The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 283

"Haa."

I let out a sigh that I had been holding back during my conversation with Han Ha-ram.

Jin-bae hyung placed a lemonade in front of me.

"Are you alright, actor?"

"No..."

The sour taste of the lemonade felt especially bitter today.

I realized something after talking with Han Ha-ram for just over an hour.

Han Ha-ram's parents had never shown him any affection.

"It seemed like there was no emotional exchange between Ha-ram and his parents. I even thought they adopted him just to have a toy to play with."

He smiled, saying he felt happiness for the first time after meeting me.

In front of that bright smile, I couldn't bring myself to smile back.

"There are people like that. Even if they aren't adoptive parents, many treat their biological children that way."

I sighed more deeply at Jin-bae hyung's words.

"The problem is Ha-ram. He doesn't feel upset or resentful at all."

Do Yoo-young felt hatred toward the mother who abandoned him.

Thanks to Shin's honest words, Do Yoo-young's mother realized this, and they finally reconciled in the latter part of the movie.

I wanted to play Shin's role.

Even if Han Ha-ram's parents weren't good to him now, I thought I could convey Ha-ram's feelings to them.

Maybe Han Ha-ram's parents didn't know what kind of wounds they had inflicted on him.

'But I didn't expect him to be this indifferent.'

Han Ha-ram didn't feel any particular emotions toward his parents.

He didn't even have the natural desire for them to care more or love him more.

The most prominent emotions were anxiety and fear.

But it wasn't the fear of being abandoned by his parents.

'He was more afraid of being scolded during the process of being abandoned.'

As I chewed this over in my mind, my head grew hot.

How much must they have scolded him that he fears being scolded more than being abandoned?

My heart felt heavy and troubled.

'I thought talking would help.'

Instead, it became even more complicated.

Meanwhile, Han Ha-ram spoke confidently, as if he finally understood what I was worried about, saying he would continue to like me with all his might.

Though his lovely demeanor was still troubling.

'Let's think about this.'

I confirmed that Han Ha-ram had not formed a bond with his parents.

Even so, he didn't want to avoid or be separated from them.

All Han Ha-ram wanted was to stay by my side without being scolded by his parents.

'Raising a child is really difficult.'

Faced with an unclear solution, I could only sigh helplessly.

As I sighed repeatedly, Jin-bae hyung quietly watched me.

"Ha-ram must really mean a lot to you."

"Pardon?"

"I know you take good care of others, but this is the first time I've seen you so troubled."

Ah.

Only then did I smile awkwardly.

'Jin-bae hyung is saying the same thing as Seo Ji-oh.'

Right. Why do I care so much about Han Ha-ram?

Calling it responsibility was too much, and calling it affection felt too complicated.

'I don't know either.'

Faced with emotions that were difficult to explain logically, I chose to avoid them.

When I didn't respond, Jin-bae hyung shrugged.

"Anyway, we have our answer. There's no need for you to take legal action on behalf of Ha-ram, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Instead, let's keep encouraging Ha-ram so he doesn't just worry about not getting scolded. That alone will be a big help to him."

He added that he hoped I would stop being so troubled.

I nodded slowly at his kind words.

*    *    *

The next morning, Han Ha-ram's father came to pick him up in front of the dormitory.

After greeting the man with a stern impression, I knelt in front of Han Ha-ram.

"Ha-ram, call me whenever you miss me."

"What if I disturb you?"

"If I'm busy, Jin-bae hyung will answer. Then I'll call you back as soon as I'm free."

When I extended my pinky finger, he smiled and hooked his finger with mine.

As if he regretted leaving after sticking to me for a week without a moment's rest, he fiddled with my finger.

"I want to grow up quickly too."

"Grow up?"

"Yeah. Right now, I have to go to school and do so many things. I want to grow up quickly so I can stay by Yeon-jae's side all the time."

I held back a laugh at his childish complaint.

"Even as an adult, you won't be free from restrictions."

"But I'll be able to do what I want, right?"

I looked at him as he pouted his lips.

"Ha-ram."

"Yeah?"

"You can do what you want even now."

After glancing at the man sitting in the driver's seat, I lowered my voice.

"Remember what we talked about yesterday?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't force yourself to do something just because you're afraid your parents will scold you. Ask yourself if it's something you really want to do. And call me anytime you need help."

He grinned and said he understood.

The car carrying Han Ha-ram drove away slowly.

I watched it until it became a small dot in the distance.

"Shall we go now, actor?"

"…Yes."

Was it just my imagination?

I turned around, rubbing my strangely empty-feeling hand.

*    *    *

Filming went smoothly after that.

Do Yoo-young, Shin, and Ji Hae-soo stayed up all night worrying but found no solution and greeted the morning as it was.

Shin cheerfully spoke to Do Yoo-young, who was staring at his phone with a complicated expression.

"Yoo-young! Let's go for a walk!"

He suggested they spend the time happily together instead of waiting for a call from home.

Though his words were carefree and lacked a plan, his eyes were sincere as he looked at Do Yoo-young.

Do Yoo-young followed Shin, and the two enjoyed a morning walk for the first time in a long while.

Even though the time seemed more fitting for dawn than morning, the sun shone brightly, as it was midsummer.

The fresh scent of grass, the slightly damp earth, and the distant sound of waves—all felt both familiar and strange.

Do Yoo-young discovered a low path he hadn't seen before in his human body, and Shin enjoyed the high vantage point he couldn't experience as a dog.

"Yoo-young, be careful with your step, whoa!"

―Woof!!

"Are you okay?!"

When Do Yoo-young suddenly fell on the dirt path, Shin rushed over in a panic.

In the haste to help Do Yoo-young up, Shin's clothes also got covered in dirt, but neither of them minded.

"Look at us! We look ridiculous!"

―Woof!

Shin's eyes crinkled with a big grin.

"Haha! This is fun!"

A cheerful laugh burst from Do Yoo-young's mouth.

Only then did Do Yoo-young realize he could laugh like that.

After they fully enjoyed their time together.

The two returned home, covered in dirt from head to toe, and were greeted by...

"Yoo-young?"

It was Do Yoo-young's mother.

She stood in the yard with a very startled expression.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

Especially at this early hour.

Shin approached, looking puzzled.

He had apparently forgotten how he had repeatedly shouted, "I hate you!" at her the previous day, now wearing an innocent look.

Do Yoo-young's mother explained that she had received a call from the school about a counseling issue.

Having little time left, it seemed they had eventually called her.

"After seeing a side of you I hadn't seen before yesterday, I couldn't help but worry. I took the day off, so let's spend some time together."

"Uh..."

"Do you want to wash up first? Oh my, do you always make such a mess on walks?"

She lightly patted Shin's back.

Shin grumbled that it stung but followed her to the bathroom, watching her closely.

Soon, Ji Hae-soo, who came to prepare Shin's breakfast, spotted Do Yoo-young's mother.

"Aunt?"

"Hae-soo, do you live here? Why are you here so often?"

"Oh, well, I came to prepare Shin's—no, Yoo-young's breakfast."

"…Can't Yoo-youngeat breakfast by himself?"

Do Yoo-young's mother's face grew complicated.

Ji Hae-soo fumbled with her words, and a freshly washed Do Yoo-young and Shin received a sharp look from her.

"I didn't know Hae-soo was such a good cook. Is it okay if I join you?"

"Of course. He eats a lot, so I made plenty. Don't worry."

"…Yoo-young eats a lot?"

Although a crisis seemed to loom every minute, breakfast ended peacefully.

Shin then reluctantly left for school with Do Yoo-young's mother.

"Okay, that's it for today!"

I blinked my tired eyes at the director's voice.

With a schedule to keep, actress Sung Eun-hye had already left, and only Sung Lee-jun and Seo Ji-oh remained on set.

"Yeon-jae...! If you're okay with it, want to have dinner together? Ji-oh and I were thinking of ordering sushi."

"Sure. Can Jin-bae hyung join us?"

"Of course!"

Sung Lee-jun smiled brightly.

Feeling slightly consoled by his gentle smile, which seemed to fill the void left by Han Ha-ram, I playfully tapped Lee-jun's cheek.

Right on cue, Jin-bae hyung approached me.

"Hyung, I was planning to have dinner with Lee-jun hyung and Ji-oh. Do you want to join us... Is something wrong?"

But his expression was unusual.

I asked what was going on, seeing his face full of things to say.

"Actor, I just heard the staff talking."

"Yes?"

"They originally planned to release a behind-the-scenes video separately, right?"

"Yes."

Since the contract stage, talks about merchandise for the movie 'Shin Yoo-young' had included posters, keyrings, phone cases, and other goods.

Judging that the movie's profitability seemed somewhat guaranteed, they first discussed marketing methods to promote the movie in earnest.

And one of the movie's merchandise items was a CD containing behind-the-scenes footage from the filming.

"They originally planned to focus on bloopers, but it seems there aren't enough because there were far fewer than expected and the filming went too smoothly."

Jin-bae hyung looked troubled.

'Even smooth filming can lead to problems.'

Nothing's ever easy.

Hiding my disbelief, I asked what they were suggesting.

"They suggested filming a short courage test at the path where Shin and Yoo-youngwalk, tonight."

"…A courage test?"

Out of the blue?

"Isn't that too random? It has nothing to do with the movie genre."

"It's midsummer. There's a lot of horror content filmed in summer. It just so happens there's a professional special effects makeup artist on staff. They'll handle all the preparations and just ask for an hour of your time. What do you think?"

"Well... I'm okay with it."

Though reluctant, there was no reason not to do it.

‘I wonder if it will be any fun.’

I recalled the clumsy courage test from my school trip.

I wasn't sure if I could provide the kind of reaction that would be worth capturing on video.

"So who else will be participating?"

"It seems like they're focusing on the main cast. You, Happy, and Sung Lee-jun. And…."

Jin-bae hyung's gaze shifted to a specific spot.

I followed his gaze.

"Huh?"

The person we were looking at smiled as our eyes met.

"Yeon-jae, what? Is something up?"

Seo Ji-oh grinned lazily.

It didn't take long for his relaxed face to turn pale.