Chapter 63: Manager on Duty

He closed the front door behind them and stepped into the elevator.
Beside him, Eun-gyeol tagged along, letting out a long yawn.
After lazing around for about two weeks, Han-geon couldn’t deny that even just waking up before dawn felt exhausting.
The suit that had once felt as natural as his own skin now felt a little awkward, perhaps because it had been so long since he’d worn it.

The company car he’d parked there last time was sitting obediently in the underground garage of Eun-gyeol’s apartment building.
Even starting the engine felt unfamiliar.
Han-geon began driving carefully.
When they emerged from underground, the world above was still pitch-black, the sky yet to brighten before dawn.

Seeing Eun-gyeol yawning nonstop, Han-geon handed him a tumbler of ade with one hand.
Opening it, Eun-gyeol tipped his head back and gulped down a couple of swallows in one go.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

At the immediate answer, dripping with irritation, Han-geon let out a small laugh.

“Why now?
You slept well yesterday.
You don’t look like your condition’s that bad.”

He said it without thinking and then, for some reason, felt a bit embarrassed.
It sounded a little too much like he was advertising the fact that he’d slept in the same bed as Cha Eun-gyeol.
He made a mental note to be more careful with his words once they returned to the set.

“It was fun and nice, and now I’ve gotta work.”

Eun-gyeol complained.

Just as he said, Eun-gyeol had thoroughly enjoyed his roughly two-week vacation.
The first week had been chaotic because of his rut, but during the remaining week, he’d looked to be in excellent condition.
Maybe it was because he’d followed the doctor’s advice to the letter and done it countless times.
When the doctor stopped by Eun-gyeol’s place again near the end of the vacation for a checkup, he’d been satisfied, saying this rut had wrapped up safely.

Watching Eun-gyeol grumble like a child, Han-geon found himself smiling faintly.

“You really love acting, though.”

“I said I like acting.
I didn’t say I like working.”

True enough.
When Eun-gyeol focused solely on acting, he was breathtaking, but everything outside of that moment probably felt like work to him.

He added,

“And I’ve gotta see assholes I don’t wanna see.”

“…..”

He was probably talking about Yoo Junseong.

Han-geon fell silent for a moment.
Ever since Eun-gyeol had postponed that conversation before, Han-geon hadn’t brought it up again either.

But now, with their return to filming imminent, it couldn’t be put off any longer.
As Eun-gyeol’s manager, Han-geon needed to know why filming had been delayed in the first place, and it was an issue that involved him as well.
Without hesitating, Han-geon opened his mouth.

“Cha Eun-gyeol.
About Mr. Yoo Junseong… tell me what happened.”

As expected, Eun-gyeol frowned immediately.
His expression clearly said he didn’t want to talk about that topic with Han-geon.
But he’d already postponed it once, promising to explain before returning to the set, and there was no way to keep hiding it from his manager.

“…It started before you became my manager.”

Eun-gyeol spoke slowly.
Unexpectedly, he didn’t dodge the issue or gloss over it, but began recounting the facts in a calm, businesslike tone.

As Han-geon listened while driving, his expression gradually stiffened.
By the time Eun-gyeol reached the part about marijuana, and how Yoo Junseong had maliciously targeted him, driving away managers and sowing discord all this time, Han-geon could barely control his hands, trembling finely with anger.

“…..”

He couldn’t say anything.
A heavy wave of self-reproach washed over him.
That man had been glaring at him, trying to use him like that, and he hadn’t even realized it…

Could he really be that bad at judging people?
Despite Eun-gyeol warning him clearly several times not to associate with the guy, Han-geon had always been soft on Yoo Junseong.

If he were sent back to that time when he’d been suffering as if he were dying, could he really guarantee he wouldn’t act the same way again?
Back then, his heart had been completely shattered.
He’d wanted to cling to anyone, to lean his loneliness against someone.
Because of that, he couldn’t confidently say it would never happen again, but regardless, it was true that he regretted ignoring Eun-gyeol’s words and meeting Yoo Junseong privately.

Eun-gyeol stopped there and closed his mouth.
Unlike that day when he’d stormed in furiously, berating him like a madman, he now seemed to have no intention of scolding Han-geon further about meeting Yoo Junseong.

“Now that you know, don’t have any contact with Yoo Junseong anymore.
I’ll handle the rest with my lawyer.
I’m saying I don’t want you tangled up with that kind of bastard ever again.”

His gentle voice was clearly delivering an ultimatum.
And Han-geon, too, had no desire to keep meeting Yoo Junseong and stirring up trouble.
Gripping the steering wheel, he only nodded silently.

Their destination wasn’t Pocheon, but a university hospital in Gangnam, Seoul.
Although most of the filming would take place at the set built in Pocheon, they’d been informed in advance that some shots required an actual hospital building, as well as scenes in the outer garden, on the rooftop, and walking through the hospital interior, which meant several shoots in Seoul as well.
Since most of the actors who’d been on vacation were staying in Seoul, they planned to film there first before returning to the Pocheon set.

He couldn’t help but tense up.
Filming comfortably at a relatively secluded provincial set with fewer security concerns felt completely different from shooting in the middle of Seoul, where countless eyes would be on them.
Today, the weight of his responsibility as a bodyguard felt heavier than his role as a manager.

Even so, Han-geon felt excited for the first time in a while.
Of course, spending all that time stuck to Eun-gyeol had undeniably been nice, but after doing nothing but lazing around, eating, and sleeping, he’d started to want to work again.
Above all, he genuinely liked being able to watch Eun-gyeol act up close and take care of him physically while staying active himself.
That he could still enjoy taking care of Eun-gyeol even after everything he’d been put through—he really was second to none when it came to being foolish.

Holding onto that pleasant excitement, they arrived at the hospital.
As they went to park in the designated area, they saw staff members and the director who’d already arrived.
After getting out of the car and greeting each of them one by one, Han-geon headed inside.

It was Saturday, and with the sun not yet up, the first floor of the hospital felt chilly and empty.
The hospital was large enough to be divided into multiple buildings.
They were scheduled to film first in one of them, then move on to the cafeteria and the garden.
It would likely wrap up around the afternoon, so Han-geon steeled himself to stay sharp throughout the long shoot.
He was watching the staff set up the equipment when—

“Hyung!”

“Mr. Han-geon!”

“Hello, sir.
Geonho, hey!
Hello to you too, noona.”

Maybe because it’d been two weeks, the familiar faces felt even more welcome.
Yujin approached first, smiling brightly as she held out her hand, and Eun-gyeol bumped palms with her, even with his expressionless face.
Unlike earlier, when he’d been grumbling, he didn’t seem to be in the worst mood, which put Han-geon subtly at ease.

Han-geon bowed politely toward the head manager.
“Oh, Han-geon’s here?”
The manager smiled as he spoke, but his face looked a bit more drawn than it had two weeks ago.
He was probably swamped dealing with that incident Eun-gyeol had mentioned….

That was when the manager introduced three men standing behind him to Han-geon and Geonho.
They looked about Geonho’s age and were wearing suits, and Han-geon immediately recognized them as bodyguards.

“Oh, right, and these are the new bodyguards.
We reselected the agency during the vacation.”

“Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Once consultations start, there’ll be a lot more people, and crowds will gather.
This is the team leader of our security team.”

The manager placed a friendly hand on Han-geon’s arm as he introduced him to them.
Team leader.
He’d been told before that since he had more experience than Geonho, he’d be given the title once more personnel were brought in, but actually hearing himself introduced that way made him feel shy—and pleased.

Normally, when an agency is selected, bodyguards are dispatched as a team, with a manager- or leader-level member guiding the rest.
In Eun-gyeol’s case, however, at his insistence, Han-geon was handling both road management and the role of security team leader, with only the remaining personnel selected from the agency—a special case.
Han-geon exchanged brief greetings and names with them.

“Then I’ll be counting on you.
Han-geon, I’m counting on you today.”

“Yes, sir.
I’ll do my best.”

“Cha-cha, makeup time!”

Yujin and the newly added hair and makeup staff gathered around Eun-gyeol.
While Eun-gyeol went off with them to get his makeup done, Han-geon called the bodyguards together.
He spread out a map of the hospital and explained the routes that required particular caution.

“From nine o’clock on, there’ll be a lot of people.
That’s when we’re filming the hospital cafeteria scene, and the path to the cafeteria is open to the outside, so we need to be especially careful.
Quite a few fans are already here, and after nine, there’ll be a lot of people just coming to watch, so stay alert for unexpected situations.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Yes!”

“Inside the hospital, people probably won’t rush in recklessly, but you never know.
There could be dangerous individuals mixed in with outpatients or guardians.
We need to be especially cautious during the transit.”

The team members nodded with serious expressions.
They put on their earpieces and clipped the connected radios to their waists.

For the first time in a while, energy surged through Han-geon’s entire body.