By Zephyria 
Yoon Joo-ho, with a light smile on his lips, straightened his upper body. He placed his hands on Song Hyun-soo’s knees, used the leverage to stand up, and walked towards the built-in kitchen across the room, saying,
“I haven’t even greeted your grandparents yet. Can I even call myself family?”
“I, I’m going to see them soon!”
“We don’t even know if we’ll get their permission.”
“We decided to work on it together, slowly.”
The built-in kitchen, designed simply with stainless steel, was difficult to guess its purpose at first glance. Yoon Joo-ho, standing in front of the cold-looking steel, shrugged and pulled the hidden handle to open the refrigerator.
“Want a beer?”
“I’ll have water. I drove.”
Watching Yoon Joo-ho take out a drink, Song Hyun-soo carefully brought up the topic.
“About going to your house.”
“……”
“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
Yoon Joo-ho, who was opening a beer with an opener, looked up and glanced at him.
“It’s not like we need your grandparents’ permission to live together.”
Yoon Joo-ho, standing in front of the long Bar, took a few sips of beer and came back. He placed a bottle of water for Song Hyun-soo on the table, sat back down next to him, swallowed his beer, and then asked a somewhat random question.
“Will you have a public relationship with me?”
“Do you want to see me get stabbed to death?”
“If you and I fill out a marriage registration and take it to the district office, will they accept it?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“Then who guarantees that we’re family and responsible for each other?”
After speaking, Yoon Joo-ho slumped his back, rested his elbows on his knees, and drank his beer.
He still doesn’t quite believe in the power of promises exchanged in words. He must be anxious. It’s not that he doesn’t trust me, it’s that he’s anxious about the vague future. Especially since his relationship with his parents ended that way.
Song Hyun-soo put his arm around his shoulder from behind.
“Then have confidence. Don’t talk weak.”
Over his shoulder, Yoon Joo-ho narrowed his eyes and looked back at Song Hyun-soo.
“What can I do if I’m nervous?”
“You get nervous too?”
Because he had his chin resting on Yoon Joo-ho’s shoulder, their faces were close. The gaze that looked down from under his eyelids changed color somehow. A deep, intense gaze that seemed to be looking from the very depths of his being.
“I’m meeting my favorite person’s grandparents. Of course, I’m nervous.”
The slow, drawn-out whisper was pleasant to hear. At the end of his words, he stuck out his tongue and licked Song Hyun-soo’s upper lip. The tip of his tongue, chilled by the beer, felt good, and a soft breath escaped from between Song Hyun-soo’s lips.
My favorite person.
How can he use such youthful expressions like a high school student while doing all sorts of things to me?
Mmm…
The movement of his tongue, licking and sweeping over his teeth inside his upper lip, made Song Hyun-soo’s eyelids droop languidly halfway. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something urgent, his eyes widened for a moment.
“Ah.”
“Ah?”
“The script.”
“Script?”
Yoon Joo-ho, deprived of the opportunity to kiss, frowned openly.
“I heard a script came in for me.”
“……”
“Is it true?”
Seeing his reaction of avoiding eye contact and evading the answer, it was true.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Yoon Joo-ho, giving up on the kiss, brought the beer bottle to his lips and asked.
“Who did you hear it from?”
“I don’t think that’s very important.”
“I’m just asking because I’m curious.”
“I come to the company at least twice a week too. Don’t you think I would have found out eventually?”
With his back still hunched over, Yoon Joo-ho spoke nonchalantly without showing his eyes.
“When a script comes in for a rookie, the company usually reviews it first. Unless you become big enough to negotiate with the company, it’s difficult to get into a project even if you want to, if the company doesn’t agree. The management team is currently reviewing the script.”
“Still, you could have at least told me what kind of project it was.”
“I thought you might be disappointed if you couldn’t do it.”
Song Hyun-soo sat close to him, put his arms around his waist, and rested his chin on his shoulder.
“But did you really get like three or four projects?”
“Yeah.”
A listless answer.
“Do I have to audition?”
Yoon Joo-ho, who was bringing the beer bottle to his lips, turned to him with an unpleasant expression. After confirming the sparkling eyes of Song Hyun-soo clinging to his back, he sighed as if he couldn’t help it.
“There are projects with multiple actor candidates, and there are projects where they specifically want to cast you.”
“Ooh, can’t you just tell me what kind of projects they are? Drama? Movie?”
“Two movies, one drama.”
“I’ve never done a drama before. What kind of project is it?”
From Yoon Joo-ho’s mouth, names that Song Hyun-soo found hard to believe were mentioned.
It was a new work by a great writer who, although 20 years had passed since he started writing, still succeeded in every work he released with a groundbreaking yet solid storyline, and a director called the writer’s ‘soulmate’. Writer Yang Ha-jeong’s work, Director Choi Kang-young’s work.
“Senior, I’ll do that. I’ll do it no matter what.”
“I told you, it’s under review.”
“Honestly, what kind of review does a rookie like me get for Writer Yang Ha-jeong’s work, Director Choi Kang-young’s work? I should just run if they tell me to appear as an extra.”
“You belong to Look Planning now. They don’t work like that.”
“Why? I want to work on everything I can get my hands on from now on.”
“The rookie days are more important. It’s a time when you need to build a good image. It’s not an industry where you can succeed just by being good at acting. That’s why you need a company.”
Song Hyun-soo’s eyes narrowed as he carefully watched Yoon Joo-ho’s stubborn profile as he drank his beer.
“Tell me.”
“What?”
“What’s the real reason?”
“What are you talking about again?”
“No matter how selective you are about work, you can’t possibly not be convinced by Director Choi Kang-young’s work and Writer Yang Ha-jeong’s work. Why are you saying no?”
“……”
Song Hyun-soo reached out and cupped Yoon Joo-ho’s cheeks, making him look at him. And he looked him straight in the eye from a close distance. Yoon Joo-ho narrowed his eyes and the bridge of his nose.
“You remember, right?”
“What?”
“We have trauma about ‘secrets’.”
“……”
“We promised not to hide things from now on.”
Haa. Another sigh escaped from between Yoon Joo-ho’s lips. He took his hands off Song Hyun-soo, put the beer down on the table, and slumped back on the sofa.
“Director Choi Kang-young’s working style is very harsh.”
“So?”
“He’s the type to mentally push actors to the extreme and squeeze them dry.”
“I know. He’s famous for that.”
Yoon Joo-ho shook his head, saying that what you know is not even half the truth.
“It’s more than what you hear in rumors. It’s not just pushing, it’s more like emotionally beating them down. There are actors who have had their self-esteem shattered and quit acting altogether. It’s not just one or two.”
“Are you hesitating about Director Choi Kang-young’s work for such a reason?”
“……”
“No, you probably weren’t even hesitating. You were probably just going to secretly make it disappear at your level. Right?”
“Hyun-soo.”
At Yoon Joo-ho’s voice calling his name, Song Hyun-soo lowered his gaze to calm his excitement for a moment.
“Tell me. I’m listening.”
“Some people listen to the whip, and some people listen to the carrot. Not all actors improve and grow by working with Director Choi Kang-young.”
“But the quality and topicality of the work are outstanding, and honestly, it’s a great opportunity for a rookie actor. I’m confident I can handle it.”
“You’ll have many other opportunities now. More projects will come in the future. You don’t have to rush to decide now.”
“What if someone else takes it?”
“Then it wasn’t meant to be your project.”
“Seo…”
Yoon Joo-ho lightly covered Song Hyun-soo’s mouth with his hand. And he nodded and admitted.
“I know. It’s overprotective.”
“……”
“A guy who doesn’t want to make his boyfriend work with a tough director because he’s worried he’ll have a hard time. I didn’t even know I was such a pathetic bastard.”
“You’re not a pathetic bastard…”
Song Hyun-soo’s mouth was covered again.
“I can’t follow you around and protect you forever. And you wouldn’t want that either.”
“……”
“I know it in my head, but my heart doesn’t follow.”
“……”
“I want to keep you from having a hard time as much as possible, and I have the power to do that. But you still want me to let you suffer?”
From behind Yoon Joo-ho’s palm, Song Hyun-soo pulled his lips into a smile. And he took Yoon Joo-ho’s hand and gently pulled it down.
“It’s funny, right? Yeah, it’s going to be funny. It’s funny to me too.”
“That’s not why I laughed?”
“Then why?”
“It’s just… I realized you’re just like me.”