One of the security guards from the private firm contracted by Look Planning was waiting in the hallway outside the Practice Room.
He spotted Song Hyunsoo and gave a polite, brief bow.
“The Director is waiting for you in the office.”
“Ah… Yes. Understood.”
Song Hyunsoo awkwardly bowed back.
On set, Yoon Jooho was called “Actor,” but at the company, he was addressed as “Director.”
Every time Hyunsoo heard that, it felt strange—and yet there was a subtle thrill to it, like thinking about someone you’d just started flirting with.
Not Actor Yoon Jooho, but Director Yoon Jooho.
A side of him unknown to the public, and even to Hyunsoo himself.
They say that seeing your lover at work can make you fall for them all over again.
Was this what that meant?
But I see sunbae act all the time, and I always fall for him.
Ah, but Actor Yoon Jooho is the version I know well, so maybe this is something different?
Calling the elevator with the Look Planning Badge hanging around his neck, Hyunsoo rode it up to the top floor.
It felt like he was a new employee secretly dating the Director.
Leaning in the corner of the elevator, Song Hyunsoo kept letting out little chuckles to himself.
On the Screen above, a teaser for <Dissolve> happened to be playing.
His own face appeared on the same screen alongside Yoon Jooho’s.
His own name followed right after Yoon Jooho’s.
It felt like he’d come to another world—a truly dazzling world.
■
When he stepped out of the elevator, the atmosphere was completely different from the lower floor where the Practice Rooms were.
The hallway played lounge music at a low volume, with a plush olive-colored carpet underfoot, and a giant Screen spanning the wall displayed highlight videos of actors under Look Planning.
Taking in the artfully edited footage like video art, Song Hyunsoo walked to the end of the hallway.
On the top floor of the building facing Dosandae-ro, the office occupied the corner with the most impressive view.
Beside the entrance, a small plaque still read “Honorary Director Yoon Jooho.”
At home, he would use Jooho’s thigh as a pillow, tug on his earlobes, and even play with his penis—Song Hyunsoo could do anything he wanted with Yoon Jooho.
But standing in front of this door, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
A new employee secretly dating the Director.
Recalling that thought, he let out a soft laugh and composed his expression.
After knocking two or three times, he carefully opened the door.
“No, I’m planning to restructure the Board of Directors entirely.”
Yoon Jooho’s voice came through.
He was on the phone, standing in front of the panoramic windows behind his desk.
“If you put it that way, yes. I mean, I own over 90% of the shares. Who’s going to stop me?”
Spotting Hyunsoo’s face, he motioned for him to come in. Song Hyunsoo scratched his nose with a finger as he walked toward the central sofa set.
Whatever the person on the other end said, Jooho laughed cheerfully.
“‘They listen well’? That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”
It seemed he was discussing business. Judging by his mood, the meeting this morning must have gone well.
Sitting down on the sofa, Song Hyunsoo set his backpack on the carpet and took off his jacket, stealing glances at Jooho, still on the call.
“Anyway, until now the Board was full of people who were basically their lapdogs. All they knew how to do was fawn and max out the company credit card… Every project in progress is a mess.”
He was in a suit, his jacket casually draped over the backrest of the sofa opposite Hyunsoo.
Yoon Jooho had played countless managers, CEOs, Vice Directors, and Directors over the years.
But the real “Director Yoon Jooho” somehow seemed different from them.
I guess it’s only natural that a Director crafted for a drama would be different from the real thing.
If I had to choose which I preferred…
“I need someone who can actually do the job. Someone capable, motivated. It’s not easy these days to find someone with real drive. My team will send the official requirements. I’m counting on you to find someone decent.”
Finishing his call, Yoon Jooho set his phone down on the desk and looked at Song Hyunsoo. His face looked refreshed.
“How was your Lesson? Did it go well?”
Hyunsoo nodded.
Even in that single sentence, warmth and intimacy came through.
His tone, voice, and expression—all completely different from when he’d been on the phone. The way he treated his lover.
“It seemed to take longer than usual.”
“Afterward, hyung asked me for an autograph.”
“Oh… another autograph request? You’re getting popular, Actor Song.”
Jooho plopped down on the sofa right next to Hyunsoo, almost collapsing into the seat.
Pressing himself against Hyunsoo, he nudged him toward the armrest.
“Ah! I’m so tired.”
Scooting to the end of the sofa, lowering his posture, Yoon Jooho leaned his temple against Hyunsoo’s shoulder and sagged.
“Is work that busy?”
“I’m trying to lock it down as my own. There’s a lot to sort out.”
“What will you do if it gets too hard?”
“Once things settle, it’ll be fine. I’m working hard now so I can focus on acting from here on out.”
After his parents’ arrest and trial left the CEO position vacant, Yoon Jooho had temporarily taken over.
But what he wanted was ownership of the company, not management rights.
Juggling management and acting was too much.
Currently, Yoon Jooho was the real owner of Look Planning, holding over 90% of the shares, and was both chairman of the Board of Directors and a registered Director.
Unlike the past, when he’d held only an honorary director’s title despite having most of the shares, his position was now completely different.
He could fill the board with people he wanted, and oversee the CEO appointed by the board.
He could maintain absolute influence without managing the company himself.
Yoon Jooho naturally laced his fingers with Hyunsoo’s hand, resting on his thigh.
His dry, slender fingers slipped between Hyunsoo’s, brushing over his palm.
“It’s mine. If I don’t want to lose it again, I have to keep it well maintained.”
Leaning against Hyunsoo’s shoulder, Yoon Jooho looked up, eyes wide.
“Don’t you think so?”
The two shared a quiet laugh, locking eyes.
『“If someone tries to take sunbae’s things, you have to chase them to the end and take them back.”』
Jooho was living by those words Hyunsoo had once said to him, following them to the letter.
Seeing it now, he really does listen to me.
Looking down at Jooho’s tired face, eyes shadowed, Hyunsoo wondered.
Am I having a positive effect on him, even just a little? I hope so.
“Was the meeting long?”
“Yeah, a bit. We kept going while eating lunch boxes.”
Hyunsoo squeezed his hand a little tighter. He felt sorry for him.
“There’s nothing I can do to help, is there?”
Leaning on his shoulder, Yoon Jooho let out a low chuckle.
Pulling their intertwined hands up to his mouth, he lightly bit Hyunsoo’s fingers.
“You’re helping me right now.”
Beneath the pulled-up shirt cuff, his Wristwatch caught Hyunsoo’s eye—the ice-blue dial, the very same one he’d reclaimed from Yoon Jooho’s previous Manager.
Since then, Jooho wore that Wristwatch most days, especially on important ones, unless it really clashed with his outfit.
To him, it had become a kind of “lucky charm.”
The book Hyunsoo had written a short letter in, and the Keyring he’d given recently as a gift.
Even if he didn’t say it out loud, Jooho treasured anything Hyunsoo gave him.
Just as Hyunsoo kept every note Jooho left him.
“If there’s ever anything I can help with, no matter what it is, just tell me.”
“Yeah.”
“Even the tiniest thing, it doesn’t matter. You have to tell me everything, okay?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Even if it’s just complaints or grumbling.”
Jooho looked up at him again, the corners of his mouth lifting, though he still looked a bit worn out.
“You want me to complain to you, someone who’s done nothing wrong?”
No matter how much you love someone, there are things you can’t do for them, places you can’t go with them.
Life always has moments where you have to face things alone.
You know it in your head, but your heart never gets used to it.
He’s so precious to me, I’d do anything for him—yet all I can do is watch from the sidelines.
That’s the most frustrating thing.
With his free hand, Hyunsoo gently cupped Jooho’s cheek.
“I mean, even if it’s just complaining about good or bad situations, or someone doing well or not at work. Stuff like that.”
Jooho closed his eyes, almost as if savoring the warmth of Hyunsoo’s palm.
“You want to hear about that? Isn’t it boring?”
“It’s not boring.”
“Hm.”
“We’re lovers. If you don’t talk to me, who will? I’ll listen to everything, and I’ll keep all your secrets.”
Jooho, eyes closed for a moment, slowly opened his lids. He turned the words over in his mouth, repeating them.
“Lovers?”
“Lovers.”
“So you’d do those things because we’re lovers?”
“That’s right.”
“Hm… not because we’re family?”
“……”
“Didn’t you say you’re my family now?”
His gaze weighed heavy, like a child desperately wanting reassurance.
“F-family, too. That’s why you can tell me anything.”