Survive! Foolish Bottom!

 

Out of sheer despair, a ridiculous, overly dramatic voice spilled out of Haeun’s mouth.

 

“But Haeun… isn’t that kind of person! It’s so upsetting that sunbae has misunderstood me. Boo-hoo!”

 

Haeun wished he could just lose consciousness. If he were going to be forced into something like this, it would’ve been better to pass out entirely.

 

Unfortunately, his mind was crystal clear, painfully aware of every single humiliating action he was being made to perform. With wide, sparkling eyes and hands clasped together in an exaggeratedly cute pose, Haeun found himself embodying the image of a bubbly idol against his will.

 

“……”

 『Kim Gyowon’s favorability has decreased by 5!』 

At this point, Haeun thought, maybe it was better to die. The affection that had gone up by 7 earlier had now dropped by 5, leaving him completely resigned to his fate.

 

Kim Gyowon’s expression, as he had witnessed the entirety of Haeun’s bizarre antics, shifted through a fascinating array of emotions in a short span of time. Haeun desperately wanted to look away, but his neck seemed stuck in place, forcing him to maintain unwavering eye contact with him.

 

Kim Gyowon’s initial expression was one of disbelief, as if he couldn’t trust his eyes. Understandable—Haeun himself could hardly believe the words that had just come out of his mouth. 

 

That disbelief soon turned into an awkward, baffled look, as though he couldn’t figure out what to say. Finally, his face settled into an expression of suppressed amusement, lips twitching as he valiantly attempted to hold back laughter.

 

It wasn’t an attempt Haeun appreciated. His effort to keep from laughing only made him feel even more humiliated.

 

‘Just laugh already, damn it…’

 

Watching his contorted, not-quite-smiling expression, Haeun felt a surge of hot frustration bubble up inside him. Suppressing his seething anger, he remained frozen in her cutesy posture, hands still clasped together, as he glanced awkwardly at Kim Gyowon.

 

Finally, Kim Gyowon broke the silence with a question.

 

“Is this… some kind of concept?”

 

“……”

 

Haeun couldn’t tell if Kim Gyowon was teasing him or genuinely curious. When he didn’t reply, he surprisingly continued, his expression seemingly sincere.

 

“Or is living as a celebrity so exhausting that you’ve started to lose it a little? If that’s the case, maybe I should be more

careful about what I say.”

 

“……”

 

The fact that he seemed to seriously consider this possibility made him feel even more humiliated. However, as Kim Gyowon examined Haeun’s grim expression, he seemed to come to a conclusion. His serious demeanor finally gave way to a faint smile.

 

“Well, it doesn’t seem like stress has pushed you over the edge, though. You look way too natural for that.”

 

“……Please leave.”

 

His voice trembled with barely suppressed rage. The hands he had unconsciously raised to his face began to shake, and he finally regained enough control to lower them. Clenching his fists tightly, Haeun tried to soothe his anger by imagining punching Kim Gyowon in the face. But his words just kept coming.

 

“You know, this might actually make acting easier for you. In fact―”

 

“For fck’s sake, just get out already!”

 

Having failed to suppress his temper earlier and been penalized for it, Haeun lost control again. At this point, he didn’t care about lost affection points or interference from the system. He decided he’d deal with the consequences later.

 

“Get lost! I just want to be alone!”

 

Haeun screamed at him, his chest heaving with anger as he mentally braced for the incoming system notification. He even had a good guess at what it would say:

‘Professional idols don’t scream at their seniors!’,

or

‘Kim Gyowon’s favorability has decreased by 5!’

 『Professional idols don’t yell at their seniors like rebellious teenagers! (ﾉ>｡<)ﾉ』 

Sure enough, it was a version of what he expected.

 『“Kim Gyowon’s” favorability has increased by 4! (ﾟoﾟ;;!!』 

Haeun froze. Wait, what?!

 

Haeun’s suspicion deepened. When he cursed out Lee Jaewoon, the affection score rose. When he acted cute, it dropped. And now, cursing again had increased it. 

 

Could Kim Gyowon

like

being insulted? The thought crossed his mind unbidden, but looking at his expression didn’t align with someone whose affection score had just gone up.

 

Was there some kind of mistake? Maybe a glitch in the system’s calculations, or maybe he had misread “increased” as “decreased.”

 

Regardless, he was still angry, and the system’s hovering threat of another penalty filled him with dread. He couldn’t bear another mortifying display of forced cuteness. 

 

Escaping was his only option. But running off wouldn’t work if Kim Gyowon just followed him. Leaving the filming set entirely wasn’t feasible either. 

 

Desperate, Haeun settled on the only idea he could think of: hiding in a bathroom stall.

 

It was a decision he would have never made if he’d been thinking clearly.

 

Slamming the stall door shut and locking it with all the force of a rebellious teenager slamming their bedroom door after a fight with their parents, Haeun fumed in his self-imposed confinement. 

 

From the other side of the door came Kim Gyowon’s maddeningly calm, yet teasing voice.

 

“Don’t do this. Come on out and talk to Dad for a bit.”

 

“Who the hell are you to yourself my Dad, you asshole?!”

 

Haeun snapped immediately, his irritation bubbling over, and from outside, Kim Gyowon’s stifled laughter echoed mockingly.

 『“Kim Gyowon’s” Affection has increased by 1!』 

‘He really does like being cursed at.’

 

“Park Haeun ssi. Didn’t you stay behind because you had something to say to me?”

 

Through gritted teeth, Haeun managed to calm himself just enough to reply. His voice was still sharp, but he avoided slipping into outright swearing this time.

 

“I asked if you needed the recording or not, but you ignored me. What are you on about now?”

 

“Oh, that.”

 

All this chaos had stemmed from Haeun staying back to offer him the recording. Though irritation bubbled up at the thought, Haeun still intended to hand over the file for the sake of doing the right thing—after, of course, editing out all the parts where he had run his mouth.

 

But Kim Gyowon’s reply was maddeningly casual.

 

“You don’t have to give it to me. I also recorded it myself.”

 

“…”

 

Haeun felt his mind reel.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

 

Why hadn’t he thought of that? Of course, he’d have recorded it too. Sitting in a bathroom stall, overhearing everything as it unfolded—he certainly hadn’t just sat there twiddling his thumbs. Even

he

had thought of recording when he first overheard. There was no way someone like him wouldn’t have.

 

Which meant… his phone had captured

everything

. Every mortifying second of his unfiltered behavior.

 

Staying back to “help” had landed him in a deeper mess. Haeun trembled, overwhelmed by a potent cocktail of humiliation, frustration, and regret. As his hands shook uncontrollably, Haeun muttered under his breath, filled with incredulity and exasperation.

 

“What the hell were you even doing hiding in the bathroom in the first place then? It makes no damn sense.”

 

Kim Gyowon replied in the same breezy tone.

 

“I came to throw away the coffee. Then Lee Jaewoon tagged along and suddenly started taking a call. What was I supposed to do? Give him a thumbs up and leave?”

 

‘Seriously, what an absolute idiot.’

 

Who on earth discusses such incriminating matters over the phone, in public, without checking their surroundings? And to top it off,

in the presence of the very person they were badmouthing.

 

Kim Gyowon, meanwhile, seemed utterly unfazed as if recounting someone else’s drama, not his own. Haeun, unable to suppress his curiosity, cautiously asked.

 

“You seem pretty calm for someone who almost got dragged into a scandal.”

 『“Kim Gyowon’s” favorability has increased by 1!』 

He heard a low chuckle. Evidently, his choice of the word

scandal

amused him greatly. Did he have a punctured lung or something? What was so funny that he couldn’t stop laughing?

 

One minute, he’s all serious and deducting points, and now, he’s giggling at everything I say and handing them back.

 

 

The favorability score rose agonizingly slowly—1 at a time—compared to the devastating -5 or -6 point drops he’d suffered earlier.

 

Does he really like being insulted?

 

 

The thought lingered, leading Haeun to wonder if that explained his patience with Lee Jaewoon. He found himself overthinking, spiraling into far-fetched assumptions until a pang of guilt hit him.

 

“This isn’t my first time dealing with guys like him.”

 

What, he’s dealt with these types before?

 

It seemed even the life of a celebrity wasn’t free of its fair share of headaches.

 

“…Anyway, that’s enough.”

 

This wasn’t the time for casual chatter. Who knew when the system might spring another ridiculous task on him? Besides, listening to that infuriatingly calm voice made it impossible to maintain his composure.

 

In a sharp, clipped voice, Haeun pressed on.

 

“Why don’t you leave me alone for now? Do whatever you want—ruin me, bury me, whatever—but I need to be alone.”

 

His main point was clearly the “leave me alone” part. Yet, predictably, Kim Gyowon latched onto the “ruin me, bury me” comment instead.

 

“Why would I want to ruin you?”

 

Haeun froze. Admittedly, it

was

a concern. As a celebrity, his career was always precariously balanced. And while humiliation and anger consumed him in the moment, the long-term consequences of his actions—or lack thereof—had haunted the back of his mind.

 

Kim Gyowon added with a trace of seriousness, his teasing tone gone, “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything.”

 

With that, he left her a parting note to not be late and walked out of the bathroom.

 

Is he really gone?

 

Haeun listened intently, perking up at the faintest sounds to confirm if he’d truly left. Only after hearing the door creak open and shut, followed by silence, did she cautiously unlock the stall and emerge.

 

What now? How does this end…?

 

Splashing cold water on his face, he prepared to return, only to get a scolding from the stylist for being gone so long. Aside from that, nothing else happened.

 

***

 

It turned out that Kim Gyowon truly hadn’t done anything. Days passed, and when the next shoot rolled around, Haeun remained free of any fresh scandals or public shaming. There were no headlines dragging his name through the mud or whispers of her misbehavior.

 

But it wasn’t just Haeun’s life that went unscathed. To her astonishment, even Lee Jaewoon showed up on set a few days later as if nothing had happened. No articles, no forced departures from the drama—nothing.

 

Is this what he meant by “nothing” back then?

 

It seemed Kim Gyowon’s promise to keep quiet applied not only to his meltdown but also to Jae-woon’s actions. And that unsettled him. 

 

How could anyone be sure that someone capable of such behavior wouldn’t repeat it? He’d avoided crossing paths with Kim Gyowon since, unsure how to approach the issue, but the thought gnawed at him.

 

Haeun didn’t have to wonder for long. The situation escalated in the most unwelcome way possible.

 

Kim Gyowon might have done nothing, but the incident didn’t stay buried. A trashy, third-rate tabloid specializing in celebrity gossip ran a story.

 「‘Law of First Love’ actor Kim Gyowon embroiled in major feud rumors with idol-turned-actor? Fans in shock」Hey guys, this is Flo!

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