ILHBO C8

This Life Isn’t About a Husband, It’s About an Oscar
Episode 8

Ah. A mistake.

Did I show too much “experienced acting veteran” energy?

“Ah, yes. I actually picked that up from another actor’s interview. Do Eun-hee.”

“Ah…… I see. So you studied from interviews.”

Fortunately, Je Gal Se-yeon seemed to have accepted me as a diligent rookie.

‘It would be a problem if a newcomer who never formally learned acting comes off too worn-in.’

Thinking that, I glanced toward Park Seo-woo.

He had been staring at me, and when he noticed my gaze, he looked away.

‘He’s got a habit of observing people.’

Well, whatever.

If they even include a slow-motion shot like Park Seo-woo suggested, that’s actually good for me. It means my screen time in this project increases.

After accepting Park Seo-woo’s revised shooting suggestion, I took the kimbap prepared for lunch and checked the monitor.

‘It really does look good.’

Just as he said, with the slow motion added, I looked undeniably pretty, and when I smiled, I looked almost innocent.

It was hard to believe this was a character pretending to be a “ghost” illegally occupying someone else’s home.

“You really do look completely different in front of the camera, Member.”

I turned to see Hong Jong-ho suddenly leaning in beside me.

Seeing the sparkle in his eyes, I handed him a tuna kimbap.

“Huh? You’re not eating?”

“It’s filming, so I can’t.”

That was always the case. During shoots, I lost my appetite. There was also the pressure of maintaining my physique.

But Hong Jong-ho frowned at my answer.

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

It was a protein shake.

“……?”

“If you don’t eat, you’ll lose muscle, Member.”

Right.

He really was that kind of person.

I remembered Hong Jong-ho constantly feeding me protein snacks, protein shakes, and chicken breast whenever I was starving on set.

“I told you I need to lose weight.”

“If you don’t eat at all, you won’t lose it properly. And if you lose muscle, you won’t last long as an actor.”

“Hey…… Hong Jong-ho……”

“Talk less, eat more. Your muscles are wasting away every second you hesitate.”

That insane guy.

As I stared at him, Hong Jong-ho said:

“I told you already, I have a destined woman.”

“……That’s not the point.”

I was about to tell him to stop calling me “Member” when—

Hong Jong-ho suddenly looked behind me and shouted.

“Ah, geez—!”

Startled, I turned around.

Somehow, a man was sitting directly behind me.

Sharp eyes. Deep-set eyelids. A sharply defined jawline.

A flawlessly handsome face, like it had been carved by a sculptor.

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

He simply nodded slightly in response to Hong Jong-ho’s outburst and said nothing.

‘……When did he even get here?’

It seemed he had been watching my acting footage.

“……Hello.”

I greeted him quietly.

Seo Kyung-bin rolled his eyes briefly, then nodded.

For reference, Seo Kyung-bin was extremely taciturn, and when he suddenly rose to fame in dramas, there were many rumors that he was arrogant because he barely responded to greetings.

He didn’t greet others first, and didn’t respond properly either.

‘Yeah…… I remember that.’

But the Seo Kyung-bin I knew was—

“Please have some of this.”

I held out a matcha-flavored chocolate toward him.

‘I heard he was famous among fans for liking this.’

He even did a commercial because of his “chocolate obsession.”

Seo Kyung-bin’s eyes widened at the chocolate I offered.

He opened his mouth in surprise—the same mouth that barely opened except for lines during the first script reading.

“Th… th… th… thank you.”

Right.

He wasn’t rude—just extremely shy.

And surprisingly, he also had a slight stutter.

‘It disappears the moment filming starts, though.’

A lead actor this shy, with a stutter too?

It sounded unbelievable—but—

‘It makes sense.’

It’s actually well-documented that many actors are introverted.

Seo Kyung-bin was one of those cases.

‘I heard he was bullied as a kid.’

His naturally timid personality reportedly worsened after that.

When rumors about his “bad personality” started spreading to the public, his agency hurried him onto a talk show.

He was sweating so much during that appearance.

Honestly, I had also believed the rumors about him before.

But after watching that show—

‘That can’t possibly be acting……!’

<I, I… I can’t spea… speak… very funnily, can I?>

<Haha, that’s fine. Are you struggling? I could probably wash my face with all the sweat you’re shedding, Kyung-bin.>

It might have sounded like exaggerated humor to lighten the mood, but the soaked towel beside him proved it wasn’t an exaggeration.

If someone can even act out sweating like that, they deserve an Oscar.

Anyway.

To think I was seeing him speak in front of me right now—shocking.

“That’s the actor……”

Hong Jong-ho murmured in disbelief at Seo Kyung-bin’s stutter, but I quickly blocked him and addressed Kyung-bin in a calm tone.

“I already finished my scenes and was having lunch. I didn’t expect you to arrive early. Have you eaten?”

If an introvert opens his mouth, you don’t shut it again.

Building rapport with a romantic co-star is important for acting.

Because real-life chemistry often bleeds into the camera.

In the worst case, a cold relationship ruins kiss scenes. In the best case, already-dating couples explode with chemistry on screen.

‘Well, the chance of getting close to Seo Kyung-bin is basically zero.’

Still, it would be best not to worsen things.

“Ah, uh… um…”

Seo Kyung-bin looked like I had asked him to solve a world-class problem.

At that moment, Hong Jong-ho jumped in again.

“He probably hasn’t eaten.”

I shot him a warning look to stay out of it—

But Hong Jong-ho was already rummaging through his bag again.

He pulled out a lunchbox filled with chicken breast and cabbage wraps.

“I made this myself. Please eat.”

“……!”

Seo Kyung-bin’s face turned bright red.

Like he was thinking, No one has ever given me something like this before.

His shoulders curled inward.

But Hong Jong-ho ignored all of that and placed the lunchbox on his lap.

“Skipping meals causes muscle loss.”

There’s no way he’ll eat that.

It’s Seo Kyung-bin, after all.

…or so I thought.

He lifted the lunchbox, nodded politely to Hong Jong-ho with a face beaded in sweat, and expressed thanks.

I nudged Hong Jong-ho aside and whispered:

“How did you do that?”

“What do you mean how? He clearly just came from the gym. People like that can’t refuse chicken breast. He likes chocolate but can’t eat it anyway.”

“….”

How the hell do you even know that?

I glanced at Seo Kyung-bin.

He was already eating the chicken breast cabbage wrap.

His eyes widened slightly as he chewed.

It must have been good.

Come to think of it, Hong Jong-ho was actually an excellent cook.

Especially with chicken breast.

But seeing him be this proactive—

“About that manager job I mentioned before……”

“I thought about it. I’m not doing it.”

“……!”

What? He came all the way here just to reject it so cleanly?

“Not right now.”

Hong Jong-ho added calmly.

“I need to finish organizing the gym first. There’s someone who specifically requested me.”

He pointed at me.

“……M-me?”

“Yes. You signed up for ten PT sessions.”

“No, that was……”

You didn’t have to accept it!

That’s because of you!

I hate exercising.

“Muscle mass: 18 kilograms.”

“Huh?”

“If you achieve that within a month, I’ll do it.”

He looked at me with that stubborn teddy-bear-like expression I had already become familiar with.

“Then I’ll do it without pay. As your manager.”