PB

CHAPTER 52

*****

After a morning acting class, I had lunch and made my way to the conference room, where my manager was just entering the office.

"Good to see you, Taemin. Anyway, I'd like to ask you a question."

The manager halted at the door, adopting a serious expression and speaking in a lowered voice.

"Did Photographer Lee reach out to you for another nude photoshoot?"

"Why?"

"No, I received a call from the company, and they mentioned they needed models for a pictorial. They asked me to bring you along for a test shoot. Goodness, did they assume we'd readily agree..."

"I'll go."

"Really? You... oh! You will?"

"Yes," I confirmed, and he regarded me for a moment, as if he had more to say.

"Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to meet Photographer Lee? I'm sure he'll request you to do something nude again."

Just as he had opened the door and was discussing this with me, his voice was abruptly drowned out by a shout from inside.

"Ah! Manager! Why are you here now?!"

"Huh! It's a surprise! Hansoo, what's going on? What happened?"

As the startled manager hurried inside, Hansoo scrambled around and grabbed his arm, about to reveal a significant incident.

"Oh my goodness, the manager is in for quite the surprise when he hears what happened yesterday."

"...I'm already taken aback by your screams."

"No, even more shocked than that?! Well, I was on my way home yesterday, and all of a sudden..."

"We encountered a thug."

When I interjected to provide an explanation, the manager turned to me with genuinely surprised eyes. Behind him, Hansoo blinked and directed his gaze toward me. I shot him a quick, discreet look and gestured for him to remain silent.

"But it wasn't a significant issue. I yelled at them a few times, threatened to call the police, and they all scattered."

"Oh, really? That's a relief. I was concerned you might have gotten hurt."

The manager let out a relieved sigh, placing a hand over his chest. Observing this, Hansoo let out an "ahh" and pressed a finger to his lips as if urging silence. He seemed to believe I did it because I didn't want the manager to worry, but my true motive was to conceal the actions of the road manager. I didn't want to reveal his connection to Director Yoon. However, all my efforts appeared to be in vain.

"Then can't we even talk about Jay?"

He asked in a whisper, but there was no way the manager right in front of him couldn't hear.

"Jay? Who's that?"

I gazed at Hansoo with a puzzled expression, but he interpreted my lack of response as a signal to continue.

"Well, Uncle Road and Taemin both know someone named Jay."

"Jay? I think I've heard that name before... Hm, what's the story with this person?"

"He is the 'Madman.'"

"Oh, that person again... Gasp!"

The manager opened his mouth, mirroring the reaction Hansoo had displayed the previous day. Nonetheless, Hansoo's words managed to astonish me even more.