The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 190

“Yeon-jae.”

When the staff hesitantly spoke, Lee Yeon-jae looked up.

“Yes?”

“We need to remove the magnetic part attached to your shoulder. The PD says it reflects the lights….”

“Sure. Should I take off the shirt and give it to you?”

“No, we just need to remove the magnet, so please stay still.”

“Okay. Take your time.”

The staff member was naturally shy and often avoided conversations, even with other staff members. Talking to someone who screamed ‘I’m a celebrity’ was nerve-wracking.

‘What if I mess up?’

Their hands trembled at the thought of damaging the clothes or annoying the celebrity.

‘The magnet is really stuck on.’

A senior had said it would be easy to remove, but it wasn’t coming off as planned.

As the time dragged on, Lee Yeon-jae, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, spoke.

“It’s really amazing.”

“Pardon?”

“How you resolve things immediately when something comes up. I don’t think I could do that.”

The gentle voice made the staff member momentarily dazed before responding.

“It’s nothing….”

At that moment, the magnet popped off.

Before the staff could react, Lee Yeon-jae opened his eyes.

“See?”

His eyes were filled with laughter as they met the staff member’s gaze.

“….”

“It came off well. Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you. Thank you.”

The staff member mumbled and stepped back.

As soon as they returned, a senior staff member patted them on the shoulder.

“Why did it take so long, you idiot? Come on, we have to move those boxes.”

“Oh, yes….”

“Why do you look like that? What did he say?”

“Nothing! He didn’t say anything.”

Startled, the staff member shook their head vigorously, making the senior chuckle.

“Yeon-jae’s a nice guy, right? I’ve been on sets for over five years, but I haven’t seen a cast as nice as this one.”

“I think so too.”

“This is your first project, right? Take all the tips you can from me. I’m going to help you grow.”

The staff member nodded at the senior’s boastful words and glanced to the side.

Lee Yeon-jae was smiling and chatting with Lee Jung-hyun and Kim Seok-jun.

‘Seeing them together like that… they really look like celebrities.’

Sparkling, glamorous celebrities.

The staff member watched Lee Yeon-jae in awe.

The young celebrity, much younger than them, was calm and quiet.

‘He talks less than I thought,’ they mused, feeling a surprising sense of kinship. Yet, seeing him actively chatting with the other two actors, he seemed very lively.

“Did Jung-hyun hyung really say that?”

“You’re the only one who didn’t know. Lee Jung-hyun got a lot of flak for being rude when he debuted.”

“Ha ha, Seok-jun, stop talking. Just close your mouth.”

“See? So rude.”

The three of them seemed to be having a great time.

Everyone was watching them.

‘They really are naturals.’

Talking casually amidst so many gazes was a talent in itself.

The staff member realized they had been staring at the trio without noticing.

‘Amazing.’

The ability to captivate people effortlessly was a rare talent.

They had felt a bit closer to Lee Yeon-jae during their brief conversation, but now that sense of distance was back.

‘I wonder if I’ll ever feel close to someone like that if I work long enough?’

They resolved to keep going until then.

But when the filming started and the staff member saw Lee Yeon-jae’s acting for the first time, they realized something else.

That the feeling of distance could be easily replaced with something else: awe.

* * *

In the dark early morning, a truck moved quietly along the road.

The trailer behind the truck was filled with armed men, and a boy with white hair sat among them.

In the dim situation, only the boy seemed to shine.

His white hair, pale skin, and white clothes made him look out of place.

The strange, mysterious atmosphere was….

“Can you loosen the ropes a bit? They’re tied too tightly, and my wrists are chafing.”

“….”

As soon as the boy opened his mouth, the atmosphere was shattered.

“My whole body hurts. If we’re going to travel this far, shouldn’t we at least have brought cushions? You brought so many guns, but couldn’t manage a single cushion.”

The grumbling continued.

The tension that had filled the trailer dissipated, and the men glanced at each other.

Who’s going to answer him? You do it. Why are you looking at me? I don’t want to.

“Hey, can’t you hear me?”

“Shut up. Keep talking, and I’ll gag you.”

“Hmph. I know you won’t. Whoever sent you told you to bring me back unharmed, right?”

Horn responded nonchalantly to the stranger’s words.

As Horn mentioned, the men had been ordered to bring the ‘item’ back as intact as possible. Their eyes flickered slightly.

“So, can you loosen these ropes a bit? They’re too tight, and I think my blood circulation is getting cut off.”

“Don’t try anything funny.”

“Oh? You know what a trick is. Too bad~.”

I thought you’d be easy to deal with because you talked to me.

Horn smiled brightly.

He didn’t seem scared at all, even in a kidnapping situation.

The men, who had been on high alert, glanced at him.

Wasn’t he supposed to be an experiment? But he seemed…

‘Too human.’

The men had been given the mission to steal this ‘item’ as they always did.

Their faces showed confusion.

Regardless, Horn looked bored.

“My hands really hurt. When will Seok-hyung come?”

Horn was calm because he knew Kang Seok would come.

Of course, he didn’t trust Kang Seok.

He just believed that it was too early for Kang Seok to abandon him.

Proving him right, a tremendous explosion was heard.

Boom—!

A bomb exploded next to the truck, shaking the vehicle.

Immediately, a barrage of bombs followed, threatening to swallow the truck.

“Everyone get down!!”

“Fuck, what the hell, this is so reckless—!”

It was an attack that didn’t care about what was inside the truck.

The bombardment was so intense that the truck lost control.

“Hey, drive straight!”

“Get in touch with headquarters first, you bastard!”

Before the kidnappers could continue their argument, a bomb exploded in front of the truck, interrupting their conversation.

A thunderous explosion roared, far surpassing any previous ones.

At the same time, the truck veered off the road and flipped over.

Boom—!

The heavy vehicle crashed to the ground with a devastating sound that seemed to crush any hope for survivors, but the staff involved in the ‘H Project’ knew better.

H would not die under any circumstances.

“…I’m going to die.”

And indeed, Horn survived.

“Ugh.”

He held his breath and pushed away the corpse that was pinning him down.

As he groped around and managed to stand up, his vision blurred.

‘Am I the only one who survived?’

The surroundings were eerily silent. Something sticky dripped down his forehead.

He wiped it off roughly with his hand, thinking that his forehead must have been cut.

He didn’t need to worry about cuts; they would heal on their own. The real problem was the pain.

“…No wonder it hurts.”

Horn sighed after confirming his right arm was broken.

Through hundreds of experiments, it was known that Horn had a faster recovery rate than humans.

But while he healed quickly, his pain receptors worked just the same.

“Sigh….”

Horn forced himself to stand up.

He felt nauseous, as if his insides were mixed up. A ringing buzzed in his ears.

‘Get it together. I need to get out of here first.’

Seok-hyung must have come to rescue him.

It was his first time being kidnapped, so surely Seok-hyung wouldn’t punish him right now.

‘Seok-hyung will be waiting for me.’

As Horn reached out through the rubble, agents came running as if they had been waiting.

‘They could’ve helped me sooner.’

He wanted to click his tongue, but he couldn’t manage to.

A familiar face came into his blurred vision. It was Agent Jang Yo-seok.

“Agent Jang… where’s Seok-hyung?”

“….”

Lying on the ground, Horn asked, but received a cold stare in return.

The frigid gaze suddenly cleared his mind.

Ah.

“…Don’t tell me this was an experiment?”

Jang Yo-seok slowly nodded.

Horn sighed deeply.

“Ha, I thought something felt off….”

He had thought he was just inexperienced with kidnapping.

Horn recalled the strangely lax security. His head throbbed.

He should have killed everyone in the truck and escaped earlier.

‘It was a chance to prove my usefulness after a long time.’

Idiot.

Horn berated himself.

‘I thought Seok-hyung would save me….’

Like waiting for a prince on a white horse, what was he thinking?

Horn’s face showed his complicated and miserable emotions.

Jang Yo-seok stared at him quietly.

“Is Seok-hyung very angry?”

“…Aren’t you angry? Even now, is Kang Seok all that matters?”

“What?”

“Your arm is broken. Blood is pouring down your forehead. If you wanted, you could kill us all with that blood. Why don’t you? Why do you always wait for Kang Seok?”

Wow, I’ve never seen this hyung talk so much.

Jang Yo-seok, with a cold face, continued speaking.

Horn stared at him, and Jang Yo-seok, irritated by the childlike gaze, got angrier.

“This experiment was Kang Seok’s idea. Your dear hyung planned it.”

“…? I know.”

There wasn’t a single experiment that Kang Seok hadn’t been involved in.

Horn responded, puzzled by Jang Yo-seok stating the obvious.

Jang Yo-seok gritted his teeth.

“And you’re not angry? What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep pretending not to know?”

Horn looked at Jang Yo-seok calmly before speaking.

“If I get angry, will you help me?”

“What?”

“What will you do if I get angry? Will you hide me and take care of me? Will you play the role of ‘Seok-hyung’?”

Horn’s voice dripped with sarcasm, and Jang Yo-seok didn’t respond.

Horn laughed bitterly, expecting as much.

“Just keep doing what you always do.”

“….”

“I’m already playing house with Seok-hyung, so don’t interfere.”

The words from Horn’s mouth were cold, lacking his usual cheerful smile.

After confirming there was no emotional confusion on Horn’s face, Jang Yo-seok swallowed deeply.

“…I’ve done what I could. I’m leaving.”

“What?”

Before Horn could interpret Jang Yo-seok’s abrupt statement, someone approached from behind.

Horn recognized the familiar scent before he even turned his head.

“Hey, Horn.”

“Seok-hyung?”

It was Kang Seok.

Horn’s weary eyes sparkled with excitement.

Despite Kang Seok’s bitter expression, Horn was too happy to notice.

“Why are you here? I failed the experiment??”

Wow, it’s really Seok-hyung.

Horn reached out to touch his long-lost face, then quickly withdrew his hand, remembering it was covered in blood.

Kang Seok smiled and grabbed Horn’s withdrawing hand.

“H.”

“…What?”

Horn’s smile froze.

H. It was a name he had never been called before.

Horn stared blankly, and Kang Seok spoke calmly.

“I was happy throughout the ‘H Project.’ Meeting you was the best part of my life, the best five years.”

“Why are you saying this all of a sudden…?”

“I believe you have great power. Something more incredible and splendid than your current abilities. It must be within you.”

Kang Seok’s fingertip touched Horn’s chest.

“You just can’t use it because of your mental limits. You need a shock to break those limits. You need a ‘trigger.'”

Kang Seok gently patted Horn’s head and took a gun from his coat.

It was the gun Horn always used.

Kang Seok had taught him everything about it, from how to use it to how to maintain it.

Kang Seok placed the gun in Horn’s hand and smiled.

“Hyung, why….”

Kang Seok placed his finger on the trigger alongside Horn’s finger.

Just as Horn was about to shout, “Wait a second.”

“I believe you can do it.”

Horn met Kang Seok’s gentle gaze.

“Don’t disappoint me.”

Those kind brown eyes smiled.

At the same time, the gun fired.

The barrel was pointed at Kang Seok.