Whenever filming ends, he’s always swept up in mixed feelings.
A strange sense of relief that he no longer has to immerse himself in the role or chase after schedules.
Along with an unfamiliar feeling from the sudden silence that arrives.
Of course, the wrap party still remains, and there are program appearances left for promoting the drama.
But that was a different matter from drama filming.
On a day when Haesung had a schedule. Dohyeong returned home after a long time.
He even declined Wootae’s company, telling him to enjoy his day off for once.
Perhaps because of that, Wootae kept calling Dohyeong endlessly.
[Are you really living at that house?]
“For now. Hyung, it’s your day off, why are you checking my schedule like this?”
[Hey, what is this… No, if you were going to pack your things and go, you should’ve called me.]
“It’s fine. I know how to drive too.”
[Do you have a car?]
“Yeah. Haesung hyung lent me one.”
[You should buy one too. You’ve got money.]
Dohyeong chuckled softly as he packed his clothes and underwear, and also put a new diary into his bag.
Maybe it was because he’d just finished cleaning thoroughly, but somehow his mood felt strange.
This was definitely the place where he’d started and ended his days.
Yet somehow, what was this feeling like he was visiting someone else’s house?
“I’ll handle it myself. Anyway, hurry and go play with Bitna noona. I want to see my nephew too.”
[This bastard, there’s nothing he won’t say! Hey! What nephew, what kind of talk is that.]
“Huh? What’s with this reaction? Can I tell noona about this?”
[Uh, uh, I’m hanging up. Dohyeong, get home safely. Make sure to contact me when you arrive!]
Dohyeong laughed out loud at Wootae’s urgent voice as he hung up.
Can’t be helped. He muttered and shook his head.
And once again, he swept a glance around the house.
“A period for another beginning.”
He mulls over the words Director Na had said.
They were words that suited him perfectly. A period for another beginning. One of them might be this house.
Hadn’t it been a space that became the start and end of a certain story?
Though he’d been trapped at that end for a while, unable to escape, throughout that time this house had become a great nest for him.
It had protected him so that no one could trespass carelessly.
“Thank you.”
Dohyeong whispered softly and smiled.
“Still, I was happy here.”
Very much so.
As if embarrassed, Dohyeong muttered awkwardly and moved his steps.
He wanted to hurry back to his new home.
To the house filled with Haesung’s scent, thoroughly steeped in his warmth.
He shoved his feet into his shoes and opened the door to go outside.
Just as he stepped forward with the sound of the door closing.
“Kim Dohyeong-ssi!”
Someone suddenly popped out from somewhere. When the startled Dohyeong stepped back, he smiled slyly and pulled out a business card from his inside pocket.
“Endpatch reporter, Ong Jinhyuk. Could I have a moment for an interview?”
Endpatch.
He felt his hair standing on end.
From long ago, from when his incident broke out, it was a place that had never once written a favorable article about him.
So all the more, he couldn’t help but lose control of his expression.
“I’m sorry. I don’t do personal interviews that don’t go through my agency.”
He tried to avoid him while saying what Seri and Wootae had told him, but Reporter Ong blocked Dohyeong’s path again.
“Hey now. Why are you being like this? I said it’ll only take a moment.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“It’s related to Im Hakyung-ssi, do you still have nothing to say?”
Dohyeong’s eyes widened.
He had thought Hakyung might be related to Endpatch, but he didn’t expect him to come out so directly like this.
“See, you do.”
“No, I—”
“Kim Dohyeong-ssi. Is it true that you used Im Hakyung-ssi to attract the attention of Jung Haesung-ssi and Choi Yuchan-ssi? There are also claims that at the time of Im Hakyung-ssi’s accident, you used Im Hakyung-ssi like a shield.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Dohyeong’s face turned pale.
When he looked at him in confusion, Reporter Ong curled up the corners of his mouth as if he’d been waiting for this.
“I’ve finished interviewing Im Hakyung-ssi too. He said you formed a relationship as if you were going to date, but only ended up being used. First it was Choi Yuchan-ssi, later it was Im Hakyung-ssi… Is this true?”
What?
Dohyeong’s face crumpled slightly.
What kind of interview did he do, and what was he talking about regarding his relationship with Im Hakyung?
The flustered Dohyeong shook his head.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, stop pretending you don’t know. Im Hakyung-ssi admitted to everything, you know?”
“That can’t be. There’s nothing to admit….”
Dohyeong couldn’t say any words.
Because the voice playing from the recorder the reporter pulled out was admitting to all the facts.
[So, you were secretly sharing good feelings with Kim Dohyeong-ssi. Is that what you’re saying?]
[Yes… We got close while filming together, and I also… felt special feelings toward sunbae. Of course, that doesn’t mean we started hastily. We were just continuing our relationship with good feelings.]
[Continuing but?]
[Suddenly Dohyeong sunbae started bringing up Haesung sunbaenim’s story. At first it seemed like he was sticking close to Yuchan sunbae, but suddenly I felt like the target changed to me? Of course… it might have been my misunderstanding. But we went shopping together, exchanged messages frequently. So on my SNS too, photos I took with Dohyeong sunbae would occasionally… be posted.]
[Hmm… In what way did he use Im Hakyung-ssi?]
[It seems like he tried to provoke Haesung sunbaenim while being with me. We went to a department store together the other day. At that time… he deliberately called Haesung sunbaenim. He had said let’s go on a date… but I thought this wasn’t right so I grabbed Haesung sunbaenim to talk to him.]
[You’re talking about the photo we took, right?]
[…Yes, that’s right.]
[What do you mean by favoritism toward actors? Director Na Taeseok doesn’t seem like someone who would do that.]
[Should I call it favoritism… As you know, I’m just at the stage of starting out, so right now this drama is the only thing I’m actively working on. But… whenever Dohyeong sunbaenim was approaching a heat cycle, the schedule would always change significantly. Even though tomorrow was supposed to be a filming day, depending on sunbae’s condition, it was postponed by 2 weeks, or even up to 3 weeks. Even when other sunbaes’ rut periods overlapped, the schedules of supporting actors like me weren’t respected.]
Goosebumps rose to the point where his whole body felt chilled.
Dohyeong, who unknowingly dropped his bag, hurriedly picked it back up.
“See? He agreed to everything. Kim Dohyeong-ssi, don’t be scared and just tell us. We’re not going to eat you alive, you know?”
His hands trembled.
If he said even one wrong word here, everything would be damaged.
The drama, Director Na Taeseok, Jung Haesung, Choi Yuchan. And even himself and his agency.
That couldn’t happen. So he tried desperately to calm his mind and become cold.
“Kim Dohyeong-ssi. Just be honest. It’s okay.”
He heard the reporter’s voice trying to coax him, and Dohyeong swallowed once more.
Because if he made a mistake, there was no telling what kind of article they would write.
Right, no matter how shocking and somewhat surprising it was, he had to keep his mind straight.
“…I’ll do a formal interview through my agency. If I speak personally here, my position becomes difficult too. Same for the company.”
“Really? Really… if we request formally, you’ll proceed with the interview, right?”
“Before that, there’s one thing I want to ask.”
Reporter Ong nodded with a displeased expression.
Because he too knew that he could only proceed with the interview if he appeased Dohyeong.
“Without even knowing whether Im Hakyung-ssi’s claims are real or not, I don’t understand what you’re so confident about and believe in. Is it okay to publish that kind of article believing only one person’s word entirely?”
At Dohyeong’s words, Reporter Ong snorted.
Really, clicking his tongue and shaking his head, he looked around then approached Dohyeong closely.
“To be honest and blunt, that person has nothing to lose, so he can’t lie. If he makes even a small mistake, his unknown life will go straight to ruin, would he lie?”
“What if it’s all not true? In that case, will Endpatch take responsibility together?”
“…No, that’s not it.”
“You can’t give a definite answer. You wrote the article thinking this was it without even checking if Im Hakyung-ssi’s claims were real or not. Right?”
“Ah, is that important? Right now?”
“…Well, it might not be important. Anyway, please inquire about the interview with my agency. I don’t think it’s something to answer personally.”
Dohyeong answered firmly and passed by Reporter Ong.
Even so, this incident crossed the line. Im Hakyung. He mulled over his three-character name as he got in the car.
***
At the same time.
Haesung, who had finished the usual meeting with advertisers, hadn’t left the company parking lot for 30 minutes.
“Haesung-ah. Can’t you reconsider?”
Even at Seonghyeok’s words, Haesung shook his head.
“This is really a gamble. Don’t you know what that means? It absolutely won’t just end. You, really, what are you going to do with everything you’ve built up to here? Huh?”
“I’m prepared.”
“Damn it, is this something that’s fine if only you’re prepared?”
“And Jung Haesung won’t crumble from this much. I have at least that much pride.”
“No, hey… ha, really!”
Seonghyeok let out a sigh as if expressing his frustration.
Of course, Seonghyeok knew too. The fact that even if he stopped Haesung like this, he wasn’t someone who would listen.
While he beat his chest and blamed his fate, Haesung called CEO Jo as if he’d made up his mind.
A short ringtone continued, and soon CEO Jo’s voice was heard through the phone.
[Oh, you just left a moment ago. What’s going on?]
“That matter I consulted with you about last time. You remember, right? I’d like to meet about that issue. CEO-nim.”
CEO Jo didn’t continue speaking for a moment, as if pondering.
[Alright, come up.]
But soon an answer came, as if he’d given up.
Haesung hung up with an affirmative response. When he got out of the car without hesitation, Seonghyeok followed behind him with self-abandoned eyes.
“I definitely tried to stop you.”
“Yeah. Do Silang-nim tried to stop me.”
He answered halfheartedly while looking up at the elevator.
He mulled over various thoughts while taking in the numbers descending floor by floor.
It’s not that he didn’t know what kind of repercussions his decision might bring.
Perhaps it could deal a big blow to the image of Jung Haesung that he’d built up until now.
But Haesung wasn’t afraid.
No, it was something he shouldn’t be afraid of. His resolve that he could throw away and discard everything to protect what was most precious was sincere.
“They say when you’re crazy in love, you’d even sell out your country.”
Seonghyeok clicked his tongue and got on the elevator, but Haesung didn’t make any retort.
He just silently watched the floor number going up to the CEO’s office.
Finally, they arrived at the 10th floor where CEO Jo was.
As the door slowly opened, a sparkling corridor appeared before his eyes.
He took a deep breath and took a step forward. When he got off the elevator and stopped in the corridor, Seonghyeok grabbed Haesung’s arm once more.
“This is the last time. Really the last time. You’re still going to do it? Really?”
“Have I ever said I’d do something and then not done it?”
“…No. Right, no. That’s why my insides are bursting even more.”
“You can stop trying to stop me. I’ve made up my mind.”
Haesung spoke calmly and moved his steps.
His life ahead might be turned upside down, and the way people looked at him might also change.
Nevertheless, he was firm.
He who had been walking without hesitation up to the front of the CEO’s office paused for a moment.
For one reason. Because this decision made without consultation might become another wound for Dohyeong.
The thought that it would be okay might be his own arrogance. But there probably wasn’t a better method than this.
In the end, he knocked on the door with his mind made up again.
“It’s Jung Haesung.”
“Come in.”
Haesung, who had been mulling over his thoughts with his head tilted back, entered the CEO’s office.
To protect my everything, I must know how to give up the world that makes me. He chewed and swallowed the words that remained in his mouth.
