The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 194

“An-gae.”

“Huh? Do you need something? Should I make another pillow?”

As soon as I called out, An-gae started bustling around, so I grabbed his shoulders.

“No, I just called you.”

“Oh…”

An-gae looked embarrassed.

His flustered expression was amusing, so I lightly tapped his cheek.

“Why are you so startled?”

“No… I thought you needed something.”

His pouting lips were adorable.

“As long as you’re here, I’m fine.”

I hugged An-gae. It felt good to have him in my arms.

‘Time flies.’

It had already been a week since I briefly fell asleep on set.

I had been anxious because I couldn’t meet An-gae then, but luckily, I met him without any issues that night.

As soon as I saw An-gae, I bombarded him with questions: why I couldn’t see him, if something happened, and if he was okay.

An-gae was flustered and waved his hands.

‘No! Nothing happened! You were the one who collapsed!’

‘I’m fine. Why couldn’t we meet earlier?’

‘For us to meet, you need to be completely unconscious. Earlier, your state was too unstable…’

In short, my consciousness was in a weird in-between state.

It seemed like it wasn’t a big deal, so I let it go.

‘Sometimes people just faint, don’t they?’

I thought it was something that could happen occasionally.

Unfortunately, other people didn’t seem to think the same way.

* * *

“Hello―.”

“Hey, how’s your health? We can postpone the shoot, so just say the word.”

As soon as Kim Seok-jun saw me, he blurted out the question.

I sighed at the abrupt comment that ignored my greeting.

“I’m fine. I told you over the phone.”

“You always say you’re fine. Manager, is he really okay? Is it alright for him to be shooting?”

Ignoring my response, Kim Seok-jun turned to Jin-bae hyung.

‘Why even ask me, then?’

I was exasperated.

Despite my sullen expression, Jin-bae hyung answered calmly.

“He’s much better after a week of rest. He promised not to overdo it today.”

“Good to hear. Everyone’s schedule is adjusted. Even if we don’t finish shooting today, it won’t affect the production. If anything seems off, stop immediately.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“…This is about me, can’t I be included?”

When I interjected in a disgruntled tone, Kim Seok-jun snorted.

“You’ll just say you’re fine, it’s nothing, you’re sorry, and you’ll do your best today.”

“……”

I was at a loss for words.

Still, unwilling to admit it, I pouted, then realized it was childish and stopped.

‘Everyone’s taking this too seriously.’

I supposed I’d be alarmed too if someone I was working with started mumbling like a lunatic and then collapsed.

That’s why An-gae had been hovering around me nervously all week.

Not to mention Jin-bae hyung, and even Jung-hyun hyung wouldn’t leave my side, which was tiring.

It was the first time I’d seen them cling so persistently, and it was disconcerting.

‘Hyung, you need to go for your shoot now.’

‘Yeah, I should… How about we video call while I’m on the way? Why don’t we just keep it on until I get home? I’ll mute it, and just watch you to make sure you’re okay.’

‘Please, calm down.’

Thanks to the agency and the production team delaying my shoot, I had a restful week.

This meant my collapse had messed up the other actors’ schedules.

When I apologized, they all insisted I shouldn’t think about coming to set until I was fully recovered.

With a more relaxed schedule, I also visited the hospital.

The psychiatrist I hadn’t seen in a while greeted me with a surprisingly calm demeanor.

I didn’t feel like talking much, but luckily, the session wasn’t long.

After being told we’d adjust the dosage gradually, the session ended, and I was prescribed medication.

My first impression of taking psychiatric medication was:

‘It’s not a big deal.’

It wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined, like feeling dazed all day or sleeping excessively.

Though experiences vary, thankfully, it seemed to suit me well.

‘Not sure if it’s really effective yet, though.’

But if it could put others at ease, that was enough for me.

‘I do seem to sleep more soundly.’

I felt like I was living a more regular life.

In short, I was fine. I had rested enough.

So, such excessive concern wasn’t necessary.

* * *

“―Cut! Yeon-jae, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine!”

I shouted immediately in response to the PD’s question.

‘How many times have I said I’m fine today?’

It felt like over two hundred times.

Every person I met on set asked if I was okay, and I repeated the same answer countless times.

Afterward, the PD rushed over, profusely apologizing, saying he forgot my age because of my maturity.

He was so flustered that I was more confused.

He promised to be more cautious with the remaining shoots. I didn’t know what he meant but nodded anyway.

Then, as the shooting started, I understood why the PD was worried.

“Actor, are you alright―.”

“Hyung, please stop asking that. I feel like I’ll develop a neurosis.”

I cut off Jin-bae hyung’s words.

Seeing my annoyed expression, Jin-bae hyung smiled.

“We’re just worried. Both the PD and I. You don’t show it when you’re not okay.”

“I’m really fine.”

“I’ll stop asking once I believe you.”

Good grief.

I shook my head, and Jin-bae hyung handed me a bottle of water with a smile.

As I gulped down the water, I thought.

‘I must never collapse again.’

The PD repeated, “Yeon-jae, are you okay?” and “Should we take a break?” after every cut.

Aside from being annoying, it made me worry that the shoot was dragging on.

I asked if we could just pretend the previous incident didn’t happen, but I only got scolded.

‘I genuinely feel fine.’

It was a bit unfair.

I wasn’t saying I was fine out of habit; I really was fine.

Whenever I started to get caught up in thoughts like ‘What’s the point of living like this?’, I remembered Jung-hyun hyung’s words.

‘We feel the same. That’s how much we like you.’

The ripple effect of that kind word was significant.

Whatever I was doing, I kept thinking of those words.

It felt like I was chained to those words.
After that, I couldn’t think, “What’s the point of living like this?”

Whenever I tried to, the faces of Jin-bae hyung, Jung-hyun hyung, and Bi-hyuk would come to mind and the thought would just cut off.

At the same time, I remembered the fans I saw at the fan meeting.

Their eyes, shining like twinkling stars, were directed at me.

The fans who looked at me as if I were someone special.

When I thought of Byeon, it ultimately led to thoughts like this.

Living like this, it has meaning.

“No matter how much I think about it, it’s too much.”

It was an overwhelming amount of love for me.

Well, that doesn’t mean I want to let it go.

I chuckled and stretched.

“What’s everyone going to do, being stuck with someone as greedy as me?”

I had no intention of letting them go now.

I felt a bit sorry for the faces that came to mind.

“Maybe I’m going through a process similar to Horn.”

After all, I had a “Kang Seok” of my own.

A life lived for Kang Seok, swayed by just a word from him.

But the fortunate thing was that my “Kang Seok” wasn’t just one person.

When one person leaves, another will come to comfort me.

Living like that, wouldn’t I become an adult?

The fact that my “Kang Seok” was warm people, no matter how I thought about it, was an incredible blessing.

“So, I need to do better.”

It wasn’t the usual sense of duty or debt I had.

It was greed.

The desire to do better for the people by my side.

Right now, I was so busy being greedy that I didn’t have time to worry about the meaning of life or any misfortune factors.

“Yeon-jae, shall we resume filming?”

At the PD’s words, I immediately stood up and shouted.

“Yes!”

I hurried over.

The staff continued to nag, telling me not to run.

Although I had to assure them once more that I was okay, the concern in their voices didn’t really bother me.

* * *

After that, I spent the whole month filming, and the last scene was completed without any issues.

Because Horn’s emotions reached their peak until the end, everyone was worried.

They seemed concerned that I might collapse again.

Even though I was confident I’d do well, I couldn’t show them my inner self, so I kept repeating that I’d be fine.

But it seemed they didn’t trust me.

Jin-bae hyung, Jung-hyun hyung, and actor Kim Seok-jun all stuck close to me.

Even Noh Bi-hyuk skipped practice and came to the filming site.

“He’s already busy preparing for his debut.”

I deliberately didn’t tell him, but Jin-bae hyung accidentally let it slip.

While having dinner with Noh Bi-hyuk and Jin-bae hyung, Jin-bae hyung brought up the time I collapsed, startling both of us.

I had to stop Noh Bi-hyuk, who was shaking my shoulder in panic.

“…Now that I think about it, it didn’t seem like a mistake.”

I was too busy to notice then, but Jin-bae hyung didn’t look like someone who made a mistake.

“He looks so gentle when you just see his eyes.”

But at times like this, he seemed like a fox.

People are hard to understand.

“Whatever it is, it’s fine.”

Whether he’s a fox pretending to be a bear or an awkward bear, it didn’t matter. He was still Jin-bae hyung.

“Actor, please have some fruit.”

“….”

“Why are you like that?”

Seeing his clueless face made me a bit irritated.

But since it was all in the past, I pretended not to notice and took some fruit.

“Thanks for cutting it.”

“Yes, there’s more, so please have a lot. You need to eat more, Actor.”

Now that the drama filming was over, people kept telling me to eat without worrying about my weight.

It was something I heard so often it was tiresome.

“Yes, I’ll eat. Oh, hyung, you eat too.”

“Okay, thanks…!”

I handed a fork to Sung Lee-jun, who was rolling his eyes nearby.

Sung Lee-jun hesitated but thanked Jin-bae hyung before eating.

“When will they get closer?”

It felt like they had known each other for quite some time, but they seemed to be getting more awkward with each passing day.

I asked Sung Lee-jun, who was quietly eating a pear.

“Hyung, how did you decide to become a celebrity?”

“Uh?”

“You’re really shy. In this job, you have to meet a lot of new people.”

When I asked casually, Sung Lee-jun looked puzzled but soon smiled.

“I worried a lot about that too. I wasn’t sure if I could do it well.”

“But you did it.”

“Yes, because acting was too fun to give up because of that….”

Sung Lee-jun smiled shyly.

Seeing him resembling Mist, I smiled too.

Our calm conversation continued.

“Yeon-jae, do you have no schedule for a while?”

“Yeah, the filming is all over.”

“I see. I’m just asking, but… would you like to join a program with me?”

A program?

Before I could open my mouth, Sung Lee-jun hurriedly spoke.

“Of course, if you don’t want to, we don’t have to! Just tell me how you feel! I just wanted to ask if you’d be okay―.”

“Hyung, shh. Calm down.”

I grabbed Sung Lee-jun’s shoulders.

“He’s always like this.”

I held back the urge to click my tongue.

“I’m not going anywhere. Just tell me slowly what kind of program it is.”

“Okay…!”

Sung Lee-jun took a deep breath, his face flushed.

Then he spoke.

“It’s a travel show with just the two of us…!”

“A travel show? Where to?”

“I-Italy.”

I raised an eyebrow unconsciously.

Italy?