Manager Kim froze before the fearsome—and frankly shocking—scene.
‘J-Jaeyi….’
She didn’t stop at smearing chili sauce over Lee Yuju’s face; she even grabbed a customer’s leftover tomato pasta and mashed it into Yuju’s face.
“Y-Yuju-ya!”
The manager hurried in to block her with his body, but Yoon Jaeyi showed no sign of stopping.
“Hey, Kim Woohyun, why are you just standing there?”
Only after Kim Wooseok tapped his shoulder and passed by did Manager Kim snap out of it.
“Jaeyi, what are you doing? Calm down.”
The whole situation felt like a dream.
No, wait—wasn’t he actually dreaming?
Smack—!
Smack—!
Smack—!
She’d always been too timid to voice an opinion, timid enough to seem frustrating…
Seeing that same girl bare-handed, scooping up every kind of sauce and slathering it, filled him with dissonance.
“I told her to stop, I told her….”
Jaeyi murmured the same words over and over, her face blank.
Just what had happened in this bar?
“Yoon Jaeyi, that’s enough.”
Unable to watch any longer, Hyunseung stepped in and blocked her; Jaeyi let her hand drop.
“Y-You crazy—!”
Wiping the mess of sauces from her face, Yuju screamed, but Kim Wooseok restrained her and ordered the manager to take her upstairs, bringing the situation to a close for the moment.
“Haa….”
Wooseok swept his gaze over the table that looked like a war zone and spoke.
“Your precious Jaeyi’s lucky she’s so sweet, huh?”
“…”
“Personality checks are essential, you said?”
“…”
“Come on, Woohyun, you’re good with words. Say something.”
ManagerKim bit his lip, head bowed. She hadn’t actually hit her, but that sauce attack was practically assault.
And tomorrow they had to appear on TV—an idol got sauce-bombed in the face….
‘We’re ruined….’
Manager Kim was about to stammer out an apology when—
“Director, Jaeyi’s chin looks bruised.”
“What—?”
“Yuju grabbed her chin earlier.”
Then Hyunseung rotated his shoulder and quietly added,
“And my shoulder kinda hurts, too….”
At that Manager Kim clapped his hands once.
Right—Yuju had shoved Hyunseung’s shoulder.
“You okay? Not a dislocation? That body’s valuable….”
“Not that bad….”
“Director Kim, looks like Yuju assaulted our kids first, huh?”
With his chin raised, Manager Kim asked; Woo-seok pulled a face.
He had seen Yuju shove Hyunseung, so he couldn’t deny it.
“Still, assault is going too far…”
“She laid hands on them—so it’s assault.”
“By the way, who’s this guy? Never seen him.”
Flustered, Director Kim glanced between Hyunseung and Wooseok.
“Uh, that is….”
He gauged Hyunseung’s expression and said, “Jaeyi’s manager.”
Wooseok looked suspiciously at Hyunseung’s face, but knowing it would only hurt him to push further, he swallowed his words.
“Look, Woohyun.”
“What?”
“Calm down.”
He massaged ManagerKim’s shoulder amicably.
“No good blowing this up for either side, right? Let’s just keep it quiet.”
Manager Kim pretended to ponder, then—
“Fine. I’ll take the kids and go.”
He offered a brief nod and started for the exit.
“Oh, right.”
He turned back as though remembering something.
“You’ll cover the damages and bill, Manager? I left my wallet upstairs.”
Smiling sweetly, he strolled out.
Manager Kim led Yoon Jaeyi and Hyunseung to a small bench.
“Jaeyi, why did you do that?”
Five minutes had passed since he asked, yet Jaeyi only wiped the sauce from her hands in silence.
“I need to know what happened so I can defend you if trouble comes.”
“…”
“Were you that angry because she grabbed your chin?”
“…”
“Jaeyi, even if that’s true, the public will say you overreacted.”
Manager Kim knew it wasn’t Jaeyi’s fault.
Yes.
For such a gentle girl to lose her temper, Yuju must have been in the wrong. Still, in show business, answering aggression gets you condemned just the same.
It’s the filthy truth, but truth nonetheless.
Above all, he wanted Jaeyi to sing before the public for a long, long time.
“Jaeyi, people with bad intentions will keep trying to drag you down. You have to stay composed. The moment you get swept up, you’ll fall into the pit.”
Hyunseung nodded—every word was painfully true.
After all…
‘In my previous, life I got dragged down and toppled.’
This time, at least those who passed through his hands wouldn’t.
Hyunseung turned to Jaeyi.
“Yoon Jaeyi, you’re good at holding it in like a fool.”
“Yes. I’ve done it all my life.”
“Then why not keep doing it tonight?”
Under the sharp question, Jaeyi shut her mouth again.
“Haa….”
Manager Kim waved it off. “Enough.”
“I don’t know the details, but if Jaeyi dumped sauce on her, even God or Buddha must’ve committed aggravated assault first. She’s human—getting her chin grabbed and still holding back would give her ulcers.”
He raised his voice, remembering Yuju shoving Hyunseung.
“If she hadn’t fought back, I’d be up all night writing apologies with sauce on my hands. Really, this is better.”
Hyunseung chuckled. “Oh? You would’ve sauce-bombed her yourself?”
“Of course! Would you just watch if someone hit me?”
“Hmm, doubt anyone could hit you.”
“See? Not a single polite lie?”
After some teasing…
“Anyway, punks like that disappear on their own; let’s just watch.”
Manager Kim sighed. “Sometimes, though, punks like that thrive.”
“True,” Hyunseung agreed calmly.
Memories of his previous life surfaced.
‘Aphrody—I know them.’
If memory served, “Aphrody,” Yuju’s group, skyrocketed from debut and was hailed as an “irreplaceable girl group.”
But only for two years.
‘Then they crashed hard.’
Infighting, exposés of Yuju’s bullying, huge penalties, contract termination.
Naturally the group disbanded.
‘From tonight’s behavior….’
It’s likely to repeat.
Soon enough, Yuju would be washed away.
“Hey.”
Hyunseung patted Jaeyi’s shoulder.
“You’re good at enduring, so keep enduring. You’ll see your enemy’s corpse float down the river.”
“Uh?” Manager Kim blinked. “Why the ancient-sage act?”
“I read faces a bit.”
“What’s with the physiognomy talk?”
“Yuju’s got a face that’ll be swept away soon.”
Manager Kim hummed, surprisingly persuaded.
After all, Hyunseung had a knack for picking unknown singers and making them all succeed.
‘Maybe he really is psychic…?’
He gulped. “What about me? What does my face say?”
“Honestly?”
“As honestly and plainly as possible!”
“Hmm, Manager Kim…”
A moment of silence.
“You’ve got the look of a man who’ll never marry.”
“What, punk?”
“It’s fine. You can hang out with me.”
“I’m also happily single,” he added.
He flashed a grin—when suddenly:
“An excellent idea—!” Jaeyi shouted.
Both men stared.
“What’s with you?”
“Embracing the single life!”
“Right…”
Clicking his tongue, Hyunseung stood.
“I’ll head up.”
“Stay with me a bit.”
“I’m on vacation.”
Peeling off Manager Kim, who clung to his sleeve, he said:
“I’m staying out of this incident. If trouble comes, you take full responsibility for Jaeyi.”
With that he strode away and stepped into the elevator.
Alone, he sank into thought.
‘Hmm….’
Tonight’s mess seemed settled, but show business liked stabbing from behind; he couldn’t relax.
Yet LS Entertainment and Manager Kim were no pushovers, so he wasn’t too worried.
Still, Yoon Jaeyi’s sudden savagery replayed in his mind; he shivered.
‘Quiet ones really are scarier.’
She probably snapped because Yuju shoved him.
In his past life, had anyone other than family ever truly gotten angry for his sake?
No.
People flattered him for gain; none burned with real feeling.
Now, though, there were faces who would.
‘I guess I’m not living too badly.’
Wrapped in a strange, ticklish feeling, he stood blankly before his door for a while.
His plan for a quiet beer ruined, his shoulder aching, the night noisy with Jaeyi’s “big incident”… but somehow, it wasn’t such a bad night at all.
Leave a Reply