Siwoo’s gaze, which had been petting Ongi while sitting on the sofa with a movie channel on, turned to the clock.
7:10.
He picked up his cell phone and pressed the speed dial number he had now grown accustomed to.
Instead of the usual ringing tone, he heard a message saying the phone was turned off, so he checked the screen again. After confirming Evan’s name and number, he placed his fingertip on the end call button.
Siwoo put Ongi, who was sleeping well on his lap, down beside him, stood up, and walked to the window. He always contacted him first. He was also the one who sent messages frequently and called whenever he had time.
He stared down at his cell phone and pressed the call button, but what came back was the same recorded message.
“…The filming must be running long.”
Or the battery is dead.
When the image of that face suddenly asking him on a date and smiling brightly came to mind, he quickly shook his head to cut off the thoughts that were strangely reaching out. Then he returned to the sofa and sat down comfortably.
He’ll contact me when filming is over. If the battery is dead, he’ll borrow his manager’s cell phone to contact me.
He turned off the movie he had only turned on without concentrating and didn’t know what it was about, and turned on an entertainment channel.
So this is what this feeling is like. Waiting for someone.
He was clearly watching TV and laughing along, but Siwoo’s left leg kept bouncing. With nothing to do, as he checked the chatroom, the laughter slowly faded from his expression. Soon becoming expressionless, Siwoo silently watched the chatroom rapidly filling up.
Then his cell phone rang loudly.
“Hyung! Are you okay?”
He let out a small laugh at Yechan’s voice worrying about him.
“I’m okay.”
“So Evan-hyung is right now…”
“Yechan. It’s not my dating scandal. It’s Evan’s dating scandal.”
The hollow, deflating laugh now turned into a fairly big laugh.
The reason he suddenly couldn’t be reached became too clear. He could hear Yechan chattering away earnestly, but he couldn’t immediately understand the meaning.
He picked up the remote and didn’t even turn the channel a few times before the already quick-footed entertainment news was excitedly chattering.
“Yechan.”
“…Hyung. So.”
“I should congratulate him. Why are you excited?”
“There was definitely a backroom deal. It’s absolutely not true, so don’t believe it, hyung.”
“What should I believe and what shouldn’t I believe? Just like you have someone you like, Evan has someone he likes and what’s the problem with him dating that person? My manager is calling. I’ll call you later.”
Siwoo ended the call with the excuse of a call that hadn’t even come. His heart, which had been pounding with light excitement until just now, stopped. Will he contact me soon? Will he contact me later? He found himself ridiculous for not being able to put down his cell phone.
I shouldn’t have said such things.
I shouldn’t have made such expressions.
I shouldn’t have come to visit and taken care of me like that.
I misunderstood. Alone. So, just me alone.
You were just kind, considerate, and someone who takes good care of others.
Comforting and guiding me, who couldn’t adapt well to the entertainment industry…
Photos of Evan and a famous female model eating together filled the TV screen. Next to it, a dark night. Scenes of them getting in and out of the same car. Scenes in the underground parking lot of the female model’s house, etc. There were several more photos.
Siwoo, who stood up from his seat, unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing and entered the dressing room. Today, no, for a while, he wouldn’t be able to meet him. It wouldn’t be easy to contact him either.
Wearing only underwear, he picked up comfortable clothes to wear at home and entered the bathroom.
His hair, which had been nicely styled at the salon, got soaked in water.
“Crazy bastard.”
A curse flowed from his mouth as he chewed on it.
A curse directed at himself, not Evan.
Words directed at himself for being excited about eating dinner with a friend. He bought clothes at the words to dress up nicely. He didn’t just go to the salon for his hair. Even though there was no filming, he even got light makeup done just to eat one meal with a friend.
“Pathetic bastard. Shameless bastard.”
After washing with hot water and coming out, Siwoo prepared food for Ongi, who was wandering around meowing, having woken up at some point. Then he took out beer from the refrigerator.
He climbed onto the sofa and turned on the movie he had only partially watched earlier.
Empty beer cans gradually increased in front of him as he had a noisy and flashy action movie playing.
Missed calls were piling up and messages were increasing on his cell phone, which was lying face down on the table on silent and vibration-off mode, but Siwoo didn’t know.
Evan looked at the agency CEO in front of him, not hiding his uncomfortable feelings at all.
“Try explaining. If there’s no explanation I can understand, this won’t be fun.”
Evan, who gulped down the ice water in front of him, pressed a speed dial number on his cell phone. When the ringing tone continued and then went to a recorded message, rough words came from his mouth. But even during all those actions, his gaze was directed at the agency CEO.
“Don’t mind my actions. Hurry up and speak.”
Continuing the series of processes of making calls, hearing the waiting tone, and going to the recorded message, Evan crossed his long legs and leaned back comfortably on the sofa. Everyone expressed discomfort at his behavior of not caring about anyone here, but Evan ignored all of it.
“So…”
A faint smile appeared on Evan’s face after hearing CEO Choi’s full explanation. A practiced expression. That expression that looked friendly and drew everyone’s favor.
But a fierce fire blazed inside him.
Right, so it’s because of that great money. It would’ve been enough if I made money for you. It would’ve been enough if I let you make money. You’re saying you linked me with a model to cover up her scandal with a dating rumor?
“Let’s prepare a press conference for tomorrow.”
After hearing the absurd explanation and standing up from his seat, words that they wanted flowed from Evan’s mouth. Their ultimate wish was to hold a press conference acknowledging the dating scandal.
Yuri, the subject of the dating scandal, was someone he knew.
A female Omega model in the same agency.
She was boasting the greatest popularity these days, enough that even Evan, who wasn’t interested in anyone except Siwoo, knew her. What he knew was all her name and appearance.
What they were presenting now as evidence of the dating scandal wasn’t false.
It was photographed as if they were alone in a restaurant, but that day was the day there was an agency dinner. It wasn’t just the two of them, but because they rented the entire restaurant for the dinner, everyone in the restaurant that day was company-related.
The photo of them getting in and out of the same car was also taken that day. Because they moved directly from the company to the restaurant, he rode in the same car as her. The reason they got in the same car after the meal ended was also for that reason.
That car returned to the company, and from there Evan transferred to his own car and went home.
Anyway, they linked him with her to cover up Yuri’s staff assault scandal, which was making the company big money. And now the agency CEO was asking him to acknowledge it for just 6 months.
A condition was attached that they just had to maintain it for 6 months and then quietly announce they broke up.
“Right, right. I’ll prepare a press conference, so if you just say tomorrow that you’re dating well…”
“You’re saying you thought the only thing that could cover the assault scandal was a dating scandal with me. Why did you cause this incident without consulting me in advance?”
Evan, who sent Siwoo a message saying please answer his call, stood up from his seat. Since he wasn’t answering, he had to go find him directly. Would he obediently open the door? His head was complicated.
“The reporters were making such a fuss… Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m not thankful. A scandal is covered by a scandal. But it’s a bit regrettable that CEO Choi knows one thing but doesn’t know two.”
At CEO Choi’s cheeky words, informal speech continued to flow from Evan’s mouth.
“Evan.”
Evan’s gaze moved to the agency director next to him calling his name, as if bothered by his informal speech. Seeing the people who had gathered with determination, including the agency CEO and directors, made him let out a hollow laugh.
Do you know what you’ve done now?
He had finally been able to stand next to someone who had shown their teeth and wariness toward him. He had struggled to secure a place by his side under the name of friend, but they shook all of that.
“If you’re going to hold a press conference, invite foreign reporters too and prepare something big. It’s Ocean’s Evan’s first scandal, so you should handle it grandly.”
“That brat who’s not even dry behind the ears!”
His footsteps walking toward the door stopped. He could see several directors stopping the CEO who suddenly spewed curses. These old men were definitely saying he was rude.
“If you’re going to make me do this and that, you should have that much guts. Why? Are you going to say you raised me? Bullshit. Let’s not make each other’s faces red or say harsh words. Just properly prepare for the 10 AM press conference tomorrow. Right now you’re begging me to do that, you guys.”
Evan, who left the conference room as is, roughly swept his hair back while pressing a speed dial number and headed to the elevator with his cell phone to his ear.
When the call didn’t connect, he opened the app to send a message again.
A long sigh flowed from his mouth after confirming that his sent messages hadn’t been read.
“Do you know what you just said and left? We need to talk properly…”
While waiting for the elevator to come up, Evan’s face hardened even colder at the words from his manager who had followed him out.
“Right now reporters are swarming so it’s hard to leave. Calm down and slowly…”
“If you plan to go to court over defamation, spreading rumors, etc., keep trying.”
Evan’s fingertips, unable to write any words in the chatroom, remained in the air. His phone, which hadn’t been receiving other people’s contacts properly because he kept calling Siwoo and sending messages, began to ring loudly.
After checking the caller, Evan pressed the call button without hesitation.
“Evan, you…”
“Can you come here right now?”
“Where?”
“The agency.”
While talking on the phone, he swept his hair back and walked to the window next to the elevator to look outside.
His lips twisted as he looked at the swarming reporters.
“Hyung. I want to leave here now, but it seems like I can’t leave easily. Come and take me out.”
It was a situation where he couldn’t take his own car or the van used during activities. If he went out in that car, he would definitely be surrounded by reporters right away.
“I’ll go now. It’s close, so about 10-15 minutes.”
“I’ll be watching, so when you arrive I’ll come out right away, so don’t bother contacting me. I think I need to turn off my cell phone now.”
After ending the call, Evan turned off the power. And he looked at his manager, who was listening to the entire phone conversation next to him, with cold eyes.
“The ones who caused the accident are you guys, not me, so there’s no reason to look at me with those eyes. Use your head well. Evan vs. Yuri, which one would be more beneficial for the company to keep?”
When the elevator opened, Evan got on alone, leaving the manager behind.
And he buried his face in both hands. Dating scandals, reporters camped out in front, Ocean disbandment and retirement, and such things didn’t come to mind at all. What filled his head was Siwoo, who he couldn’t reach.
