The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 236

The showcase ended without any issues, making my earlier tension seem pointless.

Agent Jang did not relax until he received reports that the investors had safely arrived home.

But really, nothing happened at all.

“Why?”

Agent Jang was puzzled.

Why didn’t he do anything?

“Now that Kang Seok is gone too.”

There was no way he didn’t know what Kang Seok meant to H.

So it was even more puzzling.

With his precious “Seok-hyung” no longer around, why was H still here?

No matter how closely he was monitored 24/7, there had to be gaps.

Isn’t it natural to escape through those gaps?

Was there another event with so many opportunities like today?

His mind became muddled.

Agent Jang lay down on his bed but couldn’t fall asleep.

[“Haa…”]

It was already past dawn.

Agent Jang, who had been staring at the ceiling with wide-open eyes, suddenly jumped up.

[“This won’t do.”]

He grabbed his car keys and rushed out of the house.

It took less than five minutes to reach the facility, probably because it was so early in the morning.

[“Agent Jang? Why are you here at this hour…?”]

[“I need to talk to H. Open the door.”]

[“Are you going in like that?”]

The staff member asked in a bewildered tone.

Having come out without even thinking of changing his clothes, he was dressed in comfortable everyday attire.

The staff, who had never seen Agent Jang in anything other than his combat uniform, glanced at him curiously.

[“Just open it quickly.”]

Agent Jang urged with a frown.

The staff member, unable to comprehend his unusual impatience, pressed the button.

As soon as the thick iron door opened, a strong stench wafted out.

[“Ugh.”]

Agent Jang grimaced involuntarily.

“How can anyone sleep in here?”

The smell was a dizzying mix that pricked his nose.

It was a deeply pervasive odor, like that of rotting corpses.

[“H.”]

[“……”]

H lay on the mattress with his back turned.

Next to him lay the decomposed corpse of what used to be Kang Seok.

[“H. I have something to ask you.”]

H replied without taking his eyes off what was once Kang Seok.

[“Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m busy right now.”]

H gently caressed the corpse’s forehead with his fingers.

It was at a stage where the flesh would collapse with even a slight touch, so he had to be careful.

Agent Jang watched H, who didn’t even look at him.

[“…Please make some time. I’m asking you.”]

Without intending to, Agent Jang’s voice came out soft.

It was a gentle tone that reminded him of someone.

H’s slowly moving fingers stopped.

H, who had been still for a long time, slowly rose.

[“What are you curious about?”]

For some reason, H’s face looked particularly pale.

[“Today…”]

Agent Jang hesitated for a moment.

This conversation was being exposed to others in real-time and was being recorded.

Once spoken, the words could not be taken back.

Nevertheless, Agent Jang asked the question.

[“Why didn’t you run away today?”]

[“……”]

[“I know you could have. Why? Why are you still here?”]

A tense silence filled the air.

H stared at Agent Jang intently without saying a word.

[“That question… It sounds like you think I have a reason to escape.”]

Agent Jang frowned at the unexpected response.

[“Don’t you want to escape?”]

[“I don’t know. Not really? Seok-hyung is here too.”]

H pointed to the side and smiled, causing Agent Jang to fall silent.

At that moment, a maggot from the corpse wriggled and stuck to H’s hand.

H looked at the constantly moving creature pitifully.

[“…I know. Seok-hyung is dead, and this is just a piece of meat. I also know I have no reason to stay here.”]

[“Then why…?”]

[“Escape, huh. Sure, escape sounds good. Let’s say I get out of here. Then what?”]

H’s black pupils slowly turned to Agent Jang.

[“Is there anywhere for me to go?”]

[“……”]

[“Hm? Where should I go?”]

H trembled and laughed.

His lips curled up, creating narrow lines on his cheeks.

[“Whether it’s here or outside this building… it’s all the same to me.”]

[“You can live a normal life outside.”]

[“Normal? How can I live normally with such an abnormal body? Living in constant fear of being discovered? Sounds really appealing.”]

H gave a bitter laugh.

[“Escaping has no meaning. Even if I die… I’ll die here.”]

Right here, on this mattress.

**”Next to hyung.”**

H, who spoke as if making a vow, had a strange expression.

His mouth was smiling, but he was crying, and although his body was trembling, his voice was calm.

Agent Jang quietly watched H.

He seemed about to say something, but then closed his mouth.

[“I see…”]

[“……”]

[“Thanks for answering.”]

Agent Jang nodded a few times and let out a deep sigh.

[“I’m starting to relax a bit. Hey, scoot over.”]

[“…?”]

H’s eyebrows twitched.

[“The mattress is wide. There’s plenty of room for you and Kang Seok. Let me join you just for tonight.”]

[“What are you… what are you doing now?”]

[“What do you think? I’m lying down. I haven’t slept.”]

Ignoring H’s bewildered expression, Agent Jang lay down on the mattress.

The stench was so overpowering it made his head spin, but he tried to ignore it as best he could.

When he even closed his eyes as if he really intended to sleep, H frowned.

[“Are you doing this on purpose?”]

[“What?”]

[“Are you imitating Seok-hyung now?”]

At H’s sharp, sensitive tone, Agent Jang opened one eye.

H, who had been calm all along, now had a face that looked like a scared child.

Agent Jang realized bitterly once more.

You’re still stuck in Kang Seok’s quagmire.

[“Why would I imitate Kang Seok? Even in death, he’s no help to my life. What’s so good about him?”]

[“Then why are you suddenly acting all friendly?”]

[“I don’t intend to get friendly with you. I’m just here to sleep for a bit.”]

[“You can sleep at home.”]

[“Once I leave here, I can’t come back.”]

If the conversation they just had reached the higher-ups, he was as good as dead. At best, he would be demoted.

He had been reckless to encourage escape when stricter management was needed.

Even he thought he deserved to lose his position as a manager.

Agent Jang muttered with a sense of relief.

[“Given the circumstances, I’m just giving in to you. I never got to say a proper goodbye to Kang Seok either.”]

[“……”]

[“Let me stay here just for one night. You won’t see my face again after tomorrow anyway.”]

H didn’t respond for a long time.

After a long pause, Agent Jang felt someone lying down next to him.

One corpse, one experiment subject, and one person.

The mattress was a place where silence and chaos coexisted.

[“…How did you meet him?”]

After a long time, H asked in a low voice.

Since there was no longer any need to hide it, Agent Jang freely spoke about his first meeting with Kang Seok.

[“When we were kids, there was nothing to eat. We scoured the village for food together. Even searched the trash cans, but found nothing.”]

[“So?”]

[“We ended up eating bugs. I ate because I was hungry, but Kang Seok said they were actually tasty.”]

[“Really? He said bugs were tasty?”]

[“How would I know what’s in his head? Look at him now, there’s a bug in his mouth even in death. Eating bugs even in death, that crazy bastard.”]

H couldn’t help but chuckle.

He knew it wasn’t a situation to laugh about, and it wasn’t a joke, but it was oddly funny.

Their conversation continued, almost about to break but never quite ending.

Strangely, the atmosphere felt warm.

Before he knew it, a smile had also crept onto Agent Jang’s face, and H started to chatter like before.

[“Agent Jang, I have something I’m curious about.”]

[“What?”]

[“Why did you forbid me from calling you hyung? Did you hate being called hyung that much?”]

[“Ah, that.”]

Agent Jang turned his head with a chuckle.

Then he flinched as he looked at H’s face.

[“Hey. Your face…”]

[“Hmm?”]

[“Are you sick? Why are you so pale? Wait a minute.”]

H’s face was so pale it was almost blue.

As a shocked Agent Jang tried to get up, H stopped him with a laugh.

[“Why are you overreacting? If something were wrong, the staff would have come in by now.”]

The way he naturally implied to just answer the question was typical of him.

Is that so? Agent Jang, who sat down again in confusion, looked at the CCTV.

Indeed, if something was wrong with H’s health, the staff would have come in immediately.

[“So, why didn’t you let me call you hyung?”]

Amidst it all, H’s barrage of questions made it even harder to think.

Despite feeling something was off, Agent Jang naturally opened his mouth.

[“I just… didn’t want to pretend otherwise.”]

[“What does that mean?”]

[“I came here for the ‘H Project.'”]

Agent Jang’s eyes turned to H.

His eyes, which were always cold and stern, had softened.

[“My role was to assist in your experiment. No matter what I do, that doesn’t change. I thought I shouldn’t forget that.”]

[“…I don’t understand.”]

I didn’t say it for you to understand.

Agent Jang shrugged.

He was far inferior to Kang Seok; he couldn’t maintain his composure while being called hyung by a ‘subject.’

He could avoid feeling pity for a boy covered in blood due to harsh experiments only by constantly reminding himself that the boy was an experiment subject.

That’s why. He deliberately kept his distance from H.

To perform his role properly, he couldn’t be emotionally swayed.

‘Kang Seok would laugh at me if he heard this.’

If H really thought of himself as a test subject, he shouldn’t be here now.

Genuinely puzzled by the reason the test subject hadn’t escaped.

In the end, he had been worrying about this “boy” all along.

It was a perfectly disgusting attitude of a bystander.

“It would have been better to treat him like Kang Seok.”

At least Kang Seok gave him some breathing room; he had never been of any help to H.

Realizing the truth, Agent Jang scoffed at himself. How pathetic I am.

[“Do it now.”]

[“…What?”]

[“Call me hyung. Do as you please.”]

H stared blankly at Agent Jang before turning his head abruptly.

[“Forget it. It’s too cringeworthy…”]

[“Right. I surprised myself saying it. Sounds like a line from a drama.”]

Agent Jang chuckled, and H followed suit with a laugh.

Their conversation, both bleak and strangely warm, continued.

How many hours passed like that?

[“…”]

Agent Jang’s eyes blinked slowly and then closed completely.

H gazed at the sleeping human.

He slowly scanned his angular face, thick eyebrows, and large ears, so different from Seok-hyung’s.

H wriggled and inched closer.

After a while, H’s forehead touched Agent Jang’s shoulder.

Finding it absurd that he felt warmth from this small contact, H laughed.

H felt that warmth for a very long time.

Then he quietly raised his hand.

Tick, tick, tick.

The sound of H’s fingers tapping continued for a long time.

* * *

A few hours later, it was morning.

Agent Jang squinted against the bright light as he woke up.

“Where am I?”

Momentarily unable to grasp the situation, he felt a twinge in his right shoulder and turned his head.

[“…Ha.”]

H was sleeping with his head buried in Agent Jang’s shoulder.

Agent Jang let out a hollow laugh at a sight he had never imagined.

At the same time, he was puzzled.

[“Why am I still here?”]

He had thought the staff would come in and kick him out.

“Did they give us enough time to say goodbye for the last time?”

He was carefully lifting H’s head to place it back on the mattress when—

[“…!”]

The sight that came into view made Agent Jang freeze.

H’s face was covered in blood.