The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 15

“Oh my~ The genius actor is here!”

“Keep your voice down.”

I responded calmly, ignoring my face heating up as much as possible.

Of course, my expression crumbled when Noh Bi-hyuk said, “Your ears are really red! Are you embarrassed? Pfft, Ha-eun, look at his ears.”

Even Park Ha-eun, who had been hitting Noh Bi-hyuk on the back to make him stop fooling around, laughed when she saw my ears.

“Yeon-jae, only your ears are red. Do they always turn red when you’re embarrassed?”

“I don’t know… But could you please speak quietly?”

It had only been a few minutes since I entered the classroom, but I was already exhausted.

The whole way to school, the kids stared at me so much that I wondered if my face would get holes in it.

Noh Bi-hyuk kept teasing me, calling me a genius actor, so I wondered where he picked that up. It turns out a post was uploaded on Lee Jung-hyun’s SNS.

[I’m posting this because I received a lot of questions. The cute friend in the yellow hat was someone I met for the first time during this shoot. I wish he were my son^^ Please love our Yeon-jae a lot! I’ve already claimed him, so you all just have to love him^^

#GeniusActorYeonjae #tail #YellowHat]

The photo posted along with the message showed actor Lee Jung-hyun holding me and walking around the filming set.

Since it was taken from a distance, my face wasn’t clearly visible, but it was obvious that Lee Jung-hyun was smiling brightly at me.

Yesterday, he asked if it was okay to post the photo on SNS, and I said yes without thinking. If I had known Noh Bi-hyuk would act like this, I would have said no.

“Wow, my best friend made it onto Lee Jung-hyun’s XStar… It’s like, my friend from elementary school turned out to be a genius actor?”

“Noh Bi-hyuk, cut it out.”

“Lee Yeon-jae, you only use my full name when you’re angry, right? Acting like that makes me feel ashamed, so please don’t use my full name.”

Noh Bi-hyuk pouted and acted cute.

Park Ha-eun and I grimaced at the same time and turned our heads. Park Ha-eun even cursed quietly.

“Ah, seriously… Bi-hyuk, if you’re going to act like that, at least give us a warning so we can prepare.”

“What? I’m just acting according to my looks.”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting….”

When Noh Bi-hyuk tried to act cute again, Park Ha-eun quickly turned her face away and went back to her seat.

That kid’s personality is not easy to deal with either. Until last year, I thought she was just shy.

“Lee Yeon-jae, do you hate my aegyo (acting cute) that much? I look like this, so isn’t it a waste not to use it…?”

Noh Bi-hyuk looked at me with a longing expression, but I got up without responding.

Ignoring Noh Bi-hyuk’s blank expression, I inserted the key into the lock of my locker and turned it.

Just before opening the door, I suddenly remembered what I heard yesterday.

“Bi-hyuk, can you open this for me?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just. Please.”

“Hmm~ okay! Bi-hyuk will do it.”

Noh Bi-hyuk, who had been sitting dejectedly, approached quickly, looking puzzled.

He was overly playful but kind at heart.

In fact, his appearance wasn’t bad either.

Even though he talked playfully, he seemed to be well aware of himself.

It was strange that a kid who received three confessions in less than two weeks since the new semester started didn’t know how good-looking he was.

“Be careful with your hands.”

“…? Okay.”

When Noh Bi-hyuk, with a puzzled look, opened the locker, the contents spilled out as the door opened.

Seeing tissues, paper, and other trash falling looked like it was in slow motion.

While I watched between the doors, I noticed something shiny and immediately reached out.

“What’s that? A marble?”

“Yeah. It’s really heavy.”

I picked up the marble that fell on the jacket I had wrapped around my hand in advance.

It wasn’t just a marble; it was made of metal, so it was quite heavy. It was the size of my palm.

If I hadn’t remembered Mist’s words and opened it without thinking, it would have fallen directly on my foot. At the very least, I would have had a bruised foot.

“Whoa, are you okay? You’re not hurt?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

At least I avoided the first misfortune today.

As I answered Park Ha-eun, who asked worriedly, I recalled the remaining incidents in my mind.

I thought I should change where I put the locker key, and I felt Noh Bi-hyuk looking at me from the side.

“Are you just going to leave it like that? If you leave it, they’ll keep doing it.”

“Do you know who did this?”

“Hey, just because I sometimes pretend to be clueless doesn’t mean I’m actually clueless, okay?”

He looked at me as if it were ridiculous, so I laughed and told him that wasn’t what I meant.

“Well, there’s no evidence.”

“That’s true. Let me know if you need help. But how did you know? Did you see it beforehand?”

I gave a vague answer to Noh Bi-hyuk, who asked while spinning the metal marble in his hand, and subtly turned my head.

As soon as I turned my head, I met eyes with someone who had been waiting.

The kid was glaring at me with a sly smile on his face.

“Wow… Is he filming a drama? Posing by himself like that.”

“Pfft.”

When Noh Bi-hyuk made that comment, I couldn’t help but burst into loud laughter.

The fact that he sounded genuinely impressed made it even funnier.

I could feel the glaring eyes on me growing more intense, but there was no way I could hide my already bursting laughter.

‘Staring won’t make a hole… What a pointless thing to do.’

I laughed while making eye contact with Oh Seung-hyun for a moment before turning my back on him.

I should probably take out my textbook.

* * *

Oh Seung-hyun gritted his teeth as he watched Lee Yeon-jae turn his head as if mocking him.

He had been waiting all this time to see when Yeon-jae would open his locker, but Yeon-jae avoided the trap as if he had known about it in advance.

Seeing that Lee Yeon-jae wasn’t hurt and that Park Ha-eun ran over with a worried face made Seung-hyun so stressed that his stomach hurt.

‘Why is she so concerned about someone like Lee Yeon-jae?’

Oh Seung-hyun sincerely wished Park Ha-eun would manage the kids around her.

It bothered him to see her talking to Noh Bi-hyuk occasionally, but since they had known each other since kindergarten, he let it slide.

But Lee Yeon-jae?

Of all people, she chose to hang around with Lee Yeon-jae?

Oh Seung-hyun recalled the day a year ago when Park Ha-eun first mentioned Lee Yeon-jae at the academy.

“I’m in the same class as Lee Yeon-jae this time.”

“Lee Yeon-jae?”

“Yeah. Weren’t you in the same class as him last year? What’s he like?”

Oh Seung-hyun made an awkward face as he watched Park Ha-eun ask with sparkling eyes.

Having been in the same class as Lee Yeon-jae from first to fourth grade, he was uncomfortable that the girl he liked was talking about Yeon-jae of all people.

Moreover, there was something he had heard from his older brother who attended a different school.

“Well… He’s a bit… off. You should avoid talking to him if you can. There are rumors, you know.”

“Oh, you mean how people say you’d get hurt if you’re around Lee Yeon-jae? I know about that… But does that even make sense in reality?”

It’s not like he’s the protagonist of a drama or something. When Park Ha-eun laughed, saying it was ridiculous, Seung-hyun felt a sense of resistance.

He had never thought much about Lee Yeon-jae, but because he couldn’t deny Yeon-jae’s good looks, it made him more conscious.

Feeling a subtle sense of anxiety, Oh Seung-hyun had blurted out something impulsively.

“No, people have died because of him.”

“What?”

“I heard from my brother, who goes to another school, that he was disowned. But at his adoptive home—”

“Hey. Stop right there. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear any of this.”

“Why?”

Speaking in a lowered, cautious voice, Park Ha-eun suddenly scrunched up her face and stood up abruptly.

When Seung-hyun grabbed her arm in surprise, she hesitated for a moment before sighing and sitting back down.

“Ugh, whether it’s true or not, you shouldn’t talk about stuff like that carelessly.”

“I’m not making it up. My brother is close with the second child of the adoptive family and heard it directly.”

“That’s not the point. Never mind. It’s my fault for bringing it up in the first place. Just don’t talk about this to others.”

Park Ha-eun stood up with a troubled expression.

Unfortunately, the academy teacher walked in at that moment, so there was no chance to continue the conversation.

After that, no matter how much Seung-hyun tried to talk to her, she somehow seemed distant, which made him genuinely sad.

‘She’s avoiding me because of Lee Yeon-jae?’

What did I do? If she was being bullied by Lee Yeon-jae, I would understand.

All I did was share what I heard, so why suddenly distance herself from me?

Apart from feeling upset and irritated, his feelings for Park Ha-eun remained unchanged.

It was infuriating that Park Ha-eun still looked pretty to him, so every time, he subtly harassed Lee Yeon-jae without making it obvious.

He had kids throw balls at Yeon-jae as if by accident or stole his textbooks.

Even without such actions, Lee Yeon-jae was the type to get hurt throughout the day, so no one suspected anything, not even Yeon-jae himself.

He never crossed the line to the point of serious bullying.

It was true that he was angry when he saw Park Ha-eun walking around with Lee Yeon-jae during a field trip, but he never intended to cause a big incident.

‘You acting like this is the worst. Don’t talk to me from now on.’

That day, without being able to properly confess, Seung-hyun heard the words he least wanted to hear from the girl he liked.

In sixth grade, he finally got what he wished for, being in the same class as Park Ha-eun, but there were also Noh Bi-hyuk and Lee Yeon-jae, who got on his nerves just by looking at them.

Even Noh Bi-hyuk, who was indifferent to other kids, clung to Lee Yeon-jae as if he had claimed him.

It felt like the whole world was playing a surprise prank on him.

Why Lee Yeon-jae of all people?!

His growing inferiority complex reached its peak when he heard that Lee Yeon-jae had appeared in a drama.

He didn’t want to watch it, but he couldn’t help himself, and seeing Lee Yeon-jae shining next to Lee Jung-hyun made his stomach churn.

No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t bring himself to say, “Lee Yeon-jae is really ugly.”

Lee Yeon-jae had been popular since his entry due to his good looks.

Even Noh Bi-hyuk, who was already receiving business cards from entertainment agencies, seemed somewhat ordinary next to Yeon-jae.

Despite his looks, no one had paid attention to him because accidents happen so frequently around him.

There was an undeniable sense of eeriness. An aura of misfortune.

That was Lee Yeon-jae’s defining trait, not some nonsense about being a genius actor.

Oh Seung-hyun glared at Yeon-jae, who nonchalantly gathered his textbooks and sat down.

‘Since when did he look so composed?’

Although Park Ha-eun’s efforts to shield Yeon-jae from the others played a role, the fact remained that incidents around Yeon-jae had decreased.

Despite the pervasive rumor that being around Yeon-jae would lead to accidents, the kids now looked at him with curiosity.

No one cared about the old rumors anymore.

Why did things turn out this way? If the decrease in accidents was the reason—

‘…Would things go back to normal if the accidents increased again?’

Oh Seung-hyun unconsciously entertained that thought.

It was the beginning of a horrid, uncontrollable sense of inferiority that would drag even his life into the abyss.