The Call That Changed Everything

I steadied my mind and turned to look at Kang Chaehee.

He was wearing a bathrobe with a towel on his head, but the robe had fallen open, revealing the prominent curves of his chest.
I raised an eyebrow and admired the view for a moment before he noticed my gaze, flinched, then turned his head away.

“……Come to think of it, isn’t your audition tomorrow?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then you should be taking care of your condition, not wandering around.”

At that, Kang Chaehee awkwardly dried his hair with the towel, then after a moment answered in a small voice.

“I’m sorry. I was nervous, and I thought…… maybe you’d be here too.”

He added that he hadn’t known it would rain.
The downpour still raging outside had been sudden, with no forecast.

“Are you going to be okay? Getting wet the day before your audition.”

“I’m fine. I’m very healthy, Director.”

Right, with that body, it would be wrong if he weren’t healthy.
I called Han Youngjun and told him to buy some comfortable clothes in Kang Chaehee’s size.

“I-I’m fine, Director. I can let these dry and wear them……”

“How long would that take?”

Kang Chaehee’s clothes were still in a heap on the floor.
It was too late to call laundry service.
He gathered up the scattered clothes, saw that water was still dripping from them, and quickly went into the bathroom.

“Ah. The bathroom must be a mess.”

“It’s fine. Because you used it, Director.”

“…….”

Is that the right answer?
I thought about it for a moment, then soon gave up.
If he said a bathroom splashed with water everywhere was fine, what could I say?

“There’s a clothesline in the bathroom.”

“Uh…….”

Kang Chaehee found the clothesline in the bathtub right away, pulled it out with an expression of wonder, hung it up, wrung out his wet clothes, and put them up one by one.

Every time he wrung out a piece of clothing, water sprayed out with a loud sound.
How much rain had he been caught in?
He could probably squeeze oil out of a stone with that grip strength……

I briefly questioned myself, the one having s*x with a guy like that.

After hanging all the laundry, Kang Chaehee came over and sat across from me on the sofa, still in his bathrobe.
The moment I saw him, I had to press my forehead and speak.

“Close your legs.”

“Heok, I’m sorry.”

He wasn’t sitting with them wide open, but it was enough to give a slight glimpse inside.
When I tried to pour him some alcohol, he politely refused.

“Because I have my audition tomorrow. I’m watching my voice.”

“……Hmm.”

A rather commendable statement.
Instead of alcohol, Kang Chaehee took a sip of water, then lowered his eyes for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I’ll do really well in the audition tomorrow.”

“…….”

“Actually, I didn’t come in because of the rain.
It’s true I got caught in unexpected rain, but……
I suddenly felt overwhelmed, I guess.
Like it’s a dream.
I couldn’t believe it, so I came here.
And…… I also had a hope that you might be here, Director.”

As he said this and raised his head, Kang Chaehee’s face was radiant.
His eyes were full of anticipation and hope, and with his certainty and passion, he truly seemed to shine.

I put down my glass, approached him, and stroked his still-damp hair.
He flinched and looked up at me.

“Do well.”

“……Yes.”

Ha.
Of all the people I’d spoken to and met today, this kid brought me the most peace of mind.
Granted, everyone I’d contacted today—except Han Youngjun—wasn’t exactly normal.
I stroked his damp hair a few more times, then suddenly thought—I was looking forward to the audition tomorrow.

* * * *

I hadn’t originally planned to go to the audition venue.
But when I found out that Kang Chaehee had supposedly failed the document screening and might not be able to audition, I had to set aside everything I was doing and go.
Not that I was doing anything anyway.

“I’m telling you, that can’t be right!”

“Ah, don’t yell. Look here. ‘Failed document screening—ineligible. Unable to advance to finals.’ Don’t you see it?”

Kang Chaehee, looking frustrated, tried to show him a text message on his phone, saying that wasn’t it.
But the staff member kept pushing him away, trying to kick him out of the waiting room.

All eyes in the waiting room were fixed on them.
Some people whispered, recognizing Kang Chaehee.
I asked Han Youngjun, who had come with me.

“I thought all of Jeong Incheol’s problems were handled?”

“Yes, but…… it seems this person is a friend of Jeong Incheol.
He holds a grudge over what happened to his friend……”

“Jeong Incheol has friends?”

“A few.”

“Birds of a feather.”

Han Youngjun didn’t deny it.

Kang Chaehee, remaining calm throughout, just kept asking them to check again.
Which was only natural—he had already passed the document screening with the director and writer, and had even received a text message from the director directly.

After a brief struggle, he finally managed to show the text to the staff member, but the staff member glanced at it and insisted, “Faking a text like this doesn’t take much time!”

By that point, even the people in the waiting room seemed to find it strange, but after all, Kang Chaehee was a competitor.
And to those who knew, he was a very strong one.
No one spoke up.

I had been watching the whole scene, leaning against the doorframe of the waiting room.
No one noticed me, probably because I had appeared quietly.
A few people nudged each other and looked at me with eyes that said, ‘Who’s that?’

“Please, just check one more time. There’s no way that’s right.”

“Ah, geez, you’re so annoying. ‘No way’!”

“There’s no way.”

At that moment, all eyes turned to me.
I walked into the center of the waiting room, speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear.
The murmuring grew louder—some people seemed to recognize me.

“There’s no way. He’s the one I recommended. Isn’t that right, Writer-nim? Director-nim?”

“D-Director.”

Kang Chaehee called out to me in a small voice.

At some point, Han Youngjun had brought the writer and director, who had been preparing in the audition hall.
They had already agreed to let Kang Chaehee audition.
Even without a solid career, his educational background first caught their attention, and above all, his face was intriguing.

They had wondered why he had dropped out of school and only had minor activities, but when the story of Jeong Incheol came up, they nodded as if they understood.

“Where did the news about failing the document screening come from?”

The writer asked, arms crossed.
In fact, the audition was being delayed because of this, and both the writer and director were annoyed.

“Well, that is, the documents clearly showed……”

“Let’s just check.”

The director approached a laptop and scrolled through the data containing the resumes of the audition applicants.
Then he stopped at Kang Chaehee’s, frowned hard, and looked at the staff member.

“This isn’t what we wrote. What’s going on here?”

“…….”

The staff member, whose role was to check the list of accepted applicants and hand out audition number tags, couldn’t say anything.
He just turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat.
He had already hidden the ‘failed’ document behind his back—clearly a printout of the data.

“……Anyway, we’ve been delayed too long, so let’s start from the beginning.
Everyone waiting, please bear with us a little.
Bring in another staff member.”

As the director spoke toward the door, people moved quickly, and much younger staff members came rushing in.
The staff member in question was still muttering to himself, sweating cold.

“Ah, no, what do those young kids know? This place needs me to run……”

“Mr. Seokgu Kim. You’re an acquaintance of former professor Jeong Incheol, aren’t you?”

The director asked sharply.
So his name was Kim Seokgu.
I wondered how he knew him that he was working as an audition staff member at his age.
He flinched and stammered, “Ah, no, well, that’s, that’s……”

“Get out.”

At the director’s cold words, Kim Seokgu couldn’t say anything else.
He just gripped the failed document tightly in his hand and walked out.

I shrugged, exchanged glances with the director and writer, and then went outside.
Since it was such a minor role, Kang Chaehee’s casting was almost a done deal.
But I told him several times that if he didn’t have the skill, it would embarrass me, so he had to do it right.

‘He’ll do well……’

I remembered the acting I’d seen at the hotel that day.
To an outsider like me, it had been chillingly brilliant—but how would it look in the eyes of the director and writer?

I came to a quiet stairwell and stood there for a moment.
Han Youngjun asked with a worried face.

“The audition will take four or five hours, Director. If you’re going to stay here, you might as well wait in the car……”

“No. Let’s go to the hotel.”

“Understood.”

On the way to the hotel, Weilin contacted me again.
I ignored it.
I also ignored the contact from Jeon Seongwon.

With only ignored calls coming in, I had been lying on the hotel sofa when I suddenly sat up.
Finally, a call worth answering came.

“Director……! I just got the acceptance text!”

It had been quite a while—he must have had a late number.
My heart surged.
My heart pounded as if Kang Chaehee passing the audition was my own accomplishment.
Calming my racing heart, I said in as calm a tone as I could manage.

“Of course.
Like I said, do well and don’t embarrass me.”

“Yes! I’m really confident.”

I told him to come to the hotel and hung up.
My pulse was still pounding loudly.
The audition venue was fairly close, so it didn’t take long for Kang Chaehee to arrive.
As soon as he did, he pulled me into an embrace and kissed me.

As we kissed, I squeezed my eyes shut.
My heart was beating so strangely I thought something might be wrong.
Maybe his emotions had transferred to me, or perhaps……

‘…….’

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

If Weilin and Jeon Seongwon really are nothing……
What should I do about Kang Chaehee?

I feel like I’ve come too far.
How do I go back now……
Just as uneasy thoughts were clouding my mind, my phone rang.
I tried to ignore it at first, but it was persistent.
I briefly pulled my lips away and checked my phone with irritation.
An unknown number.

There was no reason for an unknown number to call me so persistently.
Could it be voice phishing?
When I answered, a heavy voice came through.

―Is this Director Lee Seyeon?

“Yes.”

―This is Bomyeong Medical Center.
A short while ago, your husband was brought into our hospital after an accident.

“……Excuse me?”