Chapter 89
The car stopped at the entrance of the private road leading to the iron gate. Geon-woo’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden request, but he didn’t specifically ask why.
“Wait here.”
Even as Mitchell got out of the car and ran across the road to the other side, Geon-woo still didn’t know what he was doing. Several cars were parked at quite a distance. Watching Mitchell head straight for them, Geon-woo became serious on his own.
‘Could it be paparazzi?’
Considering his fame, Mitchell didn’t attract many paparazzi. There were hardly any articles about his private life.
After the gay scandal that broke out right after Mitchell became an adult, no serious articles related to Mitchell appeared in the world. As if someone was filtering them.
There were rumors that Mitchell was blocking the entire press, and talk that Mitchell’s parents, who were close to political and business circles, had used their influence, but no one knew the exact truth. Even for the gay scandal, all those involved in reporting false information were sued.
For various reasons, it was rare for unscheduled cameras to be waiting in front of Mitchell’s house. Unlike other celebrities, he was living a relatively peaceful daily life.
However, that didn’t mean they had completely disappeared. Although rare, people with cameras sometimes wandered near Mitchell’s house. The photos they took probably wouldn’t fetch their proper price or even be used anyway.
Seeing Mitchell’s paparazzi after a long time, Geon-woo became lost in thought. He wanted to get out and follow, but he stayed quiet for now, thinking it might escalate the situation. Without even lowering the window, he just stared at the car Mitchell was approaching.
When Mitchell knocked on the car window, it finally lowered after a while.
As someone revealed themselves through it, Geon-woo gritted his teeth.
***
“Hello.”
Inbeom Yoon was inwardly flustered. Who would have thought Mitchell would suddenly appear and greet him? Even when Mitchell’s car suddenly stopped, he didn’t think he had been caught.
To think they would meet again in a place like this after their encounter in Geon-woo’s hospital room.
Just thinking about that time still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I have something important to discuss with Geon-woo, so could you leave for today?”
“What? I don’t know about your circumstances, Mitchell, but I came all this way to see Geon-woo…”
“Geon-woo finds it uncomfortable. You.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I’m asking you a favor.”
That wasn’t the face of someone asking a favor. It was no different from a threat, saying he didn’t know what he might do if Inbeom didn’t leave right now.
It was the same now.
Inbeom Yoon wasn’t deeply interested in the entertainment industry enough to understand the personalities of American actors in detail. Yet, he roughly knew what kind of person Mitchell was.
Stories about Mitchell reached his ears without him having to seek them out. Because so many people talked about him and he was often reported in the media, Inbeom naturally came to know about him.
They said Mitchell was kind to children, women, and the socially vulnerable, but on the other hand, he could be a complete jerk in situations he couldn’t understand.
A sensible but demanding person, in other words.
“Ah, hello.”
Inbeom Yoon greeted Mitchell with a forced smile.
There was a walking trail around Mitchell’s house, and a little further, there was a supermarket and a small lake park. People who came to enjoy leisure time occasionally parked their cars on the road, so it wasn’t unusual to see cars parked here.
Yet, Mitchell recognized Inbeom Yoon’s car and even came to find him directly. Inbeom, not knowing what to do in this somewhat embarrassing situation, kept clearing his throat.
“Did you come to see Geon-woo?”
“Well… yes. Geon-woo wasn’t answering his phone.”
“Why didn’t you wait in front of the gate, instead of parking your car so far away? Doesn’t this look like you were secretly monitoring and got caught?”
Mitchell delivered a calm but sharp blow. Inbeom stuttered, unable to answer at first, then finally opened his mouth.
“It’s not monitoring… As I said earlier, he wasn’t answering his phone.”
They both knew well enough that they didn’t particularly like each other. Perhaps because of this, Inbeom strangely found it difficult to speak properly in front of Mitchell.
He wanted to rebuke Mitchell openly too, but when he actually faced him, he felt intimidated. Should he say Mitchell had a strong presence?
It could be because he’s such a famous star. But the feeling Inbeom had wasn’t just that.
The clearly displayed hostility.
Inbeom cautiously guessed that Geon-woo might have spoken ill of him to Mitchell. After all, he had been a nuisance and even threw away Mitchell’s soup. Come to think of it, those were just minor incidents.
“From what I see, it seems Geon-woo is intentionally not answering your calls.”
“Haha… You’re right.”
Inbeom found it burdensome to deal with the sharp-edged Mitchell, so he just laughed it off. He lowered his tail, pretending to show he had no intention of threatening the other party.
“You two must be close. I’m grateful that you’re letting Geon-woo, who has nowhere else to go, stay with you.”
Still, he was curious about what kind of relationship Geon-woo and Mitchell had.
It wasn’t hard to guess that Geon-woo’s obsession was directed towards Mitchell. Conversely, how was Mitchell receiving Geon-woo?
“I’m really close with Geon-woo too. But we recently had a fight. I made a mistake… I was hiding near the house secretly to try and appease Geon-woo. Please understand.”
It was a plausible excuse. He explained his situation, saying they had fought over something trivial, and he was continuously trying to contact or come to the house to soothe the angry Geon-woo.
Mitchell’s lips trembled slightly upon hearing this, but Inbeom didn’t notice properly as he was busy talking non-stop about himself.
“Are you close with Geon-woo?”
“Of course. We drank and hung out together every day in Korea, and Geon-woo often came to my house. We were that close. Even though it’s like this now. Anyway, please put in a good word for me to Geon-woo. Tell him that his old friend is begging like this, so he should see me just once.”
Inbeom clearly told Mitchell what kind of relationship he had with Geon-woo. Whether it was true or false didn’t particularly matter.
Slam.
Just then, the protagonist of the conversation got out of the car. He closed the car door so forcefully that the sound echoed even from a distance.
Geon-woo walked quickly and stood next to Mitchell. Once he knew it was Inbeom who had appeared unexpectedly, he couldn’t wait quietly in the car.
“Why are you here again?”
Geon-woo deliberately used English. He wanted Mitchell to hear everything, but Inbeom didn’t cooperate. He answered in Korean.
“I came because you keep ignoring my calls. Just answer the phone.”
“I don’t carry my phone around much. I can’t receive calls.”
Geon-woo spoke in English again, making Inbeom’s Korean response seem out of place. Thanks to this, Mitchell could roughly guess what the two were saying.
“Geon-woo. I’m really sorry. It’s all my fault. Please forgive me.”
This time, Inbeom spoke in English too. He glanced at Mitchell, furrowing his brow to look pitiful, then apologized to Geon-woo again.
“I want to stay in touch with you again. I’m really sorry. Should I get on my knees?”
As Inbeom tried to get out of the car, Mitchell closed the door again. Geon-woo noticed Mitchell’s intention not to make a big scene.
“…That’s enough. I understand how you feel, so stop now. I’m not angry anymore, so you don’t need to come anymore.”
“Really? You’re really forgiving me?”
“Yeah. So you can go now.”
“Are you sure? You’re really forgiving me?”
“How many times do I have to say it? I hate repeating myself.”
It’s Mitchell who hates being made to say things two or three times. Geon-woo was imitating Mitchell. He wanted to be like Mitchell in everything he liked and disliked.
“Okay. I’m sorry. Then, Geon-woo. Want to have a meal together this week? I know a good steakhouse, let’s go there.”
“……”
Geon-woo couldn’t easily refuse or accept. He wanted to refuse, but if he did, it seemed like Inbeom would keep pestering him like this.
There was also the option of accepting now and then canceling before the appointment, but Mitchell was right there. The moment he accepted, Mitchell would probably make a fuss.
While he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, Inbeom said something strange.
“Let’s have steak and drink that day. You’re good at drinking, right… Oh right, I suddenly remembered. Remember when you got completely wasted at my house? I had to drag you to the bed.”
Sharp thorns stood on top of the round tone.
“Mitchell, do you know Geon-woo’s drinking habits?”
The thorns gently scratched Mitchell.
“…I don’t.”
“Ah, so you haven’t drunk much with Geon-woo. He was properly drunk that day. I had a really hard time trying to stop him.”
The thorns grew thicker.
“He took off all his clothes, cried and laughed, spilled all his inner thoughts, and lamented about his life. Among all that, I remember most vividly when you got on the bed, stripped naked, and danced. It was crazy. Haha. Mitchell, isn’t he really funny?”
Inbeom was the only one laughing there. Geon-woo, who had turned pale, could only open his mouth without saying anything. He was literally frozen.
