Chapter 55: It’s Pink

Qi Huai wasn’t sure if Kim Min-kyung was a psycho, but the sound of the bowl and plate shattering was so loud that it would be inappropriate for him to pretend he hadn’t heard anything.

Qi Huai, deliberately making his footsteps heavier, pushed open the kitchen door with a smile. “I found the band-aids. Does it still hurt, Min-kyung hyung? Did you rinse the wound?”

The moment the footsteps were heard, Eun Chul-woo quickly picked up the broken porcelain and cherry tomatoes from the floor and threw them all into the trash, pressing the bag of capsules firmly underneath.

Kim Min-kyung, caressing his bruised neck, watched with a sneer. The moment Qi Huai entered, he instantly changed his expression to a pitiful one and said, “Actor Qi, you were so slow. My hand hurts so much. Can you blow on it for me?”

System: [Tui! Tui! He—tui!]

Qi Huai, with a smile on his face, remained calm, forcing back the twitching at the corners of his mouth as he played the role of a small-time artist who had heard nothing. He helped Kim Min-kyung rinse the wound, apply a band-aid, and then ushered him out.

“I cook faster by myself. If we knock anything else over, we won’t have dinner tonight.”

Kim Min-kyung: “Aigoo, are you calling me clumsy, Actor Qi?”

Eun Chul-woo was clearly preoccupied. He said, “Thank you for your hard work,” and left with a smile. Kim Min-kyung reluctantly looked back every three steps, putting on a full show.

The moment the three of them turned their backs on each other, their faces fell almost simultaneously.

Qi Huai, his face expressionless, started chopping cherry tomatoes again, one after another, the knife rising and falling, sending a chill down the System’s spine.

It seems I guessed wrong before, Qi Huai thought. The person Kim Min-kyung is really interested in is not Yoon Nam-hyuk, but Eun Chul-woo? The reason he made an ambiguous invitation to me was indeed out of jealousy, but it was jealousy of Eun Chul-woo.

If he’s jealous, why would he help Eun Chul-woo and me meet? It was like that at RC the other day. Kim Min-kyung found an excuse to leave and never came back. It’s the same at the supermarket today.

The System said gloomily, [Because he’s a pervert, right? A pure pervert! Aren’t there a lot of characters like this in manhwa? They’re clearly dying of jealousy, but they still push the person they like to someone else, and then have a complete breakdown. I think he has the potential.]

Qi Huai: …

Makes sense.

From Kim Min-kyung’s words, everything he did was for Eun Chul-woo. And the reason Eun Chul-woo did these things was to annoy Yoon Nam-hyuk.

Why?

Purely because of company competition?

Kim Min-kyung mentioned that Eun Chul-woo had secrets. What were these secrets? His cross-dressing fetish? Or more than just that?

No one was in the mood to savor the food at dinner. The three of them, wearing smiling masks, chatted about everything from the origin of the shrimp to the vintage of the wine, from the origins of curry to the script and filming. A good time was had by all.

It was already very late when Qi Huai returned to his room. He took out his phone and only then noticed an unread message.

「Landlord Uncle: Hey… tenant, it’s time to pay the rent, you know?」

All his frustration was instantly cured. Qi Huai couldn’t help but laugh. 「Mmm, I know, Uncle.」
「Landlord Uncle: You’re the uncle…」

Yoon Nam-hyuk, under the alias of “Landlord Uncle,” pouted and made a video call. When the call connected, he looked at the neatly dressed and tired Qi Huai and asked, confused, “You just got here?”

“I’ve been here for a while.” Qi Huai shook his head and sighed, starting to change into his pajamas in front of Yoon Nam-hyuk. “Do you know about the relationship between Kim Min-kyung and Eun Chul-woo?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s eyes darted around, wanting to look but not daring to. “Relationship? Oh, you mean romantically? They have a pretty good relationship. Better than with me, anyway.”

“…I mean, they seem to have an ambiguous relationship, like lovers.”

“What?” Yoon Nam-hyuk almost thought he had misheard. “Lovers? How is that possible?”

Qi Huai briefly summarized the conversation he had overheard. But he had to temporarily hide information like the cross-dressing fetish mentioned in the original comic’s summary.

Looking at the pensive Yoon Nam-hyuk, Qi Huai sank into the sofa and let out a long sigh, a smile in his eyes. “In any case, be careful of Eun Chul-woo and Kim Min-kyung. Don’t trust them too much.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk nodded silently.

This matter had indeed shocked him. Even if those two are out of their minds, he thought, they don’t seem like the type to casually get involved with a business partner.

And that guy Kim Min-kyung played hard and fast, never missing out on any kind of sleazy game. Even he knew about this. As his partner, Eun Chul-woo would only know more clearly.

If so, could they be lovers? Were they together just to torture each other?

The pensive Yoon Nam-hyuk had a habit of stroking his chin with his index finger. He stared at the buttons of Qi Huai’s pajamas, his gaze fixed, clearly lost in thought.

Qi Huai tilted his head to look at him and undid a button.

No reaction.

Qi Huai undid another button.

Still no reaction.

Qi Huai’s eyes narrowed. “Nam-hyuk?”

“Mmm?” Yoon Nam-hyuk came back to his senses. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s on your neck?”

“My neck?” Yoon Nam-hyuk tilted his neck towards the camera, confused, and started to examine it. “What’s wrong with my neck?”

He looked for a moment and then alarm bells went off. My neck? Could it be neck lines?

Qi Huai suppressed a laugh. “I don’t know what it is. It looks like a hickey. Are you seeing someone else behind my back?”

“Hey!” Yoon Nam-hyuk’s eyes widened. He pulled open his bathrobe to prove his innocence. “Do you have floaters? There’s clearly nothing there!”

Qi Huai rested his chin on one hand and laughed. “Mmm, I saw wrong. Because it’s all pink, I thought it was a hickey.”

Shibal! What pink…

Yoon Nam-hyuk abruptly closed his bathrobe, his cheeks steaming. “Are you a se-x maniac?!”

That’s not my neck at all!

Qi Huai couldn’t stop laughing. He undid the rest of his buttons in front of him and then stared at the flushed Yoon Nam-hyuk, saying gently, “Nam-hyuk, want to do it through the screen? Hmm?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s breathing grew chaotic. He licked his dry lips, his gaze sticky as it moved down from Qi Huai’s face. “…You touch yourself first and let me see.”

Who’s the se-x maniac? Qi Huai thought.

“Okay,” Qi Huai said, raising an eyebrow. “You take off your bathrobe first.”

---

Upstairs in the hotel.

Kim Min-kyung, having just experienced a satisfying lovemaking session, fell into a drunken slumber. Eun Chul-woo, his back to him, slowly opened his eyes, his dark eyes staring unfocused into the darkness.

Kim Min-kyung is a madman, he thought.

What happened in the kitchen tonight had set off alarm bells for him. He didn’t understand why Kim Min-kyung had suddenly gone crazy, but he knew that if he let him go crazy a few more times, his own plans would be completely ruined.

In a place like Korea, the other’s background was a weapon he couldn’t afford to lose. But such a background was both useful and terrifying. If Kim Min-kyung got tired of him, or suddenly took Yoon Nam-hyuk’s side, he would lose completely.

Eun Chul-woo sneered silently.

In a game of cat and mouse, it was indeed enjoyable to play with the prey and watch them despair. But if he indulged too much in this pleasure and wasted time on unimportant things, the prey might be snatched away.

So, no more playing.

---

In just a day or two, the crew had settled in and set up, and it was time for the official shooting.

And in just these one or two days, the news that the company was about to terminate Qi Huai’s contract had spread throughout almost all of Woosan.

On the set, besides the RC artists and staff who naturally dominated the scene, the most numerous were the artists and entourage from Woosan.

Everyone pretended to be busy, but they were all secretly glancing at Qi Huai, who was seriously memorizing his lines, and the clueless Assistant Xiao, whispering among themselves: What a pity. A flash in the pan.

But they didn’t dare to be too obvious with their secret glances and observations, not because they were afraid of Qi Huai, but because they were wary of Seok-jin sunbae, who had come in disguise with Baek Soo-kyung.

Park Seok-jin had always looked after his juniors and couldn’t stand bullying on set. So, whether it was the staff or the artists, everyone was exceptionally obedient in front of this “perfect sunbae,” at least on the surface.

Today was the first day of filming. The scene involved most of the positive characters, so the artists who needed to be present included, but were not limited to, Kim Min-kyung, who played the lead Seo Sang-hyuk; Qi Huai, who played the young police officer Yuan Jae-seok; and Baek Soo-kyung, who played the journalist Song Hyun.

Park Seok-jin had come with Baek Soo-kyung under the pretext of visiting the set. He wore a baseball cap and squatted next to the director, his smile bright. “Long time no see, Director Baek.”

“Oh!” Director Baek Se-won was startled. When he saw Park Seok-jin’s gentle and handsome face, he laughed heartily. “Aigoo, it’s you, Actor Park. Oh my God, it really has been a long time. Two years, right?”

Park Seok-jin chuckled. “Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I’ve been free lately, so I came to visit the set and say hello.”

“Aigoo, really. It’s dozens of kilometers from Seoul, and you came all this way. You haven’t changed a bit, Actor Park.” Director Baek smiled and patted his shoulder. He said he was sorry, but he was actually very happy.

They only chatted for a little while before they agreed to work together next time. Director Baek even had the screenwriter temporarily add a role for Park Seok-jin that would have a few seconds of screen time.

Park Seok-jin followed the assistant director to change into a police officer’s uniform. Baek Soo-kyung, who had been watching from behind, watched his back, an indescribable feeling in his heart.

Admiration?

Of course.

Although the other was almost twenty years older than him, just from his appearance, he was a handsome and charming older brother. He had taught him acting and how to survive in the entertainment industry. What Baek Soo-kyung was most grateful for was that he had helped him pay off his debts.

Although the high-interest loan had grown with interest, for a star of Park Seok-jin’s caliber, it was just the price of a good car.

The money was paid off. With Park Seok-jin as his backer and a role to play, logically, Baek Soo-kyung should feel proud and relieved.

But for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong.

He was a potential artist at Woosan, right? He had starred in a hit mini-series and even got a role in Director Baek’s film. Although he wasn’t as star-studded as Qi Huai, he should have had other offers coming his way.

But the truth was, even those two losers, Seol Tae-rim and Shim Se-bin, had new dramas asking about their schedules, but he hadn’t heard anything.

His heart was pounding.

He went to ask Manager Tae Sang-won, who told him not to be anxious, that good resources couldn’t be rushed.

He went to ask Seok-jin sunbae, who told him to listen to Manager Tae’s arrangements, that reviewing his performance after a drama was more important than continuously taking on new ones, and that he shouldn’t be too impetuous, but should take time to settle.

Even if there were no suitable dramas for him, were there no commercial resources either? There were so many beauty brands in the Republic of Korea. Even those half-famous YouTubers could get collaborations. Did he have none?

The more Baek Soo-kyung thought about it, the stranger it became. So he asked Shim Se-bin to help him inquire at the production department. The news he got was, “Ah, we did ask about Actor Baek’s schedule, but Manager Tae said he has other arrangements, so we can’t cooperate…”

Ha, other arrangements?

Baek Soo-kyung, who hadn’t signed any commercial contracts or taken on any new scripts, was indignant. He spent a whole night trying to find the right words to talk to Seok-jin sunbae about this, but happened to overhear his conversation with Manager Tae.

“Oh? What an impatient child. He even went to the production department to inquire,” Park Seok-jin chuckled, finding it interesting, not taking it seriously.

Manager Tae laughed. “It doesn’t look good if it keeps happening, right? You don’t want the fledgling’s wings to get too strong, but you can’t keep him caged forever either. It won’t sound good if it gets out.”

“Mmm… then one drama a year, and two endorsements,” Park Seok-jin tilted his head in thought. “Have the media write some marketing articles, say he’s a young actor who strives for excellence. Give the kid enough face and he won’t feel bad, right?”

If he has too many resources, too much exposure, his wings will become strong, and the pretty little bird will fly away.

Park Seok-jin knew very well that it was very difficult to find another little bird as obedient and docile as this one, who wouldn’t make a fuss.

Baek Soo-kyung stood there, stunned.

So much so that when he later heard that Woosan was going to terminate Qi Huai’s contract, he didn’t feel a shred of schadenfreude, only a sense of shared misery.

They were all playthings…