Your Name Is Still on Me

Releasing his grip as if carving with a knife, Taehwa finished his sentence.

“So give up. I don’t want to marry someone who experimented on me.”

Taehwa let go of Se-jun with a slight push and sat lightly on the edge of the bed.

Se-jun, coughing roughly, stumbled backward, putting distance between them.

“Are you saying that again? That I experimented on you?”

“…….”

“How many times do I have to say it! Just as my name was on your body, now your name is on mine. I tried to save you. And I did save you in the end! And yet I lost you. Just because I wasn’t a Guide at the moment you needed one!”

“…….”

“I dream every day. When I open my eyes, I wish and wish for you to return…. So please, stop hating me. I feel like I’m going crazy….”

It was something he had heard so much over the years that he was sick of it.

Not a single speck of pity arose.

“You talk well.”

Cutting him off somewhat coldly, Taehwa set his foot on the floor.

Seeing this, Se-jun quickly wiped his tears, hurriedly pulled the cart in front of himself to block the way, and shouted.

“Fine, blame me all you want if that’s what you want! But stick to the facts. Don’t make things up!”

“Make things up?”

Taehwa gave a crooked smile.

Then he pulled off the monitor attached to his finger and tossed it away.

“Was it all my delusion that you were wielding a scalpel? That I begged you to save me? That I ran away?”

With a frantic gaze, Se-jun searched the cart and pulled out a small glass vial and a syringe.

Taehwa closed the distance between them step by step.

Even while stepping backward, Se-jun skillfully inserted the syringe into the vial of solution and quickly drew it up.

After expelling the air from the syringe tip, he gestured toward the bed.

“Lie down. I’m going to administer the medication now.”

“If it’s all made up, then what exactly am I remembering? You definitely said that to me back then. You said sorry.”

“If you’re not going to lie down, I’ll do it like this.”

Se-jun, breathing heavily, finally stuck the syringe mercilessly into Taehwa’s forearm that had come close.

Seeing the perfectly placed syringe, Taehwa crookedly lifted one corner of his mouth. For someone who calls himself a doctor…

“Now the medication is going in, so take deep breaths and be quiet. Focus on the Guiding and save your words.”

Se-jun’s voice trembled miserably.

As the artificial Guiding mimic coursed through his body, a natural rejection reaction occurred.

After enduring for about thirty seconds, Taehwa couldn’t bear the pain, clenched his teeth, and closed his eyes.

A suppressed groan leaked from between his teeth.

“Let me say it again. As you said, I am a researcher, and I could use anyone at the Center as a test subject. But you are the only person I cannot do that to. You may not want to believe it, but that’s the truth.”

Swallowing a curse, Taehwa laughed inwardly.

“Quite a desperate confession. Not like you.”

Taehwa walked sluggishly, put the monitor that was sprawled on the bed back on his fingertip, and lay straight on the bed.

And the Name instantly spread, covering his neck, which had ominously bulged with blood vessels, until it turned dark.

****

What on earth is going on?

Yoo Hyun stopped reading the script and grumbled inwardly.

It had been days with no news whatsoever.

No word on whether it was happening or not.

If it seemed like it wouldn’t work out, at least give him peace of mind by letting him know.

During the days without contact, he had done a commemorative event, received new scripts, and already filmed several simple promotional videos.

So is it on, or is it off?

Sangjin opens the door and enters.

Yoo Hyun raises his eyebrows as high as they can go.

“Why are you the only one here? Where’s the CEO?”

“Uh… He said he’ll be back after a quick talk.”

“With whom?”

As Yoo Hyun, putting away the script, asked, he sensed the intentional, breath-held silence and quietly turned his head.

Sangjin wasn’t meeting his eyes.

When he tilted his head, Sangjin turned his head the other way, completely avoiding his gaze.

Sangjin was acting as if he knew something but was pretending not to.

“What is it?”

“What’s what?”

“Who is the Representative meeting with?”

Sangjin shook his head, refusing to answer.

It was suspicious.

While pondering what it could be, Yoo Hyun suddenly widened his eyes and asked.

“Did he come here?”

“Huh?”

“To check?”

“Check what?”

“No, why would he come looking for me without talking to me first? What on earth…”

“Yoo Hyun-ah, listen… It’s better if the Representative tells you this himself.”

“No, it’s my matter, so why would he talk to the Representative ? What does the Representative know about me? How strange. So, did he tell you to call me to the company? To talk about that?”

“No, that’s not it. To be precise, he said he has something to ask about your contract.”

“Wow… He even told you about that? Even you know?”

“Huh? What… I’m your manager, so I should know the general outline.”

Yoo Hyun opened his mouth and let out a deep sigh.

What’s the big deal about having a Name on his body?

He couldn’t understand at all why that should turn the Representative and manager into his foster parents.

“So what did he say? When I asked if it was a problem, he left without a word. And not a single call since then… What a…”

So they had been communicating with the company behind his back.

Meanwhile, Sangjin, seemingly not understanding at all why Yoo Hyun was upset, asked in a less certain tone.

“Yoo Hyun-ah, are you feeling bad? But it’s about a contract…”

“No, it’s about why he didn’t talk to me first and went to the company instead!”

“The company is responsible for your management, so of course they need to know…”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a management matter. Why should the company be involved in something like that?”

Sangjin tilted his head.

“It’s not a management matter?”

“No, it’s not. Forget it. Let’s talk later.”

Yoo Hyun shook his head, thinking he had gotten unnecessarily worked up over something Sangjin hadn’t even done wrong.

Just then, the door opened.

“Ah, right. You’re here already.”

Seeing Yoo Hyun, the Representative , who had transformed into a beaming, smiling figure, approached with arms open as if to embrace him.

When the Representative , who for the past few months had been blowing cold air and pressuring him with his gaze, showed a warm smile like a spring day’s sunshine, Yoo Hyun suspiciously took a step back first.

The Representative awkwardly withdrew his arms, gave Yoo Hyun and Sangjin’s shoulders a solid pat each, and sat in the main seat.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face, and I had something to ask, so I called. Two birds with one stone.”

Yoo Hyun waited nervously.

“What… Shouldn’t we renew your contract soon?”

“Huh?”

As Yoo Hyun looked at Sangjin as if asking what he meant, Sangjin was also wearing a disbelieving smile, as if he hadn’t expected the Representative to bring up contract renewal out of nowhere.

“Shouldn’t you talk about the advertising contract matters first before contract renewal? That’s the proper order. Representative, really.”

“I said two birds with one stone. Ah, but Manager Kim. You’ve been creeping up on me since last time, haven’t you?”

Even Representative Ji acknowledged that if it weren’t for Yoo Hyun, Jung Entertainment would have disappeared long ago.

Thus, Sangjin, credited with bringing Yoo Hyun from his previous agency, had gained greater say within the company.

Now, among the staff, he was naturally recognized as at a vice-president level, becoming the mouthpiece who spoke blunt truths to Representative Ji.

His characteristic was to babble on with an inflated ego until he was stepped on and put in his place.

If stepped on too hard, he sometimes squirmed, saying he’d ‘take Yoo Hyun and leave.’

Representative Ji was very displeased with Sangjin, who had been squirming frequently lately even without being stepped on.

Since Yoo Hyun particularly followed Sangjin, he kept him at the company even by paying a large sum, but if it weren’t for Yoo Hyun, he would have cut him loose long ago as surplus personnel.

Given his seniority, he could have even started his own company by now, so he was always a thorn in his side, wondering if he might take Yoo Hyun away.

And Sangjin knew Representative Ji’s psychology well too.

“Representative. Saying I’m ‘creeping up’ is a bit harsh. Still, I’ve worked here for how many years? Since last time, Representative Ji, you’ve been speaking carelessly…”

“What, you little…?”

From the moment the contract renewal was mentioned, Yoo Hyun’s brain, which had been stuttering, belatedly grasped the context of this sudden power struggle.

Waving his arms, he went, Oh dear, oh dear.

Once the attention was focused, Yoo Hyun, trying to lighten the mood, asked in a high tone he only used in very happy, cheerful situations.

“But Representative, I understand the contract renewal talk, but what’s this about an advertising contract?”

“What’s with him? Why is he so dull today? Didn’t you hint at it a little?”

The Representative asked Sangjin with a look.

“No, I didn’t say anything because I wanted it to be a surprise, but it seems he already knows… Yoo Hyun-ah, didn’t you know? You were just talking about a contract. What’s that thing that’s not a management matter? Are people coming to see you?”

When Sangjin asked blankly, Yoo Hyun scratched the back of his head and rolled his eyes.

What should he say?

Under the Representative’s direct gaze, an excuse came to Yoo Hyun’s mind, and he waved his hand nonchalantly.

“Ah, no, that… I thought you were talking about a housing contract…”

“Housing? Why? You said you’re comfortable in that officetel now. What, you want to move somewhere else? Should I move you to that apartment? Oh, right. If we renew the contract this time, I’ll move you there. How about it?”

Not long ago, he was telling him to move out because he had no money, and now suddenly an apartment?

Just a few weeks ago, Representative Ji was saying things were so bad they might have to lose the dedicated van and even move Sangjin to support other teams, that company operations were difficult, and he might even have to give up his place, talking as if dying.

Yoo Hyun looked at the beaming Representative with mixed feelings, scratched the tip of his nose, and subtly changed the subject.

“But really, what’s this about an advertising contract? No one told me anything, so I’m really curious, haha…”

****

Having managed to shake off Sangjin by insisting he would go back alone, Yoo Hyun stepped down the emergency exit stairs one step at a time, muttering alternately as if reading fortune-telling petals.

“Go ahead and do it… That’s ridiculous… Go ahead and do it… That’s a misconception…”

A fairly substantial advertising contract had come in, and the advertiser was reportedly one of the subsidiaries of the Wooshin Group, which under normal circumstances would never have cast Yoo Hyun.

The Wooshin Group, especially its financial subsidiaries, had notoriously strict criteria for selecting advertising models, so they generally didn’t use idols.

While the public might not know the detailed backstory of advertising contracts, they knew that Wooshin pathologically pursued a clean image.

Getting a Wooshin ad was synonymous with receiving an image guarantee of being flawless, to the point there was a joke that filming one Wooshin ad was worth a filmography.

And they had made an offer. To him of all people?

“And three of them at that….”

Yoo Hyun stopped in the middle of the stairs and sighed.

It was an ad that should never have come to him in the first place.

Therefore, he couldn’t help but think of Taehwa, currently the most likely suspect.

Why on earth would Wooshin give him ads when he was decorating the entertainment pages almost daily?

Should he take it as a sign that their contract is proceeding without issues? Then he should be grateful to that person…

Or, is the plan to get the contract first and then extract hefty compensation as damages? To bankrupt the company?