By Zephyria His finger trembled as he opened the recent calls list. The list contained only one person. Carrot Seller.
“Put it on speakerphone.”
He looked up at the command. Chairman Jo, sitting loosely in a diagonal position from Choi Hong-seo, next to Park Dong-ha, tapped the phone playing the video with his finger.
“You know, right? With one flick of a finger, the video is shared. Let’s do this properly.”
Then, he finally paused the video.
Choi Hong-seo placed the phone on the table and attempted to call ‘Carrot Seller.’ He didn’t even have time to count the numbers on his fingers. As if waiting for a call to come down to the restaurant, his voice was reached before the first ring.
[Hello.]
“It’s me.”
He didn’t add ‘Ajusshi.’ For him, it was an endearment, not a title, and he had no intention of revealing that to them.
[Yes, I know.]
His voice was calm and affectionate, as usual.
“Um… today, can I just talk with Dong-ha alone? I’ll introduce the Vice President later.”
[Why? Did the conversation not go well?]
“No, quite the opposite. The conversation went better than expected. Today, I wanted to hear from Dong-ha, clear up any misunderstandings… Is that okay? I’m sorry for coming all this way with you. But… it’s okay, right?”
He was surprised himself at how his voice and tone carried no anxiety. Conversely, the thin knit sweater he had chosen was becoming damp with cold sweat.
[If Baby wants to do that, then you should.]
“I won’t be moving seats. I’ll talk here a bit longer… and then go straight to the room.”
[Alright. I’ll be waiting.]
“Yes.”
[…Don’t be too late. Because I’m waiting.]
After a slight hesitation, he carefully added. He didn’t care that they were listening, nor that Lee Hae-sung couldn’t see him, his voice, which seemed to envelop him gently, followed as Choi Hong-seo nodded.
[I don’t have anywhere else I want to go. I’ll be here. Baby, you know that, right?]
“Yes, I know. I’ll be there without being late.”
This time too, Choi Hong-seo nodded and replied. Even though he was unaware of the situation here, his throat tightened at the conversation that seemed to hint at something. After ending the call, Choi Hong-seo wiped the cold sweat from his face with the napkin on his plate.
“Baby?”
As soon as the call ended, Chairman Jo’s sneer was heard.
“Baby? Coming from the great Lee Hae-sung? Hey… Yoon Hye-an is a baby. That baby is long dead. Or, what, were you playing a game?”
He couldn’t tell if the nausea he felt was from ‘that symptom’ or from Chairman Jo’s disgustingness. Gritting his teeth and enduring the rising urge to vomit, Choi Hong-seo twisted the napkin on his lap with both hands.
“Ah, now that I think about it. Compared to how he acts all noble and aloof, Lee Hae-sung must be quite vulgar in bed too? I know who you were with before, Hye-an. That person was no less of a slut than you.”
“You know that wiping away filth with a rag only makes it dirtier, right, Chairman Jo?”
Chairman Jo, resting his elbows on the table and lightly clasping his hands in front of his lips, chuckled.
“So you’re saying if I’m a rag, you’re the filth? After coming back from the dead, our Hye-an’s metaphorical skills have really improved.”
“……”
“Then, is Lee Hae-sung like a washing machine that cleans that rag? If I’m filth, then he’s filth too.”
“They say you see what you are in others.”
For a moment, the smile vanished from Chairman Jo’s face. With eyes as cold as ice, he tapped the phone screen again and resumed the video.
“Yoon Hye-an, don’t you understand the situation?”
The shrill, false moans produced by a voice identical to his own were horrific. As if his hearing was being tortured, Choi Hong-seo contorted his face in pain.
“This Sunday. By 9 PM, bring Lee Hae-sung to my villa in Yeoju. Dong-ha will send you the location.”
“You told me not to bring him here, but now you want me to bring him?”
“Without any bodyguards or escorts. You just need to bring Lee Hae-sung there. If you do that, this video won’t be leaked.”
“How can I trust that?”
“My target isn’t you anyway, it’s Lee Hae-sung. What would I gain by fighting with insignificant people like you, right?”
Chairman Jo casually put his arm around Park Dong-ha’s shoulder. Then, he kissed the cheek of the pale, almost blue, trembling Park Dong-ha with a loud smack. Park Dong-ha showed no reaction to whatever Chairman Jo did. He looked like a man who had lost his mind.
Releasing Park Dong-ha, whose body swayed precariously, Chairman Jo picked up a fork from the neatly arranged cutlery and pressed its tip onto the table.
“I have quite a few grievances against that guy. That bastard who got lucky with his parents, acting like there’s no one above him.”
Chairman Jo had been publicly humiliated by Lee Hae-sung at least two or three times that Choi Hong-seo had witnessed firsthand. It happened at their first meeting, and it was even more thoroughly crushed at the production decision party. Afterward, Chairman Jo had completely withdrawn from the ‘Cream Mansion’ investment. But of course, all of that was a result of Chairman Jo’s own doing.
Chairman Jo, who had been grinding his teeth at Lee Hae-sung, had seized an opportunity for revenge through Yoon Hye-an. It was as clear as day that he wouldn’t just demand money. This man would try to humiliate Lee Hae-sung.
It was almost enough to elicit a hollow laugh, finding himself in a situation so identical to the one before his death. Whether it was a video taken while being forcibly violated or one taken after willingly seeking out a sponsor, it could ultimately become the same tool for blackmail. Moreover, it was identical how those videos would hold Lee Hae-sung back.
There was nothing left to take from me. His objective could only be to bring him down through me. With his eyes burning and aching, Choi Hong-seo gathered his strength, desperately trying not to lose consciousness.
“It’s a very secluded place overlooking the Namhan River, with hardly any people around. So secluded that no one would know if anything happened there. Our Hyean can just think of it as a day out to get some fresh air.”
“Let’s make it Saturday.”
“As expected of Yoon Hye-an. So decisive.”
Chairman Jo nodded with a smile, as if this was exactly what he had anticipated.
“I have an important schedule on Sunday.”
I was supposed to go to America with Lee Hae-sung on Sunday. No matter what plan Chairman Jo had concocted, I had no intention of letting this bastard ruin the plans Lee Hae-sung had prepared for me. I would never let that happen.
This time, Chairman Jo even shook his shoulders as he cackled.
“Yes, yes. That’s right. You’re about to become the nation’s porn star, so what’s dating Lee Hae-sung now? It’s fortunate that Yoon Hye-an isn’t quite a global star yet, if anything.”
As his satisfied chuckles subsided somewhat, Chairman Jo put down his fork with a clink.
“Hyean-ah, Yoon Hye-an.”
His friendly tone and expression only amplified his detestability.
“You know, I thought you were just a nobody with a pretty face and a foul temper? Lacking the brains to play in the big leagues, and not the capacity for it… just incredibly greedy.”
“……”
“Who would have thought you’d bring me an opportunity like this? Huh?”
Chairman Jo seemed genuinely amused. He raised his water glass, filled to the brim, as if to toast, took a few sips, and set it down.
“This is why people need to prepare proof in advance. If there were no videos, even if Hyean had given birth to Lee Hae-sung’s child, you’d just be left twiddling your thumbs, wouldn’t you? Dong-ha, you too, listen carefully. This is all life lessons that will become blood and flesh.”
Chairman Jo patted Park Dong-ha’s back, then tilted his head and looked at me with a completely different atmosphere than before.
“But Hyean-ah, you’re still holding a grudge over past events… that’s not like you, is it?”
A sigh of exasperation followed.
“You know I can’t date anyone over twenty-five. Still, you looked so young that I dated you for an unusually long time.”
“……”
“You threatened to jump off a bridge because your sponsor switched to someone else… why would you act like such a damn fool? Did you expect me to feel guilty? Did I look like the kind of person who would? You really don’t care about others.”
Tsk, tsk, Chairman Jo clicked his tongue and pointed a finger, then took another sip of water and stood up. Park Dong-ha, who had been sitting there in a daze, abruptly stood up too, knocking over his chair. Looking back at Park Dong-ha as he righted the chair, Chairman Jo clicked his tongue once more.
It’s almost over. If I just hold on a little longer, I can go back to Lee Hae-sung. Choi Hong-seo repeated that to himself, squeezing the napkin.
“Yoon Hye-an, let’s get along, shall we?”
Chairman Jo put down his water glass and waved his phone.
“Whether your memory is wiped or not, you remember my temper, right? I do what I say I’ll do.”
I felt like I might lose consciousness if I let my guard down for even a moment, but Choi Hong-seo kept his eyes fixed on Chairman Jo until the end. Chairman Jo, who seemed about to put his phone in his jacket pocket and leave the room, suddenly approached Choi Hong-seo.
Chairman Jo’s hand gently brushed aside Choi Hong-seo’s sweat-drenched hair.
“Why are you sweating so much? You’re making me soft. You’re not the type to get this rattled.”
The gaze looking down was disgusting. It was a look Choi Hong-seo knew all too well. A concentration of lust, appraising and desiring me solely as a means to satisfy his urges. Ugh, ugh. I didn’t actually vomit, but I could barely suppress the nausea. I had to lean forward, making guttural sounds.
Unfazed, Chairman Jo then grabbed Choi Hong-seo’s chin and tilted it up.
“Is it because you think of it as Lee Hae-sung’s? I used you thoroughly and discarded you back then, but you still seem to have some juice left?”
His thumb, gripping my chin, slid past my lower lip as if to crush it. Choi Hong-seo shook his head, flinging away the hand. Panting with hot, ragged breaths, I glared with feverish eyes.
Looking down at the sight, Chairman Jo let out a short laugh.
“This is the taste I used to crave.”
With one hand in his pants pocket, Chairman Jo slung an arm around Park Dong-ha’s shoulder and left the private room. Finally, I was alone.
Letting out a long breath, I relaxed my abdomen and chest, and collapsed. As if drawn by something, I slowly turned my head and looked to the right. Outside the window, a hazy night fog still obscured the world. It was still, and still, rain, not snow. I wanted to see snow with him. The snow I was waiting for hadn’t arrived yet.
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