# Chapter 8
Seowoo thought it was a joke when Woojae said he’d drive, but there he was, parked neatly in front of Seowoo’s house waiting. His casual pose, leaning against the trunk of the car, looked intentionally cool.
The moment Seowoo walked out, Woojae spun his car keys around his finger as if he’d been rehearsing the move. When Seowoo gave him a questioning look, Woojae playfully jerked his chin.
“Want to go for a drive with me?”
“Hyung, what do you mean ‘want to’?”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and his nonsense has only gotten worse. Cutting off Woojae’s nonsense, Seowoo opened the passenger door and got in. Woojae followed behind him, pretending to be disappointed.
“Do you know how embarrassed I was standing like that until you came down? And you just shoot me down like that?”
“You have no shame… You should be the actor.”
“Really? My department head keeps getting on my nerves. Should I just quit and hand in my resignation?”
Woojae tossed out those weightless words as he got into the driver’s seat and started the car again.
“If I use your connections, do you think Director Kang would cast me as a supporting role in his next project?”
“Would the director be closer to me or to you?”
“Well, you never know.”
Yeah right. Woojae was the kind of guy with such wide connections that he heard news from everywhere and brought it to others. Wasn’t he the one who had tipped Seowoo off about being on Director Kang’s radar even before the director had contacted him?
“Why did you have to drive all this way? How far is this place?”
“It’s not walking distance. But I think you’ll like it once we get there.”
Just like someone who enjoyed drinking, Woojae was already excited. Enjoying alcohol was a skill in itself. Seowoo, who had no interest in drinking, only reached for alcohol when he was annoyed. So even though he would be the one suggesting they drink, by the time Woojae got going, Seowoo would often be slumped over.
“All bars are basically the same.”
Seowoo mumbled, resting his head against the car window. Woojae turned to look at him, smiling with crinkled eyes.
“Don’t say that. I have to provide the basics when I’m taking out our actor. It’s a new building so the interior is clean, it’s not crowded, and the music selection is good. You might even see some familiar faces there? It has a nice atmosphere so many people go there through word of mouth.”
A quiet atmosphere where they wouldn’t stand out to others. Woojae knew exactly what kind of place Seowoo preferred.
For Woojae, any place with alcohol and people would do, but not for Seowoo. Seowoo was always conscious of others’ stares, so he couldn’t be taken just anywhere.
“You found a good place.”
“Who else but me?”
Woojae asked in a playful tone. But the question hit too close to home to be just a joke. When Seowoo replied, “Yeah, really, only you,” the car smoothly pulled away.
“Why did your manager quit? So suddenly?”
Woojae asked this when Seowoo was just filling his fourth glass.
It wasn’t like this was their first or second drinking session, but seeing him this loose was rare. When he said he was thirsty for alcohol, he really meant he was going to drink heavily, which is why he called someone.
Woojae didn’t mind taking care of him, but he was more worried that Seowoo might overdo it and his body would suffer. He could already imagine Seowoo complaining in the morning with a hangover, asking why Woojae hadn’t stopped him.
“No, in the morning suddenly…”
The mumbling voice, trembling fingertips, body leaning against the chair, and narrowly opened eyes. It seemed like you could smell the alcohol on him from a distance. Four glasses of whiskey was definitely a lot for Han Seowoo. You need to drink often for your tolerance to improve…
As Seowoo naturally brought the glass to his lips, Woojae smoothly snatched it away and brought it to his own mouth as if it had been his all along. Seowoo’s eyebrows arched in a “what are you doing” expression.
“They say if you drink alone, you won’t get a lover.”
“Lover my ass. How am I supposed to get a lover when I’m getting blocked by even my friend?”
With what sounded like a complaint, Seowoo snatched the glass back. This time Woojae had no chance to stop him as Seowoo drank half the glass in one go and set it down on the table with a bang. His shoulders trembled with what might have been drunkenness, sadness, or anger.
“He actually blocked you? You two aren’t that kind of relationship.”
“That’s what I’m saying! I mean, seriously, isn’t it weird?”
That’s why it felt more unfair. Not only cutting contact but also being cleanly blocked—who would go this far unless they were severing ties with an enemy?
Seowoo was fuming so much that it seemed like white steam might rise from his head. This behavior was completely unfamiliar, as he usually sipped his drinks slowly during drinking sessions, focusing more on conversation.
Before Seowoo could empty his glass once more, Woojae quickly grabbed a fruit snack and brought it to his mouth. It was a neatly sliced orange.
Unconsciously accepting and swallowing it, Seowoo narrowed his eyes at the tangy, sour taste that momentarily awakened his senses. A gentle voice continued, as if trying to calm him down.
“Still, you two haven’t just known each other for a day or two. Your manager hyung must have his reasons.”
“…”
“Did you hear anything about it?”
What could he have heard… No matter how much he thought about it, there had been no warning signs. If Seowoo had sensed something was off, he would have asked directly. Once again, a surge of sadness welled up.
“…That’s what I mean! If he doesn’t tell me, who else would he tell? Huh?”
As his voice suddenly rose, a man at the next table instinctively glanced over. He seemed curious, as if wondering if there was some interesting story. Despite not wanting to attract attention, Seowoo was doing exactly what would draw eyes.
Seowoo finally downed the rest of his alcohol in one go and placed the glass on the table with a bang.
His face must have been flushed, but in the dim lighting, it wasn’t clear if he was red or pale.
Woojae naturally followed suit and filled his own glass. When there was no use in trying to calm someone down, it was best to go along with them. Seowoo leaned forward with a grumble, then rested his arms on the table and propped his face on his shoulder.
“Jung Woojae, Woojae… You know.”
“Yes, hyung. Go ahead and tell me.”
“Why… why do you think Jinhyuk quit?”
“Huh?”
What good would it do to ask me that? Even though Woojae and Seowoo were close, they weren’t colleagues, and Jinhyuk the manager and Woojae the reporter were essentially strangers. They were only familiar faces because they had met several times through Seowoo.
Though Seowoo was half-drunk, he must have known this fact. He hadn’t asked expecting a good answer. What Seowoo needed was just someone to clink glasses with. He didn’t want to be fumbling through this suddenly created void alone.
“Well, maybe something happened in his family, or he really had some unavoidable circumstances.”
It was a superficial answer. Useless comfort that just repeated what Seowoo had said earlier. While smoothly talking, Woojae glanced over and saw Seowoo staring at the floor, slowly fingering the edge of his glass.
“…I guess so.”
He couldn’t hide the bluish gloom creeping up his clean face. Woojae wasn’t originally good at or particularly interested in comforting others, but it was awkward to just watch as the man, who was more than a mere acquaintance and closer to an idol to him, suffered like this.
Moreover, his professional instinct had been sending strange warning signals. He had a feeling that this was connected to something fishy, though he wasn’t sure exactly what.
So far, there had been no rumors about Jinhyuk, but as Seowoo said, something did leave a bitter aftertaste. It seemed like a situation where there might be at least one speck of dust if you shook it out.
Woojae brought his upper body closer to the table and picked up the whiskey bottle again.
“Hyung, should I look into it?”
“…Look into what?”
“It wouldn’t be right if something really happened to him. If you’re okay with it, I can dig around a bit.”
“…”
The words to tell him to go ahead didn’t come readily. Was there any need to deliberately chase after someone who had intentionally distanced themselves? Maybe this extreme situation had come about because Seowoo hadn’t noticed Jinhyuk’s signs of rejection until now.
From his fingertips caressing the edge of the glass to his gaze that couldn’t stay in one place, though he didn’t speak, Woojae could clearly see what was going on inside him.
As if he’d taken the glass without Seowoo noticing, Woojae naturally tilted the bottle and poured the amber liquid into the empty glass again. The sound of ice cubes clinking rang out crisply.
“Like you said, hyung, there are too many strange points for him to have just disappeared.”
Asking in a lowered tone, his voice felt almost secretive.
“What if there’s something fishy going on?”
“…Fishy?”
“Well, I’m not an expert in the entertainment world, but entertainment companies are famous for all sorts of things. There are times when someone who seemed solid turns out to be in debt, or on drugs.”
Though it wasn’t a direct expression, it wasn’t hard to read the implications of his words. Seowoo’s eyes, half-blurred by alcohol, were now staring directly at Woojae. There was confusion in his gaze.
With a cheerful exclamation of “Hey,” Woojae waved his hand dismissively.
“I don’t mean your manager hyung is like that! I’m just saying there are that many possible scenarios. There are quite a few cases where people get into trouble because of strange people latching onto them.”
“If Jinhyuk was in that kind of situation and didn’t tell me…”
“Hey, if people can’t even tell the police in many cases, how could they tell a friend?”
“…”
If he was really tangled up in something shady, it would make sense not to tell those around him. As Woojae spoke as if it was no big deal, Seowoo suddenly felt his mind, which had been covered in a fog of drunkenness, clear up for a moment.
A contract with two names written on it.
The one who had encountered a situation they couldn’t reveal to the police or friends wasn’t Jinhyuk, but Han Seowoo himself.
“Hyung?”
Woojae carefully observed Seowoo’s expression. While it was true that as a reporter he was responding to a potentially juicy story, he had extended a hand out of concern for Seowoo, so he didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable.
Seowoo no longer seemed interested in drinking and just stared at Woojae’s face.
Come to think of it, while Woojae didn’t typically go into the detailed aspects of his work as a reporter, he often casually shared information that ordinary people wouldn’t know. When Seowoo, an industry insider himself, asked how he had caught wind of stories so early, Woojae would joke that it was a company secret.
It’s possible that Woojae might already know what kind of place T&C is and what Seo Dohyun’s true identity is.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
