The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 221

“Brother….”

Are you okay with leaving me?

My brother’s nonchalant demeanor was unfamiliar to me.

Am I the only one who can’t accept this fact?

My vision blurred.

“Min-ho, we were lucky. How many people get the chance to say goodbye like this? I’m glad I could have a proper conversation with you.”

“I’m glad too, I really am.”

I barely managed to reply with a trembling voice.

“So, can’t we just… keep going? I’m really okay, brother. Really.”

At my desperate question, my brother responded with a troubled smile.

“I’m sorry, Min-ho. But what can’t be done, can’t be done.”

His firm tone left me speechless.

The future I had imagined just a few minutes ago shattered instantly.

‘How am I supposed to live now?’

Can I live without my brother?

I felt suffocated by the hopelessness.

My brother gently tried to comfort me, but his words dispersed without sinking in.

I stood in a daze for a long time before I spoke.

“What am I supposed to do without you?”

“You’ll do just fine. Just like you have until now.”

No. I shook my head vigorously.

“Since you left, I’ve been a mess. It wasn’t really living. I barely got back on track after you came back. If you leave, I’ll go back to being like that. Are you still going to go?”

Are you really going to abandon me?

My voice wavered uncontrollably.

As I spoke, my words were thick with tears, and my brother laughed.

“Our Min-ho, I thought you were all grown up… but you’re still a child. So stubborn.”

His blurry hand brushed my cheek.

“You’ve been so mature since you were young. You never whined about anything.”

“……”

“That always worried me. From what I heard from friends, siblings fight and bicker, but you followed me so well that we never really fought.”

It was because you were someone I had no choice but to follow.

I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t open my mouth.

I felt like the moment I did, all the emotions clogging my throat would spill out.

“Looking back, I think I regretted that. I wanted to see you whine at least once. Maybe that’s why I’ve been lingering even after death?”

My brother tried to lighten the mood with a playful tone.

But I couldn’t laugh.

Seeing that I still couldn’t calm down, my brother sighed and squatted in front of me.

“Min-ho, you’ll do just fine. Don’t worry.”

“I… I’m not sure.”

“I know. You will definitely get through this.”

“How can you be so sure?”

I wasn’t even sure if I could handle it, so how could he know?

I roughly wiped my tear-blurred vision.

As I looked forward, I met his eyes full of laughter.

“Because you have so many people besides me. People who are by your side.”

“……”

“Your parents, your friends, they’re all still with you.”

At his words, I recalled the people I had recently talked to.

Hee-joo, who cheerfully suggested we stay friends even after I awkwardly declined her confession.

The security guard who, with his usually stern face, showed me his family photos and shared his stories.

All of them were people I could talk to because my brother was there to advise me.

They were gifts from my brother to me.

“When things get tough, you can lean on the people beside you.”

He told me to trust the people around me a little more.

“And just because you can’t see me anymore doesn’t mean we can’t communicate.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Like I said before, to talk to someone, you need language.”

“Yeah.”

Korean, English, Korean sign language, you need the tool called language to communicate with others.

A means to convey your thoughts and understand the other person’s words.

“But even without a way to talk, we can still communicate.”

“……How?”

His eyes sparkled brightly.

“Because I’ll always be by your side.”

“……”

“I’ll always be in your heart. Just that is enough for us to always be able to talk.”

My brother didn’t say anything more after that.

But even without words, I could fully understand what he wanted to say.

Meeting his gaze, I slowly lifted the corners of my mouth.

“Yeah….”

I answered with a trembling voice and smiled.

My brother, who wiped away my tears, also smiled.

“I’ll do that.”

I’ll try doing as you said.

A kind hand patted the top of my head as if to say I was good.

Even though I shouldn’t have felt anything, strangely, at that moment, I felt a touch on my head.

And just like that, my brother left.

* * *

“Min-ho! You need to eat breakfast before you go!”

“I’m late!”

“Just have a bite. One spoonful.”

“No, I’m going to be late—.”

As I hurriedly put on my shoes, a spoonful of food was pushed into my mouth.

“Mmph.”

“Chew well.”

Chewing on something that might have been fried rice, I quickly opened the front door.

“I’m off!”

My mom sent me off with a “Have a good day.”

As I ran frantically through the alley, the school soon came into view.

“Min-ho, good morning!”

As soon as I entered the hallway, Hee-joo, who I had become friends with after rejecting her confession, greeted me brightly.

I waved back and entered the classroom.

The bell rang just as I opened the door.

“Wow, I was really close to being late.”

“Jung Min-ho, have you been slacking off lately? You’re always late.”

I hit the back of the friend who was nagging me to be more diligent like him.

As I took my seat, bright sunlight streamed through the classroom window.

‘The weather’s really nice today.’

The clear blue sky caught my eye.

Surprisingly, I was doing well after my brother disappeared like that.

Part of it was because I tried to be strong, thinking he was always watching.

Of course, the sadness didn’t disappear immediately.

Sometimes I felt like I could die at any moment.

Sometimes tears suddenly welled up at the thought that my brother wasn’t there.

So, late at night, I went to my parents’ room.

Seeing them get up from the bed with worried faces, I asked them.

I asked how they coped whenever they missed him.

It was the first time I had brought up my brother since he died.

They stared at me with surprised faces for a moment, then hugged me tightly.

‘We’re struggling too. Sometimes we cry at night.’

‘…Really?’

‘Of course. But we try to hang in there.’

They said they tried harder because they had me.

Only then did I understand what my brother had meant.

I see. That’s what it was.

‘Everyone leans on each other to live.’

That night, the three of us hugged and cried together.

When I said I missed my brother, my mom said she did too. It was comforting.

I looked at the clear sky beyond the window.

“Min-ho, it’s your turn for career counseling. Go to the teacher’s office and head straight to the homeroom teacher’s desk.”

I told the class president I understood.

As I got up and headed to the teacher’s office, I turned around.

“Class president.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Uh??”

I looked at his bewildered face for a moment before leaving the classroom.

As I entered the teacher’s office, the homeroom teacher pointed to the chair beside him as if he had been waiting.

“Sit here.”

“Yes.”

“Today, we’ll just have a simple chat. We’ll discuss college applications later. So… let’s see, you’re thinking about becoming a civil servant?”

He asked while looking at a paper on his desk.

It was the career hope form I submitted a month ago.

The box where it said ‘civil servant’ caught my eye.

‘It’s only been a month.’

The handwriting felt like someone else’s as I laughed.

“No, I’m not interested.”

“What?”

“I just wrote it down because I didn’t want to leave it blank.”

“…….”

The teacher looked up from the document and stared at me.

One raised eyebrow twitched momentarily.

“Well, that’s possible.”

Surprisingly, he didn’t get angry as I expected.

“You don’t have to decide on a career right now. Take your time to think about it. You have plenty of time.”

His tone was unusually kind, unlike the teacher who always seemed angry.

I hesitated before speaking.

“Actually, I do have a job I’m interested in.”

“What is it?”

I was hesitant to speak up, but the teacher’s gaze made me feel slightly embarrassed.

I flicked my fingertip, a habit I had for a long time.

It was also a habit my brother used to nag me about.

‘He would’ve scolded me for being restless.’

As I thought that, the teacher clicked his tongue.

“Tsk. Don’t flick your fingers. It’s distracting.”

“…….”

“So, what is it?”

His words made me want to laugh.

I finally understood why my brother had come to me.

“Interpreter.”

“What?”

Brother, I’ll help those who can’t communicate with others.

I’ll show the world that there are still ways to communicate.

Do you know?

‘You are indispensable to me.’

So, brother.

‘I’ll let you go.’

I think I can do that now.

“I want to be a sign language interpreter.”

The words that came out of my mouth echoed in my ears.

That’s when I finally let out a hollow laugh.

### Chapter 221

The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune (221)

* * *

After all the filming ended, I invited Lee Eun-taek to my house.

“Read this.”

“Huh?”

When I handed him the script without a word, Lee Eun-taek accepted it hesitantly.

“What is this?”

“A script I wrote.”

“Oh, the drama you were filming recently? Um… is it okay if I read this?”

In response to his hesitant voice, I told him he had my permission.

Though Lee Eun-taek seemed puzzled by my unusually quiet demeanor, he soon turned to the first page of the script.

In the silence that filled the room, the occasional sound of pages turning fluttered through the air.

Since it was only four episodes long, it didn’t take long for him to finish reading.

“…I finished it.”

After reading the last page, Lee Eun-taek placed the script back on the desk.

I sat still, waiting for his reaction.

As I anticipated what he might say, Lee Eun-taek approached me quickly.

“Ugh—.”

He hugged me tightly, without moderating his strength, causing me to grunt.

“Our baby has really grown up. So proud, so proud.”

The hand patting my back felt clumsy, as if he was doing it for the first time.

‘I told you not to call me a baby.’

I wanted to protest, but given the occasion, I stayed quiet.

Before the drama aired, I wanted to show the script to Lee Eun-taek.

I was curious about what he would think after reading it.

I wanted him to confirm if it was okay for me to think like Min-ho.

“Yeon-jae.”

“Yeah.”

“…Jae-hee.”

His hand stroking my back grew stronger.

Perhaps trying to hide his expression, Lee Eun-taek buried his face in my shoulder.

“I miss him too. I miss Ji-hyun hyung.”

“…….”

“Do you think hyung is watching us act like this?”

After a brief hesitation, I answered that I didn’t know.

I wrote the script hoping that he was, but reality is always uncertain.

Despite my uncertain answer, Lee Eun-taek spoke again.

“I’ll just believe that he is.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry for being so grumpy before. From now on, I’ll act more maturely, enough for Ji-hyun hyung’s share.”

After a pause, I replied softly to Lee Eun-taek’s words.

“You won’t be able to…”

“What did you say, you punk?”

Harsh words immediately followed.

Sighing, I hit Lee Eun-taek’s back.

“First, you need to stop swearing. Why is an idol swearing so much?”

“Hey, I only do it around you! I know how to handle myself.”

“Sure, you do.”

“You little—”

When did he call me a baby? He’s just a kid himself.

I easily dodged Lee Eun-taek’s hand as he tried to hit my forehead.

“No more violence. No more swearing either.”

“You should start! You’re always kicking me!”

Lee Eun-taek, with an exasperated face, lunged at me.

The room quickly became noisy as we bickered.

As I tussled with Lee Eun-taek, I thought to myself.

‘I think I can do it too.’

Somehow, I felt like I could manage it now.

I can finally say it.

‘Goodbye.’

Thinking that, I smiled.

I felt the moonlight from the night sky through the window.

Goodbye, Ji-hyun hyung.