By Zephyria “But if that video were in Lee Hae-sung’s hands, then the story would be different, wouldn’t it?”
“……”
This time, Go Ji-woon’s expression changed. His slumped posture gradually straightened, and his eyes showed interest.
“If the video you have, Go Ji-woon, meets our expectations, we’d like to make a deal. Depending on the video’s value, we’ll offer a generous price. If it’s a video that can definitively tighten the noose around Jo Seong-hyeon’s neck, we’ll offer up to 1 billion won.”
“O-o-one billion won?”
“We’ll arrange separate housing for you. That’s 1 billion won in cash.”
Go Ji-woon swallowed dryly, his eyes darting around. The flush from the soju he had suddenly drunk had completely faded from his face, and he was incessantly gnawing on his lower lip. Lee Hae-sung pressed him with a voice devoid of inflection.
“First, can we check the video?”
It was a request delivered with a languidly gentle and mannered tone, yet it somehow sounded like a veiled command, a characteristic of Lee Hae-sung’s speech.
Choi Hong-seo, who had been quietly observing the small room, glanced at Lee Hae-sung, who was sitting so close that their knees were touching.
“If the director and the actor are amenable, could I see a bit of your acting?”
The day Choi Hong-seo first met Lee Hae-sung at Director Kang Woo-hyun’s residence. Lee Hae-sung had treated Choi Hong-seo that way. Now, Choi Hong-seo knew it was Lee Hae-sung’s professional demeanor, but at the time, he seemed like a peculiar VIP. He had never encountered a VIP who treated a mere celebrity, not even a top star, with such courtesy.
From the beginning, when they had interacted stiffly from a distance, Lee Hae-sung had been like that. He was a salvation from Chairman Jo’s sordid demands, a salvation that turned a hosting session into a proper acting audition.
Sensing Choi Hong-seo’s gaze, Lee Hae-sung looked back at him. With just the slightest upward pull at the corners of his lips, he could offer Choi Hong-seo reassurance.
If only I could do that too. Instead of making him run barefoot on the beach, and preventing him from sleeping properly… if I could end all the anxieties surrounding him. With a comfortable smile, I could see him sleeping soundly by my side, dreaming good dreams.
To achieve that, the only thing I could do now was to do my best to solve the immediate problem. Choi Hong-seo smiled back bravely at Lee Hae-sung. To reassure him.
Meanwhile, Go Ji-woon, who had been contemplating, seemed to have made up his mind and quietly stood up. He rummaged through a drawer behind him and retrieved a hidden cell phone from deep inside.
“It will be helpful if you want to screw that guy over. All those who try to sleep with celebrities through sponsorship are like that, but he’s especially, truly an unspeakable pervert. He said, ‘Why would I spend all this money to have sex in missionary position’…”
Go Ji-woon chuckled with a bitter smile and scoffed, then turned on the phone and fiddled with it. When Go Ji-woon handed the phone to Lee Hae-sung, a paused video was displayed on the screen. And in Go Ji-woon’s eyes, which had been blankly empty, something now flashed.
“No matter how full of himself he is, he’d be scared of something like that being leaked to the world.”
Having said that much, Go Ji-woon glanced towards ‘Yoon Hye-an’.
“As you probably know well, Jo Seong-hyeon takes immense pride in his self-made success. He calls conglomerate heirs lucky brats who were born into wealth, useless idiots who only know how to push their subordinates around because they lack ability. He’s always badmouthing conglomerate heirs, but honestly, I think it’s inferiority complex.”
“……”
“He has a fit if you even mention being envious of conglomerate heirs, or anything similar.”
When ‘Yoon Hye-an’ didn’t react, even though Go Ji-woon was seeking agreement, he muttered as if talking to himself.
“Ah… did he say he lost his memory after waking up?”
After taking another sip of soju, Go Ji-woon spoke calmly.
“You and I met Jo Seong-hyeon at the same time. He knew you met Jo Seong-hyeon and then came to me, right? You’re being blackmailed because of that, and you’re trying to find his weakness… that’s right, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. If you know anything about Jo Seong-hyeon, please tell us anything you can.”
Lee Hae-sung stepped in to answer instead of Choi Hong-seo.
“He doesn’t even hide the fact that he’s seeing other people simultaneously. But if you ask him too many questions, he gets angry… I don’t know the details either. He hates jealousy intensely. He asks if I think I’m dating him right now.”
As the soju was running low, Go Ji-woon tilted the mug deeply.
“Jo Seong-hyeon, at first, acts like a really good sponsor. He lets you live in a fancy house, drive a fancy car, and gets you fancy roles. He’s a pervert beyond words, but it’s not like I met him to date, as he said. He seems to spare no expense for me, so I end up listening to him. I was almost out of my mind, thinking I couldn’t lose him. But later, when I come to my senses, my skills haven’t improved at all, and I’m in a position where I can’t even land a trivial role without Jo Seong-hyeon’s help.”
Choi Hong-seo could somewhat guess the reasons why Go Ji-woon and Yoon Hye-an had attempted suicide. If the relationship with the sponsor ended in such a state, it meant the end of their careers in the entertainment industry. Furthermore, what if that sponsor possessed countless sex tapes and photos of oneself, and even used them for blackmail?
Choi Hong-seo lowered his gaze and exhaled slowly. The dizzying sensation of standing on the 32nd floor again made his vision blur for a moment.
“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”
Lee Hae-sung held Choi Hong-seo’s upper body, asking with concern.
“No. I just took a deep breath. We need to check the video together.”
Lee Hae-sung looked reluctant. The moment their eyes met, Choi Hong-seo could feel all his emotions. A gentle, warm desire to protect him from shock or hurt. A tender instinct to safeguard him.
Choi Hong-seo met his gaze with an unwavering look. It’s okay. I want to go through every step of this with you.
Hmm… As if resigned, Lee Hae-sung let out a low, groaning sigh and spoke to Go Ji-woon.
“If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll play it without sound.”
“……”
Go Ji-woon furrowed his brow, his expression contorted. He looked as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
“Why do you ask?”
“No, it’s just… You’re Lee Hae-sung of ARA. But you’re considering the feelings of someone like me… It’s just surprising. I guess you really are a model student, just like the rumors say…”
“Just as not all poor people are servile in the face of money, not everyone lives like Jo Seong-hyeon just because they have some power. People are all different.”
“……”
“Well, it’s true that most of them are annoying.”
Lee Hae-sung’s expression was serious, but Go Ji-woon let out a short laugh. He seemed bewildered that he found the situation amusing, rubbing his face as if to crush it. Yet, Lee Hae-sung’s own face remained unchanged.
“And, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not quite the model student the rumors make me out to be.”
“……”
“Once I set my mind to something, I’m a shameless rogue.”
“A… sham… what?”
Go Ji-woon asked, looking utterly clueless, and Lee Hae-sung shook his head, holding up his phone.
“It’s nothing. Shall we watch the video now?”
Go Ji-woon’s expression, which had softened for a moment as if taking a breath, grew heavy again. He nodded slowly and deliberately.
“Play it with the volume on. The things he’s spouting are art too.”
Leaning against the drawer unit behind him, Go Ji-woon tilted a mug filled with soju.
Lee Hae-sung adjusted the position of his phone so Choi Hong-seo could watch with him. Then, he touched the triangular play button on the screen. A video filmed in a bathroom, not a bedroom, began to play.
Meanwhile, Go Ji-woon went to the refrigerator and poured himself another bottle of soju.
While watching the video, Choi Hong-seo felt the urge to vomit several times. He forced himself to suppress the nausea that threatened to make him throw up everything he had eaten. He thought he hadn’t shown it, but at some point, Lee Hae-sung put an arm around his shoulder. It was a firm embrace, as if to hold him so he wouldn’t collapse, wouldn’t fall. Without trying to be overly strong, he leaned his body into him.
Jo Seong-hyeon had said people didn’t spend a fortune to have sex in missionary position on a bed. Choi Hong-seo, who thought he understood the psychology of the powerful better than anyone, was still rendered speechless.
Jo Seong-hyeon was a pervert on par with Lee Seo-kyung.
No, in terms of psychological shock, it was more extreme than Lee Seo-kyung’s tastes.
If the video were released, it would undoubtedly cause a national scandal, and all the fruits of Jo Seong-hyeon’s self-made success, which he valued so highly, would turn to dust. It was a video with that much impact.
His breathing grew ragged. Choi Hong-seo, almost completely held by Lee Hae-sung, kept his gaze fixed on the video, clutching the lapel of Lee Hae-sung’s coat tightly.
He couldn’t even bring himself to close his eyes or look away, unable to tear his eyes from the video as if he were being tortured.
“Hhng, hng…”
The moment his breathing completely faltered, his vision went dark. By a soft, warm movement. Lee Hae-sung’s hand, which had been around his shoulder, reached up and covered his face broadly.
The video, which was about an hour long, had only played for about 15 minutes before Lee Hae-sung paused it. Pulling Choi Hong-seo’s face, covered by his hand, to his chest, Lee Hae-sung’s gaze turned to Go Ji-woon, who sat opposite him.
“This is enough. It’s good. Let’s make it 1 billion won.”
While Choi Hong-seo’s lips, exposed beneath Lee Hae-sung’s large hand, trembled without color, Lee Hae-sung’s voice and complexion were unchanged from before watching the video.
Go Ji-woon’s eyes widened, his mouth agape, as if he couldn’t believe it. His expression was bewildered. It was a shock from the actual offer of 1 billion won, and also from the affectionate display Lee Hae-sung of ARA was unhesitatingly engaging in before his eyes.
Imeonbulhandang: A person who knows right from wrong but commits bad deeds.