By Zephyria Ding-dong, ding-ding-dong, ding-dong.
The noisy doorbell, which started on Monday morning, trailed after itself and cut through the living room.
Yeon-ho, who had just quenched his thirst and was leaving the kitchen, frowned at the unusual commotion and turned to the wall pad.
In the brightly lit monitor, there was a familiar face with a stretched neck and widened eyes.
‘What. Why is that guy here at this hour…?’
When there was no response from inside after pressing the bell a couple more times, he started typing on the keypad.
A famous but useless password that he knew, she knew, and even this guy knew. However, that was only until a few days ago.
Before long, a more noisy alarm than the doorbell started ringing, beep-boop-baaeeeng.
W-Why is it doing this? In the monitor, the face of the embarrassed man, Seung-won, floated up again, as if he had taken a step back.
“Do Yeon-ho, hey! Aren’t you inside? Hey, open the door. Do Yeon-ho!”
Then, he even pounded on the door and shouted his name.
Yeon-ho, who had finally been doing the pathetic appeals that even the sponsor partners he had broken up with hadn’t done, finally clicked his tongue and reluctantly approached the front door.
As the doorknob went down, Seung-won, who couldn’t stand it, threw the door open. At the same time, two pairs of shoes with crumpled heels flew into the air.
“Wait! Let’s solve the urgent matter first!”
His form, which pushed Yeon-ho aside and ran straight to the bathroom, seemed to be on the verge of bursting. Yeon-ho’s face became even more ferocious as he heard the unfiltered sound of water pouring out like the Paldang Dam discharging water, without even having the time to close the door.
Yeon-ho, who had been leaning on one leg at Seung-won, who had finally washed his hands and came out, shot out harsh words.
“Is my house a public restroom? Why are you marking your territory in the wrong place from the morning?”
“Ahem… No, I drank too much coffee earlier. I almost peed on the way here. It’s better than telling you to bring my underwear and pants down, right~”
“You thought I would go down?”
“No? So I held it in like crazy. I thought my dignity as a human being would collapse if I went home all wet.”
If only he couldn’t talk…
“More than that, what’s wrong with you? When did you change the front door password? It’s not 56789 anymore?”
“You told me to change it someday.”
As he said, Seung-won had told him more than a dozen times to change the password, which was usually too simple.
Every time, he would say, “It’s annoying, just live roughly,” and wouldn’t even pretend to listen. What wind blew to make him do this?
But Yeon-ho, who waved his hand as if he didn’t need to know, narrowed his eyes again.
“What about you, hyung? Why are you coming to someone else’s house from the morning? Did you really just come to use the bathroom?”
Seung-won was caught in an extreme conflict for about ten seconds.
First of all, it’s 12 o’clock now, and this time is by no means from the morning. Is it the right attitude for an executive director who skipped work from Monday to be so confident in front of the CEO?
But… considering the reason he came, it was right to bow down first.
“I just… came out to have lunch and stopped by.”
“From the company all the way here? Why are people so eager to find an excuse.”
“Who’s looking for you again?”
“……”
“No, I was just worried you got home okay that day… and you didn’t reply…. Hey. I’m saying again, I really didn’t know? If I knew, would I have been crazy enough to do that?”
“……?”
“That… you weren’t too upset, were you…?”
Seong-min, drawing out his words and even watching his reaction, made Yeon-ho tilt his head. What was he talking about?
After a while… Ah…. An exclamation burst out. Yang Seok-jun. The wolf cub he met at
“Ah, Rani…? You weren’t forgetting, were you?”
“Forget? Am I an idiot? How could I forget that.”
The truth was, he had forgotten. Or, more accurately, he didn’t have the time to care about Yang Seok-jun or anyone like him.
Even though Yang Seok-jun, whom he’d seen for the first time in seven years, was annoyingly awful… the harvest that followed was doubly so.
Just as someone’s face naturally came to mind, Seong-min spoke in a reluctant voice.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Huh?”
“You were just smiling, weren’t you?”
“…Was I?”
“You were.”
“…….”
“What, are you happy you screwed over Executive Director Yang?”
“Screwed over? It’s not like I smashed his head with a bottle.”
The eyes that had been softly curved quickly turned fierce. He flinched, but Seong-min found this easier to understand.
Relieved, Seong-min took the remaining steps and plopped down on the sofa.
“Hey. Even if you’re going to smash his head, do it after the contract is over. It’s a one-year deal with them.”
“One year? Why go all the way to
“That’s… because Ji-yeon is going in. She hasn’t had much luck with commercials so far, has she? Only a few viral ones.”
He wondered why the CEO himself was bothering with such a minor contract, but suddenly he understood.
Ham Ji-yeon. In the early days of the company, Seong-min had personally discovered her and put a lot of effort into her, but she lacked star quality compared to her recognition.
“Honestly, she doesn’t say it, but how upset must she be? It’s not like she lacks ability or good looks. Just between us, who was that girl she was in the drama with last time? Oh Mi-rin? Ji-yeon is much better than her, isn’t she?”
“That’s how it looks to you, hyung.”
“Not to you?”
“Want the facts?”
“…Gently, please.”
“Ham Ji-yeon’s problem isn’t her looks or skills.”
“Then what is it?”
“She doesn’t know how to charm people. Her personality is too honest, or she doesn’t have the spirit to seduce anyone. If I were an advertiser, I’d choose Oh Mi-rin over Ham Ji-yeon. You need to sell products, but why would you hire someone who seems like she’d say, ‘Oh, you don’t want to buy it? Then please leave carefully’?”
“Hey. I said gently, okay? Ji-yeon is our actress, okay?”
“Hyung’s actress.”
“Is this how you’re drawing the line? Are you saying all the kids you picked did well?”
That was the truth. Yeon-ho sent him a listless look, and Seong-min could only beat his chest.
He was frustrated, but in reality, it was mostly the kids Yeon-ho said would make it who increased the company’s profits, so he had nothing to say.
Seong-min, who had been pouting for a while, suddenly spoke.
“Then what about Lee Seong-min? Do you think he’ll do well too?”
“Lee Seong-min what.”
“
Even so, the CEO was still the CEO. Yeon-ho, who had completely forgotten about it, let out an “ah…” again. But his eyes quickly turned dark.
“I was going to say this anyway… Hyung, you should prepare yourself.”
“Prepare for what? To embrace another star?”
He had forgotten all about Ham Ji-yeon, and Seong-min’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Of course, it didn’t take long for that to turn into a dead fish look.
“No. Prepare to lose your investment.”
“……What?”
“I have a feeling
Seong-min, who couldn’t speak for a few seconds at Yeon-ho’s shockingly casual statement, jumped up from the sofa.
“What are you talking about? Don’t jinx a show that’s just starting. Hey, quickly spit it out! Hurry up and spit it out!!”
“Ptooey.”
“Hey, you! Who told you to spit on my face? Spit on the floor, on the floor!”
“Whether I spit on the floor or on your face, will it change the fact that it’s going to fail?”
“So why is it going to fail! Was the atmosphere on set bad that day? No way. PD Choi didn’t say anything like that, did he?”
Yeon-ho snorted at the mention of Jeong-yun, who was from the same school.
“That bastard must have rotten eyes too.”
“All our kids passed!”
That’s what I’m saying. How could they pass Lee Seong-min but drop ‘Tony’?
Yeon-ho shook his head repeatedly at the recurring face.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s a failure. Unless the PD and the judges have eyes on the soles of their feet, there’s no way that could happen. If the production team’s eyes are messed up, how can the show turn out well?”
“What are you even saying? Speak so I can understand!”
Well, thanks to that, did I hit the jackpot?
Despite the questioning that made him puff out his cheeks, the corners of his lips curled up again. Seong-min, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Yeon-ho, couldn’t have missed it.
Seong-min’s eyes scanned Yeon-ho busily, with a different meaning than before. Do Yeon-ho and him had been together for about 10 years. The way he’d been grinning since earlier was strange… something was clicking. Seong-min leaned forward.
“What is it. Did you… get something out of it there?”
“…….”
“There was someone good among the ones who were eliminated, wasn’t there? That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Well… I don’t think ‘good’ is enough to describe it.”
Even though his tone was plain, it was an unusual compliment. The best star our Doit produced. Even when it came to top-tier male actors, Do Yeon-ho usually said, “Now he’s finally becoming useful.”
Seong-min’s complexion, which had been like a winter-frosted weed, instantly revived like flowers blooming in May.
“Tell me in detail. What does he do? Is he tall? What’s his voice like? No, does he not have an agency?”
“Apparently, he’s not signed anywhere yet. He came to Korea wanting to be a celebrity… He’s tall and has a good voice. Oh, and he speaks our language well. Anyway, he’s obviously the real deal.”
Yeon-ho matched his enthusiasm as if he had been waiting for it. But Seong-min’s excitement, which had quickly risen, faltered at this point.
“Wait a minute. He came to Korea? He speaks our language well… Don’t tell me, is he a foreigner?”
“He’s got 14 Korean blood in him. Besides, I told you, there’s no communication problem? His diction is better than yours, hyung.”
“No! Still, his looks are foreign, right? Will that make money? The pie is still small in Korea, isn’t it…?”
It was a cold and extremely realistic judgment. Yeon-ho himself had thought, “Is that why he was dropped?”
But when someone else started giving advice, he felt strangely twisted.
“Ah, hyung, do you only care about money?”
“What are you talking about? Weren’t you the one who said to just feed them soju for a one-year contract?”
“So, what I mean is… yeah. Let’s think about it from a more grand perspective.”
“Huh?”
“Yoon Seung-won, you said you wanted to grow the company more, didn’t you? You dreamed of building a pipeline, from planning to production to distribution, didn’t you?”
“…So?”
“How long are you going to cling to the Korean market? This is a good opportunity to recruit global talent, it’s a good image, isn’t it? Besides, if the pie is small, we can grow it. Isn’t that what an agency is for?”
Until now, he had been scoffing, saying, “Just run the existing agency well, why bother with production?” But Yeon-ho scratched Seung-won’s chin like he was a cat, even bringing up Seung-won’s dream.
Putting his worries aside, Seung-won’s ears perked up again, and he nodded, saying, “That’s true…”
Not missing the opportunity, Yeon-ho now leaned his upper body towards Seung-won.
“So, what I’m saying is… is there a good spot for him somewhere?”
“Spot?”
“Something small for now. That’s right. The drama that Im So-min is going into this time, wasn’t the background a fusion fantasy? Maybe put him in as a minor role there…?”
He said something small, but Yeon-ho was talking about a drama with a production cost of 2 billion won per episode. He was going to stick a straw in there. If it was something big, he would have asked for the lead role. Seung-won finally regained his senses.
“Are you trying to force a deal now? And on Im So-min’s drama? So-min wouldn’t like that at all.”
“Why wouldn’t she? Her first start was a forced deal too, wasn’t it?”
“Still, Im So-min did quite a few minor roles. Her acting was above average, so the director okayed it. But what about the kid you’re talking about? Does he have any acting experience?”
“……?”
“More than that, what exactly does he want to be? An actor or a celebrity? What are his specialties? Does he have anything to appeal with?”
“That’s….”
“He doesn’t have an agency, and he came to Korea wanting to be a celebrity, so he might be completely raw, but you’re going to put him in front of the camera right away? What if he gets scared? You know you can ruin a kid trying to raise him, right?”
“…….”
He was right. He was definitely impatient this time. Yeon-ho hesitated at his uncharacteristic attitude, and Seung-won narrowed his brow again.
“This isn’t an apartment subscription. You’re telling me to grab the rights to sell before even digging the ground. I’ve seen a lot of people get hit by shoddy construction and cry. At least show me his face before you say something like this.”
Again, he was right. Unable to respond repeatedly, Seung-won, who had been glaring at him, finally let out a relieved laugh.
“Still… he must be really good-looking? For Do Yeon-ho to be so over the top.”
“What’s with the ‘over the top’……”
“Don’t do that, bring him to the company sometime. Or… should we see him today while we’re at it?”
“Today?”
“We have to eat lunch anyway… give him a call. See if he’s free.”
Where’s your phone? Did you leave it in the room? The tables had turned, and now Seung-won was urging him. Then he went all the way to the bedroom himself to find the phone.
He took the phone that was handed to him. But only for a moment. Yeon-ho stopped abruptly before opening the screen.
“What’s wrong?”
Seung-won tilted his head. Meanwhile, Yeon-ho just stared blankly at the phone he was holding. It was quite a while before a dazed voice flowed out.
“……I don’t know.”
“What?”
“His number….”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t ask for his contact information….”
“…….”
“…….”
A quiet silence fell over the living room, which had been so noisy just a moment ago.
What have we been doing all this time…?
There was nothing to say.
♥ ♥ ♥
Seung-won pointed out that he needed to know what the kid was good at and if he had the basics before he could use him… but thinking about it, that was only half right.
Honestly, what’s the biggest talent for a celebrity? It’s their face, right?
From that point of view, Marteo’s appearance was reigning over the basics. People often say that kids with potential are uncut gems, but in this case, there was nothing to cut or polish from the start.
In terms of appearance alone, he was already a GIA-certified triple excellent diamond, a 2A-grade high-end one.
But…… what’s the point….
“When I completely lost it….”
Yeon-ho, muttering, slammed his forehead on the desk. In front of him were documents that he couldn’t even see.
After confessing that he hadn’t gotten Marteo’s contact information, Seung-won, who had laughed at him, said,
‘That’s right. Use your head. Using your head is good for preventing dementia.’
That’s why he dragged Yeon-ho to the company. But his soul was gone, so just because he was sitting at his desk didn’t mean he could work.
Losing talent was a loss for the company, but losing a man was a loss for Yeon-ho.
When he thought about the lower half of Marteo’s body, which he had subtly touched with his foot while teasing him, and how unusually heavy it was, the latter was even more painful.
‘What was I doing only touching him with my foot? If I had known this would happen, I should have slept with him that day…….’
Yeon-ho’s lips, which were already protruding like a goldfish, swelled up even more with repeated regrets.
It was then that the phone started ringing.
Yeon-ho’s back jumped up at the sudden vibration.
‘Wait, even if I don’t know his contact information, that bastard followed me all the way to my place, didn’t he? He might know my number?’
But his inflated expectations were quickly shattered. The caller was none other than Do Seo-jin.
Disappointment after hope is always more annoying. Without even thinking, Yeon-ho pressed the red button.
But Seo-jin wasn’t one to give up easily. Call and disconnect, call and disconnect, a stubbornly continuing battle of receiving and rejecting.
Yeon-ho, gritting his teeth, finally pressed the call button. If Yeon-ho was the embodiment of annoyance, Seo-jin was the embodiment of persistence.
“What. Again. What.”
The three syllables that were cut off represented his mood.
「What. Why are you being so grumpy as soon as you pick up?」
“If someone doesn’t answer the phone, you should think they’re busy and have something to do. Why do you keep calling?”
「Geez. Just because you’re busy, doesn’t mean you’re busier than me. Where are you? At home?」
“I’m at the company, so hurry up and tell me what you need.”
「What’s with you being at the company until this hour? Aren’t you going home?」
“Tell me what you need.”
「If you’re not busy, come over here. Let’s have dinner together.」
“I’m busy. I don’t feel like eating.”
「Then that’s even better. I’m still busy too. I think I’ll be done in an hour or two, so if you don’t feel like eating, we can have tea or something.」
It was clear that this was what he had planned from the start. Yeon-ho frowned at Seo-jin, who was leading the conversation as he pleased. As if he could see it, Seo-jin raised his voice annoyingly.
「Or should I come to your house after I’m done?」
He was saying it knowing that he would hate it. Whether to sacrifice a little to defend a peaceful evening at home or to protect his pride. There was no need to even think about it. Yeon-ho’s hand covered his forehead.
“Where are you. Now.”
♥ ♥ ♥
“You’re here? Wait a moment.”
Seo-jin, who had asked to meet first, barely glanced at Yeon-ho entering the office and waved his hand, continuing to scan the documents he was looking at.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to complain because of the various vitamin drinks and coffee cups lined up on Seo-jin’s desk.
He drank all that, so no wonder he doesn’t feel like eating. He probably can’t even drink water, let alone tea.
Yeon-ho, who only clicked his tongue inwardly, sat down on one side of the sofa.
To put it nicely, it was simple, and to put it badly, it was bleak…. The office, which didn’t even have a common flowerpot, hadn’t changed much since the last time he saw it.
The only thing that had changed was the painting on the wall?
After aimlessly exercising his eyes in a room with nothing to see, Seo-jin, who had barely put down the sorted documents, got up from his seat.
“What do you want to drink? Coffee is okay, right?”
The quitting time had already passed, and his secretary had also left work. In other words, the traces that hadn’t been cleaned up on the desk were from after 6 p.m. Yeon-ho shook his head at Seo-jin, who seemed like he was going to make a drink himself.
He would definitely add his own while making his, but judging from the amount piled on the desk, he had more than enough caffeine for the day.
As expected, Seo-jin, who seemed more disappointed, smacked his lips and turned away. Seo-jin had a faint but acrid smell on him.
“Are you smoking again?”
“……?”
“I smell cigarettes. What’s so good about starting that again after you quit?”
Seo-jin, who had stopped for a moment, twisted his lips with a nonchalant look.
“Originally, caffeine and nicotine are essential for working overtime.”
It was an understandable statement. Still, it was unexpected that a workaholic like Do Seo-jin would reverse a decision he had once decided to quit. He looked at Seo-jin’s complexion once more and looked around the desk.
“Is there something stressing you out? …Are you very busy with work?”
“I’m always busy. Unlike someone who’s a salary thief.”
“…….”
“By the way, what’s with you being at the company until this hour?”
It was just like Do Seo-jin to regret worrying about him. Seo-jin, who had thankfully rejected the camaraderie that had sprung up, made Yeon-ho regain his usual listless tone.
“Yoon Seung-won is watching me.”
“You’re still working hard. Does he have any thoughts of joining our company? Judging from the fact that he dragged Do Yeon-ho all the way here, he’s quite a useful talent.”
“No way. He’s my retirement plan.”
At the statement that was quite sincere, Seo-jin smirked for the first time.
“When you say it like that, I really want him. He doesn’t even date because he’s working, does he?”
“I don’t think Do Seo-jin should be the one to say that.”
“I heard you guys made a production investment this time. Your financial situation… must be pretty good?”
“It’s literally an investment. If it fails, we lose it. We don’t have that much leeway either. Our performance in the first half of the year is still ambiguous.”
“……I see.”
“But why are you suddenly asking about this? You always said it was kids playing house. Are you going to acquire our company? If so, give us three times the face value. With a family discount.”
“Do you only use family discounts? Why don’t you give me a 13 discount?”
After a few more silly words passed, Seo-jin naturally rummaged through his pockets and took out a cigarette. Only then did Yeon-ho realize that Seo-jin wasn’t wearing makeup.
He didn’t usually wear heavy makeup, but there were no traces of lipstick on the filter.
He must be really busy. But the fact that he called him here under the pretext of dinner meant that he definitely had a clear purpose. And he had an idea of what that purpose was.
Yeon-ho, who had scanned the acrid smoke that was sucked in and scattered, opened his mouth.
“Grandma will just end up stopping.”
“What. Suddenly?”
“That
“…….”
“You’re just jealous for a moment because your friend saw his great-grandchild. Since when have you been talking about babies, babies. Don’t worry about my sister either.”
Even though his attitude was relaxed, his words were firm. Seo-jin frowned. Then he took another drag of the cigarette and blew the smoke into Yeon-ho’s face.
Yeon-ho hurriedly waved his hand and shouted, “Hey!” Seo-jin, unfazed, crossed his legs.
“Who said it’s because of Grandma?”
“……?”
“Even if we put aside the grandson issue, doesn’t this kind of opportunity come often? You just said it. That Yoon Seung-won is your retirement plan. Frankly speaking, isn’t Averto a much stronger retirement plan than Yoon Seung-won?”
“So, you’re telling me to sell my body to secure my future?”
“I looked into it more, and the third son of that family is really something else. If I had the money, I wouldn’t be doing this. I’m doing this all for you, you know?”
“I have plenty of good-looking guys around me too, you know?”
Along with the shout, Marteo’s face naturally popped into his head. Although he didn’t even know his contact information and couldn’t guarantee he’d meet him again….
The thought of the work he’d been putting off because of Seo-jin made his face contort. Seo-jin, who had no idea about him, shook his index finger from side to side.
“Tsk. You can’t compare them to those so-so guys. No matter how well-made they are, mass-produced goods are still mass-produced goods. How can you compare them to custom-made? Aura is innate. Once you see him, you’ll change your mind, you’ll see?”
It was rare for Seo-jin, who was generally harsh in his evaluation of others, to defend someone so passionately.
Was this how Yoon Seung-won felt when I brought up ‘Tony’?
He was suspicious, but also curious about how great he was.
“Then let me see him once.”
“Huh?”
“You said you looked him up earlier. Don’t you have a picture? I want to see first if I’ll really change my mind.”
Seo-jin’s eyes lit up at the better-than-expected reaction. Afraid that he might change his mind, he jumped up from the sofa and hurried to the desk.
“I do. From what I saw, he started his own company when he became an adult. And it’s quite big. He’s currently in charge of an affiliate of the main family.”
“…….”
“Anyway, there’s a picture on the company’s organizational chart… Ah, here it is. Come over here.”
Seo-jin, pulling the reluctant Yeon-ho closer to the monitor, confidently tapped on the tablet.
“……Huh?”
However, the spot where the picture had been plastered until a few days ago was blank. Seo-jin blinked and refreshed the page a few more times, but the situation was the same on other websites as well.
“What the… Where did the picture go?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“This can’t be happening?”
Seo-jin then typed Marteo Averttone into the portal search bar. The portal quickly narrowed down a few pages, and he clicked on the top result. But this time, instead of a picture, a 404 Not Found error code greeted him.
“No, why is it all like this?”
“He sure has a striking appearance. The halo is so strong that I can’t see anything.”
“Wait a minute. I really saw it, I swear?”
Unable to give up, Seo-jin dragged Yeon-ho outside and kept moving his hands, searching for other pages.
Yeon-ho clicked his tongue, quickly losing interest and picking up a document that Seo-jin had been looking at earlier.
He wondered what was so important that someone couldn’t leave work and was drowning in nicotine and caffeine….
But unexpectedly, what caught his eye wasn’t a business proposal. Some were marked with an X. Some were marked with a triangle. The pages were filled with someone’s name and a phone number with a check mark. Among them were people familiar to Yeon-ho. A director of a major company who had been close to his grandmother for a long time.
“Lee Jeong-taek…….”
It was when he inadvertently spoke the name that Seo-jin snatched the document away as if taking it back!
“Hey. Why are you looking at it without permission!”
He wasn’t exactly an easy type to begin with, but his voice was sharper than necessary. Yeon-ho hesitated, and Seo-jin, realizing his overreaction belatedly, made a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“Well… you’re not even an employee of our company. This is a company secret, you know?”
“A phone number is?”
“Don’t you know that personal information is the most important thing?”
“Why did you collect them like this? Lee Jeong-taek, isn’t that Director Lee of Yoonchang? What are you doing with Yoonchang?”
As he tilted his head, Seo-jin finally let out a sigh as if he was showing off and shook his head.
“Seriously, you’re so oblivious. Our Madam Shin is turning eighty soon. I collected these to sort out the invitees. This is a secret from Grandma, okay? Grandma wants to keep it quiet, but does Madam Shin have a son or a daughter-in-law? I have to take care of it, at least.”
“You’re busy, but you’re even doing things like that.”
“Then will you make the phone calls for me instead?”
When did he ever take it away, Seo-jin held out the half-crumpled paper to Yeon-ho. Yeon-ho, with a serious face, stepped back.
“You said security is essential. As you said, it’s a document created by the company, so can an outsider touch it?”
“…….”
“Anyway. Have you said everything you wanted to say? You seem busy in many ways, so I’ll be going now.”
Since he couldn’t even see the picture, now was the perfect chance to escape. Unexpectedly, Seo-jin didn’t hold back Yeon-ho, who was repeatedly stepping back.
What’s going on? Just before leaving the office, the sight of Seo-jin lighting a new cigarette caught his eye. As did the gaze that was silently looking down at the list from earlier.
Should I have told him to go home before it gets too late?
His somewhat exhausted appearance made him feel uneasy, but only for a moment.
‘A paper with phone numbers written on it……. Come to think of it, there was that number!’
It was because something he had completely forgotten came to mind.
Yeon-ho’s steps, after closing the remaining door, were very light, unlike before.
♥ ♥ ♥
“What are you telling me to send?”
“The list of participants. Don’t you have it? You must have received the application forms. Their names and phone numbers are written on them, right?”
Yeon-ho, who was driving smoothly on the road, which was fortunately not congested because it was long past quitting time, raised his voice at the other party who had been silent for a while.
“Hey. Choi Jeong-yun. Are you listening?”
After a few seconds, PD Choi’s raging voice burst out of the car audio connected to the phone.
“This bastard. Are you trying to mess with me right now?!”
“What…?”
“You crazy bastard! I’ve only slept three hours in the last two days. I was finally trying to get some sleep, but you woke me up just to ask me to give you what? Do you think I’m a errand service!”
“Ah, why are you getting angry? Don’t you have the application forms?”
“I don’t know! I have a million things to do, from editing meetings to production adjustments. Why are you suddenly looking for something like that?”
“I’m looking for it because I need it. Oh, right. Speaking of which, what are your meetings about?”
“What?”
“Before the editing meetings, improve your ability to recognize talent. You dropped a perfectly good guy, and what’s the point of the meetings? In my opinion, this program is already half ruined.”
“Huh? Is this guy really crazy? What the hell are you talking about since earlier?”
“Anyway. Do you have the application forms or not? Just tell me that. If you don’t have them, who should I call?”
“Seriously. I wiped my ass with it and threw it away a long time ago. If you have nothing to do, go to sleep, you bastard!”
“Hey, hey Choi Jeong-yun?”
Even with his urgent calls, Jeong-yun ruthlessly hung up the phone. Judging by the intensity and strength of his voice, he would definitely block my number.
Well, he had a point. If he had only slept 3 hours in two days, he wouldn’t even answer a phone call like this.
Anyway. Do Seo-jin and Choi Jeong-yun are crazy about their work….
While admirable, I definitely didn’t want to live like that. Isn’t life supposed to be simple is best?
As his thoughts reached this point, a sigh escaped him.
When he saw the document with the phone numbers in Seo-jin’s office, he thought this was it… But even if he didn’t really wipe his ass with it and throw it away, it was definitely impossible to ask the main PD, who was out of his mind, to find the document right away.
Above all, he didn’t like the fact that he was pondering over this problem all day.
‘Okay. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. It’s a shame, but what can I do?’
Yeon-ho, shaking off his lingering feelings, gradually slowed down the car as he approached the mansion. And then, it was when he changed lanes to the parking lot entrance connected to the external road.
The phone started ringing. Choi Jeong-yun? But the number that appeared on the screen was an unfamiliar number that wasn’t saved.
‘Maybe… it’s someone from the broadcasting industry.’
Even though he spoke harshly, Jeong-yun might have given a hint to the staff managing the application forms. Yeon-ho reached for the call button.
“Hello.”
“…….”
“This is Do Yeon-ho. Please speak.”
Even after repeatedly speaking, the other party didn’t answer.
What the. Is it just a wrong number? His brow furrowed. Just as he was about to hang up, a soft voice, as if flowing in, cut through the car.
“It’s me.”
“……!”
“Where are you now?”
At the following question, his stiffened lips quickly parted.
“You, where are you now?”
At the rolling voice, it seemed like he heard a burst of laughter over the receiver for a moment. The man, Marteo, moved his lips again.
“In front of Do Yeon-ho’s house.”
Squeak, Yeon-ho, who hadn’t even fully entered the parking lot, stopped the car and hurriedly stepped out of the door.
From the outside entrance of the parking lot to the common entrance of the mansion was about 50 meters. His footsteps, crossing the small mini garden, were fast.
Finally, ten steps remaining. Stop. Yeon-ho stopped in his place.
In front of the building entrance, as he said, stood a striking tall figure. The moment their eyes met, a languid yet refreshing April breeze passed between them.
The face, still carrying the small laughter he had heard on the phone, raised his hand towards Yeon-ho.
Ha? An absurd exclamation burst out. Even so, Yeon-ho’s eyes, as if moving on their own, curved to the fullest without him realizing it.
♥ ♥ ♥
“What’s going on? When did you come here?”
Yeon-ho poured out the questions he had been holding back towards the man who followed him into the living room, keeping a distance.
Marteo, who skillfully moved around after only two visits, first took out sparkling water from the refrigerator and handed it to Yeon-ho, despite the urgent voice.
“A little while ago. I was going to go to the company, but I thought you’d be home at this time.”
“Did you know my number?”
Instead of an answer, a faint smile returned.
He thought this might happen…….
As the joy he had been suppressing subsided somewhat, he couldn’t help but feel resentment.
If you were going to call, do it earlier, even if it’s just 10 minutes earlier! I only got cursed at by Choi Jeong-yun for nothing.
But there was no way Marteo would know this. Marteo carefully tilted his head at Yeon-ho, who quickly became sullen.
“Perhaps… was I not supposed to come find you first?”
“If I said that, would you leave?”
“…….”
“Never mind, just sit down.”
Although he spoke bluntly, the denial was a denial. Marteo, as if relieved, smiled again and sat down on the sofa, chasing after Yeon-ho.
Again, it was a neat movement without any unnecessary actions. Yeon-ho’s eyes scanned Marteo anew, and in the meantime, the man who had taken back the plastic bottle he had handed over opened the sparkling water himself and handed it to Yeon-ho again.
Did I look that thirsty? Or did it seem like a sign to serve him?
He didn’t know which one it was, but anyway, Yeon-ho, who had barely taken his eyes off him, reluctantly quenched his thirst. This time, Marteo stared at Yeon-ho for a long time.
Lowered eyelashes and a small, up-and-down moving Adam’s apple, lips gradually getting wet….
“Why. Do you want some too?”
At the question he asked while turning around, his finger reached out to Yeon-ho’s sparkling water bottle as if possessed. At that moment, Yeon-ho, who had turned his head, pointed somewhere.
“Take one out and drink it.”
The chin pointed to none other than the refrigerator…. He realized that he had misunderstood the meaning a few seconds later. Yeon-ho tilted his head towards Marteo, who had stopped moving.
“Aren’t you going to drink?”
“…I’m okay….”
His voice, which had become hoarse in the meantime, seemed to need water more than he did, but he didn’t have the kindness to offer twice to someone who said he was okay.
If you don’t want it, fine.
Yeon-ho, who had tightly closed the bottle opening where his lips had touched, straightened his posture. And then, he continued with the main topic towards the man who was still glancing at the plastic bottle.
“What did you do on the weekend? Do you happen to be learning something?”
“No.”
“Then what were you doing that you contacted me now? Even though you knew my number.”
This was closer to a pure question. Until now, when forming a sponsor relationship, it was relatively the other party who was anxious. Because making it a fait accompli, not just in words, was advantageous in many ways.
But both last time and today, the man didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Yeon-ho, who had paused for a moment, spoke the remaining words with half-doubt.
“Perhaps… do you have someone else besides me?”
“……?”
“Have you approached someone else in this way?”
The man’s face softened gently for a moment. But the moment didn’t last long.
“Yeah. I don’t have a hobby of dipping my spoon in the same rice as others. So if you have someone else, besides me…….”
“I don’t.”
Before the sentence could even be finished, Marteo became serious. The expression that had looked good until just now was gone, and it felt like the surrounding temperature had dropped. And then, he poured out questions in return.
“Then what about Do Yeon-ho? Do you have someone else who you sponsor in this way, besides me?”
“Did you hear anything that day? I said I was alone ‘now’. Or else, how would I even accept you because it’s a hassle?”
“…….”
Even though he replaces one guy with another, the minimum of morality is maintained in Yeon-ho’s sex life for this reason. There’s no affection and no loyalty, but there’s laziness.
Yeon-ho was inherently not diligent enough to care about many people.
Even after hearing the desired answer, Marteo’s expression becomes complicated for a moment. Still, there were no further questions. Instead, a calm explanation followed not long after.
“I told you to rest.”
“What?”
“You looked tired when we parted that day. I said I’d contact you again, so I thought I’d wait a day or so. But…….”
“But?”
“I thought you might not know my contact information. And I also wanted to see you quickly, as an excuse.”
Along with the words, Marteo slowly scanned Yeon-ho, and at the end, he slightly raised the corners of his lips. For some reason, he felt deeply stabbed.
Was it because he was being pointed out for missing the contact information? Or was it because of the subtle nuance of ‘I wanted to see you’?
The man’s eyes were too deep to be simply flattering to the boss.
Yeon-ho, who had been feeling nauseous for no reason, reopened the plastic bottle he had closed and quickly quenched his thirst.
“You… don’t flirt whenever you want.”
“Flirt…?”
“If you did it without knowing, it’s even more of a problem….”
No, when you think about it, isn’t it actually a plus factor in this industry?
The conversation he had with Seung-won, comparing Ham Ji-yeon and Oh Mi-rin, suddenly came to mind. Yeon-ho, who thought it was better that way, pulled his butt closer to Marteo, who was tilting his head.
“You know what. Since we’re on the topic, I’m asking you this, what are you good at?”
“……?”
“Have you ever been a magazine model, or have you ever been an extra, or have you even passed a few auditions… Do you have any activity history like that?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that….”
“I need to know what you’re good at to properly set the support direction.”
“…….”
“If you don’t have a resume, tell me what you’re interested in.”
“……I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.”
Unlike the eyes that were looking at him, his lukewarm answer was like lukewarm water. Yeon-ho’s brow furrowed at the voice that didn’t feel even a bit of soul.
“What are you…. Don’t tell me you came to Korea with the vague thought of wanting to be famous, wanting to be a star?”
“…….”
“Didn’t you have any other plans besides Next Icon?”
Silence is usually a confirmation. Yeon-ho, who had paused for a moment, let out a sigh.
“Wow. Now that I see it, you’re hopeless? Hey. Do you think this industry is that easy?”
He even doubted where he had heard my rumors from. It was at that moment. Marteo, who had been silent, shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s why I looked for Do Yeon-ho.”
What…?
“Because I’m hopeless. I’m going to entrust my future plans to you. Isn’t that what a sponsor is supposed to do?”
Damn it, no. You’re going to be a success! Why are you so good with words?
Yeon-ho, who was speechless in return, dropped his jaw with an absurd look. From what he was saying, it seemed like he didn’t have any significant experience, as Seung-won had worried.
Still… In front of Marteo’s appearance, which was a new ability and resource, his worries didn’t last long. Instead, a different kind of worry raised its head. Yeon-ho glared at Marteo.
“…Perhaps you’re not hopeless in other areas either, are you?”
The destination of his gaze was Marteo’s crotch, which he had pressed down on before. Marteo, who also looked down at his lower body, slowly crossed his legs. As a result, his front crotch became even more bulging. He raised the corners of his lips even more intensely.
“If you need it, you can check it right now.”
It was an annoying but damn pleasing answer. Yeon-ho, who barely managed to pull down his lips that were about to rise, mixed coyness into his pretense.
“Just don’t be different later.”
“…….”
“More than that, how do you cover your living expenses? Does your family send you money?”
“I’m taking care of it with the money I brought.”
“How much is that?”
Judging by the fact that he’s closing his mouth, it doesn’t seem like much.
Like last time, Marteo was wearing good quality clothes today. Did he borrow them from a rental shop again? That wouldn’t be cheap either….
Yeon-ho, clicking his tongue, rummaged through his pocket to find his wallet. And then, he quickly picked out two cards and held them out to Marteo.
“Use them where you need them. Don’t ruin your body by doing part-time jobs for no reason. Let me tell you, your body is not yours anymore, okay?”
However, Marteo, who was looking down at the card handed to him with a very unfamiliar face, picked up something else first instead of the credit card.
“Do I just use this as I need it, too?”
It was none other than the entrance card to the mansion. Other kids usually ask how much the credit limit is first….
Yeon-ho, who had raised his eyebrows at the unexpected reaction, soon nodded nonchalantly.
“Yeah. It’s annoying to open it every time. The front door password is….”
It was a number he had already memorized when he opened the door, but it felt different to hear it directly. It felt like he had finally taken a step into Yeon-ho’s territory. Marteo, who listened attentively, put away the cash card without complaint.
I was going to say something if he said it was okay or whatever again… he has the ability to learn.
Yeon-ho, with a satisfied look, then shook himself off and stood up.
“Did you have dinner?”
“Did Do Yeon-ho have dinner?”
Tsk. He hasn’t fixed this.
“I was just about to eat. If you haven’t eaten yet, eat with me.”
“Are you going to buy me food again?”
“No.”
“……?”
“I’m going to make it for you.”
Marteo’s eyes widened as if he had been caught off guard.
“Why do you like buying me food?”
Still, he had no intention of retorting at the added words. His head shook violently.
Do Yeon-ho making him food. Marteo inwardly anticipated the unexpected windfall. Whatever it was, it would be better than pasta with whipped cream.
But his expectations were soon shattered. Not long after entering the kitchen, he heard, “It’s done!” and what was placed on the table were two cups of ramen.
“Do you eat kimchi?”
“Ah… no.”
“Good. There’s no kimchi at home.”
Then why did he ask? He wondered, but it wasn’t the time to argue. When he thought about it, the refrigerator he saw when he took out the carbonated water was empty except for drinks. He was lucky to even have cup ramen.
Marteo, looking back at Yeon-ho, who was sitting in front of the container with wooden chopsticks on it and tapping his fingers, carefully opened his mouth.
“Don’t you call someone to work at home?”
“It’s annoying to bump into them.”
“Household chores aren’t annoying?”
“Cleaning is done by the robot vacuum, and laundry can be left at the laundromat.”
“What about meals…?”
“I usually buy or order food. Why? Do you not like ramen?”
Before liking or disliking it, he had never eaten instant ramen like this before.
If Tony saw it, he would have exclaimed, ‘How can you eat such a lump of environmental hormones!’ and poured it all into the sink.
When Marteo didn’t answer, Yeon-ho shrugged.
“Delivery takes a long time at this hour. Just bear with it and eat.”
Then, in less than three minutes, he opened the lid of the container. He must have been hungry, as Yeon-ho’s mouth and hands were busy getting the hot noodles down.
“What were you doing until this hour without eating?”
“Work. Yoon Seung-won kept nagging me.”
“Yoon Seung-won is….”
“Our company’s CEO. You already know this much, right?”
It felt like he was being openly treated like a stalker, but it wasn’t wrong. He had already grasped most of Yeon-ho’s acquaintances.
As he identified the face that easily came to mind, Yeon-ho’s voice continued again.
“That’s right. Il-gan hyung wanted to see you once. When are you free?”
“Anytime is fine. But, does he know that Do Yeon-ho is….”
A Morpheus.
The words he almost blurted out were cut off.
“I’m what?”
Marteo hurriedly racked his brain.
“I was wondering if he knows that Do Yeon-ho is… like this. Like the sponsorship issue or personal life….”
Looking back, this didn’t seem like a good topic either, but Yeon-ho’s indifferent reaction was nonchalant.
“It’s faster to find out what he doesn’t know about me. We’ve known each other for over ten years.”
Then… he knows about Morpheus too. Could he have seen Yeon-ho’s Anima too?
He unexpectedly heard the original answer, but he didn’t feel very good.
Before he knew it, only the sound of Yeon-ho slurping noodles echoed on the table.
Marteo belatedly opened the lid of Yeon-ho’s ramen, which was almost half gone. It wasn’t that he was going to eat it, but he was going to give some to Yeon-ho.
At that moment, Yeon-ho, who had been silent for a while, spoke again.
“That day, what you said.”
“……?”
“That the chicken is the best among birds…. Why the chicken of all things?”
He asked casually, but he didn’t make eye contact. Marteo, who had stopped his hands, stared at Yeon-ho, even for Yeon-ho’s share.
As the lingering gaze grew longer, Yeon-ho finally couldn’t stand it and raised his head. Marteo’s mouth finally loosened slightly. Still, his voice was firm.
“Because it’s cool.”
“……What?”
“I like it because it’s cool.”
Yeon-ho’s hand also completely stopped. It was difficult to understand that the chicken was the best, but the reason was even more incomprehensible.
His disbelieving face spat out a crumpled voice after a long time.
“A chick…en?”
“Yes.”
“…It can’t even fly?”
“It can fly.”
“It can’t fly.”
“It can fly. It may be different from general flight.”
“Do you… know a lot about chickens?”
“Does Do Yeon-ho know a lot about them?”
I know more than you for sure!
Yeon-ho’s lips, unable to answer, twisted. Marteo momentarily narrowed his eyes mischievously at Yeon-ho like that.
“Do you know? That chickens are descendants of dinosaurs.”
This is a scientifically verified fact. Still, he had no intention of falling for such an obvious trick. Yeon-ho snorted, which he had been holding back.
“That’s the same for all birds. Where are you trying to sell me snake oil?”
“Still, there aren’t many species that you can really think, ‘Oh, that makes sense.’”
“Chickens are like that?”
“Haven’t you ever seen them walk? They’re incredibly dignified.”
“They walk because they can’t fly.”
“They look cool too. The comb and feather colors are gorgeous.”
“If that’s the case, you should like birds-of-paradise or peacocks.”
“Their beaks are also charming.”
“They usually don’t hunt with that beak, they peck at feed.”
“…….”
“What. Did I say something wrong?”
“Anyway. In my eyes, chickens are the coolest.”
It was as if he wouldn’t accept any objections. Yeon-ho moved his lips a few more times, then stopped as if he was going to quit, and focused on slurping his ramen again.
Even so, his cheeks were unnecessarily flushed. The cooling ramen was now hot.
After finishing dinner and exchanging a few more light words, it was already ten o’clock. Marteo, who had inadvertently checked the time, also looked down at his wrist and straightened his posture as if he was about to get up.
“It’s late.”
‘So…? Is he really going?’
He reflexively almost asked, but bit his tongue inside his mouth.
The reason he put aside other work and insisted on eating dinner first, and even chose the cup ramen that would be finished the fastest, was because he needed to fill his stomach first.
That way, he wouldn’t run out of energy no matter what he did. The ‘what’ naturally contained sexual intentions.
However, it wasn’t easy to step forward and be clingy with the man’s neat attitude today either. More than anything….
─Because it’s cool.
The words he used to praise the chicken bothered him. He felt like his toes were twisting for no reason, and his insides felt noisy.
With this, it was difficult to exude the composure of a proper adult.
‘Okay. I got his number. Today isn’t the only day, right?’
Yeon-ho, who had been worrying, changed his mind and looked up at Marteo as if nothing was wrong.
“Are you leaving?”
“It’s late. You should rest.”
I knew it. He’s so considerate. Does this bastard think I’m a stooped old man?
That’s what he thought, but Yeon-ho, who had put on a poker face again, followed Marteo to the front door.
“I’ll contact you soon.”
Marteo paused at these words and smiled slightly. Are you really going to contact me this time? It was as if the words were visible in his eyes. Still, that was all.
If it was Seong-min, he would have whined, ‘When? Can’t I just sleep over?’ at least twelve times already….
Yeon-ho was getting annoyed at the neatness that didn’t even have a special response. Marteo, who was opening the doorknob, suddenly let out an ‘Ah.’
“What’s wrong?”
He wondered if he had left something behind, but he was empty-handed from the start. Still, his gaze naturally went towards the living room. And as he turned his head again at the trace of nothing, a shadow fell over his head.
It was then that Marteo’s large, empty hand snatched Yeon-ho’s waist.
Yeon-ho’s eyes widened at the pulling grip, the touching body heat, and the unexpected contact. But it was too early to be surprised.
The man’s playful yet endlessly serious eyes. Just as he thought his head was getting closer to his face, he already felt a soft sensation on his lips.
The hot tongue, as if to touch, parted the closed lips and quickly dug inside.
Huu…! Yeon-ho involuntarily let out a faint exclamation and opened the rest of his mouth. At the same time, the contact became even deeper and more intense.
The sensation of his tongue sweeping through his mouth at will, licking and nibbling, and the squelching sound that confused his ears.
Saliva quickly gathered under his pulled tongue. Marteo’s tongue, which licked even that thoroughly, was relentless.
Every time the blunt tongues rubbed against each other, his head boiled as if it was sizzling, and the force of pulling and sucking inward soon made the area around his navel tingle.
A familiar yet unfamiliar sensation. Yeon-ho groaned once more.
Marteo’s hand, which had been wrapped around his waist, climbed up his back and wrapped around the back of Yeon-ho’s head as if to snatch it.
His moans were swallowed behind his throat at the kiss that forcibly changed the angle.
He thought that because he moved so elegantly, his kiss would also be like that… it was a complete misjudgment. This wasn’t elegance, but that of a ferocious predator.
But that’s why it was even more thrilling.
Yeon-ho, unable to stand it any longer, hugged Marteo back as if he was clinging to him, and tried to push his tongue into Marteo’s mouth, which was pushing him.
No, he was going to do that. If the man, who was one step ahead of him, hadn’t let go as if to pull away at that moment, if that had happened.
The kiss that started so suddenly was also sudden in its end.
Chuup….
The lips that had quickly moved away, forming a thin line, and the space between their chests that had widened by more than a hand span.
Haa, haa.
Beyond his disheveled breathing, Yeon-ho looked up at Marteo with a dazed face. The man was licking his wet lips. Then, he slowly wiped Yeon-ho’s equally wet lips with his thumb.
It was a sign that the kiss was over.
‘Why…?’
The answer to the question he asked earlier and wanted to ask now could only be heard after that.
“I forgot to say goodbye. You told me to pay the price with my body.”
……What?
“Thank you for the meal. Dinner.”
“……!”
When did I ever kiss you, it was elegance again. As he said, Marteo, who had taken a step back with a polite greeting, grabbed the doorknob of the front door. Then, the front door opened and closed with a thud.
The regular footsteps gradually faded away, and it was after some time had passed that Yeon-ho, who had been listening to them for a while, let out a series of empty breaths that were different from before.
……What is this.
Did ‘thank you for the meal’… really mean dinner? And not my mouth?
No. This is also something that was only half eaten!
He was dumbfounded. But what was more dumbfounding was the fact that the kiss, which was shorter than the time it took for the cup ramen to cook, was still hopelessly good.
Yeon-ho’s toes, which had been on the floor of the hallway because he had been pulled by Marteo, were curled up tightly inside without him even realizing it.
♥ ♥ ♥
A luxury hotel in a certain area of Seoul. A teacup and light refreshments were placed in front of a man sitting in the VIP lounge, scanning the scenery outside the panoramic window.
“Here is your Earl Grey as ordered. Is there anything else you need?”
Even with the voice dripping with kindness and friendliness, he gave a sign that it was okay with just a nod. Even after the server stepped back, he didn’t pick up the teacup.
It’s already been four days today.
He hasn’t heard from Yeon-ho yet.
Last time, he made the excuse of not knowing the contact information, but he couldn’t do that this time….
‘Did I go too far without permission?’
But…… how could I resist kissing him when he was making such a sulky face?
Yeon-ho himself wouldn’t know, but the lips that had protruded forward at the words ‘I’m leaving,’ not even a chick’s beak, were such that he couldn’t help but kiss them again even if he thought about it again.
Even so, the reason he let go of Yeon-ho at the end was because he was being petulant. He was being petulant about the familiarity that he was being attacked by a man and didn’t even refuse, as if that kind of situation wasn’t a big deal.
Of course, now that he thought about it, there was no more regrettable thing than this. What if he doesn’t get another chance like that in the future?
‘……Well. If it doesn’t come, I’ll just make it happen by force.’
Marteo, who had been tapping the armrest of the chair, finally picked up the cup, engraving a short reflection and a long determination. However, his brow furrowed as soon as he took a sip.
As expected… it’s not good.
In fact, black tea wasn’t originally his taste. How could water with weeds be so delicious? Still, the reason he chose tea was because what he couldn’t stand more than this was Korean-style coffee.
On the first day he stayed at the hotel, he was so surprised after ordering an espresso without knowing anything. Except for the fact that it was served in a small cup, it was just bitter water with a dull sour taste. He probably would have cursed if his tongue hadn’t frozen like that.
Thanks to that, he thought that it was better to have something that tasted bad than something terrible, so he gave up on coffee a long time ago and was challenging himself with black tea as a last resort, but it was difficult to give it a good score today as well.
Tsk. He never thought he would miss Tony like this….
A bitter smile spread across Marteo’s face as he recalled the half-white-haired butler who always brought him coffee that perfectly suited his taste, even though he was a bit oblivious.
And behind Marteo’s back. Among the servers who had been scrutinizing Marteo from the beginning, a completely different exclamation was bursting out.
As expected, he’s cool….
The young guest who had been staying in their hotel’s suite room for a while had become their main eye candy from the moment he first appeared.
An appearance that was unusual at a glance. Neat manners and elegant demeanor. The fact that he didn’t have a companion was also a high point.
How great was it that they could just enjoy the man without anything getting in the way? Moreover, they had recently added another exciting fun.
‘It’s Earl Grey this time, right?’
‘Yes. I’m confident today!’
The man’s expression every time he drank the tea he ordered. It was about how much of the tea the man would drink.
‘What did he drink the most of? Was it Assam?’
‘Yes. He probably drank about ⅓ of it?’
They still exchanged nods and hand signals in silence, and turned their eyes to the young and handsome guest with an even more determined look.
Marteo, who had barely taken a sip and was just spinning the teacup as if he had received poison, was tilting the cup again.
‘Yeah, drink it all!’
‘One shot. One shot.’
It was when their throats were gulping down behind the cheers that didn’t even consider the tea temperature.
Marteo, who had suddenly stopped his movements right before his lips, straightened his back, which had been leaning comfortably on the chair. Then, he put the teacup down as if he was going to throw it away, and started rummaging through his pockets with a more urgent movement.
What, what’s wrong?
The women’s eyes widened. Beyond the doubt, what Marteo took out was his phone. And the face that had paused the moment he checked the screen crumbled.
A smile that was infinitely more pleased than the bitter smile he had just made. The way his eyes were bent was enough to put a strain on their hearts. But it was still too early to be surprised.
“Yes.”
Korean unexpectedly flowed from Marteo’s mouth as soon as he answered the phone.
He had been speaking English to them all this time? He knew how to speak Korean?
They looked at each other with increasingly embarrassed faces and perked up their ears. Although all that came out was…,
“Yes. …Yes.”
It was a series of short answers.
After a while, Marteo jumped up from his seat. His smiling face was so calm that they couldn’t even guess, but the way he hurriedly left the lounge, barely receiving the servers’ greetings, was nowhere to be found.
It was only after Marteo’s figure had completely disappeared from their sight that they forgot the silent hand signals that had become a habit and moved their bewildered mouths.
“What’s going on? Why is he in such a hurry?”
“When I saw him last time, he was looking at some kind of document. Could it be a work issue?”
“Does he smile like that at a business partner?”
“Or a girl…friend?”
Silence swirled among them for a moment. Then, they hurriedly waved their hands.
“Eh. He wouldn’t say ‘yes, yes’ to a girlfriend. That’s not it.”
“Is that… so? Well, if he had a girlfriend, he wouldn’t have been traveling alone all this time, right?”
A bit of selfishness that they wanted handsome men, whether Korean or foreign, to remain public property. They forcibly shook off the unwelcome imagination and involuntarily scanned the direction Marteo had disappeared in, then looked back in the same direction this time as well.
Like clockwork, a bitter exclamation that was different from before burst out.
“It’s a record achievement.”
“I know. It’s just one sip today.”
The undiminished warmth was rising from the teacup that had been mercilessly pushed away by someone’s phone call.
♥ ♥ ♥
15 minutes ago, two o’clock.
As the dark gray Audi crossed the speed bump, a short piece of information appeared on the vehicle recognition panel along with the raised barrier.
Registered Vehicle
345 Ma 8796
Entry Time
13:45
The corners of Yeon-ho’s lips curled up as he checked the LED screen.
It was worth leaving early. He arrived 5 minutes earlier than expected. The parking lot, which would normally be densely packed, was unusually quiet today.
Yeon-ho, who turned off the engine after parking in the first spot he saw, got out of the car lightly.
Entering the building after punching in the entrance code, Yeon-ho was lucky enough to find the elevator already stopped on basement level 2. Stepping inside, he even took the time to smooth his clothes and hair in the mirror.
‘Hmm… perfect.’
Even he had to admit, his appearance was flawless. Satisfied, his hand finally pressed the lobby button on the first floor with leisurely ease. The whole process had taken barely three minutes.
Enough. There were still twelve minutes left until the appointment.
‘Let’s see what kind of state you’ll be in when you arrive. Just try being even a minute late.’
Unconsciously tapping his foot, a somewhat wicked smile spread across Yeon-ho’s face. In the meantime, the elevator reached the first floor.
Composing himself, Yeon-ho stepped out. He had only taken a few steps down the hallway when someone greeted him.
“Oh, Director Do. You’re in today?”
It was the head of Marketing Team 1. The surprise was somewhat rude, but understandable, so Yeon-ho responded briefly.
“Yes. Just now.”
“But why aren’t you going straight to the office? Are you… going home again?”
If the first remark was unintentional, this one was blatant rudeness. It was a stark reminder of how the company employees saw him. Still, it wasn’t enough to ruin his mood. Rather, it made his insides seethe with anticipation. Yeon-ho tugged the corners of his lips upward once more.
“No. I’m going to mess with someone.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Well then. Keep up the good work.”
Leaving her bewildered expression behind, Yeon-ho resumed his brisk pace.
His destination was the first-floor entrance. As she said, sitting leisurely in the office, waiting and urging ‘him’ to come, wouldn’t be bad either. But then he wouldn’t be able to watch ‘someone’ rushing in a fluster, would he?
‘The trouble of standing on the street for ten minutes is a price I’m more than willing to pay!’
Before he knew it, Yeon-ho was humming to himself, a sly smile plastered on his face as he pushed open the glass door. However… his elated heart, the wide smile on his face, everything shattered in an instant.
‘…Huh?’
The ‘someone’ he was 99.99% sure would be late was already there. And in a perfectly neat outfit from head to toe.
Behind the dumbfounded Yeon-ho, the glass door rattled weakly. Hearing the sound, the man who had been looking towards the street, Marteo, slowly turned his head.
Then, as soon as their eyes met, instead of panting, he raised his hand slightly with his usual faint smile.
“Do Yeon-ho.”
Yeon-ho reflexively glanced at his wristwatch.
1:53 PM…
The watch was accurate, and he was even more so. The only thing wrong was Yeon-ho’s calculation.
Seoul traffic is generally bad. Especially in the city center where DO:IT, his company, was located, which was notorious for its congestion. Even if he took the subway, it would take at least 15 minutes to walk from the station to the company.
Of course, knowing all this, Yeon-ho had deliberately called Marteo at 1:30 PM.
Asking where he was. Telling him to meet at 2 PM. He even added the petty warning ‘Don’t be late,’ but who knew he would take that warning so seriously…
The sight of him groveling and apologizing was out of the question from the start.
When Yeon-ho remained silent for a while, Marteo tilted his head belatedly and closed the remaining distance. Looking again, Marteo’s appearance was as impeccable as Yeon-ho’s, and his hair showed no signs of having rushed.
Finally, Yeon-ho frowned.
“What… are you?”
“……?”
“Did you fly here or something?”
It was an idiom he didn’t like, but nothing could be more fitting at the moment. Marteo, who had been studying his expression, stopped moving. His attitude would make a stranger think he was wondering how Yeon-ho knew…
But there was no way a ‘normal person’ could do what even Yeon-ho, a self-proclaimed ‘bird,’ couldn’t. Before long, Marteo slowly relaxed his expression and tugged at his lips once more.
“I happened to be nearby.”
…Nearby?
“You didn’t contact me again, so I didn’t know when you would call.”
“What?”
“You said you didn’t like waiting.”
“……”
“More importantly, are you… done being angry now?”
The gentle smile on his last question deepened even further. As a result, Yeon-ho’s insides were thoroughly twisted, let alone being able to argue.
If you break it down, he’s saying that because I hadn’t contacted him for the past few days, he was endlessly circling near the company, not knowing when I would call him.
Then at night… was he perhaps near my house?
Remembering him in front of his house a few days ago, it wasn’t impossible. In this situation, even the anger that had been rising would subside.
To think I was trying to mess with a guy like this, acting childishly…
Yeon-ho rubbed his forehead at the unexpected situation. But he was sure the guy was partly to blame.
With a cooled but still prickly attitude, Yeon-ho clicked his tongue.
“You… do you even know I was angry?”
“……”
“Then do you know why I was angry?”
“Well… because I kissed you without permission that day. I’ve been reflecting on acting as I pleased without your consent.”
“Is that all?”
“……?”
“Haa. You only know one thing and not the other.”
“……”
“Hey, who said it was because of the kiss? The problem isn’t that you did it without permission, but that you ended it without permission! It’s not like I’m a free sample for you to taste, how could you turn away at that moment? If you weren’t going to give it, you shouldn’t have given it at all, don’t you know the most despicable thing is taking back what you’ve given?!”
“……No, that’s….”
“That’s this and that’s that, think about it! Did you really think I invited you to my house at that hour to share a cozy cup of ramen, just for that? If that’s all I wanted, why would I even bother with a sponsor? I’d just become a restaurant owner!”
Marteo’s lips, which had been opening and closing several times at the accusing words, finally formed a straight line.
But it wasn’t because he had nothing to say. Rather, his expression seemed to be holding back a smile, and his eyes, bent even more delightfully, were quite alluring.
Marteo brought his face close to Yeon-ho’s ear, who was panting.
“Then… next time, can I eat something other than ramen? Without… getting permission?”
This time, Yeon-ho bit his lip. Then, smack! He forcefully hit Marteo’s forehead hard.
“Don’t be cheeky. I’m the one who eats!”
Instead of disagreement, the golden light in Marteo’s eyes flickered even more brilliantly. Thanks to that, even the slightest bit of lingering resentment melted away.
Seriously. If he was just a little less handsome, or no. If he just wasn’t as good at kissing, I would have ended it for good… For days, I was annoyed and frustrated, but when I think of the sensation left on my lips, I can’t shake off the regret.
Yeon-ho, who had been chewing on it, finally let out a sigh that had completely subsided and turned his body towards the lobby entrance. Marteo quickly grabbed Yeon-ho.
“Where are you going?”
Tsk. When was he ever so cheerful, why is he being so clingy here?
But… the strength of his grip, holding him tightly as if he would let go, wasn’t unpleasant. Hiding his feelings, Yeon-ho narrowed his eyes coldly.
“Where else? Did you think I called you here for no reason? I told you. Yoon Seung-won wanted to see you.”
“……”
“Follow me.”
This time, Yeon-ho grabbed Marteo’s collar and pulled him along.
A chicken herding an Eagle…
Anyway, it was a Morpheus world where you never knew what would happen.
♥ ♥ ♥
The perfunctory knock and the announcement ‘I’m coming in’ happened almost simultaneously.
Seung-won, who was loosening his stiff body by practicing putting in the corner of his office, was startled and turned his head, resulting in the unfortunate event of his neck bones misaligning.
The ball, thrown off course, went past the hole and landed in a completely wrong place. Physical pain combined with psychological shock! Seung-won raised his voice in a burst of anger.
“Hey! At least wait for an answer before coming in. Is this your living room?”
But despite the complaint, Yeon-ho’s expression was not apologetic but rather one of disdain.
“Then is Yoon Seung-won’s office the 8th hole? Why don’t you plant some grass?”
“……”
“Enough, put that stick down. We have a guest.”
Guest? Seung-won, who had given an inch and taken a mile, pouted and tilted his head.
“Come in.”
Then, his eyes widened at the unfamiliar man who entered the office after Yeon-ho.
From his early twenties working part-time to becoming the CEO of an entertainment company today, Seung-won had met almost every type of attractive person.
Handsome guys. Pretty guys. Innocent guys. Sexy guys… Thanks to that, even when he saw the most beautiful face, he would think, how much did that cost? The nose shape looks like Dr. Min from Gangnam? He had reached the point where he estimated the cost rather than admiring the beauty…
But this was different. It had been a long time since he had been this surprised, as if he had returned to his rookie days, and it was the first time he had been so speechless.
As if expecting Seung-won’s reaction, Yeon-ho shrugged nonchalantly.
“Introduce yourself. Even though he looks like this, he’s the CEO of our company, and this is… the guy I told you about before.”
“Hello. I’ve heard… a lot about you.”
The man, who seemed worthy of being called ‘sir’ but was reduced to just ‘guy,’ spoke in a rich and deep voice that seemed to melt everything around him.
Seung-won, who had finally thrown the putter he was holding on the floor, rushed towards them like something with a fire on its tail.
“So… the friend you mentioned back then is this friend?”
“Are you sleeping with your eyes open? That’s what I said.”
“No… you didn’t say it like this back then?”
“Say what?”
“You should have started by saying he’s incredibly, insanely, ridiculously handsome!”
“……”
I understand, but… he’s almost forty. Seung-won’s unfiltered words are, as he said, incredibly infuriating.
Why is the shame all mine?
Yeon-ho, who couldn’t even waste a curse on the openly excited Seung-won, sat down on the sofa.
“Sit down, you too. Don’t mind that guy.”
The added request, however, was unnecessary for Marteo. It’s not like he would care even if he was told to.
As if faithfully following the instructions, Marteo sat down close to him. Seung-won’s lost sense of shame only returned after that.
Two pairs of eyes sitting side by side, watching him as if he were a monkey in a zoo…
Too late, Seung-won cleared his throat and slowly approached them, barely managing to sit down opposite them.
“Um… excuse me. I was a bit over the top at our first meeting?”
“A bit?”
Yeon-ho didn’t miss the chance to tease him, but the spite didn’t last long. It was because Seung-won, who glared at him, tried to retaliate.
“Then what about you? You said you might be ‘a bit’ late, but you came so early. I told you to meet at three, but it’s not even half-past two yet? You don’t even know how to use ‘a bit’ properly.”
Yeon-ho’s mouth closed, feeling a pang of guilt. Marteo slowly turned to look at Yeon-ho.
‘Three o’clock…?’
He didn’t add any particular words, but his eyes were clear. And then he chuckled softly… It was clear that all his schemes had been exposed.
‘No, I didn’t know this guy would come so early either….’
This time, Yeon-ho cleared his throat loudly. Seung-won, who mistook it for being his fault, raised his nose triumphantly and turned to look at Marteo.
“Anyway, nice to meet you. I’ve heard about you from Yeon-ho, no, our Director Do, but seeing you in person, you’re much more handsome than I expected?”
“Thank you.”
“You should thank your parents for that, hahaha!”
“……”
“By the way, can I speak informally… to you?”
“Please, do as you wish.”
“Haha. You have a cool personality too~ And your Korean is really top-notch. I heard you’re of Korean descent, who did you learn the language from? Your parents?”
“…I lived here for a while when I was young.”
“Oh~ So what you learn when you’re young lasts a long time? Is your desire to work in Korea because of the memories of your childhood?”
“……”
“I heard you don’t currently have an agency, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Any short-term contracts or things that might get in the way? For example, signing a contract for a shoot where you can exercise your rights for a certain period, or stamping a seal on an agency or brokerage, even if it’s not an agency?”
“No.”
“Not even for work outside of Korea?”
“No.”
“That’s a relief. There are cases where people don’t think it’s a big deal, but then a lawsuit comes flying in.”
“……”
“Oh, and what kind of visa did you enter Korea with? How long have you been here?”
He’s the CEO of the company, but unlike his initial dazed image, his questions were surprisingly detailed. Marteo quickly racked his brains.
Morpheus, especially avian or aquatic Morpheus, sometimes unintentionally cross borders.
Therefore, there was an E-7X, a follow-up visa for so-called atypical entrants, Morpheus. However, Marteo used a corporate investment visa.
Of course, he couldn’t tell the truth about either one.
After thinking, he chose the most innocuous answer.
“I came with a job-seeking visa. It’s been about a month since I arrived.”
“So you have about five months left… Well, that’s a problem that can be solved by extending it. But seeing as it’s not a student visa, I guess you’re not a student. Did you graduate from university? No, how old are you?”
Marteo inadvertently turned to look at Yeon-ho. This answer was delayed.
“Twenty… four.”
“Twenty-four?”
It wasn’t Seung-won who asked, but Yeon-ho. Seung-won looked at Yeon-ho as if he was dumbfounded.
“What. You didn’t know his age?”
I just said as long as he’s not a minor…
Yeon-ho bit his lip, unable to answer, and Seung-won clicked his tongue and glared at him before turning back to Marteo with a beaming face.
“What’s your name?”
This was his chance, Yeon-ho spoke up instead, as if to make up for his mistake.
“Tony.”
“…Tony?”
“Originally Antonio, but I shorten it to ‘Tony’ for convenience.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t really fit your image? Isn’t it too cute….”
“Twenty-four is the perfect age to be cute.”
Marteo’s face hardened slightly at their conversation. He also thought of a wrinkled face with gray hair in his head.
Well… I guess that age can be cute too… I have to think of it that way.
“Anyway, what do you think after seeing him? Can we put him in the Im So-min drama you mentioned back then?”
In the meantime, Yeon-ho cut off the trivial talk and moved on to the main topic. Seung-won also rubbed his chin with a changed expression.
Im So-min drama? He hadn’t heard of it, but he guessed it was something related to him. Marteo looked back and forth between the two with cautious eyes.
“I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Why? Are you worried you can’t act? I just brushed it off back then, but if you look like this, you can get away with acting badly.”
“I can’t agree, but I do agree… It’s not a problem with that.”
“Then what is it?”
“There was a good minor role, but I heard Kim Seung-yeol’s company put their rookie in it. I happened to have a brief call with the director yesterday, and he complained to me about how much they were trying to push him in. How can I do the same after agreeing with him?”
“Getting cursed at is the CEO’s job.”
“Hey.”
“Why did you ask to see his face if you were going to be like this? You’re just wasting my time.”
At the sharp rebuke, Seung-won looked wronged. Nevertheless, Do Yeon-ho snorted at him. Suppressing the urge to punch him, Seung-won turned to look at Marteo.
“It’s a shame, but wait for now. Anyway, the people our Director Do likes all do well? By the way, do you know Kang Ji-won? Have you heard the line ‘I’ve reserved all the seats next to you from today’?”
Who’s doing bad acting. It was a line that seemed like it would make anyone cringe, even though he was hearing it for the first time.
Moreover, what bothered him more was Yeon-ho’s face, which was more distorted than his at the name ‘Kang Ji-won.’ As he turned to look at Yeon-ho, Seung-won began to count on his fingers.
“He’s not with us anymore, but he used to be part of our family? Yeon-ho picked Ji-won’s first drama too. Besides Kang Ji-won, there’s Oh Tae-jin, Kim Jun-hyuk, Lee Gun-woo… who else is there? Anyway, everyone our Director Do picks does well!”
He seemed to be bragging, but the more he did, the more Marteo’s expression froze like a still life.
The point is that all the names he just mentioned were in a relationship with Do Yeon-ho…
He had guessed and heard about it, but he had tried to avoid the specific names. Did Yoon Seung-won even realize that he was throwing ashes on the future of a promising celebrity, a whole bag of them?
Marteo, who was repeating the names stored in his head as if engraving them, finally raised the corners of his lips towards Yeon-ho.
On the surface, it was a perfect and attentive smile, but why? Why did it send a shiver down his spine?
Yeon-ho, who reflexively avoided his gaze, glared at Seung-won.
“Ah, don’t give him false hope.”
“What? Am I wrong?”
“You can’t even get him a minor role. Enough, if a drama is impossible, look into print ads or something… Oh, right, Lee Chang-hoon came back to Korea, right?”
“Who, that writer? Why that writer?”
“We need to make a profile picture for him.”
He was saying it easily, but it was a groundbreaking treatment. Lee Chang-hoon, who was famous for only working with outstanding stars, was by no means the type to take profile pictures for rookies.
Above all… he and Yeon-ho weren’t on good terms for some reason. Yeon-ho, who noticed Seung-won’s reluctance, shrugged.
“His skills are solid. Send me his contact information later.”
‘Judging by what he’s saying, he must have deleted his number a long time ago….’
Still, looking at Marteo, who had come into his view, he could understand his feelings.
Right. With someone like him, why would he go to a neighborhood photo studio or take life-four-cuts.
“I’ll ask if he’s available.”
“If you play hard to get unnecessarily, I’ll double your pay.”
“……From the company expenses?”
“From my own pocket.”
“…….”
“Then we’ll be going now.”
“Now? Hey, we just got here. Even if you’re leaving, at least have a cup of coffee…….”
“He doesn’t like coffee. You drink two cups, Representative Yoon Seung-won. What are you doing? Not getting up?”
Yeon-ho, who finally kicked off from his seat, looks down at Marteo. He was thinking of digging up information about Yeon-ho through Yoon Seung-won, but… it seemed he had to give up.
Regardless of what he felt inside, Marteo also stood up, pretending he couldn’t go against Yeon-ho on the outside. Seeing the two without any regrets, Seung-won reluctantly lifted his butt. But only for a moment. “Do Yeon-ho Director!” He hurriedly grabbed Yeon-ho again.
Yeon-ho, who was already heading towards the door, turned his head with a frown. This time, Seung-won scanned Marteo.
More than ten years. They knew each other’s cues without saying a word.
“Wait outside for a moment.”
Although he hesitated for a moment, Marteo bowed silently to Seung-won without any particular reply and left the office. As if he had been waiting, Seung-won quickly closed the distance.
“Hey. Did you get the stamp?”
“What stamp? The contract…?”
“Don’t play innocent. Ah, did you sleep with him!”
“…….”
“Not yet? If not, hurry up and sleep with him!”
“…….”
“You know too, right? The scariest thing is emotional attachment. He won’t have other thoughts if he gets attached to you. Just by looking at him, I can tell he’d get a truckload of business cards if he just walked down the street. Don’t delay unnecessarily and get snatched up by someone else, manage him well. Huh?”
“…….”
“Ah, why aren’t you answering?”
He was speechless. From the employees to the CEO, how could everyone in this company be so rude to him?
Clearly, he was the one who approached first to get sponsored, so why was he being treated like this?
First, it was the matchmaking story, and lately, why were there so many people trying to sell him off?
“Whether I sleep with him or put him to sleep, I’ll take care of it, so mind your own business!”
Unable to hold back, Yeon-ho slammed the door shut with all his might.
Where did he go?
He naturally expected him to be waiting right in front of the door, but Marteo was nowhere to be seen. However, the effort to find the missing person didn’t take long.
No sooner had he turned the corner than he discovered a number of employees who weren’t doing their jobs and were just sticking their noses in.
Following their gaze, he saw a man staring silently at the panels that filled the wall. Yeon-ho, who had slowed his hurried pace somewhat, approached him.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
Marteo, who seemed to have sensed his presence long ago, turned his head without any surprise. Then he turned his gaze back to the panels.
What he was looking at was a photo in the panel. Specifically, the names of Dooit’s affiliated celebrities…. Among them, one name engraved in the photo caught Yeon-ho’s eye.
OH-TEAJIN Oh Tae-jin
One of the names Seung-won had rattled off, and a very familiar figure to Yeon-ho.
Two years ago, the person he had backed. Coincidentally, next to him was a photo of Lee Gun-woo, with whom he had a relationship before Tae-jin.
They were things he always brushed past whenever he visited Seung-won’s room, but he had never paid attention to them… The strange discomfort he had felt in the office earlier resurfaced.
Yeon-ho, alternating his gaze between the photo and Marteo, deliberately spoke in a light voice after some thought.
“Are you envious?”
“…….”
“If you want to be up here, do well.”
He meant ‘work’ well, not ‘someone,’ but he took it this way again.
But either way, it wasn’t entirely wrong. What newcomers desperately wanted was always opportunity, and to seize that opportunity quickly, networking was essential.
“Yeah.”
Instead of denying it, Marteo slightly raised his eyebrows at the short affirmation. But before long, a smirk spread across his face.
Turning his body completely away from the panel, he changed the question.
“What are you doing now? Are you busy…?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to try to ‘do well,’ as you said.”
“……?”
“If you have time, would you like to go on a date with me?”
…A date?
Yeon-ho’s eyes widened at the unexpected words, or rather, the unexpected ‘expression.’ Of course, he had eaten and drank with the kids he had sponsored, and even gone shopping a few times…….
“The weather is nice, so a light walk would be nice too.”
There was no such thing as ‘strolling,’ which only real, ordinary couples would do.
No, if he wanted to do well, he should do well in bed, why was he talking about a date with such embarrassment?
Just as Yeon-ho’s face was starting to frown.
“…Are you not in the mood?”
Marteo raised the end of his sentence. Unlike before, it was a stiff honorific. The faint smile that had been floating on his face had also faded a little.
Hmm… Does his mood show in his tone?
It couldn’t be seen as a good habit, but strangely, this change was somewhat cute.
Anyway, he must have been nervous about being rejected.
As soon as the thought reached him, playfulness surged. Yeon-ho, suppressing the laughter that was about to burst out, narrowed his eyes.
“Do you know this place well?”
“……?”
“Where are you going to stroll? Do you even know a place to go?”
In fact, there aren’t many places to stroll near the company, which is full of office buildings. And if they were to leave the vicinity, they would have to take Yeon-ho’s car, which would mean that Yeon-ho would be giving him a ride instead of going on a date.
The application thrown out with such fanfare was mercilessly rejected. When he couldn’t readily open his mouth, Yeon-ho finally burst into laughter.
“How dare you talk about a date with such a thing?”
“…….”
“Don’t mess around and just follow me.”
“Where are you trying to… go?”
“A date is a hundred years too early, let’s go sightseeing or something.”
Sight…seeing…?
“Just by looking at you, I can tell you haven’t been anywhere properly. Since the topic came up, I’ll give you a tour.”
A tour??
The continuous choice of words was definitely a hundred years away from the mood he had expected.
“You should be honored.”
But on Yeon-ho’s face, which was grinning, there was no way he could refuse, even if it was a filial piety tour, not just sightseeing.
♥ ♥ ♥
The number of foreign tourists visiting Korea annually is approximately fifteen million.
Among them, one of the places that those who visit Seoul typically go to is the heart of Seoul, where you can feel the tradition and breath of the 500-year Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgung Palace, located at the foot of Mount Bukak.
But…
“Here, take it.”
Tradition or breath, Marteo’s current state of mind, with the Gyeongbokgung Palace ticket in front of him, is simply complex and diverse.
Of course, he thought it didn’t matter if it was a filial piety tour if Yeon-ho wanted to go… But that was just words, how could he have really meant it?
Naturally, he thought the tour guide talk was just a figure of speech….
“You’ve never been here before, have you?”
Yeon-ho, who had stubbornly handed him the ticket he had cut out, was completely treating Marteo as a tourist.
Marteo, swallowing a bitter breath, shook his head with drooping head.
“I haven’t… been.”
“Yeah. I figured. Later, when you become successful and do interviews and stuff, they’ll probably ask you things like that. What was your favorite Korean food? Have you been to such and such places? What impressed you the most when you came here? It’ll be good to have answers for then.”
“…Did you choose it for that reason?”
“Well. It’s a chance to go sightseeing and take a walk. Besides…….”
“Besides?”
“Unexpectedly… this is also a famous date spot.”
Yeon-ho swallowed the words he almost blurted out. Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was a reasonable choice for various reasons, 20 minutes from the company, but in fact… the word ‘date’ remained in one corner of his mind.
Even if he didn’t want to let him know that. Yeon-ho, pretending not to care, changed his words.
“I haven’t been here since I was a kid either.”
“Then aren’t you not able to give a proper tour?”
Well, this excuse was also caught.
Yeon-ho, glaring, pointed with his chin to the opposite side of the entrance.
“Do you want to just leave if you don’t like it?”
“Let’s go in.”
It was immediately effective. No matter how different the place was from what he had expected, this was definitely better than separating from Yeon-ho.
As if he had never been reluctant, Marteo, who had even snatched the ticket from Yeon-ho’s hand, quickly took the lead.
But before long, his steps slowed down again. Red pillars and blue dancheong, the sky draped over the ornate gate tower… After passing through Heungnyemun Gate and entering further inside, it was even more so.
The pale blue stone floor stretched far away, the majestic Geunjeongmun Gate standing firmly in front, and the magnificent roofline of Geunjeongjeon Hall visible beyond it.
It felt like not only the space but even time had changed.
The air of 500 years ago felt in the center of the city. Marteo’s gaze slowly moved along the elegant and beautiful lines of the palace.
Even in Italy, the city itself was called a historical site, with traces of history intact, but unlike the solemnly built Roman architecture, here, the white space of the emptied space, the beauty of restraint flowing within it, shook not only the eyes but also the heart.
Unconsciously, his mouth opened.
“It’s beautiful….”
“Yeah, it is.”
Yeon-ho also replied as if possessed. Then he flinched. Because the place where his gaze had been fixed since a while ago was not the palace, but the profile of the man who had stopped.
Even though it was difficult to call him Korean, Marteo’s face, which harmoniously blended Eastern and Western beauty, was ironically shining even more brightly in the most traditional palace.
‘Unexpectedly, hanbok might suit him well too?’
Yeon-ho, glancing sideways at a group of foreign tourists passing by wearing rented hanboks, coughed dryly.
“Let’s go that way.”
Anyway, he felt that they were similar-looking foreigners, and they were also glancing at this side. They were probably stealing glances at ‘Tony’ like him.
‘For sure, if he gets the chance, he’ll become a global talent.’
Deliberately thinking in a businesslike way, Yeon-ho’s steps became faster to avoid people.
After passing Geunjeongjeon Hall and Gangnyeongjeon Hall, there were fewer tourists. The place where they stopped again was Gyotaejeon Hall.
If Geunjeongjeon Hall was the dignified face of the palace, this place felt like a private atmosphere.
Yeon-ho, who scanned the Chinese characters on the signboard with his eyes, opened his mouth to Marteo, who was also looking up at him.
“This is Gyotaejeon Hall.”
“Gyotae…?”
The way he followed the words with a frown seemed to know the usual meaning of ‘gyotae.’ Yeon-ho unconsciously burst into laughter.
“Not that kind of gyotae.”
“……?”
“To associate, to be comfortable. Gyotae. It’s where the queen stayed.”
“Ah….”
He didn’t say anything in particular, but it was a face that seemed to think that the former also suited him. Yeon-ho suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out once more.
“You know quite a lot of word meanings for someone who only lived here for a short time as a child?”
“…….”
“Did you keep studying Korean? You usually forget it if you don’t use it.”
“I thought it might be necessary later….”
“Later when? When you become a celebrity?”
“…….”
Did he dream of working in Korea since he was quite young? Presuming, Yeon-ho sat down on the nearby stone steps. Marteo, who had approached him, naturally took a seat as well.
Perhaps because they were sitting so close, the hard stone steps felt warmer than expected.
A languid breeze that had crossed over the low wall with flower patterns lightly tousled his hair, and a quiet time flowed for a while, like old roof tiles lying calmly.
“You said you came here when you were young… How old were you then?”
Marteo suddenly opened his mouth. Turning his gaze, he looked like he was rather reminiscing about his own memories.
“Well. It was a kindergarten picnic, so I would have been seven years old?”
“Do you remember things well at that age?”
“Roughly?”
“I… remember it clearly.”
“What is it. Are you bragging?”
Yeon-ho blinked at the absurd words. Marteo, looking back at that face, smiled slightly. Still with a gaze that seemed to be tracing something he missed.
But, the moment didn’t last long.
“Okay, this is Gyotaejeon Hall. It’s the house where the queen lived.”
Because someone was explaining about this place and invading the space, just like Yeon-ho had done a while ago.
The two, whose relaxed mood was broken in an instant, turned to look at the same place. At the same time, a large number of short children appeared behind the leading guide.
They were probably around six or seven years old. They seemed to be kindergarten students who had come on a field trip, like Yeon-ho in the past. Moreover, that wasn’t the only thing that was the same.
“Huh? Kim Si-woo. What are you doing now? Fold your ears quickly!”
“Teacher, it’s hot∼.”
“Uh-huh. What did I say you have to do with Anima in public places?”
The face of the teacher coaxing and the child chattering back. The child’s drooping ears were visible outside the tightly pressed hat.
A dual-gender activator, a Morpheus.
The moment he realized it, the children’s teacher also found Yeon-ho and Marteo. She disciplined the child with the erect ears once again.
“Si-woo, let’s fold your ears quickly. Okay?”
“Then can I have whiskers?”
“No, you can’t! Put them in quickly.”
The problem was continuous.
“Teacher~ Choi Ji-ho showed his tail.”
After barely stopping one child, this time, a fluffy fur tail popped out of another child’s pants. The child who was tattled on screamed in a shrill voice.
“You have claws out!”
“Nooo! They’re fingernails!”
Excitement about going outside is a characteristic of all children, regardless of species. Starting with one or two, it was as if it had become contagious, and other children began to release their Anima in succession. Perhaps the teacher’s flustered embarrassment was just fun.
She, who had glanced at this side once more, raised her voice and clapped her hands, shouting, “Quiet!”
“Okay, everyone. What did I say to do in this kind of situation? The tail?”
“Quietly!”
“The ears and claws?”
“Inside!”
Still, it was just words. There was no way that immature individuals would follow him all at once.
“I can run all the way over there?”
“I can too! I can go further?”
“No. You’re not going to climb up there!”
Disciplining here and disciplining there, the teacher’s efforts to break a sweat were truly futile.
It was at that time.
Tap tap, one child who had left the group in the midst of the chaos approached Yeon-ho and Marteo. Then, as if sighing deeply, he sat down on the steps, just like the two adults.
There were no traces of ears, tails, claws, or whiskers coming out. The child, whose eyes he had inadvertently examined, was also staring intently at Yeon-ho.
“They’re just babies, that’s why.”
And you’re not a kid?
The words he wanted to spit out were clear, but there was something more certain than that.
“Childish.”
Even after looking again, it was a truly presumptuous and audacious mood. Yeon-ho’s face became properly sullen.
‘This bastard…… is a bird.’
As if his guess was correct, the child, who was shaking his head all the way to his short neck, chirped with his beak-like mouth.
“My mom says that wild beasts have no dignity even when they grow up. They’re always rolling around on the ground. And they always get something on their tails. Disgusting.”
Anyway, they’re doing a good job with the home education. They teach the word dignity, but why don’t they teach real dignity?
Still, he was holding back his words because the other party was a child, but it was unexpectedly Marteo who stepped in instead of Yeon-ho.
He slowly bent his waist towards the child.
Marteo, who was unfamiliar to the young child in both size and appearance, was bound to feel intimidating. As the child shrugged his small shoulders, Marteo raised the corners of his lips.
“You must be a bird. What’s your Anima?”
The child was even more flustered when he heard Korean coming out, thinking he was definitely a foreigner. Without paying attention, Marteo calmly waited for an answer and smiled again. Children originally look at faces, not strangers.
After two smiles, the child relaxed somewhat and moved his small voice.
“…Cuck…oo.”
It is a species that typically engages in brood parasitism. Not as much of an outcast as a chicken, but its image in the avian world wasn’t very good.
While he was thinking, Marteo spoke softly.
“A bird that sings with an attractive sound.”
The child’s expression definitely softened. Emboldened by the compliment, the child nodded his head vigorously and quickly.
“Yeah! My grandma said that real spring comes when we sing. If the cuckoo doesn’t sing, spring doesn’t come. There’s even a song about us, do you know it?”
Really? Marteo, listening attentively for a moment, lightly patted the child’s head. Then the smiling face gradually began to change seriously.
“But… I’m a little worried.”
“About what?”
“You’re a bird that tells us about spring and makes such a pretty sound, but if you say a lot of mean things, I’m afraid people won’t listen to the cuckoo’s song in the end.”
“Yes?”
“What you said to your friends earlier. I don’t think your friends would like it if they knew… What do you think?”
“…Uh, uh.”
He was saying to speak properly with his mouth open, but he was doing it elegantly at eye level. The child, realizing the changed atmosphere, couldn’t answer easily and rolled his eyes, eventually curling his neck inward.
“They’ll hate it….”
“Is it okay if people don’t like the cuckoo’s song?”
Dori dori dori. Marteo’s large hand patted the child’s head again as he shook his head violently from side to side.
“Other species each have their own good points.”
“Even wild beasts?”
“Even wild beasts.”
“Even if they’re not birds?”
“Even if they’re not birds.”
But I think birds are the best….
Marteo, who had been smirking at the mumbling words again, now turned to the teacher who was just disciplining the children and counting the numbers.
“Go. Your teacher is looking for you.”
The child, nodding his head, quickly shook off his seat and stood up. Then, after not being able to take a few steps, he turned around.
“But are you a Morpheus too, hyung?”
When Marteo didn’t answer, the child smiled brightly.
“Even just a person is fine. Every species has its good points.”
These kids sure learn fast these days? He’s using it already.
Yeon-ho was inwardly impressed when, ah! The kid raised his voice again.
“But still, not chickens! They can’t even fly when they’re grown… they’re always just in the coop, they don’t have anything good about them!”
What, you little…!
Yeon-ho’s upper body, which had been leaning on his arm on his knee, watching their conversation, faltered for a moment.
If teaching one thing makes you understand two, that wouldn’t be a kid. It was a blow to the back of the head after things were going well. Marteo hurriedly turned to Yeon-ho, who had stiffened with his body askew.
“Are you… alright?”
It sounded like ‘alright’ with a lot of meaning… but that must be my imagination?
“About what?”
“……”
“My butt’s getting sore from sitting on the stone floor. Let’s go.”
Yeon-ho shook off the spot, pretending that his momentarily lost balance was due to the hard stone steps, and that he was planning to get up anyway. Whether the excuse worked or not, there were no more questions about whether he was alright.
They walked on like that, sometimes one ahead and sometimes the other, for a while, and then Yeon-ho glanced at Marteo.
“You’re a bit of a surprise.”
“……?”
“You handle kids better than I expected. Do you have a younger sibling or something?”
“…No.”
“So you just like kids, then.”
“It’s not that I like them, but there’s no particular reason to dislike them.”
“Hmph. That’s quite a big difference. ‘No reason to dislike’ and ‘no reason to like.’”
“Does Do Yeon-ho… not like children very much?”
Marteo carefully broached the subject after a pause. Yeon-ho, recalling the earlier situation in his head, affirmed without hesitation.
“Nope. They’re a nuisance.”
“……”
“They don’t understand you, they’re noisy, you have to take care of everything from A to Z. When would I ever raise those things into something resembling a person? I’d rather just work.”
“Still… wouldn’t your own child be cute?”
“Then you go have a lot of kids and raise them.”
“…Do you have no intention of having children at all?”
What’s this? Why are you suddenly using formal language at this timing?
Yeon-ho tilted his head, but his nonchalant attitude remained unchanged.
“Would I? Besides, I’m gay. Who am I going to have a kid with?”
He conveniently left out the part about Morpheus being able to get pregnant. But whether he borrowed someone else’s womb or used his own, the fact remained that he had no intention of having children.
Marteo closed his mouth at the repeated affirmations. The atmosphere grew heavier, as if he were thinking about something. Yeon-ho frowned.
“Why? Are you one of those people who thinks you absolutely have to have kids?”
Judging by the atmosphere so far, it seemed like a positive answer would come out. But before long, Marteo shook his head. A low but firm reply flowed out, as if he had made up his mind.
“No. I don’t think I need them either.”
“Right? They’re just a nuisance to have around.”
Marteo smiled slowly, both bitter and sweet.
“Where shall we look next?”
Then he took a step forward. Yeon-ho, on the other hand, stopped in his tracks.
I sincerely don’t need kids… but the man’s smile I just saw is still dancing before my eyes….
For the sake of purifying the eyes of humanity, wouldn’t it be okay for a lot of kids who look like that bastard to be born? The thought suddenly occurred to him.
♥ ♥ ♥
It was closing time when the two of them left Gyeongbokgung Palace and had dinner at a Korean traditional cuisine restaurant in Seochon.
From the location to the meal, it was once again a typical tourist route… but the dissatisfaction Marteo had initially felt had already vanished without a trace.
The leisurely time at the palace, where he hadn’t even noticed the time passing, Yeon-ho’s expression as he stretched his shoulders in the sunlight and looked completely relaxed. The eyes that met his so often, the fingertips that brushed against his every time he took a step, even the voice that playfully asked, “Should I buy this for you?” as they looked around the souvenir shop….
Even if he had been told to dig in the wasteland instead of sightseeing, anything would have been good as long as he was with Yeon-ho.
As such, the moment of parting was bitterly disappointing.
“What are you going to do now?”
The day’s schedule was over. Yeon-ho, having lowered the tour flag, asked in a nonchalant tone as he left the restaurant.
If he had intended to spend the night with me, he wouldn’t have bothered asking for my opinion.
Has the aftereffect of walking so much finally caught up with him? Marteo, scanning Yeon-ho, who was even tapping his legs, reluctantly opened his mouth.
“I should… probably go in now.”
“Are you going to?”
“……”
“Well, you must be tired from walking a lot today too.”
The tone was still nonchalant, but ‘you too’ was synonymous with ‘me too.’
It would have been more comfortable if I had been oblivious… A bitter smile formed on Marteo’s lips.
I’ve been doing this a lot for the past few days, and also regretting it… I shouldn’t have stopped at that kiss the other day. I never knew that the opportunity I missed because of a moment of pique would be so painful.
Yeon-ho, unaware of his feelings, had already taken out his car keys.
“How are you getting home? Is it far from here?”
“Just, a little.”
“Then don’t bother and take a taxi.”
He used to say he’d give me a ride, but it seems like there’s no such service today.
Well, he even gave me a card to use, so there’s no need to volunteer to be a driver.
But… seeing Yeon-ho turn his back after saying this, understanding and emotion were still separate things.
Before he even thought about it, he reached out his hand. Yeon-ho, who had been about to grab the car door handle, flinched as his wrist was suddenly grabbed.
“……Why, …what?”
The two questions that came out after a pause were strangely awkward. But this wasn’t the time to ask why. Marteo quickly composed his dry lips.
“I, I wanted to drive you home.”
“Huh?”
“Because you went through a lot because of me today.”
“……”
“So, give me the keys.”
It was only a suggestion in words. Marteo snatched the car keys as if he were stealing them and turned around to open the passenger door himself.
Then, he directed a low question towards Yeon-ho, who was standing there blankly.
“Do you… dislike it?”
It felt like a sigh would escape instead of an answer. I’m strange myself… it seems I’m weak against that formal language of his.
In the end, he couldn’t resist for long and chose the passenger seat instead of the driver’s seat. Marteo, having watched him fasten his seatbelt, finally closed the door and hurriedly walked towards the driver’s seat.
Yeon-ho, having scanned the man once more, bit his tongue. The heart that had unknowingly leaped up the moment his wrist was grabbed. It was now futile and ridiculous.
‘And here I thought. He was going to give me a ‘thanks for the meal’ kiss again….’
Whether it was disappointment or relief… it was a strange feeling either way.
♥ ♥ ♥
“Turn right up ahead.”
The navigation system was saying to go straight for 5km, but Yeon-ho suddenly gave a different direction. When he turned to look at him with a question in his eyes, an easy answer came out.
“That way is faster.”
That easy answer didn’t sit well with him.
‘I don’t want to get there faster…….’
The fact that he had been strictly following the traffic lights and speed limits until now wasn’t just a matter of safety. Still, he made a motion to change lanes. But he made a mistake of choosing a much narrower side street instead of the block Yeon-ho had mentioned.
“Huh? Hey. Why are you going in here?”
Yeon-ho, who had been leaning comfortably against the car seat until now, raised his head. Marteo, digesting his incomprehensible expression, spoke in a reluctant voice.
“You said to turn right just now….”
“Haa. I meant to turn at that traffic light over there, not here.”
“……Ah.”
“It’s obviously a residential alley, why would you come in here?”
“Should I… turn the car around?”
But Marteo had already seen it. One-way street. The sign was clearly posted on the utility pole. Yeon-ho must have noticed it too, as he rubbed his forehead and then leaned back in his seat.
“Never mind. There’s no place to turn around anyway.”
As he said, the narrow alley lined with houses was so densely packed with cars in the piloti parking lots that there was no room to go in and out. Moreover, it was impossible to speed in the alley due to its nature.
Marteo, who only laughed inwardly, deliberately slowed down. The navigation system, which had been spinning around, increased the arrival time by 15 minutes.
To do such a stupid thing just to gain 15 minutes. Yeon-ho wouldn’t know, but he himself didn’t know it even more.
Still, for him, these 15 minutes weren’t wasted but definitely earned time. Marteo leisurely glanced at Yeon-ho as he drove at a snail’s pace, almost waiting for it to end.
And it was when he had used up 10 minutes of the precious 15 minutes and was about to get out of the alley.
“Where do you live?”
Yeon-ho, having looked around the last villa at the end of the alley, suddenly spoke up. Marteo, who was regretting the situation where he had no choice but to speed up again, didn’t hear him properly and asked back, “…Pardon?” Yeon-ho frowned.
“Where do you live? Is it far from here?”
“…No, it’s on the way.”
“On the way?”
“It’s relatively close to Do Yeon-ho’s house. You don’t have to worry about it.”
He remembered hearing similar questions when he had first offered to take him home and when he had tried to say goodbye earlier.
Perhaps this was an extension of that, Marteo even added a smile as if to reassure him.
But it was a mistake. “Is that so?” Yeon-ho, having raised the end of his sentence, tapped his folded arms a few times and then said something unexpected.
“Then let’s go to your place instead of my place.”
“…Pardon?”
“You said it’s on the way. Why bother going all the way to my place? I can drop you off and drive the rest of the way myself. What’s the address?”
Yeon-ho even reached for the navigation system. The smile that had been on Marteo’s lips quickly subsided.
Address…? There’s no need to enter an address. It’s not a lie that it’s close.
The logo of the building that can be easily seen from Yeon-ho’s living room window. The place where Marteo has been staying since he came to Korea is a 5-star hotel.
But there’s no way he can tell the truth. No matter how small the room is, how much would a hotel room cost? It’s been over a month since he came to Korea, and if he’s been staying in a hotel the whole time, it would definitely seem strange.
“It’s alright. It’s not, not a bother at all.”
Marteo tried his best to manage his expression. But this time, it didn’t work.
“You’re doing it again. Do you get some kind of mouth disease if you don’t argue with me?”
“It’s not that…….”
“If not, then stop talking and tell me the address.”
Marteo’s lips tightened as he had to do something stupid again after misunderstanding the direction.
“…I don’t remember it.”
“What?”
The former at least had something to gain, but Yeon-ho’s expression as he asked back was utterly dumbfounded. It might even be close to pathetic.
“What have you been doing for over a month that you can’t even memorize your own address?”
“I didn’t… particularly need to remember it. I can just find my way by looking at the building.”
“……”
Yeon-ho closed his mouth at the slightly embellished excuse. It was difficult to guess what he was thinking as he stared straight ahead.
It would be nice if he would just let it go like this… Yeon-ho spoke again as he anxiously glanced at his profile.
“Anyway, let’s go to where you live.”
There was no way to argue at all. The heartless green light was shining brightly all the way ahead.
After getting out of the alley and driving for dozens of minutes again. Marteo, who was still unable to go to the hotel and was just circling around in the wrong places, eventually stopped the car on the side of the road due to Yeon-ho’s increasingly sullen face.
A variety store, a beauty salon, a bar, and a restaurant. The roadside with mismatched stores stuck together wasn’t a residential area.
Yeon-ho, having looked out the noisy window, turned to Marteo with a frown.
His expression said, ‘Why did you stop the car in such a strange place when I told you to go home?’ He pretended not to know even though he knew.
“We’re here.”
“We’re here?”
“It’s just a little further from here.”
“Then let’s go the rest of the way. Why are you stopping here?”
To be honest, he had thought about just picking any house. But it would be a problem if Yeon-ho said he wanted to come inside.
“The alley in front of my house is narrow. It’s easier to get off around here.”
“……”
“It’s also easier to turn the car around.”
It was an excuse that deliberately reminded him of the alley he had misunderstood. Yeon-ho didn’t add anything, perhaps thinking the same thing.
‘I should find a suitable house starting tomorrow.’
The plan to take Yeon-ho to his doorstep had already gone wrong, and Marteo, having made plans for tomorrow, hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt. Yeon-ho, who had been pausing, soon followed suit and stepped out of the car.
Marteo, who had taken another step back as Yeon-ho approached the driver’s seat as if to switch places, pulled at the corner of his lips.
“Please contact me when you arrive. To make sure you got home safe.”
“Am I a kid?”
“……”
“You should go too, instead of just standing there.”
“…I’ll watch you leave.”
It was a polite response and something he could easily say. But he didn’t feel refreshed at all.
‘What’s bothering me so much?’
Yeon-ho, unable to shake off the unease, turned to look at Marteo one more time. Then, he stopped abruptly.
His eyes, fixed on a point beyond Marteo’s shoulder, quickly began to harden.
‘Why……?’
Marteo, who had also narrowed his brow, followed his gaze. At that moment, Yeon-ho’s voice, which had sunk deeply, pierced his ears.
“Antonio.”
When he turned his gaze back, he saw Yeon-ho’s twisted lips.
“You… answer me honestly. You lied to me, didn’t you?”
It was just luck that he didn’t flinch. There were too many things that came to mind in an instant, so there was no time to be surprised.
‘…What is it? Did I, make some kind of mistake!’
Marteo quickly reviewed the conversations they had had earlier. But he couldn’t find anything that bothered him. After a long time, Marteo frowned with a face that was half sincere and half feigned, and mostly dumbfounded.
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”
“You really don’t know?”
“……”
“You… it’s a lie that you have a house, isn’t it.”
…What? He was almost relieved that he had been nervous for a moment. The lie was just about ‘having a house’?
But the situation wasn’t as easy as he thought.
“If you really live in a rented room, tell me if it’s jeonse or monthly rent. Is it a short-term lease? A formal contract? How much deposit did you give?”
Yeon-ho poured out a series of fierce questions. He was speechless in a different sense.
How much would be appropriate for a twenty-four-year-old who came in on a job-seeking visa to choose as a house? What’s the market price around here?
He had lived his whole life without a price ceiling, but his sense of the price floor was relatively dull. Marteo, unable to answer rashly, just kept opening and closing his dry lips.
Yeon-ho, having scanned that appearance once more, even let out a hollow laugh.
“Hah. I knew it. I thought it was strange from the moment you said you didn’t know the address….”
“……”
“Where were you planning to go after sending me off first? Don’t tell me you… live in a place like that? That’s why you didn’t need to memorize the address?”
A place… like that? Following the quick questioning, Yeon-ho’s finger pointed somewhere. The commercial building that was lined up behind Marteo was within easy reach.
On the third floor of the old, dirty white-tiled building, there was a blue sun-shading film on the window. The yellow letters that contrasted with it were even more noticeable.
[Goshiwon.]
Marteo’s expression, which had been following his finger, was genuinely dumbfounded this time.
Judging by the ‘tel’ attached to it, it must be a motel, hotel, or some kind of lodging… but why is ‘goshi’ attached to it? No, what is that that makes Yeon-ho’s expression so bad?
He couldn’t ask questions or make judgments in this situation. Meanwhile, Yeon-ho was solidifying his conviction with Marteo’s vague expression.
The question that had suddenly occurred to him when he had mistakenly entered the alley and saw the villa village. Where the hell is this bastard staying?
It doesn’t look like he has any relatives or friends here, and the housing prices in Seoul are notoriously high.
‘Where’ he lives not only meant the location but also had that meaning.
But not only did he not know the address, but he didn’t even go home and instead pushed me to go first… how could I not feel strange?
Then, the ‘goshiwon’ that happened to catch his eye seemed to be the key and answer to all this unease.
The reason he had been wandering around the company for no reason was probably because the outside was better than the cramped room. The reason he had refused the car he had offered before also made sense if he was living in a goshiwon. What’s the point of having a car? There’s no place to park it.
With the situation fitting together in many ways, Yeon-ho finally rubbed his forehead.
“I’m not saying anything, so answer me honestly. Since when? Don’t tell me you’ve been living in a goshiwon since you came to Korea?”
His voice was still prickly, but it was somewhat calmer than before. Marteo, not missing the moment, racked his brains.
…Looking at it again, it was clear that Yeon-ho was focusing on the ‘goshiwon’ itself rather than the ‘lie.’ In this case, it was more advantageous to give him the answer he wanted than to deny it.
“…Anyway, it’s a lodging facility.”
“So. You really lived in a goshiwon?”
“It’s not very uncomfortable.”
He had also made a gamble without even knowing what a goshiwon was.
The judgment was right in a way. Yeon-ho, who had been about to let out a dumbfounded sigh, closed his mouth again. But his expression was still gloomy.
Of course, it couldn’t be helped.
He has a face that looks like he’s never suffered a day in his life, and he says it’s not uncomfortable. …Is this guy poorer than I thought? Is he so poor that he can’t even afford a deposit? That’s why he’s recklessly trying to become a celebrity…….
No, even so. What kind of place is a goshiwon? Not only is there no privacy, but you can even hear the farts of the person in the next room if it’s bad.
There are many places without bathrooms, let alone windows, and especially if it’s a place like this on the roadside, there will be a lot of fumes and noise.
Besides, is this guy’s height normal? I don’t even need to look to know that the bed is a single or worse, and if he stretches out his long arms, will both walls touch?
Even with strict management, it wouldn’t be enough. How could he stretch out and sleep properly in such a cramped place?
As the image became more vivid, his face contorted further. Even then, the man met his gaze and offered a faint smile, as if to reassure him.
He felt suffocated. Yeon-ho, unable to bear it, finally opened his mouth with a twisted expression.
“…Get.”
“Pardon?”
“Get back in the car!”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t possibly leave him here.