The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 59

“Good job. The head of the athletics department, please put away the balls. See you next time.”

“Thank you~!”

As the bell rang, the gym teacher left the room first.

At the same time, the kids started running quickly.

They were all scrambling to get to the cafeteria as fast as possible.

Because the athletic field was closer to the cafeteria than the classroom due to the building layout, a race always took place on days with gym class in the fourth period.

Of course, this didn’t apply to me.

“Yeon-jae, I—”

“Go ahead.”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon!”

I had to wait for Noh Bi-hyuk, the head of the athletics department.

I did some stretching while watching Noh Bi-hyuk head to the storage with a basket full of balls.

As I was carefully loosening the slightly stiff neck muscles, some girls slowly passed by.

I found it strange that Park Ha-eun, who usually ran to the cafeteria first, was among them.

Thinking she might be unwell, I asked if something was wrong. Park Ha-eun, who stopped with a puzzled face, laughed with a deflating sound.

“Today’s menu is braised pollock. I was just going to buy bread.”

“Oh. I thought you were sick.”

“Yeon-jae, just because I’m not running to the cafeteria doesn’t mean I’m sick….”

Park Ha-eun muttered bitterly.

Feeling awkward, I apologized, and she laughed, saying it was a joke.

She seemed strangely low-spirited.

I was just about to tell her to go ahead since her friends seemed to be waiting for her from afar.

I blinked as I noticed something.

Hmm… What should I do about that?

“Ha-eun.”

“Yeah?”

As I looked into her big eyes, I organized my thoughts inwardly.

I was wondering how to say this without making it awkward, but seeing the kids coming out of the building to go to the cafeteria made me feel rushed.

I quickly took off my top, leaving only the white short-sleeved shirt underneath. As I took off my gym jacket, I saw her eyes widen in surprise.

How surprised she must be to suddenly see me taking off my top right in front of her.

I understood her feelings, but I had no choice.

“What—”

“Hold on.”

I quickly approached her and tied my jacket around her waist before she could say anything.

Seeing her still puzzled, I whispered softly.

“Ha-eun, I think you should go to the classroom and change your clothes first.”

“Huh?”

Her face, which seemed to say ‘What are you talking about?’ made me smile awkwardly.

I didn’t know how to explain it.

Fortunately, Park Ha-eun quickly realized what I was trying to say.

With her face turning red in an instant, she said she would go ahead and quickly left. I deliberately turned my head in the opposite direction.

A little later, Noh Bi-hyuk returned empty-handed, looking puzzled.

“What’s up? Why did you take off your clothes?”

“Because it’s hot.”

“Hot?”

As soon as Noh Bi-hyuk asked in disbelief, a cold wind blew.

I gritted my teeth without realizing it. Damn, it’s cold.

“Let’s go quickly. I’m hungry.”

“Where did your clothes go? Let’s at least change into the gym clothes.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just go.”

If we go to the classroom now, we might run into Park Ha-eun.

Was it a good choice for me to step in?

I was worried that she might have felt bad.

As I hurriedly rubbed my goosebumped arms from the cold, Noh Bi-hyuk followed me, still looking confused.

“Hey, wear this. I’m wearing long sleeves underneath.”

“Sure.”

I quickly accepted the jacket that Noh Bi-hyuk handed over.

It was too cold to refuse.

As I adjusted the slightly loose sleeves and entered the cafeteria, I saw a long line already formed.

As I briefly talked about yesterday’s filming, making sure not to spoil anything, I suddenly remembered something I had been curious about for the past few days.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“You said you were going to start auditioning from next year. Can’t you start now? I was wondering if you had to wait until next year.”

From what I found, there were many people who started their trainee life even in elementary school.

Even though he pretended not to care, he was very serious about becoming an idol, so I wondered if there was a need to delay it. Wouldn’t it be better to start early?

I carefully asked, thinking there might be some circumstances I didn’t know about, but he looked at me as if it was ridiculous.

“…? You’re asking that now?”

Even I thought it was sudden.

When I heard about it around the start of the new semester, I didn’t think much about it.

Well, it could suddenly make someone curious.

“I was just curious. If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to.”

“There’s nothing hard to talk about. It’s just sudden.”

As he answered casually, Noh Bi-hyuk scratched his head and confessed that he had actually auditioned two years ago.

It was one of the top three major agencies, and he had passed the audition and just needed to sign the trainee contract, but his parents flatly refused.

They said they would only allow it after he became a middle school student.

Seeing Noh Bi-hyuk’s slightly furrowed face while talking about it, I asked if his parents had a bad opinion about idols.

“No, they’re not interested in me at all. They just think that a person needs to be at least 14 to make proper decisions.”

“That’s unusual. It’s not even twenty. It’s a very ambiguous age.”

“My dad decided to become a doctor when he was 14. My mom too.”

As he answered indifferently, Noh Bi-hyuk stretched with a groan.

“According to their standards, I’m in a state where nothing I say matters until I turn 14. They think I don’t have a brain.”

“…….”

“Anyway, they’re both so busy that I hardly ever see them. Thanks to that, I can practice well since there’s no one at home.”

Noh Bi-hyuk’s unusually sarcastic tone left me speechless for a moment.

He glanced at me, who had gone quiet, and quickly loosened his expression and put his arm around my shoulders.

“How is it? Isn’t a man who grows up lonely in neglect attractive? Wow, my backstory is already perfect.”

“Sure, it’s perfect. Just stand in line properly.”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly so cold? Got any more questions for Bi-hyuk?”

Oh. Do you have a condition where you can’t stand alone?

I held back my curiosity about why he kept putting his arm around me.

I had some tact, after all.

Feeling like I had upset him with my question, I gave him a suitable compliment instead.

“Hey. What do you eat to grow so tall?”

Noh Bi-hyuk was visibly taller than a few months ago.

Hearing my question, his blank face soon brightened, and he smiled widely.

“Am I really that tall? Oh no, I shouldn’t get any more perfect~.”

“Right. That would be a big problem.”

“Hey. If you’re going to make such a bored face, just curse at me.”

After bickering with Noh Bi-hyuk over lunch, we returned to the classroom.

As I checked the subject for the fifth period and took out my book, I turned my head, sensing someone standing next to me.

“Yeon-jae, about the gym clothes… Can I give them back later? I’ll wash them and return them.”

“Sure. You can give them back next week.”

“They’re not dirty! It’s just that I feel bad, so don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried. It’s not urgent, so take your time.”

I closed my locker with a smile.

And when I whispered that I was sorry if I had made her uncomfortable, Park Ha-eun shook her head, flustered.

“Don’t apologize. I’m the one who’s grateful.”

“That’s a relief. Oh, do you want this?”

I handed her the chocolate I had received from Manager An Jin-bae last time.

I casually mentioned that she could give it to someone else if she didn’t want it, and her face brightened as she gratefully accepted the chocolate.

I think it ended well enough, right?

Sighing in relief, I returned to my seat, but suddenly felt a gaze.

‘What is it?’

I looked around but didn’t see anyone staring at me.

After blinking for a moment, I looked back at my book.

Whoever it is, they’ll talk to me if they need something, I guess.

* * *

Oh Seung-hyun stared at Lee Yeon-jae, who had returned his gaze to the book.

His quiet and calm face broke as soon as Noh Bi-hyuk leaned on him.

Even though he seemed annoyed, he didn’t push him away forcefully, which made Noh Bi-hyuk laugh.

Their voices weren’t loud, so it wasn’t noisy, but the attention of the class was focused on them.

As Park Ha-eun approached, the attention grew even stronger.

Oh Seung-hyun quietly watched the three of them.

Park Ha-eun’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lee Yeon-jae.

Her eyes were full of affection and admiration.

It was a pitiful sight, but the feeling of growing despondency was something Oh Seung-hyun couldn’t control.

After all, he had been rejected so harshly by someone he liked.

Oh Seung-hyun recalled the day a few months ago when he had a big argument with Lee Yeon-jae.

He had followed Park Ha-eun, nervous about what to say, but what she said was completely unexpected.

‘Seung-hyun.’

‘…Uh, yeah?’

Oh Seung-hyun stammered at the soft tone he had never heard from Park Ha-eun before.

While inwardly cursing himself not to look foolish, his eyes were busy trying to capture her gentle demeanor.

‘Do you like me?’

‘…Yeah.’

After momentarily lowering her eyes with a calm face, Park Ha-eun thanked him.

Oh Seung-hyun was still struggling to adapt to the unexpected conversation flow.

‘Actually, I knew you liked me. Sorry for pretending not to know.’

‘…No, it’s okay. That happens.’

‘I don’t want to date anyone right now. It’s not because it’s you; it would be the same for anyone. It’s not just Noh Bi-hyuk… and Lee Yeon-jae as well.’

At the mention of his name, Oh Seung-hyun’s face darkened.

‘I didn’t hear everything earlier… But were you doing those things to Yeon-jae because of me?’

‘….’

‘Please, stop. We used to be close in the fourth grade. Can we go back to that time?’

Although her voice, disguised with composure, was quite desperate, Oh Seung-hyun didn’t like it.

Is Yeon-jae that important to you?

His feelings boiled inside, but there were few options.

Oh Seung-hyun promised not to bother Lee Yeon-jae anymore and said he would apologize right away.

Even if dating was difficult, talking as they used to was better.

After that, he went back to being friendly with Park Ha-eun, while he and Lee Yeon-jae acted as if they had never spoken a word.

Instead, Noh Bi-hyuk sometimes glared at or nudged him, but Lee Yeon-jae really acted like nothing had happened.

And that made him feel even more despondent.

All the things I did to you didn’t affect you at all, huh?

‘Why are you so high and mighty?’

You weren’t like that originally.

The original Lee Yeon-jae wasn’t like this.

Even though they had never spoken, he remembered clearly, having been in the same class for four years.

There was never a time when it was so noisy around him. Why… why?

As he pondered quietly, the atmosphere suddenly became rowdy.

“No way. Yeon-jae, are you going to be on ‘Mission Clear’?”

“Wow, really? I’ve been watching that since season 1!”

“How did you know?”

“An article just came out!”

Lee Yeon-jae’s troubled expression was quickly covered by the kids excitedly looking at the article.

They were thrilled by the news that a classmate would appear on their favorite variety show.

Feeling the quickly bustling atmosphere, Oh Seung-hyun slowly clenched his fist.

‘…I can’t leave it like this.’

He no longer had ill feelings towards Lee Yeon-jae.

But wasn’t there a set order in the world?

These changes couldn’t be good for everyone.

He had to do something, not for himself, but for the other kids as well.

Just harassing him like before wouldn’t be enough. Something more….

‘I need something strong.’

He wasn’t breaking his promise. He wasn’t going to bully him.

Just… returning things to the way they were.

Thinking that, the corners of the boy’s eyes turned red.