The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Translator: Marctempest

Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 252

Due to the unusually dim lighting, only half of Lee Yeon-jae's face was visible to the people's eyes.

His expression was calm and serene.

However, for some reason, it felt like the other half of his face, hidden in the shadows, might be making a completely different expression.

'......Scary.'

A shiver ran through my fingertips.

Noah wasn't the only one feeling this way.

Everyone watching the two of them had frozen.

Lee Yeon-jae suddenly holding a knife, placing the blade to his own stomach, and pressing his face close to Noah's neck—none of these actions were predictable.

The most chilling fact was that he hadn't hesitated at all.

Every movement flowed seamlessly without any hesitation.

People were holding their breath, watching.

A tense situation where no one knew what would happen in the next second.

"(......Calm down and put the knife down first.)"

It was Noah's bodyguard who broke the suffocating silence.

As the bodyguard approached cautiously, Lee Yeon-jae slowly turned his gaze.

After staring at the bodyguard for a few seconds, he opened his mouth.

"(It's not a knife.)"

"(......What?)"

"(I said it's not a knife.)"

His voice was so indifferent.

The bodyguard frowned at his incomprehensible words, and Lee Yeon-jae lifted Noah's hand that he was holding.

Finally, people saw the knife—or rather, the spatula—in Noah's hand.

At a glance, because of the handle, it looked like a knife, but the end was too rounded.

It was one of those cooking tools used to spread cream on cakes.

'Huh?'

Mia blinked blankly.

'No way. It was definitely a knife.'

She had been the closest to see Lee Yeon-jae take the knife from the knife block.

Mia quickly shifted her gaze.

Then she saw the knife Lee Yeon-jae initially took out neatly placed in the corner of the sink.

Mia, who was trying to make sense of the situation, gasped.

'Insane.'

He switched it in that short moment?

How on earth did he do that?

With everyone watching him, where did he get the confidence?

'Come to think of it...'

Just before Lee Yeon-jae took out the knife and approached Noah, it seemed like he had been busy moving his hands with his back turned.

But at that moment, Lee Yeon-jae had said something so creepy that there was no time to pay attention to anything else.

'He's crazy.'

Fully understanding the situation now, Mia opened her mouth.

What... Is he FBI? Filming a spy movie?

Switching items openly in front of people, distracting them with words at the same time.

Even looking back, it seemed like the gestures of someone who had done this more than once or twice.

'That guy is...'

Lee Yeon-jae, unaware of Mia's suspicious gaze, obediently handed the spatula to the bodyguard.

And he looked at the frozen Noah.

"(Whether it's a real knife or not, it didn't matter to me.)"

"(......)"

"(You know why, don't you? I have this.)"

Lee Yeon-jae clicked his teeth together, making a clattering sound.

Noah, startled, took a step back without realizing it.

As Noah stepped back, Lee Yeon-jae finally gave a soft smile.

"(Let's not meet again in the future.)"

"(......)"

"(Don't misunderstand, it's not a request.)"

With a bright smile, Lee Yeon-jae grabbed the jacket he had taken off.

At the same time, he gave Mia a signal to leave.

"(Huh? Me?)"

"(Why? Do you want to stay here longer?)"

Are you crazy? Of course not.

Mia shook her head immediately but then hesitated and whispered.

"(You go first. I'll leave separately.)"

Leaving the party venue together would be like giving a gift to the paparazzi.

Already, because of her, this happened. She didn't want to bother him with dating rumors.

However, Lee Yeon-jae shook his head without even listening to Mia's explanation.

"(If you don't want to stay here, leave with me now.)"

With a slight pull on her arm, Mia stepped out of the mansion with a bewildered face.

As soon as they left, there was a loud sound of furniture breaking behind them.

At the same time, Noah's voice, mixed with all sorts of curses, was heard.

"(Damn it, that bastard―!)"

Noah's face turned red with rage as he ranted.

The bodyguards didn't know what to do and had to watch their boss destroying the furniture, while the party attendees whispered and left the scene.

For a long time afterward, the attendees gossiped about this event.

About how that Noah Patterson got a proper beating from an unfamiliar Asian.

And they were finally curious.

What the name of that Asian was and what kind of person he was.

* * *

"(You were too reckless! You know that?!)"

Mia, who had been in a daze since getting in the car, snapped out of it after a few minutes.

"(Yes. I know.)"

"(What do you know! You don't know anything! Really, what kind of person are you―!)"

Jin-bae hyung was surprised that I came out earlier than expected, and now he was watching Mia pulling her hair in real-time.

Seeing Jin-bae hyung's eyes shaking like an earthquake, I sighed.

"(Mia, calm down. You're scaring my manager.)"

"(How can I calm down! Your manager needs to know too! He's just relaxed because he doesn't know anything right now!)"

"(Um... what don't I know?)"

Jin-bae hyung hesitantly intervened.

I summarized what happened earlier while looking calmly out the window.

"Remember the foreigner we saw after the Cannes Film Festival last year? It turned out to be his party. We ran into him, and well... one thing led to another, and I ended up threatening him with a knife."

"Oh, you did... what?!"

Jin-bae hyung was shocked.

Mia, who didn't understand Korean, saw his reaction and clapped her hands, feeling vindicated.

"A knife, what knife—wait, you didn't get hurt, did you?"

"It wasn't a real knife. Hyung, look ahead. Calm down."

"How can I calm down?! Just a moment."

Jin-bae hyung quickly pulled over to the side of the road and turned around.

"You were threatened? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I was the one doing the threatening."

"That's not important. Are you really not hurt?"

Why does that not matter?

'This hyung is a real problem.'

He's so indulgent with me—what if I go astray?

Still, since I had worried him, I didn't have much to say. I quietly let him check me over.

Sensing her opportunity, Mia raised her voice again.

"(Do you know how much of a bastard Noah Patterson is? What if he retaliates with this?)"

"(He won't. I recorded everything.)"

"(What?)"

With a sigh, I explained to the now-silent Mia.

"(I was recording on my phone from before I entered the party. I got everything he said to me, including the racist remarks.)"

"(......Why were you recording?)"

"(It's a habit.)"

You never know what might happen in a place you're entering for the first time.

I did it out of habit, not expecting to use it this way.

"(If he causes any trouble over today, I'll threaten to release the recording to the media.)"

Even the privileged white elite aren't immune to issues of racism.

Hollywood's top stars have been ruined by a single racist comment or photo.

Once Jin-bae hyung confirmed I wasn't hurt, I spoke to him.

"Hyung, I'll give you the recording. Could you inform the company about what happened today? We might need to prepare a press release."

"Got it. Don't worry."

Jin-bae hyung nodded right away.

Mia, who had been gaping, clutched her head.

"(I'm getting dizzy. Ah, who am I even talking to right now? So, everything you did at the party was deliberate?)"

Her question broke my carefully maintained poker face.

"(It wasn't.)"

"(...?)"

I gave her an embarrassed smile.

"(I was so angry... I lost my temper in the moment.)"

When I admitted I didn't even remember exactly what I'd said, Mia's jaw dropped.

She looked at me like I was the craziest person in the world.

"(You're really crazy...)"

"(Better to be seen as crazy than as a pushover.)"

I felt awkward, but she wasn't wrong.

Once you're caught up with someone like Noah, it's hard to get away.

Even if I'm seen as a lunatic, establishing dominance was the priority.

'I might have gone a bit too far, though.'

This was the first time I'd been so angry that I lost control.

When Noah cursed me out or made snide comments, I didn't care much.

But when he pushed my shoulder in that unpleasant way, I couldn't laugh it off.

'(Who does this loudmouth think he is?)'

The disdainful look in his eyes, treating me like an insect.

I felt a rush of humiliation, and by the time I regained my senses, it was all over.

'This is the first time I've been this angry.'

My therapist always said that expressing negative emotions was just as important as expressing positive ones.

Emotions don't disappear just because you bottle them up.

In that sense, this was a positive change for me.

'But it wasn't exactly a healthy expression of emotion, was it?'

The more I reflected on my actions, the more I chuckled.

There were too many eyes on me, and I had acted irrationally.

'Exploding like that isn't a good thing either.'

I need to ask my therapist what to do in such situations when I get back to Korea.

Lost in thought, we arrived at Mia's place.

"Please wait here, Actor-nim. I'll escort her to the entrance."

"Yes. Thank you."

With many words left unsaid, Mia bid me farewell.

"(We definitely need to meet again. Whether I go to Korea or you come to LA. Don't ignore me.)"

"(Why would I ignore you?)"

"(You never know. Use the email address I gave you. Got it?)"

With a playful tone, Mia got out of the car.

Jin-bae hyung locked the car doors with the remote as soon as she stepped out.

He's thorough.

'Is that her mom?'

A woman was standing at the entrance, likely alerted by Mia's message.

The woman tensed upon seeing Jin-bae hyung, but Mia quickly reassured her, and the tension eased.

I expected Jin-bae hyung to return immediately, but he started talking with Mia.

'What are they talking about?'

Their conversation lasted longer than I thought.

Looking outside, Mia had a mischievous expression, while Jin-bae hyung looked dazed.

Jin-bae hyung returned to the car with a bewildered expression.

"Hyung, why do you look like that?"

"......."

Jin-bae hyung silently bowed his head over the steering wheel.

What’s going on with him?

"Mia, what did she say? Why are you suddenly…."

As I shook his shoulder in confusion, he finally lifted his head.

I was so shocked that I momentarily stopped breathing.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Tears welled up in his gentle eyes.

Jin-bae hyung crying was something I had never imagined. When I froze in place, he gritted his teeth to hold back his tears.

Then, with a trembling voice, he spoke.

"Actor-nim."

"Yes. Please, go on."

"I feel the same way. I think the same."

What on earth does he mean?

Jin-bae hyung hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. Despite trying hard to hold back, his last words were almost choked with sobs.

"I also consider you my family, Actor-nim."

"......Ah."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Listening to his voice, filled with emotion, I tightly closed my eyes.

'Mia, you little...'

How could she say something like this and just leave?