Hell's Actor-Chapter 51: Salted Chocolate Tarts

"Remind me again, Rin." Sitting on the sofa, Averie snapped his head towards his friend. "Did you not say that this show takes itself seriously?"

Hyerin replied with wry laughter.

Walking towards them were the members of NeRen dressed fashionably as if it was an award ceremony.

"Overdress much?"

Averie had spent the last half an hour chatting with Su-Bin while Hyerin snapped their pictures together.

Once the cast was arranged around the tiny kitchen, the producer gave an ’ok’ sign.

The recording began.

Ha-Yun energetically introduced the guests.

"Today, we are welcoming our returning guest: actress Su-Bin Kang."

Su-Bin flashed a smile at the camera.

"Good to be here."

"And currently the most popular man in the country, the best of the best, the greatest, dazzling and charming—Averie ’The Quinn’ Auclair!"

She had expected it to some degree, but seeing the difference in treatment, Su-Bin looked appalled.

Averie waved at the camera.

"Delighted to be here."

Only then did Hyerin breathe a sigh of relief.

She had been expecting her friend to do something outrageous, but at least the opening went smoothly.

Hee-Young bowed her head.

"It’s an honor, sir."

Averie chuckled.

"Hey, relax." He handed her a cookie from the glass jar on the counter. "I know I am like cool and all, and it’s good to recognize your betters. But you need to calm down."

Hyerin felt weirdly calm about that comment—perhaps because she was expecting something far worse.

Hee-Young gratefully accepted the cookie.

Tears flowed down her puffed-up cheeks as she munched on the snack like a hamster.

"It’s so good."

The recording continued without any issues.

"Let’s see what we are making today."

Ha-Yun held up a bowl full of folded paper slips in front of Averie.

He picked one of the notes, unfolded it, and displayed it to the camera.

"Salted chocolate tarts."

’And how do you make those?’

Averie wasn’t a great cook. He had enough skills to ensure his survival, but baking wasn’t one of them.

As it turned out, he did not need to worry. Lenny and Hana were extremely good at baking.

Out of the goodness of his heart, Averie asked if they needed help, but the girls would not let him.

They served him coffee and provided a tall wooden stool for him to sit on.

The whole theme of the series was celebrities working together to make a nice dish, but that was all thrown out of the window for the sake of their lord and savior.

"You did it wrong, Su-Bin!" Sunny yelled, pointing at the pieces of chocolate that weren’t thin enough. "Do it again!"

The actress was one step away from losing it. She was deeply upset about the unfair treatment she received.

The girls asked the two actors—mostly Averie—a variety of questions.

They asked him about BSPH, his role as Asmodeus, the wonderful director, the rest of the cast, and anything funny that happened on the set.

"The average TV rating for the sixth episode was 38.4%," Ha-Yun read from her cue card. "Do you think the show will surpass the 40% mark?"

"Of course," Averie replied, sipping his coffee. "It would be a surprise if it didn’t."

"The critics and the audience alike have been raving about the drama. Popular review aggregator site CottonPop gave the recent episode an average audience rating of 9.7. It is very unusual for a show to have such high ratings every episode. Did you expect this level of success when you first read the script?"

"I expected some level of success, but this sort of reception was unimaginable even for me."

They asked him about Asmodeus’s death.

But instead of listening to him, Ha-Yun and Sunny kept going on about how they felt about it.

It felt less like an interview and more like a chat between a disorganized group of friends.

While melting chocolate, Cecile ended up spilling a bag of flour to the ground. And because of the windy place, it ended up spreading all over the kitchen and the set.

Hee-Su got into a sneezing frenzy. Hee-Young panicked as everything was falling apart. Lenny looked around for something to clean the mess. Hana continued baking. And Ha-Yun watched in silence.

Watching the scene, Averie couldn’t help but laugh sadistically at their misery.

In such a chaotic atmosphere, Sunny was the first to bring up the matter of his purple briefs.

’Finally, a woman of culture.’

Averie spent the next forty minutes explaining to them how purple underwear was imperative to saving democracy.

"It is superior in every sense," he succinctly finished.

To the girls’ delight, he even answered a few questions in Asmodeus’s voice.

As the interview was coming to an end, one last question was asked.

It was from Hee-Young.

"Any advice for aspiring actors?"

Averie thought about it for a minute. He was not the best teacher in the world. He was temperamental and reckless.

’What could I possibly tell them?’

But something clicked into his mind.

"Don’t try to copy me."

’Don’t be reckless, kids.’

"You will never be like me."

’Unhinged like me.’

"Don’t get any funny ideas."

’Intrusive thoughts are dangerous, after all.’

Hyerin was not pleased with those words.

’Why is he ruining his image?’

In all of that, Su-Bin hadn’t been asked a single question. She was entirely ignored.

Out of frame, Hana secretly nudged Cecile.

"Say, who is she?" She was looking at Hyerin. "She doesn’t look like his manager."

"I don’t know. But I heard him calling her ’Rin.’ They must be very close."

The rumor mill was about to work overtime.

Once the tarts were done and consumed, Averie, Su-Bin, and NeRen traded autographs.

The section was a staple of the series.

"Is it fine if we post the pictures online?"

"Sure," Averie replied.

’I will get to troll some jealous idiots, won’t I?’ He rubbed his hands together. ’How wonderful.’

After leaving a message for the viewers to watch the finale of BSPH, the recording ended.

While waving goodbyes, Hyerin and Averie departed from the set.

Hyerin looked delighted.

"That was fun, wasn’t it?"

"It was fine."

"Just admit you had fun." Hyerin turned on the music. "You know, you shouldn’t have talked that much about your purple brief thing."

"Hey, Rin?"

"Yeah?"

"I did this recording for you, yeah?"

"Yes—uh-huh..."

"Isn’t there something you should be saying to me, then?"

The poor girl was guilt-tripped into thanking him.

About fifteen minutes later, they found themselves driving on the highway connecting the north and the south of the country.

Sinner No More was playing in the car, and everything seemed peaceful.

But suddenly, Averie’s voice broke the tranquility.

"Step on it, Rin."

A car with tinted windows had caught his eye.

"We are being tailed."

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