Come Back

“Ah, seriously… I wasn’t like this before, but ever since that article came out today, the managers have been overdoing it. The members are even subtly watching me. Am I some ticking time bomb or something?”

Rubbing his face roughly, Choi Hong-seo muttered in a rare moment of complaint, his voice tired.

But the truth was, he believed the managers’ surveillance was justified. He felt like he was indeed a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.

Jung Ji-in tried to distract him with some stories. Though his effort was appreciated, it didn’t have much effect. Even while listening to a story about a grandmother from a snack shop, who had been a regular since his trainee days, Choi Hong-seo found himself lost in other thoughts. He couldn’t focus on anything else.

“Hyung, what do you do when you really regret something?”

The question, asked suddenly, felt meaningless, so Choi Hong-seo lightly laughed and answered for himself.

“I don’t think you have anything to regret.”

[No one is without regrets.]

“We used to say you were handsome, like a nobleman… But we also joked that you must’ve come from a rich family that went bankrupt, just because of how you live in the dorms.”

Jung Ji-in was the most composed person around Choi Hong-seo. Though they didn’t share many personal details, there was a dignity about him, as if he had been raised in a well-mannered home.

Because of that, both Choi Hong-seo and Song Hyun-su often admired Jung Ji-in, seeing him as someone who wouldn’t make a foolish choice like getting involved with someone like Myung Do-hoon. Unlike them, Jung Ji-in had been educated, was smart, and came from a wealthy family. It seemed like he could go anywhere, do anything, and avoid unnecessary relationships without having any weaknesses. That was something they envied.

“I was actually really envious of you, hyung.”

[What?]

“I just wanted to quickly rise to the top where no one could touch me, full of ambition… but you were always so calm, like a mountain is a mountain, and water is water. You were that kind of person.”

Choi Hong-seo curled up in the armchair, smiling weakly. Jung Ji-in also smiled, and the two of them shared a laugh that soon faded into a heavy silence.

In that silence, Choi Hong-seo felt a brief flutter in his heart. He felt like he had to thank Jung Ji-in, as if this opportunity might never come again. The unease stirred inside him.

“You know… you’ve been like an antidote to me, right?”

Jung Ji-in didn’t respond with words, but Choi Hong-seo could tell he was nodding on the other end of the phone.

A few more conversations, clouded and indirect, passed. Choi Hong-seo appreciated Jung Ji-in’s efforts to encourage him, but without revealing the truth, the comfort remained shallow.

[Hong-seo.]

Jung Ji-in suddenly changed his tone and called out with a meaningful tone.

Choi Hong-seo, with a blank stare at the city lights outside the window, answered weakly.

“Yeah?”

[The person you’re seeing… Is it Vice President Lee Hae-sung?]

“…Huh?”

Choi Hong-seo slowly sat up, his previously neutral face tightening with sudden tension.

[I happened to meet him once, and he casually mentioned someone he was seeing. I got the feeling it might be you.]

Dozens of thoughts surged in Choi Hong-seo’s mind. He knew Jung Ji-in wasn’t someone who would harm him. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust him, but the intense fear of how his answer could somehow splash mud on Lee Hae-sung made him feel cold. This wasn’t a vague fear anymore; it felt like a very real, immediate threat.

Swallowing hard, Choi Hong-seo started laughing. It wasn’t just his voice laughing; his whole face cracked into a forced smile.

“Oh, that guy… He really… It’s true that he had a few meals with others because of the movie investment with Director Kang, but… when I just smiled and was polite, he somehow thought we were dating.”

To make his acting more believable, Choi Hong-seo jumped up and started pacing around the sofa, nervously biting his lip and raising his voice a bit more exaggeratedly than usual. Though he could fake his voice, his hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.

“They’re all important people, investors in the movie, right? Do you think I’d scowl at them? Oh… that guy’s a real fool, a real fool.”

[What’s a fool?]

Jung Ji-in asked, not understanding the term. “Fool” was a slang term used in the entertainment industry, something Jung Ji-in, being the kind of person he was, wouldn’t know.

Choi Hong-seo stopped in front of the full window. He lowered his head, his hand— the one that Lee Hae-sung had inscribed “I love you” on— clenched tightly.

“No… ‘fool’… like a romance fool… I was just being polite since it was work, but he thought we were dating. He’s a real fool.”

For whatever reason, denying Lee Hae-sung, and his love for him, made Choi Hong-seo feel like his existence was empty. It was more painful than the time he had been humiliated by Lee Seo-kyung. His heart felt like it was being burned away, and his chest felt torn apart. Tears welled up, and they dripped down his chin.

He gripped his left hand even tighter, as if to say he would never let it go.

To hide that he was crying, Choi Hong-seo spoke in a softer voice.

“Anyway, that guy has nothing to do with it. He’s just… a naive guy who only knows work.”

He wiped his tears with the fist that had just been clenched. Raising his head, he faced the night outside the window.

From the start, and at no moment, had Lee Hae-sung ever intended to use his power or wealth to manipulate him. Choi Hong-seo knew that. The playful tone and the innocent expressions Lee Hae-sung showed were not his true nature. Being from ARA, the highest of the high, he had tried to make things easier for Choi Hong-seo, not wanting him to feel uncomfortable. Choi Hong-seo knew that his affection for him was sincere.

There was no way he could let Lee Hae-sung’s name be dragged through the mud along with X. He knew that the public didn’t care about the truth. Once a person got labeled as X, they would be forever remembered not for the bigger truth, but as an idol involved in a scandal.

Jung Ji-in, whether he believed it or not, sighed deeply and spoke calmly.

[In early November, Yoon Ju-ho is going on a business trip to China.]

Yoon Ju-ho was the lead actor in the drama Jung Ji-in was filming. Because of his trip, some scenes involving other people would have to be filmed quickly, and when Yoon Ju-ho returned, Jung Ji-in’s schedule would loosen up.

[I’ll come to see you when he leaves. I won’t be able to stay long, but I can spare a day or two.]

“It’s fine. I’ll probably be in Bangkok by then… what’s the point of spending 12 hours on a plane for just a day or two?”

[Well, I was planning to take a short break too, just to clear my head.]

“Then… I’ll tell the managers about the schedule.”

[Also… I want to introduce you to someone. I’ll introduce them when I see you.]

The person he was planning to introduce was definitely a romantic partner. Knowing how emotionless Jung Ji-in had been, Choi Hong-seo felt genuinely happy and relieved that Jung Ji-in was in a relationship. He was curious to meet the person, wanting to know who they were.

I also have someone I want to introduce to you.

Just as Choi Hong-seo was about to say it, he stopped himself and sealed his lips shut.

[Hong-seo, hang in there. Over time, situations change, and even things that seem like they have no solution right now might find an opening… Holding on is how we catch our opportunities. Let’s hang in there, okay?]

Choi Hong-seo couldn’t respond. He silently gazed down at the small cars and the street trees far below, feeling the weight of the silence.

After ending the call with Jung Ji-in, his body felt as heavy as cotton soaked in water. It was only then that he realized his shirt was damp with sweat. He glanced over at the door. He needed to check how the X scandal was unfolding, seizing any chance he could.

As soon as he opened the portal site app, his phone buzzed in his hand. The screen lit up, displaying “Investor-nim,” the saved contact name.

It wasn’t a video call, but without thinking, Choi Hong-seo looked at his face in the reflection of the window. He quickly wiped away any traces of tears with his hand. Taking a deep breath, he slowly counted to five, one, two, three… closing his fingers as he reached five. It had been a long time since he counted like this before a call, but for the first time, it wasn’t because of excited anticipation, but because of the fear he wanted to avoid.

“Hello?”

[Oh? It’s connected. I saw you were on another call.]

“Oh, it was just a call from Ji-in hyung.”

[He must have been worried, huh?]

“Yeah… I guess so.”

After the news about Go Ji-woon’s suicide attempt broke, Choi Hong-seo had of course also spoken to Lee Hae-sung. He had been deeply concerned about the shock Choi Hong-seo must have experienced due to the X scandal, without ever suspecting that it could be linked to him.

“When I’m in Bangkok, hyung said he’d come by for a bit. I mentioned that to him.”

Trying to reassure him that he wasn’t just moping around in depression, Choi Hong-seo deliberately brought up a lighter topic.

[Really?]

The surprise in Lee Hae-sung’s voice was followed by excitement.

[Actually, I’ve been quietly working behind the scenes to meet you in Bangkok too.]

Choi Hong-seo, who had been pacing slowly in front of the window, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Bangkok…?”