# Chapter 12
“Let’s do it?” Not “Will you do it?” but “Let’s do it?” In his drunken state, Seowoo couldn’t hide the emotions clearly displayed on his face. He was grimacing all over, showing his utter disbelief.
“The first time is difficult, but the second is easy. We’re already in a contract relationship, aren’t we?”
“Are you kidding me? That was practically forced!”
“Forced? That hurts my feelings. Without that, would a star like you be laughing and talking with me like this right now?”
Despite his light tone completely lacking intimidation, the bite in his words was clearly felt. With nothing to retort, Seowoo just irritably moved his lips.
“I have quite a few reasons why I kept Han Seowoo alive. First of all—”
Dohyun folded his finger to count.
“When a celebrity dies, we also suffer losses. Do you know how difficult the cleanup would be?”
His tone was completely devoid of any sense of gravity when discussing a person’s death—rather, it was closer to the matter-of-fact tone of a wholesaler setting prices on goods.
“Secondly… Han Seowoo’s fist was quite impressive?”
“…Are you some kind of pervert?”
“That’s hurtful, calling me a pervert. What I mean is that despite your smooth appearance, you’ve got more guts than you look. And third… Han Seowoo is, as they say, a star of Chungmuro, aren’t you?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Well, in front of a star like you, I might be just ‘hey, you,’ but Seo Dohyun is quite good at his job as the CEO of T&C.”
T&C, CEO Seo Dohyun, actor. Even with Seowoo’s alcohol-dulled mind, he could easily infer what those three words implied. But no, surely not? Seowoo slowly shook his head. He shouldn’t whine unnecessarily or he might really get screwed.
“My contract with Biro hasn’t expired yet.”
“I know. It’s only been a year since you renewed, right?”
Seeing how he recited this without even looking it up, it seemed he had memorized the information. Seowoo’s eyes narrowed in disgust.
“You know all that and still have the nerve to say such things?”
“Listen, Han Seowoo.”
“Stop copying my way of speaking!”
Dohyun laughed playfully. To Seowoo, he looked happier than ever before. It was the first time this usually inscrutable person was showing such obvious enjoyment on his face.
“It will benefit you too. Staying there is like ‘the king has donkey ears,’ you can’t speak out and just suffer headaches every day.”
“Don’t you think it would be more difficult for me to be with you?”
“Didn’t you just say you felt relieved after confiding in me?”
His tone was openly mocking as he added, “You looked quite refreshed.” Seowoo’s expression automatically crumpled before he deliberately tried to smooth his brow to regain composure.
“…You have a way with words.”
“Being bad at lying is a good trait.”
Just go ahead and piss me off, why don’t you. The reply was so annoyingly cocky that Seowoo turned his head away sharply. Regardless, Dohyun continued speaking with a voice tinged with amusement.
“Well, snatching up a big shot like you unilaterally is certainly advantageous on my side…”
“See, I knew it!”
As if he hadn’t turned away at all, Seowoo glared straight back at Dohyun, overflowing with indignation. Dohyun smiled until his eyes curved and readily said, “That’s right.”
“So I thought I’d make a fair proposal that would benefit your side too.”
“Ha… you’re finally starting to make some sense.”
Whether it was a compliment or not, Dohyun responded with his usual smile as if to say thank you.
“You said your problem was not being able to tell anyone…”
He continued softly. In a tone too gentle for a contract yet too emotionless for a confession:
“Let’s live together.”
It seemed like he’d heard something that couldn’t possibly be heard unless he was out of his mind. The silence that followed was so long it felt excessive.
Seowoo rubbed his temples hard without even trying to smooth his furrowed brow. Right, maybe he was too drunk.
“…I think I misheard you?”
Dohyun looked at Seowoo with concerned eyes as if he were some kind of patient, then kindly repeated, emphasizing each syllable:
“Let’s. Live. Together.”
“Who? Me?”
“Yes. With me.”
“Are you mocking me right now!”
It was almost a scream. Dohyun pretended to cover his ears and snickered. No one could beat him when it came to frivolous laughter.
“How can you dismiss such a serious proposal like that?”
“Serious? Serious? You’re spewing weird jokes to someone who’s already feeling unsettled, and you call that serious?”
Heat rushed to the top of his head. He had been serious about the contract and whatnot, but thinking he’d fallen for another bizarre joke made his blood boil. Dohyun cut off Seowoo’s outburst and asked gently:
“You don’t trust me that much?”
“Regardless of whether I trust you or not, don’t you know this is strange coming from anyone’s mouth?”
“I don’t know. It seems like a positive proposal any way I look at it. First, I’m someone who can talk to Han Seowoo and ensure he doesn’t break the contract arbitrarily, and if you’re going to be exclusive to our company anyway, I can take care of you.”
“What actor in their right mind would live with a CEO and receive ‘care’?!”
Even if that CEO was purely just a ‘CEO,’ it would be controversial, let alone someone who was also a gangster. The mere thought made the back of his neck crawl.
Though unsaid, Seo Dohyun’s intention was clear. His purpose would be to keep him close for surveillance. If he could somehow find out his schedule from afar, it would be infinitely more convenient to have an exclusive contract and manage his schedule as he pleased. No one could miss such blatantly obvious intentions.
“Really?”
Dohyun shrugged as if he didn’t understand why Seowoo was angry. Then the alternative he offered was ridiculous.
“Then… live with Manager Gu. He might not be as fun as me, but he’s good at listening.”
It felt like all his energy had drained away. I’m the idiot for taking him seriously. Seowoo couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped as he shook his head.
“I don’t want Manager Gu either. I prefer living alone…”
“Who knows if your mind might change after trying it once?”
This was a pure insurance salesman pitch.
“I’ve lived with roommates a lot during college, you know?”
“I know.”
“You know?”
How? Before he could ask, Dohyun closed his eyes neatly and showed a gentle smile.
“But you haven’t tried living with me yet.”
“…”
Not only did he not give in at all, but somehow Seowoo felt emotionally overwhelmed by his absurd sophistry. At this point, even the will to persuade him was starting to break severely.
“I need to work out at dawn… it’ll be noisy.”
“I’m often out of bed at dawn too. Wow, it’s fate?”
“I can’t sleep if there’s someone within 30 meters of me.”
“Oh, so you need at least 80 pyeong?”
Right, let’s stop talking. It seemed like no matter what he said, the man would counter it with nonsense. When Seowoo finally closed his mouth, Dohyun laughed out loud.
“If you find it difficult to decide right now… I’ll give you time to think. Three days.”
“Three days?”
“Think about it again with a sober mind after your hangover clears up, and then contact me. You already know what the truly good choice is, don’t you? You still have my business card, right?”
Whether three days or ten days, did he think the answer would change just by postponing the date a little? The outcome was already determined anyway.
“If I still refuse then… what will you do?”
Dohyun smiled gently.
“Then we’ll see when the time comes.”
In the end, Seowoo couldn’t find out anything. He was left with just an uncomfortable three days to think, without being able to settle anything.
Dohyun supported Seowoo, who was staggering from the belated effects of alcohol, and led him out of the room. As they walked down the hallway, another hand was placed on Seowoo’s shoulder. When he checked the face with his dizzy vision, it was Manager Gu. He had no idea how long he had been there.
❖ ❖ ❖
“Hyung, are you okay? Can you walk?”
My head says I can walk, but my body says no. Seowoo felt somehow wronged.
He didn’t know how much time had passed while he was with Dohyun, but Woojae had not left and was sitting at the table waiting for Seowoo. Dohyun acted as if he had expected this and didn’t even ask why Woojae was still there. He just kindly smiled as he helped Seowoo into the seat next to him.
He even offered the kindness of personally escorting Seowoo home if needed, but was blocked by Seowoo’s stubborn refusal.
Dohyun didn’t force the issue and instead left with a cheerful farewell.
“Take care, then.”
Only after seeing the chauffeur take the wheel did Dohyun walk back into the establishment. While it seemed like he was just being kind, from Seowoo’s perspective, it was nothing more or less than simple surveillance.
Once Dohyun’s gaze was gone, Seowoo finally felt like he could breathe a little easier. Even before living together, just being in the same place as this man was challenging enough.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
