Chapter 115
“…Yeah. I’m preparing for auditions.”
Geon-woo’s voice inexplicably quieted. He walked looking elsewhere, then opened the iron gate and stared at the end of the narrow road. David hadn’t arrived yet.
“I guess you didn’t like any of the scripts I showed you?”
“They seemed good, but I just want to start over from the beginning, step by step.”
“So it was true. I thought you were just talking out of anger.”
Geon-woo, hit right on the mark, rolled his eyes. It was awkward to respond because while he was sincere now, it really had been out of anger then.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have given you audition information instead of you going all the way to the agency. What a hassle.”
“You’re not my errand boy, I can’t keep asking you to do things. Anyway, I have a car, and as long as you don’t remove my car battery, I can get around on my own just fine.”
At that, one of Mitchell’s eyebrows raised. His eyes sparkled as if plotting some mischief.
“If you remove it again, I really won’t let you off the hook!”
This time, Mitchell sighed. It seemed he had really been thinking of doing something bad but gave up at Geon-woo’s threat.
“So which auditions are you going for?”
“I’m preparing now. I’ll try on my own first. I’ll tell you if I pass, so just wait a bit until then.”
“Why don’t you just do what I tell you to?”
“……”
“How about staying quietly at home and I’ll put you in a good movie? Don’t go running around for auditions. There was that person chasing you last time, remember?”
“Ah, that chase.”
Geon-woo’s memory had been quite distorted.
“Yeah, that chase. Can you guarantee that car won’t show up again? I said I’d let you act. I’ll look into it properly this time, so give up on the auditions.”
Geon-woo tilted his head slightly and looked up at Mitchell. It felt like Mitchell was grabbing and squeezing his neck. As always, it felt suffocating and stifling, like having dry bread stuck in his mouth.
He liked it.
It felt like everything around him was filled with Mitchell. He was blissfully happy, but… Geon-woo refused Mitchell’s request.
“Thanks. But this time, I want to do it with my own strength.”
“……”
“Because I want to stand properly beside you. This is my plan to possess you perfectly. Help me.”
Geon-woo didn’t hide his devious plan in order to make Mitchell understand. He revealed all his inner thoughts with a bright smile. He might have unconsciously believed that Mitchell wouldn’t refuse.
“Don’t you want to see how great a person I am?”
“…I already know.”
An excessive laugh that rarely came out burst forth. Geon-woo laughed out loud for the first time in a very long time.
He was elated by Mitchell’s words that he already knew Geon-woo was a great person. It seemed Mitchell acknowledged this because Geon-woo was watching over the unstable Mitchell from the closest position. That even without achieving great success in acting or anything else, his existence alone was valuable enough.
Geon-woo thought:
That Mitchell might be the only person who willingly wants his abnormal behavior.
Of course, there was Yoon In-X, but Geon-woo didn’t know such a person… Even if he did know, he had decided not to know, so he was an unknown person.
Anyway, he got along well with Mitchell. They needed each other. It was more than a complementary relationship destined by fate.
“I like your deficiencies.”
Quietly overwhelmed, Geon-woo moved his lips lightly. He pointed out Mitchell’s weak points. It might seem harsh and uncomfortable in some ways, but Geon-woo had observed Mitchell for a long time. So he could sufficiently anticipate Mitchell’s reaction. He thought there was no way Mitchell would dislike it.
“My deficiencies?”
“Yeah. You filled those deficiencies with me, right?”
As Geon-woo nodded with an expression that said he knew everything, Mitchell looked down at him intently. It was a soft and sweet gaze, like freshly baked castella.
“Mitchell, let me try on my own first. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll give you a hint, so help me then.”
“……”
Originally, Mitchell had intended to try to have his way with Geon-woo. But he failed, blocked by Geon-woo. Seeing him smiling brightly without resistance, Mitchell’s will to persuade him again disappeared.
“I’ll help you for life.”
Mitchell lightly pressed Geon-woo’s lips. It was like a signal for a kiss, so Geon-woo unconsciously swallowed.
“So do as you wish. What you want is what I want. Conversely, I hope you want what I want too. Give that to me.”
Mitchell lightly pinched Geon-woo’s cheek and let go, as if retaliating for not following his wishes. It was more ticklish than painful.
“What is it that you want?”
“Find that out yourself. What I truly want.”
Before the ambiguous answer ended, his lips attacked Geon-woo’s. As the soft lips crushed together and a tongue invaded through the gap, Geon-woo swallowed his words and opened his thoughts.
What Mitchell wants.
What he truly wants…
‘Is there anything I can’t give him?’
Geon-woo was always confident.
***
“Bae- Long time no see!”
As David arrived with a noisy engine sound, the strange atmosphere broke. Geon-woo waved his arm widely and greeted David cheerfully through the open window.
“David. Long time no see. Have you been well?”
“Of course, Bae-.”
Geon-woo, who had exchanged scripts and occasionally visited the office, had become quite friendly with David.
Unlike Mitchell who called him by name, David called Geon-woo by his surname. Not ‘Bae’ but ‘Bae-‘ with an extended ending. It was a strange pronunciation that sounded almost like ‘baby’ at first hearing.
“Let’s have a drink sometime.”
Geon-woo acted affectionately and smiled brightly. Mitchell, who had been watching the two, twitched his eyebrows and then quickly got into the passenger seat. The bulky bodyguards were nowhere to be seen.
“Both of you, have a good day!”
This time, Geon-woo waved his hand so vigorously he almost lost his balance, alternating his gaze between David and Mitchell. David waved his arm in response, but Mitchell just raised his hand slightly as a greeting.
Mitchell, still looking out the window with a displeased face, spoke up as they were leaving the narrow road.
“Why do you call Geon-woo ‘baby’?”
“Hahaha. When did I call him ‘baby’? I said ‘Bae-‘.”
“Pronounce it properly. It’s creepy.”
David’s awkward pronunciation made Mitchell’s morning unpleasant. He hadn’t even been able to say such cringeworthy things to Geon-woo himself yet.
“Yes, yes. I’ll be careful. Or I’ll only call him that when you’re not around.”
As Mitchell clicked his tongue, David quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, why aren’t you accepting scripts? The filming for ‘Racing Instinct’ is almost over, isn’t it about time you choose your next project? Even if you don’t start filming right away, you could secure a role. Is it because of the vacation?”
“That’s not it.”
“I guess not.”
David nodded. Although the media reported that he was planning to take a long vacation, Mitchell wasn’t the type to take a break from work.
“Then, is it because of your business?”
“No. I want to be more careful in choosing projects.”
“Anyone listening would think you’ve been careless in your choices until now. You’ve chosen well so far and all the results have been good.”
“Still, I’m holding off. I want to try something different, not just ordinary projects.”
“Like what?”
“Something that breaks my clean-cut image.”
“You want to change your image? Didn’t you try to do that… what was it… ‘Fail to Start’ before? Wouldn’t that have been enough to break your clean-cut image?”
“Hmm, would that have been enough?”
Mitchell extended the end of his sentence as if agreeing.
“Are you looking into that kind of thing?”
“I won’t do it unless the script is pretty good.”
“Then why did you want to do ‘Fail to Start’? The script wasn’t even finished then. Did you just join because of Director Angelio?”
“No. Back then, I was a bit… in a hurry.”
“Why?”
“For various reasons… Anyway, I have some things to sort out, so I’ll take a break for a while too.”
“The agency president should do as he’s told.”
Mitchell chuckled at David’s words.
“For now, don’t schedule anything. I might have to join a project urgently.”
“Join a project urgently?”
“I don’t know yet. Nothing’s decided.”
“Well… take this opportunity to rest well. I’m not used to the workaholic Mitchell taking a vacation. Take your time to sort things out. People need to organize things to live. Whether it’s organizing your surroundings or your thoughts or whatever.”
“So, do you clean your house? Last time I saw, it was a complete mess.”
As the conversation suddenly shifted, David smiled with a sour expression.
“I do… I do. I’m on my way back from taking out the trash today.”
“If you drink, clean up the beer bottles quickly.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard your nagging. And what grudge do you have against beer bottles? Why do you always say the same thing?”
“I have a grudge against rolling beer bottles. So live a more organized life.”
“How diligent and neat you are. No matter how I think about it, your clean-cut image isn’t fabricated. It’s just who you are. The upright Mitchell Cronenwirth.”
“That’s the problem.”
“Huh?”
“I’m not upright at all. People misunderstand me.”
His tone wasn’t at all self-deprecating or self-blaming. He spoke as if stating an obvious fact, without emotion.
“David. Do you remember what I said before? About my ideal type.”
But Mitchell brought up something out of the blue.
“Ideal type?”
“Yeah. Ideal type.”
“Of course I remember. You crazy guy. Your ideal type is someone who looks good in an apron, right? I still remember it even though I heard it almost 5 or 6 years ago.”
“…What?”
Mitchell froze for a moment with his eyes wide open. Then, remembering a conversation he had jokingly had a long time ago, he burst into laughter belatedly.
