HPK 43

Even when Hyojun ate the steamed white rice cake with relish, and even when Chanil, for a change, offered some pleasant words saying he enjoyed it, his mood did not improve in the slightest. It was the same even though he was chosen as soon as he arrived for work and immediately went into a room.

“With the president?”

“Yup. Lee Jaewon told me.”

“He does not look the type……”

“You idiot. Is there such a thing as ‘the type’? We work here. They are all the same kind of guy.”

The sound of them chattering amongst themselves scraped away at his nerves. The gazes directed his way, the curious voices, the interest, all became sharp needles that painfully pricked Wooseung.

“That is why Kim Hyungho is always looking for him.”

“It is kind of amazing though. The president does not even talk to the hosts. He used to completely ignore them, this is fucking hilarious.”

Wooseung lowered his head as he drank the hangover cure that Hyojun had bought for him. He held the flattened vinyl pouch, sucked dry, between his lips and pressed it flat with his hand.

He took the vinyl, now tattered from being chewed on by his front teeth, out of his mouth. He was going to throw it in the trash can, but he decided against it, thinking he would draw attention if he got up for no reason.

Wooseung checked the time on his phone. It had not even been ten minutes since Hyojun and Chanil had gone into their room. It had been less noticeable when they were around, but now that he was alone, the conversation became even more explicit. Within a few days, the rumor had become an established fact. Even though Hyojun had warned him in advance, now that he was actually the one on the chopping block, it felt like sitting on a bed of thorns.

The day after he slept with Taejung, Wooseung dragged his aching body to work. The story of that day had already spread throughout the entire annex, so the atmosphere in the break room had been strange since then. Still, no one had asked him directly, but after Jaewon, the waiter, told the hosts something, the atmosphere changed completely.

‘I guess Lee Jaewon cleaned Room 7 that day. Well, Ahn Youngil also added his two cents, saying he saw everything.’

Hyojun’s words were simple and clear, yet they contained many meanings. So much so that, without asking further, he could understand the whole story of how the rumor had spread.

‘Hyung, are you really his sponsor? You can just tell me.’

Hyojun had asked seriously, grabbing Wooseung’s arm.

It was true that he had slept with Taejung, but he had not received any money. However, to those who did not know the deeper circumstances, their relationship was more than enough to be seen as a sponsorship.

‘I am not sure. I did not…… get paid…….’

Even though he had checked that the bathroom was empty, Hyojun was startled and looked around again. Then he grabbed Wooseung and grilled him.

‘Are you crazy, hyung? Then you just did it? Why?’

‘I did not do it because I wanted to. It was by force, by force.’

Hyojun’s face contorted before slowly smoothing out. He took several deep breaths, then gripped Wooseung’s arm tightly.

‘Hyung, do not take this the wrong way.’

‘…….’

‘If you are going to do it, you should at least get paid.’

‘…….’

‘You are not even from this side of the business. Huh? Wait a minute. But Shin Chanil said the president was seeing a woman……. What is this?’

Hyojun wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes back and forth.

‘Ah, whatever. Since it has come to this, tell Kim Jungoh to put you in more intense selections. If Kim Jungoh has any sense, he will pay more attention.’

‘…….’

‘Or you could just work on the president, ah. Working on him probably will not work. Hmm…….’

Would something like that happen with Taejung again? Wooseung was skeptical, but on the other hand, he remembered how Taejung had been openly erect on the stairs earlier, making it difficult to be certain.

‘If things go well, put in a good word for me with the president.’

The conversation bounced to other topics, with Hyojun saying that seeing Kim Hyungho lose his mind like that, it seemed certain that the president gave a lot of money. Wooseung, thinking it was for the better that the topic had changed, played along appropriately. For some reason, discussing Taejung with Hyojun felt uncomfortable.

Wooseung put an end to his endless thoughts and got up. The liquid that had leaked through the tear in the pouch made his hand sticky. Since he was up, he intended to throw away the trash and go to the bathroom as well.

“Hey, hey.”

Just then, someone called out to Wooseung. When he turned around, a host with a noticeable leaf cut hairstyle was looking at him.

“Is it true you slept in that room?”

The explicit question made him frown. Wooseung turned away without responding. Until the moment the break room door closed, all sorts of words flew like arrows and lodged themselves in him. It did not feel particularly unfamiliar.

‘Fucking nobody, acting like you’re something special, huh?’

All the way down the stairs, Taejung had sworn. Fucking piece of shit, fuck, damn. All sorts of curses were left on the stairs like the breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel left behind.

The thought that he had been constantly sworn at since coming to work made him feel dejected. It was even more so because it had not happened of his own will.

He pulled out a paper hand towel and wiped his dripping hands. He rubbed the remaining moisture off on his pants and came out of the bathroom. He did not want to go back to the break room, but there was nowhere else for him to be.

He was thinking about whether he should step up and do something before the misunderstandings and rumors grew any larger here, when he ran into an unexpected person in the hallway.

“The president came today, right?”

The person he came face to face with was Hyungho, whom he had been busy avoiding all this time. Seeing as he was asking with such certainty, it seemed he had already seen Taejung at the establishment.

“Please let me meet the president.”

“……I told you. It is not like that with the president.”

“Ha, really……”

He messed up his hair wildly, as if he were dying of frustration.

“Stop your bullshit. I heard you slept together. The rumor is fucking everywhere now, ha!”

“……”

“I told you I do not give a shit about whatever sponsorship you got. I swear on my life, I do not. So just let me meet the president.”

If he could have arranged a meeting, Wooseung himself would have done so long ago. And yet, Hyungho treated him like a host who was anxiously trying to prevent someone from stealing his mark.

“It is really not that kind of relationship with the president. Who am I to say anything to the president……”

“Then why do you always go to Room 7? Lee Jaewon has already seen everything, so why do you keep—.”

“That is……!”

When Wooseung could only move his lips, unable to finish his sentence, Hyungho smiled as if to say, see. His under-eyes were hollow, and there was no flesh on his cheeks, so it did not look like a smile even when he smiled. Wooseung noticed that his condition had gotten even worse than before.

He cautiously looked around. He was thinking of asking for help if even Kim Jungoh were there. But a helping hand appeared from an unexpected place.

The phone in his hand began to vibrate. Thinking it might be Hyojun, he checked the screen, but an unexpected name was displayed there.

[President]

Wooseung became visibly flustered. And that appearance planted a certain conviction in Hyungho. He twisted his lips into a smirk, ha. A silence full of meaning enveloped the two of them.

“This, this is my boss from my part-time job. During the day, at the cafe……. I mean, not Kirin, here.”

It was a terrible lie that anyone could see through. Wooseung was frustrated with himself for stuttering like a fool, but there was nothing he could do. He had always been like this when backed into a corner since he was young.

“Then answer it.”

“……No, I do not have to answer right now.”

“Haaa, fuck, I said answer it, did you not hear me?”

“I do not want to.”

“Agh, this is so fucking annoying!”

He messed up his hair wildly, then suddenly shouted at the empty air. The startled Wooseung was about to take a step back when his phone was snatched away.

“What are you doing……!”

The one thing that absolutely could not happen was for him to answer that call, so Wooseung clung on tenaciously. Even as they struggled, the phone continued to vibrate.

“Fuck, just fucking answer it!”

As if the mute button had been pressed, the vibration suddenly stopped. Wooseung was relieved, and Hyungho’s face crumpled miserably.

However, that was only for a fleeting moment. The vibration started again, and the name on the screen was still the same.

“Do not do it……!”

It is difficult to win against someone who is clinging on for dear life. Unless you are just as desperate.

“Answer it, damn it!”

The moment the vibration stopped, the warm phone touched his left ear. Hyungho, who had finally pressed the call button, held the phone to his ear and glared at him. Wooseung, his face pale, moved his lips without a sound.

—Having a lovers’ quarrel?

Instead of a ‘hello,’ a completely unrelated question came from the other side of the phone. Wooseung instinctively whipped his head toward the corners of the ceiling where a CCTV camera might be.

—Ahaha!

The cheerful laughter brought him to his senses with a jolt.

“……Hello.”

—Stop the foolishness and come over.

The timing was terrible. Because the volume was turned up to the maximum, Taejung’s voice was clearly audible to Hyungho as well.

“Yes, I will be there. But Mr. President, right now……”

—Bring the guy next to you, too.

Hyungho’s face brightened noticeably. He now even urged him to say yes, telling him to agree. Does Taejung know something that he is calling for Hyungho as well? Wooseung did not understand the situation, but he reluctantly agreed. The call ended, and Hyungho practically threw the phone into Wooseung’s arms.

“Let’s go, quickly, ha, fuck. Finally……”

He did not seem to realize how very strange it was that Taejung was calling for him too. A sense of desperate relief could be felt from the way he covered his mouth with both hands and took ragged breaths.

Taejung probably was not completely unaware of the fact that he had been loitering in front of Room 7 and asking the managers about his whereabouts. But the timing…….

All the way down the hallway, Hyungho repeated the same words, “It worked. It worked. Ha, fuck.” He had no idea what problem would be solved by meeting Taejung, but he wanted to avoid getting deeply involved at all costs.

Taejung was sitting in the seat of honor in Room 7, playing with a lighter. The table was clean. The e-cigarette vaporizer and the small Ziploc bag containing white powder that were sometimes seen were also gone.

“Sit.”

Taejung indicated the sofa with a jerk of his chin. As if he had been waiting, Hyungho sat down with a stiff posture. He placed both hands neatly on his thighs and looked straight at Taejung.

“But are you two dating?”

Taejung pointed at Hyungho and Wooseung in turn with his lighter and threw out an unexpected question.