I didn’t end up drinking the non-alcoholic wine.

As it turned out, the wine was a drink for Woo Yoonjae, and there was a separate one for me.

"Mr. Yoonjae personally picked out the drink for you in advance, Mr. Iwol."

"Really?"

The drink I received was ssanghwacha.

"He said he originally wanted to brew ssanghwatang, but since the broth can be polarizing, he settled on this..."

"I love both tea and broth!"

Fearing that Yoonjae might actually go as far as visiting an oriental medicine clinic for me, I diligently drank it all right there.

After answering a few more questions, the shoot ended. Woo Yoonjae bowed so deeply his waist practically folded in half, then drove off in his own car.

"It can’t be easy driving around without a manager. He’s impressive."

Watching the license plate grow smaller, the MC said that with admiration.

"Then, I’ll be heading out too..."

The production crew and MC could only wrap up once the guests had left. As I tried to make a quick exit, the MC caught me.

"Mr. Iwol, do you have a schedule after this?"

"No, I don’t!"

"Do you think I don’t know you’re the type to say 'no' even if you have one? Can you give me just 10 minutes?"

I asked for my manager’s understanding and got into the MC’s car. Even though it was a celebrity van just like ours, the amount of luggage inside was completely different since he rode alone. After confirming the doors were shut, the MC lowered his voice.

"How is your body feeling?"

"Pardon?"

Was this something that needed to be asked so secretly?

"I’m perfectly fine! I’ve been resting well lately. I haven’t even gone on any broadcasts other than Off the Story." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Is that so?"

The tone was full of doubt. I wondered if my secret technique—"appeal to sincerity"—had gotten rusty after only a few days of rest, but then an unexpected name popped up.

"Do you remember the shaman we met at the fortune telling place during our first recording together?"

"Of course."

To summarize the story that followed: After the previous shaman episode ended, the MC had sent a thank you text to the shaman for accepting the sudden reservation.

The shaman, perhaps concerned about the MC who had shed tears during the recording, had offered words of encouragement. This led to the two of them keeping in touch occasionally.

"You two are the same age?"

...A unique friendship had blossomed between the shaman—who had been cut off from most human relationships after receiving her divine calling—and the MC, who had endured many hardships in the entertainment industry.

It turned out that Off the Story’s overhaul into its current format was also thanks to the shaman’s advice that he "could trust in his own strengths." The rave reviews for Season 2 proved that high quality content could be produced through talk alone.

"The other day, she texted me asking, 'You have a meeting with Kim Iwol soon, don’t you?'"

"Huh?"

"She said you appeared in her dream recently. Um... do you remember when we looked at your fortune? She said she couldn’t see your face clearly."

I did. That was how my nickname became something like "Undead Grim Reaper Cool Water."

"She said a dark energy was almost covering your entire body, making your form hard to see. She didn’t contact you first because some people feel uncomfortable ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) hearing bad predictions directly..."

So she heard bad news and got worried, and then she saw me collapse after shaking the entertainment world with my personal scandal. I understood why the MC was going out of his way to tell me this.

"I guess she correctly predicted the gastric ulcer. We didn’t announce it specifically, but I almost needed surgery."

If I tried to act overly tough, I might end up looking like some tragic heroine pretending to be brave despite hardship. To prevent his imagination from wandering into darker territory, I emphasized that "it was true my condition was bad enough for the shaman to warn me, but I’m okay now!" Fortunately, the MC believed me.

"You have to take care of your health. No matter what you do, your body is your greatest asset. Got it?"

I received well wishes and some red ginseng. Thanks to that, I stepped out of the car with my hands full.

My phone was filled with messages I hadn’t seen during the recording. As I replied to them one by one in the car, only the last text remained.

Gu Jahan sunbaenim:

[So the promo you’re doing is with Woo Yoonjae?]

[Why him?]

Me:

[Because he was my partner role.]

Gu Jahan sunbaenim:

[Does that even make sense when your levels of buzz are different?]

[You think a supporting role is the same as a co-lead?]

Apparently, he had even read the press releases.

"He clearly doesn’t like it."

Gu Jahan had changed a lot. He no longer swore or threw tantrums. However, that change was limited to a very small number of people.

Gu Jahan sunbaenim:

[What a ridiculous situation.]

[There are so many insane people.]

Gu Jahan’s essence hadn’t changed much. He just didn’t speak harshly to me or Ha Seomyeong and had become a bit kinder to the managers. This was the reason I avoided becoming closer to him than necessary.

Gu Jahan sunbaenim:

[Woo Yoonjae probably barely said a word and just rode your coattails.]

[Are you a pushover? Doing favors for others like that?]

Everything Gu Jahan said was for my sake.

But a person who is kind only to me while treating others coldly... reminds me of someone.

Me:

[Sunbaenim.]

I couldn’t hold back and sent the message. A long wall of text quickly filled the chat.

I knew well the heart of a senior worrying about a much younger junior. I also knew how much a person who wasn’t like that must have deliberated and tried in order to show kindness.

But that was exactly why it was painful. That I was treated well while others were still looked down on. That I had to watch people who did nothing wrong be casually disregarded.

None of us—including me—should have our humanity disrespected.

Me:

[...I realize you might not understand this difference. Even if it sounds like I’m lecturing you, I have nothing to say in my defense.]

[But if we truly disagree on this, it may be difficult for our relationship to last.]

I expected a reply asking if I was lecturing him. I prepared myself to see a sentence that didn’t hide his displeasure, like "Are you telling me to go around apologizing?".

But the reply that arrived was short.

Gu Jahan sunbaenim:

[Fine.]

"Sigh..."

A deep sigh escaped from my chest. My manager asked what was wrong, but I couldn’t give an answer.

"Why the long face?"

Kang Giyeon asked as soon as he saw me return.

"Because my conscience feels guilty."

"...?"

One of Giyeon’s eyebrows twitched upward. His brow didn’t relax until I told him it was a joke.

My heart felt heavy even while I showered. Gu Jahan’s last message kept floating around in my head.

"I said something I didn’t need to say."

Pointing out objectively wrong behavior was fine. If you left it alone, they’d just do it again.

But personal values were different. No one had the right to casually criticize how someone else lived their life. Only the person themselves knew what shaped those beliefs.

"I shouldn’t have been so impulsive..."

Even after standing under hot water for 10 minutes, the gloomy mood didn’t wash away. Maybe my depression was oil soluble.

I sat on the bed with a towel over my head when Jeong Seongbin called me.

"Did something happen?"

"No. Why?"

"Because Giyeon is worried about you."

That little chatterbox. He already snitched to the leader.

"I told him it was a joke, why didn’t he believe me?"

"Because you’re usually such a serious person."

I couldn’t bring myself to meet Jeong Seongbin’s eyes as he casually replied. I pretended not to hear and lay face down on the bed. Jeong Seongbin was silent for a long time, then got up, saying he’d turn off the light if I was going to sleep.

After that, both of us just lay there in silence. I stared blankly at the ceiling and finally opened my mouth.

"Seongbin, are you asleep?"

"No."

I hadn’t expected an answer.

"Why aren’t you sleeping?"

"It’s only been 5 minutes since I lay down."

"Only that long?"

It was true. I couldn’t believe it.

"If you have something you want to say, go ahead."

Jeong Seongbin said in a soft voice, lying perfectly still with his eyes closed.

I didn’t want to burden a guy who was already busy with group affairs with my petty worries. In the first place, it was an immature thing to do. I should be someone he could lean on, not the other way around.

But...

"You know..."

...Maybe it was because my chest felt so tight.

"Actually, I think I made a mistake today..."

The story poured out. Jeong Seongbin waited patiently until my rambling was finished.

I snapped at Gu Jahan sunbaenim. I thought his behavior was wrong. He seemed pissed. It wasn’t a good thing to do, and I felt a little regretful. I should have just kept my mouth shut.

That was the summary of what I told Jeong Seongbin. Even after hearing my confession, he was silent for a while.

"...Are you asleep?"

"I’m not!"

He was so motionless I thought he’d drifted off. I almost felt a bit sad.

"Hyung."

"Yeah."

"What do you think was the fundamental reason you pointed that out to the sunbaenim?"

Perhaps thinking it might sound presumptuous, Jeong Seongbin’s voice trailed off. But the core of the question was elsewhere.

"Fundamental reason?"

"You aren’t the type to bluntly tell someone they’re 'wrong' regarding their behavior. You either endure, try to understand, or try to persuade—one of the three. If it’s someone you’ll see for a long time, you usually try to persuade them."

His pronunciation was clear and distinct, showing he had been thinking, not sleeping.

"Moreover, he’s your senior; there’s no way you did it just out of a sudden temper. There must be a reason..."

"......"

"If those words slipped out without you even realizing it, I think it might be because you’re mentally unstable right now."

His trust in his member was not just solid, but impenetrable.

"What if I just got cocky and arrogant? Why are you taking my side so blindly?"

"As if that could happen."

"You never know with people. Haven’t you heard the saying that you can know the depth of water but not the heart of a man?"

"Hyung, which do you think is more realistic: the end of the world, or Juu starting to hate Rock?"

"Obviously the former."

Wait. I feel like I’ve heard a similar question from Choi Jeho before.

Jeong Seongbin chuckled, a smile full of confidence that his point had been made. Feeling like I’d lost, I turned my back to him.

Humans are such complex creatures. Especially how we want to hide certain things, yet keeping secrets isn’t entirely comfortable, so we end up looking for someone to share them with.

"...I do feel a sense of guilt."

For falsely accusing my parents of trying to strangle me.

Knowing that I committed an unethical act, I ended up taking my frustration out on the wrong person.