Chapter 16: The Assistant Director’s Concern

BEEP!

Returning home, Tae-young found a man dozing on his sofa, looking utterly disheveled, as if he’d been sleeping on the streets. Instead of calling security, Tae-young simply kicked the man’s foot.

“I’m back.”

“…Huh? You’re here. No, wait. Why isn’t a guy with a hurt leg holed up at home? What are you doing gallivanting around outside?”

Kim Jin-woo, still half-asleep, grumbled as he stretched.

“It’s not broken; I just sprained it. Stop making such a fuss.”

“Does the doctor’s note telling you to rest for a few days look like a joke to you? And where did you ditch your crutches?”

Jin-woo glanced down at Tae-young’s foot. Tae-young’s right foot, now free of its shoe, was wrapped in a compression bandage. While he hadn’t shown any signs of limping in front of Yeon-ho, now he favored his leg with every step.

“Why are you here? Is it okay for an assistant director to just leave the set whenever they please?”

“Oh, sure. The director said he was going to check on you, so he kindly let me go. It seems even I get to slack off thanks to our ‘great actor.’ So, thank you ever so much, truly?”

Jin-woo, with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, gritted his teeth. He had known Tae-young since childhood and was the assistant director for ‘Cold Reading’.

“In short, you used me as an excuse to get some rest.”

“No, you idiot! Rest? What rest? When I go back, I’ll have to grind away in the editing room to make up for the time I missed. Why would I want to come here?”

“Then why are you making such a fuss, coming somewhere you don’t even want to be?”

“Your mother and your stepfather kept calling me, one after another, asking me to confirm if their youngest was okay, so I had no choice but to come!”

At the mention of his parents, Tae-young’s brow furrowed.

“I told them it was nothing serious. Why can’t they just believe me…?”

He had even intentionally downplayed the press releases for his parents’ sake, but it seemed all his efforts to keep things quiet had been for naught.

“I think I know why they’re like that. Even I wouldn’t believe a kid who lies every chance they get.”

Jin-woo rose from his seat, shambling towards the refrigerator like a zombie.

“I only didn’t mention it because there was no need to worry. Why is that a lie?”

“That’s just you doing whatever you want. Why do you get to decide whether something’s worth worrying about? That’s your parents’ decision.”

Jin-woo peered into the refrigerator, then raised his voice.

“Tae-young, you don’t have any Coke Zero?”

“Don’t look for Coke Zero in my house. I don’t stock such heresy.”

Tae-young held a firm belief that he’d rather drink no cola at all than drink Coke Zero.

“You narrow-minded fool. Just try it, I’m telling you! You’ll get used to it quickly once you start drinking it.”

“Enough. Do whatever you want, whether you rest or hang out. Just make sure you explain things well to Mom and Dad.”

“Going to sleep?”

“I’ll try.”

Tae-young rubbed the inner corners of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. His declaration of ‘trying’ was merely an admission that he’d likely just lie there with his eyes closed, unable to truly sleep.

Knowing this, Jin-woo looked at Tae-young with a gaze full of concern. Though it was like a mouse worrying about a lion, he couldn’t help but feel for Tae-young, aware of the incident that had led to his insomnia.

“If you can’t sleep, just call someone over. Oh, speaking of which, what happened with Park Se-yeon? People saw her social media and thought you were having an affair.”

Jin-woo recalled the articles that had been circulating before the accident on set today.

“It seemed like she had a fight because her lover found a new woman, but I didn’t hear the details. She was sitting alone, downing six bottles of soju.”

“Is this really the time to be so nonchalant? The problem is that people think *you’re* the cheating lover. Tell Park Se-yeon to do something about it.”

“It doesn’t matter. We agreed to use each other, so she should be able to handle that much.”

Tae-young had no intention of correcting the misunderstanding about him. While the image of a man obsessed with women wasn’t beneficial to his acting career, it certainly helped Han Tae-young personally.

To fall asleep, he needed someone lying beside him. More precisely, he required the warmth and scent of another person to drift off. However, relationships not founded on romance rarely lasted long. The situation might have been better if he had honestly revealed his sleep disorder, but Tae-young was unwilling to let others know about his mental struggles.

In that regard, Park Se-yeon was an excellent partner. She wanted her cheating lover to learn empathy under the guise of an open relationship, while Tae-young simply needed someone by his side to sleep.

He had doubted whether a tit-for-tat affair would make her lover come to his senses, but surprisingly, it worked. Once rumors spread that Tae-young and Park Se-yeon were dating, her lover stopped seeing other women and focused solely on Park Se-yeon.

The only problem was that it had only lasted six months.

“So, that lover of hers, did he relax because he thought you weren’t meeting Park Se-yeon due to your busy schedule? Park Se-yeon really has it rough, doesn’t she?”

“That’s why I think they’ll break up this time.”

Fizzt.

As Jin-woo popped open the bottle cap, a large hand snatched the plastic bottle away.

“Hey! You could’ve gotten your own. How could you take one I haven’t even had a sip of…!”

Jin-woo, robbed of his cola, fumed.

“My leg hurts, that’s why. Cut me some slack.”

“You just said you weren’t hurting and were perfectly fine! Do you only bring up your pain when you want to take advantage of someone? Ugh, you annoying brat.”

Jin-woo couldn’t win this petty argument against Tae-young. This was because Jin-woo was the assistant director for ‘Cold Reading,’ and Tae-young was its main lead.

If Tae-young later claimed his ankle hadn’t healed because of the assistant director, Jin-woo would be the only one to get severely reprimanded.

‘That bastard, if he weren’t the lead, I’d totally hit him.’

Giving up on his quest for justice, Jin-woo huffed and stomped toward the kitchen. He deliberately ignored the fact that even if Tae-young weren’t the lead of ‘Cold Reading,’ delivering justice would still be impossible due to their difference in physical stature.

Worried that Tae-young would snatch his cola again, Jin-woo didn’t return to the living room until he had drunk more than half of it in the kitchen.

‘What’s that guy up to?’

Tae-young was sipping his cola like beer, engrossed in his phone.

Was he checking articles?

Jin-woo craned his neck, trying to sneak a peek at the screen. However, what Tae-young was gazing at with such a serious expression wasn’t an article, but a delivery app.

“Are you ordering delivery food? What’s gotten into you? You don’t even like delivery food.”

“I’m not ordering. I was just looking.”

Tae-young flipped his phone face down on the sofa. Jin-woo found Tae-young’s actions perplexing. Why would he deliberately hide the screen, as if he’d been caught secretly browsing a crush’s social media?

‘This isn’t how someone choosing delivery food would react,’ Jin-woo thought, feeling suspicious, before Tae-young’s profession suddenly came to mind.

‘Right, for an actor in the middle of filming a drama, craving delivery food is practically a sin, yeah.’

‘Cold Reading’ was like a train with an engine named ‘plausibility’ that had broken down. Nevertheless, its ratings were soaring, thanks to the exquisite harmony of Tae-young’s acting, his striking looks, and the drama’s overall atmosphere.

It would be problematic if any element diverting viewers’ attention from the shoddy script and plot holes were to encounter an issue.

“You’re filming, so let’s manage your weight. Don’t even open a delivery app until the show ends.”

“I said I wasn’t ordering anything, didn’t I?”

Tae-young snapped in annoyance, but Jin-woo paid him no mind. His only worry was, ‘What if that guy just starts chugging alcohol because there’s no one to sleep next to him?’

“So, you can’t get help from Park Se-yeon anymore?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve gotten her help.”

“Then it’s not like you didn’t have time to secure a new partner. Why didn’t you do anything about it?”

“I’ve been a bit busy.”

“Anyone would think you’ve never swapped partners during filming.”

Jin-woo snorted at Tae-young’s flimsy excuses. From his perspective, having watched Tae-young since he was a snot-nosed five-year-old, the current situation could only be one of two things: either there was no one who caught his interest, or he was trying to ‘work’ someone, and it wasn’t going well.

Based solely on the circumstances, the former seemed more likely. As much as Jin-woo found the thought galling, he had never seen Tae-young fail to charm someone he had truly set his mind on.

‘But somehow, I don’t think that’s it. His behavior just feels off.’

Jin-woo’s gut feeling pointed to the latter. Perhaps the assistant director’s ego, craving to see the arrogant lead actor get his comeuppance, was strongly wishing for the second scenario.

The thought that the most popular man in Korea was struggling after being rejected made him feel absolutely thrilled.

“Have I been too pushy until now?”

Tae-young ran a large hand through his hair, muttering to himself. Jin-woo’s ears perked up, and he inwardly cheered with delight, ‘Aha! So he *is* frustrated because the person he’s trying to charm isn’t falling for it!’

Hmph, hmph-hmph.

As he desperately tried to suppress his laughter, Tae-young’s gaze darted toward Jin-woo.

“What’s with that crude expression? Why are you grinning at me like that?”

Tae-young growled lowly. He gripped the sofa, his face demanding to know what Jin-woo was thinking, looking as if he might lunge at any moment and put Jin-woo in a headlock.

“Who rejected you?”

Instead of making a clumsy excuse, Jin-woo went for a direct approach. Indeed, attack proved to be the best defense, as Tae-young flinched.

“What are you talking about? Rejected?”

“Oh, come on, denying it won’t help. I’m talking about you, you.”

“Me?”

‘That guy, still trying to play dumb until the very end.’

Jin-woo grinned, pushing up his glasses.

“I just heard you mutter to yourself. You said you regretted pulling too hard. If you pull and they don’t come, isn’t that being rejected?”

“Hah.”

Tae-young pressed a hand to his forehead, as if he’d just heard something utterly absurd.

“It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“Oh, come on, ‘not what I’m thinking.’ Try fooling someone else. It’s obvious what’s going on.”

With a knowing expression, Jin-woo nudged Tae-young’s shoulder with his elbow. A wide grin spread across his face at the thought that even the great Han Tae-young had a day where his pride was bruised from being rejected.

At the same time, a curious question arose: just how charming was this person that Tae-young, who usually wasn’t obsessive about people, would still cling on after being turned down?

“Your ears are just for show, aren’t they? If I say no, then listen to me.”

“Hehe-heh, a strong denial is a strong affirmation.”

Deciding words weren’t enough, Tae-young shared a photo via his phone.

“Who is it?”

Jin-woo, upon receiving the photo, tilted his head. It was a picture of a man he didn’t recognize, and the quality was poor, resembling a low-resolution screenshot from CCTV footage.

“Delivery guy.”

“Right, he looks like a delivery rider with that helmet on.”

Jin-woo looked at Tae-young, unsure why he was being shown a photo of a delivery rider. He had been excited, thinking it was a picture of a new crush, so the unexpected photo left him feeling deflated.

“He’s the one. The guy who cursed my drama to my face, saying it would fail.”

“Huh? Oh, *that* delivery guy.”

Jin-woo barely managed to dredge up a faint memory. Was it around the first broadcast of ‘Cold Reading’? Tae-young had been furious about something.