Survive! Foolish Bottom!

 

Kim Gyowon had a serious expression on his face. As Haeun looked into his eyes, instead of processing the meaning of his words, he found himself distracted by other thoughts. 

So, this is why the male lead in a melodrama always acts like this.

Still staring at him blankly, Haeun suddenly snapped out of his reverie.

“What responsibility are you going to take?”

His tone had unintentionally become probing, but that wasn’t his intention. He was simply genuinely curious. Haeun didn’t understand why Kim Gyowon would say he’d take responsibility, and even more, he couldn’t figure out how he planned to do it.

Gyowon, seemingly expecting his question, began speaking.

“Soon, we’ll be doing some promotional broadcasts for the drama.”

“……..Sunbae-nim is going?”

Haeun was taken aback by the unexpected answer. Why was he suddenly talking about that? He couldn’t help but ask, his inner confusion visible in his voice. Gyowon didn’t seem bothered by his puzzled reaction at all.

“I don’t usually go on those kinds of shows.”

This wasn’t an explanation but rather a continuation of his random words. It almost seemed like he was trying to imply that he wasn’t the type of actor to appear on such shows. 

After all, there were plenty of actors who kept up the mysterious concept of avoiding variety shows entirely. Gyowon, in particular, fit that image quite naturally.

“Ah… yes. But?”

It was one thing to fit the image, but it was another to throw out random statements like this. Haeun asked again, full of confusion. Normally, he didn’t tend to cushion his words, and with no interference from the system this time, his response naturally came off a bit rude. Gyowon didn’t admonish his tone; he simply glanced at him for a moment.

“But this time, there’s a scheduled appearance I have. It’s a typical variety show with talking, games, and quizzes.”

“Yes, yes. And?”

Still not understanding, Haeun asked again, pressing for clarification. Gyowon, in his usual generous manner, smiled and replied.

“I agreed to appear on the condition that you come along too.”

“Me?!”

This time, his question wasn’t sarcastic—it was genuine surprise. Haeun pointed at himself with his index fingers, his eyes wide like a rabbit caught in headlights. His exaggerated movement resembled something from a children’s show, but he seemed completely unaware of it. 

Gyowon, who had been casually looking his way, couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at his reaction.

Haeun furrowed her brows slightly, still confused by his words, and asked again.

“Did you really come here because of me?”

“Would I have come for anything else?”

Gyowon answered with a tone of disbelief. Normally, Haeun would have been offended by such a sarcastic remark, but today, he felt no urge to respond angrily. He was overwhelmed with confusion instead.

He knew he came to see him, but he couldn’t wrap his head around the reason. He didn’t believe for a second that it was because “Gyowon was worried about Park Haeun” or “Gyowon came to help Park Haeun.”

“Why though?”

His mind raced with questions. Why was he going this far for him? He didn’t seem like the type of person who would do something like that for anyone.

Before he could get her answer, Haeun blurted out another question in his confusion.

“Why didn’t you do anything from the start? You could have just used the recording and released the article; that way, you wouldn’t have had to deal with all this hassle.”

Even with the sudden shift in questioning, Gyowon showed no signs of surprise. His answer came quickly and naturally.

“I’ve been through stuff like this more than once. It’s tiring to react to every little thing.”

Haeun shut his mouth, unsure how to respond. His calm demeanor almost made him feel irritated, but then, hearing him say this was something he’d been through before, he also felt a bit sorry for him, as if he had suffered from similar situations many times.

“When a casting article is already out, asking them to recast the lead because of me isn’t exactly an easy thing to do.”

Gyowon continued, as he noticed Haeun’s silence.

“More than that…”

“More than that?”

“It’s the fact that it’s a disgusting issue.”

“…”

Haeun, who had opened his mouth out of curiosity, immediately fell silent again. He had expected a serious reason behind his words, but instead, he sounded just like the system. Sensing his cold gaze, Gyowon waved his hand dismissively, almost as if to explain himself.

“Don’t give me that look. Think about it. If we’d just cut Jaewoon from the start, what would the article have said?”

His tone was oddly like that of a teacher’s. Haeun thought deeply for a moment.

“‘First Love’s Law’ actor replacement?”

“And?”

There must have been more to it. Haeun placed his clenched fist between his mouth and chin, deep in thought, before cautiously replying.

“Scandal about conflict between the lead actors?”

Gyowon looked down at him with a slightly amused gaze. Maybe he was right this time, because he nodded and accepted her answer.

“Yeah, cutting a supporting male lead isn’t something you can just ignore. People are going to ask why. But what if the rumors started leaking?”

The idea clicked in Haeun’s mind. He nodded and then smiled subtly. He shifted in his seat, uncrossing his legs, and leaned back more casually, as if he’d just figured it out.

“Aha, so you don’t want the ‘Kim Gyowon laxative controversy,’ right?”

Now, it was starting to make sense. The “disgusting issue” he mentioned was exactly that.

If Jaewoon got cut, people would definitely wonder why. With such a big fan base, angry fans would dig into the reason behind it, and eventually, rumors about Gyowon and Jaewoon having a falling-out would spread. If it then came out that Jaewoon had tried to give Gyowon laxatives… Haeun could already imagine the comments flooding internet forums.

‘Wait, so is he saying that he drank it or not?’

‘Huh…If he really drank the laxative, then yeah, cutting him makes sense…’

Poor Kim Gyowon… He had narrowly avoided a reputation-ruining scandal.

Now understanding the situation, Haeun nodded repeatedly. Watching him, Gyowon sighed dramatically, as if exasperated.

“Can you phrase it a little more delicately?”

Haeun did feel bad for him, but he couldn’t think of a more delicate way to put it. When he simply tilted his head in a gesture of cluelessness, Gyowon smoothly changed the topic.

“Anyway, that’s just if I had taken the hit alone. Now that you’re involved, I can’t just plug my ears and ride it out.”

Honestly, he thought he would have done exactly that. Was he treating Kim Gyowon too much like a villain? But considering how their first few interactions had gone—when he’d cut him down for just saying hello—he couldn’t help it.

As Haeun was stuck between self-reflection and self-justification, Gyowon continued speaking in a calm voice.

“So I figured I’d release a correction article and spread some counter-rumors myself, but… looks like that’s not happening.”

“It’s not happening?”

“Yeah. It’ll get blocked.”

It seemed like Jaewoon’s agency was pretty competent. The original article had been taken down quickly, and now they were saying any attempt to publish a counter-story would be stopped before it even surfaced.

It made sense. If they had managed to keep someone like Jaewoon out of trouble for so long, painting him as a “friendly, well-liked idol,” they clearly knew how to handle the press.

“Even if we somehow get him kicked out of the drama, his side will just spin it in their favor, and you’ll end up taking all the heat again.”

If that happened, Haeun, who had nothing—no power, no influence—would be bombarded with accusations of being a nepotism hire or having a sponsor. Just thinking about it made him sigh deeply.

Hearing that, Gyowon chuckled softly and spoke in a soothing tone.

“So, let’s just pretend to be close. The story is: You kept quiet out of consideration for me, but in reality, we’re actually friends. Which means the article can’t possibly be about us. That’s the image we need to establish. You know, like in

Paris—

“

His words, which had been flowing smoothly, suddenly stopped.

Paris? What about Paris?

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Haeun asked.

“Paris? You mean like… the city? Or the flying insect?”

He was half-joking, expecting him to laugh, but Gyowon didn’t even crack a smile. Instead, he hesitated, looking uncertain.

“You know… that thing. Are you stupid? Why can’t you say it?”

“What? How am I supposed to know what you’re talking about? And suddenly I’m stupid?”

Why was he getting mad at

him

when he was the one who trailed off?

Haeun shot back at him sharply, getting annoyed. Gyowon just shook his head and mumbled.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Haeun had been about to argue more but then suddenly paused.

Wait.

Wasn’t that a line from some old drama? Something like,

‘Why can’t you just say that man is yours?’

He wasn’t even that into dramas, so there was no way he’d remember random lines like that. But somehow, it felt familiar…

Then he should’ve just said so.

Feigning indifference, Haeun asked again.

“Oh, is it a line from a drama?”

“No… never mind.”

Gyowon, who had seemed about to say something, slowly shook his head and then lightly tapped Haeun’s head. The motion was almost like a pat, but it still felt like she was being treated like an idiot. Feeling annoyed for no reason, she turned her head away, and Gyowon, as if he had read her mind, added,

“I’m not calling you stupid, so relax your expression.”

“What’s wrong with my expression?”

“If you don’t know, go look in a mirror.”

Honestly, even if Haeun did look in a mirror, she wouldn’t see much difference. Park Ha’s face was naturally too gentle-looking—no matter how hard she tried to make a fierce expression, at best, she’d only look slightly sulky.

Satisfied that the atmosphere had lightened, Gyowon smoothly changed the subject.

“Now give me your number. I’ll contact you when the schedule is set.”

Changing the topic was fine, but the content was somehow irritating. He had said he didn’t like getting numbers through other people, but when asking the person directly, his tone wasn’t particularly polite either. Come to think of it, Gyowon seemed to have a habit of speaking in a commanding tone.

“What kind of way is this to ask for someone’s number?”

“Then how should I do it?”

At Haeun’s disgruntled tone, Gyowon shrugged. He had only been complaining for a moment—it wasn’t like he intended to refuse. He was just about to hold out his hand, expecting him to hand over his phone.

But then, after pretending to think it over, Gyowon suddenly grinned and said,

“Excuse me, you’re really my type. Can I have your number?”

“Ugh.”

Haeun exaggeratedly pretended to gag. Meanwhile, Gyowon just kept smiling playfully.

Hey guys, this is Flo!

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