Chapter 150
Despite the lush green park spread out below, it wasn’t really registering in my eyes. It felt completely different from when I would peacefully admire the view while sipping coffee or beer.
Even knowing that the inside couldn’t be seen from the outside, an unavoidable uneasiness crept up. It felt like being an invisible person walking naked down the street.
“I can’t see the park well.”
Even though I was looking down, my vision was blurry and the park’s landscape appeared as a blur of green. I couldn’t bear to separate from Mitchell, who was pressed close behind me.
Honestly, I didn’t expect things to escalate like this in broad daylight just because of hair removal. I had guessed Mitchell wouldn’t let it slide, but I didn’t think he’d jump straight to this.
The hair removal turned out to be a much more erotic and messy act than I had anticipated. It seemed I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my favorite park view until Mitchell’s excitement subsided.
***
Although I had spent all morning rolling around with Mitchell, I wasn’t tired after sleeping well. After moving to the bed and touching Mitchell’s lower parts, I fell asleep as if I had fainted.
I dawdled, not wanting to separate from Mitchell in bed. In the end, I only left the house when it was almost time for filming. Today was a day when Mitchell had no filming scheduled.
I barely managed to stop Mitchell from following me to the set. In the past, I would have definitely welcomed it… I guess I’ve grown up now. Even my once desperate obsession had faded quite a bit.
You’d think love growing deeper would naturally intensify obsession, but that wasn’t the case for me. It was quite strange for someone who used to be more obsessed than anyone. Is this what it means to trust someone?
The car ride to the set was quiet. I wasn’t close with the taciturn driver yet, so I didn’t have much to say. I was about to call Mitchell, but feeling conscious of the driver, I sent a message instead.
Seeing no reply, he must still be showering. Just before, I had pushed Mitchell into the bathroom to shower when he tried to follow me out.
As I fiddled with my phone, another thought suddenly occurred to me.
Hmm… Should I just search?
Though I didn’t show it, I was actually curious about our dating rumors.
Dating rumors, huh.
Usually, when same-sex friends are close, don’t they use words like bromance or friendship before dating rumors? I was surprised that such widespread dating rumors, especially gossip about Mitchell, were circulating. Unable to contain my curiosity any longer, I opened my phone.
The article that could be considered the origin of the dating rumors was from an official SNS account with a blue tag reading ‘INB Report’. Looking into it, the content was more detailed than I expected.
…Due to a fire caused by a fireworks accident, Geon-woo Bae ended up staying at the nearby home of Mitchell Cronenwirth. It’s speculated that their relationship deepened at this point.
According to an insider’s tip, Geon-woo Bae has shown pathologically severe attachments to both objects and people, leading to various incidents and accidents since his time in Korea. Currently, Geon-woo Bae appears to be completely smitten with Mitchell Cronenwirth.
…The point is that Mitchell Cronenwirth is equally emotionally unstable. The rumor that Mitchell Cronenwirth suffers from severe love deprivation has been consistent for years, so it’s not entirely implausible.
Additionally, there’s talk that Mitchell Cronenwirth paid the deposit for the apartment where Geon-woo Bae is staying.
There’s a reliable tip that the deposit was withdrawn from an account under Cworth Agency’s name, not Geon-woo Bae’s account, and the owner of Cworth Agency is Mitchell Cronenwirth.
The two are currently filming the movie
Astonishingly, the article in question wasn’t false. It contained such detailed truths that you’d believe it even if you had been watching us from the side.
Despite being a bizarre article composed of speculation and rumors along with the journalist’s personal opinions, all centered around the appearance of an unidentifiable close source, it contained nothing but the truth. Shocked, I immediately looked into INB Report.
INB Report was just an ordinary media outlet. They had only been publishing articles for just over two months, and our dating rumor was their first gossip article.
Without solid evidence and full of speculative stories, I don’t think anyone would fully believe it… Ah, I don’t know.
Until I saw the article, I hadn’t taken the dating rumors seriously, but suddenly I was worried. Of course, even though everything in it was true, there’s no evidence, so we could just deny it. I tried to reassure myself that it would be fine, but my mind was already clouded with anxiety.
But wait, who the hell is this anonymous insider?
Just as I was about to give up finding an answer and look dejected, Mitchell called. As I had just arrived at the filming location, I got out of the car and whispered about the article so others couldn’t hear.
“Mitchell, we’re in big trouble…”
I quietly whispered the situation so others couldn’t hear, but Mitchell just laughed, saying it tickled his ear. He didn’t take my words seriously at all.
Then he said:
– Do you hate having dating rumors with me that much?
What’s this about now?
There’s no way I’d dislike having dating rumors with Mitchell.
It’s just, if we were really dating, I wouldn’t feel so wronged. If Mitchell and I had actually become lovers and shared our love, I wouldn’t be this frustrated!
“It’s not that I dislike it, but who is this insider who knows so much detail? Everything I just told you has been published in an article, you know? Is it okay to just let this slide?”
They even dared to make speculative reports about Mitchell. Normally, this would have been quickly resolved, but seeing the article still up after several days, it’s highly likely that even Mitchell’s side didn’t know about it.
“Are you laughing right now?”
But Mitchell just kept laughing, showing no intention of resolving the situation.
– Your voice sounds even prettier today. It’s nice to hear you panting like that.
I had lowered my voice because it was a sensitive topic, but my tone was still excited. I guess it sounded different to Mitchell’s ears.
Suddenly receiving a compliment made my body twist. Unexpected praise made people shrink into strange postures.
“Well, yeah… I guess I am.”
This guy Mitchell had a talent for dipping people in sugar water. He soaked me in sweet words until I couldn’t breathe. He melted me at the most unexpected times.
Thanks to that, the conversation I was trying to have sank to the bottom, and my mood floated on the sweet, concentrated sugar water. As distracting thoughts disappeared, I could only hear Mitchell’s laughter.
I couldn’t even mention that the spelling of INB Report, which posted the article about our dating rumors, annoyingly reminded me of Yoon Inbeom’s initials. There was no time to discuss who this insider might be.
After hanging up the phone, I immediately went into preparation for filming, and the complicated feelings about the dating rumors suddenly disappeared. Only Mitchell’s sweet voice remained, cheering me on for the upcoming shoot.
***
“It’s been so long that my memory is hazy, but seeing this guy’s face brings it back. That bastard of a father brought women home every day. He’d beat the kid along with the women. I even reported it a few times… Tsk tsk. I just felt sorry for the child.”
An old man with white hair said, looking at a photo. Nathan recited the next line with a rather serious face.
“Do you remember what it was like after the mother and daughter from next door disappeared?”
Nathan had come to Catskill, where Logan lived as a child. He was tracing Logan’s past actions, temporarily setting aside the case he was currently investigating.
“Well, it was the same. The father kept chasing women. The kid just kept getting skinnier.”
Nathan investigated the case of the missing mother and daughter who lived next door to Logan. Since their car had disappeared and no bodies were found, it was initially concluded as a simple runaway and disappearance case.
Although the family of the mother and daughter didn’t accept it, the case with no evidence or bodies was buried as time passed.
Nathan felt a strange sense of déjà vu between the mother-daughter disappearance case and the case he saw in Logan’s book. As he wandered around the mother and daughter’s house, rearranging sentences in his head, he suddenly remembered what Logan had said.
“If you want to hide something, you should rather reveal it.”
Nathan, who had turned pale, quickly ran to his car. As he opened Logan’s book thrown on the back seat and searched for the passage, his eyes widened.
[But always revealing it would be boring.]
It was a paragraph describing the act of murder. Nathan, who had been carefully examining every letter, dropped the book. Only when he heard the thud of the book hitting the floor did Nathan realize his hands were shaking.
“Did he really… kill them? A mere thirteen-year-old?”
Nathan’s expression hardened as he estimated Logan’s age at the time. Between his furrowed brows, incompatible disgust and sympathy boiled. Red veins rose in his eyes as he tried to suppress his indignation. His tightly closed lips trembled.
His complex feelings towards Logan soon turned into revulsion towards Logan’s father. The countless scars etched on Logan’s back flashed before his eyes.
Nathan painfully rubbed his face with his hands. Transparent anger flowed from his eyes.
“Cut! That was great! Really great!”
At Director McKenney’s cut sign, Geon-woo closed his eyes and then opened them. Unable to fully escape from the overwhelming emotions, he sat with his bottom perched on the open car.
The director, who had been checking the monitor, cheered and clapped, declaring that today’s shooting would end here. Geon-woo smiled at the praise from McKenney and other staff members, but his legs felt too weak to stand up.
When he stopped after immersing himself in acting, he often felt drained like this. It took time to suppress the aftereffects of acting, so he lowered his head and just stared at the ground. As he was about to pick up Logan’s book lying alone, a hand reached out first.
“At this rate, I might fall in love.”
The person who picked up the book was Mitchell. He appeared in front of Geon-woo even though he had no filming scheduled today. Geon-woo’s muscles tensed, and his neck stiffened automatically. He was surprised by the sudden appearance, but Mitchell’s words took his breath away.
“…What did you say?”
You love me?
“I said I’m impressed by your acting, Geon-woo.”
It was a compliment about his acting. Geon-woo, whose heart had momentarily sunk, swallowed a sigh of disappointment. Of course not.
A weak laugh escaped as the tension dissipated. Seeing Mitchell, who appeared in perfect form wearing dark gray slacks and a striped shirt even at this early hour, a thousand emotions welled up.
He wanted to express his feelings right now, but there were no words he could utter. To prevent the confession that felt like it might burst out at any moment, Geon-woo bent his waist and buried his face in his legs.
Mitchell crouched in front of Geon-woo and tugged at his arm. The gentle pulling gesture meant he was offering to carry Geon-woo on his back.
Geon-woo stopped his complicated thoughts and obediently climbed onto Mitchell’s back. With his arms dangling and face buried in Mitchell’s nape, he really looked like a sick person.
As Director McKenney and the staff approached with surprised faces, Mitchell made a natural excuse.
“He seems very exhausted. I’ll take him home.”
Various concerned words about Geon-woo were exchanged. Geon-woo just breathed with his eyes tightly closed, pretending to be asleep.
He had his reasons for exaggerating. There had been an intense running scene just before, so today’s filming wasn’t easy. Geon-woo was glad Mitchell arrived just as filming ended. He had shown Mitchell his great acting… and Mitchell’s warm back couldn’t be more comfortable.
***
The film set was in a commotion from the morning. Mitchell and I, who had just arrived, didn’t know what was going on. As it turned out, someone among the staff had taken photos of the filming site and leaked them externally.
Photos of the two of us taken on set were circulating on the internet. There were two pictures: one of us whispering to each other, and another of us looking at each other and smiling.
Our photos had circulated before, but unlike then, we’re now in the middle of filming a movie. Not only were photos leaked, but posts about the filming site and brief spoilers were uploaded to the internet.
It was a clear violation of contract, and while they were busy trying to find the identity of the staff member who leaked it, an announcement came down that filming would be temporarily suspended.
I naturally got into Mitchell’s car and left the set.
“Who could it be?”
Mitchell immediately shook his head at my question.
Just in case, I searched for the photos on my phone. The original post was gone, but screenshots taken by someone were still circulating.
With dating rumors already spreading, and now showing affectionate behavior even on set, all kinds of comments about us were being made on the internet.
– Mitchell looks good with men too.
– I laughed off the dating rumors, but every time I see photos of them together, it feels strange.
– Why does Geon-woo look shy to me?
– Geon-woo is hugging his bag like it’s a lifeline.
– I’m not ready to accept this couple yet.
– It just makes me feel warm.
– Is it true that Mitchell bought Geon-woo a house?
– As far as I know, the house Bae Geon-woo currently lives in is a kind of signing bonus he received when joining Mitchell’s agency. It’s clearly stated in the contract. It wasn’t just given to him. Fake news is rampant these days. Don’t implicate innocent people when you don’t even know the facts.
– Who’s really spreading fake news here?
– Mitchell is quite popular with men. I know a gay guy who likes Mitchell.
– It’s not just “quite”. He must be openly popular.
Surprisingly, public opinion was favorable towards the gossip about Mitchell and me, and most seemed to think the dating rumors were fake.
Mitchell, sitting right next to me, was busy talking on the phone with David the whole time. It was about agency business, and from what I could hear, it was contract-related. It seemed a new celebrity was joining Cworth.
It wasn’t long ago that they recruited one actor, and now it’s a male singer. I couldn’t focus on my phone, annoyed that another celebrity was entering Mitchell’s domain. As I was about to turn off my phone after skimming through the continuing comments, one unusual comment caught my eye.
– That Bae Geon-woo is crazy. He’d dance naked if Mitchell told him to.
It sounded just like something Yoon Inbeom would say.
