By Zephyria The man said, rubbing the inside of his wrist with his thumb.
“You’re so thin, I’m worried.”
“……”
“Are you a bit quiet?”
“No, not really…”
“It’s okay. I don’t dislike being played hard to get. I’ll look forward to your performance. Come down and let’s have some fun together.”
In the way it induced nausea, the man’s laughter was like maggots wriggling on filth.
Even after moving to the waiting room behind the stage, an unpleasant sensation lingered on the wrist the man had touched.
“Choi Hong-seo, have you been neglecting your ‘entertaining’ lately? Is your sense of self-worth getting confused? What was that attitude towards the client earlier? Snap out of it! Do you think you’re some kind of Prince?”
CEO Myeong, leaning in close so other members wouldn’t notice, whispered menacingly.
“Didn’t you hear? He said he likes that kind of thing. What’s the problem?”
“Has this guy really lost his mind? You’ve been talking back a lot lately. Keep pushing my buttons like that, and see what happens, okay?”
Leaving CEO Myeong, who was trying to scare him, behind, they went on stage. He didn’t even feel the tension of needing to perform well, so he didn’t need his routine of taking a deep breath and counting his fingers. Who among the people down there would even care about this stage anyway…
When they lined up with the members on the darkened stage and lifted their heads.
His eyes met someone’s directly in front.
As if the man’s presence had drawn Choi Hong-seo’s gaze, their eyes locked instantly.
The man from the place of honor he had seen in Director Kang’s drawing room. The VVIP.
The man was also seated at the central table with other acquaintances of the party’s main guest. When had he arrived? He wasn’t there when they came to greet him…
Suddenly, tension gripped his entire body. He felt like he needed to count his fingers. But there wasn’t enough time. The intro music began, and the lights came on.
He ended up making mistakes twice.
This was almost unthinkable for Choi Hong-seo, who was more skilled than any other member and practiced more than anyone. As the lights dimmed again and they left the stage, he felt the worst.
I shouldn’t have ignored my routine just because I wasn’t nervous. I should have done it the way I always do.
“Hong-seo, you idiot, you made mistakes twice.”
CEO Myeong approached him, fanning the flames of his self-recrimination.
“I know.”
“Did you let your guard down because it was this kind of stage? Do you know who these people are? In a way, it’s more important than a music show, don’t you know that?”
“I’m sorry. I was just… a little unfocused.”
The mistakes themselves were shocking, and he was indeed disappointed in himself. But what angered him more was the fact that he couldn’t perform at his best in front of that man.
That man had asked to see ‘acting’ at Director Kang’s drawing room.
Not sexy dances, or songs to liven up the mood, or aegyo, or other personal talents, but acting.
Thanks to that, Choi Hong-seo hadn’t been treated as mere entertainment staff there. It had ended as a moment where he showed his acting to attract investment, as an actor.
And so, because of that memory… the moment he spotted the man, he wanted to perform properly.
But instead, he couldn’t even show his usual skill. He was upset and angry enough without CEO Myeong deliberately provoking him.
“Well, the performance is over, so that’s that.”
CEO Myeong clicked his tongue and put his arm around Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder. While the other members were distracted by the gift the main guest had prepared, he whispered.
“Let’s do well outside, okay? You’re not the Prince. The person sitting over there is the Prince. Let’s not delude ourselves, Hong-seo? Huh?”
He pulled away from CEO Myeong’s arm and wiped his sweat in front of the mirror. Carefully, so as not to smudge his makeup. In the mirror, CEO Myeong watched him with sharp eyes.
He doesn’t need to remind me that I’m not the Prince.
It was ridiculous. He had never even thought of himself as a Prince, or anything close to it.
■
The day’s main guest was even more intoxicated by then. A strong smell of alcohol wafted from him as he stood up to personally welcome ‘Layered.’
“I enjoyed the performance. Wow, you all have great skills, especially… your hip-rolling skills…”
The man, poorly imitating ‘Layered”s choreography, burst into laughter at the end.
“Here, you worked hard, so you all get a drink!”
Handing a glass to each member, the man, due to his intoxication, couldn’t control the pour. Alcohol overflowed in every glass.
“I’ll pour one for you too, Executive Director.”
Choi Hong-seo stepped forward and took the bottle from the man’s hand. The man’s flushed gaze fixed overtly on Choi Hong-seo’s profile as he approached.
“Will you? Such a pretty face doing such pretty things.”
The man bent his waist deeply and looked up at Choi Hong-seo from below as he poured the drink. Then, at a distance close enough for his lips to brush his ear, he whispered only for Choi Hong-seo to hear.
“I’m getting curious if other parts are just as pretty.”
The man from the place of honor sat further inside. Choi Hong-seo tried his best not to look in that direction. The situation of being treated like a plaything in front of someone who had once shown acting as a proud actor was humiliating, but enduring humiliation after humiliation was nothing new or special to Choi Hong-seo; it was his daily life.
Right, it wasn’t any more humiliating just because that man was watching.
Without being able to sit, ‘Layered’ stood in a line and had to drink two or three glasses of the poured alcohol. Afterward, CEO Myeong, with a troubled expression, indicated it was time to leave.
“Is it that late already? But one person has to stay. We contracted like that, didn’t we, CEO?”
“If you don’t mind, I will stay.”
At Choi Hong-seo’s words, the main guest immediately grabbed Choi Hong-seo’s hand and pulled him. He rested his chin on Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder as he sat beside him and grinned.
“Why? Why do you want to stay? Are you interested in me too, our idol?”
Interested, my ass. It was already agreed that Hong-seo would stay and serve drinks. Pretending to negotiate who would stay was just part of the act.
“My younger brothers… can’t really hold their liquor. Since I’m the leader, it would be better if I stayed.”
“I see. You’re the leader. Are you the leader because you’re the oldest? You look like a baby, though.”
The man, who had cupped Choi Hong-seo’s chin to make him look at him, waved dismissively with his other hand towards CEO Myeong. As soon as permission was granted, CEO Myeong quickly left with the remaining members. It was the usual, unremarkable sequence of events.
The man’s hand, which had released his chin, now traced his lips. The touch was unhesitating, as if they were his own lips.
“I debuted a bit later… so I’m older than I look.”
“Oh my, is that so? Our leader, you’re old? How old? Twenty-two?”
The man laughed loudly, pinching Choi Hong-seo’s cheek with the hand that had been touching his lips.
“I’m twenty-seven.”
“Liar.”
The man then leaned back dramatically, feigning surprise. Then he leaned in even closer, pressing his forehead against Choi Hong-seo’s and whispering.
“Show me your ID. Then I’ll believe you.”
“My wallet… I left it in the car.”
“What… are you trying to get me to go to the car with you now?”
The man’s arm wrapped around Choi Hong-seo’s waist. Everyone at the same table was aware of the situation, but naturally, no one tried to stop it. They were all enjoying themselves with partners who looked about half their age, so it was understandable they wouldn’t have the energy to pay attention to this.
Only the ‘man from the place of honor’ sitting further inside was drinking alone, without a partner. Though not clearly visible, obscured by the main guest, he didn’t look particularly happy. Then again, he hadn’t looked happy last time either…
“Our leader is good at setting the mood. Were you secretly playing around with that baby face? The fact that you look so jaded makes it even hotter.”
The hand around his waist fiddled with his side over his clothes. Then it began to wriggle, trying to get under his stage costume. Choi Hong-seo’s head drooped, trying to suppress his disgust, and he clenched his jaw muscles under his lowered head.
“But you don’t have to talk so stiffly. We’re going to be closer now, and it feels distant. Are you nervous?”
“Because… I’m in front of such important people…”
“Huh? Being nervous is good, and you’re cute too? I really can’t stand it then.”
The man’s face, whispering, seemed to slide deeper, then burrowed into Choi Hong-seo’s neck. Smelling his skin and the horrifying sensation of his lips rubbing against him, Choi Hong-seo clenched his thighs tightly, as if he were sitting in a dentist’s chair.
“Mr. Choi Hong-seo, come sit over here.”
“……”
At someone’s voice calling for Choi Hong-seo, the man’s movement faltered. The owner of the voice was the VVIP. He leaned his upper body forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared this way.