The ride home was eerily silent. What made it even more uncomfortable was that even the partition between the driver’s seat and the back seat was completely lowered. Gi Siyoung sat with his arms crossed, leaning back against the seat. Seungun silently concentrated on driving since he was guilty, and Myeongwoo was equally on pins and needles.
As the car entered Seoul’s roads, familiar scenery appeared. The quiet, dim highway ended and flashy neon signs surrounded them. Even at this late hour, the voices and hot energy of people roaming the night streets could be felt beyond the window, but inside the car it still felt like a cooler was running.
“Seungun worked really hard today. And anyone can make mistakes. You grow by making mistakes.”
Then from behind came the sound of a snicker.
“Mistakes are only okay when you write answers in the wrong space on a test. It’s different when you cause trouble for others.”
“Oh dear, Siyoung-ah…”
“I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Even if you’re careful, is there a guarantee you won’t do it again? Would you trust Im Seungun-ssi with even a wallet from now on?”
He had nothing to say to that harsh question.
“May I ask how important the item was?”
“What would you do if it was a keepsake left by someone who died?”
“What? Hey! You brought something that important to the filming site?”
Myeongwoo turned around in shock. However, for someone who had lost a family keepsake, Siyoung sat calmly with his arms crossed and chin raised. The back of Myeongwoo’s neck went stiff. Ah, this bastard is messing around right now. His shameless face even gave off a despicable hint that if he told the truth as it was, he’d make him experience hell.
In Myeongwoo’s mind, rookie managers who had been chewed out like this flashed by like a panorama. Averting his gaze from that terrifying face that was nothing short of a sadist, Myeongwoo silently turned back to face forward. Then he turned his head to look at the pitiful soul.
“A keepsake, a keepsake? Ah, I didn’t even know it was that kind of item…”
Seungun’s face, now even more misunderstanding due to Myeongwoo’s question, filled with self-reproach. That face was heartbreaking enough to want to comfort, but Myeongwoo had fallen into the bind of not being able to tell the truth. He could only deeply hope that Seungun would overcome this hardship and adversity well.
Before long, the car arrived at Siyoung’s home. Siyoung got out of the car and opened the passenger door. Myeongwoo flinched while holding onto his seatbelt.
“What?”
“Get out.”
“M-me?”
“Yeah, hyung should get out here too.”
“Uh… Hey, w-wait!”
Siyoung grabbed the hesitating Myeongwoo’s shoulder and forcibly dragged him out.
“Gi Siyoung-ssi, I’m truly sorry. I know it can’t make up for it, but…”
“……”
Even while Seungun was speaking, Siyoung mercilessly slammed the door shut. Through the half-open window, Seungun’s anxious face peeked out. Siyoung bent down, looked through the window, and opened his mouth.
“My lost ring will haunt me, so from today I won’t be able to sleep soundly.”
His gloomy voice echoed through the spacious parking lot.
“……”
Seungun had nothing to say but apologies. He felt like he’d studied about Gi Siyoung until his head would burst, but ultimately the mistake happened outside the information he’d collected. This job wasn’t one to take lightly.
When the taillights of the vehicle Seungun was driving completely disappeared from view, Myeongwoo jumped up from his spot.
“Are you crazy? Why would you pull a prank like that! And this isn’t the first or second time you’ve done this, is it? Huh? Right now similar scenes are flashing through my mind without restraint, you know? Was it all you? Huh?”
Siyoung’s expression as he looked at the car’s rear was somewhat gentle.
“Family keepsake? Family keeepsake? You’ll be punished if you just say things like that, you know? Not knowing how scary words can be…!”
“Shut up. Stop yapping. And get your words right. Did I ever say it was a keepsake? I said what would you do if it was a keepsake.”
“Wow, wow, you, really…”
Siyoung poked his ear hole with his pinky finger. Myeongwoo, feeling dizzy, grabbed the back of his neck and clicked his tongue.
“Ugh, I’d rather die than suffer, just die! I’m leaving! There’s filming starting at 6 AM tomorrow, so don’t be late getting up.”
Myeongwoo stomped his way out of the parking lot. Left alone, Siyoung headed for the elevator. A small humming even escaped from his lips. Looking at the time on the screen installed in the elevator, midnight had just passed.
If filming started at 6 AM, even if he went in now to wash up and prepare for bed, he’d only be able to close his eyes for three or four hours at most. Still, he didn’t feel tired at all. Recalling how Im Seungun, who had tried to get the better of him, had been breaking out in cold sweat and floundering the entire way back, even that felt pleasant.
He returned home, washed his body thoroughly, looked in the mirror, and ran his hand over his smooth face. Despite his irregular schedule, his natural skin was always smooth and radiant. It was a life where even eating food and drinking water earned praise. Gi Siyoung, who had lived such a life, roughly wiped the moisture from his face in the mirror and headed to the bedroom. He didn’t forget his night routine of taking out a pack from the refrigerator and putting it on his face.
He turned on the lamp. He adjusted the light to a brightness conducive to sleep. He clasped his hands behind his head and lay down on the bed. Today had truly been a strange day.
Until now, the people who’d acted as his managers had been desperate to get in his good graces. The company didn’t even dare to assign female managers, but there was something they’d overlooked.
Male managers clung to Siyoung even more like leeches. Whispering only sweet words, they were full of ambition to somehow latch onto Siyoung and get their share in this entertainment industry.
Whether it was money, connections, or Siyoung’s attention, they had no qualms. There was even a manager who secretly installed a hidden camera in Siyoung’s personal bathroom and masturbated while watching him shower naked. There were countless managers who came in with such a servile attitude they’d lick his toes if Siyoung told them to.
“Hmm.”
But Im Seungun was different. Everything was the opposite. It was close to an attitude of not even looking at persimmons he couldn’t eat. That was interesting. He didn’t want the devil’s whispers that sweetened his ears, but he also didn’t want someone who didn’t know their place trying to get the better of him.
He wanted to crush that habit of bluntly spitting out everything he had to say, so he’d thoroughly learn his place. It was a harsh habit he’d acquired from experiencing the bizarre parade of human characters until now. Thinking about how he’d see a somewhat deflated appearance tomorrow because of today’s mistake, a mischievous yet cozy smile spread across his face.
Had he drifted off to sleep while imagining him staying up all night tormented by worry? He opened his eyes drowsily at the loud alarm sound. Time had passed in an instant. It wasn’t so much that he’d slept, but rather just closed his eyes briefly.
Because he’d slept half-heartedly, his whole body felt stiff. With a face that couldn’t believe it was time to wake up, Siyoung irritably turned off the alarm. He peeled off the completely dried mask pack and grabbed the blanket.
In the early dawn, he covered his slightly swollen eyes with sunglasses. When he went down to the parking lot, a vehicle that had arrived earlier than scheduled was already waiting. As soon as Siyoung appeared, the back door automatically opened. The car departed immediately after he got in. As they exited the parking lot, the sky that had dawned early brightened his view. Because it was early dawn, there were no people coming and going on the streets.
“……”
The driver’s seat partition was raised. Siyoung smiled faintly. It seemed he’d pulled a move in advance because it would be awkward to see his face. However, he wasn’t one to just let it be. Siyoung, with his sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose, opened his mouth wide left and right to loosen his facial muscles. After stretching his trapezius and neck, he pressed down on the partition button. Just as the partition was lowering to the middle, he made an awkward expression as if acting.
“Huaaaam. Oh, did you sleep well?”
“What? Why are you driving, hyung?”
However, the face he’d been waiting for wasn’t there. Myeongwoo was sitting in the driver’s seat. Their eyes met in the rearview mirror just as Myeongwoo was yawning with his mouth wide open.
“I’m sitting here because I’m your manager. Are you still half asleep?”
“……”
“No, I mean.”
“Hm?”
“Where did Im Seungun go? Don’t tell me he already ran away?”
Of course. It seemed his heart was as weak as his face. He only knew how to bark when lightly touched, but had such delicate features he couldn’t overcome even this level of life’s adversity. Myeongwoo, squinting his eyes while yawning, tapped his lips with his palm and shook his head.
“How boring.”
“He contacted me at dawn.”
“What contact?”
“He said he’d go to the filming site first?”
“……”
“Good kid.”
Siyoung rubbed the smooth frame of his sunglasses while listening to Myeongwoo’s words.
“He said he’d go first?”
“Yeah.”
This time it seemed a fox-like manager who was very good at scheming had rolled in. Reaching the conclusion that he’d used a trick because it would be uncomfortable to face Siyoung who would remind him of his mistake first thing in the morning, even that was amusing. Since the face he’d been waiting for wasn’t there, there was no longer any reason to lower the partition. He raised the partition all the way back up.
Even after arriving at the filming site, Im Seungun was nowhere to be seen. Myeongwoo, who had texted him several times, tilted his head looking at the message window where the number wouldn’t disappear even after a long time. Had he really just left a plausible text and disappeared? But looking at Seungun’s attitude yesterday, he wasn’t the type to go AWOL like this.
“Please close your eyes just once.”
“But Seungun oppa isn’t here today?”
Siyoung clicked his tongue and closed his eyes.
“He ran away.”
When Siyoung answered instead, Myeongwoo waved his hands saying it wasn’t like that.
“Words become seeds, that won’t happen!”
“Why? Gasp! Don’t tell me it’s because of that ring yesterday?”
“I told you it’s not like that!”
The hair and makeup staff exchanged glances with each other.
“Really? You still couldn’t find that ring yesterday?”
“It still hasn’t turned up. I guess he was the type to run away after getting scolded that much.”
Siyoung spoke with conviction as if putting a period on it.
“Seungun oppa seemed good to work with though.”
“Me too!”
“Right? Honestly, that manager oppa who was here before kept making useless contacts through SNS messages and sending unfunny videos… When I posted photos of hanging out with guy friends, he kept asking if it was my boyfriend and stuff. How should I put it… He was an endlessly frivolous person who hit on any woman he saw, really an annoying type. Ugh.”
“Really? You should have told me that!”
Myeongwoo was surprised to learn something he didn’t know.
“What if we got the backlash for saying something for no reason? We were too scared to say anything. If we got scolded for that, everyone would know we tattled.”
“But we were actually relieved that Seungun oppa doesn’t even use SNS, you know? But even if he had something, he didn’t seem like the type to make useless contacts.”
“Right. That oppa seemed like he wouldn’t do that somehow.”
“I didn’t even know that was happening. I’m sorry to you guys.”
“Aw. Myeongwoo oppa doesn’t need to apologize. That person’s character was just like that. Well, he ended up quitting not long after anyway.”
“You don’t know how refreshing it is not seeing that guy’s face. It’s all over. You can get up now.”
Siyoung slowly opened his eyes. Today he had to film a flashback scene, so instead of a suit he was in light clothing. When the simple makeup was finished, even his hair, which was usually slicked back, was calmly settled down. The hair staff applied essence to finish his hair softly.
Myeongwoo stopped the texts he’d been continuously sending and made consecutive calls instead of the sporadic ones he’d been making. Now the mechanical voice flowed out: “The customer’s phone is turned off and will be connected to voicemail. Please call again later.” With the phone against his ear, he checked the activity outside the trailer window.
Other actors were occasionally coming out from the surrounding trailers. Soon it would be time for rehearsal. Filming was the urgent priority for now. When Myeongwoo hung up the phone and stood from his seat, Siyoung also brushed himself off and stood up. It was when everyone was about to leave the trailer. Suddenly a shrill scream rang out from outside.
