HLC 19

“I never held onto you.”

It was unexpected. He thought Yoon Joo-ho would lash out defensively, but instead, he murmured, cradling the glass with both hands as if the whiskey were warm tea.

“Right, right. Instead of holding on, it was just too sudden for you to accept for a moment. I misspoke, man.”

“You said there was nothing between us. And you can only hold onto someone if there’s something to hold onto, right?”

“…”

“For someone with whom there was nothing, an end is just an end.”

Yoon Joo-ho placed his glass on the coffee table and stood up from the sofa. With his hands in the pockets of his robe, he slowly walked towards the floor-to-ceiling window, dragging his slippers. The Han River, the Yeongdong Bridge, and the areas of Seongsu-dong and Jayang-dong were all visible. However, Yoon Joo-ho, the owner of the house, rarely had the leisure to admire the view outside.

On the drawer cabinet in front of the window, several scented candles were placed. Yoon Joo-ho had prepared candles in every corner of the house so he could light one anytime to change his mood. Inside the large cabinet in the hobby room, there were as many candles as in a store, organized by brand and scent characteristics.

Each candle had a bell-shaped transparent cover. By gripping the handle at the top and lifting the cover, one could bring the inside close to their nose and mouth to inhale the rich scent of the candle. They were scents he already knew very well, but he still carefully selected one that matched his current emotional state, as if it could determine his future.

“Joo-ho-ya.”

“That’s an ominous voice.”

Director Bang’s voice came from behind him, but Yoon Joo-ho didn’t turn around. After choosing a candle, he opened the rightmost drawer. It was a drawer for storing tools related to scented candles, such as various types of matches, wick trimmers, and snufers used to extinguish candle flames.

“Are you really not going to settle?”

“No.”

Yoon Joo-ho replied indifferently as he trimmed the candle wick short with the wick trimmer.

“No? Are you a child?”

“You said I was a child earlier because I slept with the TV on.”

He struck a long match against the friction surface of the red phosphorus matchbox and tilted the large candle to transfer the flame to the wick.

“I’m not asking you to forgive them. I’m just asking you to protect your image and leave.”

“…”

“Public opinion is bad right now. No matter what, Korea is still fundamentally based on Confucian values. They’re calling you a parricide for suing your parents. Didn’t you see the articles?”

A heavy, intense scent, almost enough to numb the sense of smell, slowly began to spread through the room. Yoon Joo-ho, hands in his robe pockets, gazed out the window.

‘Joo-ho-ya, a top star like you should live in a house like this. Where you live, the cars you drive, the clothes you wear – all of it is the image of actor Yoon Joo-ho to the public.’

The duplex apartment with five bedrooms. Two hobby rooms of unknown purpose. Moving to this new mansion by the Han River, which had garnered attention for its high sale price, was due to his parents’ insistence.

The image of actor Yoon Joo-ho.

Not the son of his father and mother, but simply actor Yoon Joo-ho.

Yoon Joo-ho mumbled indifferently,

“It’s not a lawsuit, it’s a notice of intent.”

“The public doesn’t pay attention to such details. You know that.”

“When have I ever only heard good things to get here?”

“You’ve never had any serious scandals. At most, it was plastic surgery rumors or dating rumors. Oh, and a death rumor too. Those were all just ‘hearsay’ and not actually true. This time is different.”

“Not everyone can like me. You were the one who told me not to worry about malicious comments.”

“That wasn’t what I meant in this situation, Joo-ho-ya.”

“Hyung.”

“…Yeah.”

“When I said I wanted to break free from Mom and Dad, what did you say, Hyung?”

Yoon Joo-ho suddenly turned around and walked towards the sofa, saying,

“From now on, stop being a star and be an actor.”

“…”

“Didn’t you tell me to act only in the works and roles I want to do?”

“I did. I’m not telling you not to, Joo-ho-ya.”

Yoon Joo-ho plopped down on the sofa opposite Director Bang.

“If I stop now, nothing will change.”

“The representatives, or rather, the other side, want to resolve this amicably. They’re saying let’s at least hear the terms of the settlement, but you don’t want that either?”

Over the past several months, Yoon Joo-ho had sent notices of intent to his parents, the co-CEOs of Look Planning, on several occasions. Yoon Joo-ho’s demands in the notices were twofold:

· Step down from the position of CEO of Look Planning.

· Do not interfere with Look Planning or Yoon Joo-ho’s acting career in any way going forward.

The notices were drafted to demand the termination of their partnership agreement. Although Yoon Joo-ho was an honorary director on paper, Look Planning was established almost entirely with Yoon Joo-ho’s personal funds. In other words, Yoon Joo-ho was the de facto owner of Look Planning.

However, his parents had ignored all the notices of intent for months. And in the notice sent a few days ago, Yoon Joo-ho stated that this was the final warning as a ‘notice of intent.’ He conveyed his intention to pursue civil and criminal legal action if there was no response this time either.

His parents’ response to this was an interview with the media.

While it might appear to the public as a financial dispute between parents and child, it wasn’t an act driven by greed for money. He wasn’t particularly interested in more money than he already had.

“If they wanted to resolve it amicably, they should have contacted me first.”

“…”

“Instead of crying tears like a devoted parent protecting their parricidal son by releasing articles to the press.”

Yoon Joo-ho reached for the glass of whiskey on the coffee table.

“Hyung, do you believe that show?”

“…”

“After being treated like that?”

“It’s not about believing or not believing, it’s about your image.”

“The amount of Look Planning’s corporate funds they’ve siphoned off is at least 20 billion won, and the revenue they haven’t paid me under the guise of company expenses is 15 billion won. As you said, because they’re my parents, I’ve overlooked all of that until now.”

“I know, why wouldn’t I?”

“Did I ask for that money back, Hyung?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“All I asked for was the company and my freedom. What more is there to settle?”

Director Bang looked intently into Yoon Joo-ho’s eyes. Despite trying to appear strong, firm, and tough, his eyes were covered in scratches. As he faced those wounds, even sighing felt cautious. Director Bang seemed to have made up his mind and said,

“Alright, let’s not settle. No settlement.”

“…”

“Look Planning, no matter what anyone says, is Yoon Joo-ho’s company.”

Yoon Joo-ho gave a hollow laugh, swirled his glass, and took a large gulp of whiskey. By then, the ice had melted, significantly diluting the taste. Yoon Joo-ho leaned forward, adopting an active posture.

“So, Hyung, imagine you’ve just witnessed a murder scene.”

Director Bang’s face contorted in shock, but Yoon Joo-ho ignored it.

“And the victim is someone you’ve trusted and relied on since you were young… your first love, yes, almost like a first love.”

‘Baek Kang is San-i’s brother, friend, hero, and honestly, almost like a first love.’

Yoon Joo-ho recalled Song Hyun-soo’s words at that moment. Song Hyun-soo had said that for Lee San, Baek Kang was more than a brother, friend, or hero; he was like a first love.

“Hey, are we going to start script practice again?”

“We have to, don’t we?”

Yoon Joo-ho raised his wrist, rolled up the sleeve of his robe, checked the time, and picked up the script.

“You have English class at 4. No time. Aren’t you going to work?”

“So why is this my job? I’m a manager.”

Director Bang’s resistance was thoroughly ignored.

“And the murder victim is your father. I hated and resented him, but he’s still my father. The emotions would be incredibly complex. Not simple anger, not simple relief…”

“Stop! I can’t do it!”

“What if you can’t?”

“Ah, I don’t know. Hire someone for the job.”

He threw the script aside and picked up his whiskey glass, leaning back against the sofa. It was a clear refusal to be dragged into it. Yoon Joo-ho scowled.

“How can I leak the script to an outsider?”

“Then ask the juniors to play the part. Do I have the time for this?”

“The juniors are still too inexperienced to act.”

“Anyway, I can’t do it anymore. I won’t!”

“Hyung, this is a serious dereliction… of… duty…”

Yoon Joo-ho trailed off, his brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed. A bad premonition washed over Director Bang.

“Yoon Joo-ho, you’re having another one of your weird ideas, aren’t you?”

“Weird ideas?”

“When you stop talking mid-sentence and go silent, nine times out of ten you’re having a weird idea.”

Yoon Joo-ho stroked his smooth jawline and licked his lips. The sweetness of the whiskey lingered on his tongue.

“I’m thinking about hiring someone.”

“Hiring someone for what?”

“You said to hire someone. I think I’ve found a suitable candidate.”

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