“I heard that Seungbeom-ssi has been having a hard time with stalkers lately, and RH Entertainment … is a company that does its best to protect the artists … So, please be assured and consider it positively … Thank you.”
“After going through such a big ordeal, I became more cautious. When the time for the next contract comes, I am planning to look for a place that takes those things seriously, so I’m glad to hear that.”
I replied in a soft, gentle tone to the words delivered in an unclear, hesitant voice.
And beneath the gently raised corners of my mouth, I clenched my teeth.
‘….Protect the artist? Is that what Kang Hyukwoo told you to tell me?’
How could I believe their talk about protecting artists when they were the ones who shoved me into the flashes of reporters’ cameras during my father’s debt scandal? Worse, I already knew the whole Dalli incident was orchestrated by RH Entertainment, so this kind of deception was almost laughable.
“…….”
But I couldn’t show my displeasure or become aggressive.
I had to say only what he wanted to hear.
In order to prevent the alcohol from wearing off at an awkward moment due to anxiety or nervousness.
I was aware that I was being unusually sensitive and emotional today. Because of that, I had to make a much greater effort to maintain my composure than usual.
“It’s strange … Why do I feel so dizzy … I haven’t drunk that much.”
As I continued the conversation with those thoughts in mind, I began to notice his increasingly slurred speech, the occasional breath heavy with the smell of alcohol as he spoke, his slow and dazed blinking, and the deep flush across his entire face.
‘He’s pretty drunk.’
Lim Seunghoon looked like a typical drunk person.
It had been an hour since I’d been dealing with someone thoroughly drunk while staying completely sober.
“Director Kang Hyukwoo told me that he met you before you even debuted, Seungbeom-ssi, do you remember? He mentioned that he tried to bring you to our company back then, but your reaction was strangely sharp….”
“Is that so? Perhaps there was some kind of misunderstanding?”
It was becoming clear that he was gradually losing the ability to distinguish between what he should and shouldn’t say.
He didn’t even seem to realize he was drunk.
‘If Kang Hyukwoo finds out you told me such a thing, you’ll be in trouble.’
Lim Seunghoon had already downed several glasses of strong liquor without pause. It had been a long time since he’d exceeded what I knew of his drinking capacity.
“…I think I’m a little drunk, and now the water even smells a bit like alcohol.”
The water didn’t smell like alcohol.
They just served him alcohol, pretending it was water.
‘So far, everything is going as planned.’
I never expected Lim Seunghoon to spill the whole truth just because he was a little drunk. As much as alcohol was considered a kind of confession serum, it couldn’t be relied on as a magical item like in the movies.
It was beyond unreasonable and naive to expect that level of effectiveness in a world that wasn’t sure of its reliability.
What I wanted wasn’t something like that, but rather the objective side effects of alcohol—impaired thinking due to brain dysfunction, diminished emotional regulation, and blackouts. That was enough.
It was entirely up to me to make Lim Seunghoon spit out the truth. But that wasn’t a problem. After all, didn’t I already know the secret he wanted to hide the most?
And from now on, I would begin to mentally push Lim Seunghoon.
“Manager-nim, I heard that you joined RH Entertainment through Seo Yutae-sunbaenim. Is that true?”
At the mention of my name, Lim Seunghoon’s body trembled.
Was he sobered up by the sudden mention of a dead person’s name? Or was it the guilt toward me laid bare by his drunkenness? I stared intently at his face, trying to discern the answer.
It didn’t really matter if it was the former.
If just sobering up a little could completely resolve everything, what would be the point of DUI crackdowns? The inability to think clearly and the emotional instability would still persist.
“…Yes.”
But it seemed like the correct answer was the latter.
It would have been a better choice for him to answer “
no
“, but his blurred thinking seemed to have prevented him from making that judgment.
Lim Seunghoon lowered his flickering eyes and replied slowly in a small voice.
“How, how did you know that?”
“It seems like you are still doing well there, Manager-nim. After Seo Yutae-sunbaenim left, you got promoted to a higher position. The clothes you’re wearing right now, Lim Seunghoon-ssi, are not something you can easily afford with an ordinary salary, are they?”
“…….”
“I’ve been following COMA-1’s activities since their debut, but I’ve never seen you around, Manager-nim. Since you joined the company from the early days of Prism’s activities, you must have quite a few years of experience. It doesn’t make sense for someone with your seniority to be assigned as the road manager for a rookie idol.”
I ignored his questions and continued to spit out the facts I had seen but tried to pretend I hadn’t, words that would push him over the edge. He looked quite taken aback by my sudden change of attitude, and his mouth dropped open, revealing his agitation.
“Why, are you deceiving me?”
‘If my name alone makes you feel guilty, then why betray me in the first place? For goodness’ sake, why?’
I tried my best to ignore the tie and watch he was wearing.
I noticed the changes first, the slight loss of flesh and the shadows under his eyes, but perhaps they were just signs of aging. I tried to focus more on his timid demeanor.
But once I opened my mouth, I couldn’t stop myself.
The tie was the same as the one Choi Jeokhyeon always wore. It was from a luxury brand known for its exceptionally high price tag. The watch, priced in the hundreds of thousands won, was from a much more affordable brand, but it was still too expensive for an average person to own.
“Seo Yutae-sunbaenim said that you don’t have to pay him back, but if you have money to spare, you could donate it. That’s what he said.”
There must have been threats to his life that kept him awake at night.
There must have been circumstances that made him feel so timid.
“You made that promise, did you keep it?”
“…….”
I wanted to believe that so badly.
I kept wondering if he had been caught with a weakness.
For example, his family.
Oh, he mentioned that his father had passed away in an illness and his mother in an accident, so he had no family left. Then family was out of the question. If not family, what else could be his weakness? Did he borrow money from Kang Hyukwoo? If it was a debt, I would have paid it all off. The dog he raised? His parents’ belongings?
“Wait a minute … Wait. How do you know that?”
And then, I came to a conclusion.
‘…Is weakness supposed to be something you have to forcefully find?’
“…It seems like you haven’t been in contact with Prism-sunbaenims. Is it because you feel guilty?”
“How do you know that!”
“Did you run away?”
The question, which I asked more out of a desire for some kind of excuse rather than to argue, received no proper response. Lim Seunghoon screamed in horror, as if he had just realized that I knew about the ugly parts he had desperately tried to hide.
I burst out laughing as I watched Lim Seunghoon relentlessly urging me without even remembering to deny it. Then, as soon as I caught my breath, I asked quietly.
“Where did you hide the suicide note?”
“…….”
The body that had been shaking suddenly froze.
When I looked at his face again, it was like I was looking down at a corpse.
“You can’t claim you didn’t know what kind of heart was behind that writing, can you? Was there even a price worth betraying the trust that was barely built up through a long relationship?”
All of the words I uttered seemed to have no problem.
Using polite language, adding
‘sunbaenim
‘ after ‘
Seo Yutae
‘, not calling Lim Seunghoon ‘
hyung
‘, and gradually cornering Lim Seunghoon. When I checked everything letter by letter, there was nothing missing.
“No way, please don’t tell me you betrayed him just for
those thing
s.”
But I wasn’t sure if the tone of my voice remained consistent, or if it didn’t contain any emotion like I was talking about someone else’s business. I suppose I was too arrogant to think that I could maintain my rationality even after witnessing the betrayal of someone I cherished with my own eyes.
“Seo Yutae-sunbaenim told me. He said that he trusted Lim Seunghoon-ssi. But, is this what comes of that trust?”
This is not right.
I felt like my true feelings would spill out at any moment.
“I am a collaborator of Seo Yutae-sunbaenim. I know everything that Lim Seunghoon-ssi has done.”
Feeling a sense of crisis, I hastily planted my identity firmly in Lim Seunghoon’s mind.
“There is no truth in this world that can be hidden forever. I’m watching you, and I know everything you’re doing.”
“…….”
“I’m asking you, where did you hide the suicide note?”
I asked again about the suicide note.
Hiding the suicide note couldn’t be passed off as a simple mistake.
If someone was to say, ‘
Seo Yutae’s suicide note was hidden by his former manager’
, Lim Seunghoon would surely be attacked, and he would never be able to enjoy the life he has now.
“…Aaah, ah!”
Lim Seunghoon, who understood this better than anyone, was completely panicked.
I immediately tried to press Lim Seunghoon further by reciting the contents of the suicide note one by one. But suddenly, my heart started beating uncontrollably fast.
Thump, thump, thump, thump
.
‘I don’t remember the contents of the suicide note.’
And my mind went completely blank.
“…….”
I didn’t feel a headache or anything, but it was as if I was slowly, mindlessly forgetting the whole thing. It was as if I had naturally forgotten a lie that had never existed from the beginning, one that I had made up to escape the situation.
“Do you really think I could die leaving Seo Yuseong behind?”
“What about that video of Jo Inchan?”
Suddenly, in my empty mind, I heard my own voice—Seo Yutae’s voice.
While I was left speechless, my mouth dropped open, I suddenly heard Lim Seunghoon muttering in a pale, horrified face.
“I did wrong. I was ordered to do it, I did it because he ordered me to. I didn’t do it.”
As I slowly turned my head at those words, I saw Lim Seunghoon in a state of panic, his face drenched in sweat and tears as he frantically pulled at his hair.
While I was staring blankly at that sight, he spat out some words like a scream.
As soon as I heard it, my mind blanked and I muttered in confusion.
“…What?”
It felt like I was left all alone in a space that wasn’t real.
The sound of tears dropping onto the floor and the ticking of the clock’s second hand echoed so loudly that it felt like they would pierce my eardrums, but Lim Seunghoon’s voice was fading away, muffled.
It was as if my brain was refusing to listen.
“I did wrong. I did wrong……”
I wanted to cover my ears and pretend I didn’t hear those words.
But as if to crush those feelings, Lim Seunghoon shouted the same words again.
“Kang Hyukwoo killed him. Kang Hyukwoo … it wasn’t me who killed him!”
My cause of death was definitely
suicide
.
…What are you talking about?
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Translator’s Corner:
Aaaaand, the bomb has been dropped.
I’m not going to say anything more. I definitely told you guys before if you wanted to enjoy this story, do not ever look for spoilers. It would 100% ruin your reading experience, and this story is written too beautifully to be ruined like that. (I’m saying this as someone who usually can’t peacefully enjoy reading if I don’t ask for spoilers first) (but seriously, don’t) (you know, humans usually become curious when they’re told not to do something. but i really really say this with the best of intention, don’t.)
But anyway. Seo Yutae-ssi, how can you unable to remember 90% of the people you’ve met but you can remember the brand of the tie that Choi Jeokhyeon is wearing???