The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 217

“Seo Ji-oh. Get a hold of yourself.”

“Yeah.”

“Ha, this is driving me crazy.”

A sigh escaped me.

Seo Ji-oh, with his usual expression, was merely moving his hand, touching my hair.

If it weren’t for his unfocused eyes, I’d think he just liked touching other people’s hair.

‘Is he really that good at acting?’

I couldn’t tell if he was subconsciously trying not to show his nerves or if he didn’t realize how nervous he was.

‘We can’t start filming like this.’

The hustle and bustle of the staff preparing for the shoot was gradually subsiding.

It meant filming was about to begin.

Even if he was nervous, a few conversations should help Seo Ji-oh pull himself together. After all, he’s usually sharp.

“Seo Ji-oh, we’ve practiced a lot, haven’t we?”

“Yeah.”

“You won’t make any mistakes. There’s no need to be nervous.”

Even if he did make a mistake, it didn’t matter. We could just shoot it again.

I gently grabbed the hand on my head and slowly pulled it down, trying to comfort him as kindly as possible.

Seo Ji-oh gave a loose smile.

“Yeah, I got it.”

“…Fine. Just keep touching it.”

His eyes seemed even more unfocused.

I sighed and lifted his hand back onto my head.

Seo Ji-oh’s fingers hesitated for a moment, then started moving rhythmically again.

I looked at him, seemingly moving his hands without engaging his brain.

‘Was he this nervous during the last shoot?’

If so, that would be a relief.

In any case, the ‘Killing Horn’ shoot ended successfully.

Maybe he’s the type who gets completely absorbed in acting once filming starts, despite the initial nerves.

If it didn’t interfere with filming, it wasn’t my problem. But…

‘Ugh.’

It’s his first lead role, and if he doesn’t even remember how he acted, that’s just sad.

Knowing how hard Seo Ji-oh had practiced made me worry even more.

After a brief hesitation, I looked at Jin-bae hyung.

“Hyung, I’m really sorry, but could you get something for me from the convenience store? They’ll have it there.”

Jin-bae hyung nodded at my words.

He said he’d be right back and that I shouldn’t move an inch in the meantime. I obediently agreed.

‘No need to rush.’

I watched Jin-bae hyung’s quickly receding figure and swallowed a sigh.

I hoped this method would work.

* * *

Seo Ji-oh was nervous.

Not just a little, but extremely nervous.

To be honest, he was so nervous he felt like he could throw up at any moment.

He hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday, so there was nothing to throw up anyway.

Smiling maturely, he received goodbyes from his father and stepmother, who saw him off at the door.

Even when he arrived at the filming site and greeted the staff with a smile, Seo Ji-oh felt like a part of his brain was malfunctioning.

The words coming out of his mouth and the expressions on his face all felt like they belonged to someone else.

He had been nervous during the ‘Killing Horn’ shoot and during his roles as a minor or supporting character before.

But he had never been this nervous.

Was it simply because this was his first lead role? Seo Ji-oh couldn’t tell.

His stomach churned.

‘…Mom will probably watch, right?’

He was co-starring in a project with Lee Yeon-jae.

Lee Yeon-jae was the talk of the town these days.

Considering everything, there was a high chance his mom would watch.

The roles Seo Ji-oh had played before were too minor, and ‘Killing Horn’ hadn’t aired yet.

So this could be the first time his mom watched him act.

The thought made his head spin.

While talking to Lee Yeon-jae at the filming site, he couldn’t understand what he was saying.

Even as he tried to pull himself together, thoughts of his mom watching his performance overwhelmed him.

The moment he thought, ‘What if I make a mistake?’, negative emotions cascaded like an avalanche. The flow was irresistible.

No, even if I make a mistake, it’s not a live broadcast. We can reshoot. There’s no way Mom will see my mistakes.

But what if, despite multiple takes, my performance is terrible? What if Mom laughs at me? What if I’m worse at acting than Mom?

No, I can’t let that happen. That’s why I’ve been practicing. I can do this.

I can’t waste this opportunity. This is no time to be a fool. Get it together.

Outwardly, Seo Ji-oh seemed fine, but he was nearly in a panic.

“Hey.”

It was then.

A breath brushed against Seo Ji-oh’s face.

When he opened his eyes, black pupils were staring back at him.

“Eat this.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, something was shoved into Seo Ji-oh’s mouth.

Instinctively trying to spit it out, Seo Ji-oh’s mouth was immediately covered.

With a hand firmly blocking his mouth, Seo Ji-oh couldn’t spit out whatever had been put in his mouth.

What is this? Small, hard, round… Is it a candy?

The next thought was shattered by an intense sour taste.

“Ugh—”

Seo Ji-oh’s carefully maintained expression crumbled.

The intense lemon flavor from the candy made him grimace.

Lee Yeon-jae held him tightly, preventing him from spitting out the lemon candy.

“Endure it for five seconds. Five, four, three…”

Seo Ji-oh could only hear words he couldn’t understand.

In fact, Seo Ji-oh couldn’t hear anything Lee Yeon-jae was saying.

The sour taste that filled my mouth was overwhelming. All I could think was how unbearable it was.

“Spit it out.”

As soon as the hand covering Seo Ji-oh’s mouth disappeared, he spat out the candy.

Even after spitting it out, he couldn’t recover from the intense sourness that filled his mouth.

He didn’t even realize that he had spat the candy into Lee Yeon-jae’s palm, and that Yeon-jae was quietly wiping his hand and Ji-oh’s mouth with a tissue.

“What the…”

It was a while before Seo Ji-oh could speak.

He wanted to rinse out the lingering sourness in his mouth.

Just then, Yeon-jae handed him a water bottle, and Seo Ji-oh immediately grabbed it and drank the water in large gulps.

After nearly finishing the whole bottle, Seo Ji-oh glared at Yeon-jae.

“What… what the hell was that?”

“Are you in your right mind now?”

“What?”

Seo Ji-oh’s face twisted in irritation, unable to hide his sensitivity.

Yeon-jae, looking nonchalant, said,

“If you’re still out of it, let me know. I have plenty more candy.”

He shook a handful of lemon candies in his hand as if holding a bomb. It should have looked ridiculous, but it worked too well on Seo Ji-oh.

Seo Ji-oh, feeling threatened, quickly said he was fine now and begged him to put the candies away.

Yeon-jae obediently handed the candies to the manager.

“Why did you do that?”

“Because you seemed out of it.”

At Yeon-jae’s indifferent words, Seo Ji-oh let out a laugh filled with disbelief.

He did feel more alert, thanks to that.

“How did you know I hate sour stuff?”

“I wasn’t sure. But you always frowned when I drank lemonade at school. I figured you didn’t like sour things.”

“…”

Seo Ji-oh was speechless.

‘How did he know?’

He couldn’t remember ever openly frowning at Yeon-jae.

Even when Yeon-jae drank sour things like lemonade or green grape drinks, he only thought it was a strange taste, but never said anything about it.

While Seo Ji-oh was dumbfounded, Yeon-jae sat down next to him.

“I did it because I didn’t want you to mess up the shoot by being out of it.”

I can’t stand seeing you ruin the shoot.

His words were cold and indifferent, but strangely, Seo Ji-oh didn’t hear them as cold.

“Every time you get nervous like earlier, I’ll put a candy in your mouth. So, get a grip.”

“I’ve never been threatened like this before…”

When Seo Ji-oh laughed in disbelief, Yeon-jae shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know why you’re so nervous, and I don’t care. The only thing you need to worry about now is that if you get nervous, a candy will go in your mouth.”

In other words, just act as we’ve practiced.

Seo Ji-oh gave a hollow laugh.

“I’m so scared I might not be able to focus.”

“That’s a relief.”

“What?”

Seo Ji-oh looked at Yeon-jae, not understanding.

Yeon-jae also looked at Seo Ji-oh.

His dark eyes were fixed on Seo Ji-oh without any filter.

“Just be scared of me. Don’t be scared of unnecessary things.”

“…”

Does he know what I was thinking?

Seo Ji-oh was suddenly really afraid of Yeon-jae.

‘Does he have mind-reading powers or something?’

As he was thinking absurd thoughts, a staff member raised their voice.

“Shooting is ready! Everyone, gather around!”

Yeon-jae stood up immediately, and Seo Ji-oh got up reflexively.

As they entered the set filled with cameras, Seo Ji-oh swallowed hard without realizing it.

The PD continued to explain and coordinate movements.

He felt nervous again, thinking that filming was about to start, and his thoughts drifted back to his mom, but…

‘Ugh, this is annoying.’

The lingering sour taste in his mouth disrupted his thoughts.

Seo Ji-oh, forgetting to manage his expression, gulped down more water.

In his field of vision, Yeon-jae came into view.

When their eyes met, Yeon-jae mouthed,

‘Nervous?’

Even though he couldn’t hear it from the distance, Seo Ji-oh’s ears replayed the words automatically.

He felt like Yeon-jae would put candy in his mouth at the slightest hesitation, so he shook his head vigorously multiple times.

Yeon-jae smirked and mouthed, ‘Then do well.’

“We’re starting the shoot!”

At the staff’s shout, the bustling set fell silent in an instant.

Yeon-jae stood in his spot, gently closing his eyes.

Seo Ji-oh watched him.

The drama ‘February 3rd’ was set to be released online on February 3rd, which was also Korean Sign Language Day.

The protagonist struggled with the sudden death of his older brother in an accident a few days prior and discovered his brother’s ghost, unable to move on to the afterlife.

No one else could see the brother, who had been wandering for a long time, but the protagonist could, and they were happy to reconnect.

The protagonist had his daily life, with family at home and friends at school, and couldn’t be seen talking to thin air.

So, they chose Korean Sign Language as their means of communication.

Yeon-jae played the protagonist, and Seo Ji-oh was set to play the ghost, the protagonist’s brother.

Yeon-jae had a clear image of the protagonist’s older brother.

The more they talked, the more detailed it became, especially since Yeon-jae had written the script himself.

‘We’ve practiced enough.’

Seo Ji-oh had practiced until he was sick of it.

Yeon-jae had smiled in satisfaction after watching Seo Ji-oh’s performance, so he must have done well.

Surely, he would do well. His mom would be impressed by his acting.

Negative thoughts starting with ‘what if…’ surged in, but the sour taste in his mouth kept him grounded.

“Ready—”

Seo Ji-oh looked at Yeon-jae, who had his eyes closed.

‘He’s really strange.’

He knew Yeon-jae wasn’t normal, but he was much stranger than Seo Ji-oh had thought.

Watching the strange guy, a small smile crept up on Seo Ji-oh’s lips.

“Action!”

When the PD shouted loudly, Seo Ji-oh suddenly realized.

He no longer felt his mom’s presence.

Only the sticky lemon taste remained.