# Chapter 2
I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Seowoo twisted his body while slumped deep in his seat. All he had eaten was some kimbap with a few vegetables and all he had drunk was a small bottle of water, so why was his stomach turning like this?
Was it because he had dreamed for three hours about being chased by that gangster-like man whose name, age, and job he didn’t know? It had been a while since he had felt his entire body stiffen with tension after waking up.
“Jinhyuk… when will we arrive?”
“Hmm, in about 10 minutes?”
“I really feel like I’m going to be sick. No… actually, I think I’m already sick.”
“Are you in pain? Should I buy you some medicine?”
Seowoo grabbed the front seat and rested his chin on it. Jinhyuk met his eyes through the rearview mirror.
“Should we stop by a pharmacy?”
Jinhyuk’s expression didn’t look good either. He seemed tired, and there even appeared to be dark shadows under his eyes. Seowoo tilted his head.
“But why do you look so dead?”
“Me?”
“Yes. If we’re buying medicine, I should get some for you too. Couldn’t sleep last night?”
“No, it’s just that…”
Just as Jinhyuk opened his mouth, a loud ringtone cut him off. Both of their eyes naturally moved to the phone sitting on the front seat. Before Seowoo could even say “You have a call,” Jinhyuk quickly snatched up the phone. Seowoo couldn’t properly see the name or number on the screen.
Jinhyuk checked the screen with a very tense expression, then let out a weak sigh.
“Ah… it’s the writer. I thought…”
“Thought what?”
“Well, let’s go to the pharmacy, Han Seowoo! You said you feel sick, right? Let me take this call?”
Before Seowoo could respond, Jinhyuk turned the steering wheel. A friendly voice saying “Writer” echoed from the front seat. Feeling that he wouldn’t get an answer even if he asked more questions, Seowoo leaned back deeply into his seat and closed his eyes.
Even he’s acting weird today. As if I wasn’t troubled enough already.
The memory of that moment was still vividly present in his body, too fresh to dismiss as just being haunted by a ghost. Seowoo got goosebumps just thinking about the man’s eyes. Those two pupils flickering like goblin fire in the darkness of dawn, and the strength of the hand that had grabbed his cheek. It wasn’t something that could come from an ordinary person.
As soon as he got home, Seowoo threw away the blood-stained clothes. Not only did he have bruises all over his body from rolling around with the unknown man, his jaw truly ached as if bruised, and there was even a scratch on his cheek. He had put a bandage on it because he hated the sight of it, but he couldn’t help being bothered every time he looked in the mirror.
Jinhyuk had smiled awkwardly and said, “Well, as long as it heals before filming…” Of course that would be his concern. Seowoo was the only one feeling frustrated.
Looking at his reflection in the car window, Seowoo fixed his disheveled bangs. He could see with his own eyes that his cheeks had become gaunt overnight.
“Jinhyuk.”
“Yeah?”
Jinhyuk responded gently after ending his call. Seowoo turned his head. Hands on the steering wheel, round back of the head. Kind brown eyes reflected through the rearview mirror. It was comforting. Jinhyuk, who was skilled at handling work and had much more social experience than Seowoo, might be able to give good advice…
“…”
Jinhyuk’s eyes in the rearview mirror still looked kind, but definitely tired. He could probably get advice, but today didn’t seem like the right day. It would be troublesome if Jinhyuk got stressed after hearing it. He also didn’t want to burden someone who already had so much work.
“Nothing, never mind. Let’s just hurry.”
Seowoo banged his head against the car window with a thud. I need to pull myself together.
❖ ❖ ❖
Ten days had passed. During that time, he had been trying to find the right timing to honestly open up to Jinhyuk, but there hadn’t been a single chance to dive into it. Jinhyuk’s face looked just as worn out with fatigue as Seowoo’s. When asked why, he would just laugh without answering.
For a day or two, Seowoo was cautious like a cat whenever he went outside, looking in all directions. His instincts told him something was wrong.
By the third day, he hadn’t found anything near his home. The bad feeling was still there, but well, it was just a feeling. Was it really nothing after all?
After about a week, he thought, “He wouldn’t really kill me…” If the man had recognized his face, he would have found him already. Maybe he couldn’t distinguish who Seowoo was because it was too dark. The thought of quitting everything and disappearing faded away easily.
Rehearsals, script practice, and numerous meetings packed his schedule. A few days was enough to get distracted by other thoughts.
By the time the bandage on his cheek naturally fell off and the wound began to heal, Seowoo slowly started to escape the sick feeling. As often as he looked in the mirror, the memory of the man gradually began to fade.
Let’s just think I was bitten by a passing dog. It’s not like I’ll ever meet him again anyway.
“Seowoo, is this a scar on your cheek?”
“What?”
“This. Here. I didn’t notice from far away, but it might show up on camera.”
As fingers tapped his cheek, Seowoo looked more closely in the mirror. There was definitely a faint scar where the woman’s hand had touched. Maybe the problem was that he hadn’t wanted to look at it properly and had just glossed over it. He clicked his tongue and closed his eyes again.
“Yes, it hasn’t healed completely. Can you cover it?”
“This isn’t just a simple scratch, is it? Well, I think I can cover it enough so that fans won’t worry.”
“That’s good enough.”
It had been ten days since the incident, and yet there were still traces of it lingering. How persistent. Seowoo let out a deep sigh as he felt gentle hands touching his cheek.
“Why does the great Han Seowoo look so down? Are you nervous?”
“Come on, why would I be nervous? It’s just a preview screening.”
“Why not? Today’s screening is not an ordinary one. I don’t know who invited them, but I hear there’s a lot of talk about someone who doesn’t usually show their face in public coming today.”
“If it’s that big, rumors must have spread already. Who is it?”
“I didn’t hear the name, but someone of that caliber… you’ll know them as soon as you see them, right?”
Seowoo responded with a light laugh to match the casual remark meant to help him relax. While he appreciated the consideration, he didn’t have the energy to care about who was coming to the preview screening.
When the woman finished applying makeup, Jinhyuk approached from behind and tapped Seowoo’s shoulder.
“Seowoo. Let’s go.”
He couldn’t count how many autographs he had signed. It was the hundredth or thousandth time he had lowered himself to smile kindly while fans held phone screens up to his face. His mouth felt numb, but it actually made him feel more alert.
As soon as he left the red carpet and entered the hallway, the noise that had been hammering at his ears instantly subsided. His fingers unconsciously brushed over the part of his cheek where the scar remained.
“If you keep touching your face, your makeup will come off.”
Seowoo’s hand dropped as Jinhyuk playfully scolded him.
“I didn’t realize I was doing it.”
“Is it because today’s schedule is over? You never know who you might meet on the way out, so leave it as is.”
“Alright, alright. But where’s our CEO? I have something to discuss about my next project.”
“The CEO? Wait, which floor is he on? Let me call.”
Jinhyuk made a gesture asking for understanding as he waved his hand. Seowoo willingly stepped back.
The hallway was somewhat noisy with people gathered in conversations, but it was much quieter than the red carpet. Seowoo leaned against the wall and looked around. There were familiar people, acquaintances, and even people he had never met before.
Just as he was thinking he should meet the CEO and then go greet others, a pair of neat dress shoes appeared in front of Seowoo. Raising his gaze from the floor, Seowoo naturally looked over the man’s attire, appearance, and finally his face. Black shirt, a slightly slanted posture, and powerful eyes visible through brightly smiling eye corners. Their gazes met directly with only about a foot of space between them.
“Wow, look who it is. Nice to meet you. Han Seowoo?”
The moment Seowoo recognized him, a cheerful voice with slightly reduced pressure clearly called his name.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
There were the eyes of a well-groomed beast.
The man’s smile was certainly attractive, but it gave an ominous feeling that prevented it from being called simply appealing. His eyes, which sharply gazed at Seowoo, were like hooks. He was tall enough to look down on Seowoo, who was considered tall, and his physique seemed even better than Seowoo’s, who exercised regularly.
Seowoo instinctively stepped back, barely suppressing a shout that was about to burst out. It was the most composed act he could manage.
The man tilted his head and smiled again.
“Why that expression? Are you that happy to see me?”
“Happy…! Why would I be happy?”
“You seem at a loss.”
“That’s because…”
“Because?”
“You tried to bury a man alive on the mountain behind my house, didn’t you?” was what Seowoo wanted to shout in the middle of the theater hallway, but he was still sober enough not to. Fortunately, judging from the man’s respectable appearance, he didn’t seem to be planning to attack Seowoo in a place like this.
Seowoo quickly glanced sideways. But Jinhyuk, who should have been standing nearby, was nowhere to be found. Maybe he had gone to find the CEO. Damn it. Of all times. Seowoo swallowed a curse.
The man took exactly one step forward, maintaining the same distance as Seowoo had stepped back.
“Ah, right. I enjoyed the movie today.”
“What? Oh, yes, well.”
“You’ve been taking lead roles lately and doing well. But your character was somewhat similar to your previous work? Are you the type to follow the director? Those are definitely the characters that director likes, but they overlap a lot.”
“…Do you like movies? Or are you my fan?”
There was wariness in his voice without him realizing it. Either way, Seowoo felt strange. The memory of that man sitting on top of him, choking him, hadn’t completely faded, and seeing his face made that image even clearer.
The man didn’t give a clear answer to the question and instead took out a wallet from his inside pocket. Even at a glance, it was an expensive item. His movements in pulling out a business card and offering it were precise.
“Take it.”
“…What is this?”
“We should introduce ourselves. I know the life of a star, but it’s unfair if you don’t even know my name.”
Seowoo carefully took the business card. In the middle of the black paper, ‘T&C’ was printed in stylish gold lettering.
“T&C?”
Seowoo quickly flipped the card over. Only the exact necessary information was written in neat letters.
<CEO Seo Dohyun>
The moment he saw that name, Seowoo reflexively crumpled the card tightly in his hand.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
