* * *
“Hey.”
“Uh, yeah, yeah.”
Siyoung, who had passed out as soon as Jaeyoon left and slept soundly until it was time for work, still hadn’t shaken off his sleepiness.
Even at work, he kept dozing off until a hand tapped him on the shoulder, startling him awake.
“Got nothing to do?”
“No, I was just waiting for a reply… Wait, what time is it…”
Siyoung had nodded off while waiting for a response after sending an email.
Thankfully, only about 30 minutes had passed since he started dozing.
“Phew, that’s a relief…”
“You’ve been acting weird lately. Are you sure you’re not sick?”
“Huh?”
Yeonseok pressed his hand to Siyoung’s forehead, looking concerned.
Siyoung wasn’t the type to be so sleepy or unfocused at work, but over the past few days, even to someone as laid-back as Yeonseok, something seemed off.
“You’re suddenly exhausted all the time, and you’re barely paying attention. It’s weird.”
“It’s just… the change in seasons, I guess.”
“Maybe you should get a checkup. Want me to schedule one for you?”
“No, thanks. I’m not a kid…”
Siyoung waved him off, but Yeonseok shook his head, clearly unconvinced.
“Fine. Just go home early today.”
“What? I haven’t even finished adjusting the schedule for the photoshoot yet. If we’re late on this, it’ll hurt our reputation…”
“It’s fine. We’re not desperate for work or anything. Your pay won’t be docked, so just go. Or if you really feel bad, cover for Sera. She’s at his limit today, and the shoot should wrap up by 2. You’ll be done soon enough.”
Since Yeonseok seemed genuinely concerned, Siyoung didn’t hesitate to get up from his desk.
He was worried that if he stayed any longer, they might figure out why he wasn’t feeling well, but for now, going home early seemed more important.
“Especially if Sera leaves, I’m really dead.”
He also needed to cover for Sera now and then, to make sure he didn’t quit as Hyun’s manager out of frustration.
So, Siyoung hailed a taxi and headed to the nearby photoshoot location.
“Siyoung!”
Sera rushed toward him like he was his savior.
She’d been fed up with Hyun’s grumpy attitude all day.
“I heard you’ve been busy lately. Are you sure you’re okay to be here?”
“That’s up to the boss. He told me to cover for you and then head home.”
“As expected, the boss is as kind as he is handsome.”
Sera sighed with relief.
He had accidentally let Yeonseok see a multi-profile on his messaging app that was meant for friends only, and Siyoung wondered whether to bring it up.
“Well, it’s not like Hyun’s temper is anything new.”
“True, but today… Never mind. You’ll see for yourself.”
Sera couldn’t quite find the words to describe it, so he just pointed to Hyun, who was standing in front of the camera.
At first glance, he seemed to be posing fine for the shoot, but his expression was strangely stiff.
“Hyun, can you relax your face a bit? I’m not asking for a big smile, but not every neutral expression looks the same, you know?”
“…”
Siyoung sighed, his face showing no effort to hide his thoughts.
He couldn’t understand why Hyun was bothering with a job that didn’t suit him; quitting seemed like the better option.
‘No, wait, if he quits, then my job might disappear.’
Shaking his head to snap out of his thoughts, Siyoung stepped forward through the crowd.
Hyun’s eyes widened slightly as he recognized him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Sorry. I’m not feeling great today.”
Ignoring Hyun’s question, Siyoung apologized to the staff on set.
This job was only supposed to last a few months, and yet Hyun couldn’t control his temper over that short time.
Consistently a difficult person, that one.
“Yeah, you don’t seem well. Should we take a break and resume at 1 PM? Take some time to clear your head.”
The director, though pretending to be accommodating, was clearly getting frustrated, judging by the sharpness in his tone.
Siyoung bowed his head once more to the staff before dragging Hyun outside and letting out a deep sigh.
“What’s your problem today?”
“Why are you here?”
“Yeonseok told me to check on you and then head home.”
“And that’s it? No other reason?”
“Not really…”
Hyun’s eyes narrowed.
He’d noticed something was off since yesterday when Siyoung had been nodding off like a sick chicken.
“Have you been to the hospital?”
“Why would I go to the hospital?”
“You’ve been drowsy all day, losing weight. You used to always have a snack in hand, but now I haven’t seen you holding anything lately.”
“Anyone who hears you would think all I do is eat.”
Flustered, Siyoung shook his head.
He did snack often, but he hadn’t realized Hyun was paying that much attention.
‘From now on, I’m not eating anything in front of him.’
“It’s nothing, just one of those days. What’s with the fuss?”
“After the shoot, you’re heading home, right? I’ll finish up quickly, so let’s get food after. Then, you can go to the hospital or not, whatever you want.”
“And who made you the boss?”
These guys, always acting like they care, but their way of looking after him was usually just a burden.
Especially today, when Siyoung had planned a visit to the OB-GYN.
‘I don’t need anyone tagging along to make things more complicated.’
Shaking his head firmly, Siyoung replied, “No, I’ve got food at home, and I don’t need to go to the hospital. And if I do, I’ll go alone, so mind your own business. Just focus on wrapping up the shoot.”
“Food at home, huh? Every time I’ve been over, the fridge was empty.”
He sounded skeptical.
There had been times when Hyun had been at his place due to odd shooting schedules, and it seemed like he had even checked the fridge.
“…Well, this time I do have food. Jaeyoon said he’d bring some over.”
“Kim Jaeyoon? Why?”
“He stopped by yesterday and did the same thing as you—complained about the empty fridge.”
‘Come to think of it, those two are more alike than I realized, though their methods are miles apart. Guess that’s what friendship is.’
Seeing Hyun’s displeased expression, Siyoung clicked his tongue. Once again, he had no choice but to compromise.
“Fine, I’ll eat after the shoot. Let’s eat together. But if that’s going to happen, make sure you do your job right. You were the one who said it was fine to stick to the schedule, but if you’re going to act like you hate it, then from now on, just set a reasonable schedule.”
“…”
For someone who always had a lot to say, Hyun was awfully quiet now that Siyoung was the one nagging.
How typical.
Siyoung checked the time and nudged Hyun toward the set.
“You might be popular now, but if you keep this up, eventually you’ll stop getting jobs and all you’ll get is criticism. And sure, maybe you don’t care about the money, but you won’t like being hated, will you?”
“Who cares what people I don’t even know say about me?”
“And why do you think the people you do know won’t criticize you?”
There were plenty of people on set right now, including his manager, who took every chance to complain about him.
Siyoung shook his head and motioned for Hyun to hurry back.
“Go do your job. Show up five minutes early, apologize for not feeling well today, and get on with it.”
“I’m not sorry…”
“You can still say it. Just say the words.”
After finally sending Hyun back, Siyoung returned to Sera’s side.
While he and Hyun had been gone, Sera had apologized to the crew on their behalf and was now slumped on a chair in the corner.
“What did they say?”
“Nothing to me. They just said I must be working hard. Though I guess I’m lucky this time. Last time the director was such a jerk, I took a lot of the heat for him.”
“You should’ve told me. Are you okay?”
“It’s fine. Better to deal with a familiar jerk than an unfamiliar one. Last time, Jeong-Hyun dealt with it.”
“Dealt with it?”
“They had a fight.”
Shocked by the nonchalant way Sera said this, Siyoung almost stumbled.
Hyun had fought with the director on set?
And no one had mentioned it?
“That crazy guy…”
“Yeah, but then Jeong-Hyun said something and the director quieted down. I was curious about what he said, but he wouldn’t tell me. That director has a bad reputation in the industry anyway, so it just blew over.”
Sera shrugged.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the director had such a bad reputation that the incident was quickly forgotten, with Hyun managing to protect his manager.
“Every once in a while, he does something right. But the other nine times out of ten, he’s infuriating.”
“If something like that happens again, let me know. If I hear it from someone else, I’ll freak… I mean, it’ll scare me to death.”
Though everyone would take it as just a figure of speech, Siyoung changed his wording out of caution.
Sera, unfazed, simply turned his attention back to the shoot.
“At least now that you’ve talked to him, things seem a little better.”
Through the crowd, Siyoung could see Hyun posing for the shoot, looking marginally better than earlier.
If he was going to do it properly, why not start that way in the first place?
Siyoung glared at him, still unimpressed.
* * *
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It’s so good