#093
“You’re here already?”
Kang Dojun had driven all night, stopped briefly at home, then came straight to the company. But despite his diligence, the first thing he heard upon arriving at the company was his manager’s “You’re here already?”
“What about the dating rumors?”
“Han Huiyeon-ssi contacted us first to deny them and released an article, didn’t you see it?”
When Park Daeho blinked and spoke in confusion, Kang Dojun belatedly took out his phone and searched the internet.
He only used his phone to contact Yeonwoo, and since he didn’t really check the internet much anyway, he was only now hearing about this.
“You should have at least contacted me.”
“I did though?”
…But the alarm didn’t go off? When he went into settings, it had been changed to silent mode. When?
When he entered his messages to check Park Daeho’s contact, there was also a text from Yeonwoo. He hadn’t been able to check it because of the silent mode.
Kang Dojun felt puzzled as he looked into what had happened. If he’d turned it off, he would have turned it off, but he rarely put it on silent mode. He hadn’t even done it recently.
But why…
Eventually Kang Dojun reached a conclusion. There was only one person who could touch his phone freely. Yeonwoo did it.
It seemed like he’d changed it after arriving in the countryside.
Come to think of it, the call telling him to come to Seoul had also come while he was touching his phone to search for pharmacies – the alarm hadn’t rung.
Yeonwoo had secretly changed it to silent mode because he didn’t want their time alone together to be interrupted, but that had ended up causing him to check the contact late.
He’d fallen into his own trap.
If he’d just asked, he could have turned off the power right away, but imagining the somewhat clumsy Yeonwoo sneakily changing it to silent mode behind his back made a smile naturally form at his lips.
Kang Dojun decided to send a late reply first. If a reply was even a little late, Yeonwoo would always bring up some topic and send another text. It seemed like unconscious behavior.
The current photo was like that too.
「It was on silent so I saw it late. Why did the queen bee die?」
As Kang Dojun sent his reply and changed it to vibrate mode, a text arrived immediately.
「It was on silent?ㅜ She didn’t die, she went to Seoul with hyung.」
She came to Seoul with me? Even though he obviously knew that wasn’t what it meant, Kang Dojun pointlessly fumbled through his pockets. Then the alarm rang once more.
「So bring the queen bee and come back quickly.」
Ah, that’s what he meant.
「Yeah. I will.」
This is serious. He hadn’t been in Seoul long, but now he had a reason to go back as soon as possible.
Kang Dojun looked at Park Daeho while putting his phone in his pocket along with a text saying he’d contact him later.
“So the dating rumors are resolved? I’ll go down right after meeting the director this evening.”
“Well… the appointment got pushed back.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow evening.”
Kang Dojun frowned and firmly shook his head.
“No way. I need to go see Yeonwoo.”
Park Daeho looked fed up. Kang Dojun reproached him instead.
“You should have told me about that in advance.”
Then he would have come a day later or something – there was nothing to do in Seoul after coming early for nothing.
“The director had something urgent come up so he postponed it. I just got the call too.”
He clicked his tongue low. If this was how it was going to be, he should have come more leisurely.
“Where are you going?”
Kang Dojun grabbed Park Daeho who was trying to slip out of the company after calling him there and saying he was done talking.
“Ah, Gihyeon-ssi’s drama filming that he’s joining. They’re filming nearby so I thought I’d go watch.”
“…Why?”
He meant why are you going to watch an actor from a different agency.
“Gihyeon-ssi’s contract with FAM Entertainment is ending soon, so I thought I’d subtly try to recruit him to our side.”
“…Why?”
Even after hearing the explanation, Kang Dojun asked again, seeming puzzled.
Doesn’t the recruitment team usually handle that sort of thing?
“Because I’m the one who’s close with Gihyeon-ssi.”
Only after his additional explanation did Kang Dojun understand and agree.
“Alright, go ahead.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I should go home and rest.”
And contact Yeonwoo too.
Park Daeho grabbed Kang Dojun’s arm and pulled him along.
“You come too.”
“Why? I don’t want to.”
“Gihyeon-ssi’s manager will be glaring, so we need an excuse. What else are you going to do anyway besides go home and contact Yeonwoo-ssi?”
…That’s the most important thing though. Kang Dojun scowled fiercely. There was no way those words about using him as an excuse would sound pleasant.
“Did you eat?”
“I came straight here as soon as I arrived.”
“Then you can have lunch with Gihyeon-ssi.”
Kang Dojun sighed deeply at Park Daeho’s forceful demand.
It seemed like he should contact Yeonwoo in advance that he probably wouldn’t be able to return to the countryside until tomorrow.
***
“Oh… what brings you here?”
Shin Gihyeon blinked his eyes like a goldfish at the sight of the two standing in front of him.
Park Daeho wore a business smile as he offered Shin Gihyeon a handshake.
“We were passing by nearby and heard that one of our rookie actors was filming, so we came to see.”
“Ah, you mean Haejeong-ssi.”
Kang Dojun surveyed the filming location with eyes that said all of this was tedious.
The script for the drama Shin Gihyeon was joining had come to him too. Of course, thinking he was going to quit acting anyway, he’d naturally refused.
And… if we had our own actor here, you wouldn’t have needed me, right?
He resented Park Daeho for deliberately dragging him along when they could have come under the pretext of watching a fellow DH Entertainment actor.
Unaware of Kang Dojun’s feelings, Park Daeho spoke to Shin Gihyeon in a friendly tone.
“Yes, and since Dojun and Gihyeon-ssi are close too, we thought we’d kill two birds with one stone. If you have time, would you like to have lunch together?”
“…Close, you say. Time… time. Manager hyung! I’m going to go eat and come back!”
Shin Gihyeon had completely fallen for the phrase ‘close with Kang Dojun.’
“You have to come back quickly. We need to start filming soon.”
“Got it.”
Shin Gihyeon’s manager wasn’t pleased with Park Daeho, but when Kang Dojun behind him bowed his head politely and greeted him courteously, he unconsciously gave permission.
I should have just said we need to start filming right now.
Even without this, there had been a lot of talk from higher-ups lately about renewing Shin Gihyeon’s contract. And at this timing of all times? He couldn’t help but know that DH Entertainment had come specifically to see Shin Gihyeon.
But Shin Gihyeon’s manager also knew that his celebrity was a fan of Kang Dojun. Because of their time together, he couldn’t bring himself to stop Shin Gihyeon, who was excitedly bouncing around getting ready to eat with Kang Dojun.
Meanwhile, Kang Dojun sternly warned Park Daeho as if making a vow several times.
“I’m just going to eat and leave.”
“Of course, of course, naturally.”
While Shin Gihyeon was gathering his simple belongings, Kang Dojun put one hand in his pocket and texted back and forth with Yeonwoo with the other.
「Just came out to eat with Gihyeon-ssi. For work.」
「With Gihyeon? Hyung, but if you can’t come tomorrow, can you come the day after?」
The day after tomorrow? He didn’t have anything scheduled, and since he’d leave after his dinner appointment with the director tomorrow, he thought he’d arrive by the day after tomorrow.
「Yeah, I’ll contact you when I lecursor」
“Um… hello.”
Kang Dojun, who had been sending a text, looked down at the greeting directed at him. It was DH Entertainment’s rookie actress ‘Lee Haejeong.’ He remembered occasionally running into her inside the company.
“I’m actress Lee Haejeong!”
“Yes, hello.”
If her surname is Lee, it’s the same as Yeonwoo’s.
Confirming that Shin Gihyeon was coming over with his wallet, phone, and light jacket from a distance, Kang Dojun finished sending his text, put down his phone, and asked.
“What Chinese character do you use for your surname?”
“Pardon?”
“The Chinese character.”
Lee Haejeong seemed flustered by the sudden question, rolling her eyes before answering quietly.
“It’s the plum tree Lee (李).”
Yeonwoo was definitely… the different Yi (異).
Even the little interest he’d had faded.
“Yes, good work.”
He could feel Park Daeho poking his back. It was clearly meant to tell him to be nice since she was a rookie actress from the same company. Another dating rumor? He’d pass on that.
Dating rumors weren’t as fatal for actors as they were for idols, but for Kang Dojun who already had someone, there were no articles more irritating than dating rumors.
“Shall we go? Where’s the restaurant?”
Shin Gihyeon approached and asked. Then, feeling like one person was missing, he asked Kang Dojun.
“Sunbae-nim, is Yeonwoo at home?”
“He went down to the countryside for a bit.”
“Ah.”
Shin Gihyeon nodded and then looked at Lee Haejeong beside him.
“Haejeong-ssi, would you like to come have lunch with us too?”
“Ah, I…”
Lee Haejeong read the room. She implicitly showed that she wanted to go along, but since Park Daeho had come for business with Shin Gihyeon, he subtly indicated his refusal.
She wasn’t someone without sense either, so she pointed to her fellow actors behind her and said.
“I’ll eat with them. Enjoy your meal and come back.”
Park Daeho expressed his thanks and dragged Kang Dojun, who was standing around with his phone again when he wasn’t looking, toward the car.
After putting Shin Gihyeon in the back seat, Park Daeho started a conversation about rookie actress Lee Haejeong, who was still in supporting roles. Since questions about acting evaluations were sensitive issues for actors, he only asked a string of meaningless questions like whether she was adapting well and how the atmosphere on set was.
“Haah.”
While Park Daeho and Shin Gihyeon were having a quiet conversation, Kang Dojun’s sudden sigh echoed through the car interior.
“What’s wrong? Is there some problem?”
“…Sunbae-nim, was I being too loud?”
“No, not at all.”
「Hyung, how do you solve this problem?」
Kang Dojun stared intently at the math problem Yeonwoo had photographed and sent.
An unconscious sigh escaped him. It was because of Yeonwoo, who until yesterday seemed sick but today said he was all better and went to Uncle Cheolsu’s house without rest, saying he was teaching high school seniors how to study.
Had his fever really just risen briefly because he was sleepy? If he were there, he could check his condition, but being in Seoul right now was frustrating.
Having no choice, he silently solved the math problem Yeonwoo had photographed and sent. Although several years had passed since graduating high school, he still remembered the formulas.
While listing formulas and substituting numbers one by one, another text came from Yeonwoo.
「Oh right. So hyung will come on Monday then? Kim Haseon is coming to visit then too」
…What?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
