams aren’t reality.

‘I need to see the final edited version to understand how my acting really comes across.’

That way, I could improve my performance for future projects.

So there’s no reason not to watch it, right?

‘…Whatever.’

Trying to justify it made me feel pathetic.

I was secretly pulling a trick, but I felt a bit embarrassed.

However, seeing Mist so happy made those feelings disappear.

* * *

“Really?! Are you really going to watch it with me??”

Looking at Mist’s unbelieving expression as he covered his mouth, I answered curiously.

“Of course. We always watch together, don’t we?”

I thought he would take it for granted, but his reaction was unexpected.

“You were so adamant about not watching it with everyone else! I didn’t even consider it!”

“……”

Mist’s innocent words crushed my conscience.

“Hehe! I can’t wait for next year! I want to see the drama soon!”

“Mist, calm down.”

Mist seemed quite excited, bouncing around.

Seeing him doing somersaults in Han Ha-ram’s form gave me some comfort.

‘If I’d known he’d be this happy, I would have told him earlier.’

It had been a long time since I’d seen Mist so excited.

‘I… want a body too….’

Since Mist mentioned wanting a body, we’d been pretending we never had that conversation.

I was used to acting, and Mist did a decent job too.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect; sometimes, I noticed him with drooping eyes or a sad expression.

Normally, I’d bring it up without hesitation.

‘There’s nothing I can do for him.’

I couldn’t help Mist with his concerns at all.

That sometimes made me sad.

But aside from that, life was pretty good.

Even with the hectic schedule of preparing for his debut, Bi-hyuk came home once a week without fail, and Han Ha-ram did the same.

He still seemed unable to escape his mother’s pressure, but he’d made many friends at school in that short time.

Conversations with Seo Ji-oh had become more enjoyable recently, and occasional calls with Ha-eun were comfortable.

And so, the day for filming the latter part of *Killing Horn* approached.

Today, Horn would witness Kang Seok’s death.

* * *

“Why are you two coming together?”

As I got out of the car with Jung-hyun hyung, actor Kim Seok-jun asked with a puzzled look.

Why is he here again without any filming scheduled?

Before I could answer, Jung-hyun hyung spoke up first.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m staying with Yeon-jae during the filming of *Killing Horn*.”

“You’re not broke, so why are you freeloading off the kid?”

“Well, do you have a friend you can freeload off?”

“You―!”

Here we go again.

With a smiling face, Jung-hyun hyung made cutting remarks, while Kim Seok-jun barked loudly; they seemed really close in a not-so-friendly way.

As I pretended not to notice their now-familiar bickering, someone approached us.

“Actor, do you have a moment to talk?”

“Yes.”

I recognized him even before he spoke, thanks to his massive shadow.

Today, Jin-bae hyung’s eyes were particularly gentle.

“Are you sure you can handle the shoot today? If you feel tired, promise me you’ll take a break.”

“…? Why?”

His overly concerned tone made me momentarily confused about today’s shoot.

I responded, bewildered, but then it hit me.

“I think I’ll be fine. I’ve practiced enough.”

Before Kang Seok completely breathes his last, Horn cradles him, drenched in blood, in agony.

It was a challenging scene that required showing a breakdown in real time.

‘But it’s not my first emotional scene.’

When filming the final scene of *Twins*, I managed to express it well.

Now, with improved skills, it should be easier, right?

When I spoke nonchalantly, Jin-bae hyung shook his head immediately.

“I’m not worried about your acting.”

“Then?”

“You’re very fond of this actor. Today, it’s the character played by this actor who dies.”

“…?”

His cautious words were kind, but I still didn’t understand.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Jin-bae hyung sighed softly and continued.

“You have to watch a character with the face of someone you like die. I thought it might be emotionally difficult for you….”

Ah, now I get it.

Understanding finally dawned, and I laughed involuntarily.

The laughter was louder than expected, leaving Jin-bae hyung looking confused.

His expression made me laugh even more.

“Hyung, you know… sometimes you scare me.”

“Huh? Me?”

Because you’re too kind to me.

He cared for me so much that it was hard to attribute it solely to his professional duties as a manager.

Jin-bae hyung’s concern was always warm, but today it felt a bit excessive.

“Don’t worry, hyung. It’s Kang Seok who’s dying, not Jung-hyun hyung. I’m not that young to get confused about that.”

“It’s not about your age.”

“Yes, that’s true, but don’t worry about it.”

Honestly, he was overprotective.

Thanks to Jin-bae hyung, my mood was even better.

When I firmly put an end to it, Jin-bae hyung, left with nothing more to say, sat quietly beside me.

After a while, he asked,

“…Could you tell me why I scare you—?”

“Puhaha!”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

As I buried my face in my hands, chuckling, Jung-hyun hyung and Kim Seok-jun stopped arguing and approached.

“What’s going on? Why are you laughing?”

“Why is Yeon-jae laughing like this? …And what’s with Jin-bae’s face?”

The surroundings became chaotic in an instant.

Kim Seok-jun tried to poke my cheek, asking what was so funny, while Jung-hyun hyung blocked his hand with a smile.

The two of them started bickering again, making the place twice as lively.

Normally, I would have been annoyed by the noise, but today, it felt pleasant.

‘I think today’s shoot will go well.’

For some reason, I had that feeling.

And as always in my life… things didn’t go as planned.