Payback

When I washed up in the other bathroom at his house and came out wearing only pants, he was already sitting on the sofa in the living room. Looking at something, he asked without raising his head. 

“Are you hungry?”

Instead of answering, I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 7:20 in the morning. It’s not like I slept a lot. But somehow it felt like a good night’s sleep. I soon realized that these thoughts were unpleasant and erased them from my mind. I slept next to the madman, what’s refreshing. Besides, as soon as I woke up, I lost my energy.

“Are you not going to work?”

I sat down next to him and leaned my wet head against the back of the sofa. As I closed my eyes for a moment, his fingertips touched my face. Startled, when I opened my eyes, he brushed my cheek and touched my wet hair. 

“Do you want me to dry it?”

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“I asked first. Are you hungry?”

Only then did I realize that I had ignored his question first, but feeling like I had lost something, I didn’t answer right away. Instead, I turned my head to the side and murmured, avoiding his hand.

“Not really.”

“Eat anyway. We can go out together to eat and then go to work.”

He looked at his watch and made plans at his will, then suddenly added forcefully.

“I’m not taking the subway.” 

“Why? Are you afraid the first train on the subway isn’t running at this time?”

The corners of his mouth went up. Even though I was already familiar with the smiling face, it kept catching my eyes.

“No. If I can’t stand it on the subway and take off your clothes, I’m afraid you’ll be ashamed.”

On the contrary, it would be more interesting. I can send him to the police station as a pervert. As I tried to respond, the script in his hand caught my eyes. This was what I saw yesterday because Hansoo gave it to me. Noticing my gaze, he also lowered his eyes. 

“Shall I tell you something interesting? Cha Jungwoo was also aiming for the lead of this work that will be dramatized next year. To be precise, he’s one of the few actors who has a good chance of being the lead.”

“Then why did you want to eliminate him?”

I remembered the former manager’s voice from the recordings of Cha Jungwoo. It is clear that he reported that he called ‘Yooni’ and ‘did you buy’, in other words, Director Yoon, while talking about things like ‘Jungwoo’ and ‘broker’. He knew he was being recorded. Exactly what Director Yoon would have ordered. I didn’t understand why he was trying to destroy the company’s large asset easily, but he was giving an answer that was too easy.

“In case he tried to run away.” 

At that moment, the word “run away” overlapped with the word “run away” he said to me in the bedroom, and I was taken aback. But the words that followed had a different meaning.

“I found out that he contacted another agency with only six months left on his contract. Cha Jung woo is a big actor, if the contract period is short, someone else will approach him, so it’s common. But if he actually wants to leave, it’s a problem.”

“…So rather than letting him become someone else’s product, you wanted to destroy him beforehand?”

The voice that came out of my mouth was dry. The anger and absurdity I felt when I first found out he was behind Cha Jungwoo’s issue seemed to have dried up after a day. He nodded his head indifferently to my question. 

“Exactly. If it’s on our side, it’s a product, but if it’s passed on to the other side, it’ll be troublesome trash.”

“…”

“Fortunately, Cha Jungwoo also tried to abandon his manager. So I was able to handle it easily without having to conciliate with the manager.”

Suddenly, I remembered what the road manager had said for the first time. When Cha Jungwoo asked his manager if he was the culprit, he said that he betrayed him first. It was because of this. However, I still didn’t understand. He was not just a mid-level celebrity, Cha Jungwoo is a top star. 

“Isn’t it better to persuade and renew the contract with them than to knock him down? Rather than raising a top star like that again…”

“It’s much more profitable to raise them again.”

Interrupting me, he smiled kindly as if explaining to a child.

“Celebrities are made. Except for a few really special people, we make everything with our own hands. They are just prince and princess dolls that only show their good looks on TV that the public wants. Cha Jungwoo’s a top star? I promise you, I can get you to that position in two years. Because there are dolls scattered all over this industry. But those who don’t know that and only inflate their heads forget their own value. The level of a doll.” 

The word ‘doll’, which refers to an inanimate object, sounded chilling. I realized that in his eyes, the celebrities of the agency do not look like people. No, maybe he considered everyone else subordinates. I suddenly had a sudden curiosity. What did I look like? However, when I thought about it, I thought it was a useless question and erased it.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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“The reason why you broke the scandal this time… are you going to use it as an opportunity to wipe out Myungshin?”

“Well, there’s that too. The timing was right too. I have to set it up before Cha Jungwoo’s summons to the police, so I can throw interesting prey for the reporters.”

Interesting prey… It must be Cha Jungwoo who appears at the police station. 

“For the issue to go on, something has to explode at least every 2-3 days. Only then will Cha Jungwoo tremble like a dog. However, I didn’t expect Song Myungshin to be completely wiped out by this incident.”

Then he murmured softly, ‘Well, I can still cut off a twig.’ I wanted to ask what that meant, but another question popped up instead. Was he saying that Song Myungshin is more difficult when Cha Jungwoo is also taken down at once?

“Because Chairman Kim is behind Myungshin?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about him.” 

“…”

“Why are you laughing?”

Did I laugh? That’s probably…

“Because it sounds like you care about me. A lot for a guy whose main purpose is fucking me.” 

Afterwards, I thought he would give an absurd reply like the usual madman, but he remained silent. Then he suddenly got up from his seat, and turned around, leaving a short comment.

“Prepare to go out.”

What? That’s it? It wasn’t until he slammed the door shut and disappeared into the room that I realized I had won my first argument. However, I wasn’t happy at all. No, it felt rather dirty. My heart was beating needlessly again at his reaction of not refuting me.

I ate too much in the morning. 

I focused on breathing while watching the scenery passing by as I tried to soothe the burden on my stomach in a luxury car that drove smoothly. It was all because of the madman. At the breakfast buffet at the hotel, he saw how much I ate and laughed and provoked me , so I ended up eating several plates. Actually, he didn’t eat properly because he was talking on the phone with someone throughout the meal. The call was in English, so I couldn’t understand the content, but I could feel that he was angry with the other person, probably because he didn’t get what he wanted. He said that he was waiting for a call from the US because he came late the day before. Did that not go well?

After hanging up the phone, the guy just drove without saying a word the whole time he was on his way to work. It wasn’t that the car was quiet. I don’t know what kind of singer it was, but one person’s song was constantly playing on the audio. Seeing that a familiar pop song came up in the middle, it was probably a famous singer. I was the first to speak when the car stopped at a traffic light before reaching the company.

“Stop over there for me.”

“Why?” 

Are you asking because you don’t know? Stunned, I looked back at him and he glanced away.

“If someone catches me, rumors are scary, the crowded streets are more dangerous.”

When the signal changed, he started the car.

“Right, the company’s underground parking lot must be very safe.” 

“What does it matter? If someone from work sees you, they’ll think I gave you a ride on the way, but if they see you getting off near the office, they’ll be suspicious. What’s the point of hiding it?”

When he said it, I thought it was probably true. I just shouldn’t have taken this car in the first place. I had a small regret, but he suddenly turned up the audio volume. Since one song had just finished and a new one had begun, I was curious and asked.

“Do you like this song?”

“No.” 

The answer was so resolute that my mind that asked lightly was belatedly filled with curiosity. His expression contributed to my curiosity. As soon as the song started, I twitched my lips thinking about what to do and smiled. Then he suddenly asked something out of the blue.

“Have you read everything yet?”

I nodded my head knowing that he was pointing to the screenplay I had placed on my lap.

“I have some left.” 

“Look at everything and look at the original.”

“…”

“That drama is a big company project, so there are many actors aiming for it.”

It was a big project, but strangely, I felt indifference as it was someone else’s business. Why? As I wondered, I heard his additional words. 

“Especially Song Myungshin.”

Then, as if he remembered something, he looked at me with a smile.

“Of course you’re after it, too.”

The words that came out easily from his mouth made a chill run down me. 

“… I never said anything like that.”

“Not directly. However, when you said that you would approach ‘Director Yoon’ in the first place, it means practically the same thing. It’s Director Yoon’, not someone else. According to common sense, isn’t Song Myungshin’s sponsor the first person you should approach to get revenge on him? You can just snatch him away. However, the fact that you separately pointed out ‘Director Yoon’, you must have known that Song Myungshin was trying to approach me. Only because of the drama.”

This is why people with good brains are uncomfortable. I didn’t have anything to deny, so I turned my eyes to the front, but he said the same thing again.

“Make sure to look at the original.” 

Then he added a cold laugh as if he were talking to himself.

“Those who know a lot and prepare always win.”

***

Before going up to the small conference room where I always meet with the manager, the madman greeted me strangely, saying, ‘See you in 10 minutes.’ When I opened the door of the conference room, wondering what exactly would happen 10 minutes later, the restless manager and Hansoo greeted me inside in a loud voice. 

“Taemin!! Why aren’t you answering the phone?!”

“Ugh~ I was so worried because I couldn’t contact you?!”

Phone? It was only then that I took my phone out of my pocket and realized that it was turned off. I wondered if the battery had run out, so when I pressed the power button, a full battery indicator appeared on the screen along with a bright fire. what? I’ve never turned off the power. At that time, the manager’s whining continued.

“At dawn, the company suddenly called for a meeting in the morning so I called you, but you didn’t answer the phone. So I tried again because I thought you were asleep, but the power was turned off… Taemin, was I bothering you by any chance?!” 

Avoiding the manager who was about to cling to my arm, I thought of another human who would have turned off the power. Damn this jerk. While gritting my teeth, Hansoo clung to my arm on the other side.

“I was really worried because I couldn’t reach you!”

“What’s there to worry about, I just didn’t answer the phone?”

As I shook off Hansoo and refuted as if it was annoying, I soon heard the reason for his concern. 

“Of course I am worried! Director Yoon asked us to gather, but what should we do without Taemin who has the face of an iron plate?”

So that was the subject of concern. And with the iron plate on my face, I resolutely shook off the two who were trying to cling onto me again.

“Is Director Yoon some sort of monster?”

‘Well, he’s certainly a madman’, I muttered to myself, but the manager answered seriously. 

“A monster would be better. Then I can scream and run away.”

Hansoo nodded from the side and added.

“Director Yoon is just fear, fear.”

I looked back and forth between the two with a really incomprehensible face. But he’s a smiling guy on the outside, what’s there to fear? 

“There is nothing to be afraid of. It’s not like he’s specifically targeting and firing us.”

Then, the manager shouted, putting his hand on my shoulder with a slap.

“This idiot! Did you forget the meeting with Director Yoon at xxx city? He is someone who casually asks common sense about the capital of Lithuania!”

“…” 

“Yeah, looking at your expression, it seems like you’ve finally remembered. We barely escaped that crisis thanks to the ‘madman’ back then, but what if he asks about other common sense at the meeting?! We are like wooden chopsticks at a Chinese restaurant rolling around in drawers that don’t matter if they are thrown right away!”

Why do I have to be paired with these people and become wooden chopsticks? Since the madman was Director Yoon, there will surely be something that can be handled if such a question comes out. I wanted to blurt that out, but I held back. If you know that the idiot is the same person as Director Yoon, you might be more terrified.

“… think of Lithuania as just an exception.”

“An exception? Do you think Lithuania’s capital is a matter of common sense?” 

“Yes.”

I nodded and gave an explanation reluctantly to the shocked two.

“It may be common knowledge to Koreans that there is a lake in the shape of the Korean Peninsula in that country.”

“… Eh?” 

“… Huh?”

The two made a silly sound at the same time, proving that they were a pair of wooden chopsticks. Anyway, I don’t have time for such small talk about their fear of Director Yoon.

“So there is no need to be afraid.”

As soon as I pushed hard on the two dazed people, the two of them faced each other and blinked their eyes, saying, “Is that so?” Hansoo said, ‘Ah!’ as if it had worked. 

“Oh, did you hear that rumor? Come to think of it, Director Yoon, maybe he really is a normal person. Well, he said he took the morning commute by train a few days ago!”

Train? Next to the surprised manager, I narrowed my eyes. A rumor as in…

“Moreover, he met a company trainee on the train, my God…”

Hansoo suddenly lowered his voice and narrowed his eyes. 

“As he got off the train, he dropped his stuff in front of Director Yoon. Then, he deliberately waited in the underground parking lot, stuck to him, and just waggled his tail!”

Wait, who the hell is that about? While I was bewildered, the manager burst into anger.

“No, how can there be such a red fox!”

“What’s even more surprising is that he’s a man!” 

“What?! So… a red wolf?! How do you train actors like that? What kind of person is their manager?!”

You.

“Right? It’s also the manager’s fault. The fact that the trainee did that could have been deliberately ordered by the manager. I want to see the face of an actor under such a manager.”

You. 

But this time, the truth didn’t come out. The excited Hansu added new information.

“And the red wolf, oh, I’m amazed… he didn’t just meet Director Yoon in the underground parking lot, and he deliberately approached him when he was with the President and even promoted himself. He must have just put on a show. Wow~ How many iron plates did he put on his face? Isn’t that right, Taemin?”

“…”

As I stared at Hansoo without a word, all I could think of was my gratitude towards the madman who said he didn’t want to take the subway. Even more so, Listening to the next words. 

“Well, anyway, because of that, not only the trainees, but also the new actors have all been on the subway in the morning, making a fuss. Oh my God, did you see the well-known xxx or ooo on the subway this morning?”

“What a spectacle.”

Listening to the manager shaking his head, I asked Hansoo.

“You came by bus, right?” 

At my words, the manager looked back at Hansoo. And looking closely, I realized that Hansoo, unlike usual, had come with his hair neatly arranged in a neat outfit. Startled by our gaze, he averted his eyes and opened his mouth.

“That, it’s just that the bus didn’t come for a long time…”

I thought I should remind him of his boasting that there are six types of buses that go to the company, but I gave up because I was annoyed. I just wanted to end the conversation at this point, but at Hansoo’s excuse, the manager started to comfort me.

“Taemin you don’t have to be upset about that red wolf. After all, don’t you already have an unusual relationship with Director Yoon?” 

Did you know he was the ‘madman’? After looking at me for a moment, he smiled benevolently and patted me on the shoulder.

“You took a piss together with director Yoon, who else would have such a precious connection? Hm?”

The manager, laughing out loud and having fun, forgot his fear of Director Yoon and happily went out the door with Hansoo. I, who stayed behind, couldn’t follow right away because I was a little worried. Should I just go solo?