Haah.
Song Hyunsoo let out a long breath, his breath turning to mist in the cold air.
He paused for a moment in front of the door, pretending to rummage through his pockets and bag to buy himself some time.
It was right at the cusp of winter truly beginning.
It was in this very spot that he had exchanged farewells with Jung Jin.
It was the last time they met before Jung Jin left for Paris.
Though that parting had been lonely and a little sad, at the same time, he’d been excited at the thought that he might be cast in the same film as Yoon Jooho.
He’d been dreaming big, even though he had no idea if he’d even pass the audition.
Back then, to Song Hyunsoo, Yoon Jooho was nothing more than a Superstar Yoon Jooho, someone shining far away.
He was just as distant as ever, someone he only ever saw through the media.
Now, that distant star was waiting for him here, late at night, so they could head out to the west coast together.
The suddenness of this change amazed him all over again.
Jung Ho and Chaeyoung were convinced that this was a fling, but there was one thing he hadn’t told them.
『Isn’t it kind of funny for two guys to act like this? It’s not like we’re actually dating.』
Maybe that comment was the real crux of it.
Because it contained the very real possibility that what they had now wasn’t a fling or someone stringing the other along, but simply being bed partners.
But at the same time, it was something that didn’t bother Song Hyunsoo at all.
The car’s hazard lights blinked, signaling to him.
Yoon Jooho was waving a carrot at him from the driver’s seat.
Whether that carrot was under-ripe, rotten, or being eaten by someone else too, none of it really mattered.
The only thing to do was to run up and take a bite.
Suppressing the laughter that threatened to escape, Song Hyunsoo pressed his lips together and hurried toward the car.
As he drew closer, the passenger window slowly rolled down.
Peeking inside, he saw Yoon Jooho at the wheel.
No sooner had he jumped into the passenger seat than the window closed again.
“You got here really fast?”
“It’s Sunday at this hour. There’s no traffic.”
Yoon Jooho answered easily, then glanced at Song Hyunsoo again and let out a small laugh.
“Do you wear that thing every day?”
“Why, what’s wrong with it? It’s warm and comfortable.”
It was the orange down jacket Yoon Jooho had given him.
Brushing off the sleeve, Song Hyunsoo started showing off the jacket like some kind of show host.
“It looks like the color’s too much, right? But winter clothes are usually all neutral colors. So actually, it goes with everything. You just throw this on over anything and you’re ready to go out.”
“Are you planning to wear it until there are holes in it?”
“Of course! Who gave— I mean, do you know how expensive this is?”
He almost let slip his real feelings, but changed the subject, blaming the price.
He glanced away, feeling awkward for a moment.
It was partly because he realized Yoon Jooho was staring at him, his upper body leaning over the steering wheel.
“So, um, aren’t we going to get going? If we wait any longer, we’ll get there tomorrow.”
“Treating me like your chauffeur, huh?”
Yoon Jooho straightened up and started the car, chuckling.
The Escalade pulled away from in front of ‘Jessica’ and merged onto the road, heading down a quiet Daehakro.
“It says one hour and fifty-eight minutes left.”
He checked the Navigation and said so, prompting Yoon Jooho to glance his way.
“Are you hungry?”
“Why?”
“If you’re hungry, we can stop and get something.”
“I had dinner at around eight at the restaurant. If you’re hungry, you can buy something.”
Yoon Jooho shook his head and pointed at the Center Fascia’s audio system with his chin.
“Connect your phone and play some music.”
“Okay.”
Song Hyunsoo connected his phone to the Escalade via Bluetooth and carefully chose a song.
He didn’t want to seem like he was trying to set a mood, but he didn’t want to kill the mood either.
After leaving Daehakro, the car passed Design Plaza on the left and started down Jangchungdan-ro.
With his elbow resting on the window frame, Yoon Jooho listened to the music and let out a small laugh.
“Listening to a song that doesn’t suit you, huh?”
“What kind of song would suit me, then?”
He shot back, a little sulkily, and Yoon Jooho turned to look at him.
Then he reached out and carelessly brushed Song Hyunsoo’s bangs up over his forehead.
His long, neat fingers were always a little cool to the touch.
“What are you sulking for? I just meant it was unexpected.”
His ears burned.
Something inside him, like a wronged boy, made his face flush and his chest tighten.
No, maybe it wasn’t tightness.
It was more like the urge to just run somewhere, anywhere.
Unable to keep his hands still, Song Hyunsoo took off the jacket he’d been wearing.
“I like the song.”
But what he liked more was Yoon Jooho’s voice as he said it.
Yoon Jooho’s voice, his fingers, his lips, and the scent of that mature man he liked—still present even in this car.
Every single one of those things made him feel ticklish.
Like when hair slips down the back of your shirt and you can’t help but squirm.
Remembering what Chaeyoung and Jung Ho said about how this was definitely a fling, Song Hyunsoo snuck a glance at Yoon Jooho’s profile.
Coming to pick him up at the end of his part-time job, impulsively heading to see the night sea together… Even he had to admit, this was definitely a date.
“Did you check the draft of the Contract Agreement?”
“…Huh?”
“The draft of the Contract Agreement.”
“Oh, yeah. I did.”
“Then why haven’t you said anything?”
“The director said I could let him know by Monday…”
“Do you need more time to think? I think it’s a pretty good offer.”
“It is. It’s not just good, it’s almost too good…”
“Does it feel like a scam?”
“I know it’s not a scam, of course.”
Yoon Jooho rummaged through the center console for a pack of cigarettes.
He rolled the window down about a third and lit one.
“Let me guess.”
“……”
“You’re probably thinking, ‘Why is he offering me such a good deal? Am I really worth this much?’ Something like that, right?”
“How did you know??”
At Song Hyunsoo’s honest reaction, Yoon Jooho let out a baffled laugh.
“Didn’t Jung Jin say? That I take acting seriously.”
“He did.”
“It’s true. I’m not the type to be swayed by feelings. And I’d never let those feelings get involved in my work or my company. I’m investing not in your current value, but in your potential. I’m not running a charity, so don’t dig too deep.”
Yoon Jooho flicked the ash from his cigarette and looked over at him.
“You said you want to become a Top Star.”
“I will. I have to.”
“I’ll back you up.”
“……”
“No matter how much support you get, if you don’t have the ability, you’ll slip and fall sooner or later. This isn’t an easy world.”
“I know.”
“At the very least, I can make sure you don’t slip and fall if you’re working hard.”
Song Hyunsoo bowed his head, at a loss for words.
This time, even though Yoon Jooho didn’t touch him, his face grew hot and his chest tightened again.
Ever since he’d come up to Seoul, life had been a constant battle of wits.
For a guy with nothing but his own body, the world he met here seemed determined to take even that away.
Everyone was an enemy to be doubted and guarded against.
The only people he could ever relax around, even for a moment, were people in the same boat as him, like Choi Hongseo.
He never thought a big shot like Yoon Jooho would ever offer to back him up.
That kind of solid support was something he thought only happened in other people’s lives, never his own.
The words ‘I’ll back you up’, the fact that the person offering to support him was none other than his long-time hero, Yoon Jooho, made Song Hyunsoo’s eyes burn.
Switching his cigarette to his left hand, Yoon Jooho reached out and placed his right hand gently on the back of Song Hyunsoo’s bowed head, as if comforting him.
“What if I can’t even earn back the Contract Fee?”
Even after clearing his throat, Song Hyunsoo couldn’t hide the tremble in his voice.
“That’s why the contract period is Ten Years.”
Yoon Jooho added, half-joking, that he’d work him until he made back all the investment and then some.
His hand, which had been tousling the back of Hyunsoo’s head, slid down to the nape of his neck, playfully ruffling the spot where his hair was starting to grow in.
And there was affection in that gesture.
“What if even Ten Years isn’t enough for me to make it?”
“Then it means I didn’t have an eye for talent after all.”
At Yoon Jooho’s clear, confident answer, Song Hyunsoo looked up.
Yoon Jooho smiled, relaxed and self-assured.
“But my judgment’s never wrong.”
He switched the cigarette from his left to right hand, bringing it to his lips, and said playfully,
“Think carefully. The moment you sign, you’re tied to me for Ten Years.”
If I sign twice, does that make it Twenty Years? Three times, Thirty Years?
He wanted to ask, but held back.
After that, they talked about many things.
How he’d started working at Rotteneria in his hometown as a high school student to help make ends meet.
How, to earn a bit more per hour, he’d switched to working at a Noraebang during his last winter of high school.
How, before even getting his diploma, he’d moved up to Seoul and found a job at a Bar.
“So you didn’t go to your high school graduation?”
“It was just a school I only attended regularly. Earning money as soon as possible was more important.”
“……”
“My guardians are aging twice as fast as other people’s parents, you know.”
Song Hyunsoo had just turned twenty, but his Grandmother and Grandfather were already past sixty.
They weren’t young anymore, and their bodies, worn from years of hard work, were starting to break down.
With only Grandmother’s flyer delivery job and Grandfather’s odd jobs at the Market, it was hard to make ends meet.
So he’d pretended to be doing better than he was.
Told them not to worry, that he was making plenty of money in Seoul.
He just wanted to put their minds at ease.
After Grandfather was fired for being “inefficient,” he’d taken Myung Dohoon’s advice and taken out a loan to open a Bunsik Restaurant for them—just after he turned twenty-one.
He regretted it now.
Except for the moment he saw his Grandmother and Grandfather’s happy faces, there hadn’t been a single day since that he didn’t regret it.
There are no shortcuts in life without pitfalls.
If there were, everyone would take them.
“What do you want to do when you get the Contract Fee?”
At Yoon Jooho’s question, Song Hyunsoo’s face lit up with a dreamy smile.
The Contract Fee Yoon Jooho offered was Five Million Won.
There was nowhere that would offer such a sum to an unknown actor with no impressive resume.
It was an almost legendary deal in the industry.
If it had been anyone but Yoon Jooho, he would have assumed it was a scam and deleted the email on the spot.
“Isn’t that enough to escape the rooftop room?”
“My Grandmother and Grandfather.”
Looking up at the moon that followed tirelessly outside the window, Song Hyunsoo smiled as if just imagining it made him happy.
“I’m going to get them a Second Floor Lease with plenty of sunlight.”