Song Hyunsoo stopped the music and replied curtly,
“Couldn’t get a taxi.”
Because Jooho was sitting in the rear driver’s side seat, there was a bit of distance between them.
He leaned his upper body toward the window, resting his chin on the armrest, and said,
“Get in.”
“I’m fine. There are still plenty of buses.”
“Don’t be stubborn. Just get in, will you?”
Am I the only one being stubborn? You’re the one insisting when I just said I’m fine.
Wait— is that Jooho?
No way.
Actually… it really looks like him. Isn’t it him?
A group of drunken people crowded near the bus stop started murmuring among themselves.
“Hey, record it. Get it on video.”
One of them urged the others in an excited voice.
Still resting his chin on the armrest, Jooho lazily shook his crossed leg and mumbled in an exaggerated tone,
“Oh no… people are starting to recognize me.”
That sly fox…
With no other choice, Song Hyunsoo got into the car.
The door had barely shut before the car pulled away from the bus stop.
He had assumed Director Bang would be in the driver’s seat, but the unfamiliar back of the driver caught him off guard.
Awkwardly, he tugged down the strap of his backpack and glanced toward the driver.
“That’s not Director Bang?”
The man behind the wheel was broad-shouldered and had a close-cropped haircut.
“Different manager from the company. This is Chief Cha. You’ll be seeing a lot of each other for the next year whether you like it or not. He’s handling things for <Dissolve> too.”
“I’m Cha Kyumin, actor-nim. I look forward to working with you.”
Since he was driving, the manager only tilted his head slightly in greeting.
Song Hyunsoo gave a stiff bow in return toward the man’s back.
“Hello, I’m Song Hyunsoo.”
“I thought you were the type who didn’t need a company because you were so good at socializing. Why so shy now?”
“I’m not being shy. I’m embarrassed because I acted like a child earlier.”
Unlike how he’d been when they said goodbye at the restaurant, Jooho seemed in a good mood now, joking around.
It was like he’d returned to the Jooho from their days of bickering and doing script practice together at the mansion.
As the tension eased, Song Hyunsoo finally began to notice the extraordinary interior of the car.
He removed the earbuds from his ears and leaned toward Jooho, lowering his voice.
“How did you get the seats and the interior like this? Are these all options?”
“VIP seat option.”
“This doesn’t feel like a car… more like business class on a plane. Not that I’ve ever ridden one.”
It was a Cadillac Escalade, a full-sized SUV known for its commanding presence even from the outside.
Unsurprisingly, its interior was just as spacious.
With only two seats installed in the second row, each one was exceptionally wide.
The legroom between the first and second rows was ample enough that one could probably eat a full meal there.
This setup would be perfect for long-distance travel or for resting during shoots.
Many celebrities used large RVs with recliner seats in the second row.
But an Escalade?
That was just so… Jooho.
Between Song Hyunsoo and Jooho sat a wide armrest with cup holders, completely separating their spaces.
Hyunsoo fiddled with a button on the armrest.
“How far does this recline? 180 degrees? 160?”
“If you’re curious, try pressing it.”
“You could just tell me.”
“When we were in the 911 together, you opened and touched everything without asking. But now, with Chief Cha around, you’re playing coy?”
Leaning diagonally against the center armrest, Jooho kept teasing him, clearly amused.
“I’m not playing coy! Don’t say weird stuff.”
“Aren’t you going to ask how much the car costs?”
“Ah, come on.”
Still constantly glancing toward the driver’s seat, Song Hyunsoo finally reached out and covered Jooho’s grinning mouth. It happened before he even realized it.
“……”
And the moment Jooho’s lips touched his palm, he flinched and pulled his hand back like he’d been shocked.
“You kept saying weird stuff…”
“Why are you more startled than me? I’m the one who got my lips stolen.”
“St-stolen? Who stole what! Seriously, what’s wrong with you? Did you eat a bad steak earlier or something?”
His heart was pounding. Just like when Jooho’s hand had touched his cheek— no, this was even worse.
The spot on his palm where Jooho’s lips had brushed burned like it had been branded with a hot iron.
It felt like a second, tiny heart had sprouted there.
What’s wrong with me?
Since when was I this innocent?
He stole a glance at Jooho’s side profile as the man unscrewed a bottle of water and took a sip.
Is it because it’s him?
Because I touched the body of a top star?
On TV, people go nuts just for a handshake with Jooho, regardless of age or gender.
Even while joking around with me like this, he’s still Jooho.
People freak out just brushing against the sleeve of someone like him.
I mean, any normal Korean would react like this… right?
“Your place is totally the opposite direction, though. You really didn’t have to give me a ride,” Hyunsoo said, unzipping his jumper.
The car’s interior felt warm— almost too warm.
“I heard some of the kids are hanging out in Hannam-dong. Thought I’d stop by since it’s on the way.”
“You’re meeting friends?”
“I didn’t say they were friends. I just said kids.”
Jooho casually dropped the water bottle into the holder and drew a clear line.
After struggling to get off Eonju-ro, the car finally made a left turn onto Apgujeong-ro and began picking up speed.
“By the way, you’re not wearing cologne today? You usually douse yourself in it like crazy.”
“Why are you so interested in my cologne? Are you some kind of scent maniac?”
“I’ve told you like five times. I can’t afford that kind of stuff.”
“It was a dinner outing. Drenching myself in cologne would’ve been rude.”
Boing. Wait, is that an actual rule?
He imagined showing up after spraying himself head to toe in expensive cologne, mimicking Jooho.
Right now, he didn’t even have the money for perfume.
Even if he did, he’d never spray it that liberally— it’d feel like a waste.
Still, the thought alone made him cringe.
“How am I supposed to know stuff like that?”
“Stuff like what?”
“Like, don’t wear cologne to dinner, drink white wine with fish. Those kinds of things. Is there a book or something?”
“What book? You just learn one by one like today.”
“By getting humiliated every time?”
All these so-called manners and rules had never been necessary in the world Hyunsoo came from.
He’d lived just fine without them. But now, not knowing them was starting to cause real problems.
“When you wear a suit, you’re supposed to match your belt to your shoes. If you leave the table during a meal, your napkin goes on the chair, not the table. Stuff like that goes on forever. It’s not something you can cram for overnight.”
“Wow… thanks for the encouraging advice.”
“When your place in the world changes, so do the things you see, the things you hear, and the people you meet. You’ll pick it up naturally.”
“……”
“You just have to hold on. In this business, the one who survives is the one who wins.”
Maybe it was the weight of 30 years at the top speaking— but somehow, it made sense.
When he was cast in Director Jung Joonhee’s film, sitting in the second row of a luxury SUV worth hundreds of millions, gazing out at a world that looked a little different now, and hearing career-defining advice from top actor Yoon Jooho—
That’s when Song Hyunsoo began to realize that, without even noticing, his world had already started to change.
“Even if the press or haters try to crush me?”
“If they push, you push back just as hard,” Jooho said with a shrug, like it was nothing.
Even after his agency disappeared, Hyunsoo hadn’t left the entertainment world behind.
That was a decision made with conviction.
This was the industry that had pushed Choi Hongseo off the 32nd floor.
He’d made up his mind to succeed here— spectacularly, in full view.
Not just out of some need to avenge Choi Hongseo.
But after Hongseo’s death, a fury had ignited in Hyunsoo’s heart, and in order not to be consumed by that flame, he decided he would at least struggle to go as far as he could in this business.
He didn’t want to run away with his tail between his legs.
To endure, no matter how hard someone tried to drag him down.
Jooho’s advice was, perhaps, exactly the thing Hyunsoo needed most right now.
Hyunsoo glanced down at the backpack he had placed on the floor.
Resolving himself, he leaned forward and unzipped it.
Rustle, rustle.
He could feel Jooho’s curious gaze on him.
He pulled out a crumpled shopping bag that had been crushed in his bag for too long and handed it to Jooho.
“Here, sunbae.”
“What is this?”
“A book and a notebook.”
“What am I supposed to do with these?”
Jooho accepted the bag.
The wrinkled bookstore bag looked hilariously out of place with Yoon Jooho’s image, and Hyunsoo suddenly wanted to snatch it back, claiming it was a mistake.
To stop himself, he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. Not because they were cold.
“It’s like a bribe for my boss.”
“You think you can win me over with a book and a notebook?”
Despite the words, Jooho didn’t look displeased.
Just as he reached into the bag, Hyunsoo hurriedly stopped him.
“Wait! Open it at home.”
“So fussy.”
“I looked it up— copying texts by hand is good for insomnia.”
“Copying texts?”
“If you handwrite good writing, it calms your mind and helps you sleep better.”
“……”
“Of course, you’ve probably already tried all the fancy and expensive sleep aids out there… but this book had good reviews, so… Also, it was just Christmas! So it’s kind of a late gift, too.”
Over the past week, without any reason to see Jooho, Hyunsoo had felt strangely empty.
He found himself visiting Jooho’s social media more often, opening his contact card just to look at it, despite having no intention of calling or texting.
Eventually, he even searched terms like “how to sleep better” and “how to calm your nerves” on portal sites.
Most of the methods, Hyunsoo himself had already tried.
Except for handwriting.