Chapter 145: Side Story Part 3 Episode 8 – A Necessary Person

The moment of friction didn’t last long.

Eun-gyeol let out a rough breath and dragged his palm harshly down his face.

His thick Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed something down with effort.

Then he spoke again.

“Ha… f*ck, Han-geon.

That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s okay.

I’m done saying my goodbyes, so let’s go.”

Han-geon cut him off and turned away just like that.

Eun-gyeol stood up immediately and grabbed his arm from behind, but Han-geon slowly pried his hand off.

Neither of them spoke on the drive to the hotel.

The silence inside the car felt sharp and cutting.

As they parked and rode the elevator up, Han-geon swallowed a sigh.

What the hell am I even doing.

His thoughts were a complete mess.

His unorganized feelings were tangled and chaotic.

The eagerness he’d felt earlier—to hurry back and bury himself in Eun-gyeol’s arms—now seemed foolish.

Han-geon squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his face roughly with his palm, trying to chase away the heat.

“…I’m sorry.

For snapping at you.”

A low voice came from beside him.

Right then, the elevator stopped at their floor.

“No.

I was tired too.

I’m sorry.”

The emotions he’d been forcing down all day threatened to leak past their barrier.

Stupidly enough, he had never been good at lying.

Han-geon deliberately avoided Eun-gyeol’s eyes.

Without looking back even once at Eun-gyeol trying to subtly turn him by the arm, he used the card key to open the door.

The door shut behind them with a mechanical sound.

The moment he slipped the card key into the sensor, a warm presence enveloped his back.

“…Choi Han-geon….”

Eun-gyeol’s murmuring voice settled near his ear.

The chest pressed against his back trembled faintly.

He clearly didn’t know what to do with himself.

“I’m like this.

The second I let my guard down, I always end up acting like a complete bastard…”

Han-geon lowered his head in silence and listened.

The voice, heavy with embarrassment, continued.

“What I said earlier—when I swore—that wasn’t aimed at you.

I just hated myself for not being able to control my temper and for hurting you… that’s why.”

“…..”

“Still, I’m sorry.

For swearing in front of you…”

Even as he stumbled through apology after apology, the arms wrapped around Han-geon’s waist slipped into an interlaced grip.

Firm.

So tight there was no room to escape.

That clingy insistence, impossible to shake off, oddly enough felt welcome.

Inside those solid arms, Han-geon let out a small sigh and covered Eun-gyeol’s hand with his own.

“It’s fine.

I’m okay… it’s not just your fault.”

“No.

It is my fault.

I’ll fix it.

I just wanted to be alone with you… even a little sooner.

That’s why.

But from now on… I won’t do that.”

There wasn’t a trace of deceit in the muttered apology.

Listening to Eun-gyeol’s dejected voice, Han-geon let out a small laugh.

It was impossible to keep his guard up against someone who looked like a puppy whimpering after causing trouble.

He gently peeled away the hands desperately clinging to him.

Then he turned around and looked Eun-gyeol in the eyes.

The man who had shone so brilliantly in front of the cameras and countless staff just moments ago now stood before him with the most pitiful expression in the world, shoulders slumped as he begged for forgiveness.

“Why were you in such a rush?

You’re with me all the time.”

“…..”

Red lips were bitten down hard between clenched teeth.

Han-geon reached out, stopping him, and pressed him again with his gaze.

Uncharacteristically, Eun-gyeol hesitated.

For a long time, his lips twitched without producing an answer.

“I needed you, Choi Han-geon.

I wanted to come back and hold you as soon as possible… that’s why.”

“…Why all of a sudden?”

“…..”

Eun-gyeol clammed up again, like an oyster.

Han-geon studied him with a puzzled look.

Had something else happened that he didn’t know about?

Regret washed over him belatedly—for being so consumed by his own emotions that he hadn’t properly checked on Eun-gyeol’s condition today.

“…I didn’t want to film the kissing scene today.”

After chewing on his lip for a long time, Eun-gyeol blurted it out.

At the completely unexpected words, Han-geon’s eyes widened.

“And it was in front of you.

Kissing someone else in front of you… I really didn’t want to do it.”

“…Ah.”

A dazed sound escaped him.

The perfect chemistry Eun-gyeol had shared with Juwon flashed before his eyes.

He had never imagined—not even once—that Eun-gyeol could have felt that way.

“But it was work.

So I did it.

And the whole time, I kept thinking about you… I’ve never been like that before.

Thinking about something else while acting.”

“…..”

“And you…”

He continued in a sulky tone, then suddenly swallowed.

The voice that had been growing more agitated spilled over.

“You said my acting was good.

You said it looked really good… after I came back from kissing someone who wasn’t you.”

“Hey, that’s because I’m your manager—”

“I know.

I’m not blaming you.

You’re my manager, so that’s what you’re supposed to say.

But I…”

He bit his lip, then dropped his forehead forward until it rested against Han-geon’s.

At the same time, a hot breath spread between them.

“I can’t do that.”

“…..”

“I know it probably makes me look like I can’t separate work and personal life…

but that’s just how I am.”

Holding onto both of Han-geon’s arms, Eun-gyeol suddenly let his strength go.

They were still standing in the entryway.

His heat seeped slowly through the point where their foreheads touched.

A small breath burst out right in front of Han-geon’s nose.

Eun-gyeol’s eyelashes trembled as he closed his eyes, looking unsettled.

“…You’re not the only one who can’t.”

From so close their lips almost touched, Han-geon murmured softly.

“If you knew what kind of ugly thoughts I had today…

you wouldn’t want me as your manager anymore.”

Eun-gyeol’s eyes flew open.

His thick Adam’s apple slid slowly up and down.

After swallowing hard enough to make a sound, he gently cupped Han-geon’s cheeks with both hands.

The coaxing, lingering rub of his palms felt sweet.

“Tell me honestly, Han-geon.

I want to know how you feel.”

“…I was jealous.”

Han-geon clenched his teeth and answered immediately.

He deliberately left no pause, knowing he’d never be able to say it if he hesitated.

Seeing Eun-gyeol’s eyes widen right in front of him, Han-geon pressed his lips together.

His eyes squeezed shut on their own.

He’d blurted it out recklessly—but now that he had, it felt far more embarrassing and mortifying than he’d expected.

“…I know.

I wasn’t very manager-like…”

His voice grew quieter as he added an excuse.

“But… I’m just being honest.

You were honest with me first.

I was jealous.

Watching you kiss someone else was… really, really hard.”

Still, he didn’t want to stop.

Just as Eun-gyeol had opened his heart to him, he wanted to do the same.

Only now did he realize that this wasn’t an emotion he could suppress and swallow alone.

Things like this would happen again—many times.

And as long as Eun-gyeol was by his side, he wouldn’t have to endure those overwhelming waves alone like he used to.

“But if I showed it, I thought you’d get distracted and mess up the shoot.

And… I was afraid you’d regret keeping me as your manager.”

“…..”

“So I did the same thing…

I’m sorry.

But from now on, this won’t happen again.

I’ll try to get used to it.”

Saying it all out loud made him feel lighter.

But that empty space was quickly filled with a dark shadow.

Had he been too honest?

What if Eun-gyeol started worrying about him every time he filmed a romance scene and couldn’t focus properly…?

Eun-gyeol didn’t answer.

Han-geon lifted his gaze with effort and looked at him.

Eun-gyeol was wearing an expression he’d never seen before.

The eyes staring straight at him trembled slightly, as if he’d heard something he wasn’t supposed to.

It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“…Ha.”

A sharply carved breath escaped from between his parted lips.

“What kind of thing do you say like that?”

“…Huh?”

Eun-gyeol stepped closer, stopping with his face right in front of Han-geon’s.

In the same instant, Han-geon’s wrist was pinned to the wall, and Eun-gyeol’s thigh slid between his legs.

Their breaths tangled hotly.

Two wildly pounding hearts sent constant waves crashing into each other’s bodies.

“How.”

Unrestrained emotion leaked through Eun-gyeol’s clenched teeth.

“Can you say something that lovely.”

The whisper trembled at the end.

The tone—strangely sensual rather than pitiful—was clearly different from before.

This time, Han-geon’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard.

As he swallowed audibly, Eun-gyeol lifted unfocused eyes.

“You were jealous, Han-geon?”

“…..”

“Ha… I’m so happy I can’t even believe it.”

Their noses brushed slowly.

Lips approached as if they were about to meet—but didn’t.

Stopping right at the edge, Eun-gyeol curved his eyes beautifully and cupped Han-geon’s face with both hands as he murmured,

“Don’t get used to it.

Keep being jealous like this.

I’m a selfish bastard, and I want to keep seeing you like this—so desperate because of me.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Could It Be That I’m Actually the Strongest Final Boss?

ComedyFantasyFemale Protagonist

Read Now →
Not interested