Being cautious, maintaining proper etiquette, and treating him politely was the best Muyoung could do.
“Not at all. It’s not a difficult thing.”
“Here, this actor’s number.”
“Ah, yes.”
Receiving the phone from Seo Kyungju who nodded and handed it over with both hands, he entered his number and returned it as is. He watched as soon as he received it, he pressed the call button and hung up right away, naturally leaving his number.
“Muyoung-ah.”
“Section Manager-nim.”
While his gaze was on Seo Kyungju’s phone, he saw Section Manager Kim approaching the van, having finished the necessary conversation at the site. Section Manager Kim’s expression was noticeably puzzled as he alternately looked at him and Seo Kyungju, then came close and they exchanged bows with each other.
“Hello. I stopped by briefly to ask this actor something.”
“Oh my, you did. I don’t know what it’s about, but would you like to go somewhere nearby and have coffee while talking?”
As if Seo Kyungju also read that sign, at the explanation that came out smoothly, Section Manager Kim quickly composed his expression and nodded.
“Not at all. The business is done. I should get going now too. Then, contact me, Muyoung-ssi.”
“Yes, sunbae-nim. Take care.”
“I’ll see you again next time. Take care.”
Section Manager Kim, who had greeted and smiled affably right away, quietly watched Seo Kyungju turning and disappearing, then soon erased his expression and pushed Muyoung into the van. After confirming he was seated, he closed the car door for him and swiftly went to sit in the driver’s seat.
He turned on the air conditioner right away at the stuffy interior air and flapped a hand fan. Section Manager Kim, who had been waving his hand through the air to circulate it, turned his body completely toward Muyoung and sat. At the look of looking at him as if something had been stolen, Muyoung thought something had gone wrong.
“What did they say about filming…”
“Never mind filming, why did that bastard come all the way here?”
“…What?”
Hadn’t he just gone to ask about the filming schedule? With filming as an afterthought and Section Manager Kim’s momentum in asking about Seo Kyungju first being unusual, Muyoung blinked without understanding.
“No, that bastard who never even greeted you once throughout filming, why did he suddenly come to the car?”
“He said he was curious about something… It was nothing much.”
“As if it’s nothing much. No matter how good he is at media play, how can you fall for it too?”
Looking at the back of Section Manager Kim’s head as he sighed deeply and sat properly, Muyoung thought carefully about whether he’d done something wrong. But no matter how much he thought about it, there was nothing particularly problematic.
“Anyway, they said filming is done like this for today, so I said you’re just going home. It looks like there might be schedule changes, so I’ll let you know when I hear.”
Section Manager Kim, who kept sighing as if frustrated and eventually started talking about other things while starting the engine, felt even stranger to Muyoung, who straightened his posture and asked again.
“Does Seo Kyungju sunbae-nim have some problem?”
“…You really, pay attention to your surroundings.”
“Why? You used to say you wish there were only kids like me who don’t cause worries.”
“That’s that and this is this.”
Even while smoothly leaving the parking lot and entering the road, there was no word with his mouth closed, and only after they’d properly left the filming location did Section Manager Kim open his mouth.
“Seo Kyungju is an Alpha.”
“That’s right.”
“Even though the outside is so glossy, there have been many stories about him since before. Things like how he rose as a kept man by hooking some wife, or how he plays at clubs with several people regardless of gender, all dirty things. The problem is that there are people backing him up and the things he did were after he rose, so it all got buried, though he’s done countless things like subtly coaxing and eating up and abandoning any decent-looking rookies on site.”
“…Come on, no way.”
The words that poured out as if he’d been waiting were a completely different story from the Seo Kyungju he’d only seen at the filming location. Because it was Section Manager Kim saying it, he didn’t bother to stop him, but he didn’t quite believe it either. His position had solidified as a lead-level actor for a while now, his footing was solid, and he was an actor that even directors didn’t easily touch, but that said, it wasn’t such an easy world that he could really act as he pleased, so Muyoung thought most of the circulating rumors were false.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it, but be careful, really. Kids like you get completely broken after meeting the wrong person.”
“Even so, what would Seo Kyungju sunbae lack…”
“Just now too. I can tell just by looking that your complexion isn’t good right now. What great conversation warranted calling you out not even to shade but to the hot sun?”
Muyoung was briefly at a loss for words, not having thought that far. Even so, it hadn’t been long since Section Manager Kim left his seat, so it was ambiguous to see it as having other intentions.
“He just asked me something.”
“Why would he come and ask himself? Doesn’t he have a manager? He should ask through his manager.”
“…I guess he didn’t want to make them do it.”
“I don’t know about other people, but this is the first time I’m hearing from you that that guy doesn’t like making his manager work.”
Continuing to listen to Section Manager Kim’s words as he snorted and spoke as if dumbfounded, it seemed to be right again. Thinking it was nagging out of worry because of today’s incident, while also thinking how lacking in wariness must he have seemed usually for him to talk this much, he acted like he was obediently listening.
“Section Manager-nim, I’ve been working for a long time too… I know to be careful.”
“What good is it that it’s been long? You should meet people, go on trips. If I’d received even one call to come pick you up after you collapsed drinking with guys you know, I wouldn’t even worry.”
“…I did it because I thought you’d be bothered, Section Manager-nim.”
Until recently, it was true that he had no capacity for anything else while meeting Jinho, and it was true that he had no people around him, so he didn’t deliberately extend his words to defend that. But even the shallow excuse he made while muttering, Section Manager Kim knew that much wasn’t true. It wasn’t that this kind of talk came up often, but whenever it was mentioned, Muyoung somehow felt awkward at the feeling of his narrow circle of relationships and shyness being caught.
“Never meet that guy alone. The way he just left without even greeting properly when I joined in while you two were talking shows there’s definitely something.”
“Oh my, I get it. I’m really tired. Let’s just go home quickly.”
Not confident he could listen if the nagging got longer, Muyoung deliberately waved his hand to stop him. He sighed long, leaned back in his seat, and turned his gaze outside the window. The edge of the sky was red as the sun was about to set.
“Anyway, be careful. And we’re going to stop by the office today.”
“I want to go straight home though…”
He’d heard the warning about Seo Kyungju just now, but still, it wasn’t bad that he got an excuse to send a text to Dowon. Since he himself who always only gave weak replies had something to talk about, he wanted to quickly deal with it and rest. And he thought it would be okay to give such trivial contact even to Seo Kyungju who had many rumors. If he just found out the company contact information from Dowon and passed it on, there would be nothing more to get tangled up about.
“The very busy CEO Choi wants to see our actor Lee Muyoung’s face.”
“He didn’t say anything to me though?”
Wondering what happened, Muyoung picked up his phone to check if there was any contact, but there were no particular notifications. Section Manager Kim, who was watching him, made eye contact through the rearview mirror and said.
“He wants to see you after a while. Even after entrusting you to me, that man who’s anxious contacts me once a day without fail. Today too, if he sees you, he’ll be like ‘what’s with that face, are you eating,’ right?”
“Why would he do that when he’s busy…”
“He totally thinks you’re his son. Anyway, just go and ask. I haven’t heard anything either.”
“Yes, is he at the office now?”
“Yeah, he’ll probably come running out in his socks when you arrive.”
At Section Manager Kim’s muttering while shaking his head, saying is there a hospital that fixes that parent-fool man, Muyoung laughed frivolously. If they met at the office after a long time, CEO Choi would definitely suggest having dinner together too. Muyoung, who was wondering if he should eat following that momentum, already felt full.
“Good grief… Why is the kid going around like half a person? Section Manager Kim, aren’t you feeding him?”
“…Hey. Am I right?”
What, why. Section Manager Kim, are you badmouthing me to Muyoung? As soon as they entered the office, at CEO Choi’s words that greeted him right up close and continued endlessly, Section Manager Kim pulled Muyoung over instead of answering and sat him down.
Even though it was an office he’d entered for the first time in a couple months, it was warm without any changes. He might have been indifferent for not visiting often, but CEO Choi had been consistently devoted since his debut. That kind of person who would use all his strength if it was work that would become the foundation for him to act.
“It’s been a while, CEO-nim.”
“Right, you did well to say that. Where is there an affiliated actor who doesn’t even contact like this?”
“Why would I when you’re busy? Section Manager Kim-nim is here too.”
“Important things should still be discussed with me.”
