By Zephyria 
One of the bodyguards from the private company contracted by Look Planning was waiting in the hallway outside the practice room. He spotted Song Hyun-soo and gave a polite, brief bow.
“The Director is waiting for you in his office.”
“Ah… Yes, I understand.”
Song Hyun-soo also awkwardly bowed back.
On set, Yoon Joo-ho was ‘Actor Yoon,’ but at the company, he was called ‘Director Yoon.’ Every time Song Hyun-soo heard it, it felt awkward, yet there was a subtly exciting sensation, like when thinking about someone you’ve just started dating.
Director Yoon Joo-ho, not actor Yoon Joo-ho. A side of him the public didn’t know, and even Song Hyun-soo didn’t know well.
They say you fall in love all over again when you happen to see your partner working. Is this that effect? But I always see my senior acting, and I’m always falling for him. Ah, but actor Yoon Joo-ho is a side I know well, so is it different?
Song Hyun-soo used his Look Planning employee ID to call the elevator and head to the top floor. He felt like a new employee secretly having an office romance with the Director. Leaning against the corner of the elevator, Song Hyun-soo kept chuckling to himself.
The
Yoon Joo-ho’s face and Song Hyun-soo’s face were on the same screen.
Song Hyun-soo’s name followed Yoon Joo-ho’s name.
It felt like he was in another world. A very wonderful world.
■
Stepping out of the elevator, the atmosphere was different from the lower floors where the practice rooms were located. Lounge music played at a low volume in the hallway, which was lined with plush olive-colored carpets, and a large screen occupying a wide section of the wall played videos of Look Planning actors in action.
As Song Hyun-soo took in the beautifully edited video art, he walked to the end of the hallway.
The top floor of the building facing Dosan Road, the office occupied the corner with the most impressive view. Next to the entrance door, a small sign read ‘Honorary Director Yoon Joo-ho,’ as per his previous title.
At home, Song Hyun-soo used his thigh as a pillow, tugged on his earlobe, and even played with his
A new employee secretly having an office romance with the Director.
Thinking about that again, he chuckled and composed himself. After knocking two or three times, he carefully opened the door.
“No. I’m going to completely reorganize the board itself.”
Yoon Joo-ho’s voice could be heard.
He was on the phone behind his desk, in front of the panoramic window.
“If you have to put it that way, yes. Well, since I own over 90% of the shares anyway. Who’s going to stop me?”
Turning around and seeing Song Hyun-soo’s face, he gestured for him to come in. Song Hyun-soo scratched the tip of his nose with his index finger and walked towards the sofa set in the center.
Yoon Joo-ho laughed cheerfully at something the other person said.
“Well-behaved kids? That’s too extreme of an expression, don’t you think?”
It seemed like he was talking about business. He looked to be in a good mood, perhaps the meeting that morning had gone well. Sitting on the sofa, Song Hyun-soo placed his backpack on the carpet and took off his coat, glancing at him as he talked on the phone.
“Anyway, until now, people who were no different from their dogs were occupying the board. All they knew was how to cater to their whims and flatter them while swiping corporate cards… All the ongoing projects are a mess.”
He was wearing a suit, and his discarded jacket was casually draped over the back of the sofa opposite Song Hyun-soo.
Over the years, Yoon Joo-ho had played countless Managing Directors, CEOs, General Managers, and Directors. But the real ‘Director Yoon Joo-ho’ seemed different from all of them.
I guess the Director tailored for dramas and the actual Director are bound to be different. If I had to choose which one I prefer…
“I need people who can actually work. They need to be capable and motivated. It’s not easy to find motivated people these days. The requirements will be officially sent from our team. Please find us someone worthwhile.”
Hanging up the phone, Yoon Joo-ho placed his phone on the desk and looked at Song Hyun-soo. He had a refreshed expression.
“How was the lesson? Did it go well?”
Song Hyun-soo nodded.
Even in that one sentence, he could feel intimacy and affection.
A completely different tone, voice, and expression from when he was on the phone earlier. The way he treated his lover.
“It seems like it took longer than usual.”
“Hyung asked me to sign something after it ended.”
“Oh… Another autograph request? You’re doing well, actor Song?”
Walking towards the sofa, he plopped down right next to Song Hyun-soo. And he leaned into Song Hyun-soo, pushing him towards the armrest.
“Ah! I’m tired.”
Sliding to the end of the sofa and lowering his height, Yoon Joo-ho leaned his temple against his lover’s shoulder and sprawled out.
“Are you busy?”
“I’m trying to nail it down as mine properly. There’s a lot to pay attention to.”
“What should I do if you’re having a hard time?”
“It’ll be okay once it’s settled. I’m suffering now so I can focus only on acting in the future.”
With the arrest and trial of Yoon Joo-ho’s parents, the position of CEO became vacant, and Yoon Joo-ho temporarily took on the role. However, what he wanted was ownership of the company, not management rights. It was impossible to juggle management and acting.
Currently, Yoon Joo-ho, as the actual owner of Look Planning with over 90% of the shares, was the chairman of the board and a registered director. This was different from the past when he remained an honorary director with only a formal title, despite holding most of the shares. He could form the board with people he wanted and oversee the CEO appointed through that board, so he could maintain absolute influence without directly managing the company.
Yoon Joo-ho naturally intertwined his fingers with Song Hyun-soo’s hand resting on his thigh. His dry hand brushed against his palm and seeped between his fingers.
“It’s mine. I have to prepare it well so I don’t lose it again.”
Yoon Joo-ho, with his head still leaning on Song Hyun-soo’s shoulder, looked up and added.
“Right?”
The two looked at each other and chuckled.
『“If someone takes what’s Senior’s, you have to chase them to the end and get it back.”』
Yoon Joo-ho was living his life very faithfully following those words Song Hyun-soo had said.
Looking at it this way, he really listens to me well.
He thought, looking down at his tired face, his eyelids pressing down.
Am I having a positive influence on him, even just a little? I hope so.
“Was the meeting long?”
“Yeah, a bit. We kept going while eating lunch boxes.”
Song Hyun-soo gently squeezed the hand he was holding. He felt sorry for him.
“Is there anything I can help with…?”
Yoon Joo-ho, leaning on his shoulder, chuckled softly. He pulled the intertwined hand to his mouth and lightly bit Song Hyun-soo’s finger.
“You’re helping me now.”
His watch caught his eye under the pulled-up shirt sleeve. A wristwatch with an ice-blue dial. The one Song Hyun-soo had retrieved from Yoon Joo-ho’s former manager.
Since then, Yoon Joo-ho wore this watch most often, and especially wanted to wear it on important days if possible. Except for cases where it didn’t match his outfit at all. To him, this watch had become like a ‘lucky charm.’
The book with the short letter Song Hyun-soo had written and the keyring he had recently gifted.
Even if he didn’t express it outwardly, he cherished and treasured anything Song Hyun-soo gave him. Just like how Song Hyun-soo kept every single one of his notes.
“If there’s anything I can help with, please tell me anything.”
“Okay.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s something really trivial. You have to tell me everything?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“It’s okay if it’s just complaints or whining.”
Yoon Joo-ho raised his chin again and looked up. His faintly smiling face still looked a bit rough.
“You want me to complain to you when you’ve done nothing wrong?”
He knew that there were areas that no matter how much you loved someone, you couldn’t do for them or share with them. That there were moments in life that only you had to face alone. But he only understood it in his head, and his heart couldn’t be so cold.
This person is so precious to me that I want to do everything for them. But having to just watch is incredibly frustrating.
Song Hyun-soo gently cupped Yoon Joo-ho’s cheek with his other hand, the one not holding his hand.
“I mean, you can grumble about whether the situation is good or bad, whether someone is doing a good job or not.”
Yoon Joo-ho quietly closed his eyes. As if savoring the sensation of Song Hyun-soo’s palm.
“You want to hear those kinds of stories? It’ll be boring.”
“It’s not boring.”
“Hmm.”
“We’re lovers. If you don’t tell me, who are you going to tell? I’ll… listen to everything and keep your secrets.”
Yoon Joo-ho, who had been closing his eyes for a moment, slowly lifted his eyelids. And he rolled the nuance of the word in his mouth, repeating it.
“Lovers?”
“We’re lovers.”
“You do those things because we’re lovers?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm… Not family?”
“……”
“You said you’re my family now.”
The look in Yoon Joo-ho’s eyes as he looked up was heavy. It was similar to the look in a child’s eyes who strongly wanted to be reassured of something.
“Y-yes, family. So you can tell me anything.”