Chapter 8

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Translator: Diva
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: In This Life, Oscar Over Husband
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Ah. That was a mistake.

Did I come off as too seasoned an actor?

"Oh, yeah. I saw it in another actor's interview and took notes from it. Do Eun-hee's."

"Oh...... So you studied it from an interview."

Fortunately, Jeon Se-yeon seemed to see me as just a diligent rookie.

'It'd be a problem if a rookie who hasn't even taken acting lessons gave off such a jaded vibe.'

I thought that as I glanced at Park Seo-woo.

He was staring at me blankly but looked away when he noticed my gaze.

'He has a habit of observing people.'

Whatever.

If we went with Park Seo-woo's suggestion and added the slow-motion shot, it was nothing but good for me. It meant more screen time in this project.

After reshooting according to Park Seo-woo's idea, I grabbed some kimbap prepared for lunch and reviewed the footage.

'It really looks good.'

With the slow-mo as Park Seo-woo suggested, I looked beautiful no matter who saw it, and my smile was so innocent.

It was unbelievably cute for a madwoman pretending to be a 'ghost' squatting in someone else's house.

"You look totally different in front of the camera, Member-nim."

I turned to Hong Jong-ho, who had popped up beside me.

Seeing the gleam in his eyes, I offered him my tuna kimbap.

"Huh? You're not eating?"

"Can't eat during filming."

It was always like that. I lost my appetite midway through shoots. Plus, there was the pressure of dieting.

But Hong Jong-ho's brow furrowed at my words.

He pulled something out of his bag and held it out to me.

It was a protein shake.

"......?"

"Skip meals and you'll lose muscle mass, Member-nim."

Oh, right.

This guy's like that.

I recalled how Hong Jong-ho always force-fed me protein snacks, shakes, and chicken breast whenever he caught me starving on set.

"I need to lose weight."

"Starving yourself makes it harder to drop pounds. And muscle loss means you won't last as an actor."

"Hey...... Hong Jong-ho......"

"Eat instead of talking. You're losing muscle by the second."

This lunatic.

I stared at him, and Hong Jong-ho said,

"Like I told you, I have the woman of my destiny."

"......That's not what I meant."

I was about to ask how long he'd keep calling me Member-nim when

Hong Jong-ho looked behind me and yelled,

"Ah, you scared me!"

I whipped around in surprise, and there was a man sitting right behind me, no idea when he'd arrived.

Deep-set eyes. Hollows under them. Prominent jawline.

Handsome like he was stamped out of a mold—a textbook pretty-boy actor.

Seriously, Seo Kyung-bin, the male lead of Living with a Ghost.

He just nodded slightly at Hong Jong-ho's startle, no big reaction.

'......When the hell did he get here?'

Looking closely, he seemed to be watching my acting footage too.

"......Hello."

I greeted him quietly, and Seo Kyung-bin rolled his eyes a bit before nodding.

For reference, Seo Kyung-bin was the quiet type, and because of that, when he blew up in dramas, rumors flew that he was rude.

Didn't return greetings well, didn't initiate them either.

'He was famous for it......'

But the Seo Kyung-bin I knew—

"Here, have some."

I offered matcha-flavored chocolate to Seo Kyung-bin, who was monitoring.

'He's famous among fans as a total fanatic for these.'

He even did a CF for this chocolate addiction thing.

Seo Kyung-bin's eyes widened at the matcha chocolate I held out.

He opened his mouth in surprise—the mouth that only opened for lines during the first script read-through.

"Th-th-th-th-thank you."

That's right.

Seo Kyung-bin wasn't rude; he was just painfully introverted.

Extremely so.

And surprisingly, he had a slight stutter too.

'Of course, it vanishes once the camera rolls.'

An actor that introverted with a stutter?

Sounds impossible, but—

'It's possible.'

It's a well-proven fact that plenty of actors are introverts.

Seo Kyung-bin was one such case.

'Heard he had trauma from being bullied as a kid.'

Apparently, his already timid personality got worse after that.

He said it himself on an emergency talk show his agency shoved him onto when industry rumors of him being an asshole started leaking to the public.

Man, he was sweating bullets.

Truth be told, I'd judged him based on rumors too.

But after seeing him on that talk show—

'No way that was acting......!'

<Haha, that's fine. But aren't you suffering? I could wash my face with the sweat you're shedding, Kyung-bin.>

It seemed like exaggerated humor to lighten the mood, but that drenched towel proved it wasn't.

If someone could fake sweat glands like that, they deserved an Oscar.

Anyway.

Getting a whole sentence out of Seo Kyung-bin like that was shocking.

"Th-that actor......"

I cut off Hong Jong-ho, who was stunned by the stuttering, and greeted Seo Kyung-bin in a low tone.

"I'd finished my scenes and was eating. Didn't expect you so early—had lunch yet?"

Can't let this introvert clam up again now that he's opened up!

Getting along with your romantic counterpart is crucial for acting.

The real relationship inevitably bleeds into the camera to some degree.

At worst, a frosty rapport can tank a kiss scene; at best, if they're already dating, the chemistry explodes.

'Not that there's any chance of dating Seo Kyung-bin...... or even getting friendly, close to zero.'

But we can't end up on bad terms.

"Uh, th-that...... uh...... um......"

Seo Kyung-bin looked like I'd posed the world's toughest riddle.

Then Hong Jong-ho chimed in from the side.

"Looks like you haven't."

I'd shot him a 'don't butt in' look!

The moment I thought that, Hong Jong-ho started rummaging in his bag.

It was a Lock & Lock container of chicken breast cabbage wraps.

"Made these myself. Have some."

"......!"

Seo Kyung-bin's face turned beet red.

Like 'a guy's never given me something like this before.' His shoulders hunched up.

But Hong Jong-ho ignored it and plopped the container on his lap.

"Starve and you'll lose muscle."

No way he'd eat that, right?

Seo Kyung-bin?

But he picked up the container, nodded to Hong Jong-ho with sweat beading on his forehead.

Meaning thanks.

I nudged Hong Jong-ho aside and whispered,

"How'd you do that?"

"Do what? He looks like he just worked out. No one turns down chicken breast then. Loves chocolate but can't have it."

"......"

How'd you even know that?

I sneaked a peek at Seo Kyung-bin.

Before I knew it, he was popping a chicken breast cabbage wrap in his mouth.

His eyes widened as he savored it.

Tasty, apparently.

Come to think of it, Hong Jong-ho was a damn good cook.

Especially killer at boiling chicken breast.

But being this proactive meant—

"Wait, about that manager gig I mentioned before......"

"Thought about it. Not doing it."

"......!"

What? If you're gonna shoot it down like that, why come here?

"For now."

Hong Jong-ho added flatly.

"Gotta wrap up the gym first, but someone requested me specifically."

He pointed right at me.

"......M-me?"

"Yeah. You booked ten PT sessions."

"No, that's......"

You don't have to!

I only did it because of you.

I hate exercise.

"Skeletal muscle mass: 18kg."

"Huh?"

"Hit that in a month, and I'll do it."

Hong Jong-ho fixed me with that stubborn teddy bear look I knew so well.

"Won't even take your money then. Manager."