Honestly, Muyoung had nothing to lose no matter what kind of relationship he said he had with Dowon. Of course, for now he’d made the judgment that they shouldn’t publicly reveal talk about their relationship. Not only because of ongoing work, but there was a lot to consider like the contract periods for the advertisements CEO Choi had mentioned, the treatment he needed to receive steadily going forward, Dowon’s public position, and so on. Still, he was inwardly surprised by the story that someone had seen the two of them together at the hotel. He hadn’t expected that of all people, Seo Kyungju would have seen them.
When had he seen them? Even so, whenever they used a room together, they’d never failed to check their surroundings. If Seo Kyungju really had seen them, it could only have been when the accident suddenly happened recently. That’s how Muyoung remembered it. That day could have given Seo Kyungju ammunition.
Muyoung, who’d been lightly turning his body toward the filming site to look, turned his body toward Seo Kyungju. Lightly grasping his wrist that was starting to throb again with his other hand, he looked at the man in front of him with a straight gaze.
“And if CEO Han and I really are in the kind of relationship Sunbae is convinced of…”
Seo Kyungju’s attitude was still unfamiliar and frustrating for Muyoung, making him want to pretend not to know. But he also wasn’t leisurely enough to overlook even rude and petty behavior. Whether it was just his feeling or not that the air between the two was growing coldly chilly, Seo Kyungju, who’d been meeting Muyoung’s gaze, averted his eyes first.
“Aren’t you afraid to treat me like this?”
“…What?”
“Isn’t that right? You’re saying that someone like me, just a supporting actor, could aim for Sunbae-nim’s roles thanks to CEO Han Dowon.”
“Ha, you…!”
“Of course, I haven’t even glanced at that position until now, but what will you do if it really becomes like that?”
“…What?”
Seo Kyungju’s face, which had been looking at Muyoung fiercely, was colored with bewilderment. His expression was such a mess that his head fiercely agonizing seemed transparently visible. The person himself seemed completely unaware of it.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll do it for you. Though I don’t know what I could gain from it.”
“This is really… if you think your words are sweet…”
Seo Kyungju, who’d been about to approach right up close to him, flinched and pulled back his body. The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching from behind Muyoung was heard.
“Muyoung-ah, I bought what you needed. Oh, isn’t that Seo Kyungju-ssi? What’s the matter? Did something happen with filming? Just so you know, Muyoung…”
It was Section Manager Kim returning from the pharmacy. Since he seemed ready to tell him about getting injured right away and confront Seo Kyungju, Muyoung grabbed Section Manager Kim’s arm. Inwardly relieved, Muyoung slowly moved aside and shook his head slightly so only Section Manager Kim could see.
“Ah, no. I just came because I had something to talk about for a moment.”
“Uh… is it something important?”
“We’re finished. He’ll be leaving now. I’ll see you at filming later, Sunbae-nim.”
Muyoung, who’d cut off Section Manager Kim’s words as he looked back and forth between the two, quickly wrapped things up. Seo Kyungju’s eyes briefly turned fierce as if it wasn’t the situation he wanted, but soon he gave up and forcibly pulled up the corners of his mouth to smile.
“…Right, see you later.”
Strength entered the hand of Seo Kyungju as he gripped Muyoung’s shoulder tightly as if encouraging him. The hand touching Muyoung’s body trembled unable to overcome his own anger, but fortunately it fell away quickly. The man who only nodded a greeting to Section Manager Kim with his head turned his body and moved away.
Only after confirming Seo Kyungju completely disappearing from view did Muyoung exhale a long sigh, sit in the portable chair, and lean his head back while closing his eyes.
“What, why is that guy acting like that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Nothing my ass. Let’s look at where you’re hurt first. Damn, I could have gone off on him right then since I was there anyway. You should have let me talk earlier.”
“What for? Hurry and wrap the bandage. I need to go into filming.”
Section Manager Kim, who rummaged through what he’d bought and pulled out an elastic bandage, approached Muyoung closely. When he roughly rolled up the sleeve to check the condition, Section Manager Kim’s face crumpled even more. The place that had only been reddened and swollen until earlier was now rising with a dark bruise. It was natural that Section Manager Kim’s dissatisfied voice burst out.
“Muyoung-ah, look at this. The condition is getting worse. Let’s go to the hospital right now.”
“I’m fine. If the bone was injured I wouldn’t even be able to move it, but it’s not that. And it’s more tiring to keep being entangled with Seo Kyungju-ssi over something like this. It’s better to finish filming quickly.”
“…Geez. I don’t know, really. Then let’s go to the hospital right after filming ends.”
“Okay. I’ll do that.”
He couldn’t refuse even the compromise Section Manager Kim offered as if he had no choice against Muyoung’s stubbornness. For now there was at least the excuse of filming, but after it ended there wouldn’t even be that.
Section Manager Kim’s touch as he confirmed the answer and wrapped the bandage around the injured wrist was careful. Each time he meticulously covered the skin, pain rose dully, but once the bandage was actually wrapped, the condition became comfortable so Muyoung caught his breath.
“But were you not answering the phone because that guy was there earlier? I called thinking I should buy something more at the pharmacy, but it kept not connecting.”
“The phone…?”
He took out the phone he’d put in his pocket and checked the screen. The contact from Section Manager Kim was left as a missed call.
“Ah… I must not have noticed.”
“Oh, so I naturally thought you were on a call. Let’s wait just a bit more while drinking something cold. I’ll take you to the hospital after filming ends.”
“…Yes.”
Come to think of it, he’d run into Seo Kyungju right after finishing the call with Dowon. To be precise, he’d come to where Muyoung was resting. Thinking it must be a day when things got tangled up in various ways, Muyoung forcibly shook it off and covered the wrist firmly bound with the bandage with his sleeve. It was a simple measure, but he had to endure until filming ended.
The diagnosis given at the hospital he barely managed to stop by after finishing filming was a contusion, just as Muyoung had thought. He added that the intermittent pain when moving seemed to be because the muscles were a bit shocked by the suddenly applied force. After removing all the clumsy taping and receiving meticulous physical therapy and treatment, he received muscle relaxants as an additional prescription.
Section Manager Kim, who’d come into the examination room with Muyoung and carefully listened to the doctor’s words, got angry asking if they shouldn’t contact even CEO Choi and tell him about Seo Kyungju. Muyoung tried hard to stop that. Even on site he hadn’t made a big fuss about getting injured, so protesting belatedly wouldn’t reach anyone who would listen, and he didn’t want to argue about it to that degree either. He’d said everything he could say, so he also thought that if he had a brain, he wouldn’t bother him any further.
Fortunately, since they said it wasn’t a serious injury, he soothed Section Manager Kim saying there was no big worry. Even while knowing there was nothing wrong with what Muyoung said, Section Manager Kim couldn’t let go of his anger toward Seo Kyungju. He seemed irritated that he couldn’t say a word to him.
On the other hand, once Muyoung finished even the last filming, he actually became fine. There would be no occasion to encounter Seo Kyungju going forward, and at most there would only be briefly running into him at the wrap party. Since it was a dinner for the entire drama team, it would be a place where not only Seo Kyungju but the director, writer, other actors and staff would all be mixed together. Even if he just showed his face there and came right out, no one would know. It was really the end. For Muyoung, it was a fortunate thing.
Han Dowon
Did you finish filming?
You worked hard all this time.
On the phone he checked after leaving the hospital, a familiar name appeared. Even though the drama had ended, he didn’t feel anything. Looking at Dowon’s text that had arrived, he felt a bit sorry about that.
The drama itself wasn’t bad. He could recall the process of auditioning and preparing, and the time when he did the script reading, in a good mood. The amount of screen time wasn’t bad for a supporting role either, so it was satisfying.
But whether it was because he’d experienced troublesome incidents throughout filming or because his own big problem had arisen, his memories weren’t clear here and there. He didn’t feel any special sentiment compared to other works either. There was only the feeling that he’d fulfilled his duty.
Yes, I’m about to go in now. I’ll see you tomorrow.
So he couldn’t bear to whine or complain to Dowon. Rather than the drama he’d wrapped up today, the matter of accompanying him to the hospital together tomorrow felt like a bigger deal.
Even after having a rough late dinner with Section Manager Kim and returning home to go to bed, the fact that he had to go to the hospital tomorrow kept coming to mind repeatedly. Even though he’d visited quite often, he couldn’t picture himself sitting with Dowon at the hospital that only felt unfamiliar. And yet, it seemed like it would be good if Dowon was there, so a hollow laugh came out at his dual feelings.
He adjusted the pillow behind his head and burrowed into the blanket. It was already a late bedtime, but it wasn’t bad since he could sleep in tomorrow. Muyoung’s eyes, which had been slowly closing, soon fell asleep.
***
Muyoung, who arrived a bit earlier than the scheduled time, walked along the hospital walking path looking for a place without people. There was a bench not far from the building, so he sat for a moment. It was afternoon, but since it was a shaded spot, he wasn’t uncomfortable because of the sunlight. If he waited just a bit, it seemed like Dowon would arrive soon.
Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Dowon, he might not have even been able to get up. He didn’t know what had made him so relaxed that he’d completely lost his mind and slept. He didn’t even know his phone was ringing. He’d woken up to the phone call he answered in a fluster, and was even more flustered that the voice that woke him was Dowon’s.
He wasn’t even certain what he’d babbled throughout the call. He’d only heard Dowon’s nonsense saying that not just anyone could be an actor since his voice sounded too normal for someone who’d overslept. It was natural that he was startled after barely opening his eyes and getting up, then checking the time. There was leeway until he had to prepare and leave, but to oversleep this much.
Sitting leaning his back against the bench, he looked at the sky. They’d said the day would be a bit cloudy, but rather than cloudy, there were just a lot of clouds. How long had he been like that? Vibration rang out from Muyoung’s pocket where he’d put his phone.
