By Zephyria 
Yeon-rok, with a sullen expression, glanced at the direction of the exit, wondering if he should leave now, but Choi Hwan smiled and pulled on his sleeve.
“I’m just kidding! Sit down, sit down. Ah, really! I told you I’d make sure you had fun.”
Choi Hwan’s eyes were sparkling with mischief. He seemed to be hoping to see Yeon-rok in trouble in an unfamiliar place. Not wanting to meet that expectation, Yeon-rok was dragged to his seat. To make matters worse, the seat was in the center, so it was difficult to get out with people on both sides.
“So, who is he really? Is he a rookie?”
“Why would I bring a rookie here? The President would try to eat me alive for spoiling them. He’s…”
Choi Hwan trailed off. He couldn’t say Name partner, and he thought that it was ambiguous to say exactly what kind of relationship they had, so he hesitated, but then he opened his mouth.
“A day manager?”
“A manager? With that face and dressed like that?”
It was a reaction that didn’t make sense, just like the director had said at the filming location today. Yeon-rok half ignored the conversation and rubbed his hungry stomach. Just then, an employee was bringing out this much alcohol and snacks. Oh? Pizza is coming out? Yeon-rok was delighted.
“You saw him last time too. The person who was sitting there wearing a baseball cap.”
“Huh? Was there such a person?”
“I thought it was Jun-ho Hyung.”
They chattered among themselves, and then one of them, a relatively familiar face, spoke to Yeon-rok.
“Hey, how old are you?”
Yeon-rok, who had eaten two slices of pizza in the meantime, answered. He was amazed that kimchi fried rice, which didn’t seem to fit in a place like this, was even coming out as a snack. There was even lobster grilled with plenty of cheese. Busy filling his stomach, Yeon-rok answered casually.
“The same age as him.”
“Then you’re younger than me?”
Everyone was managing their weight, so no one touched the snacks. He didn’t know why they had ordered the snacks if they weren’t going to eat them, but Yeon-rok’s mouth was happy because there was even sashimi.
“You know me, right? I shot a cosmetics commercial recently.”
Although he was handsome, they treated Yeon-rok relatively politely because the atmosphere he gave off didn’t seem like a celebrity.
“I’m not interested in cosmetics, so I don’t know about those commercials.”
“Aish…”
The other person, who had pretended to be disappointed at Yeon-rok’s words, then widened his eyes.
“But you know even if you don’t watch commercials. Hyung is famous. You’re Kim Ji-ho, right? Can I call you Hyung?”
“Oh? You can recognize me?”
“I really don’t know this Hyung… But he seems young. Are you really a Hyung?”
“What? Euhahaha! That’s right, I’m not really a Hyung!”
Yeon-rok, who had received all kinds of love from Park Yeo-sa and friendship chocolates from the bodyguards, showed his sociability. He had been depressed for a while due to the shock of his heartbreak, but he had soon been busy working and making a living, and his contact with his friends had been cut off, but originally, Yeon-rok had been quite good at socializing.
As things were going in a completely different direction from his expectations, Choi Hwan’s expression became awkward. But thinking that it was all good, he soon started chatting comfortably with his acquaintances.
“What’s with your clothes today?”
“Why? Doesn’t it look good?”
“Won’t the costume team say something?”
“Don’t know. My manager Hyung will probably nag me like crazy. Who cares? I’m just gonna drink and die today.”
In truth, Lee Yeon-rok had prejudices before coming here. It was probably because he had seen news articles about celebrities’ private lives a few times. It was also because Choi Hwan had a history of receiving drugs from an acquaintance who foolishly used drugs.
But watching them like this, they weren’t doing anything strange, just sitting around and endlessly chatting. They even talked about the acquaintance who was caught for drug possession.
“Hey, that bastard was really something. I never dreamed he was doing that behind the scenes.”
“Damn. My number was in his contacts, so I was so nervous, you know? After I got investigated along with him, I checked the news every day.”
“Choi Hwan Hyung must have felt betrayed. That Hyung was so good to him. I didn’t know he was looking for a sugar daddy.”
“But who but an idiot would take such suspicious drugs?”
When Yeon-rok stared intently, Choi Hwan, feeling guilty, stared into his glass and desperately avoided eye contact. Then he slipped off the sofa and left. Someone looked at Yeon-rok and exclaimed.
“Wow, Yeon-rok. You really eat well.”
“I just don’t gain weight easily.”
“I’m so jealous.”
“Please, just take 1kg of my fat……”
If he could, Yeon-rok really wanted to. Maintaining his weight by eating like this was starting to get tiring. Yeon-rok watched Choi Hwan meeting and having fun with his acquaintances again, and suddenly asked out of curiosity.
“Aren’t you all going to hang out together?”
“Huh? I’m not good at dancing……”
“I recklessly said I’d film without a stuntman last time and sprained my back.”
“I have to dance like crazy in the practice room from tomorrow anyway, so I don’t want to dance……”
Yeon-rok thought. These people really hang out in a wholesome way. Choi Hwan, who said he would make it fun, was actually leaving Yeon-rok sitting here and neglecting him, but it wasn’t too bad. The shocking behind-the-scenes stories and the stories of famous celebrities with terrible personalities that he had never known were really interesting.
The only downside was that the smell of cigarettes was everywhere, which was too painful for him, who had just started quitting smoking.
When he felt he had eaten enough, he suddenly looked around and saw that there were quite a few more people than before. Some of Choi Hwan’s acquaintances who had been talking to Yeon-rok had gone home, but more people had come in than had left.
Whether it was because of postprandial sleepiness or fatigue, Yeon-rok nodded off. Then, when he felt someone sitting next to him, he raised his head and saw that Choi Hwan had returned. Watching him quench his thirst, he blurted out without realizing it.
“You said you’d make it fun?”
“Huh?”
Choi Hwan, who had returned with his hair disheveled, looked blank and shrugged.
“You seemed to be having fun without me? What? But where did everyone go?”
“I don’t know. I’m going home……”
When Yeon-rok responded listlessly, Choi Hwan suddenly moved close to him. He put his arm around his shoulder as if to prevent him from running away, acting friendly, which gave him goosebumps.
“What are you doing?”
“Stay a little longer? Hey, this is delicious. Try it.”
He didn’t know why he kept holding him back like this when he wasn’t even entertaining him. Yeon-rok chewed on the skewer that Choi Hwan put in his mouth with a sulky face. ……It is tasty. Choi Hwan hummed along to the song playing in the club, seemingly in a good mood. Looking at him from the side, his jawline was particularly sharp under his slowly nodding head. Suddenly curious, Yeon-rok asked.
“Don’t articles come out about you when you come to places like this?”
“The standards for getting in here are pretty strict. You have to be famous enough to have a lot to lose, or have a lot of money. So taking pictures or gossiping elsewhere is prohibited. If you get caught, you get kicked out, so people don’t do it.”
As it was Yeon-rok’s first time at a club, he thought there were all sorts of strange rules.
“I thought it would be a wild mess……”
“A wild mess…… Hey! Do I want to ruin my acting career? This is the only place I can hang out!”
Choi Hwan shouted loudly. Yeon-rok was just uncomfortable with the other person sticking so close to him. Perhaps because he had been having so much fun, the body heat he felt was so warm that he almost forgot his bad condition for a moment. And he realized one thing. Contact over clothes is useless. Yeon-rok, feeling unfairly provoked, immediately retaliated.
“Oh, right. You said it was your first kiss last time. I guess……”
He trailed off without finishing, and as intended, Choi Hwan flared up.
“I just haven’t dated! It’s not that I can’t!”
“It’s not because you’re an asshole that no one can date you?”
“……!”
There was a brief scuffle, but they both quickly calmed down because people were watching. And Choi Hwan, strangely excited, chattered about how the song was and who he had seen earlier, and said to Yeon-rok, who was just listening quietly.
“I think you’re pretty good to hang out with?”
He didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives, but it was a line that was perfect to hear in a club. Yeon-rok wondered if this guy even remembered that he was his Name partner. Even though he said he was full, Choi Hwan kept shoving things into Yeon-rok’s mouth. He seemed a little drunk.
“They do something fun here at 10 o’clock. Just watch that and go.”
Choi Hwan whined and begged, clinging to him. Yeon-rok struggled to get away from this big guy, then gave up and shouted.
“10 o’clock is a long way off!”
“There are only two hours left, what.”
A vein popped out on his forehead, but soon Yeon-rok lost his strength. He didn’t even have the energy to argue. He just looked around blankly, but he saw more and more people in embarrassing outfits, so he turned his gaze back to the leftover snacks.
“Hey, I wasn’t going to say anything if I could help it, but even so, a guy with a Darling should stop coming to clubs so often.”
When Yeon-rok nagged, Choi Hwan covered his ears and pretended not to hear. He was like an elementary school student. Yeon-rok shook his head, and Choi Hwan grumbled.
“I need to breathe too.”
It sounded like a passing remark, but he didn’t know why it caught his ear. He was about to nag him that he only needed to breathe in clubs. That’s when he heard a ringtone from somewhere, and Yeon-rok looked around.
“I think someone’s been getting a call since earlier?”
At Yeon-rok’s words, Choi Hwan nonchalantly rummaged through his clothes, took out his cell phone, and said.
“Oh, it’s my phone.”
Yeon-rok was so dumbfounded that he put down the glass he was holding and shouted.
“You said you didn’t have a cell phone!”
“Of course that was a lie.”