SDM 20
by Soraii“That must be heavy.”
Sang-hyun, sitting across, pulled Park Sang-hoon’s arm. The body weighing heavily on Seong-woon’s shoulder was removed.
“Are you saying my head is big?”
“Honestly, hyung, your head is a bit big.”
“It seems like three times Chae-yoon’s size right now.”
“It’s not three times.”
“Honestly, it’s four times.”
Tearing off another piece of chicken breast, Seong-woon just smiled slightly. Due to his overprotective family, it was becoming a habit to just smile and brush things off when he was at a loss for words. Everyone usually went along with it.
“…Wait, but why are you smiling like that?”
“Huh?”
“Honestly, I’m a bit surprised at how soft he is. I didn’t expect this.”
“Soft?”
“You’re taking everything so well. Even now!”
He must be drunk.
Seong-woon sighed, gently pushed away Park Sang-hoon who was clinging to him, and gathered the empty beer glasses on the table to hand to the server. There were also three empty soju bottles from who knows who.
“Who’s drinking soju bombs?”
“Me.”
“……”
The color of the liquid in the beer glass is much lighter than a normal soju bomb. Seong-woon slightly furrowed his brow. That guy always drinks soju bombs like that. Half soju, half beer. He had heard that more than a few directors had been knocked out by Baek Sang-hyun’s soju bombs.
“…Drink moderately.”
About two hours had passed since the start of the opening party, filled with such trivial talk. Seong-woon was really feeling today just how painful it is to be sober at a drinking party.
Whether it was due to the sadness of starting a new semester or the joy of meeting old friends after a long time, in no time at all, nearly 20 people were drunk, shouting “Drink up!” even at the first round.
Seong-woon, who couldn’t touch a drop of alcohol and had only eaten three pieces of chicken breast out of habit, had witnessed it all, and even Baek Sang-hyun in front of him was drunk, slowly opening and closing his eyes. Park Sang-hoon next to him had already been dragged out long ago.
“…Aren’t you going home, sunbae-nim?”
“Looks like you want me to leave, huh?”
Yes, please.
Seong-woon inwardly agreed cleanly. The best way to help a drunk dog is to get them home quickly.
As people around started wrapping up the first round, Seong-woon also stood up, but everyone waved their hands and pushed his shoulders down to sit. It was more uncomfortable to sit, especially with Baek Sang-hyun still seated in front of him.
Moreover, he couldn’t understand why they were clearing out all the other drunk students but leaving Baek Sang-hyun until the end. Is it because he’s a celebrity and they find it difficult?
After staring at Sang-hyun’s cheek, who was almost asleep, Seong-woon turned his head. It was quite a new sight, as he had rarely seen him get drunk at drinking parties before.
Despite the noisy pub sounds, the phone ringtone was clearly audible. Sang-hyun, opening his eyes narrowly, fumbled in his pocket, took out his phone, and staggered to his feet.
“……”
Can he even walk properly?
Seong-woon, who had never seen a drunk Sang-hyun before, couldn’t help but worry. Despite his unsteady steps, others just moved out of the way without offering support.
Seong-woon let out a light sigh and got up to follow Sang-hyun. He wanted to grab his arm, but knowing Sang-hyun’s strong aversion towards him, he couldn’t easily touch him.
He had asked the manager several more times about what exactly had happened between Ryu Chae-yoon and Baek Sang-hyun, given they hadn’t met but something had occurred, but the manager consistently said nothing had happened with an ambiguous expression.
Despite stumbling slightly, Sang-hyun managed to descend the stairs well. Just as he thought Sang-hyun might be less drunk than he appeared, an arm grabbed him and pulled him into a narrow alley between buildings as he stepped off the last stair to the first floor.
The panicked bodyguards tried to rush in, but Seong-woon just shook his head. The hand gripping his arm was so tight it made his bones ache, but that was all.
“…Did you put on a human mask?”
“……”
Thinking he might get some clues, he was about to listen, but the words were harsh from the start. Ah, since he’s using someone else’s body, maybe it’s not so different from wearing a human mask?
“I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly wrong.”
“Haa….”
“I greeted you properly, and I haven’t spoken rudely to you, sunbae-nim.”
They were close enough to smell the alcohol. Seong-woon raised his head and met Baek Sang-hyun’s eyes looking down at him. Resignation and pain flashed across those eyes surrounded by thick eyelashes.
What could be so difficult and painful? The life of a successful celebrity – of course, Seong-woon knew well the hardships of being a celebrity (though his troubles with fame were more than 10 years ago) – but Sang-hyun had seemed quite resilient, so he couldn’t fathom what could be causing him such distress.
Is Ryu Chae-yoon related to that pain? If so, is it because of Ryu Chae-yoon’s background? This was the final destination of Seong-woon’s worries. If nothing personal had happened, other factors could have been the issue.
“I guess those things meant nothing to you?”
“Those things being…”
I wish someone would just explain it clearly. Wouldn’t it be better to reveal the memory loss to Baek Sang-hyun and get an explanation? After all, his family members overprotect Ryu Chae-yoon, so no one would say anything that might tarnish his image or hurt his feelings even slightly.
“Ugh…”
It felt like his arm was going to be torn off. Just how strong was he? He tried to pull his arm away, telling him to stop squeezing so hard, but it didn’t budge at all.
“You have no manners and no consideration.”
Ah, yes. Me, of all people.
Seong-woon sighed in resignation and just kept tugging at his arm. Now that the bodyguards had seen everything, he couldn’t prevent it from reaching his family’s ears, but at least if the bruise was lighter, there might be room for excuses.
“I understand you’re angry, but dwelling on it will only hurt you.”
“…What?”
“How many months has it been already?”
Their first meeting was on the set of “Human Justice,” and nearly two months had passed since then, but he was still acting like this, which didn’t sit well with Seong-woon. Sang-hyun seemed to be gradually withering away, with the area around his eyes becoming sunken and gaunt.
Seong-woon knew Baek Sang-hyun much better than Ryu Chae-yoon did, and because of that, he couldn’t think that Sang-hyun would hate someone without reason. The information about Ryu Chae-yoon was very limited, even though Seong-woon was using his body. He couldn’t help but think that Ryu Chae-yoon must have done something wrong in their relationship.
Anyway, Seong-woon was used to being disliked by others, so even if Sang-hyun acted like this, it didn’t greatly upset him. Isn’t it more difficult to hate someone? Thinking the same thoughts he had about his parents before, he grabbed Sang-hyun’s slightly loosened arm and peeled it off.
“……”
He could see the eyes that had been fixed on him widen slightly in surprise. Disbelief, shock, and a strange hope-like emotion swirled in them.
“It seems the manager has arrived, so I’ll be going now, sunbae-nim.”
Seong-woon glanced at Sang-hyun’s manager, who looked flustered due to the bodyguards guarding the alley entrance. He bowed his head slightly and exited the alley first, and the pale-faced bodyguards immediately examined Seong-woon’s arm.
“Are you alright, Young Master?”
His body must be weak. The capillaries seemed to have burst, leaving finger-shaped bruises. Seong-woon just waved his hand dismissively and covered the marks with his own hand to hide them from others.
“Did you report it already?”
“…We have to.”
“To whom?”
“To the Second Young Master, sir.”
“…Why to him?”
Why report to Ryu Chang-yoon and not the parents?
“The Second Young Master is primarily responsible for your safety, sir.”
“Why?”
“We’re not at liberty to say, sir.”
Frowning, Seong-woon stood in front of the waiting car. A bodyguard opened the passenger door.
“Why the passenger seat?”
“Because I came to pick you up.”
Hearing the voice from inside the car, Seong-woon tilted his head back and looked at the sky once. If he hadn’t, he might have let out a curse.
“Why are you here?”
“Why? My little brother was out too late, so I came to get him.”
Brother complex? Seong-woon chewed on a curse in his mouth, making a guess that was probably close to the truth. Fighting the urge to close the door and turn around, he got into the car.
“Should we go to the hospital first?”
“What hospital? It’ll heal on its own if we leave it.”
“Chae-yoon.”
“……”
“Baby.”
Seong-woon clenched his teeth. Had his immunity weakened from not hearing that nickname recently? Goosebumps covered his entire body.
“Are you cold?”
“…No, I’m fine.”
“What should I do?”
“About what?”
“Baek Sang-hyun.”
“…Why?”
“This is the second time already.”
Seong-woon subtly covered his wrist. It was natural for Ryu Chang-yoon to be angry, given that bruises had formed in the same spot not long after the ones from Phoenix Studio had disappeared… And the fact that it was the same person causing it probably made him even angrier.
“What can you do?”
“Chae-yoon.”
“It’s because I acted rudely. He had reason to…”
“What reason? What could you have possibly done?”
Ryu Chang-yoon, who had raised his voice for a moment, barely managed to finish his sentence. Stroking his wrist that was starting to feel warm, Seong-woon lowered his voice.
“…To be honest, I don’t know either, since no one will tell me.”
“……”
“I know something happened, but I don’t know what it was.”
“Nothing happened.”
“…Oh, really?”
Look at that expression. Is that the face of someone who says nothing happened?
Seong-woon glanced sideways at Chang-yoon, then rested his chin on his hand and turned to look out the window.