CRANK 26

But fortunately, there was no one who recognized him, took photos, or asked for an autograph. While standing in the lobby waiting for Youngjun, I took out my phone to do the one thing I hadn’t managed to do earlier.

“First off, I’ll have to ask them to cut your scenes for at least a week. I’ll relay it to Director Bae for you.”

I said this to Woo Dobin with a much lighter heart, but he furrowed his brows.

“There isn’t much action anyway; it’s mostly just running or light scuffles, so you don’t really have to do that.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear the doctor say not to use your shoulder as much as possible?”

“But…”

Woo Dobin seemed worried about the schedule being disrupted.

“Don’t worry. I can fill in for you while you’re out.”

“That’s what I don’t want. You already have plenty of filming to do at the start; you can’t handle any more of the schedule.”

“Ha, give me a break.”

I sensed that this was the moment to show a model example of a sunbae. I put on a reliable expression and patted Woo Dobin’s shoulder.

“Ah!”

“Oh, sorry.”

Of all places, I hit his right shoulder. It seemed I had already failed to show my sunbae charm, but I stubbornly lifted my chin and said, “In my last movie, I shot underwater scenes without sleeping for thirty hours. This much is a piece of cake.”

“But you were sick for a week after that.”

“…Uh, how do you even know that…”

Ah, I must have mentioned it on a variety show.

“Anyway, don’t worry. If you force yourself and make the injury worse, and the schedule gets messed up, it’ll be a burden on everyone.”

I spoke a bit harshly because I felt it was the only way to break his stubbornness, and Woo Dobin’s lips puffed out.

“By the way, where’s your manager?”

I thought of the young man with the kind impression I’d seen last time.

“Why do you ask about my manager?”

“Didn’t you contact him? You should’ve told him to come pick you up.”

“Well, about that…”

Woo Dobin stared into the distance as if weighing something. In a surprisingly short span of time, his expression shifted rapidly.

“Because it’s December 31st? Even with your shoulder in that state, you don’t want to be a malicious employer?”

“It’s not that, it’s just… that hyung is on vacation right now.”

“What?”

“Um… he finally won an award for the first time, and he’s been through so much, so I told him to take a break.”

“But a lead actor says he’s hurt… No, wait, the crank-in is tomorrow, and you let him go on vacation?”

Woo Dobin rolled his eyes once and answered vaguely, “For the first part, there are a lot of your scenes, Sunbae, so there’s nothing for me to struggle with on set anyway. And as for the driving back and forth, I can do that myself.”

A moment ago, he said he’d been through so much, and now there’s nothing to struggle with? I frowned at his suspicious attitude.

“Well, be that as it may, tell him to come. You’re hurt.”

“Excuse me?”

“What do you mean ‘excuse me’? You can’t drive with that shoulder. What are you going to do from now on?”

“That is…”

“For now, have Youngjun take you to your place, and contact your manager right away.”

“What?”

Woo Dobin shouted, startled.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Am I going home?”

“Then where?”

“But there’s still so much I haven’t done for you. The cake is still in the fridge. We have to do the New Year’s countdown together.”

“Hey. In that state, what… are you saying we should do.”

That strange atmosphere came back to mind. Woo Dobin’s… lips on mine. F*ck. I shook my head even more violently. I should never let Woo Dobin into my house again. Especially now that something like this had happened, it was even more out of the question.

Perhaps seeing my determined expression, Woo Dobin let his eyebrows droop.

“There’s nobody home for me…”

“…Uh?”

“If I go back like this, I can’t eat dinner… and I can’t even wash up…”

It seemed like he’d already had enough dinner from the appetizers.

“…Hey.”

“Ugh.”

Woo Dobin suddenly clutched his right shoulder and slumped over.

“What is it! What’s wrong? Does it hurt? Are you okay?”

I frantically looked around, intending to call a doctor, but Woo Dobin grabbed me firmly with his left hand.

“Sunbae…”

His voice was quite pathetic.

“Yeah, why? Where and how are you uncomfortable? Do you want me to ask for a painkiller?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Then? Want an MRI?”

“That’s not it either… but… it’s just…”

Just as Woo Dobin was straightening his back to say something, “Oh! Actor, are you okay?”

Youngjun, who had returned with the medicine, shouted loudly as he approached. At the mention of ‘Actor,’ all eyes in the vicinity snapped toward us. Youngjun realized his mistake, too, and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Crazy. The lobby was buzzing. Click—I heard the muffled sound of a shutter, and a few people began to wander in our direction.

“Kim Youngjun. Bring the car. Now.”

“Y-yes, yes!”

While Youngjun ran out to the parking lot to get the car, I desperately shielded Woo Dobin as we headed for the main entrance. Youngjun, who was at least good at driving, pulled the car around in no time and pulled up in front of us. I hurriedly shoved Woo Dobin into the backseat and hopped in after him.

“Do you want to die? Why would you say ‘Actor’ there?”

“I’m sorry, Hyung. I’m sorry, Actor.”

Youngjun’s face crumpled as if he were about to cry.

“Just start the car. As fast as you can.”

“Yes!”

The car sped away from the hospital. I let out a sigh only after looking back at the receding white building.

“It looks like… we were photographed…”

Youngjun muttered, glancing at me.

“…Forget it. With the hat, mask, and long padding coat on, they probably won’t recognize you.”

“…I’m sorry…”

“More importantly, are you okay?”

I took off his hat and mask and hurriedly checked Woo Dobin’s complexion.

“…Ah.”

“Are you alright, Actor? You looked really bad earlier.”

“Ah… the truth is…”

Woo Dobin lowered his gaze. Whether it was his face or something else, that small gesture was enough to evoke sympathy.

“Actually, there’s no one at my house. With my shoulder like this, it’s impossible to use my right arm, and I was wondering what I should do from now on…”

I’d asked if his shoulder was okay, but Woo Dobin was rattling off facts I hadn’t even asked for. It was as if he was appealing to how pitiful he was.

“Don’t you have someone who works for you?” Youngjun asked with a face full of pity.

“No… I have to eat, and I have to wash… and it’s uncomfortable even to hold my phone. It’s worrying…”

“Oh dear… what about your manager? Now that you mention it, he hasn’t arrived yet, right?”

“That’s why I told you to call your manager!”

I frowned in frustration, and Woo Dobin lowered his head with a gloomy expression.

“He hasn’t been able to go on a trip even once because of me in the past few years, so I can’t ask him to come back…”

“Hey.”

“He and his girlfriend caught a 5th-anniversary trip, and he’s been excited about it for months…”

“…5th anniversary?”

“Yes…” Woo Dobin kept his head down, looking sullen.

A sad story is one thing, but what about work starting tomorrow? Even if we postpone the movie in consultation with Director Bae, there might be other schedules.

“5th anniversary… that’s a bit…” Youngjun chimed in with an unfortunate expression. As a manager himself, he seemed to be empathizing. …Since there’s no set ‘peak’ or ‘off-peak’ season in this job, Youngjun hadn’t been able to take a proper vacation in a while either.

“Then… try contacting the agency instead. They’ll assign a temporary manager or something.”

“If I tell them, my manager hyung will feel sorry and come back. Then it ruins the 5th-anniversary trip anyway.”

“You can’t tell your manager to come back, and a temporary manager won’t work, so what on earth are you going to do?”

Woo Dobin licked his lips once, then lowered his eyes and said, “Actually… in fact, I don’t have any other schedules anyway. And since the movie scenes are being postponed, I don’t really need a manager.”

“So? You’re just going to stay by yourself? With that arm?”

Even if it wasn’t work, there were countless things he needed his right arm for. Eating was a problem right off the bat. Is he thinking of hiring a caregiver? Can you just let a caregiver into a celebrity’s house like that? How about hospitalization? Isn’t the injury too light for that?

To my question, Woo Dobin said, as if he had been waiting for it, “Well, that’s why I’m saying, Sunbae.”

“Why?”

Woo Dobin let out a deep sigh and shook his head.