T/N: Bonus chapter because this paper is stressing me out.
Hyunseung found it to be a better course than he had expected.
Except for the bet about who could endure longer in the hot bath, and the suggestion to have a swimming contest in the cold bath.
“Here, say ah.”
“Ah.”
He swallowed every hard-boiled egg Kim Woohyun cracked and handed over like a baby bird, then cleansed his palate with sikhye1.
“Eat slowly, you will get indigestion.”
After that he even polished off the miyeokguk2 set meal, known as the flower of the jjimjilbang3.
On top of that, he got a sports massage said to be good for relieving physical fatigue, and lay in the salt room to warm his back.
And it felt like he had closed his eyes for just a moment.
“Hey, if you sleep here you die.”
At the touch shaking him, he pried open his heavy eyelids and saw Kim Woohyun’s face, dripping sweat yet worrying over him.
Looks like I nodded off.
Ah.
It was so cozy he wanted to sleep a little longer just like this.
“Oppa, I know there is nothing you can do when you are in the thick of working but try to come home to sleep if you can. A studio is still a place of work. It will not be as comfortable as home.”
Startled by his little sister’s tart nagging suddenly ringing in his ear, Hyunseung sat bolt upright.
“Ah, what time is it now…”
“It is night already, let us hurry home.”
Soon the two finished showering and left the sauna. The late winter night air brushing his cheeks felt more refreshing than cold.
So this is why people come to the sauna.
“Hyunseung.”
Then Kim Woohyun called him to a stop and added in a firm tone.
“Do not come in for a week.”
“Sorry?”
“You said you already finished the work and sent it to the distributor.”
“Right, I did.”
“Whose job is it after that?”
“The company’s.”
“That is right.” He put in a little interjection, then patted Hyunseung’s shoulder and continued.
“So you take a good rest for a week and come back.”
“Hm, I do not think I need to rest for a whole week…”
Then he pulled a mock-scary face at Hyunseung’s pushback and added,
“Tsk, it is an order.”
“From who?”
“Anyway, it is an order from someone high up, so if you show up, I will have security throw you out.”
In fact, it was a unilateral order from Kim Woohyun.
But he had something to lean on when he said it.
“Because it would be terrible if he collapses, I know you are busy, Director, but please keep an eye on him.”
Right, CEO Jeon had told him that, had he not? He was only carrying out instructions.
More than anything, even if Hyunseung took not a week but a whole year off, there was no one who would complain.
Probably… even if he rested for a year, the name “HS” would not disappear from the charts.
“Hm.”
Recently even dozing in peace had been hard, but he felt today’s break alone had been enough healing.
And yet a forced vacation…
“Got it.”
Then, since Hyuna said her break would end soon, before that they should all go somewhere nearby together.
“Good thinking, very good.”
Finding that praiseworthy, Kim Woohyun tousled his hair hard and added,
“And get a haircut too. If you collapse like this, I will have no face to see your father later.”
“Excuse me? Why would you be seeing my father, Director?”
“Hey now, that is a hurtful way to put it. The father next door is my father, the father upstairs is my father. Do you not know the saying, love your neighbor?”
“I do know it but why bring that up here. It does not fit the situation at all.”
“Geez, you really are Geumdong. You never yield a single word!”
Seeing him bristle and even raise a vein in his neck, Hyunseung let out a small laugh.
Right. It seemed his boast to heal him today had not been wrong.
Kim Woohyun boasted big to Hyunseung, but his heart was impatient.
Why was the release date so tight?
He had said to schedule it as fast as possible, and it seemed they really honored the request.
Well.
If it is “HS,” the distribution team will treat it as a priority.
“Whew…”
Carrying a drink carrier full of coffees in both hands, Kim Woohyun visited the PR office for the first time in a while. His heart felt as heavy as the coffee in his hands.
They are busy as it is…
Because he could picture Team Lead Kwak’s face when he heard this.
His facial muscles would lock up in an instant, then after a moment, he would glance at his team members and force an awkward smile.
“Ha ha, ha ha…”
Yes, just like now.
“Director, please do not joke…”
“Sorry to say, it is not a joke.”
At his words, Team Lead Kwak swayed for a second as if a bit dizzy, then asked,
“I must have misheard. When did you say the release is?”
Peeking at their reactions, Kim Woohyun muttered in a shrinking voice, “A, a week from now…”
“Why are you telling us only now.”
“It just turned out that way.”
“Well, the countdown has already begun, what can we do?”
As expected, Team Lead Kwak was so neat and decisive that he was likable.
Rather than grumbling and letting time pass, he focused on solving the work quickly.
That was exactly the kind of person Team Lead Kwak was.
Very sharp.
Kim Woohyun was thinking that, if he got the chance, he would definitely put Kwak on a promotion short list.
“At least it is HS.”
“That is true.”
“Honestly he does not need a promo push.”
“That is also true.”
“To be honest, one release article would be enough for HS.”
“That would do.”
“Director, why do you keep giving the same answer?”
“Huh? You are only picking the things that are true.”
They laughed at the same time. Then Kim Woohyun slung an arm over his shoulder and added,
“In that spirit, shall we go have a smoke?”
Perhaps dozing on his solid forearm had triggered him, because Team Lead Kwak hacked and coughed and answered at once,
“Director, are you trying to kill me?”
He must have been serious, as tears had formed at the ends of his eyes.
“S-sorry.”
Apologizing quickly, he pulled his arm away, but inside he preened as he looked over his burly forearm.
Right, I have a physique that will not lose anywhere.
It was clearly a side effect from the sense of defeat at the bathhouse.
Up on the roof, Kim Woohyun sat himself on a secluded bench.
“Uh…”
After a moment of gauging, Team Lead Kwak asked,
“Is today really my memorial day or something?”
He perched gingerly a little ways away.
He looked like a pitiful herbivore trembling before a huge predator.
“Hey, I would save you, not kill you. Why would I kill you?”
“Right? You just wanted a quiet spot to smoke comfortably, right?”
Nodding lightly, Kim Woohyun checked with a side glance that no one was around and put a cigarette in his mouth.
“As you say, now that I am division head, I do pay more attention to other people’s eyes and ears.”
“Right…? Am I getting beaten today?”
“Why are you making such silly jokes.”
“You would have to feel your own forearms choke your neck once to know this fear, Director.”
Then he ran both hands down his forearms and lifted his chin proudly.
“What can I say… it seems my being too manly has given you needless fear.”
Watching that, Team Lead Kwak tilted his head. He was not someone who usually put on such bravado.
Maybe he feels good after becoming division head…
And why not.
From rookie days he had ability and diligence and had rocketed up as far as section chief, but because of the tag of being former road manager turned executive, he had never been able to step over the next threshold.
For him, being raised in rank must have felt like breaking through a glass ceiling that seemed it would never crack.
So even if he boasts a bit, I should indulge him.
Team Lead Kwak grinned affably and gripped his forearm with both hands.
“Wow, that is really manly.”
“I suppose I am a bit that way.”
This too is all part of office life.
“Hoo…”
Then, as if deciding to drop the bravado, Kim Woohyun’s expression suddenly grew quite serious.
“D-Director…?”
Watching his face, Team Lead Kwak asked carefully,
“Is something the matter?”
“It is nothing big.”
“For nothing big, you look very serious.”
“Do I?” Kim Woohyun asked hollowly, then drew on the cigarette repeatedly. In the smoke drawn in and breathed out, Hyunseung’s face floated up and faded over and over.
“You said earlier, at least it is HS.”
“I did.”
“That because HS is famous enough not to need promotion, one release article alone would do.”
Team Lead Kwak laughed as if he had been needlessly spooked and answered,
“Did that get under your skin? Come on, Director. Do you think I really meant it literally.”
Shaking his head firmly, Kim said that was not it.
“You can do that. The kid is already self-branded, so even if we burn only a third of our promo channels, it is enough.”
“That is true, but…”
“But that is for other times. Just this once, I am asking you to go all out. The date is tight, but can you mobilize everything within that window?”
At the contradictory request, Team Lead Kwak, visibly flustered, asked, “Sir?”
He had not planned to do a slapdash job anyway. But he had not thought of it as something to throw everything at either.
As Kim said, “HS” now had the power of a well-known brand. For example, if the word “HS” was in the headline, it could occupy a main banner slot.
The public would spread it themselves across communities and social channels.
Go all out and mobilize everything?
Had Kim ever asked him to throw everything at something? He could say with certainty, not once.
Why on earth…
It was not even a personal album, nor were they featuring some overseas rising star as the singer.
HS x Moon Beomjae.
That pairing alone would set the world abuzz; if they threw everything at it, with a little exaggeration the whole earth might shake.
“I have only watched him for about two years…”
While his thoughts were stretching out, a calm voice tinged with a certain sorrow came.
“This is the first time I have seen the kid struggle that much.”
Turning his head, he saw Kim Woohyun crumpling an empty pack with a crackle and wearing a bitter expression.
“I do not know what meaning is in this song, but if he locked the door and delved into it for a long time to make it, there must be a reason, right?”
“Ah, I thought he did that because of identity exposure issues or because he wanted to work without being bothered…”
“No. I saw him for the first time in a while yesterday, and his face was so gaunt he looked about to drop.”
“Hyunseung, of all people?”
“Yeah. I think for him this song he is about to release is one he wants to perfect even if it means grinding himself down.”
“Whoa, damn… then I will go to the distribution team right now and listen.”
Kim Woohyun gave a little snort and joked, “Do not faint in shock.”
Then, scratching the back of his head irritably, he went on,
“But there was nothing I could do. All I did was take the kid to a jjimjilbang to let him rest a bit.”
Team Lead Kwak let out a small “Ah.” He knew Kim cared about Hyunseung, but he had not imagined their feelings for each other were this special.
The two of them were not merely a mutually beneficial professional relationship, they had something deeper and tighter than that.
“The brat, Geumdong, is not going to go on broadcast himself to promote…”
In this harsh, massive concrete world, it is a feeling hard to sprout.
In a way, it was enviable.
“So shamelessly, let me borrow your team.”
Yes, Team Lead Kwak felt just a little jealous of Hyunseung, who was not even there.
That there was someone who would gladly ask a junior for a favor for his sake.
“Yes, as much as you want.”
It was an accident whose scale they could not yet gauge.
“Thanks. Next time I will take the PR team and treat everyone to something good.”
Since the directive had come down from the division head.
“You mean Korean beef, right? Then we will stake our lives on it.”
Leave a Reply to SaiCancel reply