Chapter 23: How Could It Be You? 

“Seok-jin sunbae, I wanted to ask for your advice on this scene.”

Park Seok-jin, who had been resting his eyes and fantasizing about the uncut jade, slowly opened them to see Baek Soo-kyung’s sweet, youthful face.

He suddenly remembered—ah, yes, there was another piece of uncut jade right here beside him. The more precious jade was hard to reach, but this one was within his grasp… and quite… thirst-quenching.

“Oh? Is there something you don’t understand, Soo-kyung?” Park Seok-jin asked, his tone gentle as he looked warmly at the boy.

Baek Soo-kyung’s script was thoroughly marked up. Lines were highlighted with various colored pens, and the margins were filled with notes. He asked several thoughtful questions, and Park Seok-jin patiently answered each one before praising the boy’s diligence.

“Our Soo-kyung is so patient and meticulous. You’re truly the most diligent rookie actor I’ve ever seen. Don’t worry, with your ability, you’ll definitely perform well. After the series airs, the audience will praise you.”

Baek Soo-kyung’s face lit up with joy. “Really, sunbae? It’s all thanks to your help. Thank you, Seok-jin sunbae.”

The young man’s admiring and trusting gaze was incredibly satisfying to Park Seok-jin. When no one was looking, he quickly brushed his fingertip across Baek Soo-kyung’s dimple, eliciting a flustered and shy look from the boy. “…Sunbae, people will see.”

Haha, Park Seok-jin laughed to himself. So cute. No matter how many times we’ve slept together, he’s still so easily embarrassed. That youthful, tempting look of his, blushing and crying out, never fails to get me going.

“There are too many people here; it’s not convenient to talk. Soo-kyung, you probably have other questions, right? Why don’t we go inside?”

Baek Soo-kyung froze for a moment. He hadn’t expected Park Seok-jin to be so bold as to suggest something on the film set…

He had only approached Park Seok-jin because the older man’s gaze towards Qi Huai had been far too intense.

He was familiar with that fervent, possessive look. So when that same gaze was directed at someone else, Baek Soo-kyung was terrified—terrified of loss.

He didn’t have much to begin with. If he lost Park Seok-jin right after landing an important supporting role in a mini-series, would Choi Min-jun continue to help him pay off his debts? He couldn’t bear to think of such a consequence, nor could he afford it.

Min-jun hyung was right. If you don’t want to lose something, you have to learn to give something up.

Resources were limited. Only by sinking your teeth into what you had like a crocodile could you survive.

“Whatever you think is best, Seok-jin sunbae,” Baek Soo-kyung said, lowering his head shyly as he accepted the invitation.

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Meanwhile.

Qi Huai, who had endured two weeks of extreme hunger and was physically drained from acting, was already feeling dizzy from Park Seok-jin’s earlier lecture.

However, before he could find a place to rest, the series’ heroine, Chu Min-young—the goddess Chu—approached him.

Chu Min-young was cheerful and popular, undeniably one of Wushan Entertainment’s pillars. She had been impressed with Qi Huai since the audition, but his actual performance had stunned her even more.

Under the guise of rehearsing lines, she asked about his schedule for the second half of the year, taking a full ten minutes to finally get to her real purpose.

“Qi Huai, I’m a pretty good sunbae,¹ right? Right? At least compared to those seniors with mediocre acting and huge tempers, I never boss rookies around or make weird demands, right?” Chu Min-young’s eyes were filled with sincerity.

“…Yes,” Qi Huai said, a little confused. “Min-young sunbae is very kind.”

“Oh, well, it’s like this. I’ll just be direct, Qi Huai.” Chu Min-young covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a small laugh. “You know I have a fashion brand, right? I model the womenswear myself, but I’ve never found the right model for the menswear. I thought you were perfect for it back at the audition, but I kept putting it off because I wasn’t sure how to ask. If it’s okay, would you be willing to model for your sunbae’s brand? I’ll have my manager draw up a contract and pay you the standard commercial rate. What do you think?”

So it was just something small like that.

Qi Huai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. After such a long preamble, he thought she was going to ask for something outrageous. “Of course, Min-young sunbae. I’m available for a photoshoot whenever you need me.”

“That’s great! That’s great!” Chu Min-young exclaimed happily. “Thank you, Qi Huai!”

The System was a bit speechless: 

[What was that all about… all that hemming and hawing, I thought Host Oppa was about to be ragged…²]

Qi Huai: …
Are you disappointed?

[Hahahahahahaha… What are you talking about, Host Oppa! How could that be? How could it? Of course not!]

The System scurried away in a panic.

Qi Huai and Chu Min-young followed each other on IG and exchanged KKT contacts. By the time they were done, an hour had flown by.

When Qi Huai returned to the filming area, he suddenly realized that both Baek Soo-kyung and Park Seok-jin were gone.

Due to a system bug, not only could Qi Huai not track the detailed emotional changes of the protagonist group, but he also couldn’t locate their positions. Finding them would have to be done the old-fashioned way. And so, with a dizzy head and an empty stomach, Qi Huai wandered around, searching for any sign of them.

“Qi Huai.”

Qi Huai stopped and turned around. Park Seok-jin seemed to have just emerged from the break room behind him. He smiled gently at Qi Huai, his face glowing with the sated satisfaction of someone whose desires had just been fulfilled.

“What brings you over here?” Park Seok-jin asked with a smile. “This is the special break room for the main cast and director. They should all be on set, right?”

“Yes, everyone’s on set,” Qi Huai nodded, his expression calm. “Min-young sunbae just told me she wants me to model for her fashion brand. I need to discuss it with Manager Choi, so I was just looking for a quiet place to make a call.”

The excuse was perfectly plausible.

Park Seok-jin expressed his congratulations with mild surprise. “Congratulations. Min-young’s brand hasn’t done a large-scale promotion yet, but it’s already very popular in the K-pop scene and on IG. Once you take this job, you’ll probably have many more brands approaching you. Keep it up.”

Just as Qi Huai was about to thank him, he heard Park Seok-jin ask another question. “Qi Huai, you don’t have a girlfriend yet, do you? What kind of girls do you like?”

The timing of the question was odd. Qi Huai keenly sensed that he was trying to probe his relationship with Chu Min-young.

Although Qi Huai disliked Park Seok-jin’s patronizing tone, his constant reminiscing about the past and pontificating on the future, from a mission standpoint, dangling a carrot in front of him was always advantageous.

So, Qi Huai chuckled lightly. “I haven’t had a girlfriend, and I don’t have a boyfriend yet either.”

Park Seok-jin froze for a second, his eyes overflowing with unconcealable joy. He chuckled under his breath. “Ah… so Qi Huai likes men. Is it alright for you to tell your sunbae that?”

Qi Huai tilted his head. “I’m a foreigner, so I don’t mind.”

In this rather homophobic country, it was rare for gay people to openly disclose their sexual orientation to others. Even Park Seok-jin himself only dared to engage in secret, consensual encounters. After all, he wasn’t Kim Min-kyung, with a chief prosecutor for a father and a brother running for the National Assembly.

Hearing Qi Huai’s words, Park Seok-jin felt it was some kind of hint. Just as he was about to say something more, a sound of something falling came from the room behind him.

Park Seok-jin swallowed the words he was about to say and smiled at Qi Huai. “If I don’t get back out there, the director will get anxious.”

“Take care, sunbae,” Qi Huai nodded.

Park Seok-jin turned and walked away.

After Gong Dog Number Three left, Qi Huai stood still. The System looked around, confused, and asked:

[Host Oppa, are you really going to call Gong Dog Number Two? Let’s go find the protagonist shou first.]

A small smile played on Qi Huai’s lips. He shook his head and remained where he was.

About ten minutes later, the door behind where Park Seok-jin had been standing slowly creaked open. An eye peeked out, scanning the area. But Qi Huai was standing in a dark corner, easily avoiding detection.

The door opened gently, and Baek Soo-kyung, the blush on his neck not yet faded, slipped out of the break room, letting out a short, startled cry at the same time as the System.

“Ah! Qi Huai hyung?”
[Ah! The protagonist shou!]

“What are you doing here?”
[What is he doing here!]

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¹Sunbae (선배/先輩): A Korean honorific used to address a senior colleague or upperclassman in a professional or academic setting.

²Ragged (抹布/mǒbù): Internet slang for being used and abused, often sexually, like a disposable rag.