The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 273

"Why is Do Yu-young acting like that?"

"He said he didn't sleep well last night."

"Ah, I see."

A classmate who had been nodding their head continued reluctantly.

"…Then why is Ji Hae-soo acting like that?"

"How should I know."

The friend who answered also had a sour expression.

The two of them were looking at Ji Hae-soo and Do Yu-young.

To be precise, it was the dog who had entered Do Yoo-young's body.

"Do Yoo-young, today you—"

"Hey, hey. Talk to me."

"Why?"

"Do Yoo-young isn't feeling well today. Just talk to me."

Do Yoo-young had been lying on his desk since the morning, and Ji Hae-soo had been guarding him as if he were his bodyguard.

Whenever kids tried to approach, Ji Hae-soo would shoo them away, looking somewhat solemn.

Everyone knew the two were close, but even considering that, their behavior seemed suspicious.

"Are they doing some sort of role-play?"

"Huh, then I should ask to join in."

The classmate quickly ran towards the two.

"Hey! Let me join too."

"W-what?"

Ji Hae-soo was startled by the sudden presence.

"What is it? Why, why."

He had been whispering something to Do Yoo-young, and when he abruptly lifted his head, his face was full of surprise.

At the same time, Do Yoo-young, who had been slightly lifting his head, pressed it back down onto the desk.

Slap! The sound of his cheek hitting the desk echoed.

"…?"

The friend's curiosity grew even more due to the unnatural behavior of the two.

"Why are you reacting like that? I want to join in whatever you're doing."

"Wh-what. We're not doing anything."

"Isn't it a role-play? Let me join. I'm bored."

"…Ah, what are you saying. Go away. It's not that."

Ji Hae-soo waved his hand with a deflated expression.

"Then what are you two doing since the morning? Even eating lunch separately. Why leave me out?"

"Leave you out of what? I'm just taking care of a sick friend."

"Bullshit. Do Yoo-young is sick?"

The friend, Hong Ji-yeon, snorted.

He was the friend closest to Do Yoo-young after Ji Hae-soo.

"That guy who didn't catch a cold even in the dead of winter is sick? Hey, Do Yoo-young."

Hong Ji-yeon bent over.

"Lift your head."

"Hong Ji-yeon, leave him alone."

"If he's really sick, he should go to the hospital. Why is he doing this here?"

He shook Do Yoo-young's shoulder, avoiding Ji Hae-soo's hand.

If Do Yu-young was truly sick, he would have said, "It's distracting, stop shaking me."

But Do Yu-young kept his head down even at his touch.

As if he had been ordered never to lift his head.

'What is this.'

Hong Ji-yeon looked even more suspicious.

"Why aren't you talking? Lift your head. Huh? Look at how tense he is."

Hong Ji-yeon let out a scoff as he saw Do Yoo-young resisting with all his might.

'How does this look like a sick person.'

Hong Ji-yeon struggled to get Do Yu-young up.

But Do Yoo-young acted as if his face was glued to the desk.

"I told you to leave him alone."

"Ah, you step aside."

Hong Ji-yeon's persistence grew.

He pushed Ji Hae-soo away and used force to lift Do Yoo-young.

Do Yu-young resisted as much as he could, but Hong Ji-yeon's build was much bigger, so it wasn't a fair fight.

In the end, Do Yoo-young had to stand up from his chair.

And everyone stared blankly at him.

"What the…."

Hong Ji-yeon muttered in a daze.

In front of him stood Do Yu-young.

Still with his face buried in the desk.

That is, he had lifted the desk towards the ceiling.

"…Is he really sick?"

Hong Ji-yeon wore a stunned expression.

By now, it was not just a little, but a lot scary.

"What's wrong with him?"

"What's Do Yoo-young doing? Is this some impromptu strength show?"

The reactions of the classmates weren't much different from Hong Ji-yeon's.

Amid the murmuring kids, Ji Hae-soo closed his eyes tightly.

'This is a disaster.'

Ji Hae-soo sighed inwardly.

'It's my fault.'

He was the one who had whispered to the god, using any means necessary, to never lift his face from the desk.

The dog was merely obeying his words faithfully.

'Damn it.'

Do Yoo-young, with the dog's spirit inside him, was completely different from his usual self.

His subtly relaxed expression, the oddly soft atmosphere, everything.

Even when told to maintain a neutral expression, he couldn't last more than a minute.

If he let his guard down for a moment, the corners of his mouth would lift, and he'd naturally smile with his eyes.

For the classmates who saw Do Yu-young every day, it was impossible not to notice something was off.

'I tried to make it look as normal as possible.'

So, he had told him to pretend to be sick and lie down, so there'd be no reason for conversation or to show his face.

And thanks to that, it became incredibly suspicious.

"Hey, just put the desk down for now. Isn't it heavy?"

Despite Hong Ji-yeon's words, Do Yu-young remained silent.

Even though it was made of wood, a desk was still a desk.

It seemed heavy for him too, as his hand holding the desk up was trembling.

Yet, he stood there quietly without even making a groaning sound, looking even stranger.

"Do Yu-young, just put the desk down."

In the end, Ji Hae-soo sighed heavily as he spoke.

Do Yu-young hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering the desk to the floor.

After staring at the floor for a few seconds, Do Yu-young glanced at Ji Hae-soo.

'What the...'

Hong Ji-yeon and the other classmates tilted their heads in confusion.

Why was Do Yoo-young...

'Does it seem like he's watching Ji Hae-soo?'

Like a dog caught chewing on the sofa by its owner, Do Yu-young appeared subtly cowed.

The expressions of the kids watching gradually became peculiar.

For some reason, they felt something was off.

"......"

"......"

Ji Hae-soo was also at a loss for how to handle the situation.

The silence filling the classroom was stifling.

"Tak!"

"Do Yoo-young from class 3! Your homeroom teacher wants to see you in the teacher's office."

The front door of the classroom opened, and a student from another class shouted.

Do Yoo-young's eyes widened.

"The teacher's office? Homeroom teacher?"

At that moment, the classmates frowned in unison.

What?

'Why does he talk like that...'

For some reason, it gave them goosebumps.

'Something is definitely strange.'

There was clearly something odd, but they couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

While Hong Ji-yeon and the other classmates were puzzled, Ji Hae-soo snapped back to reality.

"Hey, you. Damn it, let's go out. No, let's go together."

Grabbing Do Yu-young by his uniform, Ji Hae-soo moved decisively.

"The teacher's office? Hae-soo—"

"Shh, shh."

Ji Hae-soo quickly covered Do Yu-young's mouth and led him out the back door.

The classmates left in the room stood there in a daze.

"...What was that just now?"

Hong Ji-yeon muttered softly.

Unfortunately, there was no one to answer his question.

A confusing silence lingered in the classroom.

*    *    *

"Cut! Ah, that was great! Really great!"

The director shouted with a beaming face.

"Why do you guys have such good chemistry? There's not a single weak link in the acting. How much did you practice?"

Nothing excites an actor more than a director's praise.

The actors, who had been looking blankly just a moment ago, quickly turned shy.

After complimenting each extra actor one by one, the director approached Seo Ji-oh.

"Hey, Hong Ji-yeon. They say you're a newbie from Wu Yeon, but you act really well?"

"Thank you, director."

"Your expression was great. That deep frown on your brow. Ah, if you could just speak a bit louder here, it would be even better. More presence."

"...!"

Seo Ji-oh widened his eyes momentarily, then quickly responded that he would.

The role he played was Do Yoo-young's classmate, Hong Ji-yeon.

Although it had a name and lines, it was essentially a minor role not much different from an extra.

Considering the total running time, he only appeared for a few minutes.

For an actor with such a role, the director's words to emphasize his presence were a kind of permission.

Permission to be more ambitious here.

"Alright, let's take a ten-minute break and then shoot again! Everyone, get hydrated!"

"Yes~!"

The actors and staff responded loudly to the director's words.

I approached Seo Ji-oh, who was staring blankly at the floor.

"Seo Ji-oh."

"Yes?"

He was startled and then smiled awkwardly when he saw me.

"Ah, Yeon-jae... Why? Do you have something to say?"

"No."

When I lightly shook my head, Seo Ji-oh looked puzzled.

He had a face that seemed to wonder why I came over if I had nothing to say.

'He's really strict.'

After seeing kids like Noh Bi-hyuk or Sung Lee-jun, seeing him felt strange.

It felt like a solid wall was firmly in place.

There was a clear sense of distance.

Of course, that didn't mean I wanted to cross that line.

There were already enough people within the line as it was.

"Hyung!"

Before I could dwell on that thought, Han Ha-ram ran over.

"It's break time now, so I can talk to you, right? I've been sitting quietly!"

"Good job. Are you hungry?"

"No! How about you, Yeon-jae, I mean, hyung?"

Han Ha-ram quickly changed his address as he noticed Seo Ji-oh next to me.

Seo Ji-oh looked at Han Ha-ram with interest.

"Hello?"

"Hello...."

"I'm Yeon-jae's friend, Seo Ji-oh. I've heard about you from Lee-jun hyung, nice to meet you."

"…You know Lee-jun hyung?"

Seo Ji-oh smiled slowly.

"Yeah. Yeon-jae introduced us. You too, right?"

"Yes…"

Han Ha-ram responded, looking more at ease, possibly because Seo Ji-oh was friends with Sung Lee-jun.

Anyway.

'He’s like a sly snake.'

I looked at Seo Ji-oh, who was smiling loosely. After finishing his short conversation with Han Ha-ram, he looked at me.

"Then, you two have a good chat. I’ll be over there."

"Okay."

I nodded, and Seo Ji-oh gave a small smile to Han Ha-ram before walking away.

Han Ha-ram, with one cheek resting against my chest, watched Seo Ji-oh’s retreating figure.

"Yeon-jae, are you close with that hyung too?"

Hmm.

I hesitated at the question I'd heard regarding Noh Bi-hyuk as well. Though Seo Ji-oh and Noh Bi-hyuk couldn't be directly compared...

"Yeah, we're close."

We weren’t on bad terms, after all. He had a clear purpose for sticking with me.

"I see…"

Han Ha-ram mumbled, biting his lip. I chuckled and patted his head.

"Why? You don't like him?"

"It's not that. It’s just, something feels off."

"What do you mean?"

"His vibe is different from the other hyungs around you."

Struggling to find the right words in Korean, Han Ha-ram switched to English.

"(He feels kind of creepy. Not like a bad person, though.)"

I gently stroked Han Ha-ram’s forehead. Enjoying my touch, he murmured softly.

"(Like a snake…)"

"…"

I paused for a moment.

'Kids really do notice everything.'

I let out a dry laugh. Seo Ji-oh had seemed perfectly friendly while talking with Han Ha-ram. His relaxed smile, masking his sharpness, was the same as always.

Even now, Seo Ji-oh was smiling leisurely among the extra actors.

But I could see it.

His eyes quickly scanning the actors.

'Is he assessing who has the most potential?'

He was incredibly goal-oriented.

'He’s impressive, in his own way.'

I shook my head without realizing it. I turned my attention away from him, hiding his true nature behind his slow speech.

"It'll be fine."

"Huh?"

I patted Han Ha-ram, who was looking up at me with wide eyes.

"I don't think he's a venomous snake."

"A venomous snake?"

Han Ha-ram tilted his head, not understanding. I just laughed at his innocent expression.

"Never mind. Don't worry about it. Should we go get some snacks?"

"Yeah!"

Holding Han Ha-ram’s hand, I led him toward the snacks.

'Is it just my imagination?'

I felt an inexplicable gaze on my back.

A sharp gaze, like the fangs of a snake.