Come Back

“ARA Understanding? With Yoon Hye-an? Not a sponsor?”

Park Dong-ha, with a shocked face, was lost in thought. It seemed as if he was going over the things he had witnessed. Park Dong-ha’s expression gradually changed from shock to astonishment. Park Dong-ha’s eyes, which had been looking somewhere on the table, turned to Choi Hong-seo. The guy’s neck joints were like rusty, creaking machines that had not been oiled.

“Someone like the Vice President… why are you with my brother?”

At that moment, Park Dong-ha’s question was just a pure question, a feeling of wonder.

Even though he knew that the person that Park Dong-ha was talking about was ‘Yoon Hye-an’, who ‘Lee Hae-seong would never accept as a lover’, Choi Hong-seo was instantly immersed in the question.

Out of focus.

The out-of-focus that Lee Hae-seong spoke of could be interpreted as love at first sight, but the Lee Hae-seong that Choi Hong-seo had known so far was not someone who would devote this much of his heart to someone. Interest, curiosity. The out-of-focus of their first meeting was probably just a trigger.

“I’m pretty greedy, so I don’t think I could accept such an absurdity. I think it’s amazing that he sacrificed himself for the team for so many years.”

How desperate life is for Choi Hong-seo, how much energy he puts into it. Hae-seong was the one who noticed his efforts. He couldn’t help but feel heartbroken by the VIP who noticed his struggles that no one else cared about. Hae-seong himself must have kept his eyes on Choi Hong-seo for that reason. He’s the kind of person who loves scents more than people’s appearances.

Choi Hong-seo, who had been sitting across from Park Dong-ha, who was astonished at the fact that Lee Hae-seong and Yoon Hye-an were lovers, looked at Park Dong-ha with a faint smile as he went back to their first meeting.

“Yeah. I can’t help but agree with that.”

Park Dong-ha’s eyes, which never let their guard down, were glaring at ‘Yoon Hye-an’.

“People say I smell good, but I don’t really know what I smell like.”

“What’s that? Are you bragging that ARA’s understanding is crazy about you?”

“It was just a soliloquy. Don’t worry about it.”

“So? Now that you’ve shared your secret, you want me to believe you?”

“You keep bringing up the Vice President… I can’t introduce the Vice President to you. I decided to tell you the truth. Otherwise, every time I bring up the Vice President in front of you, I’ll be deceiving you.”

Although his eyes were still focused on me with a strong gaze and his lips were tightly shut, I could tell that Park Dong-ha’s emotions had become more relaxed than before. It seemed like he was trying to trust ‘Yoon Hye-an’, who had been fooled over and over again.

But this time, Park Dong-ha will not be betrayed by Yoon Hye-an.

Choi Hong-seo, who had become more determined, sat closer to the table.

“Every time I find out what kind of person I was, I feel really miserable. But… there are people who were hurt because of me, so I can’t keep hiding by making excuses like I don’t remember.”

I was serious. I am not Yoon Hye-an, so it was not something I could simply think of as not doing. Choi Hong-seo was now in the form of Yoon Hye-an, and thankfully, if this situation continued, he would have to continue to live as Yoon Hye-an in society.

That’s why I was just trying to take responsibility. No matter what my true circumstances were, people would only see me as trying to avoid responsibility by hiding behind the words “I don’t remember.”

The spots keep growing, and I can’t be sure how long I can stay by his side. Even if it weren’t for the trouble Yoon Hye-an caused, my nose would be three inches. It wasn’t my intention to be a good person, but my struggle to survive, to live as Yoon Hye-an.

“You were like that too, Dong-ha. Just because you lost your memory, your acting skills suddenly changed and all that. That’s just so weird!”

“……”

Park Dong-ha’s gaze fell on the table. The guy’s nostrils flared as he bit his lower lip. His face looked like he was about to cry, holding back tears. What CEO Im Sang-jin said was probably right. The guy wasn’t so cruel that he could hate someone endlessly. Even if it was the object of his resentment.

“I don’t know how it happened either. Strange things happened after the accident, my memories disappeared, and I became different from before… Can’t you believe that and give me a chance?”

Park Dong-ha now roughly ran his palm over his face as if he was rubbing it. The face of the guy revealed behind his palm was bright red.

“Think about the ‘Titan’ story again. Last time, I said that because I hated you. When we get back together, I’ll really take lessons and practice hard. I’ll even memorize all the old choreography again. Okay?”

“It’s late…”

“……”

“It’s already too late…”

It wasn’t just his face that was red. Park Dong-ha’s eyes, as he muttered so desperately, quickly turned bloodshot.

Drrrrrr. I was startled as if my heart was racing at the sound of my phone vibrating. It was an overreaction, just like when Choi Hong-seo showed up in this private room. He must have put his phone down on the chair next to him, so he stretched out his arm to check the message, swallowed dry saliva, and drank water.

“Where is it late or not? It’s a matter of me trying and you believing in me. I’ll show you my consistent efforts so that you won’t doubt me anymore…”

“That’s not it!”

He covered his face with both throbbing hands, his elbows resting on the table, and clutched his hair as if he were going to tear it out.

“Me too… I couldn’t help it… You were a bad person, hyung. You always were. If only you had just kept being a bad person…”

It was then. The private room door opened without a knock. The two people’s heads turned toward the entrance at the same time. An unexpected figure was smiling crookedly, one hand in his suit pants pocket.

“Here, I am a little late.”

The face that came in while making a fuss. It was President Cho.

■

“Hye-an. How have you been?”

President Cho, who had barged in without any instructions from the staff, sat down next to Park Dong-ha, who was frozen.

“I was upset because you didn’t come to me even though I died and came back to life…”

Suddenly, President Cho started to snort.

“I thought I caught a big fish like Lee Hae-seong, who will become the chairman of ARA Group. Then what? Jo Seong-hyeon, the CEO of a construction company, is nothing more than a small fish. I understand, I understand.”

Nodding, President Cho grabbed the jug of water on the edge of the table and filled the glass.

President Cho. How on earth was this going? Choi Hong-seo tried to figure out the situation. However, since he had no memory of Yoon Hye-an, he couldn’t figure it out. Park Dong-ha’s reaction, who lowered his head so that his chin touched his collarbone, made it impossible to figure out anything.

President Cho put down his glass, bringing just a sip of the water he had poured to his lips, and said.

“When I heard that our Hyean had lost her memory, I couldn’t just sit still.”

“……”

“I brought some mementos with me in case they help me regain my memories.”

A video started playing on the cell phone that President Cho had placed on the table.

The screen was dark, so only a vague silhouette could be seen from where Choi Hong-seo was sitting, but the content of the video could be easily guessed from the audio alone.

[Ah, Daddy… Daddy, I love it… After sucking the dicks of those fucking ugly grandpas… When I do it with Daddy… Sigh, ah, fuck, it feels so good…]

Exaggerated screaming sounds coming from the video.

The naked protagonist panting in the close-up camera angle was, without a doubt, Yoon Hye-an.

Choi Hong-seo’s lips parted, his chest arched, and he exhaled deeply.

“Originally, I was going to meet this vice president and talk about money. But after listening closely, things were going well, so I modified my plan a bit.”

Choi Hong-seo tried to control his breathing, holding the edge of the chair with both hands. The floor was already shaking. It was a sign of ‘that symptom’. He had to brace himself.

One of the many sponsors that Yoon Hye-an had passed through was President Cho. I thought I knew that much. I also thought he had been listening to all the conversations here through Park Dong-ha’s cell phone. But I couldn’t figure out why he had shown up here and what he wanted.

“I guess the memories helped you recall your memories. That’s good, Hyean.”

President Cho, who spoke in a voice that was so smooth that it was almost slippery, took the menu on Park Dong-ha’s plate and flipped it over as he continued speaking.

Even though the volume was turned down, the sex video of Yoon Hye-an was still playing on the table.

“It seems like your memory was fine from the beginning, though. Dong-ha, you believed him even after being treated like that? If you lost your memory, why would you make that face when you saw me standing in front of the door?”

Tsk tsk tsk… President Cho patted Park Dong-ha’s shoulder and clicked his tongue before turning his attention to the menu.

“No, Dong-ha. That’s not it. It was something else… I heard something from that person, so that’s why you had that expression.”

Choi Hong-seo explained with a cold sweat. Whether you remember or not, it doesn’t matter anymore. Park Dong-ha lowered his head heavily.

Now I feel like I have some idea of ​​the situation.

After Yoon Hye-an left the team, the solution chosen by the cornered Park Dong-ha was probably not private loans, but rather a ‘sponsor’.

President Cho probably has plenty of videos and photos of Park Dong-ha as well as Yoon Hye-an. And he probably used that as an excuse to blackmail Park Dong-ha. To get Lee Hae-seong to understand him through Yoon Hye-an.

Then it makes sense. Park Dong-ha’s recent appearances, where he seemed unstable as if he was being chased while chasing ‘Yoon Hye-an’.

『The vice president… is he affectionate when he does that? He wouldn’t make strange demands, would he?』

Why he said that, and the real meaning behind it, became clear now. At that time, Park Dong-ha was thinking of his sponsor, President Cho. His sponsor who was not affectionate, made strange demands, and threatened to make him do things he did not want to do.

“What about food? Are you all not thinking? I’m really hungry right now, so I need to eat something.”

Choi Hong-seo, who was glaring at President Cho’s face as he tapped the corner of his lips with the sharp corner of the menu, pushed his chair and stood up.

“I was supposed to meet Dong-ha, but I don’t know what’s going on because there was no appointment. I’ll just go.”

“Sit down.”

The dry and firm voice of President Cho was completely devoid of the oiliness that had been floating around just a moment ago.

“Call me. Understanding, you don’t have to come down.”

“……”

President Cho looked up at Choi Hong-seo while shaking the cell phone on which the video was playing.

“Or, what? Why don’t we invite the vice president here today and have a screening? I don’t mind either.”

Choi Hong-seo slowly sat down again, his eyes fixed on President Cho. He took out his cell phone from his jacket pocket, but his hand slipped and he dropped the phone twice.

My fingers were trembling as I opened my recent call log. There was only one person on the list. Mr. Carrot Seller.