abcnovels
Vol. 2 Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Vol. 2 Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Vol. 2 Chapter 34: Chapter 34
Translated by Chef
Edited by Chef
“Thank you for your hard work.”
When he arrived at the parking lot, Kim Kangwoo greeted them as he looked back.
“Kim Kangwoo, you did a great job. It’s your first day at work. You must be tired.”
Today alone, they went to 10 stage greetings.
“No, I have really good stamina.”
As if to prove that, Kim Kangwoo didn’t look tired.
Kim Kangwoo was a person with good conditions to assist Inseop in many ways.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Inseop will tell you the schedule.”
“Yes, he sent me all the schedules for this week on his phone earlier. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Kim Kangwoo greeted with a friendly voice.
“See you tomorrow.”
Choi Inseop also tried to get out of the car by loosening his belt.
“Where do you live, hyung? I’ll take you there with this car.”
Kim Kangwoo has been calling Inseop hyung since earlier, as if he thought of Inseop as a master of martial arts.
“You don’t have to call me that.”
“Then what should I call you? I don’t think hyung is too formal.”
Inseop, who was weak at this, looked at Lee Wooyeon with his eyes asking for help.
“Just call him manager like before,” replied Lee Wooyeon.
“It also feels too distant. We need to get close quickly. I’ll just call you hyungnim. And talk to me comfortably. I’m three years younger.”
“Yes, I’ll be going then.”
Inseop replied, smiling awkwardly.
“I’ll drive you there. Can I do that?”
Kim Kangwoo asked while looking at Lee Wooyeon.
“It’s not my car, the company paid for it. You can use it however you want.”
After hearing Lee Wooyeon’s answer, Inseop shook his head quickly.
“It’s a company car, so you should never use it for personal things. Lee Wooyeon, it’s better to return it to the company as soon as your schedule is over. It’s a big car, so there’s no place to park it.”
Kim Kangwoo closed his mouth tightly and nodded at Inseop’s serious advice. Lee Wooyeon tilted his head as he looked at the two who were in perfect harmony.
“I can walk from here. Kangwoo, return the car and go back.”
It wasn’t a walking distance. The kind-hearted Inseop was deliberately considering Kim Kangwoo. Knowing this, Lee Wooyeon did not say a word.
“All right. Then see you tomorrow.”
Kangwoo bowed his head. Lee Wooyeon got out of the car and Choi Inseop followed suit. After the car started, Lee Wooyeon patted Inseop on the shoulder.
“Would you like to come up? I have something for you.”
“Now?”
“You can just leave if you don’t want to. I’m not forcing you to.”
“Oh, no. It’s not like that.”
Inseop had no choice but to follow him. Even as he rode the elevator up, Inseop was nervous, not knowing what words would come out of Lee Wooyeon’s mouth. What would he say if he tells him to sleep over? Kim Kangwoo will bring the car tomorrow, but he won’t know how to handle it. Above all, he still couldn’t figure out how to bring up the topic of Chae Yeonseo.
“I..”
Just as he was about to speak, the elevator door opened. Lee Wooyeon, who came out first, flicked his finger at Inseop to follow him. Inseop followed Wooyeon in a panic.
Lee Wooyeon pressed the password on his front door. Hearing the sound of the door opening, Inseop clenched his fingertips.
“Please stay here for a while.”
Lee Wooyeon lowered the stopper on the front door and went inside. In an unexpected situation, Inseop stood there. Lee Wooyeon held a brown paper bag and he came out right away.
“This is an audio book I recorded the other day. It’s a rough edit, but I asked for it as soon as possible, and I got it yesterday.”
Lee Wooyeon held out the envelope. Inseop received the envelope with both hands.
“Inseop fell asleep right after I read the book to him. You said you couldn’t sleep. I was wondering if it would help.”
“Ah, yes… thank you…”
Choi Inseop’s face turned red. He felt full because he drank too much kimchi soup.
“Well then, I’ll go now.”
Inseop bowed his head.
Lee Wooyeon leaned against the front door and called him. Inseop looked back while holding the envelope.
“Is there anything you want me to do?”
“Yes?”
“Tell me if you want anything.”
Lee Wooyeon was affectionate. At least he didn’t feign his affection for him. But now it was a little different than usual. Inseop blinked his eyes and looked at the man in front of him. Eating something too sweet made his stomach upset and dizzy, and Lee Wooyeon in front of him was like that. He was too sweet.
“…there’s nothing.”
Inseop turned his head and replied. Even though he tried not to think too much of Lee Wooyeon’s attitude, which was different from usual, bad thoughts kept entering his head.
“Tell me if you remember. It doesn’t matter.”
“Thank you. See you tomorrow.”
Inseop bowed his head. He opened the envelope in the elevator. As Lee Wooyeon said, his CD was in it. It was a messy feeling. It’s a gift he thought, so he should be happy, but he was sorry he didn’t feel that way.
Needless to say, the day after he saw that scene…
“No.”
Inseop shook his head. It was a cowardly act to mislead people’s goodwill in such a way. On the way to the bus stop after getting off the elevator, Inseop texted Lee Woo-yeon.
[Thank you for the gift. I’ll listen carefully. If there is anything you want, Wooyeon, please let me know anytime!]
Shortly thereafter, a text message came.
]Dream of me, then.]
Inseop stood there and read the text from Lee Wooyeon. A sharp pain spread around his chest every time he read the last word.
“Is this your first visit to a broadcasting station?”
At Inseop’s question, Kim Kangwoo, who had been looking around until just now, showed an embarrassed expression.
“When I was young, I came with my brother-in-law, no, the CEO, but this is the first time since I’ve grown up. It’s also my first time at the new office building. It’s gotten a lot better.”
Today was the day of the broadcasting station studio shooting. Usually the manager waited in the waiting room or in the car. But today, he was on a tour of the broadcasting station specially for Kim Kangwoo.
“I can see a lot of celebrities.”
Inseop smiled and nodded.
“Can I see idols too?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, cool. Hyung-nim sees it so often, so it doesn’t matter, right?”
Actually, Inseop didn’t know much about other celebrities. He didn’t know who was popular, who was pretty, or who was trending these days.
“I guess so.”
Inseop looked around. It was perfect to be seen as a stalker manager after telling the truth.
“Still, don’t you feel good when you see your favorite actors or idols?”
“…Yes. That’s right.”
He was watching every day. He wasn’t just watching, he was currently in a relationship.
“What do you do when you see a celebrity you like?”
“I like them from the inside.”
“I will do that too. Uh! Look, there!”
As soon as he answered, Kim Kangwoo pointed to the idol walking across the lobby, making a fuss. Inseop quickly lowered Kim Kangwoo’s hand and smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry. I did it unknowingly.”
Kim Kangwoo smiled broadly and apologized. He had an honest and bright personality.
“Aren’t you thirsty, hyung? I’ll buy you coffee.”
Inseo held out his card.
“You can pay with this. You can bill the company.”
“Yes. I understand. What would you like to have?
“All I need is an iced Americano. There is a bench over there. You can come over there.”
Inseop pointed to a bench in the outdoor garden. Kim Kangwoo took his card and disappeared while humming his song.
In-seop went outside and sat down with his back on the bench. Fatigue set in.
Lee Wooyeon was several times more friendly and affectionate than usual. In addition, he even went with Kim Kangwoo, so he didn’t have to worry about getting weird pictures taken. Even though it was an objectively peaceful situation, he felt uneasy.
Why did he meet Chae Yeonseo? Is there something he didn’t know about?
Why won’t he tell him… Why is he suddenly being so friendly?
The things he wanted to ask piled up. However, when he saw Lee Wooyeon, his mouth did not open. Hee thought that liking someone makes a person brave, but it was the exact opposite. Having what he thought he couldn’t have, his fear grew as his greed did.
Inseop sighed and grabbed his hand.
“…Let’s ask.”
No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer. Inseop took out his cell phone and texted Lee Wooyeon before his decision wavered.
“Can you give me a moment after today’s schedule?”
He turned off his cell phone during the studio shoot, so he might not check the text until later. He was afraid he didn’t know what kind of answer Lee Wooyeon would give, but it will still be better than now.
Inseop, who was fiddling with his cell phone, suddenly felt someone watching him and looked up.
“…!”
He made eye contact with the person who was far away. Inseop quickly avoided eye contact, but he had already been noticed.
“Who is this?”
Kang Youngmo raised his hand as if he was glad. Maybe he came out to smoke as he had a cigarette case in one hand.
“Hello.”
Inseop quickly got up from his seat and bowed his head politely. Kang Youngmo walked to Inseop with the script on his hand.
“I guess you have a show, right?
“Yes.”
“Wasn’t it forbidden to appear here?”
Kang Youngmo said, slapping the spinning script on his palm.
“I haven’t heard anything about it.”
“Then what did you hear?”
Kang Youngmo was sly even though he knew Inseop couldn’t say anything.
He tormented Inseop.
“Then do you want me to tell you an interesting story I heard? There are a few journalists I know.”
Inseop wanted to leave his seat right away. But there was something he had to end with this person.
“What are you talking about?”
When Inseop asked calmly without being nervous, Kang Youngmo bent his eyebrows unexpectedly.
“I heard that Lee Wooyeon met so many women before.”
“Is that so?”
It’s a fact that he knew. The tag attached to actor Lee Wooyeon, who was known to be flawless and perfect, was a woman.
“I heard he’s cut them off recently.”
“I see.”
Inseop knows how long it has been, but he did not show any signs.
“Why?”
Kang Youngmo tapped Inseop’s shoulder with the script and laughed.
“If you ask me why, I can’t answer it. It’s a company policy, but I really don’t know.”
“Why won’t you know? You know.”
Inseop took a deep breath inside. Until now, he had simulated countless things in his head that he would say to Kang Youngmo when he met him again.
“How can I know?”
Kang Young-mo asked back,
“What?”
“It is very rude of you to guess like this. The same goes for the person he’s dating right now.”
“Chae Yeonseo? Who Chae Yeonseo is actually dating…”
After saying that, Kang Youngmo also looked around. No even Kang Youngmo had the guts to turn the head of a TV station’s drama headquarters into an enemy, even the next president.
“I know everyone who knows”.
Kang Youngmo lowered his voice as if he was conscious of his surroundings.
“Yes, everyone knows.”
Inseop went on calmly.
“She’s dating Lee Wooyeon.”
“Oh, my. The baby that was shaking like a dog that ate something bad grew up a lot. Do you think you’ve become something because Lee Wooyeon is doing well?”
Kang Youngmo poked Inseop’s forehead with the script. Coincidentally, after the incident, Kang Youngmo didn’t get very good results for every work he appeared in. It had begun to take a downward trend. It hasn’t been long since he started to be called a Gukbap* actor, who used to be a box office guarantee check, and says that every movie he appears in is ruined.
There has never been such a dangerous feeling as arrogance that has turned into an inferiority complex. Although he hates Kang Youngmo, Inseop thought that he should never touch that part.
“I’m just a nobody.”
Inseop tried not to offend his opponent as much as he could.
“What is Lee Wooyeon lacking to do with someone like me, and with a man?”
It was strange. He felt like I was telling the truth even though he lied. Inseop held his trembling hands together.
“And…”
Inseop slowly raised his head.
“There is someone I’m dating seriously, too,”
Inseop’s words made Kang Youngmo sneer. He took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
“Did I almost black out for a second? But because of that word, your credibility has just come to an end. Are you dating someone seriously? Okay. Do you have a picture? Show me a picture.”
When Inseop couldn’t say anything, Kang Youngmo let out a laugh as if he knew that.
“Fuck. You know who’s an idiot? A very simple person…”
Kang Youngmo held up the script. For a moment, a thought flashed through Inseop’s head.
“Yes. Proof.”
“What?
“There was an article recently. Lee Wooyeon paid for the injured cat’s hospital bill.”
“That lousy PR article? How much do journalists these days get paid to write such high-class, old-fashioned novels?”
Inseop lowered his head.
“This article was written based on the articles posted by the staff at the veterinary hospital. You can still find that article. This is the article.”
Inseop quickly found the article and held it out to Kang Youngmo. Kang Youngmo skimmed through the article with his eyes furrowed.
“What is this about?”
“I am one of the people who took the cat. The other is the person I am seeing. As stated in the article.”
‘Sorry. Yoon Ahreum, I’m really sorry. I will definitely pay the price for this sin, and I will definitely repay the favor as well.’
Inseop repeated the words of apology to himself.
“And this is a picture of that cat.”
Inseop went to the animal hospital not long ago and showed him a picture he and John had taken together. The smile disappeared from Kang Youngmo’s face. Inseop flipped through the picture and showed another picture of the cat that Yoon Areum was hugging. He didn’t show her face, but anyone could see that the hand holding the cat was a woman’s.
“I hope you clear up any misunderstandings now.”
Inseop looked at Kang Youngmo with big eyes. When their eyes met, Kang Youngmo’s mouth twisted.
Smack.
He slapped Inseop in the face with all his might with the script in his hand. Over and over again he swung the script. Inseop accepted his anger without avoiding it.
“This stupid manager! Are you trying to teach me?”
The pain in front of his eyes was sore, but Inseop bit his lip and held it in. Thank god. To be angry like this means that he couldn’t find any evidence.
“Do you know how long Lee Wooyeon will do well? Falling to the floor is an instant. Do you think that bastard will be the lead actor for a thousand years and ten thousand years!”
The script hit the face straight down. His nose started to bleed.
Kang Youngmo threw his blood-stained script into the trash can nearby.
“Let’s see.”
Kang Youngmo sighed and disappeared.
Inseop took his handkerchief out of his pocket and covered his nose. With this, he would be happy if Kang Youngmo could dispel his doubts even a little bit.
When that happened, he was happy, but not he was not in a very good mood. Hee felt sorry for Yoon Areum. He didn’t say her name or show her face, but he seemed to be taking advantage of her. More than anything, he felt sorry for Lee Wooyeon, who almost got into something bad because of him.
The words “Isn’t it strange with someone like me?” ran through his head. Unconsciously, he uttered his inner thoughts. When he stands next to Lee Wooyeon, let alone get along with him, wasn’t he a nuisance to him? One day, if Lee Wooyeon asked him to break up with him, he would rather convince himself that he was like that rather than ask why. He didn’t want anyone to find out about these shabby feelings.
A stream of blood flowed from his nose between his fingers. Inseop quickly raised his head and met his eyes with Kangwoo, who was making a puzzled expression on the other side.
“… !”
It felt like all the blood in his body was draining from under his feet.
Since when had he been there?
“I’m sorry. I tried to stop it, but the CEO repeatedly asked me not to intervene if something happened…”
Kim Kangwoo, with a sullen face, stuttered, as if he was quite taken aback. When Inseop remained firm and didn’t respond at all, Kim Kangwoo asked cautiously if he was okay.
“… it’s okay. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
Inseop, tired, barely answered.
“No. I’m sorry hyung. Kang Youngmo, why is he doing that? Why is he doing that when hyung said he has a girlfriend? Isn’t he crazy?”
Fortunately, it seemed that he hadn’t heard the previous story. Inseop, exhausted by the overwhelming sense of relief, collapsed into his seat. Kim Kangwoo put down his coffee and came and quickly stood up next to Inseop.
“Aren’t you supposed to go to the hospital? Shall we call 911?”
Kim Kangwoo asked in surprise as if he had heard about Inseop’s health condition in advance. Inseop shook his head.
“No… I’m okay.”
As the tension eased, his tears welled up. Inseop buried his head in his lap and bit his lower lip. It reminded him of Lee Wooyeon’s words never to cry in front of other people. And he didn’t want to cry in front of Kim Kangwoo, who was younger than him.
“Are you really okay? Isn’t it wrong to hit like that? If I had known it would be like this, I would have recorded a video.”
In case no one sees, Inseop quickly wiped away his tears and stood up.
“I’m sorry hyung. I should have intervened… “
“No. You did well.”
It was clear that if someone had intervened in Kang Youngmo’s personality, things would have gotten bigger.
It’s better to take out his anger once and move on.
“Kangwoo”
To Inseop’s earnest voice, Kim Kangwoo replied “Yes” with a nervous face.
“As you see, Mr. Kang Youngmo and Mr. Lee Wooyeon has a bad relationship. There was some incident while filming the drama last time. The company also cares a lot.“
No matter how much he tries, he can’t help but encounter things like today at the broadcasting station. Inseop thought that it was fortunate that it was not Lee Wooyeon who met Kang Yeongmo, but him.
“Even if it’s not, the CEO said that too. Kang Youngmo, be especially careful with that person,”
Kim Kangwoo added, scratching his head.
“If he bumps into Lee Wooyeon, he told me not to intervene and to call him. Sorry. I did it because he asked me to trust him, but I feel really bad too.”
“No, I just…”
The bloody nose that had stopped flowing began bleeding again. Inseop quickly tilted his head back.
“Aren’t you seriously hurt?”
“You don’t have to worry. It’s really fine.” Inseop smiled, and Kangwoo wiped Inseop’s face with a tissue.
“Now you’ll believe what Lee Wooyeon said was all a joke.”
At Inseop’s words, Kim Kangwoo said, “Ohhh,” and frowned.
“Now there is such a thing. And I know that hyung lost on purpose. If Kang Youngmo is a celebrity, he should pay the price.”
Kim Kangwoo sighed and took Inseop’s side. He was an honest and good-natured young man.
“Can I ask you one favor?” Inseop opened his mouth as he looked at Kim Kangwoo.
“Yes. Just say anything.”
“Please keep what happened with Kang Youngmo a secret from Lee Wooyeon. The same goes for the CEO.”
If he tells the CEO, there is a high probability that Lee Wooyeon will also know.
“But…”
“It’s really no big deal. Mr. Kang Youngmo, even with the original staff, he often quarrels. I don’t want to make them worry about this.”
Inseop hung on desperately with big eyes. When Kangwoo couldn’t answer, Inseop lowered his head.
“Please.”
“Hyung, don’t do this.”
Kim Kangwoo quickly raised Inseop up.
“If you do this, I’ll think I’ve become such a bad guy. I’m sorry I just watched you earlier.”
Kim Kangwoo sighed and continued.
“All right. I will do as you say. Although it pricks my conscience not to tell my brother-in-law. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have just rushed in and stopped it.”
“Thank you.”
“Instead, you should also listen to my request.”
“A request?”
Inseop covered his nose with his handkerchief and wiped his eyes. Kim Kangwoo nodded his head and continued.
“Well, it’s not difficult.”
There was a cool smile in Kangwoo’s eyes..