The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 95

“How did you—.”

—It’s difficult to explain over the phone. Can we meet in person?

As always, it was a calm and polite voice.

I thought to myself, wondering what kind of solution a 14-year-old could offer, but my response came out hesitantly.

“Uh… I can’t really go out far right now.”

—How about I come to your place? We can talk in the car. It won’t take long.

Dazed by the strange forcefulness, I ended up making an appointment.

I sent a text with the location of my dorm, and within less than 30 minutes, I received a reply saying they had arrived.

Kang Se-hyun wondered what was happening as he put on his cap and headed to the private parking lot.

The security was tight, befitting a dormitory for a first-tier idol.

The spacious parking lot was devoid of fans or reporters, and there was a car I had seen a few times standing alone.

As Kang Se-hyun approached, someone got out of the driver’s seat.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello. You’re Yeon-jae’s manager, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be standing by that pillar. You two can talk comfortably.”

“You can stay with us if you’d like….”

“The actor requested it.”

Lee Yeon-jae’s manager had an intimidating build that could make anyone gasp.

Seeing someone like that act so politely made me feel like a mafia boss might be waiting inside the car.

“Hello.”

Of course, the person inside the car was a calm boy who seemed completely unrelated to any mafia.

Seeing his bored expression, as if nothing had happened over the past two days, oddly put me at ease.

“Hi. What did you mean by what you said earlier?”

“I’ll get straight to the point. But are you recording this conversation?”

“……Recording? No? Should I?”

When I asked in bewilderment, Lee Yeon-jae just shrugged.

“If this conversation gets out, it could put me in a difficult position.”

“Oh… right, well… here, look, I’m not recording.”

“Okay. If you don’t mind, could you give me your phone during our conversation?”

Kang Se-hyun looked at him with a bitter expression for a moment before handing over his phone.

The kid was polite but seemed strange. Maybe all geniuses are like this.

Since I had already given him my phone, I also showed him my empty pockets.

When I asked if this was enough, Lee Yeon-jae looked at me with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry, but your socks too.”

“…….”

After confirming there was nothing hidden in my socks, Lee Yeon-jae finally began to speak.

“I have a way to resolve the situation you’re in. If you handle the storytelling well, you can turn things around.”

“What is it?”

“The only condition for me to tell you is that you don’t ask about the source.”

His dark eyes looked directly at Kang Se-hyun, as if there was nothing to hide.

“Don’t ask where I got this information. Then I’ll tell you.”

“…….”

Kang Se-hyun thought for a long time before slowly nodding.

When he said out loud that he understood, Lee Yeon-jae took an MP3 player out of his pocket.

“What is that?”

“It’s an MP3 player.”

“No, I mean, do you guys still use MP3 players? Wow, these were all the rage when I was in high school. It’s been a while.”

“That’s yours.”

“What? I never had an MP3 player.”

“No. You bought this yourself nine years ago and kept it all this time. That’s how you should explain it.”

“…?”

I furrowed my brows at the incomprehensible words.

His voice continued in a flat, indifferent tone.

“You bought this MP3 player to record the verbal abuse from a person named ‘No Yeon-kyung’ who harassed you back then.”

“…! How did you—.”

“To deal with it rationally, you recorded for a long time, and right before showing it to the teacher, ‘that incident’ happened. While it’s true that you hit first, the other person knew about the recording and apologized first, and the incident was resolved internally without involving the police… that’s how you should explain it.”

Kang Se-hyun was at a loss for words.

Lee Yeon-jae continued speaking without seeming to mind.

“I’ve only put recordings that can work in your favor on this MP3 player. I also included the recording from ‘that incident’ just in case, but you can hear the sound of punches, so I think it’s best not to use that. Just keep it for reference.”

“…….”

“If the agency questions why you didn’t mention this before, just come up with an excuse. It’s crucial evidence, so they’ll be more likely to welcome it than not. Go and discuss it with your agency. They’ll know best how to use it to your advantage.”

I had never seen him talk this much before.

He recited the long explanation without stumbling once, then looked at Kang Se-hyun.

“That’s all I have to say.”

“…….”

The boredom in his black eyes signaled that he had nothing more to add.

‘I thought he was peculiar….’

This went beyond peculiar.

Feeling a chill down his spine, Kang Se-hyun opened his mouth.

“If I ask how you got this….”

“You’d be breaking the only condition.”

The response was firm.

Kang Se-hyun had no choice but to swallow his curiosity along with his dry saliva.

He wondered if this could be real, if the boy was lying to him, full of doubts….

But if Lee Yeon-jae wasn’t lying, then this MP3 was his only lifeline.

No, but could this be real?

It felt like a dream, but the calm voice brought him back to reality.

“Hyung. Go inside and listen to the recording first. It won’t be pleasant, but you need to know what’s on it.”

“Well… okay. I’ll check it out.”

Half-dazed, Kang Se-hyun gathered up the MP3 player.

As he opened the car door and got out, Lee Yeon-jae’s manager, who had been standing far away, approached briskly.

After bowing politely, he drove away, leaving the dazed Kang Se-hyun alone.

Kang Se-hyun stood in the empty parking lot for a long time before trudging back to his dorm.

After sitting in his chair for hours, he connected the MP3 player to his computer.

Ding—.

With the connection sound, the folder opened automatically.

In the pitch-dark room, the blue light from the screen illuminated his stunned face.

* * *

“Actor, should we buy some ice cream before heading back? They’ve got a new lemon flavor.”

On the way back home from Kang Se-hyun’s dorm, I laughed at the suggestion.

“Sure. Let’s do that.”

“Then I’ll stop by the mart first!”

He could have just said he wanted ice cream.

I had gotten used to him phrasing his desires as questions.

Seeing his face brighten in the rearview mirror, I laughed, but thinking about what just happened made my head hurt.

‘I don’t know if I did the right thing.’

I wondered if it was right to interfere in someone else’s business like this.

But not doing something when I could was also strange.

‘They say it could be canceled if it goes wrong.’

Of course, there was no absolute need to do ‘Goodbye, My Summer.’

There were plenty of scripts lying around at the company, and other audition opportunities were abundant.

But I knew all too well how many people worked hard to bring a single drama to the world.

So I couldn’t just ignore it.

If it weren’t for Mist, I wouldn’t have known I could do anything about it.

‘Yeon-jae!’

‘Have you been well?’

‘Yeah! But it’s a shame the shoot got interrupted today! We practiced a lot together yesterday!’

‘You can shoot next time. Once Se-hyun’s issue is resolved, the shoot will resume. I’m not sure when it’ll be resolved, though….’

Mist tilted his head at my murmuring.

‘But why did they say that guy hit someone?’

‘Apparently, the alleged victim posted something. They claimed Se-hyun bullied them for months.’

‘That’s a lie! I saw everything!’

‘Huh?’

Mist explained with a bright face.

Since my schedule got messed up, he had nothing to do and had peeked into Kang Se-hyun’s memories.

I was startled by the fact that Mist could view others’ memories besides mine, but that was only for a moment. Seeing the scene reflected on the wall, I froze.

[Kang Se-hyun. I heard your mom died. Is it true your dad killed her?]

[…….]

[Why are you glaring at me? Are you going to hit me? Do you not want to debut?]

For several months, it wasn’t Kang Se-hyun who had bullied someone but rather the person who claimed to be the victim.

I confirmed that the person who had tormented Kang Se-hyun with cruel words was named ‘No Yeon-kyung.’

[Hey, hey. If you keep ignoring me, I’ll spread rumors to the other kids. Did you think no one would find out because you transferred? I heard your mom was a whore.]

Moreover, I saw how trainee Kang Se-hyun had tried to ignore No Yeon-kyung to avoid getting involved but lost his cool when his deceased mother was insulted and beat him to a pulp.

Seeing him, with bloodied fists, holding the already unconscious No Yeon-kyung, was heartbreaking.

After watching the soaked face of Kang Se-hyun in silence, I asked Mist to pause the scene.

‘Did I show you something unnecessary…? Sorry….’

Mist, who had been cheerful, now looked dejected and apologized, but I couldn’t respond.

I felt sorry for Kang Se-hyun.

For reading such a personal memory without permission.

Everyone has a personal space that shouldn’t be intruded upon by others.

Crossing that line without permission can result in either special treatment or unpleasant treatment.

Having crossed the line without any permission, I naturally fell into the latter category.

After that, Kang Se-hyun tried to leave the agency, but WB Entertainment proposed significant compensation to the victim, and the incident was buried.

I learned through Noh Bi-hyuk that his debut album was a huge success, and he continued to rise.

But the anxiety of not knowing when his past would resurface was now visible on his face.

It also became clear that he had no evidence to prove that No Yeon-kyung had been the one to torment him first.

‘Mist. I’m just asking, but.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Is there any way to bring this video to reality?’

‘……Huh?’

Mist looked at me as if he was a primitive man hearing language for the first time.

If I could at least extract the audio and put it in a recorder, it could be used as evidence.

When I explained further, Mist looked uncertain.

‘That’s probably not possible…. I don’t have that kind of power in the human world.’

‘But you’ve already changed my life.’

‘…….’

‘Mist, without you, I wouldn’t have been able to act, let alone have normal conversations with people. Whether this works or not, the fact is you’ve changed a lot, so don’t deny it.’

His clear eyes looked at me.

After a long silence, Mist told me not to be disappointed if it didn’t work and handed me the MP3 player he had created.

Just before leaving the dark space, I held the MP3 tightly in my hand, hoping desperately.

And when I woke up in the morning, there was something in my hand.