The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter: 4

“It’s not something that would happen to Yeon-jae anyway!”

“Are you a sociopath? Why would you say that? It happens because of me.”

“Why is it because of you…? It’s just your misfortune factor transferring.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? Anyway, tell me.”

Even though the mist seemed not to understand, it answered meekly while shifting its gaze.

“You can’t know what’s going to happen to another human now!”

“Why?”

“Because the misfortune factor is in your body right now! To see how it will affect another human, we need to see that human, but we can’t see others while you’re here….”

I felt despair.

The mist, unusually quiet, just wandered back and forth in front of me.

“Then there’s no way at all?”

“I can’t know as clearly as with incidents happening to you… but I do know that it’ll affect the face area.”

“Alright. Got it.”

Park Ha-eun. What business do I have with Park Ha-eun?

Tomorrow is the field trip. Field trip…. Oh, my partner for the field trip is Park Ha-eun.

“What if I don’t go to school tomorrow? Or ask the teacher to change partners?”

“Hmm… can I ask why you want to go to such lengths?”

“Since it happens because of me, I should take responsibility. It would be good to stop it if I can.”

“Why do you think it happens because of you…? The misfortune factor just transfers at a predetermined time.”

Even though I couldn’t speak more assertively because I looked too serious, the mist still didn’t seem to understand.

After two weeks, it was clear this thing really knew nothing about humans and misfortune.

It knew misfortunate events happened when the misfortune factor was attached, but it didn’t understand how much those events could hurt and frustrate a person.

In short, it didn’t see it as a relevant area of concern.

Over the past two weeks, while I barely avoided misfortune or sometimes sadly failed, the mist found it all very entertaining.

When I talked about close calls that still made me sweat just thinking about them, its eyes sparkled with amusement, making me feel frustrated more than once.

After all, it wasn’t human… expecting it to understand was ridiculous.

So, there was no need for me to understand it either.

“Never mind. You don’t need to understand. Mist, look here.”

“Yeah?”

“Originally, it was Ha-eun’s fate to get hurt because my misfortune factor transferred to her. But aren’t you curious if we can change another person’s fate?”

“…! Curious!!”

Of course, it wasn’t just the mist that had figured out the other over the two weeks.

From now on, I’d approach handling the mist this way.

Eventually, I coaxed the mist into revealing that ‘around 3 PM tomorrow, Park Ha-eun will get glass shards in her face.’

* * *

As soon as I opened my eyes, I pretended to be sick with a determined mind.

Saying “Principal, I feel sick…” with a straight face was really hard.

I had never said that even when I was genuinely sick.

The principal, who had never seen me fail to get up on time, was visibly startled. I felt a pang of guilt.

If they didn’t force me to go to school, then not going at all might be the solution.

—That thought crumbled when I saw the teachers were all busy today and there was no one to stay behind with me.

In the end, I got up, pretending to feel suddenly better, and dragged myself to school.

When I arrived at the school, the homeroom teacher casually told me to stand next to Park Ha-eun.

I cautiously asked if I could change partners, but was only met with, “It’s already decided, so no.”

“Kids! Stand with your partners! In two lines! Quickly, quickly!”

Repeating ‘what do I do’ in my head, I stood next to Park Ha-eun.

Startled by the sudden shadow beside her, she glanced at me before turning back to her conversation.

While the teacher was shouting for us to line up in two rows, I glanced at Park Ha-eun.

In a few hours, this face would get injured.

Having glass shards in the face would be a shocking accident, especially for someone our age, regardless of gender.

Though young people recover well, the pain is the same for everyone.

“…Do you have something to say to me?”

“Oh, sorry.”

Maybe I had been staring too much; Park Ha-eun asked without looking at me, facing forward.

I immediately apologized and turned to face forward.

Amid the noisy surroundings, silence fell between Park Ha-eun and me.

Quietly, we got on the bus and arrived at the field trip location.

In front of the art museum, the guide, wearing a badge that said ‘Educational Staff,’ greeted us with a cheerful voice.

“Everyone, this is how the museum is laid out. Now, please head to the outdoor exhibit areas divided by zones! Do not enter areas marked with ‘No Entry’ signs.”

The guide, who seemed to have dealt with many students, didn’t lose composure even when some students muttered how ugly some artworks were.

With a kind smile, the guide quickly disappeared after the last instruction.

The homeroom teacher told us to take a round with our partners, waving his hand as if to shoo us away.

As we moved towards the first exhibition hall, holding the field trip worksheets, Park Ha-eun hesitated but followed me.

“Ha-eun.”

“Huh? Me?!”

“…? Yeah. Aren’t you Park Ha-eun?”

I cautiously spoke, thinking it would be good to separate from her soon, but Park Ha-eun’s already big eyes widened even more.

She looked so unexpectedly flustered that I momentarily doubted whether her name was indeed Park Ha-eun.

“Oh, my name is Park Ha-eun… Why?”

“You can go with your close friends. I’ll complete and submit this well.”

“Huh?”

Although boys and girls were paired together, it was unlikely that adolescents would obediently follow such arrangements.

A quick glance around showed no one was sticking to their assigned partners.

As expected, some boys passed by us, shouting to start from a different area.

“You don’t have to stay with me. Go with your friends.”

I pointed with my eyes to two girls watching Park Ha-eun from a distance.

Following my gaze, Park Ha-eun spotted her friends and hesitated for a moment, then cautiously moved towards them, glancing at me.

I watched Park Ha-eun turn her back completely and approach her friends.

In a few hours, Park Ha-eun would become unfortunate because of me.

But I could prevent it. I had to.

This time.

* * *

After wandering alone for a while, I checked the time and saw that it was already past 1 PM.

The mist had said that around 3 PM, glass shards would get stuck in Park Ha-eun’s face.

When should I start being cautious if it’s around 3 PM? Better to be safe and start at 2?

‘As long as I’m not near her, it should be fine.’

My plan to avoid Park Ha-eun until past 3 PM was thwarted in less than 30 minutes.

I ran into the homeroom teacher, who got angry, asking why I wasn’t with my partner.

It was unlike the teacher who usually didn’t care about what I did.

She raised her voice, insisting I stay with my partner, while pretending not to see a group of boys playing nearby.

I meekly agreed, thinking I could stay in the bathroom, but the teacher insisted on taking me to where Park Ha-eun was.

“Don’t act out. Lee Yeon-jae, if you cause trouble today, I’ll really have a headache. Don’t wander around alone.”

“…Yes.”

“Ha-eun, take good care of him.”

“Ah, yes.”

The teacher firmly insisted we stay together, watching us with sharp eyes until we moved.

It was already 2:30 PM.

It seemed difficult to separate from Park Ha-eun… In that case, I’d better stay by her side and prevent the accident.

“Ha-eun.”

“…Yeah?”

“The only thing left is the fifth exhibition hall. Let’s quickly visit it and rest until it’s over.”

“Yeah. Let’s do that….”

Park Ha-eun followed me awkwardly.

Carefully approaching the entrance, unsure where or when an accident might occur, I noticed the writing on the sign.

‘Fifth Outdoor Exhibition Theme: Fireflies’

[Experience the beautiful light gifted by nature. The firefly lights create a vivid display of color even in broad daylight.]

Seeing the ‘firefly lights,’ I felt a chill down my spine. It had to be that.

The foreboding sense was too strong to ignore.

Entering, I saw a large outdoor space compared to the previous exhibition halls.

Rows of street trees stood regularly, with strings of firefly lights hanging densely from them.

The glass craft enclosures housing the bulbs, treated with color, sparkled in the bright daylight.

The myriad lights, mainly in yellow, created a stunning spectacle.

‘It’s obvious those will fall… Why will they fall?’

I wanted to walk in areas without lights, but they glittered everywhere.

I thought about telling Park Ha-eun we should leave, having seen enough, but then…

“These are really pretty….”

Seeing Park Ha-eun’s eyes sparkling as much as the lights, I swallowed my words.

If I suggested leaving, she might want to stay alone to look around.

Instead, I decided to quickly tour and leave, while checking for any precariously hanging lights.

“Should we go this way?”

“Yeah!”

I was on edge seeing Park Ha-eun, who couldn’t take her eyes off the lights, walking.

I kept looking up to check if the lights were secure while also watching Park Ha-eun, who frequently veered off course.

The lights seemed to multiply as we went deeper inside.

Then, a boy from the next class, one of the mist’s frequent forms, approached.

“Park. Why are you hanging out with him?”

“What?”

“I told you before, right? I’ve seen a lot of kids get hurt after talking to Lee Yeon-jae.”

Were they close?

Ignoring me, the boy continued talking to Park Ha-eun. I quickly scanned the lights above us.

“What do you mean ‘told’? Don’t pick a fight and go your way.”

“No, seriously, don’t stick with him. I’m not being nosy for nothing. Because of him, people have died―”

“Seung-hyun, are you crazy?! How can you say that in front of him?”

Park Ha-eun, shocked, cut off Oh Seung-hyun’s words.

Her eyes were busy darting between me and Seung-hyun, frowning deeply in anger.

“I cared, but why are you mad? You’re making me feel bad.”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, please leave.”

Despite looking around, I couldn’t find any loose connections in the lights.

It was unlikely that a well-maintained exhibition, frequently visited by students, would be so careless.

How could the lights break and end up in Park Ha-eun’s face?

What did I miss?