Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity
Chapter 109
I quietly stood up from my seat.
‘Whatever that is, it’s dangerous.’
Whether it’s a beast or a person.
But it’s okay. After all, the hiking trail is right next to me.
I just need to go down quietly like this.
Swish―.
The grass continued to rustle as the noise persisted.
I was about to slowly step away to avoid making noise when I heard a faint sound in the darkness.
‘…A groan?’
I felt an urgency to move faster. I hated perverts more than wild dogs.
I was about to move under the now completely dark night sky when I hesitated.
‘Could someone be injured?’
There was a possibility that the sound was from someone hurt in an accident.
The most important thing was that nothing bad could happen to me today. I had practiced enough.
Of course, sudden misfortunes could occur, like when Oh Seung-hyun pushed me onto the road…
‘He said there wouldn’t be anything like that for a while.’
It was someone’s mysterious words, but given the strange atmosphere, I didn’t think they were lying.
After carefully considering the situation, I made a decision.
“Is anyone there?”
I decided to just check what the sound was and then go down.
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and shined it toward the source of the noise.
“…Ugh.”
There it was again.
The faint groan was definitely human.
Additionally, the grass was rustling desperately.
As I cautiously took a few more steps inside, I could vaguely see the shape of a person lying down.
‘Since they just made a sound, they’re not a corpse.’
It couldn’t be a murder scene, right? If so, preserving the scene would be crucial.
Was it okay to go in carelessly? I had all sorts of thoughts while slowly shining the flashlight around.
Then, I checked the ankle and approached immediately.
“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
“…Ugh.”
They were conscious. I called emergency services right away.
“Yes, this is 119.”
“Hello, I’m near the Gwanaksan hiking trail, and I’ve found an injured person. Can you send someone over?”
I answered calmly to the voice on the phone.
“We’ve just sent an emergency call to the nearest center. How is the injured person’s condition?”
“They’re conscious but unable to speak properly. Their body is cold, and I think their ankle is fractured.”
“An ankle fracture?”
I glanced at the injured person upon the question about their exact condition.
“…The bone is sticking out. It’s difficult for me to perform first aid here.”
I whispered as quietly as possible, hoping the person lying down wouldn’t hear.
The operator asked me to keep talking to the injured person to prevent them from losing consciousness.
“Hey, the paramedics will be here soon. You need to stay conscious.”
“S-so cold.”
“You’re cold? Hold on.”
I carefully pulled out the blanket I had packed in my backpack and gently covered their upper body.
I didn’t touch them much, worried about possible internal bleeding.
I just held their cold hand and kept talking to them.
“You must respond even if it’s hard. You can’t lose consciousness.”
“W-water.”
“Water?”
They probably shouldn’t drink water if they might need surgery soon. Or maybe thirst is more urgent.
The information I had from books got jumbled in my head. I was confused.
“I’ll wet your lips for now. Someone will be here soon. You just need to hang on a little longer.”
I poured water on my sleeve and brought it to the injured person’s lips.
The middle-aged man panted with every breath.
I felt anxious as well. I took a deep breath and focused on what I needed to do.
“I know it hurts a lot. But you’ll be fine once you get treatment. Don’t worry about anything.”
As I tried to soothe him gently, the man’s eyelids trembled.
Hearing his painful groans made my heart ache.
I knew how much it hurt.
“I was injured here once too.”
I was about nine years old. It was the one time I joined an outing with the orphanage.
We were so young that we didn’t go near the hiking trail the teachers told us to avoid.
But I still managed to get lost and broke my arm while walking on the path.
“It hurt, but it was scarier because no one was around, so I couldn’t even cry.”
It was heartbreaking. I hadn’t done anything.
I was just walking on a perfectly fine path and got hurt.
I think it was more heartbreaking because it was before I got used to conforming.
“I couldn’t do anything then and just sat still until the teachers found me. But you’re moving your hands and making noise to call for help.”
The grass was flattened around the hands he had moved to call for help.
The desperate traces showed his will to live.
“I found you because you made noise and moved your hands. So just hang on a bit more. Help is coming soon.”
“Ugh…”
Despite the plea for him to respond, the man mumbled.
I kept talking about my story for a long time after that.
It was hard to ask a stranger personal questions about family or sensitive topics.
People find comfort in sharing similar experiences of pain.
I dug up hazy memories and talked about the time I got hurt to elicit a response from him.
Just when I was getting thirsty, the paramedics spotted us thanks to my brightly shining flashlight.
“Actor!”
Manager An Jin-bae also arrived.
“Are you okay?! Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Let’s get him to the hospital first and talk later, hyung.”
His face had turned pale in just a few hours. He must have been very worried.
Manager An Jin-bae handled the paperwork while the man was rushed to the emergency room.
I relaxed only after contacting the man’s guardian with his phone.
“Actor, have some water.”
“Thank you.”
I couldn’t even open the bottle cap, so Manager An Jin-bae did it for me.
“You must have been so scared. But the paramedics said your calm response was very helpful.”
“I just made a call, nothing more.”
I subtly changed the subject, asking if he had finished his urgent tasks, and his pale face showed a hint of blush.
He grumbled, asking if I was going to tease him even now, making me quietly laugh.
“They said the guardian will arrive soon. Should we leave now? You must be tired.”
“A bit. Let’s go.”
Even though I wore a mask before entering the hospital, I felt uneasy because a paramedic had recognized me.
I didn’t want to cause a fuss, so I hurried to leave.
As I packed my belongings, I suddenly remembered something and stopped.
“Oh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Um, I think I left my camera there.”
I scratched my head.
I didn’t even know exactly where I threw it.
I forgot about the camera after finding the man.
‘But a person’s life comes first.’
Ha, but thinking about re-filming made me a bit troubled.
I briefly considered going to the sea, regardless of overlapping with Kang Se-hyun’s material, but dropped the idea, fearing I might find someone stranded or drowned.
‘I’ll just film myself practicing acting at home…’
I’m not a comedian, so what if it’s not funny.
I should have thought like this earlier.
* * *
Fortunately, there was no need for re-filming.
The paramedic mistook my camcorder for the injured person’s belongings and brought it.
I bowed in gratitude, and the paramedic waved it off, saying it was nothing.
Since Manager An Jin-bae’s car was left at the Gwanaksan parking lot, we were about to take a taxi back.
“Are you actor Lee Yeon-jae?”
“Is it true that you rescued a missing person?”
“Can you say a word?”
The sudden arrival of people outside the hospital left me dazed for a moment.
Manager An Jin-bae shielded me and cleared the way.
Only after getting into the car did I realize the people knocking on the windows were reporters.
“Yeon-jae, are you okay?”
“…Hyung?”
I was staring blankly out the window when a familiar voice came from the front seat. It was Jung-hyun hyung.
“Why are you here?”
“I came to pick you up. I got a call from Jin-bae.”
His manager was sitting in the driver’s seat. I greeted him first.
“Luckily, the timing matched perfectly. I heard a rough account, but are you hurt? You must have been really scared.”
I really didn’t do anything.
I wasn’t hurt, but everyone seemed overly concerned, which made me uncomfortable.
“The man is the one who’s hurt, I’m perfectly fine. How did the reporters come so quickly?”
“Apparently, someone from the rescue team leaked it. The company just heard about it too, but reporters are really fast.”
Yeah, I’d never been surrounded by so many people so quickly before.
My heart was still racing, as if the flash was still going off in front of my eyes.
“Actor, are you okay?”
I thanked Manager An Jin-bae for taking care of me earlier.
It had been a truly hectic day.
Perhaps they were considering my state, as no one spoke until we got home.
So, it was the next day when I found out I was on the news, thanks to Noh Bi-hyuk’s pile of missed calls.
* * *
―You really… How did you end up rescuing someone while hiking?
“I didn’t rescue him. I just made a call.”
―You’re strangely modest about these things.
I felt a lump in my throat hearing his playful voice over the phone.
“I’m not being modest; I’m stating the facts.”
―Got it, got it. Then it’s better for you not to watch the news. They’re reporting you as a hero who saved someone.
It wasn’t something I was curious about. I regretted calling.
“Bi-hyuk, I have something to do, so I’ll call you later.”
―What do you have besides practice?
“I’m hanging up. Practice well.”
I hung up without waiting for a reply. I was tired.
I decided not to leave the house today and sat in a chair.
I was about to open the script I hadn’t finished reading when Manager An Jin-bae came into the room.
“Actor, do you have a moment?”
I asked why, and he said the man’s guardian had contacted him.
They wanted to thank me in person, and I shook my head awkwardly.
“I didn’t perform CPR or anything. Is the man okay?”
“Yes, the surgery went well, and he’s recovering now.”
That’s a relief. That was enough, so I declined the thanks.
I expressed my desire to handle this quietly, and the company agreed.
However, I lost my composure during a call with the ‘Goodbye, My Summer’ production team.
“What are you talking about?”
―…Excuse me?
I gritted my teeth at the startled voice.
“You’re talking about publicity when a person nearly died?”
―Oh… I’m sorry. I was told to contact you from above…
I took a deep breath, listening to the stuttering, embarrassed staff.
Manager An Jin-bae gestured that he would take over the call, but I shook my head.
“Then please convey this to your superiors. If you need publicity that badly, shoot it yourself. Consider my vlog canceled. I’ll return the camcorder tomorrow. Goodbye.”
I hung up and had to work hard to control my anger.
What nonsense.
They asked if I could hand over the footage before the news broke, saying they’d edit and upload it today to maximize publicity.
I almost lost my mind.
After taking deep breaths for a while, I wondered if I had been too emotional.
Before those bastards crossed the line.
[Exclusive Video! Lee Yeon-jae’s Rescue and Conversation Recording]
I clenched my fists, looking at the top real-time video on YouTube the next day.