The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 233

[“Dr. Kang, that’s enough.”]

Agent Jang burst into the lab in the middle of the night and spoke abruptly.

[“You’ve done enough. Stop now.”]

A cold voice flowed from his stern face.

In contrast, Kang Seok faced Agent Jang with a gentle smile.

[“What do you mean, stop? Coming in here suddenly, telling me to stop what?”]

[“Save that smile for H. It’s creepy.”]

As Agent Jang frowned, Kang Seok slowly let his smile fade.

[“I don’t understand what you want me to stop. If you have a request, you should state it clearly. Do you think just acting tough is enough? Surely you don’t write your reports like this, do you?”]

Contrary to his sarcastic words, Kang Seok’s face was expressionless.

His indifferent expression and careless words made Agent Jang sigh.

[“I’m telling you to stop the experiment.”]

[“……”]

[“We’ve successfully completed a field mission, and the experimental results so far have been good. Haven’t we already exceeded expectations?”]

Kang Seok’s eyebrows twitched.

He smirked bitterly.

[“Expectations? Do you think H’s power is only at this level? This isn’t the Jang Yoseok I know.”]

[“And you’re not the Kang Seok I know. You’re overdoing it. Don’t be stupid.”]

[“The one being stupid right now is you.”]

Ironically, the conversation between the two became more tense after switching to informal speech.

[“Yoseok. We’ve invested five years in the H project.”]

[“……”]

[“The being we’ve longed for is about to be completed. And it’s a being we created with our own hands. And you’re talking about stopping the experiment?”]

Kang Seok’s eyes were sharp.

Agent Jang remained silent, recalling their childhood.

They had been together since they were too young to remember.

Whenever they were abused by their parents, which was every night, they met at their hideout.

Their makeshift hideout made of planks had comic books featuring ‘superheroes.’

They read and reread those comics.

At first, it was their only source of fun to escape the bleak reality.

But as time passed, their emotions grew heavier, and eventually, they had questions.

‘Why aren’t there any superheroes in reality?’

Whenever their father broke the furniture at home, whenever their mother slapped them, they waited.

For the moment a superhero would appear, just like in the comics.

But no matter how long they waited, a hero never appeared.

The wait turned into a craving, and eventually, they realized.

If no hero appeared no matter how long they waited, they would just have to create one themselves.

[“The being we longed for is about to come out.”]

Kang Seok’s eyes shone with madness.

Agent Jang responded with a troubled face.

[“……H is already the being we longed for. It’s enough.”]

[“It’s not enough at all.”]

[“You saw it last time. It survived even after losing its limbs. It returned to normal in less than a day. That’s already perfect.”]

Horn’s regenerative ability was incomparable to that of humans.

After repeated experiments, his lethality was also increasing significantly.

He had sufficient abilities befitting a superhero who could save people in crisis.

‘To save innocent people, you must be able to eliminate villains.’

Agent Jang had helped with H’s experiments with that thought in mind.

Experiments to see if H could quickly and efficiently eliminate human lives.

The more the experiments were repeated, the more perfect a superhero H could become.

‘The problem is that other companies also want H.’

H was a being coveted by all organizations, including the arms industry.

By monopolizing such a being, their company could earn immense wealth.

‘This is enough.’

Agent Jang assessed the situation coldly.

[“Have you noticed the recent string of failed experiments? Don’t you think your experimental goals are too high?”]

[“……”]

[“If H breaks down, can you take responsibility? At least stop the experiments for a few days.”]

Kang Seok was silent for a long time.

Then he suggested creating a friend for the test subject.

Agent Jang frowned at the sudden suggestion but agreed that it could reduce H’s stress.

Until he found out that his own nephew had been chosen as that friend.

[“Are you crazy? What if H does something to Ji-hoon?”]

[“Who else but Ji-hoon? If someone leaks information, we’d have to kill them, but if it’s your nephew, you can control him.”]

Agent Jang opposed it until the end, but Kim Ji-hoon himself agreed, and the meeting with Horn was arranged.

When Agent Jang and Kim Ji-hoon entered Horn’s room, Horn jumped up.

[“Yoseok hyung.”]

[“I told you not to call me that.”]

[“Ugh, you’re not letting it slide today either. Okay, Agent Jang.”]

Horn looked curiously at Kim Ji-hoon, then smiled.

[“I don’t have my gun right now. I left it in the lab earlier. Should I go get it?”]

[“…? Why the gun suddenly?”]

[“How else do I kill him? Should I just smear blood on him like last time?”]

[“Hey!! Why would you kill him!!”]

[“Oh, my. Why are you yelling!”]

[“Don’t talk about killing. He’s my nephew.”]

Agent Jang growled and patted Kim Ji-hoon’s head.

[“Ji-hoon, if anything happens, scream. I’ll come right away. Got it?”]

Horn’s eyebrows twitched as he heard Agent Jang’s kind tone.

Kang Seok watched him closely.

[“H. Behave yourself and be polite.”]

[“……Who’s being impolite right now?”]

[“What?”]

[“You should have explained beforehand and then brought him here. Why are you getting angry when you suddenly drag an unfamiliar kid here? Is this my fault? Do you have no manners at all?”]

[“Don’t call me hyung―.”]

[“Oh, damn it! I get it already, that stupid title!”]

As Horn screamed to the point where veins stood out on his neck, Agent Jang hesitated.

Horn also froze, seemingly surprised by his own outburst.

‘Good.’

Seeing this emotional side of Horn, which he hadn’t witnessed before, Kang Seok smiled faintly.

‘Just a little more….’

Kang Seok wanted his test subject to be stimulated.

‘He needs to develop his abilities further.’

His test subject had that kind of potential, hidden away.

But that was fine. He just needed to help bring it out.

[“Agent Jang Yoseok, please report to the main conference room immediately.”]

Kang Seok deliberately isolated Agent Jang.

No matter what happened in Horn’s room, Agent Jang must not interfere.

This was another experiment.

[“I live with my uncle. Ever since he joined this company, we’ve lived together, and for the past five years, I’ve heard about you every day.”]

[“About me?”]

Agent Jang’s nephew, Kim Ji-hoon, spoke kindly to Horn.

As Kim Ji-hoon kept smiling warmly, Horn, who had initially been prickly, gradually let his guard down.

[“……Hey. Do you know Seok hyung? Kang Seok.”]

[“Are you talking about Dr. Kang? Of course I know him.”]

[“I figured…. Your tone is similar.”]

[“Dr. Kang and my uncle are so close that I’ve seen him often since I was little. The reason I got to meet you is thanks to Dr. Kang.”]

Kim Ji-hoon said that Dr. Kang wanted to give Horn a friend.

[“We had dinner together yesterday, and Dr. Kang kept telling me to be nice to you. He’s really a kind person.”]

Horn stared blankly at Kim Ji-hoon.

[“……You had dinner together yesterday?”]

[“Huh? What did you say?”]

Good job. Keep provoking him.

As the expected reaction came, Kang Seok’s smile deepened.

Horn hadn’t seen Kang Seok’s face in over a week.

Everyone knew that Horn was filled with resentment because of it, except for Kim Ji-hoon.

[“I didn’t hear you. Can you say it again?”]

Kim Ji-hoon, unaware of anything, kindly asked again.

Horn was blank for a long time, then slowly smiled.

[“……Sure.”]

[“Huh?”]

[“Let’s be friends. We should be friends.”]

As he muttered, “If Seok hyung wants it, we should do it,” his smile looked playfully childish.

But those who had watched Horn for a long time could immediately tell that he was unstable.

‘A clear abnormal reaction.’

It was exactly what Kang Seok had been hoping for.

‘There always needs to be stimulation for development.’

So Kang Seok waited quietly.

Even when Horn shook hands with Kim Ji-hoon to celebrate becoming friends and gave a bizarre smile, he took no action.

[“Hahaha!!”]

Horn laughed excessively, to the point where it looked like his mouth would tear.

Kim Ji-hoon tried to step back, but Horn didn’t let go of his hand.

[“L-let go of me.”]

[“Why? Haha!”]

Horn didn’t let go of the hand he was holding and brought his other hand to his mouth.

Crunch.

Without any hesitation, Horn bit his own hand.

Blood flowed from Horn’s hand, and his mouth was covered in blood.

[“…! Let go!!”]

Kim Ji-hoon was horrified.

He struggled frantically to break free.

[“Hey, friend! Why are you like this!”]

Horn smiled brightly and playfully touched Kim Ji-hoon’s cheek.

[“I’m sorry. My bad. Please, let me go….”]

[“Don’t worry! If you were really in danger, your uncle would have come. Or… haha, Dr. Kang would have come!”]

As he said, the thick iron door didn’t budge an inch.

Horn’s gaze turned toward the CCTV.

[“This must be another experiment anyway! My whole life is… haha! Maybe it’s an experiment to see how I react when I get a friend?”]

Horn seemed to be looking directly at Kang Seok through the CCTV.

‘As expected…’

Kang Seok smiled wickedly.

‘This is my test subject, indeed.’

[“Haha!!”]

Facing the pale-faced Kim Ji-hoon, Horn laughed incessantly.

It was a laughter steeped in madness, but the way his eyes were scrunched up, forcing the smile, made him look more like he was crying.

[“Then I’ll show you ‘my reaction’ now.”]

Blood quietly soaked the floor, flowing from the torn flesh.

Horn raised his blood-covered hand and cupped the boy’s face.

After confirming that his blood was smeared on the other’s face, Horn slowly raised his hand.

Kang Seok, watching the CCTV, muttered.

[“Yes, kill him.”]

The staff next to him flinched and looked at him.

Regardless, Kang Seok’s eyes gleamed with the light from the screen.

‘Break free from your limits.’

Horn was already complete, just hindered by something.

He just needed a stimulus strong enough to break that barrier.

[“Hurry and kill him.”]

If Horn killed Kim Ji-hoon here, it would mean he had advanced another step.

It would signify that the ‘test subject’ was making decisions and taking action on his own.

[“Kill him. Quickly―.”]

A well-behaved toy that only moved by command wasn’t needed.

Horn had to become something greater, something more brilliant.

His H had to be that way.

[“Kill! I said kill him!!”]

Unconsciously, Kang Seok found himself shouting.

The atmosphere was dangerously tense, as if something catastrophic was about to happen.

The screen alternated between the pale Kim Ji-hoon, Horn laughing with tears in his eyes, and Kang Seok shouting with frenzied eyes.

The intense background music made even the viewers’ heads spin.

Horn’s thumb and middle finger met.

His fingers moved slowly, as if in slow motion.

Just before the snap, just before the tick sound.

The screen went black.

―Is everyone still breathing?

It was then that the viewers realized episode 3 had ended.