CH 19

“Manager, manager!”

Gilbert pulled Choi Ann’s dark hair and called him that.

Ann, blushing at the thought of being teased, reached out towards Gilbert.

“Why? Are you going to push me?”

Gilbert, standing by the water, asked with a grin.

“Oh, no. I…”

Unfortunately, Gilbert, who was playing on the water’s edge, stumbled and fell to the bottom of the lake.

When this unlucky Gilbert, who was making fun of him, disappeared to the bottom of the lake, he surprised Ann and he ran to the lakeshore.

After hesitating for a moment, Choi Ann took off his shoes.

Plop!

Choi Ann, who jumped into the lake, barely swam out holding Gilbert’s hand as it was settling to the bottom of the lake.

“Haa haa…”

Taking a deep breath, Choi Ann looked at Gilbert. His bluish lips show that his breathing was unusual.

Ann was amazed and checked his breathing. He was not breathing.

Ann pulled his hair back and remembered the man who made fun of him as a manager. He also remembered Diana Jenny’s crying face.   

“…”

Ann bit his lip and placed his on Gilbert’s.

He definitely knew how to do CPR.

After several artificial respirations, water and cough came out of Gilbert’s mouth.

“Cough—. Cough —–.”

“Are you okay? Get it toge… Hey!”

Gilbert, who opened his eyes, pulled Choi Ann’s black hair. His black eyes wept with fear.

“Did you save me?”

“What?”

“You saved me. You hate me.”

“That… I…”

“I don’t understand… .so I’ll have to stay by your side until I understand. Manager.”

“No, no… I…!”

Choi Ann struggled. But Gilbert gave strength to the hand that was holding his hair.

Choi Ann thought.

Fuck you.

As soon as he was discharged from the hospital, Lee Wooyeon was literally busy. Reporters who liked to talk about his sudden hospitalization published speculative articles, but the agency announced that it was a minor fracture caused by a car accident. Since it was a bad accident, he also had to talk with the police.

The script meeting, which was supposed to start right away, was also canceled. There was also a setback in the programming of the drama. There was even talk of replacing with another actor, but the PD and the writer said that this role would not be possible unless it was Lee Wooyeon, and came to the hospital with a fruit basket. 

The doctor actually told him to rest in the hospital for a month, but after a week, Lee Wooyeon was restless and forcefully left the hospital. Choi Inseop was destined to be busy at the same time, but he was given a special three-day vacation. Lee Wooyeon smiled at Inseop, who said it was okay, and did not hesitate to remark that he should not have returned alive from the bottom of the lake if he did not allow his lifesaver this small gesture. In the end, Choi Inseop had to spend three precious days alone in the corner of his room.

For absolute stability, a vacation was necessary for Inseop, who had to listen to the doctor, but for him, every minute was a waste of time.

When he returned from the three-day vacation, manager Cha, who had become surprisingly skinny, grabbed his hand and asked if he was okay, whether it was really okay to work, instead of going to the hospital, and once he confirmed that Inseop was okay, he left the office saying that he was now on vacation.

CEO Kim also asked him many times if he was okay. He hesitated and replied that he was okay and not to worry. He wanted to thank manager Cha and CEO Kim for taking care of him, but he was worried that he might get attached to him, so he couldn’t even say his greetings properly.

On the way to pick up Lee Wooyeon, Choi Inseop put down his cell phone, pondering many times whether he should send a text message to the two of them.

“… What should I say?”

A bittersweet cry pierced his heart. Inseop drove the car with his mind wandering. Today was the day of the script reading, which was delayed due to Lee Wooyeon’s injury. CEO Kim repeatedly said that it was very important because it was the first meeting after the lead actor changed to Kang Youngmo. Choi Inseop, who learned about the hidden story of the actor Kang Youngmo through Googling and searching, could not help but be nervous.

And above all, he was terribly nervous to face Lee Wooyeon for the first time after being discharged from the hospital. His hands holding the steering wheel were so sweaty that he had to rub his palms over his clothes several times.

Choi Inseop was afraid of Lee Wooyeon.

While in the hospital, he was hospitalized in the room next to Lee Wooyeon. He asked to move to a 6-person room because a single room was too burdensome, but CEO Kim refused firmly. In the end, he had no choice but to spend the whole week in a single room in a luxurious hospital. During that time, Inseop had to face Wooyeon while wearing a patient uniform. He would open the door of the hospital room all the time and say trivial things. Until then, it could have been said that it was an act to appease the boredom of hospital room life by making concessions, but the problem was at night.

It was more terrifying than he could have imagined to experience someone looking down at him when he suddenly woke up from his sleep at night. Each time, Inseop grabbed his heart and even wondered if that person was trying to kill him from a heart attack. When he asked what was going on, Lee Wooyeon smiled like he was saying ‘I know’, and went back to his room. As if nothing had happened.

The next day, Lee Wooyeon did not mention anything. At first, Choi Inseop thought he had a nightmare and passed it on, but the next day he found Lee Wooyeon standing by the bed as well.

“Whew… ”

He had to call Wooyeon and tell him that he had arrived at the parking lot, but his hand did not move. In just a few days, he felt like a lot of bad things had happened.

“You came?”

“Ahh!”

Suddenly, someone knocked on the car glass, and Inseop dropped his cell phone and screamed. His heart was pounding and he had to lean on the steering wheel for a while, breathing heavily.

“Did I surprise you? Sorry.”

“Oh, no.”

Lee Wooyeon smiled and opened the back door of the car. As he entered the car, Inseop cleared his breath and grabbed the steering wheel.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine. Thanks to you, I have improved a lot.”

“Why are you thanking me? I survived thanks to Mr. Inseop.”

“No. All because of me…”

“This talk was over then, so why are you saying that again? It’s fine.”

Because of him, Wooyeon was involved in an unsavory thing, and Inseop bowed his head and apologized as soon as he came to his senses. Then for the first time, Wooyeon scolded him with an angry voice and told him not to talk like that again.

Inseop, contemplating what to say, just quietly started the car and drove. At this time, he felt very fortunate to be driving a car. This was because Wooyeon seldom spoke to the manager while driving except for urgent business.

“Mr. Inseop.”

“Yes?”

What urgent business did he have?

He looked at Lee Wooyeon’s face from the rearview mirror and answered.

“Did you eat?”

“What?!”

In response to the unexpected question, Inseop began to wonder if there was a hidden meaning that he did not know in Korean.

“Did you eat?”

When Lee Wooyeon asked again, Inseop realized that he was really asking if he had eaten.

“Yes, a simple…”

Before coming here, he really simply filled up his stomach and left the house. Eating alone was one of the things that Inseop, who had always had a noisy meal time surrounded by a large family in the United States, was not used to. He wasn’t used to Korean food yet, so it was unreasonable to cook by himself. His meal consisted mostly of bread, salad and drinks.

“What did you just eat?”

“Toast and milk…”

While driving, Choi Inseop was suddenly worried.

Why was he doing that? Why was that person like that?

Even as a courtesy, Lee Wooyeon was the kind of person who never asked questions about whether he had eaten or what he ate. Not knowing what his intentions were, Inseop’s mouth was dry with anxiety.

“You can’t eat things like that. I’m sure you’re not feeling well yet.”

“No. I’m healthy.”

Laughter was heard from behind. Inseop bit his lip, wondering if he had made another mistake.

“What time is the meeting today?”

“It’s three o’clock.”

“Then we have about an hour to spare, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Lee Wooyeon was famous for arriving as early as possible and waiting for people. It was Lee Wooyeon who set the schedule to leave two hours earlier than the meeting time today.

“Then let’s go eat.”

“Yes?”

Choi Inseop asked as he thought he had heard it wrong.

“Let’s go eat. What do you like?”

“…Now, what are you saying?”

“We have enough time, don’t we?”

“It is enough, but… are you okay?”

Usually, it was a habit for Lee Wooyeon to go early and wait, but CEO Kim said that it would be better to be early today. Although it was an accident, the script meeting and filming date were delayed because of him, which was like an unintentional nuisance to other actors. Not only CEO Kim but also Choi Inseop thought it would look good to go and wait early on a day like this.

“I’m okay. I’m hungry.”

“… Okay. If it’s like that.”

Although he was reluctant from the sudden meal offer, Choi Inseop was obedient and decided to follow him.

“What do you like to eat, Mr. Inseop?”

“I eat anything… Except for the spicy ones.”

He added the spicy part quietly. Because of his father, he had the opportunity to eat Korean food often, but he could not enjoy spicy food at all. Inseop’s favorite Korean food, such as bulgogi, japchae, and ribs, was limited to the level that foreigners all over the world could eat.

“Really? Then let’s go to a good place.”

Inseop could feel a little laughter in Lee Wooyeon’s voice when he said that.

***

“It’s delicious here.”

“… ”

“I’ve been here a few times.”

There was nothing on Lee Wooyeon’s face as he said that, except for bright kindness. Choi Inseop looked at the menu board and his face alternately with a feeling of wanting to cry.

“Oh my, who is this? Aren’t you the handsome bachelor from TV?”

“Hello.”

“Ah, I feel it every time I see you, but you’re really, really, really handsome. Your mum must be full even if she doesn’t eat.”

The staff who came to take the order recognized Lee Wooyeon and trembled. He smiled with no sign of annoyance, and gave him a modest smirk.

“What would you like to eat?”

“… well.”

Choi Inseop read the menu again. With the exception of alcohol and rice, there was no food that did not contain red pepper powder on the menu and it made him feel hopeless.

“The fried octopus here is delicious.”

“…okay.”

When he looked at the seat next to him, everyone seemed to be eating it. Choi Inseop looked at the menu again with a depressed face. He also had no other food to eat.

“I will order. Here, fried octopus for two, please.”

“Yes. All right.”

Unable to even call the lady who took the menu, Inseop licked his lips.

“They say that eating spicy food makes you feel a little better.”

“… I see.”

“Eat and relax.”

“… Yes.”

The Gonggibap and side dishes were served first, but among them, there was no side dish that Inseop could eat. He scooped up some rice with chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and tried to figure out what the hell Lee Wooyeon might have meant to bring him here.

What? Why was that? Why was he suddenly pretending to be close to him?… what did he do wrong? Perhaps that… No, because no one had seen it.

“What do you think?”

“Yes?”

“Mr Inseop. Sometimes you get very dazed. You must be thinking a lot.”

“Sorry. I will never be dazed again.”

Inseop raised his chopsticks and looked down and answered with a straight face. He had eyes like a child being scolded by an adult.

A gentle smile appeared on the lips of Lee Wooyeon, who was looking at him. He didn’t know because they barely spoke, but now that he heard it, Choi Inseop’s Korean was a mess. It made him want to ask where he learned to speak in such a stupid manner.

“It doesn’t matter if you get dazed. I was just wondering what you were thinking.”

He wondered what was going on inside that little head. If possible, he wanted to split his head off and look inside.

“I don’t really think about anything.”

“Okay.”

He couldn’t believe he was saying something like that. He was as unreliable as a politician claiming to be honest.

Lee Wooyeon drank water and smiled at his manager.

From the day that the manager risked his life at the bottom of the lake to save him, Choi Inseop became the most incomprehensible human being in his head.

As the two were exploring each other like that, a plate of steaming stir-fried octopus arrived.

“Please eat.”

Wooyeon recommended that Inseop eat first. As Choi Inseop murmured while holding his chopsticks, he stretched out his hand and urged him to hurry up and grab a bite.

“… I will eat well.”

In front of the bright red octopus stir-fry that brought tears to his eyes just looking at it, Inseop prayed inwardly.

Heavenly Father, lead me not into temptation. Thank you for the daily bread.

Ame…n!!!

Inseop’s face literally turned bright red when he put a piece of stir-fried octopus in his mouth. Lee Wooyeon, who was sitting on the other side, started to use chopsticks with a relaxed face. Inseop covered his mouth with his palm and barely swallowed the fireball in his mouth. He scooped up the rice twice with a spoon and ate it, but the fire on his tongue did not go out.

“Is it spicy?”

“… yes.”

Inseop did not even realize that he was making a short tongue pronunciation because it was so spicy.

“It’s only at the beginning. If you eat it, you will be fine later.”

“…”

That means, keep eating.

“You were asked to go on a vacation, but you were under a lot of stress because of  work, weren’t you?”

“… no.”

“Eating spicy food relieves a lot of stress, so come on. Please eat.”

This time, Lee Wooyeon even picked up the octopus with his chopsticks and placed it on Inseop’s rice. The big star’s outrageous service meant that only the manager would die.

“Th, thank you.”

Inseop put the second stir-fried octopus in his mouth. This time, he swallowed it without chewing it.

“Cough…ugh…cough”

His tongue was fine, but his throat was the problem. When something hot and spicy suddenly entered, he started coughing and even tears formed.

As tears flowed from the corners of Choi Inseop’s eyes, Lee Wooyeon coughed slightly. The suggestion to have a meal with his manager was to treat a life saver with a meal from the heart of the 1% that made him a human being. However, the moment he heard Inseop’s timid addition that he can’t eat spicy food, the other 99% remembered this place.

Lee Wooyeon’s head was still complicated. He was wondering what the hell that fucking manager was up to. Normally, it would be enough to kill or chase away annoying flies by hitting them with the palm of his hand, but this guy strangely aroused curiosity.

Why was that fly flying around in such a strange shape?

As he was thinking about it, he felt like his headache wouldn’t go away.

“Eat a lot.”

Lee Wooyeon took a handful of stir-fried octopus and placed it on top of the rice to the odd fly that gave him a headache. 

Choi Inseop’s face when he saw it became a tearful face.

He was told that in Korean food culture, it was not polite to refuse if someone gave him a side dish, even if it did not suit his taste. Inseop knew that it was a Korean sentiment and that he should never ignore it.

“… well… I will eat.”

Like a criminal who took the medicine, Inseop shoved the octopus and rice into his mouth while crying. Tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes. It wasn’t until the point where he didn’t know whether he was eating rice or drinking tears, Lee Wooyeon handed him a glass of water and made a sad expression.

“Can’t you eat it?”

“… ”

“You don’t think you can?”

At the crossroads of Korean affection and death, Inseop nodded at the thought of living. Seeing the tears flowing down his cheeks, Wooyeon couldn’t help but change his mind.

“It’ll get better as you eat, so eat one more.”

As soon as he saw Lee Wooyeon picking up an octopus with an angelic face and handing it over to him, Inseop recalled two Chinese words he studied hard before.

At first glance, there was a letter that he thought was fascinating because the character for heart was attached to the words that looked similar, but it meant the opposite.

Affection and poison.

“Here, eat.”

Choi Inseop dropped his head, thinking that what Lee Wooyeon handed over to him was not Korean affection, but poison.