Chapter 62

Choi Hong-seo, blankly staring down at his numb and burning hand, slowly lifted his head. The figure of Lee Hye-sung, walking into the room, was retreating further away from him.

"Seems like everyone is having an interesting conversation."

"Ah... Vice President, you've arrived..."

With his arrival, the room fell silent. The actors and even the staff hesitated, rising from their seats.

He wasn’t raising his voice or visibly excited, but his body language was clearly expressing his displeasure. Even Choi Hong-seo, who was only watching his back, could feel it strongly.

"Choi Hong-seo was not caught for selling his body, nor was the first allegation of prostitution, as claimed by the perpetrators, a willing act. It was a crime committed under unwanted violence. Seojun-young."

Approaching the male actor who had previously assumed that Choi Hong-seo, being from a host bar, had already participated in second-round activities, Lee Hye-sung tilted his head slightly.

"Despite being the victim, that violence became the basis for blackmail, and through that, he was forced into further 'entertainment' sessions. Then, this cycle of sexual crimes, this horrific vicious cycle, trapped him in pain and exploitation. The court recognized Choi Hong-seo as the victim. What exactly were the things I just overheard?"

Finishing his words, Lee Hye-sung scanned the room of actors. Like students being scolded by a teacher, none of them dared speak a word, their heads lowered.

"Ah, don’t you all watch the news? Just gossiping around?"

"......"

"Or do you believe that you, who aren’t even involved in the case or haven't even heard from the witnesses, understand the situation better and can discern the truth more clearly?"

"......"

"Are you really that stupidly arrogant?"

Standing outside the door, watching the entire scene unfold as if he were a spectator at a play, Choi Hong-seo was overwhelmed by complex emotions.

Lee Hye-sung was clearly angry for Choi Hong-seo’s honor. After all, he had said that he would get angry if Choi Hong-seo was being mistreated. In fact, whenever Choi Hong-seo had been in a difficult situation, Lee Hye-sung could never just stay silent.

But why is it so hard for me to watch this?

He was getting angry for me, after all.

He didn’t know it was me standing just a few steps behind him, nor that he swatted my hand away as if I were some disgusting bug. It was only because I looked like Yoon Hye-sung. He’s still protecting me like this...

Lee Hye-sung approached the actor Seojun-young once again. As he placed a hand on Seojun-young's shoulder, the actor flinched, as if startled.

"You said that if Choi Hong-seo thought of himself as a victim, then why would he have jumped, right, Seojun-young?"

"Ah, no, Vice President, I didn’t mean that..."

"Maybe it was people like you, Seojun-young, who thought that way?"

"......"

At Lee Hye-sung's words, Seojun-young shut his mouth tightly, having been unable to offer an excuse. As Lee Hye-sung pressed down on his shoulder, applying some pressure, he finally released his grip and glanced around the room once more.

"Do you realize you're simply echoing the perpetrators' claims?"

"......"

"If you want to criticize others, you must be very cautious. In today's world, even ignorance can lead to criminal charges, and you'll pay the price for it."

"......"

"You should be careful, actors."

Without raising his voice, Lee Hye-sung efficiently conveyed his anger. Just like he had done in Director Kang's reception room and the downstairs living room with CEO Jo.

"I'm speaking as an investor. If a trouble arises and you have to leave the movie midway... it would cause me an enormous loss, wouldn't it? Just imagining it gives me chills."

"......"

"Right, Oh In-kyung?"

He directly called out the actress who had earlier mentioned how terrifying it would have been if the X scandal had broken out while filming the movie.

Choi Hong-seo could tell that the reason everyone was silent wasn’t just because Lee Hye-sung was Lee Hye-sung. At least, it wasn’t just that. Everyone was silent because they knew his words were right. They were silent because they had nothing to say.

The silence was broken by Jo Won-tae’s serious voice.

"I made a rash comment in front of the juniors. After hearing what the Vice President said, I feel ashamed. I’ve been stubborn because of my personal bias regarding something that’s already been revealed as the truth."

Even after Jo Won-tae’s admission and apology, Lee Hye-sung’s mood didn’t seem to improve. However, it seemed like he had no further words to say. He looked exhausted, as though someone who had given up, realizing that no matter how angry he got, nothing would change.

With one hand resting on his waist, he absentmindedly rubbed his jaw, and to Choi Hong-seo, he now appeared lonely.

She wanted to approach him. She wanted to go to him, touch his arm and shoulder, cup his face in her hands, and gaze into his eyes. She wanted to hug him and offer comfort.

But she couldn’t lay a finger on him. As Yoon Hye-an, all she was permitted to do was watch his loneliness and sorrow from a distance, being kept at arm’s length.

The open rectangular door frame seemed like the camera shot of Lee Hye-sung. With the bowed heads of the others in the background, he spoke, moved, and expressed his emotions within that frame, looking every bit the actor. The ‘Yoon Hye-an’ outside the door was like an audience member, completely irrelevant, a bystander existing entirely outside of his attention. She had to feel, once again, the sharp sting of her death because, to him and everyone else, she was not Choi Hong-seo, but Yoon Hye-an.

She couldn’t live as if she had seamlessly adjusted to waking up as Yoon Hye-an, as if she had been given another chance. His back, turned toward her, seemed to say that.

No one had felt comfortable or liberated. What, in the end, had she chosen this for?

"Vice President, I think everyone has understood by now. Please, come over here."

It was Director Kang Woo-hyun, trying to ease the atmosphere, who spoke up.

"Alright, everyone, please understand. Although Choi Hong-seo only worked with us up until pre-production, I grew fond of him while preparing the project. The Vice President also decided to invest after seeing Hong-seo’s performance... there's some affection there. Please keep that in mind."

Lee Hye-sung, turning his back to the actors, walked towards the seat where Director Kang was sitting. To find him once more, Choi Hong-seo walked into the doorframe.