“…Ha, no. Not… nng, huk!”
Dowon’s lips touched the exposed nape as his head tilted back. At the same time, the mucous membrane deep inside that had joined briefly convulsed. Muyoung, pushed against the mirror while embraced with one arm wrapping around his entire narrow pelvis, put even more strength into the hand he was gripping. His ears and chest flushed from the indecent sight of himself, his sensitively heated member, his knees that had been touching the mirror since earlier and his thighs that had started trembling occasionally – it was hard to find a place that didn’t look obscene. Even his Adam’s apple rippling each time he couldn’t control his panting breath and swallowed seemed like an intended scene.
As Dowon’s hip movements gradually became rougher for ejaculation, Muyoung’s body was struggling but his vision flashed with pleasure. It was strange even knowing they’d washed with the same products. A smell thicker and more lewd than before came from Dowon.
Muyoung, who could no longer endure completely, squeezed his eyes shut first. At the same time, strong excitement and climax turned his mind white. Yet Dowon’s gaze seen through the mirror didn’t disappear like an afterimage.
***
“No, I think you need to make an appointment and talk first. I gave you the contact information, so CEO-nim…”
An agitated voice flowed through Muyoung’s phone. He could tell how excited CEO Choi was. It wasn’t that he hadn’t expected this. Of course, he had said to just pass it on to Section Manager Kim for the previous day, but he hadn’t known he’d get this excited even over the phone from the morning when there was no schedule.
Actually, Muyoung himself wasn’t much better at doing incomprehensible actions. The fact that the aftermath of what he’d willingly accepted was continuing until now was a bit burdensome, but.
“No, I’m not. I’m listening, CEO-nim.”
In the morning, when he tried to slightly open his eyes at the presence of him leaving, he thought he heard words telling him to rest more while covering his eyes with a large hand. Whether he couldn’t wake up at all, he fell back asleep and when he woke up again, he was alone in the room.
Han Dowon
Something came up so I’m leaving without seeing you wake up
Contact me when you wake up
Muyoung, who checked right after waking up that he’d naturally left his whereabouts in a text, stopped his hand that was going to the keyboard. He scrolled through the contacts with him without missing a single day, repeatedly going up and down several times. Even though they were ordinary everyday language that wouldn’t look different to anyone, he newly read them in detail.
Did you eat? It’s hot. How’s filming? Did you sleep well?
The recorded texts felt like they were whispering right in his ear. A gentle voice with a low, soft resonance. But Muyoung knew that the real Dowon was strong and stubborn. Checking texts and quietly thinking of someone was very heart-fluttering and accompanied an unfamiliar excitement. It had been a long time since he felt like this.
Even after sending a bland reply to have a good day, he couldn’t easily turn off the screen, so he just lay there blankly for a while.
“Yes yes, I’ll do the current schedule as is. Then I’ll hang up.”
Not knowing how much time had passed, when he simply prepared a meal and checked the time, it was already afternoon.
He was bewildered by the time he’d futilely blown away by waking up later than expected when CEO Choi contacted him. CEO Choi apologized for being late because he’d checked the text left and looked into this and that. To him, Muyoung conveyed the things he’d experienced with Dowon the previous day and the stories he’d heard.
As soon as he heard, he got so fiery angry that they couldn’t have a conversation for a while. It seemed he’d been suffering mentally quite severely even though he hadn’t expressed it. Saying he needed to think about how to handle it but with momentum that he wouldn’t let it slide easily, all Muyoung could do was nod and answer.
After finishing the call, he sat in the hotel again and spent time. The excessively quiet space was awkward, so when he unconsciously turned on the TV, a currently popular variety show was on. Recalling that he couldn’t even think of watching something like this until just a few days ago, he felt the reality that he was finally properly resting. The appearance of overly excited cast members and lively text floated around the screen messily.
While laughing along watching them create ridiculous situations, he stood up to drink water when sudden dizziness made him sit right down. His vision repeatedly darkened and whitened, becoming more difficult. He sat on the floor and caught his breath for a while. A headache accompanied by dizziness strongly grabbed the back of his head. Until his vision gradually brightened and he could move normally again, no thoughts came.
No, there was someone who came to mind. So he couldn’t do anything.
***
Night filming had fewer people on site, but on the other hand, discomfort doubled. Summer nights were like that because of flying insects rushing to the lights and weather conditions like seasonal rains that might pour unexpectedly, and now it was because they were finishing up the tight schedule’s final stages. Muyoung, sitting in the van waiting for filming, also looked calm but his mind had no rest because of lines he had to memorize. Moreover, these days because of the high humidity that wouldn’t quite go away, even during night filming he had to frequently fix his makeup and overcome flowing sweat.
Fortunately in the midst of that, the scene Muyoung had to film today didn’t require facing Seo Kyungju. When he was notified after arriving on site that the scene filming together was pushed back, he thought it rather went well, but the more that happened, the more he implicitly became convinced that what happened to him was something Seo Kyungju had instigated, making his mind a bit uncomfortable. But it’s not like he could complain about every little thing to someone.
“Muyoung-ah, standby.”
“Yes. I’ll go out.”
Muyoung, who went outside at Section Manager Kim’s words who had come to call him while waiting on site, took a deep breath. While he just had to stand in front of the camera and forget everything to act, Section Manager Kim, who had just returned from a provincial business trip and only received a brief explanation of the situation, was particularly on guard today. Since he knew the worried heart, he was obediently following what he controlled.
“CEO-nim is coming to the hotel after we finish later.”
“At dawn? What about tomorrow’s work?”
“Still. He’s worried and he couldn’t even check on you all weekend because of work scheduled first, so that’s why.”
“…He doesn’t need to. I understand.”
This was also why his grateful and sorry feelings toward these two people kept growing. He nodded in answer and immediately approached the site for filming.
After hearing the director’s explanation and taking position between the cameras, he closed his eyes for a while then opened them. His body swayed slightly because of the faint dizziness he felt. Acting as if it was because the ground was uneven and smiling that he was okay, even then Muyoung knew Section Manager Kim’s gaze that wouldn’t leave his side. After deliberately showing once more with his eyes to Section Manager Kim watching from outside that he was okay, he immediately entered filming.
“Entering filming! Please be quiet!”
─ Ready, action.
It was fortunate that his body became fine only after saying his lines and moving for the situation. He needed to go to the hospital he’d postponed soon. He was increasingly feeling how foolish he’d been to be conceited that he could endure at least until finishing filming. It was fortunate that Section Manager Kim was hidden because of the lights until filming ended.
When he returned to the hotel, both Section Manager Kim and Muyoung were very tired. Even if the filming time itself was short, it couldn’t be helped that night filming felt more tiring than day filming, so the returning steps were heavy.
When he came out after showering, CEO Choi had arrived and was sitting on the sofa having a conversation with Section Manager Kim.
“You came quickly?”
“Yeah, good work. Night filming must have been hard, right?”
“This much is okay. Do you want something to eat?”
“No, I’m just going to talk briefly and go. You too and Section Manager Kim need to rest.”
Muyoung, who nodded, brought a water bottle and sat right across from CEO Choi. When he opened the lid and gulped down cool water, the fatigue seemed to fade even briefly.
“For now, I arranged to meet with them tomorrow or the day after whenever there’s time. I don’t know if CEO Han will come out directly. They said there’s a separate response department.”
“I heard too. They’re doing it that way because it might not be good for him to step forward directly.”
“Yeah, it’s mostly like that. Anyway. That paparazzo bastard from that day is already resolved so you probably don’t need to worry much. We decided to sue for now but we’ll finish as quietly as possible. That’s why we’re meeting with CEO Han’s side. I urgently said to meet because I thought this kind of talk should be done in person.”
“Meeting sooner than expected? After hearing Muyoung’s story, I thought it would take a few days.”
Muyoung nodded because he was thinking similarly to Section Manager Kim. Even if they proceeded hastily, he’d thought they’d have time to talk around next week. That much had been partially resolved, and there were more matters that could be handled through consultation after each side considered their position.
“It’s literally just meeting, so the conclusion is still far off. First, you said he was hiding below your house, right?”
“Yes, he was deep in the flower bed so everyone must have failed to notice.”
“That damp bastard, really… We’ll inspect the inside of the house too just in case. Let’s check if there are hidden cameras or bugs or things like that. If you’re anxious, just move entirely.”
“…Moving, is that necessary?”
CEO Choi’s worry was understandable. But wouldn’t it be troublesome to move from a house he’d lived in for quite a while?
“I think it would be better to move somewhere a bit safer… Let’s proceed with the inspection right away and think about moving slowly.”
“While we’re at it, let’s check the office too. Just in case.”
At Section Manager Kim’s words, CEO Choi also nodded. The common conclusion of all three was that organizing everything around them once because of the tabloid didn’t seem bad.
After that, they discussed various matters. CEO Choi’s feelings were visible as he worried about the time and cost it would take to immediately prepare materials and go through legal procedures, and the possibility that the sentence itself wouldn’t be very large even though he was currently caught. Section Manager Kim also had the position that while there was no need to be wary of everyone on set, he would prevent accidents in advance by expanding the range he could directly care for or reducing contact with people going forward.
