By Zephyria Seeing that the alcohol bottles were getting low, Choi Hong-seo went to the kitchen connected to the dining room and brought out more drinks. It was expensive champagne from a famous brand.
“I bought two bottles at the duty-free shop to drink today.”
Upon seeing the heavy black bottles in Hong-seo’s hands, the guests cheered. Except for one person.
“You country bumpkins. What’s so great about that much alcohol.”
Go Ji-woon.
A few years younger than Choi Hong-seo, he was a member of a boy group that had disappeared without a trace. He was the only one who survived the team by transitioning into acting.
Go Ji-woon’s taunt froze the atmosphere. Some muttered curses, and Go Ji-woon got up, picked up his phone, and left the dining room.
“Why did you even invite that bastard Go Ji-woon? To ruin the mood.”
As soon as the glass door of the dining room, connected to the hallway, was fully closed, someone raised their voice.
“Since when did he start drinking this stuff? He’s no different from us. Why is that guy acting like this lately?”
“He got a sponsor while filming that drama.”
“……”
At the word ‘sponsor’ thrown out by someone, the dining room became eerily quiet. As if cold water had been poured on them.
“Was it last month? He posted all over SNS about going to some island in the South Pacific, bragging about it. That was also thanks to a sponsor.”
“No wonder… he was acting all high and mighty about a private villa with four bedrooms on a private jet. I wondered where he got that kind of money.”
Woo Jong-hyun clicked his tongue and sneered, as if it made sense. The revelations continued.
“I don’t know what he did for the sponsor on that trip, but they say he bought him an apartment in Gangnam after he came back.”
“What?”
It was Woo Jong-hyun who exclaimed in surprise. But almost everyone in the room had the same expression as Woo Jong-hyun. It wasn’t just disgust and displeasure.
Curiosity, intrigue, and a hint of envy mingled, flickering across their faces.
Choi Hong-seo, who had been quietly sipping champagne without joining the conversation until then, felt his chest tighten for a moment.
If the apartment Go Ji-woon received was from a sponsor, then… what was this house?
It wasn’t payment for doing dirty deeds together on a South Pacific island. Lee Hae-sung hadn’t even touched his lips yet. So, this wasn’t a sponsor, was it?
As he gnawed on the rim of his champagne glass, lost in thought, his phone vibrated lightly on the table.
A message from ‘Carrot Seller’. Choi Hong-seo used the ringing phone as an excuse to quietly get up and leave the dining room.
He wanted to get some fresh air while checking the ‘Carrot Seller’s’ message. As he walked out of the hallway and into the living room, he saw Go Ji-woon sitting alone in the dim room.
“What are you doing here alone?”
“Just… because those bastards are annoying.”
Recognizing Choi Hong-seo as the source of the sound, Go Ji-woon’s sharp expression softened slightly, and he spoke sheepishly. Although Go Ji-woon was friendly with the other ‘Layered’ members, he had often followed Choi Hong-seo around. He always had an air of looking down on people his own age.
“They all have rough mouths. They don’t hold things deep inside.”
“I don’t care. We’re not going to be together forever anyway.”
Shaking his head decisively, Go Ji-woon hesitated, glancing at Choi Hong-seo.
Since he was usually straightforward, Choi Hong-seo couldn’t pretend not to notice.
“I’m telling you this because you’re discreet…”
“What’s with the heavy act? You’re making it scary.”
He tried to lighten the mood by speaking playfully, but Go Ji-woon didn’t laugh. Even after Choi Hong-seo sat down next to the sofa, Go Ji-woon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Actually, I’ve been seeing someone lately.”
“……”
“But… I don’t think I’m the only one for that person.”
Constantly glancing over Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder to see if anyone was coming, he spoke in the lowest possible voice. It was almost a whisper.
“To be honest, they’re married… and I know I’m just someone they’re playing with.”
Was this what being a lover meant? Someone married who met and enjoyed someone else on the side?
Although Go Ji-woon had a strong drive for success, he wasn’t the type to naturally use the term ‘lover’ in this way.
Choi Hong-seo had to bitterly confirm that the person Go Ji-woon was talking about was the sponsor he’d heard about in the dining room.
“I know they’ve been through other people before me. But.”
Go Ji-woon’s eyes glinted in the darkness.
“I want to make sure they can never easily discard me. Is there a good way?”
“……”
“Maybe I’m the second, or even third person to them, but right now, they treat me really well. Still, if one day they get tired of me and say it’s over, I have no way to hold on. I don’t want to be discarded like those people they played with and threw away, like an idiot, unable to do anything.”
Clasping his hands tightly, Go Ji-woon didn’t look like someone consumed by love and anxious.
“This is my first time in a relationship like this, and it’s an opportunity I’ve worked hard to get. If I can create just one reason why they can’t easily discard me… I won’t have to worry about anything in the future.”
His legs were trembling now.
He looked like someone desperately trying not to lose a windfall that had accidentally fallen into his hands. It was closer to madness.
“People with money and power. Is there any way people like us can get leverage over them? Have you heard anything around you?”
“Well… I’m not exactly a smart guy myself.”
A way to gain leverage over powerful and wealthy people and become their equal. If he had known such a thing, he would have been free from Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung or CEO Myeong long ago. If there was such a thing, Choi Hong-seo wanted to know.
Go Ji-woon moved closer and sat beside Choi Hong-seo.
“Or do you know anyone around you who’s good at that? Someone who knows high society well and has connections?”
“How would I know people like that?”
The phone in his hand vibrated repeatedly. It wasn’t a call, but a notification of a new message. It must be from ‘Carrot Seller’. Lee Hae-sung wasn’t just someone who knew high society; he was high society.
Over the past few days, chatting with him via messenger and talking on the phone during his European tour, the personal Lee Hae-sung had gradually grown more prominent within Choi Hong-seo than the public Lee Hae-sung. He had momentarily forgotten how socially significant a person he was.
No matter what, he had seemed like he would forever be the Vice President of ARA Electronics, but he was momentarily bewildered by this change, which he couldn’t believe himself.
“You’re doing well.”
Pulled out of his thoughts by Go Ji-woon’s insistent voice, Choi Hong-seo looked at him.
Go Ji-woon cautiously added, after glancing at Choi Hong-seo’s reaction.
“Are there any brokers who approach you, offering to connect you with people?”
“…No.”
“With your looks, and now being popular too… no calls?”
Choi Hong-seo shook his head. As the answer he wanted didn’t come, Go Ji-woon let out a sigh as if his heart would sink.
“They say when you meet through a broker, they negotiate the terms for you and give advice on what to do… but I didn’t know anything and just met them because they approached me first…”
Ruffling his hair as if he had suffered a loss, Go Ji-woon looked up and stared intently at Choi Hong-seo.
“You won’t tell anyone, right?”
“No.”
“Do you think I’m dirty too?”
“What right do I have to think that?”
“……”
After a moment of silence, he looked at Choi Hong-seo in the darkness, then listlessly dropped his gaze.
“If you ever get to know a broker like that, please connect me. I’m asking you.”
Choi Hong-seo stood up without saying he would or wouldn’t.
“Aren’t you going in?”
“No. They’re probably still talking trash about me.”
Looking down at the young man who muttered sulkily and turned on his phone, Choi Hong-seo turned on the lamp next to the sofa. Then he quietly slipped out onto the balcony.
Even though it was midsummer, the air outside felt more refreshing than the air-conditioned indoors. It wasn’t just because of the river breeze.
He took a deep breath, gazing at the glittering Gangnam night view across the river. Having just returned to the country and moved into the house today, everything, including the view before him, felt unfamiliar. He felt like he was visiting someone else’s housewarming.
Vibrate, vibrate. His phone trembled once more in his hand, as if urging him.
Finally opening the messenger window, it was full of messages from ‘Carrot Seller’.