CH 9

“Sorry.”

“Huh? What?”

“…informally…”

As soon as he got into the car, Lee Wooyeon looked at the manager who apologized, with curiosity.

“I spoke informally first.”

“…Yes.”

“Thanks to you, I survived. I was really in trouble.”

Choi Inseop went inside to observe the difficulties directly from the side, but never tried to save him. However, after paying the card and seeing Lee Wooyeon’s letters on the reader, he had no choice but to follow his instructions.

Call me.

Choi Inseop went out of the store and called as soon as he turned the corner. As he expected, after a while, Lee Wooyeon walked out of the store.

“But how did you know?”

“Yes?”

“That I was in bad shape. You were outside. On the terrace seats.”

“That is…”

Choi Inseop was dizzy. How on earth can he say that he had watched his movies and everything over and over again to find out about him, and that he can recognize his expressions because of the stalker skills he had accumulated over the years?

“Just…The coffee was bitter and I came in to get syrup…”

“By chance?”

“Yes. by chance.”

Choi Inseop raised his head as if he had found a rope to save him. Lee Wooyeon looked at him and gave him a friendly look.

“It’s a lucky coincidence.”

His voice was so sweet , it sounded as gentle as an angel who put a child on his lap and gave him candy. Choi Inseop quickly turned his head.

Lee Wooyeon looked at the manager acting like an adolescent boy with interest.

“Then shall I drive you home?”

Choi Inseop started the engine and asked. Lee Wooyeon, who had been pensive for a moment, tapped his shoulder and asked.

“What are you doing this evening?”

As soon as Lee Wooyeon entered the store, people’s eyes were all on him. He naturally walked to a seat deep inside, guided by the waiter. Choi Inseop, who suddenly had a meal with him,  fell into contemplation and quietly followed him.

After choosing a menu recommended by Lee Wooyeon, Choi Inseop sat quietly, fiddling with a glass of water.

“Mr. Choi Inseop.”

“Yes?”

“How is your job as a manager?”

“…Fine.”

Although the tone was soft, Choi Inseop was nervous and waited for Lee Wooyeon’s next words.

“Are there any difficult parts?”

“No, not at all.”

“Do you like sports? When I looked at your resume, it said that one of your hobbies was soccer.”

“Yeah, just a little… ”

Soccer was a hobby he wrote down on purpose to look ordinary. He broke out in a cold sweat. Why was he doing this? Why? Lee Wooyeon, who was not interested in other people, did not understand why he was paying attention to his resume, and even to such a trivial hobby.

“What motivated you to apply for a manager job?”

“Yes?!?”

Choi Inseop felt like he was gradually falling into a labyrinth. It was because he could not figure out why Lee Wooyeon suddenly brought him to a high-end restaurant and interrogated him. While working next to Lee Wooyeon, he simulated tens of thousands of situations in his head, but he never dared to imagine such a thing.

“Because you are my fan? So, did you change your career path this way?”

Choi Inseop was very hesitant at the tone that seemed to question him somehow.

‘Let’s be calm You have to be calm. He doesn’t know anything yet.’

“I was originally interested in this work. An acquaintance recommended JN Entertainment, so I submitted my resume.”

He slowly told him the motivation to enter the company, which he could memorize by tapping even with his eyes closed.

“Are you going to stay on this side?”

“… Yes, if possible.”

He already knew that Lee Wooyeon changed his manager from time to time. It was information that could be found easily with a little research. The period of observing him next to him as a manager was up to three months. Inseop was quietly going to leave Korea after that.

He had to be careful and quietly stay next to him so that Lee Wooyeon could not remember whether Choi Inseop existed or not.

He thought he would flow like water, seep in like water, and disappear.

“You seem like a good fit for me.”

Lee Wooyeon continued talking while drinking the wine that the waiter poured.

“You adapt well to work, are quick-witted, and are sincere… You’ve got everything one needs to like it.”

“Yes?”

“The representative.”

“Ah, yes…”

Choi Inseop sighed. He thought his heart would sink when he thought that Lee Wooyeon was saying that he liked him as a manager.

He had to keep the middle ground. Be with him for as long as possible, but he has to walk a tightrope as a manager without making any memorable impression. He made up his mind and lifted his head. However, he did not make eye contact with Lee Wooyeon.

“How old are you?”

“…Twenty-six.”

“You look much younger.”

“I hear that a lot.”

Choi Inseop was uncomfortable with this kind of setting. It was the most unwanted of all the simulations he had turned in his head countless times, to have random, personal personal affairs or private conversations.

In fact, Choi Inseop was 24 years old. The 26-year-old Choi Inseop was the one he had paid for. Even though he knew that Lee Wooyeon had said these words without much thought, he felt like his heart would burst. He drank cold water and calmed his heart.

Lee Wooyeon, who had been thinking for a moment, tried to open his mouth, but a waiter came into the room with food. Without a doubt, the food looked expensive.. Choi Inseop picked up a fork, thinking about why Lee Wooyeon would buy such expensive food for him, the manager.

“Mr. Choi Inseop.”

“Yes?”

Without realizing it, he raised his head and met his eyes. Lee Wooyeon was smiling. It was the same face he had seen countless times on the screen and in photos.

“I mean.”

Choi Inseop stared blankly as Lee Wooyeon was elegantly slicing a steak with a knife in one hand. His actions had a charm that drew attention. Drinking water, making gestures, and holding a knife, such detailed actions were beautiful enough to make the other person stop breathing for a moment and look at them.

“Actually, someone told me…”

Lee Wooyeon, who had spoken up to that point, said, muttering.

“What is the problem…”

“No. Please wait.”

Lee Wooyeon called the waiter. To the waiter who asked what the problem was, he asked what the name of the chef who made this dish was. When the waiter, who had been nervous for a while, bowed and answered something, Lee Wooyeon  stood up.

“Wait, excuse me.”

He went out. Choi Inseop, who was left alone, hesitated for a moment and got up. When he opened the door and looked outside, he saw no one in the hallway. He quickly went to Lee Wooyeon’s seat and started looking at the cell phone he had left behind. Unfortunately, the phone was locked. He recalled Lee Wooyeon pressing the password on the front door and quickly put in the four digit number.

After some trial and error, the lock setting was released. Choi Inseop’s hands trembled. Last time he picked up Lee Wooyeon’s cell phone in the car, he couldn’t remember anything about the password, so he decided to give it back to him.

First, let’s look at the call list.

“…Sheesh.”

Looking at the call list, Choi Inseop clicked his tongue low. Lee Wo-yeon’s phone was completely erased, leaving only a list of calls made to him, CEO Kim, manager Cha, and other business calls. So was the phone book. Only the phone number of the person related to work was left, and the name of the same woman could not be found.

He looked through the list of photos just in case.

“… ”

When he looked through the phone, he couldn’t find anything except a few pictures of the flowers that were basically inside. 

“No selfies. Well, since…”

Choi Inseop grumbled and looked around, but couldn’t find any information. He put the phone back in place. He returned to his seat and sat down, but Lee Wooyeon did not return.

“What. where all of a sudden…”

Choi Inseop remembered the moment when he suddenly called the waiter and dipped the steak on Lee Wooyeon’s plate with his finger and tasted it.

“Ugh, heck.”

It was as if the steak was marinated in salt and grilled, he drank water, thinking that it would wash down the saltiness. He rubbed his tongue with his cuff, but still felt a tingling sensation from the intense salty taste. Lee Wo-yeon, who quietly went out to find the chef without grimacing even after eating this, was to the point of respect.

“…fight.”

Choi Inseop quietly went outside with his cell phone in hand. It may be a golden opportunity to get an important scene.

He came out of the hallway and moved cautiously to find Lee Wooyeon. Seeing the waiter who was serving earlier, he asked in a low voice where Lee Wooyeon had gone.

The waiter pointed his hand at the door next to the kitchen and disappeared. It was an emergency exit.

His heart was pounding. Choi Inseop pressed the area near his heart with his palm.

“Slowly. Slowly.”

Every time his heart beat faster, he always mumbled the same thing. Then he felt as if the blood in his body was slowly moving according to their own will. He carefully grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.

At first he could find no one, so he left with disappointment and tried to close the door. It was at that moment that the voice of a whispering little woman was heard.

“…!”

Choi Inseop grabbed the doorknob in his hand and listened to the sound he heard. Behind the woman’s laughter, Lee Wooyeon’s voice was occasionally heard. At the bottom of the stairs, a woman in a white chef outfit and Lee Wooyeon were seen talking face-to-face. Rather than get angry at the chef who fed him the salted steak, he seemed to have decided to have a secret meeting with her.

Choi Inseop stood close to the door and overheard their conversation.

“So, you fed me a salted steak?”

“Yes. You came all the way here and went into the room without saying hello. I never thought that the manager and you would be alone.”

“Sorry. I came with the manager and was going to say hello later.”

“Lie. Didn’t you think of me at all?”

“I did.”

As Lee Wooyeon whispered something in her ear, the woman’s laughter grew louder. Choi In-eop sighed. He knew that Lee Wooyeon’s relationship with women was complicated, so this scene wasn’t that shocking. It wasn’t just one or two shots of scenes with female celebrities as they followed him.

This was not the kind of scene he was looking for.

“… what if though.”

He took a picture of Lee Wooyeon and the female chef standing side by side with a cell phone. It was because he thought that it might be useful someday if he put this together.

Taking a picture, he closed the door as carefully as when he opened it. Choi Inseop, who was walking down the hallway, took a deep breath as he checked the photos on his cell phone.

“This, what are you doing?”

He takes pictures, collects information about Lee Woo-yeon, and does his best not to offend him. Others will think that he is a fan who has risen in status and has become a manager because he genuinely likes Lee Wooyeon.

He hated Lee Wooyeon so much…

He put his cell phone in his pocket and went into the bathroom. He wanted to wash his hands. It wasn’t a big deal, but he washed his hands whenever he felt bad. The faucet was deliberately turned to the blue end. He put his hands under the cold water and lathered the soap. His fingers tingled as if they were about to freeze, but he meticulously lathered his hands and washed it off. When the sensation disappeared and even the feeling of coldness disappeared, he put his swollen red finger to his cheek.

He felt the cool sensation of freshness and the warmth that made his cells tingle at the same time. Each time, he felt he was alive.

His fingertips and cheeks became pale. He looked at himself in the mirror. The freckled, speechless, always frightened young self was staring back at him. It looked at him with a scolding look asking him what the hell he was doing here.

He shook his head and looked in the mirror again. His frightened eyes remained the same, but the boy had grown a lot more than he did then. Even the freckles could not be seen unless he looked closely.

Although he did not get out of his childhood, he is now an adult.  

“You have to be strong. For Jenny.”

When the name Jenny came out of his mouth, his heart throbbed like a habit. In the remaining two months or so, he must somehow dig into Lee Wooyeon’s true identity and obtain evidence. He knew the other side of Lee Wooyeon, not the one that people liked. And he had to let them know. Because he made a promise.

However, there was no evidence to prove Lee Wooyeon’s true identity.

In order to obtain the evidence, he followed him for a while and collected data. Like a stalker, he collected and collected anything about Lee Wooyeon. However, the only downside he could find in him was that he had a problem with women. That was not enough.

Proof that Lee Wooyeon was a rotten human from the very beginning was absolutely necessary. It was his duty to find out and reveal to the world how dirty that man was, and what was hidden behind his friendly face.

For Jenny … It must be for her.

“Let’s see, you bastard… ”

“What are you doing?”

“… !”

Choi Inseop was startled by the sudden voice and turned around. Lee Wooyeon, who suddenly entered the bathroom, came to his side and started washing his hands.

His heart was beating so fast. Could he have heard to what he was saying? Maybe he knew something and entered the bathroom. Was this place prepared today as a ploy by Lee Wooyeon, who actually knew everything?

“Sorry.”

“What?”

“I made you wait. Go and have dinner.”

His expression was the same as usual. He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. He thought it was still fine.

“You don’t have to drive me home today. I’ll go by myself.”

“Yes. All right.”

He naturally understood what Lee Wooyeon’s conversation was with the woman on the stairs. If possible, taking a sex video and uploading it would be one way. It would be impossible even if he died and woke up. … Ah, just thinking about such a scene made him feel guilty.

“Are you not feeling well?”

“Yes?”

“The expression.”

After washing his hands, Lee Wooyeon looked for a handkerchief in his back pocket and pointed to Inseop in the mirror. He realized that he was inadvertently pressing his stomach with his hand and making an impression.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“That’s fortunate. Hmm …Did I leave it?”

Choi Inseop quickly pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out. Lee Wooyeon accepted the handkerchief with a thank-you.

He, who received the wet handkerchief back, grabbed the hem of Lee Wooyeon’s robe as he was about to leave the bathroom.

“Yes?”

“Just a second… look down.”

At the manager’s request, Lee Wooyeon bowed his head slightly. Choi Inseop wiped the area aroundhis lips with a handkerchief. Although it was excessively kind, Choi Inseop said to himself that it was an act that a manager should do.

“Because there was lipstick on… It is gone now.”

“Mr. Choi Inseop is very kind.”

In Lee Wooyeon’s voice, there was a bitter smile like salt that was felt in the wind on the beach.

“…thank you.”

If he could, he would slap Lee Wooyeon’s cheek with his fist right now and swear at him. He just wanted to tell him that a bastard like him should go to hell. But it wouldn’t be enough to inflict pain on even a hair on Lee Wooyeon like that.

“But what were you going to say while having dinner…”

“I forgot.”

Lee Wooyeon smiled and motioned for a quick return to the room. He thought as he walked down the hallway following the back of Lee Wooyeon, whom he had hated so much.

He hadn’t gotten anything yet, but if he reached out his hand now, he could catch Lee Wooyeon, so that he could be done with this.

‘Let’s be satisfied with this’, Choi Inseop comforted himself.