Hell's Actor-Chapter 87: Rain Man’s Magic

Chae-Won, an ever-professional actress, looked surprisingly smitten by Averie’s proposal.

Without realizing it, she had accepted the challenge the moment she leaned in to look into his eyes.

He had been plotting to undermine the structure of the scene since the moment he read the revised script.

’This scene does not require structure.’

He liked the idea behind the revised plot. But execution, he thought, could benefit from following his vision.

’The awkwardness of planned dialogue would not work. It requires a special kind of magic.’

The magic of artistic actors.

In any other setting, Averie would not have gone against the script. But he believed there was an opportunity here, because his character wasn’t as ordinary as portrayed in the first draft.

’It’s fine to be a little magical here.’

The two rogue actors continued their unscripted dialogue. While the man listened, Neena talked about her family, work, and favorite show.

"My favorite actor looks a lot like you," she added cleverly, swinging her legs back and forth. "Do you come here often?"

"Whenever it rains."

Neena’s figure slackened. Caught in the moment, she leaned further in.

"Will it rain tomorrow?"

The mysterious man placed his elbow on the table and lazily rested his chin in his hand.

"If I am here."

"The day after?"

"I am very often here."

"What about—"

"Forever."

Neena’s face was just inches away from the mysterious man’s.

"You are like a Rain Man," she whispered.

"I am."

Against the curtain of rain, the two stared at each other. Their lips were so close. The mesmerized crew watched with anticipation.

The expectant tension in the air was palpable. Every single soul on the set wondered if they were about to witness an unscripted make-out session.

But before anything could happen, the mysterious man raised the can of soda to Neena’s lips.

She stared at it for a moment, then slowly retracted her figure and accepted it.

As if revised, their heads turned towards the falling rain.

Whether it was a good shot or a bad shot, no one on the set understood. But they thought it was captivating.

"What are they doing?" one of the young supporting actors muttered. "Why are they ruining the scene? We don’t have time to waste on this. This is why bringing in a rowdy actor—"

"Shut up."

The actor haughtily turned his head to come face to face with one of the writers of the show. She was a woman in her fifties, and it was she who first pitched the show seven years ago.

The actor shut his mouth. It was never a good idea to fight the writers.

"Don’t ruin the beautiful moment."

Unlike the Korean standard, The Color Spectrum had a writers’ room, a common feature in Western drama productions.

Initially, the subplot involving Averie’s character and his concept was left to one of the other writers. Only after Averie’s disgruntlement was brought to her attention did she decide to look into it herself.

She was the one who changed the direction and wrote the character.

"If the director wants to continue, then you should not be complaining."

She recognized the magic of the scene.

’Their dialogue and their behavior are telling two different stories.’

She looked down at the script that she had written herself. Lines and lines of dialogue painted a picture of Neena’s dour view towards her life and internal struggles.

But all of that was replaced by her intrigue towards the man. Her depressed moaning had turned into healthy complaining.

Every time she asked a question, the man deflected it.

The writer’s head turned towards the director.

The man had a frown on his face. That meant he had found something worth mulling over.

’He loves it.’

There was no more need for her script.

She felt slightly defeated.

Under the gazebo, Neena sipped the soda and sharply turned to the man beside her.

"Your name—"

"Will the shower wipe away our present?" He gazed into her curious eyes. "Or our future?"

If those on the set could not understand what he was talking about, there was no way the audience would.

But the director, staring at the screen, thought that was what made it so magical. Clearly, there was meaning behind his actions and words, and that was enough for him.

He didn’t need to stop them if they knew what they were doing. He was satisfied letting the actors direct the scene for once.

Soon, as the two stopped talking and stared endlessly into the distance, a voice boomed.

"Cut!"

The take was over.

"No need to call you the IT guy anymore." The director approached the two actors alongside the old writer. "From now on, you are the Rain Man."

Averie smiled.

"You will keep it in, then?"

"The take? Yes."

"So, I assume you have forgiven me?"

"If it weren’t for such a captivating scene, I wouldn’t have." He studied Averie, who had returned to his usual self. "Was it planned?"

Chae-Won also wondered.

"Somewhat," the audacious actor replied. "I wanted to do it differently, that’s all."

The director nodded, told everyone to take ten minutes, and took his leave.

As she was leaving, the writer took a good look at Averie.

"He is too young to be that good," she whispered before walking away.

Averie smirked.

After chatting with Chae-Won, who looked exuberant for some reason, he returned to the comfort of his folding chair.

"You scared me there," Hyerin, who had been watching with Min-Ha, said. "Don’t go off-script like that. No one in the industry likes that. Directors hate it."

"As long as it works, who cares?"

Min-Ha quickly retrieved her bag and touched up his makeup.

"You weren’t planning on kissing, were you?" she asked.

Averie grinned. "Jealous?"

"As if." With her ring finger, she applied a few drops of water to his lips. "To give you that dry look, we slightly darkened your lips. You could have smudged it."

That could have caused an NG.

Once his touch-up was done, Averie shooed them away.

"Your chirping annoys me."

The girls begrudgingly left.

"We need to teach him manners," Hyerin whispered.

Averie turned to a pair of eyes hiding and staring at him from some distance away.

"Are you going to forever watch from afar?" He stole a cookie from Hyerin’s bag and waved it at the girl. "You want one?"

Olivia Rodrigo shyly approached him and accepted the cookie. She watched Averie while her little mouth made crunching noises.

Her eyes contained admiration.

Averie looked at her smugly.

"Do you understand my greatness now?"

Olivia nodded energetically.

All of what Averie had shown seemed like such a simple thing on the surface, yet executing it required deep understanding and careful execution.

It was an extraordinary feat to capture the audience while playing an ordinary man. Even little Olivia understood that. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"If you can recognize my genius," Averie whispered, "you’ll surely make a good actress one day."

As the ten-minute break was coming to an end, Hyerin hastily approached.

She had just gotten off a call and looked unhappy.

"I have good news and bad news."

She had Min-Ha in tow.

"Which one do you want first?"

Averie furrowed his brows and got to thinking.

"Good one first? Or bad one first?"

He paced around, drawing geometric shapes and strings of numbers in his head.

Watching him brainstorm, Min-Ha looked dumbfounded.

"It’s not that hard of a question. Just go for—"

Averie held a finger to her lips.

"Quantum mechanics," he whispered. "Earth’s atmosphere..."

Without asking her permission, he opened Hyerin’s bag in front of her. The poor girl had no choice but to watch as her privacy was defiled.

He found a coin and flipped it high in the air. As it came hurtling down, he picked up the folding chair and smashed the coin with it.

No one saw where the little projectile flew, but Averie looked relieved.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Bad news first."

’What was the point of all that?’ Min-Ha wondered.

But unlike her, Hyerin was smart. She had long stopped questioning Averie.

"It’s about our search for a bodyguard."

She had been making inquiries with the country’s leading private security firms, but all of them had refused to take Averie as their client.

"It’s because of that thing."

They did not want to get involved with the Weisin Conglomerate’s enemy.

"So, they fear Weisin’s retaliation? What inspiring security firms they must be."

Of course, that was a smart choice.

"We will have to either look for a foreign security firm or find a freelancer."

Averie gave her a nod.

"What’s the good news?"

"We received an offer from a big fashion brand." She took a deep breath, knowing a negative reply was coming. "They want you to model for their—"

"Nope."

"Hear me out." She held him in place as he was about to run away. "It’s just a photoshoot for their upcoming catalog."

"That’s not all, is it?"

"Well, they invited you to a fashion show that would soon be held in Tokyo. It coincides with our schedule there."

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