The Man Who Should Never Have Come Back

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard!”

As soon as he opened the door, an object flew toward him, and Yoo Hyun swiftly dodged it.

The glass cup missed its target by a hair’s breadth, shattering on the floor with a sharp cracking sound, scattering fragments everywhere.

As if nothing had happened, Yoo Hyun used his sneaker to push aside the glass shards, walked to the center of the Representative’s office, and sat down on the sofa.

Representative Ji Do-cheol shouted, his face flushed bright red.

“Everyone’s been busting their asses cleaning up after you, and now what’s this?

A damn idol has a Name?

f*cking hell, a Na-a-ame?

Have you lost your damn mind?”

Ji Do-cheol, whose face usually boasted plump, glossy cheeks thanks to his morning sauna routine, looked strangely haggard.

“No, seriously, what’s going on?

Not even sleeping and causing all this chaos.

Spit it out.

What did you do to make everyone go crazy over a photo from months ago?”

“…….”

“From what I hear from the kids, you’ve been blabbing about being dissatisfied with your treatment and wanting to leave?

You wouldn’t, for the sake of a damn contract fee… are you planning to screw over JE Entertainment and do a runner?

Did you leak the photos yourself?”

Ji Do-cheol, who usually doted on Yoo Hyun as if he were a precious late-born child, didn’t hesitate to cut him down, revealing raw anxiety for the first time in months.

“You ungrateful bastard, no manners at all… Go Yoo Hyun.

Use your head.

You think you can just leave and comfortably work somewhere else?

If someone wants to block Go Yoo Hyun’s future path, there’s no one in South Korea better at it than this Ji Do-cheol, goddammit, you hear me?”

“Representative, please calm down—”

“Calm down, my ass!

You’re already in a state of contract renewal, and causing massive damage to the company is a breach of contract in itself.

Even if you self-destruct like this, you’ll only owe more money.

Won’t you come to your senses?”

Idols usually see articles about renegotiations around their 5th or 6th year.

However, Yoo Hyun, despite coordinating two contract renewals over five years, never had a single article.

The industry’s standard contract period is 7 years.

Yet, Do-cheol had always offered a 2-year contract, ready to cut ties at any sign of trouble.

In a situation where everything was prepared and the debut date set, there weren’t many trainees who could refuse that contract.

Even less so if the trainee, who had been traded after a failed debut attempt with his previous agency, was past twenty and a Namer.

Moreover, he only learned he received a different contract from the other five after debut.

Do-cheol clenched and unclenched his fist as if wanting to raise a hand and strike, then took off his watch worth hundreds of millions and placed it aside.

It was a warning without words.

Yoo Hyun had already experienced being beaten by that hand once before he thought he’d die.

If he had to be hit by that hand again, he’d rather choose to hit his own head with a frying pan and be hospitalized with a cerebral hemorrhage.

“Representative!”

Yoo Hyun clenched his fist, slammed it on the table, and called out with a forceful voice.

Startled by the sound, the Representative involuntarily flinched, then closed his eyes tightly, supporting the back of his neck with his hand, and muttered.

“Augh, Go Yoo Hyun, you… Fine, what!

Speak.”

“This incident is indeed my fault.

I’m sorry.

I didn’t know there was a Name on me that day.

It wasn’t there when I was getting ready in the morning.

I didn’t know such a photo was taken… no, I knew about the photo, but I swear I didn’t know the Name was visible.

Truly.”

‘Didn’t know, you say?

How convenient…’ Ji Do-cheol openly sneered and scoffed.

“You’ve been saying you wanted to quit for a while now, right?

Saw your chance and leaked it yourself, didn’t you?”

“Representative, how could that be possible?

It’s me, Go Yoo Hyun.

MAINE’s ‘Reason’.

Saying I wanted to quit… was just talk.

I was physically exhausted.

I’m not good with words.

If I really wanted to quit, I wouldn’t have renewed my contract with the company.

Not to mention, it’s not like I have nowhere else to go if I left.”

“Is that so?”

“Representative, you know me.

I’m not that kind of unreasonable bastard.

Please believe me.”

As Yoo Hyun emphasized with a furrowed brow, Ji Do-cheol gradually withdrew his anger.

The displeased look remained, but fortunately, he put his expensive watch back on his wrist.

It seemed he wouldn’t hit him after all.

Just as Yoo Hyun was about to sigh in relief, the Representative asked in a still-distrustful voice.

“Then what’s with all this chaos since April, with all your activities getting cut off?”

‘All this chaos.’

Representative Ji was right.

Yoo Hyun had experienced non-stop chaos since April until now.

All his ads, movies, and dramas were cut off at once, he was plagued by absurd rumors of school violence and abuse of power, and finally, he was even outed as a Namer.

In Yoo Hyun’s mind too, it was a whole lot of chaos.

He scratched his temple awkwardly and named the root cause.

“…Choi Jong-ik.”

At the sudden mention of the name, Ji Do-cheol frowned.

“Choi Jong-ik?

You mean the newspaper heir?

Why him?”

“The penthouse incident.”

“…What?

Why!

Don’t tell me you were there?”

“I was the one who reported it to the police.

So I guess he got pissed off.”

“No way, you mean… the reason you were being summoned around in April was because of that?”

When his eyes met Representative Ji’s, whose eyes had widened as if they might pop out, Yoo Hyun forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile.

****

Only after getting into the officetel elevator and pressing the button for his floor could he finally relax.

He had braced himself for at least a few slaps even in the best-case scenario, but surprisingly, Representative Ji seemed unfazed as long as it wasn’t intentional.

The worst-case scenario Yoo Hyun imagined was things taking a turn for the worse, making it impossible to ever work again, but Representative Ji’s worst case seemed a bit different.

If there was external pressure aiming to decisively bring down Yoo Hyun, the first witness and reporter of the penthouse incident, and ensure he never recovered, that meant there were no obstacles to the upcoming contract renewal with Yoo Hyun.

Even if the renewal fell through, Yoo Hyun couldn’t possibly nest in another company due to the fatal flaw he possessed.

That apparently seemed quite appealing to Representative Ji.

“Seriously, what a greedy bastard.”

Anyway, the best outcome today was that Representative Ji wouldn’t show raw hostility toward Yoo Hyun for the time being.

If the hot-tempered Representative, who becomes blind with rage, had properly vented today, by tonight there would be sensational articles with titles like ‘MAINE’s Reason, Yoo Hyun, rushed to ER unconscious with broken ribs’ selling like hotcakes.

While it was a bit disappointing that the Representative, whose spite wouldn’t let go of something even if it was ruined, wasn’t more generous, the relief of being safe for now was greater than the disappointment.

Of course, the period of Representative Ji’s forbearance wouldn’t be long.

Even if he now understood the cause of the bizarre downfall over the past few months and felt it was unjust, there was nothing he could do against those in politics and business.

It was impossible to guarantee what attitude he would ultimately take toward Yoo Hyun, who was no longer profitable.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened.

“Where have you been?”

The face that greeted him when he looked up was an unwelcome one.

The catalyst of misfortune and the originator of all this chaos.

“…Choi Jong-ik?”

“Won’t you even call me ‘hyung’ now?”

Yoo Hyun, as shocked as if he had found a homeless person he saw on the street in his own living room, asked with disgust.

“How did you get in here?”

“You should have answered your calls more often.”

“…….”

“Hyung is disappointed in you, Yoo Hyun-ah.

I gave you so many chances, and yet you’re being this stubborn.”

Yoo Hyun let out a short sigh in the face of such absurdity and shamelessness and moved to step past.

He intended to push aside Choi Jong-ik, who was blocking the front door, and unlock it.

He was prepared for a physical fight if he caused trouble, but surprisingly, Choi Jong-ik stepped aside readily.

“You stab me in the back and now this?

I’m really hurt.”

“The back of my head stings just as much from being hit, so let’s not get involved with each other from now on.”

As Yoo Hyun tried to close the door, Choi Jong-ik grabbed it just before it shut and grinned.

“Go Yoo Hyun.

You shouldn’t do this to me.”

The corners of Yoo Hyun’s mouth, who had been forcing himself to remain expressionless, twisted.

That horrific day flashed in his mind.

The last Saturday of March, Choi Jong-ik’s birthday.

When Yoo Hyun arrived, beings that were neither human nor beast were already entangled with each other on sofas and the floor, completely out of their minds.

When he passed them and opened the VIP room upstairs, the host of the party, Choi Jong-ik, had also lost his marbles.

‘They say you usually prefer Guides, but I want to have a special day today.

I hear Espers’ senses are incomparable to us ordinary people?

Hearing that, how could I resist being curious?

I wonder if their sexual sensitivity is that heightened too.’

‘What’s wrong, why are you so stiff?

Don’t worry.

I heard he’s a low-level Esper, so he’s easy to control.

Gave him plenty of drugs too.

And like this… I have a gun.’

That day, Choi Jong-ik’s target wasn’t just the Esper he had procured for a hefty sum plus extra.

Yoo Hyun was also, briefly but definitely, trapped in that room.

‘I don’t like men.

I like women.

But I think it’d be okay if it’s you.

How about you, Yoo Hyun-ah?’

What followed was a horrifying game of tag.

And what?

‘You shouldn’t do this to me’?

Who are you to say that?

The one who shouldn’t do this is Choi Jong-ik.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say.

Please leave.”

As Yoo Hyun applied force to close the front door, Choi Jong-ik quickly shoved his foot into the entryway.

Yoo Hyun shot him a sharp glare.

“How many ads, how many broadcasts did I get you, and you treat me like this?

What, do you have some other ace up your sleeve?”

“Hah, what nonsense…”

“What’s with that ‘I didn’t know’ expression?

Did you really think it was all thanks to your own ability?

Aren’t you overestimating yourself too much?”

Strength slowly drained from Yoo Hyun’s hand.

Choi Jong-ik held the closing door for him and continued speaking with a grin.

“You know this well too, Yoo Hyun-ah, but hyung is a generous and understanding person.”

“What?”

“So stop with the petty pride.

Admit your mistake and apologize, and hyung is prepared to forgive you.

Okay?”

Yoo Hyun let out a hollow laugh.

It was a perfect chance to cut ties with Choi Jong-ik.

What exactly was he supposed to ask forgiveness for?

In front of such an unreasonable human being, Yoo Hyun no longer had the energy to hide his contempt.

“Apologize?

There’s no apology I need to make to trash.”

“What kind of language is that?

Calling me trash.”

“It’s you, Choi Jong-ik, who needs to reflect and apologize, but I know you won’t do any of it.

That’s why you’re trash.”

“Reflect?

Apologize?

I don’t get it.

Yoo Hyun-ah, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

Choi Jong-ik feigned innocence with a pitiful expression, as if he were the victim of false accusations.

“Ah, right.

I heard you told the police that.

That I killed someone.

That I was drunk and drugged beyond reason, that I had a gun in my right hand… So clearly, I must have killed someone with that gun.

Right?”