Bedroom Genius Actor - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 41

‘What should I do about this…?’

Cold sweat dripped down Kim Ji-hu’s back.

Thanks to his ability, he was maintaining his expression, but he was truly in a state of panic.

‘There wasn’t a question like this during practice…’

Until now, Kim Ji-hu hadn’t been able to properly answer anything that wasn’t written in the script.

Fortunately though, his mind was working.

If it were the usual Kim Ji-hu, his mind would have gone completely blank, but perhaps thanks to all the practice, his mind was functioning.

‘Wh-what was the question…? Right… highlight scene…’

As he repeated the question to himself, he could see ahead. He felt the gazes of countless reporters and audience members.

His body stiffened at this, but at some point he felt okay.

Because familiar people came into his view.

Choi Tae-geon was clasping his hands together and looking at Kim Ji-hu with anxious eyes, while Baek Do-kyung had his mouth tightly shut and arms crossed.

Director Park Sang-pil was also visible, having arrived at some point, and behind him were the staff members who had worked together on this film.

“…”

The people who had helped him with his interview and those who had worked hard to make this work successful.

‘I can’t just weakly collapse here by myself.’

These people had also done their best in their positions.

Yet he couldn’t give up here just because it felt burdensome, just because he disliked people.

Although Kim Ji-hu’s original purpose was to protect his blog, even if it wasn’t his original purpose, he couldn’t tolerate ruining everything.

Kim Ji-hu clenched his fist tightly and brought the microphone to his mouth.

“The highlight scene… we thought about it a lot too. I continuously discussed it with the director, Se-ra, and Seong-min… So we created the role of ‘Jo Hae-jun’. ‘Jo Hae-jun’ is like a brother to ‘Kim Tae-su’… while worrying, he helps him take one more step forward…”

Though he was stuttering, Kim Ji-hu was steadily giving his answer.

Not only Yun Se-ra, who knew Kim Ji-hu’s condition, but also Choi Tae-geon and Baek Do-kyung showed surprised expressions.

Kim Ji-hu, who during practice couldn’t even open his mouth unless it was a prepared question, was now answering accurately.

“…That’s all.”

Kim Ji-hu finished his answer and let out a small breath.

Then Yun Se-ra, who was beside him, smiled brightly and said.

“You did so well.”

“…Thank you.”

Choi Tae-geon was also giving him a thumbs up from far away, and Baek Do-kyung nodded his head in satisfaction.

‘I… did well, right?’

Kim Ji-hu was dumbfounded. To think that he, who had trouble saying even a word in front of someone, would speak in front of so many people.

‘I can… do this kind of thing too…’

An answer he had given himself, not just relying on his ability.

That’s why it was an even more valuable experience.

***

“No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand.”

An office in Seoul.

There, a man was groaning while clutching his head.

That man was none other than the emperor of ad-libs, Oh Jin-woo.

Ever since his proposal to the reviewer was rejected, he had been continuously muttering to himself things like ‘Why on earth???’, ‘But I’m Oh Jin-woo?’, ‘Maybe it was because I didn’t mention the amount…’, ‘I should contact them again…’

Shin Jeong-min, Oh Jin-woo’s manager who had been watching this continuously, let out a sigh.

“Why are you acting like this?”

When he asked that, Oh Jin-woo spoke as if he had been waiting.

“No, hyung, listen. This doesn’t make sense, you know? They’re not even some super famous reviewer, just a regular reviewer, so when I praised them and suggested working together, shouldn’t they have been delighted and happy? And the project isn’t just any project either? I even explained that it’s a major project this time…”

Shin Jeong-min held his head as he listened to those words.

‘I knew this would happen, that’s why I didn’t ask.’

Oh Jin-woo had been coming to the manager’s office for several days, continuously muttering to himself, but Shin Jeong-min had absolutely refused to ask about it.

Because if he asked, it would definitely become incredibly annoying.

He wondered if it was okay to treat his assigned actor, especially a successful actor like Oh Jin-woo, that way, but Shin Jeong-min was someone who could do that.

It was Shin Jeong-min who had brought the self-centered rookie Oh Jin-woo this far.

Since they practically lived like real brothers, no one criticized him for treating Oh Jin-woo this way.

After pouring out his complaints for almost an hour, Oh Jin-woo finally seemed relieved.

“By the way, hyung. Did you find out who that ‘Armchair Reviewer’ is? I asked you about it before.”

“How am I supposed to find that out? I don’t know their age, face, or phone number. I’m not some detective.”

Of course, though Shin Jeong-min found Oh Jin-woo annoying, he handled all requested tasks perfectly.

However, this time it was nearly impossible.

No one knew anything about the ‘Armchair Reviewer’, and even when he inquired with SBC, who seemed to know a little, they just refused, saying they couldn’t reveal personal information.

‘Looking at the comments on the blog, RT Entertainment and PD Seo Min-sik seem to know something, but their response is also that they don’t know…’

He had seen comments about RT Entertainment looking for the ‘Armchair Reviewer’, but he couldn’t tell from that.

Besides, RT Entertainment had also said they ultimately couldn’t find them.

‘If a company like RT Entertainment couldn’t find them, it would be hard for me to find them too. Well, maybe I’ll meet them someday. If they stay in the industry, that is.’

Shin Jeong-min thought that and asked Oh Jin-woo.

“But do you really need to find them? Are they that kind of person?”

“Yeah, like the final piece that could complement the only weakness in my acting? With that person, I’d become a truly perfect actor. Haha.”

It sounded like something someone with eighth-grader syndrome would say, but Shin Jeong-min just listened, thinking ‘whatever’.

‘If Jin-woo is saying this much, they must really be skilled. At least he’s not someone who jokes around when it comes to acting.’

Shin Jeong-min thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Then I’ll look into it more. You focus on practice in the meantime. And don’t talk about adding ad-libs like last time.”

“Okay~. Then I’m going to work out and practice.”

Oh Jin-woo left the office like that, and Shin Jeong-min sat in his chair and pressed his temples firmly.

“More work to do… When will I finish it all…”

Shin Jeong-min felt even more troubled since he had wasted an hour listening to Oh Jin-woo’s complaints.

***

After the last preview screening, Kim Ji-hu was able to answer other interviews smoothly as well.

Of course, the awkward parts didn’t disappear, but just being able to do it was tremendous progress.

Choi Tae-geon said with a smile.

“From the next work, you could probably take all the questions?”

Until now, they had conducted interviews in a way that questions wouldn’t go to Kim Ji-hu as much as possible, so he seemed to be saying that.

Kim Ji-hu scratched his head.

“Not quite to that extent yet…”

“Come on, if you try that too, you’ll probably be able to do it. You succeeded this time too.”

At Choi Tae-geon’s words, Kim Ji-hu smiled awkwardly.

‘Even now I collapse as soon as I get home, so if it gets worse than this, I might really faint…’

Already, fainting when he returned home due to the mental energy consumed during interviews had become routine.

So having even more questions was something he’d rather pass on.

‘But it seems like I’ve reached a level where I won’t cause trouble.’

Thanks to Choi Tae-geon’s help, he was able to maintain a decent appearance, which was truly fortunate.

“Then there’s not much schedule left now. After we finish the YouTube filming the day after tomorrow, the promotional schedule will be almost over.”

After that, only the actual release would remain. Of course, there would be various things to do after the release too, but it would definitely be more leisurely than now.

“But what is actor Kim Jeong-won like in person?”

The filming they were going to do this time was content for actor Kim Jeong-won’s YouTube channel.

Since Choi Tae-geon said it was the most important schedule, he wanted to learn a bit about that person.

He had watched works featuring actor Kim Jeong-won, but he didn’t know much about that person’s actual personality.

“Um… He has a good personality. He likes alcohol and food. Rather than me explaining, you’ll get a feel for it if you just watch his YouTube?”

Though he was a content addict, Kim Ji-hu preferred dramas and movies over YouTube, so he hadn’t watched it until now.

‘Then I should watch it roughly when I get home…’

Kim Ji-hu was already feeling conscious of Yun Se-ra’s attention since he hadn’t been posting reviews on his blog lately, but still, work came first, so he decided to watch YouTube.

***

The day of the YouTube filming.

Kim Ji-hu headed to actor Kim Jeong-won’s house together with Yun Se-ra and Park Seong-min.

“Ji-hu, will we get to see you drink today?”

Park Seong-min asked playfully.

Kim Ji-hu, who had only sipped cola even during company dinners.

“I don’t really like alcohol that much… I probably won’t drink…”

“Really? Do you not like getting drunk?”

“Well, there’s that… and also because of the taste.”

“Then you might be able to drink. The senior makes amazing cocktails. At least try the taste. It’s delicious.”

Hearing those words, Kim Ji-hu recalled the video he watched yesterday.

Actor Kim Jeong-won making cocktails for the visiting actors.

‘He had such a warm personality too.’

He was like a picture-perfect example of a good-natured person.

He was friendly with everyone, whether they were rookies or veteran actors.

Then Yun Se-ra spoke.

“He won’t say anything if you refuse alcohol, so if you don’t want to drink, it’s okay to decline.”

“Yes, yes… Thank you.”

They arrived in front of actor Kim Jeong-won’s house, and Park Seong-min said.

“Shall we go in?”

***

“Everyone, welcome~.”

“Hello.”

Actor Kim Jeong-won greeted them with a bright smile. He was a middle-aged man in his 40s who looked dapper in a suit.

“Oh, Seong-min, it’s been a while?”

“You’ve been well, senior.”

They seemed quite close with Park Seong-min, even hugging each other in greeting.

Kim Ji-hu entered the house and looked behind actor Kim Jeong-won.

Behind him were about three cameras, with about two people on standby.

True to YouTube filming, they seemed to have kept the crew to a minimum.

As he was looking around the back, actor Kim Jeong-won approached Kim Ji-hu.

“Is there something interesting? There’s nothing special in my house.”

“Oh, no, no… I was just curious about filming at home…”

“Haha! There aren’t many people, right? You’ve probably only seen big film sets from movies and dramas, so this must be interesting. Oh, I’ve kept our precious guests standing too long. Please come in.”

Actor Kim Jeong-won guided the three to the dining table.

The table was spread with pasta, salad, and dishes he’d never seen before.

“Wow…”

“Did you prepare all this yourself?”

“Of course~. Our stars are visiting. Now, you must be hungry, so please eat. They say even Mount Geumgang looks better after a meal, so let’s talk while eating.”

From watching YouTube, he knew that actor Kim Jeong-won usually cooked and set the table himself.

‘A-are there any table manners or etiquette for eating this kind of food?’

Kim Ji-hu, who usually never touched Western food, was extremely flustered, but he managed to follow along by watching how Yun Se-ra and Park Seong-min ate.

And Kim Ji-hu tasted the pasta in front of him.

Kim Ji-hu’s eyes widened.

‘I-it’s really delicious. This is a taste I’ve never experienced before…!’

Seeing Kim Ji-hu’s great surprise, actor Kim Jeong-won smiled.

“Ji-hu, does it suit your taste? I originally wanted to make what you and Se-ra wanted to eat, but this guy Seong-min forgot to ask, so I made what I’m most confident in.”

“Yes…! It’s incredibly delicious!”

“That’s a relief then. But…”

Actor Kim Jeong-won looked at Kim Ji-hu and furrowed his brow.

“Have we met somewhere before?”

“…Pardon?”

“No, I have this feeling like you look familiar… What is it…?”

Both Yun Se-ra and Park Seong-min tilted their heads in confusion.

“Maybe it’s just because you enjoyed ‘Trauma’ so much? You two haven’t met separately.”

“Hmm… Is that it? Something feels… like it’s on the tip of my tongue… Well, anyway, shall I make cocktails for everyone?”

Park Seong-min answered cheerfully.

“Sounds good~ But Ji-hu doesn’t really drink because he doesn’t like the taste of alcohol, so please make him something delicious, senior.”

“Really? That’s my specialty. Ji-hu, what kind of flavored drinks do you like?”

Kim Ji-hu thought for a moment and said quietly.

“I like… sour things.”

“Sour? Perfect. Then I’ll make you my signature ‘too sour’ cocktail right away~.”

Yun Se-ra and Park Seong-min’s eyes widened.

“Senior! That one’s extremely sour!”

“Ji-hu… you should have something else…”

In the atmosphere where everyone seemed to be stopping him, Kim Ji-hu hesitated for a moment and said.

“I-I do like sour things, but… th-then please give me something else.”

“Oh no~ no take-backs. And if you like sour things, you’ll definitely like it.”

“Is that so…?”

Kim Jeong-won quickly went to the kitchen to make the cocktail, and soon placed a drink in front of Kim Ji-hu.

“Here, this is my signature ‘too sour’ cocktail~. Enjoy it.”

Yun Se-ra and Park Seong-min looked at Kim Ji-hu with worried eyes, but Kim Ji-hu quietly brought the drink to his lips.

“Huh…? This is really delicious.”

“Right? Everyone who likes sour things loves…”

Kim Jeong-won was looking at Kim Ji-hu with a pleased expression when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

“Hm…?”

“Senior?”

Kim Jeong-won suddenly spoke to Kim Ji-hu as if something had occurred to him.

“That’s right! Yes, yes. Writer Lee Myeong-hee. Do you know writer Lee Myeong-hee? You look incredibly similar to her.”

Freeze.

Kim Ji-hu’s bright expression hardened at that name, and he soon wore a stunned look.

“How… do you know her…”

“I met her a few times at drinking parties before. She even came to visit my house with everyone. What’s your relationship with writer Lee Myeong-hee?”

Kim Ji-hu quietly answered Kim Jeong-won’s question.

“She’s… our mother.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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