SDM 15

Instinctively ducking his head, Seong-woon hid. Who could be coming to this props room that barely opened once a year?

“Haah…”

A long sigh. Crouching and holding his breath, Seong-woon felt the sound was quite familiar.

Peeking over a dusty box, Seong-woon quickly ducked back down. A white t-shirt showing off well-formed bones, a black hat. Wasn’t it the guy who had choked him during the audition?

Well, thanks to that his acting probably looked more realistic, but he wasn’t grateful at all. In reality, the quest goal wasn’t to pass the audition but just to audition, and that was it…

The moment he thought about the quest, a hologram that hadn’t been visible before suddenly filled his vision.

“Ugh…”

Startled by the unfamiliar sight, Seong-woon stepped back, but the props room corridor was too narrow. As the back of his head hit a display case, precariously balanced bowl-like objects came crashing down on his head.

He curled up, covering only his head, but the expected impact never came. Instead, stainless steel bowls clattered to the ground around him.

Only when everything was completely quiet did Seong-woon slowly lower his hands from his head. Looking up, he saw Baek Sang-hyun looking down at him, his face barely visible under the shadow of his cap. For some reason, only his eyes seemed to shine.

“…Thank you.”

He should at least thank him for blocking the falling objects. With a voice slightly hoarse, as if his throat was swollen, Seong-woon briefly thanked him and stood up.

“…Did you follow me?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you followed me.”

“…”

“Persistently.”

Follow what? He wished Sang-hyun would back up a bit, but there was too little space between them. Seong-woon wanted to step back, but there was a wall behind him.

Unable to hide his discomfort, Seong-woon stared silently at Sang-hyun before turning his head to the side. The scarf he hadn’t finished tying slipped loose, revealing the bruise he had barely managed to cover.

“I was here first, sunbae-nim.”

“How did you know about this place?”

“I was wandering around and came in because it seemed empty.”

Seong-woon completely removed the scarf that was tickling his neck. Sang-hyun’s gaze briefly touched his nape before flicking away.

“You should leave right after the audition ends.”

“Yes. I made a mistake.”

Seong-woon answered docilely. After all, he was guilty of snooping around someone else’s business premises.

“Can I go now then?”

Shoving the balled-up scarf into a nearby box, Seong-woon looked up. …Strangely, Sang-hyun’s eyes seemed a bit red. Baek Sang-hyun was known for having such clear eyes that people jokingly said he was born to be an actor, but now they were as red as if blood vessels had burst.

Swallowing the words of concern that almost escaped, Seong-woon gestured with his eyes, asking him to move aside. Sang-hyun slowly turned sideways.

Their shoulders brushed due to the narrow corridor. Just as he was about to exhale a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, his wrist was grabbed. Not only was it painful, but the irresistible strength almost made Seong-woon curse. This pathetic body, unable to even shake this off.

“Looks like we’ll be seeing each other often, Ryu Chae-yoon-ssi.”

Sang-hyun muttered, leaning in close, as if spitting out the words. What a unique way to announce that he passed the audition.

“Yes, thank you, sunbae-nim.”

Seong-woon kept staring at his wrist, silently asking him to let go. Sang-hyun abruptly released his arm. That’ll bruise too. Not only is the stamina poor, but the skin is delicate as well.

Cursing Ryu Chae-yoon’s body, which seemed to have no redeeming qualities except height, Seong-woon left the props room.

“Young master!”

As if he had been looking for Seong-woon, Hyeong-seok came running as soon as he spotted him at the end of the corridor.

“Your neck! What happened to your neck?”

“Ah, it’s just…”

“Just what? Why do you have bruises on your body?”

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Seong-woon buttoned his shirt up to his neck. Even so, it barely covered half of the bruise that was starting to spread.

“Young master!”

Hyeong-seok called out from behind, as if trying to stop Seong-woon’s steps. Ignoring the call, Seong-woon’s exit from the building was halted by the twins waiting in front.

Ah, so that’s why the manager was calling like that. If he’d known, he should have just taken that scarf. He left it behind worried it might lead to rumors of theft.

“Chae-yoon…ah?”

The fraternal twins, with almost identical features but subtly divided into male and female, widened their eyes at Seong-woon’s neck.

“What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

As if he had no idea what they meant, Seong-woon shrugged.

“And what’s wrong with your wrist?”

“I bumped into something.”

It was clearly not the kind of bruise that could come from bumping into something, but Seong-woon lied shamelessly. Before the twins could urgently ask more questions, he quickly inquired about their purpose.

“Why are you here anyway?”

“We came to cheer you on for your audition.”

“It’s already over.”

“What? It ended so quickly?”

It would be foolish to spend more time on a supporting role audition. But Seong-woon just shook his head as if he didn’t know.

“Did you only come to cheer me on?”

“No! Let’s go eat bingsu(shaved ice).”

“…Bingsu?”

“It’s summer, so we should eat bingsu.”

Ho-yoon and Ha-yoon alternately chanted for bingsu. Their mental age and behavior were unbelievable for people supposedly over thirty.

“They sell it over there.”

Seong-woon pointed with his chin at a franchise bingsu shop. He had tried their bingsu once, covered in soybean powder, when he went in for coffee on a very hot day.

“Not that one.”

“Then?”

“Let’s go to mom’s hotel. The bingsu there is delicious.”

All the way there… The cake was already sweet, wouldn’t the bingsu be even sweeter? He slightly frowned, but the twins firmly grabbed both of Seong-woon’s arms and pulled him along as if escorting him.

Seong-woon followed them without resistance. He had nothing else to do anyway, and he was a bit afraid to check the quest results right away.

* * *

He repeated the gesture of lowering the hologram window that had slid up as if urging him to check it quickly about three or four times. An employee in a neat uniform set up the shaved ice and drinks on the table and disappeared.

During that time, Seong-woon was continuously interrogated about the bruise, but he brushed it all off with an ambiguous smile and a shake of his head. Then Ha-yoon picked up a particularly round spoon and said something scary as if it were nothing.

“Did you say it was Phoenix Studio?”

Her tone suggested that if he didn’t tell her, she would find out on her own. He really wished they would just let it go, but it seemed these overprotective brother and sister absolutely wouldn’t.

“It happened while I was acting.”

“…Why would such a bruise happen during acting?”

“Yeah, what kind of content is it anyway?”

If he said it was a noir film, they’d probably freak out even more. Aren’t noir films all about bloodshed? Since he’s playing an undercover cop, there might even be scenes of getting beaten, stabbed, and buried in concrete?

“I don’t know much yet.”

So playing dumb would be best.

“Who did it?”

“Do you want to punish them, hyung?”

“Of course!”

Is he serious? He looks like a third-grade older brother who wants to get revenge on his first-grade brother who got beaten up at school. Seong-woon ignored Ho-yoon and picked up his spoon.

The fruit on top of the shaved ice looked quite tasty. Actually, because of the rich coffee aroma wafting from beside him, he felt like he needed to quickly put something in his mouth to resist the temptation of coffee.

“This kind of thing happens often in acting.”

If it were just romantic comedies or everyday acting, it might be different, but in an era where genre pieces are the trend, it’s hard to keep working if you avoid action or physical acting.

“Even if the two of us let it slide… Chang-yoon hyung will probably go crazy, right?”

“Overprotective…”

“It’s okay to be a little overprotective!”

Pouting his lips, Seong-woon took a bite of the shaved ice and frowned at the cloying taste of condensed milk. At least the berry-filled ade was drinkable, but even that was actually sweet.

“Don’t like sweet things?”

“…No, it’s fine.”

“Tastes can change. But coffee is still off-limits. Ryu Ho-yoon, let’s stop drinking coffee too. Our youngest can’t drink it either.”

The steaming coffee cup was completely removed from the table. He had wanted to at least smell it, but feeling disappointed, Seong-woon just sipped his ade.

When he got home, he was interrogated again about the bruise, and Ryu Chang-yoon, who had heard the news, came over too. Seong-woon wore a turtleneck in the hot summer because he didn’t want to hear any more nagging, but it was pointless.

“So, who did it?”

His eyes seemed to say that if he knew who did it, he’d go bury them right now. Seong-woon avoided Chang-yoon’s slightly crazed eyes.

“Chae-yoon-ah.”

Chang-yoon was an executive in a construction affiliate, but judging by that look in his eyes, it wouldn’t be a lie to say he might have buried a few people in the buildings he constructed.

“Bruises like this can happen when acting. It’s not like they grabbed me hard, it’s just that my skin is a bit sensitive…”

Well, it’s not like they grabbed gently either. His voice was temporarily lowered because his throat was choked and swollen.

“It’s not like I’m going to do anything bad.”

You’re lying. Seong-woon ignored Ryu Chang-yoon’s gleaming eyes and reluctantly emptied his rice bowl. He needs to eat well, move around, and sleep well. That’s how he can become a little healthier.

He chewed thoroughly on the lean beef tenderloin and ate all the roasted carrots and asparagus. As he finished, the sharp look in Chang-yoon’s eyes began to soften slightly.

“I’m glad you’re eating well.”

Seong-woon nodded vaguely, and Chang-yoon moved various dishes onto Chae-yoon’s plate.

“But Chae-yoon.”

“Yes?”

“What did you do with Baek Sang-hyun?”

…Shit. Seong-woon bit his tongue hard. It was to avoid showing a surprised face, but it was already too late.

“You probably don’t even know how many people are following you, do you?”

“Hyung.”

How many bodyguards did they assign to the youngest when they themselves only have one secretary trailing them?

“I’m not going to do anything, I’m just asking.”

Chang-yoon shrugged. Seong-woon slowly put down his fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and exhaled lightly.

“The bruise on my neck really did happen while acting for an audition.”

“I know. What about your wrist?”

“……”

“They said your wrist was fine until you came out of the audition room.”

So you knew everything and were just testing me? Seong-woon thought he only needed to avoid the manager’s eyes, but that was a wrong judgment. He never imagined that the bodyguards would ignore the order to stand by and all follow him to see.

“A prop fell from above, and he helped me avoid it.”

“Baek Sang-hyun did?”

“Yes.”

“Why was Baek Sang-hyun there?”

“I don’t know about that.”

It was ‘Jin Seong-woon’ who had told Baek Sang-hyun that prop room 4 was empty and quite cozy.

Seong-woon, who felt uncomfortable being with people, always looked for quiet places with few people wherever he went, and he shared quite a few of these with Sang-hyun. Since Sang-hyun was quite comfortable to be around, he thought it would be okay even if he entered his secret space.

“…Do you remember Baek Sang-hyun?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if you remember anything.”

“…Is there something to remember?”

Why is he saying such things? Given the manager Hyeong-seok’s reaction and Chang-yoon’s attitude now, it seems like something definitely happened between this ‘Ryu Chae-yoon’ and Baek Sang-hyun.

“If not, that’s fine.”

“Hyung. You’re not going to do anything, right?”

Chang-yoon, who had been staring intently at Seong-woon, stabbed the last piece of meat with his fork. A drop of blood fell from the medium-rare meat. The lukewarm surface of the meat touched his lips.

“Be careful.”

As Seong-woon opened his mouth to eat the piece of meat, Chang-yoon lightly tapped his cheek.

“Got it?”

As he urged for an answer, Seong-woon just nodded. It’s best not to mess with a psycho.