Seungun said, hoping he wouldn’t be fired.
“If you change your mind and want to fire me at any time—”
“You went through something like that yesterday following me, but instead of confronting the company, that’s all you have to say.”
“…….”
“Fire you if I want to? Is that what you’re worried about? Why? If you get fired, will you work together with that friend at Libero?”
Director Kang wanted to end this war of attrition quickly. Just then, Myeongwoo, whom he had summoned, also joined the office. Myeongwoo poked Seungun’s side as he stood awkwardly like being scolded in the principal’s office. Director Kang waved his palm and instructed both of them to sit down quickly because it was annoying.
Myeongwoo grabbed Seungun’s arm and sat him down in the seat next to him. Gi Siyoung, who had his eyes blazing, followed every single one of Seungun’s actions—if he were paper, he would have burst into flames already. Director Kang sighed and took a sip of coffee once all the people he wanted had gathered. Even though the air conditioner was blasting, he didn’t know why this office made him feel stuffy every time he came.
“Now, you stop too—”
“Stop what? What did I even start?”
“…….”
Director Kang lost his words to Gi Siyoung, who immediately shot back. In the brief silence, only one person remained calm. Director Kang, having recharged his energy, clasped his hands on his knees and opened his mouth.
“Ahem, the reason I gathered you all like this is to go abroad to get some fresh air.”
“Abroad?”
“You know. We have to produce our season’s greeting for this year-end season anyway.”
“Ahh—. Right, there was that.”
Myeongwoo nodded his head vigorously. As Director Kang said, it seemed they couldn’t keep Gi Siyoung in Korea anymore. They let him do as he pleased, and the kid who said he was going to Libero to cool his head came back covered in blood. Recalling yesterday’s scene made his head spin again. To truly cool his head, it would be beneficial for everyone to move him to a foreign land rather than Korea.
“I don’t like riding planes for a long time, so find somewhere close.”
Gi Siyoung said shamelessly.
“If we’re going somewhere close, why go abroad in this situation?”
Director Kang smiled with his teeth clenched.
“Yes, I’ll gradually coordinate that.”
Myeongwoo hurriedly settled the situation. Seungun quickly took out a notebook and pen from his bag and began writing down the conversation between Director Kang and Myeongwoo. With Myeongwoo’s appearance, Gi Siyoung’s interrogation ended, but his eyes full of distrust were still stabbing into the top of his head.
“Let’s get up now.”
Gi Siyoung, the youngest, cut off his words and stood up from his seat even though the urgent meeting held because of him hadn’t even ended. The rest all looked up at him with blank faces.
“Yeah, go, go.”
Director Kang hid his boiling insides and waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.
“Aren’t you getting up?”
“M-me?”
“Aren’t you driving?”
“I am.”
When Gi Siyoung spoke aggressively, Seungun jumped up. Myeongwoo whispered in Seungun’s ear.
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have sent both of you to Libero yesterday.”
“No. I should have been more responsible.”
“No? You did nothing wrong. You got hit by Lee Jinwoo yesterday. Did you go to the hospital?”
“It doesn’t even look like I got hit. He has weak fists.”
“Really? Let me see.”
“Hey. It’s fine.”
“What’s fine? It’s slightly swollen, hey.”
“Actually, I didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to make it a bigger deal, but Director-nim said to get a medical certificate right away, so I got one first.”
“That bastard also got a medical certificate for his injured hand and sent it to Lee Jinwoo’s agency. Crazy bastard.”
“…I know. I was there with him.”
“But why did Lee Jinwoo go crazy on you?”
“Do you remember what I wore yesterday?”
“A shirt?”
“Yes. It was a dark-colored China collar, right? When I went yesterday, the Libero staff uniforms were black China collar shirts. I went to the bathroom and came in the middle, and he must have mistaken me for staff.”
“Even so, that bastard who told staff to pour alcohol isn’t in his right mind either. Even old guys these days are careful and don’t do that kind of thing… What did that young bastard see and learn?”
Myeongwoo clicked his tongue and cursed Lee Jinwoo thoroughly.
***
Season’s greetings are a type of merchandise that fans pay money to buy. Gi Siyoung’s season’s greeting to be released at the year-end and New Year would include a calendar, diary, photo book, postcards, stickers, photo cards, bookmarks, pencils, and mugs, with all products featuring images related to Gi Siyoung.
Gi Siyoung’s overseas business trip was carried out with lightning speed. They moved with a minimum number of company people and continuously checked the route.
Sure enough, the staff who arrived at the airport let out regretful groans. To photograph Gi Siyoung, who had become the hottest potato due to drunk driving, countless reporters were already at the airport entrance. Not just reporters. Fans holding telephoto cameras to photograph him also created such a huge crowd that the entire airport area had to be controlled.
Because of the chaotic situation, the company people got out first and decided to meet after check-in, and Seungun stood with the bodyguards centered around Gi Siyoung, who got out of the car late. The reporters positioned at the sliding door leading to the airport started making frightening shutter sounds from the moment Gi Siyoung got out of the vehicle.
Gi Siyoung’s lips were tightly closed with an expressionless face as he waited for the crosswalk signal to change, because it was an ambiguous position for him to go in smiling. Here, he would be cursed whether he smiled or acted too stiff.
“Gi Siyoung-ssi, how do you feel right now?”
“Are you fleeing abroad until public opinion calms down? Isn’t the photo shoot just an excuse?”
“Please say a word to your fans!”
“Don’t bother our oppa!”
“Please do a heart sign!”
Fans gathered together interrupted with their eyes wide open at the reporters’ indiscriminate questions. The reporters rang out shutter sounds click-clack click-clack as if they had been waiting whenever Gi Siyoung moved even a little, such as looking up at the sky or putting his hands in his pockets while waiting for the signal. Even in that brief moment, eyes and ears became numb from the flashes and shutter sounds.
“Seungun-ah. It’s going to get really complicated up ahead, okay? Don’t lose us and follow well.”
Myeongwoo said worriedly to Seungun, for whom this was his first airport schedule.
“Yes, don’t worry.”
“Let’s cross.”
The signal changed.
“Please move aside in front, you’re blocking passage.”
The bodyguards blocked in front, beside, and behind Gi Siyoung, stretching out both arms to create a path. It was okay up to the crosswalk. However, the formation they created became a mess like a gradually crushed plastic bottle.
“Huk.”
Seungun drew in a breath as soon as the door opened. He realized why Myeongwoo had earnestly asked him. As soon as they entered the departure hall, he could only see people’s heads. It was truly chaos with fans who had flocked to see Gi Siyoung—how they found out the news—passengers mixed among those fans, and airport staff trying to control them.
“Kyaaah! Please look here!”
“Here, here, take this!”
“You’re so handsome!”
“Always supporting you!”
“Please wave your hand!”
“Say hi! Gi Siyoung!”
“I think I can’t breathe!”
“Today’s outfit is amazing!”
“Look here! Cool!”
“Oppa! My letter too!”
Among them, foreign fans were also mixed in quite a bit.
“He’s amazing in person.”
“I wondered why there were so many people, was it because Gi Siyoung was coming?”
“He’s causing trouble and running away abroad. He’ll crawl back out soon.”
When passengers who were dissing Gi Siyoung muttered among those cheers, Gi Siyoung’s fans glared at those people as if to kill them. Seungun struggled hard in between. He was clearly standing next to Gi Siyoung and Myeongwoo at the starting point, but his body kept getting pushed back.
The fans’ hands reaching out to touch Gi Siyoung even a little clung to him. Even though the large bodyguards blocked fans from approaching him, the passageway kept getting narrower. The large crowd swayed here and there like rough waves.
“Move back!”
“Passing through!”
“Please don’t take pictures!”
“Please clear the way, passing through!”
“Please move aside! Let’s maintain order!”
“It’s dangerous. You can’t come any closer.”
“Photography prohibited! Don’t take pictures!”
However, their shouts were quickly swallowed by the louder echoes of the fans. Even though disrupting order was absolutely not good for their celebrity, the fans who saw Gi Siyoung right in front of their eyes all lost their reason and swarmed like a zombie horde to get closer.
Myeongwoo, befitting his experience, stuck right next to Gi Siyoung and blocked fans while skillfully extracting fan letters that fans held out among those hands, but Seungun was in danger of falling out of the formation they had worked hard to create as he was pushed this way and that.
“Hey! Block, block!”
The bodyguards, who had been maintaining some degree of courtesy, shouted urgently. This was because a girl fan with a small and slender build who had been quickly pushing through between people broke through the bodyguards and rushed at Gi Siyoung. Seungun also hurriedly used all his strength to move forward to join them.
Even in the midst of this, fans who knew Seungun was a manager through the <Come On, Play On> broadcast grabbed his hair, sleeves, and even his waist. Letters were okay, but he couldn’t accept gifts. Even if he received gifts, he couldn’t take them all inside the airport checkpoint.
“Fuck, why is he acting like that? Why isn’t he taking the letter?”
“He became Gi Siyoung’s manager and his head got so fucking high. Hey, take this!”
“Hey, let’s throw it. Just throw it!”
Curses directed at Seungun struck the back of his head. He was losing his balance while being pushed around when suddenly someone grabbed his wrist tightly and pulled him forward.
“Whoa!”
His body was suddenly pulled forward with a jerk. Startled, he raised his head and saw Gi Siyoung’s back right in front of him. He was also closer to Myeongwoo. Myeongwoo’s appearance witnessed up close was already a mess. The flashes photographing Gi Siyoung didn’t end until he finished all the procedures for boarding the plane and went inside.
