“Hey, come here. Take off your mask.”
“Why all of a sudden? I’m tired. I want to rest.”
It was suspicious that this person, who normally threw off his mask and hat the moment he got home, complaining about how stuffy they were, was avoiding it like this. After struggling and arguing, Yeonrok was finally able to see Choi Hwan’s face properly. At the same time, the mask and cap fell from Yeonrok’s shocked hands with a thud.
“You, you… Why is your face like that!”
His voice involuntarily grew louder from shock. Choi Hwan awkwardly rubbed his cheek, then let out a groan of “Ugh.” That magnificent face, which he’d said was worth 9.99 million won if his body was worth 10 million won, was bruised and swollen all over. These were clearly marks from being one-sidedly beaten. Suddenly, heat rushed to the top of Yeonrok’s head.
“Fuck, who beat you up?! Hurry up and tell me the truth!”
“Wow. You cursing is kind of sexy.”
Even though he cursed and interrogated him, Choi Hwan blushed and only gave nonsensical responses. Since he was someone who had always treated his acting career as precious as his life until now, he wouldn’t have gotten caught up in a fight somewhere. Yeonrok asked with a sinking feeling.
“Did you meet your family?”
Choi Hwan didn’t deny it and just awkwardly shuffled his feet. Yeonrok couldn’t believe it. Even so, they were at the level of physically assaulting Choi Hwan? And they hit his face when he’s an actor?
“Maybe because it’s been a while, but it really hurt.”
“Did those people come looking for you again this time?”
Honestly, he wanted to call them fucking bastards, but he held back out of courtesy since they were still Choi Hwan’s family. Choi Hwan grinned with his wrecked face.
“No. This time I went to find them. I just… deliberately picked a fight and provoked them to get beaten.”
“Why on earth would you do such a thing…”
He wasn’t a masochist, so Yeonrok couldn’t understand why he’d do that. The following answer left Yeonrok’s head reeling.
“So you’d get less hate.”
“What?”
“You’re getting a lot of hate because of the interview my mom and dad did. So I did it to collect evidence. You’re my family. Right? I… if it’s for family, I can at least do something like this. Getting beaten a few times is nothing.”
“…”
Yeonrok felt a strong sense of kinship with Choi Hwan saying such things. The attitude of desperately clinging just because he’d taken their side and treated them a bit well, even though they’d known each other for less than a year, was just like how he gave money to those exploiters while still calling them family.
Understanding that feeling, he couldn’t say anything.
The anger and rage he’d felt when Choi Hwan’s accident almost got his face plastered all over the country melted away like snow under sunlight. The stream of emotions that melted and flowed down sweetly moistened Yeonrok’s heart, which had been parched from hunger for affection. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed Choi Hwan’s hand.
“Don’t you need to go to the hospital?”
“I already got a medical certificate.”
“I’m not talking about a medical certificate… Never mind. Come here. I’ll put some ointment on you.”
What on earth did they do at the hospital—there wasn’t a trace of ointment applied to Choi Hwan’s face. Despite having been beaten, Choi Hwan followed Yeonrok around with a silly grin, seeming pleased about something.
Since he’d been annoyingly injured so many times, Yeonrok always kept first aid supplies on hand. Of course he had ointment that worked well for bruises. After dragging him to his room and sitting him down, he brought the medicine box. While squeezing out the ointment, Yeonrok asked worriedly.
“Did you show Junho hyung? Tomorrow’s the broadcast.”
“It’s radio so my face won’t show anyway, so I’m trying to hide it as much as possible. He’d just nag me more anyway, right?”
That manager hyung is really going to be stressed out… Yeonrok sympathized with Jo Junho while carefully applying ointment to the bruised areas. Even though Choi Hwan grimaced in pain, the corners of his mouth kept twitching upward. Yeonrok gradually became enraged.
‘No, how could they hit such a handsome face?’
Those people deserve divine punishment. May they fall forward and crack the back of their heads, buy stocks and houses at the peak and sell at the bottom. May they suffer from unknown illnesses and live long miserable lives. As Yeonrok hurled curses, he generously applied ointment to every corner until the face was shiny. Even after finishing the treatment, Choi Hwan didn’t leave right away. He hesitated while glancing at Yeonrok, then rummaged through his pockets.
“…? What’s this?”
When Choi Hwan suddenly held out hundreds of thousands of won, Yeonrok took it quizzically. Was this payment for treating him? After hesitating for a while, Choi Hwan spoke slowly.
“Um, I… just hug me for a bit.”
Money offered as payment for embracing him—Yeonrok was momentarily speechless. When he stared blankly, Choi Hwan looked puzzled.
“Why? Is it not enough?”
He recalled Choi Hwan, who had been so offended just by the mention of escort services. It seemed like he hadn’t thought at all about how his current behavior might look. Since there didn’t seem to be any malice, after brief consideration, Yeonrok silently stood up. Then he spread both arms, approached, and hugged Choi Hwan tightly.
“You bastard.”
“Eek.”
Choi Hwan made a muffled sound while being held tightly in Yeonrok’s arms. He seemed satisfied even as his head was roughly stroked. After hugging him for several minutes, Yeonrok returned the money Choi Hwan had given him.
“Now, hug me the same way.”
Even with his eyes wide, Choi Hwan didn’t miss the opportunity. He pulled Yeonrok into his arms. Even though he held him much longer than Yeonrok had held him, Yeonrok just let him be. With his aching face buried in Yeonrok’s shoulder, Choi Hwan mumbled and asked.
“…Don’t you need my money?”
“I don’t need it for something like this.”
But I definitely need to get paid for making ramen… Though right now it feels like ointment is getting on my clothes. It feels wet.
“You’re a money maniac.”
“I’m not, though?”
Who wouldn’t like money, but he didn’t want to receive it this way. Choi Hwan muttered barely audibly.
“My family members were all crazy about my money. I’m glad you’re not like that.”
A while later, he heard the faint sound of breathing trying to hold back sobs, but Yeonrok pretended not to hear anything and just patted Choi Hwan’s back.
* * *
“Aaaah!”
The manager, who had come to pick him up, let out a desperate scream when he saw Choi Hwan’s face. As bruises usually do, Choi Hwan’s bruising had worsened over time. Even Yeonrok had been surprised when he saw it in the morning and applied ointment once more.
“You, you, what, what happened!”
“I got beaten.”
Choi Hwan answered in a nonchalant voice. Jo Junho tore at his hair and then dry-washed his face. Since this wasn’t Choi Hwan’s first or second accident, he forced himself to come to his senses and began assessing the situation.
“Where did you get beaten? Why did you get beaten? Did you fight? Was it mutual? Hurry up and spill it. Don’t we need to clean this up!”
“Ah, it’s okay. I got beaten by my dad. It wasn’t mutual.”
Jo Junho, who had been urgently calling the president on his phone, suddenly looked up. Frowning, he put down his phone and asked carefully.
“Why? Did your family come looking for you again?”
Choi Hwan repeated the explanation he’d given Yeonrok. Jo Junho’s face looked quite complicated as he listened to the story.
“First of all, I’m really happy that you’ve finally decided to cut ties with your family. Hwan-ah, that’s a good decision. But…”
Trailing off, Jo Junho looked at Choi Hwan’s bruised face with pity and said.
“Actually, I’ve been collecting quite a bit of evidence all this time.”
“What?”
“What I recorded is just verbal abuse, but… the president probably has even more than me. He said he’s been secretly filming since he was your manager.”
Jo Junho’s words were both surprising and somehow understandable. If it were him, he would have steadily collected evidence too, watching Choi Hwan being cruelly treated by those people called his family. However, Choi Hwan jumped up, completely taken by surprise.
“Why didn’t you tell me! I got beaten up for nothing! Do you know how hard I worked to get it caught on the dashcam?”
“Well, you went crazy whenever your family was mentioned! How could I tell you I was collecting evidence, you bastard!”
Seeing Jo Junho so indignant, Choi Hwan just pouted his lips and retorted.
“…Well, it doesn’t feel like I got beaten for completely nothing.”
“You’re an actor and you call that talk! Anyway, we still have time, so let’s stop by the hospital first!”
Whether grateful to his manager or feeling sorry, Choi Hwan obediently let himself be dragged to the hospital. Yeonrok learned for the first time that there was laser treatment to remove bruises. Sitting in the luxurious waiting room, enriched by money from celebrity patients who invest in their appearance, Jo Junho said.
“Thank you, Yeonrok-ssi.”
“…Me?”
Not knowing why he was suddenly being thanked, Yeonrok looked puzzled.
“Because you’re here, Hwan seems to have finally made up his mind to cut off his family. He’s a kid who held on and endured calling those troublemakers family, so his life will be much better. The president will be happy too.”
“What did I even do?”
Yeonrok answered shyly. At the same time, he thought it was fortunate that someone as good as Jo Junho was with Choi Hwan. Just as the atmosphere became heartwarming, Choi Hwan, who had finished treatment and come out, deliberately squeezed himself between the two.
“Don’t act close, you two.”
…Is he jealous? Even though the other person is his close manager hyung, would he be this childish? But thinking it was Choi Hwan, it seemed possible, so Yeonrok subtly moved away. Jo Junho, who had been pushed aside, also stood up in disbelief. Jo Junho clicked his tongue while looking at Choi Hwan’s treated face.
“There’s no way we can go to the salon.”
So they decided to tidy up his hair and face with the help of the agency’s stylist, whom Yeonrok had seen during the last shoot. The woman who rushed over in a taxi as soon as she was called looked very upset when she saw Choi Hwan’s face.
“The bruising is this severe and you want me not to even cover it?”
