Not funny at all!!!
He even drew the exclamation marks in bold. Gi Siyoung’s lips rose to his ears.
“The goods to be included in this season’s greeting have all been decided. I think it would be better to proceed with items that are more practical than last year, but if you have any other good ideas, let me know. Oh, how did we decide on the text design for the pens and mugs?”
“Our design team is doing that. We’re making a few drafts, but I’ll show them to you as soon as the samples come out.”
“Alright. Everyone has a lot of work, but please do your best…. Oh, and how about giving out something like a small keyring as a free gift only to people who purchase through pre-order?”
“Ugh, how many people pre-ordered last year? Sheesh, if we make that many custom keyrings, we’ll have to run the factory all day, won’t we?”
“Let’s check on that problem later. Let’s look at the drafts among ourselves later, then select a few final drafts and deliver them to Actor Gi. Since it’s bothersome to come to the office every time, make it so he can receive them by email.”
“Yes, understood!”
He hadn’t even listened to the meeting content properly, but the meeting room lights turned on immediately. As soon as people tidied up their seats, Gi Siyoung returned to a prim, expressionless face as if nothing had happened. Seungun hastily closed his notebook, worried that someone might see what he and Gi Siyoung had been fooling around with in the brightened surroundings.
“Siyoung-ah, you’re going home to rest today, right?”
“I’m going to get training. My body got stiff after resting these past few days.”
Gi Siyoung got up from his seat while massaging one shoulder and rotating it. Then he gestured with his chin for Seungun to follow.
“Im Seungun-ssi, follow me. I need someone to drive.”
“Me?”
“I’m free today. I’ll give you a ride. Seungun has a lot of things to do today.”
Myeongwoo stepped in to stop them.
“He says he doesn’t want to ride in that car.”
Gi Siyoung said flatly.
“What? The center isn’t far from here, you can’t stand that?”
“……”
Gi Siyoung, as if there was nothing more to hear, took the office supplies from Seungun’s arms and handed them to Myeongwoo. Seungun had to follow him inadvertently.
When they got on the elevator, an awkward silence hung in the air. Now that they were alone, he remembered last night’s events and became unnecessarily quiet.
When they went down one floor, people got on in droves. Their backs, suddenly pushed to the rear, stuck to the completely blocked wall. Their shoulders pressed tightly together. As they got closer, Gi Siyoung started teasing again. He tickled Seungun’s palm with his finger as if a worm were crawling.
“……”
Seungun poked his side with his elbow and shook his head. It was a signal not to do it. While doing so, he pressed more against the wall. Gi Siyoung, pretending to be pushed by the crowd, deliberately wrapped his body around Seungun’s.
Seungun’s eyes narrowed like a cat’s. The corners of Gi Siyoung’s mouth twitched. After teasingly tickling his fingers, he now spread them apart and interlocked their fingers. It was fortunate the elevator wasn’t transparent glass on all sides.
Seungun looked around nervously in case someone might see, but fortunately people were only staring straight ahead, hoping the elevator doors would open quickly. They went down about two more floors and the door opened, and other people came in again.
“Huh? Siyoung-ah.”
Someone called out to Siyoung. Seungun very quickly shook off his hand as if brushing away a bug. Then Siyoung looked at him sourly before turning his head toward the person who greeted him.
“Long time no see.”
Kim Heemin, who had just gotten on, was an actor from the same company. He grew up as a child actor like Gi Siyoung, but as per the law of the world where not everyone can do well, he had more stagnant times. He had even gone to the military and was only now gradually re-establishing his position with supporting roles and variety shows.
While Kim Heemin the celebrity was noticeable enough, the energy of the woman standing next to him was also extraordinary. She was as flashy as if she had taken all of Kim Heemin’s colors.
“……”
One couldn’t help but look. A middle-aged woman with an extraordinary impression. Makeup and clothing far from ordinary. She had thin eyebrow tattoos where all the hair had been shaved, and even the shape of those eyebrows stretched upward like a goblin.
She drew thick black eyeliner up along the outer corners of her eyes, and the under-eye liner was also dark. Her pure white face had no color at all, and in contrast, bright red lipstick was thickly applied to her thin, wrinkled lips. Stubbornness oozed from her deeply carved nasolabial folds.
Gi Siyoung exchanged glances with Heemin at the unfamiliar woman’s appearance.
“Ah, I’m growing my channel these days, you know. I’m bringing an expert for this content. We just finished the interview and I’m going down to see her off.”
“Aah.”
Only then did Gi Siyoung nod. Heemin spoke to the shaman, breaking through the awkward air.
“Teacher, you know Actor Gi Siyoung, right?”
These days, not all shamans dressed like that, but it seemed they had cast a character who was clearly not ordinary at first glance in order to extract fun from the content. The shaman, whose bright red lips were wriggling, suddenly turned around sharply.
Seungun flinched involuntarily like someone whose foot had been stepped on. He wasn’t usually the type to believe in ghosts or evil spirits, but seeing an actual shaman, he somehow felt an unusual energy. It might have been because broadcasts portrayed the image of shamans quite formidably.
“……”
Having never seen a shaman this close, Seungun was completely unfamiliar with that gaze that glared at people as if grading them. The shaman who had been looking at Gi Siyoung muttered words only she knew in a low voice, as if reciting a strange incantation.
The combination of her wide-open eyes and mismatched eyeliner made the situation even more eerie. Everyone on the elevator changed to frightened expressions.
“I don’t think you know me?”
But Gi Siyoung was different. He spoke with a hint of laughter. Without backing down, he looked the shaman straight in the eye and greeted her. It was the shaman who was rather overwhelmed by the momentum. The shaman cunningly pulled up one corner of her mouth.
“You’re dating these days, right? The spirit says to be careful of your love fortune.”
“I don’t do that kind of thing.”
“That’s fortunate in misfortune. If you had been dating, it would have been a disaster.”
Gi Siyoung snorted. He knew it. Pure quackery talk. When he shook his head, Seungun gave him a look from the side. When Gi Siyoung said “why” with his lips, the shaman who followed his gaze stiffened her complexion completely. Then she stared piercingly at Seungun’s face like an awl. Seungun was flustered by the sudden change in attitude.
“What is this bastard doing next to you?”
Gi Siyoung said crookedly.
“He’s my manager.”
“Why do you keep someone next to you who’s digging your grave and waiting?”
“What did you say?”
Has that quack gone crazy? Gi Siyoung’s eyes were saying that. At the same time, Seungun’s face turned ashen. Heemin, who had gotten on the elevator with the shaman, stamped his feet with an uncomfortable expression at the harsh atmosphere. The short time going down to the first floor felt as long as an eternity.
It was the same for Seungun. His whole body stiffened at the shaman’s words. As soon as the elevator doors opened left and right, the bustling movement of the lobby poured into the chilly interior.
“Well, th-then we’ll get off now! Teacher, please get off first.”
Heemin was the first to open his mouth and led the people out. The shaman kept staring at Gi Siyoung and Seungun until the end with her eye corners raised. As soon as they got off, Gi Siyoung pressed the close button. The shaman who had gone outside following Heemin slowly turned around. She stared stubbornly at Seungun from where she stood until the door closed. Gi Siyoung clicked his tongue.
“Amateur shamans ruin people. Don’t worry about it. Anyway, among people who show off as experts and appear on broadcasts, there are no proper ones. It’s not for nothing that there’s the term ‘show doctor.'”
“……”
But Seungun’s case was different. He knew what that shaman’s words meant. Gi Siyoung looked to the side where there was no presence. Seungun was stuck in a corner edge. Not only that, but his face had turned pale. When he grabbed his thin shoulders and gently shook them back and forth, only then did he let out a big sigh.
“Were you scared?”
“Ah… It’s my first time seeing a shaman.”
Seungun answered haltingly. He rubbed his shoulders that had broken out in goosebumps with his hand.
“That’s unexpected. I thought you wouldn’t believe in that kind of thing.”
“……”
“Even if you go to get your fortune told later, you can’t be overwhelmed by their energy. You have to seize the initiative from the start. Keep a poker face too. Seungun-ssi is the type to follow a friend and come back having paid for talismans.”
“I don’t believe in that kind of thing.”
“Who gets this scared when they don’t believe?”
“Who’s scared? I really don’t believe it.”
Seungun retorted sulkily and rushed out the open door like a shot. As soon as he got in the driver’s seat, Gi Siyoung entered the passenger seat. Watching Seungun who had no thought of turning on the air conditioning even after starting the engine, he reached his hand toward Seungun’s head. Setting aside the soft hair coming between his fingers, his scalp was soaked.
“Why are you sweating so much?”
“It’s, it’s hot.”
“Then turn on the air conditioning.”
“Ah.”
He smoothly released the hair he’d grasped and wiped Seungun’s temple with the back of his hand. Even his lukewarm face was beaded with cold sweat. Seeing him sweating cold sweat profusely, the desire to tease him for being a coward disappeared.
“If you’re not feeling well, go home.”
“No. Let’s go to the center. Gi Siyoung-ssi needs to exercise.”
From his tightly closed mouth, one could glimpse the stubbornness to drive to the center no matter what.
“Alright.”
The belatedly turned-on air conditioning breeze permeated inside the car. Seungun, who had exited the parking lot, immediately got caught at a traffic light. A bright red traffic light was waiting overhead.
Momentarily, the red light seemed to overlap with the bloodshot eyes of the shaman who had glared at him like a yaksha. Those eyes glared at Seungun every time they got caught at a signal, and distracted by that, he made a mistake he wouldn’t normally make. He almost passed the center.
Gi Siyoung joked that it was really strange, asking if he was possessed by a ghost. Seungun rebuked him, asking what kind of joke that was.
