Payback

What was on the second floor? I climbed the stairs, stopped at the end of the hallway, and looked around the short hallway. But the madman didn’t seem to be anywhere among the signs of hospitals and some architectural offices, xx accounting, etc. I squinted my eyes at the interior, which still faintly smelled of paint, perhaps it was a new building, and then stepped out into the hallway to take a closer look. 

Tap, tap.

My footsteps echoed particularly loudly in the empty hallway. I must have come about one third of the hallway, looking ahead, looking for the place to be with my eyes, and suddenly a strong force pulled me from the side.

Shit, what…

Before I could even spit out a swear word, a loud noise resonated in my ears. 

Bang!!!!

It was thanks to the shock I felt on my body that I realized that it was an iron door closed with a loud noise.

Thud!

My back slammed against the iron door that was closed so tightly that I almost screamed at the force pushing me. But the scream didn’t come out either. It was because my mouth was blocked from screaming.

“Mhmph!”

A person whose face I could not even see properly pushed me against the closed door and started kissing me. Instinctively, I tried to push his shoulder and let out a yell that could not come out of his neck. However, I couldn’t get my mind off the kiss that bit and sucked my lips, so I couldn’t tell where my hand was. A hot tongue entered my mouth in surprise and mercilessly stirred the inside.

I couldn’t think of anything out of bewilderment. The only thing that controlled my behavior was the fact that I was pressed between the door and the body pushing against, and the fact that I couldn’t breathe because of the arm that wrapped around my waist as if it would break. It was familiarity that barely moved my dazed mind without even being able to resist. Taller than me and weight, strength, and smell. The body that pressed me down and kissed me was someone I knew from experience. Well, there was only one other guy who acted like this to me as if he’s in heat.

As soon as I barely realized the other party and stopped struggling to get away from him, the pressure he had been suppressing by force diminished. As the pressure on me decreased enough to make breathing easier, the tension in my body, which had been hardened like a piece of wood, was released. Then his arm pulled my flexible waist closer. 

Slurp.

Already covered with saliva, the slippery lips made a light sound. It still sucked my lips and tongue with great force, but I no longer felt suffocated. The kiss, which had slowed down, brought my breathing back to normal. His hand, which had been painfully gripping my back, moved slowly and caressed my waist.

Now I knew for sure what was going on, but I was still half-startled. Just because I knew who the other person was, I didn’t welcome the kiss. So I should have struggled more, but I couldn’t turn my head away. What is this bastard doing, the mouth that should have shouted that out loud passively followed the movement of the other. Now, I was able to escape because I was not being held with as much pressure as before, but the heat of the soft flesh moving on the lips that touched my tongue attracted me.

I didn’t know. Was it because the repeated contact made my head dizzy again? What was certain was that I didn’t hate it. Let’s be honest. It felt good. From the chest, the heat gradually spread into the body, and the dizziness went down back. My hand, which had been pushing his shoulder away, took hold of his shoulder so as not to fall. And at some point, a small breath escaped from my mouth without me knowing. 

“… Ha.”

The sound was barely audible. It was almost a hot breath, but suddenly everything stopped. My lips, which were kissed slowly and strongly for what seemed like a long time, fell apart. Instead of warmth, the coolness of the air touched my wet lips. As I opened my eyes as I felt the opponent raising my head slowly, I met the eyes looking down from above.

“…”

“…” 

Even though we were more distant from the moment we kissed, it was strangely more difficult for me to breathe. My lips were not even blocked anymore, but I felt like I would get caught breathing rough if I exhaled. Fortunately, the tension gradually brought my head back to normal. Then I remembered what I was going to say.

What are you doing all of a sudden?

The words I had to ask came up late on my tongue, and the other person moved first.

Tap. 

The guy who took a step back on the hard tile looked down at me expressionlessly. It was only then that I caught my eye that this was a bathroom, but I couldn’t afford to look around the inside. He raised his hand to my neck and grabbed the collar of my shirt. What are you trying to do? While I was being doubtful, he began to straighten the flipped collar of the shirt. As if a parent was picking up a child’s clothes, he unfolded the collar and cleaned the wrinkled clothes with the palm of his hand. Then he took a step back and opened his mouth.

“Go.”

… What? I was startled, and half of his name came out of my mouth without realizing it.

“Hey, you mad…” 

Click, click.

At that moment, when I heard the sound of the iron door vibrating on my back, I was taken by surprise. When I turned my head, the handle shook. And a man’s voice came from outside the door.

‘Uh? It’s locked here?’

I looked down at the rattling knob and his hand reached out and unlocked the knob. 

Click.

When the door opened with a sound, I automatically stepped aside. On the contrary, as he headed towards the door, I heard a faint whisper.

“P mjc kjla akb wbgf vjsr klat atlr.”

Qtja vlv atja wfjc? P aegcfv jgbecv klatbea ecvfgrajcvlcu, yea atf mbbi bearlvf jlg kjr atf olgra ab tla wf atgbeut atf oeiis bqfc vbbg. Ccv P mbeiv tfjg atf nblmf bo atja rbwfbcf, ktb kjr rtjxlcu atf vbbgxcby bearlvf. 

“St? Prc’a atf yjatgbbw ygbxfc? Rb, yea kts vlv sbe ibmx atf vbbg…”

The man who passed by and came inside grumbled looking at me. Then, as if in a hurry, he unbuckled his belt and went into the toilet compartment, then suddenly stopped and looked back at me. I was trying to chase after the madman, but I stopped because of his expression. His eyes widened and pointed out with his hand, asking me in a trembling voice.

“That, that, that person!!! Director Yoon of Dream, right? Right?!”

I looked outside where his hand was pointing and turned my eyes to the man who was talking nonsense. Then he grabbed his pants as if frustrated and approached me.

“Oh, you don’t know? Aren’t you part of Dream?” 

“…”

“Huh? Isn’t that right?”

“Who are you?”

He stiffened for a moment and barely opened his mouth. 

“xxx manager.”

“Who is that?”

The hand that was holding the pants was released, and the heavy belt slid down. His eyes trembled as his eyes changed from astonishment to astonishment, and he let out a trembling voice.

“An actor who’s shooting the movie with you.” 

———

Hyukdae was the manager of the princess. It seemed like he had more to say, but his rumbling stomach seemed to be more urgent, so he shouted ‘W- Wait!’ and went into the toilet compartment. Of course I left him and went back to the filming location across the street. I didn’t even have anything to talk about with him, especially when it came to the madman. However, PD Jung still was not present yet, so it was time to hear the manager and Hansoo’s cursing at the madman at the chaotic filming site.

“Taemin-ah, no matter how much I think about it, shouldn’t we invest some money to buy an encyclopedia? Damn madman! I think we need to invest this much to fight him, the incarnation of evil.”

“Right. In order to win a victory against the madman a hundred times, there is nothing other than an encyclopedia…” 

The two, obsessed with cursing the madman, were planning to spend money on useless things, but Hyukdae suddenly rushed to me at that moment. Next to him was the princess with an annoyed expression.

“Ugh, what’s going on?!”

The princess was angry, but Hyukdae calmed her and stood in front of me.

“You, that was him right?” 

As soon as I looked up at him, he lowered his voice and urged again.

“Right? The person who was in the bathroom with you, isn’t it Director Yoon from your company?”

Before I could open my mouth, it was another person who responded to the word Director Yoon.

“Oh! D- Director Yoon? You mean from Dream?” 

The princess opened her eyes wide in surprise, and the person next to me widened his eyes similarly.

“What!!! D- Director Yoon is here?!”

The eardrum in one ear was almost torn at the manager’s shout, and I had to look back at him with a frown. But before I could say anything, Hyukdae got excited and raised his voice.

“Oh, that’s right. I looked him straight in the eyes. Besides, when I came out, I saw that he was talking to Director Jung at the coffee shop on the first floor.” 

The manager’s eyes gleamed at Hyukdae’s words. He quickly foresaw the situation in an instant.

“Ah! Yes, when PD Jung suddenly went somewhere for an important guest, it was Director Yoon! Wait, the fact that Taemin saw him in the bathroom… Gasp!! Taemin!! You… you…”

Suddenly realizing something, he gasped and grabbed my shoulder. As I twisted my shoulders to shake him off, I heard an emotional question from him.

“Did you do business with Director Yoon?!” 

Excited as if I had just spent the night with the king, he burst out laughing.

“Uhahaha~ You pissed while standing side by side with Director Yoon! What kind of fate is this?!”

It was fate to go to the bathroom with him. But the manager was already excited as if I had been friends with him for a hundred years.

“You peed together and didn’t even talk. Oh, it would be nice to have introduced yourself. Hm? Did you two not talk?” 

“Yes.”

When I answered right away, the manager put on a disappointed expression.

“Why not? You were originally aiming at Director Yoon… Hmmm, anyway, this was such a good opportunity, but you didn’t do anything?”

It’s not that we didn’t do anything, but I didn’t want to say anything. As I remained silent, he nodded his head as if he had suddenly remembered something. 

“Yeah, right. You didn’t know it was Director Yoon.”

However, this opinion was opposed by Hyukdae.

“Huh? Did you really not know? You didn’t say anything? I thought they were pretending to know each other because they were in the same company… Strange, obviously, Director Yoon was smiling as if he was satisfied with something…”

That’s because that jerk was always smiling. But I haven’t had a chance to speak out to tell the truth. Realizing the reality, the manager came to his senses. 

“Gasp! This is not the time, if Director Yoon has come, we have to go and say hello as a duty as employees.”

He beckoned me and Hansoo to stand up.

“Ah, c- can I not go?”

When Hansoo, who was nervous, gulped and asked, the manager answered with a firm voice. 

“It’s someone we don’t see despite being in the same company, so we should make use of this opportunity.”

Then the manager suddenly brushed the dust off his clothes and grabbed Hansoo’s arm and started walking away. Then, Hyukdae, who brought the information, was startled and grabbed the princess and went ahead of us. The manager saw that and started running, saying that he was the one who should greet him first. After consuming unnecessary stamina and competing, he reached his destination, but the much desired Director Yoon was about to get into a car that had just been parked on the road with PD Jung standing next to him, seeing him off.

“I’ll see you when I go to Seoul. You didn’t have to come down on purpose…”

“There was a reason why I came.” 

Before he could even understand his vaguely audible answer, PD Jung recognized the five of us and turned around with a surprised look.

“Hm? Why are you here…”

“Director Yoon!!”

Hyukdae first overtook PD Jung and dragged the panting princess to the front of Director Yoon. 

“Hello. Huff, huff… It’s sudden but it’s such an honor to meet you. We…”

Hyukdae bowed his back 90 degrees and greeted him, but the man looked away. And turned his gaze directly to our group. His gaze reached me after glancing at the manager who was preparing to say hello next and the nervous Hansoo. His lips curved as soon as his eyes met mine, who was dissatisfied with this situation. Meanwhile, it was the manager who immediately responded enthusiastically to his smile.

“Ah! Director Yoon. Haha, do you remember me? I ran into you once in front of the company elevator two months ago…”

As the manager blurted out unconfidently, Director Yoon opened his mouth with a polite smile. 

“Yes, I know.”

While the manager, moved by the fact that he knew him, stumbled, Hyukdae, who had lost his spirit, hurriedly moved in front of Director Yoon’s sight, of course, while pushing the princess forward.

“Ah, Director Yoon, if it’s okay with you, can we talk for a moment? I’m going to introduce you to a celebrity who is very talented and has good looks…”

“Is this the one?” 

As Director Yoon smiled and pointed to the princess, Hyukdae nodded his head until his head almost fell off.

“That’s right. You have good eyes. This child…”

“Introduction as in, you want to be part of my company?”

“That’s exactly right. Oh, you have a really straightforward personality. Haha, I was a little worried because rumors spread that you were a powerful person in this industry, but it seems completely different after meeting you.” 

After that, Hyukdae continuously blabbled, but Director Yoon listened to it with a smile and nodded.

“I see. But I don’t have time right now.”

“Ah! Yes, then when shall we make an appointment for a detailed interview…”

“Let’s do it now.” 

“Yes?”

To the surprise of the two, Director Yoon put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head to the side.

“What’s the point of making an appointment? If you are such a talented person, you can do a short interview here right now.”

“H- Here right now?” 

When Hyukdae and the princess faced each other in bewilderment, Director Yoon nodded his head and rolled his eyes and smiled.

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it.”

“No!”

The princess stepped forward instead of Hyukdae, putting a confident smile on her lips. 

“I’m going to do the interview now. Ask me anything. Even if you ask me to act, I can do it.”

“There is no need for acting.”

He spoke softly and stared at the princess with a smile that wasn’t a smile.

“I just need to know if you have basic common sense that everyone knows. Let’s end with a simple question.” 

The faces of the two people brightened at the same time when he mentioned ‘basic common sense’. Perhaps they thought that Director Yoon liked the princess, they couldn’t hide their smiles and listened to the ‘common sense question’ from Director Yoon. Common sense that everyone knows.

“What is the capital of Lithuania?”

“…”

“…” 

The two’s smiles stiffened. The three of us behind the scenes hardened for other reasons. In the meantime, Director Yoon, who had given the two of them some time, took his hand out of his pocket and took one step to the car.

“You don’t know? You’re not qualified if you don’t even know that kind of thing.”

Hyukdae, who belatedly came to his senses, was startled and opened his mouth.

“Ah… ha… ha, but such a nonsensical question… what on earth does that have to do with celebrities…” 

“It doesn’t matter. Didn’t I just say it was basic common sense?”

And when he took one more step, Hyukdae countered again.

“But who would know the answer to that?”

At the same time, the tip of Director Yoon’s lips curled up and he looked down at Hyukdae with cold eyes. 

“Who?”

When asked, he turned his gaze to me.

“Answer me. What is the capital of Lithuania?”

As I looked into his eyes, I was convinced. He only had a smile in his eyes when he turned to me. I frowned and opened my mouth unwillingly, wondering if I was being teased. 

“… Vilnius.”

When I answered slowly, he turned his eyes to Hyukdae again.

“Now that you know, take that piece of common sense and leave quickly.”

He spat out kindly, opened the car door and glanced at us. The manager and Hansoo, who were frozen as much as Hyukdae and the princess, were startled, but his gaze stayed on me. 

“… See you in Seoul.”

Slam.

With the sound of the car door closing, the car disappeared from sight. However, after the shock of the common sense question, no one was able to move easily. Until I heard the manager’s muttering after a while.

“Oh my god… I’m so grateful to the madman…”