CNC Ch 8

CEO Lim and Yong-jae secretly looked at each other when he said that the hospital expenses were a waste of money. Saying that money was wasted was a statement that was difficult to come from Yoon Hye-an’s mouth.

“Since there’s nothing wrong, the doctor said I can be discharged. They said outpatient treatment should be enough.”

Choi Hong-seo, who was taking out Yoon Hye-an’s belongings from a drawer and arranging them on the bed, suddenly stopped. He then turned to face CEO Lim and Yong-jae, who were standing on the other side of the bed.

“Oh, come to think of it.”

“Huh? Uh… Wh-why?”

“The hospital bill was really high because they put me in a single room. What’s the point of putting mr in a single room when I’m just lying there unconscious…”

This time, CEO Lim and Yong-jae’s faces froze in shock. They seemed like people who had lost their words in response to a shock.

Still, CEO Lim was the first to speak.

“Still, Yoon Hye-an has his pride. They probably deliberately chose a single room for his dignity, even though it cost more.”

The hospitalization expenses were being taken out of Yoon Hye-an’s bank account, but CEO Lim spoke with regret as if he had paid the hospital expenses with his own money. He then raised his hands and corrected himself, as if he had made a mistake.

“Oh, right. It’s not Hye-an, it’s Hong-seo. Hong-seo.”

“No. You don’t have to do that. I understand now that I’m Yoon Hye-an. I also… have eyes.”

“Huh? Really? Have your memories come back?”

CEO Lim returned to the bed with a smile and grabbed Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder. Despite his bulky physique, his movements were agile. Choi Hong-seo shook his head.

“I still don’t have any memories of Yoon Hye-an.”

With a bitter taste in his mouth, CEO Lim used the hand that had held Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder to scratch the back of his own head.

“Right, it’s possible. You already heard from the attending physician, right? It’s not such a rare thing. Don’t stress about it, and as you return to your previous life, your memories can come back anytime.”

“Yes, it will happen gradually.”

‘Am I really Yoon Hye-an, and has gone insane, or am I Cho Hong-seo, who has had an accident that no one can believe?’

To clarify the situation, Choi Hong-seo changed his mind and stated that he needed to leave this hospital room and go out into the outside world. It wasn’t something that could be done just by appealing to someone. No one would believe something like that.

Choi Hong-seo, who was about to put the few belongings laid out on the bed into his bag, straightened his back as if recalling something and returned his gaze to CEO Lim.

“And, I will start working.”

“…”

CEO Lim only blinked his eyes. Even if he were to offer him a job, Yoon Hye-an wouldn’t like it for this reason, and he wouldn’t like it for that reason, and it wouldn’t match his level. Yoon Hye-an had been busy rejecting job offers, but now declared with determination that he would work on his own.

“Well, still… wouldn’t it be better to rest for a while?”

Choi Hong-seo, who appears to be Yoon Hye-an, replied firmly as he tossed his cell phone into his bag.

“I have an audition I really want to attend.”

The sound of cicadas penetrated her ears aggressively through the open window, sounding like an intense cry that marked the beginning of the sweltering heat of a dizzying summer.

■

Yoon Hye-an was living in an officetel in Gangnam. It was a residential-commercial apartment-type building built by a large construction company. Yoon Hye-an’s house had an exclusive area of ​​85 square meters, so although it could not be said to be as spacious as a palace, it was the largest unit in the building.

A large company officetel located in the heart of Gangnam, close to the subway station, and on the main street.

The idol group ‘Titan’ that Yoon Hye-an belonged to was definitely popular at one time. However, it would have just started generating profits after barely repaying the company’s investment. ‘Titan’, like ‘Layered’, which Choi Hong-seo was a part of, had been unknown for quite a long time, and the investment cost that had to be recovered must have been significant.

Moreover, when the team had just started to gain popularity, Yoon Hye-an suddenly announced his withdrawal from the group because he wanted to focus on his acting career.

He did not leave his agency, ENA, for that matter. All members of ‘Titan’ attended the withdrawal press conference and expressed support for Yoon Hye-an’s future plans, giving the impression that the withdrawal was amicable.

However, Yoon Hye-an’s acting career did not go as well as expected.

As Choi Hong-seo remembers, Yoon Hye-an took the lead role in a public broadcast mini-series shortly after leaving the group. Although there was some debate about his qualifications when he was cast as the lead, due to his limited experience in supporting and minor roles, the broadcasting station went ahead as planned.

In the end, the work had to end with the worst viewership ratings along with controversy over the acting skills of lead actor Yoon Hye-an.

A few months later, Yoon Hye-an once again played the lead role in another work. He had put a lot of effort into acting practice and even had interviews with his determination to show a different side of himself.

However, after the work was broadcasted, the public’s reaction was cold. Contrary to what was said, no signs of development could be found.

As a result, several articles have been written criticizing the culture of idol-turned-actors with no acting ability taking leading roles regardless of their abilities.

Due to even lower viewership ratings than the previous project, the show had to be ended early.

That was Yoon Hye-an’s last entertainment activity that Choi Hong-seo remembered.

It seemed unlikely that Yoon Hye-an would have had enough financial means to reside in such an upscale office-tel.

Entering a living room with an unfamiliar structure that he could not remember at all, Choi Hong-seo slowly looked around.

“Is this place for monthly rent?”

“…”

Yong-jae, who had followed behind and placed his luggage on the table, paused and looked back. It seemed like he wanted to say, ‘Do you really not remember anything?’

“Yes, it’s rented.”

“Was it provided by the company all along?”

“At first, it was provided by Chairman Jo… After that, he used a slush fund. He said it had to be this place. Hyung.”

“Chairman Jo?”

“…”

Yong-jae suddenly closed his mouth. He had a face that looked like he had made a mistake.

“It was all a long time ago, a long time ago. He paid the rent here in advance for about a year, but after the accident, the hospital bills and rent must have been deducted from hyung’s account.”

Quickly changing the subject, Yong-jae aimlessly moved around the kitchen, which had nothing much to clean. While muttering something about needing to go shopping because there was no food in the fridge.

From what he had observed over the past few days, ENA’s CEO was just an ordinary person. He wasn’t an unscrupulous boss, nor was he an overly charitable philanthropist. He had a basic level of decency, not a particularly harsh person, but not someone who would go out of their way to help others either. Just an average person.

He could not ignore a person whose life was hanging by a thread, but he was also not the type to wait around and cover a patient’s hospital bills and rent with his own money, not knowing when they would wake up…

However, in the entertainment industry, even that much made him quite an esteemed person.

Or maybe he was just too unlucky and had only dealt with people who wanted to rip him off. Choi Hong-seo scoffed bitterly at the thought and walked over to the window.

Yoon Hye-an’s house, which was located in the building’s corner, had windows on both walls of the living room. Choi Hong-seo savored the feeling of the sun warming his exposed skin as he gazed down at Nonhyeon-dong from a south-facing window.

“How much is my advance payment?”

“Yes?”

Looking back at the questioningYong-jae, Choi Hong-seo changed his expression and repeated.

“The money paid in advance by the company.”

“Ah yes. That’s… As for how much… I’ll contact the finance team right now and find out.”

Yong-jae hunched his large frame and began searching for his phone, as if he would be scolded if he didn’t answer right away.

“You don’t need to do it right now. Do you have a rough idea of how much it is?”

“Probably… at the very least, 5 to 6 thousand…”

Cho Hong-seo was well aware of idols and actors who insisted on living in Gangnam, in brand-name apartments or office-tels, even when they couldn’t afford it. Those who had experienced star treatment at least once tended to be even more stubborn. They couldn’t forget that taste because they had lived it.

Back in his pre-debut days at Host bar, some well-known celebrities would occasionally show up as Hosts. These were the so-called ‘waste’ celebrities who eventually ended up in these places because they couldn’t pay off their company debts. Yet, despite their own situations, they all looked down on other hosts and treated them like insects with an attitude that said,, ‘I am different from the lowlifes like you.’

Despite the fact that they were dedicated to VIP customers, the majority of customers only called them once or twice out of curiosity. Instead, because they couldn’t overcome their pride, many customers complained about them, and they were ended up kicked out without even receiving payment.

All of them believed without exception that they would eventually regain their glory days. Where would they be then, and what would they be doing?

If things continued like this for another year, Yoon Hye-an would eventually find himself holding the business card of a host bar madam.

Choi Hong- seo’s, no, Yoon Hye-an’s, bitterly smiling face was reflected blurry in the window.

“Yong-jae-ssi… were you close to me?”

Yong-jae turned to face him with a face full of suspicion, as if he was examining him with doubt. He seemed to be on guard, fearing that Yoon Hye-an might pretend not to remember him, and exposed him later.

“Rather than close, I think I knew you quite well.”