“My name is correct, but who are you…?”
“We used to work together before!”
“What? You’ve got the wrong person. This is my first time meeting you.”
“No, it’s right. It’s definitely right.”
“I’m telling you it’s not, you idiot. Are you going to keep us standing here all night?”
Gi Siyoung, who had been watching the standoff, said coldly. Then the stupid employee, as if realizing his duty, bowed his head saying, “Ah, I’m sorry!” and busily moved his feet toward their destination again. Only after standing in front of the tightly closed door did he look down at the floor as if ashamed of his discourtesy.
When they opened the door and entered, they were instantly sucked into the noisy interior.
“Hey, long time no see!”
“How have you been? I heard you were busy filming a drama. The internet’s already going crazy talking about that drama.”
“When does it air?”
“There’s still time. Even if it’s filmed, who knows how long it’ll be delayed.”
Gi Siyoung naturally blended into their midst.
“Ah, you bastard. At times like this, a simple ‘thank you’ would do.”
“Why would I say thank you when I’m not thankful?”
“By the way, I heard you dissed Kim Hojun a while ago.”
They pretended not to know about Gi Siyoung’s drunk driving incident. Perhaps to them, it could be nothing more than a trivial episode. The faces chattering noisily were all celebrities. Those who broke into broad smiles upon seeing Gi Siyoung made way for him on their own. Gi Siyoung, who had arrived last but entered the innermost area, left Seungun, whom he’d brought along like an auxiliary bag, behind, and as soon as he sat down, downed the drink they offered him in one go.
“Excuse me. Manager.”
Someone called out to Seungun, who had been looking at the closing door.
“Yes?”
“You can sit over here.”
At the end of the table sat auxiliary bags like Seungun. They just tapped on their phones or exchanged meaningless small talk among themselves to pass the time. Seungun inadvertently joined them.
“I haven’t seen your face before. Are you Actor Gi Siyoung’s new manager?”
“Yes, my name is Im Seungun. I started working recently.”
“Ah, right. Actor Gi hasn’t been here in a while either.”
“How’s the manager work? Does it suit you?”
“Yes, well. So-so. He treats me better than I thought.”
“Treats you well, my ass. Those guys over there are young masters, and we’re servants by old standards, servants.”
The person chewing on squid legs criticized. Seungun put cola in a glass of ice, stuck in a straw, and drank it down. Perhaps because the auxiliary bags weren’t allowed to drink alcohol, there were plenty of snacks but only water or soda to drink.
“Don’t worry about over there and do what you need to do. They just arrived, so it’ll be a while before the gathering ends.”
Someone muttered in an enlightened voice.
“Okay.”
Seungun answered briefly and subtly lifted his buttocks.
“Restroom for a moment.”
“Go out and all the way to the right. You’ll see it then.”
“Thank you.”
It was so noisy that no one would notice one person slipping out. When he closed the door, the hallway became quiet again. Seungun looked around. Sure enough, the back of a head loitering at the end of the hallway looked familiar. When he approached, the male employee from earlier turned around with a grin.
“I was waiting knowing you’d come out, hey, Im Seungun. It’s you, right?”
“Stop calling my name.”
“Wow, how long has it been?”
“What are you doing here? How are you working here?”
“Me, just through someone I know, hyung introduced me. But where do you get off just disappearing suddenly like that? Not only that, but now you’re pretending to be a celebrity manager?”
“I’m not pretending, I’m working.”
“What? Really? How?”
His temperament of making a fuss over trivial matters seemed unchanged.
“That’s how it happened.”
Seungun answered indifferently while looking at him.
“You crafty bastard. Anyway, appearing here and there. That’s a talent if it’s a talent.”
“Anyway, what are you doing suddenly acknowledging me?”
“What are you, Hong Gildong? I can’t acknowledge you? You’re really getting cocky just because you’re Gi Siyoung’s manager.”
“I’m not being cocky…. Haa, never mind. My head hurts.”
“Anyway, whenever something unfavorable to you comes up, you get a headache.”
“……”
Im Seungun sighed and ran his hand through his hair. The face revealed under the orange lighting was pale. Back in the day when they worked together wearing name tags, there were plenty of guys who hit on that face. The man let out an exclamation of admiration.
“You’re still the same. Your face looks exactly like the old days. Does time only pass you by?”
“How old have we gotten that you’re lamenting about time? I need to go back in soon. I came out to say that it won’t be good if you keep acknowledging me when we run into each other from now on.”
“Why? Are you embarrassed by me?”
“……”
“Ah, I’m joking, joking. You bastard. Getting all serious. Anyway, this place is way better than where we used to work together.”
“Better is relative.”
“No. The clientele is different. So many celebrities come here. And it’s not just celebrities. You know how disgustingly the rich ones play? That’s why the tips are generous too.”
He proudly slapped his pocket with his palm.
“Fine. I get it. Anyway, you understood what I said, right? We’ll probably see each other often from now on, so don’t acknowledge me like earlier.”
“Ah, you bastard. Don’t be like that, let’s just talk. He just went in, so it’ll take a while before he comes out, right?”
But that was only his thinking. From the hallway side, a long, dim shadow was peeking around. Seungun, who had noticed it early, hurriedly hid himself.
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“Shh.”
Seungun raised his index finger and brought it to his mouth.
“Im Seungun?”
A low, thick voice rang out from behind.
“Hey. That’s Gi Siyoung’s voice.”
“……”
His former colleague had been standing in the corner from the start, so there was no way he could have caught Gi Siyoung’s eye. Seungun gently pushed the man’s shoulder backward. Then he gestured for him to leave quickly. It was fortunate that the floor was carpeted. As the man disappeared, muffling his footsteps, Gi Siyoung revealed himself.
“Why did you come out?”
“Weren’t you just chatting with someone?”
“Chatting with who? I’m the only one in the hallway. Didn’t you confuse it with the noise from the room?”
Gi Siyoung narrowed his eyes like needles and looked where the man had disappeared. But there was already no one there.
“Did you come looking for me?”
“Am I your servant? Why would I come out looking for you? I came out to wash my hands, and I just happened to hear Im Seungun-ssi’s voice.”
Gi Siyoung gazed at the silent hallway with eyes that hadn’t withdrawn their suspicion.
“Go back in. I just came out from the restroom.”
“……”
Did he really mishear? Gi Siyoung picked at his ear. The face looking up at him, telling him to go to the restroom, seemed particularly delicate today. Come to think of it, he had completely forgotten because of the sudden incident, but he had kissed Im Seungun at his house.
A kiss with his manager. Gi Siyoung laughed self-deprecatingly. Gi Siyoung, you—how starved were you to go as far as that guy….
Seungun was the same. He couldn’t quite look directly at Gi Siyoung. The hallway lighting, as atmospheric and dim as his bedroom, enveloped the two of them. If the psycho hadn’t rung the bell, no one could have predicted how far they would have gone.
However, now the distance had widened again to the point where even the fact that he’d mixed tongues with Gi Siyoung felt remotely distant. Gi Siyoung was probably someone who casually had physical contact with men and women, so the kiss with Seungun was nothing more or less than something exchanged with whoever was in front of him, swept up in the emotion of the moment. He needed to escape from that moment as soon as possible.
“Do you want to go home? Rather than drinking—”
Seungun hurriedly opened his mouth.
“It’s fine. Go in first. I’ll go after washing my hands.”
“Yes. But you should at least wear a hat when you come out.”
“Ah, nagging. You’re getting more and more like Lee Myeongwoo, you know?”
Gi Siyoung’s face as he irritably shook his head was glossy. Seungun, who had been worried about what would happen if he went into the bright restroom and ran into the wrong person when he stood out even in the dim lighting, swallowed his next words. After watching him enter the restroom until the end, he went back into the room. When he opened the door, the boisterous noise rushed in.
“Hey! Come here.”
It was a sudden call. When he’d entered following Gi Siyoung, no one had paid him any attention, but entering alone, someone seemed to have mistaken Seungun for a waiter.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you come here.”
It was Actor Lee Jinwoo, who had been grinning at Gi Siyoung earlier saying, “I heard you dissed Kim Hojun?” He arrogantly beckoned with his finger.
