By Zephyria “Don’t you think you’re also a commoner to me?”
“……”
Chairman Jo wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at him. But he didn’t speak further.
Everyone has different personalities. Even the upper society that Choi Hong-seo had observed relatively closely was the same. While some people would completely defer to those in higher classes, a small minority would act recklessly. Chairman Jo, who had achieved success on his own rather than being born into a chaebol family, was clearly the latter.
However, even such a Chairman Jo couldn’t confront a VVIP like Lee Hae-sung to the very end. No matter how much Chairman Jo relied on his own abilities and acted out, he would fear losing the very platform where he exercised those abilities.
“No matter how vulgarly you play behind closed doors, just don’t let those disgusting acts be visible to my eyes.”
It was a bar in a corner of the living room, far from the garden where the party was being held, so it didn’t attract much attention. However, it couldn’t be assumed that no one was watching. CEO Myeong appeared and subtly approached Choi Hong-seo, as if he had been watching from somewhere.
What is it, what’s going on? Ignoring CEO Myeong’s whisper, Choi Hong-seo’s eyes remained fixed on the confrontation between Lee Hae-sung and Chairman Jo.
Chairman Jo, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, then glinted his eyes and provoked him.
“Why have you been coddling him like this since last time? Surely the great Vice President Lee Hae-sung isn’t just fond of someone like Choi Hong-seo… Haha, that can’t be it, can it?”
Chairman Jo’s finger pointed at Choi Hong-seo, who stood behind him, and Lee Hae-sung slowly walked over and pulled down Chairman Jo’s outstretched arm.
“Hong-seo, he’s someone I care about a lot, but Chairman Jo seems to lack tact. Or are you pretending to lack tact to deliberately anger me?”
“……”
“Now that you’ve climbed up from the bottom, is it only fun to look down? Sometimes you need to look up too. Even the bartenders here know whose feelings you shouldn’t offend. Why can’t you grasp the basics?”
From a distance of just one step, Lee Hae-sung spoke directly to Chairman Jo’s face without raising his voice.
“I know Chairman Jo is a capable executive. However, neither Chairman of JS Group nor his son, who will soon become President of JS Construction, would want to embrace Chairman Jo to the point of alienating ARA or Hanseo Group. May I assume you understand what I mean? Do you?”
“……”
Chairman Jo’s lips were pressed tightly together, his face twitching with anger. Silence served as Chairman Jo’s reply. Lee Hae-sung had silenced him.
Lee Hae-sung sighed and turned his back to Chairman Jo, walking towards the bar. He then picked up the champagne glass Choi Hong-seo had been drinking from and drank half of it.
“How much did Chairman Jo invest in this movie? 500 million? 1 billion? Take it. You’ll just ruin your mood by hanging around for pocket change.”
Lee Hae-sung turned to the unresponsive Chairman Jo, his eyes cold. For the first time, sharp anger mixed into his voice.
“Can’t you hear me saying you’ll just ruin your mood?”
Chairman Jo glanced at Choi Hong-seo with bloodshot eyes. Then, muttering curses, he left the spot. The jazz piano performance had stopped in the garden, and a dance party was underway, so only about three or four people paid attention to this commotion. Even then, knowing Lee Hae-sung was involved, they only peeked from a distance, not daring to approach.
Because Lee Hae-sung hadn’t raised his voice, it might have looked like a minor argument from afar, but the tension felt up close was immense. Even after Chairman Jo left, it was difficult to approach Lee Hae-sung easily.
Lee Hae-sung, who had been composing himself for a moment at the bar, suddenly looked back at Choi Hong-seo and CEO Myeong.
“CEO Myeong, could I speak with Hong-seo alone for a moment?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Of course. Please do. You should.”
CEO Myeong even pushed Choi Hong-seo’s back forward, trying not to defy Lee Hae-sung’s wishes.
Lee Hae-sung’s gaze, as he looked at Choi Hong-seo, who was pushed forward, was not the same honey-dripping look as before. It was a complex look, a mixture of pity, apology, and regret for showing a side he didn’t want to.
Looking at Lee Hae-sung’s eyes, which seemed more emotionally tangled than when Chairman Jo was in front of him, Choi Hong-seo slowly approached him. He placed his hand on Lee Hae-sung’s arm, which was resting on the edge of the bar.
Hong-seo. Not Hong-seo-ssi, but Hong-seo.
It was the first time he had called him that.
Lee Hae-sung looked down at Choi Hong-seo’s hand placed on his arm.
When they entered the building from the garden, he had held his wrist over his jacket, but this time, he found Choi Hong-seo’s hand and led him upstairs. As if there was nothing to be ashamed of.
■
Director Kang Woo-hyun’s second-floor drawing room. That was the place where he first met Lee Hae-sung.
When he entered through this door then, Choi Hong-seo was prepared for ‘entertaining’.
From that day until this very moment, despite meeting VIPs multiple times, there had been no intimate physical contact, let alone entertaining in bed. He was a strange and peculiar VIP who didn’t want to be entertained, but wanted to be a boyfriend.
Lee Hae-sung, holding Choi Hong-seo’s hand, entered the drawing room. As soon as he closed the door, he gently stroked Choi Hong-seo’s cheek with his other hand.
“Are you okay?”
Choi Hong-seo nodded. He was so surprised by Lee Hae-sung’s unfamiliar appearance, pushing and intimidating others, that he had forgotten the unpleasant incident with Chairman Jo.
As if reading that from Choi Hong-seo’s expression, Lee Hae-sung’s eyes drooped apologetically.
“I might have overreacted and surprised you even more, Hong-seo.”
No. This time, he shook his head firmly. He shook it several times.
His two hands cupped Choi Hong-seo’s cheeks, gently lifting them upwards. His deep eyes meticulously examined Choi Hong-seo’s face. As if worried that someone might have inflicted even the smallest scratch.
“I wanted to keep pretending to be a good person in front of Hong-seo.”
“……”
“For a moment, I couldn’t see anything.”
“Vice President, you are a good person.”
Choi Hong-seo’s voice was hoarse. Lee Hae-sung smiled slightly and gently pinched and released the tip of Choi Hong-seo’s nose.
“You think that even after what you saw earlier? In the end, I’m also someone who uses my position to create the situation I want when I need to.”
Lee Hae-sung’s face looked bitter as he said that. So, Choi Hong-seo said urgently, almost shouting,
“That was an unavoidable situation!”
People like Chairman Jo couldn’t be dealt with by common sense. The only things that could stop someone who thought they could manipulate others with their money and status were money and status. Lee Hae-sung wasn’t bad. Choi Hong-seo hated that Lee Hae-sung thought of himself that way. Especially because of people like Chairman Jo.
Lee Hae-sung seemed momentarily surprised by Choi Hong-seo’s uncharacteristic outburst. Then, he soon smiled gently to calm Choi Hong-seo.
“Are you taking my side?”
“Vice President, you are a good person.”
He repeated only those words, his voice muffled as if he were a stubborn child, his head bowed low. Lee Hae-sung moved closer and stroked his hair.
“That’s right, I’m a good person. Did someone make Hong-seo cry by calling me a bad guy? Huh? Who did that?”
Even Choi Hong-seo couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at his playful teasing, like he was soothing a baby. He looked up and met Lee Hae-sung’s gaze, a warm smile looking down at him. It was the familiar Lee Hae-sung again.
“Thank you for saying that. I always want to be a good person to Hong-seo.”
“……”
“Still, if it means preventing Hong-seo from going through something like that, I will do the exact same thing anytime.”
If it weren’t for you, I would have had to do as Chairman Jo demanded. What happened just now between Chairman Jo and me was more of my daily life than you offering me five chances to be your boyfriend.
The vulgar and disgusting act you spoke to Chairman Jo about.
That I would be involved in it.
What would happen if I said that?
Even if it wasn’t something I wanted to do, even if I was blackmailed or had my weakness exploited, what happened, happened. Even if he didn’t blame me, even if he excused me as a victim who was used, could he, as a lover, handle my past, the things that happened in the past?
Lee Hae-sung, holding Choi Hong-seo’s hand, led the way towards the sofa. Following him, Choi Hong-seo pushed the thoughts from earlier out of his mind.
“It seems like everyone else is having fun without us, so let’s just hide here, what do you say?”
He glanced down at the garden through the floor-to-ceiling window, then sat down on the sofa with a thud, laughing. He then pulled Choi Hong-seo’s hand to the seat beside him.
Holding hands, they sat side-by-side on the long sofa, lost in their own thoughts for a moment. He looked a little tired, sinking completely into the plush backrest. Why wouldn’t he be, right after a week-long business trip to Europe?
Sensing Choi Hong-seo’s gaze, he leaned his head back against the backrest and smiled faintly.
“What are you thinking about?”
“……”
Seeing that Choi Hong-seo only smiled without answering, it seemed he was still thinking about the incident with Chairman Jo.
【“I can’t stand seeing Hong-seo being bullied. It makes me angry.”】
Lee Hae-sung had said that before. But today, having witnessed an even more sordid scene, it was understandable that he wouldn’t be able to calm down easily. To steer his thoughts elsewhere, Choi Hong-seo brought up something he was curious about.
“Who was that person earlier?”
“Who?”
“The foreigner you were talking to. They greeted you so warmly.”
“Were you watching?”
“…Yes.”