/
The sharp sound of a ring cut through the calm air. The man closed his eyes and swallowed a curse. The ringing, which was supposed to only ring a few times, continued insistently.
In the end, Lee Wooyeon got up and found his cell phone among the clothes scattered on the floor. The moment he saw the name CEO Kim on the screen, he turned off the power without hesitation and threw the phone to the floor.
“Who…”
Inseop opened his eyes and asked. Lee Wooyeon replied, “It’s a spam call,” and then hugged Inseop in his arms again and laid down.
Shortly thereafter, another cell phone rang. Inseop recognized his phone ringtone and tried to get up.
“It’s a spam call, don’t answer it.”
“I’ll have to check who it is though…”
“There’s no way the bastard calling at a time like this has the right business.”
Lee Wooyeon glanced at the wall clock and replied. It was 7 o’clock in the morning. The ring was cut off.
“Go to sleep again.
They had sex until dawn. Lee Wooyeon hugged Inseop and patted him on the back. Inseop’s breathing quieted down again. But the tranquility did not last long.
The phone started ringing frantically again. Lee Wooyeon said fuck it and got up. He got up from the bed and looked for the ringing phone.
Choi Inseop barely opened his sleepy eyes, and when he noticed Lee Wooyeon picking up his jacket, he got up.
“I-I-!”
Before Lee Wooyeon could put his hand inside the jacket, Inseop threw himself. However, in the aftermath of yesterday’s work, he couldn’t walk properly and ended up getting stuck under the bed.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay. I’ll…”
Inseop quickly wrapped the sheet around himself and stood up, snatching the jacket from Lee Wooyeon’s hand. As he rummaged through his pockets, as expected, he felt the note he received yesterday.
“Have you hidden any gold?”
Lee Wooyeon smiled and asked. Inseop calmly found his cell phone in the pocket on the other side and took it out.
“Ah, no… It’s CEP.”
Choi Inseop checked the name on the screen and muttered.
“Don’t pick it up.” Lee Wooyeon replied refreshingly.
‘I’m ten years older because of him. Before I met him, people thought I was in my early thirties, no, in my late twenties, let alone my forties.’
It was as if he could hear the voice of CEO Kim, who was earnestly expressing his pride and Lee Wooyeon’s gossip. The ringing that had been cut off started to ring again.
“I guess I should pick up.”
Inseop looked down at the screen with a worried expression. There was no phone call from CEO Kim during this time. He thought that the first call to Lee Wooyeon might be from CEO Kim. It was clear what had happened.
“I will take it.”
The moment Inseop said that, Lee Wooyeon arbitrarily answered the call on the speaker phone. The timid Inseop froze.
<… Lee Woo-yeon? Why are you answering? Isn’t this Inseop’s phone?>
CEO Kim over the phone was clearly confused. Inseop’s face was pale like he was sick. He didn’t know what to say, so he just moved his lips.
“Inseop stopped by because he had some business to do. We just finished.”
Inseop looked at Lee Wooyeon with a look of admiration, who did not blink an eye, but changed his mind, thinking that this was not a believable lie.
After all It was 7 o’clock in the morning. On a day when there were no schedules, who would believe him if he said he had work to do at a time like this.
<Ah…. Well, I was going to send him to wake you up anyway… but fortunately.>
Unexpectedly, however, CEO Kim was quickly convinced. Inseop sighed thinking that he was very lucky. And Lee Wooyeon from the side watched him with a smile on his eyes.
“What are you calling? At this hour.”
Lee Wooyeon asked. It was a friendly tone, but there were thorns in it.
<Uh, that’s…>
CEO Kim blurted out his words in a hesitant manner.
“Since you called at this hour, it must be something important. Isn’t it?”
Just try saying no. It was not difficult to guess the omitted word.
A sigh came from CEO Kim over the phone. Choi Inseop beckoned Lee Wooyeon to hand over the phone.
“What happened, CEO?”
Choi Inseop asked as calmly as possible. When talking about work, he had to deal with it in an adult and cool way.
<Lee Wooyeon seems to have a scandal.>
“…!”
“Oh my gosh.”
Lee Wooyeon snatched the cell phone from Inseop’s hand.
“I beg your pardon?”
Lee Wooyeon asked calmly as if it was not his business.
<It sounds like there will be a scandal… The article will be published tomorrow morning. >
“Oh, really?”
Lee Wooyeon replied, rubbing Inseop’s frozen cheek with the back of his hand. Panicked at the word scandal, Inseop shook his hands.
Where was the photo taken? He told him to be careful. What should they do? What should he do if Lee Wooyeon’s life as an actor is ruined because of him?
Inseop blinked his big eyes and looked up at Lee Wooyeon, as if he had finally come to his senses. Tears welled up in the black eyes.
Lee Wooyeon said, “It’s okay,” and continued the conversation, soothing Inseop.
“So what?”
<… Are you okay?
“Is there a scandal that lasts more than a day or two? No one reads articles with only initials.”
<They’re going with real names, not initials. And the other person…>
Inseop started to tremble like an aspen tree.
Cute. Lee Wooyeon hugged Inseop tightly and laughed, saying, “If I do well with this, I can tie Inseop down for the rest of my life.”
<… Because it’s Chae Yeonseo.>
“Hahahaha.”
Lee Wooyeon shook his head and laughed. In his arms, Inseop raised his head with a more relieved expression when he was told that he was not the one with whom he had a scandal.
“Why am I having a scandal with her?”
Openly dissatisfied with Inseop’s reassurance, Lee Wooyeon deliberately hugged Inseop tightly and asked.
<That’s right. Ha, why all of a sudden. Chae Yeonseo also has no luck… Anyway, that’s what happened.>
Lee Woo-yeon clicked his tongue, saying, “It’s not me.”
Chae Yeonseo, famous for her lovely appearance and innocent atmosphere, was a top actress who wrote an invincible myth in the advertising world for ten years. It would not be an exaggeration to say that she, a former child actress, is loved by the people for her outstanding acting skills and clean personal life.
“She’s dating Lee Cheolhwan.
Inseop’s eyes flashed with astonishment. If his memory was not wrong, Lee Cheolhwan was the name of the head of the drama division of Company N. He was a star PD whose success was so great that it would be impossible to count only the successful programs, and he was chosen as a strong candidate for the next CEO of Company N. Adding to the background of being the youngest son of the president of a certain media company, his influence in the broadcasting industry was unmatched.
“Chief Lee, obviously…”
Inseop muttered with a blank face.
<A married man. okay. That’s the problem.>
Director Lee Cheolhwan was famous for his flawless integrity and competent image. There was even a saying that even if only producers who respected him lined up, they would stay around the station. The moment you think you know everything about the entertainment industry, a world you don’t know opens up… Well, the most representative person was right in front of him.
Inseop looked up at Lee Wooyeon and swallowed the bitter taste.
“You know everyone you need to know.”
<Knowing everything and being published in the article are two completely different matters.>
It seemed that a picture was taken that could not be taken out. Either way, Lee Wooyeon was very annoyed with CEO Kim, who had woken them up from a sweet morning sleep over or something like that.
“What’s the big deal about that? Calling me at this hour. If you refute that, that’s all. The CEO should publish the article on his own.”
Saying that, Lee Wooyeon tried to hang up the phone.
<… It’s a problem because you can’t respond.>
If it wasn’t for CEO Kim’s creeping words.
“Why can’t I refute?”
Lee Wooyeon’s voice lowered.
<Well, you couldn’t appear in N company’s drama because of that last time.>
Inseop recalled that Lee Wooyeon had a car accident on purpose to come see him. Kang Youngmo’s accident and the incident were intertwined, so the drama filming was completely canceled. However, it was the first time he had heard that company N banned him from appearing in a drama because of that.
When Inseop opened his eyes wide, Lee Wooyeon clicked his tongue.
“It’s not that it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t fit.”
<Hey, to be honest, we didn’t make an official announcement, but you’re banned. Because of that incident, I, ha… fine. What’s the point of talking about the past?”
“So, why are you talking about the past? Annoying.”
Lee Wooyeon frowned at the restless Inseop.
<Anyway, since the current situation is over there, I decided to help you.>
“Wow. So fuck, They can’t handle it, so they’re going to make a story with innocent me, right? With an appearance in a drama as bait?”
Lee Wooyeon laughed with a face as sweet as cotton candy and spat out poisonous words.
<… uh.>
CEO Kim briefly affirmed. Inseop looked at Lee Wooyeon with a nervous feeling.
“Our CEO intends to put me in that fucking scandal and sell me out coldly.”
<Hey! No! That’s unfair! I just got a call too. Since this is urgent, I decided to write an article like this. As soon as I got the call, I called you… You didn’t answer, but Inseop answered the phone.>
“I couldn’t even get a good sleep, and I’ve not eaten well last night, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear about this.”
<Hey! Even if you say something like that… Ha, Lee Wooyeon. Think carefully. It’s not even a bad suggestion.>
“That’s not a bad suggestion. Why bury such a bastard in my clean life?“
<It’s so clean .. Hahaha, no, I mean, as you said, a scandal can happen for just a day or two.>
The bad news that followed the perfect actor Lee Wooyeon was related to women.
<Just pretend to know each other for a couple of months and then break up due to personality differences.>
“If you hang out with an actor from a movie or drama like him, you’ll see each other. I ask you to choose someone else”
<Will it be anyone?>
A bigger scoop was needed to cover an article like that. It was difficult to find an actor of that level in Korea. It was clear that this decision was made after careful consideration. These transactions were not uncommon.
Shortly after starting work, Manager Cha called Inseop over and said this. There were many things in the entertainment industry that were not understood by the common sense of ordinary people, so there was no need to try to understand them.
…Still, he doesn’t know.
Choi Inseop gently bit his lower lip.
“CEO”
Lee Wooyeon’s voice was low. Not only CEO Kim, but also Inseop, who was next to him, got nervous for a moment and straightened his body.
<Why do you call me that again?>
“Do you know why I chose JN Entertainment?”
<Why is it?>
Lee Wooyeon asked CEO Kim, who often complained bitterly to manager Cha, enraged, asking why he ignored so many entertainment companies and crawled into their company to fight for four months.
“It’s a company that doesn’t let you do things you don’t like. I respected the CEO’s beliefs in his own way.”
It was a lie. When he came to Korea and came to Cheongdam-dong, the first building that caught his eye was JN Entertainment. It started with an impure intention to upset his parents. He couldn’t have chosen a company with such lofty intentions.
A heavy silence fell over the phone. Although it was a scandalous transaction, as Lee Wooyeon said, this was also entertainment in a broad sense.
<Yes. You don’t have to do it if you don’t feel like it.>
In the industry, hosting and lobbying were common. Kim Hakseung, who watched such things with disgust while working as a model, vowed that he would never let anyone do such a thing if he became the company’s representative. It was also a belief that he had kept unswayed by temptation until now.
<Anyway, to hear that you chose our company and respected me for that reason, I’m touched…>
“Hello? The phone connection is not good.”
After saying that, Lee Wooyeon hung up the phone without hesitation. He turned off the phone by pressing the power button.
Lee Wooyeon threw his cell phone away and laid down on the bed.
“What are you doing there?”
Lee Wooyeon patted on the side to tell Inseop to lie down next to him.
“Are you all right?”
Inseop asked carefully.
“What?”
“Anyway, if the article goes up … Heuk.”
Lee Wooyeon grabbed Inseop’s wrist and hugged him. He put Inseop on top of him and put strength on his arm.
“Let’s get some more.”
“Mr. Lee Wooyeon…”
“Stop calling me Mr Lee Wooyeon. Was it not enough to call me that the whole day yesterday?
Blood rushed to Inseop’s face at the meaningful words.
“Sleep. I’m sleepy too.”
Lee Wooyeon patted Inseop on the back and closed his eyes.
Was he okay with the scandals? What happened to the ban on appearing in Company N? … What was he going to do next?
There were a lot of things he wanted to ask, but Lee Wooyeon’s face with his eyes closed was so calm that he couldn’t say a single word.
Inseop slowly closed his eyes.