TBM Vol 2 Part 3

With that, the mood at the table lifted, and conversation flowed easily once more. As the evening wore on, people began to drift to other tables. Director Chae and the assistant director moved to join another group, and Seung-yeon was called over to share a drink with another table.

Left alone with Park Jae-ho, Il-seo continued to eat and drink. He couldn’t understand people who left tables full of food with no regrets. Full from the feast, he rubbed his stomach, feeling content.

“Il-seo! Come over here!” someone called him from another table.

It was the actor who played the supermarket owner in the drama. Il-seo quickly stood and ran over, grabbing his glass and spoon as requested.

The company dinner had barely been going for an hour, but more than six green soju bottles already lined the table. In just ten minutes of conversation, the actors, with their flushed faces, had emptied their glasses more than a dozen times. If things continued like this, he knew he’d soon be drunk, but CEO Kim had made it clear that tonight’s dinner was important. He was to make sure he grabbed the attention of the actors.

Just then, Il-seo felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, making him turn his head.

“Il-seo. The director’s looking for you,” came a familiar voice.

The scent reached me first, followed by Seung-yeon’s face, unrealistically close. They’d been to an exhibition together the day before, and since the dinner was nearby, He’d thought we might chat a bit. But after filming, things had gotten awkward between them.

Seung-yeon’s words at the dinner were brief, as usual. A senior actor nearby teased, glancing between the two of them.

“You two have gotten pretty close, haven’t you?” he said with a grin.

“Yeah, first time I’ve seen Seung-yeon talk to a junior like this,” added another with a knowing smile.

Seung-yeon smiled softly in response to their teasing.

“The director’s calling. You should go,” he said.

As Il-seo got up, an actor across from him pointed to his untouched glass of soju.

“Oh! You need to finish your drink before you leave!” he said playfully.

Il-seo quickly straightened up and reached for his glass, but before he could, Seung-yeon snatched it from the table and downed it in one go. The way his Adam’s apple moved as he drank looked like something out of a commercial. When he finished, he flashed his charming, dimpled smile, asking in a teasing voice, 

“Who made this honey wine?”

One of the actors chimed in, “I gave it to the cute Il-seo, and you’re stealing his drink?”

Seung-yeon grinned, “I still didn’t get a drink from the senior yet.”

“Oh, fox cub, you’ll get it next time,” another actor chuckled. It could have come off as rude, but Seung-yeon’s bright smile made everyone laugh.

Feeling a mix of amusement and excitement, Il-seo bowed and headed toward the director’s table. Suddenly, a large hand grabbed me by the neck, making him choke slightly.

“Ugh.”

“You need to drink moderately,” Seung-yeon whispered in his ear, his breath hot against his skin.

“Huh? I’m not that drunk…”

“Your eyes say otherwise,” he responded.

Il-seo fell silent, unsure how to react to his vulgar, teasing tone. He knew Il-seo’s drinking capacity; they’d had enough nights of heavy drinking together in the past. He wasn’t weak when it came to alcohol. His eyes widened as he tightened his grip on Seung-yeon’s sleeve and gently pulled it back.

“I have to go. The director’s waiting…”

“Lies.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Go sober up over there,” he said while releasing me.

Il-seo’s eyes started to moisten.

“Wait… did you pull me aside because you were worried I’d get too drunk?” Il-seo asked, half in disbelief, his emotions getting the best of him.

Seung-yeon’s face hardened at the sight of Il-seo’s large, glistening eyes.

“I’m concerned, obviously,” he answered coldly, letting go of his neck.

Il-seo stumbled a bit, taking a step back.

“Thanks to you, the shooting schedule’s been hell.”

His words pierced him, and Il-seo stared at him in shock.

“If you have shooting tomorrow, isn’t it a basic courtesy to manage yourself properly?”

Il-seo stood there, completely taken aback. Seung-yeon gestured to the table, so he sat down silently, his mind racing. Seung-yeon pulled out the chair across from me and sat down.

Am I really drunk? Il-seo asked himself. Is that why he feel so resentful? But no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he didn’t go that far. Sure, he was a little tipsy, but not enough to warrant Seung-yeon’s scolding.

And the tight filming schedule wasn’t even his fault—it was because of that incident with the hidden camera criminal, it was not anything that he did wrong. But it seemed Seung-yeon had held onto that belief all this time, thinking Il-seo was to blame for the delays.

Il-seo couldn’t hide his disappointment. Seung-yeon had always been strict with him. He was critical of his acting, even when Director Chae offered praise. He’d scold him over the smallest mistakes, like when he touched his plugged-in USB by accident.

But today? He’d done his best during the bed scene. But there was no feedback, no monitoring, not a word of acknowledgment from Seung-yeon. While everyone else drank and laughed, he chose to lecture him about “basics.” Maybe Il-seo was too emotionally invested in his opinion, but it hurt more than he expected.

Park Jae-ho, who had been laughing with another actor, noticed him sitting quietly without eating or drinking. He excused himself and walked over, patting his shoulder.

“Il-seo, are you alright?” he asked softly.

Il-seo smiled weakly.

“Hyung…”

Park Jae-ho furrowed his brows, noticing something was off. He glanced at Seung-yeon, who sat across the table, looking stern.

“Shall we drink together, like old times?” Jae-ho suggested with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

But instead of answering, Il-seo glanced at Seung-yeon again. Something about the atmosphere between them had changed. The table felt empty, not because of the lack of people, but because of the tension in the air.

“Shall we all have a drink?” Jae-ho said, trying again. He lifted his glass, but the mood remained heavy.

Frustration welled up inside him. Il-seo sighed, grabbed a new glass, and held it out.

“Give it to me.”

“Are you sure? You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Il-seo replied, even though his head was already spinning. 

It wasn’t the alcohol that was making me dizzy, but the uncomfortable tension in the room.

Just as Jae-ho smiled and poured the drink, a low, disapproving click of the tongue came from across the table. Both Jae-ho and Il-seo turned to look at Seung-yeon, who had a crooked grin on his face, resting his chin on his hand.

“You’re a bit stubborn, aren’t you?” Seung-yeon remarked. Then, with a sudden movement, he reached for the green soju bottle, breaking it open with a quick twist.

He handed him an empty beer glass. “If you’re not drunk, then switch glasses.”

Il-seo hesitated for a moment, then set down his soju glass and took the beer glass with both hands. Seung-yeon filled it to the brim with soju, watching him intently. Il-seo knew this wasn’t just a friendly challenge. There was something more behind it.

They both drank, the liquid burning its way down. Seung-yeon kept refilling Il-seo’s glass, his smile never leaving his face. The tension between them thickened with each drink. Finally, his head began to spin, and he could no longer keep up. He set his glass down, half-filled with soju.

“I’m giving you all this love, and you’re leaving it unfinished?” 

Seung-yeon said with a taunting smile.

“Are you drunk?” he added, his tone still sharp.

Before Il-seo could answer, he felt his body give way, leaning against Jae-ho’s shoulder. He gently patted his cheek, concern etched across his face.

“Il-seo?” he called softly.

“…”

“Oh no, you’re completely out of it.”

Seung-yeon’s smile faded as he watched Jae-ho tend to him.

Il-seo frowned and rubbed his head against Park Jae-ho’s chest. Park Jae-ho, as if he was used to such skinship, kept his expression unchanged as he picked up Il-seo’s phone and looked through his contacts.

“His number… oh, I found it.”

When Il-seo kept leaning against him and it became difficult to hold his arm up, Park Jae-ho connected the call and switched to speaker mode. Soon after, the receiver went off and  Kyung-hyun’s voice rang out.

[Who is it?]

“Kyung-hyun hyung! It’s Jae-ho.”

[Oh, Jae-ho? Your number has changed?]

Seung-yeon’s expression became somewhat awkward as Park Jae-ho talked to Il-seo’s manager. Kyung-hyun asked Jae-ho why he was calling, and Park Jae-ho raised his voice because the other end of the phone was a little noisy.

“Oh, yes. Il-seo is really drunk right now. I think you should come pick him up.”

[What? Il-seo is drunk? This kid said he was controlling himself… Why did he drink so much when he went to the emergency room at dawn?]

“Emergency room? Il-seo, was he sick?”

[Oh, he kept vomiting and it was a mess.]

At the same time, Seung-yeon’s eyes landed on Park Jae-ho’s cell phone. He clearly said he was fine yesterday, so he fed him sushi and sent him home. But he went to the emergency room at dawn. Seung-yeon’s eyes shook.

[He doesn’t drink much, so maybe that’s why he got drunk.] 

But the culprit who had given him too much alcohol was so close that his eyes were wide open, so Park Jae-ho hesitated to answer. 

But an awkward voice continued on the other end of the phone.

[But what should I do? My child is sick and I’m on my way to the hospital.]

“Huh? Is he okay?”

[He keeps having diarrhea, maybe because he has enteritis. Is Il-seo completely unconscious?]

“Um, yes…”

Park Jae-ho clicked his tongue briefly, thought for a moment, and continued speaking into the phone.

“Hyung, then can you write down and send Il-seo’s address and front door password for me on this number? I’ll drop him up on my way home.”

[Can you really do that?]

“I’ll stop by for a bit, okay?”

[Thank you, Jae-ho.]

“Don’t say anything when Il-seo sobers up, he was happy today anyway….”

Kyung-hyun repeatedly apologized to Park Jae-ho, who was acting sad. The phone hung up and a text message sound rang right after. Park Jae-ho sent the text message to his manager and woke up Il-seo, who was sleeping on his chest. He put his hand between his forearms and lifted up his fallen body. 

No matter how much weight he had lost, he was still a man and had lost consciousness, so he was quite heavy. He groaned and tried to wrap his arms around Il-seo’s waist, but suddenly he couldn’t feel the weight of Il-seo that he had been leaning on. Park Jae-ho blinked and looked to the side, and Seung-yeon, who had come closer, suddenly picked up Il-seo and put his arm around his shoulder.

“Oh, senior?”

“I’ll take Il-seo.”

“Oh, I can do it.”

“No problem, I was just about to go in. Jae-ho, enjoy yourself. You came here to play the role of Shinsang’s Black Knight, not Il-seo’s Black Knight.”

Seung-yeon was smiling brightly as usual, but his tone was somewhat stiff. Beta Park Jae-ho nodded his head while tremblingly, unaware of the borderline pheromones surrounding Seung-yeon.

“I’ll give you the address then.”

“I went to his home yesterday, so I don’t need it.”

Seung-yeon, who appealed that he already knew the address unlike him, walked slowly, carrying Il-seo’s bag containing the script and some snacks. Park Jae-ho followed behind Seung-yeon and asked,

“Do you know the password, senior?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Seung-yeon turned his head as he answered in a slurred tone, closing his eyes and smiling. 

Il-seo, who had momentarily sobered up from the shaking, shook his head in pain.

“Ugh, my stomach hurts…”

“If you throw up now, you’ll die.”

Seung-yeon’s eyes quickly turned cold, and he whispered a threat in a low voice as he left the restaurant. As soon as Hwan, who had brought the car at Seung-yeon’s call, got out of the van, Seung-yeon placed down Il-seo as if he was throwing him.

“Why is Mr. Il-seo…?”

“Put him in the back seat.”

Seung-yeon ordered while shaking the pack of cigarettes. 

Park Jae-ho came and helped Seung-yeon’s manager load the drunken Il-seo into the car, and Seung-yeon lit a cigarette in the meantime.

Seung-yeon, who had seen Park Jae-ho, who had been tactless and not going out, approached Il-seo and fastened his belt, and walked closer to the van with a cigarette in his mouth. He smiled and put his hand on Park Jae-ho’s shoulder.

“Mr. Jae-ho, you can go now.”

“Oh, yes.”

Every time Seung-yeon spoke, smoke flowed out of his lips, and Park Jae-ho slightly twisted his head as he answered. Seung-yeon raised the corners of his mouth as he watched him.

“I’m sorry for the smoke. When I’m drunk, I can’t control my cigarettes and sexual desires.”

Despite the words of apology, Seung-yeon still didn’t turn his head and was still smoking nonchalantly. Park Jae-ho felt a great sense of discomfort at a single word mixed in between the sentences Seung-yeon spoke, but he nodded his head and looked away. This was because Seung-yeon seemed uncomfortable for some reason.

“Then, I’ll ask you to take care of this work, senior.”

“Yes, well.”

Seung-yeon snickered and passed Jae-ho, and Hwan noticed that Seung-yeon was strangely sharp and quickly started

the engine. 

In times like this, it was best to get to the destination as quickly as possible. As soon as Seung-yeon threw away the cigarette butt and got into the van, the car sped out of the parking lot.

Park Jae-ho, who had been staring blankly at the road, belatedly tilted his head.

“Oh, it’s on the opposite side of Il-seo’s house…”

However, the van speeding down the road had already moved far away.