Chapter 82
When I was in the room, the soundproofing seemed quite good, but in the bathroom, I could hear sounds from our room and the adjacent room, and even occasional noise from the corridor. Everywhere was bustling with laughter. However, all of it was equally crude and debauched laughter.
I deleted the reply I had typed a few words of and searched for cigarettes in my jacket pocket.
Indoor smoking was allowed in karaoke establishments classified as entertainment facilities. When I realized there was no lighter in my pocket, I felt momentarily defeated, but soon spotted a lighter prepared beside the stand-type ashtray. It was a semi-automatic lighter engraved with the establishment’s name.
I inhaled the smoke while looking down at the blinking cursor urging me to type a reply. Needless to say, my cigarette consumption had increased over the past few days.
When I said I needed time, he actually hadn’t contacted me for the past few days.
That didn’t mean I thought he had been at ease. Since he didn’t know the specific reason, perhaps he was more frustrated and anxious than I was. Maybe… during the days we hadn’t seen each other, his cigarette consumption had increased too.
《I don’t know when it’ll end.》
After staring at the screen for a long time, that single line was all I managed to type. The reply came back quickly.
《I’ll wait in the building’s underground parking garage. I have plenty of time today.》
According to our original plan, he and I would be in Hongcheon right now. At his words about having plenty of time, I couldn’t help but think of our canceled Hongcheon trip once again.
To think that even places we never got to visit together could become a kind of memory, a painful place, in this way. A bitter laugh escaped me.
I held my phone and typed with a cigarette between my fingers.
《Do we really have to meet today?》
My thoughts and position were still completely unsettled. There would be nothing good about meeting him now. I felt like my resolve would weaken if I saw his face.
I leaned my head against the wall behind me while exhaling the smoke I had mostly just held in my mouth.
The very fact that I was wary of my resolve weakening already revealed the conclusion my subconscious had reached. Because if my resolve weakened, I wouldn’t be able to end this relationship. Because this was a relationship with an obvious ending that had to stop here.
‘You’re not… trying to say we should break up or something… are you?’
What expression had he been wearing on the other end of the phone then?
My phone vibrated weakly in my hand. Without lifting my head from the wall, I only moved my eyes to look down at the screen where the message window was still open.
《You could at least give me a chance to defend myself. I don’t want to just wait like this and then only be notified of the conclusion.》
Since we were already official lovers, his request was justified. I stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and typed a reply.
《Please understand if I’m a bit late. I’ll contact you when I leave.》
When I washed my hands and returned to the room, everyone had become much closer in just 10 minutes. Their previously upright postures had loosened, and the range of gestures accompanying their words had grown larger. The agency manager and UB’s Manager Yoon were smoking.
Like all other business-related gatherings I had reluctantly attended, as alcohol was consumed, the atmosphere was changing from business-extension networking to something closer to a private drinking session.
“Jiin-ssi, Jiin-ssi! We were just talking about a whiskey brand event at our hotel next Friday. It’s a brand imported and distributed by a Hanseo Group subsidiary, so it’s being held at our hotel… would you be able to attend?”
“Of course, Deputy-nim!”
Instead of letting me sit in an outer seat rather than my original spot, Manager Yoon pulled my arm and pushed me inside while raising his voice to answer first. It was practically pressure not to refuse.
As soon as my bottom touched the seat, Knox’s deputy filled my glass with alcohol.
“You might represent our hotel’s image in the future, so please come and brighten up the occasion.”
“Actor Jung, next Friday should be fine for you. The script reading is on Wednesday.”
Manager Yoon nudged my arm with his elbow, urging me to accept.
Since the modeling job hadn’t been decided yet, Manager Yoon and I were in the weaker position at this gathering. Even though it looked like a pleasant private drinking session on the surface, for those with ulterior motives in the weaker position, it was ultimately just business where they had to perform enthusiasm. And unless you were a top actor like Yoon Juho, in the relationship between actor and company, the actor was in the weaker position.
I received the glass with both hands and bowed my head briefly.
“Yes, I’ll definitely attend. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Great! I’ll tell the PR company to put Jiin-ssi on the list too.”
“We’re the grateful ones, Deputy-nim. I’m really counting on you for this advertisement deal.”
Manager Yoon’s round, good-natured face was filled with a satisfied smile.
“What power do I have other than conveying messages well? If you’re finally selected as the model, it’ll all be thanks to Jiin-ssi building up his image well.”
A hearty toast followed in the harmonious atmosphere where everyone was giving credit to each other.
While two bottles of liquor and about fifteen bottles of beer were emptied, amazing episodes that each person had experienced directly or indirectly while working in their respective industries were shared. Most were anecdotes related to celebrities.
Someday I too would become gossip material at their other drinking sessions. He seemed like a borrowed barley sack, a boring person who couldn’t even match the atmosphere properly. Or maybe, he didn’t want to mingle with us non-celebrities. They might make such twisted evaluations.
Just as the pain surrounding his birth and upbringing was merely ‘juicy behind-the-scenes stories’ to them.
I don’t blame them.
To them, celebrities weren’t real humans with concrete personalities who formed relationships and lived within their own lives.
The problem was… even if I seemed like a fictional character to them, the real me and the real him were individual human beings.
Though I thought I should moderate my drinking to have a rational conversation with him later, I kept emptying my glass. For Manager Yoon, who was laughing loudly and matching the atmosphere, the only thing I could do was drink without skipping rounds.
As the excitement grew, Manager Yoon called a waiter at an appropriate timing to request a DJ to set up the karaoke machine.
After the waiter left, while opening new liquor and pouring it into the deputy and manager’s glasses, Manager Yoon spoke in a somewhat secretive tone.
“Actually, I have a proposal for Deputy-nim and Manager-nim… I understand this establishment doesn’t only have ladies, but also has many ‘players.'”
“……”
Suggestive smiles appeared on the faces of the deputy and manager as they looked at each other. They had some idea of what Manager Yoon’s words meant.
“This is Gangnam’s top establishment. They don’t bring people from external booking agencies but manage the players directly, and I hear their ‘size’ is quite good.”
“Size? What size are you referring to?”
“Ah, Manager-nim. Isn’t the level getting too high?”
At the agency manager’s joke with subtle sexual innuendo, Knox’s male employee clapped and giggled. The atmosphere had become that informal between them.
UB’s Manager Yoon answered with an innocent laugh.
“I mean the players are that good-looking.”
“Well, sure… but we came here to have fun together… wouldn’t calling male players just make the atmosphere awkward?”
Even while saying this, Knox’s deputy didn’t seem uninterested. The experienced Manager Yoon wouldn’t miss that signal.
“I’ve heard there are cases where couples come together and have players sit with them, called ‘avec customers’… but that way, neither Deputy-nim nor Manager-nim would be comfortable. How about our male employees move to another place to drink more good alcohol, while you two have a good time here?”
The deputy and manager exchanged smiles and glances.
“Manager-nim knows the entertainment industry well.”
“I studied a bit this time to properly host you two.”
Both Knox’s deputy and the agency’s manager were younger than Manager Yoon, but he wasn’t the type to show pride in business entertainment situations.
“These days, the trend isn’t necessarily something dirty, but players who make you laugh, lead games, and entertain you well. Since tomorrow is the weekend, wouldn’t it be good to relieve some stress?”
“Since Manager-nim specially prepared this… shall we try it then?”
“We feel bad about keeping Jiin-ssi until late too.”
With both of them accepting Manager Yoon’s proposal, I was able to leave the dinner gathering earlier than expected. Though “early” still meant about two hours had passed.
Walking toward the entrance after leaving the room, Manager Yoon wiped his face with a handkerchief.
“Jaewoo can come now that he’s finished with ‘Layered’s schedule, so I’ll leave those guys to Jaewoo. They’re still young, so wouldn’t they be satisfied even if we take them to a talk bar or something?”
Manager Yoon glanced back at the two men following behind. The two men in their late twenties were excited and had already hit it off.
“What will you do? Should I get you a taxi?”
“No, I’m not very drunk. I can get home by myself.”
Manager Yoon nodded with a tired face. He seemed like a different person from the cheerful and pleasant one in the room.
Befitting the title of Gangnam’s largest establishment, rooms were packed tightly on both sides of the maze-like corridor. After turning one more corner, dozens of men were lined up in a row along one side of the corridor. These were the men waiting to enter rooms to show themselves to customers and be chosen—the so-called players.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
