TBM Vol 5 Part 2

This time, Lee Il-seo shook his head without hesitation. Earlier, he’d been too shaken by the panic attack to respond properly, but a lie was still a lie

“Thank you for your concern, but my company is also preparing a response. And—”

After pausing briefly, biting his lip and then releasing it, Lee Il-seo frowned.

“…Why would you take such a risk?”

A bitter smile spread reflexively at the answer that drew a line, and Seung-yeon slowly rested his chin on his hand, covering his loosened mouth with his fingertips.

“If you ask for the reason, I have no choice but to confess again.”

“…Haha.”

His face as he laughed plainly also looked troubled. The clear eyes showed that it would be difficult to refuse twice. Il-seo, fiddling with the end of the spoon with his finger, carefully revealed his true feelings.

“I don’t want you to be in this mess.”

“It’s not every day you get the chance to use me, you know.”

This time, Lee Il-seo’s laughter came more easily, tinged with warmth. Sa Seung-yeon had wanted to push a little further, but the faint smile on Lee Il-seo’s face left him tongue-tied, unable to continue. Il-seo raised his eyebrows as if something had occurred to him

“By the way, what happened with the damage lawsuit? We originally met to discuss that, right?”

It had just been a pretense, but seeing the genuine concern in Lee Il-seo’s large eyes made Sa Seung-yeon feel a stab of guilt over that lie. Seung-yeon answered while wiping his hands with a tissue

“It was resolved well while you were handling the funeral. They were companies I’ve worked with exclusively for a long time, so it ended with them just taking down the posts.”

“What about penalty fees or compensation?”

“I said it’s resolved. Why do you keep asking?”

If you have the energy to chatter, eat one more spoonful of rice. With this nagging, Lee Il-seo pushed another tangerine into his mouth, and the conversation awkwardly ended. The overly abbreviated process was suspicious, but since the person involved said so, there was nothing more to dig into.

After leaving the restaurant, Sa Seung-yeon said he knew a quiet cafe with a nice atmosphere nearby and suggested they go, but Lee Il-seo quietly shook his head. Sa Seung-yeon couldn’t insist when Lee Il-seo said he wanted to rest because he wasn’t feeling well.

Still, Lee Il-seo couldn’t refuse Seung-yeon’s offer to drive him home. Whether it was the gentle driving or Sa Seung-yeon’s calming pheromones, he wasn’t sure, but somewhere along the way, Lee Il-seo dozed off in the passenger seat. Startled awake by a sense that something was off, he opened his eyes to find the car had already arrived and was neatly parked in the parking lot.

Lee Il-seo hurriedly sat up.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t realize I was dozing off.”

His voice, still heavy with sleep, was almost pitiful. Sa Seung-yeon unbuckled Lee Il-seo’s seatbelt for him as he fumbled around looking for the release, and asked,

“Can’t you sleep without pheromones?”

“I wake up often, but I do sleep.”

“…”

“I’ll be going now.”

Lee Il-seo gave a polite bow and stepped out of the car. Sa Seung-yeon followed, catching him just before he could head inside. Without a word, he took off his coat and even the black knit sweater he was wearing over his shirt. Suddenly in just his shirt, he pushed his clothes into Il-seo’s arms

“Let’s meet again when the pheromones wear off.”

Before Lee Il-seo could return them, Sa Seung-yeon got back in the car and quickly drove out of the parking lot. Lee Il-seo, who had been staring blankly at the departing car, tightly hugged the rolled-up clothes and buried his nose in them.

Back in his quiet home, Lee Il-seo walked with weary steps. He showered away the lingering tension and let water drip from his damp hair.

Grabbing his laptop and sitting on the sofa, Il-seo went to a portal site. Although the company, Choi Kyung-hyun, Park Jae-ho, and Sa Seung-yeon had all urged him not to go online, he was curious about how public opinion had changed since the explanatory article had been released during the funeral.

[Comments]

* * *

Wow, so he was dealing with the stepfather scandal the whole time? Poor thing.

↳ He wasn’t even a stepfather. Just someone his mother briefly dated.

↳ Did he approach Lee Il-seo just to ask for money? 

* * *

-This whole thing is just too many coincidences strung together. Who would believe that? lol

244 146

* * *

-Now that he’s become popular, regardless of the truth, being pregnant is honestly sad…

219 89

* * *

-Is this so-called stepfather insane?

202 67

* * *

-Chae Geum-soo? Sa Seung-yeon? Who’s the father?

261 301

Despite the carefully crafted article, the comments were still harsh. But at least the vile rumors involving Kang Hyung-won had been dampened. He no longer bore the stain of being involved with his mother’s lover. Some people even expressed sympathy for what he’d endured.

However, there were occasional comments tearing into Il-seo for not revealing the father, along with comments asking if it wasn’t true that he had irresponsibly gotten pregnant during production. Many opinions expressed fatigue with the promiscuous actor and the endless noise about his private life, and there were still comments speculating about the father.

And somehow, among the supportive words from fans and strangers alike, only the hateful ones stuck. Each comment criticizing him appeared clear as if each letter were a nail being driven into his heart.

“Are they that curious about the father?”

The outrage online made it seem like withholding that information was a serious crime. It baffled him. It was hard to understand why they were so determined to distinguish between good and evil in this matter, or why they were so passionate about resolving their personal doubts.

Setting down his phone, Il-seo turned on his laptop and searched for hospitals where abortion was possible, making calls. Until the hospitals’ closing times, Il-seo continuously made calls, but tired from repeated rejections, he lay down crookedly on the sofa.

Poke, poke. As if it had been waiting, his lower abdomen ached.

“What? Is it because I tried to get rid of you again?”

He placed his hand on his throbbing stomach, gently patting it. With his grandmother gone too, this was now the only blood relation he had left in the world.

“Everyone in the world hates you. Life will be even harder if you’re born.”

He recited this in a calm voice, though he wasn’t sure if it could hear him. The words that he had no one on his side in the world seemed directed at himself as well, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Let’s say you got pregnant with my baby then. That’s the only way you’ll survive.”

Ah… Maybe there was one person.

“…How strange.”

He never thought he would feel this way about Sa Seung-yeon. Lee Il-seo curled up on his side and murmured softly.

As he thought of Seung-yeon, the turbulent past few days quickly flashed through his mind. Seung-yeon, who had come to talk about the penalty fees, had instead offered to become the father. It was somewhat one-sided to call it a request, and even so, he wasn’t making the offer with complete certainty.

“If you ask for a reason, I have no choice but to confess again.”

Sa Seung-yeon’s willingness to announce himself as the baby father for Il-seo’s sake, even without certainty, was hard to believe even when seeing it with his own eyes. And that wasn’t all. After that day, Seung-yeon had silently stayed by his side until the end of his grandmother’s funeral. The emotions that had wavered throughout the funeral and his energy that had reached its limit had probably improved somewhat because Seung-yeon had continuously provided stable pheromones beside him. It wasn’t just the pheromones. Thanks to Sa Seung-yeon, he had been able to have the valuable experience of healing the loss of family with human warmth.

“It’s not often you get a chance to use me.”

Was Seung-yeon not afraid of this situation? He was so nonchalant about telling him to use him that his lips twitched in disbelief earlier. But at the same time, his heart had fluttered slightly. No matter how much he tried to sort out his feelings for him, a person’s heart couldn’t be cut cleanly with scissors.

The remaining pieces of lingering affection dug sharply into his weak spots. At his gentle voice and firm gaze, the desire to close his tired eyes and rely on him raised its head.

“I’m really such trash.”

But he knew very well that Seung-yeon liked him. He, who knew better than anyone how much the feeling of unrequited love could make a person irrational, wasn’t going to do it.

He scolded his weakening heart with harsh words and buried his face in the knit and coat that Seung-yeon had given him. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his panting breath, but soon his nose tingled and his eyes stung.

“Ugh, huh, uh. Sniff…”

The tears he had tried so hard to hold back suddenly fell and then overflowed like a bursting dam.

“Uwahh. Grand, mother… hic.”

Lee Il-seo called out for his grandmother and cried aloud. With his face buried in Sa Seung-yeon’s clothes, Lee Il-seo sobbed like a child. For a long time, only the sound of Il-seo’s sorrowful crying echoed in the quiet living room. It was a lonely cry that finally burst out in a place where no one else was present.

Seung-yeon shrugged his shoulders while fidgeting with his crossed legs.

“I handled it all with my own money, so what’s the problem?”

“That’s exactly the problem. It obviously looks suspicious when you compensate with your own money.”

“As long as they get paid, isn’t that enough?”

“Anyway, the advertisers want ads without Lee Il-seo. They must have seen an opportunity when you’re being so lenient, because they’re all asking for reshoots.”

Sa Seung-yeon took a sip of his coffee and replied nonchalantly.

“Fine, whatever.”

“Hey, do you know how much you’re worth? You’re covering for that kid’s mistake…!”

Director Hwang, who was about to continue criticizing Il-seo, quickly held his tongue. Learning that Seung-yeon might be the father had been mind blowing. With public opinion in shambles, he couldn’t openly take Il-seo’s side, and if it turned out that Seung-yeon was indeed the father, the backlash would undoubtedly be tremendous. Unable to do anything, he was helplessly letting time pass.

“No word from Lee Il-seo’s side? Whether it’s your baby or not, they should say something clear.”

“He says it’s not mine.”

“Great! I guess it’s not yours then!”

Not understanding what was in Sa Seung-yeon’s mind, Director Hwang seized the opportunity to whisper to him.

“Rumors are swirling that his stepfather r4ped him. They say he beat him a lot since he was young. Some of those Alphas out there… They’re monsters. Maybe that’s why he can’t reveal who got him pregnant?”

Seung-yeon, who had just been listening to Director Hwang, set his coffee cup down on the table and laughed softly.

“I guess I’m included among those crazy Alphas. How many times do I have to say I r4ped him?”

Though there was a smile on his sharply split lips, an indescribably chilling aura emanated from his black eyes that seemed to pierce through people, causing Director Hwang to clamp his mouth shut.

“Go on. Finish what you were saying.”

“Ahem. I wasn’t trying to insult you. Just saying there’s that possibility… That’s all.”

Director Hwang cleared his throat nervously. The precarious atmosphere that had begun to emanate from around Seung-yeon since Il-seo’s name was brought up was making him break into a cold sweat.

Sa Seung-yeon rose from his seat without replying. Director Hwang looked up at him and asked,

“Where are you going? You don’t have a schedule today.”

“I have an appointment.”

“Really? I was going to suggest we play a round of screen golf.”

“You really have it easy.”

Sa Seung-yeon smirked as he put on his coat. As he was about to leave the CEO’s office, he turned his head to look at Director Hwang.

“Director.”

“Yes, what?”

“A CEO of an agency shouldn’t go around casually spreading rumors about actors.”

Because it’s also tarnishing my image. Sa Seung-yeon, who had erased his smile, lashed out in an cold voice and walked out of the CEO’s office. As soon as the door slammed shut with the sound of his long coat fluttering, CEO Hwang groaned and pounded his forehead. He felt like he was aging ten years a day trying to appease Sa Seungyeon, whose emotions fluctuated whenever Lee Il-seo was involved.

***

“Welcome.”

As he entered the CEO’s office, a pleasant-looking but slightly chubby man was standing there. He had been hovering around Lee Il-seo throughout the funeral and had finished identifying the people around him, so he could tell who it was at once.

“Hello, CEO.”

Kim Jin-hong had handed him a business card at the funeral home. Sa Seung-yeon had confirmed CEO Kim Jin-hong’s name and put it in his wallet, and also gave him his personal business card. Not long after, he received a call and they arranged to meet today at Ondo Entertainment.

Although there was a separate CEO’s office, it was embarrassingly small compared to Reel Entertainment. Even that small office was cluttered with an enormous amount of documents, and the table where Seung-yeon was to sit was also chaotic with layers of papers and files. Most of the files had Lee Il-seo’s name on them, and words such as damages and defamation were often read.

CEO Kim hurriedly pushed the materials aside to clear space and politely gestured toward the opposite side of the sofa.

“Please sit over there. Thank you for coming all the way here.”

“Not at all. You must have a lot on your mind these days.”

“Would coffee be alright for your beverage?”

Sa Seung-yeon nodded, and a paper cup of black coffee was placed on the table. CEO Kim didn’t even touch his own drink in the paper cup and immediately got to the point. The blue stubble growing messily below his nose clearly showed how overwhelmed he was with work.

“Ah…I heard about the advertisement penalty fee. Thanks to you stepping in, we were able to avoid being caught up in a lawsuit. I’m truly grateful.”

Sa Seung-yeon smiled instead of answering. CEO Kim took out two of the files he had pushed aside and continued his explanation.

“First, I wanted to meet to discuss unreleased collaborative content and upcoming schedules.”

“Yes, we need to coordinate on those.”

He was about to continue, but suddenly put down the file and sighed. Having hastily brought up business matters first, he now wore a distant expression as if he had just come to his senses.

“And above all, I wanted to express my personal thanks.”

Since actors and CEOs don’t normally meet privately to discuss work-related matters, Sa Seung-yeon had anticipated that today’s meeting wasn’t solely for official discussions.

“I heard you handled Lee Il-seo’s grandmother’s funeral.”

CEO Kim bit his lip briefly to compose his emotions and ran his palm across his cheek.

“When I first got the call, I was very surprised. I was a bit angry too. To suddenly receive news of a death from someone who had always refused help, only saying he was fine… I wondered if he didn’t trust the company. But when I got there, I understood. I could see that Il-seo was in such a state of shock that he couldn’t even notify those around him.”

CEO Kim later learned from Choi Kyung-hyun that it was all Sa Seung-yeon who had personally arranged the funeral and sent out the death notices.

“If it hadn’t been for you, he would certainly have shouldered everything alone. I’m truly grateful that at least you trusted and cared for Il-seo during this difficult time, really.”

Sa Seung-yeon, who had neither trusted nor cared for Lee Il-seo in the past, was even more at a loss for words. Looking at the silent Sa Seung-yeon, CEO Kim deliberately smiled brightly to lighten the atmosphere.

“Having experienced it yourself, you must know. Il-seo isn’t that kind of person.”

Seung-yeon nodded slowly. And since he was the one who had made this foolishly kind young man tired and angry, he couldn’t help but smile ironically.

“Perhaps because he’s been through so many hardships, he’s particularly composed and mature for his age.”

“I heard there was an unpleasant incident with his stepfather recently.”

When rumors about an inappropriate relationship with his stepfather spread, Lee Il-seo finally clarified by revealing the police records and injuries from that day.

Reading that article, Sa Seung-yeon had seriously contemplated suicide methods. Last winter, when he had impulsively visited Lee Il-seo and poured out his unresolved feelings, Lee Il-seo had been at Park Jae-ho’s house, escaping his stepfather’s violence.

Lee Il-seo’s past, as further described by CEO Kim, only intensified Sa Seung-yeon’s self-loathing. The bitter taste of guilt made him feel like vomiting.

“I only learned about it recently while preparing the explanatory article with Lee Il-seo. They say his stepfather beat him a lot since he was young.”

CEO Kim’s voice trailed off as he glanced at Sa Seung-yeon’s expression. Seeing a face so serious it looked like he had just killed someone, CEO Kim quickly waved his hand dismissively

“I-It’s definitely not his stepfather’s baby. Although Lee Il-seo is reserved with his words, he doesn’t lie.”

“Is that so?”

Sa Seung-yeon’s eyes darkened as he slowly asked. The voice of Lee Il-seo, who supposedly didn’t lie, repeatedly stating that it wasn’t his baby, echoed chaotically in his mind.

“Yes. Things have gotten so tangled now, and somehow public opinion has become too harsh on Il-seo. But someday, everyone will realize that our Il-seo isn’t that kind of person.”

Sa Seung-yeon, who had been silently listening to CEO Kim, raised the corner of his mouth crookedly for the first time.

“Ah… how is it that CEOs are all so out of touch with reality? You’re all making such baseless statements. It’s irritating.”

The last phrase was spat out as if chewed, almost sounding like a curse.

“‘Someday’? CEO, do you still not realize the level of abuse Il-seo is receiving right now?”

“S-Seung-yeon-ssi.”

“Gu Dong-yeong’s side is constantly releasing slanderous articles about Lee Il-seo. To be exact, it’s the investment company, but well, since the CEO is of the same bloodline, it’s probably Gu Dong-yeong’s request. Gu Dong-yeong has been involved with Lee Il-seo in personal matters a few times, so his feelings are not good. When I looked into it, it was the same media company that first ignited the casting controversy.”

CEO Kim had suspected this as well, but he didn’t have the capacity to confirm and respond to it. However, hearing it from Sa Seung-yeon turned suspicion into certainty. He knew that Lee Il-seo had experienced something unpleasant at his previous agency before coming here, but he hadn’t realized the resentment ran so deep. Truly a terrible connection.

CEO Kim sighed and rubbed his face, murmuring in what seemed like an agonized voice.

“Their methods are so clever… I’d like to sue for defamation, but it’ll just turn into a mud-slinging fight.”

“Do you have a laptop? A personal one would be better.”

At Sa Seung-yeon’s question, CEO Kim brought out a laptop with a somewhat dazed expression. Sa Seung-yeon lightly took it with one hand, placed it on the table, and installed an open-source messenger program.

After fiddling with his phone and the laptop for quite some time, Sa Seung-yeon left an account ID and password on a Post-it note on the table.

“What is this?”

“This is the ID and password to log into this cloud account.”

Sa Seung-yeon continued explaining in a calm voice to CEO Kim, who was looking at the laptop with a naive expression.

“Gu Dong-yeong is rather stupid and did a lot of foolish things in front of me. As it happens, I’m a gloomy, thoughtful person who has a hobby of collecting such things.”

Sa Seung-yeon then took out his wallet and handed over another business card.

“This is a journalist I know personally, though we’re not particularly close. But he writes fact based articles and has very clear value judgments. There’s evidence in that account, so take a look and contact the journalist. You can say it’s an anonymous tip from an insider. For your information, it’s a foreign site that doesn’t cooperate with investigations, and the account has nothing to do with my identity, so you can feel at ease. Gu Dong-young will suspect me, but since he’s done all sorts of things in front of others, he won’t be able to be certain. Still, just in case, please dispose of everything as quickly as possible after the tip.”

“Why, why would you do something like this…?”

“The good do win. But that’s only when they can endure. If you get knocked out, it’s over, and what’s the point of receiving useless sympathy after being kicked out of the entertainment industry? It’s the company’s job to set the stage for their talent.”

Though his voice wasn’t mocking or sarcastic, the way he enunciated each syllable distinctly was stiff and dry, plainly revealing his displeasure.

“This will be the fastest way to calm the overheated public opinion and stop the childish and indiscriminate attack articles from Gu Dong-yeong’s side. Don’t release everything at once. Report the most serious matters once every three days.”

“…Th, thank you. Thank you for taking care of all this….”

“Actually, there’s a faster and more certain way, but Lee Il-seo said he didn’t want that.”

Sa Seung-yeon smiled faintly at CEO Kim’s puzzled expression.

During the brief silence that followed, CEO Kim, who had been fiddling with the laptop, let out a long, heavy sigh.

“By the way, the casting rumors with Director Chae were the beginning. Maybe because of that, there’s still a lot of talk about Il-seo being promiscuous and such. If I had been a bit smarter, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”

Then he opened something on the laptop and clicked a few times. After turning the screen so Sa Seung-yeon could see, he let out a carefree laugh.

“This is Il-seo’s audition video from when he was accepted by his previous agency. I kept it when he came to our agency. You can’t see his face, but his singing and guitar playing were amazing even before his debut.”

The black pupils looked at the screen, and the color drained from his face. CEO Kim, smiling broadly as if showing off his own child, continued praising Lee Il-seo.

“He’s played guitar since he was young, so when the role of Haru came up, I thought, ‘This is it.’ Lee Il-seo was indifferent, but I believed in him. I thought he had potential. Honestly, I wanted to release this video during the casting controversy, but since public opinion was so negative, I decided not to upload the old video.”

CEO Kim’s voice faded into static as memories flooded Sa Seung-yeon’s head like a storm. The setup was unmistakable. Having watched it so many times, Seung-yeon could draw it in his dreams. The fluttering curtains, the slender fingers gently touching the guitar strings, the particularly white nape reflecting the light, and the voice with a slight touch of youth mixed with huskiness as it entered puberty

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Sa Seung-yeon managed to squeeze out a question.

“Lee Il-seo… you said…?”

“Yes. He said it was his hobby to record singing videos.”

Sa Seung-yeon’s eyes, which hadn’t blinked once since the video began, finally shifted. He turned slowly toward CEO Kim. CEO Kim, who had instinctively looked up following Seung-yeon’s gaze, was even more surprised by the expression of the person sitting across from him

Having tried to show off Lee Il-seo like a doting parent, he felt a chill in his heart, wondering if he had somehow disturbed Sa Seung-yeon’s mood. Sa Seung-yeon’s expression was difficult to describe in words. It was overwhelmed with bewilderment.

“Is, is there a problem…?”

“Next time, …Let’s talk next time.”

Seung-yeon, with a face pale as a sheet of paper, hurriedly rose from his seat. He tried to clench his fists to hide his uncontrollably trembling hands, but he couldn’t hide his ragged breathing. A tight pain rose as if someone was squeezing his heart to bursting.