The Genius Actor Who Brings Misfortune

Chapter 246

“Have you been quiet since yesterday because of the courage test?”

“……”

Seo Ji-oh avoided my gaze in silence.

It was a kind of answer in itself.

‘Unbelievable.’

It was so unexpected that I was dumbfounded.

Doesn’t it totally mismatch his image?

“If you were scared, you should have said so. Why didn’t you tell the teacher?”

The courage test was just a walk around the mountain trail.

It might seem ridiculous to some, but for a few kids, it could be an unbearably terrifying time.

That’s why anyone could opt out of the courage test by simply saying so beforehand.

“Say it now.”

“……”

“Should I say it for you?”

“No, absolutely not. Don’t do that.”

Seo Ji-oh, who had been silent all along, quickly looked up.

“I’m fine. Really… I’m fine. Let’s just go quickly, just the two of us. That will be fine.”

He spoke quickly as if chanting a spell.

‘When did we agree to go together?’

I was puzzled, but seeing the fear in his eyes, I didn’t argue.

So I agreed without much thought.

An hour later, I intensely regretted this decision.

* * *

Rustle.

“Huh! What was that, what was that just now?”

“It’s the sound of the leaves you stepped on.”

“Oh.”

Seo Ji-oh looked at his feet and sighed in relief.

Then he ruffled his hair and genuinely complained.

“When is this going to end? Haven’t we been walking for an hour?”

“It’s been less than ten minutes.”

“No way. Did we take a wrong turn?”

“There’s no wrong turn if we keep going straight. Please, just calm down.”

I felt a surge of frustration.

‘Exhausting.’

Seo Ji-oh screamed and clung to me every time he heard a sound.

His actions, oblivious to his own size, were exhausting me.

I was drained just from being pinned down by him for ten minutes, making the courage test irrelevant.

“Huh, I heard something again!”

“Calm down.”

“What if it’s a ghost? I can’t calm down.”

Seo Ji-oh, clinging tightly to me, was trembling.

I sighed in exasperation.

“Ghosts don’t make sounds.”

“Then what was that sound?”

“It’s a mountain. Maybe there’s a wild boar or something.”

“A wild boar? Well, that’s a relief.”

I stared at Seo Ji-oh in disbelief.

‘Isn’t a wild boar a bigger problem?’

I shook my head.

I just hoped this time would end soon.

Unfortunately, Seo Ji-oh became increasingly frantic after that.

“Yeon-jae, it feels like someone’s behind us.”

“There’s no one there.”

“No, really. I heard a sound.”

His voice was almost tearful, so I swallowed my anger and turned around.

I shone a flashlight, which was practically useless, behind us, revealing a chilly dirt path.

“See, no one’s there, right?”

“……”

I had shown him to reassure him, but Seo Ji-oh clung to me even more fearfully.

“Let’s go quickly….”

“Okay. If you’re that scared, should we play a game while we walk?”

“A game? What kind of game?”

“A game where you get hit every time you open your mouth from now on. Ready, go.”

“……”

I managed to quiet Seo Ji-oh and continued walking along the trail.

After walking a few more minutes, there was a desk suddenly placed there.

On the desk were a bunch of keys that the teacher had mentioned.

“I guess we need to take one of those. Wait here. I’ll go get one.”

“No! Let’s go together!”

Seo Ji-oh clung to my arm.

I almost shook him off because of the chills running down my spine.

‘Hold on.’

I vowed never to go on a courage test with Seo Ji-oh again.

I thought so as I approached the desk.

“Ahhhh!”

Someone in white clothes jumped out from behind a tree, screaming.

I looked at the person for a moment and then bowed slightly.

“Hello, teacher.”

“…Yeon-jae.”

“Yes. Should we take one of these?”

“Yeah….”

The homeroom teacher, dressed in white, nodded awkwardly.

‘I feel sorry for her.’

But the ghost makeup was so poorly done that it was hard to even pretend to be scared.

Even Seo Ji-oh hadn’t screamed, which said it all.
“Thank you for your hard work, teacher. We’ll be going now.”

“Take care….”

After saying goodbye to the teacher, we retraced our steps.

‘I’m going to crash the moment we get back to the dorm.’

Thanks to Seo Ji-oh, the difficulty had doubled.

As we walked quietly along the forest path, the sound of the keys jingling in my hand was the only noise.

‘…Wait.’

Why is he so quiet?

The thought crossed my mind, and when I looked to the side, I was startled.

“Hey, Seo Ji-oh.”

Seo Ji-oh’s face had turned deathly pale, and he was holding his breath.

He looked so ghostly pale that I was more shocked.

“If you were scared, you should have said something.”

“A ghost, a ghost….”

“It wasn’t a ghost, it was the teacher.”

He hadn’t screamed because he wasn’t scared but because he was too terrified.

I sat the dazed Seo Ji-oh down by the roadside.

‘His eyes are out of focus, what should I do?’

I should have brought some lemon candies if I knew this would happen.

After sighing briefly, I patted his back.

“Ji-oh, snap out of it. There are no such things as ghosts.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

Sure… I couldn’t say for certain.

‘Mist is said to be a yokai.’

Aren’t yokai a type of ghost?

As I hesitated, Seo Ji-oh became even more frantic.

‘Damn it.’

Seeing his unfocused eyes, despite my attempts to soothe him, I sighed.

I had reached my limit.

I grabbed Seo Ji-oh’s chin firmly and lifted it.

“Ugh.”

He winced, probably because I lost control due to my annoyance.

“Hey. Did you forget what I told you last time?”

“What?”

“I told you to let me be the only one scared. Don’t worry about useless things. Why don’t you listen?”

What a mess in the middle of the night.

My voice grew sharper without me realizing it.

“Wait till we get back to Seoul. I’ll give you all the candy you want.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Yeah. It’s too late.

“Get up now.”

“Yeon-jae, I’m sorry. About the candy—”

“Yeah. I’ll order plenty. Don’t worry.”

I cut him off and forced him to stand up.

But Seo Ji-oh stumbled as if his legs had given out.

He really goes all out.

“Want a piggyback ride?”

Although Seo Ji-oh was taller than me, he wasn’t so big that I couldn’t carry him.

But at the mention of a piggyback ride, his blurry eyes momentarily regained focus.

“What? No way. Absolutely not.”

“……”

Who’d think I offered out of love?

“Then walk properly.”

“Yes. I’m walking. Don’t even think about carrying me. Got it?”

“Got it, so shut your mouth.”

Seo Ji-oh walked silently, seemingly more afraid of being carried than of ghosts.

Before long, a clear light appeared in the distance.

“What took you two so long?”

As soon as a classmate jokingly teased us, Seo Ji-oh gripped my collar tightly.

Sensing his silent pressure, I casually lied, saying we got lost.

After finishing all the activities and getting ready for bed, Seo Ji-oh approached me and whispered.

“Yeon-jae, I’m really sorry about earlier.”

“Yes. It was something worth apologizing for.”

At my words, Seo Ji-oh awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

Then, glancing around, he whispered to me.

“Can you not mention what happened earlier?”

“To the class?”

“To everyone. Don’t even mention it in interviews.”

I sighed at his earnest tone.

When I asked why he was making such a big deal out of it, he hesitated.

“If it gets on the internet, my mom… might see it.”

“……”

“I only want to show her my coolest side.”

His apology was filled with embarrassment.

“I understand. I won’t say anything, so don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

Only then did Seo Ji-oh relax and spread out his blanket.

Watching him, I shook my head.

‘He’s really just a kid.’

How could I get mad at a kid? I had to be patient.

‘Think of it as achieving enlightenment.’

Perhaps with that mindset, Seo Ji-oh looked even more childlike the next day.

With the courage test over, Seo Ji-oh returned to his usual self.

Chatting with the slightly chattier Seo Ji-oh, our school trip came to an end in no time.

* * *

[Full] Lee Yeon-jae’s School Trip Swim Dive Talent Show Video

―The kids’ cheering soundsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is legit

―Why are the boys’ voices louder than the girls’?

└It’s the enchanting power of Bambi.

―Highlights collection 02:37 03:29 04:15

└Our Bambi is such a flirt. Look at his expressions.

└The satisfaction of hitting the dance break right on time is amazing.

―He could have really been an idol. We knew he was good at dancing, but his expressions are on point too.

[Title: Have you all seen Bambi’s talent show video?]

I just keep thinking there’s nothing our boy can’t do.

Is it okay for me to like someone this perfect? Can someone like me even dare to?

―That’s exactly how a true Bambi fan would feel. So humble. But don’t beat yourself up, just enjoy being a fan. Life is too short.

└(ㄱㅆ) As expected, Senior Byeon, you’re different. Thank you for the advice.

―ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What’s with the comment above and you two’s concept?

└(ㄱㅆ) We’re just kind citizens striving to discover Baekrokdam. It’s fun. Highly recommend.

[Title: Lee Yeon-jae’s dance lines are super clean;;]

Honestly, he could be a current idol, and I’d believe it.

I’m a Navy Ink sub, so I’ve seen a lot of Swim Dive cross-editing videos.

But it’s fascinating how his dance lines are similar yet different from Bi-hyuk’s.

―If he debuted with Navy Ink, fans would have gone crazy. He already has great chemistry with the Navy Ink members.

―No way. Bambi needs to be an actor. Didn’t you all watch Killing Horn?

―If he had been an idol, he would have been a visual member for sure.

└But he’s a visual member who can also sing and dance, right?

└Bi-hyuk seems better at singing, but Yeon-jae definitely excels in dancing.

└No comparisons, please.

[Title: Have you read the review post by a classmate of Lee Yeon-jae?]

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ There’s even a verification photo taken together at the end. Doesn’t seem like a lie.

Here’s a summary of the review:

1. He really wakes up at dawn to practice acting.
2. It was awkward at first, but they became close over time. The closer they got, the more he talked.
3. He danced because his classmates asked him to. Thanks to him, they won first place and got chicken.
4. He’s closest with a minor role friend from Killing Horn. They stuck together the whole time.

―Wow, it’s true he wakes up early. It was even mentioned in the variety show with Sung Lee-jun.

└But why does he practice so early?

└It’s just his routine. He said on the show that he feels anxious if he doesn’t.

―It’s cute that he talks more as he gets closer to peopleㅋㅋ. It’s the same with fans. Compare his first fan meeting to the latest one, and he talks a lot more.

―It’s good to see he doesn’t have a celebrity complex and gets along well with kids his age.

―Who’s the minor role friend?

└There’s an actor named Seo Ji-oh who joined the same agency. He auditioned because Yeon-jae recommended him.

└The one who fainted in Killing Horn. He played Agent Jang’s nephew.

└Oh, I see.

[Title: Lee Yeon-jae boarded a flight to LA to shoot the Lily MV.]

He’s really doing well. Have a safe trip.

Hope he posts a photo with Lily on Insta.

―Lee Yeon-jae doesn’t have an Insta.

└??? Why?? Does his agency not allow it?

└Fans asked him at the last fan meeting, and he said it’s too difficult for him.

└So cute;;

―Ah, enough already. Post this kind of stuff in the entertainment section. How many Lee Yeon-jae posts are there in a day?

└I’m not even a fan of Lee Yeon-jae, but I like seeing these posts…. Why are you freaking out?

└There seem to be a lot more people hating on Lee Yeon-jae these days. Why do they do that to him?

―Guys, report the comment above. When someone’s popular, trolls always follow.

└A superstar who drives both fans and haters crazy. His Name Is Bambi.

└His name is Lee Yeon-jae. Bambi is just a nickname;

└Oh, my bad. Sorry.