Come Back

At the table, there were two or three familiar faces mixed in. Although they were familiar, they were just celebrities whose names and faces Choi Hong-seo had learned when he was still Yoon Hye-an. The group of around ten people, made up of both men and women, seemed to be quite drunk already.

One of them spotted “Yoon Hye-an” and immediately jumped up from his seat.

“Look who it is, Yoon Hye-an! We always said you’d never die, and look, you really came back to life?”

Stumbling, the man walked over to Choi Hong-seo and practically draped himself over his shoulder. He was a member of a top idol group, famous for his fiery temper and scandalous personal life, which had made him somewhat notorious in the industry.

“Get me some champagne, not this free booze. Fuck, my slut’s back alive, we’re popping champagne!”

Choi Hong-seo shoved the man’s arm off his shoulder. The people around them cheered and yelled in what felt like a strange mix of admiration and mockery.

The man, not the least bit fazed or upset, tightened his grip around Choi Hong-seo’s neck. His hot lips pressed against his temple. Along with his warm breath, his fans’ adoring, gravelly voice hissed in his ear.

“What, did calling you a slut in front of everyone piss you off? You loved it when we were in bed, didn’t you?”

Choi Hong-seo struggled to break free from the man’s grip, but the difference in their size made it difficult. He twisted his head to avoid the kiss and yanked at the arm wrapped around his neck, but the man didn’t budge.

“Ah… I really missed this fiery temper of yours.”

“Let go. Let go of me. I heard you lost your memory, right? What are you doing to someone who doesn’t even remember?”

Only then did the man release his hold. He grabbed a random glass from the table, swigging down the liquor while glancing sideways at Choi Hong-seo.

“So you really lost your memory? Or was it all just an act?”

“On what grounds…?”

“With your temper, there’s no way you could pretend to be someone else for long. You think you can just wipe the slate clean and act like a different person? How long do you think you can suppress your temper, huh?”

The man wasn’t alone in thinking this way—everyone at the table seemed to share the same sentiment.

“No matter what you think, the fact is I lost my memory. If you plan to keep treating me like this, then… I think we should just pretend we don’t know each other from now on.”

“What? Are you serious?”

The man, now holding a newly served bottle of champagne, looked at Choi Hong-seo with a smirk. He then said with a grin.

“Well then, let’s test it today. Let’s see if your memory comes back while we fuck.”

With a loud pop, the champagne bottle was opened, and people other than those at the table cheered as well. The cheers seemed like a signal, and the volume of the music increased as the lights began to flash brightly.

Choi Hong-seo rejected the empty glass the man handed him.

“I just got out of the hospital. I’ll have to refuse the drink. You came here as a guest, so enjoy yourself tonight, but after this, I don’t want to see you again.”

The man, who had placed his arm around Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder, leaned in closer and stared directly at his face.

“Yoon Hye-an, didn’t you used to say that booze and sex were cures for everything? Who was it who barged in with alcohol when I couldn’t even get on stage because of my ankle injury and was depressed, and then stripped me and jumped on me?”

“I don’t know what kind of relationship we had before, but if someone has lost their memory…”

It happened in an instant.

The wrist was grabbed roughly, and Choi Hong-seo’s body lurched forward, almost throwing him into the man’s embrace. As his neck and waist were seized, his lips were roughly captured in a kiss. For a moment, Choi Hong-seo shrank back, but he bit the man’s tongue with force as it tried to invade his mouth.

Before he could apply more pressure, the man pulled his tongue back and grinned at Choi Hong-seo with a slick look in his eyes.

“Remember now?”

“……”

“We used to have this kind of relationship.”

The man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and pulled Choi Hong-seo’s waist even closer.

“You were my first. You were the one who taught me how to fuck in the ass.”

“Stop it.”

Choi Hong-seo tried to pull away from the man’s grip, but the force around him tightened even more.

“Stop it? Since when did Yoon Hye-an speak so politely? Hah… You used to say you hated those old sponsors and their limp dicks, but you climbed on top of me first, even in places like this, claiming you’d purify yourself with my cock.”

“Stop! No, no!”

Choi Hong-seo screamed, struggling desperately. The heat in his eyes threatened to turn into tears. One by one, people around them started to look their way. As he tried to pull away, the man’s rough hand grabbed him again.

“Where are you going? Were you planning to wash away your filthy past by claiming you don’t remember? Whether you remember or not, it’s all the shit you did.”

“I don’t remember! I don’t remember!”

Whether you remember or not, it’s all the shit you did.

The man’s words wrapped around him like a dark prophecy, tightening with every passing second. Everything he had done as Choi Hong-seo, everything Yoon Hye-an had done in the past—it was all something he had to take responsibility for. It felt like reality was being shoved in his face.

Choi Hong-seo shook his head violently, as if he were being haunted by illusions. Trying to hide the tears, he raised his arm to cover his face, but the man grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled it down.

“Seeing you shivering like this, pretending to be Yoon Hye-an… this is new. This is really turning me on, you know? Hmm?”

He raised his elbow, preparing to strike the man’s face, but the man blocked it. Then, through the noise surrounding them, a voice cut through clearly.

“Yoon Hye-an.”

“……”

“Are you busy?”

The voice was right behind him. Maybe just two or three steps away?

A deep, commanding voice that drew attention without the need for shouting. Without even turning around, Choi Hong-seo knew who it was. The man in front of him, whose gaze was now twisted, confirmed his suspicion.

Choi Hong-seo swallowed dryly and turned around. As expected, Lee Hae-seong was standing almost directly behind him.

“I arrived a little late. I was thinking of greeting you, but… it seems like there’s quite a commotion.”

The man was still gripping Choi Hong-seo’s wrist and arm. Lee Hae-seong’s gaze turned toward the man’s hand, and he visibly scowled. It was clear he wasn’t happy, signaling for the man to move aside.

“Did I interrupt?”

The voice, deliberately slow and dripping with disdain, finally made the man retract his hand and step back, stumbling slightly.

Choi Hong-seo quickly wiped away the tears on his face and turned his body toward Lee Hae-seong.

“No… it’s nothing.”

Shaking his head, he pulled on Lee Hae-seong’s arm. He didn’t have the luxury to worry about whether his touch would be rejected. Pushing hard against Lee Hae-seong’s back, who was determined not to turn around, he forced him away from the man, not taking his eyes off him.

“Vice President, let’s go… over there.”

There was a murmur of surprise among the crowd at Lee Hae-seong’s arrival.

Lee Hae-seong had shown up at Yoon Hye-an’s birthday party. Of course, Director Kang and other movie industry people had attended as well, so it wasn’t unusual. Lee Hae-seong showing up and defending Yoon Hye-an at the party was something that could have sparked a bit of gossip. But everyone knew that such stories would only circulate as rumors within the industry. Rich businessmen with celebrities as their sponsors or lovers didn’t all end up as gossip material.

Even so, it seemed unlikely that anything positive could come from associating with the current Yoon Hye-an. Choi Hong-seo wanted to leave before things escalated further.

He could briefly spot Park Dong-ha, frozen and staring in his direction, among the crowd, but there was no time to worry about that now.

“There’s a members-only lounge. Let’s head there.”

After they pushed through the crowd, Lee Hae-seong suggested this first.

Choi Hong-seo followed him down a corridor. The lounge they entered was very different from the one he had been shown to when he had come here before to make a report call to CEO Myung. The previous one was likely meant for guests. The lounge Lee Hae-seong led him into now resembled a small sitting room.

It was equipped with a long, deep sofa that could double as a bed in an emergency, a minibar, and even a private bathroom. When the door was closed, the noise from the hall was completely shut out.

“Please, sit.”

Lee Hae-seong briefly glanced at Choi Hong-seo, who was wiping away the rest of his tears, then pointed to the long sofa.

He walked over to the minibar, turned on the electric kettle, and placed ice in a crystal glass, creating calm, soothing sounds. Choi Hong-seo, sitting uncomfortably on the edge of the chair, glanced at his back.

He still hadn’t calmed down from what had just happened. It had been an unpleasant scene, and this was their first meeting since the incident when he had collapsed. He felt tense, as though he were an unruly child who had been called out to be scolded. His heart felt uneasy.

“Drink this.”

A moment later, Lee Hae-seong brought over a fragrant tea in an elegant glass.

“Thank you.”

Choi Hong-seo replied in a hoarse voice. As Lee Hae-seong walked around the table and sat beside him, Choi Hong-seo instinctively shifted himself away, not wanting to sit too close. The sofa was long enough to keep some distance between them.

Lee Hae-seong slowly sipped his whiskey, which had ice in it.

“Earlier… I’m sorry for showing you something strange.”

“It seems like you knew those people from before.”