The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 142

“Noh Bi-hyuk.”

I tried to call out to him as softly as I could.

As soon as I spoke, the kids around Noh Bi-hyuk began to sidle away. It seemed my intention didn’t come across as planned.

“…Hello.”

Noh Bi-hyuk still avoided my gaze.

Without a word, I stared intently at him.

The silence dragged on for a long time. Wow, he’s really not going to speak.

“I called you yesterday, but you didn’t answer.”

“Oh… did you call?”

I had wanted to get angry, accusing him of lying since he wasn’t that good at acting. But his face showed genuine surprise.

“I didn’t know. Sorry. I’ve been on the phone constantly. I haven’t signed up for the catch call service.”

“Who were you talking to?”

“That is….”

Noh Bi-hyuk trailed off. His gaze wavered uneasily.

‘Unbelievable.’

Wasn’t he the one who got mad and stormed out?

Why was he acting like he had done something wrong when he didn’t answer the call yesterday and avoided my eyes first?

I felt the gazes around me, pushing me into an incomprehensible situation.

I couldn’t speak here.

“We have to eat lunch with our class today. So I don’t think we can eat together.”

“Oh, okay. Our class is doing the same.”

“Good. Let’s talk after the sports day.”

I watched him mumble in agreement and then spoke.

“No, we’ll have a chance to talk before that. Let’s do it then.”

“…? When?”

Finally, he looked at me.

I answered briefly, looking into his confused eyes.

“I’m playing soccer.”

“…!”

“We’ll meet in the preliminaries. Say hi then.”

“Lee Yeon-jae!”

I turned around immediately.

I hadn’t planned on looking back, but my clothes were so heavy that I was grabbed. Damn deer antlers.

“Hey! Why are you playing soccer?!”

“Someone said their ankle hurt, so I volunteered. Why?”

“No, you―.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to play soccer with me? Isn’t that why you were upset?”

“That’s not it.”

“That’s not it?”

My voice got louder.

I needed to calm down too, but I couldn’t control it.

Baek Seo-jin and Seo Ji-oh intervened to separate us before we started grabbing each other’s collars.

“Whoa, whoa~. Noh Bi-hyuk. Calm down. Go back to your class first.”

“Yeon-jae, shall we go to where our class is?”

I wanted to swat away Seo Ji-oh’s hand, trying to soothe me gently.

‘I can’t. The kids are watching.’

My actions now could spark controversy at any moment.

I shouldn’t get annoyed. Don’t act on emotion.

I closed my eyes tightly for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Ha. Okay.”

I turned around without giving a glance to Noh Bi-hyuk.

The hat with deer antlers blew back in the wind. It was incredibly irritating.

Wearing this animal onesie, set as the class T-shirt, playing soccer, Noh Bi-hyuk—everything. I wanted to ditch it all and go home.

‘I miss Mist.’

Or maybe Jin-bae hyung.

I pretended to be calm on the outside, but it took a long time to actually feel calm.

Fortunately, Seo Ji-oh, quick to sense things, acted as my guard, allowing me to stay still.

“Seo Ji-oh, thanks for stopping us earlier.”

“It’s fine. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah. Much better.”

“That’s good. Earlier, it seemed like you wanted to brush my hand away.”

“…….”

He was overly perceptive.

I stared at him blankly, then admitted it was true and apologized.

Seo Ji-oh laughed, asking why I was apologizing.

“I’ll have to change into my gym clothes for the soccer game later. The hat is more annoying than I thought.”

As I mumbled while taking off my hoodie, Seo Ji-oh leaned his chin on his hand and laughed.

“It’s cute though, a shame.”

“Right. Yeon-jae, you look so cute! Look over here!”

“Seo-jin, stop taking pictures….”

Baek Seo-jin, who was constantly holding up a Polaroid camera, was dealt with by Seo Ji-oh.

I was getting a lot of help from him today.

Lunch passed peacefully enough.

I could feel Noh Bi-hyuk glancing over here occasionally, but I steadfastly ignored it.

“Bi-hyuk looks good in his police uniform. We should have done that too.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t seem hot either.”

While chatting with Seo Ji-oh, Baek Seo-jin clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, you guys don’t get it. You’re supposed to wear cute stuff while you still can. Aren’t you future celebrities? Ah, Yeon-jae is already a celebrity.”

In that sense, he said we should take another photo for my fans, and I responded weakly.

“Hey, the people playing soccer need to gather!”

Finally, it was time.

After telling the class leader I’d change into my gym clothes and be back, I headed into the building.

Just before entering the classroom, someone grabbed my arm.

I wasn’t surprised, having expected the timing.

“Lee Yeon-jae. You don’t need to change.”

“Why?”

“I told someone else to take your place.”

“Why?”

“…….”

Didn’t he want to play soccer with me?

A sigh escaped me, but if I got angry here, I’d be no better.

After taking a deep breath, I spoke calmly.

“Bi-hyuk. I don’t understand why you’re upset with me. If there’s something I need to fix, let me know when you’re comfortable. And―”

“It’s not that. Why do you always blame yourself? Ha.”

Noh Bi-hyuk ruffled his hair roughly.

He muttered while staring at the ground.

“I really didn’t ignore your call on purpose yesterday. I was on the phone with Park Ha-eun for two hours.”

“…Ha-eun?”

“Yeah. And she told me about what happened to you in your third year.”

Noh Bi-hyuk swallowed dryly.

He looked more nervous than usual.

“I’m sorry. Back then, my parents were constantly arguing about their divorce, so I couldn’t focus on school. I really didn’t know you got hurt that badly.”

“…….”

“If I had remembered, I wouldn’t have asked you to play soccer so easily. I was really immature. I’m sorry. I wanted to apologize right away, but today… your expression was too scary, so I froze.”

Was that an apology or an insult? I stared blankly.

Was he teasing me? Unfortunately, Noh Bi-hyuk was serious.

Seeing his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at me, I sighed.

I felt childish for being angry at someone like him.

“It’s okay. I should have explained it from the start. I just didn’t want to bring it up.”

“I understand. And I’m sorry for constantly teasing you about hanging out with Seo Ji-oh. I was really immature.”

I had intended to ask about that anyway.

“Bi-hyuk, I felt like you were upset with me, especially when Seo Ji-oh was mentioned. Can you tell me why?”

“Ha. Do I really have to say it?”

How was I supposed to figure it out otherwise? Mind reading?

I intended to wait patiently, but Noh Bi-hyuk changed the topic, saying we should go down quickly.

“Okay. Then tell me when you’re ready.”

“…Okay. So, we’re good now?”

Seeing his intensely furrowed eyebrows, as if this was very important to him, I smiled.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

Because it was very important to me.

* * *

Knock, knock.

“Yes. Come in.”

“Actor, could you check the fan cafe….”

Jin-bae hyung, who was about to enter, froze.

He looked shocked at the pile of papers on my bed.

“What are you doing? What is all this?”

“A thesis.”

“What?”

Seeing his face, I replied with equal disbelief.

“I asked Bi-hyuk why he was upset with me. He told me to go home and read this. Told me to contact him after I finished reading.”

“…That’s really peculiar.”

I know, right?

I’m peculiar too, but Noh Bi-hyuk was truly extraordinary.

‘I couldn’t find the right words to explain to you, so I did some research yesterday. This thesis should help you understand.’

‘…Can’t you just explain it with words?’

‘I think this is the best way. You’ll understand too.’

It was ridiculous, but his determined face made it hard to refuse.

So I brought the stack of papers home.

Caught up in analyzing this sudden thesis assignment, I forgot to change clothes. Jin-bae hyung, seeing me, got overly excited and insisted on showing this to Jung-hyun hyung. Thus, I ended up taking a few photos in the deer onesie.

I had just finished reading the thesis after taking a shower.

“So what’s the thesis title?”

“The Emotional Analysis of Jealousy in Adolescent Friendships, or something like that.”

“That sounds… very thesis-like.”

Jin-bae hyung carefully picked up a page like it was a bug and quickly put it down.

He must really dislike theses. I laughed at his transparent behavior.

“The title is complicated, but the content is simple.”

“What’s it about?”

“In friendships between two people, when a third party suddenly intrudes, they can experience complex emotions like fear and competitiveness. That’s what jealousy in friendships is.”

The thesis explained it simply.

Jealousy isn’t limited to romantic relationships but can occur in various types of relationships.

Some adolescents welcome new friends, while others feel betrayed by their old

friends, experiencing anxiety and confusion about being forgotten.

It wasn’t difficult to understand.

But I didn’t get why Noh Bi-hyuk gave it to me.

“So, Bi-hyuk is indirectly saying he was jealous of Seo Ji-oh through this thesis.”

“Yes. As his close friend, he seems to have found the most suitable way to explain it to you.”

Despite Jin-bae hyung’s laughing remark, I couldn’t laugh.

“Does that make sense?”

“What?”

“It means Bi-hyuk cares about me as much as this thesis says. Are we really that close?”

“…?”

Jin-bae hyung looked at me, bewildered.

“Actor, do you know how many times Bi-hyuk slept over at my place? We’ve had meals together many times. We even had a Christmas party last time.”

“That was just….”

I began to refute but the words dissipated in the air.

What? Where did this go wrong?

“Do you not consider Bi-hyuk a friend?”

“No. He’s my closest friend.”

“And you care about him too, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

Seeing my response, Jin-bae hyung asked calmly.

“And do you think Bi-hyuk feels the same way about you?”

“…….”

I was at a loss for words.

That… couldn’t be right, could it?

‘I know Noh Bi-hyuk considers me a friend.’

I wasn’t oblivious to that.

But that was just because he was a nice guy.

He was kind to me because of his personality.

If not, then….

Losing my words in confusion, Jin-bae hyung started organizing the scattered papers.

Then he handed me my phone.

“Ask him directly. See if you’re mistaken or not.”

“…….”

I felt a strange reluctance, but I knew this was the right answer.

So, I reluctantly pressed the call button.

―Hello.

“It’s Lee Yeon-jae.”

―…I know. Did you finish reading the thesis?

“Yeah.”

We both fell silent.

While endlessly organizing my words, a headache began to build.

‘I don’t know anymore.’

In the midst of my confusion, I blurted it out.

“Bi-hyuk. You didn’t hang out with me just because I’m famous, did you?”