Chapter 42
Walking through the long corridor into the living room, the night view of the Han River unfolded beyond the large balcony window. The two walls facing south and east were constructed with folding doors that opened completely to the ceiling, allowing for an even more dramatic view of the Han River.
The mansion had a luxurious exterior and thorough security, but above all, the view rights that were said to have the greatest influence on real estate values in this area were absolutely excellent. The mansion, positioned to face the Han River directly with no obstructions in sight, seemed impossible to rent for just a few million won per month.
Even though I wasn’t as knowledgeable about real estate prices as Taeyoon, I could guess that much.
Only the floor lamp next to the sofa was lit, making the living room dim. Because of this, the night view appeared even more vivid in contrast. At the junction where the two balconies met, in an inconspicuous corner, I could spot Hongseo.
Hongseo was leaning her arms on the railing, looking at her phone and chuckling. Occasionally, she would drink from the wine placed on the small side table, or busily touch the screen with her fingers.
It was just as Jaewoo had said. It was completely different from her usual anxious expression when searching for internet posts and their comments. Without realizing it, I first looked around the area.
“……”
Go Jiwoon was sitting on the L-shaped sofa in the living room. Sensing my presence, he glanced this way while looking at his phone. Even in the darkness, his distinct features and slender face line were noticeable. After a brief nod, he turned his attention back to his phone while I turned my interest toward Hongseo.
It would be grandiose to call it his identity, but I actually knew who he was.
Candidates J, S, and K who made it to the final selection for the role of ‘Lee Su’.
If the comments’ speculation wasn’t wrong, K was Go Jiwoon.
Song Yeojun, who was being mentioned as S, belonged to a major agency and had a strong fandom backing him. And from what I learned by coming here, K seemed to have a sponsor with enormous wealth.
Whether that sponsor was someone with power who could exert influence even in this industry or simply a wealthy person, I couldn’t tell, but the current situation didn’t look particularly favorable for me.
‘Couldn’t you at least try talking to Yoon Juho…?’
As I was about to walk toward the balcony, Taeyoon’s words suddenly grabbed at my ankles. As if to shake off an ominous premonition, I shook my head to dismiss the temptation and quickened my pace.
When I pushed down the lever handle and pushed open the door, cool river breeze rushed toward my flushed face. At the sound of the door opening, Hongseo looked this way with wary eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
The guy, confirming that the source of the presence was me, relaxed and smiled with a grin.
“Huh? Just getting some air for a bit… Hyung, you ended up running away because those guys made you uncomfortable?”
Hongseo put her phone in her pocket and naturally turned the conversation toward me.
“Running away, my ass. I came out to sober up a bit.”
“You did drink quite a lot today. But hyung, you can handle your alcohol well. On days like today, you should drink. From tomorrow, it’s back to being crazy busy with work.”
Hongseo picked up the wine bottle from the small table and poured more into the single glass. After handing me the glass, she gauged the amount of wine left in the bottle by eye and put her lips to the bottle’s mouth, tilting it.
I couldn’t help but laugh watching her profile as she drank wine straight from the bottle without hesitation. I raised my glass toward the guy who was chuckling back and proposed a toast.
“Right. Since Choi Hongseo succeeded and moved to such a nice place, we should celebrate on a day like today. And also for confirming your role in Director Kang’s movie.”
“……”
It was a surprised face, asking how I knew.
“I heard it from the CEO. It’s still before the official announcement, right? I didn’t want to say anything in front of people since it seemed like something I shouldn’t mention.”
Hongseo’s face as she clinked her bottle against my glass was definitely smiling. But she didn’t look like someone excited with hope of becoming a ‘world star’.
“I’m already scared to death that I’ll get cursed out for being miscast.”
After saying that jokingly, a short sigh immediately followed with the next words.
“And after the release, no matter how I actually act, I’ll definitely get cursed at for ruining the movie.”
I lightly ruffled the back of her head.
“These days… do you still look at comments that much?”
“Huh?”
“Jaewoo was worried that you’re glued to your phone.”
Hongseo chuckled and turned around to lean her back against the railing.
“You really have to appreciate how Jaewoo hyung worries unnecessarily. No, I don’t really look at comments these days. I don’t even have time to look at comments. Being busy is good for at least that one thing.”
“Then what is it? Are you really dating someone?”
“……”
At the mention of dating, Hongseo made a puzzled expression. It looked like the kind of smile that meant she wasn’t sure if this could be defined as dating. But she didn’t flatly deny it either.
The guy, lost in thought while scratching the edge of the wine bottle’s label with her fingertip, hesitated as if it was difficult to bring up the topic.
“Hyung… have you ever gotten involved with someone you met through work?”
“……”
For a moment, my heart turned cold. She might have noticed my relationship with Yoon Juho, who was in the same industry. But even if it was Hongseo, I couldn’t reveal the truth. Since I also didn’t want Yoon Juho to go around talking about what happened between us, I had to keep quiet on my end too.
“Involved? Emotionally?”
“Well, something like that…”
“No, I haven’t. Are you really seeing someone? An actor? Or a singer?”
“No, not a celebrity.”
After shaking her head firmly a couple of times, Hongseo turned back to face the river.
“Just… there’s someone who’s been really good to me, so I’m curious, but honestly, it’s not someone who could possibly lead to dating… that kind of thing.”
“What do you mean someone you can’t date? If you do it, you do it.”
The guy looked back at me and chuckled absently.
“Is that so? I’ve only been working all this time… I really don’t know much about this kind of stuff.”
Then she added with a somewhat wistful voice like a sigh.
“Well, I guess it’s the same for hyung too?”
“……”
As I was quietly watching Hongseo’s complicated-looking profile, Knox Hotel suddenly caught my eye beyond the top of her head. Though only finger-sized, it was definitely Knox’s building shining golden like a moon illuminating the night from the eastern hill.
Moving my gaze back to Hongseo’s face, I drank a few sips of wine.
“Of course you’ll handle things well on your own, but… whether it’s dating or something like dating, don’t talk about such things to anyone.”
Hongseo nudged me with her elbow and giggled.
“What’s with you, why are you making your voice all serious like that?”
“I’m not joking. Don’t talk about it to those kids inside either… or to me. It’s best if only you and that person know about it.”
“Don’t trust hyung either?”
The guy’s smiling face didn’t look like the usual ‘tenacious Choi Hongseo’ who had survived through all kinds of hardships in this harsh entertainment industry, but rather like a dangerous teenager who didn’t know the dangers people could pose.
Just as I was about to say something, the area behind us suddenly became bright. Hongseo and I squinted at the sudden light and turned around. The main lighting in the living room had been turned on. Three or four people from the dining room had come out to the living room and were mingling with Go Jiwoon.
Though their voices couldn’t be heard, they were gathered around Go Jiwoon, laughing and chatting as if there had never been any awkward atmosphere. There was even an atmosphere of subtly supporting him. Whether they were taking photos to upload to their secret SNS accounts that they used to communicate among themselves, they were absorbed in photography, changing poses against the backdrop of the splendid night view.
“Didn’t you see it inside earlier? Even in a gathering where they claimed to be close friends, one guy was exposing another guy’s sponsor situation… you heard it all too.”
“Our hyung must be really drunk. You’re worrying about everything. Do you think I can’t tell shit from piss? Am I the same as those guys? And that Go Jiwoon bastard probably didn’t really intend to keep it secret either? Since he got an apartment through gongsa, he was probably itching to brag about it.”
Even though I didn’t know the exact meaning of gongsa, I could roughly guess from the context. At least it definitely didn’t mean acquiring goods by paying a fair and legitimate price.
The group in the living room sent loud signals through the window, telling us to come in and take photos together. Hongseo, who was turning around after picking up the wine bottle she had put down on the small table, looked back at me, who didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.
“Aren’t you going in?”
“Go ahead first. I’ll get some more air and then go.”
Hongseo, who returned to the living room, immediately blended into their noisy atmosphere. I watched them take photos that would likely cause quite a scandal if revealed to the public – men and women freely mingling together – then withdrew my gaze.
Moving to a more secluded spot at the edge, I took out my phone from my pocket. After staring blankly at the clean notification center screen with no new messages, I opened the message window with ‘Team Leader Lee Han’ and typed a message.
《What are you doing?》
Thinking that I was doing the exact same thing in the exact same spot as Hongseo had been just moments before, I let out a hollow laugh. Buzz, a reply arrived immediately as if he had been waiting only for my contact.
《I was relaxing by myself for the first time in a while, having some fun, and now I was just lying down to sleep.》
I was about to ask if he was already going to sleep, but looking at the clock on the screen, it was past 1 AM. No wonder… I’d been drinking since around 8, so of course I’d be this drunk.
《What were you doing for fun?》
Without any particular business, I was holding onto someone who said they were lying down to sleep, rambling about meaningless things – I found myself ridiculous. Ridiculous, and my intention was obvious. So another laugh escaped as I tried to hide my embarrassment. It seemed like the alcohol was making me laugh more frequently. Even though no one was watching, my earlobes felt hot from my obvious antics.
Trying to continue a conversation when I had nothing to talk about. That was at least not a sign of playing with fire.
I shook my head and ran my hand over my face, trying to pull myself together. Just as I was reaching for the wine glass, a call came in.
“……”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one trying to continue a conversation without having anything to talk about.
[Hello.]
[Oh… you answered? Can you talk?]
[I’m just getting some air on the balcony right now.]
Ah, he said in understanding, and made a light straining sound as if he was sitting up from lying down. After a brief silence, he spoke in a hesitant tone like a child confessing a wrongdoing.
[Actually, I was binge-watching “Tomorrow’s Diary” until just now.]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
