The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune - Chapter 5

It was a moment of anxiety and pressure in the flow of time.

Despite telling him to shut up, I couldn’t stop teasing him, and I saw Park Ha-Eun trying to distance himself from me, pulling along Oh Seung-Hyun.

And there, from a distance, was a small object flying through the air.

“Oops!”

The voice, full of surprise, seemed to come from the one who threw the small object.

The small object hit the glass case above Park Ha-Eun, and with a sharp cracking sound, the glass shattered and fell apart.

At that moment, everything came to a halt.

Did I breathe? It felt like everything had stopped.

Park Ha-Eun and Oh Seung-Hyun were looking in surprise at the sparkling glass shards falling from the air.

I rushed towards them, clenching my teeth.

I don’t even know what drove me to run like that.

When I came to my senses, I found myself pushing Oh Seung-Hyun away and cradling Park Ha-Eun’s face with my hands.

At that moment, I felt the softness in my palms, and the sound of something breaking accompanied the return of movement to the frozen scene.

“What the… Oh my god!”

“Aren’t we supposed to call the teacher?”

“That must have hurt like hell.”

My ears, which had been filled with static, suddenly became clear as if they had come out of the water, capturing the sounds around me.

As I was still breathing quietly, caught up in the moment when everything stopped, I felt Ha-Eun tremble behind my hands, covering her face.

“Hey, Yeon-Jae. What happened? What’s going on?”

“Just a moment.”

Despite Park Ha-Eun shivering, she gestured for me to remove my hands to assess the situation.

I couldn’t be sure if it was over yet.

Behind the still-sitting Oh Seung-Hyun, shaking slightly on the floor, our homeroom teacher rushed over without knowing what was happening.

Seeing my hands, now covered in blood, the teacher erupted in anger.

There had been some sound that seemed like an explosion—maybe the noise of the glass shards embedding. Only after moving to the office inside the museum did I remove my hands from Park Ha-Eun’s face.

When Park Ha-Eun saw my hand, tears welled up in her eyes. Well, considering that the glass had been deeply embedded, there was quite a bit of blood. For someone not accustomed to blood, it must have been a gruesome sight. The only fortunate thing was that, aside from my hand, there were almost no other visible injuries. To begin with, the size of the craft box wasn’t that big, and both Haeun and I were wearing long sleeves and pants which helped a lot.

“Are you okay? No, you must not be. I’m sorry. Because of me.”

Even though the blood was mostly hidden beneath bandages, Park Ha-Eun continued to shed tears. I couldn’t bring myself to hold her hand, so I just looked at her trembling fingers.

Although she was a little red from panting and crying, her cheeks were visible without a single scratch.

“Haha!”

“Why are you laughing?”

I looked at Park Ha-Eun with an uncontrollable laugh, and she stared back with blushing rabbit eyes.

I tried to suppress it, but the laughter continued to escape.

Changed it, the damn fate.

That cursed misfortune

“I am really fortunate. Ha-ha.”

“Are you seriously saying ‘fortunate’ right now?”

Park Ha-Eun lightly slapped my back with her wide-open face.

Well, her hands are heavier than I thought.

I pretended to make a slight stinging sound while gently touching the slightly painful back. Even though Park Ha-Eun grumbled not to act like it hurt, she still stroked the area she hit.

Perhaps she got annoyed by my shamelessness; Park Ha-Eun’s cheeks turned red.

* * *

Park Ha-Eun glanced at Lee Yeon-Jae.

His slightly smiling lips looked charming.

‘… He’s really handsome.’

Lee Yeon-Jae was a well-known figure in the school, and there were three main reasons for his popularity: his face, his face, and finally, his face.

The first time I saw Lee Yeon-Jae is still unforgettable.

It was during the elementary school entrance ceremony.

“Who is he?”

“Is he a child actor?”

Even in the auditorium filled with nearly a thousand people, he captured everyone’s gaze.

Among the students making a noise, he sat alone like a calm high schooler, leaving a deep impression.

Everyone stared at Lee Yeon-Jae, yet Lee Yeon-Jae was focused only on the book he held in his hands.

There were times when Park Ha-Eun envied her close friend, who ended up in the same class as Lee Yeon-Jae. However, that envy disappeared completely within a month.

This was because the misfortune that made Lee Yeon-Jae famous was not just about his appearance.

On the first day of first grade, Lee Yeon-Jae was silently reading a book, seemingly indifferent to everyone’s gaze.

The sternness in his demeanor conveyed a clear message: ‘Don’t approach me’. Nonetheless, some gathered the courage to strike up a conversation.

The problem was that those who lingered around him began to experience misfortune as if it were contagious.

“Being next to Lee Yeon-Jae brings bad luck.”

The perplexed murmurs from the students quickly gained credibility. It didn’t take long for the strange incidents to turn into believable misfortunes.

There’s a certain day Lee Yeon-Jae was responsible for milk distribution, and oddly enough, all the milk cartons exploded. When he approached the chalkboard to write an answer, the chalks snapped one by one.

Due to always returning injured regardless of the task assigned, the days when teachers called Lee Yeon-Jae gradually diminished.

Despite the accidents causing bleeding and injuries, Lee Yeon-Jae always maintained an expression of indifference.

His expression was so indifferent that there were students who genuinely found Lee Yeon-Jae terrifying. The rumors circulating for the past few years were enough to make Park Ha-Eun concerned.

Although becoming classmates with Lee Yeon-Jae in the 5th grade made her nervous, in reality, there hadn’t been any major issues in the past six months.

However, the news of being paired up with Lee Yeon-Jae for the field trip was still something to be wary of.

Leaving school with a somewhat complex mix of emotions, I couldn’t even look directly at Lee Yeon-Jae when he stood beside me.

When Lee Yeon-Jae said, “Ha-Eun-ah,” the impact was… something only those who have experienced it could understand.

Hearing Lee Yeon-Jae’s voice up close, it was softer than expected, and his calm gaze was something unseen by his peers, especially boys.

Contrary to his stoic expression, his tone was affectionate. Even his earnestly attached gaze every time I moved was tender.

Despite knowing it was absurd, for a moment, the thought crossed my mind: ‘Does he like me? ‘

So, seeing Lee Yeon-Jae smiling and saying it’s fortunate that I’m not badly hurt after bandaging his hands, it was almost impossible not to blush.

‘It’s my first time seeing him smile…’

My previously tense facial muscles relaxed, and his fluttering, voluminous eyelashes were incredibly vivid.

Although his black pupils were described by my friends as scary, they now seemed softer than any shade of brown.

Feeling awkward for no reason, Ha-Eun apologized once again.

“It must have hurt a lot. I’m really sorry.”

“You’re not the reason I got hurt. Don’t say that. And really, I’m okay. I’ve had worse injuries than this.”

His comforting words were delivered in a gentle tone.

Trying to distract from the unnecessarily affectionate voice that made me blush, I quickly changed the subject.

“Aren’t you thirsty? I’ll go buy a drink. Is there something you want to eat?”

“I’m fine. Get whatever you want to eat.”

“…okay.”

Ha-Eun reluctantly tore her gaze away from the affectionate smile.

‘Why does he keep smiling like that? it’s disturbing.’

Was he always like this? Is it normal for a person who looks like that to be so affectionate?

While grumbling inwardly, my honest eyes continued to gaze steadily at Yeon-Jae.

Finally managing to break free from the lingering steps, Ha-Eun stepped outside the office and unexpectedly encountered an unwelcome visitor.

“What?”

“What’s with the reaction?”

Oh Seung-hyun’s face appeared in Park Ha-eun’s field of vision.

Damn it, of all time.

As Oh Seung-Hyun, who looked somewhat awkward, hesitated, Ha-Eun scrunched up her face in frustration.

“What is it? Spit it out quickly.”

“No, ah… “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

Oh Seung-Hyun’s next words were shocking.

Oh Seung-Hyun explained that the place where one of his friends threw the baseball that was supposed to hit was not the glass case.

Originally, the goal was to pass by Lee Yeon-Jae to scare him. But of all things, the excuse that came out of Oh Seung-Hyun’s mouth was that his friend couldn’t control the strength of the throw.

“So, did you order that? Why?”

“Do I have to say it for you to understand? I like you.”

“Shut up for a second; talk to me somewhere else.”

Ignoring the slightly blushing face of Oh Seung-Hyun, Park Ha-Eun moved away from her spot.

“Oh, Seung-Hyun, you don’t have to tell me why you did such a thing. I’m not curious.”

“… .”

“Did you apologize to Yeon-Jae?”

“Yeon-Jae… Huh, why would I?”

Oh Seung-Hyun seemed excessively shameless, to the point where it made Park Ha-Eun angry instead. Park Ha-Eun, bewildered, let out a bitter laugh and sneered.

“Why~? Huh, really. Someone got hurt because of you, and that’s all you have to say?”

“I told you. I didn’t intend for anyone to get hurt, and it’s because of him that things got blown out of proportion.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“No, seriously! I know I didn’t do good, but honestly, if it weren’t for him, things wouldn’t have escalated like this. You know weird things happen around him!”

Seemingly indignant and frustrated, Oh Seung-Hyun spoke up.

This is the perfect example of someone who gets angry over a fart.

“Let’s say you didn’t do that. Then what about a few days ago when you stole Yeon-Jae’s textbook? Was that also because of Yeon-Jae?”

“What? Why would I do such a thing?”

“I know. You probably didn’t do it. This time, you had your friends do it for you, right?”

“…”

“You are the worst. From now on, don’t act like you know me.”

Park Ha-Eun left Oh Seung-Hyun behind. As I moved to go to the vending machine I had seen earlier, I heard a weak voice coming from behind.

“…Still, don’t be around him. I’ve been in the same class with him for four years, and I’ve seen a lot.”

As expected, it was nonsense till the end.

* * *

Park Ha-Eun stood in front of the vending machine and heard an apology from the homeroom teacher. The teacher mentioned being sensitive due to a car accident three weeks ago and expressed regret for involving her in unnecessary trouble by assuming that accidents wouldn’t happen if Yeon-Jae was with someone.

Although Park Ha-Eun had a lot to say, considering the teacher’s position, she refrained and simply responded, “It’s not because of Yeon-Jae; if it weren’t for Yeon-Jae, I could have been hurt.” The homeroom teacher looked perplexed, made a vague remark, and then left.

‘I’ll get a drink and go.’

“Huh, you saved me, and yet, people are reacting like this.”

Meanwhile, Yeon-Jae remained silent, while Ha-Eun seemed on the verge of exploding next to her.

Yeon-Jae was kind but indifferent, even in the face of rude words and glances directed at her.

Even when Oh Seung-Hyun made absurd remarks before the accident, Yeon-Jae responded with his typical nonchalant gaze.

“If it weren’t for Oh Seung-Hyun, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

Now, other students would likely spread rumors like, ‘Yeon-Jae did it again.’ Wait a minute…

‘Isn’t this how all the rumors started about him?’