“Why do you have to go that far…”
“Ah, really, I’m about to lose my neck waiting.”
Gi Siyoung set down his glass on the table with a clink. His attitude was to shut up and drink when he poured. Even when he smiled pleasantly, he somehow had a razor-sharp edge that oppressively weighed down those around him. At this level, Kim Hojun, who had confronted such a guy, seemed impressive. They say only people with strong presence survive in the entertainment industry, so none of them were ordinary.
“Alright. Then I’ll have just one drink before I go.”
An actor was an actor. He picked up his glass and stood as if waiting for a toast. Even that sight looked like a scene from a movie. When he came at you like that, there was nothing you could do. Seungun approached. He grabbed the edge of the chair and sat with only half his butt on it.
“Don’t forget to give me taxi fare.”
“I won’t forget. Should I take it out now?”
Gi Siyoung smiled and pulled out money. Then he clinked glasses. The crystalline sound of glass rang out. Seungun took a sip. His throat burned. Gi Siyoung asked with an interested face.
“How does it taste?”
A difficult question.
“Mm.”
Gi Siyoung’s subtle question felt burdensome. He wanted to answer well, but no suitable response came to mind.
“I’m not sure. I don’t really know much about how alcohol tastes…”
He had no choice but to honestly confess.
“I usually just drink beer or soju.”
Then Gi Siyoung laughed out loud. Gi Siyoung was the type to perfectly digest both good and evil roles. So even when he appeared as a work’s protagonist, viewers suspected until the end whether he was a good person or a bad person and anticipated twist after twist. Therefore, Seungun couldn’t distinguish well whether Gi Siyoung’s laughter before his eyes right now was real or fake either.
“Then drink more. You only get better by drinking.”
“…”
Seungun didn’t refuse the suggestion and sneakily took another sip. They say expensive alcohol doesn’t give hangovers—was that true?
The alcohol Gi Siyoung handed him went down smoothly even though he could feel it had high alcohol content. Gi Siyoung watched as if exploring how Seungun slowly wet his mouth at intervals, and there was something persistent about it, like when monitoring his own acting.
As he sipped, the glass quickly emptied. Seungun set down the glass as if he’d been waiting.
“Then I’ll be going now. Gi Siyoung-ssi, please rest up soon too. You worked hard today.”
Seungun picked up the money on the table.
“Come to the front of Lake Park by 6 AM tomorrow.”
“What?”
“And about taking the alcohol hit instead of me—”
“You don’t need to talk about that anymore.”
“…”
“That was the right thing for me to do. If Gi Siyoung-ssi had been hit with alcohol by actor Kim Hojun, that would have been harder for me to endure.”
“…Why?”
“I’m Gi Siyoung-ssi’s manager.”
“…”
“I’ll see you at 6 AM tomorrow at Lake Park.”
Seungun greeted him cleanly and turned around. When he came out, closed the door, and got on the elevator, his legs gave out and he felt like he’d collapse at any moment. Muscles that had been tense all day cried out to be saved.
***
The dawn fog lifted and Lake Park’s clear scenery was revealed. It was a park created like a different world in the middle of the dense city center. When passing through walking paths full of trees thick with leaves, the refreshing scent of phytoncides colored the tip of one’s nose.
The path along the edge of the large central lake was lined on both sides with tall trees. The winding wooden walkway had layers upon layers of earthy and leaf smells stacked up, especially in the early dawn, and a bit further inside the pleasant walking path, bicycle paths and cushioned jogging courses spread out.
Seungun arrived at the meeting place right on time. Yesterday he’d collapsed in exhaustion as soon as he got home and fell asleep. It was a miracle he’d managed to wake up to the dawn alarm. Seungun, not fully awake, stretched and looked around. His eyes, opening slowly and heavily, were still hazy, and his hazy gaze turned toward the wide, quiet lake surface.
A duck family floated lazily with their faces hidden in their wings. The faint mist covering the lakeside gradually lifted as day broke. There weren’t many times when this bustling park that countless people visited from midday to night was this leisurely. Just as he was about to enjoy the peaceful and cozy time.
Thud, thud, thud.
From far away, the sound of someone jogging lightly could be heard. The person who looked like a dot gradually got closer. The closer that person got, the clearer the surroundings became. It was Gi Siyoung. He was running while holding two 500mL plastic bottles of water like dumbbells.
“Run.”
“What? Suddenly?”
As Gi Siyoung quickly passed in front of Seungun, he threw a bottle of water without warning. After two rotations, the plastic bottle landed in Seungun’s arms. Flustered, Seungun hurriedly followed behind him. The meeting time was 6 o’clock, but it seemed he’d come out much earlier and started exercising.
When watching from afar it looked like light running, but it was impossible to keep up. Even when he barely matched the speed, the gap widened quickly. Exercise at 6 AM was something that didn’t exist in Seungun’s life.
“Haa, ha, w-wait, Gi Siyoung-ssi, j-just a bit slower.”
“I really didn’t think you’d actually come.”
“Gasp, gasp, you told me to come. Why say things you don’t mean?”
Seungun was already soaked with sweat. Even he couldn’t guarantee how long he could maintain this pace he’d barely caught up to. When Seungun answered while panting, Gi Siyoung gradually slowed down. If he asked one more question, Seungun was planning to ask him not to talk to him, when he grabbed a tree trunk while gasping. When he stopped, his breathing got even rougher. His ribs ached terribly.
“Drink water. That’s why I gave it to you.”
“Gasp, gasp.”
Seungun caught his breath while opening the water and gulping it down. A humid and sticky feeling clung all over his body. He wanted to jump into the lake right away and cool off the sweat. He poured the water down his throat, then also splashed it all over his face.
After finishing washing his face and looking around, the place they’d stopped was the entry section of the walking path. Around them were wooden benches where people could sit and rest, and large trees were planted. Seungun grabbed the fence that circled the lake to prevent people from entering the water. The fence was slightly damp from the dawn dew.
Gi Siyoung started stretching. Sweat flowing from his face and neck made his skin glisten. In his light windbreaker and shorts, he harmonized well with the lush green scenery like a painting. His visuals were such that it wouldn’t be strange if he drank an ion beverage right away and flashed a smile.
Fortunately there were no people around. Even if there were, the age range of those sparsely visible was all in their 70s and 80s. They had not an ounce of interest in Gi Siyoung. He seemed to understand why people came to the park at this time.
“Haa, haa, actually I think I know why Gi Siyoung-ssi called me out here.”
“What do you think I was thinking when I called you out?”
Gi Siyoung asked as he brought his lips to the water bottle.
“You didn’t think I’d really find that ring yesterday. And you left the ring with me on purpose too.”
“…”
Gi Siyoung wiped the moisture from his lips with an inscrutable expression.
“Did you want to establish discipline so badly that you’d treat a family heirloom so carelessly?”
Behind Im Seungun’s triumphant voice, Siyoung stretched straight.
“The more I see Im Seungun-ssi, the funnier you are.”
“What about me?”
“There have been countless people I’ve told to come out to Lake Park at dawn. But after Myeongwoo-hyung, Im Seungun-ssi is the first. That’s why you’re funny.”
“…”
“I know I’m someone who stabs people however I please. But what can I do when I’m made like this? In the future too, I’ll stab Im Seungun-ssi according to my temper. So I called you to warn you in advance. If you don’t have confidence, get lost right now.”
The profile of Gi Siyoung’s face as he turned around was sharp. But Seungun could fit himself to the guidelines he wanted. That wasn’t difficult at all. Rather, it would belong to the easier side of the work he’d done.
“But somehow I feel like I’ll be seeing Seungun-ssi for a long time.”
“My original nickname is pushover.”
Gi Siyoung, who had been wetting his throat again, almost spat out water. In an instant, a weak wind blowing from the opposite side of the lake swept past Siyoung’s face breaking into laughter.
And Seungun had no choice but to acknowledge right there and then. The reason why the man before his eyes was loved by everyone just by existing. Gi Siyoung’s smile perfectly resembled his refreshing and honest personality. That smile, still fearless of the world, was uniquely his own that no one could imitate.
