Jung Sungwon Sunbae
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Hyunsoo, it was great seeing you at the bar yesterday.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: I kept waiting, but when I didn’t hear from you, I figured you must have thrown away my business card and gave up.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: And yet, meeting you in such an unexpected place like that…
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: It felt like fate, haha.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: But honestly, I can’t stop thinking about what happened with Sunbae Jooho.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Seeing him act so forceful toward you made me really angry…
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: I know, I’m probably just being nosy, right?
It is nosy.
Two guys dating, getting into a fight, and making that much of a fuss—is that really such a big deal?
Song Hyunsoo exhaled a thin stream of smoke and replied inwardly.
After their reunion at the bar in the West Sea, Jung Sungwon had started sending the occasional message.
He wasn’t overtly rude or disrespectful, and as a sunbae, Hyunsoo kept up the bare minimum of polite replies.
But the real reason he kept responding to Sungwon’s messages was different.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Things are buzzing about Sunbae Jooho following you.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: You’re the only person Yoon Jooho’s following—honestly, that’s pretty amazing.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: I’m worried you might get attacked by Jooho’s fans because of this.
Me: Thank you for your concern, Sunbae-nim.
Me: Thankfully, nothing like that has happened yet…
Me: But it is a bit scary, getting so much attention all of a sudden.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Anyone would feel that way.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: If you ever need someone to talk to or just want to chat, you can contact me.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: I might not be on the same level as Sunbae Jooho, but I’m still your Sunbae.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Actually, there’s a project by Writer Moon Sujin starting next year.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: There’s a role in there I think would suit you perfectly, so I’d like to recommend you to her.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Next year, <Dissolve> will be cranking up, so you’ll be free for other projects.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Just think of me as a nosy sunbae.
Jung Sungwon Sunbae: Make some time for me, sometime.
Hmm…
The last message came two days ago.
For someone as busy as Jung Sungwon, he’d been reaching out pretty regularly. He never crossed any lines.
Given his popularity and position, he was actually quite well-mannered and considerate.
People who are gay, or bi, or curious about new experiences—surprisingly, they’re everywhere.
Whether it was men or women, Song Hyunsoo had lived a fairly popular life so far.
So, receiving friendly advances wasn’t strange or unusual for him.
But it made Hyunsoo suspicious that most of Sungwon’s messages ‘coincidentally’ turned into conversations about Yoon Jooho.
Maybe I really am his type. Still, he couldn’t shake off this vague uneasiness. Better safe than sorry.
Step, step. Footsteps approached from the backyard, followed by a familiar voice.
“What are you looking at so seriously?”
It was Yoon Jooho.
“Ah… nothing, really.”
Moving the cigarette from his lips to his fingers, Song Hyunsoo shoved his phone into his pocket.
Running into someone covered in blood isn’t just scary on a pitch-black night.
Even in the bright afternoon sun, Yoon Jooho in full makeup startled people.
No, the contrast with the sunshine only made him look more unnatural and shocking.
Maybe that’s why Director Jung decided to set Baek Kang’s murder in broad daylight.
Yoon Jooho, spattered with fake blood on his face and clothes, stopped a few steps away from where Song Hyunsoo was sitting.
He was still wearing the puffer jacket from the shoot. A simple black down jacket from a sponsor, nothing flashy.
It came down to his hips, zipped up to his chin in a stand collar. If anything stood out, it was the gray logo on the upper left.
Compared to the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions won jumpers and coats he wore off-set, this was nothing.
Even as a filming costume, his mother would’ve frowned at it.
But to Song Hyunsoo, it was Baek Kang, through and through.
A man who’d spent his whole life in a small seaside village, sailing, mending nets, helping the elders without complaint.
Not sophisticated, but quietly warm. Just—his face was a bit too beautiful.
“Do you have plans after today’s shoot?”
The narrow backyard stretched out like a corridor. Diagonally opposite where Song Hyunsoo was sitting, Yoon Jooho leaned back against the stone wall.
“Not really. It’s the same every time we finish shooting.”
“Then, meet me around midnight in the hotel’s underground parking lot.”
“The parking lot?”
He wasn’t inviting him to his room, but the parking lot? Song Hyunsoo looked up at him.
Yoon Jooho couldn’t meet his gaze. He fidgeted, pulling at a stray weed poking out between the stones.
“Just spare me some time. There’s somewhere I want to go with you.”
“…Alright.”
Because Yoon Jooho was being so shy, Song Hyunsoo felt his own cheeks heat up too.
They’d already dated before. They’d seen each other naked plenty, enjoyed things that couldn’t be spoken of, cuddled, clung to each other, kissed… They’d done all the cringey things regular couples did.
And yet, they were acting like two boys who hadn’t even had their first kiss. It was ridiculous.
What do I do? Is he planning to confess again today? — It felt like being a teenager all over again, but with Yoon Jooho.
Yoon Jooho’s wandering eyes suddenly lingered on Hyunsoo’s face.
He realized Jooho was staring at the swollen, bruised special effects makeup. Hyunsoo smiled, touching his puffy cheek and eye.
“This is pretty cool, right? It looks real. I even took a selfie with it.”
Yoon Jooho frowned slightly and carefully reached out a hand.
“It doesn’t hurt, right?”
“……”
So you thought the same thing as me.
Even knowing the blood on his hand and face was fake, seeing it still made Hyunsoo’s heart skip.
Maybe thinking his question was dumb, Yoon Jooho gave a dry laugh and shook his head.
“Never mind. Don’t worry about it.”
Then, checking Baek Kang’s sports watch, he signaled it was time to go back.
“Ah.”
He took a few steps, then suddenly turned around. Song Hyunsoo stopped in his tracks too.
“That scene earlier. I felt like something was missing too. I don’t know what it was.”
“……”
“Show me what your Lee San would do.”
“……”
“Whatever it is, I’ll follow your lead.”
Song Hyunsoo nodded with a smile, and Yoon Jooho smiled back.
Then he reached out and played with Hyunsoo’s earlobe.
As he rolled the soft flesh between his fingers, he jerked his hand away as if burned.
Maybe he realized he’d touched him without asking.
“Let’s go. We’ll be late.”
Turning away, Yoon Jooho scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he walked ahead.
He’s so good at seduction, but so bad at dating. Cute, and a little satisfying, Hyunsoo thought, quietly laughing as he left the backyard.
■
“Camera, roll.”
The camera started recording first.
“Speed.”
Audio started.
“Scene number 47, cut 1, take 1.”
After the slate, the assistant director called out.
“Action.”
Lee San clattered in, opening the kitchen’s back door. He touched his sore left cheek with his fingertips and grimaced.
“Ah! Damn… that hurts. That old man, he hadn’t hit my face for a while…”
Lee San’s face lit up as he saw Baek Kang in the kitchen.
“Oh? Hyung!”
But Baek Kang’s face, as he turned, looked different from usual. Something shimmered, unstable, behind his clear eyes.
Red stains splattered across his beautiful face, a knife in his hand, and dark red—almost black—liquid dripping from the blade.
Thud.
Lee San dropped his bag, his breathing quickening. He rushed over to Baek Kang, checking him all over.
“Hyung! What is all this? That’s blood, isn’t it? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“It’s really… swollen.”
Baek Kang’s voice trembled just a little. His gaze, scanning Lee San’s battered face, quivered too.
“I heard you got hit again yesterday?”
Even after killing someone, Baek Kang looked at Lee San’s swollen face with more pity for him than for himself.
It wasn’t in the script—the lines, the actions—but Hyunsoo didn’t need to think about what to do.
He’d already lived this moment. When he met Yoon Jooho at the house in the West Sea, the two of them had already been worrying about each other’s wounds.
“Is getting hit even a big deal anymore? Look, your hands are covered in blood!”
As if his own bruises were nothing, Lee San fetched a dishcloth and began wiping the blood from Baek Kang’s hands and face. His hands trembled.
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