Was I Just a One-Night Sponsor?

I narrowed my eyes in return and looked at Kang Chaehee.
What he said wasn’t the truth.
Back then, that professor hadn’t just made a sponsorship offer—he’d also committed sexual harassment.
But the victim wasn’t Kang Chaehee.
It was an omega a year below him named Park Seonjun.

“Th-That story got out? Where? How much do people know?”
“No. It didn’t get out. It only came up because I deliberately investigated. If anyone had been interested in that kind of thing from the start, would you be in this mess right now? There’d already be talk of professor tyranny or whatever.”
“…….”
“Anyway, that was quite a noble sacrifice on your part.”

Kang Chaehee, who had been sighing in relief, glanced at me.
“You tried to report the professor while exposing that he’d demanded sponsorship…… all while hiding Park Seonjun behind the scenes. It was a righteous attempt.”
They weren’t even dating.
Kang Chaehee lowered his head.
“Was he your lover? That doesn’t seem like something you’d do for just anyone.”
I asked again even though I already knew.
“No. He was just a junior.”

Hmm, like I said—quite the sense of justice and spirit of sacrifice.
Still, it hadn’t worked out.
The school had suppressed it initially, and given the school’s closed-off structure, it had all been hushed up and swept under the rug.

“That professor……. What was his name again. I forgot. That professor has been following you around and harassing you ever since, right?”
“……Yes.”

Unfortunately, it seemed there had even been talk of expelling both of them as punishment.
Kang Chaehee withdrew from school on the condition that he keep his mouth shut, and in the end, Park Seonjun also dropped out and moved to the countryside.
Kang Chaehee had entered as the top student and been at the top of his class throughout his enrollment, yet he’d abandoned it all without a second thought.

That was the full story of the incident as I knew it……
Kang Chaehee was clearly the wronged party.
Yet even so, he didn’t seem inclined to whine about his situation in front of someone with more power than that professor.

‘Well, that would be ridiculous too. It’s not like we met for any other reason—I’m sponsoring him. Anyway, hmm…….’

Well, it might have been foolish, but it was righteous.
There was nothing wrong with being righteous.
I was originally the type to be easily moved by other people’s stories.

“…….”
Kang Chaehee ate the remaining cakes silently, with clear enjoyment.
He really ate well.
He said he’d only eaten a little for dinner, but had he actually come here hungry?

‘When was the last time I sat down and ate a meal with Jeon Seongwon……’

They say once someone’s eating starts to look like shoveling, it’s the end.
Afraid that might happen—afraid that Jeon Seongwon’s eating might start looking like shoveling—I’d deliberately avoided eating at home with him.
Because that scared me.
In response, at some point, Jeon Seongwon had started eating most of his meals outside before coming home.

“I ate well.”

Just as my mood was about to settle slightly, Kang Chaehee wiped his spotless mouth with a napkin and spoke.
All those cakes that could have filled a whole plate—where had they gone?
Kang Chaehee looked immaculate, as if he’d only eaten a drop of dew.
I glanced at his stomach under his knit, but there was no sign of it sticking out at all.

I was purely admiring him, but Kang Chaehee seemed to misinterpret my gaze.
His face flushed bright red, and he hesitantly opened his mouth.
“D-Director, now……”
Now……
He was trying to set the mood.
His face was beet red—whether he was innocent or that was his concept.
I poured myself more alcohol and pointed to the left with my finger.
“That’s the sub-room over there. Go in and do whatever you want.”
“Uh……. Excuse me?”
“I didn’t call you here to sleep with you. Ah, right.”

I opened the envelope lying on the sofa and pulled out several thick stacks of paper.
I tossed them onto the table in front of Kang Chaehee with a thud.
His eyes, which had been looking down in confusion, grew wide.
What I’d thrown were scripts.
Kang Chaehee seemed to realize what they were a beat later.

“Pick one from among those. I left out web dramas. They’re all full dramas with minor roles, but written by well-known writers. A good start is important.”
“P-Pick one? Me?”
“It’s practically your acting debut. You should go with the one you’re most confident in. You’re already a used newbie. Kang Chaehee, you’ve had a lot of extra roles, right? The professor won’t be able to touch these. Among them, what was the very first role you played?”
“Ah, yes. Soldier 13……”
It must have been a role he’d taken while still in school.
He must have done countless extra roles since then, yet he still remembered his very first role.
“From now on, that video will become a hot topic again. You’re going to become famous.”

Kang Chaehee, who had been blinking blankly, flinched.
“B-But, Director, I haven’t done anything for you today……”
“Is this a one-time meeting? Or do you want to? I’m not someone you can do whatever you want with just because you say you want to.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant!”
Startled, Kang Chaehee fumbled to gather the scripts, left a quick “Thank you,” and fled into the sub-room.
His reaction was rather entertaining.

I leaned back long on the sofa, holding my glass.
Kang Chaehee would become famous.
Because I’d make sure of it.
As for the rumor that he made it because he was sponsored……
Well, that was better than being pushed around by some nobody professor and disappearing without a trace.
That was his burden to bear.
Besides, with most guys, being sponsored would be a stain, but with me attached to him, it would actually become a talking point.
The press would naturally hush it up and publish only quiet articles.

But the real reason I was doing this……
“…….”
I glanced at my phone.
Wondering if the news had already gotten out.
That probably wasn’t the case, but just as I thought that, my phone vibrated.

Startled enough to nearly jump off the sofa, I fumbled for my phone and almost screamed.
The caller ID read ‘Husband.’
No way. Had he already found out?
Was he about to tell me to come over right now?
Or was he finally responding to the ‘Die’ text I’d sent a few days ago?
Calming my pounding heart, I answered the call.
“……Hello?”
―I have a business trip for a week. Don’t wait up.
Click.

Silence……

“……Ha.”
I quietly swept my hair back and downed the nearly full glass of alcohol in one breath.
Then, staring incredulously at the phone that had returned to the home screen, I let out hollow laughs—ha…… ha!—several times.
After a week of silence, that’s what he calls to say?

Frustration bubbled up from my gut and wrapped around my head in an instant.
“……Hey! Why would I wait for you? Huh? Hey, you disrespectful bastard! You f*cking asshole!”

Unable to hold back, I yelled out—forgetting that Kang Chaehee was in the sub-room.

* * * *

I woke up briefly and sensed someone moving softly nearby.
I didn’t like people lingering close to me when I slept, so I always made sure no one could come near……
Who was it?

The unidentified person, emanating a faint alpha pheromone, unfolded a blanket and draped it over me.
The pheromone was an unfamiliar scent.
“……?”

Even more so, there was no one who would cover me with a blanket while I slept.
Unless my mother had come home.
But of course, my mother wasn’t an alpha.

Anyway, if it wasn’t my mother—no, wait.
The texture of where I was lying now wasn’t home.
In the first place, it didn’t seem like a bed……
It’s a sofa, isn’t it?
I was lying on the sofa, using a cushion as a pillow.

“…….”
Only then did I vaguely start to remember why I was here.
I’d come to meet the unknown actor I was going to sponsor.
Then I got enraged by Jeon Seongwon’s out-of-the-blue call, drank by myself, and eventually lay down on the sofa—I remembered that much.

‘How long have I been asleep……’

As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Kang Chaehee’s back.
He was only wearing his thin dark blue knit and pants, but even in my drowsy state, I was impressed.
His back view was no joke either.
Broad shoulders and an almost dangerously straight posture.

I lowered my gaze to the table.
The table, which had been a mess with alcohol, glasses, water spilled from a bottle, a bit of spilled liquor, cake plates, and such, had already been neatly cleaned up.
I rolled my eyes again to check the time—2 AM.

Startled, I pressed my hand to my forehead and sat up abruptly.
Kang Chaehee flinched and turned around.
“I’m sorry, Director. Did I wake you?”
“……Mm, no. I was planning to leave around midnight……”
Not even midnight—it was 2 AM, nearly 2:40.
Even when I drank, if I didn’t actually go to bed, I usually woke up within ten minutes.
I must have overdone it.
This was all Jeon Seongwon’s fault.
I got up as I was and headed to the bathroom.
Kang Chaehee’s gaze followed me.

This was no time to care about that.
I wanted to wash away the alcohol fumes still emanating from my entire body.
After spending a long time showering in the bathroom, I came out drying my wet hair.
Kang Chaehee was still standing in the same spot, staring blankly.
“Why are you still there?”
“Excuse me? Well…… I thought you’d be right out.”

He had a somewhat clueless side too.
Anyway, after washing up, I felt like I was coming back to my senses a bit.
“I’m going to leave, so stay comfortably and then go. There’s no set checkout time here. Take the key with you.”
“Ah, I was thinking of leaving now, so I wouldn’t be noticed.”
Huh? Now that I looked, he had his outerwear draped over his arm.
Without thinking, I looked at Kang Chaehee’s chest.
The contour of his chest beneath the thin knit……
Lee Seyeon, get a hold of yourself.

“Why would you do that?”
“Well, this seems like the Director’s private room, so I thought if I left at a noticeable time, it might cause trouble for you……”
Ha. He was more thoughtful than I expected.
I chuckled and answered.
“An unfamiliar alpha leaving alone in the early morning from a room I use exclusively would be even more suspicious, don’t you think?”
“Ah……. That’s true.”
Maybe he really was a bit clueless.

“If you’re worried, leaving when there’s a crowd at checkout time is more natural anyway. Either way, even if you are noticed, I don’t really care.”
“Yes……”
Kang Chaehee looked like he was hesitating about something.
“Why?”
Finding it frustrating, I asked.
With a determined expression, he lifted his head and asked.
“Is today the last time I’ll see you, Director?”