Chapter 11 : A Rat in the Trap

“Gasp!”

When the door swung open and he saw who stood there, Hyungcheol turned as pale as if he’d seen the Grim Reaper himself.

He froze on the spot, unable to move.

“I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Why is he here?

The alcohol fog clouding his mind cleared in an instant.

“C-Chairman.”

“Step outside with me. We need to talk.”

“What I was just about to say wasn’t—”

“Excuse us for a moment.”

Taehwan gave Hyunjae a polite nod before dragging Hyungcheol away.

“Agh!”

Taehwan shoved Hyungcheol into an empty room and grabbed him by the collar without warning.

“I didn’t think the little rat would be yapping behind my back.”

“Chairman! You’ve got it wrong! That’s not what I was trying to say—”

“Not what? What were you going to say, then?”

Hyungcheol shut his mouth tight.

One slip of the tongue here could end him for good.

“Answer me. What the hell were you about to say, huh?”

Taehwan’s fist hovered so close that it looked like he’d strike him any second.

“I’m sorry!”

It stung his pride, but groveling here was the only way to survive.

Survival always came first.

“Hyungcheol. Did you forget why I let you stick around?”

Anyone remotely close to Jaehyun had already been purged, yet Hyungcheol alone had been spared.

“No, sir! I remember! I do!”

Taehwan had seen right through Hyungcheol back then—how he’d do anything to save his own skin in the chaos.

“Then why do you keep disappointing me? Pissing me off like this?”

“I swear I’d never dare do something like that. Never.”

And that silver tongue—Hyungcheol’s three-inch blade—had been one of the biggest reasons he’d survived this long.

“Thanks to you, I finally managed to set up my own little company.”

“Chairman, huh? You’re a chairman now, too? Is that why you’ve forgotten your place?”

Lately, Hyungcheol’s arrogance had started to get under Taehwan’s skin.

‘Damn it…’

Feeling Taehwan’s cold eyes cut right through him, Hyungcheol shivered from head to toe.

“Come on. Compared to DreamN, I’m still running a mom-and-pop shop.”

‘Just wait—I’ll catch up soon enough.’

That kid I’m grooming now—Jung Hyunjae—he’ll be a much safer bet than Han Jungwoo, who’s a ticking time bomb.

“Don’t be an idiot. Do you even remember why you have that watch on your wrist?”

Hyungcheol lowered his gaze to the watch on his arm.

Taehwan had tossed it to him as a reward after he’d helped tie up all the loose ends around Jaehyun.

“You’re ridiculous. You really want to wear a dead man’s watch?”

Back then, when Hyungcheol strapped it on without hesitation, Taehwan knew he’d judged him right.

“Don’t get dazzled by this kind of trash. Be the luxury yourself—got it? Be the real deal.”

Taehwan tapped Hyungcheol’s forehead with his finger.

Of course, Taehwan’s own wrist carried a watch worth thousands.

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

Hyungcheol hurriedly tugged down his sleeve to hide the watch.

“You get one warning. That’s it.”

With that, Taehwan left the room.

Left alone, Hyungcheol stared down at Jaehyun’s old watch.

It glimmered with the luxury logo, shining as if it knew nothing of the truth.

“Bullshit. It’s mine if it’s on my wrist.”

He polished the face of the watch, straightened his clothes, and headed back to his room.

He couldn’t afford to look ruffled—not when that clueless brat was watching.

“Hey, sorry to keep you waiting!”

He opened the door with an easy smile. Hyunjae was still sitting there patiently.

“No worries. But… that man was…?”

“Oh—DreamN’s chairman. He just stopped by to say hi.”

“Wow! You two must be really close!”

Hyunjae’s innocent tone threw Hyungcheol off his guard immediately.

‘This is why kids are so easy to handle.’

“Didn’t I tell you? We’re like brothers.”

“Wow, Chairman. You’re so cool.”

“Oh, come on. Cool? Over this?”

He flapped his hands modestly, but he couldn’t hide the smug grin stretching his cheeks.

“Now, where were we?”

“This food is amazing!”

“Eat up, eat up.”

While Hyunjae dug in, Hyungcheol racked his brain.

How could he squeeze every penny out of this boy?

“Urgh—”

Excusing himself to the bathroom, Hyunjae threw up everything he’d just eaten.

Only after he’d emptied his stomach did he rinse his mouth at the sink.

“Ha—”

Just eating face-to-face with Hyungcheol was bad enough, but overhearing his conversation with Taehwan made him feel utterly sick.

They’d tried to talk in an empty room to be discreet, but no human whisper could escape Hyunjae’s ears.

‘Sometimes being a dog really comes in handy.’

He didn’t even have to press his ear to the door—just standing nearby was enough.

“Hey, you’re back! So anyway, I was saying—”

When he returned, Hyungcheol was busy bragging again.

“Chairman, I think I should head out now. My train’s coming up soon.”

That train was the perfect excuse.

He’d spent far too long staring at that vile face.

“Ah, right. If you get more gigs later, won’t it be tough commuting? Shouldn’t you just move to Seoul?”

‘No thanks.’

He had zero intention of making that creep’s life easier.

“I don’t have that kind of money yet. Seoul’s so expensive.”

“Still, all that back and forth must be rough.”

“Maybe the agency could provide a dorm—”

“Oh! You’re gonna be late. Let’s get going.”

At the mention of company housing, Hyungcheol instantly changed the subject and leapt up.

“Get home safe. We’ll be in touch about your schedule once you get a manager.”

“Yes, sir.”

About a week after signing the contract, Hyunjae got a call from someone claiming to be his manager.

“Jung Jaehyun?”

Tattoos snaking down his arm, slippers, a tacky cross earring, and a clutch bag tucked under his armpit—he looked like a punk straight off social media.

“It’s Jung Hyunjae.”

“Ah, right. Hyunjae.”

This man didn’t even know his name.

“So who’s Jung Jaehyun? Oh! The junkie. Why the hell do they have such similar names? It’s confusing as hell.”

Should he just tell him to get lost?

If it weren’t for the way he talked about his old master, he’d have done it already.

“Here. Take these.”

He practically tossed a stack of scripts at Hyunjae.

“You’ve got auditions lined up. I’ll text you the dates and times—figure it out.”

“All of these?”

“Yeah.”

The guy fished out a cigarette, answering lazily like he couldn’t be bothered.

“Oh, and there’s a commercial meeting soon, but I can’t pick you up, so get there yourself.”

“What kind of commercial?”

“Beats me. I’ll message you later—read it yourself.”

Who the hell hired this clown as a manager? It was actually impressive.

“Um, you shouldn’t smoke here.”

He pointed at the giant ‘No Smoking’ sign at the alley entrance, but the guy didn’t care.

“So what? Nobody’s even around.”

“It’s still a smoke-free zo—”

Before he could finish, the manager blew smoke straight into his face.

“You talk too damn much. Just say ‘yes, sir’ when I tell you something. Got it?”

“Calling yourself an actor… don’t bother pretending you have an image to keep.”

Flicking the cigarette butt onto the ground, he hopped in his car and drove off.

“Hyunjae! What are you doing there?”

He stood there dumbstruck until the old lady from the mill spotted him.

“It’s nothing. Someone just flicked their cigarette butt on the ground.”

“There’s still so many inconsiderate people these days.”

“Next time I see him, I’ll chase him off.”

Though honestly, he doubted he’d run into that jerk again.

Back at the hospital, he lay sprawled on the sofa, flipping through the scripts.

“Wow—these are trash.”

It was impressive how they were all equally terrible.

“Where the hell did they even dig these up?”

He’d expected the scripts wouldn’t be top-notch, but this was next level.

“Is the female lead supposed to be terminally ill or something?”

She fell over dozens of times a day, and the male lead just ran after her to catch her every time—any sane person would call that stalking.

“Who are you talking to?”

Hearing him muttering, Kyungho approached.

“They’re hopeless.”

He stretched out on one of the chairs by the nurse’s station.

“Really?”

“It’s about high school kids dating, but it’s so unrealistic.”

“Making the unrealistic believable—that’s an actor’s job.”

“True, but these make it impossible.”

He had no comeback—it was too true.

“Still, this is just wrong.”

The plot, the characters, the choppy dialogue—none of it made sense.

“Aren’t you supposed to go to auditions, though?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you should be begging to get cast, not acting like you have a choice.”

“Nope. If I don’t show up for the audition, they lose their chance to choose me, too.”

“So you’re really gonna do that?”

“Of course not.”

It wasn’t time yet.

He hadn’t learned enough about Han Jungwoo.

Kyungho chuckled, baffled by his answer.

“Then what’s your plan?”

“I’ll find someone to take my place.”

“And who’s that?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret? Seriously… get out of here if you’re gonna be weird.”

“If it’s so weird, why does it feel so comfortable here?”

Even though his long legs hung off the three-seater sofa, Hyunjae curled up and drifted off.

To Kyungho, he looked oddly endearing.

“You’re something else.”

“Wake me up later.”

Meeting that freak had drained every bit of energy out of him.

“Sometimes you really remind me of him.”

Every time he watched Hyunjae sleep like that, Kyungho couldn’t help but think of the dog he’d once raised.

“Are you kidding me? He skipped the audition? He would’ve gotten the role on the spot!”

“I told him he had to go on his own…”

Hyunjae’s manager, Yongmin, mumbled excuses, but to Hyungcheol, they were worthless.

“That’s the second time. Do you even know how much money we’ve lost because of you?”

They could barely pay the staff’s salaries; every small appearance fee mattered.

“That’s not it.”

“What’s your job as his manager? If he forgets, you remind him!”

Yongmin cursed Hyunjae silently as he took Hyungcheol’s scolding.

‘That little shit did this on purpose. If I get my hands on him, he’s dead.’

“He’s messing with me on purpose—”

“On purpose? Don’t be ridiculous. Why would a wannabe actor skip an audition?”

Hyungcheol’s logic was sound.

What actor signs a contract and then skips auditions?

But still, something about it bothered Yongmin.

“Why would he screw over the guy who’s supposed to look after him? Think, will you? Use your brain!”

“Sorry.”

If he didn’t apologize now, he’d get an earful for hours.

‘Disgusting bastard. Once I get my own business cards printed, I’m out of here.’

He figured he could con a few clueless wannabes with a fancy title.

“Try this again and you’re fired. Got it?”

“It won’t happen again.”

He couldn’t afford to get fired—not when the foreign car he’d bragged about hadn’t even arrived yet.

He’d bought it on full credit.

“There’s no one as dumb and easy to handle as that kid, you know that? Do your damn job right, Yongmin.”

Hyungcheol gave his neck a little squeeze.

“If this happens again during the commercial gig, you’re dead.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he shows up.”

“You’d better.”

“Yeah.”

Yongmin ground his teeth so hard they almost cracked.

‘Bastard. I need to put him in his place one of these days.’