Chapter 97
Song Hee-jun distorted his lips as he checked the tags on Cheong-yeon’s clothing.
“Is this real sponsorship?”
“Is there fake sponsorship?”
Every clothing tag had the logo of a recognizable brand.
Song Hee-jun rolled his eyes noticeably, as if choosing his words.
“Well, your agency must be treating you well. I thought it was a no-name agency, but they seem to have some pull. Why go to such lengths for a Recessive Omega…”
Soon after, he smirked while glancing at the clothes Min Hye-rin was holding.
“But bringing all these in a row to subtly show off is childish. You guys, really.”
“It’s not subtle, it’s blatant showing off. Was I too passive? Hye-rin, can you move to the side to show them off better to Hee-jun?”
“Yes, oppa! Should I walk around once more aggressively like this?”
“Have you finished setting up?”
Instead of responding to Cheong-yeon and Hye-rin’s coordinated teasing, Song Hee-jun nodded to a nearby staff member.
“It’ll be done once we finish with the fixer.”
“It’s fine, I’ll spray it myself in the car.”
Song Hee-jun pushed away the staff approaching with the fixer and abruptly stood up.
“Hee-jun. Are you leaving now? Don’t you need to check more? Since all your drama outfits are also luxury limited editions, we might have more matching clothes.”
As Cheong-yeon poked at Song Hee-jun’s arm again, he roughly shook it off. Then he brushed the spot where Cheong-yeon had touched.
After adjusting his clothes, he forced a smile at Cheong-yeon.
“There aren’t any. Keep acting well for the remaining scenes, Cheong-yeon.”
Not stopping there, Song Hee-jun leaned his upper body towards Cheong-yeon and whispered in his ear.
“Let me give you one piece of advice. Showing off like this is like advertising everywhere that you’re selling your body to broadcasting officials.”
“…Oh, really?”
“I can already clearly see who in your drama team you’ve been putting out for.”
Cheong-yeon grabbed Song Hee-jun’s collar as he was about to turn away after saying his piece.
“Let me give you some advice too. You saw our manager last time, right?”
“What?”
“He said he wouldn’t let it go if he saw you again. Can you guess what kind of person he is? Be careful on the streets at night. I’m saying this because I’m genuinely worried. That person has anger management issues…”
“W-what are you talking about? Are you crazy?”
Seeing the blood drain from Song Hee-jun’s face, Cheong-yeon smiled brightly and released his collar.
“Yeah. Take care, Hee-jun. Call me if you think our outfits are matching again! I’ll discuss it with our manager and change my clothes!”
Although he felt sorry to the manager in his heart, Cheong-yeon cheerfully waved at Song Hee-jun.
He had always thought such exchanges were childish bickering. But seeing Song Hee-jun leave the shop with a pale blue face, it was definitely worth it, childish or not.
*
“I heard today was your last day of filming, Cheong-yeon. How was it? In a way, this is the first debut work that really made the name actor Yoo Cheong-yeon known.”
The magazine interviewer finished her question and held the microphone out to Cheong-yeon. Right in front of them, a camera was filming the two.
“I was lucky. I learned a lot from this filming… I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”
“The response was definitely good. There were tons of comments asking for more screen time for you. I’m one of those viewers too. Haha.”
“Thank you. Although I’m regrettably leaving the show now, I hope you’ll continue watching until the final episode.”
“What did the other actors say? Since it’s Friday today, do you have any special Friday night plans to celebrate your last shoot, like an after-party?”
The interviewer asked, looking around at the surrounding mountains.
“As you can see, everyone except me is busy filming the next episode. I’ll quietly watch them and then go home to catch up on sleep.”
After commenting that it was a very realistic answer, the interviewer asked additional questions about his impressions of the drama filming, reactions from others, and his future acting activities.
As he had told her, the drama filming had concluded smoothly. Even the staff praised his role as appropriately impactful, with mostly positive reviews.
Although it had seemed overwhelming at first with a long way to go, now that it was over, he felt both refreshed and a bit sad. Except for the harsh first filming, Cheong-yeon had been fortunate to be excluded from dawn or overnight schedules, allowing him to maintain his condition and act during relatively comfortable hours.
After each shoot, he would receive coaching for the next scene, then film again, and before he knew it, today had arrived.
“Yes, today we’ve been with rising star actor Yoo Cheong-yeon…”
After the interviewer finished her questions and recorded the closing comments, she left with the cameraman, and Cheong-yeon was finally completely free from filming.
As soon as he was alone, Cheong-yeon checked the time. Since today was Friday, Do-heon had said a car would arrive in the afternoon, but there had been no contact yet.
“Is the traffic heavy? Or has it already arrived?”
Cheong-yeon muttered to himself, contemplating whether to call Do-heon or Secretary Shim.
Even if he left now, he would arrive in Seoul around midnight. He was worried about whether he could stay awake until going up to the hotel after dinner with Do-heon.
Though the filming had been smooth, the relief of finishing his first drama had drained his tension, making him quite mentally fatigued.
“Oppa, where are you going?”
As Cheong-yeon was gathering his belongings before heading to the parking lot, Min Hye-rin, who had been organizing props from a distance, approached.
“Ah. I have plans with a friend, so I’m leaving first.”
“What? In Seoul?”
“No, we’re meeting around here…”
As soon as he answered, Cheong-yeon thought his words sounded strange. Meeting someone in this remote mountainous area, far from Seoul?
“You have plans in this countryside? Then why not invite your friend to eat with us and then go to Seoul? Our manager oppa and other staff found a good restaurant…”
“It’s a pre-arranged appointment that I can’t cancel. Sorry.”
“Is it Ji-han oppa? Then… mmph!”
At that moment, a large hand appeared from somewhere and covered Min Hye-rin’s mouth.
“Hye-rin, come here. You and I will move the remaining luggage to the van. Let the actor go comfortably.”
The manager, who had suddenly approached, intercepted Min Hye-rin’s words and began pulling her in the opposite direction from Cheong-yeon.
“No, aren’t you worried about our Cheong-yeon oppa? This is the countryside with barely any traffic lights, buses, or taxis—how can you let our oppa go alone?”
“The actor will manage well on his own. Let’s worry about ourselves first.”
‘Thank you, Manager-nim.’
When Cheong-yeon mouthed his thanks, the manager smiled kindly and gestured for him to go ahead.
With his pre-packed belongings, he went straight to the parking lot, but it was difficult to distinguish which car was sent by Do-heon. The parking lot was almost full with other celebrity vans and staff cars all gathered together.
“Has it arrived, or not yet? Why hasn’t anyone contacted me?”
Just as Cheong-yeon was grumbling and about to find Do-heon’s name in his contacts to call him:
Beep!
“Ah! You scared me!”
A loud horn blared. With his hand on his startled heart, Cheong-yeon turned toward the sound to see a white SUV slowly approaching.
Since it wasn’t the usual type of car that picked him up, Cheong-yeon tilted his head curiously. The windows were tinted, making the interior barely visible.
A moment later, the car stopped beside Cheong-yeon, and the driver’s door opened.
“Director?”
Expecting the chauffeur to emerge, Cheong-yeon was surprised to see none other than Do-heon getting out of the car.
For a moment, he wondered if he had mistaken the person, but even after blinking several times, it was indeed Do-heon.
He was wearing a thin white t-shirt under a beige jacket, comfortable slacks, sneakers, and a baseball cap.
“You finished early.”
“Why are you here? More importantly, why are you dressed like that?”
“Does it look strange? I tried to be inconspicuous.”
“It’s not strange, but…”
He had clearly made an effort, but the person standing before him was unmistakably Moon Do-heon. Due to his prominent physique and appearance, he would inevitably attract attention regardless of his efforts.
Besides, who would bring such a sleek white foreign car to these rough, unpaved mountain roads? The premise of being inconspicuous was flawed from the start.
Cheong-yeon diligently turned his head to check his surroundings, concerned that others might be watching.
“You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“Huh? No! I just finished filming and even did an interview—are you crazy?”
“Just checking. Don’t drink for a while.”
Was he really drinking so often that Do-heon would ask such a random question? It was absurd how both his manager and Do-heon treated him like some alcoholic.
But thinking about it, he had been drinking quite frequently.
“What happened to the chauffeur? Did you come all the way here yourself?”
“I finished work early.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Not at all.”
Do-heon opened the car door and gestured with his chin for Cheong-yeon to get in. Having only ever seen him in suits, Do-heon’s casual attire looked unfamiliar. Even as he awkwardly sat down in the front seat, Cheong-yeon found himself unconsciously glancing at Do-heon repeatedly.
“Do you think there’s a hotel around here? We’d be lucky if there’s even a guesthouse.”
After closing the door for him and returning to the driver’s seat, Do-heon grasped the steering wheel and stared at Cheong-yeon blankly.
Feeling uncomfortable under the intense stare, Cheong-yeon moved back.
“W-what?”
“Was that your preference?”
“What kind of preference! I’m just saying it as a figure of speech.”
“We’re going straight up to Seoul.”
“Ah. I thought you couldn’t wait and came here directly because you were in a hurry.”
Cheong-yeon checked the car seat with a somewhat anxious expression, prodding here and there to see if it was soft.
“I’m not a high school teenager going through puberty.”
Do-heon lifted the brim of his cap slightly and started the car, as if the idea was preposterous.
“Yes… I suppose not.”
“What’s with that disrespectful look? Surely you don’t think I’d do something to you in such a remote place?”
As Cheong-yeon was shaking his head perfunctorily, his gaze casually fell on the destination displayed on the navigation system that had just turned on.
Seeing a familiar university hospital name on the screen, Cheong-yeon narrowed his eyes.
A hospital?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
