“Just a moment. We’ll need to retest.”
“Pardon?”
“A retest?”
It wasn’t just Gi Siyoung who was flustered by the police officer’s suddenly stiffened attitude. Seungun sat up straight, forgetting he’d been pretending to be sick. His hands and feet went cold. However, the officer requested Gi Siyoung take the test again, and Gi Siyoung blew into it without hesitation. It was natural. As Seungun knew, Gi Siyoung hadn’t touched a single drop of alcohol.
The officer checked the reading again.
“It shows 0.03. That’s license suspension level.”
“What did you say?”
“Officer, there must be some mistake. I’m his manager and I’ve been with him the whole time—this person didn’t have a single drop of alcohol.”
“Please step out of the vehicle.”
“……”
The two looked at each other. But ignoring the officer’s words here would only make things worse. Gi Siyoung calmly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. The moment Gi Siyoung stepped out of the driver’s seat, the area became paralyzed.
Even the cars coming from the opposite direction all hit their brakes, and loud honking echoed from far away. Pedestrians on the sidewalk screamed and caused a commotion.
Countless cell phone cameras captured the large van stopped in the road and Gi Siyoung standing there. The officers, judging that it was impossible to proceed with the investigation like this, opened the back door of the police car. Watching all of this, Seungun’s blood ran cold.
**Whoa, Gi Siyoung drunk driving**
(Photo)
⤷Huh? All of a sudden?
⤷For real? Not during filming?
⤷It’s real. It was chaos
⤷Wow. Goodbye. You won’t get far
⤷Nothing’s been confirmed yet, don’t write drunk driving in the title;;
⤷But he got in the police car?
⤷But why was Gi Siyoung driving? Isn’t that car a van? Where did the manager go?
⤷It’s not drunk driving though.. Why did he do that, fuck
⤷Celebrity or whatever, they should all be thrown in jail. Won’t he just pay money to get out again?
⤷If he violated the law, can he get out by paying money?
⤷Again? Again what? When did Gi Siyoung ever commit a crime?
⤷This guy likes drinking too, tsk tsk
⤷But do they do drunk driving checks at this hour?
⤷They always do at this time in that area. Everything around there is companies and it’s a day when people would have work dinners after getting off
⤷Fuck, another good-looking guy goes down like this. What’s the use of being handsome. Be a human being first
⤷No articles out yet. Everyone, let’s not jump to conclusions ㅠㅠ
Photos of Gi Siyoung caught at a drunk driving checkpoint spread like wildfire across the internet. He was someone who lived off his image. A criminal label would deal a huge blow. Reporters swarmed the police station entrance like a horde of zombies. Every portal site and news outlet was already attaching the label of ‘drunk driving’ to Gi Siyoung’s name as they broadcast breaking news.
With a bang, Director Kang appeared immediately. He came with two men they’d never seen before, along with Myeongwoo—Stranger 1 was the company’s legal advisor, and Stranger 2 was medical staff. The medical staff started with a blood test as soon as they saw Gi Siyoung.
The police officer who had first brought Gi Siyoung to the station had his head deeply bowed for some reason. There was a specific reason they were acting like that. Siyoung, who had been transferred, was tested again. There was alcohol in his blood. However, it was at a level that wouldn’t even trigger a checkpoint stop, let alone warrant bringing him to the station. And of all people, the person they’d brought in happened to be an actor known by the entire nation.
“Cases like this happen occasionally. This is all done by machines and it’s work done by people, so small mistakes happen….”
“Small mistakes?”
Director Kang exploded.
“Did you just say small mistakes? At that time, on that road with the heaviest foot traffic, you put a perfectly fine person in a police car and brought him here, and you call that a small mistake? Do you think you can just spout whatever comes out of your mouth? Do you really not know what a small mistake is?”
“Director! Please calm down!”
Lee Myeongwoo rushed over urgently. Then he hugged Director Kang from behind, trying to stop him from turning the police station upside down.
“But there really was alcohol in my blood.”
Just then, Gi Siyoung interjected. Director Kang, who’d been seething, turned to look at him.
“You call that something to say? Why would you drink and get behind the wheel!”
“I’m saying…. I’m amazed by it too.”
It was a result from his own body, yet he knew nothing about it.
Director Kang wasn’t in his right mind. Reluctantly looking around, Director Kang spotted Seungun crouched in a corner.
“You bastard, what were you doing? Why did you let Siyoung get behind the wheel! I hired you to drive, not to make him drive! Who the hell are you to make Siyoung drive!”
The spark flew to an innocent place. Seungun bowed his head like a criminal at Director Kang’s shouting. It was Gi Siyoung who stopped him. He opened his mouth with a tired expression.
“I said stop it.”
“That’s right, Director. Seungun was sick, so Siyoung was taking him to the hospital.”
Myeongwoo quietly approached and sat down next to Seungun.
“You said you were sick. Are you feeling better? Don’t you need to go to the hospital?”
Seungun shook his head. It had been fake from the start.
“But your lips have no color….”
Gi Siyoung, who’d been listening to their conversation, added his words.
“Take him to the hospital. He’s sweating more cold sweat than me, who supposedly drove drunk.”
“Is this the time for you to worry about someone else? You were doing so well, why did this happen? Where there’s no smoke without fire—once something like this breaks out, from then on people dig up everything from the past. They’ll cut, edit, and broadcast every single word you misspoke, every action, every expression down to the nano level.”
Director Kang said despairingly.
“I never drank.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I told you earlier. That’s why I’m dying of curiosity too. I didn’t touch alcohol at all.”
“Then why are you sitting here? Why is there an alcohol concentration….”
“……”
“Really? You didn’t drink and drive?”
There wasn’t a trace of falsehood mixed in Gi Siyoung’s face.
“Im Seungun. What did Siyoung eat today?”
Seungun searched his memory.
“Water bought from a convenience store in the morning…. Vitamin concentrate…. Oh, and a lunch box was delivered to the recording studio.”
“Lunch box delivery?”
“Yes. And fruit juice too.”
“Juice?”
The lawyer asked again, adjusting his glasses.
“What kind of juice? Was it opened?”
Director Kang pressed quickly.
“Yes, it was from a fresh fruit juice shop. The staff and I drank it too. I also blew into the breathalyzer at the station just to check, and I had no problems.”
“What kind of thing is this in this world?”
Myeongwoo quietly muttered while looking at Seungun with concern. He’d said his stomach hurt, and he was still breaking out in cold sweat, wondering if it still hurt. The lawyer, who’d been listening quietly to Seungun’s story, spoke with a thoughtful expression.
“It really could have been intentional.”
“A separate beet juice was sent for Gi Siyoung-ssi. The owner said they were a fan and even put a sticker with Gi Siyoung-ssi’s name on it….”
“What’s the name of that business?”
“I don’t remember well…. But if we go through the recording studio trash, we might find it. I’ll go look for it.”
Whether celebrity Gi Siyoung fell or not, it wasn’t Seungun’s concern. However, thinking of Gi Siyoung becoming a spectacle for people in the middle of the road, a guilt he wanted to forget washed over him.
The direct effect of what resulted from his own actions dealt a bigger blow to Seungun’s psyche than expected. Moreover, it wasn’t someone he’d see once and never again, but someone he had to keep facing. The guilt that arose without the owner knowing couldn’t be controlled as easily as flipping a light switch.
Gi Siyoung pointed at Seungun, who’d suddenly stood up.
“Look at that. He’s acting like he’s the one who got caught for drunk driving, not me.”
“Seungun-ah, sit down. You can sit.”
Myeongwoo patted Seungun.
“…No. I need to go to the recording studio. I need to look for the trash. They shouldn’t have thrown everything away yet.”
“Im Seungun-ssi.”
Gi Siyoung called Seungun quietly.
“Yes?”
“If they sent it deliberately, what would be left even if you look?”
“……”
Director Kang made crying sounds saying everything was ruined now. Just being involved, whether sitting in the passenger seat or being at a drinking gathering, the image damage would be enormous. But this time, he’d directly driven the car, and was caught in the middle of the road. Even if they now said it was below the drunk driving limit, people would now think of ‘drunk driving’ when they thought of Gi Siyoung.
“Everyone take a breath and get your heads together.”
Gi Siyoung, who’d suffered the biggest damage here, calmed people down. Seungun bit his lip. Not a single person here dreamed that Seungun had contributed to this incident. They only saw him as a manager in shock.
Seungun glanced outside the window.
“……”
Outside the police station, reporters gathered like a pack of dogs, just waiting for the door to open. Only then did Seungun keenly realize what he had done. Something that could push a person’s life off a cliff in an instant. This was exactly the kind of thing he’d jumped into.
