Chapter 26 : The CEO’s Shadow

Gongjun’s reaction was even more dramatic than I’d anticipated.

You’d think he’d seen a ghost.

He shouted so suddenly that it startled me as well.

“W-Why is he here?!”

“Oh, our CEO.”

“WHAT?!”

Gongjun stammered in shock, and at the word “CEO,” his jaw practically dropped to the floor.

“I said, he’s our CEO.”

“Here, everyone, have one of these~”

Hyungyu gave a quick glance toward Gongjun, who was still in disbelief, then began passing out the drinks he’d brought.

“Your eyes are about to pop out. Here, have a drink too.”

He handed one to Gongjun as well.

“You…”

But Gongjun couldn’t even look him in the face. Instead, he glared fiercely at me, as if I was the root of all his problems.

At this rate, he might just rip his eyes open.

“Don’t look at me like that. You think I’d sign someone just to piss you off? I’m not that stupid.”

“O…”

Gongjun seemed like he wanted to say something—his lips moved, but no sound came out. In the end, he swallowed his words.

The air between us remained uncomfortably tense… until someone walked in and broke the chill.

“Why are there so many people here?”

It was Park Jaehoon.

“Jaehoon! What brings you all the way here?”

“Even though we work together, I never get to see you!”

The moment he appeared, the staff all stood up to greet him with bright smiles.

“Haha, right? It’s been a while. How have you all been?”

“Oh, I’ve been great. You look even younger since coming back from the military.”

“Aw, stop teasing me~”

Jaehoon greeted everyone warmly, and Gongjun sprang into action immediately.

“Sunbae-nim! Hello!”

His eyes sparkled like stars, completely different from the daggers he had just been shooting at me.

“Ah, hey.”

But Jaehoon didn’t look particularly thrilled to see him.

Why did he come all the way here?

With his own staff taking care of everything, there was no real reason for him to be on set.

“Hyung!”

“Yo, long time no see.”

It was Hyungyu.

Wait, they know each other?

Then again, it wasn’t that surprising.

Hyungyu had been in the industry a long time, and Jaehoon had started out as a child actor.

They were bound to cross paths.

“What the— I heard you were here, and I just had to come. How could you not tell me you’d be on set?”

“I was planning to stop by and see you anyway.”

“Liar.”

“This guy here is a friend I’m mentoring.”

Hyungyu turned to me and introduced me to Jaehoon.

I quickly stood and bowed a full ninety degrees.

“Hello, I’m Jung Hyunjae.”

“What? He’s signed with your agency?”

Jaehoon looked at me with genuine curiosity.

“Yeah, we signed the contract today.”

“Whoa~ So how good is he that even you’re personally following him around?”

To be fair, it was unusual for a CEO to personally trail after a rookie actor.

“I’m doing this at my age, so please look out for him on set, will you?”

“Sunbae-nim, I’ll be in your care.”

“Aw, no need to be so formal. You can speak casually—we’re friends, aren’t we?”

Jaehoon said it with a cheerful grin as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Wait—me?”

What is he saying?

The fact that we were “friends” was supposed to be my secret.

Hearing it so casually said out loud made my stomach twist.

“Don’t you remember the company dinner?”

All I’d heard was that I got blackout drunk and had to be dragged away by security.

I didn’t remember a thing.

Don’t tell me I said something about being a dog…

No way.

If I had, he’d be looking at me like I was insane.

But he wasn’t.

“Sorry… it was my first time drinking, so I don’t really remember much.”

“Wait, what happened?”

Hyungyu, who had been listening quietly, finally chimed in.

“It was hilarious. I’ve never seen someone get drunk and start talking to a dog before.”

Jaehoon chuckled, unable to hold in his laughter as he recalled the memory.

You’ve really done it now, Jung Hyunjae.

“You really did that?”

“Yeah. And then you called me your friend and even bought me banana milk.”

If I ever drink again, may I be reincarnated not as a dog—but as a cat.

“…I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine. It was cute.”

“Don’t you dare drink in public again.”

“I already swore never to touch alcohol again.”

I’d made that promise the moment I saw the bright red handprint on my back the next morning.

“He didn’t do anything wrong. It was just bad luck he ran into Woonggi sunbae that night.”

“Is he still like that?”

“Why do you think people still call him ‘Master Ju’? Nothing’s changed.”

The topic naturally shifted, and I let out a silent breath of relief—only to nearly jump out of my seat the next second.

What the—?!

Gongjun, still standing nearby, had a face like a thundercloud.

Now what was his problem?

“Oh! By the way, how did you know I liked banana milk?”

Jaehoon, mid-conversation with Hyungyu, suddenly asked.

Well, because you brought it with you the first time you came to my house.

But I couldn’t say that out loud.

“Most people like banana milk, right? Haha…”

“True, that’s fair. I was honestly shocked—I thought we were actually friends or something.”

Thank god he liked popular drinks.

“But the name ‘Hyunjae’…”

My name?

Just as I perked up at the mention, another staff member called out to him.

“Jaehoon~”

“Ah, I’ll be right there! I only meant to stop by for a quick hello, but I ended up chatting too long. See you later!”

“Yeah, take care.”

What was he going to say about my name?

I was curious, but couldn’t exactly run after him to ask.

“I should get going too. Thank you, everyone.”

As soon as Jaehoon left, Gongjun followed behind him, his expression hard as stone.

“What’s his problem?”

He was practically radiating bad vibes—like a sulking kindergartener.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Hyungyu placed a hand on my shoulder and answered for me.

“He’s jealous because you and Jaehoon seemed close.”

“Seriously…?”

We barely even talked. Was that really something to be jealous about?

“Jaehoon probably wanted to be close with him, but when he didn’t even get acknowledged, of course he’s upset.”

“Aren’t they in the same agency?”

From what I’d heard, it was Jaehoon’s influence that got him in.

“Jaehoon hates two-faced people who lack loyalty the most. You think someone with ears like his wouldn’t have heard what everyone else knows?”

“Ah…”

If it’s common knowledge among the staff, there’s no way he missed it.

He might even know it better than anyone.

“He’s just pissed things aren’t going the way he wants. That kid still has a bit of a childish side.”

“Huh? Are you… defending him right now?”

“Defending? Please. I’m no saint… But wait—are you jealous?”

“Of course! The CEO should be focused on me.”

Until I was fully established, I couldn’t forgive him for giving attention elsewhere.

“Scary. You’re scary,” Hyungyu said, though his grin betrayed how unbothered he really was.

“If you don’t want me looking elsewhere, then do well today. My reputation’s riding on your performance.”

“Don’t worry.”

There was a reason Jaehoon and Gongjun were both here today—because we were filming the very scene I had performed during the audition.

“I’ll do great.”

Sure, my role was more like a bridge—connecting Beomjun to Beomwoo—but it was still an important scene.

“Did you double-check the location?”

Since the scene involved real fire, Director Yongseok had verified the safety multiple times.

“Don’t worry. I checked it more than ten times myself.”

Junhyung responded confidently.

He’d been here since dawn preparing, so he had every right to be.

“We only have three takes, so make sure Beomwoo’s completely ready.”

These days, CG technology could do wonders, but creating something from nothing cost a fortune.

Lighting a real fire was cheaper—and more convincing.

“Oh, Director, did you see the updated schedule from yesterday?”

“No, not yet. Why?”

“There were some changes. You might want to take a look.”

At Junhyung’s words, Yongseok pulled out his phone, and Junhyung headed off toward Beomwoo.

Soon, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the staff kicked into high gear preparing for the shoot.

“Go check once more that there’s nothing unusual in the neighboring houses.”

“Director, this whole area is abandoned. Of course there’s nothing.”

They’d picked an old, deserted countryside house for the shoot.

The area around it was completely empty.

“You never know—what if some stray dog starts barking at the fire? That’d ruin the whole scene.”

“Ah… right.”

It was annoying to be asked to check a place that was obviously deserted, but I couldn’t argue.

I walked around the nearby houses and gave their front doors a cursory glance.

“What stray dog… There’s not even a mouse around here. What am I checking for?”

Grumbling, I made my way back to the set.

“Nothing around.”

“Okay. Director, everything’s ready!”

“Don’t wait—light the fire.”

“Yes, sir!”

At the director’s cue, the house was set ablaze.

Once the flames reached a suitable height, filming began.

“Wow… the acting.”

As the house burned, Gongjun began crying on camera, trying to channel deep sorrow.

His performance was… not bad.

But why is he acting like that?

He was supposed to be heartbroken, longing for his parents, but none of that came through.

What a waste. I could’ve done better.

“Acting? Oh—you mean the smoke. Yeah, there’s a lot because of the fire.”

A staff member beside me must’ve overheard and misinterpreted what I said.

“Ah, yeah. There’s a lot of smoke,” I replied, brushing it off.

“I mean, we usually don’t go this far for a scene, but our director’s really passionate about this kind of stuff.”

I’d seen explosions and destruction on film sets before, but that was mostly in movies.

For a drama, this level of realism was rare.

Maybe it’s because it’s airing on a streaming platform—they probably got a decent investment.

“But… don’t you smell something weird?”

Something had been bothering my nose for a while—a sharp, familiar scent.

“You mean the burning smell?”

Yes, the smell of burning was strong.

But there was another scent—distinct and definitely not normal.

It’s hard to pinpoint.

Too many smells mixed together…

“No, it’s different. It’s familiar, but I can’t quite place it.”

“Hmm. I don’t smell anything strange.”

The staff member shrugged and moved away.

“Something wrong?”

Hyungyu had returned from a quick errand.

“No, nothing.”

“I had to drive far to get gas. There’s not even a gas station nearby in this countryside.”

“Ah!”

Gas station!

“You scared me. What is it?”

Gas!

The burning smell had thrown me off, but the moment Hyungyu mentioned fuel, it clicked.

“I think… no—I’m sure there’s a gas leak somewhere around here.”

“Gas? What do you mean, gas all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you smell it?”

“I don’t…”

Hyungyu sniffed the air but shook his head.

“You’re probably imagining it. Everything’s been double-checked. There’s no way something like that would’ve been missed.”

“I’m certain.”

If I were just an ordinary person, I might’ve doubted myself.

But my sense of smell was far from ordinary.

“Director!”

Once the realization hit, I didn’t hesitate a second longer—I took off running straight toward Yongseok.