Chapter 101: The Price of Actions (8)
“W-Writer-nim?”
Startled by the icy tone, Honda Daisuke immediately stopped acting and looked up at Kim Si-woo.
The two actresses watching from behind cursed him silently.
‘That idiot… why did he stop acting?’
‘We’re screwed…’
When Honda Daisuke turned around in panic and looked at them, the two women quickly turned away, completely ignoring him.
‘Why is he looking over here?’
‘Ugh…’
Faced with their cold shoulders, Honda Daisuke turned back to Kim Si-woo. Seeing the chilling look in his eyes, Honda Daisuke slowly stood up.
“Uh… well…”
“If you’re going to act, you should’ve cleared the audience behind you first. I almost fell for it… I was seriously wondering how to comfort you.”
Kim Si-woo’s shadowed expression made Honda Daisuke instinctively step back.
“You—go kneel in that corner over there.”
“…Yes.”
Kim Si-woo sent Honda Daisuke to the corner and finished his sushi.
Now down to two, the actresses resumed their strategy meeting.
“What are we going to do?”
“You figure something out, senpai. You’ve known him longer.”
“If I had an idea, I would’ve said it already.”
“Argh…”
While the two hemmed and hawed, Kim Si-woo was nearly done eating.
“Oh no… he’s almost finished with the sushi…”
“No choice. We have to go with that plan.”
“That plan?”
Kirishima Sumire looked at Arimura Noa as if she’d just had a brilliant idea.
“What plan?”
“It’s this…”
She whispered her idea into Arimura Noa’s ear, and Arimura Noa shoved her away.
“What? Are you crazy? There’s no way I can do that!”
“Why not? Just do it. Honestly, it feels like you’ve wanted to anyway—I’m just giving you the timing.”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
“Do it!”
“I can’t!”
At that moment, Kim Si-woo, having finished his meal, spoke up from behind.
“Daisuke, you can get up now. And you two, stop whispering and come here.”
“Ah! Senpai, we have no choice. That’s the only way to keep Writer-nim here.”
“Then you do it.”
“I don’t have the backstory for it. And…”
Kirishima Sumire’s gaze wasn’t on Kim Si-woo—it was on Honda Daisuke, who was struggling to stand up, his legs numb from kneeling.
“You… don’t tell me…”
“See? So I can’t do it.”
“Fine… I’ll do it then.”
“Fighting, senpai.”
The two finished their talk and approached Kim Si-woo. Before he could speak, Arimura Noa jumped in first.
“Um… Writer-nim. Actually, I…”
Kirishima Sumire’s plan was for her to confess to Kim Si-woo.
But there was one thing Kirishima Sumire hadn’t considered…
Rejection.
Arimura Noa.
She could be stubborn at times, but she was generally kind-hearted.
With her looks and family background, there wasn’t a single flaw.
Kirishima Sumire couldn’t imagine a world where someone like her got turned down.
But what she didn’t know…
Was that looks and background meant absolutely nothing to Kim Si-woo.
“I…”
Just as Arimura Noa struggled to continue, Kim Si-woo cut her off.
“I didn’t realize you all wanted me to stay this badly. One month.”
“Huh?”
“One month from now, I’ll have to go back to Korea. As much as it looks like I’m free, there are actually a lot of people waiting for me.”
“Ah… okay.”
“But I’ll come back to Japan once filming wraps. I have to see the movie, after all.”
Kim Si-woo’s words swallowed Arimura Noa’s confession whole.
And they bought themselves one more month.
One month.
Not long, but not short either.
All they had to do in that time was give their absolute best in acting.
“Senpai, what about the confession?”
“It’s… fine.”
“Ugh… you’re so frustrating.”
“Hey, what if he rejects me? Are you going to take responsibility? We’re not even at that stage yet. If anyone’s confessing, it should be you.”
“How can a girl confess first? I’m going to wait until he does it.”
“What? Am I not a girl?”
“Senpai, that was an emergency. Can you handle it if Writer-nim goes back to Korea? You know tons of actresses will swarm him the moment he’s there.”
At Kirishima Sumire’s words, Arimura Noa remembered the two actresses who had visited Japan.
Jung Se-yeon and Hong Soo-yeon.
And both of them had definitely shown interest in Kim Si-woo.
No, they were clearly interested.
“Damn it…”
“Sounds like someone came to mind.”
“One month… I’ll settle it within one month.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll back you up hard.”
“Thanks. And I’ll back you up just as hard.”
The two women who always fought suddenly united over love.
Perhaps because of that, starting the next day, the two actresses grew much closer.
Though Kim Si-woo and Honda Daisuke had no idea why…
Time flew by.
The three leads’ chemistry improved day by day, the set atmosphere got better, and there was really nothing left to worry about.
Except for the weird vibe whenever they all gathered.
Ever since the day Kim Si-woo said he’d stay one month, the atmosphere had turned strange.
Kirishima Sumire started asking about his ideal type, what he looked for in women, and all sorts of questions related to dating.
As if she were gathering intel for someone…
Meanwhile, Arimura Noa kept putting some kind of pressure on Honda Daisuke…
Kim Si-woo had no clue what it was.
“It’s suspicious…”
While Kim Si-woo’s suspicions grew, time passed quickly, and the promised month was almost up.
But contrary to his growing doubts, nothing happened until he boarded the plane back to Korea.
“Well… good luck with the rest of filming, everyone.”
“Yes, Writer-nim. Safe travels. I’ll contact you when filming wraps.”
“See you next time, Writer-nim.”
“Thank you for everything, Writer-nim.”
Kim Si-woo said goodbye to the three actors and boarded his flight to Korea.
At the airport after he left, Kirishima Sumire poked Arimura Noa in the side.
“Ow! Why?”
“So you’re giving up?”
“No, it’s one step back for a bigger leap forward.”
“What if he gets a girlfriend in Korea in the meantime?”
“Well… I don’t think Writer-nim is thinking about dating anyone yet.”
“How would you know that?”
“Woman’s intuition? If he were going to date, he would’ve done it long ago.”
“That’s true… Anyway, let’s head back. We still have a lot of practice left.”
The leads of <The Way a Genius Loves> hurried back to the practice room.
Back in Korea, Kim Si-woo rushed home.
No matter how comfortable his apartment in Japan was, nothing beat his own house.
“I’m home!”
“You’re back? Come sit. Food’s ready.”
It was 3 p.m., but Kim Si-woo’s mother had prepared a table full of dishes that could break its legs.
“It’s only 3 in the afternoon…”
“I know you probably just ate instant stuff in Japan because it was a hassle. You need proper home-cooked meals at times like this.”
At his mother’s words, Kim Si-woo recalled the food he’d eaten in Japan.
Premium sushi, Osaka specialties, famous restaurant dishes…
Home cooking hadn’t really crossed his mind.
He actually missed the masterful dishes of skilled chefs more.
His palate had become quite refined.
“Hahaha… of course. I’ve been craving your doenjang jjigae so much…”
But thoughts were just thoughts.
That was the way to live peacefully at home.
After an early dinner, Kim Si-woo lay down on his familiar bed.
“Starting tomorrow, I need to get moving for real. Oh, I’ve been so busy I haven’t checked the news… wonder how things are going…”
He had heard that his drama <Celebrity Secret Rescue Team> had started airing, but he didn’t know the details after that.
“It probably didn’t flop, right?”
Just in case, Kim Si-woo quickly searched it.
“Should I… call this good news…?”
Fortunately, the viewership ratings were high.
But the problem lay elsewhere with the drama.
<Celebrity Secret Rescue Team>
The title itself was about rescuing celebrities.
As a result, past scandals were being re-examined, and issues related to the drama—malicious commenters, exploitative agency CEOs, stalkers—were surfacing, sparking a witch hunt.
Fans of various celebrities were becoming increasingly extreme.
Some were terrorizing people involved in old scandals or doxxing them.
“This is getting a bit… out of hand?”
Worried, Kim Si-woo called Kim Jin-man.
—Yes! Writer-nim. You’re back in Korea?
“Ah… yeah. It’s just… is the drama really okay?”
—Huh? Hahaha. Don’t worry. The ratings are great.
“I’m more concerned about the articles—it seems like things are blowing up too much.”
—Well… since it involves celebrities, it was bound to be a hot topic.
“I feel like I did something wrong…”
—You just did your job as a writer. This drama has at least indirectly shown people how tough it is for celebrities, so views might change a little. As always, it’s the extreme fans causing problems.
Kim Jin-man’s reassurance eased Kim Si-woo’s mind a bit.
—And the more buzz, the higher the ratings—so the network loves it.
“That’s a relief, then. If anything comes up, please let me know.”
—Don’t worry. We’ll handle everything before it becomes an issue.
“Then let’s set up a dinner soon, CP Kim Jin-man.”
—Thank you, Writer-nim. Rest well and don’t stress.
After hanging up with Kim Jin-man, Kim Si-woo’s mind lingered on the impact of his work before he fell asleep.
The next day, Kim Si-woo headed to Siwoo Film.
In secret, without telling anyone.
The team members were shocked but thrilled to see him.
“Writer-nim! You’re staying in Korea for good now, right?”
“Hmm…”
“If you’re going back to Japan, take us with you. It’s boring without you here.”
“Really? Then I guess I need to work harder. Let me check the schedule…”
“Ah, Writer-nim, I was wrong!”
Seeing how warmly they welcomed him made Kim Si-woo realize even more that all his previous worries had been pointless.
‘Yeah, I should just take good care of my own people first. At least these are the ones I brought in myself.’
A random internet post suddenly came to mind.
When you meet ten new people, one will unconditionally like you, two will unconditionally hate you, and seven won’t care either way—neither liking nor disliking you.
In the end, some things won’t work no matter how hard you try, and some people will come to you without any effort.
Whether I write good scripts or bad ones.
I’m still me.
All I can do is put effort into taking care of that one person who unconditionally likes me.
‘Well… if anyone messes around, I can just give back what I get.’
Of course, Kim Si-woo’s interpretation was a bit twisted.
After lunch with the Siwoo Film team, Kim Si-woo gathered everyone and finally brought up the topic he’d been holding back: expanding the company.
“I’m thinking of expanding Siwoo Film this time… What do you all think?”
“I’m in favor. Honestly, with Siwoo Film’s current position and budget, plus the need for change among actors and staff, I think it’s time.”
Lee Yoo-jin raised her hand first and shared her opinion, and the other staff agreed.
The actors, however, were divided.
Some supported bringing in new talent for the company’s growth, while others worried about being pushed out.
One actor cautiously raised a hand and spoke honestly to Kim Si-woo.
“I’m not sure, to be honest. If new actors come in, we’ll have to compete… and I’m not confident we’ll only get people like Soo-yeon.”
It was a completely pride-free, raw confession.
The kind of thing you can only say because you trust and rely on someone.
That’s why Kim Si-woo wanted to be someone they could depend on.
“Then how about this?”
**************
TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176.
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining 75 chapters (102–176) are available on my Patreon Premium tier, along with extra chapters from my other 5 ongoing translated novels.
There’s also a Plus tier with 38 advance chapters, updated at 7 chapters per week.
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls?utm_source=search
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
**************