Chapter 54
The night air was crisp, carrying the briny scent of the nearby Han River and the charcoal-heavy aroma of the barbecue restaurant where the wrap party was in full swing. Inside, the atmosphere was electric - a chaotic symphony of clinking soju glasses, the sizzle of premium beef, and the boisterous laughter of a crew that had spent the last several months in the trenches of production.
It was a milestone. Filming for Gyeongseong High had officially concluded. For Haru, the journey had been a surreal bridge between his past as Sunghoon and his uncertain future. Now, the raw footage was in the hands of editors, and all that remained was the nerve-wracking countdown to the premiere and the inevitable whirlwind of promotions. Alice had already hinted that she was aggressively negotiating for him to appear on variety shows and some of the shows high-profile interviews; the "Rookie Actor Haru" brand was trending, and she intended to strike while the iron was hot.
Throughout the shoot, Haru had operated with a surgical level of professionalism. It hadn't always been easy. There were moments when the arrogance of the veteran lead, Shim -sul , had tested every ounce of Sunghoon's hard-won patience. He had bitten his tongue until it bled, holding back the sharp, authoritative reprimands that a veteran of his true stature would have delivered. He had played the part of the humble junior perfectly, though his internal monologue was often a scathing critique of shim-suls mediocre "method" acting.
On the flip side, he had found a genuine ally in Dael-hwa. The two of them had spent countless hours between takes discussing the emotional subtext of their scenes. In Dael-hwa, Haru found a kindred spirit-someone who respected the craft as much as he did deslite her being an idol. It felt like he had unlocked a true friendship, a rare commodity in an industry built on glass and mirrors.
As the party roared on, Haru made his rounds. He offered polite toasts, clicking his glass lower than the directors and senior staff as tradition dictated. He was careful with his intake, though. The memory of his last drunken escapade - and the way his body had felt like a traitorous, leaden weight - was still fresh. More importantly, Raiven wasn't there to catch him this time.
The tour had been going for a month now. Their late-night phone calls had become a lifeline, a secret frequency they shared across time zones and distance. Haru had even picked up a few shifts back at the restaurant during his rare gaps in the schedule - not because he needed the money, but because the manual labor kept his mind from drifting too far. He kept the drama paycheck in a separate account.
But the peace of the evening was shattered when a familiar, unwelcome face appeared at the restaurant.
Juno had arrived late, trailing a wake of expensive cologne and unearned confidence. He had immediately parked himself next to the director, bantering loudly and acting as if he had personally funded the entire production. Haru had felt Juno's eyes on him throughout the night - a smug, predatory gawk that made his skin crawl.
And then there was the shadow of Min-hyuk. The debt collector had gone strangely radio-silent since their last encounter, which Haru took as a blessing, even if the silence felt like the quiet before a storm.
Feeling the walls of the restaurant closing in, Haru decided to take a breather. He slipped out the back door into the narrow alleyway, the sudden quiet of the street a relief after the cacophony inside. He leaned against the brick wall and lit a cigarette, the orange cherry glowing in the dim light.
He looked up. In Seoul, the stars were barely visible, drowned out by the neon haze of the city, but he looked for them anyway. He watched the rhythm of the street - drunken salarymen leaning on each other, students laughing as they headed to a late-night karaoke bar, the tireless pulse of 2025.
I'm really here, he thought, letting out a long, grey puff of smoke. I've finished my first project. Sunghoon was back, even if the world doesn't know his name.
The door behind him creaked open. He didn't turn around, thinking it was just another crew member escaping the heat.
"You're just as hot as I remember," a voice drawled, slick and heavy with unearned familiarity.
Haru didn't flinch. He took another drag of his cigarette, his eyes fixed on a distant streetlight. He didn't need to look to know who it was.
Juno stepped into his peripheral vision, biting his lip with a choreographed "sexy" look that Haru found utterly pathetic. He stood too close - close enough that Haru could smell the soju on his breath. Juno reached out, his movements cocky and entitled, and plucked the cigarette right out of Haru's fingers. He took a slow, deliberate whiff of it before blowing the smoke directly into Haru's face.
Haru finally looked at him, his expression cold and flat. He pushed off the wall, standing at his full height and gently but firmly shoving Juno back to reclaim his personal space.
"What do you want, Juno?"
"First of all, you're very hard to get in touch with," Juno said, his smirk returning as he toyed with the stolen cigarette. "Second, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I thought... why not pick up where we left off? That night at the mansion was just a teaser, don't you think?"
Haru sized him up. He saw the expensive watch, the perfectly styled hair, and the utter void of substance behind the eyes. Juno was a man who had been told "yes" his entire life. His father owned one of the largest networks in the country he was used to people crawling at his feet.
"What makes you think I want to pick up anywhere with you?" Haru asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Juno's confidence flickered for a fraction of a second. He discarded the cigarette, grinding it into the pavement with the toe of a designer shoe, and stepped back into Haru's space.
"I mean, come on. Who wouldn't?" Juno's voice was laced with honey, but his eyes were hungry, roaming over Haru's figure like he was checking the price tag on a new car.
"I can give you money. I can give you any role you want. You wouldn't have to scrape by in a small agency like yours. One word to my father and you're a superstar overnight."
Haru looked him in the eye, the seasoned soul of Sunghoon feeling nothing but a profound sense of boredom.
"You aren't my type," Haru said curtly.
Juno froze. His eyes widened, a flash of genuine shock crossing his face. No one talked to him like this. Not a rookie. Not someone who was supposed to be desperate for a break. He wasn't as visually striking as someone like Raiven, perhaps, but he was powerful.
"What?"
"You heard me," Haru repeated, pulling out a fresh cigarette and dangling it between his lips as he searched his pockets for a lighter. He looked Juno right in the eye, watching the man's ego crumble in real-time. "You aren't my type. No amount of network connections can change that."
Juno's face flushed a deep, angry red. He scoffed, a jagged, ugly sound, and took a threatening step forward, his hand reaching out as if to grab Haru's collar.
Haru stepped back instinctively, his back hitting the cool glass of the restaurant window. He was bracing for a confrontation when he felt a sudden, heavy weight around his waist. A powerful arm pulled him sideways, tucking him into a broad, solid chest.
Haru looked up, ready to fight off a second intruder, but his breath hitched in his throat.
Towering over both of them, his expression a mask of lethal, quiet fury, was Min-hyuk. The debt collector's hand was clamped firmly on Haru's hip, his other hand shoved in his coat pocket. He wasn't looking at Haru; he was staring down at Juno with the cold, detached gaze of a man who dealt in violence as a daily currency.
Juno had frozen mid-motion, his hand still hovering in the air. He looked at Min-hyuk - the expensive but scarred leather jacket, the cold eyes, the aura of genuine danger - and his bravado vanished instantly. Juno recognized danger when he saw it.
Haru felt a wave of cold dread wash over him. Between the spoiled child and the dangerous debt collector, he wasn't sure which monster was worse. He looked at Min-hyuk's profile, his heart sinking.
Could this night get any worse?