By Zephyria 
“Lee A-gon, is it because you’re afraid I’ll cheat on you?”
So Hae-jun tried to appease Lee A-gon by giving a reasonable explanation as far as he knew. Lee A-gon nodded and then shook his head. It was true that he was afraid Hae-jun would go out and cheat on him. But that wasn’t the reason for these tears.
His Hae-jun was suffering because of his incompetence. He was already heartbroken by the hardships Hae-jun was going through just by being with him, but now he was saying he was going to go out and earn money in earnest. Ah, Lee A-gon groaned in anguish and pounded his chest.
“Lee A-gon. I would never cheat on you. I won’t even be alone with another man in a room wearing only my underwear. Trust me. Or, if you can’t trust me, trust the system there. The place I’m going to work is a large logistics center. Hundreds of people gather there to process delivery packages. There’s nowhere to be alone. The work is so hard that there’s no time to form any relationships with anyone.”
It was meant to reassure him, but Lee A-gon’s face turned even paler when he heard those words.
“Is the work hard?”
“Yeah.”
“How hard?”
“Hard enough to soak my clothes with sweat. So hard that I don’t even pay attention to other people. It’s really, really hard.”
So, the gist of the story was that he would never cheat on another man, but when Lee A-gon heard that, he covered his mouth with his hand and trembled.
“Calm down, Lee A-gon.”
Hae-jun grabbed his wrist and forced him to look at him.
“Just hold on a little longer. Then we can show the results to Secretary Yang.”
“…”
“When the movie filming is over, you can work with me too.”
“…”
“I’ll only work for a few days and come back. I won’t cheat on you with anyone. I’ll be okay. Okay?”
Lee A-gon shook his head. But he had no strength. He looked at his hand held by Hae-jun. And the few bills and coins lying on the floor. That miserable and incompetent scene.
In the end, Lee A-gon succumbed to Hae-jun’s logic. Actually, there was nothing to win or lose. He had no money, he needed money, and he had to earn money. Without money, he couldn’t take the bus, eat a meal, or buy a cup of coffee on a hot day.
“I’m sorry.”
Lee A-gon whispered in a voice that was soaked with tears and had become slurred.
“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Hae-jun.”
“I’m sorry too. I lied about asking you for money. So don’t cry. It makes me feel bad when you cry like this.”
Hae-jun hugged Lee A-gon. His heart was heavy. It hurt to leave him to go earn money when he hated it so much.
How should I put it? It’s not the right example, but it felt like a soldier being deployed, leaving behind a young bride who had come to him only to depend on him. It’s really not the right example, though.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hey, I told you to stop.”
“I’m sorry for crying and being stubborn. I won’t do it anymore.”
Lee A-gon pulled away from Hae-jun’s embrace.
“I understand your position. I know that you have to earn money because we don’t have any. I won’t act like a baby anymore. So, Hae-jun.”
The end of his voice, which he forced to sound calm, trembled.
“Don’t cheat on me.”
“…”
“I can’t handle that. Please.”
And he lowered his head with a desolate expression. He had no choice but to accept that he had to go earn money because he had no money, but he was still anxious that Hae-jun would cheat on him with another man in a place where he wasn’t there.
“As I said before, Lee A-gon. That will never happen. I’ve never even thought about doing that kind of thing with another man besides you.”
“…Yes. I know.”
Lee A-gon replied in a voice that had no energy at all. Saying he knew didn’t mean he understood. Hae-jun grabbed his face tightly so that it made a sound and forced him to look at him.
“Are you still worried that I’ll cheat on you?”
Lee A-gon slowly closed and opened his eyes. After crying for almost an hour, Lee A-gon was so exhausted that even nodding seemed tiring.
“I promise. I won’t cheat on you. No, I swear. Do you feel a little relieved now?”
Lee A-gon shook his head with weak force. Ugh, Hae-jun clicked his tongue. This is really a big problem. How can he have so little faith?
“Lee A-gon.”
He grabbed Lee A-gon’s head, which kept drooping down, and forced him to look at him. And he smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry, you idiot. I’ll keep my hole tight until you come.”
“…!”
Lee A-gon’s eyes widened as if they were about to tear.
“So stop worrying about me cheating on you and let’s work hard on your acting. Okay?”
Hae-jun ruffled Lee A-gon’s hair with rough movements. He deliberately acted playful to stop him from crying anymore.
“Hae-jun, did you just tell me you’d keep your hole tight?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Hae-jun, who was smiling and stroking Lee A-gon’s hair, tilted his head when he saw that he had such a surprised expression.
“Hae-jun…”
Lee A-gon’s face turned reddish. His face, which had only been red around his eyes from crying, turned completely crimson.
Only then did Hae-jun realize how his words sounded. I’ll keep my hole tight. I’ll keep my hole tight until you come. Ah, shit. Hae-jun squeezed his eyes shut. He had only tried to reassure the anxious Lee A-gon, but he had gone too far.
“No, what I mean is. I meant that I wouldn’t put anything in there that wasn’t yours. That’s the kind of resolution I was talking about.”
Hae-jun babbled, telling him not to misinterpret his words. Lee A-gon bit his lip. Both of their faces turned the same color.
After a long while, Lee A-gon said with resentment.
“Hae-jun, I think you’re really too much.”
“Yeah. I think I’m too much too.”
Hae-jun agreed. What was I thinking when I said those words?
“What I mean is… I really think you’re too much. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. I was too much. I made a big mistake. Please forget about it.”
“…I’m going crazy.”
Lee A-gon muttered to himself. I don’t know what he meant by going crazy, but Hae-jun wanted to go crazy too.
“Hae-jun, I’ll definitely succeed. I’ll definitely make you and our baby live in luxury. So that this kind of thing never happens again. Please believe me, Hae-jun.”
Lee A-gon took Hae-jun’s hand. It was a good thing that he was showing enthusiasm for his work, whatever it was. Hae-jun gave him a half-hearted “Fighting.”
“Now there are only two shoots left, so please keep your hole tight until I come back. Got it?”
This time, Lee A-gon gave him a “Fighting.” It was a “Fighting” to keep his hole tight so it wouldn’t loosen.
“Hey!” Hae-jun, whose face was completely red, pushed Lee A-gon away with his foot. Lee A-gon didn’t let go of his “Fighting” pose even as he was being kicked by Hae-jun.
∞ ∞ ∞
As a result, Hae-jun had to quit his part-time job after just one day. It was because of a phone call he received from Director Im that evening.
—Manager. Why is this actor like this? He only made NGs all day long. He even stammered on very simple lines. He kept being depressed, and he even cried during breaks? When I asked him what was wrong, he said he missed his Hae-jun after a long time. He said he just kept crying because he missed his Hae-jun so much.
“…”
—I knew this actor liked you, Manager, but I never dreamed it would be this bad. You’ll be there tomorrow, right? You have to be there. Otherwise, the movie will be canceled right now.
“But I have a part-time job…”
—We’ll pay you the same wage, so please come!
So Hae-jun returned to the filming site.
“Manager, please bring me the floppy (light-shielding curtain).”
“Manager, where’s the wire for the generator?”
“Manager, please set up the catering.”
“Manager!”
“Manager.”
They had been giving him work to do in a casual way before, but now that he was officially hired, they kept calling out to Hae-jun from all directions. Now they were going to pay him.
Hae-jun silently got the work done. Since he was going to get paid, he was going to work properly. The wage was lower than at the logistics center, but he felt more comfortable working on set.
“Don’t make my Hae-jun do things like that.”
The problem was Lee A-gon.
He was severely bothered by the fact that people were telling Hae-jun what to do. Lee A-gon glared at the lighting director, who had been giving Hae-jun trivial instructions, and blocked his path.
The lighting director was bewildered and took a step back when Lee A-gon, who was over 190 cm tall, looked down at him. Hae-jun hurriedly stopped Lee A-gon.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ll do it.”
“Why should you?”
“What do you mean why? I work here now.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to do things like this.”
Trivial and annoying tasks such as bringing props, setting up meals, and raising lights. It was all Hae-jun’s responsibility.
“Then don’t I work? Should I quit?”
Hae-jun crossed his arms.
“Should I quit here and go back to the logistics center?”
“…”
Lee A-gon didn’t answer. Instead, his broad chest rose and fell for a long time. Hae-jun lowered his voice and gently coaxed him.
“I have to earn even 50,000 won. And I can be with you while earning money, so isn’t that great? Right?”
“Shit.”
Suddenly swearing, Lee A-gon kicked the trash can. The aluminum trash can made a loud noise and overturned.
“Shit. Shit. Shit!”
“Hey, hey, Lee A-gon!”
Hae-jun hurriedly grabbed the rolling trash can and stopped it. It was a prop. Why was he kicking the prop?
“Why are you really being like this?”
“People are calling you like a dog. Everyone is arbitrarily passing their work on to you. How dare they to Hae-jun. Who do they think they are?”
“If you don’t like that, I said I’d go back to the logistics center, but you don’t want that.”
“That’s absolutely not allowed.”
“Then put up with it. Why are you acting up like a baby? Do you think I don’t have a temper?”
“Hae-jun!”
Lee A-gon raised his voice. Now that he looked closely, his eyes were wet. Was he going to cry again? Why was he crying again this time? When Hae-jun stared at him, Lee A-gon put a hand on his forehead. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. And Hae-jun, he said in a suppressed voice.
“You shouldn’t be treated like this. You should be living comfortably and preciously in a good place, wearing good clothes, and eating good food.”
“……”
“I feel like such an idiot for not being able to do that for you. I hate myself for being so inadequate.”
I’m furious.