Payback

I felt completely exhausted. I barely came to my senses after standing in the hot water for a long time under the stream of the shower. It seemed that the three times I had been done with that guy’s hands had exhausted my stamina, which had not happened before even when I worked on a construction site. Even if it’s been so long since I had relieved myself that I can’t remember, this was too much. 

Half of my anger at him turned to me. I was so embarrassed that I collapsed so easily. Fucking psycho. I frowned as I rinsed the area between my butt, which he had rubbed until it swelled red. Afterwards, while I ejaculated from his hand twice, his thing did not wither and went into heat on me. All of a sudden, I didn’t even have time to sort out what happened. After that, I finally came to my senses, and I was under the shower like this.

How should I beat that bastard? Grinding my teeth and washing the semen that remained between my hips, it suddenly felt like something similar had happened in the past, so I stopped moving. Similar? I went back to 5 years ago while trying to remember. Yes, I had done this once…

Thinking about it, I shook his head. I bled a lot back then, so there was nothing very similar to this situation. But why did I think they were similar? I stopped washing and put my hands on the bathroom wall. As I bowed my head under the pouring water, feeling as if some idea was about to float, a sudden sound interrupted my thoughts.

“Would you like me to wash you?” 

I flinched and backed away from the water and shook my head. When he came in, the madman was standing with his arms crossed leaning against the door. There was another bathroom so he had washed and put on other clothes, but his hair was still wet.

“Hey, get out right now…”

“If you don’t want to, wash up quickly.”

“Why do I have to wash quickly?”

“Should I wash you?”

… There’s no way to converse with this bastard. Realizing that he was indeed a crazy person again, I held out my hand.

“Give me a towel from over there.”

I wanted to leave this place right away, but sitting with him on the same sofa was for only one reason only. Let’s hear what excuse he would try to make. Still, I clenched my fist under the cushion, in case there was an opportunity to hit him once. 

“You.”

When he called me while he was reading a script, he raised his head, flipping through his flowing bangs. ‘What?’ I questioned with my eyes and spoke dryly.

“Did you just call me here to do this?”

I emphasized ‘only’ to let him know that what happened before was no big deal. Otherwise, my pride would be hurt. Or maybe because I didn’t want to see him being excited about getting the upper hand over me. Either way, it felt dirty. 

Still, I clearly knew. I knew that jumping up and saying I was going to kill him right now would make him laugh even more. It was better for me to suppress my temper and accept his annoying words than to see him laugh.

“I agree that it’s just for this. Honestly, don’t you feel unsettling?”

“I’m unsettled with myself for meeting up with you.”

I was being sarcastic to offend him even a little, but he took my bullshit seriously. 

“I didn’t know that not being able to do it properly would feel so bad. To be honest, I want to insert it into you right now.”

I lowered my eyes involuntarily at the carefree words, and checked that the guy was standing halfway over his clothes. I furrowed my eyebrows subconsciously and heard a low-pitched laughter in my ear.

“But you’re afraid, so I’ll be patient this time as promised.”

It was more offensive to say that I was afraid than to say that he would be patient. 

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“It’s okay. I’m the only one who knows you’re afraid. So next time you won’t bleed and cry, I’ll make you scream for joy. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

I didn’t notice that he was using the word ‘next time’ because it’s such an absurd thing to be angry about.

“Why are you doing this?” 

Barely holding back the swearing that would come after, I brought up the words he had said before.

“This is the price you say? Do you remember what you said with your mouth back then? You said you’d do anything I wanted. But does this look like what I want?”

“No.”

He answered easily and showed that bright smile of courtesy. 

“It’s what I want.”

“You…”

“And let me tell you in advance, it’s better not to brag about your memory in front of me. I said I would give you what you want in return, but I definitely put conditions on it.”

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“It was good though. It’s been a long time since you’ve done it, so the color is dark. If I didn’t catch you, your legs would loosen and you would fall to the floor. Well, seeing you trembling in my arms, I was unbearably horny.”

“Fuck, stop talking.” 

Unable to contain my anger, I began to swear violently, and the guy curved his eyes into half moons and let out a cold voice.

“Your rebellion is cute, but draw a line on your own before you get stepped on.”

His non-smiling eyes froze my insides with an eerie look that was different from that of Chairman Kim.

“My tastes are not limited, so I can enjoy it enough even if you bleed and cry. Of course, bleeding not as in I’m fucking you and tearing you like a rag underneath. I’ll kill you and do it to your body, and I’ll gasp with excitement.” 

He waited, as if to give me time to understand, then confirmed in a dry voice.

“Now, will you not be dissatisfied with the price I pay? I treat you with so much affection.”

“… So do you want me to say thank you?”

He let out a short laugh, then softened his smile. 

“No, the current level of rebellion is fine. It’s fun. You say you don’t care about other people, but you seem to only react to me. I like it.”

In an instant, coolness spread like a mist from within. I couldn’t do the denial that should have come out right away because he found out about the anxiety I was feeling. Even I didn’t understand. Why was I so agitated and showing emotions only to him? Damn… Maybe he read my heart, he tilted his head to the side and looked at me with strange eyes.

“Speaking of, strangely, I get more and more annoyed that you hate Song Myeongshin and want to get revenge. I wonder why?”

There was only one answer for the guy who tilted his head inappropriately. Because you’re fucking insane. So you’re saying you want to get rid of all my hatred towards Myeongshin? 

“You’re crazy.”

I gave him a more accurate diagnosis than the doctor, but he looked down and thought to himself, as if he couldn’t hear me. As I was about to say it a little louder, he mumbled something to himself.

“…Yeah, I can just get rid of the annoying things quickly.”

He smiled and looked back at me as if he had come to an easy conclusion. 

“I’m going to sleep for an hour from now on.”

I wanted to get out, and I was about to get up without hesitation, but he immediately continued.

“Go to sleep.”

“No thanks.” 

As soon as I coldly refused, he smiled softly as if to reassure me.

“I won’t touch you. I’ll hold you, though. If you’re so scared, that makes me want to touch you more and more.”

It was a sharp gaze he used to subdue others. However, I was even skeptical about whether the life I was living was a lie. So, I wanted to spit out as sarcasm as possible, so I unwittingly blurted out what I had heard from the manager before.

“If you need something to hold, go to the Amazon and roll around with the biggest snake. It will feel good since he will wrap around you too.” 

Then the guy narrowed his eyes and raised one corner of his mouth.

“It’s surprising. You know about anacondas.”

The snake’s name is Anaconda. I got up from my seat, saving that in my head, and he grabbed me.

“Then do you know where the Amazon is?” 

As I was about to stand up halfway, I looked back at him with squinting eyes.

“So what if I know where the country called Amazon is?”

“…”

I got up completely from my seat, leaving the guy who seemed stiff for some reason, and a sudden sound struck me. 

“Keukeukeu~”

Is this madman laughing now? I couldn’t imagine him laughing with joy, so I looked at him with a curious look. But really, he was bending over, shedding tears, and laughing breathlessly. Didn’t Alice’s boss tell me something about that? He always had a fake smile except when he was a kid. What the hell, he’s laughing well.

“Hey you…”

He barely caught his breath and looked up at me with eyes still full of laughter. 

“Damn, why are you so cute?”

I heard enough nonsense, and turned around without hesitation. The best thing I did that day was slamming the door and ignoring the question ‘Are you going to sleep?’ from behind.

———

It was still early in the morning, and the lobby of the hotel was quiet, so the sound of my footsteps reverberated inside. 

Tap, tap.

As I was halfway across the smooth marble floor, another sound stopped me.

“Oh? Lee Taemin?”

When I turned my head to the familiar voice, PD Jung looked at me with surprised eyes. He was just approaching me at the entrance to the cafe on one side of the hotel lobby. 

“Didn’t you go to sleep with the other team? What are you doing here?”

“I had some business. What about you?”

“Oh, I also had some business. To meet someone.”

Seeing the bitter smile on his face, I immediately knew who he was going to meet. It’s Director Yoon, who apparently financed the project. I thought about the guy who was sleeping above. He said he was going to sleep for an hour, but was he deliberately making PD Jung wait? I was skeptical, but PD Jung explained it to me. 

“Do you have time now? I have something else to talk about. I was about to come an hour and a half earlier than my appointment time because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get up.”

I nodded and followed him into the cafe. At his table, besides a coffee cup, scripts, notebooks, and pens were scattered all over the place. However, the thing that stood out the most was the ashtray with several butts already visible.

“Taemin, what are you drinking?”

When the serving employee presented the menu, PD Jung quickly removed the script and made a seat on the table. I glanced at the prices that were twice as expensive as other places and noticed that PD Jung’s drink was the cheapest coffee. PD Jung smiled awkwardly, perhaps noticing my gaze. 

“I’m trying to get awake. Oh, Taemin, you didn’t have breakfast, did you? Whatever you eat…”

“You didn’t eat too, did you?”

“Hm? Ah… I’m fine with just coffee.”

I looked up at the waiter and pointed to the most expensive breakfast set on the menu. 

“Bring me two of these. And the bill goes to room 1208.”

When the waiter said ‘pardon?’, I said my name and told him to call now to check. After he left, I pointed up and briefly explained to PD Jung, who was raising his eyes.

“I have some money owed.”

Only then did he understand with an ‘Ah~’. And while we were having a short conversation, an employee came up to me and informed me that it had been confirmed. As the waiter greeted us and went back, something came to my mind and I called him again. 

“Give me two of the most expensive ice creams here.”

As I decided to take away the cake as well, I heard PD Jung’s muttering.

“Ah, I thought Taemin also came to meet Director Yoon, but it seems like you didn’t.”

When I opened my eyes, he smiled awkwardly again. 

“Actually, the person I came to meet is Director Yoon from Dream. So I wondered if Taemin had come to meet him because you are from the same company, but since you said the person owed some money, it may not be Director Yoon.”

I didn’t think it was necessary to inform him, so I changed the topic.

“You have something to tell me.”

PD Jung said, ‘That’s right,’ and grabbed the pen and pulled out the notebook. Then with his left hand he swung over the tattered scenario. 

“As you know, the scene where XX appears in the future has to be changed to Taemin’s role, so I’m editing the script.”

There were several dog ears in the script that he had marked in advance where he would change things. He stopped the hand he was turning at the fold and raised his eyes.

“It’s not that the content has changed, it’s just that the lines are modified to fit the changed character, so there’s no big problem.”

That wouldn’t be a problem from his point of view, but honestly, I was a little surprised. That meant my scenes would suddenly expand. Perhaps because I was looking at him with no expression, he quickly spoke. 

“And you know, you aren’t good at acting, right?”

He glanced up at me as if to confirm. I nodded his head slightly, indicating no objection, and he added with a smile.

“However, Taemin is a person who will not be nervous even in front of the camera right now, so the only actor I could use at that time was you. So I don’t need you to have great acting skills. Still, it has to look natural enough not to break the flow of the play… The way to do it is to reflect Taemin’s real appearance in the role to some extent.”

When he asked with his eyes if I understood, I said yes. What I mainly learned in acting class was analyzing the characters and becoming a different person. Of course, as a beginner, it took me a long time to study my character. But right now, PD Jung didn’t have time to wait for me. So the way was to express myself as he said. But, would that work? The doubts disappeared at PD Jung’s following words. 

“Fortunately, Taemin actually feels very dry, so I think you’re very lucky. So, among the lines I want to change, I hope Taemin can read it and tell me which one is more comfortable.”

He held out a notebook with a changed script, stating the ultimate purpose for asking me here. Afterwards, we ate the ordered meal and edited the lines together until it was PD Jung’s appointment time. Surprisingly, it was not as boring as I thought, but on the contrary, rather fun, so when PD Jung stopped working, I looked up at him with a questioning eye.

“Let’s continue next time. Now it is time for Director Yoon to come down.”

Then I looked at the clock and realized that an hour had passed. Already? I tilted my head in surprise and helped him arrange the seats. Then I added casually. 

“When you meet Director Yoon, ask for more production costs.”

When he remembered the situation where he had to stuff himself with kimbap because he didn’t have enough money to buy a proper meal, PD Jung shed a bitter smile.

“When I first got the application, I promised that I would make it within the budget, so it’s difficult to get more.”

Why would you make such a useless promise? When I remembered to buy the cake and spend that guy’s money, he asked with a surprising tone. 

“But were you worried about me?”

“No, not really.”

He stopped his hand and raised his eyes. I handed him the last script and opened my mouth to elaborate.

“Look excited. You look so excited to be making a movie. So I’m not worried.” 

He looked at me quietly and slowly opened his mouth and smiled.

“Right. It’s a film in which I’m making only what I want to make without anyone’s interference, so it’s really exciting even if I encounter problems every day.”

But the smile soon turned into disappointment.

“After this, I won’t be able to shoot a movie for a while.” 

Even if he said that, he didn’t look sad, so I questioned easily.

“Are you going to do something else?”

“Ah… that’s a bit…”

He had an ambiguous expression on his face as if he was about to laugh, then suddenly called my name. 

“Taemin.”

“Yes.”

“You can never really know what will happen to people. Right? In the past, I was treated like a king by the agency presidents and filmed several dramas, but now even the actor who cried saying he will not forget my grace always turns off his phone when I call. A good personality, which was known for not getting angry and coaxing top stars, is being criticized as merely evidence of incompetence.”

Contrary to the content, there was a relaxed smile on his face. 

“So when the opportunity comes, Taemin should seize it well.”

Opportunity; was he referring to this role with increased screen time now? As I nodded, a smile appeared in his eyes.

“If it wasn’t for this movie, if the production cost of the movie didn’t go up like this, I would never cast Taemin. You’re a beginner, acting skills aren’t good, and looks aren’t great either. But, that’s how we got to know each other.”

I didn’t understand what he was trying to say, but I couldn’t stop his small words that sounded like a quiet mumble. 

“So show me. That you’re an amateur, but the acting that you can do can still be useful. No, at least do it so well to give one chills and make them want to use you again. okay?”

After that, I nodded my head several times, and then he sent me to go. I glanced up at the 12th floor as I left the hotel with a box of cake in both hands. I will have to accept the price even if I don’t want to? Fine, it’s dirty, but I’ll take the unwanted price. The price you wanted. So now, shall we look forward to it? Revenge was coming more clearly.