Chapter 5 – Friend

Red eyes reflected in the mirror. Eyes with a chilling color, as if they had absorbed blood, were staring at me.

‘Aaaagh! It’s the demon-eyed freak!’

‘Why are your eyes red? It’s creepy as hell!

‘That’s why he’s got those freakish eyes. That’s why he’s an orphan brat. I heard those eyes of his ate his parents, didn’t they?’

Click.

“Ugh, I need to pee.”

I removed my hands that were holding my eyelids open. A patient wearing a white outfit covered in hospital logos entered the bathroom. I looked up at the mirror again.

No blood-red eyes to be seen. A narrow-eyed young man with an expressionless face was looking back at me.

“I still don’t like it.”

These eyes, I mean. I lightly rinsed my face, put on sunglasses, and walked to the hospital room. The private room where Park Taehyuk was hospitalized.

“Room 304. Room 304. Ah, found it.”

Room 304 appeared before my eyes. I flexed my fingers to loosen up my muscles and opened the door.

Rattle.

Through the gap as the door slid open, I could see my friend lying on the hospital bed.

“Oh! Hi! Kang Junho, you’re here!”

The guy waved his hand with a brazen face, unable to read his own future. I closed the door and slowly walked towards him.

My expressionless gaze pierced Park Taehyuk. Even he seemed to sense that something unusual was about to happen, as he slowly lowered his hand that had been offering a cheerful greeting.

“Uh… It’s been a while?”

“And? Anything else to say?”

“I’m sorry. Please just spare my life.”

“Alright.”

Thwack!

“Argh! My arm! I’m a patient!”

“I heard everything but your legs are fine, you bastard.”

“Wh-who told you that!”

“Your parents. And Kim Seol.”

“Kim Seo-o-ol!!! I’ll get my revenge…! Ugh!”

My fist slowly tenderized Park Taehyuk’s body. Though he tried to resist in various ways, being inferior in strength, physique, and technique, all he could do was act as a punching bag. After five minutes of being beaten, Park Taehyuk collapsed, groaning.

“Ah, that’s refreshing.”

“Uurgh! You cruel bastard.”

“It’s your karma. I told you not to make it a one-day thing. I would have agreed anyway.”

Because I’ve received so much from this guy and his parents. This friend’s playful personality kept me from going astray. I handed him the chocolate milk I had stuffed in my pocket.

It was a product with a Japanese robot cat character drawn on it. Park Taehyuk stabbed it with the straw attached to the back and sucked it down.

“Thanks. I was craving something sweet.”

“When I was hospitalized, I also craved sweet things for some reason.”

“Oh, right. How did that go?”

“The filming?”

“Yeah.”

Filming, huh.

“It ended well.”

“Ooh. Kang Junho, who’s negative about everything, giving a positive answer? It must have gone really well?”

“It was okay. It was fun.”

“I knew it. You like acting. Before… Sorry.”

Thinking he had made a slip of the tongue, Park Taehyuk watched my reaction. Usually playful in his speech, he immediately apologizes when touching on sensitive topics. In the past, this would have led to a long silence. But not now.

“It’s okay. I’m fine now.”

It’s not like he was trying to pick a fight on purpose. I wonder why I used to react so sensitively and get annoyed at such comments. I feel embarrassed about my past behavior.

“…So it had an effect?”

“What?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

When I turned my head at his mumbling, Park Taehyuk waved his hand. It seemed like there was some suspicious intention there.

“By the way, what about Kim Seol?”

“Ah, her? She said she’d be here soon. Ah, she should be arriving about now.”

“Ooh! This girl appears!”

Speak of the devil?

The door opened roughly, and an even rougher, energetic voice was heard. A mysterious and beautiful exotic appearance like a leading Hollywood actress. Her entrance was as flashy as her glamorous appearance. In a slightly different direction, that is.

The angular movements typical of children’s cartoons. With the addition of cringe-inducing gestures, a certain character came to mind.

‘Doesn’t that pose appear in Power Rangers or Kamen Rider?’

A princess-like appearance, but striking poses like a sentai character. And her speech is as rough as can be.

Park Taehyuk and I exchanged glances.

‘She really is crazy.’

‘She’s definitely a weirdo.’

The former was Park Taehyuk, the latter was me.

By the way, does she call herself a “bitch” when entering? Park Taehyuk is also weird, but he’s no match for Kim Seol. I shot a glance filled with disbelief as concentrated as espresso. Kim Seol’s eyes met mine, and she started trembling furiously.

“Uh… Junho?”

“What.”

“When did you get here…?”

“I arrived 10 minutes before you came.”

“Then?”

“It means I heard everything. From the moment you opened the door to your ‘This girl appears!’”

A song played in my head.

My rough thoughts~ And uneasy eyes~ And you watching it all~

Maybe the same song was playing in Kim Seol’s head?

“Ah, no. This can’t be. How could my carefully hidden true nature… be discovered by Junho… Right, let’s die. I’d rather commit suicide!”

Kim Seol ran towards the window without hesitation. My hand caught her, turning it into an attempted suicide.

“Th-this isn’t right…”

Did she think I hadn’t known all this time? Kim Seol rambled with a pale face.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Don’t know, maybe she’s broken. Well, she’ll be fixed soon.”

My predictions have never been wrong. This time was no exception. As Park Taehyuk and I chatted casually, life returned to Kim Seol’s eyes.

“Junho… How long have you known?”

How long have I known? I smiled slightly and opened my mouth.

“Since you knocked out two thugs who were bullying me in an alley with a knee kick when you were in 7th grade.”

How could I not know? It was not long after I had lost my parents. While my parents were alive, no one dared to insult me about my eyes. My parents’ business was quite large, and we were the richest in the neighborhood.

No one was brave enough to pick a fight with the son of a family worth hundreds of billions. But what happens when that background crumbles? I was still wealthy due to my inheritance, but there was no one left to protect me. Ah, Park Taehyuk’s parents were there, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask them for help. Not because they were unkind.

‘I thought it would be a burden.’

They were the ones who had saved me from my relatives. I thought I couldn’t depend on them for issues caused by my eyes. So I endured it.

Without letting Park Taehyuk or anyone else know. Those who knew I was being bullied turned a blind eye. A rich orphan with an inheritance worth hundreds of billions. Already not treated well due to being an orphan, and now with a lot of money on top of that. Jealousy, envy, contempt.

Those things blinded people. Even the eyes of the homeroom teacher who should have protected me. Among them, there was only one person who pushed through and punished others on my behalf.

‘That was Kim Seol.’

“You’ve known since then?”

“Yeah. You were so heroic, I almost fell for you.”

Actually, I did fall for her. And that’s still ongoing. But it’s no fun to tell her that.

‘It’s a bit embarrassing too.’

“Really? Then now…?”

“…..”

I smiled slyly. Seeing that smile, Kim Seol’s expression turned gloomy.

“I see.”

I have no intention of telling Kim Seol the truth. The reason is simple.

‘I’m just a rich unemployed person.’

Until now, I couldn’t live a normal life due to Character Immersion Syndrome. I could go out briefly, but the moment I saw someone else’s phone, my mind would be taken over by a character. So wearing sunglasses became a part of daily life.

Well, that’s in the past. Now it doesn’t affect me anymore. Now I wear them because my eyes hurt when there’s too much sunlight. It’s similar to Westerners with blue eyes. It’s hard to walk around without sunglasses because of sensitivity to sunlight.

‘Especially in bright spaces like this.’

Anyway, for that reason, I have no intention of revealing my true feelings. I wasn’t planning to in the future either. Originally, that is.

‘Not anymore.’

Now I can live a normal life. Work life, simple part-time jobs, social experiences. I no longer need to be confined at home.

So I should show my true feelings. When I can live as a person. When I can stand as an equal beside Kim Seol.

I smiled inwardly.

‘It’ll take a while.’

“By the way. I have to say this. Park Taehyuk.”

“What? Are you going to take out your anger again?”

“You bastard. It’s not like that.”

Who are you calling a thug? I glared at Park Taehyuk, who was raising his arms in a defensive stance. He lowered his guard, fidgeting with an expression that seemed to ask if this wasn’t it.

“I was thinking of keeping quiet, but I’ll say it. Hey, can I take on your role completely this time?”

“What, did the viewership ratings exceed 10%? Did the director increase your role after being impressed by your acting?”

“Uh, how did you know?”

“You’re so predictable.”

Park Taehyuk recalled the Kang Junho who had once strangled him. Just after entering high school. He had been possessed by the killer from the thriller movie he was watching.

He really thought he was going to die. He probably resented him a lot. Until he saw Junho’s eyes.

The madness of a killer. Hidden within was an undisguisable sadness.

“You’re a genius, you know.”

He couldn’t control it before. The doctor called it Character Immersion Syndrome, but to Park Taehyuk’s eyes, it looked different. A star stained black. A star covered in filth, emitting stench rather than light. But why did it look beautiful?

I fell into that beauty and learned acting. But no matter how hard I tried, burning myself up, I couldn’t become a star. Though the person himself denies it, as the third party closest to him, I’m certain. The friend before my eyes is a monster with once-in-a-lifetime talent. And.

That monster has finally gained control over his talent.

‘I guess I won’t have my neck strangled while watching movies anymore.’

Park Taehyuk stared into Kang Junho’s eyes. The black star emitting a dull and disgusting stench was no longer there. There was a star shining brilliantly, having absorbed all darkness.

“You take it. My role. No, your role.”

Kang Junho slowly nodded. Then, he took out his phone and sent a text message.

[I’ll take the role.]

It was the moment the shackles binding the star were released.

Footnotes:

1. It was a product with a Japanese robot cat character drawn on it: Likely referring to Doraemon, a popular Japanese anime character.
2. ‘Doesn’t that pose appear in Power Rangers or Kamen Rider?’: Power Rangers and Kamen Rider are popular Japanese superhero franchises known for their distinctive poses and transformation sequences.