CNC 23

The owner of the voice was the VVIP. He leaned his upper body forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and stared this way.

His large hands, which were wrapped around the Ondaroks glass, were gripping it with great force.

He spoke in a slightly loud voice. Whether it was his imagination or not, it sounded slightly agitated. It was a stark contrast to his calm demeanor at Director Kang’s residence, where he hadn’t raised his voice at all.

The day’s main guest pulled his face away from Choi Hong-seo’s neck. Then, looking not displeased but rather very intrigued, he grinned at the man from the place of honor.

“What’s gotten into our Vice President?”

“You said you’d give priority if I attended.”

“That’s right. Though I didn’t expect you to actually come.”

“Send him over here.”

Although it was phrased as a suggestion, judging by his expression and tone, it was an undeniable command.

Even though he had to hand over the prey he had already claimed, the day’s main guest willingly and readily stepped aside. He even seemed pleased.

He raised a long champagne flute, moistened his lips, and then, in a low voice audible only to Choi Hong-seo, he spoke quickly.

“He doesn’t usually come to these kinds of events. It seems he took a liking to you… He’s an important guest to me too, so please take good care of him. If you provide good service, I’ll send a generous tip through CEO Myeong.”

This was because he had seized an opportunity to curry favor with the Vice President of ARA Electronics through Choi Hong-seo. That’s why he wasn’t complaining and seemed rather pleased.

Choi Hong-seo hesitantly stood up and moved inside. From behind him, the day’s main guest shouted jokingly.

“It’s not an old man like me playing with you, but a handsome guy like him. Our leader must be happy!”

The other people at the table erupted in loud laughter. What was so funny about that… It was clear they were all trying to appease the Vice President of ARA Electronics.

Choi Hong-seo was accustomed to discerning the flow of the atmosphere at such events, who the real VVIP of the gathering was, and the currents of power.

“Hello. I am Choi Hong-seo.”

“Yes, please sit here.”

As he bowed his head, the man straightened his upper body, which had been leaning forward, and gestured to the seat beside him. However, he did not look directly at Choi Hong-seo’s face.

“Thank you.”

“What would you like to drink? What shall it be?”

Even as he handed the tablet displaying the menu towards Choi Hong-seo, the man’s gaze remained fixed on the screen.

“I’ll just have the same thing…”

“If alcohol is a burden, there are many other drinks.”

“It’s fine. I’ll have the same as the Vice President.”

“……”

Only then did the man’s gaze slowly turn back to Choi Hong-seo. It was a familiar sight, yet the distance between them was very close. Close enough for their shoulders to brush if he moved slightly.

Looking at him up close, the man’s eyes were indeed very deep and calm. They seemed unshakable by any storm.

Choi Hong-seo envied that. The Vice President of ARA Electronics. The person who would later become the Chairman of ARA Group. The grandson of the founder of Hanseo Group. What kind of storm could such a person fear? Who would dare to shake such a person?

As if calling him ‘Vice President’ had offended him, the man finally spoke after quite some time.

“You didn’t call me that last time.”

“……”

“We’ve met before. Do you remember me?”

“Of course. At Director Kang’s house…”

“You didn’t seem to know what I did back then.”

“I apologize. I should have familiarized myself beforehand…”

Choi Hong-seo bowed his head and apologized, and the man, turning his eyes back to the tablet, let out a light sigh. It sounded like a groan of embarrassment rather than a reprimand for Choi Hong-seo.

“No, that’s not what I meant… Don’t apologize.”

He ended up ordering the same drink he was having, and for a while, the two sat there blankly without much conversation. They just drank in between.

Meanwhile, messy scenes were unfolding at various spots around the table. The promiscuity of tangled bodies groping and kissing was the predictable end to such parties.

The man, looking at the couples rolling around before him, turned his eyes to Choi Hong-seo. After watching him silently for a moment, he leaned closer. It was because the music was too loud.

“Won’t you leave here with me?”

“……”

This was a deviation from the plan.

The day’s main guest had paid the price for inviting ‘Layered’ and Choi Hong-seo, so he had assumed that if anyone were to leave with someone, it would naturally be the day’s main guest.

The words of the day’s main guest, “Please take good care of him. If you provide good service, I’ll send a generous tip,” ultimately meant that.

Entertaining.

Right, this man was also here for entertainment, after all.

“Are you perhaps… not wanting to stay here longer?”

“That is not the case.”

“Don’t worry about the person over there. I won’t be offended.”

The ‘person over there’ the Vice President of ARA Electronics was referring to was the day’s main guest. Even though he was the guest the Vice President had summoned, he spoke with certainty that the main guest shouldn’t be worried about. Choi Hong-seo, with his head bowed, gave a very brief, bitter smile, thinking it was befitting of a VVIP.

“Then, I’ll go and speak to my CEO.”

He picked up his phone and stood up. A club staff member who had been watching immediately approached and asked what he needed, and when he said he needed a place to make a call, the staff member guided him to a private resting area.

Even if the nature of the ‘entertainment’ remained the same, he had to report any changes to CEO Myeong first.

[What? The Vice President??]

As soon as he heard the report that he would be going out with Vice President Lee Hae-sung, CEO Myeong’s voice rose.

“If he just decides to invest, we won’t have to worry about film production at all. We’ll start cranking in right away! We won’t even need to find two or three more investors.”

The way he’d been calling him “this bastard,” “that bastard,” “crazy bastard” just last time had somehow changed to “Vice President” and “him.”

“I thought you weren’t my type, but what, was it the opposite? Crazy… What a catch, Hong-seo! Lee Hae-sung, Lee Hae-sung! He’s on a whole different level compared to someone like Chairman Jo.”

He could practically see CEO Myeong’s face splitting into a grin.

CEO Myeong was right. If he had to entertain someone, this person was a far more efficient target than Chairman Jo.

Yet, he couldn’t understand why he felt so betrayed.

Did he think that because he’d saved him once from Chairman Jo, who treated him like a gigolo, that this person would be different? Did he think that because he’d asked to see his acting instead of a sexy dance, that person would treat him like a real actor?

After crawling through this bottom like a dog… Choi Hong-seo is so damn easy.

“Whether the movie gets into production or not! It all depends on you now. Damn it, I should have had you wear something else. Those luxury clothes that came in as sponsorship recently, I should have had you wear those.”

Even though he didn’t want to admit it, CEO Myeong was right.

Among the higher-ups, there were those who played openly and those who played in secret. He had met those who pretended to be decent before. And even the decent ones were no different. When pleasure could be obtained with just a snap of a finger, there was no one who would refuse it. Whether it was power, money, or momentary physical satisfaction, it was all the same.

Choi Hong-seo, pacing the narrow break room without even being able to sit on the prepared sofa while on the phone, stopped in front of a mirror hanging on the wall.

“You really have to do well, Choi Hong-seo. More noble than anyone you’ve ever served, a true VVVVVIP!”

“More than Executive Director Lee Seo-kyung?”

“Fuck, what are you comparing him to? Are you even saying that out loud? Lee Seo-kyung, he’s royal by blood but lacks ability! This person is going to take over ARA Group!”

Looking at his own face in the mirror, Choi Hong-seo wiped away the almost completely smudged lip makeup.

“I’ll do well, don’t worry. I really want to be in this movie too.”

He hung up the phone and turned away from the mirror.

There was no need to be disappointed or feel betrayed.

It was simply that the recipient of his service had changed.

■

The man’s sedan slowly exited the streets of Gangnam late on a Saturday night.

The world flowing by outside the window was reveling in shallow pleasures, but the car’s interior was silent, as if watching a muted screen. The vibration of movement was barely perceptible.

Expensive cars really are different.

Sitting in the back seat, which reminded him of a first-class airplane seat or a top-of-the-line massage chair, Choi Hong-seo was having thoughts like that. The person next to him hadn’t said a word for several minutes, so he had nothing much to do.

“Isn’t the temperature too low?”

The words he finally spoke were unexpected.

“It’s fine.”

“Your arm… it looks like it has goosebumps.”

The man gestured with his eyes towards Choi Hong-seo’s arm and spoke. Choi Hong-seo followed his gaze and looked down at his own arm. Goosebumps had appeared on his arm, exposed beneath his short-sleeved stage costume. It was actually a bit chilly.

24

“You don’t have to be so hesitant. He won’t get angry if you speak honestly.”

If I speak honestly when he tells me to, VIPs always get angry…

He couldn’t say that out loud. The invitation to speak honestly made him more uncomfortable, and he just squeezed his fingers. The man asked again, as if to confirm.

“Are you cold?”

Even though he knew he was cold, the man seemed determined to make Choi Hong-seo speak it out loud himself.

“Yes, a little…”

As soon as he answered, the man adjusted the air conditioning temperature using the dial on the armrest. Then, he began to take off his jacket. In keeping with the T.P.O. of a private party held at a club, the man was wearing casual attire, not a suit. However, it wasn’t a flashy outfit.

When he took off the collared, mustard-colored zip-up jacket, he was wearing an elegant, ivory boat-neck summer knit underneath.

The knit revealed his physique much more directly than a suit. The bulging deltoid muscles at the end of his broad, thick shoulders and the firm curves leading down to his upper arms were stark. He looked much larger than when Choi Hong-seo had seen him at Director Kang’s house last time.

He’s working out hard even though he must be busy… Well, even someone like Chairman Jo looks decent for his age.

“Here, put this on.”

Unexpectedly, the man offered his jacket, and Choi Hong-seo reflexively waved his hands, declining.

“Oh, no. It’s really fine. I’m not that cold…”

But the man gently placed the folded jacket on Choi Hong-seo’s lap.

“It’s a bit of a cliché move, isn’t it? But just wear it for a moment.”

“……Thank you.”

Refusing multiple times wouldn’t be polite to a VIP. He carefully unfolded the light, soft-textured jacket. Instead of draping it over his back, he covered his front shoulders and chest like a blanket. He thought it would wrinkle the clothes less that way. Even though it was a thin jacket, the moment he hid his arms inside, the chill immediately subsided.

He bowed his head again in thanks to the man, who was watching him with a smile.

At his kindness, CEO Myeong’s words strangely came to mind.

That among the wealthy and powerful, there were those who played openly and those who played in secret. And that those with no rumors leaking out played the dirtiest…

Along with the confident face that had said, ‘He’s probably a total pervert, no less than Lee Seo-kyung.’

Unfortunately, the people Choi Hong-seo had encountered so far were generally like that.

They felt no need to be considerate in sex with someone they had paid money or other compensation to. As if it were the most natural thing, as if being respected or treated kindly was even more unnatural and ridiculous, their non-everyday acts, sometimes perverse and sometimes violent, were suddenly unleashed without any notice or warning.

Would this man be the same?

Would someone who looked so dignified, once the door was closed and they were alone, suddenly slap him, try to make him wear a skirt, or treat him like a piece of meat?

Even though his presence was intimidating, he had been quite well-mannered so far.

It was useless to try and predict. If there was one thing Choi Hong-seo had learned over time, it was that people, especially those with money or power, could never, ever have their bedroom preferences predicted by their usual demeanor.

A faint, pleasant scent wafted from the jacket covering his body. It was unusual, making him want to smell it again, but it wasn’t an overly distinctive scent. It was based on comfort, with a slight, unique twist that sparked interest… a masculine and sexy fragrance.

Drawn by the scent, which seemed like it would linger in his memory, Choi Hong-seo lowered his head a little deeper.

Whatever sexual preferences this man had, there was nothing he could do about it. For now, all he could do was take a breath, comforted by the unfamiliar allure of this scent and his small act of kindness.

The car had now exited Dosan-daero and was entering Hannam Bridge. The night view, emitting light from both sides of the Han River, was as usual. The lights, covering all sorts of ugly desires tangled within, were as beautiful as Christmas tree ornaments. That’s why whenever Choi Hong-seo saw this night view, he felt it was unfair rather than beautiful.

“Your work must be very difficult.”

After another long pause, the man spoke again. Choi Hong-seo, who had been gazing at the night view, turned his head to look at him.

“Because of people like the ones from earlier.”

“No. There’s no work that isn’t difficult… I’m fine.”

He chuckled softly with a smile. Choi Hong-seo watched him, not knowing why he was laughing.

“It sounds like a child pretending to be an adult…”

Like a child pretending to be an adult. Even though I’m younger than the Vice President, haven’t I been through a lot? I’m still going to ‘entertain’ the Vice President, aren’t I? Treating me like a naive child…

But of course, he couldn’t say this honestly either.

When Choi Hong-seo didn’t show much reaction, the man changed the subject.

“Do you always end up alone like this?”

“Excuse me?”

“The other members are out, and only you, Choi Hong-seo?”

“Ah…”

The other members aren’t being held by CEO Myeong, and they don’t know what happens at these events where only I’m left.

“Even though the youngest member of your team is twenty-three, which is younger than you, the age difference isn’t that big.”

“……”

He raised his head and met the man’s gaze again. When he had first seen him at Director Kang’s house, the man hadn’t even known his name. Yet now, he knew the age of the youngest member of ‘Layered.’

How do you know that? the expression on Choi Hong-seo’s face conveyed. But he didn’t dare ask directly.

“My younger brothers aren’t used to things like that. I don’t want them to ruin the mood unnecessarily if they’re called to an event…”

The man’s expression turned a little serious. After deep thought, he spoke in a serious tone.

“Actually, I don’t like situations like the one just now.”

“……”

“We can’t afford to be on bad terms, socially or business-wise, so we maintain minimal contact, but our ways of spending our private lives are completely incompatible.”

“Yes…”

The man stared intently at Choi Hong-seo, his face full of anticipation. But he couldn’t grasp what words he was expecting.

The anticipation gradually faded from his expression. However, he didn’t seem disappointed; instead, he adopted a resolute expression, as if he had made a big decision. Wrinkles formed between his eyebrows, which marked the start of his high nose bridge, and his lips, which gave him a serious impression, tightened.

What is he trying to say?

His upper body leaned a little closer to Choi Hong-seo. His handsome face, not thin but closer to a classic handsome type, closed the distance.

“I came today because Choi Hong-seo was the guest.”

“……”

His expression was serious. He seemed to be expecting some reaction, but no words came to mind.

You don’t usually like those kinds of events, but you came specifically to meet me? I’m so happy, Vice President.

Is that the kind of reaction he was expecting?

Even though he had become a professional at entertaining, Choi Hong-seo was not good at being charming or fawning. But seeing the VIP watching him with anticipation, he had to say something.

“Ah… um…”

“……”

“Thank you.”

His serious expression crumbled for a moment. He lowered his gaze from Choi Hong-seo’s lips and smiled slightly, showing no sign of displeasure. His flawless, magnificent face, which had felt almost oppressive, moved back to its original position.

He looked out the window. The car, entering Sowol-ro with Namsan on its right, was waiting for a signal in front of H Hotel. Was H Hotel the venue for the entertainment… While thinking this, he turned back to Choi Hong-seo.

“Shall we get out and walk for a bit?”

He nodded at the gentle invitation. He would have had to agree even if it had been a forceful question.

■

Namsan, past midnight, was sparsely populated. Few people would deliberately come to a place like this to walk on a weekend night.

“It’s quite cool, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Keeping the railing on their right, they walked side-by-side on the sidewalk, slowly. Perhaps because it was on the mountain, it was indeed quite cool, as he said.

With little traffic, their sedan followed slowly about 10 meters behind, its hazard lights on.

A light breeze blew down from the mountain, and the lights sparkled more brightly than usual in the clear air. Relatively low buildings were clustered along the downhill path below the railing, and further away, skyscrapers formed a skyline. The visibility was so clear that one could see all the way to Yeouido.

“I heard you’re quite popular these days.”

“No. It’s just that some people are starting to recognize me now.”

“You must not have had any rest, starting team activities right after your solo activities ended.”

It was a series of surprises. He didn’t just know the age of ‘Layered’s’ youngest member.

Ah… it must be because of the movie. Since I have a high chance of playing the lead, he might have investigated. Connecting it that way made sense.